The gratuitous use of tech for fun and profit

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upton-s1-2014-01

I was writing a post about Low Orbit Ion Cannons (really) but then this Kate Upton in zero gravity story broke.

At first blush I'm inclined to declare that it's the greatest event in aviation history -- I could be overreacting.

But probably not. Forget about putting a man on the moon! Putting a woman -- Kate Upton -- in a zero gravity plane along with a pile of photographers and stylists and then repeatedly looping-the-loop, all for the 2014 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. That's aerospace history in the making.

And they filmed it! Mesmerizing!

What do you want? Fun! When do you want it? Now!


It had to cost well over US$100,000 to just book the Zero G flight. That doesn't even begin to cover the total cost of the photoshoot.

All that money and high technology and expertise. All so I can see Kate Upton's... hair defy gravity? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. It's just weird where our priorities are.

[caption id="attachment_10434" align="alignnone" width="497"] A capture from the little game that caused such a big flap.[/caption]

But really no weirder than seeing how 60 years of computer hardware development culminated in being able to be pissed off by the simply maddening pipe-avoidance game FlappyBird on your smart phone -- until the developer, Dong Nguyen, got pissed off himself by the stress of success and pulled the game!

And what about the Internet itself? The computer network created in the cold war to survive a nuclear war.

[caption id="attachment_10436" align="alignnone" width="497"] One of Miley Cyrus' Instagram posts from the 2013 MTV VMAs.[/caption]

What? You thought those military industrial complex eggheads at DARPA created the Internet just for Facebook and to facilitate Miley Cyrus' quest for personal expression? Don't answer that.

When I consider the amazing technology we have and the trivial uses we're often putting it to, all in the pursuit of profit, I have to give my head a shake. Capitalism is developing a case of poor impulse control.

Mind you I'm still not complaining.

[caption id="attachment_10437" align="alignnone" width="497"] Up, Upton and away. A super swimsuit model flies -- Sports Illustrated.[/caption]
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