Where we've been and where we are going.

     Way back in the 1920’s, in Germany, Russia and even in the U.S. there were various groups of regular civilians who gathered for the purpose of building rockets.  They would share stories and news of each others exploits, build small, experimental rockets, and even publish scientific papers.   They ended up advancing the capability of rockets quite a bit.  They designed, built and tested liquid-fueled rockets of increasing thrust, that reached higher and higher altitudes.   These were students and amateurs, mostly.  In Germany and Russia, they eventually gained small amounts of funding from their respective governments. 

 (see:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verein_f%C3%BCr_Raumschiffahrt)

      They advanced the state of the art.  And some of them went on to head up government labs and efforts both during and after WWII.   These individuals ultimately helped us escape the bonds of Earth and make it to the Moon and beyond  (with accomplishments like the V-2 liquid-fueled rocket, the precursor to our expendable rockets like Redstone,  Atlas and Titan). 

 (see:  http://www.army.mil/article/46989/German_Rocket_Site_Unearths_Memories/ )

      Now here we are in 2012.  Our Space Shuttle program is done, and we are hoping and waiting for some corporate, for profit efforts to become available.  In other countries, especially China, governments are heavily funding national programs.   In the US, we have placed our hopes on that elusive thing called ‘private enterprise’ .     There are lots of beautiful photos and mockups and such.  But whether anything actually gets flown is another matter.

 (see:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_spaceflight)

       Might there not be a way to join a loose confederation of individuals, to plan, fund and build small-scale efforts, to probe other ways to escape Earth’s gravity and so forth?   It seems important, after a century of hard-won gains in the field of rocketry design and practice, to keep up our momentum.   The U.S. has had to play catch-up more than once, as other countries showed foresight and persistence.   We are a large and relatively prosperous country.  We should be able to do better.   

     Some college-level rocketry organizations, modeled after some of the early German orgs, might stimulate interest on the part of students to not only learn about rocketry in general, but also to perhaps build and test some of their own models.    This could help us advance the state of the art here in the US, and keep up with the rest of the world when it comes to getting objects and people sent into space.     One example is here:  http://aero.cpss.calpoly.edu/

      We have accomplished much in the last 100 years, going from the fantastical stories of Hugo Gernsback to the reality of rovers snapping pictures of Martian rocks.   We can justly be proud.  But we should not stop here.   No, we are just on the cusp of a breakout.  A breakout into livable habitations on the Moon, on Mars and the Asteroids and even in orbital facilities cycling between Mars, the Moon, and Earth Orbit.  We should not stop now.  A pause, perhaps, to regroup and re-focus some efforts.  And then the next leap forward.   Our youth can lead the way for us.   Thanks for reading.

Another 25-word hint fic-let:

The external drive seemed dead.  Jason tried unplugging and re-connecting it;   loud screeches ensued.  Then he tried a different system, and it worked. Darn viruses.

-end

my entry into the 25-word hint fiction category...

Roger tried a laser pointer on the crows that roosted in trees near his job.  He came to later, heavily bandaged.  The warning went out.

-end 

Have a good Monday.

Raucous Caucus 2012

The noisy seven smothered our fair state,

Ingratiating themselves into coffeehouse

society - shotguns and words fired straight;

Exciting results reported from the statehouse.

Fortunes raised and fell more than the Dow,

Values questioned and half-truths belied;

Debates started civilly, became a genteel row,

Accused each other of being special interests allies.

Finally those incessant ads will soon cease,

The votes will be tallied and the field winnowed;

Weary Iowans eyes and ears will get peace,

Leaders will declare success with eyes narrowed.

Another Iowa Caucus draws nigh to an end,

We go back to normal, no more rhetoric to defend.

- Whew.

Republican Candidates spewing more garbage.

      Did these people sleep through middle school civics classes?  Or maybe they never had a civics class.  You know, the part of the lesson on our American form of government, where we have checks and balances put in place to prevent abuses of power?  So we have a legislature, an executive branch headed by the President - and a Judiciary.  The judiciary has powers vested in it to block or stay rulings that it sees as improper, after sober, careful  deliberation.   This is for the protection of all the people, to prevent discrimination and oppression of the majority by some fanatical minority. 

     The ranting of these Republican candidates are downright frightening when one sees them applied to our laws in the future.   Women will have no say in what happens to their bodies.    Females will revert to what they were looked upon in the 1800’s, mere chattel, cattle for men’s whims.     Gay marriage?  Heck no.  They will be chased back into the closet with handguns and tasers.   Other civil rights?  good luck there.

     These forces have already overturned the Miranda ruling, which stated that police have to read a suspect their rights, and make sure they are understood.   They have made it possible for a corporation to donate unlimited funds to a political campaign, thereby corrupting the process.    More people are going to prison than ever, for minor offenses.     Teenagers are finding themselves arrested for infractions that used to be dealt with by families or school officials.  There is less community mental health being offered, and more incarceration.  We are becoming more and more like a repressive communist society - a true police state!

     The Tea Party Nazis won’t be satisfied until everyone is either imprisoned or is wearing 24-hour electronic surveillance  (except them and their families).    Our entire democracy is being destroyed by a few fanatics bent on imposing their own twisted will on everyone.    Today the judges and women’s rights - tomorrow - who knows? 

      And we are telling countries like Iran and North Korea to get their act together?  We need to deal with the fanatic lunatic tea partiers and other conservatives on our own shores first.      Thanks for reading.

Wanna bet?

The debate was lively, even vicious.

Labels flung back and forth like firebrands,
Accusations and ripostes, ducks and jabs.
The truth hid in a corner and listened...

 to six elite political professionals debate,

abase themselves for purported higher purposes...
Results filled the newspapers and airwaves,
different columnists tallied different outcomes.

 New polls will be taken and confidence shaken

as their positions raise and lower, over and over.
The one lagging the pack is doggedly traveling up
and down the highways, appearing anywhere he can.

 If Carter did it, so can he, he reasons, no matter if Carter

was a Democrat running in 1975.  Hope just keeps going.
One thing is for sure - they are stimulating the economy,
with all this traveling and spending, and heating winter air
with never-ending rhetoric and bombast.   A silver lining at last!

- my 0.02 today.

Drop the rhetoric and do something already.

Here in Iowa, there are more cutbacks, increased taxes, and public money bribes to companies to build things like hotels off the beaten path.  Nationally, large companies keep announcing layoffs.  The US Post Office announces huge cutbacks, in order to try and balance it's budget.   Candidates are going around promising to cut more and more services and agencies.  This is the most ominous, depressing TV season I have seen since 2008, perhaps worse. 

     I just wish that the powers-that-be could drop any ideological linkage to party platform, and do what our parents had to do in the aftermath of the great depression.  Even if it may involve public funding of our Post Office  (something George Washington founded to help tie the country together - remember?).  Even if it involves keeping these goverment agencies afloat that do pesky things like research energy alternatives, and keep our seniors healthy.  Instead of cut, cut, cut - America should Reach, Build, Employ.   

     Thats right - just like in the progressive days of the late 1930s and 1940s, we should reach for higher achievements, build up our infrastructure, and Employ every able-bodied American to do it.  Cross party lines, cross ideologies, cross stubborn intransigence, and do something, side by side, shoulder to shoulder, for the common good of all of us.  That is what made us great to begin with.

Nowadays everyone seems to want to cut, close her down, let the Chinese or the Mexicans worry about it, and go to  bed.  We can't do this.   We should take a page from the 1930's, dare to dream again, drop the ideological garbage, and get to work.    Something to think about.  Thanks for reading.

Just watched the inspiring liftoff of the NASA Curiousity Mars Rover, and it seemed a good time to post this one...

We are the LGMs

Are they little green men with antennae?

Or short fat ones with globular heads?
Maybe they are smart animals or
talking giraffes, purple tongues wagging.

Perhaps a herd of antlike beings with

one intelligent purpose behind them?
Or maybe huge things like elephants,
centuries old, wisdom beyond measure.

 If they can travel between stars,

it seems likely they are pure energy,
spindly or fleshy as they see fit, maybe
wearing appearance and transport as one.

 The truth may be far simpler than imagined...

DNA from the stars has seeded Earth from meteorites,

People evolved from aliens, arriving on an earlier flight.

-end

In olden times the truth seekers chanted,

Marched in rhythm and wore special robes;
Burned special incense or sacrificed cattle,
Appeased gods so they might receive visions.

Manipulating magic stones and writing runes,

Or drawing symbols and casting certain spells;
they tried to control fate and influence the future,
Bodily movements helped  to decide the outcomes.

Science the usurper has upended old superstitions,

Steady march of technology changed our practices;
Now our moving fingers draw forth images and videos,
Gyrating bodies bring responses from phantoms on screen.

No need to shout into the sky at gods anymore,

We speak into iconic totems in our hands --
The entire Earth is shrunk to one village evermore,
More color, light and sound at our command
than any Norse, Germanic or Egyptian deity
could ever hope to have - as long as we pay the bill.


-end

11-11-11

So much happening on this (fateful) date...

     Penn State reverberating with revenge over the Child Sex Abuse scandal.  As usual, in hindsight everyone is asking how can this be?  How did this happen?  Human beings are unfathomable at times - even we know that.

     Three Republican contenders are tied in a latest poll.   Those characters change positions more than any clump of racehorses coming around the track.  With their suits and stiff expressions, they all look unrealistic.  C’mon, guys.  Most Americans wear jeans and casual shirts, even to work.  You just separate yourselves from the bulk of the population with your stiffness.  But then, maybe that is the point, since you are the party of the rich and privileged.   Go buy a pair of jeans at K-mart.  It will be educational.

     The stock market soared today, regaining it’s losses from Wednesday.  Nice to see it go up.  But realistically it has been a roller-coaster all year.  Up and down, up and down.     I’m gonna stop watching it, it gets too dizzying - like watching a pendulum swing back and forth  (do they make those anymore?).

     We got an early snowfall here in Iowa.  Well, not really early, it was November after all.   Just a taste of what is to come.  And the antics of drivers was hilarious - that is, unless you were out there with them.  Ugh, winter.    Can’t wait until it is over with, and it hasn’t even started yet.

     Prices are going up, for the most part.  The distressing thing is, that wages are not.  It makes it really tricky to keep finances on an even keel.   Some of the pundits will say,  “Survival of the fittest” - well that means most of us are going down in flames.  Survival of the richest is more like it. 

     On this 111111, it is a Friday, and that is a good thing.  Means I can sleep in tomorrow, and then go off and do whatever on Saturday and Sunday  (and still come back to work on Monday).    Some people have to go job-hunting.  I do not - instead I’ll go try and sell some books.  Yeah, guess I’m a bit twisted.  But it will be fun.

     Hopefully dame fortune will smile and shower good things upon any who read this tonight, while it is still 11-11-11.  Otherwise you will just have to wait until 12-12-12.  And then come back here and see what good wishes await you then :)     Have a good night one everyone.

A departure from the usual fare here - and a suggestion to NASA-ESA-RSA...

Mirror smelting experiment to perform on the International Space Station:

Align several mirrors to focus sunlight onto a central point.  Brace them so they remain stationary. 

Possibly attach secondary  lenses in front of the mirrors.  These might be moveable, but could first be stationary.   Leave one side of the assembly open, to receive ores.

Then, place a sample of ore  (flown up for the purpose) at the center of the assembly.  While it remains in sunlight during an orbit, measure the temperatures inside or at the edge of the ores;  Visually inspect the ore to see if there is any melting.   In the short time it takes to complete the sunlit portion of an orbit, an astronaut could also simply observe  (or film) the sample as it is heated by the mirrors.

The second part of the experiment is to remove any melted materials, take them back inside the station, and try molding or forming simple shapes with the resulting ore-melt.  I.E. Squares, or circular forms.

The objective of the experiment is to find out if space rocks could be subject to simple solar focusing and heating, and thereby result in metals being smelted out from the ore.  Any resulting metal materials could then be used for assembly of habitations in space in the future.  

Materials needed:

At least three mirrors.

Aluminum or other lightweight framework to  hold the mirrors into place, all focused on a center point.

Framework to hold a specimen in the center (to be heated by the sun.)

Three (or more) different ore specimens.   Bauxite, Taconite and one other,( to possibly yield metals when heated.)    Additional ores could be added later to give a full range of possibilities.  One possibility is for NASA to donate some Moon rocks for the experiment.

Secondary lenses, either plastic or glass, to concentrate the sunlight to a higher degree.

Temperature probes and one or two viewing cameras.  Cameras could be locatged on the ISS itself.

Process:

Place the mirrors and assembly outside the station, nearby.  Preferably tethered in some fashion, or even held in place by the ISS robot arm.   Place a specimen ore in the center, and make sure the secondary lenses are focusing light on the ore.  When the ISS reaches the sunlit portion of orbiting, observe the heating of the specimen, and whether or not metallic substance is derived from the ores.  Measure the internal temperature of the ores.  Save the specimens. 

     Bring the heated specimens, and any metallic content, into the ISS.  Perform basic shaping and manipulation with simple tools.  Make squares, circles and rods. 

Anticipated results:   This could show us what to expect in future metal-smelting operations.   The benefits of solar melting of metallic ores are easy access to building materials for space habitats.  This experiment would help us lay the groundwork for future efforts in building space habitats.   Several succeeding experiments could find the optimum focusing and retrieval techniques. 

In Summary:   We are eventually going to be building some kind of permanent habitats, located either in orbit or on planets and Moons.  Might as well get started now on some of the methods to accomplish habitat construction!

Thanks for reading.

I just finished watching some Youtube videos of UFO’s hovering over the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.   Some amazing stuff.  It might even be “real,” that is, a space being or even an Angel.  Sets me to thinking, wondering at the possibilities... 

     Extraterrestrials landing somewhere on Earth.   Ruling the skies with impunity.  Flitting about the Solar System with the greatest of ease, and no one on Earth need be appeased. 

     Are we being subtly influenced by undercurrents of energy?  Or simply bathed in the detrius of our own electromagnetic excesses?  Are energy beings zipping and weaving in and out among us day to day, invisible in the concrete canyons of the city, or the farm-carpeted expanses of the country?  Stephen Hawking said,  “We just don’t know!” 

     We can suppose and posit all we want.  We can answer our own hopes with doctored evidence, or sightings assumed to be ETs.  We can read and watch many, many reports.  But, in the end, after all of the blurry photos and uncertain saucers and evidence lost, we just don’t know.

     Maybe someday we will.  I hope I live to see that day.  But until then, we just keep grasping at wisps, obstreperous young race that we are.  I bet that someday we will be the ETs that another race sees.  Hard to believe -  some intellligent three-eyed race, quivering in fear over the bumbling human spacecraft littering their purple skies.   Stranger things have happened.  Anything is possible.  Thanks for reading.

Recently got finished re-working some of my E-books on Smashwords.   If anyone is curious, here are a couple of links:

Twenty-Ten - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/28909
Dispatches from the Aether: 
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12867

Thanks for taking the time to take a look   :)

Have a good day all.

Finally, some good news!

NATO-assisted forces in Libya finally got that Gaddafi character.  While he seemed like a buffoon on TV, he did brutalize his own people, and supported terrorism over the years, including the shooting down of a 747 airliner over Scotland in 1988.  Good Riddance.   And not one US servicemember had to die over there (at least that I know of).  It was basically an uprising by his own wearied people. 

The second bit of good news was the announcement by Pres. Obama that we are removing all of our troops from Iraq by the end of this year.  Like they said, now these talented young people can return home to help rebuild America.   Good for President Obama, good for the USA.   And good for Iraq - now they can fend for themselves.   

Two welcome pieces of news today.  Perhaps now we can change our focus from killing the bad guys to re-gaining energy indepence and educating our young people.  Now those are wars worth fighting, in my humble opinion.  

The "Occupiers" are doing the dirty work most of us wish we could do.  It is too easy to lose oneself in respite from a busy workday, TV, games, and yes, the Internet, to actually consider going out onto cold concrete with a sign.  But every time I read in the business section of the paper how banking company profits are up 20, 40, 77 percent, then see all these fee increases  "Because we have to" etc, it does tend to get one a bit upset.  How many billions of dollars of cash reserves do these people need?  I even read that Apple computer has 85 billion in cash right now. 

     Of course, they might argue, it is our company, we own it, we can do anything we want.  You don't have to buy their products, etc.  But the fact remains, these goliaths of industry started here in the USA, and benefit from the largess of US taxpayers.   I would argue they have a responsibility to try to the utmost to reinvest this capitol in the US, to alleviate our economic suffering.   And to strive to be reasonable and honest in their financial dealings.   Profit at any cost is too expensive for society.  There has to be a limit.

      The Occupiers are the tip of the iceberg, the ones who have the gumption and anger to speak out, carry a sign, get arrested.  There is a lot more discontent seething underneath.  Push your customers too far, and they will push back.

Something to consider anyways.



    

No technology needed

Personal computers are now passé,

PDAs and Ipods totally unnecessary;

The internet and social media soiree

I find rather unnecessary to make my day.

Much prefer the play of sun on rock and sand,

The feel of cool waters splashing my ankles;

Graphical interfaces and fiber optics not in demand

In my house, rather quiet woodland walks are ample.

Once upon a time I craved technological satisfaction,

Had to have three computers internetworked;

MP3 downloads and pic swapping  were the attraction,

Online newsgroups, chat sessions and MIRC.

Experience and age have changed my desires,

Now a quiet walk by the creek is what inspires.

-end

Summer winding down

A cool sheet drapes across the landscape,

Stifling humidity replaced by crispness –

What is this unfamiliar sensation?

Why,  it feels like a bracing chill.

Late summer cicadas serenade the change,

Campouts and cookouts and parades do too.

Time to get in one last hurrah before things

Get even colder and uglier, at winter’s debut.

Once upon the spring we were exiting the misery,

Vacation plans were made and surging joy felt.

Now creaking houses and joints sigh with relief –

A break from hot outdoor activity and maintenance!

The indoor season is almost upon us,

Holidays will march past, a buildup towards

Christmas proceeds, until the grand  finale!

Then a trudge downhill through frigid bleakness.

Spring will be somewhere ahead,

But it is so very hard to imagine

 from the entrance to darkness.

Unable to go back, we must go on.

(c) 2011 Mike Wilson

I may not…

May not have an MFA, but I can sure vent out feelings on paper.

May not have a degree in Chemistry, but whipping up dinner is a breeze;

May not have a masters in Politics, but I can butter up the boss,

May not have earned an M.D. but will treat a cold at the first sneeze.

May not be a rocket scientist, but I can jump-start a car,

May not have earned my veterinary license,  but can diagnose my cat;

May not be a world-class athlete, but fear still sends me running far,

Did not earn any high degree, but common sense guides me and that is that.

 

So forgive the uneducated scribblings of a lower-class dropout,

You see we too have working minds that need some kind of outlet;

Provided with mass-produced blinkboxes, each with a keyboard,

We are determined to type out our vitriol, throw down the gauntlet. 

I may not have an MFA, but you are still reading my BS today…

And thank you for that!

- for real

Time to lighten up the mood a bit.  I got depressed with all the political stuff, and it was reflected in the last writes.  so I offer up this bit of humor:  A fish story with a sci-fi twist.  Enjoy.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Underwater                                                                                                                            

***     I swerved to avoid another obstacle.  These waters were tricky, taxing the collision-avoidance systems to their limit.  But my designers had built well.  Lower-level routines handled simple tasks:  drinking power from the local star, avoiding rocks and logs, and most of all staying hidden from any curious higher-level beings.

     If I had a sense of humor, I might laugh at the clumsy attempts of the resident high-functioners to tempt me to accept their proffered baits, thrown near me with all the finesse of a comet-hurtling leviathan from my home system.    I merely noted the creatures writhing and dying on the metal hooks, the types and sizes of line and fasteners used.  Data collection and transmission was not only my prime function, it was my passion.  I did it well.

     Day after day, I roamed the streams and rivers on this world, being careful not to get trapped in a backwater.  I surfaced to drink power during the day, and at night I wriggled onto the shore, unfurled antennae, and sent summaries to the well-hidden probe just outside the orbit of their Moon.    My purpose was accomplished with satisfying regularity.  Until the day I was nearly captured.

*****************************************

      Joe was euphoric.  It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and he had a spot by the Des Moines River all to himself.  Quickly grabbing his gear, he headed down the levee to his favorite spot.   He had a lure on his line already, so in moments, he was casting upstream.

     ‘What is that?’ he said to himself.  A fish was just circling around, right over there by the bank.   He walked over and eyed it.  Maybe sick?  It was just circling slowly, kind of eerily, over and over.   Joe made a snap decision.  He hurried back to his car and grabbed a shad net from the trunk.  He scampered back to the bank, and indeed, the fish was still there. 

     He held the net over the fish, and brought it down swiftly, in an arc towards the bank and himself.  The fish rolled into the net – and then suddenly thrashed violently. 

     Darn.  Usually these things tire out after a minute or two.   Not this fish.  It was even breaking strands of the net.

*************************

       I did something heretofore only known to inferior flesh creatures.  I grew careless.  My quick calculation had estimated a 96% probability of this location being unoccupied at this point in time.  I had not performed a deeper calculation -  the necessity to recharge and purge propelling channels seemed overriding.  So I had simply surfaced near the shore, and executed the maintenance routines.  I did not reckon on that human being there.

***************************

      Joe said “Hot Damn,  this is kind of exciting!” out loud.  Then he half dragged the net, with thrashing fish underneath, up the levee and towards his car.  There was a five-gallon bucket in the back seat.  Maybe he could get it under that, and save his net!

      He made it right up to his rear passenger door, and was reaching out with one hand to open it.  The sky suddenly erupted in a medley of colors around Joe, and he passed out, sinking to the ground. 

   ***   I finally  freed my vessel from the crude trap, and propelled myself unsteadily across the strange surface back to the edge of the stream , before safely submerging.  That had been close – my entire mission was jeopardized.   Fortunately an orbiting assistor came to my rescue!   After subduing the interloper, it left in a hurry.  No need to unduly alarm the local populations.***

      Joe awoke a few moments later.  The net lay near his feet;  it appeared unbroken.  But that fish was nowhere to be seen.   He rose shakily, and walked up and down the bank, looking on the ground and in the water.  Nothing could be seen.  Joe had a headache;  he finally decided it was time to get home.  After all, it wouldn’t do to be late for his lunch date today.   He thought to himself,    I shouldn’t have drank so much last night!

     ***I hovered near the bottom of the river.  And reached a decision to wait until darkness came to this longitude.  I would take no more reckless chances this research cycle.   That last time had been a close call.   I made a special note to warn future explorers of the clever dangers these natives presented to the research corps.  My timing  pulses seemed to decrement rather slowly, or so it seemed at the time  ***.

The End

Candidates

Speeches

Taxes

Anger

Joblessness

Hopelessness

Depression

We are in a pickle

Promises

Buzzwords

Stump

Speeches

Effective

Leadership

Lies

Half-truths

Nontruths

Decline

Desperation

Depression

Starvation

Obliteration

Will

The

French

Save

Us?