February 26, 2017

Just saw Hidden Figures and was knocked out

Just saw Hidden Figures and was knocked out. It was magnificent. And it was near impossible to not relate it to what is happening in America right now. 1961 a bad time for equal rights, a grand time for science and math. Oh, what a wonderful country we can be folks.

NASA's chief historian, Bill Barry, explains that the film, which has been nominated for a slew of awards, depicts many real events from their lives. "One thing we're frequently asked," he says, "is whether or not John Glenn actually asked for Katherine Johnson to 'check the numbers.'" The answer is yes: Glenn, the first American in orbit and later, at the age of 77, the oldest man in space, really did ask for Johnson to manually check calculations generated by IBM 7090 computers (the electronic kind) churning out numbers at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.


Though the film shows Glenn asking for Johnson's approval from the launch pad, she was actually called in well before the launch. Calculating the output for 11 different variables to eight significant digits took a day and a half. Her calculations matched the computer's results exactly. Not only did her conclusions give Glenn and everyone else confidence in the upcoming launch, but they also proved the critical computer software was reliable.
hidden-figures-costner-painting.jpg
To add to the accuracy of the film, NASA consulted on the film's script, answering questions and providing photographs, documents and films for the filmmakers. NASA even loaned a few items for use as props in the movie. For example, look out for the painting on the wall of NASA's offices (pictured here over Kevin Costner's shoulder).

That painting was part of a series depicting the history of flight from Icarus to the 20th century, which actually hung on the walls of the real Langley Lab in the NACA days. The paintings were in storage and in need of restoration when they were loaned to the movie and placed on set in Atlanta as a link to the real offices.

The film compresses the sequence of real events to set the story around 1961, when Glenn's first mission took place. "If the film was a documentary, many of the events would have been spread out over the late 1940s through the early 1960s," says Barry. For example, a lot happened in 1958, the year NACA became NASA: Mary Jackson qualified as NASA's first black engineer, Katherine Johnson joined the newly formed Space Task Group, and segregation ended.

In real life, the head of the Space Task Group was a man named Bob Gilruth. Unlike the fictional character played by Kevin Costner, he didn't dramatically take a crowbar to a restroom sign.

"Desegregation of bathroom and dining facilities happened gradually and quietly over the 1950s at Langley lab," explains Barry. Langley lab was a federal facility but was located in Virginia, which had state-mandated segregation. "There was some tension between local and federal 'rules' on this issue," says Barry.

Segregation effectively ended when specialised workers were distributed among offices and facilities instead of being grouped together in pools. The segregated West Computing Unit, which comprised African-American women, was eliminated in the spring of 1958.

Women like Johnson, Jackson and Vaughan blazed the trail for America in space and for black women back on Earth. From the hidden figures of the past to the scientists and engineers of today, you can go to NASA's website to meet the diverse range of extraordinary people with their eyes on the stars.

February 25, 2017

Are you, asked the reporter, African American? Like a cartoon, her features froze. I dont under

Are you,” asked the reporter, “African American?” Like a cartoon, her features froze. “I don’t understand the question.” Remember Rachel? Update for you.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/25/rachel-dolezal-not-going-stoop-apologise-grovel?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+USA+-+Collections+2017&utm_term=214995&subid=17536001&CMP=GT_US_collection

February 23, 2017

CPAC has a panel called "Heaven has a wall, a gate and extreme vetting. Why can't America"

Had CSPAN on and I have a strong constitution, but I can't get thru more than 4 mins of this crap. My God, they are pure hate.

February 23, 2017

Poo Poo Head Spencer asked to leave CPAC

I wrote about this alt right guy in one of my letters prior to the election. They don't come much worse than him.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/white-nationalist-richard-spencer-asked-to-leave-cpac/2017/02/23/07309274-f9e9-11e6-aa1e-5f735ee31334_video.html

February 23, 2017

Fugelsang

I can't wait for Trump to visit the Anne Frank Center bc he's never bragged about the electoral college there.

February 22, 2017

Ever since we lost, folks have said WE didn't do enough to reach the voters Cheeto got

I have never ascribed to this. I know we all floundered around Nov 9th and asked what the hell....we had our monthly DEM meeting Nov 9th and one lady alder stood up and said we should go to taverns and hang around them and get them to like us. My eyes bugged out of my head. When I was young and lived in Berkeley we didn't expect pols to come to us. WE informed OURSELVES. And we had no cars, no cellphones, no tvs, no internet. We had ourselves and perhaps a radio and each other.

Why have voters, young and old, gotten so lame and lazy? It is our duty as citizens to be informed and not expect the leaders to molly coddle us.....here in WI it is said all the time, gee, HRC didn't come here enough.....HUH? You really couldn't tell the difference between her and Trump? You needed her to come here and talk to you? All crap. And the reason she did lose in WI was cheating, both legal cheating and illegal cheating, I will believe this to my dying day.

So at 18 and now at 65, I am not going to go to Cheeto voters' haunts and sweet talk them. Anymore than I will invite my abusive ex over Sunday to play scrabble with me.

February 22, 2017

Chris Hayes is doing Russia bigtime. Even bringing up Trump raping Ivana Trump.

Chris Hayes is doing Russia bigtime. Even bringing up Trump raping Ivana Trump. 1989 it is all in the Hunt biography of Trump. I had written Rachel and Lawrence about this. It is in the divorce transcripts, anyone can read them. Nobody made anything about this before the election.

It seems all the folks who helped Kremlin Klan shit are all in his Cabinet now.

February 21, 2017

John Fugelsang

John Fugelsang Retweeted Steve Dalas

You'd think a guy who takes the time to learn the spelling of "douche" would... never mind.

Steve Dalas @sdalas73
@JohnFugelsang John your a douche

February 21, 2017

Ever since we lost, folks have said WE didn't do enough to reach the voters Cheeto got

I have never ascribed to this. I know we all floundered around Nov 9th and asked what the hell....we had our monthly DEM meeting Nov 9th and one lady alder stood up and said we should go to taverns and hang around them and get them to like us. My eyes bugged out of my head. When I was young and lived in Berkeley we didn't expect pols to come to us. WE informed OURSELVES. And we had no cars, no cellphones, no tvs, no internet. We had ourselves and perhaps a radio and each other.

Why have voters, young and old, gotten so lame and lazy? It is our duty as citizens to be informed and not expect the leaders to molly coddle us.....here in WI it is said all the time, gee, HRC didn't come here enough.....HUH? You really couldn't tell the difference between her and Trump? You needed her to come here and talk to you? All crap. And the reason she did lose in WI was cheating, both legal cheating and illegal cheating, I will believe this to my dying day.

So at 18 and now at 65, I am not going to go to Cheeto voters' haunts and sweet talk them. Anymore than I will invite my abusive ex over Sunday to play scrabble with me.

February 20, 2017

If we all switched to R could we screw with their gerrymandering?

You guys know more than I do....in WI we have been screwed for 7 years now.