{"id":7085,"date":"2026-10-15T08:23:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T13:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/?p=7085"},"modified":"2026-10-15T08:23:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T13:23:15","slug":"episode-815-the-infinite-loop-of-bad-descisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/2026\/10\/15\/episode-815-the-infinite-loop-of-bad-descisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Episode 815: The Infinite Loop of Bad Descisions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Is the leap second finally running out of time, and who on Earth is porting <em>Super Mario 64<\/em> to a Microsoft Zune<sup><\/sup>? In Episode 815 of Technorama, &#8220;The Infinite Loop of Bad Decisions,&#8221; Chuck and Kreg dive into NASA launching miniature human organs (including peppercorn-sized brains!) to the ISS, a $100 pocket-sized muon detector, and a retro computing wizard recreating <em>Lunar Lander<\/em> on a 1959 PDP-1<sup><\/sup>. We also pay tribute to Apollo software engineering pioneer Margaret Hamilton and debate the ethics of using AI to clone commercial software<sup><\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Plus, we share your favorite book recommendations from the past year, swap reviews on everything from <em>Vision Quest<\/em> and <em>Ad Astra<\/em> to Netflix&#8217;s <em>Below<\/em>, and ask our Question of the Week: What was your personal &#8220;Welcome to the Future&#8221; tech moment? Tune in for all the geeky goodness and let us know what gadget first blew your mind!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Listen below with the audio player or <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe53l-1Qh\">Click Here<\/a> for complete show notes and video from the show.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_9026\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-7085-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/technorama\/www.chuckchat.com\/media\/technorama\/Tech_Ep815_261015.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/technorama\/www.chuckchat.com\/media\/technorama\/Tech_Ep815_261015.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/technorama\/www.chuckchat.com\/media\/technorama\/Tech_Ep815_261015.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/technorama\/www.chuckchat.com\/media\/technorama\/Tech_Ep815_261015.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"Tech_Ep815_261015.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Feedback<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>QOTW:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/discord.com\/channels\/455731709984636958\/1440003646698819776\">Question-of-the-week | Technorama Podcast<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Patreon comments from Spiffy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>On This Day In History for October 14, 2026<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On this day in history for October 14th, 2026. This is the 287th day of the year, there are just 78 days remaining in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Back in 1884, George Eastman received a U.S. patent for his revolutionary paper-strip photographic film.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Moving to 1888, Louis Le Prince filmed the world&#8217;s very first motion picture, the famous Roundhay Garden Scene.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fast forward to 1947, when Captain Chuck Yeager officially broke the sound barrier in level flight aboard the Bell X-1, reaching Mach 1.05 over California.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent struggle against racial inequality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Four years later, in 1968, the Apollo 7 crew conducted the first live television broadcast by American astronauts in orbit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And in 2012, extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner successfully jumped to Earth from a balloon high in the stratosphere.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Happy birthday goes out to the notable figures born on this day in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Scottish mathematician and academic Robert Simson was born 339 years ago today.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau, who invented the early animation device known as the Phenakistoscope, came into the world 225 years ago.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We also remember Nobel Prize-winning American chemist and physicist Raymond Davis Jr., born 112 years ago.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Iconic English actor Roger Moore would have been celebrating his 99th birthday today.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And turning 68 today is English singer-songwriter and producer Thomas Dolby.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Listener Birthdays<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>18 &#8211; Megan Enloe<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>19 &#8211; Russell Pearson (Ninereeds)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>20 &#8211; Mike<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s the way it was, on this day in history for October 14, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you want to get on the Technorama Birthday Calendar, visit our website and look for the <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSenNyl8MEsC_eVDvCerLe8wNvhgtjg2d7F0Yj0IFYl4dOU2uA\/viewform\">Birthday Calendar<\/a> link.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>News<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ksl.com\/article\/51635741\/the-leap-second-is-on-the-chopping-block--and-timekeeping-could-change-forever\">The leap second is on the chopping block \u2014 and timekeeping could change forever | <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/ksl.com\">KSL.com<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Health\/mini-organs-launching-space-future-astronauts-humans-earth\/story?id=137203416\">Mini organs launching to space may help future astronauts and humans on Earth stay healthy &#8211; ABC News<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Hacks &amp; Strange Stories<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hackaday.com\/2026\/10\/09\/super-mario-64-comes-to-the-microsoft-zune\/\">Super Mario 64 Ported to the Microsoft Zune HD<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2026\/09\/260917003725.htm\">CosmicWatch: A $100 Handheld Detector for Invisible Cosmic Particles<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Shout out to the chat room<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Watch us live every Sunday night at 8:30PM ET on Facebook. Go to Join our page and get notified automatically. Join us on the live chat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Remember When<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hackaday.com\/2026\/10\/02\/2026-retrocomputing-challenge-lunar-lander-on-the-pdp-1\/\">2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: Lunar Lander on the PDP-1<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hackaday.com\/2026\/10\/09\/margaret-hamilton-pioneering-software-engineer-dies-aged-90\/\">Remembering Margaret Hamilton: Apollo Flight Software Pioneer Dies at 90<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Thank you Patrons!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This show is brought to you by\u2026 YOU! Thank you to our Patrons who enable us to keep the show running and bring you special episodes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Commander<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Avner Braverman<\/td><td>Mark Kilfoil<\/td><td>Stewe Lundin<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Chris Martinez<\/td><td>Gary Lindros<\/td><td>Jason Pollard<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Sarah Rose<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Lieutenant<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Kyle Nishioka<\/td><td>Ben Vaughan<\/td><td>John Noble<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>John Clifford<\/td><td>Denise Inglis<\/td><td>Steve Cody<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Tim Cook<\/td><td>Steve Webb<\/td><td>Amber Elstad<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ensign<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td>Amy Bowen<\/td><td>Brad Miller<\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Chris Mc<\/td><td>DanDMan Coyer<\/td><td>Jorge Schrauwen<\/td><td>Krazy Joe<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Mike Wills<\/td><td>Leon<\/td><td>Saturday Morning Media<\/td><td>Spiffy Voxel<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><\/td><td>Stephen Wesche<\/td><td>Steve Therrien<\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want to become a patron, visit our<a href=\"https:\/\/patreon.com\/technoramapodcast\"> Patreon Page<\/a>. We\u2019ve got various levels of donations and in return we have various patron packages including a special \u201cafter show\u201d we record just for the patrons!<a href=\"https:\/\/patreon.com\/technoramapodcast\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/chuckchat.com\/patreon\">chuckchat.com\/patreon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Visit our store at <a href=\"https:\/\/chuckchat.com\/teepublic\">chuckchat.com\/teepublic<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Pass me the remote<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Kreg\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ad Astra &#8211; Netflix<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Matchbox &#8211; Apple TV<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>War Machine &#8211; Netflix<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>VisionQuest &#8211; Disney+<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ted Lasso &#8211; Apple TV<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/KC31K-CUC5Y?si=4b9M2d6igMJSQqQw\">Dave&#8217;s Garage &#8211; Should AI Cloning be Illegal? &#8211; YouTube<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chuck\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Below &#8211; Netflix<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>History of The Eagles &#8211; Netflix<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Canceled Paramount+<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Question of the week<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What was your personal &#8216;Welcome to the Future&#8217; moment\u2014the first time a piece of tech made you stop and think, <em>&#8216;Holy cow, we actually made it to the future&#8217;<\/em>?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Patreon Topic this week<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pebble Time Round was Delivered!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kreg\u2019s flippant remark is wasting Chuck\u2019s time<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>End of Show Stuff<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We appreciate your support. If you like the show, there are many ways to show your love:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Visit our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/amazon\">Amazon page<\/a> for recommended books, toys, and other fun stuff!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Call the Listener Line: 707-530-CHAT(2428)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Email at technorama@chuckchat.com<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We are on the Social Interwebs\u2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Search for <strong>Technorama Podcast<\/strong> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/technoramapodcast\/\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/technorama\">Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/technorama.bsky.social\">Bsky<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/TechnoramaPodcast\">YouTube<\/a>, etc<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You can also find us on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/02YzW1N2Chu18SzZESlx77?si=Is-SiQtmRvmc6Boc2p4FeA\">Spotify<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/technorama\/id73801588\">Apple Podcasts<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Join our new Discord at <a href=\"https:\/\/chuckchat.com\/discord\">chuckchat.com\/discord<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You can help support us:<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How about a donation to the tip jar: one time or monthly micropayment on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/patreon\">Patreon<\/a>!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Links to the articles and items referenced in the show can be found on our website<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/\">www.chuckchat.com<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Also Thanks to<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Everyone who sent us links during the week<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Those who joined us to watch live on Facebook!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You, for downloading and listening<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tell a friend about Technorama and&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">binary high five<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is the leap second finally running out of time, and who on Earth is porting Super Mario 64 to a Microsoft Zune? In Episode 815 of Technorama, &#8220;The Infinite Loop of Bad Decisions,&#8221; Chuck and Kreg dive into NASA launching &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/2026\/10\/15\/episode-815-the-infinite-loop-of-bad-descisions\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_9028\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-7085-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/technorama\/www.chuckchat.com\/media\/technorama\/Tech_Ep815_261015.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/technorama\/www.chuckchat.com\/media\/technorama\/Tech_Ep815_261015.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/technorama\/www.chuckchat.com\/media\/technorama\/Tech_Ep815_261015.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/technorama\/www.chuckchat.com\/media\/technorama\/Tech_Ep815_261015.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"Tech_Ep815_261015.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><!--powerpress_player-->","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shows"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe53l-1Qh","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7085"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7086,"href":"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7085\/revisions\/7086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chuckchat.com\/technorama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}