Month: July 2026

Whew

Sorry to miss yesterday, but we had a special service at church that kept me occupied into the afternoon. It was made even more delightful by getting to meet our priest’s month-old daughter. She was born while I was on pilgrimage and yesterday was her first day in church.

I ran errands early this morning, and am trying to decide if I really need to do one thing I forgot or if I can put it off until tomorrow. We are supposed to get some storms tonight that should help cool things down. Meantime, it’s summer in Indiana which means hot and very humid. Interesting that it very similar to the weather pattern 125 years ago, as well as a reminder this is not a new thing.

Plan to get up my usual July 4th post early in the morning, as we have a baptism tomorrow morning and vespers (only, no matins) tomorrow evening. Wondering if I will be able to see any fireworks tomorrow night as I don’t plan on going out again after I get home from vespers. Things have already gotten crazy here as Indianaman and Indidanakids are giving Floridaman a run for his money.

More soon.

UPDATE: This will show as edited as I’ve changed the boilerplate below as part of some general clean-up and editing of widgets and more. I’ve even cleaned up the Amazon wish list a bit to reflect some changes I see coming. Hopefully the mostly-behind-the-scenes stuff will make things a little cleaner and better.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. If you would like to help me with seminary courses, pilgrimages, and more, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. Thank you.

Competition To Space X

Space X has become THE launch company for most payloads, and is taking steps that ensure multiple revenue streams beyond launch. If I can work things out, would love to buy a share as a long-term investment. Wish I had been able to go to work for them at the start, as I would probably be a millionaire now instead of on a pension.

In the medium- to heavy-lift markets, Space X really doesn’t have any realistic competition. It will likely be at least a decade before Blue Origin becomes a serious competitor if it ever does. This is less about technology than the management choosing and driving the technology chosen. Let’s just say that in my opinion the management and management direction chosen means that innovation, much less rapid innovation, is not the top priority.

While there are some innovative space companies in the United States, one of the most innovative small launch companies is in New Zealand. Rocket Lab is doing interesting things and is moving from small-launch into medium launch capability. It also just has done a deal that could and should put them on a similar revenue source track to Space X. Go check out Stephen Green’s post at PJ Media on what is going on.

Remember: innovation comes in many forms, and not just in launch or other technology. Success is going to come from innovating multiple revenue streams to support both general operations and rapid innovation in propulsion, launch, and related technology.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. If you would like to help me with seminary courses, pilgrimages, and more, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. I’ve added Cash App ($CliffPow7) and Venmo (@Clifford-Powers-5). There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. Thank you.