I hate when the steering wheel comes off my car while I’m driving.
Category Archives: Technology and Society
The Warning From Elon At SXSW
The first Mars visitors will probably die. Of course, we’re all going to die somewhere.
As I note in the book, it’s very unlikely that the Shackleton ad was real. If it had been published in a London broadsheet, it would have been spelled “honour.”
[Update a couple minutes later]
And per usual, a lot of ignorance and stupidity in comments over there.
Duck Duck Go
Why should I use it instead of Google?
Also, they don’t lie about not being evil.
Books In The Mail
I’ve got review copies of Tim Fernholz’s
I’ve got an account (and so does the book), but I almost never visit the site. And I’ve never installed the app on my phone or tablet. Here’s why.
Planetary Protection
…is not required by Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty. I suspect a lot of people at COPUOS would disagree.
[Update a while later]
Sorry, bad link fixed.
Autoimmune Diseases
We’re gaining a new understanding of them. Faster, please.
A Harbinger For Space Policy?
Trump apparently is impressed with commercial space.
Beyond Faraday
This seems like a huge breakthrough: A radically new type of miniaturized inductor.
Stratolaunch
…wants to use Birdzilla to launch a reusable spaceplane.
Not sure what this means, though:
The Black Ice space plane — should it be built — would be about as big as the former space shuttle developed by NASA and capable of staying up for at least three days.
What does “as big” mean? Similar dimensions to a Shuttle orbiter? If it has to carry propellant, it won’t have much payload. I wonder what kind of GLOW that aircraft can handle?
[Update a few minutes later]
Here’s another story on the subject from Eric Berger. Haven’t looked at comments yet, but there may be some discussion of performance there.