BEAM Me Up

A nice view of the expandable BEAM module currently undergoing tests on the International Space Station.

Durable Good

Here is a venerable ("old ass" give me a break) Commodore 64 that has been in use for over twenty-five years.

Now that is a durable good (says the man who still has a slide rule collection).

Wait! No dust cover on the keyboard? What?

Olaf Stapledon 02

Olaf Stapledon 01

Green Thoughts

Freeman Dyson reviews a couple of books and manages to spin that into an essay about our future. Long may he "just" review books.

Oblique Tools

Can a tool for musicians be of use to a critic of food? Apparently, yes.

Also worth reading for the description of what happens in a restaurant when the critic is recognized.

Polymath

A wide-ranging interview with Freeman Dyson. Good to see he's as lively as ever.

Volko Ruhnke: COINMaster

A two-part interview with game designer and security analyst Volko Ruhnke. I'm spending too much money on this guy's titles from GMT Games. (Part 01 of the interview here.) (Part 02 of the interview here.) (And this reposted article from The Washington Post is worth a read if you haven't read it previously.)

Hide and Seek

We watched as it landed. We watched as it tried to explore. We waited and listened when contact was lost. Now, as the ESA Rosetta comet probe reaches the end of mission (and will itself terminate on the same body), comet lander Philae has been located on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

Echoes

What's this? Oh, nothing. Just the sounds of aurora from another planet.

Concept Work

A interesting look at concept art for space vehicles, equipment, bases and colonies: proposed and never made to actually flown.

Missons!

So what's happening in the solar system this month? Emily Lakdawalla brings us the news. One mission to end after a success, but 19 still active!