Ansari X-Prize
I've had a dream since I was a little kid of going to space, and wanting to explore. We've explored most of the frontiers of this planet (the exception being some ocean regions in which the pressure is so high that submersibles implode), and at the rate we're wrecking things we need an exit-option to survive. That, and we simply don't know what's out there - we have pictures, but as the various Mars missions have shown, without actual presence, it's amazing how little we know. SpaceShipOne is a big step on the way to Low Earth Orbit; it's roughly equivalent to the Air Force's X-15 Demonstrator (Rutan also worked on the original X-15!), meaning it has a very short exo-atmospheric loitering time and nowhere near the velocity required to eachieve Low Earth Orbit. Rutan indicated that LOE is his next target; it's not an easy feat by a long shot (you need to go faster, be able to maneuver/decelerate, and survive re-entry), but given that he exceeded the X-15 requirements in a few months, I'm very hopeful. As Heinlein once said, once you are in LOE, you are half way to everywhere. So, fingers crossed!
Doom 3 For Linux
It's good that Id Software have finally released Doom 3 for Linux. I'm a little dissappointed that it uses OSS and not ALSA for sound, but otherwise it's a Really Good Thing. I can now play Doom 3 in my favoured OS at home, meaning less rebooting. Woot.
Mood: happy
Music: New Model Army - Space
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