- The idea of a space harpoon just SOUNDS cool. Using one to
deal with a growing problem lurking in outer space is even better. On the
surface, the concept of harpooning space junk sounds like a bad sci-fi movie
script, but this unique concept is actually one of many options being discussed by
scientists at a forum in Germany this week. Engineer Jaime Reed, who is leading
the harpoon project for the space technology company Astrium, believes the
space harpoon is a cost-effective way of dealing with debris littering low
earth orbit. "There's a lot of space debris -- 6,000 tons in orbit -- that
could pose a threat," Reed said. "Perhaps unwittingly, the average
person relies a lot on space – GPS in their phones, telecoms, TV, weather
forecasts -- they are things people expect to have.” Floating space debris
threatens commercial operations on a daily basis and if a rogue satellite hits
another, not only does it ruin the mission, but the collision creates even more
space debris. Such an occurrence is often called the Kessler Syndrome, named
after NASA's Don Kessler who first highlighted the risk. "Space debris could very easily take out
some of those satellites -- it
would have a real impact on people's lives,” Reed added. Astrium's plan is to
take down defunct satellites by using unmanned chase spacecraft to get in
range, then fire a barbed harpoon
into the body of the rogue hardware and then use a smaller propulsion unit attached to a tether to tow it back towards the atmosphere. The inoperable
satellite would then burn up safely on reentry. "Because the harpoon we
are using is very light and the chase satellite more than a ton, momentum is
very tiny...it's a small recoil," Reed explained. His company has tested
the harpoon system a laboratory in the United Kingdom and based on those tests,
Reed projects that the system could tackle 10 targets per mission and believes that
if five to 10 objects were removed each year then that would "stabilize
the debris population.” In other words, ready the harpoon…….
- The weekend box office was plunged into a state of
“Oblivion” for the just-completed frame as Tom Cruise climbed back to the top
of the earnings list with his new film. “Oblivion” claimed the top spot and
while it didn’t set any records, a $38.1 million opening is respectable. Last
week’s top movie, “42,” dropped one spot to rank second and brought in $18
million to up its two-week domestic total to $54.1 million. “The Croods” landed
in third place with $9.5 million and after five productive weeks in theaters,
it has banked $155 million and counting in the U.S. “Scary Movie 5” was next up
in fourth place, raking in $6.3 million and raising its cumulative tally to a
mediocre $23 million. The fifth spot on the list belonged to “G.I.
Joe: Retaliation” with $5.8 million, a movie that has fallen fast in its first
month of release but nonetheless earned $111.2 million overall to approach the
break-even point against its $130 million budget. Critical darling “The Place
Beyond the Pines” finished sixth, making $4.8 million, good for sixth place and
a four-week, limited-release total of $11.4 million. “Olympus Has Fallen”
didn’t fall at all, remaining in seventh place on the strength of a $4.5
million effort. Through five weeks, “Olympus” has brought in a solid $88.8
million and counting. “Evil Dead” scared its way to $4.1 million in its third
week of release and its total earnings stand at $48.4 million against a $17
million budget. The shameless cash grab that is “Jurassic Park 3D” churned out
$4 million to buoy its three-week bank roll to $38.5 million and claim ninth
place. “Oz The Great and Powerful” rounded out the top 10 with $3 million, good
for a seven-week total of $223.7 million. “Tyler Perry's Temptation:
Confessions of a Marriage Counselor” (mercifully down to No. 11) fell
out from last weekend’s top 10……
- Duuuuuude, totally not cool. On the first Stoner Christmas
following the state of Colorado’s legalization of marijuana, the last thing the
state’s stoner community needed was a major pothead gathering turning into a
violence scene that could be replayed on television over and over and serve as
ammunition for all of the hippie lettuce haters out there. Yet that is exactly
what happened at
a Denver pot celebration Saturday, with gunfire erupting and leaving two people
injured while others frantically rushed to get away from the downtown park
where they had gathered. One man and one woman were shot, but were expected to
survive. Police continue to search for one or two suspects, according to Denver
Police spokesman Sonny Jackson. Witnesses described a scene in which potheads
of all ages, races and nationalities gathered to toke it up, only to have the
mellow atmosphere turn panicked just before 5 p.m. Initially, some of the
gathered potheads mistakenly thought firecrackers were being set off, which
makes sense because stoners rarely perceive reality in an accurate fashion. Witness
Travis Craig said he used a belt to apply a tourniquet to the male shooting
victim’s leg and recalled that “the cops showed up real quick, like, less than
a minute. They put him on ambulance and left.” No official estimate was given,
but the pot rally was expected to draw as many as 80,000 people to commemorate
the first 4/20 since Colorado and Washington made marijuana legal for recreational
use. Police on motorcycles and horses monitored the rally, but officers didn't
arrest people for smoking in public and DPD officials said earlier in the week
that they were focused on crowd security in light of attacks earlier in the
week at the Boston Marathon. Other witnesses reported hearing four or five
shots and seeing a man running through the crowd after the shots were fired. Rapper
Lil' Flip was performing when the shootings occurred, looking to continue a day
filled with rap, reggae and the smell of chron wafting through the Mile High
air. Instead, one idiot with a gun had to ruin it for everyone……..
- Keep being ridiculous, soccer. There may not be any riots,
attempts to burn down a stadium or city over the result of a match or lit road
flares hurled at players from the stands on this day, but that doesn’t mean the
“beautiful game” is not every bit as absurd today as it has ever been. Thank Uruguayan
madman/Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, who punctuated Sunday's 2-2 draw against
Chelsea in the English Premier League by biting the arm of Chelsea defender
Branislav Ivanovic. Suarez has gained a deserved reputation as something of a
serial biter and served a seven-game suspension for a bite during a Dutch
league match in 2010. His chomp-down on Sunday came after he was foiled by
Ivanovic as he attempted to kick the ball between the center back's legs in the
penalty area. The ball ricocheted toward the edge of the area and rather than
give chase or try to make another play, Suarez could be seen on replays biting
into Ivanovic's jersey at the top of the right arm. To his credit (and perhaps
confirming he has already received his rabies shot for the year), Ivanovic
shrugged off Suarez and pleaded with referee Kevin Friend for a red card, but
Friend didn't see the incident and didn't speak to Suarez. "We will review
it, and we will comment after that," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers
said. "Until we review it, we can't comment on it." Suarez was banned
for seven matches in November 2010, for biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal
while playing in the Dutch league and since then, he has rocked the nickname
"Cannibal of Ajax." The true beauty of Suarez is that he doesn’t only
commit reprehensible acts; he also says offensive and terrible things to
others. For example, he was suspended for eight games in December 2011 for
making racist insults to Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during a
Premier League match. What’s mildly sad about his nonstop idiocy is that he
does have major talent on the pitch and on Sunday, his goal in the seventh minute
of injury time -- one more that initially signaled -- gave Chelsea the draw.
Amidst his assaults and racism, Suarez leads the Premier League with 23 goals
and has 30 overall this season………
- Nothing is official yet, but a war-torn region took a
significant step forward Sunday when Serbia's ruling parties pledged Sunday to support
a landmark agreement to normalize relations with former province Kosovo. If put
into effect, the agreement could bring a long-awaited conclusion to years of
tensions and put both states on a path to European Union membership. Kosovo declared
independence in 2008 as it nationalists positioned it as the medieval genesis
of the Serbian state and religion, but Belgrade has pledged never to recognize
the secession. EU leaders stepped in and brokered the tentative deal in
Brussels on Friday in talks with the prime ministers of Serbia and Kosovo.
Under the terms of the agreement, Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership would
have authority over rebel Kosovo Serbs. In exchange, the minority Serbs would receive
wide autonomy within Kosovo. For now, the agreement is tentative because the
Serbian and Kosovo governments and their parliaments must approve it. However,
even striking an accord seemed unlikely during the past few months of tense
negotiations between the two premiers. Leaders of both main ruling parties in
Serbia promised on Sunday to support the tentative agreement at a government
session scheduled for Monday. A Serbian parliamentary session to debate the
deal will take place later in the week. Serb nationalists are clearly not fans
of the agreement and their immediate outrage has led to plans for major street
protests. Several hundred far-right protesters got an early start on the
dissidence Sunday, marching in Belgrade and chanting "treason, treason,”
while demanding the ouster of the government. Serbian Progressive Party leader
and deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic refused to rule out a referendum on
the proposed deal if there is no national consensus on how Serbia should deal
with Kosovo. One area that would be significantly affected by the deal is the
north of Kosovo, which is inhabited predominantly by ethnic Serbs. The
agreement would allow Serbs to police and manage in exchange for nominal
recognition of the authority of the Kosovo government. There is a long road
still to walk, but Sunday was the biggest step forward in some time……..
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