9/20: Americans don't know what quality means...

Wednesday night, Sept 20, 2006

1) Website
2) Space/Ocean Headlines
3) Quiz
4) Radio
5) Reviews
6) Issue Notes
7) General

1) Website

First - apologies. I don't know why these links aren't "hot". They used to be...but since I compose off line and then paste the text here they lose their effectiveness. Let's see what happens if I retype the link below...nope...still not hot. Oh well, cut and paste, cut and paste, please! Both sites are worth it.

http://www.disneysub.com/

If you’re a fan of Jules Verne or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or model building, you’ll love this site which is devoted to modeling the Nautilus. Highly recommended.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/business/worldbusiness/
21quality.html?ex=1316491200&en=3841f4dc992d85ac&ei=5088&
partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Copy that ENTIRE URL into your browser. It's an article on how the Japanese are fretting because quality is down - 1 or 2 recalls a year for stuff...whereas in the good ol' USA there are recalls practically every month. Every American worker is in a sense self-employed and needs to do his or her best...

And institutions like NASA and the military need to have Quality as job one...


2) Space/Ocean Headlines

Space
Fourth Space Tourist, Expedition 14 Crew Docks at ISS
Mystery Objects Prompts Third Heat Shield Inspection for Atlantis Crew
Space tourist enjoys warm reception in orbit
Global Space Youth Plan Future Lunar Exploration
Fourth Space Tourist, Expedition 14 Crew Docks at ISS
Shuttle looks OK, Soyuz docks at space station
Additional Inspections Show No Damage to Atlantis Orbiter, NASA Says
A 'Genetic Study' Of The Galaxy
Strange Supernova Defies Theory
Saturn Shows New Ring
Mission Atlantis: NASA Clears Space Shuttle to Come Home

Oceans
Not a one!


3) Quiz
No quiz til Monday - I’ll get some written this weekend so I’ll be able to stay ahead of the game.

4) Radio
Nothing new here.

5) Reviews
Aztecs and Kreating Karloff, still hanging fire.

6) Issue Notes
Worked a bit more on getting my archives up to date. Did a bit of oceanography work.

I’m working on a couple of Star Trek articles also. September 8 was the 40th anniversary of the first broadcast of the first Star Trek episode...lots of events were held, none of which I was able to attend, of course...but hopefully one day...

7) General
On Sept 13 read an article that morons in Australia had killed 10 stingrays in the wake of ‘the Crocodile Hunter’s death. This despite the fact that all coverage has pointed out that stingrays are gentle creatures, are not dangerous, and that this was a freak accident. What a way to celebrate the man’s life work - of environmentalism - by killing innocent creatures...

I see California is suing automobile manufacturers for contributing to global warming. Hey, California! Ever thought it was because you’ve created cities where people *have* to drive everywhere they go? That you’ve created a culture where people will get in there cars to drive ten feet to go visit a neighbor. (Pace Steve Martin’s LA Story.) It’s the drivers who can’t get out of their cars for ten minutes who are the problem, not the automobile makers.