Well, it happened. Two communications satellites have crashed in orbit, and the debris jeopardizes any object in orbit or hoping to move through, manned or unmanned.
Again, did y'all see Wall-E?
We may have trapped ourselves in isolation from the Universe. Really and truly.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Space Food
I am unbelievably excited. I just flipped through a few pages of the Vermont Country Store catalog before recycling it (I typically don't even look inside if it's not the holidays). And I found the one edible product that I have been craving since middle school:
SPACE FOOD STICKS.
I can remember driving with my dad to Ypsilanti for a math competition. The car crossed the Flint River, and I noticed and started talking about a beaver's activity on the water. While I talked, I held a Space Food Stick. The anticipation...
I can picture the cabinet from which I took it, in our Milbourne Ave kitchen (house above). My favorite ones were peanut butter, but I also liked the chocolate ones, and mom, as I recall, would buy both.
I have been thinking for years that someone should bring them back. Now, oh my gosh, they are here. Soft candy-like rolls of heaven. I need to place an order.
SPACE FOOD STICKS.
I can remember driving with my dad to Ypsilanti for a math competition. The car crossed the Flint River, and I noticed and started talking about a beaver's activity on the water. While I talked, I held a Space Food Stick. The anticipation...
I can picture the cabinet from which I took it, in our Milbourne Ave kitchen (house above). My favorite ones were peanut butter, but I also liked the chocolate ones, and mom, as I recall, would buy both.
I have been thinking for years that someone should bring them back. Now, oh my gosh, they are here. Soft candy-like rolls of heaven. I need to place an order.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Kale chips
Preheat the oven to 250. Get a bunch of kale. (Rosebud in Malden has them for $0.89 a pound.) Wash, then cut the leaves lengthwise, down the stem.
Cut away the stems (don't leave any bits o' stem; they don't crisp properly). In a large bowl, toss the kale with 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt and pepper. Try to coat all well.
On 2 cookie sheets, spread the leaves in a single layer. Salt again. Cook for 30 minutes (33 minutes if the leaves are very curly).
Vic and I just tried this recipe, and we both became instant kale converts with the first bite. But don't try to breathe in while you're eating them.
Cut away the stems (don't leave any bits o' stem; they don't crisp properly). In a large bowl, toss the kale with 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt and pepper. Try to coat all well.
On 2 cookie sheets, spread the leaves in a single layer. Salt again. Cook for 30 minutes (33 minutes if the leaves are very curly).
Vic and I just tried this recipe, and we both became instant kale converts with the first bite. But don't try to breathe in while you're eating them.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Hand-helds
I think that the next time I get a discount coupon for a phone (I get one every two years, so that I'll decide to stick with Verizon), I'm going to choose the phone that has the most functions.
In the past, I have expressed a distinct preference for very simple phones. But I'm starting to feel left behind. Yesterday, my niece played a brand-new game with us. She said early on, "I'm going to win, you know." I thought that she was kidding. And she did enough texting during the game that I was sure her split focus would do her in. Plus she was sick. But win she did.
Is it not true that the next generation has so much overcapacity that each member will, inevitably, burn out?
On a news program this morning, the demise of the newspaper was a topic. The reporter held a phone that displayed the newspaper, the web, a movie, a GPS, TV shows, email, pictures (which of course it can also take, =and= it can store and play music)... oh, for the days when a hand-held scheduler rocked!
In the past, I have expressed a distinct preference for very simple phones. But I'm starting to feel left behind. Yesterday, my niece played a brand-new game with us. She said early on, "I'm going to win, you know." I thought that she was kidding. And she did enough texting during the game that I was sure her split focus would do her in. Plus she was sick. But win she did.
Is it not true that the next generation has so much overcapacity that each member will, inevitably, burn out?
On a news program this morning, the demise of the newspaper was a topic. The reporter held a phone that displayed the newspaper, the web, a movie, a GPS, TV shows, email, pictures (which of course it can also take, =and= it can store and play music)... oh, for the days when a hand-held scheduler rocked!
TTT
"Timely, targeted, and temporary" is the new Republican talking point. The NYT link that I provided earlier counters this argument, but TTT sure has a 'ring' to it, doesn't it?
I believe that the past eight years have proved bankrupt the tax-cut approach to stimulating the economy. As to criticisms that the Democrats are pushing too many of their long-preferred (but not widely favored) projects and huge "social spending" initiatives, I agree with John Kerry on Meet the Press this morning: "We've been pressing for years to get high-speed rail, to fix community schools... [these] dovetail with the [stimulus]... and all of this will be debated on the Senate floor, not kept in secret"--the latter in response to a charge that the Democrats are doing exactly what the Republicans did in the wake of 9/11.
One of the minority-party complaints is that we have to address the financial industry's reluctance to issue credit. IMHO this is the public face of a push to make taxpayers cover the losses of the financial markets. Banks need to own their losses to their shareholders--and when I think about who the major shareholders are, I am even =more= convinced that government absolutely should not get in the middle of private profit-and-loss matters. If banks feel reluctant to give credit, even when they are receiving massive bailout dollars, then let new institutions arise. Credit is by definition a =risk=, so don't buy it if you hear people lamenting the poor banks taking 'hits' if they issue loans!
Another complaint is about the provision of Head Start funding. This has, of course, direct bearing on my employment situation, so that's my caveat. I was not necessarily in favor of seeing Head Start funding in this package, but only because the package is a onetime award, and Head Start needs to be recurrently funded over the long term.
The preschoolers who benefit directly from Head Start will not be earning in the near future, and I think that's the point that prompts the criticism: where is the 'urgency' that justifies providing those dollars immediately? But any caregiver, especially a single caregiver, who hopes to hold a job, especially a new job, needs full-day Head Start and after-school care (for grade school children) to be available =now=.
I believe that the past eight years have proved bankrupt the tax-cut approach to stimulating the economy. As to criticisms that the Democrats are pushing too many of their long-preferred (but not widely favored) projects and huge "social spending" initiatives, I agree with John Kerry on Meet the Press this morning: "We've been pressing for years to get high-speed rail, to fix community schools... [these] dovetail with the [stimulus]... and all of this will be debated on the Senate floor, not kept in secret"--the latter in response to a charge that the Democrats are doing exactly what the Republicans did in the wake of 9/11.
One of the minority-party complaints is that we have to address the financial industry's reluctance to issue credit. IMHO this is the public face of a push to make taxpayers cover the losses of the financial markets. Banks need to own their losses to their shareholders--and when I think about who the major shareholders are, I am even =more= convinced that government absolutely should not get in the middle of private profit-and-loss matters. If banks feel reluctant to give credit, even when they are receiving massive bailout dollars, then let new institutions arise. Credit is by definition a =risk=, so don't buy it if you hear people lamenting the poor banks taking 'hits' if they issue loans!
Another complaint is about the provision of Head Start funding. This has, of course, direct bearing on my employment situation, so that's my caveat. I was not necessarily in favor of seeing Head Start funding in this package, but only because the package is a onetime award, and Head Start needs to be recurrently funded over the long term.
The preschoolers who benefit directly from Head Start will not be earning in the near future, and I think that's the point that prompts the criticism: where is the 'urgency' that justifies providing those dollars immediately? But any caregiver, especially a single caregiver, who hopes to hold a job, especially a new job, needs full-day Head Start and after-school care (for grade school children) to be available =now=.
Prod
I do seem to be posting a lot of links lately. But here's another anyway:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/opinion/29thu1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
Now more than ever, I wish that folks who protest the way a thing is done could be required to come up with a better idea.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/opinion/29thu1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
Now more than ever, I wish that folks who protest the way a thing is done could be required to come up with a better idea.
Change (Red)
A friend (Lani, with whom I went to Seattle one year ago this month) sent me this:
http://playingforchange.com/pop.html
I love the Stand By Me clip.
I was glad to see the (Red) designation. A buddy to people living with HIV for seven years (1988-1995), I still feel that AIDS issues largely fall under our radar.
This is probably the only moment when I will praise Bush, but I praise Bush for his prioritization of fighting AIDS in Africa (even if, in practice, the effort was essentially stymied by internal conflicts, due to Bush's caveats). I was struck dumb when W announced this priority, years ago. And, sadly for all of you, I am not often struck dumb!
http://playingforchange.com/pop.html
I love the Stand By Me clip.
I was glad to see the (Red) designation. A buddy to people living with HIV for seven years (1988-1995), I still feel that AIDS issues largely fall under our radar.
This is probably the only moment when I will praise Bush, but I praise Bush for his prioritization of fighting AIDS in Africa (even if, in practice, the effort was essentially stymied by internal conflicts, due to Bush's caveats). I was struck dumb when W announced this priority, years ago. And, sadly for all of you, I am not often struck dumb!
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