Posts Tagged “NASA”
- The national average for gas hit $4 a gallon for the first time ever over the weekend. I don’t see anything at all that’s average about it…
- First Lady Laura Bush surprised troops in Afghanistan with a one-day visit yesterday before joining President Bush for his final US-Eurpoean Union summit. The troops really enjoyed it–especially trading their favorite "Dubya" jokes…
- Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama both passed on an offer from New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and ABC News to host a town hall meeting, saying they don’t want it limited to just one network. They also didn’t want to preempt Dancing With The Stars…
- Discovery’s crew completed their final spacewalk at the International Space Station yesterday and are scheduled to return to Earth on Wednesday. I understand they’ll spend the remaining time there trying to get the ISS crew free satellite TV…
- Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs is expected to unveil the second incarnation of the iPhone at their developer’s conference today. I’ve been told it does everything the original one does, only it also makes you want to drop your Windows PC off a roof…
- The world’s fastest supercomputer, just completed for the military and named Roadrunner, uses chip technology first developed for Sony’s Playstation 3 video game console. It not only calcuates complex problems in a fraction of the typical time, but it can play Guitar Hero like you can’t believe…
Tags: Barack Obama, Discovery, Gas prices, International Space Station, iPhone, John McCain, NASA, President Bush, space shuttle, town hall meeting
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- Hillary Clinton says that she will host an event Saturday for her staff where she will endorse Barack Obama for president and end her run for the presidency. She’s not done campaigning–she just doesn’t know yet for which office it will be…
- As calls continue by party leaders for Clinton to be named as his vice-presidential nominee, Obama’s campaign has picked a three-person committe–including Caroline Kennedy–to advise him on possible candidates. It’s likely an effort as much to make sure he doesn’t step on anyone’s toes by ignoring them–and Hillary has the biggest footprint of all…
- With the brand-new Japanese labratory installed aboard the International Space Station, crews there turned to a really important task–repairing the lavatory, which has been wasting water and creating an unpleasant situation for everyone. Generally, time in space is rarely thought of as crappy…
- The Senate has approved a $3.1 trillon budget blueprint that promises small surpluses in four years, but leaves much of how to do that in the hands of January’s new Oval Office occupant. There’s nothing like jumping into the deep end of the pool with a couple of hundred-pound weights chained to you and everybody waiting to see how well you can swim…
- Continental is joining the ranks of airlines cutting capacity and jobs, announcing today that they will reduce their fleet by 67 planes in the fourth quarter and lay off 3,000 employees. The price of oil gets more expensive every day–in more ways than one…
- Venezuela’s ruling party is working to permit President Hugo Chavez to run for re-election indefinitely. I guess he must make some really good-tasting Kool-Aid…
Tags: Barack Obama, Caroline Kennedy, Continental Airlines, Discovery, Hillary Clinton, Hugo Chavez, International Space Station, NASA, Senate, space shuttle, Venezuela, Vice presidential nomination
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- Barack Obama last night became the first African-American to win the Democratic nomination, just as Hillary Clinton lost her bid to be the first woman to do the same. However, Clinton didn’t sound like much of a loser in a speech to supporters last night–that’s because she believes Obama won’t be much of a winner without her…
- GM announced they would close four truck and SUV plants and shed 8,350 jobs in an effort to compete in a world of four-dollar-plus-a-gallon gas, which their CEO acknowledges isn’t "a spike or a temporary shift". I have no doubt those soon-to-be-unemployed will feel the spike…
- Crews from both space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station worked during a 6-plus-hour space walk to attach to the station a billion-dollar Japanese-built laboratory named Kibo–which means "hope". Hmm–I could have sworn that was what they named their new lavatory…
- United Airlines says they will reduce its fleet by 100 planes by next year in an effort cut losses suffered by rising fuel prices. The skies may no longer be friendly, but at least they’ll be less crowded…
- Over two dozen people were injured–but none seriously–when a Greyhound bus tipped over on an Indiana interstate yesterday after the driver apparently fell asleep. They should have retired this guy right along with their old slogan, "Leave the driving to us"…
- Hundreds of fishermen demonstrated in London yesterday to demand help with their own soaring fuel prices, which are at least twice as high as those in the US. Could be before long, Brits will be enjoying a lovely basket of "nothing and chips"…
Tags: Barack Obama, Gas prices, Hillary Clinton, International Space Station, NASA, space shuttle, United Airlines
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- Today appears to be the end of Hillary Clinton’s bid to become the nation’s first female president, as campaign officials say she will concede the delegate race to Obama. It will also mark the end of Bill Clinton’s coast-to-coast Mile High Club…
- Doctors at Duke University who completed a delicate three-and-a-half hour brain surgery on Senator Ted Kennedy yesterday called it a success and added that "it accomplished our goals". Not only did they remove much of the tumor, but Teddy no longer remembers ever drinking…
- The Mars Phoenix lander was able to pick up its first scoop of soil from the planet in a test run before more thorough digging and analysis begins later this week. NASA scientists say they could see some white particles in the sample, which they believe suggests Martians have a serious dandruff problem…
- A Texas judge yesterday ordered the immediate return of over 400 children taken from a polygamist sect’s ranch by the state. In response, sect leaders have clarified their policy on marriage, saying women will only be allowed to wed when they are legally old enough to give consent–or 13, whichever comes first…
- UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon will ask world leaders today to help bring down soaring food prices by suspending price controls and trade restrictions. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has promised to do his part and make nuclear weapons more affordable for struggling nations…
- Vice president Dick Cheney’s remark yesterday that there are Cheneys on his wife’s side of the family, quote, "And we don’t even live in West Virginia", brought a hailstorm of condemnations from the state’s governor and Congressional delegation. Poor guy–so many to offend, and so little time to get to them all…
Tags: Dick Cheney, Duke University, Hillary Clinton, Mars, NASA, polygamist, Ted Kennedy, Texas, United Nations
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- Space shuttle Discovery will dock with the International Space Station today on its mission to deliver the second of three parts of a Japanese lab, plus parts to repair the space station’s lavatory. The crew is anxious to avoid going where no man has gone before…
- Hillary Clinton won the Puerto Rico primary by a wide margin yesterday, but Barack Obama still gained delegates to move closer to the "magic number" he needs to win the Democratic nomination. The Clinton camp says it plans to lobby Obama superdelegates to change their minds–which seems about as likely as the site of her recent win becoming our 51st state…
- An early morning fire yesterday did extensive damage to Universal Studios, destroying back-lot sets used in dozens of movies from To Kill A Mockingbird to Back To The Future. Does this mean Marty McFly is still stuck in 1985?
- A Minnesota Catholic church has obtained a restraining order to keep an autistic teen from attending Mass, claiming he has struck a child, spit on someone and urinated in the church–which his parents deny ever happened. This seems like a tragic situation–especially in light of something Jesus Christ once said about "the least of…my family"…
- President Bush has asked his defense and interior secretaries to work towards getting national momuents designations for Pearl Harbor and other historic World War Two sites in the Pacific. Perhaps sixty years from now, a future president may do the same in Iraq–I just hope it’s over by then…
- A bill in Congress requiring greenhouse gas reductions could be a hard sell, with affected industries on one side claiming it will cause another spike in energy prices while environmental and other groups saying the increase will be moderate and is justified to overcome the effects of global warming. This debate will generate what our Earth needs least–more hot air…
Tags: autism, Barack Obama, Congress, global warming, Hillary Clinton, International Space Station, NASA, President Bush, Puerto Rico, space shuttle, Universal Studios, World War II
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