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I’m knee deep in paper grading right now, but here’s a quick post with some April Foolishness.

Patrick Altoft has a live blog of April Fools pages and pranks here.

Planning to take over the world? Read the Evil Genius Guide to Business. I’m talking to you, Hank Scorpio!

ThinkGeek and Amazon are selling a book on silly Internet RFCs. A Request for Comments is a document that describes proposed Internet standards and technologies, and there is a long tradition of joke RFCs.

Google continues its annual tradition of gags, as reported on Cnet. This year’s crop includes Gmail Custom Time, a feature that lets Gmail users send thir email messages into the past.

There are almost a dozen Google hoaxes this year, including Google Australia’s gDay, a search engine that travels 24 hours ahead in time.

Google also announced Virgle, a joint venture with Virgin to develop an open-source expedition to Mars. Google’s co-founders describe the project in this YouTube video.

The AP reported that a new, third-generation GPS satellite was successfully launched for the United States Air Force from Florida. As I mentioned on 17 March 2008, the Air Force has a lot on its plate these days. The new satellite weighs two tons, is 11 meters long and 2 meters wide. The average GPS satellite has an 8 year life span, so the Air Force must launch replacements on a regular schedule to maintain the 24-satellite system. See HowStuffWorks and NASA for more information about how the Global Positioning System actually works.

A year ago, I wrote about China’s ill-advised space weapons test. When China complained about the US government’s successful takedown of a dead satellite last week, I have to shake my head and wonder. There’s a big difference. A year ago, China conducted an unannounced test of a weapons system that left thousands of debris chunks remain in orbit, as this January 2008 article from Wired shows. DailyWireless has more pictures and additional discussion.

This month, the US government announced its plan well in advance, and it wasn’t a weapons test.

As Jeffrey Lewis pointed out on Wired and ArmsControlWonk, some debris may remain in orbit. The official line, as reported in the New York Times and Honolulu Advertiser, is that the satellite was destroyed.

Writers such as Lewis and Farhad Manjoo don’t live in Hawaii, and may lack the personal stake that I and my fellow residents have in this story. It is much easier to hit a tumbling satellite than an inbound missile. I’m glad the US military can hit both, because Honolulu is a prime target.

But I’d much rather see international efforts to remove space junk from orbit, before an errant bolt or paint chip takes out a communications satellite or a manned mission.

I remember Pillsbury Space Food Sticks. Only 44 calories a stick, and they tasted like peanut butter-flavored plastic. Another company is now selling this product. Thanks a lot, BoingBoing.

It’s 19 September, and that means it’s International Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day. Time to break out your iPatch, wish me a happy birthday, shiver your timbers, and really tick off those pesky ninjas.

Here’s a Wikipedia article about the day, with no mention of me at all. I’m not famous enough for Wikipedia, and that’s probably a good thing!

Seriously, TLAP Day is one of several Internet-fueled holidays that have gained popularity through social networking, blogs, and word-of-mouth marketing. Another favorite of mine is Yuri’s Night on 12 April. It’s a series of small global parties to honor the first manned orbital spaceflight. Of course, the Soviet Union was celebrating Cosmonautics Day long before there was a World Wide Web. I wish Yuri’s Night was more like a Cinco de Mayo for space. Maybe next year!

In the meantime, let’s party like it’s 1807.