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Mars Buzz
What I'm Drinking, You Need a Hug, and other news and reviews




Book Review
Mars Buzz
April 28, 2014

Dr. Buzz Aldrin, 84,  was in St. Paul on Saturday. Aldrin was the second man on the moon, the first astronaut to say “Tang sucks,” and he was the mirror for Neil Armstrong's first selfie on the moon.

Neil Armstrong's selfie on the moon, using Aldrin's visor
Neil Armstrong's First Selfie on the Moon (with mirror provided by Buzz Aldrin)

In a short book by
Dr. Buzz Aldrin with Leonard David, Mission To Mars, Aldrin plays space salesman, cheerleading the idea that people need to go to Mars.

Aldrin's 2013 book says, “Nowadays, my dedication, indeed my passion, is focused on forging America's future in space, guided by two principles: a continuously expanding human presence in space & global leadership in space.” His book also has high praise for the Obama administration's plans and is padded with presidential speeches from Kennedy to Obama.

Buzz Aldrin in St. Paul, MN on April 26, 2014
Dr. Buzz Aldrin (and his turquoise bracelet) described the benefits of Mars on April 26, 2014


In St. Paul on Saturday, Aldrin suggested that maybe China could provide the leadership needed for the trip to Mars, as if disillusioned by the U.S. space program or trying to incite the Minnesota crowd into nationalist competition reminiscent of the cold war space race.

What wasn't said -- the pages missing from his book and his teleprompter -- was any mention of climate change.

Aldrin doesn't believe in it, at least not that recent climate change has been caused by people.

Here's what Aldrin said about climate change in 2011:
I think the climate has been changing for billions of years. If it's warming now, it may cool off later. I'm not in favor of just taking short-term isolated situations and depleting our resources to keep our climate just the way it is today. I'm not necessarily of the school that we are causing it all, I think the world is causing it.
R7 Soyuz Korolev rocket ignition
And here's what Aldrin said in 2009:
Climate change on a vast scale has reshaped Mars. With Earth in the throes of its own climate evolution, human outposts on Mars could be a virtual laboratory to study these vast planetary changes.

So Buzz, you want to... increase emission of greenhouse gases for multiple rockets and use vast resources to go to a completely different planet to study how we are destroying our planet?

greenhouse gases to get to Mars to study greenhouse gases

Is this really about Mars? 
Twin Cities Calendar for April 2014

Or is it about the Moon being a stepping-stone to something farther, instead of becoming a footnote in history?

Music Association: David Bowie - Space Oddity














Park Services
Lost & FoundEaster lost & found
April 20, 2014

Hey, I just want to let you people know that our lost and found box is overflowing today. If you've lost something or left behind a couple dozen colorful eggs, you might want to stop by the park office.


Music Association: John Newton - Amazing Grace  
“I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”






floppy bunny
cheeky reddish bunny

Music Association: Jefferson Airplane - Somebunny To Love







Hello, I'm glad to see--
Oh, You Need A Hug!
April 11, 2014
Hello......... oh, you need a hug!




bai5

Beverage Reviewbai5 Brasilia Blueberry

What I'm Drinking Now

March 28, 2014

I drink a lot of water. Water is good.

That, plus my memory, means I can think of a part of the country and remember what the water tastes like. Sometime I'll bore you with that description.

Today I bought a bottle of flavored water. It's new. It's called bai5.

Imagine watching yeast munching on glucose and (let's say) spitting out a liquid. Then you lick it. What you licked was erythritol, a sugar alcohol. What does it taste like? Kind of like bai5, I think, because there is a sweetness without being sweet.

Erythritol is the second ingredient in bai5 after filtered water.

I'm not a fan of artificial sweeteners. Don't get me started on HFCS.

Erythritol was discovered in 1848. It occurs naturally in some fruits (grapes, pears) and fermented foods. It doesn't cause tooth decay. It doesn't affect blood sugar, and it is only partially absorbed by the body.

Not that it can really be called natural. A recent Cargill case drew a line in the granulated erythritol about how natural it is.

Look at the bottle on the right. See where it says 100% Natural? My bottle doesn't say that. It says, "Naturally sweetened."

Still, it tastes pretty good, except that's not my memory talking.

I'm still tasting it.


Music Associations: Bob Seger - Still The Same & The Archies - Sugar












TV Review
Marvelous Advertising
March 22, 2014

ABC is owned by Disney which owns Marvel. So last Thursday night there was this hour long advertisement for Marvel Studios on ABC instead of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. Normally I don't watch TV or commercials, but I watched ridiculed the show.

Here were the messages:
1. We are a little studio with big plans. Yes, you are a mouse-sized studio, and the mouse's name is Mickey.

2.  Avengers is the center of the Marvel Studios plans. Iron Man is big. But people should really see our Captain America and Thor movies too because they are all tied together like comic book crossovers.

3.  Never mind that Marvel licensed away the movie rights to big chunks of their universe:
     •     X-Men, Fantastic 4, Daredevil, and related characters are at Fox.
     •     Spider-man and related characters are at Sony.
     •     Hulk had previously been at Universal, but Hulk movies tanked big time, so Universal was happy to sell him back.

4.  That's why you should see our movies but wouldn't it be cool if a really good Justice League movie were made?

Marvel


Music Association:  Five For Fighting - It's Not Easy









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