KrISS feed 8.23
- A simple and smart (or stupid) feed reader. By
Tontof
-
February 20
-
Idle Words
-
read
The Shape of a Mars Mission
This post is the second in a series. Read part one here.
p {line-height:1.6em; }
p.caption { margin-top:0px;padding-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;text-align:center;}
a.fnote {text-decoration:none;color:red}
img {margin-bottom:0px;}
“From a mathematics and trajectory standpoint and with a certain kind of technology, there’s not too many different ways to go to Mars. It’s been pretty well figured out. You can adjust the decimal places here and there, but basically if you're talking about chemical
-
2024-05-24
-
Idle Words
-
read
The Lunacy of Artemis
Introduction
A Note on Apollo
I. The Rocket
II. The Capsule
III. The Orbit
IV. Gateway
V. The Lander
VI. Refueling
VII. Conclusion
Notes
A little over 51 years ago, a rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying three astronauts and a space car. After a three day journey to the moon, two of the astronauts climbed into a spindly lander and made the short trip down to the surface, where for another three days they collected rocks and did donuts in the space car. Then they clim
-
2023-01-02
-
Idle Words
-
read
Why Not Mars
For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.
— Richard Feynman
Entrance to underground cavern on Pavonis Mons. HiRISE, 2011
The goal of this essay is to persuade you that we shouldn’t send human beings to Mars, at least not anytime soon. Landing on Mars with existing technology would be a destructive, wasteful stunt whose only legacy would be to ruin the greatest natural history experiment in the Solar System. It would no more
-
2022-04-27
-
Idle Words
-
read
My Taipei Quarantine
Part of what brought me to Taiwan was bureaucratic thrill seeking. Few other countries had gone from “just hop on a plane” to North Korean levels of inaccessibility as fast as Taiwan, and like a cat that paws at a door just because it's closed, I wanted in. The country was off-limits to foreign visitors, but there was a tiny gap left in the regulations, and with the right references, statements of purpose, and forms filled out in triplicate it might just be possible to get a Taiwan visa and c
-
2020-10-05
-
Idle Words
-
read
Protests and Power
In August 2020, the New York Times asked me to write an op-ed for a special feature on authoritarianism and democracy. They declined to publish my submission, which I am sharing here instead.
When the George Floyd protests began to spread nationally in the summer of 2020, I noticed many people on social media asking Hong Kongers for advice on protest tactics–which apps to use, what equipment to wear, the best way to extinguish tear gas. Americans were preparing for a summer of protest the way
-
2020-09-03
-
Idle Words
-
read
Effective Political Giving
With less than two months left before the election, this is an explainer for the politically panicked. You're anxious, you feel the need to do something, and you have a little money to spare. Who should you give it to?
My goal here is not to sell you on specific candidates (though I'd be the worst fundraiser in the country if I didn't make a pitch!), but to offer you a strategy for navigating a thicket of worthy causes and people. Even if your political beliefs are diametrically opposed to mi
-
2020-08-08
-
Idle Words
-
read
Sara Huddleston on the Latino Vote in Iowa
Last week I spoke with Sara Huddleston, candidate for Iowa state house in district 11 (Storm Lake). A longtime community organizer and three-term city council member, she was the first Latina elected to a city council in the state of Iowa, and would be the first Latina to serve in the state house. She was recently named to Joe Biden's Iowa Latino Steering Committee.
The last time Sara ran, she did so on a shoestring budget. This year, we're supporting Sara and several of her fellow candidates i
-
2020-06-24
-
Idle Words
-
read
Alyse Galvin on Coronavirus in Alaska
Last week I spoke by video chat with Alyse Galvin, who is running for Congress in Alaska's sole, enormous Congressional district in a rematch against Don Young, the longest-serving member of Congress. Young, who just turned 87, is a notorious figure in state and national politics. His initial response to the pandemic was to dismiss it as a "beer virus" and continue to hold in-person fundraisers in the state, and his refusal to participate.
I asked Alyse about the rapidly changing political (a
-
2020-04-21
-
Idle Words
-
read
J.D. Scholten on Coronavirus in Iowa
On Sunday I spoke by video chat with my friend J.D. Scholten, who is running for Congress in Iowa's 4th district. J.D. is a retired baseball player who rose to national prominence in 2018, when he came within three points of unseating Steve King in what had until then been considered a safe Republican district. Sioux City, where J.D. lives, is just down the river from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where nearly 650 workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 at a Smithfield pork processing plant. I as
-
2020-04-05
-
Idle Words
-
read
Let's All Wear A Mask
Let's talk about masks!
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control recommended that every American wear a face covering when in public. Masks will be the hot, bold look for summer.
The medical evidence for the practice is overwhelming. The post-SARS countries in East Asia have known this for a long time, and America and Europe are finally coming around. I've put a bunch of resources about the medical benefits of mask wearing in a further reading section at the bottom of this post.
But i
