What We're Reading: Space Tech; Detoxing from Tech; Tech and Coffee

First up on this week’s list of wanna-reads comes under a headline that stretches the imagination: “Is Space the Next Frontier for Innovation in Gov Tech?” It’s an article that was co-written by Dustin Haisler, chief innovation officer for e.Republic (parent company of Techwire and Government Technology), and Dennis McKenna, founder and company CEO.
“Space launches have gotten a lot cheaper and satellites have gotten a lot smaller,” they write. “These two things combined mean we’re entering an age where space can factor into service delivery for government.” 

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Wildfires in California have become such a deadly, pervasive and costly threat that recently, officials convened a summit in Sacramento to share information and discuss how technology can help in the fight. On the heels of that summit, the California Public Utilities Commission’s deputy executive director for safety and enforcement, Elizaveta Malashenko, wrote a piece in which she flatly rejects fires as “the new normal.” Here’s more on Malashenko’s vision.

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How does San Mateo County CIO Jon Walton stay connected with the public he serves? He hangs out at coffee shops and race tracks and talks to them. It’s about as low-tech an approach as one might take — just talking with people. But Walton says having a tight budget is no excuse for being a tech laggard. "He developed a knack for using computers to discover patterns in satellite imagery and a mind that can figure out complex systems," the profile says. "Along the way, he started a family and began fixing and racing cars." 

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There’s a new type of tech activism underway — “tech detox,” aimed at those who can’t resist using their digital devices and for whom that’s becoming a problem. Mendocino hosts a digital detox facility called Camp Grounded. There, tech refugees trade in their cellphones and computers in exchange for activities like archery, crochet and "laughter yoga." Awaiting them when they return are a whole host of new self-control products and features meant to limit screen time. StayFocusd and Freedom stop people from accessing "time-wasting websites" after a specified amount of daily use, while Mindful Browsing gently urges people to do something more productive if they try to open, say, a social media app.
But is this tech detox helping? Find out more and decide for yourself.