Ceramic Lasers to Replace Spark Plugs?

Solid state lasers have come a long way, baby...

Original Sin...

What could I possibly add to this?  Via my mom:

Beautiful!

Time lapse photography from El Teide (tallest mountain in Spain).  The scenes with clouds below the level of the camera are very reminiscent of things we see in our mountain valleys quite frequently.  Via Frankie T:

On the Air Again...

Thanks to Eric at SDWISP, we're back on the air again.  We're not actually sure exactly what was wrong, but somehow between the work the Eric did on our radio link and associated wiring, and that I did on our network's router, our Internet connection is back.  Woo hoo!

Thanks for the great service, Eric.  While we've come to expect it (because you're so consistent!), it is still greatly appreciated...

Internet-Free Morning, and Quote of the Day...

Our Internet service at home died yesterday morning – I suspect rodents gnawed something important.  Eric from SDWISP returned my trouble call very quickly (on a Sunday – love that service!).  He'll be at our house this afternoon to put things right.

Meanwhile, I drove to work early this morning so I could actually get something done.  I got into the office at 2:25 am – a personal record.  Yes, mom, I know I'm crazy.

Around 2 am I passed the Rancho San Diego shopping center (where Target is), and spotted an older woman sitting by the side of the road.  I thought she might be sick or hurt, so I stopped to see if she was ok.  It was an interesting experience.

Her name is Alicia, and she appears to be about 70 years old.  She's filthy, and her clothes are falling apart.  As best I could tell, she doesn't have a drink or drug problem – she just has no money, and the shelter she was staying in (in La Mesa) had closed.  She told me she was staying near the iron bridge just down the road, but she'd been rousted by the Border Patrol, and was now looking for another place to stay.  She was just resting when I stopped to check on her.

Alicia told me she'd really like to get to Clairemont Mesa, as she'd heard there was another shelter there, still open.  I was headed that way (I work in Del Mar), so I offered her a lift.  For the half hour ride, I asked Alicia a string of questions and she cheerfully answered.

She has two children that she hasn't heard from in ten years or more.  Five years ago her husband died.  She had no income other than Social Security, and that's not even close to enough to live on in San Diego.  She's been in San Diego for 50 years, after moving out here with her Navy dad.  She lost her house, foreclosed for taxes and mortgage payment; she got almost nothing from the sale.  She's been living on the streets in the three years since then.

And yet ... Alicia seems happy.  It's amazing how resilient some people are.  When I mentioned how surprising I found her cheerfulness, she said:

“I'm alive, aren't I?  I still enjoy sunsets and the birds, and I have enough to eat.  That's a lot more than some people have!”

Alicia gets my quote of the day.  I don't think anyone's going to top it.

I let her off at the 24 hour McDonald's off Mira Mesa Blvd, and bought her some breakfast.  I got a hug before she trudged off toward where she believed the shelter was, happily slurping her coffee and munching on her breakfast burrito.

Happy trails, Alicia.  I'll think of you at sunset today...

Historical U.S. Top Marginal Tax Rates...

Over the years I've been surprised many times by the general ignorance U.S. citizens have of how their top marginal tax rates have changed over the years.  In particular, few people seem to know how much higher these rates were between the FDR and Reagan administrations.  The chart below shows this very nicely (as usual, click to enlarge).

There are many interesting observations one can make from this chart.

One that progressives like to make is that we have a lot of experience in economic boom times (say, the late '50s) with very high top marginal rates – therefore such rates are not the destroyer of jobs claimed by the conservatives.  However, it is simultaneously true that the very wealthy back then had relatively easy access to tax shelters, and in fact very little income was actually taxed at that rate.  The real world is messy and complicated.

An observation that conservatives like to make is the strong correllation between the dropping of tax rates and the subsequent ramping up of the economy (this happened both in the late '20s and early '90s).  But progressives can point to other factors that influenced those economic upturns, including other roughly simultaneous changes in the regulatory environment.  The real world is messy and complicated.

So be careful reading too much into the squiggles on this chart.  Nonetheless it's a useful piece of any U.S. citizen's political education – no matter what one's political beliefs, this chart encapsulates the past century's history of one of the most significant consequences of elections: the setting of our tax rates...

IC 410...

From APOD, of course:

Ersatz Budget Politics...

Mark Steyn, as only he can:

The other day the post office apologized for its new stamp honoring Lady Liberty. Due to an unfortunate error, the stamp shows not the 19th-century Statue of Liberty that stands in New York Harbor but the 1990s replica that stands at the New York–New York Casino in Las Vegas.

An ersatz statue of pseudo-liberty standing guard over the world’s biggest gambling operation: What better way to round out a week in which the Republicans pretended to pass the most historically historic budget cut in history while the president pretended to come up with a plan to address the debt? All while pretending to wage a war in Libya whose most likely outcome seems to be that the only Arab dictator to sleep soundly in his bed at night during these turbulent times will be doing so under cover of a NATO no-fly zone for the rest of his 75-year term of office. In such a world, the USPS, bless ’em, has come up with a far more plausible emblem of societal devastation than Hollywood’s space monsters and climate-change fairies.

Ah, Mr. Steyn. How could I despair without you?

The Lady is on Fire...

Complete with the screechy voice.  It's impossible for anyone to reconcile the left's portrayal of her intellectual capacity with the content of that speech.  It's also impossible to miss the fact that she's the only national politician who effectively leveraged the recent events in Wisconsin – which she, alone, recognized as watershed events as they occurred.  Sarah Palin taken as a complete political package is one very impressive politician, whatever one may think of her views.

The 2012 election cycle promises to be even more interesting – and consequential – than the 2010 cycle.

Send In a Marine!

Via reader Simi L., this story of a Marine's solution to a discipline challenge:

A former Sergeant in the Marine Corps took a new job as a high chool teacher. Just before the school year started he injured his back. He was required to wear a plaster cast around the upper part of his body. Fortunately, the cast fit under his shirt and wasn't noticeable. On the first day of class, he found himself assigned to the toughest students in the school.

The smart aleck punks, having already heard the new teacher was a former Marine, were leery of him and he knew they would be testing his discipline in the classroom.

Walking confidently into the rowdy classroom, the new teacher opened the window wide and sat down at his desk. When a strong breeze made his tie flap, he picked up a stapler and stapled the tie to his chest.

Dead silence. He had no trouble with discipline the rest of the year.

Hoo ah!

Aurora Borealis...

Via reader (and colleague) Frankie T., this time-lapse movie that captures the aurora borealis on a flight from San Francisco to Paris...

Obama Likely to Lose in 2012...

So says Peggy Noonan.  Assuming, that is, the Republicans field a serious candidate, and not someone like The Donald...

Wax Bang at Hash Buck Grapes Circumflex and Splat Wane...

Explained...

Timing...

If you catch yourself doing this:

Then it's time to retire with your dignity intact.

My younger readers may not know what the woman in the photo is doing.  She's applying an opaque white fluid (known as “white-out”) to her computer screen.  She's doing this because back in the old days, this is how she learned to correct errors when typing.  People used an antique device called a “typewriter” (a kind of combined printer and keyboard) to print neat text direct onto paper.  With a typewriter, the only way you could correct an error was to paint whiteout onto the mistake and then type over it.  There was no backspace key or erase key.  If you have trouble believing that humans actually used such primitive devices, or that such humans could possibly still be alive, please consult this article for more information on the subject...

Alpha Dog...

You know which dog is the alpha dog:

Eagle Camera, 24 x 7...

From Decorah, Iowa in their nest 80' in the air, the Raptor Research Project is streaming live video of eagles and their just-hatched chicks.  The snap at right I took just a few minutes ago.  It's black-and-white because at night the nest is illuminated with an infrared light (which the eagles can't see).  During the day, the feed is in full color.

Live eagle nest viewing, from the comfort of our homes.  What an amazing world we live in!

Windex vs. the Streaker...

Windex wins:

The Right Words...

Via reader “ole timer”:

Slide Rules...

Amazing!  I'm not the only one who thinks it would be a good idea for today's kids to learn about slide rules...

Mac OS/X Tips and Tricks...

An excellent collection.  I've been using a Mac for almost four years now, and most of these were new to me.  Better yet, a dozen or so are things I want to add to my back of tricks!

Hysterical...

This video is just over 10 minutes long, but trust me – you will not regret the time spent. Put down your morning drink, swallow, and watch. If you have young children, you might want them out of the room. If you work in a very conservative setting, this may not be safe to play there...

Thank You...

A farmer near Offutt Air Force Base (just outside of Omaha, Nebraska) has for several years used his tractor to make a giant signboard (at right, click to enlarge).  The pilots landing at Offutt see this on their final approach.  Via my mom, who's on a roll today!

Below is the same field, seen from a satellite.

Is the Honeymoon Finally Over?

Via my mom:

You know the honeymoon is over when the comedians start in on you...

The liberals are asking us to give Obama time. We agree...and think 25 to life would be appropriate.
-- Jay Leno

America needs Obamacare like Nancy Pelosi needs a Halloween mask.
-- Jay Leno

Have you heard about McDonald's' new Obama Value Meal? Order anything you like and the guy behind you has to pay for it.
-- Conan O'Brien

What does Barack Obama call lunch with a convicted felon? A fund raiser.
-- Jay Leno

What's the difference between Obama's cabinet and a penitentiary? One is filled with tax evaders, blackmailers, and threats to society. The other is for housing prisoners.
-- David Letterman

If Nancy Pelosi and Obama were on a boat in the middle of the ocean and it started to sink, who would be saved? America!
-- Jimmy Fallon

What's the difference between Obama and his dog, Bo? Bo has papers.
-- Jimmy Kimmel

What was the most positive result of the "Cash for Clunkers" program? It took 95% of the Obama bumper stickers off the road.
-- David Letterman

This Looks Like Fun!

Via my mom:

Modern Microprocessors...

An excellent and accessible quick course on modern microprocessor architecture...

ClimateGate: Some News...

Another in a long string of tour de force by Steve McIntyre.  If you weren't already disgusted with government-teat science, you will be by the time you finish.

And from the always-entertaining James Delingpole, news that he and his team have won an important legal victory against an attempt by the University of East Anglia (UEA) to quash his (to them) uncomfortable observations.  As he puts it: “They lost.  We won.”  His headline reveals his mindset: “UEA: the sweet smell of napalm in the morning.“

Morning Walk and Other Things...

We slept in a little bit this morning, until just before sunrise.  Mo'i, Lea and I went out for our usual walk into a beautiful, clear, cold morning.  We had frost on everything insulated from the ground, so the air temperature must have gotten to below freezing.  Not a cloud in the sky.  The birds were in great evidence, the birds of spring, singing their little hearts out as if celebrating the impending sunrise.  Tendrils of mist swirled around our little valley.  Just beautiful...

The dogs didn't notice, of course.  They were too busy checking out who visited our yard last night.  Judging from their activity, we had a lot of visitors.

Having just Mo'i and Lea makes for a downright sedate morning walk. Debbie's got Miki and Race at an agility competition in Arizona, and those two are the ones who make morning walks challenging – they're just so full of energy and curiousity.  Mo'i and Lea are much calmer.

It's a strange sort of morning for mid-April here.  Colder and wetter than we've seen for a while.  Last year on this same date, we had not had rain for 2 months, and the temperature was in the low 90s.  We had rain yesterday, and a frost last night; forecast for today is the high 60s.  Al Gore must be in town...

Debbie reports from the agility meet that things are going well for her and the dogs.  Race took a first place yesterday on a standard course, beating the course time by some absurd amount.  The little guy is basically a rocket ship on paws!  Miki ran yesterday in Excellent A category for the first time.  He had a fault on both runs, and in that category a single fault disqualifies you.  But Debbie was still very happy with the runs – he was focused and fast, and the mistakes were arguably hers rather than his.  You could hear her smile and excitement over the phone.

Last night my neighbor and friend Jim B. rang me up and offered to deliver some birthday party food for me.  I was invited to the party, but they know and forgive my introversion – I don't enjoy myself with large gatherings (they had over 20 people), especially when they are people I don't know well.  So Jim delivered a feast: a freshly grilled burger, some deviled eggs, a crab & macaroni salad, and a fruit salad.  Delicious, and it provided my breakfast this morning as well.

Now it's back to work for me!

The Ultimate Sandwich?

I just finished what may be the single best sandwich I've ever had in my life.  I haven't the faintest idea how I could improve upon it.  Here's how I made it:

• Bread:  Two slices of Dudley's rosemary-olive oil bread, toasted until it just began to brown.  If you're from the San Diego area and you don't know Dudley's bakery, then you're unnecessarily missing out on a simple pleasure.  If you do know about Dudley's, well, then, you know what I'm talking about!
• Mayonnaise: A freshly opened jar of real mayonnaise (not that “salad dressing” garbage) – not homemade, true, but still very good.
• Avocado: A Californa Haas avocado, perfectly ripe, blemish free, sliced.
• Tomato: An Imperial Valley tomato, ripened in our window until it smelled wonderful, sliced thickly.
• Lettuce: A few leaves of crisp, dark green iceberg lettuce – for the crunch and the burst of moisture as you chew.
• Salami: A half-dozen slices of top-notch genoa salami.  There's a huge variation in quality of Italian cold cuts at our local stores.  Albertson's carries several that are particularly good, and this was one of them.

I ate it with a tall glass of cold milk.  As we like to say: “It was so good that it made my brains fall out.”.

Never thought I'd say this, but I'm going back to work on the taxes with a smile upon my face.  Nothing to do with the taxes, of course...

One Happy Dog...

As I made my lunch a few minutes ago (more on that in the next post), the two dogs who are home with me (Mo'i and Lea) were watching my every move.  They acted as if they hadn't been fed in months, but since I had personally fed them just last night, I knew this wasn't true.  But Lea got to me anyway, because while she's still in great health, she's old enough now that her main joys in life are (a) sleeping, and (b) eating.

So she gets extra “treats” from me frequently.  I've tried to be creative in what I get her, to give her a little extra enjoyment.  I may have hit an all-time high today.  I took a couple of pieces of genoa salami (which she was acting very interested in) and blended them with a few ounces of milk (a well-known favorite).  Then I warmed that slightly in the microwave, and broke up a piece of potato bread crust into it.  I let the bread soak, then gave her the bowl.

When you know a dog as well as we know Lea, it's easy to tell when she's happy.  Lea was happy as she ate that bowl of doggie joy.  Her tail was wagging, and she came over to see me every few laps – just to say “thanks” so far as I could tell.  When she was all done, I was treated to five minutes or so of a very affectionate old dog acting like she was a puppy again.

Glorious.  And an absolutely wonderful antidote for the chore I'm working on today.

Thanks, old girl...

Satellite Temperature Data...

Here's something interesting: satellite temperature data, publicly available.  The graph below has ticks for each year.  The AGW folks sure are reading a lot into these data!  Of course, they're not using the satellite data – they're using surface measurements instead.  I will note that surface temperature data from hundreds of organizations and thousands of instruments is much easier to manipulate than the satellite data...

Good Career Advice...

Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert) isn't just a cartoonist, he's a first-class observer of modern humanity.  In this article at the Wall Street Journal, he's got some of the best advice I've ever seen for young people preparing for a career.  Much of his advice is applicable during a career as well, so there's something for everyone in the article.  Some elements of his advice one can see in my own career.  For example, I'd say that learning to write reasonably well, and learning how to be unafraid of public speaking, have both done more for my career than any particular piece of techncial learning.

But the strongest resonance for me was his advice that most people should emphasize acquiring multiple skills rather than trying to be world-class in any particular skill.  Oh, yes – for me this advice has the strong ring of truth.  Over the years, I've acquired a strange collection of knowledge and skills – designing concrete mixes, writing software, corporate accounting, back-end stock trading processing, designing electronic hardware, some civil engineering, slide rules, optics (especially as it applies to photography), cryptography, and a bunch more.  I'm no world-class expert in any of these areas, but the fact that I have a smattering of them all has been incredibly useful in my career.  It also has done something else that Scott doesn't mention: by practice and example, it gives me great confidence that I can learn how to do just about anything – and even that is very useful in a career.

So go read it, and pass it along to anyone you know who might be able to use some good career advice.

Quote of the Day...

And as a special added bonus, it's in a Kirk cartoon:

Discovering the government's been shut down is like finding out your Yugo has been stolen … you feel bad, but it's no big loss.

Exactly, Kirk.  Exactly!

It Could Have Been Worse...

This is why I can't get too excited by last night's budget deal.  It's crumbs, folks, and not very tasty crumbs at that.  I'm pleasantly surprised by Boehner's ability to negotiate, and completely unsurprised that the Democratic leadership couldn't get it's intellectually bankrupt people together.  All I'm saying, though, is that this could have been much worse.  That's not at all the same thing as saying it was good...

If You Hear Yelling and Cussing...

...from the general direction of Southern California today, that's probably me.  I'm doing my taxes today, toting up all the money that the federal government is going to steal from me.  As I watch the dollars add up, I'll be thinking about how the likes of Reid, Pelosi, Obama, Schumer, etc. will find wasteful ways to spend it.

If I have a good day, a liter or two of vodka should get my blood pressure under control this evening...

RIP, Kermit...

Geeks of a certain age will remember Kermit – a Columbia University project that became one of the first standard ways to communicate between computers.  Every bulletin board system in the '80s and early '90s supported Kermit.  If your modem software supported Kermit (as virtually all such software did), you'd be able to communicate (and transfer files) with any bulletin board.

Back in the pre-Internet days, I implemented Kermit several times – in Z80 assembly language, 8086 assembly language, and the last time in Turbo Pascal.  Just thinking about Kermit brings back all sorts of memories of the days when personal computers were just getting started.

Columbia University announced yesterday that the Kermit project is finally being terminated, after more than 30 years.  RIP, Kermit...

Taste and Smell: There's an App for That!

3D Lightshow...

Amazing stuff, via my mom: lightshow.

Yon Gigapan...

A “gigapan” is a panoramic photo made by stitching together lots of smaller photos – sometimes hundreds or even thousands of them.  Michael Yon is over in Afghanistan right now, and he's tried his hand at a gigapan.  Take a look at the result – and see one place in Afghanistan in incredible detail...

Thank You...

Via my mom:

Flat Companies...

This resonates with me...

The Cheap Hard Disk...

So you buy a 500GB hard disk for an incredibly low price.  The salesman demonstrated it to you in the store, saving a file to it – so you know it works.  Then you bring it home and discover that you can't save any large files.  What's going on?

The hard disk is a fake.  It's just a 128MB flash disk mounted inside a false hard disk case (click to enlarge photo at right).  That's just 1/40th the size you thought you bought.

This is really happening...

This is Really, Really Stupid...

France has made it illegal for web sites to securely store passwords.  Instead, web site operaters must store passwords “in the clear” – meaning in a form that authorities can use to access customer data.

The bureaucratic mind at its finest.

   Rope
   Tree
   Bureaucrat
   Some assembly required...

A Dog's Prayer...

Via my mom:

Dear God: Let me give you a list of just some of the things I must remember to be a good Dog.

1. I will not eat the cats' food before they eat it or after they throw it up.

2. I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc., just because I like the way they smell.

3. The Litter Box is not a cookie jar.

4. The sofa is not a 'face towel'.

5. The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.

6. I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.

7. Sticking my nose into someone's crotch is an unacceptable way of saying 'hello'.

8. I don't need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm under the coffee table

9. I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before entering the house - not after.

10. I will not come in from outside and immediately drag my butt across the carpet.

11. I will not sit in the middle of the living room and lick my crotch.

12. The cat is not a 'squeaky toy' so when I play with him and he makes that noise, it's usually not a good thing.

Baby Talk...

These twins have their own language!  Cute and funny.  Via Frankie T.:

2012 Is Going to be an Interesting Election Year!

Via about half the readers of this blog:

Things Confucious Didn't Say...

Via reader Dr. Simi L.:

Man who wants pretty nurse, must be patient.

Lady who goes camping must beware of evil intent.

Man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusion.

Man who runs in front of car gets tired, man who runs behind car gets exhausted.

Man who eats many prunes get good run for money.

War does not determine who is right, it determines who is left.

Man who fight with wife all day get no piece at night.

It takes many nails to build a crib, but one screw to fill it.

Man who drives like hell is bound to get there.

Man who stands on toilet is high on pot.

Man who live in glass house should change clothes in basement.

A lion will not cheat on his wife, but a Tiger Wood!

Osborne I...

I owned one of these back in the early '80s, along with the (not pictured) optional Fresnel lens magnifier for the tiny little CRT.  I also wrote software for it – a little utility that automatically “tuned” the stepper motor head drive on the floppy disk drives. 

Ordinarily the stepper motors were driven at a constant step rate, controlled by a Western Digital floppy controller chip that was a nearly universal standard in computers of the day.  This constant step rate was the simplest approach, but it wasn't the only one possible.  My utility accelerated the head motion for the first half of its travel, and decelerated it for the second half.  The result was considerably improved head positioning performance.  On such a slow system, this was no small matter.  I had no trouble demonstrating significant performance improvement on such common tasks as starting up an application.

However, that performance improvement is not why most people bought my little application.  There was, briefly, a little buzz about my “FastTrak” utility – because it made the Osborne I much quieter.  This was an unintended, but happy, side-effect of the performance improvement.  It turns out that a smoothly-accelerating head positioner doesn't “grind” the way a linearly-stepping head positioner does.

There's a lesson in there somewhere, but I'm not entirely sure what it is...

A New Way to Explore History...

Almost everything I've read of history (that's hundreds of books; history is a passion of mine) is secondhand material.  Historians research the original documents, digest them, apply their own spin, and write a book.  The historians cite and sometimes briefly quote the original source material, but only rarely does someone like me get to see any other than a very short piece of the real thing.

Some very different recently became available, from (of all people) Donald Rumsfeld.  As a companion site to his memoir, he's put up a web site that includes digitized and searchable texts of thousands of original documents related to his life and experience.  Given his career, this means that it's full of fascinating documents.  So far I've just dabbled in it, searching on a few keywords (like “Kandahar”) and just browsing through the results.  The whole experience, though, is entirely new to me – it's as though someone let me into Rumsfeld's private filing system.  What to look for?  I have to learn how to use this tool to satisfy my own thirst for historical knowledge.  It has the feel of something revolutionary and … really, really cool.

If you share my interest in history, you'll want to check this out.

Quote of the Day...

Mark Steyn, reacting to Lindsay Graham's blaming of the Koran-burning pastor for the deaths in Afghanistan:

A mob of deranged ululating blood-lusting head-hackers slaughter Norwegian female aid-workers and Nepalese guards — and we’re the ones with the problem?

Well said. The whole post is well worth reading.

We are reaping the inevitable rewards of multi-culti and other emasculating progressive political initiatives...

Reunited...

It's in Japanese, but really, no words are required...

MESSENGER: Science Mission Begins!

MESSENGER's main science mission has begun.  All systems are now fully up and running, and all systems are operating flawlessly.  Six and half years after launch, everything is still A-OK.  Woo hoo!

The most accessible science data for most people are the photographs, and they're starting to pour in.  Visit the gallery on the MESSENGER site for the latest...

The Psychiatrist & The Proctologist

Via my mom:

The Psychiatrist & The Proctologist

Best friends graduated from medical school at the same time and decided that, in spite of two different specialties, they would open a practice together to share office space and personnel.

Dr. Smith was the psychiatrist and Dr. Jones was the proctologist; they put up a sign reading: "Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones: Hysterias and Posteriors". The town council was livid and insisted they change it.

So, the docs changed it to read: "Schizoids and Hemorrhoids". This was also not acceptable, so they again changed the sign.

"Catatonics and High Colonics" No go.

Next, they tried "Manic Depressives and Anal Retentives" thumbs down again.

Then came "Minds and Behinds" - still no good.

Another attempt resulted in "Lost Souls and Butt Holes" - unacceptable again!

So they tried "Analysis and Anal Cysts" - not a chance. "Nuts and Butts" - no way.

So "Freaks and Cheeks" - still no good.

"Loons and Moons" - forget it.

Almost at their wit's end, the docs finally came up with: "Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones - Odds and Ends"

Everyone loved it.

Eriastrum densifolium subsp. sanctorum

From Botany Photo of the Day, of course!

Modern Aircraft Identification...

For some reason this official aircraft silhouette identification chart has upset the UFO believers.  Can't imagine why!

Rescued Dog and Its Owner Reunited...

Saturday I wrote about the dog rescued off the coast of Japan, quite possibly the last survivor of the earthquake and tsunami of three weeks ago.  This morning comes the news that the dog and its owner have been reunited.  I couldn't find pictures or video, but who cares?  What a nice way to start the morning...

Yee Haw!

I'd pay good money for the opportunity to do this.  I think just once, though...

NGC 6872...

This image was captured by a girl's high school astronomy club in Sydney, Australia.  Via APOD, of course.

Japan's Last Quake Survivor?

Three weeks on flotsam, with no food or water – then rescued by men who had given up all hope of finding any survivors.

That's one happy dog (click to enlarge).  I sure hope his owner has survived and can be found.  If not, somehow I'm certain this little fellow will find a loving home.

This story (and these videos) sure put a smile on my face this morning...

Get Your Exercise – While Emailing!

From Google, via reader Simon M.  Looks ... tiring!

Watch the video, and don't forget to click on the "Try Gmail Motion" button...

Moving a Barn...

Via my mom:




Wow!

A Different Take...

...on Professor Muller, whom I wrote about a few days ago.

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade...

This site is interesting on several levels: as a demonstration of accessible data mining, as a tool for quantative history study, and as a means for anybody to informally learn a lot more fact-based history (a commodity in amazingly short supply!).

The screenshot at right (click to enlarge) shows one of my own explorations: I wanted to know where slaves actually went.  Answer: the vast majority went to the Caribbean and to South America – not North America.  Prior to seeing these numerical data, I'd known that many slaves went to the Caribbean – but I did not know that such an overwhelming majority went there, nor did I know that so many went to South America.

There is much else to learn at that site...

Just Plain Cool!

Phong shading (a computer graphics technique) helps to solve (tentatively, for the moment) a long-standing mystery in physics: the Pioneer Anomaly.

Takers, not Makers...

This is a bit exaggerated by a common bias: not including the entire software industry (and, similarly, other makers of “intangible” products).  Nonetheless, the point is one that I agree with, and worry about...

Krauthammer on Obama's Syria Policy...

You can reduce it to one word: rubbish.

Explosion and Fire on the USS Stennis...

I don't know anything beyond this news report.  The bare facts: 10 sailors on the USS Stennis (off the coast of San Diego) were injured when an F/A-18C fighter's engine exploded and burned on the flight deck.  None of the injuries are life-threatening.  Two of the sailors are in the hospital in San Diego.

When I was in the Navy, over thirty years ago, a fire at sea was my personal nightmare scenario.  This could have been much, much worse – and when the full story comes out, I won't be a bit surprised to find that a combination of pure luck and skilled damage control is why it wasn't.

These sailors will be in my thoughts today.  If any of my readers have any further news or details, please leave them in comments here...

MESSENGER: More Photos...

At least superficially, Mercury closely resembles our own planet's fair moon.

Go, MESSENGER, go!

Quote of the Day...

Via Ricochet, this jaw-dropper:

A Hamas official quoted by the International Crisis Group, or ICG, said the move violated the "reasonable rules of the game: that when Palestinian projectiles hit open space ... Israel aims at open space in response."

Some lefty sites are already lauding the “reasonableness” of this approach, and are asking Israel to get on board.

By that reasoning (if that's the right term!), if some guy broke into my house and attacked my wife, I wouldn't shoot him with my semi-automatic shotgun, and I certainly wouldn't use all seven shells to make certain he was dead. 

I hereby serve notice on any potential attackers of this house: I do not buy the “reasonableness” of Hamas' argument.  In my home, disproportionate response is a feature, not a bug. 

Translation: if you attack us, you'll likely die quickly, and in a somewhat messy fashion.  I think that's roughly what Israel is saying, too...

Climate Change...

An interesting presentation on climate change science:

Well, Well...

Via Doug S., Jimmy C., Laura F., Bob C. and probably several others whom I've forgotten: James Gosling, of Java fame and recently resigned from Oracle, has landed – at Google.  I can hardly wait to hear what he's going to be doing there.  It's hard to imagine any role for him at Google that wouldn't be good for the future of Java...

The Rational AGW Proponent...

This video was recommended to me by reader and friend Doug W.; it's over an hour long and I haven't had the time yet to view it myself.  The guy in the video is Professor Richard Muller, a physicist at U.C. Berkeley.  Doug liked many of his points (especially vis a vis Al Gore) and his rationality.  Given that he's employed at U.C. Berkeley (the academic home of some notable kooks), the latter is particularly noteworthy.

MESSENGER: First Image from Mercury Orbit!

MESSENGER is doing fine.  The mission controllers are progressing along their planned “wake up” sequence, working their way through all the systems and instruments, getting them ready for MESSENGER's primary science mission.  It won't be long now before the science data start pouring in.

The main imaging system was just brought on line, and as you can see at right (click to enlarge) it's working just fine.

Woo hoo, and three cheers for MESSENGER!

Cryptanalysts: the FBI Wants Your Help!

The FBI has an old, unsolved murder case wherein one of the main clues is some (apparently) encrypted notes (like the one at right; click to enlarge) that they've been unable to decrypt.  It could be that the author of the notes was just nuts, or they could be an actual clue.  Nobody knows for sure.

Can you help?

Jamul Casino Update...

Lakes Entertainment has posted their latest results, and it's more of the same: the long, slow slide downhill.  I've heard no other news about the Jamul Casino for over a year now...

Quote of the Day...

Via Dave H.:

The Wizard of Oz is 70 years old. However if today Dorothy were to encounter men with no brain, no heart or no courage, she wouldn't be in Oz … she'd be in Congress.

How to Insult a Computer Scientist...

Excellent!

Old Man on a Turbocharged Moped...

Via my mom, who seems to have a special attraction to stories about ancient ones:

An elderly man on a Moped, looking about 100 years old, pulls up next to a doctor at a street light.

The old man looks over at the sleek shiny car and asks, 'What kind of car ya got there, sonny?'

The doctor replies, 'A Ferrari GTO. It cost half a million dollars !'

'That's a lot of money,' says the old man. 'Why does it cost so much?'

'Because this car can do up to 320 miles an hour!' states the doctor proudly.

The Moped driver asks, 'Mind if I take a look inside ?'

'No problem,' replies the doctor.

So the old man pokes his head in the window and looks around. Then, sitting back on his Moped, the old man says, 'That's a pretty nice car, all right. But I'll stick with my Moped!'

Just then the light changes, so the doctor decides to show the old man just what his car can do. He floors it, and within 30 seconds the speedometer reads 160 mph.

Suddenly, he notices a dot in his rear view mirror. It seems to be getting closer! He slows down to see what it could be and suddenly WHOOOOSSSHHH! Something whips by him going much faster!

'What on earth could be going faster than my Ferrari ?' the doctor asks himself. He presses harder on the accelerator and takes the Ferrari up to 250 mph. Then, up ahead of him, he sees that it's the old man on the Moped !

Amazed that the Moped could pass his Ferrari , he gives it more gas and passes the Moped at 275 mph. And he's feeling pretty good until he looks in his mirror and sees the old man gaining on him AGAIN! Astounded by the speed of this old guy, he floors the gas pedal and takes the Ferrari all the way up to 320 mph.

Not ten seconds later, he sees the Moped bearing down on him again! The Ferrari is flat out, and there's nothing he can do! Suddenly, the Moped plows into the back of his Ferrari, demolishing the rear end.

The doctor stops and jumps out and unbelievably the old man is still alive. He runs up to the banged-up old guy and says, 'I'm a doctor. Is there anything I can do for you?'

The old man whispers, 'Unhook my suspenders from your side view mirror!'.

Beware of Cats!

Via my lovely (brunette!) wife:

Things That Are Passed Around...

Via my mom, who found this very funny.  I'm now wondering what little habits she's acquired in the 40 years or so since I left home...

Guts and Balls...

What's the distinction between them?  My mom thought I needed this educational refresher:

There is a medical distinction between Guts and Balls. We've all heard about people having Guts or Balls, but do you really know the difference between them?

In an effort to keep you informed, here are the definitions:

GUTS - Is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, being met by your wife with a broom, and having the Guts to ask: 'Are you still cleaning, or are you flying somewhere?'

BALLS - Is coming home late after a night out with the guys, smelling of perfume and beer, lipstick on your collar, slapping your wife on the butt and having the Balls to say: 'You're next, Chubby.'

I hope this clears up any confusion on the definitions.

Medically, speaking there is no difference in the outcome. Both result in death.

Er ... thanks, mom?

Explanation...

From reader Jim M.  When your friends vote Democrat but they can't explain why – here's how you can help them:

You can give them this list...
They can then pick their reasons from this "TOP 12"...

1. I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene, but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.

2. I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.

3. I voted Democrat because Freedom of Speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

4. I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.

5. I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.

6. I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about millions of babies being aborted so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.

7. I voted Democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right to free health care, education, and Social Security benefits.

8. I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the Democrats see fit.

9. I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few weeks to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.

10. I voted Democrat because I think that it's better to pay billions to people who hate us for their oil, but not drill our own because it might upset some endangered beetle or gopher.

11. I voted Democrat because while we live in the greatest, most wonderful country in the world, I was promised "HOPE AND CHANGE".

12. I voted Democrat because my head is so firmly planted up my ass, it's unlikely that I'll ever have another point of view.

Homemade Radiation Tester...

Via reader Dr. Simi L.:

Home made radiation tester:

With all the fear of radiation fallout from Japan I thought it might be
useful to tell you about a cheap, effective, homemade radiation tester you can easily assemble and rely upon.

Follow these simple instructions, IT REALLY WORKS!!

OPEN A BAG OF ORVILLE REDENBOCKER MICROWAVE POPCORN.

JUST LEAVE IT ON YOUR TABLE. IF IT STARTS POPPING YOU ARE F**KED!

Valles Marineris on Mars...

Via APOD, of course.  This is a marvel a little older than you might think – this image was constructed from a mosaic of Viking orbiter images taken in the '70s:

Noonan on Libya...

An interesting morning read...

On Approach to Tokoyo Airport During the Earthquake...

Via reader Dr. Simi L., this message from a pilot who was in the air, piloting a passenger jet, on final approach to Tokoyo airport when the earthquake hit a couple weeks ago:

I'm currently still in one piece, writing from my room in the Narita crew hotel.

It's 8am. This is my inaugural trans-pacific trip as a brand new, recently checked out, international 767 Captain and it has been interesting, to say the least, so far. I've crossed the Atlantic three times so far so the ocean crossing procedures were familiar.

By the way, stunning scenery flying over the Aleutian Islands. Everything was going fine until 100 miles out from Tokyo and in the descent for arrival. The first indication of any trouble was that Japan air traffic control started putting everyone into holding patterns. At first we thought it was usual congestion on arrival. Then we got a company data link message advising about the earthquake, followed by another stating Narita airport was temporarily closed for inspection and expected to open shortly (the company is always so positive).

From our perspective things were obviously looking a little different. The Japanese controller's anxiety level seemed quite high and he said expect "indefinite" holding time. No one would commit to a time frame on that so I got my copilot and relief pilot busy looking at divert stations and our fuel situation, which, after an ocean crossing is typically low.

It wasn't long, maybe ten minutes, before the first pilots started requesting diversions to other airports. Air Canada, American, United, etc. all reporting minimal fuel situations. I still had enough fuel for 1.5 to 2.0 hours of holding. Needless to say, the diverts started complicating the situation. Japan air traffic control then announced Narita was closed indefinitely due to damage. Planes immediately started requesting arrivals into Haneada, near Tokyo, a half dozen JAL and western planes got clearance in that direction but then ATC announced Haenada had just closed. Uh oh! Now instead of just holding, we all had to start looking at more distant alternatives like Osaka, or Nagoya.

One bad thing about a large airliner is that you can't just be-pop into any little airport. We generally need lots of runway. With more planes piling in from both east and west, all needing a place to land and several now fuel critical ATC was getting over-whelmed. In the scramble, and without waiting for my fuel to get critical, I got my flight a clearance to head for Nagoya, fuel situation still okay. So far so good. A few minutes into heading that way, I was "ordered" by ATC to reverse course. Nagoya was saturated with traffic and unable to handle more planes (read- airport full). Ditto for Osaka.

With that statement, my situation went instantly from fuel okay, to fuel minimal considering we might have to divert a much farther distance. Multiply my situation by a dozen other aircraft all in the same boat, all making demands requests and threats to ATC for clearances somewhere. Air Canada and then someone else went to "emergency" fuel situation. Planes started to heading for air force bases. The nearest to Tokyo was Yokoda AFB. I threw my hat in the ring for that initially. The answer - Yokoda closed! no more space.

By now it was a three ring circus in the cockpit, my copilot on the radios, me flying and making decisions and the relief copilot buried in the air charts trying to figure out where to go that was within range while data link messages were flying back and forth between us and company dispatch in Atlanta. I picked Misawa AFB at the north end of Honshu island. We could get there with minimal fuel remaining. ATC was happy to get rid of us so we cleared out of the maelstrom of the Tokyo region. We heard ATC try to send planes toward Sendai, a small regional airport on the coast which was later the one I think that got flooded by a tsunami.

Atlanta dispatch then sent us a message asking if we could continue to Chitose airport on the Island of Hokkaido, north of Honshu. Other Delta planes were heading that way. More scrambling in the cockpit - check weather, check charts, check fuel, okay. We could still make it and not be going into a fuel critical situation ... if we had no other fuel delays. As we approached Misawa we got clearance to continue to Chitose. Critical decision thought process. Let's see - trying to help company - plane overflies perfectly good divert airport for one farther away...wonder how that will look in the safety report, if anything goes wrong.

Suddenly ATC comes up and gives us a vector to a fix well short of Chitose and tells us to standby for holding instructions. Nightmare realized. Situation rapidly deteriorating. After initially holding near Tokyo, starting a divert to Nagoya, reversing course back to Tokyo then to re-diverting north toward Misawa, all that happy fuel reserve that I had was vaporizing fast. My subsequent conversation, paraphrased of course...., went something like this:

   "Sapparo Control - Delta XX requesting immediate clearance direct to Chitose, minimum fuel, unable hold."
   "Negative Ghost-Rider, the Pattern is full" <<< top gun quote <<<
   "Sapparo Control - make that - Delta XX declaring emergency, low fuel, proceeding direct Chitose"
   "Roger Delta XX, understood, you are cleared direct to Chitose, contact Chitose approach....etc...."

Enough was enough, I had decided to preempt actually running critically low on fuel while in another indefinite holding pattern, especially after bypassing Misawa, and played my last ace...declaring an emergency. The problem with that is now I have a bit of company paperwork to do but what the heck.

As it was - landed Chitose, safe, with at least 30 minutes of fuel remaining before reaching a "true" fuel emergency situation. That's always a good feeling, being safe. They taxied us off to some remote parking area where we shut down and watched a half dozen or more other airplanes come streaming in. In the end, Delta had two 747s, my 767 and another 767 and a 777 all on the ramp at Chitose. We saw two American airlines planes, a United and two Air Canada as well. Not to mention several extra Al Nippon and Japan Air Lines planes.

Post-script - 9 hours later, Japan air lines finally got around to getting a boarding ladder to the plane where we were able to get off and clear customs - that however, is another interesting story. By the way - while writing this - I have felt four additional tremors that shook the hotel slightly - all in 45 minutes.

Cheers, J.D.

Dogs and Winter...

Via my mom:

Morning Walk...

It was very wet outside this morning, as we got another half inch (1 cm) of rain last night.  It rained quite hard at times; the sound on our metal roof woke us up a couple times.  We had just over a half moon in the eastern sky, and it was clear overhead.  Down in the valley below us, a cloud moved slowly across, all lit up by the moon – quite beautiful. 

The dogs were all very quiet, noses down (even Race, the border collie – the smells were more interesting to him than pine cones this morning).  I couldn't smell a thing other than the usual chaparral scents of sage and similarly spicy plants.  The dogs all pulled in different directions, chasing down the latest interesting scent.  They managed to work about half of each leash into a gigantic knot, squeezing my fingers so tightly that I had trouble getting my hand free!

Debbie shocked me yesterday.  When I said goodbye to her in the morning, she was blond Debbie.  When she came home in the afternoon after seeing her hairdresser, she was dark brunette Debbie.  This is going to take some getting used to!  After 30 years of light-colored hair, all of a sudden my wife has dark hair.  It feels a bit like there's a stranger in the house who can mimic Debbie's voice and mannerisms perfectly.  It's a very odd and unexpectedly powerful feeling, from such a trivial change as hair color.

I suspect in 20 or 30 years it will feel normal to me.  Maybe...

Meghan Saves Bobby with a Pink Pistol...

Seriously.  You go, girl!

On Libya...

No time for a serious blog this morning, but here are a couple of interesting articles on Libya.  First, Niall Ferguson (one of my favorite writers on history and economics), and then TigerHawk with an article from StratFor and lots of linky goodness...

And Yet More Rain!

In the past 12 hours, we've had just over an inch (2.5 cm) of rain (click to enlarge the graph at right), and still more is in the forecast.  In fact, the forecast for the week ahead has the probability of rain at between 20% and 70% on each day.

We're having a beautiful beginning to our spring out here in the chaparral.  Everything is greener than we've seen in quite a few years, all thanks to the rains, of course.  Our yard, normally an arboretum of weeds, is now covered with a mixture of grass and other plants we haven't seen for years – and hardly any of the mustard and other noxious invaders of the dry years.

In the past few days, one of the signature plants of the San Diego chaparral – the blue ceanothus species – have erupted into flower at our altitude (around 2200', or 700 meters).  Our hillsides have been painted blue.  Last night on the way home from dinner, Debbie spotted a particularly gorgeous patch along Lyons Valley Road, just south of Barrett Lake.  For the next couple of weeks these will be in full display.

In most years, by late March we have seen the end of our seasonal rains.  This year's rains are continuing right into April, it seems.  Woo hoo!

Unemployment Index...

It's been a while since I've posted this.  Obviously, it has changed very much for the better (click to enlarge).  As always, I don't really know what the search index is telling me, but nonetheless I find it quite interesting...

Amazing What You Can Do...

...in a modern web browser.  A JavaScript stats package, including graphing...

Tyranny of the Extroverts...

Lots of this resonates with me.  Follow the links, too...

Libya...

For a civilian observer, the fog of war is firmly in place.  I don't really have much of an idea what's actually going on over there.  Some number of U.S. Navy ships are involved, and at least on British submarine.  Similarly, there are French, British, and U.S. aircraft involved, and possibly some from other nations as well.  The official press releases are mainly going out of their way to stress the multinational nature of this attack, but one credible report has the operation as being comprised nearly entirely of U.S. forces, and U.S. led.  I'm pretty sure we launched a whole bunch of cruise missiles (100 to 114, depending on the report) and apparently (two reports) we have stealth bombers over Tripoli.  The French aircraft are visible and active over Benghazi.  That's about all the actual news content I've seen.

Ghadaffi is, of course, ranting like the madman he is.  He claims to have armed men, women, and children with heavy automatic weapons, grenades, mortars, rockets, etc.  He says that he will push the invaders (who are either after his oil or exterminating Islam, he says) off the earth.  Good luck with that, pal.

Now that we're engaged in Libya, I wonder mainly what our criteria for success are.  Are we going to limit our involvement to the literal wording of U.N. Resolution 1973 – to protect Libyan civilians?  Or are we committed to “regime change”?  And who are these rebels, anyway?  It's hard to conceive of a replacement for Ghadaffi that would actually be worse than him, I admit – but what does come after?  I have no idea.  In Tunisia and Egypt, the rebels were clearly asking for democracy.  In Libya, I simply don't know what they were asking for.

Another big question mark for me: our intervention in Libya represents an enormous shift in Middle Eastern strategy.  We have not intervened in a Middle Eastern country's internal affairs for a long time.  Are we now saying to the Middle Eastern thugocracies “Look at Libya!  Ghadaffi crossed a line that we will not let you cross.  Pay attention, or you could be next!”  And if we're not saying that, then what's so special about Libya that caused us to decide to intervene?

What I'm really afraid of – the subtext of the preceding paragraph – is that the Obama administration has no overarching strategy for Middle Eastern policy at all.  Instead, I fear, they're simply being reactive – and mainly to polling data.  I fear that the Obama acolytes saw this as an opportunity for Obama to become a “war president” in his own right (instead of a reluctant caretaker to inherited wars), and to earn support for the 2012 elections that way.  That's not a Middle Eastern strategy, and down that road leads disaster.  That's my fear.  I hope I'm wrong.

There is one thing we can know for sure, even without news reports:

Brave soldiers in all three parties to the conflict are in harm's way.  Most of these soldiers are apolitical, and are just doing their duty as they see it.  Some of them will be injured and killed in the next few days.  On all sides, families will be grieving.  All because of one nutcase thug.  It isn't fair, it isn't just ... but it's the way this crazy world works.  Despite the best intentions of the progressives, who think diplomacy and negotiation can settle any conflict – sometimes that just isn't so.  Sometimes it comes down to brutally applied force of arms...

Now We're Talking!

Flight and hotel reservation systems have always been frustratingly complicated.  It actually helps a lot to be a software engineer when you're trying to navigate the mainstream reservations web sites.  It always seems way to hard to find what you're actually looking for.

If you share my impressions of those web sites, I recommend checking out Hipmunk.  It's the first such web site I've ever used where my reaction was a smile of appreciation, instead of feeling an incipient headache coming on.  So far, at least, they only have flight and hotel reservation – but those two things are done beautifully.  There are lots of features about those sites that I like, but I'm going to call out two in particular that really, really resonated:

First, by default (you can change this) flights are presented to you sorted by “agony”, with the least agonizing flights on top.  What do they mean by agony?  It's a combination of price, layover time, and number of connections.  I'd say that's a pretty accurate reflection of my agony index!  In every trial search I made, the flights I'd pick were right at the top of the list.  Perfect.

Second, when you're looking for hotels you're presented with a map of the general area, very much like a Google map view.  A selector allows you to overlay one of several “heat map&rdash;.  These show things like tourist attractions, shopping, nightlife, and ... “vice” (bars, casinos, and other adult entertainment).  The result is a beautiful and simple way to choose a hotel by its proximity to what you care about.  There are also very simple filters so you can see just the cheap hotels (or the expensive ones), just the ones with breakfast, etc.  But those heat maps are just perfect – simple, visual navigation of what you can choose from.

Bravo, Hipmunk!

Crying in Rage...

Sad story about the risks of manned space exploration amplified by the incompetence of Soviet socialism...

Yes, I realize it's on NPR's web site...

The UN Takes Action?!?

I confess myself totally amazed by this.  How is it possible that the UN could dawdle for nearly 20 years on the much more dangerous and cruel Saddam Hussein, and then act so quickly with respect to Ghaddafi?  There's something going on here that I just don't understand. 

The French leadership in the UN was notable, both for its difference from French anti-leadership with respect to Iraq, and for its clarity and principled basis compared to what the U.S. had on offer.  The French had huge financial entanglements with Saddam's Iraq, and that may explain much of the former.  The latter is simply shameful.

Now I wonder, like the rest of the world, what we are actually going to collectively do about Ghaddafi...

Earthquake Liquification Video...

One of the most under-appreciated effects of earthquakes is soil liquification.  In certain areas (including many in California), this phenomenon is actually the single largest risk factor to man-made structures.  This video shows one of the visible symptoms: surface water appearing out of nowhere.  What it doesn't show is damage-causing mode – the loss of stiffness in the soil, turning it essentially into a liquid, removing all support for structures built upon it.

The most interesting stuff starts about halfway through the video, so be patient:

RSA Hacked: Not Good...

But not catastrophic, either, if I choose to believe this message.  I'm looking for Bruce Schneier's take on this.  Meanwhile, here's the best analysis I've seen so far.

The RSA SecurID system is, I believe, the most widely deployed two-factor authentication system.  I've worked at several companies that use it (including my current company), and many of our customers use it as well.  Any practical compromise of this system would be quite a large security hole...

MESSENGER Is Looking Good!

I stayed up (late for me) last night, listening to the webcast of MESSENGER's orbital insertion burn.  When I heard the operations team cheering and applauding, I went to bed.  This morning I woke up and scanned the news – and it was all good.  Every report I read says that the orbital insertion burn was “nominal”, which is NASA-speak for “perfect”.  All systems appear to be operational, and MESSENGER is now going into it's week or so of preparation for science operations.

Woo hoo!  And congratulations, MESSENGER team.  This has to be a happy morning for all of you...