Much of the news today is depressing. Newspaper headlines tell us about awful things happening in our neighborhood, at the national level, and around the world. Google News today reports that the Chinese Rights Activist Jailed For Subversion and ATA Airlines files for bankruptcy.
I am trying something different. I invite you to join with me in focusing on good news. This can be as local as your lost dog was found or something global like a break through in a new field of science.
If you would like to contribute, in the "Your name" field put the name of your blog, then in parenthesis include a short summary of the good news. For the "Your URL" field put the link to your post about the good news, use the perma link. Then mention Good News Thursday on your blog.
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Technorati tags: Good News
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Book Review
I highly recommend Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis.
Bittle and Johnson explain the budget jargon and what catch phrases really mean. It is an easy to read book suitable for teens and adults.
Here's a sobering excerpts from the book:
I liked this part:
This is a good way to evaluate candidates:
A closing thought:
------------------------
Tags : Scott Bittle, Jean Johnson, Where Does the Money Go? , Federal Budget Crisis, income tax, estate tax,
Bittle and Johnson explain the budget jargon and what catch phrases really mean. It is an easy to read book suitable for teens and adults.
Here's a sobering excerpts from the book:
Unless we make some changes, by 2040, nearly every dollar the government collects in taxes will be needed for Social Security, Medicare, and paying interest on the debt.
I liked this part:
Five Signs You're Being a Lazy Citizen
1. You are not registered to vote.
2. You vote only in presidential elections.
3. If they agree with you on X, they've got your vote.
4. You never listen to the candidates' debate.
5. You just read the headlines.
This is a good way to evaluate candidates:
When to be afraid, very afraid
1. They promise popular new programs without saying how to pay for them.
2. They promise tax cuts without saying where the money will come from.
3. They put costs in a "supplemental" spending bill.
4. They hide pet projects in "emergency" spending bills.
A closing thought:
Unfortunately, just balancing the budge every year isn't going to cut it. The country is already roughly $9 trillion in debt, and we have massive expenses coming up with the boomers getting long in the tooth. So stopping the deficit spending isn't much more than putting your finger in the dike. We need to take additional steps, and we need to take them soon.
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Tags : Scott Bittle, Jean Johnson, Where Does the Money Go? , Federal Budget Crisis, income tax, estate tax,
Carnival of Homeschooling - The April Fool's Day Edition
History of April Fool's Day from Wikipedia:
-------------------
The origins of this custom are complex and a matter of much debate. It is likely a relic of the once common festivities held on the vernal equinox, which began on the 25th of March, old New Year's Day, and ended on the 2nd of April.
Though the 1st of April appears to have been observed as a general festival in Great Britain in antiquity, it was apparently not until the beginning of the 18th century that the making of April-fools was a common custom. In Scotland the custom was known as "hunting the gowk," i.e. the cuckoo, and April-fools were "April-gowks," the cuckoo being a term of contempt, as it is in many countries.
One of the earliest connections of the day with fools is Chaucer's story the Nun's Priest's Tale (c.1400), which concerns two fools and takes place "thritty dayes and two" from the beginning of March, which is April 1. The significance of this is difficult to determine.
Europe may have derived its April-fooling from the French.[1] French and Dutch references from 1508 and 1539 respectively describe April Fools' Day jokes and the custom of making them on the first of April. France was one of the first nations to make January 1 officially New Year's Day (which was already celebrated by many), by decree of Charles IX. This was in 1564, even before the 1582 adoption of the Gregorian calendar (See Julian start of the year). Thus the New Year's gifts and visits of felicitation which had been the feature of the 1st of April became associated with the first day of January, and those who disliked or did not hear about the change were fair game for those wits who amused themselves by sending mock presents and paying calls of pretended ceremony on the 1st of April.
In France the person fooled is known as poisson d'avril (April fish). This has been explained as arising from the fact that in April the sun quits the zodiacal sign of the fish. The French traditionally celebrated this holiday by placing dead fish on the backs of friends. Today, real fish have been replaced with sticky, fish-shaped paper cut-outs that children try to sneak onto the back of their friends' shirts. Candy shops and bakeries also offer fish-shaped sweets for the holiday.
-------------------
There are a 100 pranks in: April Fool's Day Pranks. We've selected a few:
The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
It is interesting to see what young seeds grow into. Jen who writes in her Diary of 1 recounts listening to Business 101 From an Eight-Year-Old.
As public schools "hope for the best," NerdMom of the Nerd Family explains that public schools are really “Educational Welfare” in the Heart of the Matter.
The Taco Liberty Bell
I wonder if Katherine from No fighting, no biting! saw the Liberty Bell on their return trip from Washington DC in directions? keys? then off we go...
They saw combining food with learning improving the learning process. Home Spun Juggling shows how to teach your children about The Trojan Graham Horse.
What would Patrick Henry say? Timothy Power from Sometimes I'm Actually Coherent evaluates the recent court rulings from California in I'm Not So Sure I Like Where This Is Heading...
Samuel Adams will be ringing the bell to ralley the citizens. The Weekly Muse from Love 2B Homeschoolers warns that The homeschooling laws in CT may be changing.
Have your children sold tacos? Barbara Frank in Our Entrepreneurial Homeschooler says the Moores were right: homeschooled kids have lots of entrepreneurial opportunities, from lemonade stands to much more.
San Serriffe
Picking the right font can make a difference for a book. Mandy of Home Sweet Home is getting ready to homeschool her son next year and found treasure: FREE Books!
Every day a newspaper prints the equivelent of a book. SmallWorld reports on how their Support Group ended in up in the Local Newspaper.
It is always good to be thoughtful about what you read in the newspaper. Sebastian at Percival Blakeney Academy takes a closer look at an article on Muslim Homeschoolers.
Even with the right font, you still need to print the books. Ruby from Freehold2 explains why there are No Textbooks for English Students at the public schools in Quebec.
There are so many books, it can be helpful to have suggestions on what to start with. The e-Mom from C h r y s a l i s has several lists of 100 Books Every Child Should Read.
Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers
Homeschoolers often think outside of the books. The Thinking Mother shows the homeschooling attitude can extend beyond academics in her book review of Swim with Me.
Homeschoolers often travel Homeschooling and Learning Resources points out a few ways homeschoolers can have Unique Learning Adventures.
Do your children know their geography? Henry of Why Homeschool is having fun with the poll widgets and wonders How much time do you spend homeschooling your children?
Do your children know their math? Maria from the Homeschool Math Blog is giving away two T-shirts from Homeschool Boutique with a slogan of your choice.
Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity
Stephanie from Stop the Ride! tells us an inexpensive way to take field trips year round in A Free Fun Day (almost). Maybe some day our children will take field trips on the moon.
To understand science it helps to have a firm foundation in math. Denise at Let’s play math! provides some help for parents who have children struggling with Subtracting mixed numbers: A cry for help. Key point: try to make it more simple.
Studying science can help us understand logic. The Headmistress of The Common Room expounds on some logical fallacies in Some People Commit Crimes, So Investigate EVerybody
Issac Newton made a great break though which helped us to understand gravity. The Little Homeschool on the Prairie shares their progress in Newton and Notebooking.
Google PigeonRank
Google balances many factors in selecting the web pages which may be match a search pattern. The Life Without School Blog says Home Schooling, Share Schooling and Cooperatives is a balancing act.
Google is very supportive of robotics. Alasandra of Alasandra's Homeschool Blog Awards reminds use that homeschoolers do more than study at home. She writes her son joined the Team Fusion 364 which took a prize at the Bayou Regionals.
Do you ever wonder what kind of handwriting pigeons would have? From The Daily Planet Amanda says one of my favorite school subjects was handwriting... hence, I Heart Handwriting!
MITkey Mouse
I would be tempted to go to MITkey Mouse University. CampusGrotto has some ideas about what to consider when you take your homeschooler out on College Visits and Tours.
What kind of tour with MITkey Mouse University give prospective students? From Consent Of The Governed Judy discloses what they have learned in Doing College Visits.
Are you teaching a child to read? The World According to Me has a review of Sing, Spell, Read and Write. Once chldren start to read the magical world of reading opens to them.
If you have enjoyed this carnival, please spread the word. Please mention the carnival on your blog, and other appropriate places.
Go here for the archives of previous carnivals. Next week the carnival will be held at A Pondering Heart.
If you are interested in submitting a post for a future carnival, click here for information.
We thank everyone who has helped out. Thank you to all the participants in this carnival. And thanks to all those who help promote the Carnival of Homeschooling.
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
-------------------
The origins of this custom are complex and a matter of much debate. It is likely a relic of the once common festivities held on the vernal equinox, which began on the 25th of March, old New Year's Day, and ended on the 2nd of April.
Though the 1st of April appears to have been observed as a general festival in Great Britain in antiquity, it was apparently not until the beginning of the 18th century that the making of April-fools was a common custom. In Scotland the custom was known as "hunting the gowk," i.e. the cuckoo, and April-fools were "April-gowks," the cuckoo being a term of contempt, as it is in many countries.
One of the earliest connections of the day with fools is Chaucer's story the Nun's Priest's Tale (c.1400), which concerns two fools and takes place "thritty dayes and two" from the beginning of March, which is April 1. The significance of this is difficult to determine.
Europe may have derived its April-fooling from the French.[1] French and Dutch references from 1508 and 1539 respectively describe April Fools' Day jokes and the custom of making them on the first of April. France was one of the first nations to make January 1 officially New Year's Day (which was already celebrated by many), by decree of Charles IX. This was in 1564, even before the 1582 adoption of the Gregorian calendar (See Julian start of the year). Thus the New Year's gifts and visits of felicitation which had been the feature of the 1st of April became associated with the first day of January, and those who disliked or did not hear about the change were fair game for those wits who amused themselves by sending mock presents and paying calls of pretended ceremony on the 1st of April.
In France the person fooled is known as poisson d'avril (April fish). This has been explained as arising from the fact that in April the sun quits the zodiacal sign of the fish. The French traditionally celebrated this holiday by placing dead fish on the backs of friends. Today, real fish have been replaced with sticky, fish-shaped paper cut-outs that children try to sneak onto the back of their friends' shirts. Candy shops and bakeries also offer fish-shaped sweets for the holiday.
-------------------
There are a 100 pranks in: April Fool's Day Pranks. We've selected a few:
The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
In 1957 the respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied that they should "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."Planting seeds is important. Renae from Life Nurturing Education writes about the Dirty Work and importance of preparing before planting seeds.
It is interesting to see what young seeds grow into. Jen who writes in her Diary of 1 recounts listening to Business 101 From an Eight-Year-Old.
As public schools "hope for the best," NerdMom of the Nerd Family explains that public schools are really “Educational Welfare” in the Heart of the Matter.
The Taco Liberty Bell
In 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced that it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
I wonder if Katherine from No fighting, no biting! saw the Liberty Bell on their return trip from Washington DC in directions? keys? then off we go...
They saw combining food with learning improving the learning process. Home Spun Juggling shows how to teach your children about The Trojan Graham Horse.
What would Patrick Henry say? Timothy Power from Sometimes I'm Actually Coherent evaluates the recent court rulings from California in I'm Not So Sure I Like Where This Is Heading...
Samuel Adams will be ringing the bell to ralley the citizens. The Weekly Muse from Love 2B Homeschoolers warns that The homeschooling laws in CT may be changing.
Have your children sold tacos? Barbara Frank in Our Entrepreneurial Homeschooler says the Moores were right: homeschooled kids have lots of entrepreneurial opportunities, from lemonade stands to much more.
San Serriffe
In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean consisting of several semi-colon-shaped islands. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian's phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer's terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades.
Picking the right font can make a difference for a book. Mandy of Home Sweet Home is getting ready to homeschool her son next year and found treasure: FREE Books!
Every day a newspaper prints the equivelent of a book. SmallWorld reports on how their Support Group ended in up in the Local Newspaper.
It is always good to be thoughtful about what you read in the newspaper. Sebastian at Percival Blakeney Academy takes a closer look at an article on Muslim Homeschoolers.
Even with the right font, you still need to print the books. Ruby from Freehold2 explains why there are No Textbooks for English Students at the public schools in Quebec.
There are so many books, it can be helpful to have suggestions on what to start with. The e-Mom from C h r y s a l i s has several lists of 100 Books Every Child Should Read.
Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers
In its April 1995 issue Discover Magazine announced that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had discovered a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying. Discover received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.
Homeschoolers often think outside of the books. The Thinking Mother shows the homeschooling attitude can extend beyond academics in her book review of Swim with Me.
Homeschoolers often travel Homeschooling and Learning Resources points out a few ways homeschoolers can have Unique Learning Adventures.
Do your children know their geography? Henry of Why Homeschool is having fun with the poll widgets and wonders How much time do you spend homeschooling your children?
Do your children know their math? Maria from the Homeschool Math Blog is giving away two T-shirts from Homeschool Boutique with a slogan of your choice.
Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity
In 1976 the British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.
Stephanie from Stop the Ride! tells us an inexpensive way to take field trips year round in A Free Fun Day (almost). Maybe some day our children will take field trips on the moon.
To understand science it helps to have a firm foundation in math. Denise at Let’s play math! provides some help for parents who have children struggling with Subtracting mixed numbers: A cry for help. Key point: try to make it more simple.
Studying science can help us understand logic. The Headmistress of The Common Room expounds on some logical fallacies in Some People Commit Crimes, So Investigate EVerybody
Issac Newton made a great break though which helped us to understand gravity. The Little Homeschool on the Prairie shares their progress in Newton and Notebooking.
Google PigeonRank
Google claimed that Google's search results were created by vast batteries of trained pigeons. "Building upon the breakthrough work of B. F. Skinner, Page and Brin reasoned that low cost pigeon clusters (PCs) could be used to compute the relative value of web pages faster than human editors or machine-based algorithms. And while Google has dozens of engineers working to improve every aspect of our service on a daily basis, PigeonRank continues to provide the basis for all of our web search tools."Some times we can be confused by our dreams. Brenda at The Family Revised shares her reflections looking back on their first year of homeschooling – the dream vs. the reality.
Google balances many factors in selecting the web pages which may be match a search pattern. The Life Without School Blog says Home Schooling, Share Schooling and Cooperatives is a balancing act.
Google is very supportive of robotics. Alasandra of Alasandra's Homeschool Blog Awards reminds use that homeschoolers do more than study at home. She writes her son joined the Team Fusion 364 which took a prize at the Bayou Regionals.
Do you ever wonder what kind of handwriting pigeons would have? From The Daily Planet Amanda says one of my favorite school subjects was handwriting... hence, I Heart Handwriting!
MITkey Mouse
On April 1, 1998 the homepage of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced some startling news: the prestigious university was to be sold to Walt Disney Co. for $6.9 billion. A photograph of the university's famous dome outfitted with a pair of mouse ears accompanied the news.
The press release explained that the university was to be dismantled and transported to Orlando where new schools would be added to the campus including the School of Imagineering, the Scrooge McDuck School of Management, and the Donald Duck Department of Linguistics. The fact that the announcement appeared on MIT's homepage added official credibility to it. But in fact, the announcement was the work of students who had hacked into the school's central server and replaced the school's real web page with a phony one.
I would be tempted to go to MITkey Mouse University. CampusGrotto has some ideas about what to consider when you take your homeschooler out on College Visits and Tours.
What kind of tour with MITkey Mouse University give prospective students? From Consent Of The Governed Judy discloses what they have learned in Doing College Visits.
Are you teaching a child to read? The World According to Me has a review of Sing, Spell, Read and Write. Once chldren start to read the magical world of reading opens to them.
If you have enjoyed this carnival, please spread the word. Please mention the carnival on your blog, and other appropriate places.
Go here for the archives of previous carnivals. Next week the carnival will be held at A Pondering Heart.
If you are interested in submitting a post for a future carnival, click here for information.
We thank everyone who has helped out. Thank you to all the participants in this carnival. And thanks to all those who help promote the Carnival of Homeschooling.
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Monday, March 31, 2008
How much time do you spend homeschooling your children?
I have enjoyed playing around with the poll widgets. I've created another poll. Note, this is asking how much time you spend homeschooling your children, not how much time your children spend working on educational activities.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Space Access 2008 - Frank White (via web), on The Overview Effect/Overview Institute
Frank White wrote The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution about how people feel about looking at the Earth from Space.
Frank interviewed 16 astronauts. They each seemed to be moved by the view of the Earth from space. It helps to put little, petty problems in perspective.
Up till now only a couple hundreds have experienced the Overview Effect. As more people go into space, and still others experience via virtual reality, it will lead to a wider diffusion of the Overview Effect. Frank feels this should be studied.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Frank interviewed 16 astronauts. They each seemed to be moved by the view of the Earth from space. It helps to put little, petty problems in perspective.
Up till now only a couple hundreds have experienced the Overview Effect. As more people go into space, and still others experience via virtual reality, it will lead to a wider diffusion of the Overview Effect. Frank feels this should be studied.
The full agenda
----------
Technorati tags: space access
Space Access 2008 - Robin Snelson, on Frontier Spaceport in Second Life - should it live or die?
Robin has had three islands created in Second Life. These are areas for people who are interested in getting into space.
There are some engineers who create pieces in Second Life.
Robin sees this as a way to out reach to the general public. Most of the people she meets in Second Life seem to be fairly mature, very few children.
She has noticed that people use Second Life for meeting and collaborative efforts. Robin feels there is still a lot to figure out. She's not sure if it is worth doing.
One of the things they have thought about is having an asteroid destroy the sim and then put it back together.
They would like to showcase all the the cool rockets. They have hangers for Armadillo and Matsen Space.
The full agenda
----------
Technorati tags: space access
There are some engineers who create pieces in Second Life.
Robin sees this as a way to out reach to the general public. Most of the people she meets in Second Life seem to be fairly mature, very few children.
She has noticed that people use Second Life for meeting and collaborative efforts. Robin feels there is still a lot to figure out. She's not sure if it is worth doing.
One of the things they have thought about is having an asteroid destroy the sim and then put it back together.
They would like to showcase all the the cool rockets. They have hangers for Armadillo and Matsen Space.
The full agenda
----------
Technorati tags: space access
Space Access 2008 - Berin Szoka (via web) on ITAR: Recent Progress, followed by panel discussion
This talk had a different format. Up until this talk all the speakers were in the conference room with us. Berin Szoko gave his talk on ITAR over Skype with the video being displayed up on a screen. ITAR stands for International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
He started off warning us that this is not legal advice. ITAR is a complex legal piece of law.
There are two separate issues: what is controlled and how is the technology controlled.
Launch vehicles and satellites were controlled by different laws.
He gave some history of ITAR. Recently some people in the government have said that the law was too aggressive and needs to be relaxed a bit. Bigelow has formally asked the government to back off on control of all satellites. If Bigelow's request is granted then others may ask for additional changes in ITAR and the ITAR process.
The connection cut out here. Here is last year's talk on ITAR.
They brought him back via the phone. He had the blue screen of death.
He answered a few questions from the audience.
The full agenda
----------
Technorati tags: space access
He started off warning us that this is not legal advice. ITAR is a complex legal piece of law.
There are two separate issues: what is controlled and how is the technology controlled.
Launch vehicles and satellites were controlled by different laws.
He gave some history of ITAR. Recently some people in the government have said that the law was too aggressive and needs to be relaxed a bit. Bigelow has formally asked the government to back off on control of all satellites. If Bigelow's request is granted then others may ask for additional changes in ITAR and the ITAR process.
The connection cut out here. Here is last year's talk on ITAR.
They brought him back via the phone. He had the blue screen of death.
He answered a few questions from the audience.
The full agenda
----------
Technorati tags: space access
Space Access 2008 - Andrew
He has built a test stand, so he can do testing.
He has been building instruments for the government, has one in orbit, one in Antarctica.
He is based in Tuscon.
The full agenda
----------
Technorati tags: space access
He has been building instruments for the government, has one in orbit, one in Antarctica.
He is based in Tuscon.
The full agenda
----------
Technorati tags: space access
Space Access 2008 - Jim Muncy from PoliSpace on Space Politics & Policies
Jim Muncy, founder and president of PoliSpace, encouraged everyone to reach out to Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.
Jim is a political consultant from Washington DC. Jim says there are four seasons in Washington DC: Silly, Stupid, Insane, and winter.
Jim says Hillary is probably the most pro space spending of the presidential cannidates. She has also said some positive things about partnerships with private companies.
John McCain knows something about space. He pro military. He did try to get NASA to better management their budget.
Jim doesn't know where Barack Obama stands. Jim guesses that Obama doesn't support the current status of NASA.
It is important to remember that NASA is not a monolith. The Air Force is not monolith. For example there are the space guys, the airplane guys, and others.
There is a crisis coming. Most people recognize that the shuttle is coming to an end.
The senior senator from Florida has realized that the only way to get to ISS sooner is by commercial space.
Twenty five years ago the House held its first meeting on commercial space. At that time the space shuttle was deploying satellites.
Jim says things are changing. Jim don't know how it will turn out. In the change there are opportunities for all of us. Don't think that everyone at NASA, the Air Force or Congress are going to support small space companies. Don't think they will cut you a check.
In many, many ways we are the Personal Computer of the space industry. One of the big changes was getting people who used mainframes to realize they could solve some of their problem with these small computers.
If you want to sell something to the government, figure out how you can meet a need. Just like you have to do marketing and sales with other companies, look to see how you can help with some of the NASA or Air Force's goals.
Jim sees good times ahead, and hard times ahead.
Questions:
Q: What will large space companies do when they take small space seriously?
A: Some large companies are figuring out they can get a competitive advantage by using small businesses. The small companies still need to prove themselves, for example get stuff into space.
Q: Randall made the point we need to check our ego at the door
Q: Some question about NASA
A: Elon has not yet launched. It is hard to get a government agency to buy services and goods from private industry.
The full agenda
----------
Technorati tags: space access
Jim is a political consultant from Washington DC. Jim says there are four seasons in Washington DC: Silly, Stupid, Insane, and winter.
Jim says Hillary is probably the most pro space spending of the presidential cannidates. She has also said some positive things about partnerships with private companies.
John McCain knows something about space. He pro military. He did try to get NASA to better management their budget.
Jim doesn't know where Barack Obama stands. Jim guesses that Obama doesn't support the current status of NASA.
It is important to remember that NASA is not a monolith. The Air Force is not monolith. For example there are the space guys, the airplane guys, and others.
There is a crisis coming. Most people recognize that the shuttle is coming to an end.
The senior senator from Florida has realized that the only way to get to ISS sooner is by commercial space.
Twenty five years ago the House held its first meeting on commercial space. At that time the space shuttle was deploying satellites.
Jim says things are changing. Jim don't know how it will turn out. In the change there are opportunities for all of us. Don't think that everyone at NASA, the Air Force or Congress are going to support small space companies. Don't think they will cut you a check.
In many, many ways we are the Personal Computer of the space industry. One of the big changes was getting people who used mainframes to realize they could solve some of their problem with these small computers.
If you want to sell something to the government, figure out how you can meet a need. Just like you have to do marketing and sales with other companies, look to see how you can help with some of the NASA or Air Force's goals.
Jim sees good times ahead, and hard times ahead.
Questions:
Q: What will large space companies do when they take small space seriously?
A: Some large companies are figuring out they can get a competitive advantage by using small businesses. The small companies still need to prove themselves, for example get stuff into space.
Q: Randall made the point we need to check our ego at the door
Q: Some question about NASA
A: Elon has not yet launched. It is hard to get a government agency to buy services and goods from private industry.
The full agenda
----------
Technorati tags: space access
Space Access 2008 - Ben Brockert for SEDS
Ben reported on what is Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. This is a student organization with chapters at many universities in the United States and around the world. They love to line up interns at rocket companies and help with other space activities.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
The full agenda
----------
Technorati tags: space access
Space Access 2008 - Steve Harrington from Flometrics
Steve Harrington reported on some of the work done by Flometrics. They focus on fluid flows. They have done some medical work, working on issues of different bodily fluids.
He showed some pumps they have developed.
They also work with students at the San Diego University and help them become rocket scientists. Each student puts together a rocket, makes estimates on how high it will go and then measures what it actually does. They launched six rockets and got four back. This quarter they have eleven students and Steve isn't sure how they'll launch eleven rockets in one day.
Steve talked about pumps in general and some of the history of pumps.
Steve would like to sell pumps.
Steve talked about how rocket companies often are too ambitious. He talked about the engineering development process. He says few companies start with a list of requirements. Part of a proper engineering process should include budget for testing. It is better to focus on what you can do with the money you have, rather than attempt to do more that is reasonable.
Steve listed a bunch of projects that got started, but then ran off the money.
Much of what he said about rocket development projects sounds very similar to software development.
The full agenda
----------
Technorati tags: space access
He showed some pumps they have developed.
They also work with students at the San Diego University and help them become rocket scientists. Each student puts together a rocket, makes estimates on how high it will go and then measures what it actually does. They launched six rockets and got four back. This quarter they have eleven students and Steve isn't sure how they'll launch eleven rockets in one day.
Steve talked about pumps in general and some of the history of pumps.
Steve would like to sell pumps.
Steve talked about how rocket companies often are too ambitious. He talked about the engineering development process. He says few companies start with a list of requirements. Part of a proper engineering process should include budget for testing. It is better to focus on what you can do with the money you have, rather than attempt to do more that is reasonable.
Steve listed a bunch of projects that got started, but then ran off the money.
Much of what he said about rocket development projects sounds very similar to software development.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Pretty amazing
Space Access 2008 - Timothy Bendel from Frontier Astronautics
Timothy Bendel says Frontier Astronautics provides services and sub components. They have done work for Matsen Space Systems and SpeedUp. He showed a test they did for SpeedUp. They are based in a missile silo.
Another customer is building a robot to go down through ice. Timothy asked if he could help when the robot is taken down to the Antarctica.
Timothy went through a dozen or so businesses they have worked for over the last year.
He showed pictures of their facility. They have a four hundred ton blast door! They are in the process of getting a license for test flights. They will be a private spaceport. Timothy talked about the benefits of being in Wyoming. Currently the state of Wyoming has a surplus and using the money to diversify their economic base.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Another customer is building a robot to go down through ice. Timothy asked if he could help when the robot is taken down to the Antarctica.
Timothy went through a dozen or so businesses they have worked for over the last year.
He showed pictures of their facility. They have a four hundred ton blast door! They are in the process of getting a license for test flights. They will be a private spaceport. Timothy talked about the benefits of being in Wyoming. Currently the state of Wyoming has a surplus and using the money to diversify their economic base.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Space Access 2008 - Chuck Lauer of Rocketplane Global
Chuck Lauer of Rocketplane Global said the market analysis still shows great potential for space tourism. Rocketplane Global is planning to only do 4 G's in contrast to Virgin's 6 G's. Chuck said this is a big difference for many people.
Chuck says you need to have help from the government. By and large the federal government is out of the picture. It is the states that are working with space companies. For example Virgin Galactic is working with the state of New Mexico and Rocketplane Global is working with Oklahoma.
There appears interest from reality TV shows to put celebrities into space. Also several brands are looking at by two tickets and having a contest. For example Nestle is having a contest for French speaking people; they'll have contests for other language groups down the road. Nestle is spending $400,000 for two tickets, and then another six million dollars to promote the contest.
Rocketplane Global's new design has six seats, three rows of two seats. They have designed the cabin so all seats see out the window. Each person has a side window and a monitor. Each person can select which of the seven cameras on the rocket they are looking at on the monitor.
The rocketplane flies as a plane to about 40,000 feet and then the rocket kicks in. They are flying out of Oklahoma.
The rocketplane is built in pieces by various sub contractors and integrated in Oklahoma.
In addition to the tourist market there appears to be a market for same day deliver across the world. Fed Ex charges on a per pound basis a premium to fly documents to Tokyo. Chuck had a fun line about you could fly a document to yesterday, going from Tokyo to the US. To have this service means the rocketplanes will have to be integrated with airports. Chuck showed a slide of flying from China to France in 90 minutes.
There are several spaceports around the world. There is nothing in the regulations that say you have to land in the spaceport you took off from.
Questions:
Q: When start flying?
A: Looking around 2010 or 2011
Q: How many?
A: Looking at a fleet size of 8, would spread them out, currently planning on the first two in Oklahoma. You can see about six hundred miles away during a flight. People want to see their home, people from Europe would rather fly out of the Europe.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Chuck says you need to have help from the government. By and large the federal government is out of the picture. It is the states that are working with space companies. For example Virgin Galactic is working with the state of New Mexico and Rocketplane Global is working with Oklahoma.
There appears interest from reality TV shows to put celebrities into space. Also several brands are looking at by two tickets and having a contest. For example Nestle is having a contest for French speaking people; they'll have contests for other language groups down the road. Nestle is spending $400,000 for two tickets, and then another six million dollars to promote the contest.
Rocketplane Global's new design has six seats, three rows of two seats. They have designed the cabin so all seats see out the window. Each person has a side window and a monitor. Each person can select which of the seven cameras on the rocket they are looking at on the monitor.
The rocketplane flies as a plane to about 40,000 feet and then the rocket kicks in. They are flying out of Oklahoma.
The rocketplane is built in pieces by various sub contractors and integrated in Oklahoma.
In addition to the tourist market there appears to be a market for same day deliver across the world. Fed Ex charges on a per pound basis a premium to fly documents to Tokyo. Chuck had a fun line about you could fly a document to yesterday, going from Tokyo to the US. To have this service means the rocketplanes will have to be integrated with airports. Chuck showed a slide of flying from China to France in 90 minutes.
There are several spaceports around the world. There is nothing in the regulations that say you have to land in the spaceport you took off from.
Questions:
Q: When start flying?
A: Looking around 2010 or 2011
Q: How many?
A: Looking at a fleet size of 8, would spread them out, currently planning on the first two in Oklahoma. You can see about six hundred miles away during a flight. People want to see their home, people from Europe would rather fly out of the Europe.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Friday, March 28, 2008
Space Access 2008 - John Gedmark of Personal Spaceflight Federation
John Gedmark from Personal Spaceflight Federation commented that some representatives of the traditional aerospace industry appeared to be actively lobbying against some of NASA's commercial space programs and saying that the commercial spaceflight ventures were not credibly due to their unrealisticly low cost estimates. He felt these lobbying efforts were bordering on outright attacks on small rocket developers and wanted to make sure the audience was aware of this, for when they next voice their opinions to their representatives on capitol hill.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Space Access 2008 - Bob Steinke from SpeedUp
Bob Steinke, CEO of SpeedUp, showed a video of a prototype hovering.
Bob said there are a number of companies building a sub orbital rockets and there is a window of opportunity for a rocket to get to orbit. He plans to make it inter-operable so it can work with a variety of launch vehicles.
He sees three markets:
1) To increase performance of sub orbital
2) Launching small satellites
3) Move existing satellites
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Bob said there are a number of companies building a sub orbital rockets and there is a window of opportunity for a rocket to get to orbit. He plans to make it inter-operable so it can work with a variety of launch vehicles.
He sees three markets:
1) To increase performance of sub orbital
2) Launching small satellites
3) Move existing satellites
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Space Access 2008 - Space Propellant Depots Panel with Jon Goff, Dallas Bienhoff, Frank Zegler, and Rand Simberg
Jon Goff
Jon kicked off the panel discussion with a short presentation. A hundred years ago sea going nations had coal stations around the world. Jon asserts that we'll need similar propellant depots as we become a space faring civilization.
Building a propellant depots have a number of technical and economic issues. Jon explored some of the technical issues. One of them is how to control the fuel so it goes where you want and doesn't go where it doesn't belong. Also helpful to make it simple so the gas station attendant can service the next rocket ship.
How do you build the business case? Can't depend on NASA. Only after there are fuel depots will NASA start to use them, NASA won't fund them.
Rand Simberg
Rand talked about the problems of the government building build fuel depots. The government would use way too much money. Can send the fuel with low cost thrusters. Because lives will depend on the fuel being there the depot systems have to be fail safe, there can't be a single point of failure. To have a robust, reasonable cost depot system there has to be a large demand, a good size market.
Where do you put the fuel depots? One good place is the equator. Unfortunately NASA would want the fuel depot above 28 degrees, since NASA launches from Florida. Other good places are the Lagraunge points.
It probably would be worth building a tanker. It could even process the fuel as it transports the fuel.
Rand says there are three business models:
1) Over specify what you want.
2) Use a ComSat model
(I missed the rest of Rand's talk, Janine called me.)
Dallas Bienhoff
Dallas talked about some of the technical issues of transferring the fuel.
It would be nice to have a couple fuel depots in Low Earth Orbit. A regular mission to the moon would start with 300 tons of fuel and land on the moon with only 17 tons, much of that would be fuel. A fuel depot allows a rocket to land on the moon with about 50 tons, much of that would be payload.
Dallas showed a picture of a fuel depot might look like.
Frank Zegler
One of the problems with handling fuel is we can't predict the boil off rate. Two ships flying the exact same mission can have a difference of boil off rate of a factor two. The fuel depot will need a solar shield. He explained a solar shield that did a good job of protecting the fuel.
Frank said that a rocket pack on the moon could take you into lunar orbit!
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Jon kicked off the panel discussion with a short presentation. A hundred years ago sea going nations had coal stations around the world. Jon asserts that we'll need similar propellant depots as we become a space faring civilization.
Building a propellant depots have a number of technical and economic issues. Jon explored some of the technical issues. One of them is how to control the fuel so it goes where you want and doesn't go where it doesn't belong. Also helpful to make it simple so the gas station attendant can service the next rocket ship.
How do you build the business case? Can't depend on NASA. Only after there are fuel depots will NASA start to use them, NASA won't fund them.
Rand Simberg
Rand talked about the problems of the government building build fuel depots. The government would use way too much money. Can send the fuel with low cost thrusters. Because lives will depend on the fuel being there the depot systems have to be fail safe, there can't be a single point of failure. To have a robust, reasonable cost depot system there has to be a large demand, a good size market.
Where do you put the fuel depots? One good place is the equator. Unfortunately NASA would want the fuel depot above 28 degrees, since NASA launches from Florida. Other good places are the Lagraunge points.
It probably would be worth building a tanker. It could even process the fuel as it transports the fuel.
Rand says there are three business models:
1) Over specify what you want.
2) Use a ComSat model
(I missed the rest of Rand's talk, Janine called me.)
Dallas Bienhoff
Dallas talked about some of the technical issues of transferring the fuel.
It would be nice to have a couple fuel depots in Low Earth Orbit. A regular mission to the moon would start with 300 tons of fuel and land on the moon with only 17 tons, much of that would be fuel. A fuel depot allows a rocket to land on the moon with about 50 tons, much of that would be payload.
Dallas showed a picture of a fuel depot might look like.
Frank Zegler
One of the problems with handling fuel is we can't predict the boil off rate. Two ships flying the exact same mission can have a difference of boil off rate of a factor two. The fuel depot will need a solar shield. He explained a solar shield that did a good job of protecting the fuel.
Frank said that a rocket pack on the moon could take you into lunar orbit!
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Space Access 2008 - Charles Miller - Space Frontier Foundation
Charles stated a couple times that this talk was on behalf of the Space Frontier Foundation. For years NASA got flat funding, but more recently NASA's budget has gone down and up. Looking over the next fifty years NASA would like to have flat funding. Charles says the retiring baby boomers may want money spent on social issues.
Charles had two pie charts contrasting that years ago the Federal government had more discretionary options, but because of of interest payments and rising social security the percentage of money that is discretionary, things like NASA and the military.
Charles says that NASA's budget will be tightened up, that there will be major cuts. There are a couple ways we could get into space:
1) Cheap transportation into space
2) High economic benefit drivers into space
3) High military needs to be in space
With cheap access to space there will be lots of science experiments.
Charles challenged the group to rally and encourage the government to push for a cheap, reusable space transportation system.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Charles had two pie charts contrasting that years ago the Federal government had more discretionary options, but because of of interest payments and rising social security the percentage of money that is discretionary, things like NASA and the military.
Charles says that NASA's budget will be tightened up, that there will be major cuts. There are a couple ways we could get into space:
1) Cheap transportation into space
2) High economic benefit drivers into space
3) High military needs to be in space
With cheap access to space there will be lots of science experiments.
Charles challenged the group to rally and encourage the government to push for a cheap, reusable space transportation system.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Space Access 2008 - Jordin Kare, on LaserMotive, a Laser-Launch Startup Company
Jordin followed up his overview of the laser-launch industry with a report on LaserMotive, his laser-launch startup company.
LaserMotive is a Seattle based private company organized to compete with a NASA-sponsored Power Beaming competition. There is a two million dollar prize. Jordin talked about last year's competition. Jordin listed the people that are part of the LaserMotive team.
The contest had a four hundred foot crane. The device was suppose to be ten kilograms and climb the ribbon at least two meters a second. The ribbon would sway in the wind and twist, so tracking was an important issue for them.
Jordin went over many of the technical details they had to work out and some of problems they encountered at the contest.
They learned that it is important to test early and test often. Jordin said they tested features that never got used.
Next year the ribbon will be a kilometer long, held up by a balloon. The ribbon will be held off the side, so the lasers don't hurt the balloon.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Beware of Jiffy Lube
This is a bit off topic, but I really hate it when businesses get away with this kind of thing.
A recent undercover news story found that 5 out of 9 Jiffy Lube repair shops charged customers for services that they never performed.
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Tags : JIffy Lube , repair scam
A recent undercover news story found that 5 out of 9 Jiffy Lube repair shops charged customers for services that they never performed.
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Tags : JIffy Lube , repair scam
Space Access 2008 - Dave Masten of Masten Space
Dave Masten is going to report on what they have done over the last year and their goals for the next couple years.
Their long term goal is to development a full time transportation system. They are starting small, they want to first launch a hundred kilograms.
Masten Space got started in Silicon Valley and then moved to Mohave Dessert. They have done a ton of flights. He showed a video of XA-0.1. He said their safety systems worked, the engine shut off and the system was depressurized.
They have started developing a XA-0.2. It is a lunar lander contestant. They had trouble getting a tank. Their first supplier said they didn't know how to build the tank as designed. They have redesigned and simplified their design.
Dave had a new hire, Ben, show off their igniter. Ben showed a video. They have done a lot of tests and it seems to always work. Paul Breed warned about getting the copper too hot.
Dave says they have two computers on board, one computer controls one part of the rocket, and the second computer controls another part.
Someone asked how much the igniter cost, Ben said to talk with Michael, their marketing guy.
You can follow their progress at the Masten Space Blog.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Interesting - the power of the internet
From Instapundit:
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A decrease of 9.4% in one year is a big hit. The article says said there was also a 9% decrease from 2000 to 2001.
Clearly blogs and other internet activities are taking away advertising dollars.
An amazing world.
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Technorati tags: online, advertising
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OUCH: "According to new data released by the Newspaper Association of America, total print advertising revenue in 2007 plunged 9.4% to $42 billion compared to 2006 -- the most severe percent decline since the association started measuring advertising expenditures in 1950. "
UPDATE: Reader Johann Erickson emails: "Last time I put a 'help wanted' ad in my local paper, it cost me about $500. I got 6 faxes, 5 were unqualified for the job. I put an ad on Craigslist for free and got about 40 resumes. About 10 qualified for the job. Why would I ever use a newspaper again? Classified ads were the biggest drop, 16.5% or so. Just another dinosaur dying." As I said, ouch.
--------------------A decrease of 9.4% in one year is a big hit. The article says said there was also a 9% decrease from 2000 to 2001.
Clearly blogs and other internet activities are taking away advertising dollars.
An amazing world.
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Technorati tags: online, advertising
Space Access 2008 - Ken Davidian of NASA ESMD Commercial Development
Ken Davidian of NASA’s Exploration System talked about how NASA wants to help the commercial space industry.
Ken started off telling the story of Old McNASA. For decades Old McNASA had run his business the same way. Then Old McNASA realized that there were other farmers. Old McNASA saw that other farmers were doing things differently. He wasn't sure if they were raising crops. There were new crops. Old McNASA decided to try to work with the other farmers.
Ken tells the story within NASA to help remind people within NASA that they want to help new farmers get betters. The new farmers are the space entrepreneurs. They are taking high risks and making great technological break-throughs.
NASA wants to help fund space development, remove road blocks and limit the amount of intellectual property claims. Ken acknowledged that there are goals, and there is the reality of what NASA does.
Ken listed several programs NASA has to identify the new farmers and help them grow.
Ken did a good job of speaking to an audience of many who are distrustful of NASA.
You can get a copy of his slides from here.
Questions:
Q: Please don't keep changing the requirements on us
A: Good message, Ken will try to keep NASA from changing the environment
Q: How will you get others in NASA to follow this policy?
A: Part of Ken's job is to get the program managers to pay attention to this policy, Ken acknowledges there are some in NASA he can't affect
Q: What can the new space industry do to help prompt NASA to pay attention to the private industry
A: Do something, scientists are so hungry to access to space that they will work to take advantage of companies like Armadillo
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
Space Access 2008 - John Carmack on Armadillo Aerospace
John Carmack reported on the last year of progress for Armadillo. In the last year Armadillo has done seven permitted flights. John Carmack showed videos of their flights. They have made progress.
The videos were pretty cool!
They have bolted two modules together. They plan to eventually put more modules together.
For testing they strapped one of their rockets to a 50,000 pound crane and use the rocket to push the crane down a drag strip. There has been some problems with started and stopping, so they ran dozens of stops and starts to make sure the system issues have been fixed.
It was frustrating last year to come out of the X Prize contest last year. They thought they had tested everything enough. They had seen some problems and thought they had fixed all the problems. They had done over thirty flights. They went to the X Prize with three vehicles and left with three wrecked engines. They still don't understand all the problems.
They have some contracts to bring in revenue, one is NASA, another is a business which has asked them to not talk about the work Armadillo is doing.
John believes they are just a couple million dollars away from having a workable system for taking people 100,000 feet up. He sees the space tourism market as having a great potential. John has recently put in a little more money to keep the business going.
They have learned a lot in building several vehicles in the last year.
Questions:
Q: How much money has been spent?
A: Between three and four million over the last eight years.
Q: Plans for going to 100,000 feet?
A: Expect to lift relatively slowly, so the bulky modular approach should be OK.
Q: The half a million a year burn rate, does that include labor?
A: One person is being paid full time, others are getting a token payment.
The full agenda
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Technorati tags: space access
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