Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) has been granted an Operational License by the US Air Force for the use of Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the Florida coast. Receipt of the license, in conjunction with the approved Site Plan, paves the way for SpaceX to initiate Falcon 9 launch operations later this year.

SpaceX Receives USAF Operational License for Cape Canaveral Launch Site | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

A number of very interesting books have been released over the past year or two which debate how the Internet is reshaping our culture and the economy.

This collection looks interesting. Is anyone familiar with Cass Sunstein's books? -- "there can be no assurance of freedom in a system committed to the Daily Me."

He seems to be poking at something that has been bothering me. Here is an article.

But there is also a serious danger, which is that people will move to positions that lack merit but are predictable consequences of the particular circumstances of their self-sorting...

There is a general risk that those who flock together, on the Internet or elsewhere, will end up both confident and wrong, simply because they have not been sufficiently exposed to counterarguments. They may even think of their fellow citizens as opponents or adversaries in some kind of "war."

It is important to understand that countless editions of the Daily Me can also produce serious problems of mutual suspicion, unjustified rage, and social fragmentation -- and that these problems will result from the reliable logic of social interactions.

The Technology Liberation Front » Grouping Recent Net Books: Internet Optimists vs. Pessimists

"This election is not about issues," said Davis. "This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates."

Its Marketing!

Although readers keep shifting to the Internet, Esquire magazine's editor is sure print isn't dying, and he aims to prove it Monday by unveiling a 75th-anniversary issue with a cover that features electronic ink.

Esquire magazine unveils cover with electronic ink

Willow Garage is an open source robotics project that originated at Stanford University. Robots being developed with the project run ROS (Robot Operating System) software. The operating system comes complete with tutorials, a developer's guide, and more--all at the link just provided.

Open Source Roboticists On a Path to C3P0 | OStatic

The program is called A-Space, and it's a social-networking site for analysts within the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies.

Instead of posting thoughts about the new Avenged Sevenfold album or Jessica Alba movie, CIA analysts could use A-Space to share information and opinion about al Qaeda movements in the Middle East or Russian naval maneuvers in the Black Sea.

CIA, FBI push 'Facebook for spies' - CNN.com

Decius wrote:

McCain became the butt of jokes online and on the The Colbert Report this June after delivering a speech in Louisiana where the stage backdrop was a nauseating green. That spawned Stephen Colbert's "Green Screen Challenge" to make McCain's presentation more exciting. Some of the rather entertaining results can be seen below.

There are literally thousands of these things on YouTube.
I thought this one was well done:

RE: McCain Uses Walter Reed Middle School, Not Army Hospital, as Backdrop | Threat Level from Wired.com

McCain became the butt of jokes online and on the The Colbert Report this June after delivering a speech in Louisiana where the stage backdrop was a nauseating green. That spawned Stephen Colbert's "Green Screen Challenge" to make McCain's presentation more exciting. Some of the rather entertaining results can be seen below.

McCain Uses Walter Reed Middle School, Not Army Hospital, as Backdrop | Threat Level from Wired.com

In honor of Jack and Doris Cross

Alzheimer's Diagnosis

Get a Web Ribbon

Posting these to MemeStreams alters the structure of the html code, so I created another ribbon and posted it here.

Its silly that this campaign doesn't also directly entice you to donate more money, but you can do that here.

Alzheimer's Web Ribbon

His shots of 189 secret spy satellites are the subject of a new exhibit -- despite the fact that, officially speaking, the satellites don't exist. The Other Night Sky, on display at the University of California at Berkeley Art Museum through September 14, is only a small selection from the 1,500 astrophotographs Paglen has taken thus far.

Photographer Documents Secret Satellites -- All 189 of Them