Achenblog - The Washington Post's Joel Achenbach on whatever strikes his fancy - November 9, 2008

Living Off the Land in Space

[My story from this morning's paper.] Excerpt: The grand drama of humankind's conquest of space has featured as a recurring subplot the mystery of how people in zero gravity can possibly go to the bathroom. The latest twist in...

The Bigger Picture

Astronomy puts everything in perspective. When we ponder the vastness of the cosmos our minds are stretched to the point of hernia. On the ride to the emergency room, we find ourselves thinking of the grandeur of this universe...

Pale White Dots

[My story on the first images of extrasolar planets.] [Here's the NASA page. And here's a link to images of HR 8799.] Two teams of astronomers made stunning claims today that they have separately obtained images of planets orbiting...

Defragmentation Wednesday

My friend Mike came over last night to help me uninstall an antivirus program that had become virus-like itself. It's called AntiVirus Pro and, according to Mike's research, it had become "corrupted." I believe this is approximately the plot...

Obamas Should Try Public School

I'm thrilled to read that Michelle Obama has checked out one grade school off MacArthur Boulevard and a second school on Wisconsin Avenue near Tenleytown. That's where my kids have gone to school! Only we went to different schools,...

Transitional Moments

Like Obama, I'm in transition. My transition will involve a wide variety of personal upgrades, improvements and accessories. I will learn a language. I will master new cooking techniques that go far beyond the traditional large-pot-of-meat-based manfood. I will...