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I've been having the same experience with this issue on several fronts. One thing that make me acutely aware that I was growing up was a trip my girlfriend and I made to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum this past weekend. I may journal about it.

Specifically I remember taking a trip to this museum with my Dad when I was 10 years old (ca 1980). I was a HUGE Trekkie at the time. Thoroughly obsessed. Seeing the USS Enterprise was a thrill unmatched. I remember feeling like I was bearing witness to the second coming as I inspected every inch of the "starship" with my eyes, soaking in every molecule optically. I earnestly HOPED to have at least an echo of that feeling. Sadly this was not the case. Seeing it again at 34, it just looked like a big toy. I tried to be enthused, but being honest with myself my reaction was just a notch above "meh". All this despite the fact that I am currently in a downtime project of watching every Star Trek episode ever made, currently up to the end of season 3 on DVD. I sincerely wish I could muster just a 10th of that kind of childish enthusiasm for anything. So I myself must wonder, what must we lose to become adult?

Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy the trip or become enthused at all. What perhaps made the biggest impression on me was the Martin B-26B Marauder "Flak Bait" bomber. Here was something real. I was simply bowled over. It made WWII seem really real. And this airplane seemed to represent what it really was: a death machine. Regardless of the fact that it mas killing WWII era Germans, far as I was concerned I was standing there looking at a human meat grinder. THAT left a far, far bigger impression on me than the "USS Enterprise". What also made a very real emotional impression on me was an actual (albeit prototypical) example of a Lunar Lander. Also a big deal to me were the Minuteman Missile as well as a Russian ICBM and a recreation of the Apollo-Soyuz "meetup" in space. It was all very moving, but my reactions were not at all what I might've expected.

I notice that I don't quite enjoy punk rock the way I used to, gaming and science fiction the same.

Not only that, but you can ferment damn near anything and get ethanol out of it.

Think about it: if all of the readily fermentable waste that we don't use could be collected and mashed up, it would be huge.

Waste fruit from groceries, that bananna you didn't eat last week, etc. All ripe for being turned into alcohol. Bonus is, you can turn around and sell what's left as livestock feed. It still has all of the protien, fat and stuff, and maybe a little bit of the starch. Bonus.

If we could build a big enough solar distillery (I'm invisioning something like solar one, with a big condensor to keep up with the output) It would be practically maintainance free (compared to some things), as well.

Ethanol from our rubbish alone could make a huge difference.

This is kind of a continuation of an earlier post in a different thread, but I wonder who owns these probes? When we eventually send colonists to Mars, are they free to pick apart these things, lug them back to base as decorations, etc. I am guessing the "possession is 9/10ths of the law" fits pretty well here, even though I would bet NASA would throw a hissy fit if some other country took one of the rovers back to base to use as a boot scraper.

I don't know what the general answer to this question is, but I do know that ownership of the Viking 1 lander was transferred to the Smithsonian from NASA. This does imply that NASA believes itself to still be the owner of these landers, presumably they consider them to be just waiting collection, and not abandoned.

A quick google search shows there are 3 full Saturn V's on display.
The other two are at Kennedy (florida) and JSC (Houston).

-metric

For an example, see SNAP-27.

If we're speaking technically, my first computer was a Little Professor calculator. If we're talking something that could be used for programming, then we have to count the the Atari 2600 with its Basic Programming cartridge and controllers. If we're talking first, full-fledged machine, then mine was an Atari 800XL.

Oddly enough, I have items from both of these alternate SCOs on my kitchen counter at the moment (a mug and a jug of juice). Noticed that yesterday and thought it was odd.

Two words: Lung Cancer.

That is the alternative, and pollution from traditional power generation plants is killing people every day, and sickening many more.

There is not a single permanent disposal site world-wide. no one can guarantee the safety. the U.S. government even has a website on _just this problem_. Ready-made dirty bombs are driven in trucks all over the country. GREAT IDEA.

If someone wants to kill a lot of civilians, all they need is a garage lab to produce chemical or bio agents. Much more effective, much easier to deal with, even more scary (1 gram of the right bio agent could kill millions). See the recent research on mouse pox for some really scary stuff (did that story make /.?). How 'bout a bio agent that'll only wipe out one ethnic group? The research is just about there. It is always hard to evaluate relative risk, but to me nuke power is way down the list.

BTW, as far as nuke disposal, there's a good reason for a lunar colony... =) Name another major energy source where the pollution could realistically be taken entirely off-planet.

Also BTW, I hope some of the recent solar energy developments lead (finally) to competitive photovoltaic power generation on a distributed basis (that'll tick off the power companies!). One of the more exciting developments is solar fabric, which can be used in curved building designs.

The Wrights also realized that everyone else was working with the wrong data about lift and drag, which led them to build their own wind tunnels to get it right. Hard to dismiss them as tinking bicycle mechanics.

I suspect that if they were somehow brought into the present era, the Wright Brothers would relate for more to the efforts of folks like Armadillo Aerospace than any of the official government programs.

The article's framed as a look at the time since the Korean war, so the modern "PC bang" culture in the South makes a nice contrast. Detail:

"With 400 computer terminals, Megawebstation, located deep in the COEX mall, is one of the largest PC bangs. It is also the site of tournament matches for Starcraft, an on-line game. Oh's cable station broadcasts the matches to a nationwide audience of millions. Why in the world, I wonder, would so many people watch televised games they could play themselves? "For the same reason people watch championship golf," says Oh. "They want to see the best athletes and maybe pick up techniques to improve their own game."

Well, in the country with in its history legends such as Buffalo Bill and a long history of fighting racial inequality, there is a lot less silk-glove-handling and you have to stand up for your rights. The government will not just do it for you, you have to get up and make a stand, and then maybe you will get help. Or maybe not, but that doesn't mean that you will lose. But you will lose when you are lazy.

It had some problems, too small, too slow, WAY too noisy (being a ramjet helicopter) too little fuel capacity, etc.

/August

There was a link way up there, if you would have read it before posting it would lead you to an interview with Gates. Here is his response on hardware taken from Interview with Bill Gates

BG: Microsoft was playing a much broader role[laughs] than just doing software for this machine. I mean whether it is the keyboard, the character set, the graphics adapter, or even the memory layouts. I laid out memory so the bottom 640K was general purpose RAM and the upper 384 I reserved for video and ROM, and things like that. That is why they talk about the 640K limit. It is actually a limit, not of the software, in any way, shape, or form, it is the limit of the microprocessor. That thing generates addresses, 20-bits addresses, that only can address a megabyte of memory. And, therefore, all the applications are tied to that limit. It was ten times what we had before. But to my surprise, we ran out of that address base for applications within -- oh five or six years people were complaining.
(emphasis added for clarity)

Occasionally, I do RTFA in advance of posting!

Bill Gates interview.

-cmh

The Smithsonian also has a good image. Personally, I think it's a brilliant interpretation of a very old design. Anyone who's read about the Burgess shale and the pre-Cambrian extinctions knows the variety of structure that was lost. (S. J. Gould's Wonderful Life is a great read.) This is a useful, inventive translation of old structure into modern use. What a great source for inspiration.

Sounds like DeHavilland's experience with building the plane that executed the first airmail service was a lot like a lot of software projects...

Version 1.0 had a lot of bugs:
- engine would crush and trap pilot in minor crashes
- exhaust pipes vented in pilots eyes
- compass only worked in some quadrants
- altimiter didn't work great for 0 - 1000 feet

But version 2.0 worked and the airmail planes went on to carry 775 million letters.

They sent the Hope Diamond via a mail Package!

Text from here: Hope Diamond Wrapper

Because it was considered the safest way to transport gems at that time, the package containing the famed "Hope Diamond" was mailed on the morning of November 8, 1958, from New York City to Washington, D.C. The rare gem was given to the Smithsonian Institution by Harry Winston. Sent by registered (first-class) mail, the fee totaled $145.29, as indicated by tapes from a meter machine. For the package weighing 61 ounces, the postage amounted to $2.44 and the balance was paid for an indemnity of about $1 million.

The package was delivered on Monday, November 11, by letter carrier James G. Todd, who had picked up the package at the Old City Post Office (now the home of the National Postal Museum) for delivery that morning. Winston noted that he routinely used the mails to deliver valuable cargo. As he told a reporter from the Washington Star on November 8, ?It?s the safest way to mail gems. I?ve sent gems all over the world that way.?

The world-famous deep blue diamond continues to be a visitor favorite. The stone?s history is shrouded in mystery, superstition and rumor. The stone was originally thought to be a rough cut diamond weighing 112 carats. Some historians believe that it was once owned by Marie Antoinette, who, along with her husband, King Louis XVI, was beheaded in January 1793 during the French Revolution. The diamond, then known as the ?French Blue,? disappeared from public view for over 30 years. A Dutch diamond cutter is rumored to have carved the stone down to its present 45-carat weight.

The diamond was purchased in London in 1830 by Henry Hope. During the 19th century, the stone passed through several hands, and although none of the stories can be confirmed, it was said to have caused grief and tragedy to all of its owners after it left Hope?s possession. When the gem arrived in America in the first decade of the 20th century, it was purchased by jeweler Pierre Cartier who sold it in 1911 to Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean (whose daughter later died from an overdose of sleeping pills, and whose son was killed in a car accident). After Mrs. McLean?s death, the stone was purchased by Harry Winston in 1949. The ?curse? of the diamond may not have stopped there. According to a report in the Washington Post on August 21, 1959, James Todd, the mailman who delivered the stone to the Smithsonian in 1958, was beset by a deluge of bad luck. Within that year, one of Todd?s legs was crushed by a truck, he received head injuries in a separate car accident, his wife died of a heart attack, his dog died after strangling on its leash and four rooms of his house were burned in a fire. When he was asked if he attributed his run of bad luck to the diamond?s curse, Todd stoically replied, ?I don?t believe any of that stuff.?

Can you believe it yourself? The famed Hope Diamond, sent by mail package!

From paddles for perforating snail mail to paddles in my boss's email:

Nov 19 05:02:32 gw postfix/qmgr[241]: 0D91C17442: from=VeralsisWorldofOTKSpankingDrawings-bounce@gro ups.msn.com, size=13028, nrcpt=2 (queue active)

Two words: Lung Cancer.

That is the alternative, and pollution from traditional power generation plants is killing people every day, and sickening many more.

There is not a single permanent disposal site world-wide. no one can guarantee the safety. the U.S. government even has a website on _just this problem_. Ready-made dirty bombs are driven in trucks all over the country. GREAT IDEA.

If someone wants to kill a lot of civilians, all they need is a garage lab to produce chemical or bio agents. Much more effective, much easier to deal with, even more scary (1 gram of the right bio agent could kill millions). See the recent research on mouse pox for some really scary stuff (did that story make /.?). How 'bout a bio agent that'll only wipe out one ethnic group? The research is just about there. It is always hard to evaluate relative risk, but to me nuke power is way down the list.

BTW, as far as nuke disposal, there's a good reason for a lunar colony... =) Name another major energy source where the pollution could realistically be taken entirely off-planet.

Also BTW, I hope some of the recent solar energy developments lead (finally) to competitive photovoltaic power generation on a distributed basis (that'll tick off the power companies!). One of the more exciting developments is solar fabric, which can be used in curved building designs.

The flag icon for Slashdot's 'United States' section is missing its first stripe - the stripe that represents Delaware, the first state admitted to the Union. While a simple oversight could be forgiven, it should be known from here on out that Slashdot is in fact aware of the missing stripe, and even worse, refuses to do anything about it!

This vulgar flag desecration and rabid anti-Delawarism must be put to a stop. Let the Slashdot crew know that we will not accept a knowingly mutilated flag or the insinuation that Delawarians deserve to be cut out of the union. I ask you, what has Delaware done to deserve this insolence, this wanton disregard, this bigotry?

This intentional disregard of a vital national symbol is unpatriotic. Why, the flippant remarks CmdrTaco made about our flag border on terrorism! I urge you to join the protest in each 'United States' story. Sacrifice your karma for your country by pointing out this injustice. Let's all work together to get our flag back. Can you give your country any less?

It's been a long time since WAFL, the Voice of Labor in Chicago.

Anybody remember when the National Association of Manufacturers ran a 15-minute show "Industry on Parade" on Sunday mornings, followed by 15 minutes of "Americans at Work" from the AFL-CIO.

Just because nature did something a certain way, does not mean that that is the right way.

Right and wrong are human ideas. Nature just does what it does (typically, by the aforementioned laws of physics.)

Last I checked, nature didn't give a damn that the fires in southern california not only burned trees buut peoples houses is seen as "wrong" by most people, and "right" by a some of them.

Nature didn't care that these fires were started by some goofballs going something "wrong", either.

Nature just sees that the fire has a crapload of fuel, and is burning it.

If I had to give nature some human qualities, Is say Ol' Mom Nature is pissing herself laughing watching us stop a fire that is going insanely crazy because we wouldn't let smaller natural ones thin out that property-value-raising forest

Check this, in further offtopic discussion

Nature doesn't care that were causing all these problems for ourselves.

That's all us: babbling emotionally at each other and hoping we can figure out a way to make a buck off of it.

Actually, the Maginot Line wasn't quite the blunder you imply it to be. According to this article, the Line was never taken by force. When France was invaded in WW2, the German forces had to go around the ends of the Line, after which the line surrendered.

I love France. I like their French Foreign Legion, their language, their women. I like Europe in general but I think this time France has gone to far, they have had several mistakes in the past, like building a formidable impenetrable line, but not realizing any intelligent attacker would flank the line before trying to go through it. I will admit it was a great idea but who was the genius who thought they would stop at the border?

So I think we should invade France, nobody will complain because they are as xenophobic as Japan, if not moreso. French wine will be cheap, we could travel to Europe and live on US soil, and we will be right next door to our bed buddies the Brits!

What's to keep from Atlantis or Enterprise from blowing up?

Well, I can guarantee that the Enterprise is the safest shuttle of all of them. Unless you'd like to go and bomb the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

They could pack hundreds of times more V-mail in a container than standard post. When just about every ship crossing the sea was needed for the war effort, this was a Good Thing.

Standards and practices are one thing; federal regulations are quite another. Yes, chess should remain as it is: to play properly, one must remember how the pieces move. However, if you and I choose to sit in Starbucks and tinker with a chess set, skipping our pieces randomly across the board, we don't worry about being fined by the FCC.

Now, true, chess is a game, rather than a communications tool; and our "tinkering" doesn't affect others, whereas a broadcast can be picked up by anyone. But we're not talking about someone's right to trample across the airwaves yelling, "LiMp BiZkiT RuLeZZ!!!" One operator's inability to use Morse Code won't significantly detract from someone else's ability to use the airwaves.

There's another element, as well: consistency. In 1999, the United States Coast Guard stopped monitoring the Morse maritime distress frequency, and the International Maritime Organization dropped a requirement that ships over 300 tons have telegraph capabilities." (Source.) If the government is taking steps to recognize the obsolescence of Morse Code, shouldn't FCC requirements for radio licenses be first on the trash list? It seems foolish, to me, to require that people learn a code which is so out-of-date that our own government has stopped listening for it.

Personally, I'd go the other way. I think Morse Code's advantages in a potential catastrophe warrant its being kept alive. Suggesting that students learn Morse Code in school migh sound foolish, at first...but it's more practical than the redundant (and required) "cursive" script, isn't it? And with the quality of public education in this country, oughn't we give due consideration to almost any suggestion, before laughing it off the table?

But in the meantime, if our government doesn't even bother monitoring Morse Code, the only reason I see for requiring it for FCC licenses is to maintain the "elite" nature of ham radio. And while I agree that there are benefits in erecting chickenwire to keep out the riffraff, I certainly don't think that's an appropriate job for federal legislation.

My two cents.

conservativism (limited government)

First of all, conservatism (in the present day usage) has nothing to do with the size of the government and everything to do with the extent that the government interferes in private business matters.

Second, the current "conservative" government of the United States has increased the size of our government and increased government spending, even if you eliminate the costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Most of this spending increase is going to domestic intelligence gathering ("homeland security"), which, if I am understand correctly, means spying on American citizens, invading thier privacy, and interfereing in thier personal affairs.

Thirdly, I'd never be so stupid as to think that the current leaders of the Republican party would understand what Conservatism meant to an actual conservative.

dipshit.

I suppose if you think that science is a religion, you could argue your points. However, the definition of religion I get in Meriam-Webster implies faith, which my Sunday school teacher always defined as belief without proof.

Now the idea of science as religion is not new. In fact, there is a nice bit about it in Contact by Carl Sagan, in which the religious guy tells the atheist that she believes in science and does a cool experiment with a Foucault pendulum.

The difference between science and religion is then not that they believe but what they believe. Everyone believes in something. That's what humans do. Science just attempts to get proof, while most religions (I would say all, but I don't know all religions) are characterised by the lack of proof.

I see a number of recommendations for the computer exhibit at the American History Museum. And of course for the National Air and Space Museum.

However, the entirety of the Smithsonian is worth visiting. I recommend you spend at least a day per museum for the "quick tour" - I am not kidding. It's not called "America's Attic" for nothing. My personal recommendations:

• Arts and Industries exhibits in the Castle.
• the Renwick Gallery
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden [modern art]
• And if you don't get to The San Diego Zoo, a good second is The National Zoo [and I say this as a native of the Washington DC area].
• Ending up my short list is the Natural History Museum and its Insect Zoo.

When I was a kid, the Insect Zoo used to be well-hidden in a back corner of the Natural History Museum - with minimal signage - that it took us three visits to find it. My father joked that "insect zoo" meant "tour of the museum". These days there's more to it than dead mounted bugs and a glass-walled bee hive.

I see a number of recommendations for the computer exhibit at the American History Museum. And of course for the National Air and Space Museum.

However, the entirety of the Smithsonian is worth visiting. I recommend you spend at least a day per museum for the "quick tour" - I am not kidding. It's not called "America's Attic" for nothing. My personal recommendations:

• Arts and Industries exhibits in the Castle.
• the Renwick Gallery
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden [modern art]
• And if you don't get to The San Diego Zoo, a good second is The National Zoo [and I say this as a native of the Washington DC area].
• Ending up my short list is the Natural History Museum and its Insect Zoo.

When I was a kid, the Insect Zoo used to be well-hidden in a back corner of the Natural History Museum - with minimal signage - that it took us three visits to find it. My father joked that "insect zoo" meant "tour of the museum". These days there's more to it than dead mounted bugs and a glass-walled bee hive.

I see a number of recommendations for the computer exhibit at the American History Museum. And of course for the National Air and Space Museum.

However, the entirety of the Smithsonian is worth visiting. I recommend you spend at least a day per museum for the "quick tour" - I am not kidding. It's not called "America's Attic" for nothing. My personal recommendations:

• Arts and Industries exhibits in the Castle.
• the Renwick Gallery
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden [modern art]
• And if you don't get to The San Diego Zoo, a good second is The National Zoo [and I say this as a native of the Washington DC area].
• Ending up my short list is the Natural History Museum and its Insect Zoo.

When I was a kid, the Insect Zoo used to be well-hidden in a back corner of the Natural History Museum - with minimal signage - that it took us three visits to find it. My father joked that "insect zoo" meant "tour of the museum". These days there's more to it than dead mounted bugs and a glass-walled bee hive.

I see a number of recommendations for the computer exhibit at the American History Museum. And of course for the National Air and Space Museum.

However, the entirety of the Smithsonian is worth visiting. I recommend you spend at least a day per museum for the "quick tour" - I am not kidding. It's not called "America's Attic" for nothing. My personal recommendations:

• Arts and Industries exhibits in the Castle.
• the Renwick Gallery
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden [modern art]
• And if you don't get to The San Diego Zoo, a good second is The National Zoo [and I say this as a native of the Washington DC area].
• Ending up my short list is the Natural History Museum and its Insect Zoo.

When I was a kid, the Insect Zoo used to be well-hidden in a back corner of the Natural History Museum - with minimal signage - that it took us three visits to find it. My father joked that "insect zoo" meant "tour of the museum". These days there's more to it than dead mounted bugs and a glass-walled bee hive.

I see a number of recommendations for the computer exhibit at the American History Museum. And of course for the National Air and Space Museum.

However, the entirety of the Smithsonian is worth visiting. I recommend you spend at least a day per museum for the "quick tour" - I am not kidding. It's not called "America's Attic" for nothing. My personal recommendations:

• Arts and Industries exhibits in the Castle.
• the Renwick Gallery
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden [modern art]
• And if you don't get to The San Diego Zoo, a good second is The National Zoo [and I say this as a native of the Washington DC area].
• Ending up my short list is the Natural History Museum and its Insect Zoo.

When I was a kid, the Insect Zoo used to be well-hidden in a back corner of the Natural History Museum - with minimal signage - that it took us three visits to find it. My father joked that "insect zoo" meant "tour of the museum". These days there's more to it than dead mounted bugs and a glass-walled bee hive.

I see a number of recommendations for the computer exhibit at the American History Museum. And of course for the National Air and Space Museum.

However, the entirety of the Smithsonian is worth visiting. I recommend you spend at least a day per museum for the "quick tour" - I am not kidding. It's not called "America's Attic" for nothing. My personal recommendations:

• Arts and Industries exhibits in the Castle.
• the Renwick Gallery
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden [modern art]
• And if you don't get to The San Diego Zoo, a good second is The National Zoo [and I say this as a native of the Washington DC area].
• Ending up my short list is the Natural History Museum and its Insect Zoo.

When I was a kid, the Insect Zoo used to be well-hidden in a back corner of the Natural History Museum - with minimal signage - that it took us three visits to find it. My father joked that "insect zoo" meant "tour of the museum". These days there's more to it than dead mounted bugs and a glass-walled bee hive.

I see a number of recommendations for the computer exhibit at the American History Museum. And of course for the National Air and Space Museum.

However, the entirety of the Smithsonian is worth visiting. I recommend you spend at least a day per museum for the "quick tour" - I am not kidding. It's not called "America's Attic" for nothing. My personal recommendations:

• Arts and Industries exhibits in the Castle.
• the Renwick Gallery
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden [modern art]
• And if you don't get to The San Diego Zoo, a good second is The National Zoo [and I say this as a native of the Washington DC area].
• Ending up my short list is the Natural History Museum and its Insect Zoo.

When I was a kid, the Insect Zoo used to be well-hidden in a back corner of the Natural History Museum - with minimal signage - that it took us three visits to find it. My father joked that "insect zoo" meant "tour of the museum". These days there's more to it than dead mounted bugs and a glass-walled bee hive.

I see a number of recommendations for the computer exhibit at the American History Museum. And of course for the National Air and Space Museum.

However, the entirety of the Smithsonian is worth visiting. I recommend you spend at least a day per museum for the "quick tour" - I am not kidding. It's not called "America's Attic" for nothing. My personal recommendations:

• Arts and Industries exhibits in the Castle.
• the Renwick Gallery
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden [modern art]
• And if you don't get to The San Diego Zoo, a good second is The National Zoo [and I say this as a native of the Washington DC area].
• Ending up my short list is the Natural History Museum and its Insect Zoo.

When I was a kid, the Insect Zoo used to be well-hidden in a back corner of the Natural History Museum - with minimal signage - that it took us three visits to find it. My father joked that "insect zoo" meant "tour of the museum". These days there's more to it than dead mounted bugs and a glass-walled bee hive.

I see a number of recommendations for the computer exhibit at the American History Museum. And of course for the National Air and Space Museum.

However, the entirety of the Smithsonian is worth visiting. I recommend you spend at least a day per museum for the "quick tour" - I am not kidding. It's not called "America's Attic" for nothing. My personal recommendations:

• Arts and Industries exhibits in the Castle.
• the Renwick Gallery
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden [modern art]
• And if you don't get to The San Diego Zoo, a good second is The National Zoo [and I say this as a native of the Washington DC area].
• Ending up my short list is the Natural History Museum and its Insect Zoo.

When I was a kid, the Insect Zoo used to be well-hidden in a back corner of the Natural History Museum - with minimal signage - that it took us three visits to find it. My father joked that "insect zoo" meant "tour of the museum". These days there's more to it than dead mounted bugs and a glass-walled bee hive.

I see a number of recommendations for the computer exhibit at the American History Museum. And of course for the National Air and Space Museum.

However, the entirety of the Smithsonian is worth visiting. I recommend you spend at least a day per museum for the "quick tour" - I am not kidding. It's not called "America's Attic" for nothing. My personal recommendations:

• Arts and Industries exhibits in the Castle.
• the Renwick Gallery
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden [modern art]
• And if you don't get to The San Diego Zoo, a good second is The National Zoo [and I say this as a native of the Washington DC area].
• Ending up my short list is the Natural History Museum and its Insect Zoo.

When I was a kid, the Insect Zoo used to be well-hidden in a back corner of the Natural History Museum - with minimal signage - that it took us three visits to find it. My father joked that "insect zoo" meant "tour of the museum". These days there's more to it than dead mounted bugs and a glass-walled bee hive.

I see a number of recommendations for the computer exhibit at the American History Museum. And of course for the National Air and Space Museum.

However, the entirety of the Smithsonian is worth visiting. I recommend you spend at least a day per museum for the "quick tour" - I am not kidding. It's not called "America's Attic" for nothing. My personal recommendations:

• Arts and Industries exhibits in the Castle.
• the Renwick Gallery
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden [modern art]
• And if you don't get to The San Diego Zoo, a good second is The National Zoo [and I say this as a native of the Washington DC area].
• Ending up my short list is the Natural History Museum and its Insect Zoo.

When I was a kid, the Insect Zoo used to be well-hidden in a back corner of the Natural History Museum - with minimal signage - that it took us three visits to find it. My father joked that "insect zoo" meant "tour of the museum". These days there's more to it than dead mounted bugs and a glass-walled bee hive.

Don't miss the Museum of American History. There's an "Information Age" exhibit that every geek would love.

Don't miss the Museum of American History. There's an "Information Age" exhibit that every geek would love.

There are quite a few 'Smithsonian' museums that aren't the American History or Air & Space. [Although, they both do have some nice stuff in 'em]. There's also plenty of stuff in DC that's not run by the Smithsonian.

If you prefer the European style air museums (a hanger, lots of planes) , the Air & Space had an annex, they're working on building a new building out near Dulles Airport, and they're moving the stuff.

For geeks, there's the International Spy Museum, theNational Building Museum and the Arts and Industry building of the Smithsonian.

Oh...and if you want to see the monuments, and it's the summer, take the night tour. You can't go up the Washington, but the Jefferson and Lincoln are much better when they're lit up, it's not crowded, and you're not melting in crappy DC weather.

There are quite a few 'Smithsonian' museums that aren't the American History or Air & Space. [Although, they both do have some nice stuff in 'em]. There's also plenty of stuff in DC that's not run by the Smithsonian.

If you prefer the European style air museums (a hanger, lots of planes) , the Air & Space had an annex, they're working on building a new building out near Dulles Airport, and they're moving the stuff.

For geeks, there's the International Spy Museum, theNational Building Museum and the Arts and Industry building of the Smithsonian.

Oh...and if you want to see the monuments, and it's the summer, take the night tour. You can't go up the Washington, but the Jefferson and Lincoln are much better when they're lit up, it's not crowded, and you're not melting in crappy DC weather.

There are quite a few 'Smithsonian' museums that aren't the American History or Air & Space. [Although, they both do have some nice stuff in 'em]. There's also plenty of stuff in DC that's not run by the Smithsonian.

If you prefer the European style air museums (a hanger, lots of planes) , the Air & Space had an annex, they're working on building a new building out near Dulles Airport, and they're moving the stuff.

For geeks, there's the International Spy Museum, theNational Building Museum and the Arts and Industry building of the Smithsonian.

Oh...and if you want to see the monuments, and it's the summer, take the night tour. You can't go up the Washington, but the Jefferson and Lincoln are much better when they're lit up, it's not crowded, and you're not melting in crappy DC weather.

There are quite a few 'Smithsonian' museums that aren't the American History or Air & Space. [Although, they both do have some nice stuff in 'em]. There's also plenty of stuff in DC that's not run by the Smithsonian.

If you prefer the European style air museums (a hanger, lots of planes) , the Air & Space had an annex, they're working on building a new building out near Dulles Airport, and they're moving the stuff.

For geeks, there's the International Spy Museum, theNational Building Museum and the Arts and Industry building of the Smithsonian.

Oh...and if you want to see the monuments, and it's the summer, take the night tour. You can't go up the Washington, but the Jefferson and Lincoln are much better when they're lit up, it's not crowded, and you're not melting in crappy DC weather.

• National Museum of American History: Everything from a Morse's original telegraphs, Bell's original telephones, an Enigma, an ENIAC, a Hollorith Tabulating Machine, to a Trash-80 in the Information Age Exhibit located in the lower level
• Air and Space: The Wright Brother's Flyer, the Spirit of St Louis, the X-1, and if you visit after Decemeber of 2003, head out to Dulles Airport to see Udvar Hazy Center which will have even more aircraft including a SR-71, the Enola Gay, and the original space shuttle Enterprise.

In Boston, check out the Computer History Museum

In Chicago

• the Museum of Science and Industry is worth a visit.
• Plus there are plenty of Frank LLoyd Wright buildings to visit.

In the Bay Area there is

• the The Tech Museum in San Jose which is okay but if you plan far enough in advance (reservations are required)
• the Computer Museum History Center in Mountain View is probably the best collection of computers since the 50's.
• Intel has a museum at it's San Jose campus.
• Also dont miss a visit to Weird Stuff in Sunnyvale.

• National Museum of American History: Everything from a Morse's original telegraphs, Bell's original telephones, an Enigma, an ENIAC, a Hollorith Tabulating Machine, to a Trash-80 in the Information Age Exhibit located in the lower level
• Air and Space: The Wright Brother's Flyer, the Spirit of St Louis, the X-1, and if you visit after Decemeber of 2003, head out to Dulles Airport to see Udvar Hazy Center which will have even more aircraft including a SR-71, the Enola Gay, and the original space shuttle Enterprise.

In Boston, check out the Computer History Museum

In Chicago

• the Museum of Science and Industry is worth a visit.
• Plus there are plenty of Frank LLoyd Wright buildings to visit.

In the Bay Area there is

• the The Tech Museum in San Jose which is okay but if you plan far enough in advance (reservations are required)
• the Computer Museum History Center in Mountain View is probably the best collection of computers since the 50's.
• Intel has a museum at it's San Jose campus.
• Also dont miss a visit to Weird Stuff in Sunnyvale.

• National Museum of American History: Everything from a Morse's original telegraphs, Bell's original telephones, an Enigma, an ENIAC, a Hollorith Tabulating Machine, to a Trash-80 in the Information Age Exhibit located in the lower level
• Air and Space: The Wright Brother's Flyer, the Spirit of St Louis, the X-1, and if you visit after Decemeber of 2003, head out to Dulles Airport to see Udvar Hazy Center which will have even more aircraft including a SR-71, the Enola Gay, and the original space shuttle Enterprise.

In Boston, check out the Computer History Museum

In Chicago

• the Museum of Science and Industry is worth a visit.
• Plus there are plenty of Frank LLoyd Wright buildings to visit.

In the Bay Area there is

• the The Tech Museum in San Jose which is okay but if you plan far enough in advance (reservations are required)
• the Computer Museum History Center in Mountain View is probably the best collection of computers since the 50's.
• Intel has a museum at it's San Jose campus.
• Also dont miss a visit to Weird Stuff in Sunnyvale.