By now everyone must have heard the big news of the day. (OK, the big news in my world.) Chicago will not be getting one of the retired Space Shuttles. Discovery will go to the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, which is certainly reasonable. They already have the Enterprise (named after the Starship Enterprise after a successful campaign by fans of … [Read more...] about Chicago Doesn’t Get a Space Shuttle
Yuri Gagarin and the War on Terror
Fifty years ago today Yuri Gagarin became the first human to venture into space. What an adventure by a true hero! I've heard great things about the book Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin. I wish it would come out in e-book format. An inspiring quote attributed to Gagarin is: "I saw for the first time the earth's shape. I could easily see the shores of … [Read more...] about Yuri Gagarin and the War on Terror
Burning Books is So 20th Century
Let me get this out of the way in the first paragraph: Terry Jones of Qur'an burning fame is a bigoted fool. He's a bigoted fool not because he burned his copy of the Qur'an, but because he hates people simply because they don't worship the same God he does in a similar enough way. What a tool! The number of people (and legislators) over-reacting to this incident, however seems … [Read more...] about Burning Books is So 20th Century
My Civic Duty to Intervene
A depressing story about a group of thirteen-year-olds who allegedly strong armed another thirteen-year-old to rob an iPhone contained what I considered to be a strange additional fact in the case. An 18-year-old "was charged with disorderly conduct after police said he was present at the time of the robbery and did nothing to stop it." So, just what is my civic duty … [Read more...] about My Civic Duty to Intervene
Police State Security Meets Puritan Morality
For almost a decade we have had heavy-handed rights abuses all in the name of keeping people safe from threats which kill far fewer people than traffic accidents do each year. We allow the files on your laptop to be perused with no cause. We take for granted that people can be detained indefinitely without being tried or even accused of a crime. The United States now … [Read more...] about Police State Security Meets Puritan Morality