Making good Mondays is like making coffee -


The week is before us - like the coffee pot - waiting to brew. Making it good is a matter of choice, luck, creativity, patience and acceptance of the outcome.

Currently at Making Good Mondays

Active elements on this page: Occasionally I will publish a new blog post, but I write mostly at other sites.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

What is China up to -- up there?

Anxiety over what China may or may not do in space ebbs and flows, depending on what headlines we see. China is a very old society and has a rich history of contributing to the progress of the inhabitants of earth. For example, according to About.com, the history of Chinese inventions is an admirable one. Learn there about "the kite, chopsticks, umbrellas, gunpowder, firecrackers, the steelyard, abacus, cloisonné, ceramics, papermaking and more." Clearly China is not willing to leave themselves out of the space realm.
Recently they launched a tiny satellite that will be orbiting the moon and returning information about it to earth. To quote from China Daily Updated: 2007-10-23:

HEADLINE 1 -- 1st moon orbiter likely to be invisible to amateur astronomers
BEIJING -- The chance for amateur astronomy buffs to observe China's first moon orbiter, likely to be launched on Wednesday, is very slim, Chinese space experts said on Tuesday.

The circumlunar satellite, named Chang'e I, is very tiny in open space as it is only 18.1 meters long even when its solar energy board is fully extended, said Sun Zezhou, deputy chief designer of the satellite.

The satellite is very much likely to be invisible since it is neither illuminated nor covered with a special surface to reflect light, he said.

. . . The satellite will relay the first picture of the moon in late November and will then continue scientific explorations of the moon for a year.
HEADLINE 2 -- China to Build New Space Rockets, reports HappyNews.com. To quote from the piece:
China will build a new family of rockets, state media said Wednesday, a move that would boost the country's capabilities to put satellites and space stations in space.
. . . They signal China's ambitions to have a greater presence in space in the next 30 to 50 years and desire to compete in the global market to launch commercial satellites, said the China Daily.
. . . Because of the weight of the rockets, they will be transported by sea, rather than the conventional route overland, the paper said. The new generation of rockets will not be launchable until 2013, the China Daily said.
China's increasing presence is space has worried some. In January, China destroyed a satellite with a land-based anti-satellite missile from its southwestern Xichang spaceport.
The rockets also can be used to launch navigation satellites, which the U.S. military relies on for mapping enemy positions and launching missiles.
The United States does not "own" space any more than the Russians did when they launched Sputnik. The best thing humankind can do is continue the peaceful international use of space; some day that cooperative effort may include China, if they want to come in peace.
Cross-posted at Southwest Blogger
My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about the national intelligence budget.
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References on Spirituality -- Favorites from my old collection

  • "A Return To Love: Reflections On the Principles Of a Course In Miracles" by Marianne Williamson. Harper Collins, 1992
  • "A World Waiting To Be Born: Civility Rediscovered" by M. Scott Peck. Simon and Schuster, 1993
  • "Chicken Soup For the Unsinkable Soul" by Canfield, Hansen and McNamara. Health Communications, 1999
  • "Compassion in Action: Setting Out On the Path of Service" by Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush. Bell Tower Pub., 1992
  • "Creative Visualization" by Shakti Gawain. MIF Books, 1978
  • "Finding Values That Work: The Search For Fulfillment" by Brian O'Connell. Walker & Co., 1978
  • "Fire in the Soul" by Joan Borysenko. Warner Books, 1993
  • "Further Along the Road Less Traveled" by M. Scott Peck. Simon and Schuster, 1993
  • "Guilt Is the Teacher, Love Is the Lesson" by Joan Borysenko. Warner Books, 1990
  • "Inner Simplicity: 100 Ways To Regain Peace and Nourish the Soul" by Elaine St. James. Hyperion, 1995
  • "Insearch:Psychology and Religion" by James Hillman. Spring Pub. 1994
  • "Man's Search For Himself" by Rollo May. Signet Books, 1953
  • "Mythologies" by William Butler Yeats. Macmillan, 1959
  • "Myths, Dreams and Religion" by Joseph Campbell. Spring Pub. 1988
  • "Passion for Life: Psychology and the Human Spirit" by John and Muriel James. Penguin Books, 1991
  • "Peace Is Every Step" by Thich Nhat Hahn. Bantam Books , 1991
  • "The Heroine's Journey" by Mureen Murdock. Random House, 1990
  • "The Hope For Healing Human Evil" by M. Scott Peck. Simon and Schuster, 1983
  • "The House of Belonging" poems by David Whyte. Many Rivers Press, 2004
  • "The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth" by M.Scott Peck. Simon and Schuster, 1978
  • "The Soul's Code: In Search Of Character and Calling" by James Hillman. Random House, 1996
  • "The World Treasury of Modern Religious Thought" by Jaroslav Pelikan. Little, Brown & Co., 1990
  • "Unconditional Life" by Deepak Chopra. Bantam Books, 1992
  • "Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation" by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Hyperion, 1994
  • "Zen Keys: A Guide to Zen Practice" by Thich Nhat Hahn. Doubleday Dell Pub. Group, 1974

About Me

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A retired counselor, I am equal parts Techie and Artist. I am a Democrat who came to the Southwest to attend college. I married, had kids and have lived here all my adult life.