Friday links

There isn’t much going on today or this weekend, so here’s some links instead.

• The final space shuttle mission has launched.
• David Brooks defends the NSF from would-be slashers in Congress.
• It is day 3 of the 2011 RoboCup in Istanbul, Turkey and you can watch robot soccer matches streamed live (beware the 12-hour time difference — this is entertainment for those sleepless nights).