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(landing) of a rocket first stage, allowing reuse
and a lower cost for future launches. Musk has
a plan for SpaceX to be able to launch people
to Mars within six years. I feel for those that
watched the moon landings as fifty-year-olds
and then died disappointed that humans never
again did anything so dramatic. With luck my February 9, 2019
82-year-old parents will see people on Mars. Membership Chairperson
J.J. Johnson
National Geographic has created a TV series
called ‘Mars’, which is very inspiring, yet Members: 47/51%
brings some concerns with the human coloni- Meeting Attendees: 24
zation of that planet. It portrays some of the
issues we could face in the development of THANKS FOR JOINING
space technology by private companies, rather Kathy Simon
that government entities, a road we appear to THANKS FOR RENEWING
be going down now. It shows the parallels this
could have with the commercial development Ellen Smatlak
of resources here on Earth in the arctic. It is a DeBorah Sirilla
series well worth watching. Thomas Krissek
Harriet Rudnit
As hopeful as I am that all the new tech we get
in the New Year will on balance be a benefit to THANKS FOR VISITING
humankind, I sometimes wonder more about Yvonne Mitchell
the humans. Many notable people, including Dorothy Bulls
Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Bill Gates
have concerns about artificial intelligence, or
AI. AI is on its way, so I wonder if one day we
will have to battle with it for our survival, as in
‘The Terminator’ movies, or will we humans
gladly relinquish our control over technology,
should that time come. A study by McCann
Worldgroup of young people in seven coun-
tries conducted in 2011 indicated that 53% of
16 to 22-year olds would prefer to give up their
sense of smell than their technology. Will our
future turn out rosy, or just stink?

President's Corner
By Greg Skalka, President, Under the Computer Hood Beat the April rush!
UG, CA

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