Well. I’ll be!
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Monday, April 6, 2026
About the Iran military action
As I've noted many times in the past, it is nearly impossible to know what "truth" is, and the media is no help in finding it. Take the military action that is ongoing in Iran as an example.
T-rump gives updates, tells us how long he expects it to last (the ever changing goalpost), gives ultimatums, and the media just reports on that without probing further.
We have no idea about the rationale or the objective of the conflict, though some will give what amounts to their opinion, or repeat what T-rump says. It’s sad in a way. We should be better informed.
We're also told about relative successes, while negative news is underreported.
But, if you search outside of what we consider mainstream media, you get a different flavor of what's going on. A couple of things I thought I would share:
- There was some amount of persuasion, focused on T-rump by warmongers and other nations, to get the United States involved. He had said no in his first term, but this time agreed to an offensive action. It’s unknown why he changed his mind, but this sudden change at least partially explains the lack of a clear objective. But no matter: in the end, it was his decision. He - alone - owns it.
- One of the things he tells us is that he wants to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program. Which I find dubious. They have had the program for decades, and as they say, you can’t put a genie back in the bottle.
- Most of the middle east, and parts of Europe that are "nearby," have prohibited the US from using their airbases for any sort of offensive actions. That means that aircraft carriers are the primary launching points for sorties. However, the largest carrier (the Gerald Ford) had a fire, and had to exit the theater for major repairs (which may take a year to complete). How the fire started is the subject of some discussion. But reporting from outlets outside of the US, and even an offhand comment by T-rump, suggest that it may have been hit by an Iranian missile.
- Several tactical sites and planes used in general operations (which were at airbases in the Middle East or used in rescue operations), have been destroyed by what appear to be Iranian attacks.
- Russia is apparently helping Iran in some way. In spite of T-rumps crush on Putin.
- The strait of Hormuz is now fully controlled by Iran, and they want to keep it that way, in order to control the world's oil supply (that is to say that T-rump's actions have changed the dynamic in the gulf, and emboldened Iran to make a power move).
- Its very unclear when (or maybe if?) oil prices will go down, worldwide
- Finally, there have been some strikes that appear to violate international law, and he’s announced others that there are absolutely against the convention about targeting civilians. There is a strange report (from the person who received the call) that T-rump called a reporter and bragged about arming civilians in Iran. All of these would be considered war crimes, and should be investigated further.
And that’s just what’s top of mind. I have to say that it looks like there may be a “lasting legacy” if this keeps up.
One thing I will add is that there are those who think that we can simply use our might to obliterate Iran. I remind you that Russia had a similar plan in the Ukraine, and after years of attacks, it’s maybe not going so well.
Also, I've heard it suggested that the US will simply release its strategic oil reserves to help stabilize prices and supply. But that shows a lack of understanding about the oil reserve is. And you can’t overlook the subtext about US oil production, which is also misunderstood.
As always, we prove to be moderately uneducated and are fed misinformation along the way.
Saturday, April 4, 2026
Reps. Levin & Casten & SEEC Clean Energy Deployment Task Force Introduce the Energy Bills Relief Act | U.S. Congressman Mike Levin
Given rising gas prices, a supply issue, and the want to build more things that need to tap into electricity (like data centers), it's amazing to me there isn't more coverage of the topic.
Americans are getting squeezed at the pump and in their utility bills. And it barely registers.
So here's a bill that was introduced to help Americans. The energy bills relief act would address some of this and might actually help.
Is it perfect? No.
Does it address the broad problem and make some reasonable tradeoffs to help? Yes.
Does it get any attention whatsoever? No.
Is it likely to pass? As much as I'd hope so, I would assume the answer will be no.
A group of amateur astronomers has just “heard” a signal from 25 billion kilometers away, confirming that Voyager 1 is still transmitting from the outer reaches of the Solar System
Voyager 1 is still transmitting, and we are still receiving its signal. At 25 Billion kilometers away. Thats amazing.
It takes light 24 hours to travel that distance. Voyager is about 173 times as far away from us, as the sun is.
Friday, April 3, 2026
Disney and National Geographic Invite Audiences to ‘Step into Wonder’ This Earth Month to Celebrate and Explore the World Around Them
Earth Day is coming up, and Disney wants to help you to take it in.
Not content to confine it to a single day, Disney is celebrating Earth Month in partnership with National Geographic. It nicely fits within the idea of the True Life Adventures that Walt Disney himself created.
"For 138 years, National Geographic has been guided by a spirit of exploration that opens hearts as much as it expands minds," said Courteney Monroe, President, National Geographic. "With 'Step into Wonder,' we're putting that spirit at the center of Disney's Earth Month, creating a platform for stories that spark a love for our planet and inspire families to step outside and celebrate the everyday wonders of our world."
The Astronaut walk out door
The Artemis astronauts emerged from their quarantine facility and took a moment to wave to the cameras before heading over to the launch pad.
But did you know that this is *the same* walk out door that has been used throughout NASA's space flight program? Yes, these astronauts quarantined in the same facility!
You can watch a short video I made on the topic here:
By the way, one intriguing thing is that this crew is made up of one white American, one woman, one African American man, and a Canadian man. It's a more representative group of people than the old three-man white American crews we saw in the 70s. Details here: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/our-artemis-crew/
Artemis Moon Mission
I'm just barely old enough to remember the first moon landing in 1969 (my parents woke me up and I have a recollection of the grainy video on our TV, of Neil Armstrong stepping out onto the lunar surface). And I've essentially been a fan of the whole space program ever since.
Those of you who know me know that my graduate research was a NASA-funded grant related to the Space Shuttle. So you likely know that I am a BIG fan of the space program (hence why there are regular posts about space!).
NASA committed to a return to the moon (more on that in a moment), and they recently stepped up the program from its fairly slow pace, to try and make it happen sooner.
Artemis is the name of the program, and that name comes from Greek Mythology. Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and the wilderness, which makes a lot of sense.
You had the Artemis 1 launch that sent an unmanned craft around the moon in 2022. Artemis 2 launched this week, which has a crew of four astronauts heading around the moon. They won't be landing, but what better way to see how these missions will go than by sending astronauts to the moon as we did with Apollo!
Now to the pressing question, and what the media can't quite get: why are we returning to the moon after 50 years? The answer lies in our human need to explore. The next great frontier is space. We have a (tentative?) plan to create a new space station, and there is a desire to build a moon base. They're all part of the nature of continued exploration.
And there's also some measure of scientific discovery in this moon return. There are some hints as to the universe's origins on the lunar surface, and perhaps we can start to get more insights into the Earth's weather, since the moon has a direct impact on the tides and therefore contributes to our climate.
But... of course there is the elephant in the room. You can talk about nationalism, pride, exploration, and science. But without a financial motivator, there is no reason to return.
In case you wondered, the moon may have some significant mineral deposits which have some value. And there's deeper space to explore and (to a point) exploit. Those are certainly motivating factors, too.
Further reading:
https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/why-are-we-going-to-the-moon-artemis-nasa-again-89dsbs29f
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