How fitting that a scene from a science fiction movie is not only the direct inspiration for a technology, it’s also the first demonstration of it. The demo doesn’t look all that impressive here, but I suspect it would be a lot more impressive if seen in person.
I’ve been using the Casio Data Bank watches since they first came out when I was a teenager, but I have to admit that since I got my first Palm PDA, the only thing I really use it for is to see the time, and occasionally for the countdown timer. Data-watches, never overly popular in …
Continue reading ‘“UK start-up pitches touch-to-sync tech for watches”’ »
I often talk here about science fiction ideas that are now becoming science fact, but it has been happening for a lot longer than I’d realized. Many of the innovations of space travel apparently originated with Jules Verne and were published in 1867 — nearly a hundred years before humans ever rose above the atmosphere. …
Continue reading ‘“Timeline of Science Fiction Ideas, Technology and Inventions”’ »
Come on, do people really need neuroimaging to figure out that bullying leaves mental and emotional scars!? Hm, apparently so. Science has finally chiseled another brick out of the walls of ignorance. Too bad there are so many people eagerly mortaring down more on the other side. There are times when I just want to …
No fair, I wanna play with the paramecium! Those scientist guys get all the fun! 😉
As I’ve gotten older and learned more about what’s going on in the world, I’ve been shocked and dismayed at the problems that I see. To the point that I’ve had serious thoughts about avoiding having kids, much as I want them, because bringing them into this kind of world seems to be a disservice …
Continue reading ‘“The story of history is of more for less”’ »
I’ve previously mentioned my inability to stay asleep long enough each night. I really need at least seven and a half hours a night, but can rarely get more than six before rising no matter what time I go to bed, like it or not. And yes, I’ve tried melatonin… I don’t recall whether it …
It seems that we’re finally on the verge of the future we geeks have been dreaming about for the last half-century. Laser spark plugs… how cool is that! 😉
You know, there may be a lot of truth to this. But I think there’s more going on there than today’s science alone can explain. I do keep my eyes open around machinery (mechanical, electrical, or electronic), and I tend to understand it very well, by a combination of aptitude, interest, and training. But when …
Continue reading ‘“What Lucky People Do Differently than Unlucky People”’ »
An interesting twist on the idea, beloved by science fiction readers for the last fifty years, of using a solar sail for space travel. And it just might work, too.