According to the Mayan calendar, the world will come to an end in 2012. Books and movies have been written about how this will happen... asteroid impact, alien invasion, hypervolcanoes, you name it. Maybe they were just predicting the U.S. economy: In 2012, every business, including sole-proprietorships, will have to issue a 1099 to anyone … [Read more...]
Ten Books Everyone Should Read
June 8, 2010 by
I was asked to provide a list of ten books that everyone should read. (Not a list of "my ten favorite books" or "the ten best books ever written"... that's hopeless.) I didn't put as much time into it as I'd like to, since the author is on a deadline, but here's what I came up with. What's your list? A Step Farther Out by Jerry Pournelle. … [Read more...]
Goodbye, Space Program. Hello, Space Industry!
February 1, 2010 by
I was planning to write a blog post about the Obama administration's cancellation of NASA's Constellation program, but I found that Michael Mealling has already written it for me! Read it here. Michael doesn't blog very often, but when he does, he nails it. … [Read more...]
Thoughts on the iPad
January 28, 2010 by
When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad yesterday, my first thoughts were "Ooooh! Shiny! I want one!" Then I read the orgy of criticism that washed over the blogosphere last night about all the device's perceived failings and, on mature and considered reflection... I still want one. (Maybe two, so I don't have to fight with my wife over it.) … [Read more...]
Why a Tablet?
January 3, 2010 by
The Apple faithful are all a-twitter about the possibility of Apple introducing a tablet computer at the end of this month. … [Read more...]
My Favorite Airport
October 27, 2009 by
I'm at Melbourne International Airport (MLB)... the one in Florida, not the one in Australia! And I've been killing a couple of hours with a rain delay. The weather is fine here, but nasty back home in Atlanta. This is my new favorite airport. Take a look at the booths in the airport restaurant: Ample space to spread out, easily … [Read more...]
An Absurd “Plan”
October 25, 2009 by
Another of my letters-to-the-editor that will never be published, so you can read it here. This one was sent to Scientific American regarding their November 2009 issue. In September 2006, you published a special issue on "Energy's Future" with a well-reasoned mix of articles on energy conservation, renewable energy, and nuclear power. I've … [Read more...]
Music Technology Cluster?
October 20, 2009 by
A funny thing happened at the various events last week (VentureAtlanta, Future Media Georgia, and GVU's Demo Day... I suddenly noticed how many music technology companies have recently sprung up in Georgia! … [Read more...]
Back to the Moon?
August 23, 2009 by
Forty years after Apollo, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wanted to run a brief pro/con on "Should we go back to the Moon?" They called Georgia Tech. I volunteered to do "No," and Dr. Loewy from our School of Aerospace Engineering volunteered for "Yes." The catch: a tight limit of 150 words. That's hard. … [Read more...]
ATDC Open Forum Follow-up
August 21, 2009 by
We had two incredible open forum sessions yesterday to discuss the future of ATDC. The Hodges Room was pretty much filled both times, so I suspect nearly 200 people took the time to come down and share their ideas with us. … [Read more...]
