Link Roundup for 07Oct20

The Air Force wants you to build them a flying car.

“Late last year, the U.S. military branch announced a program called “Agility Prime” seeking to turn commercial advances with flying cars into military applications. Set up like a DARPA Challenge, the Air Force released a preliminary solicitation this week for the kinds of vehicles companies can submit for the first stage of Agility Prime — these being electric or hybrid-powered eVTOL aircraft with autonomous, remote, or onboard-pilot controls.”

Periodically I drop into the DARPA page to see what shenanigans they’re up to. And every time I’m struck with the thought – imagine what the world would look like if research universities and medical research facilities were getting all that money funneled into the military.

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Mythaxis interviews Bruce Sterling.

“Also, I dislike schedules and responsibilities. There was a time in my life when I could put up with that — while raising children, mostly — but I find in later life that I travel a lot just for the joy of avoiding chores through not being around. I like to wake up when I feel like it, and follow my own proclivities through the day.

“This likely sounds pretty alarming to writers with a firmer work-ethic, but I’m not indolent, I’m just not always commercially productive as a team player.”

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Every time I hear arguments about ‘religious liberty’ (this time in conjunction with same-sex marriage) I think about Exodus 31:15.

“You may work for six days, but the seventh day is a day of worship, a day when you don’t work. It is holy to the LORD. Whoever works on that day must be put to death.”

Sounds to me like ‘religious liberty’ allows me to murder people working on the sabbath. And, if I don’t have that religious liberty, then any appeal to religious liberty is really a tissue-thin cover for bigotry.

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The finalists for the National Book Award have been announced.

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New-to-me phrase – Digital Emotion Contagion.

“Given the tremendous exposure to the emotions of others on digital media, the contagious spread of digital emotions seems to be having a powerful impact on user emotions and behavior”

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