Enlarge / Intuitive Machines released this photo of its Odysseus lander in space after launch. (credit: Intuitive Machines)
Most of NASA is a pretty buttoned-down place these days. Nearly 70 years old, the space agency is no longer the rambunctious adolescent it was during the race to the Moon in the 1960s. If you go to a NASA field center today, you're much more likely to get dragged into a meeting or a review than witness a rocket engine test.
One way to describe the space agency today is "risk averse." Some of this, certainly, is understandable. NASA is where flight director Gene Kranz famously said during the Apollo 13 rescue, "Failure is not an option." Moreover, after three major accidents that resulted in the death of 17 astronauts—Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia—NASA takes every conceivable precaution to avoid similar tragedies in the future.
But there does come a point where NASA becomes so risk averse that it no longer takes bold and giant steps, succumbing to paralysis by analysis. As one long-time NASA engineer told me several years ago, only partly tongue-in-cheek, it took a minor miracle for engineers designing the Orion spacecraft to get a small window on the vehicle through the rigorous safety review process.
Enlarge / The first Vulcan rocket fires off its launch pad in Florida in January 2024. (credit: United Launch Alliance)
Blue Origin, the rocket company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has emerged as the sole finalist to buy United Launch Alliance.
The sale is not official, and nothing has been formally announced. The co-owners of United Launch Alliance (ULA), Lockheed Martin and Boeing, have yet to comment publicly on the sale of the company, which, until the rise of SpaceX, was the sole major launch provider in the United States. They declined again on Wednesday.
"Consistent with our corporate practice, Boeing doesn’t comment on potential market rumors or speculation," a Boeing spokesperson said.
Enlarge / Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo speaks during a press conference at Neo City Academy in Kissimmee, Florida. (credit: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
A sixth student at Florida's Manatee Bay Elementary School outside of Fort Lauderdale has a confirmed case of measles, health officials announced late Tuesday. However, health officials are not telling unvaccinated students who were potentially exposed to quarantine.
The school has a low vaccination rate, suggesting that the extremely contagious virus could spark a yet larger outbreak. But in a letter sent to parents late Tuesday, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo—known for spreading anti-vaccine rhetoric and vaccine misinformation—indicated that unvaccinated students can skip the normally recommended quarantine period.
The letter, signed by Ladapo, noted that people with measles can be contagious from four days before the rash develops through four days after the rash appears. And while symptoms often develop between eight to 14 days after exposure, the disease can take 21 days to appear. As such, the normal quarantine period for exposed and unvaccinated people, who are highly susceptible to measles, is 21 days.
The lads from Edgar Wright's 2013 sci-fi comedy World's End know when to start drinking and get "totally and utterly carparked." (credit: Universal Pictures)
British comedian Michael McIntyre has a standard bit in his standup routines concerning the many (many!) slang terms posh British people use to describe being drunk. These include "wellied," "trousered," and "ratarsed," to name a few. McIntyre's bit rests on his assertion that pretty much any English word can be modified into a so-called "drunkonym," bolstered by a few handy examples: "I was utterly gazeboed," or "I am going to get totally and utterly carparked."
It's a clever riff that sparked the interest of two German linguists. Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer of Chemnitz University of Technology and Peter Uhrig of FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg decided to draw on their expertise to test McIntyre's claim that any word in the English language could be modified to mean "being in a state of high inebriation." Given their prevalence, "It is highly surprising that drunkonyms are still under-researched from a linguistic perspective," the authors wrote in their new paper published in the Yearbook of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association. Bonus: the authors included an extensive appendix of 546 English synonyms for "drunk," drawn from various sources, which makes for entertaining reading.
There is a long tradition of coming up with colorful expressions for drunkenness in the English language, with the Oxford English Dictionary listing a usage as early as 1382: "merry," meaning "boisterous or cheerful due to alcohol; slight drunk, tipsy." Another OED entry from 1630 lists "blinde" (as in blind drunk) as a drunkonym. Even Benjamin Franklin got into the act with his 1737 Drinker's Dictionary, listing 288 words and phrases for denoting drunkenness. By 1975, there were more than 353 synonyms for "drunk" listed in that year's edition of the Dictionary of American Slang. By 1981, linguist Harry Levine noted 900 terms used as drunkonyms.
Enlarge / Odysseus passes over the near side of the Moon following lunar orbit insertion on February 21. (credit: Intuitive Machines)
For the first time in more than half a century, a US-built spacecraft has made a soft landing on the Moon.
There was high drama and plenty of intrigue on Thursday evening as Intuitive Machines attempted to land its Odysseus spacecraft in a small crater not all that far from the south pole of the Moon. About 20 minutes after touchdown, NASA declared success, but some questions remained about the health of the lander and its orientation. Why? Because while Odysseus was phoning home, its signal was weak.
But after what the spacecraft and its developer, Houston-based Intuitive Machines, went through earlier on Thursday, it was a miracle that Odysseus made it at all.
For some, having to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic was stressful. Parents balanced job duties while caring for children. Some struggled to set up a home office and adjust to new tools, like video conferencing. Lonely workdays at home added to social isolation. The line between work and life blurred.
For others, working from home was a boon—comfort, convenience, flexibility, no commuting or rush-hour traffic, no office-environment distractions. When the acute aspects of the pandemic receded, some who at first struggled began to settle into a work-from-home (WFH) groove and appreciated the newfound flexibility.
Then, bosses began calling their employees back to the office. Many made the argument that the return-to-office (RTO) policies and mandates were better for their companies; workers are more productive at the office, and face-to-face interactions promote collaboration, many suggested. But there's little data to support that argument. Pandemic-era productivity is tricky to interpret, given that the crisis disrupted every aspect of life. Research from before the pandemic generally suggested remote work improves worker performance—though it often included workers who volunteered to WFH, potentially biasing the finding.
In the shadow-lit alleys of Osaka, where whispers tell tales of the unseen, there existed a courier service known to a select few as "Mister Nice Guy & Co." Contrary to what the name suggested, this was no ordinary delivery service. It was the lifeline of a secret gang that operated beneath the city's bustling veneer, and at the heart of its operations was a young courier named Akio.
Akio was not your typical courier. With an unassuming demeanor and a bike that zipped through the city like a whisper of wind, he was the gang's most reliable link to the outside world. His deliveries ranged from innocuous parcels to items whose contents were better left unquestioned. Akio, however, was driven by a sense of duty and the thrill of the ride, not by the shadows that danced in the world he served.
One evening, as dusk painted the sky in shades of fire and ash, Akio received a package that would change the course of his life. It was heavier than usual, wrapped in layers of nondescript brown paper, and it bore no destination, only a note: "Deliver to the one who dreams of stars." Intrigued and somewhat bemused, Akio set out into the night, his heart a compass guided by the cryptic message.
His journey took him through the veins of Osaka, from its pulsating center to its quiet, forgotten edges. He encountered characters of all shades, each a thread in the city's intricate tapestry, but none who claimed to dream of stars. It wasn't until Akio reached the city's outskirts, where the neon lights faded into the gentle glow of the countryside, that he found his answer.
In a small, secluded observatory, Akio met Hina, a young astronomer whose eyes held the universe. She spoke of constellations and distant galaxies, of black holes and the cosmic dance of celestial bodies. As Akio listened, mesmerized, he realized that the package he carried was meant for her. Inside were rare astronomical equipment and notes from a fellow astronomer who had once promised to help Hina reach the stars but had disappeared into the night.
Moved by her passion and the mysterious connection that had brought him to her doorstep, Akio decided to stay and assist Hina with her research. Together, they unraveled the mysteries of the cosmos, their nights filled with stargazing and their days with discoveries that bridged the gap between earth and the heavens.
As for "Mister Nice Guy & Co.," they continued their clandestine operations, but Akio's deliveries became less frequent. He had found a new purpose, one that transcended the dim alleys and shadowy dealings of his past. In the vastness of the universe, he had discovered a light bright enough to illuminate even the darkest corners of Osaka.
In the bustling city of Kyoto, in the year 2030, where ancient tradition meets futuristic innovation, lived a spirited teenager named Sora with her extraordinary pet, a white cat named Yuki. Unlike any ordinary cat, Yuki possessed an enigmatic ability: she could communicate with Sora through thoughts, a secret they guarded closely. Together, they embarked on adventures that intertwined the mystical past of Kyoto with its dazzling, technologically advanced future.
Sora, a high school student with a keen interest in both the history of her city and the latest in tech developments, discovered Yuki's unique talent during a chance encounter in the historic Gion district. Yuki, with her pristine fur and eyes as clear as the sky, was being pursued by a group of mysterious individuals. Sora, driven by instinct and compassion, rescued Yuki, unknowingly stepping into a world beyond her wildest imaginations.
As Sora and Yuki's bond deepened, they learned of an ancient prophecy written in the scrolls of Kyoto's oldest temple. The prophecy spoke of a white cat that would emerge in the city's time of greatest need, guiding a young guardian to restore balance between the natural and digital worlds. With Kyoto increasingly enveloped in technological marvels, nature had begun to wither, stirring unrest among the spirits of the land.
Realizing Yuki's significance and their shared destiny, Sora and her feline companion embarked on a quest to find the mythical "Sakura of Eternal Spring," a legendary cherry blossom tree said to have the power to reconcile the city's conflicting worlds. Their journey was fraught with challenges, as the mysterious group from their first encounter revealed themselves as agents of a corporation seeking to exploit the prophecy for their gain, aiming to control both the digital and natural realms.
Sora and Yuki's adventure took them through the neon-lit streets of Kyoto, into the heart of its digital underworld, and across the serene beauty of its hidden gardens. Along the way, they encountered allies who shared their vision: a hacker with a heart of gold, a shrine maiden with ancient knowledge, and a robot with an affinity for nature.
The climactic moment came as they discovered the Sakura of Eternal Spring within a forgotten sector of the city, where the digital and natural worlds converged. As they approached the tree, Yuki's presence activated its ancient magic, blossoming in a radiant display of light and life that spread throughout Kyoto. The city's technology harmonized with the rejuvenated nature, restoring balance and peace among the spirits and inhabitants.
In the aftermath, Sora and Yuki became celebrated heroes. Yet, they chose to keep their adventures a secret, living quietly among the people they had saved. Kyoto thrived as a symbol of harmony, a testament to the courage of a young girl and her extraordinary white cat.
Their story, whispered in the corners of the city and among the circuits of its network, became a legend of hope, reminding everyone that the future is shaped by the bravery to embrace the unknown and the strength found in the bonds we forge, not just with each other, but with the world around us.
In the serene town of Nishiizu, where the majestic waters of Suruga Bay kissed the rugged coastline of Japan, a tale of adventure and discovery unfolded. The year was 2023, and at the heart of this story was a spirited teenager named Hiroki, whose passion for the ocean depths knew no bounds. Hiroki had embarked on a remarkable journey, using underwater cameras to aid in research for the local fishery, "The Great Lakes Fisheries," a venture that aimed to revolutionize sustainable fishing practices in Japan.
Hiroki, with his unruly hair that mirrored the untamed sea and eyes as deep as the ocean, had always been fascinated by the aquatic world. His curiosity was sparked by tales of the mysterious creatures that dwelled beneath the waves, and the intricate ecosystems that thrived in the unseen corners of the bay. When "The Great Lakes Fisheries" announced a project to study these underwater realms, Hiroki knew he had to be a part of it.
The project was ambitious. Using state-of-the-art underwater cameras, the team aimed to map the bay's depths, catalog its marine life, and study their habitats to implement more sustainable fishing methods. For Hiroki, this was more than just a research project; it was an adventure, a chance to witness the wonders of the underwater world and contribute to its preservation.
Armed with his camera and an insatiable thirst for knowledge, Hiroki dove into the azure waters, capturing the vibrant coral reefs teeming with life, schools of shimmering fish darting through the water, and even the occasional, cautious approach of a curious octopus. Each dive was a journey into a world as alien as it was beautiful, filled with colors and forms that defied imagination.
However, Hiroki's adventures took a dramatic turn when he stumbled upon an ancient shipwreck, hidden away in the depths of the bay. The shipwreck was a time capsule, holding secrets of a bygone era, and it attracted an abundance of marine life, creating a unique ecosystem. But this discovery was more than just a historical artifact; it became a pivotal point in Hiroki's journey.
Inside the wreck, Hiroki found evidence of overfishing and its impact on the marine environment. This discovery led him on a new mission: to not only explore the wonders of the ocean but also to protect it. Hiroki used his footage to raise awareness about the importance of marine conservation, showcasing the beauty of Suruga Bay's underwater world and the urgent need to protect it for future generations.
Hiroki's efforts did not go unnoticed. "The Great Lakes Fisheries" embraced his findings, implementing new, more sustainable practices that balanced the needs of the local community with the preservation of marine life. Hiroki became a local hero, inspiring others, especially the youth, to take an active role in environmental conservation.
As the project concluded, Hiroki realized that his adventure had transformed him. He had started as a curious teenager, eager to explore the depths of the ocean, and emerged as a guardian of its treasures. His story, a blend of adventure, discovery, and conservation, resonated with young people across Japan, igniting a passion for the ocean and its preservation in the hearts of many.
Hiroki's journey was a testament to the power of curiosity and the impact one individual can have on the world. In the serene waters of Suruga Bay, he had found his calling, and in doing so, he had helped secure a brighter future for its inhabitants, both above and below the waves.
In the neon-lit future of Tokyo, 2050, where skyscrapers reached towards the heavens and technology was indistinguishable from magic, a new shadow emerged in the sprawling metropolis. This is the tale of Kaito, known in the dark corners of the city as "The Phantom." Unlike the heroes who basked in the adulation of the masses, Kaito embraced the role of the villain, but his story was not one of malice, but of twisted justice.
Kaito was once a prodigy in cybernetics, his intellect unmatched, his ambition unbridled. However, the same society that lauded technological progress had cast him aside, a victim of its relentless march. The conglomerates that controlled Tokyo from the shadows saw him as a threat, a mind too bright, too questioning of the status quo. Betrayed by his mentors and blacklisted from the scientific community, Kaito's brilliance was forced into the shadows, and so he chose to become the very thing the city feared.
"The Phantom" was a master of technology, a cybernetic sorcerer who wielded his knowledge like a blade. He hacked into the impenetrable networks of the mega-corporations, exposed their secrets, and manipulated their systems, all from the underbelly of Tokyo. Kaito didn't do this for wealth or power; he did it to reveal the corruption that lurked beneath the city's sleek surface, to avenge those crushed under the weight of progress.
Kaito's actions quickly drew the attention of both the authorities and the corporate elite. He became the most wanted man in Tokyo, a ghost in the machine that no one could catch. To the public, he was a menace, a villain disrupting their utopian existence. But to those who had suffered as he had, Kaito was a hero, a beacon of resistance against a system that valued profit over people.
As Kaito's legend grew, so did the efforts to stop him. The corporations deployed their most advanced cybernetic enforcers, beings who blurred the line between human and machine, to hunt him down. Each encounter was a battle of wits and technology, a dance on the digital battlefield that spanned the city's vast networks.
One night, Kaito embarked on his most daring mission yet: to infiltrate the mainframe of Genesis Corp, the most powerful entity in Tokyo, and release evidence of their manipulation of the city's infrastructure for their gain. It was a fortress of digital security, but for Kaito, it was the ultimate challenge.
The mission was fraught with peril. Kaito faced not just the threat of capture, but the moral implications of his crusade. In his heart, he wrestled with the darkness of his actions, wondering if he had become the very monster he sought to destroy. But as he delved deeper into the labyrinth of data, he uncovered a truth more sinister than he had imagined, a plan that threatened not just the city, but the very fabric of society.
With the evidence in hand, Kaito made a choice that would define his legacy. Instead of releasing it anonymously as he had done before, he broadcasted it directly to the citizens of Tokyo, unmasking himself in the process. It was an act of defiance, a declaration that even in the darkest of times, one person could make a difference.
The aftermath of Kaito's revelation was chaos. The corporations scrambled to maintain control, while the people of Tokyo awoke to the reality of their existence. Kaito, now a symbol of rebellion, vanished into the shadows once more, his future uncertain. But his message echoed through the streets of Tokyo: in a world where the line between hero and villain was blurred, the power to change the world lay in the hands of those brave enough to challenge the darkness.
And so, "The Phantom" became a legend, a story whispered in the bustling streets of futuristic Tokyo, a reminder that even in the face of overwhelming power, one spark could illuminate the darkness.
In the bustling heart of Kyoto, 2035, where the ancient meets the ultramodern, a tale of intrigue and betrayal unfolds. Amidst the city's neon-lit streets and traditional temples, a figure cloaked in shadows rises to prominence. This is the story of Hana, known to the underworld as "The Orchid," a master thief whose elegance and skill made her the most wanted criminal in Japan.
Hana was not always a villain. Born into a family of esteemed technologists, she was a prodigy, blending ancient martial arts with cutting-edge technology to create art. However, her family's company fell victim to corporate espionage, leaving them in ruins. Betrayed by those she once trusted, Hana's heart turned cold, and she vowed revenge against the corrupt elite who had destroyed her life.
Armed with her intelligence, martial arts prowess, and a suite of high-tech gadgets, Hana embarked on a crusade against Kyoto's most powerful corporations. She became "The Orchid," a symbol of fear for the rich and powerful, and a legend among the common people. Her heists were not for personal gain but to disrupt the oppressive systems that favored the wealthy over the innocent.
Hana's most daring plan involved stealing a prototype technology from Synthetech Industries, a company rumored to be developing a device that could control human emotions. The device, codenamed "Project Pandora," had the potential to manipulate society at will, a power that Hana knew must not fall into the wrong hands.
The night of the heist was a spectacle. Hana infiltrated Synthetech's fortress-like headquarters, bypassing state-of-the-art security systems with grace and precision. Her movements were a dance, a blend of ancient samurai techniques and futuristic technology, as she made her way to the heart of the building.
As she secured "Project Pandora," Hana was confronted by its creator, Dr. Sato, a young genius who believed his invention would bring peace to society. A fierce debate ensued, with Hana arguing that true peace could not be manufactured through control. The encounter left Hana with an unexpected ally, as Dr. Sato, moved by her conviction, chose to help her expose the project's true purpose.
Together, they leaked evidence of "Project Pandora" and its potential for abuse to the public, sparking a nationwide uproar. The revelation led to widespread protests, calling for transparency and ethics in technological advancements.
In the aftermath, Hana disappeared into the shadows once more, her legend cemented in the hearts of the people. While some continued to view her as a villain, many hailed her as a hero, a guardian who fought against the darkness with light.
"The Orchid" became a symbol of resistance, inspiring a new generation to question authority and fight for justice. Hana's story, a blend of shadow and light, served as a reminder that in a world of ever-advancing technology, humanity's most powerful weapon is the courage to stand for what is right.
Thus, in the neon glow of Kyoto, amidst the clash of the old and the new, the tale of "The Orchid" endures, a timeless saga of rebellion, redemption, and the unyielding spirit of the human heart.
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