Kate Rauner's Blog, page 38

Earth or the Solar System? Is That Our Choice? #space #science #Bezos

The richest man on Earth asks, “Do we want stasis and rationing or do we want dynamism and growth?”

He offers this as a choice between misery on Earth and prosperity in space. I hope those aren’t the only possibilities- especially since staying on Earth’s my only option.

His colonies will save the Earth, too, by moving all the nasty manufacturing and polluting industries off the planet. He talks about space colonies in the present-tense, as if they existed already. First step – the Moon.

Ultimately, Bezos envisions science-fiction-like rotating space colonies, because low gravity is a problem. He has a point. Low gravity is a lot of problems!

If you don’t aim high, if you don’t start, you’ll never achieve. And I’m glad Bezos doesn’t want to abandon Earth:

Please make no mistake about this, Earth is the best planet. We do need to protect it, it’s essential, it’s our job. We’re now big enough to hurt this planet. We have to use the resources of space.

Perhaps, as seen in a lot of science fiction, it will be fantastically wealthy individuals instead of governments who lead the way into space. If 90% of Earth’s wealth does end up in a few hands (it seems we’re headed that way) I hope they make good plans.

Research that’s Hilarious – Luck May Be a Skill #science #selfhelp #psychology

[image error]I’m smart in a school-smart way. Always got good grades. But if I could choose, I’d rather be lucky than smart. Well, okay – there have been times I’d rather be pretty, but lucky’s a good choice too. Today’s post wanders into self-help. Learn to be lucky.

Wiseman provided a group of volunteers with a newspaper and instructed them to count the photographs inside.

Written in large font on half of the second page was this message: “Stop counting—there are 43 photographs in this newspaper.” A similar insert placed halfway through the paper read, “Stop counting, tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $250.”

Overall, the self-identified unlucky participants were left counting. It suggested that luck could have something to do with spotting opportunities, even when they were unexpected. getpocket.com

The researcher created a class to teach people to become luckier and it worked for most students. One assignment was to talk to at least one new person every week, because you won’t find new opportunities if you’re stuck in a rut.

As another luck-researcher says, anxiety literally narrows your perception and you just don’t see opportunity.

One of the factors that sets lucky people apart from the unlucky is how they ‘create, notice, and act upon the chance opportunities in their lives.’

You can teach your kids, and yourself, how to be luckier.

Reports in the popular press often take research out of context and leave out the ifs, ands, and buts. So  I offer no guarantees. But, maybe, here’s research you can use.

Cats Fetch But Not For You #CatsOfTwitter #CatAndDog #poem #haiku

[image error]Don’t say cats can’t fetch

A dog’s success requires you

Cats choose when to please

NPR got an ear-full when they playfully suggested cats can’t play fetch. They set the record straight here.

Social Sciences Can Improve Your Life – Turning Gangs into Good Citizens #police #gangs #science #sociology

In Ecuador:

[image error]A stunningly successful experiment has the potential to upend the mainstream US approach to deviance. vox.com

Social sciences are sometimes called soft. You don’t get hard numbers. Human beings are difficult to study in the wild, and if you do lure them into a lab, you’re not allowed to lock the door. Plus, it takes so much time. With the right conditions, some bacteria can produce a new generation every 20 minutes. Humans are so slow.

But social sciences can produce results.

In 2007, the crime-riddled nation of Ecuador did something surprising: It legalized the gangs that had been the source of much of the violence. Then something even more surprising happened over the next decade: Murder rates plummeted.

Wow.

Ecuador’s approach requires some willingness to forgive and manage fears.

The country allowed gangs to remake themselves as cultural associations that could register with the government, which in turn allowed them to qualify for grants and benefit from social programs…

When you hang out for a while, you see how differently they respond to conflicts now. For example, they [the Latin Kings] put on one of the biggest hip hop concerts ever, and they worked with other previously antagonistic gangs on the project.

Wow again. This reminds me of the optimism of Star Trek, where conflicts are often misunderstandings, and everyone is redeemable. Could that be real?

Previously violent Latin Kings were working in everything from catering to crime analysis. And they were collaborating with other gangs they’d warred with in the past.

David Brotherton, a sociologist at the City University of New York, helped set up the approach and will soon head back to Ecuador for the next phase of his multi-year research.

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Gangs have been around a long time – from West Side Story, performing Gee, Office Krupke

Watch for this approach in your own communities. Be willing to support politicians who want to try. There’s no magic here – it takes dedicated individuals, consistent policies, and no doubt, there will be some setbacks. Let go of cynicism. Think of the parable of the Prodigal Son. Or, think of Star Trek.

 

Life Happens! Imagine that Interfering with Blog Posts – Pitiful Excuses Follow, and a You Tube :) #blogging #amwriting #amwritingscifi

My posting schedule has crashed recently, and my words-per-day writing is in a slump. Life has been happening. The chief of our volunteer fire department unexpectedly retired to take care of some health issues, and guess who’s the new chief?

I’ve been dealing with finish work for our new station (Hanover) and deferred maintenance at the old station (Ivanhoe.) All while learning about the financial accounting required for the department (I HATE accounting) and getting everything I try to do wrong on the first attempt. Our members help of course, but The Chief is person of last resort. Delivery arriving at the station? Contractor needs access for a job? Call The Chief.

Now, before you feel too sorry for me, it hasn’t been all work. My last couple posts document some fun I’ve had with the spousal unit, and here’s a You Tube stringing together snapshots from my visit to Spaceport America.

It’s not even that all the hours of all my days have been full. But my creative energy does seem to drain away. Time to buck-up and get rolling again!

I’ve updated the cover on my latest scifi book! Found more science fictiony lettering. Check it out on Amazon (because revising images in my blog header and elsewhere is lower on the to-do list.) Read the story on Kindle Unlimited or buy the book! Leave a review. You’d be amazed at how a little encouragement revitalizes me. Do you like buttons to go to a book? I can make a button

Earth Day 2019 offers a ‘try before you buy’ opportunity #EarthDay #insects #festival

[image error]My town of Silver City, New Mexico, USA celebrated Earth Day yesterday. It was a beautiful day in our park full of vendors, a little politics, and information on greenhouses and solar power (which works great in the American southwest.) Also a booth from the local copper mines where I used to work. Sure, we have huge holes in the ground and huge piles of rocks on both sides of town. We need to protect our ground water and that’s a problem that will extend forever into the future. But if we can’t do a good job extracting copper, who can? Our world today is built on copper. While we live in this world, we need to keep building a better world.

I had a chance to try something new – insects. Free samples of crickets and mealworms, fried crisp, and (at least for the crickets) coated in spices. Very crispy and spicey – that’s my impression. They could have been chopped up bits of very thin chips, so I can’t really tell you what insects taste like. The samples ease Americans into the world of entomophagy.

Find out for yourself. I sent mealworms with my scifi Mars colonists, and here’s one recipe to try at home.

[image error]These are the same mealworms you know from home or schoolhouse reptile pets, but if buying lizard food makes you squeamish, they’re also packaged for humans. Scroll down here to find prepared snacks.

You can raise your own mealworms at home too – tiny pseudo-cattle for humanity’s future, because you get more protein using less land and water.

Happy Earth Day. She’s the only home we have.

Playhouse, Immersive Art to Touch and Walk Through, Follow the Story #scifiart #NewMexico #travel

Life broke out of my usual little bubble lately, with a fire, the paperwork aftermath of a fire (I’m a volunteer firefighter and lately chief of my department), followed by a couple short road trips. While I catch up with my neglected writing (Titan Book 2 – before it’s available next fall, you’ve got time to read Book 1 about a cult colonizing Saturn’s moon.)

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Meow Wolf parking lot, Santa Fe NM USA. The exhibit is installed in an old bowling alley (background)

Life interferes with my posting schedule, but sometimes a girl’s just gotta have fun. One of my highlights is Meow Wolf. It’s hard to describe – an immersive, interactive art exhibit meets a garage sale wrapped around an immortal hamster, if you care to work out the story. Or just wander and enjoy. Check out the walk-through video! Installations in New Mexico and Colorado. Don’t miss a chance to go.

Update: Beresheet Moon Lander Crashed, but to get that far is quite an achievement

Lots of reporting on this, but the craft that made it to the moon crashed in its last moments.They were so close to success. Some private group is going to make it!

The little robot couldn’t quite make it, crashing into the gray dirt around 3:25 p.m. EDT (1925 GMT). Mission control lost communications with the spacecraft when it was about 489 feet (149 meters) above the moon’s surface. space.com

Yuri’s Night 2019

Here’s an anniversary you don’t want to miss, from a blog you should visit soon

Wow! Wasn’t Watching for This Exciting News from the Space Industry #space #rocket #moon

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model of Beresheet lunar lander

First privately-funded spacecraft to reach the Moon is in lunar orbit right now! After some orbital adjustments, the landing is scheduled for April 11. NYTimes and others.

Don’t lose track of this mission like I almost did – watch for news on April 11, 2019.