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A Moment of Silence
Today is the 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. I was in high school, and they announced the disaster over the PA system. The teacher stopped class and we watched a replay on the news. I specifically recall a voiceover by somebody in the control room who didn’t see the explosion but noticed that his…
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Trivia Thursday
This famous book about the collapse of technology and society on a generation starship sent to Procyon ends as the ship begins to split apart. What is its title? A) Orphans of the Sky B) Between the Strokes of Night C) Tau Zero D) Non-Stop E) The Diamond Age What is the name of the…
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This Should Be in Every Textbook
From Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
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In praise of the sci-fi corridor
via Motherboard Martin Anderson, Den of Geek There’s a moment in every geek’s life when one goes for the ‘communal hug’ on a pet-subject and finds oneself unexpectedly out in the cold. The piano player stops playing. The landlord shakes his head as his eyes head heavenward, and he slinks away to rearrange the crisps.…
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Go Ahead, Call Yourself a “Cyborg” Now
via Motherboard Alex Pasternack The argument that Amber Case makes at TEDxWomen (video above) may be more about semantics than about technology. Yes, we know we’re augmented; arguably we’ve been so since the invention of the plow. The difference with digital is that we can exist in multiple worlds simultaneously, and we don’t even have…
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The Chase
Intel created this video to illustrate the performance capabilities of its new chip. I like it. (via Dark Roasted Blend)
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Trivia Thursday
Who is Iron Trilobite’s cyber deity? A) Rorqual Maru B) Steppin’ Razor C) The god machine of Gor D) Imhotep 217 E) Hiro Protagonist Wedge was the only Rebel to make it through all three of the original Star Wars movies. What was his last name? In what novel by Kurt Vonnegut does he raise…
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Evidence Emerges That Laws of Physics Are Not Fine-Tuned For Life
via Technology Review The value of the cosmological constant suggests that the laws of nature could not have been fine-tuned for life by an omnipotent being, says a cosmologist KFC 01/18/2011 One of the more curious debates in science focuses on the laws of physics and why they seem fine-tuned for life. The problem is…
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Movies From an Alternate Universe
Artist Sean Hartter has created an astonishing collection of posters for “movies from an alternate universe,” featuring popular titles seen through a looking glass. The vintage-60’s artwork is fantastic, and the posters all hint at storylines that I’m sort of disappointed I’ll never be able to see. Kill Bill starring Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne,…
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This is Surprisingly Accurate
A (very) rough summary of the formula for my favorite x-files episodes, by redditor monodon-monoceros (via Blame it on the Voices)