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Asteroid Named After Douglas Adams
XhasyXha3 brought our attention to this over on the message boards. In January 2005, Asteroid 2001 DA42 was given the name Asteroid Douglasadams, named for the author Douglas Adams who popularized the number 42 and died in 2001. With even his initials in the provisional designation, Brian G. Marsden, the director of the Minor Planet…
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Right Here…
…is why you don’t piss off Iggy: Blammo (via Schneier on Security, which is a very sober-minded blog about security and technology, except on Fridays when it indulges in Friday Squid Blogging. Huh.)
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Nooooooooo….
SF Signal reports: Keanu Reeves is set to star as Klaatu in the 2008 remake of 1951’s Robert Wise classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still. This will not end well.
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Reach Out–Way Out–and Touch Something
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have unveiled the Haptic Telexistence glove, which allows its user to “feel” the sensation of holding an object in a remote robot hand. Link (via Neatorama)
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It’s Just Like a Train Wreck, Folks…
…it’s horrible, but you just can’t seem to look away. There’s a rumor goin’ round that J.J. Abrams is in talks with a certain well-known celebrity to have a cameo as Captain Christopher Pike in the upcoming Star Trek debacle movie. You’ll never guess who. Give up? ForeverGeek has the answer, along with stomach-churning pic.
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The Seminal Status of E.E. “Doc” Smith
Here’s a neat look at some of the “cliches” that originated with Smith’s Lensman stuff. As the author notes, they didn’t become cliches until everybody started copying his ideas. Smith was one the first science fiction writers to see that there was, inherent in sapience, the possibility of a peaceful resolution to the struggle for…
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As Well They Should
Real Men Love Buckaroo Banzai Jeff Goldblum Dressed as a Cowboy This shot alone is worth the price of admission. (via Miss Cellania)
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Hugo Awards Blog
There’s a brand-new, blog-like, “official” site devoted to the Hugo Awards. Link (via SF Signal)
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Review of The Year’s Best Science Fiction #24
SF Signal has a review of The Year’s Best Science Fiction #24, edited by Gardner Dozois, up. Link
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The Wave of the Future
The succinctly-named Piss-Screen is a pressure-sensitive inlay for urinals which allows you (and by “you” they mean “men”) to play a game with your pee. It seems to actually be an unusually elaborate “don’t drink and drive” advertisement, since the screens are installed in Frankfurt bars, you crash if your reaction time is too slow,…