The entire episode is 90 minutes definitely worth the time and can be watched at PBS.com.

Warning… veering off topic…

On a humid July morning 40 years ago today, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin climbed aboard the most dangerous vehicle man had ever built, on a voyage to the moon.

I was two and half years old. I remember that day, or at least have convinced myself that I remember it, sitting in front of an old black and white television watching a streak of light hurtle towards the stars.

Like most boys growing up, I was fascinated by all things space and dinosaurs. While interest in the Jurassic and Cretaceous eventually faded, the love of space and space travel, did not. Astronomy books, science-fiction novels, movies, I couldn’t get enough. I was a certified space geek.

When I went off to college I decided to study aerospace engineering, with the dream of working one day for NASA or JPL, but soon realized I had little of the prerequisite discipline necessary for that field of study, ie the math. And there was a lot of it. So I switched to Journalism, which had only slightly more math than English. But my interest in all things space never waned.

Barely a year into my studies I watched in horror as the shuttle Challenger exploded into a million pieces across the Atlantic. I attended no class that day, not even the Astronomy elective I was taking. I remember President Reagan’s moving tribute later that same evening: “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good-bye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God…”

There have certainly been other triumphs and disasters since, but for me, none quite so much like the day humankind took their first steps on the moon.

In honor of 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch, the JFK Library and Museum explores the mission in extraordinary detail at WeChooseTheMoon.com. The site tracks the mission in realtime as it happened, creating a thoroughly immersive and cool experience. Be sure to check it out.

There are also some beautiful, and some rarely seen photographs from before, during and after the mission at The Big Picture: Remembering Apollo 11.

Looking back over these past 4 decades as a man in his early 40s, I had hoped by now we would have at least planted a flag, any flag, in the red sands of Mars. But unfortunately, no. In fact it’s been 37 years since we last walked the on the face of the moon. And now, as I approach middle age, it seems unlikely that either will happen, or happen again, in my lifetime.

But I am a space geek. And I am hopeful.

Video of that memorable launch and landing below.

Thanks reddit for recognizing that a lot of us are unhappy today too. Please send them feedback and let them know you appreciate their support.

I wonder if any other businesses out there are unhappy with today’s decision (hello Google, are you listening?).  If you run across anything please leave them in the comments section.

Government officials have repeatedly assured privacy advocates and the public that the personal information on the chips is secure, and that the technology will make it more difficult to forge passports and enter the country illegally.

It seems however that they are not that secure. Recently a hacker with easily acquired equipment was able to copy a few RFIDs while tooling around San Francisco in his car.

See clip below…

The RFID technology is starting to appear in drivers’ licenses too.

If you are concerned about your privacy and want protect your passport there are number of options including Passport Stronghold, RFID-Shield and ID Stronghold.

More at engadget.

All of which makes the segment that aired tonight on the 11/9/08 edition of
60 Minutes all the more disconcerting. Please watch (note that there is a brief ad at the beginning).

While we all struggle to do our part, it’s really disheartening to see our best intentions literally go to waste.

If you receive a flyer about dropping off e-waste, do some research on the company first. We received such a flyer recently from Zarc, LLC based in California. After reviewing their website, it appears they recycle at least some of their CRTs through the Tung Tai Group, in Hong Kong.

Not very reassuring, is it?

The No on Prop 8 campaign released the following statement:

“Today the NO on Prop 8 campaign’s Web site (http://www.noonprop8.com/) was the victim of what appears to be a coordinated attack designed to bring the system down. According to http://www.calitics.com/, the denial-of-service attack (DoS) on the NO on Prop 8 website occurred before 11:30pm, Wednesday, October 29th and coincides with a similar attack on Florida’s NO on 2 campaign, the Constitutional Amendment Against Marriage Equality. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in a denial-of-service (DoS) attack, an attacker attempts to prevent legitimate users from accessing information or services. By targeting a computer and its network connection, or the computers and network of the sites, an attacker may be able to prevent someone from accessing email, web sites, online accounts (banking, etc.), or other services that rely on the affected computer. The most common and obvious type of DoS attack occurs when an attacker ‘floods’ a network with information.”

When attempting to make a donation last night we noticed how how sluggish the No on Prop 8 website was, but attributed it to an increase intraffic due to donations and not anything sinister.

Sometimes the site still feels sluggish today. If you are unable to get through to make a donation, you can also donate through ActBlue or at Equality California. The No on Prop 8 campaign needs $3 million in donations by midnight Friday to counter the opposition’s recent surge in donations to purchase airtime for ads between now and election day. The campaign fears we may lose without this support.

While I am not surprised by the intellectual dishonesty of No on Prop 8′s opponents, I am a little surprised with the intellectual capability of it’s supporters to put together such an attack.

I guess hackers come in all stripes, even bigots.

Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.

I’ve long been a member of the Apple faithful, having convinced many to switch to Mac over the years — Apple, where’s my cut!? But after today, all debts are forgiven. I’m really proud of them and the announcement is well timed. Evidently Apple couldn’t care less about Protect Marriage’s blackmail campaign against businesses supporting marriage equality.

Out of curiosity I’ve been following a lot of the forums on Apple friendly sites to gauge the reactions. It’s run generally positive, running the gammut from “I’m going to the Apple store tonight and spending a lot of money in thanks” to “I just bought a new Macbook and I’m returning it tonight. I can’t support a company that supports immorality.” Bigots, please feel free to return your Apple products, it’ll leave cheaper refurbished products for the rest of us.

I’m going home to kiss my Mac now. You do the same.

As a card carrying member of the LTLC (the Larger than Life Consortium), I applaud Apple in their quick response. Words are powerful and those of us with a girth greater and smaller than Lindsey Lohan can suffer tremendous setbacks when such language is used. Words trigger emotions. Words trigger memories. Unpleasant ones. Sometimes it is difficult to simply get through the day, as we are constantly bombarded by language and images of what the media and middle Americas perceive as ideal.

As many of you know I am huge Apple supporter, some might even call me a zealot, but always in the kindest and most humane of terms. Our home is just just brimming with the fruit with a small bite taken out for good measure. From laptops to iPods, and iMacs to AppleTVs. And if there is one thing they all share in common, other than just being fabulous hardware and software, it’s that practically each and everyone of them…

Is thin.

My iPod is thin. My partner’s iMac is thin. The AppleTV is thin, hell even my future iPhone is thin. The list goes on and on. And after long and careful consideration, I believe all this thinness is weighing me down and making me more insecure than I already am. What am I to do when I am surrounded by all this THINNESS?! On a subconscious level, and perhaps even on a deeper level, I know the inner me is sobbing like a desperate lonely child every time I walk into my home, as I am literally surrounded by a multitude of messages telling me to get on the treadmill and purge that afternoon’s bok choy.

So I too have decided to write a letter to Steve Jobs, proposing that Apple be bold and take the initiative by banning the words “thin”, “svelte” and “wisplike”, and their related synonyms, antonyms and palindromes from all of their written and verbal online communications, as well as their advertising and documentation. And further to the point, that their existing product line be reworked to be more weight “neutral”.

Below is a brief excerpt of the letter. Due to various legal reasons, as well as detail and length, I am unable to post it in its entirety here:

Dear Digital Savior, Steve P. Jobs

…REMOVED FOR LEGAL REASONS…

Steve, thin and powerful simply sends the wrong message: That you can only be thin and powerful at the same time. But some of our most beloved leaders who served with great honor were plenty plump around the middle while simultaneously wielding supreme executive power. Former presidents William Howard Taft and Grover Cleveland are stirring examples. And overseas we have such luminaries as Henry the VIII, Winston Churchill and Boris Yeltson. All were men of great power and responsibility. But it’s not just a men’s only club. Oprah Winfrey whose weight yoyos like bottom-heavy pendulum, wields more power than the leaders of most 3rd world countries combined.

And here’s another thing Steve. I love Apple products, but the whole product line needs to be revamped. In this case, I think we can make a giant leap forward by taking only a tiny step back. Let’s first start with the iMac.

The new iMac certainly a marvel of industrial design and technology. But it would be better served by the increased girth and weight of the original iMac! Imagine how many more processors, ports, memory and drives you could stick behind that glorious screen? Also you’d have plenty of new internal real estate for fans to keep that beast cool. Plus you could go back to those trendy flower and colored designs that made color-coordinating your Mac to the environment such a dream. And that round hockey puck mouse would feel oh so comfortable against the palm again. Simply make it bluetooth and call it a day.

Next let’s talk about the MacBook. Once again these products suffer from a huge case of overwhelming thinness. Again the answer lies in the past. Putting today’s technology inside the original candy-color coated iBook would create a powerhouse of a laptop. While vaguely reminiscent of a padded toliet seat, that old design provides some comfort when stuck on a plane for 18 hours or during a baseball game going into extra innings. Plus the increased heft and weight would feel solid as you lug it around campus with newly designed reinforced steel handle.

And finally the AppleTV. Sure it takes up almost no space and serves movies and music to your HDTV with aplumb. Who could ask for more? But with a device that is easily lost in a rack full of stereo equipment (made even harder to find with failing vision) and a remote control thinner than some coats of paint, the AppleTV is a painful reminder of what is wrong in our society. That what you can’t see can hurt you. Why not look to your competitors like Sony and JVC and the top loading VCR of yesteryear for inspiration. The increased storage (just drop a new drive in when needed) would be a boon to movie lovers, and a wired Hershey’s bar-sized remote control could never ever be lost.

But Steve this is only the tip of iceberg. While granted the metaphor seems to have more gravitas with all this global warming going around, it still applies here. Taking cues from the past ensures a future safe and free and filled with love for all those of different shapes and sizes.

Devoted follower,
EWM

P.S. Any chance I can snag a new iPhone?

But why stop with Apple. There are many culprits. Sure their are fashion models, major pop stars, and no-talent actresses that place their focus on image rather than health. The media drones on and on about them while having little care for the damage that is being done. But what about the others? Motorola and their “thin” Razor for instance. The Transamerica pyramid (It starts fat but goes thin at the top). Or hell, even Mead Paper. Why does paper need to be so damn thin anyway?

So write them. Write them all. Tell them your full and your happy and you’re not going to take it any more!