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 40-year itch
5 October 2011
How to build a really awesome spaceship, maybe
Would-be space explorers, scientists, and a couple of crackpots gather at DARPA’s 100-Year Starship Symposium to try to get interstellar travel unstuck.
[Slate]
clips, Physics, Astronomy and Space, Science and Technology, Science Policy and Technological Culture, Technology
tags: 100 year straship, DARPA, exotic propulsion, gravity drives, interstellar travel, NASA, nuclear rockets, quantum vacuum fluctuation, Slate, solar sails, space travel, zero point energy
Atomic Dogs
28 September 2011
Why can’t the world’s nuclear energy watchdog do anything about Fukushima or Iran’s weapons program?
A report from Vienna
[Foreign Policy]
Weapons in space
16 August 2011
The future (and past) of weapons in space–the vulnerabilities of satellites and the difficulty of banning weapons
An in-depth report, for purchase or subscribers.
[CQ Global Researcher]
China’s innovation policy is all wrong
21 July 2011
But can the Chinese government come up with a new one?
Why China’s current innovation policy does not promote innovation
[CNN Global Innovation Showcase]
Medical Testing
9 September 2004
Sounds of silence
Drug companies may soon be forced to report the results of all clinical trials.
The Bush administration and science
6 May 2004
On the turning away
How actions by the Bush administration are deterring foreign scientists and students from coming to America.
Plus a leader (editorial) on the same subject.
The Bush Administration and Science
8 April 2004
Cheating nature?
How the Bush administration manipultes science to suit its own ends.
Sabermetrics, generalized
22 March 2004
Moneyballs!
How statistics are changing sports beyond baseball.
Where are you?
29 January 2004
Satellite-navigation networks
Negotiations to harmonize America’s GPS system and Europe’s Galileo.
Rushing to judgement
13 November 2003
Perishing publishing
The benefits and dangers of pre-printing scientific papers on-line.
A rumour of war
6 March 2003
Clipping the enemy’s wings
American military technology has moved on a lot since the Gulf war. How precision weapons, improvements in logistics, and other innovations would change the face of a war with Iraq.
Pear review
14 November 2002
Publish and perish
Just how rigorous is the process of scientific publication?