Friday, November 16, 2012
Google StreetView takes to the Galaxy; maps 100,000 nearby stars
http://workshop.chromeexperiments.com/stars/#
A living global Twitter heartbeat, visualized
@brainpicker: A living global Twitter heartbeat, visualized http://j.mp/ Tweet from TweetCaster XKBPWG
On this day in 1988, the USSR launches its "Buran" shuttle clone for the first and only time.
http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/post/35778164174/buran-soviet-shuttle#
On this day in 1988, the USSR launches its "Buran" shuttle clone for the first and only time.
It was unmanned for this launch; flew perfectly, and then was abandoned.
story, video:
http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/post/35778164174/buran-soviet-shuttle#
5-Point Guide To The Fiscal Showdown
5-Point Guide To The Fiscal Showdown
1. The “Fiscal Cliff” Is A Myth. As Paul Krugman put it, “The looming prospect of spending cuts and tax increases isn’t a fiscal crisis. It is, instead, a political crisis brought on by the G.O.P.’s attempt to take the economy hostage.”1 Republicans are manufacturing this crisis to pressure Democrats to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and accept painful cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
2. The Bush Tax Cuts Finally End December 31. If Congress does nothing, the ax will fall on all the Bush tax cuts on New Year’s Eve.2 Then, on January 1, the public pressure on John Boehner and House Republicans to extend the middle-class tax cuts (already passed by the Senate and waiting to be signed by President Obama) will become irresistible.3 So the middle-class tax cut will eventually get renewed, and we’ll have $823 billion more revenue from the top 2% to do great things with.4
3. The Sequester. The sequester is another political creation, forced on Democrats by Republicans in exchange for lifting the debt ceiling last year to avoid crashing our economy.5 It’s a set of cuts (50% to a bloated military budget and 50% to important domestic programs) designed to make both Republicans and Democrats hate it so much that they’d never let it happen.6 And the cuts can be reversed weeks or months into 2013 without causing damage.7
4. The Big Three. Nothing happens to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits on January 1—unless Republicans force painful cuts to beneficiaries in exchange for tax increases on the wealthy, which are going to happen anyway if Congress does NOTHING.8 So, there’s literally no reason benefits cuts should be part of the discussion right now.
5. We Should Be Talking About Jobs. The real crisis Americans want Congress to fix is getting people back to work. And with just a fraction of that $823 billion from the wealthiest 2%, we could create jobs for more than 20,000 veterans and pay for the 300,000 teachers and 52,000 first responders, which our communities so desperately need.9 That’s not to mention jobs from investing in clean energy and our national infrastructure.
Please share this with your friends and family—and talk about it at the dinner table next week. The first step to winning this showdown is making sure we’re all armed with the facts.
Sources
1. “Hawks and Hypocrites,” The New York Times, November 11, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2844762. “Bush-Era Tax Cuts,” The New York Times, November 9, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2844773. “Boehner Is Bluffing,” Slate, November 9, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2844784. “CBO: Ending High-Income Tax Cuts Would Save Almost $1 Trillion,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 24, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2844795. “The sequester, explained,” The Washington Post, September 14, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2844806. Ibid.
7. “Let’s Not Make a Deal,” The New York Times, November 8, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2844848. “How the Across-the-Board Cuts in the Budget Control Act Will Work,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,” April 27, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2844899. “Veterans’ Jobs Bill Blocked in the Senate,” The New York Times, September 19, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=284488“Jan Schakowsky Announces new Budget Plan With Focus On Jobs,” The Huffington Post, August 10, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263135“Fact Sheet: The American Jobs Act,” The White House, September 8, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=264021Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 7 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
On this day in 1988, the USSR launches its "Buran" shuttle clone for the first and only time.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Have a pair of analglyph glasses handy? See Auroras in 3D!
Break out your 3D glasses: 2D and 3D #aurora pics taken in Boisbriand, Qc Thanks to @obsdelaval
http://is.gd/auroresBor
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
If you love climate change, this will warm your heart... and your atmosphere
Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions Rose to record, by 2.5 Percent In 2011
Monday, November 12, 2012
Veterans' Day Tweetup Photo Album #ht4h #meetray
http://fredlanga.blogspot.com/2012/11/veterans-day-tweetup-photo-album-ht4h.html
Veterans' Day Tweetup Photo Album #ht4h #meetray
Raytheon hosted a couple hundred people at a #Patriot's game. Most of the attendees were vets and their families, About 10% of the crowd was social networkers, like me. Tweetup participants were from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas.
I'll post most of the photos chronologically, but let me start with one from the middle --- the part of the event I liked the most.
Raytheon had a packing station set up where anyone who wanted to could pack a box of goodies to be sent overseas to randomly selected active-duty military personnel. Raytheon generously provided everything --- the boxes, the goodies, the shipping, the note paper with which to include a personal message. The attendees provided the small amount of labor needed to actually select the goodies (each box was uniquely packed) and to physically pack the boxes.
The goodies included just-for-fun snacks; some healthy snacks and comfort foods; and desert necessities such as lip balm and toilet paper.
Here, I'm just getting started with my box:
I bet it weighed 15lb/7kg when I was done.
OK, here's the rest of the pix, chronologically:
I was picked up in downtown Boston, and we rode to Foxboro in a chartered bus. Note the bowed-heads of the passengers --- the classic posture of the constant Twitter-er.
Some were more prepped for the game than others, including Bill Ford, who actually is in the NFL hall of fame as one of the Patriot's "Fans of the Year" from a few years back. It's easy to see why.
We arrived more than 3 hours before game time, but the place was already starting to fill, and local traffic was already stop-and-go. Here, we've parked the bus and are walking to the field.
And when I say "to the field," I mean it. One of the goodies we got was a pass to get on the playing field before game time.
We started on the sidelines. A "Punt, Pass, and Kick" competition was going on, with local kids. One young boy, maybe 8 or 9, did poorly and was crying disconsolately in his father's arms. It was cute and rather heartwarming --- though not for the boy, at that moment.
When the competition was over, we took the field.
It was great to see the stadium from the player's perspective.
Oops, time to tweet...
We then toured the Hall at Patriot Place, filled with memorabilia, including #SuperBowl trophies and rings.
There are numerous walk-though and interactive displays.
There are actual game-used instant-reply booths, removed from prior service. You can go under the hood and view replays of famously contested calls.
Patriots fans will know why this is hanging from the ceiling.
Robert Kraft, the team owner, spoke to the group.
We had a Q&A with Robert Curbeam, a retired NASA astronaut who's now a VP at Raytheon. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Curbeam ) I had a private moment with him and asked which Shuttle had the best ride and he said "Discovery, by far." He explained: Each shuttle was hand-built, and slightly different; they all had different masses and different equipment; and so they all handled and rode differently.
He said some shuttles hunted for their heading after launch --- you could feel the back-and-forth, "like a Dutch roll," he said--- and they vibrated a lot; but Discovery solidly locked onto its course, and didn't vibrate excessively.
Long-time readers might recall I saw Discovery as it was being decommissioned, on a NASA tweetup:
http://photobucket.com/juno_langa
After that, I packed my goody box (shown earlier), and had lunch.
And what a lunch it was: there was a carving station for roast beef; lobster salad; chicken and other hot foods; finger foods and appetizers; as well as an assortment of game-day type foods, such as submarine sandwiches (heroes or gyros, to those of you not from New England); libations; and more. Delicious stuff.
Then it was time for the main event; Raytheon provided the tickets:
I was in Row 7, in the end zone.
Before the game, there was a Veteran's day ceremony with a flag that was literally the size of the football field.
A C-5 Galaxy --- the US's largest airplane, and one of the largest aircraft in the world ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-5_Galaxy ) --- did an overflight, dropping over the stadium in a shallow dive and then using a deafening military power climbout.
And then it was game time.
These guys --- the musket-men who fire their colonial-era black-powder muzzle-loaders after every Patriot's score --- saw a lot of action.
A Danny Woodhead touchdown:
The Pats led the whole way, and won 37-31, but their defense was very shaky. The Bills blew two great scoring opportunities, one of which came in the final 20 seconds. It was a nail-biter.
After the game, we bussed back to Boston --- but that wasn't quite all.
In addition to all the above --- the care packages for the troops, the transportation, lunch, game tickets, and all --- Raytheon provided each attendee with impressive swag, including goodies from the NFL souvenir shop (a heavy stadium blanket, a Patriots' stocking cap, coffee mug and more), and a ticket to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.
It was a great day!
Thanks, Raytheon!
(Photobucket albun/slideshow: http://photobucket.com/ht4h )
