Espresso in Space Becomes Reality, Captain Janeway Will Be Pleased

By spocko, on April 21st, 2015%

“There’s coffee in that nebula”… ehm, I mean… in that #Dragon. pic.twitter.com/9MYrqIOXnI

— Sam Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) April 17, 2015

 

In season one of Star Trek Voyager Captain Janeway needed to conserve replicator power so couldn’t use it for real coffee. They approach a nebula hoping to collect enough energy to use for luxuries necessities like coffee.

Captain Janeway: There’s coffee in that nebula.

In the photo Cristoforetti, the first Italian woman in space, is wearing Janeway’s uniform while waiting for the Dragon module to bring them a custom made espresso machine, dubbed the ISSpresso.

The company that made the machine, Argotec, explains the development process here. What I’m curious about is who came up with the idea for the photo. Lavazza, the coffee supplier? Argotec? The Italian Space Agency? Cristoforetti? Someone on the ISS social media team?

Cristoforetti already has an amazing resume, and starting this week she will officially be the first to have the job I’ve read about in science fiction for decades, space barista.

 

. . . → Read More: Espresso in Space Becomes Reality, Captain Janeway Will Be Pleased

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Indiegogo Removes All Fundraisers Supporting Officer Slager

By spocko, on April 14th, 2015%

Last week I wrote about the fund raisers that popped up for Officer Slager after shooting Scott Walker.

Today I heard good news from my friends at Color Change. The fundraising platforms, Indiegogo, has taken down all the fundraisers in support of Michael Slager. (Disclosure, I’ve been an adviser of Color of Change.)

They, along with others, had already convinced Gofundme to remove this kind of fundraiser. Now Color of Change has asked the CEO of Indiegogo to change their policy, and to remove these kinds of fundraisers immediately.

Social media is great for informing business of how their products or services are being used or misused. (Here was a San Francisco Chronicle story Joe Garofoli wrote about how we used social media to inform advertisers of brand-damaging right wing talk, Rush Limbaugh ad fight shows power of social media.)

This CoC campaign is a smart use of social media power. It not only addressed the instant news issue, but extended thanks to the business after they acted and suggested they make policy changes so their tools can’t be used in this brand-damaging fashion in the future.

Most companies won’t come out and say they believe in racism. . . . → Read More: Indiegogo Removes All Fundraisers Supporting Officer Slager

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Indiana Jones: 1, Rolling Ball: 9

By spocko, on April 7th, 2015%

If your system can handle it, watch in 4k. This looks like a fun thing to do in New Zealand after visiting all the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit locations.

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Why Rand Paul’s Libertarian-ish Anti-tax Ideas Are Like Boner Pills

By spocko, on April 6th, 2015%

I can barely wait for the Rand Paul announcement for President. It’s perfect timing. I know he will be talking about his views on taxes. It would be interesting if someone dug into where some of the craziness comes from.

Tax time makes right wingers crazy. Especially men. The thing is, even though I’m only half human male, I get freaked out around tax time too. I wonder how much of this is traditional guy stuff? Or white guy stuff?

You know the lines you hear from rich male jerks? “Money is just a way of keeping score.” and “He who dies with the most toys wins.” There is still a part of me that buys that and it takes a Vulcalean effort to look at it rationally.

At this time of year in the male money world of “Keeping score” guys ask themselves, “What have I accomplished?”

First, there is the “I never get enough.”feeling.That’s because it’s always a moving goal post. Then I focus on what is “taken away.” (Never on what I got in services, always what is taken.) This focus on what is taken diminishes my self image, which I correlate with self worth. When I . . . → Read More: Why Rand Paul’s Libertarian-ish Anti-tax Ideas Are Like Boner Pills

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Watch This Guy’s Brilliant Anti-fraking Demo

By spocko, on April 1st, 2015%

This is the most straight-forward and powerful video I’ve seen in awhile. It’s from a hearing on shipping fracking wastewater to a well in Sioux County Nebraska.

The lack of slickness helps. The crappy camerawork adds to the authenticity. I’d like my friends at various non-profits and activists to watch this to see what was done right.

The speaker knew his audience. Not only the commissioners, but the people in the room and in the community. He was not an outsider. He looked like them, dressed like them and talked like them. He addressed the concerns of both sides before his demo He made a powerful visual case with common items people knew He made an emotional appeal and had an intellectual back up. This is for the people who say they only decide based on “facts,” to rationalize their emotional decision.

So many great things in one short video, and I’m glad that Bold Nebraska used it to get people to sign their petition, Don’t Frak our Water.

After I watched the video, I read some comments at Reddit and in the YouTube section. I searched Google News to see how the story got picked up by the local . . . → Read More: Watch This Guy’s Brilliant Anti-fraking Demo

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