February 4, 2003

Rand Simberg has a response to Gregg Easterbrook’s article on the future of the space program. 11:08:38 PM

Time Magazine has a guide on how to make digital movies. 10:56:11 PM

Poynter Online covers how Dr. Scott Lieberman took the pictures of the Space Shuttle Columbia breaking up that appeared on so many television shows, newspapers and magazines. 10:55:56 PM

Palestine, Texas - Roots of the Name Some crazed Islamic radicals have made note of the fact that the Space Shuttle Columbia broke up over Palestine, Texas calling it divine retribution against Israeli Astronaut and former fighter pilot Ilan Ramon. But how did Palestine, Texas get its name? The Handbook of Texas Online states that Palestine, Texas in Anderson County was incorporated in 1846. An earlier resident of the area was Daniel Parker. and the town was named after the Parkers' former home of Palestine, Illinois. Palestine, Illinois in Crawford County was founded in 1818 after settlers first arrived in the area in 1811. But explorers arrived much earlier. One account states: "Capt. John LaMotte with LaSalle, lost from the original party came down the Wabash in the early spring of 1678, the prairie to the north and the woodland to the south reminds me of the land of milk and honey. This must be Palestine". More accurately, the land flowing with milk and honey refers to Canaan. Therefore Palestine, Texas is indirectly named after the land promised to the Jewish people. It is a fitting place for the life of an Israeli hero to end. 1:16:24 AM

Please note that while I find Easterbrook's arguments against the shuttle as a system to be informative, I do not agree that manned space exploration is wrong. Manned missions should only be used when needed and the space station should have a real purpose. Developing and testing better launch vehicles and space craft would be a good start. 12:53:11 AM