Decommissioning the Space Shuttles

Decommissioning the Space Shuttles:
Starting next month, NASA will begin delivering its four Space Shuttle orbiters to their final destinations. After an extensive decommissioning process, the fleet -- which includes three former working spacecraft and one test orbiter -- is nearly ready for public display. On April 17, the shuttle Discovery will be attached to a modified 747 Jumbo Jet for transport to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Virginia. Endeavour will go to Los Angeles in mid-September, and in early 2013, Atlantis will take its place on permanent display at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Test orbiter Enterprise will fly to New York City next month. Gathered here are images of NASA's final days spent processing the Space Shuttle fleet. [35 photos]

In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flight deck of space shuttle Atlantis is illuminated one last time during preparations to power down Atlantis during Space Shuttle Program transition and retirement activities, on December 22, 2011. Atlantis is being prepared for public display in 2013 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. (NASA/Jim Grossmann)

Bliss

I write this from outside my apt building, where the weather is just about as perfect as can be: today started off at 35 degrees and windy, a last gasp of winter that made me regret leaving my heavy jacket at the office, but by 1 pm it was about 73 degrees with a constant cool breeze that perfectly balanced the temperature. It’s still around 70, maybe 69 now, but the sky is cloudless and the wind is extraordinary. The nearby Catholic school’s bells are ringing – I’ve never been outside long enough to hear them before. J

The Supreme Court today, it seems, acted a bit skeptical of the individual mandate that the government asserted as part of the Affordable Care Act. There are a whole litany of things to talk about here: how much I think the Commerce Clause has been twisted and expanded over the years, or how this decision might harm the Court’s image, especially if it’s 5-4 along partisan lines of Reagan, bush, and bush II vs Clinton and Obama appointees. But I want to talk about this: our current national focus is on what a bunch of robed people will be writing down in a few months. These people command no armies; they can’t summon militas, and they aren’t (let’s be honest) super intimidating.

What they are is part of a structure of the rule of law in the US, something that I value immensely. We are a country where bribes don’t happen as they happen elsewhere; where coups aren’t possible. Ours is a place where, within 30 seconds of WHEREEVER you are right now, there is a working, flushing toilet.

That’s amazing.

As we fight and squabble and lie to each other about who was which way when and why, we forget the profound blessing to have running water, a working 911 service, and the opportunity (for most of us) to have known and spent time with our families growing up. Many children are not so lucky. Just the fact that I can do this – plop down on the grass and not worry about my backpack being stolen is worthwhile, however much my neighbors are strangers.

So while everyone is hankering, I’ll listen to the oral arguments tonight, but I’ll be smiling, because I live in a place where we hold ourselves to the law, most of the time, and I’ll remember how much that is something to appreciate and preserve.

Redefining NBA Basketball Positions

Redefining NBA Basketball Positions: For the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference a few weeks ago, Stanford biomechanical engineering student Muthu Alagappan presented his work on redefining basketball positions.

After studying players like LeBron James and Blake Griffin, many analysts are now suggesting that there are new positions, which are simply hybrids of the one's we already had. For example, some players are now labeled "point-forwards" or "combo-guards." But what if we were wrong about our initial five positions. Maybe a "Center" is just a label for people over a certain height, and there are actually three different types of big men in the NBA.

The Chinese State Run Media Admits Something?

Ferrari crash information hushed up: Sina deleted all microblog posts which mentioned the accident, and blocked online searches of the word "Ferrari." The Global Times also found that news reports about the crash were deleted from many web portals, such as Tencent's QQ online chat service.

"They make such great efforts to wipe out the information, and it just proves that this young man must have a special background, maybe he's a high-ranking official's son," said a local resident who requested anonymity yesterday.

Children of the wealthy and powerful families are known as China's rich or "second generation," a title earning them notoriety. Many media reports, revealing these children openly flout the law, have raised public debate over social conscience and the gap between the rich and poor.

US teacher killing: How religiously open is Yemen? - CSMonitor.com

US teacher killing: How religiously open is Yemen? - CSMonitor.com: Al Qaeda-linked militants who claimed responsibility for the death of an American teacher in Yemen yesterday said he was targeted for being "one of the biggest American proselytizers" in the Arab nation.

Not ok.

South Carolina Teacher Suspended For Reading 'Ender's Game' To Middle School Students - Forbes: In South Carolina a teacher has been placed on administrative leave for reading excerpts of Orson Scott Card’s science fiction classic Ender’s Game to his middle school students.

“The parent that reported him to the school district complained that the book was pornographic,” Tod Kelly writes. “[T]hat same parent also asked the local police to file criminal charges against the teacher. As of today, the police have not yet decided whether or not to file charges (which is probably a good sign that they won’t). The school district, however, appears to agree with the parent, is considering firing the teacher and will be eliminating the book from the school.

Why Are Flags Flown at Half-Staff in Times of Mourning? - Mental Floss

Why Are Flags Flown at Half-Staff in Times of Mourning? - Mental Floss: Why would these sailors lower their flag to honor their departed captain?
According to one line of scholarly thinking, by lowering the Union Jack, the sailors were making room for the invisible flag of Death. This explanation jibes with the British tradition of flying a “half-staff” flag exactly one flag’s width lower than its normal position to underscore that Death’s flag is flapping above it.

Obama's Spending Record: More Conservative Than Reagan's

Obama's Spending Record: More Conservative Than Reagan's:

HAHAHHAHAA

The Most Ironic Critique of Mike Daisey's Inaccuracies: It has been nighttime in Australia, and I am just starting to look at the many Mike Daisey reactions that have come in during Sunday daytime for readers in North America.

A writer named Jason Mick, at the Daily Tech site, criticizes, as I have, the things that Daisey got wrong or made up. Then he adds:

Mr. Daisey is married to Deborah Fallows, a Chinese native who wrote the book Dreaming in Chinese.)

It is true that Deborah Fallows, shown at right on the balcony here in Kirribilli, wrote the book Dreaming in Chinese. It is true that friends have told her that she might as well have been born a native Chinese person, since her spirit matches that of Chinese women in so many ways.

But she is a native of Chicago, not China, and of Czech rather than Chinese ethnic background. And she is most definitely not married to Mike Daisey. At least that is what she told me when she stormed back into the bedroom this morning irate about what she had just seen about herself online.

A Cloud-Free Ireland (h/t Dish)

A Cloud-Free Ireland:

An "extremely rare" sight from NASA, and a reminder of why it's called the Emerald Isle:

Moist ocean air also contributes to abundant rainfall. Ireland receives between 29 and 78 inches of rain per year, with more rain falling in the west and in the mountains. Most of the rain falls in light showers. This moist climate means plenty of clouds and fog. According to the Irish Meteorological Service, the sky is entirely cloudy more than 50 percent of the time. There are more clouds during the day than at night, and fog is common.

The Way of Improvement Leads Home: The Culture Wars Are Real

The Way of Improvement Leads Home: The Culture Wars Are Real: 2. After what happened to me today I am even more deeply convinced about the need for civil dialogue in America. You can read the comments for yourself, but I would say that most of the 800 comments on The Blaze have nothing to do with the argument of my piece. They instead focused on the controversial headline.

But even if some of Glenn Beck's followers did read the whole piece and concluded that they disagreed with my argument, the level of vitriol I have experienced today has made me concerned for our country. How can democracy flourish without civility, respect for those with whom we differ, and a sense of mutual understanding? I continue to believe that the answer lies in education, particularly in history and the other humanities. It is these disciplines that have the potential to bring meaningful change to the world because they are rooted in virtues such as intellectual hospitality, empathy, understanding, and civility

How one man escaped from a North Korean prison camp | Books | The Guardian

How one man escaped from a North Korean prison camp | Books | The Guardian: Shin was assigned the pig farm where he snacked on corn, cabbage and other vegetables, and sometimes even sneaked an afternoon nap. Turning 20 on the farm, Shin believed he had found the place where he would grow old and die. But in March 2003 he was transferred to the camp's garment factory where 1,000 women stitched military uniforms during 12-hour shifts. When their foot-powered sewing machines broke down, Shin fixed them.

In the summer of 2004, while he was carrying one of these cast-iron machines, it slipped and broke beyond repair. Sewing machines were considered more valuable than prisoners: the chief foreman grabbed Shin's right hand and hacked off his middle finger just above the first knuckle.