NASA joins Flickr's Commons

From the old to the new, NASA has added 180 photos to Flickr's Commons.


Full Description:

Dr. Robert H. Goddard observes the launch site from his launch control shack while standing by the firing control panel. From here he can fire, release, or stop testing if firing was unsatisfactory. The sandbags on the roof provide protection against possible accident.

Description:

A radio controlled model aircraft, acting as a miniature mothership, carries aloft a model of the X-33. Dryden engineer R. Dale Reed began using model drop tests in the early 1960s to test different lifting body shapes. This included the first tests of the M2-F1, and later the M2-F2, Hyper III, and X-38 designs. The X-33 model is mounted under the Mothership's right boom. After reaching the desired altitude, the X-33 model was released and glided back to a landing.

*Buy NASA patches at eBay.

Millie Hughes-Fulford (link roundup)

Philip Bond posted two new entries in his astronaut series (including Millie Hughes-Fulford).

And a few more links:

1. Gordon Freeman paper toy (Half-Life).

2. Superman and Scott Pilgrim high-fiving while riding on Devil Dinosaur. Via.

3. Dapper C-3P0.

4. Morpheus, Trinity, and Neo Lego Cubedudes.

*Buy NASA patches at eBay.

Jaws poster (link roundup)

Jaws poster by Tom Whalen for the Colonial Theater.

And a few more links:

1. Astro Boy heads by Yoskay Yamamoto.

2. Send a picture of your face into space on the Space Shuttle.

3. Fairly strong review of Justin Cronin's ultra-hyped The Passage, which is half off at Amazon.

*Previously: Jaws cake.

*Buy Astro Boy toys at eBay.

Save the Humans t-shirt (link roundup)

Save the Humans t-shirt by Shaun Lind for Congress Clothing. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Hokusai's Great Wave as origami.

2. Stargate Atlantis commission by Dave Perillo.

3. Movie style posters for NASA missions.

*Previously: Hokusai's lesser known wave.

*Buy NASA patches at eBay.

Vintage Facebook advertisment (and more)

Vintage Facebook ad, poster for NASA, tentacled monster, Enterprise and Death Star - - a few samples from Moustafa Khamis' portfolio. Via these sites.

*Previously: Hamlet, written as a series of Facebook entries.

*Buy NASA collectibles at eBay.

Animated ink drawing (link roundup)

Ink commercial directed by Niko Tziopanos for CCTV. Via these sites. (Heads up, Niko's site resizes your browser.)

And a few more links:

1. California "prison officials have confiscated 4,130 contraband cellphones this year, more than all those seized in the previous three years combined."

2. NASA has almost completely run out of the plutonium it uses to power deep space probes. Via these sites.

3. Short and sweet explanation of the different types of missile defense.

*Previously: Inflatable Guantanomo Bay bouncy prison cell.

*Buy the CIA Catalog Of Clandestine Weapons, Tools, And Gadgets at Amazon.

Bizarre NASA badges (link roundup)

Vitruvian Woman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - - actual NASA patches, and there are many more bizarre NASA patches on display here. Hard to believe we haven't accomplished more in space. Via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. A look at the various ways coaches pressure NFL players to play when injured.

2. You probably saw the Obama/Joker/Socialism image and may have heard that Flickr took the original image down in response to a DMCA takedown request. But did you know that indications are that the takedown was blatantly bogus? Via.

3. New York magazine is designed to feel like being in Manhattan - - "The design has lots of cramped spaces and small type, it's like being on the subway." Via.

*Previously: An astronaut patch that actually reminds the viewer of science.

*Buy NASA patches at eBay.

Abandoned NASA projects (link roundup)

Gallery of abandoned NASA projects. Pictured is the X-33. Note the Skunk Works logo. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Bizarre - - the Chinese basketball league has a height limitation, and player Hu Guang might be a little too tall. You'd think finding out his height would be a simple matter. And you would be wrong. League officials "admitted they had 'limited ability and technique in measuring,'" and declared him eligible. So far, one team has forfeited a game after refusing to play in protest, and another game ended after violence including smashed cars. Via.

2. Heather Jansch makes driftwood horses and other sculptures. Via.

3. Interesting article about the "James Bond villain-like" new owner of SAAB.

*Previously: Desktop Wallpaper: Rick Astley is James Bond.

*Buy Skunk Works collectibles at eBay.

Esther Dyson's Astronaut Patch; Bad Military Patches

Esther Dyson trained as a astronaut. For her experience, Gisela Giardino designed the evolution patch you see above. You can watch Dyson talk about the experience here, or read an interview here. And as to Giardino, don't miss this photo of the golden water of Devil's Throat/Garganta del Diablo at Iguazú falls, Argentina.

And speaking of patches, Danger Room posted another roundup of amusing military patches like this one:



*Previously: Fun With Horses Girl Scouts Patch.

*Buy military patches at eBay.

Wonderbread parody by Rich DeSimone (link roundup)

Wilco concert poster by Rich DeSimone on sale for $30 here.

And a few more links:

1. Adam Koford was interviewed at Star Wars.com about his blasted Greedo custom Mighty Mugg.

2. Which makes this a perfect time to point out that orders over $25 get free shipping at Zazzle with the code WEPAYFORSHIP. Buy a t-shirt featuring the Super Punch chimera logo Adam designed.

3. The International Space Station should finally be completed next year. So, NASA intends to crash it into the atmosphere in 2016. Via.

*Previously: Retro-futuristic space station.

*Buy concert posters at eBay.

Darkseid Minus the New Gods (link roundup)

Darkseid's pretty sad when everything else is removed from his panels. More strips here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Nature is freaky. The Blue Butterfly starts life as a caterpillar, which impersonate immature red ants, secreting chemicals and making noises that convince the ants that it's a wayward grub. The ants carry the caterpillar to their underground homes and "keep looking after them even though the adopted intruders gobble ant grubs for 10 months before forming a chrysalis and flying away as adult butterflies."

2. How the NY Times and Wikipedia teamed up to keep the David Rohde's kidnapping a secret. Via.

3. Tips for how a indie video game developers can promote their games (much of the advice applies just as well to artists). Via.

4. So, what kind of kaiju will be revealed when NASA triggers "a six-mile-high explosion that scientists hope will confirm the presence of water?" Via.

*Previously: Suge Knight as Darkseid.

*Buy Darkseid toys at eBay.

Torch Tiger (link roundup)

I don't know what Torch Tiger is. But I like the logo.

And a few more links:

1. The winner of Bruce Schneier's movie plot threat contest.

2. "At least 84 Afghan schoolgirls were admitted to a hospital Tuesday for headaches and vomiting in the third apparent poison attack on a girls school in as many weeks."

3. Gawker nominates the world's richest a$$hole:

Germany's Prince Marcus von Anhalt . . . Born Marcus Eberhardt in 1969, he started out as a butcher, went into the brothel business, did some time for tax evasion and human trafficking, then bought himself a title (from Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband): Prinz von Anhalt, Herzog zu Sachsen und Westfalen, Graf von Askanien.

Photo evidence here and here.

4. Space shuttle suffered "minor damage" during take off. Via.

*Previously: Cartoony versions of the Chinese Zodiac star in this bizarre footrace for Onitsuka Tiger.

*Buy Zippo lighters at eBay.

High-detail Spore creature render (link roundup)

A Cthuloid, created as a Spore creature by Hellopike, and then exported out of the game and rendered in Mental Ray by Ocean Quigley. At the same site, check out Mike Khoury's render of a bunch of stylized military vehicles. Relatedly, if you'd like to have a Spore creature turned into a toy, you can order one here. The results are apparently pretty good. Via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. Like the last article I posted describing a heist, this explanation about how moon rocks were stolen from NASA sounds like a half-truth at best. Fun reading, though. Most interesting detail:

Building 31 North, which sits on the grounds of Houston's Johnson Space Center, is where NASA keeps all 600 pounds of the moon rocks it has secured. They are the sole property of the government, collected over six lunar missions and protected with the dramatic intensity of national treasures. Building 31 North is one of the few buildings on earth constructed under Class 100 standards—it is a structure that can withstand 1000 years of water submersion, among other durability metrics that should not be tested this side of Armageddon.

2. Former Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy on trial for trying to smuggle 161.5 grams of heroin, 24.4 grams of methamphetamine and 51.5 grams of marijuana into the correctional facility where he was a guard.

3. Dinosaurs may have died from the effects of massive volcanic eruption, rather than an asteroid impact.

4. Is it still April Fool's Day? Amazon expects people to pay $500 for a Kindle and pay extra for newspapers to read on it? Have they asked Sony how that price point on the PS3 is working out for them? You can read Mark Wilson's description of the Kindle here. And, by all means, if you want to buy one, buy one through this link.

*Previously: Terrific dinosaur costume.

*Buy dinosaur posters at eBay.

Hyrulean Girl With A Pearl Earring (link roundup)

I guess it's homage day. Clint Wilson channels Johannes Vermeer in this Zelda with a Pearl Earring print on sale here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Did a bat manage to enter orbit on the space shuttle? Via.

2. There's an "archetypal English village" for sale. Via.

3. Here's a photo of Alex Rodriguez enjoying his reflection a little too much.

4. Girl Scouts aren't allowed to sell cookies online.

*Previously: The Girl Scouts need an image makeover.

*Buy Legend of Zelda toys and collectibles at eBay.

Lego Steampunk Bicycle (link roundup)

Lego Steampunk Bicycle by Rod Gillies.

And a few more links:

1. Win a copy of The Scrapbooker's Creativity Kit!.

2. Win a new Poketo mug.

3. Father and son duo are first to serve in priesthood for 900 years. (Read that again.)

4. Monster grabs the space shuttle.

*Previously: Steampunk Shuttle Tyderium.

*Buy steampunk creations at eBay.

New United Football League logo seems a little suggestive

I'm not sure why the UFL wanted their logo to be a star stabbing a crab claw (or whatever else is going on there), but the point's probably moot since the league will probably be DOA. (Sounds like the Arena Football League might be a goner too.)


Here's a few more random links:

1. NASA has ongoing major trouble with hackers. Here's one anecdote:

In 1998 a U.S.-German satellite known as ROSAT, used for peering into deep space, was rendered useless after it turned suddenly toward the sun. NASA investigators later determined that the accident was linked to a cyber-intrusion at the Goddard Space Flight Center in the Maryland suburbs of Washington.

2. 130,000 inflatable breasts have been lost at sea. The plan was to use them to promote men's magazine Ralph.

3. Video game companies hire professional reviewers to write in-house reviews so the company will know what last minute fixes are needed, and what public reviews will probably be like.

4. Another indication of how pathetic Heroes was this season:

When the fan asked if Peter would ever acknowledge Caitlin or express any grief over what seems to be her dire fate, Kring replied, "No, we passed it. We leapfrogged it." He added that when the idea of returning to Caitlin was brought up, they asked, "Really? Are we going to risk that? We have enough stuff to [deal with]."

*Previously: Office of Government Commerce logo sure is suggestive.

*Buy "Really Good Logos Explained" at Amazon.

One of the space spiders is missing

I mentioned last week that NASA was sending spiders to the international space station to watch them try to weave webs in zero-g. You guessed it, one has gone missing.

You can see video of the remaining spider weaving in space here. (I'd link to NASA, but there's no permalink there, and they don't seem to let you embed video. Tax dollars at work.)

While looking for an image to illustrate the post, I stumbled across these two excellent chestburster costumes:






The second is via WTF Costumes, which is well worth a visit.

*Previously: Aliens, Sweded.

*Buy Alien toys at eBay.

Spaaaace Spiders

Today, NASA sent a shuttle to the international space station, carrying spiders and larvae. The insects will be studied to see how they spin webs and turn into butterflies in zero gravity. (You'll notice I did not link to NASA's site. Story must be too interesting for them to post in any obvious place.) Via.

Here's a few more links of the day


Well-written profile of David Foster Wallace from 1987.



Simon Pegg writes Star Wars fan fiction (about the, umm, questionable decision to "hide" Luke from Vader by putting him in the care of Vader's stepbrother and naming him Luke Skywalker). Via.



Adorable drawing of The Comedian (Watchmen).



Microsoft is offering a 25 percent eBay rebate if you'd please, please use their search engine. Via.



Thieves stole a boxing ring. (Story sounded more fun than it was - - the ring was in a trailer, and thieves just drove it away).

*Previously: NASA consultants draft primer on how people can defend themselves in case of alien invasion.

*Buy vintage spaceship toys at eBay.

NASA commissioned a rap about astrobiology

NASA commissioned Jonathan Chase, aka Oort Kuiper, to rap about life in the universe. You can learn a little bit more about the project here and here. Here's the video (he starts rapping about 45 seconds in):



Via.

In other science news, the Large Hadron Collider is out for two months, having already sprung a leak. (Or, it's just being used for the next two months to conduct the secret military experiments that led to its funding in the first place.)

*Previously: Silicon Valley's secret military history.

*Buy the Elegant Universe book or dvd at Amazon.

Teenager sells website created with free tools for $60,000 (and other news)

1. Using free software, Hansup Yoon, age 15, created a forum called ZuneBoards, devoted to Microsoft's Zune. In two years it grew to 60,000 members and pulled in about $1,000 a month thanks to AdSense and Tribal Fusion. He just sold it for $62,000, which is presumably far more than Microsoft has made by selling the Zune. Details here.

2. Buffalo Bills rookie offensive tackle Demetrius Bell is the lowest rated player in Madden 2008. Link.

3. See the differences between an article that appeared in the New York Times, and the heavily altered version that appeared in a Beijing newspaper.

4. NASA space shuttle mission had a secret emblem which signified that the shuttle mission had the secret task of deploying a satellite inspection spacecraft.



*Previously: Awesome U.S. military patches part 6.

*Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World is 32% off at Amazon.