Monisha Ravisetti

Article URL: https://www.cnet.com/science/rare-asteroids-near-earth-may-become-targets-for-space-mining/
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33414353
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These priceless chunks could be targets for future space mining and offer clues about an even greater cosmic treasure.

Asteroids near Earth may contain precious metals worth $11.65 trillion

Rare asteroids near Earth may contain precious metals worth $11.65 trillion

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The Ryugu samples could give clues to the mystery of how oceans appeared on Earth billions of years ago, scientists said.

Water may have been brought to Earth by asteroids, "precious samples" from recent space mission show

I have no intention of explaining how the correspondence which I now offer to the public fell into my hands.

* * *

(as recorded to the general assembly of the International Historical Society, 10. Thermidor 6̸̸̸̸̸̸̜̄8̸̸̸̸̸̸̜̄0̸̸̸̸̸̸̜̄9̸̸̸̸̸̸̜̄)

In our enlightened age, blessed as we are today by the twin mercies of the Panopticon and Eschaton, it is nevertheless necessary to turn our thoughts back to history and how far we have come as a culture, a people and a species.

For centuries it was printed matter at biological eye-scale that captured the breadth of human knowledge, whether it be cuneiform tablets struck with a stylus, great books hand-scribed in ink on parchment and carefully bound, or mass-printed novels by those masters of high literature, Dan Brown and J. K. Rowling. But it isn't merely elevated fiction with which we concern ourselves: we have also amassed great quantities of administrative information communicated through the ubiquitous paper "memo," the most important means of corporate and governmental communication during the brief yet sorrowful worldwide flirtation with the "office." Not unlike Mycenaean Linear B in its day, otherwise meaningless terms such as "human resources" and "biz cas Friday" might never have been decoded in our time without such a corpus.

Nor were we confounded in our research when humanity moved to microscopic means of information encoding. Just as the ancients were able to visually scan their plastic recording media and extract the resulting audio — a curious pleasure for their ears, one not easily replicated with modern telepathy — so could we analyze their early magnetic and later optical media with merely a single pass. Indeed, a simple low-resolution scan is more than sufficient to render any of the storage media of the day through at least the 16K ultraviolet discs of 2045, a task easily performed on any household ur-terminal with an off-the-vang scanner and central authorization, and bitwise digital copies of "high capacity" (by the day's standard) magnetic and solid state media may be ingested in a like fashion.

This brings us to the dark ages and the concern it represents for those of us gathered here today in the name of historical preservation. I speak not of the 5th to 10th centuries CE, or even of the Byzantine Dark Ages within that era, even though we treat them as "dark" for the same reason. No, I refer to the perplexing era of the mid-21st century where, despite knowledge that comparatively sophisticated digital computers existed, the vast majority contained inaccessible data with encryption keys long lost.

For some period of time there was parallel generation of mass media, but, presumably through either some great advantage or what we believe to be corporate shift, the appetite of these ancients moved to purely digital copies that lacked material existence. By 2040 most such artifacts failed to be available in any physical format. Books, "newspapers" and "discs" were considered collectable and quaint, the domain of fanatics and Luddites, and because their low margins made them correspondingly more expensive they were used for only the most rarefied or niche of purpose. (Though I mention that even later discs themselves required keys!) Administrative content, by contrast, had disappeared even before then: while laws and regulations were collected and printed because of their pre-infobeaming statutory requrements, and we possess these documents, the more relevant administrative content governed by those very edicts was invariably digital and encrypted. Other than the few that were printed by low functionaries and bureaucrats, mostly on low-quality "xerographic" paper with now clearly demonstrated carcinogenic toner, none survive. Indeed, as some retrieval specialists may recall, the so-called "laser" printers were entirely banned by 2060.

Yes, our bio-analogue-quantum systems today are far superior in terms of computational power and centralized master control. But the importance of primitive digital computers to our ancestors was just as great. Why, prior to our ubiquitous prenatal neural transceiver placement, handheld devices were even carried everywhere, sometimes multiple ones. Such a treasure trove of first-person data: if only we could resurrect them! Every academic historian can recreate a Commodore 64 in perfect detail for such culturally necessary rituals as playing Uridium, or early Apple Morkintosh virtual machines in order that we might appreciate the then-universally religious significance of flying toasters, but no recoverable data survives from 2030 onward. We have only a minority of the bit patterns and even for those we have, we have not the keys. We are unable to reconstruct their core software or what was stored on them or even model their abstract function, as the specifications themselves were stored the same way. Consumer-market computers came completely locked from their manufacturers and became the industry standard. For those few computing devices that have survived physically intact to our time, we lack the keys to start them or access their storage, and their cryptographic mechanisms were intentionally meant to be resistant to future attempts at brute force, as innocent and well-meaning our attempts may be. Even records of any security flaws we might exploit later became locked down, and their publication presumably suppressed by legal force, though we have no transcripts either.

Clearly the security-consciousness of these forebears was misguided. Under the canard of choice they allowed the very machines they bought to be controlled by corporate interests for the purposes of preserving revenue streams: a product is most valuable if it cannot be copied, if it must be repurchased for different settings, and most of all if it can be sold again if the keys are lost or the hardware is destroyed — they are, after all, unrecoverable. But the greatest flaw they suffered was a fatal distrust of their own government. The papers of the day are filled with trivialities of lawsuits to obtain access to individual devices, when all that was required was the infrastructure for mass surveillance and the political will to make it so! Why encrypt, why even attempt to compartmentalize, when no choice exists but to lay bare? Exposed, visible and eternal, unlike that deeply paranoid and cynical ancient society, our modern culture will thus survive for ages and ages hence. I believe future historians who may emanate in this very space will hear these words just as clearly, for there is a copy in every central computer, every monitoring station, every brain and neural net.

When the digital dust of the Dark Ages of the 21st century has settled, it will exist only in its absence from the historical record. We, on the other hand, through the clarity of open, free data, monitored and seen by all, will be the ones visible to the next generation. That warms my hydrofluxpump in a way I cannot fully describe even as it simultaneously saddens it, for any void in history is a never-ending blot upon our profession.

All Glory to the Hypnotoad.

/s/ C. ELEGESTIUM FAVNEROY
Transhuman Prelate, Body Plan M, Historian Level 38
signature verified by station 3C84BAFE09

The dark ages of history, circa 2030

A rendering of a renovated Thompson Center.Jahn Architecture

Back in December, Gov. J.B. Pritzker executed a spin move that would have scored well in an Olympic competition for policy shifts.After months of talking down the prospects for the state-owned Thompson Center in the Loop, suggesting it was good for nothing but a teardown, he accepted a proposal to not only save the building but for the state to still own about 30% of it.Preservationists loved the move, as did those who, regardless of how they viewed the architecture, liked the sustainability of using what's already there. The deal got the state out of a financial tangle. And it promises a shot in the arm for a part of the Loop that needs it — provided that Pritzker's chosen developer, Michael Reschke, can pull off his end of the bargain.

Chicago Enterprise bug

Chicago Enterprise

The Thompson Center is a critical piece of the central Loop, that part of the main business district that centers on La Salle Street, long the city's financial hub. La Salle is full of distinguished buildings, with the street seeming to cut through cliffs of limestone and terra cotta that stop at the Chicago Board of Trade Building at Jackson Boulevard. It's a classic urban vista.But it's facing capitalism's version of climate change. Business anchors such as BMO Harris and Bank of America are moving elsewhere downtown, drawn to high-rise views and naming rights on buildings.Financial exchanges don't draw physical crowds of traders anymore. And some regard the office space as too outmoded for today's needs. Sources say the vacancy rate around La Salle Street is 20% or more for both offices and retail.The Thompson Center, occupying the full block at La Salle, Clark, Randolph and Lake streets, threatened to deaden the area further. Pritzker's pirouette kept it from sitting empty. Reschke, chairman of Prime Group, insists the building, costing him $70 million to buy but much more to fix up, can lead a La Salle revival."We've been getting a lot of interest in this building. We are very excited about its prospects," he said last week.He's had time to analyze what he agreed to purchase. Reschke said he hopes to close on the sale with the state this summer and to start the expensive overhaul in the fall. His remarks betray no buyer's remorse."People are starting to realize the benefits of a central Loop location again," he said. Those would include superior transit access. The building itself is the L's hub, with six transit lines stopping there.

Prime Group Chairman Michael Reschke at a news conference with Gov. J.B. Pritzker in December 2021.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file

Reschke drew a contrast with Fulton Market, which is booming but by some accounts is feeling the effects in more traffic congestion, even without workplaces back at full usage. Fulton Market also is still a niche —Jones Lang La Salle reports it has 7 million square feet for offices compared with about 36 million square feet in the central Loop.The trendiness factor gives Fulton Market a lock on high rents. The JLL data shows its market average is about $56 per square foot, more than $15 greater than what applies in the central Loop where landlords are cutting deals.Reschke said when businesses shop for space, "it's really not so much about [rental] rate, believe it or not. It's the intangibles, the transit, the air purification systems. Employers are more concerned about conveniences and amenities, anything that makes for a cool, nice environment."Reschke declined to discuss updates to his Thompson Center plan, saying he's a few weeks away from that point. He said one option, a hotel, has been ruled out.So he'll be trying to lease about 800,000 square feet in a building slated to get a new glass curtain wall to better regulate its temperatures. The state is due to take another 425,000 square feet. Reschke is working with Jahn Architecture, the firm started by the building's late designer, Helmut Jahn.Mary Ludgin, senior managing director at the real estate firm Heitman, said Reschke can offer large floor layouts typically not found along La Salle and could attract a tech user to make other companies look anew at the central Loop.She's been thinking about the issue because a panel she chaired will present recommendations on March 22 for improving La Salle. It's a program organized by the Urban Land Institute Chicago."There is a future for offices" in the corridor, she said. But La Salle will need more residences and retail on or near the street, she said. One recommendation is for less space for cars and more for pedestrians and greenery. It's about creating more activity night and day."La Salle Street's future is as a mixed-use district. Now, it's a monoculture, and that doesn't work in today's environment," Ludgin said.Sometimes, all it takes is one flashy project to make an area fashionable again. People love or hate the Thompson Center, but if it powers the central Loop's turnaround, it will have earned the right to be called a landmark.

The view south on LaSalle Street in 2011, with part of the Thompson Center in the foreground to the left.Sun-Times file

Thompson Center revamp could boost La Salle Street corridor

EE380 Talk

"What does a Producer do?" This is a response that is unlikely to ever be on Jeopardy!, mainly because the answer is almost impossible to put into few enough words (7 lines, 20 characters max per line), and also, it is pretty much always a different answer depending on who the producer is, the project, and their professional background. I get this question a lot though. And over time my answer has become somewhat reductive:  "I imagine TV shows, or find shows other people have imagined, and then I build them. And once they're built, I supervise the way they work and try to protect them."  My television journey, as I've written about here, started in development: first at Merv Griffin, then Disney, then ABC, then Sony, where I have spent a career creating and finding new ideas for television. After a while, I started producing those ideas as well. A few have been huge hits. Some have been critical hits. Others, less so(!) But I've only ever produced what I've developed. I've never been given a show to produce, let alone a legacy.  And it's one of the reasons why, after more than three decades in this business, the opportunity to step in and help out on Jeopardy! on an interim basis has been such an unexpected pleasure.  Jeopardy! does not need to be imagined or reimagined. It is honestly the most perfect idea, both classic and essentially modern. Its air is filled with a constant barrage of brilliant writing and a parade of memorable contestants. We have two gifted hosts. The team who make the show are passionate about their work and committed to the daily pursuit of excellence that Jeopardy! requires. We have an unfailingly supportive parent studio in Sony Pictures, a first class distribution partner in CBS Media Ventures and a collection of 214 (!!!) outstanding television stations from coast to coast and everywhere in between who broadcast our program.  But most of all, Jeopardy! has a fan base like nothing else I have seen in television outside sports. I am honestly so inspired by your attention to detail and the depth of your love for the show, its legacy, and its future. We don't always agree. You don't always agree! But we all share the same goal: to see the show we love be as good as it can be. Johnny's reassuring voice at the beginning of every episode literally reminds us of our history and responsibility. I have always known that the job of Executive Producing this show was to be a custodian of something that has meant so much to so many people for so long and to protect the work of those who created and built something so magical. But it is also a building job. And a development job. And that is the kind of Executive Producer role that is a dream for a producer like me. Jeopardy! has a massive opportunity to build further and, far from being threatened by the massive changes in the media landscape, we can take advantage of the emergence of new platforms and bring more Jeopardy! to more audiences. There is just so much more we can do together. So, although I never imagined I'd be writing this… Today, I am delighted to announce that I have accepted Sony's offer to become the show's full time Executive Producer.  I am both honored and humbled by the faith the studio and the staff have put in me. Over the next few months, the scope of our plans will become clear. But, for now I just want to thank everyone in the Jeopardy! community for your phenomenal support.  , A few quick additional notes before I get back to the all important job at hand: I must acknowledge the tremendous work my colleagues at Sony Pictures do behind the scenes that fuel so much of the show's health and success. Sony Pictures is a huge place, but I have never been made to feel that the work we do on a nightly quiz show is any less valuable or creative than the work being done by Tom Rothman on the movie side, or by all of our superb showrunners in drama and comedy on the TV side, or all of the other astonishing creatives across our businesses. Tony Vinciquerra, Ravi Ahuja, Keith Le Goy, and Tom Rothman himself have been unfailingly supportive. This all seems so obvious, but I can tell you, having been around the sun on this planet a few times, from the peculiar vantage point of Hollywood, California, it is very rare indeed. , The practical aspects of that support means that I have the resources and people to continue to run and build Embassy Row in New York and L.A., and all of its productions: "Watch What Happens Live," "Good Morning Football," "Talking Dead," and many more, as well as focus specifically on some exciting new initiatives in sports and entertainment. , The studio's strong commitment to game shows also allows me to bring Embassy Row's game show development and production expertise to the new Sony Games area being run by my partner in all things Jeopardy!, Suzanne Prete. Suzanne and I are like the human embodiment of a Venn diagram, very different backgrounds and starting points, but a huge shaded area in the middle where we are completely aligned on the future of Jeopardy! and the game show business at large. Honestly, without the strength of our working relationship and the trust we both have in each other, I would never have been able to succeed in the interim role, and I never would have taken, let alone been offered, the permanent role. We have so many plans to expand our working relationship in the future and already several Embassy Row creatives and producers have started work within the group. With the brilliant Bellamie Blackstone joining to lead "Wheel of Fortune," the studio's superb library, multiple shows in development, and a reinvigorated partnership with our colleagues over at GSN, Sony is truly positioned to become an even greater force  in the game show space. , I want to thank our entire community for helping to make JeoparDAY! an enormous success. 20,199 people took the Anytime Test on March 30th. Wow! We raised $58,000 for the Alex Trebek Fund at Stand Up To Cancer. The original, unaired Jeopardy! pilot was watched more than 90,000 times on YouTube. We hit more than 5.9 million impressions across all of our social channels. Let's make Jeopardy's! birthday even bigger next year! Very open to any and all of your feedback. , If you're not currently watching the show you have missed the emergence of another outstanding new champion. Mattea Roach, just 23, from Toronto, Ontario, has won 7 shows and $168,401 at time of writing and has easily qualified for this Fall's TOC. Tune in to your local station to see what she's all aboot. (Sorrey). , Stay in charge, Michael Davies Executive Producer, Jeopardy!