absolutely amazing. that's the "failure is not an option" mentality the program lived by in those days... for comparison purposes, read the final report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, published in 2003. It talks of a "broken safety culture" in which managers denied problems existed and suppressed efforts to look at the shuttle Columbia's wing, insisting that foam couldn't cause dangerous damage to the shuttle Things have improved since then -- tragedy has a way of focusing the mind -- but no one should ever forget that going to space is an extraordinarily risky proposition.
Hey there--it's John, the guy who wrote the story. There are other factors at play besides the number of votes that an initiative can generate. For example, the place that the votes are generated is important, and space states like Florida have pretty important votes. The companies that benefit from space spending are also influential. NASA centers and NASA work is spread out all across the country. There are many reasons that Congressional support for NASA remains high and bipartisan -- not just the ones I've named, but the inspiration that NASA can provide to kids who might pursue careers in science and engineering. But the support hasn't been there to give NASA substantially MORE money, and that's why there's going to be a gap in US space flights.
There are very clever things that the government does to conceal and hide the satellites, sure -- some of the spotters believe the satellites are programmed to twitch into a less visible orientation when they are to pass over, say, Toronto. But space is transparent, and imaging tech gets better and better. And yes, I'm the guy who wrote the story.
Man, y'all are making me feel old. I remember flying out to Michigan in 2000 for a story about Slashdot back when I worked at the Washington Post. We ate, we talked, I wrote, it was fun....
Good news sites do NOT get it wrong. Political hatchetmen have been banging this drum about CFC foam since the Columbia accident. It's convenient, gives a satisfying answer that allows them to beat up on political correctness. But the CFC changes applied to acreage foam, plain and simple -- not the hand-applied foam on the ramps. The problem with non-cfc foam is called popcorning, and it's been addressed through a procedure called venting. But the big chunks come off of the hand-applied areas, and NASA now has to deal with that. Which is why the shuttle launches are delayed until March at the earliest.
It's apparently a little of both. (I'm the guy who wrote the article.) The computational power of the crypto system is limited by the fact that the transponder has no power supply of its own, and has to grab a charge from the car via RF. At the same time, companies like TI sell the customers as much security as they want to buy, and so even if they have more robust systems (and they do, for other applications), the automakers might not want to spend the money to upgrade unless pushed by somebody like, say, the insurance industry. But I did get the feeling that TI thought they had come up with something that would never be cracked, because the system has a lot of tricky features. It's just not strong enough to withstand attack by state-of-the-art guys. And, as the story says, the white hats don't have a monopoly on expertise.
That's me, the reporter who wrote the story. What fascinated me about this is that everybody knows that workplace stress is a problem, but you rarely see the dots connected. There's a lot of fascinating research out there -- especially the Scandinavian studies showing links between change in the workplace and illness. Anyway, I didn't mean to stress y'all out. But I have to say that I did think of slashdotters often while I was writing it...
Thanks for posting the link. I'm the reporter who wrote the article, and I'm glad to see that this is getting out there. To me, the most interesting issue brought up by the paper is their conclusion that NO Internet voting system can be safe with today's tech. Serve isn't the only Internet voting plan out there...
I'm the reporter who wrote the story. I realize that people might think it's silly or lazy to use IM instead of banging around the house, but it does creep up on you. And what interested me the most was the fact that people are using it in positive ways.
And it helped that I was surprised to find myself IMimg with my own kids at home...
That's the point -- where is the most effective point of control, if you believe you need to control the flow? It's a big industry, but it's an even bigger world...
I wrote the article. I didn't go out of my way to avoid mentioning it. I didn't scream it, either. I simply wrote that the other systems are not affected.
I have written specifically about the problems of the software monoculture in many, many stories, and thought that I laid it out in this one as well. If I didn't hit MSFT with a ball-peen hammer, no, and obviously many slashdotters expect to see that at every possible opportunity.
Sorry that I'm not the advocate that you want me to be, but that's not actually part of my job description.
You, and Boehlert, are right: NASA uses different foam application processes for different parts of the external tank, and the bipod ramp area that the foam chunk fell off of was applied with the old CFC-bearing propellant. The problems associated with the newer stuff are related to "popcorning," which is small bits popping off of the tank as trapped gas expands. NASA put a lot of work into that problem and reduced popcorning significantly by shaving the foam down a bit and poking gazillions of needle-thin holes in the foam with a brush-like device. Oh, and I'm in the media, and did not bite.
Actually, the worms have been used in shuttle tests in the past to see how much mutation occurs in space. The researchers, who did the experiment in 1996, found that there were three times the number of mutations in c. elegans on the shuttle than in the control group on earth. The mutations are important because it has implications for the formation of cancers, and so it suggests that long-term travel in space for astronauts could lead to a higher risk of cancer for them.
I'd say that each of the topics you cite gets regular coverage in the Times, but there's so much STUFF in the Times every day that what you want to see can get lost in the other stuff. There's an old cartoon showing two commuters looking at their newspapers, and one says to the other, "Don't you have some days when you just can't hack it -- I mean, the New York Times?" Also, even if the topic is covered, you might not like the balance that Times reporters -- and reporters at just about all mainstream media -- bring to the stories. A lot of people, especially on the 'Net, prefer advocacy, which (so long as you agree with the point of view) can be more satisfying.
Anyway, I don't want to get into the objectivity/balance thrash. And I don't mind flames -- my skin isn't that thin.
Well, at least you thought it was articulate. I wrote the article, and wanted to point out that the I have written about Putnam (bowling alone) before, and spent the first two months of this year living in Houston for the paper covering the collapse of Enron. That fact doesn't make this particular article any fuller, or more likely to please you, but it underscores my only point here: there's a lot more to what I write than one story, and a lot more in the paper than what I write.
Most people don't read the whole paper, and a lot of folks just read the stories that people are talking about. And I don't want to sound like a booster or corporate stooge. i'm just trying to say that there's more out there then you might think.
I think you're right on this one -- the porn guys have stuff they are willing to give away as enticement to get paid for what they promise is the good stuff. So far, the member companies of the RIAA don't seem to want to give much of anything away. But the model sure seems to work for the pr0nsters...
I didn't expect it to be on the front, no. You can never bet on these things. I put in the legal stuff not to push for legislation (although Prof. Fishman clearly wants some); the real intention was to show, as my stories often do, how law develops as a patchwork and not as a planned or even logical process.
Hi, it's me, the "dumb-ass journalist." Since most consumers don't know that a radio is, you know, a radio, I thought it was worth pointing out to them. Was the story a call for protective legislation? I don't remember writing that in. Did it say that this is an issue unique to XCams? nah. Ultimately, it was a story that said "think about the technology you use." I can see how that would irritate anyone who already does think about the technology he uses, but I thought it was fair warning for the rest of the world.
Glad you liked the story, Craw. And you won't hear me saying anything bad about paper. It pays my bills, even though I believe a lot more people see my stuff online these days.
Slashdot Mirror
Court Upholds Prison Ban of Dungeons & Dragons
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/us/27dungeons.html?hpw
absolutely amazing. that's the "failure is not an option" mentality the program lived by in those days... for comparison purposes, read the final report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, published in 2003. It talks of a "broken safety culture" in which managers denied problems existed and suppressed efforts to look at the shuttle Columbia's wing, insisting that foam couldn't cause dangerous damage to the shuttle Things have improved since then -- tragedy has a way of focusing the mind -- but no one should ever forget that going to space is an extraordinarily risky proposition.
yep. I wrote it. And thanks!
Well, you know, my journalistic motto has always been "dare to be dull."
Hey there--it's John, the guy who wrote the story. There are other factors at play besides the number of votes that an initiative can generate. For example, the place that the votes are generated is important, and space states like Florida have pretty important votes. The companies that benefit from space spending are also influential. NASA centers and NASA work is spread out all across the country. There are many reasons that Congressional support for NASA remains high and bipartisan -- not just the ones I've named, but the inspiration that NASA can provide to kids who might pursue careers in science and engineering. But the support hasn't been there to give NASA substantially MORE money, and that's why there's going to be a gap in US space flights.
There are very clever things that the government does to conceal and hide the satellites, sure -- some of the spotters believe the satellites are programmed to twitch into a less visible orientation when they are to pass over, say, Toronto. But space is transparent, and imaging tech gets better and better. And yes, I'm the guy who wrote the story.
Man, y'all are making me feel old. I remember flying out to Michigan in 2000 for a story about Slashdot back when I worked at the Washington Post. We ate, we talked, I wrote, it was fun....
Good news sites do NOT get it wrong. Political hatchetmen have been banging this drum about CFC foam since the Columbia accident. It's convenient, gives a satisfying answer that allows them to beat up on political correctness. But the CFC changes applied to acreage foam, plain and simple -- not the hand-applied foam on the ramps. The problem with non-cfc foam is called popcorning, and it's been addressed through a procedure called venting. But the big chunks come off of the hand-applied areas, and NASA now has to deal with that. Which is why the shuttle launches are delayed until March at the earliest.
Actually, the Times story, which I wrote, came out at the same time as the RFID report from Hopkins was revealed.
It's apparently a little of both. (I'm the guy who wrote the article.) The computational power of the crypto system is limited by the fact that the transponder has no power supply of its own, and has to grab a charge from the car via RF. At the same time, companies like TI sell the customers as much security as they want to buy, and so even if they have more robust systems (and they do, for other applications), the automakers might not want to spend the money to upgrade unless pushed by somebody like, say, the insurance industry. But I did get the feeling that TI thought they had come up with something that would never be cracked, because the system has a lot of tricky features. It's just not strong enough to withstand attack by state-of-the-art guys. And, as the story says, the white hats don't have a monopoly on expertise.
That's me, the reporter who wrote the story. What fascinated me about this is that everybody knows that workplace stress is a problem, but you rarely see the dots connected. There's a lot of fascinating research out there -- especially the Scandinavian studies showing links between change in the workplace and illness. Anyway, I didn't mean to stress y'all out. But I have to say that I did think of slashdotters often while I was writing it...
I'm saving that one for my tombstone!
jswatz (the guy who wrote the story)
Thanks for posting the link. I'm the reporter who wrote the article, and I'm glad to see that this is getting out there. To me, the most interesting issue brought up by the paper is their conclusion that NO Internet voting system can be safe with today's tech. Serve isn't the only Internet voting plan out there...
I'm the reporter who wrote the story. I realize that people might think it's silly or lazy to use IM instead of banging around the house, but it does creep up on you. And what interested me the most was the fact that people are using it in positive ways.
And it helped that I was surprised to find myself IMimg with my own kids at home...
That's the point -- where is the most effective point of control, if you believe you need to control the flow? It's a big industry, but it's an even bigger world...
signed, the guy who wrote the article
What part of "one of the first" do you not understand?
signed, the guy who wrote the article.
I wrote the article. I didn't go out of my way to avoid mentioning it. I didn't scream it, either. I simply wrote that the other systems are not affected.
I have written specifically about the problems of the software monoculture in many, many stories, and thought that I laid it out in this one as well. If I didn't hit MSFT with a ball-peen hammer, no, and obviously many slashdotters expect to see that at every possible opportunity.
Sorry that I'm not the advocate that you want me to be, but that's not actually part of my job description.
You, and Boehlert, are right: NASA uses different foam application processes for different parts of the external tank, and the bipod ramp area that the foam chunk fell off of was applied with the old CFC-bearing propellant. The problems associated with the newer stuff are related to "popcorning," which is small bits popping off of the tank as trapped gas expands. NASA put a lot of work into that problem and reduced popcorning significantly by shaving the foam down a bit and poking gazillions of needle-thin holes in the foam with a brush-like device. Oh, and I'm in the media, and did not bite.
Actually, the worms have been used in shuttle tests in the past to see how much mutation occurs in space. The researchers, who did the experiment in 1996, found that there were three times the number of mutations in c. elegans on the shuttle than in the control group on earth. The mutations are important because it has implications for the formation of cancers, and so it suggests that long-term travel in space for astronauts could lead to a higher risk of cancer for them.
I'd say that each of the topics you cite gets regular coverage in the Times, but there's so much STUFF in the Times every day that what you want to see can get lost in the other stuff. There's an old cartoon showing two commuters looking at their newspapers, and one says to the other, "Don't you have some days when you just can't hack it -- I mean, the New York Times?" Also, even if the topic is covered, you might not like the balance that Times reporters -- and reporters at just about all mainstream media -- bring to the stories. A lot of people, especially on the 'Net, prefer advocacy, which (so long as you agree with the point of view) can be more satisfying.
Anyway, I don't want to get into the objectivity/balance thrash. And I don't mind flames -- my skin isn't that thin.
Well, at least you thought it was articulate. I wrote the article, and wanted to point out that the I have written about Putnam (bowling alone) before, and spent the first two months of this year living in Houston for the paper covering the collapse of Enron. That fact doesn't make this particular article any fuller, or more likely to please you, but it underscores my only point here: there's a lot more to what I write than one story, and a lot more in the paper than what I write.
Most people don't read the whole paper, and a lot of folks just read the stories that people are talking about. And I don't want to sound like a booster or corporate stooge. i'm just trying to say that there's more out there then you might think.
I think you're right on this one -- the porn guys have stuff they are willing to give away as enticement to get paid for what they promise is the good stuff. So far, the member companies of the RIAA don't seem to want to give much of anything away. But the model sure seems to work for the pr0nsters...
I didn't expect it to be on the front, no. You can never bet on these things. I put in the legal stuff not to push for legislation (although Prof. Fishman clearly wants some); the real intention was to show, as my stories often do, how law develops as a patchwork and not as a planned or even logical process.
Hi, it's me, the "dumb-ass journalist." Since most consumers don't know that a radio is, you know, a radio, I thought it was worth pointing out to them. Was the story a call for protective legislation? I don't remember writing that in. Did it say that this is an issue unique to XCams? nah. Ultimately, it was a story that said "think about the technology you use." I can see how that would irritate anyone who already does think about the technology he uses, but I thought it was fair warning for the rest of the world.
Glad you liked the story, Craw. And you won't hear me saying anything bad about paper. It pays my bills, even though I believe a lot more people see my stuff online these days.
John
Also a night owl.