Month: July 2005

Shuttle mission extended

Since they don’t know when they’ll be in space again, NASA has decided to extend Discovery’s stay[*1] in space by one day. Much the same way Snookums and I decided to stay an extra day in Paris a while back.

Related: NASA can’t even keep foam on their gigantic Thermos bottle, and they think they can make it to Mars[*2] ? How about getting out of the way and letting Burt Rutan and private entrepreneurs have a crack at it?

Indian monsoons may have killed 1,000

Bombay area reeling under monsoons[*1] .

Most of the deaths were caused by landslides and flooding after Tuesday’s torrential rains cut off the state from the rest of the country. Rainfall was as much as 37 inches in parts of Bombay.

Observations from a columnist who is there[*2] .

It was a sight that I had never imagined possible. The airport highway, the main artery that connects Bombay to other cities, had come to resemble a river. The water was neck-deep. Cars were submerged. Cows and buffaloes struggled unsuccessfully to stay above the water level. And everywhere I looked, there were people: ordinary, decent people faced with no option but to brave the water and to walk home, no matter how far the distance or how great the risk.

Highway bill

What’s in it for Missouri?
$467.5 million[*1] , not including over $400 million of authorization to pour money down a light rail money pit in St. Louis.

For South Dakota?
$1.3 million total[*2] , including completing the Heartland Expressway to connect Rapid City to Denver, and completing the Eastern Dakota Expressway to connect Aberdeen to I-29.

Mmm, the smell of fresh pork!