OK, so Ares works 28 Oct 2009 I’m not proud. Well, not too proud. I admit I was wrong about the Ares 1-X – it seemed to work fine without excessive vibration and probably will work as a human rated booster. I still would have liked to see a shuttle derived main core, but given that time is tight and they have already spent a bucketload on the development of this beast, it should probably proceed. General Science Technology
Book Book review: Freaks of Nature 3 Feb 2009 “Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us About Development and Evolution” (Mark S. Blumberg) This book came to me well recommended, and as far as the content goes, I am very impressed. The writing style, however, and the intended audience, are at odds with each other. Read More
Biology Short sharp definitions 11 Aug 2010 Over on Twitter, Waterstones bookshops are running a competition to define philosophy in 100 characters. My definitions are below, but it got me thinking. Einstein, I think, said that if you can’t explain it in simple words you don’t understand it, and so I wonder if we can do this… Read More
General Science Sensible information on the US Health Care debate 6 Sep 2009 I’ve been critical of New Scientist a bit, lately, so it is with great pleasure that I can link to this informative and sensible video. [brightcove vid=30583310001&exp3=2227271001&surl=http://c.brightcove.com/services&pubid=981571807&w=300&h=225] Read More
I would have liked to see a Willy Ley/Arthur Clarke,/John Campbell class of shuttle. Of course their frames are interred in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with too many young men and women. fusilier, SMOF jg. (ret.) James 2:24