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Musing Bytes 5 - Laniakea, Kokaku Kidotai, and PayPal

Musing Bytes 5 - Laniakea, Kokaku Kidotai, and PayPal
EventHorizon1984
30 September 2014


“Deep in the fundamental heart of mind and Universe there is a reason."
Life, the Universe and Everything, 1982, Douglas Adams


Elizabeth Gibney's Nature.com article "Earth's new address: 'Solar System, Milky Way, Laniakea'" started small.

"The supercluster of galaxies that includes the Milky Way is 100 times bigger in volume and mass than previously thought, a team of astronomers says. They have mapped the enormous region and given it the name Laniakea — Hawaiian for 'immeasurable heaven'."

Based on "Tully, R. B., Courtois, H., Hoffman, Y & Pomarède, D. Nature 513, 71–73 (2014)."

The topic added dimensions to the question, 'Is it bigger than a breadbox?'.  Yes, very much bigger.

"The super-cluster spans some 520 million light-years in diameter."

Photo from Nature.com
View Nature.com video at http://www.youtube.com/embed/rENyyRwxpHo

However The Universe is, Large.  Depending on your concept of "observable universe", The Universe is approximately "92 billion light-years" in diameter, but Earth based observations have only viewed up to 13.8 billion light-years "in every direction".

Still Laniakea is big.  Bigger than anything a human would encounter in the day to day world.  There are no hardware stores stocking 500 million to 1 billion light-year tape measures.

And yet Laniakea looks familiar.

 

“Well, it's just that the way the Major's been looking at us lately is kinda scary.”
Tachikoma, Ghost in the Shell

Ghost in the Shell, Masamune Shirow
(c) Production I.G., Bandai Entertainment, Madman Entertainment, Manga Entertainment

The conceptual view of Laniakea is reminiscent of Major Motoko Kusanagi's face, during one of her classic falling scenes.

Ghost in the Shell, Masamune Shirow
(c) Production I.G., Bandai Entertainment, Madman Entertainment, Manga Entertainment

Ghost in the Shell, or Kokaku Kidotai, was first written and illustrated in May 1989 by Masamune Shirow.  Making 2014 it's 25th Anniversary year.

Getting back to to the topic of known space.  The Universe is expanding, not contracting.  An appropriate time sequence would be the Major rising, not falling.  The galaxies have the flow and appearance of water on a woman's head, as she breaks the surface of a pool of water.

Taking all this to a philosophical conclusion.  Suppose the Laniakea formation was our three dimensional view of "Laniakea", a mathematically higher dimensional being, entering our Universe and peeking. 

The Goddess could use a hair cut.  Guess where?

 

“We and our board believe the best way to drive long-term shareholder value is to keep eBay and PayPal together, to capitalize on the opportunities”
John Donaohe, eBay INC CEO, January 2014

The news of eBay INC separating into two entities, PayPal and eBay, circulated quickly today.

"EBay Inc. (EBAY) is spinning off its PayPal division, throwing the business into direct competition with Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. as consumers step up the use of smartphones and computers to pay for goods and services.

Activist shareholder Carl Icahn had pushed for a split earlier this year"

"eBay and PayPal are going their separate ways. Today eBay announced that its fast-growing PayPal division would be spun off as a new company in 2015."

While many had anticipated this for years, it took the actions of Carl Icahn to spark the separation.

John Donahoe, eBay INC CEO, will handle the separation, and then step down as CEO.

It is likely the announcement of the split was timed to give eBay INC a last minute boost, before the 3rd Quarter expired.

Our guess is John Donahoe and company are angling to sell the de-clawed and devalued version of eBay INC., soon after the separation.

 

"Donahoe was the wrong man for the job"
David Steiner, EcommerceBytes, 30 September 2014

In a rare show of public disdain, David Steiner of Ecommercebytes.com, started his article "How Will John Donahoe's Tenure at eBay Be Remembered?" with:

"In baseball, there's a saying after a team has a bad season: You can't fire the team, you fire the manager. 

John Donahoe's team at eBay has had a bad season, with growth that didn't keep pace with its competitors, a public confrontation with investor Carl Icahn, security breaches, site outages,.. you could say that eBay has had a very bad season."

And ended with:

"The Donahoe Era was a disaster for small sellers."

Our take on John Donahoe stepping down as eBay INC CEO, and hiding in one or both of the new PayPal and eBay Boards?

"There's something wrong here, there can be no denying
One of us is changing, or maybe we've stopped trying

And it's too late, baby, now it's too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died and I can't hide

And I just can't fake it"
It’s Too Late, 1971, Carol King & Toni Stern

Grab your own business domain and setup shop online.

Before it is too late.

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“The thing that's always worried me about being one of the few is the way we keep on getting fewer.”
Flight Officer David Campbell (Sir Richard Burton), The Longest Day (1962)

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Neil Armstrong, First Moon Walker, Passes Away at 82

Neil Armstrong, First Moon Walker, Passes Away at 82
EventHorizon1984
25 August 2012

Neil A. Armstrong, Astronaut, the first man to step¹ upon the surface of the Moon, died today at the age of 82.

Except for those taking the view "history is myth" or the 6% 'fooled twice' type or Internet Trolls, the planetary population knows about Neil Armstrong and the history making Apollo 11 flight.  And over the next few news cycles, people will know much more.

Such as occasional brushes with death.

"If we die, do not mourn for us.  This is a risky business we're in, and we accept those risks."  Virgil "Gus" Grissom

20 April 1962 - X-15

• "The only other alternative at that point would have been Palmdale and I didn't want to get into their traffic pattern."  Neil Armstrong
  

Perhaps not so much as a brush, but more of a 'here's my card' event.

Test pilot Neil Armstrong was flying the X-15 when on the return segment, "the X-15 pulled up and essentially skipped off the top of the atmosphere, returning to space."  In short, instead of final approach to a near-deserted landing area, the X-15 was "gliding" somewhat near or over Los Angeles.

Piloting skill turned a possible disaster into a safe flight home.

"I began to turn back home"
Neil Armstrong

16 March 1966 - Gemini 8

• "We have serious problems here" David Scott

After the first successful docking in space, Gemini 8 Astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott experienced a serious thruster problem.

"After backing away from the Agena, the spacecraft had started to whirl at a dizzying rate of one revolution per second. Armstrong suspected that the maneuvering thrusters were about finished. He and Scott were also having trouble seeing the overhead panel dials; their physiological limits seemed near. They were dizzy, and their vision was blurred."

You can view the government style documentary of Gemini 8:

• Gemini 8, This is Houston Flight

Or the dramatized version:

• From The Earth To The Moon

Suffice to say, both men returned safely to the Earth.

6 May 1968 - LLRV

When Landing on the Moon, Practice Makes Perfect

The above photo from NASA, shows what a Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) looks like after it crashes.  With the parachutist being Neil Armstrong.

As described:

• "Armstrong made his 21st flight in the vehicle. It was a disaster." ... "about 230 feet above the desert floor the LLRV started pitching forward and picking up speed." ...  "Within seconds Armstrong was flying on his side and realized ejecting was his only recourse.  A little less than 200 feet from the ground he separated from the LLRV." ... "the crash wasn’t related to the design of the LLRV but a problem with the propellant."

20 July 1969 [GMT] - Apollo 11

• "I thought we had a 90% chance of getting back safely to Earth on that flight but only a 50-50 chance of making a landing on that first attempt."  Neil Armstrong

If you're thinking, there was all the time in the world for Neil Armstrong to land the Lunar Module Eagle:

• Mission time 102:45:31  Duke:  "30 seconds."

The "30 seconds" was time remaining until "Bingo"; which meant 'land in 20 seconds or abort.'

• Mission time 102:45:40  Aldrin:  "Contact Light."

Now suppose you're a pilot that manages to land their craft with 21 seconds² of fuel.  Was that all the time in the world?

For video of the landing, from the view of "Buzz" Aldrin's window:

• http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11Landing.mov

When asked about the reason for closing the Lunar Module hatch:

• "To avoid having somebody say 'Were you born in a barn?'" Neil Armstrong

"Pretty sure the law of the land states that everyone has the right to be an idiot."  Gregory House, M.D., House (2004-2012)

Apparently as Fate would have it, his death was not career related, but more a pernicious ala George S. Patton, Jr.-type event"

• "His family announced the death in a statement and attributed it to “complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.”"

Routine surgery mind you.

• Neil Armstrong recovers after heart bypass surgery
• BBC News, 8 August 2012
• "Mr Armstrong, who turned 82 on Sunday, had surgery to relieve four blocked coronary arteries."

Much as we would love to comment on this ... and then promptly get sued ... we close with a collection of first words from Neil Armstrong's peers.

First thing said from the surface of the Moon is "Contact ..."

• "Lunar Surface Sensing Probes extended from three landing legs. A sensor on the tip indicated when the lunar surface was touched."

What Apollo Astronauts said when they first set foot upon the Moon:

Apollo 11 - 21 July 1969 [GMT]
Neil Armstrong (1930-2012)
"That's one small step for (a) man, one giant step for mankind."
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr.  (1930- )
"Beautiful view!  Magnificent desolation."
"Looks like the secondary strut had a little thermal effects on it right here, Neil."

Apollo 12- 19 November 1969 [GMT]
Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr. (1930-1999)
"Whoopie!  Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me."
"Off the ... Oooh, is that soft and queasy."  or "(s)quishy"
Alan Bean  (1932- )
"Okay?  Okay.  My, that Sun is bright."

Apollo 14 - 5 February 1971 [GMT]
Alan Shepard  (1923-1998)
"Okay, you're right. Al is on the surface. And it's been a long way, but we're here."
Edgar Mitchell  (1930- )
"That last one is a long one."

Apollo 15 - 31 July 1971 [GMT]
David Scott  (1932-  )
[long awed silence]
"Ok.  Ah.  Ok Houston as I stand out here in the wonders of the unknown at Hadley, I sort of realize there's a fundamental truth to our nature.  Man must explore.  And this is exploration at its greatest."
James Irwin  (1930-1991)
"Boy, that front pad is really loose, isn't it?"

Apollo 16 - 21 April 1972 [GMT]
John Young  (1930-  )
"Okay.  There you are: Mysterious and Unknown Descartes. Highland plains. Apollo 16 is gonna change your image. I'm sure glad they got ol' Brer Rabbit, here, back in the briar patch where he belongs."
Charles Duke  (1935-  )
"Fantastic! Oh, that first foot on the lunar surface is super, Tony!"

Apollo 17, 11 December 1972 [GMT]
Eugene Cernan  (1934-  )
"I'm on the footpad. And, Houston, as I step off at the surface at Taurus-Littrow, we'd like to dedicate the first step of Apollo 17 to all those who made it possible."
"Jack, I'm out here. Oh, my golly! Unbelievable! Unbelievable; but is it bright in the Sun."
Harrison "Jack" Schmitt  (1935-  )
[Harrison Schmitt - "At some point, and maybe it's here, I stepped down off the ladder onto the sloping side of a boulder which had little balls of glass and debris that made it very slick. And I slipped and my left leg went out from under me. Fortunately, I was still hanging onto the ladder."]
"You landed in a crater!"
"Why don't you come over here and let me deploy your antenna."

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"People love conspiracy theories ... but they were never a concern to me -- because I know that one day somebody's going to fly back up there and pick up that camera I left there."
Neil Armstrong

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1  One will see erroneous articles of Neil Armstrong being the first man to "land" on the Moon.  An error because both Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were in the Apollo Lunar Module, Eagle, when she landed on the lunar surface.

2  "Post-flight analysis indicated that Neil landed with about 770 pounds of fuel remaining." ... "the remainder would have been enough for about 45 seconds, including about 20 seconds for an abort"

See also:
The 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. Why Bother With Columbus Day??

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Twelve Days In July - IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times

Twelve Days In July - IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times
Friday The Thirteenth July 2012 Edition
EventHorizon1984

The eclectic news of the first part of July was eye opening and sad.

5.  Do you know what is one of PayPal's (owned by eBay INC) largest expenses?

Visa, MasterCard reportedly close to settling retailers' lawsuit
6 July 2012

• "swipe fees, mostly for credit cards, constituted about 38% of PayPal's expenses in 2011"
• "In mid-morning trading, Visa lost 0.91% to $125.86, Mastercard fell 0.24% to $442.97, and eBay retreated 0.83% to $40.59."

4.  Keep telling yourself that "Foundation" ¹ and "Person of Interest" are fiction.  For now.

Sci-fi policing: predicting crime before it occurs
Associated Press - Greg Risling - 1 July 2012

• "Los Angeles police are aiming to beat suspects to the scene of a crime by using computers to predict where trouble might occur."

¹ Psychohistory - Isaac Asimov's Foundation series and short stories are where the predictive science of Psychohistory originates.  Psychohistory being, "combined history, psychology and mathematical statistics to create a (nearly) exact science of the behavior of very large populations of people".
Incidentally Isaac Asimov's short story "Foundation" was published in May 1942.

"Now any dogma, based primarily on faith and emotionalism, is a dangerous weapon to use on others, since it is almost impossible to guarantee that the weapon will never be turned on the user."
Ankor Jael, Foundation (1951), Isaac Asimov

3.  Change your Yahoo! passwords lately?

Yahoo investigating reported mass password breach
Associated Press - 12 July 2012

• "Yahoo Inc. said Thursday it is investigating reports of a security breach that may have exposed nearly half a million users' email addresses and passwords."
• "Technology news websites including CNET, Ars Technica, and Mashable cited hackers calling themselves the D33D Company as claiming responsibility for the attack, adding that data posted to the group's website carried more than 453,000 login credentials"

2.  Higgs Boson Discovered.  Or not.

Higgs boson-like particle discovery claimed at LHC
BBC News - Paul Rincon - 4 July 2012

"Prof Peter Higgs, after whom the particle is named, wiped a tear from his eye as the teams finished their presentations in the Cern auditorium.
"I would like to add my congratulations to everyone involved in this achievement," he added later.
"It's really an incredible thing that it's happened in my lifetime.""

Higgs Boson Imposters?  It's Possible, Say Scientists
PCWorld - James Mulroy - 12 July 2012

• "some scientists have suggested that CERN's experimental results may be the result of impostor particles, albeit Higgs-like impostors."
• "The preprint explains that the particle discovery at CERN could be either a generic Higgs doublet, a Higgs triplet, a mixture of particles including the Higgs and another particle, or of course, the Higgs boson as the Standard Model predicts."

And what is the exact mass of the Higgs Boson?

131.313 GeV?

1.  Ernest Borgnine passes away at age 95.

Ernest Borgnine, Oscar-Winning Actor, Dies at 95
The New York Times - Anita Gates - 8 July 2012

"Ermes Effron Borgnino was born on Jan. 24, 1917, in Hamden, Conn., near New Haven. His father was a railroad brakeman. His mother was said to be the daughter of a count, Paolo Boselli, an adviser to King Victor Emmanuel of Italy.

The boy spent several years of his childhood in Italy, where his mother returned during a long separation from her husband. But they returned to Connecticut, and he graduated from high school there.

He joined the Navy at 18 and served for 10 years. During World War II he was a gunner’s mate. After the war he considered factory jobs, but his mother suggested that he try acting. Her reasoning, he reported, was, “You’ve always liked making a damned fool of yourself.”"

Not enough can be said about the classic and classy actor Ernest Borgnine.

We'll let Mr. Borgnine do it.

On The Road with Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine Remembers

Ernest Borgnine on working with Tim Conway

• McHale's Navy
• McHale's Navy Sing along

Ernest Borgnine discusses "Airwolf"

• Airwolf

Ernest Borgnine on voicing "Mermaid Man" on SpongeBob SquarePants

• Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy

Ernest Borgnine Lifetime Achievement Award

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"I've been driving a cab here for 30 years and I'm telling you: you don't walk around here at night! Yes, sir! Those Crazies'll kill you and strip you in ten seconds flat!"
Cabbie (Ernest Borgnine), Escape From New York (1981)

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Harry Broderick Of Jettison Salvage Passed Away At Age 86

Harry Broderick Of Jettison Scrap & Salvage Passed Away At Age 86
3 July 2012
EventHorizon1984

 

We're not fond of obituaries.  Especially the passing of Andy Griffith, who portrayed many iconic characters. 

Our first Andy Griffith character memory was Will Stockdale of the movie No Time For Sergeants.  Followed by Onionhead. 

Much later he would make memorable television marks in his career with The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock.

Yet with the death of Andrew Samuel Griffith, and the mention of a few famous characters, we've created a Harry Broderick tiny pseudo-obituary.  If you're asking 'Harry who?', this short piece isn't for you.

"I want to build a spaceship, go to the moon, salvage all the junk that's up there, bring it back and sell it."
Harry Broderick (Andy Griffith), Jettison Scrap & Salvage Company, Salvage (1979)

For the few science fiction fans, of course Harry Broderick was the character portrayed by Andy Griffith in the television movie Salvage and the television series Salvage 1.

Not to be confused with Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) of the movie The Astronaut Farmer.  Charles Farmer built a rocket (2006), put himself into low Earth orbit and returned safely. 

Harry Broderick built a spaceship (1979), sent two people to the Moon and back.

"He's not really dead. As long as we remember him."
Leonard McCoy, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

And it is in science fiction that Andy Griffith's legacy lives on. 

On the television show Eureka (2006-2012), Sheriff Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) was given the nickname "Mayberry".  Initially meant as an insult from Nathan Stark (Ed Quinn), it became less so over time. 

There's the character of Sheriff Andy, now Deputy Andy.  Ostensively "Andy" for "Android", but Sheriff Andy, Sheriff Andy Taylor, but we know better don't we?

Here's to Andy Griffith who gave us decades of fun.

Here's to Harry Broderick (Andy Griffith).  You didn't make it to the Moon, but you took us there. 

And part of you is there now in spirit.

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"We are heroes, Ben!"
"But we ain't dead!"  Benjamin B. Whitledge
"Well, that makes it even better don't it?"
Will Stockdale (Andy Griffith), No Time For Sergeants (1958)

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See Also Jettison Salvage Was Here.

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Update 2013.09.11

We goofed.  Although a newscaster at the beginning of the first episode "Dark Island" describes his location as the "Jettison Salvage yard", and Harry Broderick in the pilot answer's the phone as "Jettison Salvage", that's not the full name of fictional company.  Harry Broderick's company is not the "Jettison Salvage", but "Jettison Scrap & Salvage Company."  Apologies to all fans of the show.

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The 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. Why Bother With Columbus Day??

The 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. Why Bother With Columbus Day??
20 July 2009
EventHorizon1984

Today the United States and the world remembers the historic 20 July 1969 landing of the lunar module Eagle (Apollo 11) on the moon, and human's first step upon the moon. 

Why forty years later is this uniquely American endeavor not a U.S. national holiday? 

Because the United States continues to have the inane 'America Discovered' holiday of Columbus Day.  A national holiday celebrating the 'accomplishment' of an Italian national, sailing for the Spanish government to find a route to China, but landing in what is now the British Bahamas instead.  Not quite the site of the future U.S.

Columbus Day is also celebrated in Spain.  And as we understand it no where else.  Of course.

Incidentally Leif Ericson was the first historically recorded European to land on North America. He did so and started a settlement about 5 centuries earlier (1003 AD).  Of course his party was greeted by the local indigenous population.

So much for Columbus being "first."

.

"That's one small step for (a) man.  One giant leap for mankind."
Neil Armstrong, United States, 20 July 1969

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Jettison Salvage Was Here

Jettison Salvage Was Here
17 July 2009
EventHorizon1984

The topic of preserving the Apollo moon landing sites is brought up in the article "Is the Apollo 11 Moon Landing Flag Still Standing?".

Beth O'Leary who "created the NASA-funded project to make the Apollo 11 Landing site on the moon as a National Historic Landmark" notes:

• 'the possibility exists to locate humankind's lunar leftovers precisely, assess their condition and most importantly decide then what and how to preserve this record for future generations'

There are six Apollo landing sites.

• Apollo 11    Mare Tranquilitatis  (Sea of Tranquility)
• Apollo 12    Oceanus Procellarum  (Ocean of Storms)
• Apollo 14    Fra Mauro  (edge Imbrium Basin)
• Apollo 15    Hadley Rille  (edge Imbrium Basin)
• Apollo 16    Descartes Mountains
• Apollo 17    Taurus-Littrow  (edge Mare Serenitatis, i.e. Sea of Serenity)

The current protection for these landing sites are the quarter of a million miles distance to reach them, and the cost.

But anyone who's lived a good part of the 20th Century might tell you, and science fiction fans will attest to, is that sometimes science fiction becomes fact.

 

Vulture of the Salvage-1 lunar mission at Serenity Base *.  Salvage (1979)

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"I want to build a spaceship, go to the moon, salvage all the junk that's up there, bring it back and sell it."
Harry Broderick (Andy Griffith), Jettison Scrap & Salvage Company, Salvage (1979)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mR-gz9EFO8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDa25M-de70
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSsqsbv0FWg

* Possibly referring to the Apollo 17 landing site, or COL Steve Austin's** Apollo 19 landing site.

** "Salvage", "Salvage 1", and "The Six Million Dollar Man" are Universal Pictures properties.

We use some Salvage references from:

Salvage 1

Salvage-1: The Best Space Movie You've Probably Never Heard Of...

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Update 2013.09.11

We goofed.  Although a newscaster at the beginning of the first episode "Dark Island" describes his location as the "Jettison Salvage yard", and Harry Broderick in the pilot answer's the phone as "Jettison Salvage", that's not the full name of fictional company.  Harry Broderick's company is not the "Jettison Salvage", but "Jettison Scrap & Salvage Company."  Apologies to all fans of the show.

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