Equinox: Fri, Mar 20, 2026, 7:46 AM – Northern Hemisphere · Mountain Standard Time
Yes, the date has come and gone, and the weather in the Arizona highlands is predictably moist, with a dip in the thermometer. It might be the last evening freeze of the year. Maybe we will have snow today.
Today is Passover for you who celebrate and for you who don’t. It’s also April Fool’s Day for those of you who celebrate and those of you who don’t. And we’re in the middle of Holy Week for those of you who worship, etc., you take my point. If you’re in school and it’s your spring break, or if you have children and they’re on spring break, it’s a whole different thing.
Bullet Points:
** I didn’t know what a ‘dirt squirrel’ is. I guess it’s a Canadian term.
** We are told that journalism is about telling the truth. But the truth is not only about what is included. It is also about what is emphasized, what is minimized, and what defines the narrative.
** KC3, the monarch of the UK, and his queen have booked a state visit to Washington, DC, at the end of the month to restore the damaged special relationship. I’m sure they’ll have a splendid time, but as the British caliphate grows, the Old Blighty we all knew and loved is being replaced. Decline is managed. The Royal Army, Navy, and Air Force are too small to defend the home Islands, let alone project anything even into home territorial waters. The largest urban construction projects are minarets.
** The 177,000 signature threshold has now been passed, officially clearing the requirement for an Alberta independence referendum on October 19th. This is a historic moment for Alberta, and signature collection is still continuing.
** Jules has advice for your Easter feast and directions to an epic pub crawl that is likely to have you worshiping at the porcelain altar, tossing your cookies. (right)
** CDRSAL talks about what makes him happy. Ok, ONE of the things that makes him happy. I think that the difference between the US/Israel v Iran War and a war in the Pacific with China is that once we start going at it with Red China, it will go nuclear, and we will also likely introduce viruses. Total war. Do we need as many SMs and Harpoons if we’re lobbing Minuteman IIIs and Poseidon missiles with multiple independently targeted warheads hitting targets and flattening China as they do the same to us? There will be larger fifth column disruptions in the US than we’ve seen coming from Iran, despite the threat. Is that what China wants? It depends on who you talk to.
** Artemis II launches today for a mission around the Moon. It will be a historic 10-day mission that will carry four astronauts on a flyby around the Moon, marking the first crewed deep-space mission since 1972. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) capsule for NASA’s Artemis program. Lockheed Martin assembled the crew module and launch abort system and integrated the overall spacecraft, while Airbus Defense and Space manufactured the European Service Module (ESM). Artemis III will land on the Moon’s South Pole with an eye toward a permanent human settlement there. I have mixed feelings about the way we are going about all of it, but since nobody asked me, I’ll leave it there and wish the crew Godspeed.
** More dominoes drop in Iran. Iran’s Minister of Intelligence Esmaeil Khatib was killed overnight in a precision strike, a senior Israeli official told Fox. News.
End
Yes, Godspeed to the Artemis II crew. Lots of glitches on the road to tonite’s (probable) launch. Just bring them home in one piece. Let Space X carry us to the future moonbase-built with Boring Company machines?
Hungry Ghosts-blasted through it in 2 days between work, chores, etc. Twists and turns?
Understatement of the year. As big a twist as Frank Brandt’s encounter with alien intelligence was in the first book, there were 3 or 4 equally significant incidents in H-G.
Third book? Yes, PLEASE.
Also great news on the coming paperbacks.
Thank you so much for your comments on Hungry Ghosts. It’s difficult to know whether what I wrote and how I think that it reads ACTUALLY reads that way. Please review the story with glowing remarks. Amazon will promote my work if you promote my work in your comments. I have thoughts on the sequel, but have not begun to write it. Broken Toys was ACT 1, setting up the plot. Hungry Ghosts was ACT 2, refining the characters and revealing more of what was going on, ending with a stronger cliffhanger regarding the alien/human evolution. ACT 3 (working title) will attempt to wrap things up – and as you know, there are a number of things going on. The question of whether the aliens are benign or not, or simply working on their own obscure agenda, should weigh on your mind. ACT 3 – Jenny is pregnant too. How does “Weps” feel about that? There are different aliens coming, and what about the Chinese and their response to ALF 1-3? I haven’t started on ACT 3 yet but I’m obviously thinking about it.
Jules post is a jewel (pun intended, yet true)…the fun-vee for sure…as expected. “This pub crawl has been going for 27 years. And I’m not even sure if anyone has died, which is an absolute miracle.” -heh- We can’t do pub crawls (maybe ‘brawls’) like the Brits do in these towns that have managed to hold onto their traditions and charms ‘whilst’ (to use the Queen’s English) as London augers in.
***
Artemis !!: Just cool, and thought I heard PDJT was going to watch the launch, then do some critically important announcement afterwards. The man never sleeps, I believe that he feels this ‘Swan Song’ to give his all to America and American’s requires 24/7 110% effort as fast as possible. Maybe something on his further throwing down the NATO gauntlet on the Iran ‘conflict’ and how they are quickly running out of leader candidates. The Iran conflict not technically a war, Congress never declared nor, for nearly 50 years, have they ever acted against these crazies who want any targeted people dead. as 45 the Dems/Left railed that he needed to do something about Iran and their potential nukes, now he does and these same mental patients rail against him acting to save the world from Iran! These are not serious people, whereas PDJT is extremely serous, and his using the War Powers Act as afforded him as President is 100% correct.
***
Holy Week…time for heightened reflection and humble gratitude.
***
Snow stopped overnight, 65 deg to 32 deg with precip, last gasp of Winter (we hope…got stuff to do). Yet like clockwork, the sun is out and the moisture is always welcome. Trees will start greening, always a great time of year…and despite the Global Warming Chicken Little’s since 1929…here in the Rockies, Easter Sunrise Service still requires a parka and a short sermon so the breakfast fare doesn’t get too cold.
She’s not SURE whether people have died or not…
Happy Atheist Day.
Psalm 14
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
Life is supposed to be difficult. Figuring out the purpose of life is one of its purposes. The mystery isn’t supposed to be easy to solve. “God is dead.” – Nietzsche — “Nietzsche is dead.” – God.
I’ve had a bad feeling about this Artemis mission. I’m praying my feeling is unwarranted.
Me too.
I am also very concerned for the astronauts life. I saw the shuttle pieces in the morning sky before an early bike ride. I do not understand why we need any people in space other than delusional ego. I admire the space x process of many prototypes very fast and sky-net but I disagree with going back to moon or mars.
I think the risk is drones and AI stealing my money. I’ve had my credit card hacked 4 times this week. Got a new card and it was hacked before I ever used it with in 24 hours from a major card company. I am concerned about my 401k being stolen. I am not worried about someone else getting to mars first. Tom
Tom
There is probably nobody on that flight that knows how to use a sliderule. I think we have 4 passengers on the flights.
The biggest concern, per NASA, seems to be race and gender.
CDR Sal – Yes, we need to go on a war footing, across the board.
We need to about double the military budget, and simultaneously
vastly reduce the graft, corruption, and inefficiencies at DoW and
the tiny handful of remaining defense contractors. Unfortunately,
I doubt much will be done in those lines.
*
Artemis – Yes, it is cool to go. I just hope they don’t all die. Artemis
has been a disaster all through the program. NASA and the contractors
treated it as if it would never actually launch, and they could just use it
as a “boats and vacation homes fund”, forever. The sooner the Moon
missions are in the hands of SpaceX, the better.
– Kle.
Comment seen elsewhere – people who like to mess with other peoples’ minds think April Fool’s Day is for amateurs.
Pub crawls – has Jules ever run into Andy Capp?
I haven’t heard the name Andy Capp for ages!
Agreed
AndyCapp was a different eon.
Juan
Andy Capp and the Born Loser were my favorites to read along with B.C. and the Lockhorns. Miss the Sunday morning funnies.
The 177,000 signature threshold
The only certainty is it’s Trump’s fault. I hope the people in Alberta are successful. Between Canada becoming a China satrap and the embedded cartels, we no longer have a reliable ally.
My biggest complaint is that damned 62 mph speed limit.
The speed limit is more carbon-friendly. And yet no Canadians have come to me with gold to buy biological diversity credits…hypocrites.
Godspeed to the Artemis II crew is right, especially if they actually get off the ground. As of 1700 EDT, they are on a mech hold… sigh
They launched.
The video was crappy compared to what Space X provides, they even managed to miss the solids staging with a pan to the crowd. I really hope they can get up to speed and have a safe flight, apparently there are comms problems already.
I was screaming at the monitor when they did that. Idiots.
Dominoes dropping; in The Lord Of Tge Rings one character says, ‘ The trees are strong my Lord and their roots run deep.” The elder replies, ” Rip them all down!”
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In forestry it’s called a ” clear cut” when ALL the trees are dropped, and then that unit is replanted.
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Israel has been able to i. d. and drop Khatib. He was our enemy. Every one to the last man standing needs to go. I wanna hear just one Saruman the White type declaration coming from the Trump team to that effect.
The mission profile of Artemis III and IV has been changed to orbits around Earth for the Orion to dock with the SpaceX HLS, transfer the 4 crew, and then the HLS will do the ‘heavy lifting’ to the Moon and to land and to return to Earth orbit to dock with Orion to transfer the crew back and then splash down. SLS Block 2, the real heavy lifter of the SLS line, has been cancelled. And the support tower for Block 2 has also been cancelled.
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The Euro Service Module portion is cancelled. That’s okay, because they’re not ready anyways.
–
And… none of what SLS and Orion is doing can’t be done by SpaceX’s Falcon and Dragon for crews, and Falcon Heavy for heavy lifting right the heck now. By the time the SpaceX HLS (human landing system, a SpaceX Starship modified as a lunar lander) is ready, SpaceX’s Starship will be able to do everything Falcon and Dragon do.
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SLS and Orion are, in the words of “Men in Black,” ‘old and busted.
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NASA administrator Jared Isaacman is leading the charge to ditch Orion and SLS as soon as possible.
–
With all the issues that aren’t being talked about (go see TheSiliconGreybeard for good conversations on space stuff) in the main stream media, like continued hydrogen leaks (because H2 is a slippery molecule and makes for a crappy rocket fuel because of volume needs and aforementioned slippery molecule) and issues with the Orion (like it’s an overweight, bloated, turd of a 1970s capsule)(and the heat shield that will most likely kill the crew sometime due to its inability to not burn away) and other issues, well, getting rid of SLS and Orion is going to save the US $4 billion per launch, at least. For something that can be done by Dragon/Falcon and Falcon Heavy for $90 million to $270 million per launch.
–
And let us not forget, Orion is built by Lockmart but the SLS is built by Boeing and if it’s Boeing I ain’t going.
Let me spread my favorite two factoids about Lockheed-Martin’s Space Launch System (LockMart – your one stop defense shop). The first is really well known. Each launch is somewhat north of $4 Billion dollars and probably varies in every launch based on how both launches so far required tons of work on the ground to get them to work.
~~
My second favorite factoid is far less well known. Yes, the SLS will launch a bigger payload than SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, but only about 25 or 30% bigger. So you buy two Falcon Heavy flights, launching two flights instead of one SLS and it still costs you 8% of that $4 Billion dollar SLS, about $320 million. You could launch a fleet of 12 Falcon Heavies for less than one of SLS’s $4 billion – and part of the savings is from everything being reusable instead of used once and dropped in the Atlantic.