Edition #1159

Thursday. And thankfully, we have a Republican candidate for the Senate who is honest about her lack of qualifications. Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline, running for the South Carolina Senate seat, admits that she hasn’t a clue about foreign policy, and all she cares about domestically is the issue of the ten or so trans women who want to play on women’s sports teams, and working to institute Trump’s election legislation to address the non-existent issue of voter fraud. At least she doesn’t pretend to know what she is talking about. Refreshing?

I cannot let this edition pass without commenting on the death of Dolly Parton. I will not pretend to have been a big fan of her music or career. She was certainly a presence for most of my life, with her first recording coming as I turned five years old. And her larger-than-life persona and her truly authentic “I am who I am” public image were inspirational to many. Of course, there was the impressively prolific songwriting and production that seemed to never let up, leading to too many to count hits that broke through all boundaries. But what was always noticeable in any instance where her name or presence came up was that of a woman who radiated grace, kindness, and a self-awareness that was completely disarming. In an industry full of excesses, narcissism, and oblivious privilege, Dolly Parton stood out as a role model to be celebrated and emulated. She was one of a kind, and the vacuum she leaves will be felt.

“What is the point of being on this Earth if you are going to be like everyone else?” Arnold Schwarzenegger, quoted in The Times of India. Well, there is that, but there is also the fact that being different from “everyone else” just for the sake of being different is kind of shallow and boring in and of itself.

Now that my friend Michael has safely and successfully delivered the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope to its launch facility…whew!...it is ready for an anticipated August 30 launch aboard a Falcon Heavy. The launch is in the wee hours of the morning, so those of you on the West Coast have a choice to either wake up at 4:30-ish AM or sleep in and watch it in syndication. Or, as often happens with these kinds of things, it could be delayed for weather or technical glitch kinds of things. There is also the path to its final parking spot at Earth’s Lagrange Point 2, a point in space where the gravity of Earth, the Sun, and all the rest balance out and allow a craft to stay put. But assuming all goes according to plan, Ro, as I like to call her, is a next-gen space telescope intended to help investigate the mysteries of dark energy, to seek out and catalogue exoplanets (those orbiting a star other than our Sol), and just boldly go where…ok, I’ll stop.

Yes, a great TV series back in the 1960s, starring a good friend of mine back in the day. Billy Mumy, who played Will Robinson (“Danger, Will Robinson!”). But that show has nothing to do with this Nugget. It was just that after writing that title, I remembered that part of my childhood. Too long ago…shit. But this Nugget is about what happens to a spacecraft in Earth orbit if it loses its GPS signal. Yes, satellites use GPS to determine where they are and broadcast that information to those needing to know where these things are. But as spacecraft move away from our planet, say towards the Moon, where there is no GPS system set up, or in transit between Earth and the Moon, cislunar, if you will, a system is needed to avoid collisions as well as to just know where you are. And so, a system was sent up to test out just such a system. And it passed with flying colors. From what I understood from what I read in this article, these CubeSats used other sensors to determine where other satellites were to then calculate where they were in relation. I am sure there is still a lot to be done on this, and it certainly makes sense that we need to figure out how to keep lunar satellites from crashing into each other. There are multiple countries that are and will be launching missions to our natural satellite, and a system to keep it all orderly and safe is critical. Glad they are making it happen.

I read this article about using home versions of 3D printers to help fix things that otherwise might have to be thrown out, or for which repairing is just expensive. And I was amused. I bought a 3D printer about ten years ago with the same thoughts. Of course, there were tons of cool things that I could print out, and I did experiment as I tapped into the websites that allowed me to download all sorts of pre-engineered things. In fact, one of the most popular sites at the time was called “Thingiverse.” And print out stuff, I did. But as I tried to use it to design and print out things that I could actually use to fix stuff, I realized that I am not an engineer. The skill set and patience that it takes to design a 3D object in a design program and get it sized appropriately takes some doing. And while I did some stuff that worked a bit, I learned fast what my limitations were. And since my experience, the home 3D printing space has grown in capabilities and usefulness. Perhaps if I got back into it…no, not happening.

How much oil is actually getting through? According to our administration, the Strait is open, and lots of oil and other products are getting through. According to Iran, they are still firing on ships that do not have their advance permission, and they are in control. While Iran is a lying regime that cannot be trusted on any level, I must admit that our own administration has lost its credibility as well. And if you read in most media, the picture is not all that clear. What is clear is that transits through the Strait are down significantly. What is clear is that no one really has “control” over the Strait. And the reality is most likely that it is not as good as one side would like to have us believe, nor as bad as the other side. Many ships are running dark, meaning that they have turned their transponders off and are avoiding the use of radios and the like to hide their positions. So is there only twenty-five percent of the usual twenty million barrels of oil getting through? Or is it closer to fifty percent? It is really hard to say under those circumstances, and the reporting should include that fact. But the narrative of your side, whichever side you have chosen, determines what you are told. And certainly the situation is fucked up, regardless of which side you have chosen. On that, I would imagine we can all agree.

There has been a lot of thought put into how Taiwan and its allies (including the US, maybe, kinda, perhaps, whatever) should plan on defending the island from a Chinese invasion. And while most of those strategies will probably remain viable, there is a major shift that is taking place in light of the last four years of fighting in Ukraine. This article describes the current thinking on a strategy that will ensure massive Chinese casualties if they were to invade. And this strategy is to use current and rapidly developing drone technologies. Launching waves upon waves of thousands of drones, both aerial and marine-based, towards landing craft and transports can delay and destroy much of China’s forces. But the rationale for developing and publicizing such a capability is to ensure that you never have to use it. The deterrence is in the knowledge by the Chinese that any invasion would be more costly than they want to absorb. And so, drones have become a central part of Taiwan’s future defense needs. But the drones themselves are not enough. The systems and coordination between personnel, command centers, and military branches are also critical and so incorporating that discipline into the entirety of the military’s readiness will take time and determination. And the knowledge that the Chinese will be building their capabilities to use and counter drone warfare needs to be taken into consideration. But this is the future of war, for now. And the Taiwanese want to be ready.

Nothing more to say here. Stay healthy and be good to each other.

Me.