20
Oct 11

Moonbase Shanghai: Could China Own The Moon?


By James Milstid

China holds 16% of America’s total national debt.

This excerpt from Wikipedia should concern us greatly:

As of May 2011 the largest single holder of U.S. government debt was China, with 36 percent of all foreign-held U.S. Treasury securities (16% of total US public debt). China’s holdings of government debt, as a percentage of all foreign-held government debt, have decreased a bit over the last year, but are up significantly since 2000 (when China held just 6 percent of all foreign-held U.S. Treasury securities).

That works out to a cool $6.25 trillion… not a paltry sum! China has loaned us, the USA, an obscene amount of money over the years. And we’ll most certainly go back for more.

In 1990’s there was a huge influx of wealthy Chinese immigrants to Vancouver, BC. So large was the influx, the city was tagged with the name “Hongcouver”. Since then, much of the city is under Chinese ownership. At first, the Vancouverites were thrilled with the boost in their economy. The housing market boomed and the suffering economy was greatly strengthened. But now that the Chinese essentially own Vancouver, there are second thoughts.

These facts and having recently read Albert Brook’s 2030: What Really Happens to America, is why this article caught my eye…

China could own the moon by 2026, U.S. space entrepreneur warns

by JohnThomas Didymus
A U.S. space entrepreneur, Robert Bigelow, has sounded alarm that China could own large portions of the moon by 2026, edging out the United States in the race for ownership of the moon.

Mr. Bigelow made this warning at the 2011 International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight on Wednesday.

Robert Bigelow, according to Space.com, said China’s growing technological capability, economic buoyancy, motivation and will to win the space race to “own the moon” places it at advantage to the U.S. which he said is still “basking in the lunar glory from 40 years ago.”

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20
Oct 11

2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America

Book Review by James Milstid

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

It was so real that I kept finding myself thinking, “This is happening right now!”.

Albert Brooks has crafted an excellent thought-provoking scenario that is very believable. It’s one of those books that is difficult to put down and at the end you want more.

Well written, humorous, and poignant, Mr. Brooks pleasantly surprised me with his knowledge, insight and wordsmithing mastery.

Very highly recommended! Just read it!

Warning: This story will haunt you; it stays with you long after you’ve finished reading it.

From the Barnes and Noble website:

Is this what’s in store?

June 12, 2030 started out like any other day in memory—and by then, memories were long. Since cancer had been cured fifteen years before, America’s population was aging rapidly. That sounds like good news, but consider this: millions of baby boomers, with a big natural predator picked off, were sucking dry benefits and resources that were never meant to hold them into their eighties and beyond. Young people around the country simmered with resentment toward “the olds” and anger at the treadmill they could never get off of just to maintain their parents’ entitlement programs.

But on that June 12th, everything changed: a massive earthquake devastated Los Angeles, and the government, always teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, was unable to respond.

The fallout from the earthquake sets in motion a sweeping novel of ideas that pits national hope for the future against assurances from the past and is peopled by a memorable cast of refugees and billionaires, presidents and revolutionaries, all struggling to find their way. In 2030, the author’s all-too-believable imagining of where today’s challenges could lead us tomorrow makes gripping and thought-provoking reading.

Barnes and Noble


20
Oct 11

Robotic Umpires? Why not?

Since its inception a decade ago, K Zone has won over many, but many still remain against an official role in pitch calling.

Is It Time For Professional Baseball To Adopt Robot Umpires?

by Peter Murray October 20th, 2011

It’s one of the important questions facing American society today. On the one side are the liberal-minded who want more regulation; on the other side, conservatives who despise any proposals put on the table.

I’m speaking, of course, about the debate of whether or not technology should be used to call balls and strikes in baseball.

This same question was posed recently on Slashdot with an invitation for readers to comment – and comment they did, 141 times. The original question entertained the use of “robot umpires” to “either replace or enhance the human umps’ work on the field.” And it considered how to go about developing technologies such as “touch-sensitive bases/foul lines, etc.” rather than simply calling balls and strikes. But I’m going to limit our own peregrination on this topic to the strike zone simply because the technology’s already here to potentially improve this central part of the game.

And yet we’re not using it.

Not surprisingly the Slashdot discussion centered mostly on the question of the strike zone. Is there really a need for an upgrade at the umpire position? If so, would the current “robot umpires” do a better job than their human counterparts? I’ll get to the comments, but first let’s take a look at what the human umps are up against.

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20
Oct 11

Steve Ballmer… Microsoft’s wacky CEO

Microsoft CEO On Android: “Only A Computer Scientist Could Figure Out How To Use It”

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took his appearance at the Web 2.0 Summit as an opportunity to publicly press the dislike button on Android, Google apps, and the iPhone.

Microsoft is planning to release new Nokia phones powered by its Windows Phone operating system at Nokia World on October 26 and Ballmer told Web 2.0 interviewer John Batelle that he thought iPhone was the main competition. Though Google’s Android software has gobbled up market share to become the most popular smartphone operating system in the United States, Ballmer was dismissive of the competitor.

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