Still Building the Dreamliner
Still Building the Dreamliner, originally uploaded by Craig Damlo.
Despite the image and title, this post is not about the 787 but is instead a rant (so fair warning). First, I will point out that those of us in the aerospace industry are not surprised at all with the delays that have plagued Boeing's 787. Almost all new aircraft are late and one with so many new technologies is bound to have problems in development. But I have to say that I'm happy to see that Boeing has not adopted the modern electronic/software ethos to push items out the door and update them later. We have all experienced getting new products that require updates out of the box before you can use them. This drives me insane. I could just imagine during the first commercial flight of a new airplane and the pilots would have to connect to the internet to update the firmware if they planned to use the landing gear because the aircraft manufacturer wasn't ready when they shipped the first plane.
Absolute Tyranny Over These Photographs
Don't bring your camera to capture your visit to "The Charters of Freedom" at the National Archive Building Rotunda. Recently, the National Archive and Records Administration (NARA) has banned photography and videography for personal use at the exhibits of the National Archives Experience (NAE), which include the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Now don't worry if you would like to take home a copy of the documents because the NARA has made all of them available on its site so everyone can have a copy. But, this overlooks the fact that most people take their pictures in front of the documents to document their visit to some of the most important documents in our country's history. The NARA states that it seeks "to ensure the necessary protection for the documents from the cumulative effects of photographic flash and to enhance the overall visitor experience."<1> Seems like it would be hard to argue with that line of reasoning, but I will.
Do I Need Anticarbon to Offset Carbon?
I know I've linked to Anthony Watts' blog before, but this one just wants me to ask people why are so stupid. Mind you, not Anthony Watts, but the people using carbon offsets. In this post Watts discusses a new kiosk at SFO that will sell travelers carbon offsets for their flights. And, if that isn't stupid enough, the kiosk is charging 60 times the market value for carbon offsets. Here is my question: How the hell do you offset carbon? Can I just give $50 to someone who was going to fly to SFO to not fly to SFO so then I've successfully offset my own carbon? That is insane—the carbon has already been released—unless someone is removing the actual carbon or forcing anticarbon onto it and destroying it. If not, the carbon is still there. If I was correct on just giving someone else $50 to not fly when I fly, then I am now selling carbon offsets to people who may commute to work. And, seeing as how I work from home and do not drive into an office, I can offset their carbon by working from home. So, with that being said, please send me two times fair market value for my carbon offsets.....end rant.
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