A real life Heinlein hero?

from Wikipedia

Sometimes real life parallels art. I wonder what Robert Heinlein would think of Elon Musk.

Elon Musk reminds me in many ways of one of my favorite Heinlein protagonists – Delos David Harriman, from “The Man Who Sold The Moon.” Not in the details but in the general narrative – a driven entrpreneur who wants to see us in outer space, without the government being involved. Not a simple story nor a simple man.

Co-founder of what became PayPal, a founder of Tesla Motors and of SpaceX – the first private company to successfully get a rocket to orbit. It has gotten commercial payloads to space and has contracts with the military to provide launches for their packages.

The Falcon 9, which just had a successful launch, demonstrated the ability to rocket a large payload into space. They are working towards a payload cost of $500 per pound. What effect will that have on our entrance into space?

They are working on a manned module – the SpaceX Dragon – which may have its first test flight this year. Up to seven passengers are possible. Or a launch payload of over 13,000 pounds.

Although he has also been the inspiration for another fictional character – Tony Stark of the Iron Man movies.

Texan dissing a Texas company

by Matthew Simantov

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex) disses private space
[Via Bad Astronomy]

I’m scratching my head over the reactions of some Congresscritters about the successful launch of the Falcon 9 rocket by SpaceX on Friday. Given that NASA has several billion dollars it will be giving to commercial transport systems over the next few years, you’d think that Congress would be happy that a private company was able to get a medium-lift rocket into orbit on their first try.

But then, you wouldn’t be Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. This Texas Republican — that’s important, hang on — gave a short statement after the launch that was at best tepid, and in reality a slap in the face to SpaceX and all the other private space companies:

This first successful test flight of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is a belated sign that efforts to develop modest commercial space cargo capabilities are showing some promising signs. While this test flight was important, the program to demonstrate commercial cargo and crew transport capabilities, which I support, was intended to enhance not replace NASA’s own proven abilities to deliver critical cargo and humans to low Earth orbit. Make no mistake, even this modest success is more than a year behind schedule, and the project deadlines of other private space companies continue to slip as well. This test does not change the fact that commercial space programs are not ready to close the gap in human spaceflight if the space shuttle is retired this year with no proven replacement capability and the Constellation program is simultaneously cancelled [sic] as the President proposes.

Senator — with all due respect — that’s baloney. Plain and simple.

[More]

A company with facilities in Texas successfully rockets into outer space, achieving something truly novel. And the Republican Senator calls it a modest success. This was a major stepping stone for mankind in space. Getting to space is not easy and has really only been done by government-sized efforts previously. For the first time, a non-governmental agency has launched a payload into orbit. At least enjoy the moment and that it was a company with Texas ties that accomplished this.

Somehow I think politics is involved in her choice of words.

First of all, her passive aggressive stance — using the word “modest” not once but twice, as well as using the term “belated sign” — are ridiculous. This is unexplored territory for the private sector, so while the delays have been irritating for us space enthusiasts, they’re expected. How many delays has NASA had over the years developing new tech? That statement from her is prejudicial and ridiculous.

Second, with her last sentence she continues with the blatantly false meme that Obama is to blame for the gap after the Shuttle; this is the same patently wrong claim she made in an editorial she wrote for the Houston Chronicle in March. Senator, in case you or one of your staff actually reads this, let me be very clear here: there will be a four to five year gap, at least, between the Shuttle retirement and any new NASA heavy-lift rocket, no matter what Obama does. It was the Bush Administration that made 2010 the retirement date for the Shuttle program, and did not have a replacement plan in place for it.

To be certain, I am not blaming (only) Bush for this; both NASA and Congress should have been working on a realistic Shuttle replacement ten years ago. More.

What happened to the privatization push from Republicans?

There is no program to replace the Shuttle this year. There has not been one since the decision to retire the Shuttle in 2010 was made. The Shuttle itself has been out of service several times, resulting in years of delay. The Shuttle never did become the truck to space that it was advertised as.

There is lots of blame to go around regarding this gap but the current Administration is the least of it. Both previous Democratic and Republican administrations, along with legislators of both parties are culpable.

There will be lots of time for political finger-pointing. As a former Texan, I would just have liked to see greater recognition and joy over the fact that a company with roots in Texas was the first into space. This is a wonderful adjunct approach to getting things into orbit and should really be cheered.

Why fair use is important

DIY Sci-Fi Trailer Draws ‘Avatar’ Producer to ‘Technotise’
[Via Wired: Top Stories]

After his Green Lantern movie mashup catches Hollywood’s attention, Jaron Pitts reinvisions a Serbian animated film with Milla Jovavich as lead ass-kicker. Now, that speculative trailer gets some major backing.

[More]

Now people are pitching movie ideas by creating faux movie trailers. This is actually really great in so many ways but requires the permissibility of fair use. By taking bits and pieces of other works, an entirely new piece of art is created, perhaps leading to an entire movie.

Pitts says his impressive movie mashups have not landed him in legal hot water. “I see what I do as an original work using existing art,” Pitts said. “I’m sure a lawyer could make a case for the other side but until that day comes — I kind of hope it doesn’t.”

I think that if that happened, he would have other lawyers on his side. Because this approach will make it so much easier for guys to pitch movies. It can show in a few minutes more than many words can. I expect that there will be companies in LA that will just make these sorts of trailers.

And, after seeing this trailer, I want to see Milla Jovavich in this role. Just like I want to see Nate Fallion in the Green Lantern.

Technology allows really creative people to find novel routes for the display of their innovation. The tools are so cheap now that these creative individuals are completely altering the entertainment terrain, as well as other spaces.

I read less and less material from NYT because of crap like this

by Joe Shlabotnik

Apple iPad App Hater New York Times Proves It’s Too Dumb to Live | BNET Technology Blog | BNET
[Via businessnet]

When you’re drowning and someone throws you a lifeline, you grab it, right? That is, unless you’re too dumb to live, and that’s what the New York Times apparently is. By raising a legal stink over a highlighted app for Apple’s (AAPL) iOS and iPad, the Times proved that it has no practical grasp of electronic media, or even ordinary marketing.

[More]

Steve Jobs, in his keynote yesterday, directly mentioned the app, Pulse, as a great representation of apps for the iPad. Too bad you can no longer get it because of the NYT and its lawyers.

The inability to understand what is going on here is a reason the media is having problems. The app developers can just go and remove the NYT from the defaults of the app. Then no more problem with the NYT and also much fewer people reading the NYT links.

What a win for the NYT!

I find myself reading less and less directly from the NYT. Its news reporting is just no longer necessary to follow daily. If something important will come up, I am pretty sure one of my other newsfeeds will discuss it. Perhaps then I may go the original article.

But not so much from their newsfeed. The actions of the lawyers are making the NYT and its newsfeeds less valuable. Smart.

I expect Jobs knew about the takedown and specifically mentioned Pulse so that would get even higher news play. He does know how to play the game.

Keynote available

Jobs’ keynote at WWDC is available at the Apple site.

He is always fun to watch. Even when the WiFi does not work.

Convincing my wife that we can save money if I get a new iPhone …

by ArabCrunch

My wife has been on a pay as you go phone from ATT for a couple of years now. She really had not been using a cell phone for anything other than calling so it made sense.

But recently she has been using her Mac laptop a whole lot more and feeling more comfortable with the technology. An iPhone does not seem like such a huge leap.

Both my son and I have iPhones on a family plan. It did not make sense to add her with an iPhone as the required data plan of $30 did not make any sense with her usage patterns.

However, thanks to ATT’s new data plans ($15 for 250 MB and $25 for 2 GB) I may have a way. My son has never used more than 60MB on his iPhone. If I move him to the $15 a month and sign my wife up for the $15 a month, Voila.

… Well, maybe break even. Okay, the data plan is a wash. But the $9.99 a month fee to add another phone to the family account is about the same as what she had been paying on the GoPhone. Okay. It is a little more but not by much.

So, I figured out that adding my wife to the plan, giving her my son’s phone, letting my son have my phone, would allow us to all have iPhones and pay pretty much what we have been paying a month. Okay, a little more but not by much.

And yes, it does require me to actually buy a new iPhone and sign us all up for a new 2 year contract.

So, in reality it will not save us any money and will cost us at least the price of an iPhone.

But I think I did get my wife to agree to it. Cool!

Of course, this could all be a pipe dream depending on what happens with the plumbing.

Plumbing issues Day 2

Well, after spending several hours with fetid water all around, the plumbers gave up for the day, the clog resisting their greatest efforts. The apparently jury-rigged plumbing system underneath the house has beaten the tools they had brought.

But they have a plan.

On Tuesday, they will venture underneath the house to get to the pipe that exits the house, which was apparently too far away from any drain to get to with the snake they brought (Yeah, the builders apparently did not put in any sort of access port for them to get to otherwise).

Then, they will put on face protection, cut the pipe, clean out the blockage and put in an access port so we do not have to do this again.

I’m just hoping they do not find something else while they are down there.