Quantcast
Channel: Music of the Spheres
Browsing latest articles
Browse All 132 View Live

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Sunspots

I love to write, though you might never guess this from my recent blog activity. While this is my first blog post of 2016, I used to blog a lot more -- some 1500 entries since I started this blog in...

View Article



Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Perspective

My heart goes out to the many people who have been injured or lost loved ones in terrorist actions around the world, most recently the horrific Bastille Day truck attack in Nice, France. These actions...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

100 Days

One of the most encouraging things I looked at in the NY Times this morning was the interactive "Who Will Be President?" feature, part of their numbers-oriented Upshot section. It says that based on...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Orbiter 2016 Is Here

Orbiter 2016 is the latest version of a space flight simulator I have been playing with on and off since 2005. And while I'm now old enough to be a grandfather, I find that Orbiter still brings out the...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Orbiter: 2016 vs. 2010

As I wrote recently in this blog and in an article in The Space Review, Orbiter 2016 was released in September. This is the first major release of this freeware space flight simulator since Orbiter...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Obama Farewell

I watched President Obama’s farewell speech last night with my wife. It was an incredibly hopeful and moving speech, and the part near the end when he spoke to and about his family and his VP and...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Fermi Paradox Explained?

I’ve often thought that the whole “where are they?” question about SETI(i.e., the Fermi Paradox) is bogus, both because the universe is just so BIG, and because we still understand so little about it,...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Nothing Is Unbelievable Now

The word “unbelievable” is obsolete now that Trump is president. Any horrible thing you can imagine someone in government doing or saying is believable now. Trump's appointments and actions seem...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Conscious AI as a Feature, Not a Bug

I really like the SF show Humans and its depiction of an alternate present-day UK where in addition to iPhones and super-fast internet service, humanoid “synths” have come into widespread use as...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Hey O Way O

Do you remember the children's book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? Just substitute "year" and that pretty much sums up 2017. I don't want to talk about it.My readership...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Finding My Muse (Score)

It's funny how things happen. A few months ago, I switched from Sonar to Studio One as my main music recording software. I got a special Black Friday deal from Presonus. I really like Studio One and...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

What If Space Really Sucks?

I read an interesting essay on The Space Review by Dwayne Day, titled “Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids,” quoting Bernie Taupin in Elton John's song “Rocketman.” That 2017 essay was...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Center Of It All

I have a new album! Center Of It All is available for download on CD Baby, and actual CD's will also be available there within a couple of weeks. It is also available on Apple Music, Amazon Music,...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

My Inner Space Child

Not very deep inside me is a still-space-obsessed Inner Child who thinks space flight is the coolest thing ever. As a kid in the sixties, I was super-excited to follow the Mercury and Gemini and Apollo...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Joys of Virtual Travel

Is this thing on? This blog I mean. Since I haven’t written a post since 2018, I thought maybe the whole blog thing was over and nobody told me. We certainly seem to have passed the heyday of blogs if...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Why Things That Fly Are Cool

I blame my main life obsessions on John Glenn and the Beatles: things that fly and making music. The flying bit started first, in 1962. In February of that year, John Glenn became the first American...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Light and Weather in Microsoft Flight Simulator

Fans of flight simulators often talk about how “immersive” a sim is. It’s about how much the sim experience makes you feel like you’re flying a real airplane. Visuals are obviously a key component, and...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Twelve Planes of Christmas

One of the great things about virtual stuff is that it doesn't take up much room. Take my fleet of airplanes, for example. Microsoft Flight Simulator starts you off with a pretty decent set of flyable...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Exploring Switzerland with MiGMan

I've been virtually exploring many cool areas in Africa and Europe with the help of a new series of VFR flight plans for Microsoft Flight Simulator, MiGMan's World Tour. They include a large number of...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Guns, Guns, Guns! (Not Really)

One of the cool things about Microsoft Flight Simulator is the ability to do multiplayer flights with other players over the internet. I have done quite a few of these, most often group flights where...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Mind the Power Lines!

Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) continues to provide a range of enjoyable distractions as I explore various corners of the world, usually in VR and often with online friends who share the virtual...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Earth Simulator (with Airplanes)

I've resuscitated this blog to write occasionally on my continuing infatuation with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. If you've read any of my earlier posts, you will know that I am a lifelong "airplane...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

England Aviation Vacation, Part 1

For the last two years, virtually all my travel has been… virtual. I’ve spent countless hours exploring the world in Microsoft Flight Simulator, either on my own or in online group flights with friends...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

England Aviation Vacation, Part 2

After I got back to North Weald Airfield from my “Castles & Coasts” flight down to Dover, my taxi friend Ali drove me back to Epping Station and I caught a train for Cambridge, stopping for the...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Mendelssohn & Monet

I was listening to a favorite symphony this morning, Mendelssohn’s Fourth, the Italian Symphony. The first movement is as sunny as I’ve ever known it to be in Italy, even in Tuscany. I started...

View Article

Browsing latest articles
Browse All 132 View Live




Latest Images