No. CCXXI - The Tropical Islands Resort, built to be a latter-day airship hanger.
Oh, those wacky Germans.
The Stars My Destination
I can only imagine the anguish with which Captain Kelly has had to grapple, but I must agree that he's taken the right decision:STS-134. The man is an astronaut—a calling, not a job—& the final flight of the Endeavour may well be the last flight of an American spacecraft for years, perhaps decades, to come. Godspeed to the last crew of the Endeavour; Godspeed to Representative Giffords for a swift & full recovery.
The "cosmonauts" of the Mars-500 project are soon to make planetfall on "Mars": Red Planet. On the one hand, simulations like this make me sad, because with President Obama's relentless, remorseless campaign to bring to an end manned spaceflight these are the closest Mankind's going to get to visiting other celestial bodies for decades to come. On the other hand, they buoy my spirits, because they remind me that resistance exists to our charlatan president's war against manned spaceflight. And on the gripping hand, regardless of how I feel, why not? And who better to conduct this research than the Russians? With their long experience with the Mir space station, nobody understands the ins & outs of space madness better than those wily Muscovites.
Elsewhere in news about the Red Planet…
Science!
I've read only one tale by Arthur C. Clarke & it was tripe (the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey). Nevertheless, I cannot resist the Clarke reference: The Sands of Mars. Whyever do people suppose that Mars is a static, "dead" planet? Sure, the Red Planet is neither Burroughs's Barsoom nor Lewis's Malacandra, but what is the basis of the notion that if Mars is not teeming with sapient life it much also be devoid of geological & atmospheric processes? Keep on poking holes in ignorant, arrogant assumptions, Mars; hope to see you soon.
Science!
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
They Might Be Giants, "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)" (live) from Severe Tire Damage (T.L.A.M.)
4 comments:
Mike, sorry this is such a fangirl non-sequitir drive-by post, but I really do enjoy your blog-- especially "The Stars My Destination" and "Explorers Club" offerings. Have a great year!
Not really much of a non sequitur, since it's a comment upon a post that contains both "The Stars My Destination" & "The Explorers Club," but now you're got my slightly worried, California Dreamer: I hope you mean "Have a great year!" as a greeting to the still relatively new Year of Our Lord 2011, not as a farewell for the remainder of that selfsame year.
Heh- Well, it wasn't a non sequitur like "How about those Red Sox?", but neither did it comment directly on any of your splendid content.
I'm not planning on going anywhere. It's true I have a busy year ahead of me (publish or perish!), but I'll see to it there's always time for some online interaction.
Is that the Ides of March I see in the not-too-distant future? Yikes! Where does the time go? / cheers
There's only one thing I like about the Boston Red Socks: Their fierce hatred of the New York Yankees. There's only one thing I like about the New York Yankees: Their fierce hatred of the Boston Red Socks. Talk about two monsters that really deserve each other.
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