Patrick Chiles's Blog, page 9
April 30, 2015
That Escalated Quickly
Blue Origin finally lifted the curtains late yesterday: This apparently has taken a lot of industry observers by surprise as most of the reliable space news sites haven’t even picked up on it yet. They’ve been very secretive and now we can see why: when notbusyrunning theworldwide juggernaut that is Amazon, Jeff Bezos has been […]
November 3, 2014
Virgin Territory
His name was Mike Alsbury, may the Lord rest his soul.Not yet forty years old, with a family, and no doubt with the future literally in his hands. I spent much of the weekend scouring the space blogs for this news, as I served in the Marineswith one of Virgin Galactic’s pilots and fearedit might […]
September 19, 2014
I Was Told There Would Be No Math…
Said every journalism school graduateeverywhere.I don’t want to hear another damned word about Fox News’ presumed stupidity: Just keep thinking to yourself, “THIS IS CNN,” in your best James Earl Jones voice. And while we’re on the subject: Thatis not an SNL skit, itis a real screen-cap of real CNN anchor and pompous empty haircut […]
September 10, 2014
Maneuvers
Washington Don Abbot had never been one to hide his emotions well; that he had been able to rise this far within the Administration was widely seen as a testament to his technical abilities and organizational acumen. That it had just as much to do with his knowledge of whose skeletons were hidden in which […]
Evil Descends
America has not had war – real, society-devastating war – brought to our shores in the modern era. I’m talking large-scale, sweeping invasions. Pearl Harbor, as jarring as it was, is not in Kansas. The Japanese island-hopping campaign into North Americanever made it past the Aleutian islands.We saved western civilization in WWII but were spared […]
August 29, 2014
Stirrings
peri·lune: the point in the path of a body orbiting the moon that is nearest to the center of the moon. - Merriam-Webster Dictionary . . . Colorado Springs, CO It had been an uncomfortably silent trip down Interstate 25 (small talk being difficult when apparently everything is classified) when the driver of their black […]
August 28, 2014
Something Big is Coming…
Sothere’sthis: There’s still some minor (I think) artistic tweaking left but overall this is pretty sweet, as all of J.T.’s work has been. I had been a little iffy on the title until seeing it in the cover art, but now I’m stoked. Yes, this means the Perigee sequel is in the home […]
August 14, 2014
When Republics Fall
…they start to look a lot like this: Wrong photo. Here are the actual Ferguson, MO, police in action: One could be forgiven for confusing the two. I don’t cite this because I’m against law and order. I cite this because the militarization of our police […]
July 20, 2014
11 plus 45
Forty-five years. Neil Armstrong is dead now, as are many of the men who followed in his footsteps. Those of us who, as children, experienced the grand spectacle of NASA’s greatest achievements grew up expecting even greater things. Those of us who continued to follow it closely into adulthood grew perplexed at the notable […]
June 25, 2014
What I Did On Summer Vacation
Flew a Stearman. Not just rode in it, mind you, Iflew that sucker. With what looked like a hefty butter churn for a control stick, itwas incredibly well-balanced and responsive (especially compared to the mushy Cessnas and Pipers I cut my teeth on). One should expect no less from a bird that tookgrand champion at […]
