If this is true, it’s good news for Kodiak. Dave Masten seems to think it’s overblown, though.
Trump’s Knowledge
George Will says he doesn’t even know what knowledge is:
As president-elect, Trump did not know the pedigree and importance of the “one China” policy. About such things he can be, if he is willing to be, tutored. It is, however, too late to rectify this defect: He lacks what T. S. Eliot called a sense “not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence.” His fathomless lack of interest in America’s path to the present and his limitless gullibility leave him susceptible to being blown about by gusts of factoids that cling like lint to a disorderly mind.
The problem is that he thinks he has “a very good brain.” This is Dunning-Krugerish.
But I’m still relieved that she lost.
Robots
Microrobots. That can team up to pull a car.
Vector Space Systems
Congratulations on a successful test fight in Mojave today. That’s pretty good progress for a year-old company. There’s going to be a shakeout in this market, but they seem to be real.
[Mid-afternoon update]
If this isn't the coolest damned angle for a rocket shot then I don't know what is. @vectorspacesys Vector-R B0.1 first launch today #space pic.twitter.com/rd3Tt33JH4
— Jim Cantrell (@jamesncantrell) May 3, 2017
I like how the shadow stays in the frame as the rocket disappears from it.
[Thursday-morning update]
Eric Berger has the story.
Calorie Counting
It’s junk science, and these menu rules based on it are insane, and probably impossible to follow.
In related news, studies showing the dangers of replacing saturated fat with vegetable oils were apparently buried for a long time.
An Artificial Kidney
Available within two years? If so, this will save a lot of lives, and perhaps end the need for waiting for donors (which, unlike other organs, could be solved by simply letting the market work).
“The Check Didn’t Come”
A couple years ago, we had to evict a renter in Florida. She was a con artist, and it was a PITA, because she had a law degree.
Kevin Williamson has a sadder story about evictions, with broader societal connotations. It’s (as usual) a beautiful piece of writing.
LA Traffic
Elon’s tunnelling plan. Earthquakes will be a huge issue, I think.
The Nye Quadrant
An interesting discussion and link roundup from Judith Curry.
This Morning’s Launch And Landing
Because they didn’t show the second-stage burn for security purposes, SpaceX showed the entire descent sequence of the first stage for the first time, including the landing back at the Cape.