Iridium Last

SpaceX had a successful flight of a used booster this morning from Vandenberg, delivering the final birds of the new Iridium constellation. It was socked in in LA, so I couldn’t see it, but it looks like it was beautiful up on the central coast. Michael Baylor got a gorgeous shot, his first from a remote camera.

[Update a while later]

Here’s another one.

Taking The Smarts Out Of “Smart TV”

…would make them more expensive.

I’ve never given our 65″ Vizio (which we bought a year ago) our wifi password. It has no information other than what comes in through the HDMI cable. It’s purely a monitor. I don’t talk to Google, and I won’t get an Alexa. I’ve never installed Facebook on my phone, and I turn off my location unless I need it. I don’t want the tech giants spying on me and selling my data. Because at some point, the government is going to demand it, and they’ll comply.

Charlie Bolden

I just got a Facebook friend request from him. Huh.

I was down at the AIAA SciTech conference in San Diego. It goes all week, but I drove back last night. The first two days were space stuff, but the rest of the week is mostly aviation. I stayed yesterday because it was interesting aviation, with supersonics and urban air transport. Anyway, back in the office now.

Aging

How old are we when we’re old?

I’m well into my sixties now, but I don’t feel old at all. Or at least, no more so than I did twenty years ago. In some ways, probably because of improved diet, I feel like I’m in better shape. I do need to work out, though. I’m planning a lot of business travel this year, and starting a new space venture, and I feel as up to it (perhaps more, given my experience) as I ever have.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!