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U=(N/T)M*G: Debris

Earth surrounded by debris.

The announcement of the mission extension for the ISS gives me mixed feelings. I mean, I love the Station. Wrote about it here a few times. Hell, wrote a whole trilogy on board the “little” thing. I’m such a nerd about it that I’ve got the Haynes manual. It’s a thing I plow through regularly. I’m pretty concerned about it though. Not the drama over Russia’s will they, won’t they attitude in regards to continuing with the Station’s mission. I always knew they’d keep on with the ISS. I’m talking about all the little bits and bobs of debris up … Read more

U=N/T(M*G): Core

Planet in the light of the Galactic Core.

Once every couple of years, I get the wild hair to reread C. S. Friedman’s Coldfire trilogy. I love this story, no lie. It’s one of the best I’ve ever read and has some of the most complex characters I’ve ever seen. And the premise is amazing. In fact, it’s the premise that brings up this post. See, Coldfire trilogy is set on a planet called Erna close to the Galactic Core. Humans came and settled it a long time before the story starts (though you see pieces of what happened to the original settlers at the start of various … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: Strands

Rainbow collection of threads on a black field.

Like something out of Star Trek, or Star Trek fanfiction, this is one of those stranger than fiction moments. In fact, I think I’ve read this ST fanfiction. So, there’s cosmic threads cutting through the heart of our galaxy. A whole lot of other galaxies too. The fun part is no one knows what the hell they are. Galactic heartstrings? Road to Hell? Connections to a parallel dimension? No clue. Scientists think it might be from the black hole blowing out radiation, maybe. Honestly though, I think that’s the fun part. That point in time when we find a new … Read more

Two Briggon Snow Podcasts – Boogieman in Lavender

Look Up & Roommates – Two Briggon Snow Podcasts Radio drama, the “theater of the mind” is alive and well, in podcast form anyway. Back in the days of “The Shadow” or even the later “Radio Mystery Theater,” there would not have even been a mention of any LGBT people or issues. Not so with modern-day podcasts. Two in particular are produced by actor/director Briggon Snow. “Look Up,” a 2020-21 podcast series from Atypical Artists and created by Snow involves Emmet (Evan Bittencourt) and Lincoln (Snow) in a sci-fi drama. They are two teenagers who encounter each other on the … Read more

NASA Asked People to Name its New Uranus Probe. It Went As Well As You’d Expect

Uranus - Deposit Photos

NASA asked for suggestions for the name of its new Uranus probe, and naturally, chaos ensued. The Uranus Orbiter and Probe is a project that NASA hopes to launch in 2030. It’s a good idea; asking the public to give that probe a name, however, is not. The mission plans to spend, as the title suggests, several years orbiting the seventh planet from the Sun. It would potentially send a probe down through its atmosphere to the surface. Full Story from Pink News

U=(N/T)M*G: Shaun

Artemis - NASA

It always surprises me when NASA is about to do something major, and their collective goofiness as people and nerds smacks me right in the face. The Artemis launch is one such example, though there have been many. The Mission Control mohawk guy is probably still one of my favorites. I have no doubt the Artemis mission will be a success, and with it humanity’s ambitious plan to set up the first major part of our path to Mars. It’s a wildly exciting time for space nerds like me and I’m vibrating in my chair with anticipation. A lot of … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: ISS

International Space Station floating right above curved edge of Earth.

I saw this in the news a few weeks ago and only got around to reading what was going on in the last couple of days. I gotta say, I’m pretty damned sad its come to this. Russia has decided it will no longer participate in the ISS after 2024. This ISS is an amazing triumph for humanity, not just the US and Russia. It was a symbol of hope for a lot of people, that no matter what drama was happening on the political stage, those who could actually do good for our world were still working together without … Read more

WHAT IF: The Sun Exploded… Soon?

Supernova - Deposit Photos

Every Wednesday, we’re asking a what-if question – how would our world be different if something were changed? Today’s question is from QSFer Scott: Scientists say we have about five billion years before the sun is likely to explode. But what if we found out it was happening in the next 12-24 months? Share your serious scientific analyses, your off-color jokes, and random thoughts on the topic on our FB and MeWe Groups: FB: http://bit.ly/1MvPABV MeWe: http://bit.ly/2mjg8lf

WHAT IF: An Asteroid Threatened the Earth?

Asteroid - pixabay

Every Wednesday, we’re asking a what-if question – how would our world be different if something were changed? Today’s question is from QSFer Julie Garrett: What if an asteroid was about to strike the earth? What could we do about it? How might it change our culture, before and after (if we stopped it)? Live Science tackles this here. Share your serious scientific analyses, your off-color jokes, and random thoughts on the topic on our FB and MeWe Groups: FB: http://bit.ly/1MvPABV MeWe: http://bit.ly/2mjg8lf

Bi Astronaut Sally Ride to be Featured on US Quarter

Sally Ride Quarter

Astronaut Sally Ride will become the first out LGBT+ person to appear on US currency, as part of the new American Women Quarters Program. According to United States Mint, the first five limited edition coins in the American Women Quarters Program will launch next year. The coins honour Ride as well as Maya Angelou, Asian American actor Anna May Wong, Cherokee Nation leader Wilma Mankiller, and suffragette Nina Otero-Warren. Ride, an engineer and a physicist as well as an astronaut, was the first American woman to travel to space. Full Story from Pink News