So Long and Thanks for all the Fish

So What's Next?

Back in January of 1986, I was a sophomore in college double-majoring in chemistry and physics. I had been hooked on science and technology since I was a four-year old watching the Apollo 11 moon landing on our black and white television along with just about every other civilized human on the planet. Science, rockets, spaceships and technology took over my life from that point on. That January morning I was eating lunch with friends in the dining hall when one of my dorm mates told me the Shuttle Challenger exploded soon after launch.

After some convincing that he wasn't teasing, I rushed back to my dorm room to watch the news coverage of the event on my small black and white dorm television. All of the guys on the floor knew I was into NASA's Space Shuttle Program and stopped by to get an explanation of the tragedy. While the news anchors were all over the place with theories, I used my large-scale shuttle models to illustrate the various scenarios.  (Yes, my roommate covered his side of the room with centerfolds and I had shuttle models and planetary posters captured from the Voyager probes.)

Soon after the loss of Challenger and her brave crew, President Ronald Reagan appropriated 2 Billion dollars to assemble a new shuttle that would ultimately be named Endeavour. And today, over 15 years later, Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to blast off on its final mission. NASA is bringing its Space Shuttle program to an end without a replacement. The US Debt is now growing at an estimated rate of over 2 Billion dollars per every eight (8) hours - three space shuttles per day. Thousands of people whose careers were associated with the manned space program are being let go. One of the retired shuttles is being shipped to New York City to curry favor with voters rather than resting in Houston, Texas, home to mission control. Worrisome times.

So what is the Next Big Thing? The Political Class demonizes Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Coal, Big Natural Gas and Big Nuclear while celebrating proper tire inflation. They cry out for better education and training in Science, Mathematics and Engineering and then shutter or heavily regulate organizations that innovate. Perhaps this morning's Royal Wedding will spark the inhabitants of this precious blue marble to continue the Big Dream and to strive to accomplish great things -- not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize the measure of the best of our energies and skills...

Related articles

• Ex-NASA space shuttle to touch down on aircraft carrier (go.theregister.com)
• NASA Signs Over Space Shuttle Enterprise to NYC Museum (space.com)

Happy 6-Month Release Day!

Taking Natty Narwhal out for a Spin

The end of April 2011 sure took its time getting here. Today marks the release of Ubuntu 11.04 - the latest stable release of the free, linux-based operating system. I have been running the Ubuntu Netbook remix on my EeePC since last Fall and it is fantastic. Today's upgrade displays some upgraded desktop icons along with some very major changes under the hood.

As a Netbook Remix user, I didn't expect to see very drastic changes at first blush as Ubuntu 11.04 now uses the Netbook Remix as the primary UI for this release. The version incorporates LibreOffice rather than the Oracle-owned OpenOffice Productivity Suite, but I switched over to LibreOffice on my desktop a while back and primarily use Google Docs anyway.

The greatest thing so far is that my EeePC running 11.04 now communicates seamlessly with my Samsung T404G phone via Bluetooth. It may be an actual upgrade or just me getting it right after a dozen or so tries, but  the link now works as advertised. Now I can scratch Phone/USB cable off my 'nice-to-have' list while I offload a ton of pictures taken with the phone from its 4GB microSD card.

Probably the most exciting fact is that I now have a giant increase in options and ability using hardware I already own. A simple OS upgrade later and I'm giddy all over again without shelling out any money. Thanks as always Canonical. Ubuntu Rocks!

Even Dark Elves Get It

Are Choice and Personal Responsibility considered Fantasy?

Science Fiction is simply Science Future. I've been around science long enough to see all kinds of surprisingly cool stuff that would have been termed impossible only a few short moments before. Depending on how close your experience lies to the cutting edge of research, many technologies that appear to be total fiction have actually been accomplished and are currently deep within the product development process or the proprietary or classified scientific pipeline and may take years or decades to debut in front of the general public.

As a scientist and a total geek, I much prefer reading Fantasy to science future. The elements of magic and exotic lifeforms provide all manner of surprising solutions to complex problems. Surprise is a key ingredient to learning -- and I love to learn. I continue to be surprised by author R.A. Salvatore as I delightfully make my way through his 13-volume Forgotten Realms series describing The Legend of Drizzt -- a dark elf who chooses to leave the fellow members of his chaotically-evil subterranean race to live above ground among honorable colleagues of various races. Drizzt lives his code of honor through actions and words. A particularly poignant passage from Drizzt contained in Volume IX - Siege of Darkness follows:

In the heart, there is no sting greater that watching the struggles of one you love, knowing that only through such strife will that person grow and recognize the potential of his or her existence. Too many thieves in the Realms believe the formula for happiness lies in an unguarded treasure trove. Too many wizards seek to circumvent the years of study required for true power. They find a spell on a scroll or an enchanted item that is far beyond their understanding, yet they try it anyway, only to be consumed by the powerful magic. Too many priests in the Realms, and too many religious sects in general, ask of themselves and of their congregations only humble servitude.

All of them are doomed to fail in the true test of happiness. There is one ingredient missing in stumbling upon an unguarded treasure hoard; there is one element absent when a minor wizard lays his hands on an archmage's staff; there is one item unaccounted for in humble, unquestioning, and unambitious servitude.

A sense of accomplishment.

It is the most important ingredient in any rational being's formula of happiness. It is the element that builds confidence and allows us to go on to other, greater tasks. It is the item that promotes a sense of self-worth, that allows any person to believe there is value in life itself, that gives a sense of purpose to bolster us as we face life's unanswerable questions.

                                                                  -Drizzt Do'Urden

So much like Science Fiction is simply Science Future, perhaps Fantasy is simply Reality without the shackles of political correctness.