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
Salvaging space
1 September 2011
Cleaning up low-Earth-orbit debris might lead to new space technologies.
Why problems are sometimes useful to have.
[Slate]
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]
The playstation and the warfighter
2 December 2004
Playing to win
Can video games help train soldiers?
Technology
tags: army, The Economist, video games
Super-super-sonic Flight
27 March 2004
Speed demon
The first flight of a scramjet–at Mach 7.
Technology
tags: aerospace, scramjets, The Economist
A finely drawn map
13 March 2004
Why speed isn’t everything
The next generation of microchip design
Technology
tags: microchips, The Economist
Solid-state light
6 March 2004
Seeing c
How to freeze light on a computer chip.
Technology
tags: light, The Economist
Out of mind
4 December 2003
Out of sight
A transparent magnet could be used to make new kinds of memories and displays.
Technology
tags: display, memory, The Economist
After the fingerprint
4 December 2003
Prepare to be scanned
Biometrics: High-tech security systems that rely on detailed measurements of the human body, known as biometrics, are taking off. But should they be?
And, an accompanying leader (editorial), written with Tom Standage.
Technology
tags: biometrics, The Economist
Secrets
4 September 2003
Uncrackable beams of light
Quantum cryptography–hailed by theoreticians as the ultimate of uncrackable codesis finally going commercial.
Nanotechnology
4 September 2003
More light than heat
A new sort of nanoglass would allow offices to stay bright but remain cool.
Technology
tags: The Economist
Infection!
28 August 2003
Re: That movie
The latest computer scourges, and their consequences–the significance and future of SoBig.F and the Blaster.
Wacky aeroplanes
7 August 2003
Wings of desire
New technology may change how people fly–a report from the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual fly-in in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Plus, ultralight aircraft in Oshkosh; their increasing usefullness.
Technology
tags: EAA, oshkosh, The Economist
Dwelling above
3 July 2003
Suspended animation
Unmanned craft loitering in the stratosphere may soon supplant satellites.
Plus a box on a stealthy drone that flies like an aeroplane and takes off like a helicopter. >>>
Technology
tags: The Economist, UAVs
Modern office
19 June 2003
Uncrossed wires
A better way to teleconference.
Technology
tags: The Economist
Can video games do good?
29 May 2003
Shoot ’em up
Playing action games improves visual skills.
Technology
tags: The Economist, video games
New chip flavour
8 May 2003
On the tube
A new type of computer memory uses carbon, rather than silicon.
Technology
tags: microchips, The Economist
Efficiency in the kitchen
30 March 2003
Some cool ideas
Traditional refrigeration may be eased out with new technologies.
Technology
tags: refrigerators, The Economist