That seems to be the case if these updates from Tonykatz on Twitter are accurate. The latest status on USAIR flight 66 seems to show a departure delay:

Flight # 66
Depart Los Angeles, CA
Date 4/8/2008
Gate 10
Scheduled 9:10 PM
Actual 9:45 PM
Status Estimated Departure

Arrive Las Vegas, NV
Date 4/8/2008
Gate A22
Scheduled 10:17 PM
Actual 10:50 PM
Status Estimated Arrival

Update:
Tony Katz has more to say about this event on his blog and via audio on Utterz.

This is not good:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton that her passport file was breached in 2007.

In a statement from her Senate office, Clinton said she had been contacted by Rice. The State Department plans to brief Clinton’s staff Friday about the unauthorized breach.

The development came just hours after the State Department fired two contract employees and disciplined a third for inappropriately examining the passport file of Clinton’s Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama.

It’s still quite possible (I’d like to think likely) that we’re dealing with “imprudent curiosity” here. However, it will get more difficult to stick with that story if news of additional cross-party breaches does not follow.

Update:
McCain’s file was breached as well. I bet he’s actually relieved:

The passport files of presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, and Sen. John McCain, a Republican, were improperly accessed by State Department workers, a U.S. official said on Friday.

This is going to be a particularly exciting mission to watch:

The first module of the Japanese-built Kibo laboratory complex was packed inside Endeavour’s cargo bay, along with a Canadian-built robotics system that will enhance the capabilities of the International Space Station’s robotic arm.

The pressurized logistics module for the Kibo complex represents the first manned spacecraft for Japan.

“With this flight, I believe we fully became a real partner in the International Space Station project,” said Keiji Tachikawa, president of JAXA, the Japanese space agency.

Dextre is the robotics system that Endeavour lofted into orbit. With it, Canada is making a literal extension to what the nation already built. Canada built both the space shuttle robot arm and the robotic arm used on the International Space Station.

“Today we are marking another point in our space history,” said Guy Bujold, director of the Canadian Space Agency.

It will take the STS-123 crew more than two weeks in space and five spacewalks to accomplish the goals of the mission.

Stay tuned to NASA TV for the next couple of weeks.

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine contains bits of what is alleged to have been New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s preferred international social introduction service:

Emperors’ Club VIP is the most preferred international social introduction service for those accustomed to excellence. Introducing the most impressive models to leading gentleman of the world is our expertise. We specialize in introductions of: fashion models, pageant winners and exquisite students, graduates and women of successful careers (finance, art, media etc…) to gentlemen of exceptional standards. When seeking an evening date, a weekend travel companion, or a friend to accompany you during your next business / social function our models are perfect preference.

We act for a select group of educated, refined and successful international clients who give their best in all they do and who, in return, only wish to receive the best. Catering to clients who will not compromise in any area of their life. We provide our customers and associates with full discretion, confidentiality and guarantee the most exclusive and discreet social introduction services. Our presentation and photos of each model are recent and accurate. The poses intentionally conceal their faces, as each model companion is either a University Student or, more commonly, a career professional. This guarantees privacy, public comfort and discretion for both our clients and models when dating.

Our meticulous standards of beauty, intelligence and charm ensure that you always encounter the quality you’ve come to expect in a woman, when with an Emperors’ Club vip model. Each of our companions is a product of an exceptionally fine background and a success in her right. All rendezvous are individually crafted to suit the needs of your specific occasion. Note that each model has place in her schedule for a select number of appointments per month, so your date will be a special one for both of you.

Our goal is to make life more peaceful, balanced, beautiful and meaningful. We honor commitment to our clients as we covet long-term relationships of trust and mutual benefit. Experience for yourself a service of obvious distinction…

You think Spitzer’s life is more peaceful, balanced, beautiful and meaningful at the moment?

Olivia Munn doesn’t really do much in this video, except look hot, which I presume is her job. The more entertaining bit is just how closely this video parallels my career - except for the part at the end where the IT guy’s coworkers actually understand what he’s saying.

The threat of classified tech burying itself in soft ground outside of Beijing appears to have been reduced:

Wednesday’s strike began at around 10:26 p.m. EST, when the USS Lake Erie, which had been tracking the falling satellite, launched a modified SM-3 missile at the bus-sized object as it entered the earth’s atmosphere. The missile struck the satellite about three minutes later as the spacecraft traveled in polar orbit at more than 17,000 mph.

Because the satellite was orbiting at a relatively low altitude at the time it was hit by the missile, debris will begin to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere immediately, the Pentagon statement said.

“Nearly all of the debris will burn up on re-entry within 24-48 hours and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days,” it said.

Raytheon is happy. Putin and China - not so happy.

Patrick Ruffini is running an interesting experiment this evening:

We’re asking Iowans to join us in an experiment to see if the Internet can provide faster, better results on the night of the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses.

During your caucus, we’re asking you to use Twitter to send a text message with the results of your caucus as soon as they are announced. We’ll be tallying the reported results from the Democratic and Republican Caucuses and posting them live.

For the Democrats, this will help us to crack open an opaque reporting process where raw vote totals aren’t known by reporting estimated pre-”viability” support from caucusgoers themselves.

For those wanting to observe or participate can get started on the project’s Twitter page. Instructions can be found on the supporting I’m Twittering Live from My Iowa Precinct Caucus Facebook group:

1. Sign up for Twitter (twitter.com), a micro-blogging service that allows you to tell everyone what you’re doing — and report useful information around you.

2. Follow our Twitter user by going to http://twitter.com/iowacaucus or issuing a Twitter message saying “follow iowacaucus.”

3. If you’re an Iowa caucusgoer who pledges to send in results, send us a direct message via Twitter and we will “follow” you. This enables us to automatically get your updates.

4. On Caucus day or before, allow Twitter to send text messages to and from your phone. Go to “notifications” in Twitter’s right sidebar, enter your mobile phone numbe, tick off the checkbox, and follow the remaining instructions. If you’d like to receive text messages from our “iowacaucus” user (with results and updates) make sure you’re following us and Notifications are turned on when you go to our Twitter page (twitter.com/iowacaucus)

Standard text rates apply, and you’ll probably want to turn this off once the Caucus is done, but reporting via text message is the easiest way to share your results with us, as well as for us to share statewide results with you.

5. On Caucus night, send Twitter a text message at 40404 with your results once they are known. Prefix your message with “@iowacaucus” so we’ll know to pick it up and make sure to have the word “caucus” in the message just to be safe. Give us some indication of were you are — preferably a specific caucus location but if that’s too long, your city/town will do just fine.

More fallout, so to speak, resulting from our schizophrenic positions on Iran’s nuclear ambitions:

The United States, which believes Tehran harbours ambitions to acquire a nuclear weapon, had urged Moscow not to send the fuel.

However, Russia said that it received assurances from Iran that the shipped fuel will not be used for any other purpose. It said there was no evidence to prove that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, and that the Bushehr project could not be used in a weapons programme in any case.

And they only have to wave our own National Intelligence Estimate in our faces when we object.

A ton of Ubuntu users have snapped up ASUS’ awesome Eee PC so it was just a matter of time before someone created a custome distro. Behold eeeXubuntu:

eeeXubuntu is a custom version of the Xubuntu 7.10 Live CD with fully-integrated hardware support, including native wireless drivers, functioning Ethernet support, tweaks for low-resolution desktop environments, and other miscellaneous fixes. Wherever possible, these changes are incorporated using custom .deb packages rather than spewing assorted files all over post-install. (”./configure; make; make install”? yuck!)

The goal of this project is to maintain a easy-to-install Xubuntu Live CD image for the eeePC, allowing for a reliable base Xubuntu install. The hardware is all the same… this should be easy.

… because life is too short to spend all day looking for help in a forum.

You can get more information and download a free copy on the EeeUser Wiki. I’ll probably give it a try, and report my findings, this weekend.

Space tourism is set to explode take off in 2008:

On 23 January the designs for the carrier aircraft and its spaceship will be unveiled and by March the SS2’s simulator will be completed while construction of the first WK2 and SS2 so far is 60% and 50% complete, respectively.

“White Knight II will look more like the Virgin Atlantic Globalflyer. We have built all the models to show the public [the finished design in January],” says Whitehorn, adding that he wants to offer $3 million launches to low Earth Orbit for small satellites.

This launch service could use WK2 or a larger successor in the 2015 timeframe, which Whitehorn referred to as White Knight Three, using in either case a two-stage rocket that would place the payloads into orbits.

Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic is aiming to sign a commercial agreement this month for use of New Mexico’s planned Spaceport America and a flight handling assessment of that spaceport will begin by January.