MarsPhoenix

CassiniSaturn

I'm really impressed by the recent addition of twitter accounts from NASA made to be in the perspective of their space craft/exporers.  There's the CassiniSaturn twitter account I just posted about, as well as the MarsPhoenix account.

Both post interesting updates and respond to replies people make to their twits.  Rather than seeming like a cheesy PR ploy by NASA, they seem to understand why twitter is a good forum for these types of updates and how to use it effectively.  Having these penned from the point of view from the spacecraft makes it personal in a way that makes you care more about the little milestones than a straight log of events would.

Well done NASA!

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Here's a cool video that the Cassini spacecraft just twittered:

Cassini-Huygens: Multimedia-Videos

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia...

The movie consists of 34 images taken over the course of 12 hours as Cassini pierced the ring plane. Additional frames were inserted between the original images in order to smooth the motion in the sequence -- a scheme called interpolation.

Its really amazing how good this looks compared with some of the prior still shots from the middle/outer planets.

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I have been at battle with a small lug of metal not quite an inch in length for over two weeks now.  It is a screw in the front hub of my motorcycle.  It has been frozen in place despite blasts of screw loosening chemicals, large high torque screw drivers and a lot of swearing.  The final battle left the phillips head screw completely torn up, from this shape, +, to this shape, o.

No human screw driver could budge that screw in that state, so I had to step it up to the next level.  A screw extractor is typically just a piece of tapered metal that gets forcibly rammed into a fatigued screw head.  Its slightly larger than the previous slot so that it bites into the metal around the outside.  A wrench is then used to turn the screw and pull it out.  The one I got does it a little better.  Attached to a drill, one side reams out a circular hole in the screw head to make a clean starting point.  The other side is threaded and tapered so that it can more easily embed itself in the hole and allow the screw to be removed.

Despite this awesome technology, the screw still put up a fight.  The medium sized extractor couldn't turn the screw, the tapered end just digging out a bigger hole.  I went to the larger size and applied slow deliberate force to keep from stripping out the hole.  After a minute of careful pressure and torque the screw moved, almost imperceptibly, but it moved.  From there it was easy and it was free from my bike within seconds.  Huzzah!  Best tool ever!

Screw Extractor

Screw Extractor

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Whole Foods has coconuts!  With the husk hacked off down to the top, you can pop a straw into the top as easily (or easier) as a Capri Sun.

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I'm in the middle of driving around our big beautiful country this month, and appreciating its great beauty, diversity, and the ubiquitous civility of its people.  It really is a wonderful place.

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I've seen this book before, but it just came up again and its still just as unbelievable.  I mean, I'm a liberal guy but these books are ridiculous.  They basically paint the Democratic party as the saviors of the human race without any kind of opposing view.  And even if it had an opposing viewpoint, its targeted toward children.  Children don't know why (as an example in the book) funding the fire department is important or what the trade offs are if you don't.  These books are pure, brain washing, shameful propaganda.  I'm reminded of the poor kids I used to see in college who came with the fanatical preacher who would talk in front of the student union.  They would walk around with signs that said "Jesus hates fags".  When you'd talk to them they'd give scripted, robotic answers back about what the Lord says.  These books are full of scripted thought and are no different.

Why Mommy and Daddy Are Democrats

http://littledemocrats.net/index.html

"Whether they be young in spirit, or young in age, the members of the Democratic Party must never lose that youthful zest for new ideas and for a better world, which has made us great."-John F. Kennedy

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Looks like we need to improve our anti-muskrat technology:

Burrowing muskrat causes levee to fail in Missouri

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hw...

Residents Henry James, left, and Herb Crosby sit on top of a house as they wait for the floodwaters to arrive after a levee break Friday, June 27, 2008, in Winfield, Mo. A section of an earthen levee broke Friday morning, releasing Mississippi River waters that officials predicted will "ultimately inundate" part of the small town. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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Not only is it a Murakami book you should read, but its the subject of this short film.  The music is close to being too inspirational sounding, but I like the whole thing too much to be bothered by it.  Oh, if its all chunky and skippy, turn off HD.  It doesn't really affect the image quality (as far as I could tell) and its a lot faster.

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IMG_9766

IMG_9756

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Found this funny clock on the Uniqlo site called the Uniqlock.  Uniqlo is like a Japanese Gap but with (I think) better stuff.  I didn't realize it was a clock at first, so I watched it for about 10 minutes waiting for it to end, always thinking, what do the numbers mean?  Duh....

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