Archive for the 'Outsourced' Category
Rare Earth Metals: China’s ‘Nuclear Option’ In The Trade War
May 27th, 2019Via: oilprice.com: A simple visit to an obscure factory by Chinese President Xi on Monday is all it took to raise the specter that China could be contemplating cutting off supply of critical materials to the U.S. and potentially crippling large swathes of its industries. Also, fueled by political innuendo in Xi’s recent call for […]
Limited Hangout: ‘Wow, What Is That?’ Navy Pilots Report Unexplained Flying Objects
May 26th, 2019My best guess is that this Pentagon/CIA/To the Stars operation is a limited hangout, but to what end, I have no idea. A limited hangout is: “Spy jargon for a favorite and frequently used gimmick of the clandestine professionals. When their veil of secrecy is shredded and they can no longer rely on a phony […]
‘Pilots Are Losing Their Basic Flying Skills’
May 25th, 2019Via: USA Today: Automation has made planes safer and more efficient, but the crashes of two Boeing 737 Max jets is leading some to wonder if there is a dangerous flip side. While advanced autopilots and computers are now considered an integral part of any modern jetliner, many pilots worry that the systems are detracting […]
Dome Covering Nuclear Waste in Marshall Islands Is Beginning to Crack
May 23rd, 2019Via: Independent: Beginning in 1977, 4,000 US servicemen began collecting an estimated 73,000 cubic meters of tainted surface soil across the islands, according to the Marshall Islands’ government. The material was then transported to Runit Island, where a 328-foot crater remained from a May 1958 test explosion. For three years, the American military dumped the […]
U.S. Postal Service Testing Self-Driving Trucks for Hauling Mail Between Hubs
May 21st, 2019In yesterday’s post, I mentioned how intercity freight is the low hanging fruit of the self driving world. Here we go… Via: Reuters: The U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday started a two-week test transporting mail across three Southwestern states using self-driving trucks, a step forward in the effort to commercialize autonomous vehicle technology for hauling […]
Automakers Are Rethinking the Timetable for Fully Autonomous Cars
May 20th, 2019A friend of mine is an AI researcher. I know that “AI researcher” is a nebulous term, but let it suffice to say that he is highly qualified in this area. Back in April, I asked him what he thought about Tesla’s big self driving dog and pony show. In short, I asked him: Is […]
Robots Take the Wheel as Autonomous Farm Machines Hit Fields
May 16th, 2019Via: Bloomberg: Robots are taking over farms faster than anyone saw coming. The first fully autonomous farm equipment is becoming commercially available, which means machines will be able to completely take over a multitude of tasks. Tractors will drive with no farmer in the cab, and specialized equipment will be able to spray, plant, plow […]
Science, Coca-Cola Style
May 13th, 2019Via: Discover Magazine: Coca-Cola has poured millions of dollars into scientific research at universities. But if the beverage giant doesn’t like what scientists find, the company has the power to make sure that their research never sees the light of day. That’s according to an analysis published in the Journal of Public Health Policy that […]
Amazon Rolls Out Machines That Pack Orders and Eliminate Jobs
May 13th, 2019Via: Reuters: Amazon.com Inc is rolling out machines to automate a job held by thousands of its workers: boxing up customer orders. The company started adding technology to a handful of warehouses in recent years, which scans goods coming down a conveyor belt and envelopes them seconds later in boxes custom-built for each item, two […]
Mexico Wants to Decriminalize All Drugs and Negotiate With the U.S. to Do the Same
May 11th, 2019And wreck the CIA’s illicit drug running business? I don’t think so. Imagine the whinging you’d hear from the militarized cop industrial complex. Also, what would become of the private prison industry? Oh no no no, Mexico, let’s not go there. Via: Newsweek: Mexico’s president released a new plan last week that called for radical […]
