Jim Jeffords wants to be a Republican again.

Only if he gets to keep his chairmanship, though. What a two-timing weasel.

Why am I not surprised?

Jim Jeffords wants to be a Republican again.

Only if he gets to keep his chairmanship, though. What a two-timing weasel.

Why am I not surprised?

Jim Jeffords wants to be a Republican again.

Only if he gets to keep his chairmanship, though. What a two-timing weasel.

Why am I not surprised?

Americans, particularly young Americans, are appallingly ignorant of geography.

Ask young people to pick out Iraq on a map of the Middle East, and only 13 percent can locate it ? despite a barrage of headlines and broadcast reports about a possible war against President Saddam Hussein.

Oh, well. Perhaps in a year or so no one will be able to pick out Iraq on a map. At least an up-to-date one…

They’re finally realizing that nuking errant asteroids aren’t the best way to deal with them.

Improvements in detecting and understanding asteroids, in fact, are what is prompting the change of thinking toward a slow approach, which was exemplified by presentations at a NASA-sponsored workshop on asteroid hazards in September near Washington that “pretty much sent the nuclear weapon idea home packing,” said Dr. Erik Asphaug, a professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz and one of the workshop’s organizers.

I’ve only been saying this for over a decade…

I find the new notion of moving it by changing its albedo impractical as well, though. It’s not very predictable. I’d rather develop techniqes that actually allow us to manage and herd the things, so we can more easily avail ourselves of their resources.

I think the problems of “anchoring” a propulsion system to one are overstated. Worst case is you use a net, and pull, rather than push it. The exhaust can be angled off so it doesn’t hit the asteroid. There would be some cosine losses, but you’d use the asteroid itself for propellant, so engine efficiency wouldn’t be that critical anyway.

They’re finally realizing that nuking errant asteroids aren’t the best way to deal with them.

Improvements in detecting and understanding asteroids, in fact, are what is prompting the change of thinking toward a slow approach, which was exemplified by presentations at a NASA-sponsored workshop on asteroid hazards in September near Washington that “pretty much sent the nuclear weapon idea home packing,” said Dr. Erik Asphaug, a professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz and one of the workshop’s organizers.

I’ve only been saying this for over a decade…

I find the new notion of moving it by changing its albedo impractical as well, though. It’s not very predictable. I’d rather develop techniqes that actually allow us to manage and herd the things, so we can more easily avail ourselves of their resources.

I think the problems of “anchoring” a propulsion system to one are overstated. Worst case is you use a net, and pull, rather than push it. The exhaust can be angled off so it doesn’t hit the asteroid. There would be some cosine losses, but you’d use the asteroid itself for propellant, so engine efficiency wouldn’t be that critical anyway.

They’re finally realizing that nuking errant asteroids aren’t the best way to deal with them.

Improvements in detecting and understanding asteroids, in fact, are what is prompting the change of thinking toward a slow approach, which was exemplified by presentations at a NASA-sponsored workshop on asteroid hazards in September near Washington that “pretty much sent the nuclear weapon idea home packing,” said Dr. Erik Asphaug, a professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz and one of the workshop’s organizers.

I’ve only been saying this for over a decade…

I find the new notion of moving it by changing its albedo impractical as well, though. It’s not very predictable. I’d rather develop techniqes that actually allow us to manage and herd the things, so we can more easily avail ourselves of their resources.

I think the problems of “anchoring” a propulsion system to one are overstated. Worst case is you use a net, and pull, rather than push it. The exhaust can be angled off so it doesn’t hit the asteroid. There would be some cosine losses, but you’d use the asteroid itself for propellant, so engine efficiency wouldn’t be that critical anyway.

Today is the one-hundred-thirty-ninth anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.

Jay Manifold had a good outing. He got to see an ISS overflight as well.

I got up and looked from the balcony about 2 AM PST. Unfortunately, the house is in the middle of LA, so there was a lot of light. Still, I saw several bright meteors, some of which left glowing trails. Barring any unexpected asteroid events, the next big action will proably be the Perseids next August.

Frank Gaffney wonders how the security agencies can be up to the task of looking for Iraqi-associated terror suspects on the home front, when they continue to ignore evidence of past Iraqi involvement.

If the new Iraqi surveillance effort is indeed going to be “aggressive,” it would do well to start with the Davis files — especially since she believes some of the Iraqi soldiers she has identified are still at large in Oklahoma City.