Rocket power
Over on Slashdot, I just found this article from Popular Science about what space shuttles might be like in the near future. It talks about the weaknesses in the current shuttle design, and NASA's short- and long-term hopes moving forward (with cool illustrations of some of the ideas under consideration).
Saturday, May 17, 2003
Thursday, May 15, 2003
Go outside and look up
If you live in the United States and you go outside tonight at 11:13 p.m. EST, you might get to see a lunar eclipse.
If you live in the United States and you go outside tonight at 11:13 p.m. EST, you might get to see a lunar eclipse.
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
To Mars!
Earlier today, I finished reading The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. If you haven't read it, it's basically a collection of short bits about the colonization of Mars. Several of the chapters (including one about literary censorship and Edgar Allan Poe that I liked a lot) are short stories Bradbury had previously published elsewhere. The book came out in 1950, and a few sections feel a bit dated, but overall I liked it. I have a feeling that if people were colonizing Mars for real, I would be one of the ones to go. Humans have already messed up the Earth, polluting it to the point where everything causes cancer. Life on a new planet might be lonely and unpredictable, but think about it -- if you had a chance to start over someplace new, and be a part of creating a new way of life, wouldn't you want to do it?
The perfect soundtrack: Zia's song "To Mars." Download the MP3 here.
Earlier today, I finished reading The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. If you haven't read it, it's basically a collection of short bits about the colonization of Mars. Several of the chapters (including one about literary censorship and Edgar Allan Poe that I liked a lot) are short stories Bradbury had previously published elsewhere. The book came out in 1950, and a few sections feel a bit dated, but overall I liked it. I have a feeling that if people were colonizing Mars for real, I would be one of the ones to go. Humans have already messed up the Earth, polluting it to the point where everything causes cancer. Life on a new planet might be lonely and unpredictable, but think about it -- if you had a chance to start over someplace new, and be a part of creating a new way of life, wouldn't you want to do it?
The perfect soundtrack: Zia's song "To Mars." Download the MP3 here.
I am in love
I know I've been a little distracted lately, but now I want to introduce you to someone special. (In case that monster url stops working soon, it's supposed to be a link to the Sony VAIO PCG-V505AX.) I think this is how some people feel when they have a child. All of a sudden there's this amazing, tiny, fragile thing in my world and it's up to me to keep it safe. But why does love have to be so expensive?
Why MSN sucks
My laptop came with 6 free months of MSN Internet service, and since I only have access to a dial-up connection at the moment anyway, I figured I'd install it. I realized about a half an hour later that my new account prevented me from sending email from any of my websites (I have several POP accounts I access with Outlook Express). I searched around and did some reading and discovered that new MSN accounts are forbidden from sending anything but MSN email. Supposedly this restriction was added to help prevent spam, but if I use MSN I can't even send regular mail to my friends. How dumb is that? Why is MSN discriminating against people who have their own websites?
I know I've been a little distracted lately, but now I want to introduce you to someone special. (In case that monster url stops working soon, it's supposed to be a link to the Sony VAIO PCG-V505AX.) I think this is how some people feel when they have a child. All of a sudden there's this amazing, tiny, fragile thing in my world and it's up to me to keep it safe. But why does love have to be so expensive?
Why MSN sucks
My laptop came with 6 free months of MSN Internet service, and since I only have access to a dial-up connection at the moment anyway, I figured I'd install it. I realized about a half an hour later that my new account prevented me from sending email from any of my websites (I have several POP accounts I access with Outlook Express). I searched around and did some reading and discovered that new MSN accounts are forbidden from sending anything but MSN email. Supposedly this restriction was added to help prevent spam, but if I use MSN I can't even send regular mail to my friends. How dumb is that? Why is MSN discriminating against people who have their own websites?
Saturday, April 26, 2003
Future Lit
Yesterday I finished reading William Gibson's All Tomorrow's Parties. I love the details he comes up with, like the stuff about the "bridge" subculture and the way that the Lucky Dragon stores are all premade like those houses you see once in a while riding down the highway on a wide load truck. Maybe that's when you know you're reading good science fiction -- when you find yourself asking, "Why don't they already do it that way?" It just makes sense that McDonalds and 7-11 will someday build all their stores in a giant fast food/convenience store factory and then ship them wherever they're "needed." Chain restaurants will literally appear overnight in empty lots, and if they're not successful, they'll be gone in a few weeks, moved on to a more lucrative location.
Today, still high on sci-fi, I went to a book sale and spent about $7.75 to buy a huge pile of books. Some of them I had read before but just didn't have a copy of, like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. I got I, Robot and read it as soon as I got home. (I didn't do much else today.) I might have to reread the ending though. I shouldn't have tried to finish the book in a room where someone was watching TV.
Yesterday I finished reading William Gibson's All Tomorrow's Parties. I love the details he comes up with, like the stuff about the "bridge" subculture and the way that the Lucky Dragon stores are all premade like those houses you see once in a while riding down the highway on a wide load truck. Maybe that's when you know you're reading good science fiction -- when you find yourself asking, "Why don't they already do it that way?" It just makes sense that McDonalds and 7-11 will someday build all their stores in a giant fast food/convenience store factory and then ship them wherever they're "needed." Chain restaurants will literally appear overnight in empty lots, and if they're not successful, they'll be gone in a few weeks, moved on to a more lucrative location.
Today, still high on sci-fi, I went to a book sale and spent about $7.75 to buy a huge pile of books. Some of them I had read before but just didn't have a copy of, like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. I got I, Robot and read it as soon as I got home. (I didn't do much else today.) I might have to reread the ending though. I shouldn't have tried to finish the book in a room where someone was watching TV.
Friday, April 25, 2003
Cute technology
I try to make art sometimes. Once, I fingerpainted a rollerskating robot for my friend. And last week, I painted a robot with ponytails and hung it on my wall. But it wasn't until today that I had an artistic role model. My new friend Kelly Newcomer makes art that is colorful, futuristic and fun. Check out her website for lots of examples and a schedule of upcoming shows.
I try to make art sometimes. Once, I fingerpainted a rollerskating robot for my friend. And last week, I painted a robot with ponytails and hung it on my wall. But it wasn't until today that I had an artistic role model. My new friend Kelly Newcomer makes art that is colorful, futuristic and fun. Check out her website for lots of examples and a schedule of upcoming shows.
Wednesday, April 9, 2003
Rockin' out with Alan Alda
I watched a PBS show last night that made me wish I went to MIT. Some of it was about student "cyborgs" who make their own wearable computers. Another segment was about a class building robots for a competition. (Lots of robots and lots of drama.) The part that interested me most was about new toys and software that make it easy for kids to write their own music. They talked about a program called Hyperscore that lets users compose music by painting on the screen. Download it here for free. I would like Hyperscore better if it let me export midi files, but I think I'll have to wait for a more advanced version. If you missed the show and like this kind of thing, watch the segments online.
I watched a PBS show last night that made me wish I went to MIT. Some of it was about student "cyborgs" who make their own wearable computers. Another segment was about a class building robots for a competition. (Lots of robots and lots of drama.) The part that interested me most was about new toys and software that make it easy for kids to write their own music. They talked about a program called Hyperscore that lets users compose music by painting on the screen. Download it here for free. I would like Hyperscore better if it let me export midi files, but I think I'll have to wait for a more advanced version. If you missed the show and like this kind of thing, watch the segments online.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)