"technosignatures"

The Galileo Project is looking for intelligent life in our universe, but not through radio or light signals, but rather physical objects:

"Rather than searching for electromagnetic signals, the Galileo Project will search for physical objects associated with extraterrestrial technological equipment, also known as technosignatures.

The project will follow three major avenues of research: obtain high-resolution images of UAP through multi-detector sensors to discover their nature, search and conduct in-depth research on 'Oumuamua-like' interstellar objects, and search for potential ETC satellites.

'It is very important that we keep in mind that the Galileo Project is not for everything, and it is not for everyone,' said Laukien. 'It has a defined scope, and it has limitations,' he added, referring to the project’s aim of only exploring known physics explanations rather than speculating on prior UAPs [unidentified aerial phenomena], alleged observations and informal reports."

It's becoming clearer by the day that the Earth would be better off without humans.  And I love the phrase "technosignature," even though it's klunky as hell.

Are We The Baddies?

No, the Republicans haven't "turned" on vaccination.  They still hate things like science and expertise and empiricism in general.  What's happned is that more folks are (rightfully) willing to say what needs to be said -- if you aren't immunocompromised and haven't gotten the (free, easy to get) shot/s yet, you're the fucking asshole, not us.

Florida, Texas, Arkansas, and the rest of Red America writ large is going to be awash in preventable deaths this coming fall and winter.  No tears will be shed over in this part of rural-ass Bellingham.

"something of narcissism in this"

"It's clear, then, that always our real interest has been not in any particular place, but rather in our ability to get to that place.  It's the process of exploration itself that fascinates us, not the places we explore.  There is perhaps something of narcissism in this.  So, these days we hear all about the asteroids, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, the clouds of Venus, and so on.  These places are the new focus of our interest, of our primal urge to walk over the next ridge and see what's there.  There are the next hardest place to reach, and said to be supremely fascinating, but what will happen when we reach them?

Anyway, now here I am, on the moon.  After the Americans got to it in the twentieth century, they left, and for a long time it rolled in our sky, empty as it had always been.  A bone-white ball of rubble.  Airless, freeze-dried, unlivable, without extractable resources.  Why go back, having been there already?"

-- Kim Stanley Robinson, Red Moon

"that will be inflicted upon lesser beings"

"Silas ran his hand lovingly over the outdoor tomatoes.  One of them, full size and deep red, he picked and weighed in his hand.  'Oxford and Cambridge provide an excellent opportunity to learn, although not better than any well-motivated student can find in a first-class library.  But an Oxbridge education can make graduates feel that they are members of some privileged elite, destined to lead and make decisions that will be inflicted upon lesser beings.  Such elitism must of necessity be based on expectations that are often unfulfilled.  Thus Oxbridge has not only provided Britain with its most notable politicians and civil servants but its most embittered traitors too.'  Silas smiled sadly, as if the traitors had played a long-forgiven and half-forgotten prank upon him."

-- Len Deighton, Spy Sinker

"lunatic contraptions, and some of them worked"

"People escaped in gliders, hang gliders, microlites, and even hot-air balloons,' said Werner helpfully.  He was looking at me with some curiosity, trying to guess why I'd got Lange started on one of his favorite topics.

'Oh, sure,' said Lange.  'No end of lunatic contraptions, and some of them worked.  But only the really cheap ideas were safe and reliable.'

'Cheap?' I said.  I hadn't heard this theory before.

'The more money that went into an escape, the greater the number of people involved in it, and so the greater the risk.  One way to defray the cost was to sell it to newspapers, magazines, or TV stations.  You could sometimes raise the money that way, but it always meant having cameramen hanging around on street corners or leaning out of upstairs windows.  Some of those young reporters didn't know their ass from their elbow.  The pros would steer clear of any escapes the media were involved with.'

'The tunnels were the best,' pronounced Werner, who'd become interested in Lange's lecture despite himself."

-- Len Deighton, Spy Line

Speaking of Conspicuous Consumption

I gotta say, Rich Assholes In Space is my least favorite Netflix of 2021 so far...

— James (@wetcasements) July 20, 2021

Heavy Industry

 

Whatcom County, Washington.

"misrepresented to further a political agenda"

Vox on how the wellness and new-age health industry is kinda sort very racist, and Orientalist in particular:

"Cultural exports are a complex, inevitable result of globalization, and cultural appropriation doesn’t always carry negative effects. As Asian-inspired practices and treatments edge toward the mainstream, the problem isn’t necessarily appropriation. It’s what appropriation can produce: an Orientalist perspective toward non-Western practices that can be misrepresented to further a political agenda.

The process by which this happens is likely familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, although this type of appropriation predates the brand by decades. It usually begins with an influential (usually white) Westerner who encounters a practice with origins in East or South Asia. The person integrates the tradition into their lifestyle, publicly touts its benefits, and helps disseminate a version of the practice to their own community. (Such was the case for acupuncture in 1971, after a New York Times reporter wrote about the benefits of his treatment in China.)"

As always, there's nothing wrong with "borrowing" from other cultures but it takes a hell of lot of work to fully understand the context and history and what you're borrowing.

Of course, read the whole article which is very good and gets into the overlap between right-wing Nazis and ostensibly "left" New Age hippie, anti-vaccine types.

One Thing That I Can Depend On

Along with a new car I've been taking the time to go through my music collection and finally get rid of stuff that I simply don't or have never listened to.  It's still painful, since I don't really collect anything other than books or music, but it's interesting that I left behind at least 150 novels in Daegu and couldn't have cared less.  But for some reason deleting an album from my hard drive always makes me hesitate, even when it's more than likely available on Youtube.

Anyhow, I pared my collection from about 65 gigs down to 60, and that fits somewhat snugly on my new phone.  (I am just filled with the spirit of conspicuous consumption these days.)  I also got rid of iTunes, which felt great.  Over the past decade it's managed to garble and/or murder a lot of albums that I'm going to have a less than easy time replacing.

It's interesting that new cars (my car at least) don't come with CD players any longer.  I spent an hour playing with satellite radio, and I was thoroughly unimpressed.  The thought of a long drive where I'm dependent on someone else's taste in music honestly frightens me more than it should.

Anyhow, as I told some ex-pat friends, I guess I'm an American now, again.  Having my music library all set makes that go down a little smoother than it would otherwise.

"We're part of another world."

"He sipped his brandy and smiled sadly.  'She adores you, of course.  Any fool could see that.  I could see it in her eyes as soon as you walked into the house.  Never takes her eyes off you.  But she's just a child.  She has a life ahead of her.  How old are you? . . .  Over forty, right?'

'Yes,' I said.

'She's determined on this university business.  You'll not persuade her otherwise.  She'll go to college.  And there she'll meet brilliant people of her own age, and because they are at college they'll all end up sharing the same appalling tastes and the same half-baked opinions.  We're old fossils.  We're part of another world.  A world of the dinosaurs.'  He swigged his brandy and poured more.  There was a lot of spite in him.  His friendly advice was really a way of hurting me.  And it was a method difficult to counter.

I said, 'Yes, thanks a lot, Dodo.  But, the way I see it, you are indisputably an old tyrannosaurus, but I'm a young, dynamic, brilliant individual in the prime of life, and Gloria is an immature youngster.'

He laughed out loudly enough to rupture my eardrums, and he grabbed my shoulder to save himself from falling over.

'Zu, darling!' he shouted gleefully and loud enough for her to hear him from the kitchen.  'Where did you find this lunatic?'"

-- Len Deighton, Spy Hook

Graveyard, Empires, Yadda, Yadda, Yadda

If only America could stay in Afghanistan another 20 years and get it right this time...

— James (@wetcasements) July 9, 2021