WELCOME
Thanks for coming to visit my website. I write about science, technology, foreign affairs, and other subjects.
Follow me on Twitter: @kkakaesDrones and Aerial Observation
I edited and wrote part of a short book published by New America in July 2015 and freely available online, about how drones are being used in new ways around the world. It's meant to be useful to people who want to fly drones.The Pioneer Detectives
I published a short book with The Millions.
It's the story of the Pioneer Anomaly, a long-standing mystery. The book is short and fun—the length of a novella—but also, in the words of Amazon's reviewer, "powerful and sad". If you've got any curiosity about how NASA works behind the scenes or why scientists believe what they do, I think you'll enjoy the book.
It is available on Amazon as a Kindle Single and also on Apple's iBooks.Drone Wars
I wrote a chapter on the long history of drone technology going back to the early 20th century in this edited Cambridge University Press volume.
The Planck Scale
27 February 2003
The Long and the Short of It
Physicists have worked out how to look at the smallest sizes and shortest time that some of them believe can exist.
Better than fireflies
20 February 2003
An array of good things
Intense light trapped in a tiny fibre should have a bevy of uses.
Taking pictures of a human camera
20 February 2003
In the twinkling of an eye
A way for scientists to get better pictures of the retina.
Universal archaeology
13 February 2003
Just right
The age and composition of the universe have now been established by a NASA satellite.
Lasers and war
30 January 2003
Come fry with me
Experimental electromagnetic weaponry may soon see combat use.
Technology
tags: lasers, The Economist, War, weapons
Condor-condor-man
23 January 2003
Four wings good
Chinese scientists have found a four-winged, feathered dinosaur.
Kablouie! (djou see that coming?)
16 January 2003
All hot and bothered
Scientists may one day be able to predict volcanic eruptions.
General relativity
9 January 2003
Jupiter calling
Scientists have at last measured the speed of gravity. (This measurement is now controversial.)
Quantum computation
2 January 2003
Heads and tails
Practical quantum computers are another step closer.
Space-based telescopes
19 December 2002
A Webb of intrigue
Plans are afoot to build a replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope.
CASE HISTORY: Adobe Acrobat
12 December 2002
Trapeze artists
Intelligent design and clever marketing have made Adobe the king of online documents. But mistakes made along the way were just as important.
Technology
tags: acrobat, adobe, software, The Economist
DDD
12 December 2002
Through a glass, deeply
Cheap 3D displays will be coming to a computer near you next year. Unfortunately, little software will be available to take full advantage of their stunning depth of field
Technology
tags: The Economist
Gene sequencing
5 December 2002
Modest mouse
A draft sequence of the mouse genome has been published.
Action at a distance
28 November 2002
Hide and seek
Remote detection of bioweapons will soon be useful in the event of an attack.
Technology
tags: bioweapons, sensors, The Economist