What got you started?

I guess I started at a place called No Such Agency in the early 00's and didn't realize it until the Snowden stuff came out... go figure.

I hack for entertainment (that is the entertainment industry) nowadays...

Funny thing is I sat in the TechLA conference and the main attitude/topic of the organizers was "hacking big data". WTF? Is the term hacking a buzzword now, i.e. the next 'social' or the new 'bubble'?

a. that's a 35K copter with NO GPS (the older models didn;t have it, though this could be retro fitted) and if upgraded, has hold position and that's it.
b. that 35K copter can be trumped by a @2K DJI phantom setup--if LAPD paid over 10K for that, I say it's a complete RIP OFF.
c. LA is a urban canyon in most places, GPS and RF will likely be a question--so the use will likely be limited.
d. does LAPD have a COA?

9 out of 10 times, ctrl-z usually results in a kill -9.

The pill bottle is an example of the coming Internet or things.

Much like drones and big data, there's lots of policy to abuse, and much ethics to be discussed... Much like the last boom with wireless and content (rights management).

I chuckle at the title, Lectures Aren't Just Boring, They're Ineffective, Too, Study Finds

Just ask all those Mathematicians and Physicists considering lectures are the only form of classroom instruction as it involves breakdown of problems/past experiences from previous works. And considering a lot of the innovations use today originated from these guys says a lot.

Lectures are just a tool in the arsenal, it could be a poor performing teacher as well (one more interested in his research or tenure), putting finals at the same date, or have a critical paper due the day after thanksgiving. I recall a lot of the lectures I've been in fell in 2 camps, ones that were engaging and ones that just plain showed the teacher reading a text book. A lot of hands on stuff I don't recall anymore, the tech as changed as well, but at least lectures I can still refer to the notes and written examples. Both are good techniques of instruction, but should be used in the right context.

Heck,

SpaceX is a private company. They can do what they please as long as their owner/investors are happy.

NASA/ESA are just saying from their experience... and then as a future customer. SpaceX either needs to prove it or provide details, aka IP to their customers to explain why their solution will work.

Otherwise, this is just NASA/ESA playing CYA since their respective gov'ts see SpaceX as the only commercial player in town (aka a monopoly) and don;t want any blame for potential failures.

Basically the author is saying should vehicles go from a reactive state to a proactive state. All autonomous cars current are reactive in nature. The latter being a non-linear problem. We can solve it though a uber logic table, but I'm sure with all the filtering and choices, would be too slow that in the end is no different from an RNG,

Interesting this applies to all autonomous vehicles, whether land, sea or air based.

As a person who spent some time studying Astrophysics, namely space physics, and chaos theory. You can do a lot with it outside of just "studying the planets":

Rocket guidance systems
Satellite health monitor and positioning
GPS systems
EMI/RF analysis
Physical Chemistry (and spectroscopy of course)
Anything Math related (!)
Literature
Robotics
Music
Puppetry

Just to name a few things... and yes... I've done all of them in some aspect of my career....

Perhaps SpaceX will prove to be very reliable, but they aren't there yet.

There's 50% of the problem. SpaceX can test all they want to proven launch worthiness, but it how they handle problems with their systems that the customer is looking at--which they have minimal experience in compared to the ULA. It's the [stupid] man-years advertisement.

Now the other 50% is that DoD likely loves their current political and economic arrangement they have with ULA, so changing that will ripple to all suppliers... and has nothing to do with saving cash but some manager's year end bonus.

FCC: can't make a decision on net neutrality. Lobbyists (big telcos) make it for them.

FAA: can't make a decision on small done policy. Lobbyists (defense contractors) make it for them.

SEC/FDIC: no regs for HFT. Lobbyists (banks) make it for them.

DOT: stalling on self driving cards and electric infrastructure. Lobbyists (auto, oil&gas) make it for them.

FDA: pot regs.... Nuff said...

See the pattern here?

"The Internet has acted as a great equalizer"
Maybe at the macro scale (continent size), but at a country scale (micro?), aka USA for example:
I don't know about that. Unemployment is higher, education is less effective, and my salary is not keeping up with inflation. Sur I have more free time, but instead waste it on surfing, apps, FB, and really: inefficient research [on the Internet]. All during the 2002-2012 period.

While the rich can afford multiple higher $$$ cars, say in the multimillion dollar range, I can only afford a Honda Civic, not much different from 1998.

New technologies have left Detroit behind.

OK, let's get started. I've had this dream for more than a decade now. and I've asked you all to share with me. In six months we begin construction... of Delta City. where Old Detroit now stands. I grew up in Old Detroit.... as a child I played in its streets.... those same streets have become a breeding ground for crime and social decay. Before we employ the 2 million workers that will breathe life into this city again we must pacify Old Detroit. Although shifts in the tax structure have created an economy ideal for corporate growth, community services, in this case law enforcement, have suffered. I think it's time we gave something back. Dick?

Fellow executives... it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to the future of law enforcement. ED 209. ....

Except ED 209 will be a General Atomics Predator.

"different operating systems in under a year."

Yep, no different from MS, Qualcomm, or Intel.

"What's your longest-lasting, hardest-working device?"

Wacom stylus pen for my wacom tablet.It's stretching what's technical, but it is technical compared to a pencil.

Then again, then there's my 45yr old frig (was hi tech then).

"United States political and finance industry leadership has recently been dominated by people associated with Harvard and Yale."

Explains why did study was conducted by Princeton. Those Ivy leagues are like competing children, which most of this country's political system has become: an bunch of ranting, whining children with access to a lot of cash and dreams.