VSE - Visionless, Subsidized Extravagance

Let's see now, we will be landing people on the moon sometime between 2012 and 2014, at least 6 more likely 8 years from now. They will be launched on a rocket that is based on the solid rocket boosters from the Space Shuttle, and by putting shuttle main engines directly what is currently the external tank, soon to be the second stage. Oops, I'm sorry, maybe not shuttle main engines, maybe something derived from the Saturn, or Atlas, or Delta rockets, since the SSME's have never be started after launch, and took several years to figure out how to start more than one without blowing them up! They will be flying in a capsule, described by NASA as "Apollo on steroids" and a lunar lander that is still TBD, but likely derived from the original LM. In other words, EVERYTHING is a redesign of what we already have.

I will concede that the redesign is a major effort, you need to renumber all those drawings, add/delete and change text. I am reminded of an observation by Richard Feynman while investigating the Challenger Debacle. To make the SRB sections round, technicians have a jig they mount in a hole on one wall of the section, then have to count a precise number of holes to mount the other side. The technicians wanted witness marks on the sections, so that the counting process could be faster. Upon further review, he found out that these paint marks would cost a fortune to add, not because of the paint, but because of the paper work! Only NASA and its contractors could take a redesign of existing technology and turn it into a multi-billion dollar jobs project for draftsmen and clerks!

Next year will be the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire. 3 years from now, it will be the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. In two years and 6 months, NASA was able to stop, redesign, and restart the Apollo project, from disaster to landing. Yet here we are, 40 years later, and can't redesign anything in less than 6 to 8 years? In the private industry, an engineering team this incompetent would be fired. It's too bad that all the contractors and winners of the design competition were the usual suspects of government and military contractors. In fact, the contract for the "Orion" (read "Apollo on Steroids") was between Lockheed-Martin and Boeing/North American-Grumman. Hell the only one missing was Raytheon, and you could have had ALL the major players in the Military-Industrial Complex (M-I C) as bidders.

I know, I sound angry and frustrated. While, damnit, I am angry and frustrated! 40 years ago, designing a product, any product, required a team of engineers, technicians and draftsmen. The team would have specialists in packaging, power systems, circuit board layout, electronic design, ergonomics, and on and on and on. Now, if you are VERY lucky, you will have a team of ONE EE and ONE ME, with some ergonomic input from marketing or sales. This change has reduced time to market dramatically, and, sorry NASA and M-I C guys, without sacrificing safety, quality, or manufacturability. So why is NASA spending money like it's still the olden days?

The unfortunate truth is - because they can. Because we as taxpayers will let them. Because most people just don't know the changes that have taken place in engineering processes since the days of Mercury. Just as an example, before Project Mercury, there was no way to automatically send telemetry around the world. Christopher Kraft and his team developed the first global telecommunications network to solve this problem. They would have to station ships at sea in precise locations to minimize data loss! Even at that, there were blackouts in certain parts of the world and of course, there was the total blackout waiting for the ships to return through the atmosphere. Nowadays, we use satellites to insure communications throughout the entire flight. We no longer have to solve this problem. Most of the problems no longer have to be solved, they just have to be engineered.

Well....unless you are in the private spaceflight business. This is the "last frontier" of spacecraft design, because there is where the last challenge needs to be met. It's a four letter word, and it's COST. When you have billions like NASA, LockMart and the lot, throwing away a multi-million dollar rocket motor doesn't matter. Like the old Doritos commercial said, "Go ahead, we'll make more." In fact, they LOVE to make more, they LIVE to make more! A commercial launch company cannot afford to throw things away, unless they make it inexpensive. You want a safe job, wasting taxpayers money on a project that the next Democratic president will slow down? Work for NASA, or some member of the M-I C. You want to be creative, to inspire and be inspired, to push the limits of human knowledge and capabilities, take a paycut, or donate your time, and join one of the private space programs. For there, progress is not measured in how many billions we get in a contract, but in how many SWIFT's (Solution We Intend to Find Today) we resolve.

So, there is our future, and here is our choice. NASA is trying to create a time machine, taking us back to the 70's. Remember the 70's? Watergate, Saigon, OPEC, and, must I remind you...Jimmy Carter? Others are looking to a future of space tourism, factories in space, and on the moon, maybe even personal satellites. Where do you want your money to go? Whom would you rather work for? And, more important, which future do you want?

Good for the Goose?

Before I begin, let me warn you, I was brought up Fundamental Baptist, almost went to bible college even. I am constantly amazed at the Wingnut's over-reaction to sound bites from Moonbats. The latest is Rosie O'Donnell's remark that extremist Christians are just as dangerous to America as Islamic extremist. Oh, the outrage at hotair.com, imao, etc. How soon they forget the assasination of physcians, the bombing of clinics, Waco, and on and on. There just happens to be fewer true believers of Christianity than there are of Islam. True believers of Christianity would live meager lives ("it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven", chapter and verse is an exercise for the student), preaching the word of God and donating 10% of their income to the church (Gross or net, depending upon how much you "love the Lord"). And of course, now the pope has entered the discussion, with his "all I did was read a quote, I never meant to inflame!" defense. Yes, of the millions of lines ever written, you happen to think the words of 14th-century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus who said: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached" were most appropriate? Tell me again what you did during WW II, you fraud! It is only common sense that extremists of any stripe are dangerous. Just because most Christians are luke warm (forgetting "Because you are neither hot or cold, I spew you from my mouth", by the way) there are just fewer loony toonies out there on the Christian side. I say enough, a plague on ALL your houses!

Are we Ready for some Nukes?

An interesting, if shallow, debate at www.popularmechanics.com about nuclear power. Why has there been no plants built in 30years? Because the public outcry after TMI made it unlikely, if not impossible, to get a building permit. It's not the cost of a power plant, it's NIMBY, and ignorance on the part of the public. Wow, in 50 years nuclear plants have been subsidized to the tune of 150 billion dollars. In the same time, we have subsidized LDC's, or the Third World, or Developing Nations, or whatever we call countries run by thieving thugs that slaughter their population and steal the aid menat for their people to the tune of 4 Trillion, yes TRILLION dollars! Let's see, cheap power for Americans for 150 billion, or lining the pockets of third world thugs for 4 trillion.....hmmmmm, let me think... Not to mention the new power plants are even safer than the incredibly safe plants already in existance. Not to mention that fuel reprocessing technology has advanced far beyond the 70's. But enough. If you live in paranoia and ignorance, you will always oppose nuclear power, and nothing will ever change your mind. Enjoy your darness and cold.

It's Happening Again....

Gee, why is it that the latest "report" from the House says that Iran is enriching uranium to weapons grade, but the UN denies it? Sounds a lot like "Iraq had WMD's" argument in 2002/2003. Hopefully we won't be fooled again. Iran was a good option for invasion BEFORE Iraq, now it can't happen. We are too spent, too exhausted to properly handle any crisis in Iran. We took the easy root, invading Iraq when NK or Iran was a more dangerous foe. We have a toehold (NOT a foothold) in the Middle East because of our invasion of Iraq, but it is tenuous at best. Now, with polls showing that Americans are tiring of the folly of Iraq, we are slowly building a case to invade Iran. Sorry, fool me once, shame on you (Tonkin Gulf), fool me twice, shame on me (current Iraq war), and there is no third time. Sorry, Georgie, you lost me.

The Obligatory 9/11 Post

Here it is!

Sorry, there was not much to learn from 9/11/2001. Here is what I think are the lessons:

1) The passengers on the planes should have watched "The Green Mile" where a sadistic killer "used their love for each other to kill them". Nobody on the planes (except for United 93, who had warning, a lot of warning) wanted to be the ones to challenge the threat of the "bombs" they had on the plane, for fear of being the one to set it off. Too bad, if they had, yes, we would have lost 300 people on the planes, but the towers and the Pentagon whould have been untouched.

2) Anybody can do anything if they are brazen enough. So either live in fear, or live.

3) NEVER, EVER, EVER, let the government use a crisis as a time to expand powers, create new organizations, etc.

OK, I've said it, enough of 9/11.

Breaking Up Has to be Done

I don't know why the US insists that Iraq has to be a unified country. There are groups within that country that not only hate each other, they believe their opponents NEED to die! We need to look at India/Pakistan, and more particularly Yugoslavia, where the country needed to be broken up along ethnic and religious lines. It's not ideal, it's leaving the potential for lots of future conflicts, yet it is also the fastest road to peace. The borders of Iraq were drawn practically at random anyways, why not create a few more nations and get some borders that make sense? Remember, the only way we had a Declaration of Independence and the Constitution was by the northern states, not just legalizing, but ACCEPTING the horror of slavery! And 70 odd years later, we needed a civil war to settle the issue once and for all. That was an issue that didn't have a "kill you enemy" religious principle behind it. The issues in Iraq DO have "kill you enemy" belief structures, and are intractable. And, before you say they are not intractable, consider your own religious beliefs. Are Catholics going to hell? Are Methodists? Shouldn't "unbelievers" be shunned, except when you are trying to convert them? There are lots of reasons we are becoming a nation of hypenated Americans, and religion is in the top three. Why should we, a nation breaking up, force a united government on a people already fractured by hundreds if not thousands of years of strife?

Dollars per Pupil

You know, if the teachers unions don't shut up about dollars/pupil, they are going to squashed! I just heard an otherwise intelligent person say "obviously, the richer communities spend more for pupil than the poor communities." That is completely, unequivocally WRONG!! Most urban schools spend 2 times the amount per pupil than most suburban and rural districts. For all this extra money, they perform WORSE than any other region. It's not the money, stupid, it's the bureaucacy! Of course, they can always play the "dollars per capita" card, but even there, they lose 9 times out of 10. Inner city youth do worse in school because money is being squndered on assistant to the assistant vice principals, and oh by the way, have you noticed where the poor people live?? I lived in a town that spent at the bottom 10th per pupil, yet scored in the top 10th. How? Maybe because the kids came home to "relatively" stable homes, with parents who cared, and, more important, had time to assist with homework. If we shrink back the overhead, and use money to help poorer families, maybe this differential between poor and rich communities will melt.

I Plead Guilty of Schadenfreude

The video of a reporter getting beat up by the subject of his investigate report almost made me grin. The number of times that these twit reporters hound people at their homes, work, in stores, always makes me wish one of their victims would turn around and clean their clocks. I know if I was driving home and saw my wife fighting with a group of three men, I would do as Mr. Suleimen did, and start pounding away on at least one of them. Why people think that a reporter chasing a woman while screaming "have you stopped beating your child" type questions makes for good news is beyond me. Mattes, the Fox reporter who appears to be another good looking airhead type that teh various Fox channels are famous for (we got a bunch of them in Boston too), should know better than to stake out a persons home, accompanied by one of his "victims" and a cameraman. Part of me hopes his face remains damaged enough that he loses the pretty boy look, and having no other skills, has to find real work. You can't hound a person, try to destroy their business, their personal reputation, just for ratings and get away with it. I hope the Mr. Mattes is just the first of these TV reporting leaches that gets what's coming.

The Mosquito Party

I should know better, but I have been engaged in a discussion on www.rightwingnews.com about Bill Maher. Failing to assault the logic of the arguments, they have resorted to calling me a mosquito. Here is my response:

CavalierX, that's a better analogy than you may think. Google "malaria" someday, and if you are patient enough to read the history of malaria, EEE, West Nile Virus, etc., you will see the mosquito changed the world. The sparkplug was an adaptation of a device to detect malaria (don't worry, I won't bore you with details that require critical thinking). Refrigeration was developed to aid in the healing of people with malaria. The need for pumps to drain the swamps....oh well, hopefully you get the point. Beware of mosquitos, and beware of ignoring them, for in the long run, we will win back our party.

You know, maybe the Mosquito party is a good name for next great political party. A million bites, 10 million bites, can defeat the Wingnuts and the Moonbats. Our choices do not have to be between religious fanatics and socialists. Care to join?

S Squared, D Squared

Well, it's been awhile, got myself into the world of Zigbee, which looks for all the world like the NEXT BIG THING, and I almost believe it. For now, I see enough niche applications to keep me busy for a long time to come. Checkout www.ember.com to see what all the hubbub is about.

I have been keeping tabs on current events, just not a lot to write about. NASA is late again, again. I had a girl friend like that, she was late every month, got tired of the drama. A lot of people are getting tired of NASA's drama. What do you expect from bureaucrats?

The Wingnuts and Moonbats are at full steam, and there is no holding them back. I'm tired of their drama too. Immigration, stem cells, secret prisons, Iraq, the war on terror, the death tax....ah yes, let the drama continue. The only campaign battle that interests me these days is the one being waged by Porkbusters. They are the one group with some common sense approaches to the exploding Federal budget.

I hope to be back blogging soon, the Zigbee stuff is settling down and my free time is slowly coming back. Catch you all next time!