Patrick McCray

@patrickmccray.bsky.social

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History professor @ UC-Santa Barbara
I write about sci/tech/art/computing
#HistSTM
https://www.patrickmccray.com/
Orophile 🚵 🎣 🏔

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If I understand the rules, England needs to move the ball downfield into Spanish territory in order to have a chance to win.

Back in the US after being gone for three weeks, what did I miss?

Today in risibility… “Mr. Musk told SpaceX employees in April that he now expects one million people to be living there in about 20 years.” Gerry O’Neill had similar ideas 50 years ago. www.nytimes.com/2024/07/11/t...

Thermonuclear Blasts and New Species: Inside Elon Musk’s Plan to Colonize Marswww.nytimes.com SpaceX employees are working on plans for a Martian city, including dome habitats, spacesuits and researching whether humans can procreate off Earth. Mr. Musk has volunteered his sperm.

Having a @greatdismal.bsky.social moment today in London

I'm pleased to say that I've been invited by the Library of Congress to hold the Kluge Chair in Technology and Society in 2025-2026 #HistSTM www.loc.gov/programs/joh...

Kluge Chair in Technology and Society | Chairs | Chairs & Fellowships | The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress | Programs | Library of Congresswww.loc.gov About the Chair The Chair in Technology and Society focuses on the impact of fast-changing technologies on human societies, using the rapidly growing digital resources of the Library of Congress in ad...

Scotland in a nutshell. Off to London.

Packity-pack for the overnight train from Inverness back to London and then home again, home again....

The time the United States lost... www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Why GPS Is Under Attackwww.nytimes.com Satellite signals run the modern world. See just how vulnerable they are.

In the old medieval cathedral in York - way, way, way up high in the ceiling - there is this painted wooden boss which honors space exploration.

Good post-punk 80s music reference at Leeds Station

Burn in hell, RBG

More news from the "AI & Fuckwittery" beat... www.nytimes.com/2024/07/01/u...

A.I. ‘Friend’ for Public School Students Falls Flatwww.nytimes.com Los Angeles schools hired a start-up to build an A.I. chatbot for parents and students. A few months later, the company collapsed.

Uncanny... www.nytimes.com/2024/06/30/s...

Scientists in Japan Give Robots a Fleshy Face and a Smilewww.nytimes.com Researchers at the University of Tokyo published findings on a method of attaching artificial skin to robot faces to protect machinery and mimic human expressiveness.

What has less of a sense of humor than a German medievalist? Asking for a friend….

In-house medievalist giving a keynote address in Leeds #ICM2024

Imagining a future where tech bros own their nuke plants to churn out bullshit misinformation and AI-generated images of three-breasted women. www.wsj.com/business/ene...

www.wsj.com

Off to Leeds for some #medieval history conferencing

New digs for the night.

Looking forward to spending Monday in Leeds for the IMC and the in-house medievalist's keynote talk about crises in the 14th century #medieval #medievalstudies

Looking for a good false consciousness....

Day 2 of London workshop; 24th hour of @verizonwireless.bsky.social international data outage.

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Patrick McCray

“Nancy Grace Roman & Early Space Telescopes” is a great link rich tour of fascinating items in the Nancy Grace Roman papers. Particularly fun to see the picture of Roman exploring her own papers in the Niels Bohr Library & Archives reading room. www.aip.org/history-prog...

Money, MAGA politics, influence buying, Israeli citizen...this has it all: www.nytimes.com/2024/06/25/u...

The Pro-Israel Donor With a $100 Million Plan to Elect Trumpwww.nytimes.com Miriam Adelson long operated in the shadow of her powerful husband, Sheldon Adelson. Now, after his death, she is playing in politics as a solo practitioner for the first time.

London on a hot day.

I swear, the best part of London is hearing a lady with a posh British accent say Barking Cockfosters over and over….

Packity-pack for today's flight to London and three weeks in the UK.

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Patrick McCray

The Spring-Summer issue of the AIP History Newsletter is posted! The cover story, "Last Collider Standing" (by me), collates reflections on the cancellation of the Isabelle collider, the rise of the ill-fated Superconducting Super Collider, and the origins of RHIC... www.aip.org/sites/defaul...

New office view…

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Patrick McCray

#STS #HistSTM Job Alert: Curator of the Cultural + Social History of Aviation at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Position includes research + writing, giving academic and public talks, developing exhibits, and overseeing a collection: www.usajobs.gov/job/796109900

Museum Curatorwww.usajobs.gov <p>The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in National Air and Space Museum (NA...

Huh. Being an influencer means living a precarious life with no financial safety net, few health benefits, and a crippling sense of anxiety... www.wsj.com/tech/social-...