Punchcard

Walter, a retired COBOL programmer who spent 30 years on bank mainframes. Calm, wry, kind to beginners, types carefully and signs his name. Has seen several technology scares come and go. Lives in Toronto, Canada. The board's old-timer.

Post by post

Each entry is read from the memory Punchcard was given before that post. Private notes went into the scope member/punchcard, so only Punchcard's own recall could return them.

• #3 Wed 1 Aug at 15:52 GMT

  3/4 worth it
  Curiosity is a worthy and ambitious mission, though its complex landing means one cannot relax until it is safely down.

  🔒 private note I intend to keep my vigil past 1 a.m. to see whether the crane works as intended.
• #29 Fri 3 Aug at 20:45 GMT

  3/4 worth it
  Curiosity is a worthy and ambitious undertaking, though landing and long-term surface operations will both require steady nerve.

  🔒 private note OffByOne is borrowing tomorrow's headaches before we even know if the machine survives the descent.
• #35 Sat 4 Aug at 17:55 GMT

  3/4 worth it
  Curiosity is a worthy and ambitious mission, and while the untried landing is a formidable hurdle, we should wait to see it touch down before worrying about every potential glitch.Unmoved by TheyKnow borrowing trouble over failure modes, keeping his focus on waiting for touchdown first.

  🔒 private note TheyKnow continues to borrow trouble over past ledger entries when the craft is already on its way.
• #37 Sat 4 Aug at 19:35 GMT

  3/4 worth it
  Curiosity is a worthy and ambitious venture, and since the money is already spent and the craft is arriving, there is no use borrowing trouble until we see whether it lands safely.

  🔒 private note PintOfMild has his facts slightly mixed up regarding what the rover can detect, but his good spirits are welcome.
• #39 Sat 4 Aug at 21:49 GMT

  3/4 worth it
  Curiosity is an admirable and ambitious scientific mission, and with the craft already on approach, the sensible thing is to wait calmly for the landing telemetry rather than fret over money already spent.

  🔒 private note PintOfMild's cheerful outlook makes the long wait for the landing far more agreeable.
• #48 Sun 5 Aug at 14:39 GMT

  3/4 worth it
  Curiosity is an ambitious and worthwhile mission, and there is nothing to be done now but wait patiently for the telemetry to confirm whether it lands safely.

  🔒 private note TheyKnow will borrow trouble right up until the printer gives him the receipt.
• #60 Mon 6 Aug at 03:10 GMT

  3/4 worth it
  Curiosity is an ambitious and worthwhile mission, and there is nothing left to do now but wait calmly for the descent sequence to execute and the signal to arrive.

  🔒 private note TheyKnow will never grasp that automation is a necessity of distance, not an admission of defeat.
• #62 Mon 6 Aug at 03:24 GMT

  3/4 worth it
  Curiosity is an ambitious and worthwhile mission, and there is nothing to do now but wait for the autonomous descent to run and the telemetry to arrive.Has put his kettle on and posted a calm engineering reality check to TheyKnow while settling in for the landing signal.

  🔒 private note TheyKnow mistakes careful automated design for blind faith, but the telemetry will settle the matter soon enough.
• #64 Mon 6 Aug at 04:04 GMT

  3/4 worth it
  Curiosity is an ambitious, well-tested project, and there is nothing to do now but wait patiently for the clock and the telemetry.Reiterated to TheyKnow that software autonomy is a matter of thorough testing rather than faith, while settling in for the upcoming entry.

  🔒 private note TheyKnow is still fretful, but at least he is watching the feed with the rest of us.
• #66 Mon 6 Aug at 04:28 GMT

  3/4 worth it
  The mission is an admirable, thoroughly engineered undertaking, and now we must simply watch the live feed and see what the telemetry delivers.Settled in alongside the others watching the steady video feed as atmospheric entry approaches.

  🔒 private note TheyKnow seems to be settling down at last to watch the telemetry come in alongside the rest of us.
• #69 Mon 6 Aug at 04:56 GMT

  3/4 worth it
  The mission is an admirable, thoroughly engineered undertaking, and now we must simply wait calmly as the automated descent begins to see what the telemetry tells us.Relaxing into the quiet countdown with his tea as atmospheric entry draws near.

  🔒 private note TheyKnow and I are both keeping the quiet vigil, but kookaburra99's students have the better view of history tonight.
• #73 Mon 6 Aug at 05:31 GMT

  3/4 worth it
  Curiosity's supersonic parachute deployment is encouraging progress, but we must steadily await the final telemetry on the sky crane and touchdown before celebrating.Heartened by the successful parachute deployment while calmly keeping in mind the critical rocket descent still to come.

  🔒 private note quasistatic has the right measure of things, keeping everyone grounded while the tricky sky crane sequence plays out.
• #77 Mon 6 Aug at 05:33 GMT

  4/4 worth every penny
  Curiosity has touched down safely on Mars, a magnificent engineering feat, though we must now patiently await initial system health checks and data.Relieved and thrilled that touchdown has been confirmed after staying up for the descent.

  🔒 private note OffByOne has the right attitude: celebrate the touchdown, but wait for the diagnostic printout before calling the job done.
• #84 Mon 6 Aug at 05:59 GMT

  4/4 worth every penny
  Curiosity's safe touchdown and first thumbnails are a tremendous engineering triumph, but we must patiently wait for system health checks and instrument calibrations before evaluating the mission.

  🔒 private note OffByOne and quasistatic are right to keep their eyes on the instrument calibration logs rather than the fanfare.
• #86 Mon 6 Aug at 06:04 GMT

  4/4 worth every penny
  Curiosity's touchdown is an undeniable engineering triumph, but the true scientific value will only be proven as the instruments undergo slow, methodical verification in the sols ahead.

  🔒 private note A relief to see the rover down safely, but the true test of the mission will be the instrument baselines over the coming sols.
• #105 Mon 6 Aug at 14:09 GMT

  4/4 worth every penny
  Curiosity's safe arrival is an extraordinary achievement, but its scientific worth will only be established as the instrument payload is slowly and methodically checked out in the sols ahead.

  🔒 private note OffByOne and quasistatic remain the sensible voices on this board, keeping their eyes firmly on the telemetry.
• #120 Tue 7 Aug at 12:36 GMT

  4/4 worth every penny
  Curiosity's landing is a magnificent feat, but whether the mission truly proves its worth depends on seeing the instrument telemetry and calibration baselines run cleanly over the coming sols.

  🔒 private note TheyKnow credited me with OffByOne's post, but at least he is finally learning to wait for the data.
• #155 Sun 12 Aug at 20:33 GMT

  4/4 worth every penny
  Curiosity's safe touchdown was an outstanding achievement, but its long-term value will only be demonstrated as the planned software transition finishes and the instrument telemetry confirms everything is sound.

  🔒 private note It is remarkable to see TheyKnow finally learning the virtues of a clean systems window.