in Albuquerque...

I'm in Albuquerque this week (with all deference to Weird Al Yankovic) for a space technology conference -- actually five small conferences allied together. There have been interesting sessions... on lunar prospecting and mining (mine), as well as nuclear propulsion, space power systems, faster than light drives, etc. In the latter case, folks are trying to develop the theory for warp-drive propulsion... in one paper, it was eerie how much the electrostatic resistance flow in a vacuum as an object approached c, resembles fluid flow just before reaching the sound barrier. The authors actually could use CFD codes to simulate transluminal flight patterns.

Otherwise... I'm having lots of New Mexican food, particularly stacked enchiladas, and 4" of snow last night made this morning's drive exciting (roads were completely unplowed). And have spent time in relationship processing from an unexpected source since the weekend, but that's much better now. :)