…if Glenn is a distant member of this tribe?
Oh, by the way, what ever happened to Batboy? He hasn’t been heard from in almost two years.
Unsafe At Any Speed?
This article about the safety of the space tourism industry is wrong on several levels. I’ll be rebutting it one way or the other within the next day or two.
[Update at noon]
Clark Lindsey beats me to the punch (at least as far as publishing–ahh, the wonder of blogs), with many of the points that I’ll be making, probably in a rebuttal at TCS tomorrow.
If statistics were a child, Alexander Tabarrok would be arrested for abuse…
Heh.
[Update on Friday morning]
I have to say that I’m pretty underwhelmed by Professor Tabarrok’s response to my column. He seems to have read it sufficiently to complain about my use of the (admittedly overused) word “paradigm,” but not comprehended it. He certainly doesn’t offer any substantive response to my arguments or criticism, except to cling to his old myths. David Masten wasn’t very impressed, either.
It’s Dead, Jim
The suborbital launch legislation seems to have finally given up the ghost, at least for this year. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, particularly given the fact that it almost passed a few weeks ago with a pill that would have poisoned the new suborbital passenger industry by overregulating it.
As Nathan Horsley points out in comments at Space Politics,
While a clear statutory basis for manned launch licensing is a desirable goal in that it would make it easier for new companies to tailor their designs to the regs, the existing companies should be able to go ahead under the current regime. The fact is that even under a new regulation, the licenses are still going to have to be tailored to each individual craft and mission plan (or at least series of similar mission plans). Further, the new push to include passenger safety as a factor in licensing is very dangerous. While the newest compromise limits this to situations where there has already been an accident, this is at best a marginal gain for the launchers in terms of insurance availability and litigation risk.
Bottom line, given that the FAA AST is doing a pretty good job under the current regime, sending the legislators back to the drawing board is not so bad a thing, and won’t even force launchers overseas.
Also, more from Alan Boyle here.
It’s Dead, Jim
The suborbital launch legislation seems to have finally given up the ghost, at least for this year. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, particularly given the fact that it almost passed a few weeks ago with a pill that would have poisoned the new suborbital passenger industry by overregulating it.
As Nathan Horsley points out in comments at Space Politics,
While a clear statutory basis for manned launch licensing is a desirable goal in that it would make it easier for new companies to tailor their designs to the regs, the existing companies should be able to go ahead under the current regime. The fact is that even under a new regulation, the licenses are still going to have to be tailored to each individual craft and mission plan (or at least series of similar mission plans). Further, the new push to include passenger safety as a factor in licensing is very dangerous. While the newest compromise limits this to situations where there has already been an accident, this is at best a marginal gain for the launchers in terms of insurance availability and litigation risk.
Bottom line, given that the FAA AST is doing a pretty good job under the current regime, sending the legislators back to the drawing board is not so bad a thing, and won’t even force launchers overseas.
Also, more from Alan Boyle here.
It’s Dead, Jim
The suborbital launch legislation seems to have finally given up the ghost, at least for this year. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, particularly given the fact that it almost passed a few weeks ago with a pill that would have poisoned the new suborbital passenger industry by overregulating it.
As Nathan Horsley points out in comments at Space Politics,
While a clear statutory basis for manned launch licensing is a desirable goal in that it would make it easier for new companies to tailor their designs to the regs, the existing companies should be able to go ahead under the current regime. The fact is that even under a new regulation, the licenses are still going to have to be tailored to each individual craft and mission plan (or at least series of similar mission plans). Further, the new push to include passenger safety as a factor in licensing is very dangerous. While the newest compromise limits this to situations where there has already been an accident, this is at best a marginal gain for the launchers in terms of insurance availability and litigation risk.
Bottom line, given that the FAA AST is doing a pretty good job under the current regime, sending the legislators back to the drawing board is not so bad a thing, and won’t even force launchers overseas.
Also, more from Alan Boyle here.
A New Blooksite
I just made up that word, for a site about a book that’s part blog (well, actually, the book (and theme) blog may not be up for another couple of days). But anyone who’s been paying attention to Glenn’s blogads will notice one for Jim Bennett’s new book on the Anglosphere, which he seems to have almost singlehandedly invented. I’m just pointing it out as well.
Hey, I’m just sayin’…
Telehunting
I’m not sure just what the Texas officials’ problem is with this:
Hunters soon may be able to sit at their computers and blast away at animals on a Texas ranch via the Internet, a prospect that has state wildlife officials up in arms.
A controversial Web site, http://www.live-shot.com, already offers target practice with a .22 caliber rifle and could soon let hunters shoot at deer, antelope and wild pigs, site creator John Underwood said on Tuesday.
Texas officials are not quite sure what to make of Underwood’s Web site, but may tweak existing laws to make sure Internet hunting does not get out of hand.
Seems like a great idea to me. It would let you bag venison from the comfort of your own home, from anywhere in the world. It would be a good way to keep the deer from scenting you, and could reduce the overpopulation in many states.
It also sounds like just the ticket for John Kerry. He could crawl on his stomach in one of his own mansions, with his virtual shotgun, instead of having to go out in the cold and mud.
[Update on Thursday morning]
The deer aren’t going down quietly. It seems they’ve adapted the tactics of the Islamakazis, and are taking us with them.
[Update early Thursday afternoon]
For anyone who wants to give it a try (shooting over the internet, not crashing into deer), here’s the web site.
[Another update on Thursday night]
We’re under siege.
A Gruesome Anti-Gay Hate Crime
A homosexual was made into sausage. Not even the Taliban would have done that–it took a Bulgarian.
A “British” Hostage?
The latest snuff video release from Murderwood features Margaret Hassan being shot in the head. If it was her body found in Fallujah, then at least she died (relatively) painlessly, and wasn’t hacked up and disemboweled while alive.
But I was curious about the claim that she was a Briton. I thought she was born in Dublin?
[Update a few minutes later]
Guess I didn’t read carefully enough:
Born in Ireland, Hassan also held British and Iraqi citizenship.
I’m assuming that she emigrated to the UK and got citizenship there prior to going to Iraq.
A “British” Hostage?
The latest snuff video release from Murderwood features Margaret Hassan being shot in the head. If it was her body found in Fallujah, then at least she died (relatively) painlessly, and wasn’t hacked up and disemboweled while alive.
But I was curious about the claim that she was a Briton. I thought she was born in Dublin?
[Update a few minutes later]
Guess I didn’t read carefully enough:
Born in Ireland, Hassan also held British and Iraqi citizenship.
I’m assuming that she emigrated to the UK and got citizenship there prior to going to Iraq.