Tag Archives: robots

BART Drivers and the Importance of Being Human

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 … Continue reading

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Voyager 1: Back Online, Still Outward Bound

This isn’t what I’m writing about this week, but it’s noteworthy: “NASA’s Voyager 1 Resumes Sending Engineering Updates to Earth“Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology (April 22, 2024 ) “After some inventive sleuthing, the mission team can — … Continue reading

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

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 “ChatGPT: US lawyer … Continue reading

Posted in Discursive Detours, Journal | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mars, MOXIE and More

Humanity is one step closer to exploring Mars, in person. With people living and working on the surface. And eventually, I think, living there permanently. That’s going to take time. But like I said, we’re one step closer. This week … Continue reading

Posted in Back to the Moon, Onward to Mars, Discursive Detours, Science News, Series | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Mars Mission That Hasn’t Happened Yet: 1954

From 1952 to 1954, Collier’s published “Man Will Conquer Space Soon!” — a series of articles describing a step-by-step plan for landing on Mars. The first step was building an Earth-orbiting space station. Then we would build ships to reach … Continue reading

Posted in Back to the Moon, Onward to Mars, Discursive Detours, Series | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment