The Voyager Golden Record carries a small sample of uranium on its cover, placed there so that whoever finds it can measure the decay and work out how long it has been drifting — a built-in clock for a message engineered to last around a billion years.

I love the ingenuity shown here. Scientists came up with a means to let any life form to have a simple means to understand intelligent life sent this craft, and included a means to understand how long it had been sent. 

https://spacedaily.com/t-the-voyager-golden-record-carries-a-small-sample-of-uranium-on-its-cover-placed-there-so-that-whoever-finds-it-can-measure-the-decay-and-work-out-how-long-it-has-been-drifting-a-built-in-cl/

In April 1970, the crew of Apollo 13 navigated home by holding the spacecraft against the terminator of the Earth, the line where day met night on the planet they were trying to reach, timing a fourteen-second engine burn with a wristwatch because their guidance computer had been shut down to save battery power for reentry

I have to admit that I continue to remain a little surprised that the Apollo 13 astronauts made it home it all. 

But then that’s the human spirit in a nutshell. They used their intuition, communication with the ground, and fought hard to keep “luck” on their side. 

 

https://spacedaily.com/sd-in-april-1970-the-crew-of-apollo-13-navigated-home-by-holding-the-spacecraft-against-the-terminator-of-the-earth-the-line-where-day-met-night-on-the-planet-they-were-trying-to-reach-timing-a-fou/

Disney World Announces New Decades for Carousel of Progress, as Sarah Takes Center Stage in Scene! - Disney Tourist Blog

Ack! They’re changing the whole attraction… Walt’s animatronic (as seen in Disneyland) will be added to the introduction scene, then the new eras will be the 1960s, 1980s, 2000s, and the future. 

This was the last attraction that Walt personally touched, so I have very mixed feelings about this…

It will be closing on July 5, and will re-open sometime next year. Which means that I’ve had my last turn in the current incarnation, and missed it on my most recent trip…

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/carousel-progress-reimagining-timeline-shift-sarah-scene-2027/

Hard Rock Stadium to be renamed ‘Miami Stadium’ during World Cup matches

Actually this is true for all the stadia with corporate branded names. So they’ll be Dallas Stadium, Atlanta stadium, New York / New Jersey stadium during the World Cup. 

Personally, I think we should eschew the corporate names, and keep calling the stadiums by city names, by a founding name (like in Miami calling it Joe Robbie stadium), or for the team that plays there (like cowboys stadium).

The corporations aren’t paying me, so I have no reason to refer to them by whatever name they put on it. 

https://www.local10.com/sports/local/2026/05/27/hard-rock-stadium-to-be-renamed-miami-stadium-during-world-cup-matches/

The Mars helicopter Ingenuity completed 72 flights in an atmosphere less than one percent as dense as Earth's before rotor blade damage grounded it in 2024, and JPL had originally designed it for just five test flights, and the lessons from its overperformance are shaping NASA's next generation of Mars aircraft

This is a pretty good summary of the Ingenuity helicopter that nasa placed on mars. 

It was wildly successful and continues to guide future development that can be used far away from home.  

https://spacedaily.com/the-mars-helicopter-ingenuity-completed-72-flights-in-an-atmosphere-less-than-one-percent-as-dense-as-earths-before-rotor-blade-damage-grounded-it-in-2024-and-jpl-had-originally-designed-it-for-jus/

Disney pulled back the curtain on Imagineering’s robotics lab during its Week of Wishes for a young fan — and showed how its next-gen characters come to life | TechRadar

It makes me happy to see Disney doing some good. In this case, they offered a tour of the robotics lab to a “make a wish kid”…

And the fact that Disney is creating and innovating on the cutting edge is great, and carries on the fine tradition started by Walt and his WED designers. 

 

https://www.techradar.com/streaming/entertainment/disney-pulled-back-the-curtain-on-imagineerings-robotics-lab-during-its-week-of-wishes-for-a-young-fan-and-showed-how-its-next-gen-characters-come-to-life

About AI...

I've been thinking about the advent of AI, and how we really don't know *what* it is, how it will be used, or how it will affect us.

And yet, AI is the answer to everything!  And it will cost all kinds of jobs! And it will make our lives better (or worse, I'm confused)!

The headlines promoted by companies tell a story that they want to tell (and ignore that they are taking an opportunity to "rightsize their workforce" while hailing innovation - lower payroll = more money to the wealthy investors).  

So instead, I prefer to focus on the fact that each new innovation does change some aspects of our lives, but doesn't end the world as we know it.  A relatively recent analogous example being the advent of the personal computer - which we were told would eliminate humans from most jobs.

AI is probably overstated in how it can be applied, though it definitely has use cases that can be helpful and improve on some things we as humans do. And industries will surely change.  But it seems unlikely that it will "eliminate humans from most jobs."  That's my take, anyway.

But I don't think I'm alone on that.  I found this video, and it talks about the same general topic from a slightly different perspective, and is worth a watch.

https://youtu.be/2SjgP8o-1LQ?si=e15fwFpihP8NnQqd

Oh, and by the way, I did note that Lowe's is investing in training tradespeople.  They, too,  see the headlines, and realize that no matter what, trades can't be replaced by AI.  Plus, being in construction broadly, they see a deficit on people who can do plumbing, electric, and carpentry.  So they are looking to fill that need, and take a part of that business.  Kudos to them.