Mr. Kurtz's Neighborhood

Writer's block? I ain't got to show you no stinking writer's block.

As he sat, wearily disdainful, slouched like a grimy bag of gym socks found behind a locker in South Philly's crumbling, leprous, superannuated pug's palace, he stirred hopelessly through the seething remnants of the maelstrom of his mind-that same mind, once so keen, that had earned him the youthful sobriquet "The Ginzu Dick". The moniter, that hell-spawned witness to failure iluminated his sallow, stubbled cheeks, leering at his impotence like one of the two-dollar whores who sat, wearily disdainful and mocked him from the end of the bar. He had no opening paragraph.

But I do.

We have a winner!

Yes, folks, Mr. Dan McKay of Fargo, North Dakota, is the 2005 winner of the Bulwer-Lyton Fiction Contest. A 43-year-old quantitative analyst for Microsoft Great Plains, McKay is the winner of the 23rd running of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. Mr. McKay is currently visiting China, perhaps to escape notoriety for his dubious literary achievement.

Read the winning entry and submissions in all categories here and let's have no more snivelling about "Ebonics" or why Teddy can't read.

Return To Flight STS-114, Day 2

STS-114 Commander Eileen Collins waves while she and Mission Specialist Steve Robinson work on Discovery's flight deck hours after launch. Image credit: NASA TV

The crew of Space Shuttle Discovery was awakened this morning at 12:39 a.m EDT to start its first full day in space. As the orbiter spends the day chasing the International Space Station, the crew will use Discovery's robot arm to inspect the vehicle's exterior.

Unprecedented imagery captured during Tuesday’s ascent to orbit enabled engineers to see two so-called "debris events." A camera mounted on the external tank caught what appeared to be a small fragment of tile coming from Discovery's underside on or near the nose gear doors.

A later image about the time of Solid Rocket Booster separation showed an unidentified piece departing from the tank and exiting away, apparently not striking the orbiter. The crew was notified of these observations and told that imaging experts would be analyzing the pictures.

Mission managers will review the information gathered yesterday and today to help determine the health of Discovery's thermal protection system over the next four days before it is cleared for landing later in the flight.

nspections of Discovery's heat shield that began this morning were completed early afternoon. Crewmembers used cameras and a special boom on the robot arm to inspect Discovery's wings, nose cap, and crew cabin. Also, crewmembers used handheld cameras to inspect tiles on the Orbital Maneuvering System pods.

Discovery is slated to dock with the ISS at 7:18 a.m. EDT Thursday.

Update As of 15:00 (PDT) NASA has announced that the Space Shuttle fleet is grounded until further engineering reviews of debris strikes and damage are assessed. At this time there are no announced alterations in the current mission. Space Shuttle Atlantis is currently on Pad 39A preparing for a September launch or a possible crew rescue mission for the Discovery crew if necessary. If an Atlantis launch is not feasible, returning the Disvovery crew would fall to Soyuz.

More to follow tomorrow.

Oh, That...

It's a shame to strike a sour note into this glorious morning, but the bottom feeders are with us always. In contrast to the quiet professionalism of the NASA personel and their narrative, MSNBC mounts a campaign of if, if, if, and but, but, but. Led by their carrion-eater-in-chief, Brian Williams, the station can hardly wait for another cataclysm.

It is reminiscent of the general wish for failure and destruction among the press. As Sissy Willis covered yesterday and this post on Sunday on the BBC program "The Power of Nightmares", positing that Al Queada and terrorism are a figment of our (read Bush/Blair) imaginations, these organizations have a positive death-wish. That would be just fine if they kept it to themselves; they should get what they want. It would certainly clear the air - and lots of nice co-ops.

Return to Flight

Talk about stereo separation; I can hear a Mockingbird outside my window in NorCal, and another one over the mike on the live broadcast from NASA TV

Discovery crew is currently (04:03 PDT - 07:03 EDT) in the Airstream on the way to the pad.

Countdown is - 02:37:00

Tourists

Just prior to entering the elevator, the Discovery crew stops to rubberneck and take pictures of one another. "What I did on summer vacation - my friend at the launch pad."

Sensor re-check completed and optimal.

T - 02:24 Led by Commander Eileen Collins, the astronauts are entering the Orbiter.

T - 02:00 3 hours to launch. Even the weather appears to sense it. Clouds and winds are receding from the 20 mile weather perimeter.

2 hours, 30 minutes to launch. All seven crew members are in the orbiter and secured.

The Morning Commute

As final strap-in and comm checks are completed before closing the Orbiter, Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda uses his assist strap to take a little weight off. The crew may spend as much as three hours lying on their backs in their pressure suits - only one reason for a rapid de-suiting after main engine shutdown.

Amother purpose is for one of the mid-deck Mission Specialists to photograph the External Tank upon separation.

At 01:55:00, The Orbiter cabin is being sealed and the Launch director has said that the original launch time, 10:39 EDT is selected and is the center of the 9 minute launch window.

And Liftoff, of Space Shuttle Discovery

Exactly on time, 10:39 EDT July, 26, 2005

Return To Flight T- 08:00:00

Image courtesy NASA/KSC

The Rotating Service Structure (RSS) was rolled away from Discovery at 3:38 p.m. on Monday. The giant enveloping appendage is used to install payloads into an orbiter's cargo bay and provide protection from inclement weather. With the RSS now out of the way, propellant loading is set to begin after midnight Tuesday morning with the pumping of more than 500,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and hydrogen into the vehicle's orange External Tank.

Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on NASA's Return to Flight mission is still on track for Tuesday at 10:39 a.m., NASA Test Director Pete Nickolenko announced during a morning briefing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

According to International Space Station Mission Manager Scott Higginbotham, the hardware in Discovery's payload bay is ready for mission STS-114.

"We are still concerned that right around the launch time, the sea breeze will be developing, and some off-shore activity could bring in some anvil clouds and some showers or cumulous clouds in the area of the launch pad or the [Shuttle Landing Facility]," said Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters. The chance of Kennedy weather cooperating for the launch remains at 60 percent.

Wayne Hale gave a show-and-tell presentation of a fuel sensor and described how they're used in the External Tank. "We have completed all of our ambient temperature checks. We have run every test we could think of and so far no repeat."

Hale went on to say "If the problem recurs and under very closely defined circumstances in sensor #2 or sensor #4 then we will do some more tests and if we are comfortable that we have a good understanding then we can go fly...We are ready to go launch Tuesday morning."

Senior NASA managers met Sunday at Kennedy Space Center for a launch readiness meeting. Discussions focused on recent problems related to a liquid hydrogen low-level fuel sensor inside the external fuel tank, which prompted postponement of the Shuttle’s launch on July 13. Since then, engineers have been working around-the-clock on troubleshooting the sensor system issue.

During the countdown, managers will monitor for recurrence of the problem. If any new sensor-related issues occur, engineers would stop the countdown to reassess the situation.

During their 12-day mission to the International Space Station, Commander Eileen Collins and her six fellow astronauts will test new techniques and equipment designed to make Space Shuttles safer. They also will deliver supplies and make repairs to the Space Station.

Godspeed, Discovery

From Foreign Shores

Related in a twisted way, from CBS 5 Headline News

SF SUPERVISORS VOTE DOWN RESOLUTION SUPPORTING USS IOWA

SAN FRANCISCO Bay City News Wire

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today voted 3-8 against a resolution urging the San Francisco Congressional Delegation to support the permanent berthing of the USS Iowa as a museum at the Port of San Francisco.

The congressional delegation secured $3 million in 2000 to move the USS Iowa, which was present at the signing of the treaty between Japan and the U.S. in 1945, from Rhode Island to the Bay Area, the proposed resolution says.

A study commissioned by the Port of San Francisco concluded that the ship would attract more than 500,000 people during its first year at the waterfront, according to the proposed resolution.

But Tom Ammiano said today he didn't want the ship berthed in San Francisco because of the military's treatment of gays and lesbians and its "don't ask, don't tell'' policy.

"It's dehumanizing,'' Ammiano said. "You are not allowed to be a gay or lesbian in the military except when there is a war and then when the war ends, you are kicked out.''

Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi and Chris Daly also spoke out against the resolution, citing their opposition to the US occupation in Iraq.

"I am sad to say I am not proud of the history of the United States of America since the 1940s,'' Daly said.

Supervisors Sean Elsbernd, Fiona Ma and Michela Alioto-Pier voted in favor of the resolution.

I wonder if the folks on the map below could be persuaded to shop in Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento and other cities inside the United States.

3. Alameda Naval Air Station, USN
4. Alameda Naval Aviation Depot, USN
19. Beale AFB, USAF
37. Camp Perry AGS, USAF
45. Castle AFB, USAF
62. Concord Naval Weapons Station, USN
137. Fort Ord, USA
227. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, USN
228. Mare Island Naval Station, USN
234. Mather AFB, USAF
239. McClellan AFB, USAF
255. Moffet Field Naval Air Station, USN
266. Naval Communications Station, USN
275. Naval Postgraduate School, USN
299. North Highlands AGS, USAF
306. Oakland Army Base, USA
307. Oakland Naval Supply Center, USN
311. Onizuka AFB, USAF
338. Presidio of San Francisco, USA
356. Sacramento Army Depot, USA
398. Tracy Defense Depot, USDOD
401. Treasure Island Naval Station, USN

Map courtesy of US Nationall Park Service Department of the Interior

Liberty, Equality, Oh, Never Mind

Reported in the Washington Post.

Chicago Judge Will Not Seat All-White Juries
The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 26, 2005; 12:31 AM

CHICAGO -- A Cook County judge who said in recent months that she would not seat all-white juries said she regretted being blunt, but believed attorneys did not have good reasons for failing to choose black jurors, according to a published report.

Circuit Judge Evelyn Clay, who is black, made the remarks while meeting with attorneys in chambers, the Chicago Tribune reported in Monday's editions after reviewing court transcripts.
"Folks, you all know I have a rule. I don't seat all white jurors," Clay said as jurors were being selected for a murder trial last month.

Clay said her remarks were "indelicately stated" but she believed qualified blacks were being left off juries.

"I try to preside over jury trials in a fair and impartial way _ that is always my goal," Clay said.

Just Google "Chicago Jury", and by morning there ought to be a lot of references.

The Ball Begins Again

Wow! Its not only that time of the week again, but courtesy of Tammy, of A Mom and Her Blog for a spanking new design, and Shano, with more of her dynamite illustrations, The Cotillion Ball has a stunning new look.

Spreading the wealth, this week features four hostesses:

Beth, of MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy,

Claire, of e-Claire,

Sadie at A Fistful of Fortnights

and Denita, of Who Tends the Fires.

You will not find better.

With Your Coffee

More timely reports from Chrenkoff.

Jumpy and Nervous; regarding the London Underground shooting.

Why We Fight, part 2

One of the last victims of the London bombings to be named by police was a young Afghan Muslim whose parents were killed by the Taleban.

At The Belmont Club:

This obscenity from the BBC, further exposing the creeping disease of the press gone insane.

In a new series, the Power of Nightmares explores how the idea that we are threatened by a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion.

[...]

Wherever one looks for this al-Qaeda organisation, from the mountains of Afghanistan to the "sleeper cells" in America, the British and Americans are chasing a phantom enemy. But the reason that no-one questions the illusion is because this nightmare enemy gives so many groups new power and influence in a cynical age - and not just politicians.

Correction: This is not insanity, incompetence or being misinformed; this is evil.

To misquote Pogo; "We have met the enemy, and he is on the tube"

Countdown Begins

Launch countdown begins. Image: NASA/KSC

At noon today, countdown clocks at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida came to life at the T-43 hour mark and immediately began counting down toward a liftoff Tuesday at 10:39 a.m. EDT.

Space Shuttle Discovery is in great shape for the Return to Flight launch, NASA Test Director Pete Nickolenko announced during a briefing Saturday morning.

"We believe our flight systems and ground support systems are ready," Nickolenko explained. "We are looking forward to a successful launch and mission."

Due to concerns about the early development of showers and cumulus clouds, the chance of Kennedy weather prohibiting launch is 40 percent, according to Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters. There are also concerns about crosswinds at all three Trans-Atlantic Landing sites, located in Spain and France.

Note: At 03:39 PST, Sunday, July 24, the actual time to launch is -2 Days 04:00:20. The apparent discrepancy is accounted for by built-in holds in the countdown.