Dave Berry is on vacation but before he left he got oodles of people to become Freemont and send bad poetry about the dog ate mother's toes to the poetry contest website.
A Sad Day
i am sad, so very sad,
the tears run down my nose
it was a happy day until
the dog ate mother's toes
Anything else - Gigli looks like the kind of bad movie I usually like, a guilty pleasure. Seabiscuit is supposed to be real good.
I've read two fantastic SF novels recently, The Truth Machine and The First Immortal. These are almost mainstream but generally very good except for the standard bad job of forecasting timing. The First Immortal mentions several things from the first book but can be read independently.
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Thursday, July 17, 2003
This and That
Some problems with Google mentioned in Digging for Googleholes.
1. If you're searching for something that can be sold online, Google's top results skew very heavily toward stores, and away from general information.
2. Categories that don't have central, well-known sites devoted to them will fare poorly when they share a keyword with other categories - Apple computer or apples?
3. Books aren't online, articles are which slants research/ Similarly sites that block links to archives lose authority.
There was a study in Pasadena on library usage. The results were that just among people with library cards the library returns more value than the taxes paid for it. To the tune of $1.20 in benefits for every tax dollar they invest. This understates the value because of non-card holder benefits and the value of attributes without a direct immediate monetary value.
It's nice going into Houston just to talk to some normal people who can't stand Bush. I went to a Democratic Meetup at Taco Milagro. There are book meetups and clubs I go to as well.
Some problems with Google mentioned in Digging for Googleholes.
1. If you're searching for something that can be sold online, Google's top results skew very heavily toward stores, and away from general information.
2. Categories that don't have central, well-known sites devoted to them will fare poorly when they share a keyword with other categories - Apple computer or apples?
3. Books aren't online, articles are which slants research/ Similarly sites that block links to archives lose authority.
There was a study in Pasadena on library usage. The results were that just among people with library cards the library returns more value than the taxes paid for it. To the tune of $1.20 in benefits for every tax dollar they invest. This understates the value because of non-card holder benefits and the value of attributes without a direct immediate monetary value.
It's nice going into Houston just to talk to some normal people who can't stand Bush. I went to a Democratic Meetup at Taco Milagro. There are book meetups and clubs I go to as well.
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Me and Dean Recently.
From an email about me: Here is a recap from Gary Denton about his July 4th effort in Pasadena. He did it on the spur of the moment with almost no organizational assistance. This is excellent initiative that I welcome from everyone, although please let me know what is going on. Missteps come all to easily. Read his report.
You can tell from Gary's report that numerous problems came up. Pay attention: Mr. Murphy (the one who created Murphy's Law) rides in every campaign truck. Note that Gary did not let problems stop him. Perseverance pays off.
Dale Napier
Subject: Recap: Pasadena Fairgrounds July 4th
Janette Sexton and I were at the Pasadena July 4th / Family Day celebration from 12:45 to 8:45. Fair opened at 2:00. We decided to leave while it was still light enough to see when putting the canopy and stuff away. The canopy purchased earlier at Academy because it looked like an easy setup wasn't, it took four people, two of them vendors with lots of experience with canopies, over an hour in the rain. We eventually found solutions and thanked the Republicans. We marked it for easier set-up next time - hopefully with four volunteers. After the downpour that opened the Festival the weather gradually improved but with intermittent rain which kept the crowd below expectations.
We only sold one sticker but gave away more than 80 handouts - nearly all from the three doublesided position papers.
With few coming to the booth we approached people walking by the booth. "Are you registered to vote?" If no, I explained I would give them a voter's registration card but the library, post office and county clerk's location where I registered my car did not have any forms yesterday. By the way, a number of people complained of getting a new driver's license and they don't know if they are registered because they were never sent anything. I said they should have been sent a card but with the Republicans in charge now they seem not that interested in registering new voters.
"Are you a Republican or a Democrat or does it depend?" If Republican I said I was educating people about a Democrat running for President who would balance the budget and improve the economy and mentioned the debt tax all taxpayers and children will pay.
If 'it depends' I give handouts and explained Dean's fiscally conservative but socially progressive platform.
If Democrat I explain that Dean has the most volunteers, is raising the most money and seems best organized and would they like to sign the petition or volunteer or just collect more information for now.
This evolved over time as well as my deciding to approach more blacks and Hispanics. It rained a lot, when it was not raining it was good. Minor incident when my car key battery went dead and my alarm wouldn't turn off for a good while.
A lot of GOP there, but Democrats and uncommitted as well.
Comments:
One person said Dean was"un-American."
Republicans don't have an answer for the economy or the budget except that it is not Bush's fault.
Two women with a little girl were surprised to see a Dean booth in Bush country Texas, Pasadena even,
which had a small KKK storefront twenty years ago. She took a couple of brochures but said she would download most of the other material and photographs. She was very impressed when I said nothing existed yesterday morning except the bumperstickers (I forgot the large signs which I had laminated), everything else had been downloaded or emailed and then run off or produced at Kinko's.
...
Last Sunday I was at a fund raiser for Dean instead of my family reunion. I missed the chance for a photograph with him or to shake his hand as I was helping a woman who was donating $1350. I also wanted a chance to talk more about mapping software with the staff but never had a good time.
Interesting what Dean said about gay civil unions. When he signed the bill six months before the election there was a storm of very loud protest. It seemed like nearly all the ministers and bishops denounced him and long time supporters called up to yell and complain. Yet he won the election despite that. Now, two years later even before the Supreme Court validated his position nobody mentions it in Vermont. It is hard to sustain a cause that just says I don't think these people should have the same rights I do.
Normally this would be in my liberal news digest but this seemed more about me.
From an email about me: Here is a recap from Gary Denton about his July 4th effort in Pasadena. He did it on the spur of the moment with almost no organizational assistance. This is excellent initiative that I welcome from everyone, although please let me know what is going on. Missteps come all to easily. Read his report.
You can tell from Gary's report that numerous problems came up. Pay attention: Mr. Murphy (the one who created Murphy's Law) rides in every campaign truck. Note that Gary did not let problems stop him. Perseverance pays off.
Dale Napier
Subject: Recap: Pasadena Fairgrounds July 4th
Janette Sexton and I were at the Pasadena July 4th / Family Day celebration from 12:45 to 8:45. Fair opened at 2:00. We decided to leave while it was still light enough to see when putting the canopy and stuff away. The canopy purchased earlier at Academy because it looked like an easy setup wasn't, it took four people, two of them vendors with lots of experience with canopies, over an hour in the rain. We eventually found solutions and thanked the Republicans. We marked it for easier set-up next time - hopefully with four volunteers. After the downpour that opened the Festival the weather gradually improved but with intermittent rain which kept the crowd below expectations.
We only sold one sticker but gave away more than 80 handouts - nearly all from the three doublesided position papers.
With few coming to the booth we approached people walking by the booth. "Are you registered to vote?" If no, I explained I would give them a voter's registration card but the library, post office and county clerk's location where I registered my car did not have any forms yesterday. By the way, a number of people complained of getting a new driver's license and they don't know if they are registered because they were never sent anything. I said they should have been sent a card but with the Republicans in charge now they seem not that interested in registering new voters.
"Are you a Republican or a Democrat or does it depend?" If Republican I said I was educating people about a Democrat running for President who would balance the budget and improve the economy and mentioned the debt tax all taxpayers and children will pay.
If 'it depends' I give handouts and explained Dean's fiscally conservative but socially progressive platform.
If Democrat I explain that Dean has the most volunteers, is raising the most money and seems best organized and would they like to sign the petition or volunteer or just collect more information for now.
This evolved over time as well as my deciding to approach more blacks and Hispanics. It rained a lot, when it was not raining it was good. Minor incident when my car key battery went dead and my alarm wouldn't turn off for a good while.
A lot of GOP there, but Democrats and uncommitted as well.
Comments:
One person said Dean was"un-American."
Republicans don't have an answer for the economy or the budget except that it is not Bush's fault.
Two women with a little girl were surprised to see a Dean booth in Bush country Texas, Pasadena even,
which had a small KKK storefront twenty years ago. She took a couple of brochures but said she would download most of the other material and photographs. She was very impressed when I said nothing existed yesterday morning except the bumperstickers (I forgot the large signs which I had laminated), everything else had been downloaded or emailed and then run off or produced at Kinko's.
...
Last Sunday I was at a fund raiser for Dean instead of my family reunion. I missed the chance for a photograph with him or to shake his hand as I was helping a woman who was donating $1350. I also wanted a chance to talk more about mapping software with the staff but never had a good time.
Interesting what Dean said about gay civil unions. When he signed the bill six months before the election there was a storm of very loud protest. It seemed like nearly all the ministers and bishops denounced him and long time supporters called up to yell and complain. Yet he won the election despite that. Now, two years later even before the Supreme Court validated his position nobody mentions it in Vermont. It is hard to sustain a cause that just says I don't think these people should have the same rights I do.
Normally this would be in my liberal news digest but this seemed more about me.
Marriage and Age Reduce Genius
Creative genius and crime express themselves early in men but both are turned off almost like a tap if a man gets married and has children, a study says.
Satoshi Kanazawa, a psychologist at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, compiled a database of the biographies of 280 great scientists, noting their age at the time when they made their greatest work.
The data remarkably concur with the brutal observation made by Albert Einstein, who wrote in 1942: "A person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so."
"Scientific productivity indeed fades with age," Dr Kanazawa says.
"Two-thirds (of all scientists) will have made their most significant contributions before their mid-30s."
But, regardless of age, the great minds who married virtually kissed goodbye to making any further glorious additions to their CV.
Within five years of making their nuptial vows, nearly a quarter of married scientists had made their last significant contribution to history's hall of fame.
Creative genius and crime express themselves early in men but both are turned off almost like a tap if a man gets married and has children, a study says.
Satoshi Kanazawa, a psychologist at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, compiled a database of the biographies of 280 great scientists, noting their age at the time when they made their greatest work.
The data remarkably concur with the brutal observation made by Albert Einstein, who wrote in 1942: "A person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so."
"Scientific productivity indeed fades with age," Dr Kanazawa says.
"Two-thirds (of all scientists) will have made their most significant contributions before their mid-30s."
But, regardless of age, the great minds who married virtually kissed goodbye to making any further glorious additions to their CV.
Within five years of making their nuptial vows, nearly a quarter of married scientists had made their last significant contribution to history's hall of fame.
Hurricane Claudette II
After picking up speed and spinning into a hurricane overnight, Claudette made landfall over Matagorda today, flooding houses and peeling off roofs before lapsing back into a tropical storm.
Historic buildings crumbled in Port Lavaca, and homes collapsed in Surfside. Large swaths of Galveston's westside beaches were swept to sea, stranded beach residents who tried to stick it out in Bolivar asked the Coast Guard to help them evacuate, and shrimpers had to be rescued off Sabine Pass. Trees were blown over as far south as El Campo and as far north as Houston.
Claudette's eye swept across the Matagorda Peninsula with at least 80 mph winds before noon, and the National Weather Service passed on unconfirmed reports of sustained winds of 94 mph and a gust of 104 mph at Point Comfort as Claudette made landfall.
See also Weather Underground Tropics and the naval research laboratory tropical cyclone pages.
After picking up speed and spinning into a hurricane overnight, Claudette made landfall over Matagorda today, flooding houses and peeling off roofs before lapsing back into a tropical storm.
Historic buildings crumbled in Port Lavaca, and homes collapsed in Surfside. Large swaths of Galveston's westside beaches were swept to sea, stranded beach residents who tried to stick it out in Bolivar asked the Coast Guard to help them evacuate, and shrimpers had to be rescued off Sabine Pass. Trees were blown over as far south as El Campo and as far north as Houston.
Claudette's eye swept across the Matagorda Peninsula with at least 80 mph winds before noon, and the National Weather Service passed on unconfirmed reports of sustained winds of 94 mph and a gust of 104 mph at Point Comfort as Claudette made landfall.
See also Weather Underground Tropics and the naval research laboratory tropical cyclone pages.
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Spirited Away
Salon, worth paying for.
Wizard of light and shadow
At last American audiences are being spirited away by the wondrous and subtle visions of Hayao Miyazaki. He's more than an eccentric Japanese fabulist -- he's the greatest animator the movies have ever seen.
I mention this because I have three of his fine family films on DVD.
Spirited Away - "Chihiro, a little girl trying to rescue her parents from a spell that has turned them into pigs." This holds the record for the biggest grossing film in Japan.
Kiki's Delivery Service - "She's the Mary Tyler Moore of 13-year-old witches."
Castle in the Sky - Indiana-Jones-style exploits as a young Welsh orphan tries to help a girl who fell overboard from a huge, zeppelin-like airship and is pursued by pirates.
I am anxiously awaiting when they will finally release "Porco Rosso", my favorite animated film. This last is about an enchanted Italian naval aviator set in the 1930's.
Next summer Disney will release his adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones' children's fantasy novel "Howl's Moving Castle."
Salon, worth paying for.
Wizard of light and shadow
At last American audiences are being spirited away by the wondrous and subtle visions of Hayao Miyazaki. He's more than an eccentric Japanese fabulist -- he's the greatest animator the movies have ever seen.
I mention this because I have three of his fine family films on DVD.
Spirited Away - "Chihiro, a little girl trying to rescue her parents from a spell that has turned them into pigs." This holds the record for the biggest grossing film in Japan.
Kiki's Delivery Service - "She's the Mary Tyler Moore of 13-year-old witches."
Castle in the Sky - Indiana-Jones-style exploits as a young Welsh orphan tries to help a girl who fell overboard from a huge, zeppelin-like airship and is pursued by pirates.
I am anxiously awaiting when they will finally release "Porco Rosso", my favorite animated film. This last is about an enchanted Italian naval aviator set in the 1930's.
Next summer Disney will release his adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones' children's fantasy novel "Howl's Moving Castle."
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
Franks - home of some of the best breakfasts I've ever had is reviewed by Robb Walsh.
Frank's Grill
Details: Steak and eggs: $6.50
Chicken-fried steak and eggs: $4.90
Two eggs with bacon or sausage: $3.95
Three pancakes with bacon or sausage: $3.05
Belgian waffle with bacon or sausage: $2.95
SOS: $3.50
Hamburger: $2.50
Where: 4702 Telephone Road, 713-649-3296.
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 5 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Chicken-fried steak and eggs over easy is my strategic breakfast choice. Frank's CFS, which is served on a separate plate, is the extra-crunchy crumb-coated variety. It's served with very plain white cream gravy over top. I slice off a large wedge of the breaded meat patty and transfer it to the plate with my eggs and grits. I've also asked for grilled biscuits in lieu of toast. This special biscuit treatment is available only before 8 a.m. Frank's biscuits are very tall and a little dry and doughy in the middle, so griddle-toasting the half-biscuits with butter improves them dramatically. Like a conductor tapping his baton, I shake the Tabasco bottle preliminarily a few times over the breakfast ensemble. Then I begin composing forkfuls. Runny yellow egg yolks combine rhapsodically with different combinations of fluffy grits, crunchy CFS in cream gravy, and toasted biscuits. It's a lot of food, but if you're going to eat a big meal, you might as well do it while it's cool outside.
My dining companion, who has a sweet tooth, has opted for buttered Belgian waffles with bacon. The waffles are thick and crunchy and absorb every drop of syrup. It's a pleasant breakfast dish, though not in the same league with Frank's serious egg-and-meat combos.
Frank's offers a choice of grits or hash browns, or half and half if you can't make up your mind. My breakfast companion was thrilled to discover that the hash browns were gently crisped and remarkably grease-free. I was thinking they were too grease-free before she made that observation.
My tablemate giggled to find SOS on the list of side orders. "When's the last time you saw that on a menu?" she asked. "My dad loved that stuff. My mom used to make it for him sometimes when I was a little kid," she said. I seem to remember my mom attempting to re-create that boot-camp delicacy for my father as well. SOS, "shit on a shingle," was once common in military mess halls. It was officially known as creamed chipped beef on toast. If you've ever seen the brown gooey stewed meat on a toasted bread slice, it's easy to understand the creative moniker. But despite the revolting name, many military retirees found themselves craving the stuff.
Unfortunately for veterans, the SOS at Frank's is just a name for biscuits and gravy, which is made here by mixing sausage chunks with the bland cream gravy and pouring it over split biscuits.
A stack of three fluffy pancakes made up for the floury biscuits. The high-rising hotcakes were light and airy, with none of that dense cake texture that can make a short stack feel like a lead weight in your stomach. The bacon was sliced thick, cooked just crisp enough and spread flat with a bacon press.
While everything at Frank's Grill wasn't perfect on that first visit, we developed an immediate affection for the place. It's pretty easy to predict that I'm going to love a funky joint with lots of great food. But I was surprised that my picky friend was enthusiastic, too. Old diners that I love, like the Triple A on Airline, she finds depressing. So why did she like Frank's?
"There's a difference between cheery tacky and hang-yourself-in-the-ladies'-room tacky," she said cryptically. "This place is fun tacky."
I wish Houston businesses would adopt the four-hour lunch break so we could all eat hearty and nap in the heat of the day. But until that happens, the Marlin Roberts summer [Big] breakfast strategy [and skip lunch] is a great way to keep from falling asleep at the wheel.
Huge amounts, cooked while you watch in an extreme old-fashioned diner with a very mixed crowd.
Frank's Grill
Details: Steak and eggs: $6.50
Chicken-fried steak and eggs: $4.90
Two eggs with bacon or sausage: $3.95
Three pancakes with bacon or sausage: $3.05
Belgian waffle with bacon or sausage: $2.95
SOS: $3.50
Hamburger: $2.50
Where: 4702 Telephone Road, 713-649-3296.
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 5 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Chicken-fried steak and eggs over easy is my strategic breakfast choice. Frank's CFS, which is served on a separate plate, is the extra-crunchy crumb-coated variety. It's served with very plain white cream gravy over top. I slice off a large wedge of the breaded meat patty and transfer it to the plate with my eggs and grits. I've also asked for grilled biscuits in lieu of toast. This special biscuit treatment is available only before 8 a.m. Frank's biscuits are very tall and a little dry and doughy in the middle, so griddle-toasting the half-biscuits with butter improves them dramatically. Like a conductor tapping his baton, I shake the Tabasco bottle preliminarily a few times over the breakfast ensemble. Then I begin composing forkfuls. Runny yellow egg yolks combine rhapsodically with different combinations of fluffy grits, crunchy CFS in cream gravy, and toasted biscuits. It's a lot of food, but if you're going to eat a big meal, you might as well do it while it's cool outside.
My dining companion, who has a sweet tooth, has opted for buttered Belgian waffles with bacon. The waffles are thick and crunchy and absorb every drop of syrup. It's a pleasant breakfast dish, though not in the same league with Frank's serious egg-and-meat combos.
Frank's offers a choice of grits or hash browns, or half and half if you can't make up your mind. My breakfast companion was thrilled to discover that the hash browns were gently crisped and remarkably grease-free. I was thinking they were too grease-free before she made that observation.
My tablemate giggled to find SOS on the list of side orders. "When's the last time you saw that on a menu?" she asked. "My dad loved that stuff. My mom used to make it for him sometimes when I was a little kid," she said. I seem to remember my mom attempting to re-create that boot-camp delicacy for my father as well. SOS, "shit on a shingle," was once common in military mess halls. It was officially known as creamed chipped beef on toast. If you've ever seen the brown gooey stewed meat on a toasted bread slice, it's easy to understand the creative moniker. But despite the revolting name, many military retirees found themselves craving the stuff.
Unfortunately for veterans, the SOS at Frank's is just a name for biscuits and gravy, which is made here by mixing sausage chunks with the bland cream gravy and pouring it over split biscuits.
A stack of three fluffy pancakes made up for the floury biscuits. The high-rising hotcakes were light and airy, with none of that dense cake texture that can make a short stack feel like a lead weight in your stomach. The bacon was sliced thick, cooked just crisp enough and spread flat with a bacon press.
While everything at Frank's Grill wasn't perfect on that first visit, we developed an immediate affection for the place. It's pretty easy to predict that I'm going to love a funky joint with lots of great food. But I was surprised that my picky friend was enthusiastic, too. Old diners that I love, like the Triple A on Airline, she finds depressing. So why did she like Frank's?
"There's a difference between cheery tacky and hang-yourself-in-the-ladies'-room tacky," she said cryptically. "This place is fun tacky."
I wish Houston businesses would adopt the four-hour lunch break so we could all eat hearty and nap in the heat of the day. But until that happens, the Marlin Roberts summer [Big] breakfast strategy [and skip lunch] is a great way to keep from falling asleep at the wheel.
Huge amounts, cooked while you watch in an extreme old-fashioned diner with a very mixed crowd.
I should be here and here and...
July 8th Tonight
Central Market Cafe, 3815 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX
on Tuesday, July 8 @ 7:00PM
http://bookcrossing.meetup.com/
http://www.bookcrossing.com/
JULY 9th, 7-10 PM (Wed.)
- First run of the card game 1000 Blank White Cards. Curious? Then join us at Kenny J's Coffeehouse (Nasa Rd. 1 near Clear Lake Park).
Thursday, July 10, 07:00 PM
SE Texas Regional Organizing Meeting
Schlotzsky's, 2929 Kirby
State Coordinator Glen Maxey will visit from Austin to help us review Phase 1 of the campaign, and prepare for the next 3 phases through the state convention.
and a movie Saturday and Church Sunday and I need to go back up to Conroe soon.
July 8th Tonight
Central Market Cafe, 3815 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX
on Tuesday, July 8 @ 7:00PM
http://bookcrossing.meetup.com/
http://www.bookcrossing.com/
JULY 9th, 7-10 PM (Wed.)
- First run of the card game 1000 Blank White Cards. Curious? Then join us at Kenny J's Coffeehouse (Nasa Rd. 1 near Clear Lake Park).
Thursday, July 10, 07:00 PM
SE Texas Regional Organizing Meeting
Schlotzsky's, 2929 Kirby
State Coordinator Glen Maxey will visit from Austin to help us review Phase 1 of the campaign, and prepare for the next 3 phases through the state convention.
and a movie Saturday and Church Sunday and I need to go back up to Conroe soon.
Water causes roof collapse at local steakhouse
Three people suffered minor injuries when the roof caved in at the Texas Land & Cattle Steak House, near the Gulf Freeway and Beltway 8 about 12:30 p.m. None of those hurt required transport to a hospital by ambulance.
The roof first fell about five feet into the building, but all occupants escaped before it caved in completely.
Water began leaking from the light fixtures just before the collapse, said Russell Childs, who was making a financial management presentation to about 45 people -- many of them senior citizens -- in the restaurant's meeting room, where most of the damage was centered.
"One leak started, then two, then three. We were trying to move the computer equipment and projector, then the roof came down. It was a deep boom," Childs said.
This had been always a possibility for a CLSFBook group meeting but we decided it sounded too expensive. It has been raining a lot lately. The building was pretty new and there are a lot more new places around there opening.
Three people suffered minor injuries when the roof caved in at the Texas Land & Cattle Steak House, near the Gulf Freeway and Beltway 8 about 12:30 p.m. None of those hurt required transport to a hospital by ambulance.
The roof first fell about five feet into the building, but all occupants escaped before it caved in completely.
Water began leaking from the light fixtures just before the collapse, said Russell Childs, who was making a financial management presentation to about 45 people -- many of them senior citizens -- in the restaurant's meeting room, where most of the damage was centered.
"One leak started, then two, then three. We were trying to move the computer equipment and projector, then the roof came down. It was a deep boom," Childs said.
This had been always a possibility for a CLSFBook group meeting but we decided it sounded too expensive. It has been raining a lot lately. The building was pretty new and there are a lot more new places around there opening.
Shuttle wing breach had happened before
Superheated gases breached the left wing of shuttle Atlantis during its fiery return to earth in hauntingly similar fashion to the demise of Columbia nearly three years later, according to internal NASA documents.
Unlike Columbia, Atlantis suffered no irreparable damage during the May 2000 episode and, after repairs, returned to flight just four months later. NASA ordered fleetwide changes in how employees install protective wing panels and sealant materials.
Engineers found the damage on Atlantis while investigating the mystery of a partially melted insulating tile. Removing two protective wing panels nearby and peering inside the wing structure, they determined the dislodged seal had created "a substantial flow path," according to NASA's internal reports. The gap measured just over one-quarter inch, about the width of a paperclip or a No. 2 pencil.
The protective panels, insulators and other hardware inside the left wing "shows various signs of overheating," NASA reported. Photographs showed charred and scorched components, including parts made from titanium and inconel, two of the most heat-resistant materials on the shuttle. Titanium melts about 3,000 degrees; inconel melts about 2,550 degrees.
Investigators examining Columbia's breakup remain uncertain over the size of the gap that permitted hot gases to penetrate that shuttle's wing. But they believe it was as small as a one-inch slit running vertically up the wing for nearly 30 inches. In a test Monday, a chunk of foam blew open a dramatic 16-inch hole in parts of a mock-up of a shuttle wing.
Superheated gases breached the left wing of shuttle Atlantis during its fiery return to earth in hauntingly similar fashion to the demise of Columbia nearly three years later, according to internal NASA documents.
Unlike Columbia, Atlantis suffered no irreparable damage during the May 2000 episode and, after repairs, returned to flight just four months later. NASA ordered fleetwide changes in how employees install protective wing panels and sealant materials.
Engineers found the damage on Atlantis while investigating the mystery of a partially melted insulating tile. Removing two protective wing panels nearby and peering inside the wing structure, they determined the dislodged seal had created "a substantial flow path," according to NASA's internal reports. The gap measured just over one-quarter inch, about the width of a paperclip or a No. 2 pencil.
The protective panels, insulators and other hardware inside the left wing "shows various signs of overheating," NASA reported. Photographs showed charred and scorched components, including parts made from titanium and inconel, two of the most heat-resistant materials on the shuttle. Titanium melts about 3,000 degrees; inconel melts about 2,550 degrees.
Investigators examining Columbia's breakup remain uncertain over the size of the gap that permitted hot gases to penetrate that shuttle's wing. But they believe it was as small as a one-inch slit running vertically up the wing for nearly 30 inches. In a test Monday, a chunk of foam blew open a dramatic 16-inch hole in parts of a mock-up of a shuttle wing.
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