Russian Risk, American Antipathy.

Also in science news, CNN examines the cultural divide between the US and Russia over space exploration. My friends who’ve worked for NASA in some capacity have also complained about a risk-aversiveness bordering on the ridiculous within America’s space program, even with regard to unmanned missions. As one put it, for considerably less than the cost it takes to make one probe perfect, we could send up multiple probes — each with a 90% success rate — and just play the odds, which turn out to be roughly equivalent. Obviously, the calculus of safety for manned missions should be more stringent, but still, I’d think many astronauts would be willing to accept a greater degree of risk if it meant a reinvigoration of the space program.

Lost in Translation.

So I finally received the Bowlingual translator that Berk earned a few months ago and…well, as you might expect, it’s a bust. Unless I’ve been wildly misreading Berk’s behavior for years now, the translator appears to be randomly guessing, with the same string of barks eliciting diametrically opposed emotions. In other words, it’s useless, unless you really want to interact with your dog via a Tamagotchi. (Although, to be fair, when I just had to crate Berk for a slew of barks at a dog on the street, the Bowlingual responded, “You just don’t get it.”) That might in fact be true.

Space Cadet.

General Wesley Clark stumps for faster-than-light travel in New Hampshire. “I still believe in e=mc², but I can’t believe that in all of human history, we’ll never ever be able to go beyond the speed of light to reach where we want to go. I happen to believe that mankind can do it…It’s my only faith-based initiative.” Well, I guess he’s up on Dubya, who’s still trying to work out evolution. At the same rally, Clark introduced Professor John Frink as his potential National Science Advisor. “Suppose we extend the square beyond the two dimensions of our universe… along the hypothetical Z axis, there…”

The Secrets that you keep.

Apparently it doesn’t matter if you talk in your sleep – researchers can now figure you out just by looking at you. “The freefall, flat on the tummy with the hands at the sides of the head, is the most unusual position. Only 6.5 percent of people prefer it and they are usually brash and gregarious.” Strangely enough, this is pretty much the only way I ever fall asleep, and I had assumed it meant the opposite.

Entropy!

Sigh…the school year was kicked off this morning by my toilet spraying water all over the bathroom (the hose came loose in the tank) and my computer refusing to visit any Microsoft sites, including Slate, MSN, and, most importantly, Hotmail. So I spent a good part of the day playing around with my antivirus software, Internet cache, and configuration – to say nothing of listening to the on-hold-jingle at 1-800-Microsoft for a good solid hour – before I encountered this. Ah well…hopefully all will be rectified soon. At least the cable’s working…for now.

Magic Numbers.

A 40-page House report (prepared by Henry Waxman) finds that the Bush Administration consistently misuses science data to buttress their political goals. But what can you really expect from a President who believes “the jury’s still out” on evolution?