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Showing posts with the label information technology

Any Landing You Can Radio Back From: IM-1 Odyssey

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"Any landing you can walk away from is a good one." (Gerald R. Massie, photographer, following the crash-landing of his B-17 (1944) ( from " Stayin alive — 16 favorite aviation quotes ", Dan Littmann, Air Facts (August 25, 2016) ) So far, this has been a good year for Lunar exploration. Both JAXA's SLIM and Intuitive Machines' Odysseus made good landings. Not perfect: and that's what I'll be talking about this week. Tipped, Tilted and Maybe Tripped: But Successful! The IM-1 Odysseus Mission: a "Spicy" Experience and Serendipity Odysseus: On Target and "Still Kicking" First Successful Commercial Flight, Farthest South Landing SLIM: Another Good Lunar Landing NASA News Conference: In Case You're Interested More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Two successful Lunar landings: SLIM and Odyssey. First successful commercial flight to the Moon, scouting for south polar Lunar base.)

India: Fourth on the Moon, First near Lunar South Pole

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India became the fourth nation to land on Earth's Moon this week. And the first to land near the Lunar south pole. This is a very big deal. So, in a different way, was the "abnormal situation" that turned Russia's Luna-25 lander into an impactor. Humanity is returning to the Moon. I think this is a good thing. I woke up in time to watch ISRO's coverage of Wednesday's historic touchdown near Manzinus crater. Folks in mission control showed more enthusiasm than I did, here in central Minnesota. But they're all younger than I am: so that's no surprise. I was and am delighted at ISRO's successful Lunar landing. And even more pleased about the Indian Prime Minister's upbeat words. Roscosmos, Luna-25, and Russia; Briefly "...The Sky is Not the Limit" "...This Success Belongs to All of Humanity" "... 'The Moon is Only a Tour Away'" Robert Goddard, Opel-RAK, and Missed Opportunities: Another Digress

ChatGPT, Attorney at Law — or — Trust, but Verify

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There are times when I almost regret having successfully avoided a conventionally-successful career. Last weekend was not one of them. Partly because I saw what happens when an otherwise-smart person forgets to think. Big-Time Bungle: Bogus References Trust, Assumptions and ChatGPT Two Timelines, a Career and Experience A Little of This, a Little of That Using Our Brains: It’s an Option Common Sense and Other Alternatives A Skunk, a Wood Pile, Dynamite and the Sixties Changing Times, Human Nature THE ROBOTS ARE COMING! THE ROBOTS ARE COMING! More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Bogus research by a chatbot. Technology, common sense and human nature. Using our brains is an option. And a good idea.)

A 'Technical' Week: Mostly Working on Widgets

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First, the good news. A month after deciding to start using WordPress blocks before their classic user interface became one with Nineveh, Tyre and rotary telephones — I don't have the usual Saturday post ready. The good news is that I'm more comfortable with WordPress blocks than I'd feared.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . I spent this week fixing technical issues. Not-so-good news, RSS feeds don't work with HTTPS. Good news, I should have a regular post ready next week.

COVID-19 and People Who Need People, Another Year

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It's been a year and a day since I talked about socializing, the pandemic and individual differences. "...I can sympathize with folks who really do need people: people who are physically close, not 'close' only in a virtual sense. I'm also willing to accept that not everyone is like me. For which we should all be thankful. And that's another topic. "That said, COVID-19 pandemic restrictions haven't cut into my social life all that much. "Before 'social distancing' — a poorly-chosen phrase, and that's yet another topic — started becoming a cliche, most of my social life was online...." (" People Who Need People — and the COVID-19 Pandemic " (January 24, 2021)) Somewhere during the last year, I noticed that I'd been enjoying my research and writing routines less. And had let some projects drop off the back burner. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Social Media, Security and Assumptions

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I logged in to my Twitter account yesterday. It was the first time in months that I'd been able to log in. I could spin my experience as Twitter, Big Media, the Pixie-Leprechaun Cabal or whoever suppressing The Truth. But I won't. I'm pretty sure it was a technical glitch somewhere. Or maybe operator error. I've noticed that I sometimes read 'sign up' as 'log in.' Particularly late at night.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Not Feeling "Information Overload" or "Loss of Identity"

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I read about "loss of identity" and "information overload" the other day.... ..."Information overload" is well on its way to becoming a cliche. Or cliché, for folks who like their English with a dash of diacritics, and that's another topic. I keep seeing warnings against "information overload," the Internet's "hive mind," and suchlike threats. But I don't feel overloaded, informationally or otherwise, even after being online for hours. That gives me the task of deciding whether I react to "information overload" — and how I react, if I choose to do so. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Thomas Aquinas and the DARPA Robot Competition

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Korea's Team Kaist's DRC-Hubo humanoid robot walked through DARPA's 2015 robot competition: one of three to complete every task on the course without falling over. Meanwhile, Toshiba's (somewhat) lifelike ChihiraAico robot demonstrated 'her' voice in a Las Vegas trade show. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

A Robotic Tentacle, and Disney’s Baymax

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Disney Studio's film version of Baymax is fiction. Robots designed to work with people are real: although they're nowhere near as smart as their fictional counterparts. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Build Your Own Robot Swarm — or — Angular Automatons and Cuckoo Clocks

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1,024 little robots got together at Harvard, making the letter "K" and drawing a star. What they do doesn't look as sophisticated as many marching band halftime formations — but it's a good start on collective artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Harvard and MIT's angular automatons don't do much except fold themselves into crablike shapes, and scuttle away: today.... ...I'm not troubled that we make increasingly lifelike imitations of living creatures. Somehow, I don't think the Almighty is going to be offended by cuckoo clocks or robot dogs playing soccer. Tightly-would folks of a grimly pious bent might have qualms about mechanical birds, music boxes, and other frivolities. I'm convinced that gloominess is not next to Godliness, and that's another topic. Besides, many automata help make this a safer world for humans.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Neurosynaptic Cores and Retinal Implants: Getting a Grip About Tech

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IBM's neurosynaptic cores may not show up in home computers for years. Their circuits emulate a brain's neural circuits: and require an entirely new sort of software. Retinal implants are another matter. Thanks to new tech, several folks who would have been blind can see: a little.... ..."Metropolis," Tsukumogami, and the Roomba Revolution that Wasn't The inventor Rotwang in Fritz Lang's " Metropolis " is more 'evil wizard' than 'mad scientist:' my opinion. It's still a good movie: but not, I think, a particularly realistic look at what we'll see in 2026. Rotwang's maschinenmensch looked more like the human she was built to impersonate after a high-tech makeover, but even without upholstery she was remarkably — human.... But so far, artificial intelligence has been quite obviously "artificial:" and emphatically not up to the task of leading a Roomba revolution. More at A Catholic Citizen in America

Starships, Dinosaurs, and Long-Distance Service for Mars

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Some scientists think dinosaurs could have survived that asteroid impact. Others are taking another look at big a starship needs to be, and NASA is taking bids on long-distance service to Mars.... " ...But first, a bit about the Beatitudes, Ulysses, and Dante's "Inferno."... ...Expecting knowledge, or anything else, to take God's place would be daft: and against the rules. But that doesn't make seeking knowledge bad. Studying this universe and developing new tools are part of being human. That's what we're supposed to do.... " More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Making Sense Online: Two 10-Point Lists, and the Golden Rule

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Developing and using technology is part of being human. But if we don't use our brains, even basic tech can hurt us. The problem isn't fire, string, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol . It's the all-too-human knack for getting into trouble mentioned in Job 5:7 . ( May 9, 2014 ; April 27, 2014 ; October 6, 2013 ) The good news is that we're human: rational creatures, able to decide how we behave. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1730 - 1742 ) The Internet: Sharing Information Around the World (From Matt Britt, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (" Partial map of the Internet based on the January 15, 2005 data found on opte.org.... ") My oldest daughter told me that map of the Internet looked like fireworks, or neurons. I see her point, particularly since it's possible to compare the Internet to the neural wiring that's in our heads.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America