Association Of Catholic Bloggers

One thing I like about families — the one(s) I'm in, at any rate — are the legacies. In my dialect of English a "legacy" is generally money or property handed down from one generation to another. Legacies of that sort matter. My wife and I are in the process of updating our will, I suppose it'll be wills, and that's another topic. But the legacies I'm thinking of aren't worth much, in terms of taxable assets. Although each of us is a unique individual, we also inherit whatever's in the genes of our biological parents: along with the experiences, attitudes, habits, values, and stories of the folks who raised us.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Legacies matter: the values and stories of our families. I note the basics of being a Catholic family: and an interest a great-grandfather and I share.)

San Francisco's BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system wasn't the world's first automated transit system, or even the first in this country. But it was among the first all-new American rapid transit systems designed in the 20th century. BART was also, I gather, among the first with trains that didn't need drivers. Or, rather, didn't need a human at the controls. An Automatic Train Control (ATC) system ran each train, and the network as a whole. 1 Today I'll be taking a quick look at how news media covered a BART accident that wasn't particularly serious, and talk about what happened when a train and its driver didn't communicate — plus whatever else comes to mind. The Fleetingly Famous Fremont Flyer ROBOT TRAIN RUNS AMOK! CHAOS RIDES THE RAILS! The Train That Left Its Human Behind Daft Kids and Open Doors WAIT FOR ME! Seriously? Humans: A Brief Meditation on Kids, Commuters, and Molten Ice Cream More at A Catholic Citizen in America ....

When I was young, the future was exciting: cities on the Moon, computers that can fly spaceships, and more. Then we tried making those dreams a reality; which we've been doing. In part. One goal of this week's Starliner test flight was having a human pilot handle part of the spacecraft's approach and docking at the International Space Station. It was a methodical process, pretty much the opposite of dramatic. Starliner handled the actual docking; which, again, was a methodical process. And successful. If you read nothing else in today's post, by the way, read Butch Wilmore's "Just a Thought", a Few Minutes Before Liftoff . Or check out whatever looks interesting: Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test Saturday's Attempt, a Ground Launch Sequencer, and Paying Attention Another Glimpse Inside Starliner's Crew Capsule Launch Complex 41, Crew Access Arm, and — Starliner: Lucky 13?? Butch Wilmore's "Just a Thought", a Few Minutes Before...

Folks have a great many ways of dealing with grief and loss. For example, folks at the hospital took a photo of our youngest daughter. She died shortly before birth. That photo's on an 'in loving memory of' memorial card — I think that's what it's called — that's tucked into the corner of our wedding picture.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Mimicking dead people with an AI avatar / chatbot could help folks deal with grief and loss. My quick glance at this new wrinkle on old practices.)

This isn't what I'm writing about this week, but it's noteworthy:... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (As I write this, Voyager 1 has been outward bound for 46 years, seven months, 18 days and about two hours.)

"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 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...

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.)

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.

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 .

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 .

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 .

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 .

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 .

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 .

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...

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 .

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