Sunday, March 24, 2024

Rockets, Boosters, Bad Politicians, and a Bridge

March 18, Falcon 9 launched out of Vandenberg to hurl yet more satellites in to low earth orbit.  I think there are somewhere around 5,500 satellites beaming internet to all corners of the earth, with more to come.  I read a bunch of RVers on Facebook, Starlink has really been a game changer for people who work on the road.  There were pictures all over the internet of the rocket.  This one came from the monthly "newspaper" the RV park puts out.  I'm sorry we missed that, it's pretty cool.  If you go to space.com, and click on Launches and Spacecraft at the top of the page, you can see what's launching and from where.


Today was Covid booster day.  We both got a second monovalent X.B.B.  It's the same one as last time, and is allegedly somewhat effective against the current mutation.  Work on better vaccines and treatments for acute Covid and Long Covid appears to be stopped, what with the collapse of Public Health in this country.
Update 3/27/2024:  Last night our arms started hurting about 8:00 pm.  Both of us had a fair amount of heat at the injection site.  I had the headache that ate Tokyo, which I am attributing to the vaccine.  We're better today.  All in all, not a significant reaction.

Judge Merchan, currently presiding over the Stormy Daniels case, has issued a gag order for the orange menace.  Orange threatened his daughter, who works for a firm that supports Democratic interests.  How stupid can you be to threaten your judge's child?  The Judge and his family are all being harassed because of this man who just can not stop talking.  I think the Stormy Daniels trial starts April 15 - mark your calendars.  There is more on CNN.

In other news, Kari Lake has asked for a default judgement in the Stephen Richer case.  Kari has been saying many things about the Maricopa County recorder which are not true.  Discovery was about to start, and Kari blinked, she has effectively pleaded guilty.  There is more on this subject, here.  The Arizona GOP is selling its headquarters in Phoenix, after all of these bull shit law suits they've filed and lost, they're out of money.  So, I hope Kari gets a huge, crippling penalty.

Before the weather tanked, there was hiking.  Here is Jim, slogging up the StairMaster section of the trail.  Those are Brittle Bushes foreground.

This is a trail we see on the loop route we do, that we have not taken.  Currently, our fitness level will not support any off-piste excursions, so we still do not know where it goes.


A Mariposa Lily.

By now you are probably aware that Key Bridge was hit by a freighter that had lost power, and could not control forward motion.  This is bad, seven people went in to the water, they were on the bridge deck fixing pot holes.  Traffic which is always abysmal back there, will now be worse.  There is a good youtube on the subject if you are interested, which can be found here.  Or you can read about it here.  Baltimore's harbor will lose business to Norfolk, Charleston & Savannah ports. The economic fallout will be massive.


 So, that's it, that's all I've got.

3 comments:

  1. The bridge incident is so sad. I'm hoping they are able to, at least, recover those seven people who were on the bridge. I read somewhere that at least a portion of the bridge will be removed to allow the maritime traffic resume in a short time period. Of course vehicular traffic will be affected for much longer.

    Is it wrong of me to hope that IQ45 faces more legal woes as a result of his big fat mouth. Threatening the judge's family is well beyond the pale. It does seem the Republican party would come to their senses that their continued support of the loudmouth and his minions will only result in the financial collapse the party.

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  2. and another supply chain interruption. just what we need now when things had finally been resolved.

    I don't know if I'm going to get another covid vac booster. a guy I volunteer with says his doctor told him not to bother as they only provide protection for a few months. I plan to ask my own doctor about that.

    as for TFG, he will not keep his mouth shut, gag order or not. he is entirely incapable of shutting the fuck up and he never suffers consequences for defying gag orders. the good part is that he is deteriorating to the point where his handlers are not scheduling rallies. they claim it's because they don't have the money but it's probably because of his dementia.

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    Replies
    1. It is true that protection wanes within 4 to 6 months, however I would rather have the decreased chances of dying for 4 to 6 months, and then go get another one. 26 million or so Americans are disabled with Long Covid, which scares me way worse than an acute infection.

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