Thursday, November 14, 2002

Polls suggest that most Americans consider themselves to be environmentalists, but the current administration has been very aggressive moving in the other direction. It seems clear that environmental issues were barely on the public mind during the past election. Elizabeth Kolbert has a piece on the subject in the current New Yorker. 2:20:42 PM     The big idea from one of the people who brought us Iran-Contra fifteen years ago -- spying on everyone in the US. The frightening thing is that the current version of the Homeland Security Act supports this -- imagine having all of the purchases, medical prescriptions, magazine subscriptions, bank accounts and more online for government use. It should be noted that Poindexter is a convicted felon, so he knows all about knowing where to look. America may well become what the KGB could only dream of for the Soviet Union. 11:24:27 AM     NASA is offering the opportunity to place your name on Mars. For $0 they will burn your name on a CD that will ride on the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover. This is probably one of the most cost effective ways to bring attention to the mission. 7:18:29 AM     The Swedes are operating a new large aperature adaptive mirror solar telescope that is yielding fabulous results. 6:46:25 AM     It turns out that Ben Tongue of Blonder-Tongue has been playing with crystal radios in his retirement. This is required reading for anyone with an interest in radio. Also of interest is a passive FM receiver (!) by Ed Richley (buried with other very interesting stuff). A tip of the hat to Greg for these great links! 12:06:15 AM

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