AUTONOMOUS KILLS
SELF-DRIVING CARS programmed to kill? This is an ethical question inherent in autonomous vehicle design. And it’s a practical problem, not just a philosophical one. MIT Technology Review, October 22, … Continue reading
CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?
SCIENCE IS moving forward to match fiction. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling’s hero receives an invisibility cloak, a silky garment that makes him disappear. Now, Science … Continue reading
CURRYING FLAVOR, 1912
WE JUST enjoyed curried fish for dinner and this reminded me that India is not among the places I’ve visited. It’s easy to do some armchair travel, though, so I … Continue reading
AN EXCESS OF RESOURCE
THE WATER MAINS of Paris burst in August. This sounds like the title of a Hemingway pastiche, but actually it’s a truism of infrastructure. What’s more, it has implications in … Continue reading
ST. EXPEDITUS
A LETTER to the Editor in the London Review of Books, October 8, 2015, introduced me to St. Expeditus, the patron saint countering procrastination. Being able to procrastinate with the … Continue reading
MEDIA SHOES SQUIRM—AGAIN
THE HEADLINE reads “CBS Says It Won’t Run Ads for Rathergate Pic Truth.” Briefly, the network has passed on a multi-million-dollar promotion of Sony Pictures’ Truth, a drama concerning a … Continue reading
A FOGGY DAY/IN LONDON TOWN…
IRA GERSHWIN wrote the lyrics, his brother George composed the melody, and Fred Astaire introduced the song in the 1937 movie A Damsel in Distress. Old-time movie buffs may recall … Continue reading
MIATA REDUX— A SPIRITUAL KINSHIP
I WAS delighted to sample the Mazda Miata’s fourth generation as part of a Ride-and-Drive at the Orange County, California, International Auto Show, just up the road at the Anaheim … Continue reading
TWO UNABASHEDLY NAUTICAL FLYING BOATS
THE BRITISH Supermarine Sea Eagle and Walrus, first flown in 1923 and 1936, respectively, were both flying boats with the emphasis on the second word. Each looked strikingly nautical. However, … Continue reading
PUPILS—VERTICAL, HORIZONTAL OR OTHERWISE
THE PUPILS I have in mind here aren’t kids in a classroom, they’re the openings in eyeballs, adjustable for different lighting conditions through many evolutionary variations. I learned about these … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 