(One sort of*) Attention

In Asa H (Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., vol. 109, pg 159, 2006) a similarity measure (usually a vector dot product) is used to decide if an input vector, IN, falls into some category, Ini. If the dot product of IN with Ini > ThA (some threshold value) then IN is a member of category i. 

One can add a second threshold, ThB < ThA and if IN dot Ini < ThB then IN is not a member of category i.

If, however, ThB < IN dot Ini < ThA then we can look more closely at the degree of match between IN and Ini.  For instance, we can tune the time warping or spatial transformations like scaling, shifting, rotating, etc. to see if a better match is possible (>ThA).

*Various sorts of attention have been employed in Asa H.  As the input comes in as a function of time we may stay with the currently active case/category, i , so long as the match remains strong enough (similarity measure exceeds some threshold TH).  We can avoid search until the match drops below TH.  This is a sort of attention (to category i) present in Asa H 2.0 lite (see my blog of 10 Feb. 2011)

MPCV

NASA's MPCV makes good use of the work done on Orion but water landing seems to me to be a step backward.  I would also add something like Soyuz's orbital compartment.  But that could be added later and launched separately.

Progress

It is difficult to define progress.  If the values of each individual human can be averaged or summed and so extended to all of society then what is desired is long life for the individuals (i.e. an increasing average life expectancy) and a growing population. (See my Theories of Value Change, Trans. Kansas Academy of Sci., 2006 and my blog of 21 Sept. 2010)  If this is the correct definiton of progress then resource limits would demand that mankind soon expand into space.
The situation could be improved if humans could be replaced by nanoscale artificial intelligences. (see google group sci.space.tech , 15 March 1999, R. Jones)
(Life's "purpose" is to perpetuate and expand itself.)

7 Careers

Carl Bialik in The Wall Street Journal (3 Sept. 2010) cites 7 as the likely number of careers one will have in a working lifetime.  I note that is just the number I've had: http://www.robert-w-jones.com/
(And the average career lasts more than 5 but less than 8 years.) 

If we only had the Parom tug

The russians are uncertain about letting the Dragon too close to the ISS.  Dragon has had only one test flight after all.  If we only had a reliable and proven Parom tug it could go get the Dragon (or other cargo capsules) from a safe distance.  Only a time proven technology would then approach the ISS. (It would also be useful for delta IV, delta IV heavy, or atlas V launched payloads.)

Does Falcon 9 Heavy have too many engines?

When people discuss the difficulties with the N-1 rocket they frequently cite its 30 engines. (This number was used to help keep the price of the N-1 down.)  Certainly no airplane would be fitted with 30 engines.  On the other hand the R-7 became a very reliable launcher with its 20 main engines. (After some number of failures during development.) Are 27 engines (Falcon 9 Heavy) just too many?  I guess time will tell.

The Nature of Science

Tony Rothman has criticized physics teaching for not emphasizing the approximate character of physical theory (and science in general and knowledge of all sorts). (The Man Behind the Curtain, American Scientist, vol. 99, pg 186, May-June 2011)
In my general education classes I begin with a handout that contains the quote from Einstein that Rothman cites: "When mathematical propositions refer to reality they are not certain; when they are certain, they do not refer to reality" (1921) I also quote Stephen Jay Gould  "Science does not deal in certainty, so 'fact' can only mean a proposition affirmed to such a high degree that it would be perverse to withhold one's provisional assent." (Time magazine, 23 Aug. 1999) and Bertrand Russell  "All knowledge is in some degree doubtful, and we cannot say what degree of doubtfulness makes it cease to be knowledge, any more than we can say how much loss of hair makes a man bald." (Human Knowledge, Simon and Schuster, 1948,  pg 497)
For many years I have been giving this handout.  Throughout my course I then try to point out as many of the assumptions and approximations as I can. I hope other teachers will follow suit.