Random Thoughts of Chris Tilley

Sandra Taylor, wife of my favorite webcomic, has come out with a beautiful kids book. Sandra wrote the story and Angela Call did the wonderful art work. The brief description of the book reads:

Ideas are like horses, but Amy's tend to run wild. With a little help, Amy learns how to guide her ideas in constructive ways.

You can download a full copy of the book in a pdf. I did that and read it to my kids. They loved it and got the idea of guiding their ideas. I fully expect them to ask me to read it again and again.

My kids have wonderful imaginations and quite often try to implement them on their own or in inappropriate ways, times and/or places. My Six year old one day came up to me and said he had an experiment he wanted to try. I as usual said 'ok what do we need'. His response was a big metal tank and a long pipe. He then innocently asks me if I know how to weld. The answer to that on was 'No'. After some more back and forth I determined that what he was attempting build the Mythbuster's Steam Cannon. Apparently the line 'Do not attempt this at home' does not apply to the front yard.

You can also buy the book from the website. Pre-orders currently available at $12.95 plus S/H.

This sounds like one of those 'way out there' ideas but if someone manages to make it affordable it would solve a lot of problems. This article appeared on CNN. The idea for space based power satellites has been around for decades but the up front costs have been prohibitive. The 'National Security Space Office' did another review based on the increased cost of oil and the energy security that it would bring and while they concluded that it is no yet cost effective for commercial use the DOD could be an anchor tenant. The DOD would be willing to pay extra for electricity to forward operating areas. The major hold back is sufficient and cheap enough space lift capacity. There are companies that are working towards power satellites including Mitsubishi.

One of the ideas mentioned in the report is that of a space elevator. There is a competition going on to develop the technologies needed to make a space elevator. For more information on the competition go to the Spaceward Foundation website. The prize money is supplied by NASA's Centennial Challenges program - a total of $4,000,000 over the next 5 years.

In reading Spaceward Foundations 'About us' this bit stood out as where the US needs to go to remain competitive.

The United States has benefited greatly from its technological leadership during the 20th century. From the mass production of automobiles to airplanes to computers to the green revolution to the Internet, Americans have led the way. Now, at the dawn of a new century, our leadership is being challenged. We want to see the United States benefit from its continued leadership in space during the 21st century. Spaceward intends to bring together leaders from the academic, commercial and educational worlds and create a series of challenges, exhibits, and educational activities that will re-invigorate the nation's interest in space.

It will be interesting to follow these as they develop.