click me, im from the NYTimes

The NY Times is reporting that North Korea’s missle launch, supposedly of a communication satellite, was a failure. What a difference an administration makes; four years ago, we may have gone to war with one of the legs (the really short one) of the “axis of evil”. My favorite comment from the article:

“It’s got to be embarrassing,” said Geoffrey E. Forden, a missile expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “I can imagine heads flying if the ‘Dear Leader’ finds out the satellite didn’t fly into orbit,” he said, referring to the name North Koreans are obliged to use when speaking of Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s reclusive leader.

To keep in mind how hard it must be to keep good quality control in a country as politically and commercially isolated as Korea, take notice of what happened this day in science history almost 50 years ago:

In 1965, the United States launched the “Early Bird” Intelsat 1, the first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite. It followed the Russian’s earlier launch of the “WORM” test satellite

The scary thing is if Kim and company keep at it long enoguh , they will eventually get something right or they will kidnap the Japanese talent to at least give them the chance to crow about a pseudo-achievement.

The on again off again $2.50 subway ride is in limbo as political leaders are trying to find someway to pay for our increasingly expensive transit system. I am a fan of light rail and rapid bus transit, and I hope that the fare increase forces the MTA to look to these solutions (other than the never ending construction of the 2nd avenue line). It’s not like NYC hasn’t had an above train system before. Today marks the 52 year anniversary since we last saw the trolley system in effect:

In 1957, trolley cars in New York City completed their final runs on this day. (todayinsci.com)