A few months ago, the editors at Quillette asked me to review Robert Zubrin's newest book "The New World on Mars: What We Can Create on the Red Planet and Why We Must." As a fan of Zubrin's work, I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed the book. But I was pleased and amused to find echoes of work I had done as far back as high school in the 1970s, … [Read more...]
So We Rented a Tesla…
July 16, 2022 by
I’ve been paying attention to the Tesla ecosystem for years. I got my first ride in a Model S in 2013, and immediately fell in love with the neck-snapping acceleration. I thought seriously about buying one… but the entrance into the front seat required more gymnastics than I liked (I’m 6’4” and the doorway was just too low), so I never pulled the … [Read more...]
Scary Error Messages
October 2, 2017 by
Apple literally wrote the book on Human Interface Guidelines. I have a copy of the original paperback, published in 1987. It's still worth reading. But the current version lives online. Check out the guidelines on alerts. … [Read more...]
Top Ten Technologies for 2015
January 11, 2015 by
Once again, to kick off the new year, I prepared a list of the Top Ten Technologies for our friends at the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The limitations of smearing ink on dead trees forced the newspaper to cut the list down a bit. But electrons are cheap. Just for completeness, here’s my original Top Ten, with special attention to how they’ll impact … [Read more...]
My Talks at Dragon Con 2014
July 26, 2014 by
My annual post in response to the people asking me "What are you talking about at Dragon Con this year?" … [Read more...]
ATDC Showcase 2014
March 28, 2014 by
Yesterday was ATDC's annual Startup Showcase... over 40 companies exhibiting, plus seven more in a "fast-pitch" event co-sponsored with VentureAtlanta. The companies ranged from an app to make animated selfies with your cellphone (Selfie360), to a recovery capsule to bring small payloads back from orbit (Terminal Velocity Aerospace). It was a … [Read more...]
Top Ten Technologies for 2014
January 5, 2014 by
To kick off the new year, I prepared a list of the Top Ten Technologies for our friends at the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The limitations of smearing ink on dead trees forced the newspaper to cut the list down to five. But electrons are cheap. Just for completeness, here's my original Top Ten, with special attention to how they'll impact … [Read more...]
Advanced Manufacturing: Smart, Safe, Sustainable, and Surging!
November 26, 2013 by
In a way, Georgia Tech has always been about manufacturing. From our founding in 1885, we focused on educating young men (sorry, ladies! That took a little longer) in applying technology to machine shops, textile mills, and steam engines. We continued with that mission of “encouragement of industries and commerce” for eight decades. Then, in 1960, … [Read more...]
My Talks at DragonCon 2013
August 9, 2013 by
My annual post in response to the people asking me "What are you talking about at DragonCon this year?" … [Read more...]
Scanning Old Paperbacks
August 1, 2013 by
I'm a book addict. I love books, I love people who write books, I love people who publish books, I love other people who love books. My wife and I own a lot of books. (5690 at current count, all cataloged in Delicious Library. And, yes, the shelves are categorized and alphabetized.) But... books are bulky. And heavy. And if you're away … [Read more...]
