Cool Technology

A Von Neumann probe built by Epson [note: not really by Epson.]

Robohelicopters which, if the previous post wasn't about a space printing, would be the coolest thing you'd read today.

I also got my hand on the Mars trilogy, which is filling a sci fi gap I've had in my reading recently, since I've been focused so much on reading about real science on decision-making and heuristics. Consider this a day to tell me about cool technology and/or science fiction.

Civil War Lecture Series at the Smithsonian

Hey, you know what is happening tomorrow? An amazingly cool sounding lecture in DC. The one I'm talking about is "Astride Two Ages: Technology and the Civil War Symposium." Right now, there is a U-Stream where they're discussing intelligence and the telegraph system in the Civil War and how it was used for command and control by the Union and Confederacy. Did you know that the Confederacy lost loads of experienced telegraph operators, which hindered their capabilities?

Also, the guy giving the speech just said: "The Yankee Juggernaut." PhotoShoppers: Make it happen.

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P.S.,

On Twitter, Lee Stranahan said: I'd like a world where Harry Reid and John Boehner are both co-manging a Denny's in Butte.

I replied: Let's write a Web TV Series. He's an ex-boxer from Nevada; he was raised in a saloon. Together: They Fight Crime.

Robots: Taking Our Jobs!

Today, CNN had a post about whether robots should take our jobs. First, let me say, that I doubt we will see, even in a few generations, mechanization and robotics at a high enough level that we will realistically be losing droves of repetitive jobs to robots. Because, without jobs, who is going to buy the robots? On a more serious matter, we simply don't have a self-perpetuating economy strong enough to survive without a large percentage of the population employed. A robotic workforce will require a revolutionary new economic model, one that I don't think can exist.

So, basically, self-checkout lanes, for example, can only replace so many tellers.