Tabletop computers... Awesome!

The Enterprise - Then and Now

In 1976, NASA's space shuttle Enterprise rolled out of the Palmdale manufacturing facilities and was greeted by NASA officials and cast members from the 'Star Trek' television series.

From left to right they are: NASA Administrator Dr. James D. Fletcher; DeForest Kelley, who portrayed Dr. "Bones" McCoy on the series; George Takei (Mr. Sulu); James Doohan (Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott); Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura); Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock); series creator Gene Rodenberry; an unnamed NASA official; and, Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov).

Art Director Matt Jefferies designed the original Enterprise. The first miniature built for the pilot episode "The Cage" was unlit and approximately 3 feet (91.4 cm) long. It was modified during the course of the series to match the changes eventually made to the larger miniature, and appears on-set in "Requiem for Methuselah". The second miniature built for the first pilot measures 11 feet 2 inches (3.4 m) long and was built by Richard Datin. Initially, the model was static and had no electronics. For the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", various details were altered, and the window ports and running lights were internally illuminated, except on the port side of the model, which was left unfinished.

From Wikepedia

USS Enterprise (CVN-65), formerly CVA(N)-65, is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth U.S. naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed the "Big E." At 1,123 feet (342.3 m), she is the longest naval vessel in the world,[4] though her 93,500 tons displacement places her as the second heaviest supercarrier, surpassed only by the Nimitz-class. Enterprise is currently the oldest active vessel still in commission under the United States Navy, excluding the ceremonial commission of USS Constitution.

Enterprise is currently homeported at Norfolk, Virginia. As the oldest carrier in the fleet, she is scheduled for decommissioning some time in 2012-2014 depending on the life of her current reactors and when the construction of her replacement, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), is completed.[5]. Enterprise's current commanding officer is Captain Ronald Horton.

Save the Date - March 28, 2009

Earth Hour

What its all about
It’s as simple as a flick of the switch.

What began as a campaign to get Sydneysiders to turn their lights off, has grown to become one of the world’s biggest climate change initiatives. In 2009, at 8.30pm on March 28, people around the world will turn their lights off for one hour – Earth Hour. We’re aiming to reach one billion people, more than 1000 cities, all joining together in a global effort to show that its possible to take action on global warming.


Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia with 2.2 million homes and businesses turning their lights off for one hour. Only a year later and this event had become a global sustainability movement with up to 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.


Earth Hour 2009 is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to take responsibility and to get involved in working towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to The Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world will turn off their lights and join together in creating the vital conversation about the future of our precious planet.


Over 64 countries and territories are participating in Earth Hour 2009. This number grows every day as people realise how such a simple act, can have such a profound result in affecting change.


Earth Hour is a message of hope and a message of action. Everyone can make a difference.

Join us for Earth Hour 2009, turn off your lights at 8.30pm Saturday 28 March and
sign up hereto be counted.

A request....

Last night, in the course of reading my usual blogs, I read a post on the Intrepid Reporter's blog that piqued my curiousity. So much so, that I dived into Googleworld to find out as much as I could about the subject. Here is an excerpt from that post:

“By executive order, President Barack Obama has ordered the expenditure of $20.3 million in migration assistance to the Palestinian refugees and conflict victims in Gaza.

The "presidential determination" which allows hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with ties to Hamas to resettle in the United States was signed on January 27 and appeared in the Federal Register on February 4.

President Obama's decision, according to the Register, was necessitated by "the urgent refugee and migration needs" of the "victims."

Few on Capitol Hill took note that the order provides a free ticket replete with housing and food allowances to individuals who have displayed their overwhelming support of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the parliamentary election of January 2006.”

You can read the full post here. But be warned, this is a milblog... and the gentleman uses ALOT of profanity. The part of the post that most intrigued me was this:

We don’t even have the ability to take care of the fucking people in our own country, and now we’re gonna import a Whole Horde of Dirty Hajj into the States?

Ok... now, bear with me folks... here is the actual Presidential Memorandum taken directly from the White House Website.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
­
For Immediate Release February 2, 2009
January 27, 2009
Presidential Determination

No. 2009-15

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE
SUBJECT: Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration

Needs Related to Gaza

By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (the "Act"), as amended (22 U.S.C. 2601), I hereby determine, pursuant to section 2(c)(1) of the Act, that it is important to the national interest to furnish assistance under the Act in an amount not to exceed $20.3 million from the United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for the purpose of meeting unexpected and urgent refugee and migration needs, including by contributions to international, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations and payment of administrative expenses of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State, related to humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees and conflict victims in Gaza.

You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see anything in the words above that indicate we are bringing refugees into this country. So, back to Googleworld I went, searching for anything official looking in regards to refugees. I was shocked! Hundreds of blog posts declaring Obama was inviting the terrorists to live in America! Yet,no official governmental documentation could be found stating this as fact? I was so disturbed by what I had read that I emailed my blog friend, Buck, who in my opinion, is very well informed on these kinds of matters, to ask him what he knew about this development. He hadn't even heard of this. So what to believe? Does anyone have any credible information about this?

Pets In Uniform?

Ok, so now I can say "I've seen it all"....Pets In Uniform