M Thomas Apple Author Page

Starliner to Earth: “We have a problem…”

June 17, 2024
MThomas

Starliner, the Boeing spacecraft whose launch was delayed by a helium leak, has now developed four additional helium leaks after docking successfully with the ISS.

They had to delay the docking due to a little problem with thrusters…

Five of the 28 thrusters were not operating but, after troubleshooting, Boeing recovered four of Starliner’s malfunctioning jets and NASA allowed the spacecraft to dock.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/boeing-nasa-delay-starliner-astronaut-return-june-22-rcna157259

So their return to Earth has been delayed so that they can run some more tests.

I sure hope they have built some redundancies to this system. Remember, this is Boeing. QC is not exactly high on their priorities list…

BLOCK

June 16, 2024
MThomas

This is how I’ve been feeling the past couple of weeks…

Just too hot. And too busy. And tired.

And my favorite baseball teams keep losing.

At least for Father’s Day my wife got me nice food and drink. Maybe that’ll help get my mojo back…

(The image is of my youngest daughter’s art bag from last year. She has also complained of not being able to write much lately…)

At SuShi High Tech Tokyo: A “flying” what?

May 27, 2024
MThomas

From Kyodo, who captioned the image “flying vehicle” but headlined the article with “flying car”

“I look forward to flying cars becoming a normal means of transportation.” (Gov. Koike)

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/05/5d7888e5eb47-flying-car-makes-tokyo-debut-at-international-tech-event.html#google_vignette

“Normal means” for whom, exactly? I can’t imagine the average worker in Tokyo will be able to afford this thing. Even if they had a physical space to store in.

And, you know, I think I’ve seen a “flying vehicle” like this somewhere already… 🚁

(FWIW it was part of a conference on technology and sustainability, cheekily called “SuShi High Tech”: https://sushitech-startup.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/)

Boeing Starliner delayed. They should delay again.

May 15, 2024
MThomas

A contractor for Nasa urged the space agency to conduct more safety checks before the highly-anticipated first launch of its Starliner rocket – which is set to take off as soon as next week – “before something catastrophic happens”.

https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/nasa-contractor-boeing-starliner-launch-b2542947.html

It was supposed to launch last week, but someone spotted a valve problem — *minutes* before the countdown procedure was about to start.

They’d better check for door plugs while they’re at it.

Boeing does not give a rat’s ass about whoever uses their products. They‘re only interest in paying dividends to stockholders. And of course paying the CEO’s ridiculously high salary.

NASA is trusting the future of space travel to people like Musk and companies like Boeing. Using taxpayer money to reward greed and incompetence.

We can do better than this.

As George Carlin said…

May 15, 2024
MThomas

Are you a leader or a follower?

“Lead, follow, or get out of the way!”

I obstruct.

Nuclear power on the Moon. Gee, no problem…

May 13, 2024
MThomas

The South Pole, where power plants are likely to be constructed (without human help…)

“The truth is that nuclear is the only option to power a moonbase,” says Simon Middleburgh from the Nuclear Futures Institute at Bangor University in Wales.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240417-the-nuclear-reactors-that-could-power-moon-bases

So far there are two major consortiums that have plans for moon bases:

The Artemis Accords, with 36 countries (the US, Japan, South Korea, UAE, India, etc.)

The countries that don’t like the US, the UK, and Canada (China, Russia, Belarus, Venezuela, Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt, Ajerbaijan)

OK, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, granted.

But there is no doubting the political ramifications of two competing groups of astronauts (cosmonauts, taikonauts) on the Moon.

And just wait until they get to Mars.

Imagine what might happen. (I did!)

“May you live in interesting times…”

Winner of “Best Short Story – Sports”! 🥇

May 11, 2024
MThomas

My short story “Two Strikes Against” was selected as the Winner in the inaugural Next Generation Short Story Awards! (Official list to be available next week.) UPDATED: Link here https://shortstoryawards.com/winners.php?year=2024

Basically it’s a story about a Japanese baseball player on Mars, with a twist. It got rejected a couple of years ago by several scifi magazines, so I figured why not try the sports category.

Especially since there was no scifi category.

Just grateful and thankful for the award. I hope you all get a chance to read the story!

(FWIW “Marsball” is mentioned by characters in an early chapter of Bringer of Light. In fact, I was going to call the story that. Very glad that I didn’t in the end!)

Can I answer “all of the above”?

May 10, 2024
MThomas

What public figure do you disagree with the most?

Actually, I would say Marjorie Greene. She is vicious, spiteful, bigoted, homophobic, racist, stupid, and mean-spirited even against members of her own party. It must be a lot of fun to live in her constituency. They might as well ring their towns with “keep out” signs. I’d agree with that.

When Google Gets it Wrong

May 10, 2024
MThomas

Technology is becoming marvellously intuitive. After booking a holiday with friends, we were surprised to discover Google had already added the dates…
When Google Gets it Wrong

Google Maps initially listed our house with the correct address but also my family name —- because it thought it was a company.

It took them half a year after I complained about privacy violations to take the name off…

And they also took off the address!

And there is an abandoned house repurposed as an arts and crafts society event place that has the same address as us!

Annoying.

Not the arts and crafts society folk. They’re pretty cool. 🖼️ 📷 🎨

Yet another Gen Z vague question?

May 8, 2024
MThomas

What was the last live performance you saw?

Last live performance of what?

I saw a baseball game last September. That was live. Does that count?

Oh. Do you mean “live” in the Japanese sense, i.e., a live performance by a musical artist?

As in a live concert?

At a club?

Or just that the musicians were alive and actually wrote their own music and played their own instruments rather than danced around and lip-synced?

Yes. I am a snarky Gen-Xer. Wave the flannel.

(FWIW I think the last live musical performance I’ve seen was in a Japanese club in Osaka around 2000 or 2001, and before that in mid-1999 in a club somewhere in Boston. It’s hard to get out when you have a family and need to actually go to work in the morning.)

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