The trains involved were getting old and outdated. In response to a 2004 crash that injured 20, the National Transportation Safety Board says that it told the city of Washington in 2006 that it needed to upgrade some of its trains or phase them out. It didn’t happen. “They have not been able to do that and our recommendation was not addressed,” NTSB spokeswoman Debbie Hersman said. For Metro riders: this is not good. source
By refocusing our space program on Mars for America’s future, we can restore the sense of wonder and adventure in space exploration that we knew in the summer of 1969. We won the moon race; now it’s time for us to live and work on Mars, first on its moons and then on its surface.
Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin (i.e. the second man to set foot on the moon) • On the possibility that the next step for the space program is heading to Mars. He thinks it would be a shot in the arm for NASA. Why the heck not? We’re sure Marvin would be a gracious host! • source
After the end of the most recent session (which was especially brutal), the South Carolina governor disappeared and didn’t tell anyone where he was going. According to his wife, he does this all the time, but people in the media noticed this time. source
Turns out he went to take a hike. Mark Sanford went to the Appalachian Mountains and went hiking alone. Interestingly, as the Christian Science Monitor reports, he went right around Naked Hiking Day. We’re not saying. We’re just saying. source
We care about these things because they provide information that improves public welfare and allows for more effective democratic decision-making. Why not make it easier for the news business to do its job?
Atlantic columnist Conor Clarke • Playing off the oft-discussed idea of government-subsidized news and instead using it as an argument that the Freedom of Information Act should be followed more closely by government bodies. He also notes that, when this data is easier to get, “it gives news organizations an incentive to write about those issues rather than Britney Spears’s hair or Michelle Obama’s arms.” And wouldn’t that be awesome? • source
He was most famous for being Johnny Carson’s sidekick. McMahon died last night after midnight Pacific time. Beyond Carson, he has a long, storied career as a television host, including “Star Search” and “TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes.” And of course, there was the chance that he could drive down your road and hand you a check the size of your house. But, alas, no more. Peace out, brah. You’re an icon; you’ll be missed. source
A poor blogger found out the hard way. Dan Cohen of GearDiary found out the other day that some books he downloaded for his Kindle/iPhone had a limit to how many times they could be downloaded and on how many times they could be shared. Worse, it seemed this number was arbitrary and was, until now, not communicated to customers. After talking to a number of Amazon customer service reps, he confirmed it was set by publishers, though it was very confusing to get to that point. Granted, Cohen posts on a site that checks out tons of devices, so it’s possible that his case is extraordinary, but why is it even there in the first place? source
