The age of supersonic transport has returned. This time around, advocates want it not only to succeed but also to become the new way of commercial air travel. This post will provide the history of supersonic transport, the current efforts, and the regulatory hurdles that need to be conquered to make supersonic transport a reality again. History The first breakthrough in supersonic transport occurred … Continue reading
Category Archives: Technology
America / Communications / Culture / Politics / Technology
Salads, I-Pads, and Anomie
What’s an Eatsa? Earlier this month the DC branch of the fast-casual restaurant, Eatsa officially closed its doors. Eatsa, founded in 2015 and based in San Francisco has a unique business model that limits human interaction and separates the consumer from the producers of the product, which in this case happens to be salads. Often … Continue reading
Ghost in the Machine: What is Moral Behavior for Autonomous Vehicles?
In the wake of the recent fatal Tesla Model S autopilot crash, media and public attitudes toward self-driving car technology have cooled. For some, the vision of a utopian future with zero automobile fatalities has come crashing down, replaced with the stark reality that the technology is not yet perfect. Still, pessimists should note that … Continue reading
Is Direct Democracy Right for Mars?
In an interview at this year’s Code Conference, Elon Musk made bold claims about the future of human space exploration and colonization. He set an aggressive schedule for Mars colonization, saying humans will arrive on Mars in 2025. The tech billionaire is clearly thinking far further into the future than that though, as demonstrated … Continue reading
In Space Everyone Can Hear You Compete
After years of fighting, the Senate has reached a compromise regarding the use of Russian rocket engines for U.S. military space launches. The agreement lifts the ban implemented in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act until 2022, after which the Pentagon can no longer issue launch contracts to firms using Russian made rockets. “Firms,” … Continue reading
The Age of the 5th Dimension – Dam IT
Network weaknesses are like holes in a fence – eventually something is going to get through. This entry will look at how hacking groups were able to take advantage of general weaknesses in outdated systems and gain access to a rural dam and a network of hospitals in the DC-metro area Continue reading
The Role of Data in Autonomous Vehicle Crashes
In the next few years, autonomous vehicles will become mainstream. While the policy infrastructure has a ways to go, companies like Google and Tesla are incredibly close to perfecting the technology that will allow cars to safely drive themselves. As a result, it is estimated the yearly accident frequency per vehicle will decline significantly from … Continue reading
