Jul 14, 2019
Walter Cronkite and the awe of space exploration
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space
https://youtube.com/watch?v=E96EPhqT-ds
Martha Teichner on the CBS News veteran’s coverage of an epochal human event: Man landing on the moon.
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Jul 14, 2019
Milestones in space travel: An illustrated timeline
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: engineering, space travel
We’ve come a long, long way since the U.S. first launched fruit flies into space in 1947. Since then, we’ve sent astronauts to the moon, installed an International Space Station in orbit and landed spacecraft on Mars. In the past couple of decades, private corporations such as SpaceX and Blue Origin have joined the fray and will likely play instrumental roles in aerospace engineering and space exploration. Here’s a look at some major advancements we’ve made in spacecraft technology and space exploration milestones over the past seven decades.
Jul 14, 2019
Curiosity Rover on Mars Spotted from Space in Awesome NASA Photo
Posted by Alberto Lao in category: space
A camera on board NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted the Curiosity rover on May 31, 2019.
Jul 14, 2019
Does decentralized currency thwart crisis intervention?
Posted by Philip Raymond in categories: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, economics
Here is another economics/policy question that I was asked to address at Quora. It provides great fodder for a quick Lifeboat economics review.
The US used quantitative easing to deal with one monetary crisis, and a bailout of the automotive and banking industry to deal with another. If nations, economies or individuals begin to embrace a decentralized currency, they will inevitably shift away from government issued money. Won’t this hinder a nation’s ability to intervene in a crisis?
Answering this question goes to the very heart of the ethics and politics of cryptocurrency.
Yes. Without centralized control over monetary policy, government options for intervention in a money crisis would be severely limited. But this fact may lead to a false impression…
Continue reading “Does decentralized currency thwart crisis intervention?” »
Jul 14, 2019
A Chinese AI startup is tracking lost dogs using their nose prints
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: robotics/AI
Jul 14, 2019
Tesla Roadster’s SpaceX thruster will be hidden behind the license plate, says Elon Musk
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: Elon Musk, space travel, sustainability
Tesla’s new Roadster is going to come with an optional ‘SpaceX package’ that will include cold air thrusters to improve performance.
Now CEO Elon Musk says that the thruster will be hidden behind the license plate.
Jul 14, 2019
Can I Check Web Sites Visited by my Kids/Staff?
Posted by Philip Raymond in categories: computing, internet, policy, privacy, security, software, surveillance
Early this morning, I was asked this question at Quora. It’s a pretty basic request of network administrators, including parents, schools and anyone who administers a public, sensitive or legally exposed WiFi hot spot.
Is there a quick and easy way to view, log, or otherwise monitor the web sites visited by people on your home or office network?
Yes. It’s free and and it is pretty easy to do.
It gets a bit trickier, if the individual on your network is using a VPN service that they have configured on their device.[1] A VPN does not stop you from logging their browsing, but all of their activity will point to the VPN address instead of the site that they are actually visiting. In that case, there is another way to monitor their activity. See note #1, below.
Continue reading “Can I Check Web Sites Visited by my Kids/Staff?” »
Jul 14, 2019
Today in 2015: New Horizons at Pluto
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space travel
The small, fast-moving New Horizons spacecraft is likely to be the only Pluto mission in the lifetimes of many of us. It changed forever the way we on Earth perceive this outermost world and its moons.
Jul 14, 2019
SpaceX Starship Will Carry 1000 People Anywhere On Earth For $500‑2000
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: economics, space travel
For the same price as an international economy airline ticket, the SpaceX Starship will fly in 20 minutes what takes a normal airliner 20 hours!
Jul 14, 2019
Bacteria Could Help Mass-Produce Wonder Material Graphene At Scale
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: particle physics, sustainability
There’s no doubting that graphene, a single layer of graphite with the atoms arranged in a honeycomb hexagonal pattern, is one of science’s most versatile new materials. Capable of doing everything from filtering the color out of whisky to creating body armor that’s stronger than diamonds, graphene exhibits some truly unique qualities. However, while some mainstream uses of graphene have emerged, its use remains limited due to the challenge of producing it at scale. The most common way to make graphene still involves using sticky tape to strip a layer of atoms off ordinary graphite.
That’s something that researchers from the University of Rochester and the Netherlands’ Delft University of Technology have been working to change. They’ve figured out a way to mass produce graphene by mixing oxidized graphite with bacteria. Their method is cost-efficient, time-efficient, and sustainable — and may just make graphene a whole lot more available in the process.
“In our research, we have used bacteria to produce graphene materials on a bulk scale, and we showed that our material is conductive, and both thinner and able to be stored longer than chemically produced graphene materials,” Anne Meyer, professor of biology at the University of Rochester, told Digital Trends. “These properties demonstrate that our bacterial graphene would be well suited for a variety of applications, such as electrical ink or lightweight biosensors. Our approach is also incredibly simple and environmentally friendly compared to chemical approaches. All we have to do is mix our bacteria with the graphene precursor material, and leave them sitting on the benchtop overnight.”
