One small step for a robot, one giant leap for mankind

G W (gee whiz) Bush had a “vision thing” about expanding NASA, returning to the moon, and going on to Mars. Problem is, he also created a giant financial crater right here on earth – a deep deficit in DC, a wobbly US banking system, and economies collapsing worldwide.

Enter Mr. Obama to apply some sense to another fine mess Jr. had gotten US into. Based on recommendations of real scientists (personae non gratae during the GWB years), he made the tough decisions to cancel the Mars vision/mirage, sharply reduce the manned space flights, and concentrate on cheaper but more scientifically valuable projects, such as astrophysics. The screaming from politicians who improbably claim to have been inspired by the manned space program continues. NASA has become about as adept as the Pentagram at spreading contracts thinly across the US in many Congressional districts.

The Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity have already provided huge amounts of information for a tiny fraction of the cost of one shuttle launch (which these days is typically dedicated to repairing some life support system on the space station). They the earned places in a future museum but their recovery and installation can wait. Meanwhile, those inspiring Americans who designed, built, and managed this successful program will take their skills, experience, and spirit to the next opportunity.

Robots are invaluable parts of industrial production. They are continually undergoing dramatic improvements. If a robot is destroyed in an industrial accident, or lost in space, or left on a distant planet, nobody cares much. Future industries will develop robots to help in some aspects of jobs such as home health care, some nursing tasks, driving us through traffic more efficiently, etc. Removing some of the purely physical demands from these jobs will free humans to engage more fully in their rewarding aspects.

Sailing into the 21st Century

The BMW-Oracle racing team, founded and directed by Oracle owner Larry Ellison, won the 33 America's Cup competition. The deciding race 2 was completed Sunday off Valencia. Race 1 was a “horizon job” win by BMW-Oracle and only a big wind shift lifting Alinghi on the first leg kept it close for a short while in race 2. Let's skip the pseudo-nationalism nonsense and just revel in transnational corporate “boys with toys”.

San Francisco bay will be a great venue for the next defense, not only for the winds, which are reliably better than most places, but also for the high-tech silicon valley environment.

The race should not return to slow sloops! I loved the old 12 meter class and the (slightly) updated AC class but speed is fun. Both these multihulls were very fast, at 20-30 knots more than twice as fast as the wind. High-powered 'chase' motorboats strained to keep up. With a little more high-tech creativity, I predict a hydrofoil platform with a kite sail pushing speeds near 50 knots. Whoosh! Sailing in the 21st Century won't be your granddad's Corinthian snooze-fest.

Thank you, Massachusetts

Massachusetts voters elected a little-known Republican to replace Ted Kennedy in the US Senate. Apparently even the Fox "News" sycophants are a little leery of this new loose cannon on their side of the ship of state. However, the Democrats did not recognize the risk and the Republicans exploited an opportunity.

• To those on the left who are disenchanted with President Obama because so little has been done so slowly, I would remind you that it was an election, not a revolution, so he must maintain a consensus to accomplish anything.

• To those on the right who are terrified that President Obama has moved the country so far left so quickly, I would remind you that the economy was going over a cliff so a quick change of direction was necessary.

The Republican focus on taxes is an easy 'message' both in simplicity and sales, because it resonates with most people's self-interest in the short term. But tax cuts are easy; commensurate cuts in expenditures are hard. Too bad they couldn't "walk the talk" during the 8 years they were in control and the deficit exploded.

Like the midterm election that deprived President Clinton of his Congress, this election may be the tempering, even chastening, that will refine President Obama's term. Together with the Supreme Court decision giving corporations the legal cover to pay up-front for the Congress of their liking (reversing a century of stare decisis apparently does not count as judicial activism when the right does it), it might also unleash the populist Obama, the “give 'em Hell, Barack”, that the Republicans would rue awakening. Obama preferred the "Happy Warrior" role of FDR for several reasons, including inclination and tactics. But FDR was able to maintain it because Republicans had been thoroughly discredited by the Great Depression. Incredibly, despite foreign failures, domestic disasters, and the ideological incoherence of the Bush era, the Republicans remain a potent political force.

If there is a silver lining, it might be that the health reform measure can be made more bipartisan. Also, “Big Mo” Joe Lieberman's influence as the swing voter has been sharply reduced.

I See iGlasses in Apples' Future

The blogosphere is abuzz about a new Apple product. But it won't be the much-discussed tablet computer, because that was a misunderstanding when Steve Jobs was overheard saying he wanted, correction: he demanded an (aspirin) tablet. Instead, SJ is finalizing the benediction and polishing an even better, correction: 'insanely great' new product.

I was blind, but now iSee: video glasses!

The crucial advance was not strictly speaking technical but aesthetic; finding a look that was acceptable or even tolerably inoffensive to Steve's and Ive's keenly developed sense of style proved nearly insurmountable. If “less is more”, then nothing is perfect. In the end, the optics and electronics were miniaturized to fit into the 'no frame' style that Steve fancies (picture).

iSee plugs into the iPod and displays video through a stereo vision retinal projection, providing the experience of sitting in front of a huge monitor, and of course stereo sound with earbuds (cochlear implants optional). The iGlasses overlay additional info on the scene, generating an augmented reality (AR). Did you forget that person's name? No problem! It will appear just below their chin. iSee also records continuously through stereo cameras, providing a comprehensive log of daily activity that can be automatically posted on Facebook and abstracted for Tweets. If you find your eyes closing during your next meeting, turn on the eyes-wide-open function that projects eyeballs that blink and even wink meaningfully at more-or-less appropriate times (there's an app for that).

If you think talking and texting on cell phones make distracted driving a problem now, just wait until drivers cannot even see the road through their glasses. Treatments by D&G, Ray Ban, etc in the works.

Cultural Limbo - first in a new series "How low can we go?"

Epitaphic tweets from mini-starlets about a micro-starlet, republished by Time magazine.

Winter Solstice 2009

Beware Stores Bearing Gift Cards

Gift cards are attractive to givers who don't know exactly what the recipient wants. Problem is, many gift cards are worth what was paid, the face value, for only a few months. After that, a 'service charge' can quickly erode the value, often reducing the card to worthless within a year or two.

Can you imagine if your bank charged you for your savings account? That is the equivalent to a gift card. Instead, we quite reasonably expect banks to pay us for the use of our money. It's called interest, and as low as it is, it's way better than losing money.

'Tis the season... for fraud and abuse. Where is an eager young lawyer who wants to get rich and (coincidentally) do a good deed by filing a class action lawsuit on behalf of the millions of people who have lost money to these gift card schemes? Please put the Simon gift cards at the top of the guilty list. The Simon Grift Card would be a better name. Please note that Barnes and Noble does not charge a service fee, so that card your sister gave you (thanks!) 5 years ago and you just found in the drawer is still full value.

My advice (since you asked): give your loved ones hugs and your time to be together. Or give to Heifer or Oxfam in their name so that a family in desperate poverty can benefit. If you must give something material, give cash. Trust them to know where to spend it, or save it.