Random thoughts on politics, current events, popular culture, and whatever else interests me.
Monday, May 30, 2022
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Star Trek Discovery: Why the Stacey Abrams Cameo Matters #RIPStarTrek
I’ve observed with great interest and amusement the debates about modern “woke” Star Trek. The defenders of the political posturing of especially Star Trek: Discovery maintain that Trek has always commented on social issues, so, shut up, you critics. The following video, focusing on the infamous Stacy Abrams cameo proves otherwise. By the way, if I had been tasked to chose a modern figure to represent the President of Earth, I would have chosen former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. To be sure, he started as a conservative Republican congressman. But, as head of the space agency, he made a conscious effort to transcend all of that and to make space exploration a bipartisan issue, so much so that he got Nancy Pelosi, of all people, to say nice things about it. In short, Bridenstine has done more to help create a Star Trek future that a million Stacy Abrams.
The Boeing Commercial Crew Starliner: Third time’s the charm
"With Starliner some years late and millions of dollars over budget, Boeing is clearly having some trouble adjusting to the brave new world of fixed-price contracts. Under the traditional cost-plus contracts that NASA used to acquire space hardware, the space agency would cover any cost overruns. Now, companies like Boeing have to eat any extra costs and try to make them up in the long term."
Saturday, May 28, 2022
How Elon Musk can use Twitter to raise awareness of Artemis
As it turns out, Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and soon to be CEO of Twitter (provided that the deal goes through), is in a unique position to do something about Artemis not being on the radar of most Americans. When that first woman and next man land on the lunar surface, for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, they will have done so in a SpaceX Human Landing System. Therefore, Musk has an interest in publicizing Artemis in a positive way.
Friday, May 27, 2022
Thursday, May 26, 2022
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Monday, May 23, 2022
Sunday, May 22, 2022
'Jurassic Park' Gets Canceled or more proof that people who are good at pretending to be other people should grace the world with their silence on things they don't understand.
House subcommittee asks: Is the truth out there about UAPs?
While UFOs and the possibility of them being alien spacecraft have been a thing for decades, renewed interest in the phenomenon arose with the recent revelation that military pilots have been spotting objects in the sky, now dubbed Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP). Last year, the Office of National Intelligence issued a report on UAPs that left more questions than answers. In a quest to find answers, the House Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation (C3) Subcommittee of the House Intelligence Committee held hearings on what may or may not be evidence of alien visitations.
Saturday, May 21, 2022
Friday, May 20, 2022
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
From NASA's Lunar and Martian Infrastructure Objectives for Project Artemis: "Create Global Lunar Utilization infrastructure where U.S. industry and international partners can maintain continuous robotic and human presence on the lunar surface for a robust lunar economy without NASA as the sole user, while accomplishing Mars testing and science objectives."
A round about way of saying NASA needs to commit to a permanent lunar base
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Sunday, May 15, 2022
SpaceX says it will beat NASA to Mars this decade
Officially, NASA intends to land astronauts on Mars by about 2040, give or take a year or two. Recently, SpaceX’s President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell told CNBC that the aerospace company will beat NASA to Mars by at least a decade.
Saturday, May 14, 2022
Friday, May 13, 2022
Thursday, May 12, 2022
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Monday, May 09, 2022
Sunday, May 08, 2022
Why is FAA approval for SpaceX Starship orbital launches taking so long?
An old joke is going around social media that if the Apollo program had to pass modern environmental regulations, America would never have landed astronauts on the moon. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) seems bent on proving the premise of that joke: It recently delayed its environmental review of SpaceX Starship orbital launches from that company’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas for a fourth time.
I've always had my doubts about Meghan McCain, and, indeed, her dad, whom I voted for in 2008. But, anyone who can enrage that turncoat Steven Schmidt as she just did, is alright in my book. In the meantime, she has a new memoir out: Bad Republican #CommissionEarned
Saturday, May 07, 2022
Friday, May 06, 2022
Bernie Sanders makes a dishonest attack on commercial space flight
Sanders seems to be in favor of space exploration so long as no one makes any money at it, consistent with his socialist ideology. The attitude is divorced from reality and unsustainable.
Thursday, May 05, 2022
Wednesday, May 04, 2022
Tuesday, May 03, 2022
It looks like one of my screenplays, The Last Moonwalker, is a quarterfinalist in the Emerging Screenwriters Sci-Fi & Fantasy Screenplay Competition.
The story version can be found in The Moon Mars and Beyond and The Last Moonwalker and Other Stories #CommissionEarned
A solution to the abortion question?> The world's first artificial womb for humans
Don't abort. Transplant.
Monday, May 02, 2022
Sunday, May 01, 2022
How is NASA doing under Bill Nelson’s leadership?
Bill Nelson, former senator and one-time astronaut, has been at the helm of NASA for about one year. It’s time to look back and see how Nelson is doing and also look at the challenges he faces ahead.