The US is failing.
[Monday-morning update]
DARPA is getting interested.
Category Archives: Technology and Society
Fixing NASA
Jim Meigs has a long essay at the Manhattan Institute that quotes Yours Truly several times.
[Friday-morning update]
Bob Zimmerman writes that we don’t need no stinkin’ government program to get to the Moon.
Not sure I agree. The race to the poles was all about prestige, and America didn’t need it, but the race to the Moon is about resources, and we don’t want China to be making claims. But I agree that the best policy would be that which encourages private actors, and Isaacman is the ideal NASA administrator to do that.
The Proposed “Science Budget Cuts” At NASA
Bob Zimmerman says that there are things deserving of cutting.
I certainly agree about Mars Sample Return, and said that on X this morning. I think we need a dramatic change in how these funds are allocated and prioritized, and the current decadal needs to be completely redone.
But I also don’t pay much attention to what OMB says at this point in the process.
I would add that it’s inappropriate for OMB to propose a NASA budget ahead of the confirmation of a NASA administrator who has been named for months. I wouldn’t put up with it if I were president. I personally consider OMB’s NASA budget proposal DOA, and I hope that Trump does as…
— Not-So-OK Boomer (@Rand_Simberg) April 14, 2025
Jurassic Park, Here We Come
SOUND ON. You’re hearing the first howl of a dire wolf in over 10,000 years. Meet Romulus and Remus—the world’s first de-extinct animals, born on October 1, 2024.
— Colossal Biosciences® (@colossal) April 7, 2025
The dire wolf has been extinct for over 10,000 years. These two wolves were brought back from extinction using… pic.twitter.com/wY4rdOVFRH
I suspect they went extinct because the Siberian-Americans wiped out their food supply. It seems to me that the next de-extinctions should be woolly mammoths, mastodons, ground sloths, and ancient bison, to give them worthy prey. There’s apparently no record of them being north of 42 degrees, but that’s probably because it was covered in ice at their time.
More Bad Space Reporting
No, Futurism, Artemis is not synonymous with SLS. I make this clear in my upcoming Reason study.
The Average College Student Today
This is tragic. Our educational system is the biggest problem the Republic faces.
DOGE
If everyone saw this, it would be much more politically popular.
My interview with the @elonmusk and the @DOGE team tonight on #SpecialReport pic.twitter.com/KKpxEPtu1Z
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) March 27, 2025
Boeing
…has admitted to its crime of murder, and should plead guilty.
I wonder what penalty the judge will impose, other than compensating the families for the incompensable?
“The Signal I Was Waiting For”
I haven’t had much to say about this kerfuffle, but CDR Salamander has a pretty good take, IMO.
Freedom In Outer Space
Is it at risk?