[meteorite-list] Dave Shiflett-- no fan of the brenham

From: Matt Morgan <mmorgan_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 02 Jan 2007 21:45:12 -0700
Message-ID: <459B34D8.9070903_at_mhmeteorites.com>

Who bought it for a"cool million"?? Museum?
Matt

Darren Garrison wrote:

>"...a 1,400-pound space rock that resembles a massive, slightly rotting yam.
>Ugly is only skin deep, however. This monstrosity sold for a cool million."
>
>
>http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=a.flI69Q4Dvg&refer=muse
>
>Pilot Science Show Features Meteorites, Stem Cells, Speedy Cars
>
>By Dave Shiflett
>
>Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- A new PBS show promises breaking news from the world of
>science, a nice alternative to cable news alerts whenever the president stubs
>his toe.
>
>``Wired Science,'' which debuts tomorrow at 8 p.m. New York time, is part of an
>interesting contest in which viewers will help decide PBS's next weekly science
>program. Two other pilots, ``Science Investigators'' (Jan. 10) and ``22nd
>Century'' (Jan. 17), round out the competition.
>
>``Wired Science,'' a fast-paced, far-reaching collaboration between PBS and
>Wired magazine, will be hard to beat.
>
>The hour-long show kicks off with a segment on professional meteorite hunters.
>Viewers contemplating a career move should take note: Sometimes heaven rains far
>more than pennies.
>
>Steve Arnold, a professional meteorite hunter, drags a jerry-built metal
>detector through an otherwise nondescript Kansas field. Strange noises emanate
>from the machine and fierce digging commences. Wired correspondent Adam Rogers
>reaches down into the dirt and pulls out a meteorite the size of an anvil.
>
>It won't bring as much as an earlier find: a 1,400-pound space rock that
>resembles a massive, slightly rotting yam. Ugly is only skin deep, however. This
>monstrosity sold for a cool million.
>
>Meteorites
>
>Indeed, there's a competitive market for meteorites, which some people consider
>art. At one ``meteorite gallery'' we see a fairly modest projectile on sale for
>$89,000; the one unearthed earlier in the show is appraised at $12,000.
>
>In another segment, a plasma television is sawed in half, followed by a short
>tutorial on how plasma works. We also learn that screens in the future will
>likely be paper-thin.
>
>Later, we visit an underwater facility off the Florida coast where astronauts
>prepare for life in the stars. Water is a ``close analogue'' to space and the
>10-day, highly confining experience helps determine if would-be spacefolk can
>hack life locked in an alien environment.
>
>The only touch of controversy comes in a segment on embryonic stem-cell
>researcher Renee Reijo-Pera, who started her career as a bookkeeper in an
>auto-repair shop.
>
>These cells, she explains, have no fixed identity and so can be used to repair
>muscle, nerve, liver, skin and other damaged cells. As for suggestions that
>embryos should be considered sacrosanct, she responds they have a great deal of
>``potential'' but ``no potential if discarded.''
>
>Electric Car
>
>On a lighter note, there's a look at those ``rocket packs'' made famous by James
>Bond and once considered a possible weapons system. That project, known as
>Operation Grasshopper, didn't return much on investment though there was intense
>interest at high levels.
>
>Archived footage shows President John F. Kennedy at one flight demonstration.
>This was neat stuff, but a rocketing soldier could easily be brought down by
>even a slightly talented marksman.
>
>As the show winds down there's a brief interview with Elon Musk, former chief
>executive officer of PayPal Inc. and now involved in higher-tech developments,
>including an electric car that will go from zero to 60 in under four seconds.
>That's faster than all Porsches and almost all Ferraris.
>
>`Good Viruses'
>
>The first model is scheduled to roll out in six or seven months, Musk says,
>though where to drive these earth-bound rockets is a subject left untouched.
>
>The show ends with a look at ``good viruses'' found in the highly acidic thermal
>fields of Yellowstone. So-called ``extremomphiles'' can be hollowed out and used
>to transport chemotherapy directly into cancer cells.
>
>These microscopic multitaskers can also be used to produce hydrogen -- thus
>helping us beat our addiction to foreign oil -- and develop hard drives with
>storage capacity 10,000 times that of those currently available.
>
>Viewer response, augmented by market research, will determine if this show, or
>one of its competitors, gets a 10-week gig starting next fall. The winner will
>provide a viewing alternative to the presidential horserace, which will by then
>be in full gallop.
>
>A no-brainer, no matter which show prevails.
>
>For more information, visit http://www.pbs.org .
>
>(Dave Shiflett is a critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his
>own.)
>
>To contact the writer of this story: Dave Shiflett at dshifl at aol.com .
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>
Received on Tue 02 Jan 2007 11:45:12 PM PST