The Final 5 ... :(

This artist's rendering shows Cassini as the spacecraft makes one of its final five dives through Saturn's upper atmosphere in August and September 2017. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA's Cassini spacecraft will enter new territory in its final mission phase, the Grand Finale, as it prepares to embark on a set of ultra-close passes through Saturn’s upper atmosphere with its final five orbits around the planet.

Just another gem from Cassini.

And another. :)

The little probe that could, going to miss her big time. :(

Exquisite Control

How to fly a drone with exquisite control. Simply amazing. Enjoy.

FUBARS "R" Us

BRT has long talked about the disastrous 60+ year US foreign policy debacle with the start point of same beginning with the CIA assassination of Iran's democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 in favor of the Shah. Since then, it's been downhill ever since with fubars too numerous to count in this particular blurb but not in BRT when you click here to see why this is so.

“The American Century, proclaimed so triumphantly at the start of World War II, may already be tattered and fading by 2025 and, except for the finger pointing, could be over by 2030,” McCoy writes. Imagining the real-life impact on the U.S. economy, McCoy offers a dark prediction:

For the majority of Americans, the 2020s will likely be remembered as a demoralizing decade of rising prices, stagnant wages, and fading international competitiveness. After years of swelling deficits fed by incessant warfare in distant lands, in 2030 the U.S. dollar eventually loses its special status as the world’s dominant reserve currency.

Factoid...

Meanwhile, China has quietly and rapidly expanded its influence without deploying its military on foreign soil.

What's wrong with this picture besides the complete lack of a strategic vision in any way, shape or fashion.

Nature never disappoints/Rev IV

A Little Touch of Yellow

A Tiny Blur

Blue Madness

Sturgeon Moon

An Inconvenient Truth or Trump, the hollow man

An Inconvenient Truth or Trump, the hollow man, as POTUS, has been a disaster and the people who voted for him now realize their mistake based on so many issues that truly boggle the mind. 

With that being said, like all Americans I had hopes that maybe he could act upon issues I did agree with but nada, he could not deliver as he lacks the inner discipline and competence, along with a true core of self worth, to make a difference in terms of affecting policy change this country so desperately needs as we move further into the 21st century. 

Although crude and meandering for almost all of the primary campaign, Mr. Trump eschewed strict ideologies and directly addressed themes that the more conventional candidates of both parties preferred to ignore. Rather than recite paeans to American enterprise, he acknowledged that our “information economy” has delivered little wage or productivity growth. He was willing to criticize the bipartisan consensus on trade and pointed out the devastating effects of deindustrialization felt in many communities. He forthrightly addressed the foreign policy failures of both parties, such as the debacles in Iraq and Libya, and rejected the utopian rhetoric of “democracy promotion.” He talked about the issue of widening income inequality — almost unheard of for a Republican candidate — and didn’t pretend that simply cutting taxes or shrinking government would solve the problem.

'Nuff said, for now.

Behind door No. 1

This Karl Popper inspired graphic neatly ties in with not only the double edged sword of the 1st Amendment where the proper application of free speech should always insure the fact that "No one has the right to not be offended" but also with how history itself should be recorded, i.e.

1. Does one face the unpleasant history of racism (Lost Cause Confederate installs etc, etc.)  or 
2. Does one consign said parts of this history to the memory hole? 

As for yours truly, I opt for No. 1.

Karl Popper

Moving to Europe ... for science

Now that our "wonderful" president has bowed out of the Paris Accords  by continuing to pollute the planet unabated using dirty tech like coal to make America "great" again, France, and other countries have invited climatologists to move to Europe to continue research to see how man can mitigate the impact of a slow motion catastrophe of our own making.

After France made its offer, others have followed: Germany plans to launch its own website as a partner to the initiative. The U.K. also launched a new fund–though not specifically focused on climate–designed to attract international researchers. Canada is similarly investing in a new program to attract international researchers.

France’s program, like the others, is open worldwide, but Americans make up many of the applicants, likely both because of the strength of American academia and business and the current political climate. “I think everybody is definitely more concerned than usual about what might happen over the next three or four years,” says Rothenberg. “In terms of climate science, it doesn’t seem like stuff has been targeted too much yet, but you couldn’t pay me to go work at the EPA right now. That seems like a bad idea.” Trump wants to cut thousands of jobs at the EPA, and the administration offers little support for its work. Scientists who recently prepared a detailed report on the effects of climate change in the U.S. are afraid that the Trump administration will dismiss it.

The French government is hoping that more researchers will want to collaborate with their French counterparts. For anyone who applies, from clean tech startups to nonprofits, Macron’s clear support for climate action should be a draw. The country itself–and its wine and cheese–is part of the package.

“Should you move to France, you would see that the level of education is good, the level of healthcare is good . . . all of these are part of the picture,” says the Elysée source. “Obviously, you don’t move for that, but it’s part of the equation in the end.”

C'est bon sans question. :)

Awaken ...

Tom Lowe's forthcoming Awaken looks set to be one of those mesmerizing films that supplies eye candy to the world for years to come.

Filmed (to date) over the course of five years in more than 30 countries, Awaken is a documentary film that sets out to explore humanity's sometimes contested connections with technology and nature. How well it will do in that narrative is difficult to tell from a three-minute trailer, and any film that strays into this territory is immediately compared to Godfrey Reggio's seminal 1982 Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance, normally to its detriment, but it certainly looks stunning.

Looks pretty cool to yours truly without question.

800,000 years ...

(Image Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

No need for BRT input on this as the GW report does a far better job describing what the future will be for planet earth.

The agency's executive summary alone—which contains seven bullet points detailing how 2016 was a particularly bad year for the climate—was sufficient to deeply concern many activists, scientists, and lawmakers.

In 2016, the report found:

• "Greenhouse gases were the highest on record," with CO2 levels reaching 402.9 parts per million—believed to be "the highest concentration of CO2 in the air in 800,000 years."
• "Global surface temperature was the highest on record";
• "Average sea surface temperature was the highest on record";
• "Global upper-ocean heat content neared record high";
• "Global sea level was the highest on record";
• "Arctic sea ice coverage was at or near record low";
• "Tropical cyclones were above-average overall."

The report also included a graphic (click image for version) that highlighted the impact such metrics had throughout the globe, from severe wildfires in Canada to sweltering heat in India.


Words cannot describe ...

One step closer ...

Bots, drones, guns and military, a match made in heaven, is now becoming reality in near realtime time frames. Enter the spectre of drones, packed with heat, intended to replace boots on the ground. Interesting without question yet one must pose the question, what if you have thousands of these bad boys to control? If so, AI and autonomous control by said AI would be a prerequisite, right?

Skynet anyone? Had to ask, right?

Have you ever looked at a drone and thought, “Yeah, that’s kind of neat, but I sure wish it came with some mounted firearms?” If so, you may be interested to hear about the TIKAD: a new drone that’s described by its Florida-based creators Duke Robotics as the “Future Soldier.”

Intended for military deployment, TIKAD is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed to replace boots on the ground in some of the toughest warzones on the planet. It weighs 110 pounds (50kg), can fly at an altitude of anywhere from 30 – 1,500 feet and — oh yes — did we mention that it can sport a plethora of semi automatic weapons, and a 40mm grenade launcher for good measure?

Push button war, one step closer ...