Can i use other materials instead of 4140 as target material for eddy current probes. What will be the effect on performance of probes?
Monthly Archives: February 2010
Space Policy: Go Boldly
Some Thoughts on the NASA Vision, Jeff Volosin
"I mean no disrespect - but - I am tired of listening to Dr. Spudis, Dr. Griffin and all of the other, whiney, Baby Boomer, Cold Warrior, Manifest Destiny driven individuals who are still trying to live out their 1950's childhood dreams - at taxpayer expense.
Like many of you, for the past 25 years, I have played my own minor role in a vibrant NASA. I have watched as NASA has pushed back the limits of robotic exploration of the solar system with ever more complex and capable probes. In addition, I have seen NASA greatly expanded our view of the Earth - helping us better understand how our environment is changing and how human activities and natural processes contribute to that change. In contrast, human spaceflight has, just during my career, driven off a cliff."
Space Politics Is Always Local
Cancellation at NASA puts Olson to the test
"Former Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Stafford, who had been in line to lead the House panel overseeing NASA before losing his seat to Olson, blames Texas' current predicament squarely on the sweeping congressional redistricting fashioned by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land. "Texas has suffered greatly," said Lampson, who lost races in two congressional districts as a result. "Without that redistricting, I would have been chairman of the space subcommittee representing JSC and in direct contact with the president and House leadership. That would have made a difference."
Astronauts on Decatur rockets, editorial, Decatur Daily
"While NASA workers are legitimately concerned, there are signs that Decatur could enjoy some benefits in the midst of the hardship of a scaled-down Marshall. The most obvious is the potential growth of United Launch Alliance in Decatur. After massive effort, ULA's Decatur plant will soon be the sole assembly plant for three of the most reliable rockets in the United States: the Delta II, the Delta IV and, most recently, the Atlas V."
NASA's new direction could lift local space assets, Virginia Pilot
"President Obama's proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2011 delivered both good and bad news for space- and NASA-related organizations in Hampton Roads such as NASA Langley, NASA's Wallops Flight Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport."
Obama's budget boosts NASA Ames, San Jose Mecury News
"Key areas of expertise at NASA Ames that are a priority in the new NASA budget include international partnerships, information technology, space science, earth science, small satellites and exploration technologies, Braxton said. NASA Ames employs 1,250 civil servants and 1,250 contractors, but Braxton believes that number may soon increase, and the agency's new direction could be a boon to local employment, not just for NASA but for companies partnering with NASA in Silicon Valley."
Sarah Palin dazzles Daytona
Hangs out with Richard Petty, Harry Connick and Danica Patrick
From Eric Dondero:
America's sexiest politician turned up the heat at the famous Florida speedway over the weekend. Decked out in "designer jeans and sky-high black stiletto heels" the Alaska Fox met with thousands of adoring fans. And according to numerous media reports, Palin was the most popular attraction.
She addressed the crowd briefly: "It's events like these, that bring all Americans together, and makes us proud to be Americans" (See the 30 second YouTube video)
From the Orlando Sentinnel:
DAYTONA BEACH – Palin-mania easily surpassed Danica-mania at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday.
While Patrick got all the headlines for the better part of two weeks, she had no stake in the Daytona 500. Palin did, and as a VIP guest for the race, she ate up all the attention.
When she arrived for the drivers meeting, Palin was immediately mobbed.
She took a seat up front next to Harry Connick Jr., who sang the national anthem for the race. When NASCAR president Mike Helton acknowledged her as a special guest, she got the largest ovation from the room, packed from the front to the back with drivers, team members, support personnel and onlookers.
After sitting through the meeting, Palin could not get out the door. Fans mobbed her, asking for pictures and autographs.
An estimated 150,000 spectators showed up for the event.
Photo hat tip of SP at another sports event, to our friends at GOP 12.
ASME VIII-2 2007 Para 4.3.10.1
Dear members..
I have difficulty in interpreting ASME Section VIII Division 2 2007 paragraph 4.5.10.2. This paragraph is about the requirements to determine design method of vessel whether using part 4 (design by rule requirements) or part 5 (design by analysis).
One of
Surprise Republican candidate emerges for Mississippi Congress 1st Dist.
One of the biggest surprises to come out of the National Tea Party convention in Nashville two weekends ago, was the pre-announcement of a congressional candidacy of Fox News contributor Angela McGlowan.
From the Wall Street Journal:
Judging from the loud cheers she generated, one of the highlights of last weekend's Tea Party Convention in Nashville was the appearance of Angela McGlowan, a Fox News contributor and former GOP congressional staffer. She electrified the crowd when she hinted she would be announcing her candidacy for Congress from neighboring Mississippi in a few days. If elected, Ms. McGlowan would become only the third African American elected as a Republican to the U.S. House in the past 75 years. "Conservatives advocate policies that recognize the innate value of all humans, as opposed to liberal policies that demean the poor and disadvantaged by encouraging victimhood," she told the enthusiastic crowd.
If she prevails in the somewhat crowded GOP primary, McGlowan will face entrenched Democrat Rep. Travis Childers. Ironically, Childers had been rumored to be a potential party-switcher to the GOP.
In a fiery speech on the steps of Hernando County courthouse, as part of a 5-city tour announcing her campaign, McGlowan told the approximately 75 supporters gathered:
"I'm a conservative, pro-life, pro-gun, pro-small business Mississippi Republican who has taken a high profile stand for working families and against the liberal policies of President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that promote big government spending, record national debt and excessive levels of taxation."
(Source: Desoto Times Feb. 12)
Although State Sen. Alan Nunnelee is the frontrunner and supported by many in the GOP establishment, McGlowan might be emerging as the favorite among Sarah Palin-ites. She was featured recently on the Sarah Palin Blog: "Fox News analyst Angela McGlowan launches House bid."
If elected McGlowan would be the first ever woman to represent Mississippi in the US Congress.
Can entrenched Democrat Rep. Solomon Ortiz be beat? One Latina Republican plans to do just that
The hometown paper for Texas CD-27 opines:
Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, has had opponents during his nearly 30 years in office but has never faced a serious threat to his incumbency.
But now, with a changed climate favorable to Republicans, and in particular GOPers with a Tea Party message, Ortiz may be facing his stiffest challenge yet.
Jessica Puente Bradshaw is running for the Republican nomination to challenge longtime entrenched Democrat incumbent Rep. Solomon Ortiz. She is one of three candidates vying for the nomination, but considered to be the frontrunner.
From the Corpus Christi Caller Feb. 15:
“He votes with the liberal Democrats,” Bradshaw said. “He is not lowering taxes, which is what businesses need to build a thriving economy. And with health care, he was not meeting with his constituents. He is beatable by the right candidate because there are enough voters upset at him who, given the right candidate, will cross over party-wise.”
She grew up in Brownsville, on the Mexican border. She's a Christian, mother of two, and married for 15 years. Her professional background includes educator and small business entrepreneur.
I am an advocate of personal responsibility, regardless of what color of skin you are blessed with. With your help, my goal is to inspire and empower others to be productive members of their communities and eliminate the idea that we “need” government handouts.
During my teaching career in a California low income school district, I did my best to encourage each student to take advantage of every opportunity available without the need for affirmative action and special preferences.
She's a supporter of Tea Party values:
I am determined and prepared to stand strong in righteousness when it comes to what our Founding Fathers intended for this country.
Sad day for ’80s New Wavers: the Knack’s lead singer dies
My Sharona one of George Bush's favorite songs
From Eric Dondero:
Doug Feiger, lead singer of The Knack died on Sunday. He had been suffering from Cancer.
The band hit the scene in 1979 with the monster hit "My Sharona" immortalized in the hit movie "Reality Bites." And later their second chart topper was the risque "Good Girls don't."
He was also known as the brother of the eccentric Michigan lawyer (of Jack Kevorkian fame), and one-time Democrat candidate for Governor Geoffry Feiger.
A side note. Former Republican President George W. Bush was a fan.
From Yahoo News:
"My Sharona" gained attention again in 2005 when it was reported that George W. Bush had the song on the presidential iPod.
Population Control and Resource Usage
We are running out of planet and there are too many people. Or, maybe there aren’t.
Americans are only 5% of the world’s population, but use almost 25% of the world’s resources. People cannot agree on whether climate change is affected by human population. Maybe the question should be — is climate change affected by the American population and should that be reduced. Some environmentalists and scientists feel governments could limit the amount of children people should have due to resources being finite on Planet Earth. Humans now number close to 7 billion. We may reach 9 billion people by 2050, and it could happen sooner. Can the planet handle all these resource-gobbling, atmosphere-changing masses of humanity? I think it could, if we didn’t rely on consumption for our world economies.
Climate and Capitalism feels population is not the problem either; it’s how many resources that population uses. There is a huge disparity in the amount of resources used and pollution generated by various populations of different countries. (See stats below and this video: Betsy Hartmann on Climate Change Politics and Overpopulation Propaganda, here for more). I think it’s obvious that people are causing global warming so aiming for fewer people might certainly help — in the wealthier, more polluting countries like the U.S. especially. One way to limit the amount of people on earth that would be more natural than others would be to deny couples fertility treatments if they already have one child. That makes sense to me. Another is to spread intelligent family planning in countries where this is not available. (I do not agree with some of what Hartmann says, by the way. There will be millions of climate refugees some day and there will be border and resource issues).
Unfortunately many Americans don’t know the meaning of the phrase “use less resources”. We have been brainwashed by various right-wing politicians who have told us and the world that the American lifestyle will not be changed, it’s not negotiable, under any circumstances. This leads to a feeling of entitlement and a license to consume more. Other country’s populations may share that mindset too. Have our leaders told us about the dangers of over consumption yet? Of course not. Consumption is what keeps the economy going in capitalistic countries . More is more! This idea spills over into having children, for some people.
Making Babies . . .
A recent issue of People magazine showcased an American family called the “Duggars” who have 19 children. They are not ruling out Baby #20. It strikes me that 19 children is beyond the pale, so to speak. Frannie Armstrong, the filmmaker who wrote and directed The Age of Stupid, shares this information: ” The Guardian has brought up the environmental issue which dare not speak its name in a big feature article. . . . . I was interviewed for the piece during the Copenhagen Stupid Show madness and then spent the next few [...]
More Inconsistencies From the Ares 1 Risk Guru
Adding Rocket Man to His Resume, New York Times
"SpaceX doesn't "fully understand the dramatic difference between a crew launcher and a payload launcher," Dr. Fragola said. For example, the capsule designers have to carefully study the conditions following an accident, including the blast heat, fragments of the disintegrating booster and the pressure wave of an explosion. While they do not matter for cargo, "the crew cares tremendously about what the conditions are, because it relates to their survivability," Dr. Fragola said."
Hanley Changes His Story On Ares 1 Safety - Again, previous post
"With regard to Jeff Hanley's current comments, this is not the first time that Hanley's organization has had problems presenting (or admitting) a consistent view of what Ares 1's safety was relative to Shuttle and other launch systems. Indeed, you only have to look at Joseph Fragola's presentation to the Augustine Committee to see what Constellation knew Vs what it said. Specifically, there was a briefing chart that was withheld from the Augustine Committee - see below for that chart."
Keith's note: I find it the height of hypocrisy for Joe Fragola to make these statement that SpaceX "doesn't fully understand" human rated launch vehicles when Fragola himself was incapable of accurately presenting the true safety numbers for Ares 1 to the Augustine Committee. Why should anyone take anything he says seriously?
Where at The Planet is Rachel?
Meet Rachel Rogers.
She is our Sales Automation Manager. She keeps our sales department movin’ and groovin’, ensuring that leads are routed correctly, organizing work-flows, and basically giving the sales team all the tools they need to sell, sell, sell.
Rachel is very important to The Planet. She’s also very teeny.
Enter foul weather.
While our friends in the Dallas office experienced a little bit of Snowmaggedon 2010 last week, we here in the Houston office had a couple rainy, nasty, cold days. On Thursday, no one wanted to go out for lunch, so while we munched away on our sammiches and insta-pasta, we decided to have some fun. A while back, in the midst of a late-night work session, we discovered that Rachel could fit in super-small spaces. We set out to find some.
Rachel in a cubicle closet!
(With Graphic Designer Haidy Francis for scale)
(With Graphic Designer Haidy Francis for scale)
Rachel in a file cabinet!
Rachel in the dry-erase easel!
Can Kevin fit? Noooo … But Rachel can!
The girl is seriously tiny.
Alright, back to work. Look for us on a rainy day for another edition of “Hiding Employees in Small Spaces!”
-Ali
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A Question of Mutual Attraction
Basically, gravity is the attractive force between all objects of mass in the universe. You are drawn by gravity to the Earth, but the Earth is also drawn by gravity (of equal force) to you. It is a relationship of mutual attraction.
Gravity is more than just a handy thing to have around if you want to stick to the Earth. Without it, or with it greatly reduced, we wouldn’t have an atmosphere (gravity holds it to the planet), or liquid water (it would boil away). Escape velocity could be achieved on a trampoline, which is rather horrifying when you stop to think about it.
When we think of the study of gravity through history, modern man tends to think of Sir Isaac Newton sitting in a garden watching apples fall from the trees. Cute, but… no. In the first place, gravity was being written about scientifically since Aristotle in the 4th century BC, at least. It was defined as an attractive force between objects of mass by Indian astronomer Brahmagupta in 628 AD. What Sir Isaac Newton did (in 1687 AD) was define the concept of gravity to unify the existing concepts of celestial and terrestrial attraction. Sir Isaac Newton didn’t know how gravity worked (we had to wait for Einstein to figure that one out), but he did put forward a simple, elegant, unified theory of gravity that stood unmatched for nearly 230 years.
Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation Image: Dennis Nilsson
As in all things scientific, the more you know about gravity; the more you realize you don’t know. Science is still running up against the unexpected and inexplicable in gravity. If you get to feeling frisky, you can read about some of these “who knows” moments in modern science:
The Fly-By Anomaly – In sling-shot maneuvers, spacecraft got more of a boost than they “should” have.
Accelerating Expansion – Here’s a biggie: The expansion of space seems to be speeding-up instead of slowing-down.
The Pioneer Anomaly – The Pioneer spacecraft are slowing down. They aren’t supposed to be.
The Dark Flow – Galaxy clusters are apparently being pulled toward something big. Too big to have been formed since the Big Bang. Something we haven’t seen yet.
We all understand the force of gravity at a fundamental level. You have been aware of it since childhood, when you conducted scientific experiments to study the effect of gravity on your peas at the dinner table. While our understanding of gravity has become somewhat more sophisticated, you’ll be happy to know that peas still react the same way when dropped from the height of a table.
Except, of course, fresh frozen peas bounce higher than canned peas.
Egypt DESERT SAFARIS in Egypt
Egypt DESERT SAFARIS httpwww.happycentertravel.com httpwww.happycentertravel.com WESTERN DESERT SAFARIS 8 Nights 550 EURODJARA CAVE OLD DESERT BAHAREYA SIWAhttpwww.happycentertravel.comdesertsafariegypt29westerndesertsafaris.htmlDAY 01 CAIRO BAHAREYApick up at hotel in Cairo at 8 a.m. travel to Bahariya after lunch visiting the sights in Bahari
Wild Camel Khavtgai
Camelus bactrianus ferusThe Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area and adjacent border areas in China provide the last home for the wild Bactrian camel one of the rarest and least studied mammals on earth. The Gobirsquos wild camels are the last surviving wild ancestors of the worldrsquos domestic Bactrian twohumped camels. An estimated 300 wild camels remain and that the population is declin
Punta Arenas and Ushuaia
Punta Arenas and UshuaiaActually Punta Arenas sand point in Spanish is our last stop on the mainland of Chile. We have scenic sailing to the port of Ushuaia Argentina which is the last stop before heading around the Horn and south to Antarctica. The weather is overcast and nippy with temps in the 40rsquos and occasional bursts of sun peaking through especially around the glaciers where t
Chengdu day 3
So today was pretty much the highlight of chengdu for me. On our way to Leshan Mt Giant Buddha we made a pit stop at a tea harvesting farm which was really pretty although that was where I realized that I can barely walk anymore without having everything ache afterwards. At Leshan Mt where we viewed from a speedboat for probably just 10minutes we got to wave at random people who were actu
Day 7 Arsenal Visit OMGGGGG
Today has to be the highlight of all the company visits we had so far we spent 3hrs at arsenal We went through to the diamond room exclusive to all the rich and famous Platinum holders. I guess that's the equivalent to the MCG lifetime membership. I actually felt extremely priviledged and exclusive to be a part of this tour group as I don't think anyone would have had the opportunity to take pic
Film Festival with my family
Enjoyed seeing them new country and films to top it off
Las Vegas to the Great Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is beautifull all day from Dawn till dusk and after with a full moonBreathtaking hiking East and West of the South side
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is Dysney Land for adultsLoved the musical Menopause