SpaceX has launched four astronauts into orbit via Falcon 9/Dragon, as well as recovering the booster via drone ship.
Most people launched at one time since the Space Shuttle.
Apr 232021
Apr 232021
Some important news:
Book One: Started in January of 2020, it was scheduled to be turned in in July of 2020… but a pandemic came along and trashed the planetary economy. the publisher pushed the deadline back a year. Today I saw the probable layout for the cover, as well as finished another 3-view bring the total to 191.5 pages of diagrams. Quite a few more to go.
Book Two: started a month or so after Book One was delayed, it’s to be a smaller work. The manuscript was turned in a month ago. Today I saw a near-final revision of the layout, with some corrections to be made. Around 109 or so distinct designs are illustrated; some two or more to a page, some taking two pages to illustrate. A number of inboard profile/plan views.
It seems that Book One is likely to be announced Real Soon Now, now that the cover is worked out. At that time, the details of the publisher, format and contents will be made available.
Apr 222021
Virginia moving to eliminate all accelerated math courses before 11th grade as part of equity-focused plan
Equity: stomping down on the high achievers.
Apr 222021
A cop comes up on a rock-throwing guy who pulls out a knife, takes about one step towards the cop, then catches a bullet. I think in the strictest sense, this was a legitimate shoot; cop told the guy several times to drop the knife, and instead he advanced towards the cop. But it all happened *real* fast. Britlanderish blog readers might well point out that their cops deal with knife wielding criminal types all the time and hardly ever shoot them… I believe the approach is the bring in a whole lot of backup and whallop the tar out of them with billyclubs (or to just let them go; I’m not really sure). And of course there are Tasers, of sometimes dubious reliability.
So, what should be the preferred approach in such circumstances? The subject is armed and aggressive, but if the cop retreats the subject probably does not pose an *immediate* threat. But if the cop retreats, the subject, who is clearly a menace to society, could get away. BUT simply being a probable threat may not be adequate cause for the deployment of deadly force. And on and on.
My view: I’m all in favor of “no duty to retreat.” Someone comes at you with a knife, *especially* if you are pointing a pistol at them, you – any form of “you,” from cop to soldier to housewife – have every right to do whatever you feel you need to to defend yourself. And on the other hand, those who are tasked with enforcing the governments’ will should probably be held to a reasonably high standard.
At least they can’t fault the cop for shooting off a wild volley of rounds. One shot and the guy seemed to be dead before he hit the pavement.
Once again, a situation that could have been more peaceably resolved if we had access to phasers with heavy stun settings. Or dart guns that fired transporter-lock tags: shoot the guy and he gets beamed directly into a jail cell. Sigh. It’s the year 2021, but where are the flying cars? I was promised flying cars. I don’t see any flying cars.
Apr 222021
This cat has the right response to the current – hopefully short-lived – wokefad of spouting off your pronouns:
Apr 222021
The Critical Drinker provides a good explanation of “The Rocketeer,” a movie from back when movies were actually fun. “Remember when Disney movies didn’t make you hate yourself.”
A little while ago I discussed Fictional Aircraft and mentioned an interest in eventually doing a US Bomber Projects style publication or three wrapped around them. A rocketpack might or might not be an aircraft, but it’d be a fun exercise to try to produce a realistic-sounding engineering explanation of the thing. Clearly this isn’t a “rocket” pack but a “jet” pack; trying to explain how a jet engine in 1938 developed enough thrust-to-weight to loft a dude skywards, and did it fuel efficiently enough (using alcohol, no less) to keep him up there for a substantial time, would be a bit of a challenge.
Secondary challenge: Engineering analysis of Jennifer Connelly.
Apr 212021
Another Boeing concept for the recovery of an S-IC stage. This used large fins with deployable drag brakes to stabilize the stage nose-down, parachutes to slow descent and sizable rocket motors for terminal braking just before splashdown. Additional rockets arrest the stages “collapse” to the side.
Would a Falcon 9-style landing have been better? Sure. But that wasn’t going to happen with 1960’s technology. A splashdown, recovery and refurbishment would have been expensive, but likely not as expensive as a brand new stage, and as has been the case with Falcon 9, as time goes by and experience grows, everything would get better and cheaper.
Apr 212021
This video has it all: the smug look, the hand gestures, the insistence that laws don’t apply to her, appeals to the supernatural… everything you could possibly look for in someone who you just know is a torture to be around.
This apparently originated from her refusal to wear a mask. This is something I honestly don’t get: sure, masks are *slightly* uncomfortable, and it’s a nuisance and of course there is the natural disdain for being told to do something. but a mask? Think of them as an *opportunity.* Masks are one less way that biometric and surveillance systems can track you
UPDATE: Here is a news story on the incident:
Lake Travis ISD School Board candidate given assault citation after mask confrontation at store
Behold:
Apr 212021
I guess it’s getting about time to consider getting into Bitcoin, now that it’s a friggen bajillion dollars and I’ve probably long since missed my chance to get in while the getting was good. A few days ago I noticed that a “Coinstar” machine at a local grocery store had the option to convert cash to Bitcoin, as well as the usual Amazon gift certificate approach, so in preparation for using that I went and started to sign up for the require “Coinme” account. I got as far as the part where it demanded that I send in a photo not only of my drivers license but also a current selfie, and my interest began to fade pretty drastically; some Googling to make sure that Coinme wasn’t a scam showed that a *lot* of people are really ticked off about the service. Very high fees, lots of requirements, difficulties in cashing out… meh, interest has dropped to zero.
So… anyone here have any Bitcoin stories that *aren’t* horror stories? Recommendations on who, what, where and most importantly how?
Apr 212021
Nature is terrible.