More than you ever wanted to know about declaring C++ template functions in headers. [The Flangy News]

Warning: even nerds sometimes get lost in the mangled messed up world that is C++.

Slashdot links to George Bush's space exploration plans for the USA [Slashdot]

$1Billion increase in NASA's funding - that about pays for two shuttle launches. Two??!!! There is also promises of $12 billion over 5 years.

I wouldn't call this a lot of money for a base on the moon. The ISS itself cost $98Billion dollars itself - personally, I would expect a moon base to at least that much.

Why? The ISS is both free-floating and in low Earth orbit. The moon base has several factors that complicate matters:

• The moon is several days away - travel time is much less to the low-earth ISS
• foundation - one assumes that any base on the moon needs a foundation, just as buildings on Earth do. This means somehow digging through moonrock, and while we do have moonrock around, we don't have a lot of it. This means we have to use computer models to simulate drill bits drilling through moonrock. It's possible that computer models are enough, and they're probably the way regular drill bits are made... but theory/computer models are much different from practice/really drilling through moonrock.

Of course the moon also has some good things going for it: gravity, somewhat more permanent location, and it's out of low orbit. The last is probably more psychological than a real advantage.

However, at this point in time space travel really isn't about going anywhere, it should be about getting up there cheaply and safely. Once you're up in space it doesn't matter - build cheap, delicate ships that would never survive an atmosphere, because they don't need to break Earth orbit.

So, here's the plan: make a cheap way into low Earth orbit. A space elevator, a fleet of ships based on the X-Prize winner, or a retrofitted 747 that goes to the 747's ceiling and uses some form of rockets to go the last few hundred miles - it really doesn't matter. Use this orbital method to get supplies and lots of people into space - cheaply. Then see what enterprising people will do with this new found ability.

Once people have the ability go get up into space cheaply, then and only then it becomes about human exploration.

However, after all that, this new mission gives NASA a new focus, and perhaps that's what they need now, as much as anything.

Bruce 'Tog' Tognazzini, founder of Apple's Human Interface Group, has some thoughts on OS X. [Slashdot]

• Tog's review of Panther
• Tog rants (more) about the dock

Tog's review of Panther comes down mostly on the good end. Except he doesn't mention the absolute lack of feedback that you get when you mount a server through the Network functionality built into the Finder.

As a side note, using the Connect To Server item in the Go menu still mounts the volume on the desktop.

I'm (hopefully) back to regular Wednesday night posting. Angel is back from break, and that's when I usually post, so maybe the weblog will get back on schedule - I hope.