Rationally, I should be very happy that Spirit made it as long as it did, and say, what a fine piece of engineering. But ever since http://xkcd.com/695/ every time I think of Spirit, I get very sad.
Totally amazing, something designed to work for three-months is (possibly) still working after six years. Now if only my iPod was just as reliable.
I know this kind of engineering costs serious money, but I find it remarkable the amount of self-monitoring it can do, how much it can be reconfigured through a lousy and intermittent signal, and how deep is its ability to low-level reboot from errors.
If only all of my systems could do that...
Spirit isn't dead yet, it just went into hibernation mode. Its possible that it might wake up and keep on truckin'
That is the most poignant cartoon I've ever read (and that includes Maus), and ought to be a Pulitzer winner if there is any justice in this ol' world.