There seems to be a "hackers in space" theme at this year's Chaos Computer Camp. Damn I wish I was there! There are lots of cool talks on subjects like satellite communications, rocket propulsion, and amateur satellite radio. One group of German hackers is talking about their project - launching a nano satellite:

In 2011, mur.at will have a nano satellite launched into a low earth orbit (310 km above the surface of our planet). The satellite itself is a TubeSat personal satellite kit, developed and launched by interorbital systems. mur.sat is a joint venture of mur.at, ESC im Labor and realraum.

A TubeSat costs $8000 installed (in orbit). Unfortunately they put them in orbits that decay after a couple of weeks and there are probably issues associated with adding propulsion.

I still think there ought to be a webcam in space. The space station views channel at NASA is a huge improvement over the nothing that was available a couple of years ago, but its no cigar. You can't just go there at any particular moment and look at the earth. It appears that the budget flap has kept GoreSat grounded even though the Air Force has decided that they really want it. Maybe hackers can put a camera on the moon.

mur.sat

I was skepitcal about this cartoon at first but after doing a lot of back of the napkin calculations I endorse this idea. BUT, you MUST use four words, and the stranger the word the better.

xkcd: Password Strength

Homeowner vacancy in Atlanta is at 5.4 percent, ranking it 4th in the nation in that category. The local unemployment rate of 9.7 percent is well above the national average, and Metro Atlanta has lost nearly 25,000 jobs in the 12-month period ending June 30. Many homeowners are finding that they are losing significant value in their homes, which is also fueling the problems in Atlanta's housing market.

Atlanta the nation's 4th worst housing market - Atlanta Business Chronicle

"For the first time, we have three lines of evidence that together give us confidence these DNA building blocks actually were created in space."

NASA: DNA Found on Meteorites Indicates Life Originated in Space - International Business Times

Like most Americans, at this point, I have no idea what Barack Obama — and by extension the party he leads — believes on virtually any issue.

THE real conundrum is why the president seems so compelled to take both sides of every issue, encouraging voters to project whatever they want on him, and hoping they won’t realize which hand is holding the rabbit.

The failure of the Obama administration isn't the S&P downgrade - its the fact that he is too feckless to avoid bearing responsibility for it. Obama is the perfect politician - a total nihilist who talks big in general terms but avoids specific commitments because he doesn't really care.

What Happened to Obama’s Passion? - NYTimes.com

The Republicans have been handed another weapon in their fight against Mr. Obama, and the irony is that the governmental dysfunction that is the cause of the downgrade is the result of their unwillingness to cooperate in the governing system.

If one rated the ability to compromise on a scale of 1 to 10, Mr. Obama would be a 12, Republicans a minus 3. So in the end we have Republicans creating governmental chaos leading to a credit rating downgrade which then helps Republicans in trying to defeat Mr. Obama in 2012.

The Dismal Political Economist: Downgrading the S&P’s Downgrade of the Downgraded U. S. Credit; Financially and Fiscally Irrelevant; Politically a Bombshell

The odds of a 15 to 25 percent correction are now increasingly likely. Investors should adjust their risk parameters accordingly.

And down we go...

“There is no approachable precedent, at least in the postwar era, for what happens when an economy with 9 percent unemployment falls back into recession,” said Nigel Gault, chief United States economist at IHS Global Insight. “The one precedent you might consider is 1937, when there was also a premature withdrawal of fiscal stimulus, and the economy fell into another recession more painful than the first.”

A Second Recession Could Be Much Worse Than the First - NYTimes.com

Data from the cosmic ray satellite PAMELA has added substantial weight to the theory that the Earth is encircled by a thin band of antimatter.

PAMELA satellite finds evidence of antimatter belt around Earth (Wired UK)

I never had much sympathy for the view that America’s economy was about to be eclipsed by China’s, and the main reason was our political institutions.

Events of the last few weeks have forced me to reconsider.

S&P's credit rating cut: Downgrading our politics | The Economist