You wouldn't like me

There are smart Hulks in the comic lore. And grey Hulks.

And all kinds of other Hulks.

But "The Hulk" - the myth - is rather about a Jekyll/Hyde/Frankenstein story of a man who gets angry and turns into an unstoppable green smashing machine. And it's true - the Hulk cannot be stopped. His power is that his anger/rage/pain/fear makes him stronger, thus, the more powerfully you were to beat on the Hulk, well, he'd only get stronger still. This of course plays to powerful, instinctual emotions in people. The feeling of power/powerlessness. Anger and the wish to smash your enemies, or everything. Freedom from constraints of society and morality. Fear of the monster lurking inside. Fear of power. Etc.

Super heroes from the comics - Superman, Batman, Hulk, etc, are our new myths, and they're all pretty awesome. Let Spidey be your guide, man. Or even Aquaman, if that's your thing. Swamp Thing says Amen!

Inflatable Future

The near future of human exploration or even colonization of space will be done via inflatable spacecraft. Like the Sundancer above (artist's representation). Don't be fooled by the apparent small size - inflatable craft will be much bigger than near term metallic spacecraft. Consider Bigelow's (the company behind inflatable spacecraft) BA 330 compared to the Destiny module on the ISS:

But wait, you say, how can inflatable craft survive the harsh climes of space? Check it:

Rather than balloon, think really thick tire, with multiple layers. Tough as hell, and superior to our current metal ships which are often no thicker than a heavy aluminum. The craft will launch in a folded arrangement which greatly saves space on the rocket, and then expands in space as compressed gas is used to inflate it. The resulting structure is stronger than our current metals and far better at shielding from radiation, while not weighing that much more. It's an ingenious solution to the constraints gravity places on what we can launch into space with our current rocket tech. And this inflatable future is close, as Bigelow is booked to launch aboard a SpaceX rocket in the near future for a big test to conclusively prove the technology to NASA and other space powers. Have a model!

The BA 330 is incredibly spacious as compared to even the relatively expansive ISS. But since these modules are also nodes that can link up into larger structures, perhaps now you see the full potential. A quick and cheap and large space station:

A mock up for muckety-mucks. Bigelow of course is a private company, and is poised to become the first real estate developer in space. The Space Hotel is nigh! Massive fortunes await. And of course this too is but a start. Witness the possibility of the EDE:

A realistic in the near term spacecraft that could comfortably transport people to Jupiter, Saturn, and if we're brave, beyond. It's huge and really not that complicated or expensive. The Bigelow modules make up the bulk of the craft, providing huge areas for storage and living - heck, one of the modules could be a farm with chickens and hydroponic vegetables and fish tanks. And enough space so a person can move about a bit - also note the centrifuge for 1G sessions. All it takes is a couple of hours a day of just riding in it and you have no worries about bone loss or muscle weakening - thus, all the conditions are right for people to travel long term in space.

Now, a bigger question is why you'd want to send folks to Jupiter and beyond, but I'll leave that for you to answer. Until then, let the inflatable future begin!

Knowing is half the battle

Click for big. I'm wrapping up our exploration of the Solar System's moons, and so I give you REDSHIRTS TOP TEN MOONS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM!

Based on coolness/interest/possible exploration potential.
10. Mimas - Death Star moon, y'all. Also reminds me of Mimosas, which I've only had like twice in my life, but gosh do I love the word.
9. Phobos - interesting example of captured asteroid, and will serve as an ideal staging base for trips down to Mars.
8. Triton - a captured planet, the other moon with an atmosphere and cyrovolcanoes
7.Ganymede - the biggest, but kinda boring.
6. Io - HELLFIRE!
5. Luna - boring, but we're married, and we love her so.
4. Enceladus - so much coolness
3. Europa - More water here than on Earth - by many factors. Probably home to weird ass alien whales too. We'll find out eventually.
2. Titan - just so exotic yet familiar. It's Earth, if you replaced oxygen with methane and lowered the temperature by 200 degrees C.
1. Calisto! - Big moon, with ice sitting on the surface, right at the edge of the asteroid belt, and out of the radiation field of Jupiter. It's got it all for a future truck stop.

For bonus reference:

Coda 1: Many moons ago, as they say, there was a dust up here on ye olde Redshirt's Lament about the perception that the moon seems bigger when rising/setting than when directly overhead. The common answer to this is it's an optical illusion, caused by the brain comparing objects on the horizon, whereas there is no such comparison available when it's high overhead. And while this is no doubt correct, it's not 100% correct. Witness:

Luna is not in a perfect orbit, and thus it is closer to us at some times. This closeness does translate to a perceived size difference, shown here. Also, more controversially:

From the ISS. You can see the changes in shape as the moon rises above the distorting affects of the atmosphere. Close up:

Also from the ISS. Conclusive proof the atmosphere does change the way we see Luna, stretching it out, making it seem bigger. So take that! Bonus Luna pic:

I knew the sun could show a "green flash" when setting, under certain conditions. I was unaware Luna could do the same - but here it is. All green flashy.

And now you know.

Crash of the Shenandoah

There was an era in our history - the 20's, essentially - when dirigibles were all the modern rage. And why the heck not? They're awesome. But back then, not so safe.

And so with some high publicity crashes, the world gave up on dirigibles, which were relegated to circling football stadiums. Alas.

So is the way of many things - a few bad events and everyone turns course, heading in as far from a direction as possible, whichever way. Cultural evolutionary leaps - Big Events which wash away thousands of days of gentle accumulation. Sometimes for the good, sometimes not. Oftentimes not?

Lucas Balloon

And the balloon will only get bigger and bigger till it one day pops.Until then, all hail Lucas, Creator of Star Wars, Fictional Home to Countless Nerds.

Mr. Happy brought balloons

You say it's your birthday? It's Mr. Happy's too. Yeah.

It's always someone's birthday.

Life in a nutshell

This is an actual picture of photosynthesis occurring at the atomic level. I can't help but see a similar pattern to magnetic fields. I also have to marvel at the magic of photosynthesis - light, carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen is all a plant needs to survive - why did evolution move on to food?

Green Balloons

If anyone says "Green Balloons" today, be sure to yell -- that's the phrase of the day! And another fun Repuglican Sex scandal, shocking only for the fact a woman was involved.