Saturday, January 22

Enjoy Hubble While it Lasts

While not exactly news to those paying attention, the Hubble Space telescope, one of man's finest technological achievments, will likely be allowed to die on the vine. The current suspension of the Shuttle program in the wake of the Columbia Tragedy is one small reason, the contempt for science demonstrated by this administration fills the balance.
Astronomers Surprised by White House Plan to Scuttle Hubble
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 21 January 2005
03:36 pm ET

The prospect of the White House cutting off funding for any possible mission to service and save the Hubble Space Telescope caught the astronomy community largely by surprise Friday.

Scientists who have studied Hubble's science value and the safety and practicality of servicing missions have concluded it is well worth saving. Congressional hearings in coming weeks were expected to discuss the options to extend Hubble's life.

Many astronomers deem such a mission crucial to the ongoing work of studying the origin and evolution of the universe, while some analysts view the $1 billion or more mission as too costly to be practical.
Yup, can't have any pile of cash that large funnelled into a project where it can't be looted under cover of "the Fog of War", plus that origin of the universe stuff is anathema to the fundimentalist mindset (link via Atrios).
In a Space News story Friday, sources said the White House will direct NASA to drop plans for any servicing and instead mount a mission that would safely de-orbit the telescope. Hubble, expected to run out of batteries or lose its ability to point properly in the next 2-4 years, will be scuttled into the ocean under that plan.

"Great loss for science"

Holland Ford, a Johns Hopkins University astronomer who helped build the newest camera on Hubble, was surprised. "I sure hope it's wrong," he said of the news story.

"It means that a lot of excellent science that could be done will not be done," Ford said in a telephone interview Friday. "It will be a great loss for science. It will also be a great loss for the way in which Hubble communicates science through images to people all around the world."

Hope is not lost, however, because any final decision on the 2006 NASA budget will rest with Congress.
Hubble and those of us among its legion of fans should not hold our breath, smart money should be placed on an accellerated de orbit burn. For as long as she remains with us, and after her demise we will still have HubbleSite a vast repository of Hubble Porn. For those with an interest in the study of Astronomy from a Biblical perspective feel free to visit Geocentricity

Sunday, January 16

Credibility Blog Googling

With Luminaries like Hewitt present on the front page, I hope this little experiment vaults me into a sphere of credibility. Thanks for the idea watertiger.

Disability Law Blog: Credibility Archives
Disability Law Blog. ... January 3, 2005 at 10:50 AM in 8th Cir., Credibility, TPOP,
VE Testimony | Permalink. December 08, 2004. Eichelberger v. Barnhart, No. ...
www.jkevinmorton.com/credibility/ - 31k - Cached - Similar pages

Disability Law Blog: 7th Circuit--ALJ's Duty to Explain ...
... Attorney Fees; Back Pain; BICs; Breakeven Point; Burden of Proof; COLAs; COPD;
Credibility; ... Article III Groupie; Bag & Baggage; Blog 702; Dennis Kennedy; ERISA ...
www.jkevinmorton.com/2003/04/please_explain.html - 27k - Cached - Similar pages
[ More results from www.jkevinmorton.com ]

Blogging, Journalism & Credibility
... we currently use to discuss issues like blogging, journalsm and credibility. (The
paper will have been made available in advance on this blog and via email to ...
cyber.law.harvard.edu/webcred/ - 61k - Jan 14, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages

How To Blog For Fun & Profit! :: Cracking Credibility & Why ...
... with your blog. Building credibility with a blog requires a willingness
to develop a real relationship with your market. This is a ...
blogforfunandprofit.blogware.com/ blog/_archives/2005/1/6/233181.html - 47k - Jan 15, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages

HughHewitt.com
... I wrote about "black blog ops" a long time ago. The answer is earning and keeping
credibility, not denying the ability and accuracy of the best bloggers and ...
www.hughhewitt.com/ - 101k - Jan 14, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages

- The Washington Times: Special Report -
... What's all the blog about? By Chris Baker THE WASHINGTON TIMES. ... Matt Drudge's gossip
site, introduced in the mid-1990s, is another example of an early blog. ...
www.washingtontimes.com/specialreport/ 20040814-114043-3023r.htm - 75k - Cached - Similar pages

White Collar Crime Prof Blog: The Credibility Battle at Ebbers ...
... Listed below are links to weblogs that reference The Credibility Battle at Ebbers ...
Blog Traffic. Site Meter Since Novermber 1, 2004. Posts by Topic. • About This ...
lawprofessors.typepad.com/whitecollarcrime_blog/ 2005/01/the_credibility_1.html - 26k - Cached - Similar pages

RConversation
... Got an opinion about this? Please go to the Blogging, Journalism & Credibility
blog and join the discussion. Don't be shy!! ;-). ...
rconversation.blogs.com/ - 65k - Jan 14, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages

Collin vs. Blog: Better to be ignored?
Collin vs. Blog. ... Here it is: Authority/trustworthiness/reputation/credibility
is something that pre-exists the research. Believe ...
wrt-brooke.syr.edu/cgbvb/archives/000311.html - 26k - Cached - Similar pages

Informed Comment
... the elections leaves in place the increasingly unpopular Allawi interim government,
populated by old CIA assets, which destroyed its credibility by acting as a ...
www.juancole.com/ - 101k - Jan 14, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages




Now thats some fine credibilitative credibilitude.