Category Archives: Popular Culture

Political Advice

…from Captain Kirk:

Don’t compare President Barack Obama to Captain James T. Kirk.

That’s what William Shatner told CNN’s Ali Velshi when asked to respond to suggestions that Obama should act less like “Spock” and more like “Captain Kirk”.

Shatner said the comparisons are “unfair” because “Mr. Obama has the onerous burden of obeying the constitution [and] Captain Kirk was captain of everybody’s fate. He was a dictator”.

Funny, I hadn’t noticed that he was all that concerned about that pesky document, myself.

Michael Jackson’s Death

No, I can safely say, with conscience clear, that I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I never asked him to make a concert tour, I never bought any of his music, I never encouraged him to do anything he ever did in any way whatsoever. My hands are completely clean. I just wish we could stop hearing about him.

[Update a while later]

You know the bit about how he claimed that he never had a childhood? It appeared to me that he had a childhood that lasted for five decades.

Hitting The Sweet Spot

The true genius of Steve Jobs:

There are, fundamentally, two subspecies of entrepreneur. One starts from the present, and visualizes the next logical step from where things are now. This type figures out how to make something better, cheaper, or more widely available, and manages to clear the financial, regulatory, and market barriers to getting it into the marketplace. The other visualizes a different world, one in which things are different and better from the way they are now, and then figures out what path of evolution brings us to that world, and, as the last step, what is the least ambitious step possible that will move things toward that goal.

Spaceflight needs a Steve Jobs. It’s not clear yet whether Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos fit the mold. But someone or some group of someones has to create the vision of abundant affordable in-space infrastructure that will finally replace the Apollo model.

[Update a few minutes later]

The man who sold the future.

The Wolverines Are Overrated

I agree with their coach. Number 12 is way too high, and it’s way too early to judge. They won’t really be tested until they go to East Lansing in a couple weeks. And they don’t have to play Wisconsin this year, unless it’s for the Big Tweleven championship. If they play and win that game, they’ll definitely deserve to be in the top ten. But I’m confident that even if they don’t win out, we won’t see the kind of late-season collapse that we did in the past couple years.