The Chile Rescue: An Awesome Triumph of Technology, Innovation, and Cooperation

Read this and also this (a bit political, but still right on the link between private enterprise/free markets and innovation).  Raise a glass to the heroic geeks and nerds who innovated and created all the technologies that were needed and the good folks (including a NASA engineer) who pitched in and put them to work with skill and speed in Chile to make possible one of the best stories of the year.  Oh, and a shout-out too to UPS, who delivered that specialty drill bit from Pennsylvania to Chile within 48 hours for free.   That's some quiet pragmatic heroism in action.  The whole international group effort in the Chilean desert was a fine show of people at their best in all sorts of ways... and a reminder that the can-do spirit lives on and is more needed than ever.  Now time to have some fun.