Wouldn't it be awesome to have a "black hole machine"? Think of what we could do with one of those. We could start doing serious research into time travel and space warps. Read Michael McCollum's Life Probe for an example of how quantum black holes could be used for space drives. It would rule.
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If we keep flying the shuttle past 2010, accidents are more likely. There's 12.5% chance that NASA would lose a shuttle mission if they keep flying it past 2010.
Those are not good odds. I would take my chances with the shuttle's current failure rate of about 2%; but 12.5% is not acceptable.
Meanwhile, it develops that the Ares system is too heavy for the current launch infrastructure. More problems with Ares; cue my usual litany: "Can we please just bring back the Saturn V now?"
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So-called "unprecendented warming" reveals evidence of neolithic civilization. Evidence that the Earth was much warmer than it is now in the recent past (geologically recent, I mean).
This kind of thing always interests me. Not just because it gives the lie to the global warming bugaboo, but because every time we learn something new about how we lived thousands of years ago, we understand ourselves a little better.
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Lately, the Anchoress has been on fire.
The first link is about the campaign rally for McCain/Palin in Wisconsin, how the press says that "over 1,000" supporters showed up, and how eyewitnesses say that twelve thousand showed up.
Well, yes, technically they're right: 12,000 > 1,000. But it's disingenuous.
The second is a discussion on why the Left doesn't "get" Sarah Palin the way the Right does.
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I came home from work early this morning. I left work at 5:20--the work was done and there was no need for me to stay--and when I got home, I went right to bed. I slept a lot.
It was beastly hot at the store last night, of course. The firking heaters were running in Receiving. WTF.
...I did notice that the Halloween candy had been dropped to the floor. I think someone noticed all that chocolate up high in Receiving, where there is no air conditioning. But it was still up top on Monday, when it was about as hot as a blast furnace in there. Heh.
I shouldn't gloat about such things, really I shouldn't, but I do resent management's apparent lackadaisical attitude about the Receiving AC. Sure, it doesn't matter to you, because you have a nice cool office on the other side of the store. Sure, it saves money and makes you look good to your boss, since a broken air conditioner in the hottest part of the store uses no electricity. And sure, no one's going to die because it's "a little warm back there".
But I can't shake the feeling that if the AC unit over the offices was the one that was broken, it would get fixed immediately. None of this "we've got a work order in" crap; it'd get fixed ASAMFP, no ifs, ands, or buts, and it had better be done before the store manager gets back from his vacation or else....
And I see all these upper management guys walking around--in summer--wearing red polos with undershirts. WTF, how can anyone who actually works stand to wear that much clothing when it's 90° outside? Unless they've got their AC on "Mr. Freeze's Hideout"?
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There's a second source saying that Hayate no Gotoku is going to have a second series. Yahoo. I hope it's also 52 episodes long.