This will get your juices flowing!
A beautiful Martian sunset is pic o’ the day here at the ol’ raincoaster blog.
Click here for the whole gallery of Mars Phoenix images from NASA
And here is an entertaining video of the whole liftoff-to-landing process. Alas, unlike the last one (possibly the world’s coolest Mars probe simulation) there is no NIN soundtrack. Just sing Closer really, really loudly as you watch.
Developed in the summer of 2004, this animation visulaizes launch in August 2007 and entry, descent, and landing of the Phoenix Mars Mission in May 2008. Currently the animation is in the rough-cut phase and is being modified as the spacecraft develops. The animation was created by Maas Digital under the direction of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Solar System Visualization Project.
Yep, looks like every able-bodied military person in the US must be overseas, because NASA has apparently turned to imaginary American Buzz Lightyear for their next mission.
Real American and real hero Buzz Aldrin is his mentor.
O, how the mighty have fallen.
There’s a clue to the motivation for this travesty in the YouTube info:
Veteran astronaut Buzz Aldrin mentors Buzz Lightyear, co-star of the Disney-Pixar Toy Story films. Buzz (the toy) is headed to the International Space Station aboard Space Shuttle Discovery to commemorate the opening of “Toy Story Mania!” at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California.
I wonder how many zeros Buzz Aldrin got for his dignity.
As we at the ol’ raincoaster blog understand it, Spring is late in coming to parts of the world, and in such times our thoughts go always to those more primitive, dependent species: cephalopods, crustaceans, and government contractors.
Alas, we do not know, for it is not recorded, what became of the famed lobster of Gérard de Nerval, but we would not be at all surprised to discover it still lumbering mournfully around Paris, seeking its owner and the subtle secrets that only dreams can tell…
But what if it’s chilly? Does this living national treasure of Symboilist Symbolist Poetry shivver in the chill miasma rising off the Seine? I shudder to think it.
Behold, the solution:
Boris Johnson‘s ban on open booze on London public transit has certainly brought out the best in his fellow citizens. What better way to prove that drinking on the Tube is a perfectly civilized activity and nothing that Londoners can’t handle than to Facebook a few thousand of your closest strangers and get knee-walking, vomit-comet drunk on the last night of booze-freedom?
The Guardian reports:
Police arrested 17 people and closed six London Underground stations after a party to mark the last day of legal drinking on the Tube ended in chaotic scenes.
Four train drivers and three other London Underground staff were assaulted, one police vehicle was damaged and two officers assaulted and another injured.
Witnesses said the stench of alcohol on the network was overpowering and that people were “being sick all over the place”. Drunken partygoers began fighting and vomiting as the midnight ban on drinking drew nearer.
Way to go, London! That will show them you can handle your booze.
From the BBC:
Londoner Matt Wynn, 43, a banker, said: “I’ve come along with a bottle of Champagne because I want to show that you can drink responsibly on the Tube and not cause trouble.”
But others took a different approach from the beginning.
Peter Moore, 35, a sailor from Brighton, said he had downed a can of beer in 10 seconds. “It’s sweaty on there, but I’m going round and round until I vomit,” he said…
As Saturday night wore on, eyewitnesses described how drunken partygoers began fighting and vomiting, ripping up maps and adverts, spilling alcohol and leaving debris.
British Transport Police said there was a “large amount” of instances of disorder reported.Liverpool Street underground station was closed to ease overcrowding for several hours. Other Tube stations closed by police were Euston, Euston Square, Aldgate, Gloucester Road and Baker Street.
Let’s go to YouTube for a closer look at what really happened, shall we?
remind you of anything?
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raincoaster 