Southwest Virginia Blogs

SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise launches in 2009.

British tycoon Sir Richard Branson will market commercial space flight aboard the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise will a made-for-television six-person contest - talent show for aspiring astronauts to be produced by the BBC and ITV in England.

"The show would be a cross between Dr Who, Star Trek and The Krypton Factor," says Virgin Galactic President Will Whitehorn. For the rest of us, however, the 70-mile altitude flight will cost $190,000 beginning in 2009.

Competition from other space carriers may drive prices down in the coming months.

SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise launches in 2009.

British tycoon Sir Richard Branson will market commercial space flight aboard the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise will a made-for-television six-person contest - talent show for aspiring astronauts to be produced by the BBC and ITV in England.

"The show would be a cross between Dr Who, Star Trek and The Krypton Factor," says Virgin Galactic President Will Whitehorn. For the rest of us, however, the 70-mile altitude flight will cost $190,000 beginning in 2009.

Competition from other space carriers may drive prices down in the coming months.

The first rocket went into a spin during ascent 10-seconds after ignition at the high desrt temporary launch facility at Upham, New Mexico on September 25. The rocket climbed to 8 miles if the planned 70 before crashing. After a week-long intensive ground and air search, the Spaceloft XL-1 rocket has been located but remains unrecovered perhaps requiring a helicopter to lift it from the desert floor and brush thicket within the White Sands Missile Range.

UP Areospace hopes to launch the rocket 30-times per year upon perfecting its systems.

The first rocket went into a spin during ascent 10-seconds after ignition at the high desrt temporary launch facility at Upham, New Mexico on September 25. The rocket climbed to 8 miles if the planned 70 before crashing. After a week-long intensive ground and air search, the Spaceloft XL-1 rocket has been located but remains unrecovered perhaps requiring a helicopter to lift it from the desert floor and brush thicket within the White Sands Missile Range.

UP Areospace hopes to launch the rocket 30-times per year upon perfecting its systems.

Capitol Hill Blue's Doug Thompson, Another Compelling Witness to George Allen's Enduring Racism



This is the most damaging claim yet. And it's written by one who once was a contractor for the Republican Congressional Campaign. Read the article here.

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/content/2006/09/george_allens_r.html

Roanoke Times, 9/27/06, Pg 1: Boater gets 15 years

SML boat accident that killed Lawrence and Judith Lewis

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"Operating that boat at that speed at night was criminally negligent even if you were completely sober."

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The Judge Gets It!

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Why doesn’t the Chief Warden of Virginia get it?

He’s still trying to figure out if excessive boat speed has any relationship to the number or severity of boat accidents!

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Why doesn’t the SML Power Boat Association get it?

They’re still telling us that education is all that’s required!

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Perhaps these folks should spend some time reviewing the Sept 3, 06 Oklahoma Poker Run that left 5 dead, 1 injured, by high-speed off-shore racing boats that collided on lake Taxoma during the daytime:

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http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=5360721

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http://cbs11tv.com/slideshows/local_slideshow_245185855/view?slide=0

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Prior Blog Items:

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http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2006/09/boat-speed-limits.html

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Roanoke Times, 9/27/06, Pg 1: Boater gets 15 years

SML boat accident that killed Lawrence and Judith Lewis

-

"Operating that boat at that speed at night was criminally negligent even if you were completely sober."

-

The Judge Gets It!

-

Why doesn’t the Chief Warden of Virginia get it?

He’s still trying to figure out if excessive boat speed has any relationship to the number or severity of boat accidents!

-

Why doesn’t the SML Power Boat Association get it?

They’re still telling us that education is all that’s required!

-

Perhaps these folks should spend some time reviewing the Sept 3, 06 Oklahoma Poker Run that left 5 dead, 1 injured, by high-speed off-shore racing boats that collided on lake Taxoma during the daytime:

-

http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=5360721

-

http://cbs11tv.com/slideshows/local_slideshow_245185855/view?slide=0

-

Prior Blog Items:

-

http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2006/09/boat-speed-limits.html

-

Kennedy Space Center space shuttle runway may be opened to private suborbital space tourism firms.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration appears to be beginning a small niche organizational culture change in its association with the the smaller niche commercial suborbital and orbital rocket firms presently. Exactly how far the nation's space agency will go in releasing its hold on space access is yet to be seen.

With several small private space firms endeavoring to start suborbital tourism over the next 24-to-36 months for the public to fly to space, the Kennedy Space Center has engaged in an environmental assessment and an informational solictitation on the use of the soon-to-be-retired space shuttle fleet runway. Use of the runway would provide an East Coast launch option for the growing number of firms seeking a breakthrough in tourism.

How serious NASA may be in opening its runway and launch facilities to the commercial firms will be measured in part by how much cost recovery costs are charged as compared to commercial spaceports and how many of its facilities will be opned to the suborbital business firms such as Kennedy, Wallops, and West Coast sites.

NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin has enabled SpaceX and Rocketplane-Kisler to pursue a commercial option to provide resupply of the International Space Station in 2010 boosting the two firms with nearly $500-million in space agency funding to puruse the private option this past summer. NASA has also formed a venture capital fund called Red Planet.

Kennedy Space Center space shuttle runway may be opened to private suborbital space tourism firms.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration appears to be beginning a small niche organizational culture change in its association with the the smaller niche commercial suborbital and orbital rocket firms presently. Exactly how far the nation's space agency will go in releasing its hold on space access is yet to be seen.

With several small private space firms endeavoring to start suborbital tourism over the next 24-to-36 months for the public to fly to space, the Kennedy Space Center has engaged in an environmental assessment and an informational solictitation on the use of the soon-to-be-retired space shuttle fleet runway. Use of the runway would provide an East Coast launch option for the growing number of firms seeking a breakthrough in tourism.

How serious NASA may be in opening its runway and launch facilities to the commercial firms will be measured in part by how much cost recovery costs are charged as compared to commercial spaceports and how many of its facilities will be opned to the suborbital business firms such as Kennedy, Wallops, and West Coast sites.

NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin has enabled SpaceX and Rocketplane-Kisler to pursue a commercial option to provide resupply of the International Space Station in 2010 boosting the two firms with nearly $500-million in space agency funding to puruse the private option this past summer. NASA has also formed a venture capital fund called Red Planet.

There comes a point when you've said all you can say about our political situation.  I think that I've arrived at that point.  The newspapers are full of opinions so it's no trouble to find one that matches your own.

I'm for as little government as possible, and I'm going to leave it at that.  I am for protecting our environment.  It doesn't make a lot of sense to foul our own nest.  I would like the next generations to have the opportunity to experience some of the wonderful places that I have seen.

For a number of years we owned a two person kayak.  I spent many wonderful hours in Carvin's Cove exploring and even fishing. Mostly due to career demands at Apple Computer in my last years there, I gave it up.

Recently I passed my NC state real estate exam, and I gave my self a reward for all those long hours of study and classroom time, I bought myself a new kayak.

I had done some research earlier and decided on a Wilderness System Pungo 120.  Unfortunately I couldn't find any locally so we went on a GPS adventure.  It's rare when my Acura GPS screws up, but this time it really did.  What should have been a trip to Rocky Mount of slightly over two hours ended up being over three hours.  The trip back with some human directions and my new blue Pungo 120 only took a couple of hours.

The river in our backyard is the the White Oak.  It's a beautiful river.  Getting out on the river in the new kayak was a real pleasure.  It you could zoom in a little on the picture to the left you could see in the distance the bridges over the White Oak near Swansboro, NC.

I spent an hour wandering around and exploring which is about all the old body could take cramped up in a kayak.

The water is still warm, and it couldn't be much more beautiful out on the river.  It's a good way to completely forget about politics.

I need to find a better exit ramp than the boat ramp in our subdivision. It's a little steep for a graceful kayak exit, but that's just a minor problem.

On the way back in I did have to get cleared by the local air patrol, but he was pretty tolerant of me trying to get as close as possible for a photo.

Lots more kayaking pictures at "Kayaking the White Oak."

There comes a point when you've said all you can say about our political situation.  I think that I've arrived at that point.  The newspapers are full of opinions so it's no trouble to find one that matches your own.

I'm for as little government as possible, and I'm going to leave it at that.  I am for protecting our environment.  It doesn't make a lot of sense to foul our own nest.  I would like the next generations to have the opportunity to experience some of the wonderful places that I have seen.

For a number of years we owned a two person kayak.  I spent many wonderful hours in Carvin's Cove exploring and even fishing. Mostly due to career demands at Apple Computer in my last years there, I gave it up.

Recently I passed my NC state real estate exam, and I gave my self a reward for all those long hours of study and classroom time, I bought myself a new kayak.

I had done some research earlier and decided on a Wilderness System Pungo 120.  Unfortunately I couldn't find any locally so we went on a GPS adventure.  It's rare when my Acura GPS screws up, but this time it really did.  What should have been a trip to Rocky Mount of slightly over two hours ended up being over three hours.  The trip back with some human directions and my new blue Pungo 120 only took a couple of hours.

The river in our backyard is the the White Oak.  It's a beautiful river.  Getting out on the river in the new kayak was a real pleasure.  It you could zoom in a little on the picture to the left you could see in the distance the bridges over the White Oak near Swansboro, NC.

I spent an hour wandering around and exploring which is about all the old body could take cramped up in a kayak.

The water is still warm, and it couldn't be much more beautiful out on the river.  It's a good way to completely forget about politics.

I need to find a better exit ramp than the boat ramp in our subdivision. It's a little steep for a graceful kayak exit, but that's just a minor problem.

On the way back in I did have to get cleared by the local air patrol, but he was pretty tolerant of me trying to get as close as possible for a photo.

Lots more kayaking pictures at "Kayaking the White Oak."

There comes a point when you've said all you can say about our political situation.  I think that I've arrived at that point.  The newspapers are full of opinions so it's no trouble to find one that matches your own.

I'm for as little government as possible, and I'm going to leave it at that.  I am for protecting our environment.  It doesn't make a lot of sense to foul our own nest.  I would like the next generations to have the opportunity to experience some of the wonderful places that I have seen.

For a number of years we owned a two person kayak.  I spent many wonderful hours in Carvin's Cove exploring and even fishing. Mostly due to career demands at Apple Computer in my last years there, I gave it up.

Recently I passed my NC state real estate exam, and I gave my self a reward for all those long hours of study and classroom time, I bought myself a new kayak.

I had done some research earlier and decided on a Wilderness System Pungo 120.  Unfortunately I couldn't find any locally so we went on a GPS adventure.  It's rare when my Acura GPS screws up, but this time it really did.  What should have been a trip to Rocky Mount of slightly over two hours ended up being over three hours.  The trip back with some human directions and my new blue Pungo 120 only took a couple of hours.

The river in our backyard is the the White Oak.  It's a beautiful river.  Getting out on the river in the new kayak was a real pleasure.  It you could zoom in a little on the picture to the left you could see in the distance the bridges over the White Oak near Swansboro, NC.

I spent an hour wandering around and exploring which is about all the old body could take cramped up in a kayak.

The water is still warm, and it couldn't be much more beautiful out on the river.  It's a good way to completely forget about politics.

I need to find a better exit ramp than the boat ramp in our subdivision. It's a little steep for a graceful kayak exit, but that's just a minor problem.

On the way back in I did have to get cleared by the local air patrol, but he was pretty tolerant of me trying to get as close as possible for a photo.

Lots more kayaking pictures at "Kayaking the White Oak."

As fall weather become more common, it's easy to get lost in the beauty of our surroundings.  We live in a country whose natural glory often lulls us into a false sense of well being.  That is unless you're a member of arguably one of the worst group of elected officials that we've ever seen in this country and are facing the prospect of losing your election.

In one last attempt at fear mongering, the real Beltway Bandits have passed detainee legislation that will likely be remembered as a low point of American government.

I like the comments in by Andrew Cohen in his Washington Post article, subtitled "The Ball is Now in the Supremes' Court."  I hope the Supreme Court stands tall when faced with this challenge.

I wonder what the Justices are thinking this morning as they read and hear and see coverage of the passage of the new anti-terror law. I wonder if some of them see it, as many others do, as an affront to their own authority to determine and protect the rights of individuals. I wonder if some of them already are thinking of ways in which to discount Congress' effort to take away from all future detainees, including legal residents here in the States, the right to challenge their detention in federal court. And I wonder if some of the Justices understand that they, too, will be judged by history in large part upon how they react to this legislation.

We're at an interesting point in our history.  Will we swing back from the excesses of these people who are protecting us by attempting to accumulate excessive power in the Presidency?  How far are we from it being hard to even say something like that before getting in trouble with the powers that be?

The NY Times had an interesting article this morning, "Pirates of the Mediterranean" which talks about how the checks and balances in the ancient Roman Constitution were given up in a moment of fear.  Robert Harris, the author, wonders from Kingsbury, England if the same thing isn't happening in America.

Those of us who are not Americans can only look on in wonder at the similar ease with which the ancient rights and liberties of the individual are being surrendered in the United States in the wake of 9/11. The vote by the Senate on Thursday to suspend the right of habeas corpus for terrorism detainees, denying them their right to challenge their detention in court; the careful wording about torture, which forbids only the inducement of “serious” physical and mental suffering to obtain information; the admissibility of evidence obtained in the United States without a search warrant; the licensing of the president to declare a legal resident of the United States an enemy combatant — all this represents an historic shift in the balance of power between the citizen and the executive.

Anyone who has taken the time to study history knows how rarely any good has come from giving government more power.  It's amazing to me that the very folks who campaigned on government being bad have spent their time in office consolidating government power in the hands of the executive branch.

It's a dangerous situation, but hopefully the electorate won't be fooled this time, and the Supreme Court will draw a line in the sand.

 

As fall weather become more common, it's easy to get lost in the beauty of our surroundings.  We live in a country whose natural glory often lulls us into a false sense of well being.  That is unless you're a member of arguably one of the worst group of elected officials that we've ever seen in this country and are facing the prospect of losing your election.

In one last attempt at fear mongering, the real Beltway Bandits have passed detainee legislation that will likely be remembered as a low point of American government.

I like the comments in by Andrew Cohen in his Washington Post article, subtitled "The Ball is Now in the Supremes' Court."  I hope the Supreme Court stands tall when faced with this challenge.

I wonder what the Justices are thinking this morning as they read and hear and see coverage of the passage of the new anti-terror law. I wonder if some of them see it, as many others do, as an affront to their own authority to determine and protect the rights of individuals. I wonder if some of them already are thinking of ways in which to discount Congress' effort to take away from all future detainees, including legal residents here in the States, the right to challenge their detention in federal court. And I wonder if some of the Justices understand that they, too, will be judged by history in large part upon how they react to this legislation.

We're at an interesting point in our history.  Will we swing back from the excesses of these people who are protecting us by attempting to accumulate excessive power in the Presidency?  How far are we from it being hard to even say something like that before getting in trouble with the powers that be?

The NY Times had an interesting article this morning, "Pirates of the Mediterranean" which talks about how the checks and balances in the ancient Roman Constitution were given up in a moment of fear.  Robert Harris, the author, wonders from Kingsbury, England if the same thing isn't happening in America.

Those of us who are not Americans can only look on in wonder at the similar ease with which the ancient rights and liberties of the individual are being surrendered in the United States in the wake of 9/11. The vote by the Senate on Thursday to suspend the right of habeas corpus for terrorism detainees, denying them their right to challenge their detention in court; the careful wording about torture, which forbids only the inducement of “serious” physical and mental suffering to obtain information; the admissibility of evidence obtained in the United States without a search warrant; the licensing of the president to declare a legal resident of the United States an enemy combatant — all this represents an historic shift in the balance of power between the citizen and the executive.

Anyone who has taken the time to study history knows how rarely any good has come from giving government more power.  It's amazing to me that the very folks who campaigned on government being bad have spent their time in office consolidating government power in the hands of the executive branch.

It's a dangerous situation, but hopefully the electorate won't be fooled this time, and the Supreme Court will draw a line in the sand.

 

As fall weather become more common, it's easy to get lost in the beauty of our surroundings.  We live in a country whose natural glory often lulls us into a false sense of well being.  That is unless you're a member of arguably one of the worst group of elected officials that we've ever seen in this country and are facing the prospect of losing your election.

In one last attempt at fear mongering, the real Beltway Bandits have passed detainee legislation that will likely be remembered as a low point of American government.

I like the comments in by Andrew Cohen in his Washington Post article, subtitled "The Ball is Now in the Supremes' Court."  I hope the Supreme Court stands tall when faced with this challenge.

I wonder what the Justices are thinking this morning as they read and hear and see coverage of the passage of the new anti-terror law. I wonder if some of them see it, as many others do, as an affront to their own authority to determine and protect the rights of individuals. I wonder if some of them already are thinking of ways in which to discount Congress' effort to take away from all future detainees, including legal residents here in the States, the right to challenge their detention in federal court. And I wonder if some of the Justices understand that they, too, will be judged by history in large part upon how they react to this legislation.

We're at an interesting point in our history.  Will we swing back from the excesses of these people who are protecting us by attempting to accumulate excessive power in the Presidency?  How far are we from it being hard to even say something like that before getting in trouble with the powers that be?

The NY Times had an interesting article this morning, "Pirates of the Mediterranean" which talks about how the checks and balances in the ancient Roman Constitution were given up in a moment of fear.  Robert Harris, the author, wonders from Kingsbury, England if the same thing isn't happening in America.

Those of us who are not Americans can only look on in wonder at the similar ease with which the ancient rights and liberties of the individual are being surrendered in the United States in the wake of 9/11. The vote by the Senate on Thursday to suspend the right of habeas corpus for terrorism detainees, denying them their right to challenge their detention in court; the careful wording about torture, which forbids only the inducement of “serious” physical and mental suffering to obtain information; the admissibility of evidence obtained in the United States without a search warrant; the licensing of the president to declare a legal resident of the United States an enemy combatant — all this represents an historic shift in the balance of power between the citizen and the executive.

Anyone who has taken the time to study history knows how rarely any good has come from giving government more power.  It's amazing to me that the very folks who campaigned on government being bad have spent their time in office consolidating government power in the hands of the executive branch.

It's a dangerous situation, but hopefully the electorate won't be fooled this time, and the Supreme Court will draw a line in the sand.