Posts with the tag technology

Generational thinking about Space

JMesserly — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:56:08 EDT

We are shutting down the Shuttle and backing out of the space station because basically- it is returning miniscule science for the vast investment. Unmanned systems like Hubble and the gamma ray observatory are doing the heavy lifting but strangely, programs like them haven't been getting the money under the republicans. At one point, the republicans thought it would be a better idea to destroy Hubble rather than fix it.

Why? Really- it's because a kid is in the white house. A kid with no interest in science, but grew up wearing steve canyon helmets and playing spaceman as much as he liked playing cowboy. We all know where the cowboy game took us in Iraq.

Let's look at where his spaceman fantasies took Nasa with his idiotic goal of reorienting NASA completely towards a manned mission to Mars. His views are generational, and this is illustrated with a question.

Who's your favorite space explorer? Armstrong? Glenn?

Mine is the Opportunity (Mars exploration) rover. 4 years after setting down on Mars, it is still toiling away, uncovering more of Mars' secrets. In terms of science return on dollar invested, it has been a magnificent investment.

Sure- it doesn't get any mention in the news any more. But though science can be dramatic, drama is not the point. Unfortunately, Bush believes it is, and so set Nasa on a track towards re-asserting America's manhood in space- designed to land men on the moon again by. That's what his man in space policy to send astronauts to Mars is about.

Landing men on Mars will be a huge distraction and resource hog for Nasa. Other than the fleeting drama it will provide, such a goal makes very little sense from a science or business (spin off technology) perspective. It's not complicated to figure out why. Unlike technology of the 60's, robotic exploration means engineers can push the envelope in experiments of new approaches. Manned exploration forces engineers to be extremely conservative. The risk taking necessary for breakthrough technologies means dead astronauts- so guess what. It's a bad bet to count on the breakthroughs coming from manned programs. So really, it doesn't take a genius to realize which approach generates more new technologies. That means fewer growth opportunities for Florida and Texas businesses hoping to generate spin off technology products for global markets.

Next consider the cost of proving our manhood in space. 90% of the equipment necessary for manned missions are useless baggage on Telerobotic missions. Telerobotic explorers are on a one way trip. No return fuel needed. No human crew being present on the vehicle means massively redundant systems are not necessary, nor is the bulky life support systems required. Reliable airbag landing systems can be used because machines can be subjected to 40G stresses.

Sure- let's build bases on the Moon, Mars and Europa that "live off the land", we return samples from the outer planets and send high velocity ion propulsion probes outside of the solar system. We can do all of this dramatic stuff a lot faster if we don't have to be 100% sure that every mission will be a success. Ok- the eyes that see all this will be separated from the mars environment not by a piece of clear plastic in a helmet, but by the silicon of a high resolution camera. The distance from the human explorers face to the mars environment will not be measured in inches but in millions of miles.

Is that difference worth waiting 30 years or more for and spending 10 times as much money that could be spent on 10 times more Nasa exploration in unmanned form? For what? So we can do then what we can do today on mars minus the in situ hemoglobin? The price of human vanity is indeed very high.

The nice thing about Telerobotics space exploration is that we can be there without having to wait 20 years to develop the technology to safely move our bodies there. It's good for American businesses that can profit from accelerated risk taking engineering efforts that the telerobitic approach allows. It's good for science because we get an order of magnitude more science bang for the buck. Lastly, it's even good from the perspective of the drama of exploration because we don't have to wait decades to make baby steps to the planets. Instead we can move their boldly and use space as a vast proving ground of radical new technologies that on earth will make our country more competitive.

(Disclaimer- I am not in any way associated with the space or aerospace industry or an inhabitant of Florida or Texas or anyone so connected. I am a former software engineering manager at a well known company and hold a handful of patents in the field. Now I mostly change my children's diapers.)

Technology For Democracy : New Group

Voice-O-Reason — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:22:41 EST

Folks,
Please note the forming of a new group:

Technology For Democracy

"The mission of this group is to be a forum for discussion, making connections, generating ideas, and taking collaborative action to drive democracy promoting technology tools. Together, we will think of creative ways to improve public awareness and opinion about how to use technology, including using the Internet effectively, to go from ideas, to action, to concrete achievements in the support of democrat goals and initiatives, for the public and organizations."

Please note this is a campaign INDEPENDENT group, an does not have the promotion of any particular candidate(s) in its mission.

American Military Technology Evolving

Roxie — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 13:41:08 EST

American military technology is continually evolving. The average citizen never knows anything about the military’s newest technology and those who do know are sworn to secrecy and monitored to be sure they do not disclose classified information. In spite of this, those who are informed and understand the military is always a giant leap ahead of civilian technology can attempt to separate information from disinformation and make reasonable conclusions about US military technology, as can other nation’s intelligence services.

clinton goes beta!

annie b (mcliberal) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:45:38 EST

how sweet is this? the clinton campaign is using a new technology (don't ask me how it works) which will now allow her volunteers to do their canvassing from home! i just signed up this morning, so i should get an email later today which will give me my call list. i can only call from 5-9pm on weekdays, and then i can immediately report my completed calls on the website. going to campaign headquarters is all well and good, but with all the snow and bad weather we have around here, it's great to know i can do my volunteering right from the comfort of my own chair!! yay, clinton campaign! this is fabulous!

Obama @ Google

Jim Callahan — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:07:43 EST

Barack Obama was not my first choice, but after looking at these three clips from his talk at Google's HQ in Mountain View, California, I will have to give him a second look.

GOP Candidates Walk Away From The People's Debate - Snub CNN/Youtube debate!

Jackie — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 17:11:43 EDT

GOP Candidates Walk Away From The People's Debate - Snub Youtube debate!

Remember when the Democratic candidates decided not to participate in a Faux Noise hosted debate? Embracing the philosophy that they shouldn't give credence to the notion that Fox is a "real" news organization (and not just a shill for GOP)? Remember all the crap and derision they received, mostly from Faux on air mimicians.

So, that brings me the question of the day. What impact will the GOP candidates decision to skip the CNN/Youtube debate have on their party's out of control downward spiral? And why isn't someone taking the lead with these GOP cowards, pointing out how ludicrous and dangerous this will be?

Seeing the light

Jim A (aka AsparaGus) — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 18:48:32 EST

For several years, I've been using compact fluorescent bulbs (when I can get them - and it hasn't been easy.) Why aren't they more popular? The economy of obsolescence, bad decisions by light bulb manufacturers, and lack of interest may be the prime reasons.

Link

Would you favor taxing incadescent bulbs to steer people to making the environmentally wise choice?

Me & Howard - Politics

Jim A (aka AsparaGus) — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 01:06:34 EDT

Sunday was a good news day, even a great one. Still the job's not done.

Maybe I said it here already, but I've used Howard as an excuse in a few places for the time I'm spending here and my absence there. I phrase it as saying Howard asked to blog for him and then go on to sink the hook most suited to grab their attention.

Most likely you got the same sort of letters and appeals, so don't think I'm delusional. I know it was mass mailings (even emailings) and recognized it was about fund raising. In fact, the first few scared me with the appeals to donate to the Victory Fund. Not only had the country or Supreme Court re-elected a guy with a questionable grasp on reality. The Democrats appeared to suffer from the same disease. So why am I here?

Blog note on PartyBuilder

Jim A (aka AsparaGus) — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 22:27:43 EDT

This is a technical note for newbies to blogging and I'm not afraid to admit I'm just an old newbie myself and stumbling around the GUI (graphic user interface) as I do the Information Superhighway itself.

That I don't offer links to my sites or blogs is not because I'm ashamed or that you aren't welcome. Monetizing the web is not something that interests me, but I don't mind bloggers and netizens who do.

Lately, I've been spending a lot of time here and neglecting some things to do so. What I wanted to say is some things I've found out about using the tool here -- it may be expressed more completely by others, but I haven't found a Help file - so this is what I learned so far.

Kennedy on Net Neutrality

Jim A (aka AsparaGus) — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 20:38:43 EDT

Three minutes is short to even define the question which is a knotty one. This week Senator Ted Kennedy posted this video to declare his position and perhaps more importantly the values behind it.

Video Link

BOINCing around

Jim A (aka AsparaGus) — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 16:40:50 EDT

This isn't some sexual commentary, but I hope some newbies will consider hooking up with us. For those in the know, Team Democratic Party was founded by someone else (who probably has more good sense than to publicize it here as a distraction.)

For the rest of you, BOINC is the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing which is an extraordinarily clever solution to a big problem -- too much data and too little time. Again something I didn't start but a bandwagon I am glad to ride.

What's a public beta?

Josh — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 21:19:37 EDT

Hey there. I'm Josh, part of the DNC's Internet team. Welcome to PartyBuilder, the first small move into the next generation of websites for the Democratic Party and the DNC.

We're going to be testing PartyBuilder for a little while. There are hundreds of little corners and details and things that we just can't see with 10 people clicking around. If something breaks, send an email to partybuilder@dnc.org and we'll take a look. It would be really helpful if you could include as much information as you possibly can.

Anyway, invite your friends and build your network. I'll save the full features list right now, but you can read up on everything here, or in more detail here.