A White House Commission on NASA will recommend increased privatization as part of the space agency’s upcoming redesign. At first glance, this sounds like Dubya kicking more money back to his favorite companies. That being said, my lefty-leaning friends who work in the aerospace industry have told me that NASA’s current culture is far too risk-averse and bureaucratic to ever be very efficient, and that privatization may be the only way to make continued space exploration feasible. If so, I guess I’m for it.
Category: Tech
I, Sim.
“Resident Evil Outbreak’s humans are realistic, but their facial expressions are so deadeningly weird they’re almost scarier than the actual zombies you’re fighting. The designers of 007: Everything or Nothing managed to take the adorable Shannon Elizabeth and render her as a walleyed replicant.” Slate‘s Clive Thompson examines game developers’ struggles through the Uncanny Valley.
Riddles in the Dark.
In celebration of a quarter-century of Science Times, the paper ruminates on the 25 questions currently driving science, while Alan Lightman ponders the motivations that fuel scientists. I’m not sure if the likes of Stephen Hawking are really contemplating Atlantis, but there’s some intriguing stuff here.
Lost in Translation.
So I finally received the Bowlingual translator that Berk earned a few months ago and…well, as you might expect, it’s a bust. Unless I’ve been wildly misreading Berk’s behavior for years now, the translator appears to be randomly guessing, with the same string of barks eliciting diametrically opposed emotions. In other words, it’s useless, unless you really want to interact with your dog via a Tamagotchi. (Although, to be fair, when I just had to crate Berk for a slew of barks at a dog on the street, the Bowlingual responded, “You just don’t get it.”) That might in fact be true.
Eyes on the Street.
Seen on CNN Saturday afternoon – Elaine Newton (whom long-term readers will remember as my ex-wife) discusses her online Camera Watch project at Carnegie Mellon. Hmmm…small world, and it appears to be getting smaller all the time.
Space Cadet.
General Wesley Clark stumps for faster-than-light travel in New Hampshire. “I still believe in e=mc², but I can’t believe that in all of human history, we’ll never ever be able to go beyond the speed of light to reach where we want to go. I happen to believe that mankind can do it…It’s my only faith-based initiative.” Well, I guess he’s up on Dubya, who’s still trying to work out evolution. At the same rally, Clark introduced Professor John Frink as his potential National Science Advisor. “Suppose we extend the square beyond the two dimensions of our universe… along the hypothetical Z axis, there…”
Entropy!
Sigh…the school year was kicked off this morning by my toilet spraying water all over the bathroom (the hose came loose in the tank) and my computer refusing to visit any Microsoft sites, including Slate, MSN, and, most importantly, Hotmail. So I spent a good part of the day playing around with my antivirus software, Internet cache, and configuration – to say nothing of listening to the on-hold-jingle at 1-800-Microsoft for a good solid hour – before I encountered this. Ah well…hopefully all will be rectified soon. At least the cable’s working…for now.
Welcome to the Panopticon.
“This is coming whether we like it or not…It’s not how do we stop the tidal wave. It’s how do we manage it.” The Village Voice laments the creation of Combat Zones That See, or CTS. Smile, you’ll be on camera.
Not just for Trekkies anymore.
After a decade in the dark, SETI finally gets some ‘spec from NASA.
Another DUI?
According to Fortune (via the Segway website), “using a Segway is so intuitive that it feels as though the thing has somehow been plugged into your central nervous system.” Dan Bricklin adds, “The Segway is incredibly stable, whether
standing still or moving.” So, of course, Dubya manages to flip one almost immediately. I could extend the metaphor, but I think it speaks for itself, no?