Workplace

NYT: With ‘Coolest Job Ever’ Ending, Astronauts Seek Next Frontier

April 24, 2011
By
NYT 2011-04-24 Astronauts Looking for Work

New York Times:  ”Over the next few years, American astronauts will be competing for a handful of slots on the International Space Station, flying there on Russian Soyuz capsules.”

Read more »

Twitter Is No Place For Nuance

February 17, 2011
By
Nir Rosen's Mea Culpa about Lara Logan - Salon.com

We’ve all done it:  written that ill-conceived email / Facebook / Twitter post and hit SEND when we should have hit DELETE.  That SEND button is a cruel master, in that once we send out an electronic message it’s gone, it’s “out there.” 

Read more »

You think Big Brother is watching? Think again. It’s worse than that.

November 25, 2010
By
Remote Sensing Metrics Satellite Data

For many years now, you’ve become accustomed to the notion that retailers track your purchases.  “Did you bring your Duane Reade VIP Club Savings Card today?”  the clerk will ask in automaton-like fashion in a gambit to see if they can link today’s purchases to your long-term client purchase profile.  “If you want those...

Read more »

Planetary Society – Human Mission To Asteroid Contest

September 29, 2010
By
Asteroid

In another example of the value of proper requirements analysis before any major project is undertaken, the Planetary Society has announced an initiative:  the first human mission to an asteroid.

Read more »

What happens when the boss is a robot?

September 5, 2010
By
2010-09-05 NYT Robotic Telepresence Devices

I wrote more than a year ago about the imminent development of having robots replace humans in management situations.  Now, a story from the New York Times that explores this idea.  The boss isn’t so much a robot, but is instead using robotic telepresence devices.

Read more »

How Free Markets Would Have Ended Slavery

July 6, 2010
By
"Worker in Gabon" from The Yes Men

Free-Market ideology holds that the solution to every problem in the social, economic, and political spheres is to allow markets unfettered reign so that they can solve all problems in their natural course.  Including slavery, which is not nearly as efficient as “remote workforces.” 

Read more »

Virtual Tour of the International Space Station

June 22, 2010
By
Virtual Tour of the International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) is now nearly complete, and it can be surprising just how many compartments it has, and yet at the same time how crowded it can feel.  The age when people begin to live and work in space is here and now. Take a look at this video virtual tour...

Read more »

SpaceX and the Privatization of the Domestic Space Industry

June 5, 2010
By
SpaceX and the Privatization of the Domestic Space Industry

The next time you hear someone bemoan how President Obama is destroying the American Way Of Life by nationalizing the healthcare, banking, and auto industries ( AS IF! ), tell them about SpaceX’s historic test launch of June 4, 2010.

Read more »

Man Infects Himself with Computer Virus

May 26, 2010
By

And you thought the need for antivirus protection was limited your computer. Not anymore!  It seems that Mark Gasson of the  University of Reading has demonstrated that it’s possible to contract and spread computer viruses via implanted RFID chips.  And pacemakers.  And insulin pumps.  And ….

Read more »