Protected: Steve
Password Protected
To view this protected post, enter the password below:
Protected: A brief history of liberty
Password Protected
To view this protected post, enter the password below:
Followups & updates
Things are still very busy here. With first quarter winding down, I’m pleased by what I’ve been able to accomplish with my students this year. Time away from school has been divided between my software project, a couple of computer hobbies, and a narrow social life. As the holidays approach, I expect the latter to ramp up.
I’m also trying to work on exactly what I need to get my dad’s notebook computer to wirelessly connect to his dialup Internet service. He needs to not be tethered to a cord, and broadband is not available where he lives. All I’ve come across on the web have been vague references to certain wireless routers with COM ports to hook up with certain external modems. All theory, no concrete brands and models. If you know something about this, please drop me a line.
Cassini continues to make fascinating observations of Saturn. Here’s one of many such stories.
Saturn’s Perfect Storms (Astrobiology Magazine) – Saturn is the windiest planet in the solar system, which is one mystery of the ringed giant. Imagine not what qualifies as a terrestrial hurricane with category five status assigned beyond one hundred miles-per-hour. On Saturn the superstorms can produce a thousand mph wind.
I wrote my Rathergate entry immediately after Dan Rather “apologized” for running his political attack piece. Since then, CBS seems to want to proceed as if nothing happened. I’ve chosen a couple of slightly different viewpoints that have appeared since my first story.
All eyes are on Rather’s future (Variety). Variety – NEW YORK — The morning after Dan Rather admitted the biggest mistake of his career, he agreed to go on Larry King’s primetime show and talk about the worst crisis ever to strike a network news anchor. (more…)
Still here
I haven’t left. No terrible tragedy has befallen me. I haven’t dropped out of society to become a hermit. I just haven’t posted in quite a long while.
Things have not been idle here, though. The school year has started off nicely. I’ve been teaching myself some simple programming. I did some educational research. And I’ve been putting together a couple of entries for this site. News hasn’t stood still long enough for me to set those thoughts into the immortal ether of the Internet, though, but soon.
So don’t call 911. I’m okay. I just wanted you to know that.
Bernard Bailey. “When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.” [Quotes of the Day]
The shot heard ’round the doctor’s office
Some people have asked me how my back is doing. Here’s an update.
After the whirring and thumping of the MRI machine, sitting still for close to an hour (so long I was numb in spots by the end), I got to see the pictures. It indeed looked like a slipped disk. Those pictures are so clear! I studied nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) as physics student, but nothing matches seeing your nucleus squishing back and pinching your spinal nerves….
So the orthopedic doctor talked with me about a steroidal spinal injection. He talked about “raising my threshold for injury” rather than doing surgery on the back. I was thankful for that. The conservative route seemed like a good place to start.
Of course, I hate shots. One of my old doctors used to tease me sometimes about my aversion to shots and difficulty swallowing pills, saying it is a good thing – that I’ll never be a junkie. He can be a regular comedian sometimes. What he doesn’t say is that I’ll also never be a good patient. (more…)
Aspirations
NASA Lags in Shuttle Patch Development (AP). AP – When space shuttle flights resume, the astronauts will have putty and other filler to repair cracks and small gashes in the wings, but they will not be able to patch a hole as big as the one that doomed Columbia, NASA said. [Yahoo! News – Reader Ratings]
I’m glad NASA is working on some ideas to reestablish our presence in space. As I read the above, I thought again of those daring astronauts of STS-107 who were only 16 minutes from home. What great aspirations they had to tackle such a dangerous job!
Here’s something only a very few of you know about me: after the Columbia’s final flight, I was so inspired by those heroes as to obtain application materials for the Educator Astronaut program. It seemed to make sense. I’m an educator. I have a degree in physics. I have a background in astronomy. I know could execute the assigned tasks aboard the space shuttle and be a good ambassador for NASA’s programs. I could make a difference in the wake of the Columbia mission.
As I waited for the application materials to come in, I continued to consider the pros and cons of the career shift. I came the the conclusion that it wouldn’t necessarily be a promotion. (more…)