road trip!!

Yea!  Will #45's administration pull the rug out from under the booming marijuana market? What?! And trash all those profits? They'd have to be insane. And, well....

Marijuana Prices Fall In 2016 As Growers Flood The Market With Pot

from FORBES

Wholesale marijuana prices fell from $2,500 to $1,000 per pound in 2016. (Shutterstock)

The falling price of legal marijuana is shaking up the dynamics of the marketplace.

“Wholesale marijuana prices declined in 2016 from $2,500 to $1,000 per pound, with some dispensaries offering recreational ounces as low as $65 on CannaSaver.com,” said Brian Shapiro, Chief Executive Officer of CannaSaver. Shapiro said that grow houses flooded the market with cheap marijuana and subsequently drove prices down. Only concentrated cannabis products like oils remained fairly unchanged in pricing.

In Washington state, flower prices plunged from $25 a gram in August of 2015 to approximately $6 currently. In Colorado, the price fell from $8 a gram to just under $6 a gram. This equates to roughly $168 an ounce or $2,688 a pound. Cannabis Benchmarks reported that the average spot price for cannabis in the U.S. fell to $1,486 in December. So far in 2017, overall cannabis prices have risen for the past three weeks, but it is still on average only $1,641 per pound.

Douglas Brown of Contact High Communications said that it wasn’t existing cultivators that tipped the market, but rather new and large entrants to the growing side. “At some point — and we are probably there now — flower becomes a commodity, like soybeans or corn. And then only the biggest players make any money selling it. Margins are thin, but they grow a lot of flower,” he said. Brown pointed to what he called “enormous” grows in Pueblo, CO.

Carter Laren, cofounder of the cannabis incubator group Gateway, said, “When marijuana sells for $750 a pound it starts to become difficult to make a profit. When it gets somewhere below $500 a pound, it becomes impossible.” He believes that growers will turn to agricultural technology in order to drive down the cost of producing a pound of marijuana. The only options are cutting costs or cutting back on production. The industry will have to be abundantly cautious about trying to increase consumption.

Growing marijuana today isn’t as simple as throwing some seeds into the ground. It’s an endeavor that costs millions. Modern grow facilities employ expensive technology to control lights and water. Employees must tag and track the product from seed to sale and owners are usually forced to buy their buildings outright as some landlords don’t like cannabis in their buildings and banks won’t finance mortgages for the end-use.

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step it up!

There are signs that the popular uprising against #45 might just be sustained into the 2018 off-year elections. That's one of the first priorities: get enough new blood running for office AND get them elected, and start to take back the Congress, and then the White House in 2020.

United by post-inauguration marches, Democratic women plan to step up activism.

With Capitol Hill in the background, a massive crowd fills the streets of Washington during the women's march on Jan. 21. (Photo by Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post) (Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post)

WASHINGTON POST

Days into Donald Trump’s presidency, large numbers of liberals say they plan to step up their political activity, with Democratic women particularly motivated to take action, according to a new Washington Post poll.

The results suggest that the “women’s marches” immediately after Trump’s inauguration, which brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators into the nation’s streets to protest his agenda, could reflect something more than a momentary burst in activism.

The poll finds 40 percent of Democratic women say they will become more involved in political causes this year, compared with 25 percent of Americans more broadly and 27 percent of Democratic men. Nearly half of liberal Democrats also say they will become more politically active, as do 43 percent of Democrats under age 50. Interest in boosting activism is far lower — 21 percent — among independents and Republicans alike.

“I have called my senators. I called my congressman. I am sending emails. … I just donated $100 to the ACLU,” said Iris Dubois, 49, an attorney and human relations manager in Atlanta, referring to the American Civil Liberties Union. She did not join her local women’s march but has nevertheless become more politically engaged — particularly in opposing Trump’s cabinet picks.

much more here.

Bad Lip Reading

The Inauguration Edition! 

Perhaps it's best to just make fun of #45, as long as he doesn't get too pissed and blow up the world!

Jesus and Mo

Three cheers for the creator(s) of "Jesus and Mo", a wonderfully blasphemic cartoon spoofing, you guessed it, Jesus and Mohammed.

And no, I do not have to respect your religious beliefs.

#45

Laurence Fishburne had a good idea on a recent The Daily Show. Instead of calling The Cheeto by his real name, he will only address him as "#45." 

I love that. Deny The Cheeto any name recognition at all. 

From here on, it will be #45.

"mentally ill"

It's official. As if we didn't suspect as much...

Johns Hopkins’ Top Psychotherapist Releases Terrifying Diagnosis Of President Trump

If there's one thing we can say about Donald Trump, it's that he's unlike any other world leader we've seen to date. The problem, however, is that his differences fail to set him apart in a positive manner.

Almost daily, Trump tweets about the "biased media," " fake news," or a world leader who has suddenly done something so terrible that he must take to Twitter to publicly berate them. Notice, however, that it's always someone else with the problem. It's never him.

However, John D. Gartner, a registered psychotherapist from the renowned Johns Hopkins University Medical School seems to think Trump may, in fact, be the one with the problem. Gartner, who teaches psychiatric residents at Hopkins, decided to break the ethical code known as the “Goldwater Rule” in order to warn the American public about the dangerousness of our new commander-in-chief’s mental state.

The “Goldwater Rule” is defined as “the informal term for part of the ethics code of the American Psychiatric Association saying it is wrong to provide a professional opinion of a public figure without examining that person and gaining consent to discuss the evaluation.”

Trump’s Democratic challenger, Hillary Clinton called it first. She said Trump is “temperamentally unfit” to serve as president, following his numerous sexist remarks about women, mocking of a disabled reporter, and blatantly racist statements about basically every single human being who isn’t white.

Gartner, who is also the author of In Search of Bill Clinton: A Psychological Biography, says “Donald Trump is dangerously mentally ill and temperamentally incapable of being president.”

According to USNews, Gartner unofficially diagnosed Trump with “malignant narcissism.” Although he himself has not personally examined Trump, Gartner claims it’s obvious from watching even a little of his behavior that he meets the diagnostic criteria for the disorder. Some of the characteristics include:

• Anti-social behavior
• Sadism
• Aggressiveness
• Paranoia
• Grandiosity
• Entitled
• Regressed
• Manipulative
• Destructive
• Egocentric
• Use of projection
• Lack of conscience
• Narcissistic

Gartner says that individuals with malignant narcissism often lack impulse control and empathy. He also says many who suffer from this disorder believe that others around them don’t recognize their greatness.

‘We’ve seen enough public behavior by Donald Trump now that we can make this diagnosis indisputably,’ Gartner claims.

As Psychology Today notes, “Malignant Narcissists will go to great lengths to achieve their aim.  They can be intelligent, high functioning (hold an important job for example) soft-spoken, charming, tearful/seemingly emotional, gracious, well-mannered, kind and have the ability to form relationships. They may lie, falsely accuse, dramatize, smear, cheat, steal, manipulate, accuse, blame or twist to get what they want and feel justified in doing so. Because they are entitled, egocentric and desperate, they do not experience it as wrong.”

Malignant narcissists are:

‘Determined to gratify their wishes and furious if thwarted. Their desire can be so consuming that there is little comprehension of, respect for or ability to empathize with the other.  They lack guilt or remorse and tend to feel or pronounce that it is they who have been mistreated. They can be of any gender, race or social class.’

As if that weren’t enough, malignant narcissism is incurable.

So there you have it. The leader of the United States of America is more than likely a malignant narcissist who has the fate of the free world in his two tiny hands. Not to mention, he now has access to the United States government’s nuclear codes. If that’s not terrifying, we don’t know what is.

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Have a nice day!

a realization

We have now retired.

I no longer do repairs.

It's better this way.

Spring Break 2017

It will be interesting to see the throngs of people that descend upon South Padre Island for Spring Break. Will we stay? Go? Join a beach dance party? Hmmm..

College Spring Break 2017 Beach Stage Dates Announced for South Padre

For the second straight year Inertia Tours and Red Bull SA will be partnering with Clayton’s Beach Bar on South Padre Island, Texas for Spring Break 2017 college activation & entertainment for the Spring Break Beach Stage at Clayton’s.

The daily beach parties in March are from 12 noon to 5 pm daily March 3rd - March 30th and are BYOB “bring your own beverage” on the beach with no cover charge. Headliner DJ’s and contests will mark this entertainment venue.

“We’re very pleased that a world class venue like Clayton’s hosts all of our college students no matter what week their spring break is” says Chad Harr, the Founder of Inertia Tours. Inertia Tours is the largest provider of college spring break to South Padre Island. “Having Claytons which is directly on the beach with all this entertainment is a really big sales point for our packages.” Last years’ daytime DJs included Prince Fox, Crizzly, Morgan Page, iHeartMemphis, Quintino & more.

SpringBreakPartyPackages.com Director Jim Faile which markets spring break wristbands with night parties also directs its clients to Clayton’s Spring Break Beach Stage. “Clayton’s is definitely the hub of day time spring break as well as having major spring break concerts like UME” according to Faile. These spring break party package wristbands allows students to get complementary access for their entire stay at nighttime clubs like Louie’s Backyard, Tequila Sunsets, Clayton’s Beach Bar, and even a night time pool party at the Peninsula Resort. For more information about Spring Break on South Padre Island, Texas, please visit http://www.springbreakpartypackages.com.

About Inertia Tours: 
Inertia Tours specializes in spring break trip packages to South Padre Island that include condos or hotels, meals, the biggest parties as well as the infamous Party Yacht Cruise. Inertia has been featured multiple times on the Travel Channel and hosts the top channel for spring break videos on youtube.com/inertiatours. Current sponsors include Budweiser, Beatbox, Red Bull & San Marvelous clothing as well as Palm Breeze & Mike’s Hard Lemonade. 

About Clayton’s Beach Bar:

Clayton's is the Island‘s #1 event venue hosting artists such as Lil’ Waye, T-Pain, Nelly, Sublime with J. Cole, Afrojack, DJ Skribble, & more. Clayton’s is the largest beach bar on the gulf coast of the United States as well as hosting UME, the Ultimate Music Experience March 16, 17, & 18.

About SpringBreakPartyPackages: 
For over a decade, SpringBreakPartyPackages has provided spring break party package wristsbands to students. Their party packages are promoted by 5 different spring break tour Companies such as Inertia Tours, SWAT, Student Breaks, STS Vacations, & Lifestylez.

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women's march

Far more impressive than the Cheeto's inauguration was the number of women (and men) who marched against him the day after the inauguration.

Not only did people march in 500 cities across America, but they also marched in cities around the world. The Cheeto must not have been pleased.

If Americans can maintain this level of involvement, we will be alright. I'm hopeful, but skeptical.

The Women's Marches may have been the largest demonstration in US history

from Vox

Crowd estimates from Women’s Marches on Saturday are still trickling in, but political scientists say they think we may have just witnessed the largest day of demonstrations in American history.

According to data collected by Erica Chenoweth at the University of Denver and Jeremy Pressman at the University of Connecticut, marches held in more than 500 US cities were attended by at least 3.3 million people.

“Even using a conservative estimate, it was the single largest day for a demonstration in the US,” Chenoweth, an expert on political protests and civil resistance, told us.

Every state in America hosted a Women’s March, as you can see in the map above. The events ranged from tiny gatherings in small town squares to throngs of more than 500,000 people clogging streets in cities like Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. (If you see that crowd attendance information is missing from your city, please contact the researchers here.)

Pressman said he started to track crowd numbers from organizers, local media outlets, and citizens who emailed or tweeted with links and reports early Saturday morning.

The turnout at events outside the US was significant, too. Chenoweth and Pressman have recorded over 100 international Women’s Marches with an estimated attendance of more than 260,000.

Chenoweth cautioned me that while 3.7 million Americans protesting on Saturday may be the largest turnout in US history in absolute terms, she wasn’t sure if it was the largest protest proportionally speaking. For instance, she said, it’s possible that protests in cities around the US against the Iraq War in 2003 may have drawn as many people or more relative to the population at that time.

As she and Pressman continue to collect data, she hopes that civic organizers will be more involved with gathering crowd data in real time to help researchers who study social movements.

“For people who organize these kinds of activity, there is something that can be learned in terms of techniques of using [satellite images or aerial photos] to estimate crowd density,” said Chenoweth. “It might be a good time to think about how we democratize that knowledge.”

Original is here (with video). See pictures of some of the best signs here and here and here.

SPI Kite Fest

The South Padre Island 2017 Kite Fest is happening soon! Here's a vid from 2016.

time to resign

Donald Trump is totally unfit to be President.

Watch this video on The Scene.

Ricky Gervais

Not going to indulge in the asshole's Inauguration. Instead, focus on the positive, like Ricky Gervais!

Triumph went

Triumph went to the inauguration, and didn't get punched.

Jonathan Pie

OK, back to Trump. 

Pie, anyone?

Tommy Emmanuel

Despite Donald Trump, it's not all gloomy and horrible.

Tommy Emmanuel is one of the greatest guitar players of our generation. He's an Aussie who makes it all look so easy. Catch his Tour dates here.

I didn't realize he'd done a TED talk.

Dan Rather

How to address the comic tragedy that is Donald Trump?  I am still pissed at the way the right treated Barack Obama, and for the right to expect instant capitulation to Trump is ignorant and impossible. 

The rise of Trump is ridiculous, disgusting and wrong, but I guess I am still grappling with it. So I turn to people that I respect and listen to their reaction.

Dan Rather is one of those people. I found this item on the Occupy Democrats site.

Dan Rather Just Went Viral Shredding Trump's Inauguration Speech

Marisa Manfredo

Dan Rather, former CBS Evening News anchor, has released an elegant, tragic statement about the Donald Trump presidential inauguration that occurred today at noon. He sums up the collective anxiety that is gripping the majority of Americans as we enter into the great unknown. Rather elucidates the reasons why the American people are faced with so much uncertainty heading into a presidency, when normally the incoming president is transparent.

And so it begins. 

Of the nearly 20 inaugurations I can remember, there has never been one that felt like today. Not even close. Never mind the question of the small size of the crowds, or the boycott by dozens of lawmakers, or even the protest marches slated for tomorrow across the country. Those are plays upon the stage. What is truly unprecedented in my mind is the sheer magnitude of quickening heartbeats in millions of Americans, a majority of our country if the polls are to be believed, that face today buffeted within and without by the simmering ache of dread. 

I have never seen my country on an inauguration day so divided, so anxious, so fearful, so uncertain of its course. 

I have never seen a transition so divisive with cabinet picks so encumbered by serious questions of qualifications and ethics. 

I have never seen the specter of a foreign foe cast such a dark shadow over the workings of our democracy. 

I have never seen an incoming president so preoccupied with responding to the understandable vagaries of dissent and seemingly unwilling to contend with the full weight and responsibilities of the most powerful job in the world. 

I have never seen such a tangled web of conflicting interests. 

Despite the pageantry of unity on display at the Capitol today, there is a piercing sense that we are entering a chapter in our nation’s evolving story unlike one ever yet written. To be sure, there are millions of Donald Trump supporters who are euphoric with their candidate’s rise. Other Trump voters have expressed reservations, having preferred his bluster to his rival’s perceived shortcomings in the last election, but admitting more and more that they are not sure what kind of man they bestowed the keys to the presidency. The rest of America – the majority of voters – would not be – and indeed is not – hesitant in sharing its conclusions on the character and fitness of Donald Trump for the office he now holds. 

The hope one hears from even some of Donald Trump’s critics is that this moment might change him. Perhaps, as he stood there on a grey, drab, January day, reciting the solemn oath of office demanded by our Constitution, as he looked out across what Charles Dickens once called the “city of magnificent intentions”, he would somehow grasp the importance of what he was undertaking. Perhaps he would understand that he must be the president of all the United States, in action as well as in word. Perhaps, but there has already been so much past that is prologue. 

There is usually much fanfare around inaugural addresses. They are also usually forgotten – with some notable exceptions. I think today will be remembered, not so much for the rhetoric or the turns of phrase but for the man who delivered them and the era they usher us forth. 

Mr. Trump’s delivery was staccato and there was very little eye contact as he seemed to be reading carefully from a teleprompter. His words and tone were angry and defiant. He is still in campaign mode and nary a whiff of a unifying spirit. There was little or nothing of uplift – the rhetoric of Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy, or Reagan. We heard a cavalcade of slogans and one liners, of huge promises to “bring back” an America – whatever that really means to many who look at our history and see progress in our current society. 

The speech started with a message of an establishment in Washington earning riches on the back of struggling families across the country. It was an odd note, considering the background of many of his cabinet picks. President Trump painted a very dark picture of the current state of our nation, beset by gangs and drugs and violence, regardless of what the data shows. His words swelled with his economic populism and the nationalism of “America first.” The applause was sparse, and I imagine many more being turned off, even sickened, rather than inspired by what our new President had to say. President Obama looked on with an opaque poker face. One could only imagine what he was thinking. 

It bears remembering that one never can predict the arc of a presidency. It is an office that is far too often shaped by circumstance well beyond its occupant’s control. Those challenges, wherever and however they may rise, now will fall on the desk of President Trump. We can only see what will happen. We hope, for the security and sanctity of our Republic, that Mr. Trump will respond to the challenges with circumspection and wisdom. Today’s rhetoric was not reassuring. 

Our democracy demands debate and dissent – fierce, sustained, and unflinching when necessary. I sense that tide is rising amongst an opposition eager to toss aside passivity for action. We are already seeing a more emboldened Democratic party than I have witnessed in ages. It is being fueled by a fervent energy bubbling from the grassroots up, rather than the top down. 

These are the swirling currents about our ship of state. We now have a new and untested captain. His power is immense, but it is not bestowed from a divinity on high. It is derived, as the saying goes, from the consent of the governed. That means President Trump now works for us – all of us. And if he forgets that, it will be our duty to remind him.

Rather’s final two sentences are a reminder that we need to maintain hope for our great nation’s future and not be beaten down by Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric. Like it or not, Trump is our president and we are not going let him act otherwise.

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Devil's Lagoon

Always on the lookout for the odd, strange, or mysterious....

We are still learning about this incredible planet Earth.

The Mysterious Red Lagoon of Chile 

In the town of Camina, in northern Chile, 147 km from the city of Iquique, and approximately 3,700 meters above sea level, lies a strange Red Lagoon. The waters of the lagoon is so intense red that it seems like ink or blood. The lake was known to locals, but unknown even to the National Service of Tourism until 2009, although several miles downstream lies the Caritaya Reservoir.

This area has historically been populated by the Aymara culture and ancient civilization, who have managed to preserve the secrets and legends of its land, and which have just recently been revealed. Like the mysterious curses that have been associated with Egyptian tombs, this red pool is possesses by a curse that affects those who approach its red waters. That's why nobody knows where it is exactly and it does not appear on maps. The disappearance of thousands of Aymaras is also attributed to this lake because they drank from its waters.

The red lagoon is surrounded by two other pools of yellow and green water, and they are said to bubble when surrounded by unpleasant people. it is therefore common belief that these accumulations of colored water are owned by the devil himself. According to a few experts the color is due to different species of algae living in its depths.

we outnumber him

This was seen flying over the Hudson River recently.  Unfortunately, "they" outnumber "us" in the US House and Senate, and those are the numbers that really count.....unless everyone starts to make their voice heard.

The Bright Side

When it looks darkest, 

when all hope seems to have gone, 

when life deals you crap

we have arrived!

It's like a gigantic load has been lifted from our shoulders. The wife and I have now officially both stopped working at our corporate jobs in Houston and have moved to South Padre Island. 

The picture above is a shot of our newly-painted house with the wife over in the corner celebrating. We still have lots of boxes to unpack and things to rearrange before the house is totally "settled" but that's a lot of fun.

The picture below is a shot of the very first sunset we had after we arrived on the island. Many more to come. I'm sure I'll catch several sunrises, but only after sleeping for a few weeks, or months!

Indivisible

A group of staffers in Washington DC have put together a guide they are calling "Indivisible" that could show the way out of the Trump nightmare. They observed how the Tea Party claimed the GOP and urge Democrats and progressives to adopt those same techniques to take the government back from the know-nothings and the crazies.

This could seriously work. Since they published this guide, over 3,000 local groups have formed, and there have already been hundreds of visits to elected representatives. 

Since we have just moved out of Houston to South Padre Island (a heavily blue area), I am a little hesitant myself to dive in at this time, but I will. I want to get our new life (and new house) together before I turn my focus externally, but I urge all of you who care about our country to read this guide and take action. Our country may depend on it.

INDIVISIBLE:
A PRACTICAL GUIDE for RESISTING THE TRUMP AGENDA 

Donald Trump is the biggest popular vote loser in history to ever call himself President- Elect. In spite of the fact that he has no mandate, he will attempt to use his congressional majority to reshape America in his own racist, authoritarian, and corrupt image. If progressives are going to stop this, we must stand indivisibly opposed to Trump and the members of Congress (MoCs) who would do his bidding. Together, we have the power to resist — and we have the power to win.

We know this because we’ve seen it before. The authors of this guide are former congressional staffers who witnessed the rise of the Tea Party. We saw these activists take on a popular president with a mandate for change and a supermajority in Congress. We saw them organize locally and convince their own MoCs to reject President Obama’s agenda. Their ideas were wrong, cruel, and tinged with racism — and they won.

We believe that protecting our values, our neighbors, and ourselves will require mounting a similar resistance to the Trump agenda — but a resistance built on the values of inclusion, tolerance, and fairness. Trump is not popular. He does not have a mandate. He does not have large congressional majorities. If a small minority in the Tea Party can stop President Obama, then we the majority can stop a petty tyrant named Trump.

To this end, the following chapters offer a step-by-step guide for individuals, groups, and organizations looking to replicate the Tea Party’s success in getting Congress to listen to a small, vocal, dedicated group of constituents. The guide is intended to be equally useful for stiffening Democratic spines and weakening pro-Trump Republican resolve.

We believe that the next four years depend on Americans across the country standing indivisible against the Trump agenda. We believe that buying into false promises or accepting partial concessions will only further empower Trump to victimize us and our neighbors. We hope that this guide will provide those who share that belief useful tools to make Congress listen. 

WHO IS THIS DOCUMENT BY AND FOR?
We: Are former progressive congressional staffers who saw the Tea Party beat back President Obama’s agenda.
We: See the enthusiasm to fight the Trump agenda and want to share insider info on how best to influence Congress to do that.
You: Want to do your part to beat back the Trump agenda and understand that will require more than calls and petitions.
You: Should use this guide, share it, amend it, make it your own, and get to work. 

The Indivisible Guide

SpaceX launch!

It's great to see SpaceX roaring back with a successful launch, a deployment of ten Iridium satellites, and a successful landing on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.  I cannot wait until they start launching from the Boca Chica spaceport. We will be able to see the launches from our house on South Padre Island!!

SpaceX sends 10 satellites into orbit, lands rocket booster on drone ship in first flight since September explosion.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 10 satellites, lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Jan. 14, 2017. (Matt Hartman / Associated Press)

Four months after a launch pad explosion, SpaceX returned to flight Saturday morning, delivering 10 satellites into orbit and landing its first-stage booster on a floating drone ship.

Analysts had described the launch as “all-important” for the Hawthorne space company to reestablish customer confidence and momentum after a Sept. 1 launchpad explosion in Florida destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket and a commercial communications satellite perched on top. But beyond the specter of the accident, stakes were high for Saturday’s launch because it involved deploying the first 10 satellites of a new commercial constellation for well-known operator Iridium Communications Inc. 

The new satellites have more capability than their older counterparts, including higher data speeds. Saturday’s launch is the first of seven that SpaceX will perform for Iridium to carry a total of 70 satellites into orbit.

“There was a lot riding on this for SpaceX, but also for Iridium, and I think they can breathe a sigh of relief,” said Marco Caceres, senior space analyst at the Teal Group.

The launch occurred at 9:54 a.m. Pacific time from Vandenberg Air Force Base, north of Santa Barbara. About eight minutes after liftoff, the first-stage rocket booster landed upright on a floating platform called “Just Read the Instructions” in the Pacific Ocean.

About an hour after the launch, company Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted that the mission “looks good.” By 11:15 a.m., Musk tweeted that all satellites had been successfully delivered to the correct orbit.

Boca Chica spaceport

The launch comes after an investigation into the September explosion that was led by SpaceX and assisted by the U.S. Air Force, NASA, the National Transportation Safety Board and industry experts, with oversight from the Federal Aviation Administration. The investigation concluded last week that the cause was the failure of a pressure vessel that stores cold helium to maintain pressure in the liquid oxygen tank.

The company said the failure of one of three such tanks, inside the rocket’s larger, second-stage liquid oxygen tank, probably occurred after a buildup of liquid oxygen between the vessel’s aluminum inner liner and its carbon overwrap ignited.

The FAA said last week that it accepted the accident report and closed the investigation. 

SpaceX said it would change the configuration of the vessels and change helium loading operations.

Every mission until about 2018 will be watched closely, as SpaceX and Boeing Co. are both contracted to build capsules to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.

NASA has said that the first uncrewed flight of SpaceX’s spacecraft is set for November, and its first flight test with humans aboard is scheduled for May 2018.

“Every mission will be crucial,” Caceres said. “But this one was particularly crucial because you don’t want two failures in a row. So I think this was a huge success.”

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Trump week

I remember some people, during the presidential campaign, thinking that, since Donald Trump was such an enigma, maybe he would turn out to be a liberal. Ha! One might think that Trump, if he were anywhere near normal, would have appointed some Democrats to his Cabinet. After all, he lost the popular vote by over 3 million votes, even though he lies (as usual) and claims he won the popular vote. 

We have never had a narcissist and serial liar like Trump in the White House, and the worst thing about it is that his supporters don't seem to care.

Here is a recap of a week in the life of Donald Trump. Is any of this liberal?

From Egberto Willies:

While we were distracted by tweets:
The federal week in review:
1. Trump fires all Obama-appointed Ambassadors and Special Envoys, ordering them out by inauguration day.
2. House brings back the Holman rule allowing them to reduce an individual civil service, SES positions, or political appointee's salary to $1, effectively firing them by amendment to any piece of legislation. We now know why they wanted names and positions of people in Energy and State.
3. Senate schedules 6 simultaneous hearings on cabinet nominees and triple-books those hearings with Trump's first press conference in months and an ACA budget vote, effectively preventing any concentrated coverage or protest.
4. House GOP expressly forbids the Congressional Budget Office from reporting or tracking ANY costs related to the repeal of the ACA.
5. Trump continues to throw the intelligence community under the bus to protect Putin, despite the growing mountain of evidence that the Russians deliberately interfered in our election.
6. Trump breaks a central campaign promise to make Mexico pay for the wall by asking Congress (in other words, us, the taxpayers) to pay for it.
7. Trump threatens Toyota over a new plant that was never coming to the US nor will take jobs out of the US.
8. House passes the REINS act, giving them veto power over any rules enacted by any federal agency or department--for example, FDA or EPA bans a drug or pesticide, Congress can overrule based on lobbyists not science. Don't like that endangered species designation, Congress kills it.
We - progressive, liberal, libertarian and conservative - need to all wake up to what is actually happening to our beloved country.
#UnitedWeStand.

No doubt this is going to get worse. You can follow Trump's antics on many sites, and here is a good one.