While I plan on eventually addressing the entiretiy of the points made by Elon Musk at the International Astronautical Congress this past Friday, I did want to, at current, focus on one thing that has really gotten under my skin; the fact that SpaceX has, as I’ve heard others say, down-scaled and in some ways […]
Category: Technology
Let’s Look At The Comments On A SpaceX Facebook Post
In keeping with my desire to be “that guy” addressing the cult like nature of SpaceX fans, I thought today would be a good day to look at comments on a SpaceX post on Facebook today regarding (as of the time of this writing) an update Elon Musk will provide regarding the Interplanetary Transport System; […]
So, I’m Using Windows XP Again… – Part 2
Read part 1 of the article here! Windows was calling me, but I couldn’t use Windows 7, or 10, on this netbook. There was just no way, as much as I would want to. Windows XP, however, the operating system the machine was made for, that would work fine. The problem is, as I mentioned […]
So, I’m Using Windows XP Again… – Part 1
I know what you’re thinking when you read the title – WHY? It’s 2017, XP hasn’t been supported for years, and it’s reached a point where most software just doesn’t work for it anymore. Why would you at all use it again? One simple reason – my old netbook, an ASUS eeePC 1000. I got […]
OSIRIS-REx Passes By Earth For A Gravity Assist To The Asteroid Bennu
Today, September 22nd, 2017, the OSIRIS-REx mission passed by the planet Earth, just a little over a year since its launch, for a gravity assisted trajectory change to send it on its way to its target, the asteroid Bennu. Gravity assists are used often in missions as a method of fuel conservation. Traveling around the […]
HP Computers Aren’t Booting Properly After A Recent Windows Update
A little while ago, I got a message from a friend of mine telling me he damn near called tech support regarding his new (read, $1000 kind of new ) computer – after a round of Windows updates it wasn’t booting. Right about as he was going to dial them it finally got going, and […]
The End Of Cassini
At 7:55 AM Eastern Time NASA’s Deep Space Network captured the last signals from the Cassini spacecraft. The vehicle, 83 minutes earlier, had dived into the atmosphere of Saturn. As planned, Cassini did its absolute best to keep its antenna pointed towards Earth, sending all the data it could before aerodynamic stresses finally pushed it […]
Farewell, Cassini…
At the time of this articles publication, the Cassini spacecraft should no longer exist – at this point in time it should have vaporized in the atmosphere of Saturn, the planet it was built to study and always destined to be a part of. This is happening quite early in my time zone – a […]
Understanding Backwards Compatibility On The Xbox One – A Quick Mini-Guide
You wouldn’t think something like this would still be as confusing an issue as it is, but the seemingly simple idea of playing an Xbox 360 game on the Xbox One can be incredibly complex to some people. Indeed, in my work video game sales, I often get asked details on this, and when I […]
The Final Week Of Cassini
As of the writing of this article, the Cassini mission around Saturn has 9 days 14 hours or so remaining. On September 15th, 2017, the probe will descend into the atmosphere of Saturn, burning up as it plummets into the gaseous mass of the plant it has spent over a decade studying. (Sure, it’s a […]
40 Years Ago: The Launch Of Voyager 1
40 years ago today, on September 5th, 1977, Voyager 1 was launched from Launch Complex 41 on the final Titan III-E booster to fly. Voyager 1 was launched after Voyager 2, on a trajectory which put it ahead in its encounters of Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 1 would later begin flying up and away from […]
SpaceX Isn’t Perfect
A key theme that seems to exist in the mind of every member of the “Cult of SpaceX” is this presumption that SpaceX is somehow perfect – that nothing ever goes wrong when SpaceX is involved! Even if this isn’t literally what is thought, the attitude presented exudes such an idea. SpaceX isn’t perfect. No […]
PlayStation 4 HDMI Ports Are The Worst
I’m going to be pretty point blank here: The PlayStation 4, namely the “standard” model that much of the owners of the system have, has absolutely terrible HDMI ports. Don’t even begin to defend this or claim it not true, because guess what: it is. At the shop we have over the past 6 months […]
40 Years Ago: The Launch Of Voyager 2
On August 20th, 1977, Voyager 2 was launched on the most powerful launch vehicle available at the time, the Titan IIIE, on a mission to explore all 4 of the gas giant outer planets, and onward to deep space. Voyager 2 was, oddly, the first of the 2 Voyager probes launched – Voyager 1 was […]
Repairing the Melcor 390 Calculator Part 1 – An Exercise In Patience
So, after many many delays, I got the Melcor 390 calculator fixed. Oh, it was an absolute joy to get done soldering the capacitor in and finally seeing the LED’s fire up with “EEE1” and other garbage data, as this little calculator does when it’s first powered up. If you don’t know what I’m talking […]