534 in Oregon


As promised - One Oregon video - what an amazing time...

In the field

Well... I'm heading off with a group here into the wilds of Oregon for a week of camping, geography, web design (I still have to get some work done... if possible), and adventures all over Oregon. I hope to see some amazing things and come home not too sore... I'll have another vid when I return though...!~ ;)

Cheers!

'No Saddam link to Iraq al-Qaeda'

This finding is contained in a 2005 CIA report released by the Senate's Intelligence Committee on Friday. They state "Saddam Hussein was distrustful of al-Qaeda and viewed Islamic extremists as a threat to his regime, refusing all requests from al-Qaeda to provide material or operational support."

Now, let me guess, everyone in the CIA is a liberal conspiring to lie and defame the president... Face facts folks - you were duped - big W has repeatedly lied to you. You gave up many of your civil rights to support this lie. Your children are dying to support this lie. Our nation is not safer and we have created a whole new generation of terrorists so our kids will have someone to attack them...

So...with this as a given, how does invading Iraq support the (unwinable) war on terror? To try and make Iraq in our own image with the hope that democracry will spread throughout the region (except of course to our allies there...) and overturn centuries of strong central rule? A fools errand at best and we've already seen the results as Iraq slips closer to civil war. No, I don't buy it - there's more to this puzzle than is public.

Krikey!! With great reach comes great risk

By now you've heard of the untimely death of Steve Irwin the famous "Croc Hunter." Any headline that has the word "surprise" in it is a bit mistaken. When you live a life of great adventure you accept the risks that go along with it. He knew what he was getting in to and while tragic, I have no doubt that he was loving every minute of life until the very last one - something VERY few of us can say. Risk is just part of the game.

This (of course) brings us to astronauts. Risk is unavoidable in space exploration. Especially at this point in our history. One cannot expect our expansion into the cosmos to happen without loss. Public oversight has forced many space agencies to be conservative in their approach - yet some of the greatest leaps have come from the boldest steps. (Mike Melvill comes to mind) Perhaps there is something to be learned from the Ol' Croc hunter even in death.

SMART-1 Impacts the Moon

Congratulations to Dr. Foing and all the SMART-1 Team. Europe has indeed paved the way for the rest of the world's upcoming Moon missions! - I am also glad to see that ILEWG has put forward so many excellent proposals regarding international lunar science harmonization!!