Aviation Week tribute to the Space Shuttle

No discussion of the Shuttle program is complete without mentioning the two horrible accidents, and the loss of all on board. Aviation Week feels that both accidents were caused by NASA corporate culture, a culture of "press on regardless" controlled by inexperienced and poorly educated suits.
The first accident to Challenger, where the solid rocket boosters leaked flame onto the external hydrogen tank, causing an explosion 73 seconds after liftoff, was clearly a management failure. Morton Thiokol, the maker of the solid rocket boosters, called the cape the night before the launch and expressed concerns about the low temperature. The Thiokol engineers feared that the silicone gaskets that sealed the solid booster joints would stiffen in the cold and fail to seal against combustion pressure. The Thiokol engineers had it exactly right, that's what happened and the leak of white hot flame from the booster exploded the shuttle and killed the entire crew.
NASA management, rather than postponing the launch, demanded Thiokol put their fears in writing. When the Thiokol suits demurred, NASA pressed on with the launch.
This was incredible to me. In USAF, had we received a telephone call from our engine maker expressing concern about the J75's powering our fighters, we would have believed them. We knew those engines had problems, we were used to company tech reps making light of deficiencies. Should Pratt & Whitney have volunteered information about problems, all hands, from crew chief up to wing commander would have taken it VERY seriously.
NASA management seems to be all political appointees, paper pushers with no practical experience. That can be a killer.

RGGI rides again.

According to this, money raised by the RGGI tax on electricity, which was supposed to go for virtuous greenie things, is being diverted to paying the bills.
New Hampshire's budget is opaque, but last year there was $50 million budgeted for "Greenhouse Gas Abatement". Whether it actually got spent or not is unknown, at least to me. That's a lot of money. That's 10% of this coming year's budget deficit ($600 million estimated).
The "Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative", a joint deal involving the New England states and New York, was going to tax electric companies and earmark the revenue for "Greenhouse Gas Abatement" what ever that might mean. Which is one of the reasons we pay the highest electric bills in the nation. We get hit with 20 cents per kilowatt hour which adds up to $100 a month just to keep the lights on in a small house.
We would do better to drop the RGGI tax, drop the "Greenhouse Gas Abatement" and recover the New Hampshire Advantage.

Double Brrr

It was only 6 degrees F this morning. Coldest its been all winter.

English Muffins toast in 6 minutes, used to take 7

Trivia moment. I like my English muffins buttered and then toasted under the broiler. They come out crispier that way, than running them thru the toaster.
Several years experience showed that the muffins came out golden brown if I set the kitchen timer to exactly 7 minutes.
Last couple of days, golden brown has become dark brown with blackened edges. I've backed off to 6 minutes on the kitchen timer to recover the golden brown.
Same oven, same timer, same kitchen, same broiler. Could it be that PSNH has jacked up the voltage coming into the house? I never measured my line voltage so I'd never know if I measured it now. Line voltage anywhere between 110 and 130 is legitimate these days, and stuff that cares about line voltage has electronic regulation built into the product.
Plain old electric ranges don't care. They do run a little hotter if the line voltage is higher, but except for toasting muffins, it doesn't matter.

Nanny state gets into the real nanny business

"They" want to pass a federal law to require "safer" child car seats. "Safer" means rearward facing car seats are mandatory for children up to age FIVE. Speaking as a veteran parent, kids are gonna hate that one. Kids don't mind riding in car seats much, 'cause the seat boosts them up so they can see out the windows. Rear facing seats would retrict the kid's view to the back seat upholstery.
While "they" were at it, "they" want to require infants travel in car seats on airlines. Which would require parents to buy a ticket for infants. Right now, infants under two can travel for free sitting in a parent's lap. Many parents, including yours truly, decide that enduring transcontinental squirming is worth the savings.

Brrr

It was 12 degrees F outside this morning, and the weather folk on the radio are predicting colder for tomorrow. Furnace is working just fine, forty year old Andersen thermopane windows are still tight. An inch of snow fell last night, and the town plow went by at 6 AM to clear it.

Zap Zing Pow. Obama takes a hit, on TV

The federal tax dustup is in full view on national TV. Obama is mad, and it shows on TV. He wanted to hike taxes on the upper middle class ($250K). He didn't have the votes to make that happen. He doesn't want to impose a tax hike on the entire country, that would leave us stuck deeper in Great Depression 2.0, and everyone would blame him for that disaster. The Republicans said the only income tax they would accept is no tax hikes for anyone. And they have the votes to make that stick.
So Obama cut a deal, no tax hikes for anyone (good idea) in return for more unemployment payments (mediocre idea). Plus some other tax breaks that I don't fully understand yet, and 35% estate tax with a bigger exemption. The Republicans signed on. The Democrats are furious, they think Obama got rolled.
Obama clearly is mad at everyone. He called the Republicans "hostage takers" which is sorta dumb. After you cut a deal with someone, you don't call them names. He then proceeded to lecture his democrats on the virtues of compromise, which came across as patronizing.
Politics as a blood sport. Can be fun to watch on TV.