Yesterday NASA awarded development grants to four corporations for development of human-rated space transportation systems (spaceships). Here are the big winners: $22 million went to Blue Origin, best known for its intricately detailed corporate logo (as well as its founder, Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com fame) which has a creative vertical take-off and landing system which is very … [Read more...] about It’s a Convoy!
A Sad Gray Day in Geek City
It's a gray, rainy day in Chicago and somehow that's fitting my mood right now. Elisabeth Sladen (aka Sarah Jane Smith) died after a battle with cancer today. As a kid I had a crush on Sarah Jane. Heck, I had a crush on her as an adult when I saw her again in the new Doctor Who series just a few years back. I understand an actress is not the character she plays, yet I can't … [Read more...] about A Sad Gray Day in Geek City
Four Star Body Shop
By the way, the body shop that repaired my Toyota RAV4 after the goose strike incident is the Four Star Body Shop run by Loukas Pergantas. They've been repairing bits and pieces of my cars for about five years now, and they've always done a great job. And when it's something that I'm paying for out-of-pocket, they've been good about controlling the cost. Four Star Body Shop5424 … [Read more...] about Four Star Body Shop
When Geese Attack: The Butcher’s Bill
As I blogged about earlier, a few weeks ago I ended up driving the RAV4 through an unexpected flock of low-flying geese. I ended up taking out two of them, and they ended up taking out the RAV's grill and the left headlight. The bodyshop guy guessed it would cost at least $1000 to fix. Well, we just got the RAV back from the body shop, and it turned out to cost a lot more than … [Read more...] about When Geese Attack: The Butcher’s Bill
Sketchy “Writer” Posts Dumb Commentary
Over at Gizmodo, Jack Loftus (if that is his real name) is getting all alarmed about people taking pictures in downtown Boston: It's totally legal and entirely creepy. A gaggle of gentlemen, armed with cameras and an absence of shame, have taken residence in Boston's Downtown Crossing snapping what they claim are artful "street photography" pictures of everyday people. Right … [Read more...] about Sketchy “Writer” Posts Dumb Commentary