As of this writing, the successful landing of the Mars Science Laboratory (aka Curiosity) is old news, but the technology that allowed it to happen and also allowed me to partake of the excitement is what I wish to address today. The night of the landing, I was exhausted—so much so that I just couldn’t get my act together enough …
The Technology Spectrum
I came across two apparently unrelated items today that I managed to relate. The first has to do with what could be a major discovery in the realm of particle physics and its impact on our understanding of the underpinnings of reality: Scientists at CERN have announced that to a greater than 99.9999+ percent level, they have detected the long-sought …
Unintended Consequences
It seems that The Machines are much in the news lately. I’ve seen several articles on increasing uses for drones and other UAVs in domestic “security” applications, not to mention the prospects of arming them for bona fide warfare. On a much less violent front, we have this item from the Wall Street Journal, which describes how a seemingly innocuous …
Dragons Exist!
Activities in space and on Earth today continued the opening of a new chapter in spaceflight. An uncrewed capsule, hight Dragon, containing a nominal mass of otherwise expendable and relatively unimportant cargo, docked with the International Space Station (ISS). This it the first time a commercial construct has docked with the ISS; previously, only capsules officially from governments have done …
Cleaning Up an Error
Back in September 2011 there was a report from the OPERA experiment at the Large Hadron Collider that neutrinos could travel faster than the currently universally accepted limit of the speed of light. I described my own reactions to this report here. As noted then (and to cite Carl Sagan’s popularization of the phrase and concept), “extraordinary claims require extraordinary …
Interaction Modes
Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. -William Arthur Ward, college administrator, writer (1921-1994) Questions: How do you interact with others? What do you do to get others to change their behavior? What makes you …
Married to an Idea: Is it Time for a Divorce?
I’ve been working on an in-house project for a couple of months. It’s one of those things that can (and did) become almost all-consuming, as there were many components, all of which had to fit together into a cohesive unit for optimum effectiveness. I was within days of launching it, when I realized that a major piece of it just …
The Need for Professionalism in Engineering
I came across this today. It resonated with me, so I thought it appropriate to share with you, perhaps to communicate to students, coworkers, and/or anyone who might appreciate the sentiment: “A doctor can kill only one person at a time. An engineer can kill thousands.” Questions: None. Just think about it.
A Thought for Today
A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying. –B.F. Skinner, American psychologist, inventor, and author Questions: None. Just consider its applications in your own activities.
Teamwork and Launches
I’ve been self-employed for over 25 years, working as what’s called a “lone eagle”, i.e., I have no employer (just clients, thank you all very much!), no employees, and only what structure I impose on myself. Fortunately, I’m extremely self-motivated and have made a comfortable (if not lucrative) living over those years. It’s not for everyone, but it suits me …