Monthly Archives: April 2010

The Watering Hole: April 6 – Early Bird

Posted on by

HoR has requested more science in the daily’s. This is my first effort:

Arthur C. Clarke observed that the Moon orbited the Earth in about 28 1/2 days while a near-Earth satellite would do the same in about an hour and a half. Somewhere in between there had to be a a happy medium where an orbit would take exactly one day. That is explained by the formula:

a=\sqrt[3]{\mu\left(\frac{P}{2\pi}\right)^2}

where a=semi-major axis, P = orbital period (One day), μ = geocentric gravitational constant which yields about 42,164 km or 26,199 mi for a at the Equator for a satillite of mass significantly less then that of the Earth.

Early Bird

With all of that science set aside, the first Earth-orbit commercial synchronous communications satellite was placed into orbit on this very date in 1965. It’s formal name was Intelsat I, but its informal name was Early Bird. It was in active service for about 4 1/2 years. It was fired back on in 1990 for a brief test on its 25th anniversary.

This is our open thread. Please feel free to offer your own comments on this or any other topic.

The Watering Hole: April 5th – Obameter

Posted on by

In a number of instances I beg to differ from the results of the Obameter. But mostly it is a good chance to revisit what was said and what was and is accomplished by your President. Everybody has his or her own expectations, especially after being starved for reasonable politics for that long before 2009.

From a distance, change looks rather impressive,  which doesn’t mean that all things are going well. See “Drill Baby Drill“, which was a disappointment for me.

You have your own ideas, have you not? Share them here and feel free to comment on any other business which may be on your mind, this is an Open Thread after all.

Just a Sunday roundup

Posted on by

[Image source]

“I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight,” said the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “because my conscience leaves me no other choice.”

This was on the evening of April 4, 1967, almost exactly 43 years ago. Dr. King told the more than 3,000 people who had crowded into Riverside Church that silence in the face of the horror that was taking place in Vietnam amounted to a “betrayal.”  Bob Herbert, CommonDreams

Texas lawmakers will try to use a 1995 Supreme Court decision in a gun case as a central argument.

A bit of an earthquake in Baja!

Justice John Paul Stevens, “I have to fish or cut bait.”

Use of the death penalty is decreasing worldwide.  China takes home the prize for being #1.

Meet the Top 100 corporate air polluters!

Here’s the top 10:

1. Bayer

2. ExxonMobil

3. Sunoco

4. E.I. du Pont de Nemours

5. ArcelorMittal

6. Steel Dynamics, Inc.

7. Archer Daniels Midland Co.

8. Ford Motor Company

9. Eastman Kodak Co.

10. Koch Industries

Sunday Roast: Best Dressed Man

Posted on by

When I was a kid, I would hike over to my Grandmother’s once a week to watch my favorite TV show. My dad was convinced that televisions were useless, so we didn’t own one until I was a teenager. It was, however, OK for me to walk over to Nana’s to watch the latest episode of Dobie Gillis and his friend, Maynard G Krebs. I’m pleased that the show has actually held up very well for a 1950s sitcom. This particular episode not only features the goldigger, Thalia Menninger, played by Tuesday Weld (who was able to curl my little pre-adolescent toes with a shrug) but guest-stars Warren Beatty. (Parts 2 & 3 after the fold) (This is our open post for the day; feel free to comment at random.)

Continue reading →

Is there a doctor in the house?

Posted on by

From John Cole:

Setting aside the political furor created by Health Care Reform over issues of constitutionality and freedom, there’s the boots-on-the-ground problem of not having enough primary care doctors in the trenches. Add 37 million insured Americans, and the current shortage grows even more acute.

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
John Cole, Scranton, PA Times-Tribune

The Watering Hole: April 3 – The Pony Express

Posted on by

Yep, it started on this date in 1860. For a mere quarter, you could ship a half ounce letter from Saint Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA or vice versa in only two days.

The telegraph led to the demise of this service.  Right now, the Internet seems to have the same results as far as the US Postal Service is concerned.  I bought two 20 count strips of “forever” stamps a few years back and I still have 29  stamps left.  April 1st marks the demise of the 3¢ first class stamp in 1954! The penny postcard died the same day.

Update:  I left out a link to the transcontinental telegraph, I’ll try harder in the future.

The Watering Hole: April 2 – The Fountain of Youth

Posted on by

On this day in 1513 (Old Calendar), Juan Ponce de León y Figueroa became the first European to set foot in what is now North America. The site of his landing may have been what is now Saint Augustine, Florida which is the scene of the Fountain of Youth, a decrepit artesian well which draws in gullible tourists  from all over the World.

If you visit Saint Augustine, try the beaches first and then the forts.  The visitors center has some nice presentations on local history and St. George Street offers an interesting shopping experience. The Alligator Farm is a good experience for kids from 8-13 and in the spring offers oodles of nesting subtropical birds. Older kids enjoy the feeding sessions and the occasions when a bird lands too close to a waiting reptile.

This is our open thread. Please feel free to offer your own comments on this or any other topic.