"We're lost—but we're making good time!"
In mankind's quest to develop a robot with human capabilities, it appears that we are making real 'progress' in developing a human with robot capabilities. The temptation to place responsibility, and blame, on the electron is overpowering. People that are eager to turn their thinking process over to a circuit board have been given another recent nudge—this time by NOAA.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the end of traditional paper nautical charts, but NOAA-certified print-on-demand partners will continue to sell up-to-date paper charts.
NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, which creates and maintains the nation’s suite of more than 1,000 nautical charts of U.S. coastal waters, announced major changes ahead for mariners and others who use nautical charts.
Starting April 13 [2014], the federal government will no longer print traditional lithographic nautical charts, but will continue to provide other forms of nautical charts, including print-on-demand charts and versions for electronic charting systems.
As David Patraiko stated recently in The Navigator, "the age-old adage for mariners has always been 'never rely on one source for positioning'."
We'll have to see if "print-on-demand" can fill the shoes of lithography when it comes to providing a necessary tool for the responsible navigator.
-fl