Month: September 2007

NOVA | The Elegant Universe

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NOVA | The Elegant Universe | Watch the Program | PBS:
The Elegant Universe homepage

To view any part of this three-hour miniseries, choose an episode from one of the three columns below and select either QuickTime (full-screen option available) or RealVideo to begin. If you experience difficulty viewing, it may be due to high demand. We regret this, and suggest you try back at another time. Note that NOVA programs are not available for downloading due to rights restrictions.

Instead of sending HUMANS to Mars 11 times, the USA sent them on a Mission to Iraq

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Burton MacKenzie: Instead of sending HUMANS to Mars 11 times, the USA sent them on a Mission to Iraq www.burtonmackenzie.com:
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007

Instead of sending HUMANS to Mars 11 times, the USA sent them on a Mission to Iraq
Way back in the day (2004), President Bush promised to send people to Mars. NewScientist reported that the cost of the mission was “expected to cost $40 billion to $80 billion”. That really seemed like a lot of money.

A year earlier, in 2003, Bush sent his country’s soldiers into Iraq. It is believed that as of September 27, 2007, the war in Iraq has cost the USA a whopping 454 Billion dollars! (and here’s even a more pessimistic estimate reported at The Boston Globe in 2006)

If the original Mars estimate was accurate, that means that instead of going to Iraq, the USA could have funded somewhere between 5 and 11 independent human missions to Mars! By “independent”, I mean Mars mission programs that start from the ground up, and do not leverage each other’s technology, research, or manufacturing. In reality,

Todd Blair Injured After SRL Robodock Show in Amsterdam

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Todd Blair Injured After SRL Robodock Show in Amsterdam:
Todd Blair Injured After SRL Robodock Show in Amsterdam

Our good friend Todd Blair, a long-time Survival Research Labs crew member, was seriously injured during the clean-up after Saturday’s SRL show at Robodock 2007 in Amsterdam. A blog has been setup to track Todd’s recovery and a fund has been setup to cover his medical expenses.

Laughing Squid sends out our best wishes to Todd’s family, friends and the SRL crew. We all hope that Todd has a quick recovery.

Here’s more information from the SRL blog:

In a freak accident veteran crew member Todd Blair was knocked to the ground sustaining critical head injuries after the show on Saturday. The doctors in Amsterdam are keeping him in an induced coma and won’t have a complete prognosis for awhile. In deference to Todd, Alex (Todd’s girlfriend) and the families we had been keeping the information about this tragic occurence within the family. Amy Critchett and Eric Paulos were with Todd during his surgery and now Alex has arrived and he seems to be responding well to her presence.

Many people have been concerned and asking for details so while it is too early to determine what the outcome is, the news as of this morning is that his condition has stabilized and we will know more shortly.

Keep the love, prayers, and healing thoughts for Todd coming, it definitely makes a difference!

In the meantime, for those who want to show their support checks can be made out to Alexandra Ismerio and sent to

Susan Maunu
3828 Alzada Road
Altadena, CA 91001

Progress of Todd’s recovery can be tracked here. It will be regularly updated by Alex and Susie from his bedside.

photo credit: John Mathieu
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41 days in Iraq vs. insuring 10 million children.

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Think Progress » 41 days in Iraq vs. insuring 10 million children.:
41 days in Iraq vs. insuring 10 million children.
President Bush has threatened to veto legislation renewing and expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The legislation would extend health coverage to as many as 10 million children — four million of whom are currently uninsured. Bush has claimed the SCHIP bill contains “excessive spending,” but in fact, just 41 days of the war