The planet nearest the Sun./NASA image
Submitted for your approval:
- Pro-Qaddafi Forces Push Rebels Into Chaotic Retreat (NYT) — This is like watching a particularly bloody tennis match.
- Obama Outlines Energy Plan (WSJ) — And it’s very Energy Party. But whatever one thinks of that, I’m just excited to have a president who HAS an energy plan.
- Syria vows to prevail over ‘plot’ (BBC) — He doesn’t lift the “state of emergency” that’s been in place for 50 years. Because, you know, for once he has an actual emergency.
- GOP House leaders take risk in budget deal (WashPost) — What’s this big “risk” they’re taking? They’re talking to Democrats. No, really. Yes, among Republicans that’s considered the ultimate risky, daredevil, Hail Mary move. That’s how ridiculous things have gotten. Harry Reid said the GOP “can’t let the tea party call the shots.” That shows that he, for one, hasn’t talked to any actual Republicans lately.
- In NASA’s Lens, Mercury Comes Into Focus (NYT) — Tired of the weather? Want to go somewhere warmer? How about… Mercury? Check out the close-ups.
- No raccoon meat in cooler, DHEC tells store (The State) — Uh-oh. I sense another “Thank you, South Carolina!” report coming from Jon Stewart. First, his very favorite SC newsmaker gets out of jail, now this. Or maybe he’ll be distracted by “S.C. bill would loosen gun rules even more.
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Kudos Brad for the Mercury story. First time the planet has ever been orbited and I haven’t seen any mention of it on the MSM. Since Voyager the un-maned missions have been far more interesting than the manned ones. Speaking of Voyager I just found out that they are still transmitting data some 25 years after visiting Neptune. Now that’s a well-man vehicle.
Well, we’ll see what the morning papers do with it.
When we got the first surface-level images of Mars (from Viking), I was in charge of the front page at the paper in Jackson, TN. Even though I’m a traditionalist on front-page layout, I threw out the rulebook on that — we ran a full-page picture of the planet’s surface. Major history, worth getting excited about.
Somehow, I didn’t expect Mercury to look so much like our moon. I think I expected it to look more like Mars. Not for any particular reason; I hadn’t thought about it. I was just surprised.
Nope, no Mercury mention on their online page. They’re too worried about losing the Amazon deal. Like it matters that much to lose a bunch of unskilled, minimum wage jobs.
Re: the raccoon meat– The State says it can harbor rabies. Is eating rabid meat a means of contracting rabies? What are the real dangers of eating, say, roadkill or, uh, variety game meats?
The State also has a piece about a woman who is getting/got a lung transplant that says that her lungs’ failure was probably related to her goat-farming. Sounds like an episode of House.
What are the real statistical risks of any form of food? Sure, you could be vegetarian, except that we know that vegetables can harbor some pretty nasty microbes. Highly processed food that won’t rot is probably free of naturally occurring contaminants, but surely no responsible scientist recommends the Mylar-wrapped diet?
Problem with roadkill is that the internal organs usually get smashed, flooding the meat with bacteria. Also, wild game can have parasites. Not that thats a deal killer…
Ah, but at least there is “Meat Glue” to add some mystery to our lives.
http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/article/8989315/consumer/meat-glue
Burl, I DID start following her, on your recommendation, several days ago. That’s how I first learned about the images, although I didn’t post anything on it until this…
Also, on top of being so smart and hip to what’s happening in space, she’s kinda cute for an astronomy geek…
Amazingly, my blog beat Brad to the Mercury images by a day. Both of us beat the MSM, but we’re also space race babies. (Brad, check out Emily Lakdawalla’s tweet stream).
Mercury’s rotation is bizarre, its orbit is eccentric, it has a magnetic field like Earth’s, and the last time it was photographed was a Mariner mission. The images from Messenger are flooding in. It will be interesting to see if the planet has any surface temp issues during albedo passage. Exciting stuff!
Wasn’t it von Bismarck who said that there are two things one doesn’t want to watch being made–laws and sausage? Who knows what gets put into the hot dogs.
Yup, Bismarck, one of my two favorite quotes, the other being the Petigru Republic/lunatic asylum one.