1. Anders, Charlie Jane. "What would a Random House/Penguin merger mean for science fiction and fantasy?" io9 25 October 2012. Web. 27 October 2012.
Anders offers a handful of insights into what a merger of Penguin and Random House might mean for publishers, imprints, writers, readers and those aspiring to be writers. She also includes a link to an in-depth article about what mergers in general mean for science fiction and fantasy, and another link to a 2007 interview with Ace/Roc editor Anne Sowards. This article is written in a easy-going, conversational style.
This one is included, and set into the first place, because the possibility of a Penguin/Random House merger is huge news for anyone keeping an eye on the publishing industry.
2. Sullivan, Tim. "'Gone With The Wind' In North Korea An Unlikely Cultural Phenomenon." HuffPost World: Canada 24 October 2012. Web. 27 October 2012.
Sullivan writes on an array of reasons why Gone With the Wind is so popular among North Koreans. Among these reasons, he gives in depth treatment to the book's Civil War setting and its tough, hardship-enduring characters. He writes in a smooth style and uses a handful of quotations to underline his article's narrative quality.
This one's included because it's a great example of how cultural products can cross cultures and end up thriving in places that you would simply not expect.
3. Peng, Kan. "How to hard sell China's soft power." China Daily 26 October 2012. Web. 27 October 2012.
Peng begins by summarizing the Psy/Gangnam Style phenomenon, how social media has played an integral part in the phenomenon's popularity, and how the phenomenon has helped to promote South Korean culture and products across the world. He then moves into how China has tried and failed to do promote their soft power via cultural exports in the same way, but have failed because they've kept their attempts too official. Peng writes in a punchy, to-the-point style.
This article is included because of the contrast that it sets up between two nation's strategies for increasing their soft power. This contrast underlines the usefulness of pop-culture.
4. Rector, Gene. "'Science fiction' becomes 'science fact' following Utah test." WRWR The Patriot 23 October 2012. Web. 27 October 2012.
This is a brief article about a new microwave emitter-equipped missile (called CHAMP, or the Counter-electronics High powered Advanced Missile Project) that is designed to disable electronics. According to the article, the titular test in Utah saw this technology not only shut down all of the computers in a target building but also the camera recording the experiment.
As a technology article amongst articles about books and publishing, this one might seem out of place. However, at its heart it's about a missile that has the potential to take out communications systems - and what are publishing and books if not just friendly means of communication?
5. Perlow, Jason. "Computing's low-cost, Cloud-centric future is not Science Fiction." ZDNet 21 October 2012. Web. 27 October 2012.
This article looks at Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner as examples of futurism. Specifically, Perlow goes over the aspects of each movie that, some 50 and 30 years before the present, accurately depict technological aspects of our daily life and those elements of the movies that aren't here just yet. Perlow writes in an expositional style, using a generous number of links to his own and others' writing.
This one is included because it shows the importance of fiction as a way to explore ideas that seem far removed from reality, just one of fiction's enduring uses.
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Closing
That's it for this week in the blog, but check back here next week for another short story draft, a review of the recent cult classic The Room (Monday and Friday), and, over at Tongues in Jars, more of "Dum Diane vitrea" and Beowulf (Tuesday and Thursday).
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Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
[Sæternes-dæg] Annotated Links #22: Different, but the Same
1. Ramstad, Evan. "Are Koreans the Irish of Asia? Here’s a Case." Korea Realtime (Wall Street Journal) 16 October 2012. Web. 20 October 2012.
Ramstad recounts the recent visit to Seoul of Eammon McKee, Ireland's ambassador to the Koreas, and a speech he made there wherein he fleshed out the Korea-is-Ireland cliché. He quotes McKee's speech selectively, compiling a brief list of the ways in which the two nations are similar. This article is written in a pure journalistic style, this article reports on the idea of the two nations having shared traits.
An article about how two disparate nations actually have quite a bit in common is a great way to start of an Annotated Links about different things that, upon further analysis, can easily be considered similar. Thus, this article was an easy pick for this week's batch.
2. Lorditch, Emilie. "Using Science Fiction to Educate." Inside Science 17 October 2012. Web. 20 October 2012.
This one is a brief article that provides an overview of the basic argument for using science fiction in science education: to show the relevance of science to young people so that more of them will take an active interest in pursuing the sciences at college or university. It makes specific reference to science fiction and super hero films while leaving out anything about science fiction literature. Lorditch writes in a direct style of reportage, with an effective use of quotes.
Science fiction and science fact are definitely different, but the limits of human technology are always making gains on the limits of human imagination. This article doesn't make a direct comparison between science fiction and science in the classroom, but mining science fiction for examples to show how science does and doesn't work bridges the two nicely.
3. Houpt, Simon. "IBM hones Watson the supercomputer’s skills." The Globe and Mail 19 October 2012. Web. 20 October 2012.
In this interview with the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center's Eric Brown, Houpt explores the different uses for IBM's Question Answering supercomputer Watson. Specifically, Houpt asks about IBM's work with the US healthcare insurance provider WellPoint and how Watson will figure in with that. It's written as any interview is bound to be written - in a conversational tone.
Though comparisons between Watson and human personalities don't come up until near the end of the interview, this piece is included in this week's Annotated Links because it underscores how a stripped down version of human thinking (parsing sentences, taking certain elements and understanding the relationships between them) is being emulated by computers.
4. Taylor, Kate. "Picnicface: Why are we laughing? I don’t know, but it sure beats crying." The Globe and Mail 20 October 2012. Web. 20 October 2012.
Taylor's article offers some quick background information on the Picnicface story, along with a very quick rundown of where the three-person comedy trio is today. Her article also offers some thoughts on the matter of internet fame vs. old school fame, and how being popular on YouTube does not necessarily translate being popular on the boob tube. This one is written in a straightforward style, with quotes from players in the Picnicface story sprinkled throughout.
Including this one in the Links for this week was necessarily partly because it fit and partly because of personal prejudices. Picnicface is an hilarious troupe, and the ways in which culture on the internet is different from culture on TV or radio or in print is something that needs more mainstream attention.
5. Strickland, Eddie. "Red Potion (The Legend of Zelda cocktail)." The Drunken Moogle 14 October 2012. Web. 20 October 2012.
Simply a recipe for a cocktail inspired by the Legend of Zelda (clicking on that tag at the bottom of the recipe shows another 4 pages worth of Zelda-inspired booze bombs). This recipe is written in a direct style without any extra notes.
This one's included for the obvious reason that video games ('The Legend of Zelda,' perhaps especially) are not the same as real life. However, it must definitely be noted that medieval medicine (and therefore medicine in a high fantasy setting such as the one in 'Zelda') would invariably involve alcohol in some way - so the two different worlds of the real and the virtual are bridged by the cause of and solution to all of life's problems: alcohol.
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Closing
Next week, watch for a poem post for Monday, and Part Four of Shocktober, when I'll make the call for the conversion of the campy horror flic The Convent.
Plus, over at Tongues in Jars, watch for the fifth stanza of "Dum Diane vitrea" in Tuesday's Latin entry, and Wiglaf's tongue lashing of the cowardly thanes in Thursday's Beowulf entry.
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Ramstad recounts the recent visit to Seoul of Eammon McKee, Ireland's ambassador to the Koreas, and a speech he made there wherein he fleshed out the Korea-is-Ireland cliché. He quotes McKee's speech selectively, compiling a brief list of the ways in which the two nations are similar. This article is written in a pure journalistic style, this article reports on the idea of the two nations having shared traits.
An article about how two disparate nations actually have quite a bit in common is a great way to start of an Annotated Links about different things that, upon further analysis, can easily be considered similar. Thus, this article was an easy pick for this week's batch.
2. Lorditch, Emilie. "Using Science Fiction to Educate." Inside Science 17 October 2012. Web. 20 October 2012.
This one is a brief article that provides an overview of the basic argument for using science fiction in science education: to show the relevance of science to young people so that more of them will take an active interest in pursuing the sciences at college or university. It makes specific reference to science fiction and super hero films while leaving out anything about science fiction literature. Lorditch writes in a direct style of reportage, with an effective use of quotes.
Science fiction and science fact are definitely different, but the limits of human technology are always making gains on the limits of human imagination. This article doesn't make a direct comparison between science fiction and science in the classroom, but mining science fiction for examples to show how science does and doesn't work bridges the two nicely.
3. Houpt, Simon. "IBM hones Watson the supercomputer’s skills." The Globe and Mail 19 October 2012. Web. 20 October 2012.
In this interview with the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center's Eric Brown, Houpt explores the different uses for IBM's Question Answering supercomputer Watson. Specifically, Houpt asks about IBM's work with the US healthcare insurance provider WellPoint and how Watson will figure in with that. It's written as any interview is bound to be written - in a conversational tone.
Though comparisons between Watson and human personalities don't come up until near the end of the interview, this piece is included in this week's Annotated Links because it underscores how a stripped down version of human thinking (parsing sentences, taking certain elements and understanding the relationships between them) is being emulated by computers.
4. Taylor, Kate. "Picnicface: Why are we laughing? I don’t know, but it sure beats crying." The Globe and Mail 20 October 2012. Web. 20 October 2012.
Taylor's article offers some quick background information on the Picnicface story, along with a very quick rundown of where the three-person comedy trio is today. Her article also offers some thoughts on the matter of internet fame vs. old school fame, and how being popular on YouTube does not necessarily translate being popular on the boob tube. This one is written in a straightforward style, with quotes from players in the Picnicface story sprinkled throughout.
Including this one in the Links for this week was necessarily partly because it fit and partly because of personal prejudices. Picnicface is an hilarious troupe, and the ways in which culture on the internet is different from culture on TV or radio or in print is something that needs more mainstream attention.
5. Strickland, Eddie. "Red Potion (The Legend of Zelda cocktail)." The Drunken Moogle 14 October 2012. Web. 20 October 2012.
Simply a recipe for a cocktail inspired by the Legend of Zelda (clicking on that tag at the bottom of the recipe shows another 4 pages worth of Zelda-inspired booze bombs). This recipe is written in a direct style without any extra notes.
This one's included for the obvious reason that video games ('The Legend of Zelda,' perhaps especially) are not the same as real life. However, it must definitely be noted that medieval medicine (and therefore medicine in a high fantasy setting such as the one in 'Zelda') would invariably involve alcohol in some way - so the two different worlds of the real and the virtual are bridged by the cause of and solution to all of life's problems: alcohol.
Back To Top
Closing
Next week, watch for a poem post for Monday, and Part Four of Shocktober, when I'll make the call for the conversion of the campy horror flic The Convent.
Plus, over at Tongues in Jars, watch for the fifth stanza of "Dum Diane vitrea" in Tuesday's Latin entry, and Wiglaf's tongue lashing of the cowardly thanes in Thursday's Beowulf entry.
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Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Annotated Links #16: Video Games: History and Experimentation
1. "The History of Sound Cards and Computer Game Music." MacGateway 13 July 2012. Web. 14 August 2012.
An extensive, chronological history of major sound cards from 1981 to the present. Each entry includes a brief history of the sound card and a set of examples of the sound card at work. The entirety of the article is written in a straightforward style.
This article is included here because of its depth, and because it gives a great overview of an important part of computer and video game history.
2. Maleficent Rea, Jasmine. "Adding a shock to a Sega Genesis is a bad idea." BitMob 7 August 2012. Web. 14 August 2012.
Two French gamers have rigged shock collars up to a Sega Genesis. The shock collar delivers a small shock to the player whenever their character takes damage. The article is brief, and written casually, but includes a video (in French, with subtitles) of the modders testing their shocking modification.
This article is included because it's a console mod in action, and though it's a less than useful one, it reflects human curiosity and the desire to experiment.
3. "Transforming a Nintendo 64 into a Handheld Console." slightlywarped.com 14 July 2012. Web. 14 August 2012.
A nearly step-by-step guide on how to turn a Nintendo 64 into a handheld console in pictures. This particular guide-in-pictures uses Goldeneye 64 as it's test game.
The guide has a place in this Annotated Links because it's curious, neat, and a great use for an old console. Plus, it shows ingenuity and lateral thinking.
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Closing
Check back here tomorrow for an editorial and on Thursday for Annoted Links #17. Plus, don't miss Part Three of All-Request August: a look for the likeable in the deep-South worm-pocalypse flick, Squirm.
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An extensive, chronological history of major sound cards from 1981 to the present. Each entry includes a brief history of the sound card and a set of examples of the sound card at work. The entirety of the article is written in a straightforward style.
This article is included here because of its depth, and because it gives a great overview of an important part of computer and video game history.
2. Maleficent Rea, Jasmine. "Adding a shock to a Sega Genesis is a bad idea." BitMob 7 August 2012. Web. 14 August 2012.
Two French gamers have rigged shock collars up to a Sega Genesis. The shock collar delivers a small shock to the player whenever their character takes damage. The article is brief, and written casually, but includes a video (in French, with subtitles) of the modders testing their shocking modification.
This article is included because it's a console mod in action, and though it's a less than useful one, it reflects human curiosity and the desire to experiment.
3. "Transforming a Nintendo 64 into a Handheld Console." slightlywarped.com 14 July 2012. Web. 14 August 2012.
A nearly step-by-step guide on how to turn a Nintendo 64 into a handheld console in pictures. This particular guide-in-pictures uses Goldeneye 64 as it's test game.
The guide has a place in this Annotated Links because it's curious, neat, and a great use for an old console. Plus, it shows ingenuity and lateral thinking.
Back To Top
Closing
Check back here tomorrow for an editorial and on Thursday for Annoted Links #17. Plus, don't miss Part Three of All-Request August: a look for the likeable in the deep-South worm-pocalypse flick, Squirm.
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Monday, July 30, 2012
[Moon-dæg] Words and Their Stories
Context
Collisions
Persuasion
Closing
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Context
Tonight's creative writing entry is something of a double feature. The exercise that these works came from asks you to take five words that are rarely used in everyday speech and to create meanings for them. They can be nonsensical meanings, serious meanings, or meanings that are just plain wrong. Then, as an additional part of the exercise, you write short stories using each set of words.
So, here are the words that I used and their real definitions:
And here are the words and the definitions that I made up:
Curiously, both of these stories are about science in one way or another, and particularly about machines that move things at very high speeds.
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Collisions
"Millicent, power up the grid. We need to run this test today."
"Today? But the instruments aren't ready. The necessary precautions..."
"We need to throw caution to the wind. Albert is coming to the lab this evening and he'll snap up our funding faster than a duchess snaps up millefleur on the high street if we don't have results."
The woman stiffened her shoulders and was about to cross her arms. But Jones' hand at her elbow made them go slack instead.
"Alright we've tested enough to know that hull fracture is an adynaton."
"Alright." Jones' look carried the scent of petrichor.
Maybe he's forgiven me? Millicent tried to catch a glimpse of Jones' eyes, but he had already turned back to his clipboard.
She walked over to the throw switch and turned the power loose on the control panel before her. She stood and waited while Jones stepped into the collider and pulled the rock into it behind him.
"This will crack the bastard open. I'm sure of it." He turned from the rock, set snugly into a ring raised in the collider's bottom.
"Sending particles flying at each other and putting rock between them isn't the usual way to crack a walnut."
"This isn't your usual walnut." Jones had climbed out of the collider and now stood beside the control panel. "Throw the switch Millicent." He must have sensed her hesitation through sound alone. He looked up from the controls. "You can relax. If this doesn't work nothing will reach us - like you said. The hull's defenses have tested positively. The worst to happen will be a little splatter that the ombrifuge will keep from hitting us - even if debris flies quaquaversally."
"I know, but I'm still concerned that this will all end in an auto-de-fe." She leaned onto the panel that housed the switch.
"Bah. There aren't any peasants around. Besides, what could we have done to have called on the wrath of a mob? We've done nothing wrong."
Millicent tried once more to get a look at Jones' eyes. She could see the same certainty in them that she had seen that night, weeks before. It churned her stomach, but she saw her hand reach for the power switch and pull it downwards, completing the circuit and powering up the collider.
As the machine wound up all of its sprockets and gears it roared behind them like some hideous animal struck with a rock.
Millicent's arms crossed. "No. Not yet."
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Persuasion
Alton struggled to keep his expression from changing as he muddled through his mind. Password. Password...what was the password?
"Come on, bub. It's quaquaversal. All your kind knows this."
"Alright. So then let me in." Alton leaned heavily on the hood of the auto-de-fe he'd stolen.
"I don't think so, mac. We need more than that if you're to get in here."
The man slid his eye slot shut, but Alton flung a stone into it before it closed completely. In the same second, the stone was caught in the slot, and the man's eye bulged and blinked.
"Hey! This is very un-headmaster like of youse!"
"Maybe so. But this stone's important."
The man made no move to loose his eye slot's cover. "It's just a stone. Get it outta here before I call up security."
"It's not just a stone. It's a piece of petrichor."
Alton could see the curiousity rising in the man's eyes.
Typical underclassman. Alton fought the smirk from his face.
"Petrichor? Where'd you ---"
"Don't ask questions of me here. I'd much rather discuss this over a nice adynaton - something more than the millefleur we get out here."
The man on the other side of the door was silent.
"Well? Can I come in now?"
"Uh." The man loosened his slot and the stone fell through. The absence of the sound of stone hitting stone assured Alton that the man had caught it. "Sure. But don't get loud. Just follow me."
Alton smiled to himself as the door's hinges protested their being moved. He knew they had an ombrifuge inside and that all of the petrichor he carried would be more than enough to convince them to change their minds. Just as long as he was far far away when they tried to extract the stones' shadows.
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Closing
To let me know what you thought about these stories you can leave a comment or check out my Contact page for other ways to reach me. And, don't miss tomorrow and Thursday's Annotated Links (Nos. 12 and 13), Wednesday's editorial, and Friday's movie review!
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Collisions
Persuasion
Closing
 |
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Context
Tonight's creative writing entry is something of a double feature. The exercise that these works came from asks you to take five words that are rarely used in everyday speech and to create meanings for them. They can be nonsensical meanings, serious meanings, or meanings that are just plain wrong. Then, as an additional part of the exercise, you write short stories using each set of words.
So, here are the words that I used and their real definitions:
- quaquaversal: something that protrudes in every direction at once (a geological term).
- adynaton: an impossibility.
- petrichor: The scent of the air after it rains over an area that's been dry for a while.
- auto-de-fe: A ceremony used by Inquisitors to affirm the faith of converts in South Western Europe; the destruction of something by mob; the destruction of something by fire.
- millefleurs: a perfume made by mixing various flowers together; the pattern, as in tapestries, of various plants and flowers woven together.
- ombrifuge: anything that protects a person or thing from percipitation (an umbrella).
And here are the words and the definitions that I made up:
- quaquaversal: something commonly known among private school headmasters (because they all know Latin, right?)
- adynaton: the Neo-French term for a particularly delicious cut of tuna, which is most often served at dinner.
- petrichor: the fossilized form of a nuclear reactor's core.
- auto-de-fe: the kind of car that the faeries use to get around.
- millefleurs: extra large bouquets found in country shops in rural Europe. OR The mush that you get from mising flour and water
- ombrifuge: a machine that spins things around so fast that it separates them from their shadows.
Curiously, both of these stories are about science in one way or another, and particularly about machines that move things at very high speeds.
Back To Top
Collisions
"Millicent, power up the grid. We need to run this test today."
"Today? But the instruments aren't ready. The necessary precautions..."
"We need to throw caution to the wind. Albert is coming to the lab this evening and he'll snap up our funding faster than a duchess snaps up millefleur on the high street if we don't have results."
The woman stiffened her shoulders and was about to cross her arms. But Jones' hand at her elbow made them go slack instead.
"Alright we've tested enough to know that hull fracture is an adynaton."
"Alright." Jones' look carried the scent of petrichor.
Maybe he's forgiven me? Millicent tried to catch a glimpse of Jones' eyes, but he had already turned back to his clipboard.
She walked over to the throw switch and turned the power loose on the control panel before her. She stood and waited while Jones stepped into the collider and pulled the rock into it behind him.
"This will crack the bastard open. I'm sure of it." He turned from the rock, set snugly into a ring raised in the collider's bottom.
"Sending particles flying at each other and putting rock between them isn't the usual way to crack a walnut."
"This isn't your usual walnut." Jones had climbed out of the collider and now stood beside the control panel. "Throw the switch Millicent." He must have sensed her hesitation through sound alone. He looked up from the controls. "You can relax. If this doesn't work nothing will reach us - like you said. The hull's defenses have tested positively. The worst to happen will be a little splatter that the ombrifuge will keep from hitting us - even if debris flies quaquaversally."
"I know, but I'm still concerned that this will all end in an auto-de-fe." She leaned onto the panel that housed the switch.
"Bah. There aren't any peasants around. Besides, what could we have done to have called on the wrath of a mob? We've done nothing wrong."
Millicent tried once more to get a look at Jones' eyes. She could see the same certainty in them that she had seen that night, weeks before. It churned her stomach, but she saw her hand reach for the power switch and pull it downwards, completing the circuit and powering up the collider.
As the machine wound up all of its sprockets and gears it roared behind them like some hideous animal struck with a rock.
Millicent's arms crossed. "No. Not yet."
Back To Top
Persuasion
Alton struggled to keep his expression from changing as he muddled through his mind. Password. Password...what was the password?
"Come on, bub. It's quaquaversal. All your kind knows this."
"Alright. So then let me in." Alton leaned heavily on the hood of the auto-de-fe he'd stolen.
"I don't think so, mac. We need more than that if you're to get in here."
The man slid his eye slot shut, but Alton flung a stone into it before it closed completely. In the same second, the stone was caught in the slot, and the man's eye bulged and blinked.
"Hey! This is very un-headmaster like of youse!"
"Maybe so. But this stone's important."
The man made no move to loose his eye slot's cover. "It's just a stone. Get it outta here before I call up security."
"It's not just a stone. It's a piece of petrichor."
Alton could see the curiousity rising in the man's eyes.
Typical underclassman. Alton fought the smirk from his face.
"Petrichor? Where'd you ---"
"Don't ask questions of me here. I'd much rather discuss this over a nice adynaton - something more than the millefleur we get out here."
The man on the other side of the door was silent.
"Well? Can I come in now?"
"Uh." The man loosened his slot and the stone fell through. The absence of the sound of stone hitting stone assured Alton that the man had caught it. "Sure. But don't get loud. Just follow me."
Alton smiled to himself as the door's hinges protested their being moved. He knew they had an ombrifuge inside and that all of the petrichor he carried would be more than enough to convince them to change their minds. Just as long as he was far far away when they tried to extract the stones' shadows.
Back To Top
Closing
To let me know what you thought about these stories you can leave a comment or check out my Contact page for other ways to reach me. And, don't miss tomorrow and Thursday's Annotated Links (Nos. 12 and 13), Wednesday's editorial, and Friday's movie review!
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Thursday, July 26, 2012
Annotated Links #11: Getting Technical And/Or Long
1. Bird, Winifred. "Fish-loving Japan begins to embrace sustainable seafood." The Christian Science Monitor 24 July 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.
A lengthy article that details much of the action being taken both inside and outside Japan to move the country into using sustainable fisheries since they consume 6% of the world's fish harvest. The article is flush with consumption and fishing industry statistics. It is written in the style of a report, and includes very little to no human interest element.
2. Julian, Hana Levi. "Sci-Fi Comes Alive in New 'Temporal Focusing' Microscope." Arutz Sheva 25 July 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.
Professor Yaron Silberberg and Dr. Dan Oron of the Physics of Complex Systems Department at the Weizmann Institute have created a microscope that views cells in both time and space. The microscope works by controlling the focus of a laser light beam in time rather than in space. It has been used primarily for brain tissue analysis so far. The article is written in a revelatory fashion, and dwells on explaining just how the microscope works.
3.Johnson, Carolyn Y. "Boston scientists use light to control behavior in monkeys." White Coat Notes 26 July 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.
Using a technique called "optogenetics," (a process by which algae genes are inserted into brain tissue) a team of scientists in Boston have successfully used light to control monkey behaviour. The team is optimistic that their work will help scientists to breakdown and figure out complex human behaviours and diseases in the future. The article is lengthy, but gives a significant amount of background information on the experiment and where it may lead in a straightforward fashion.
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Closing
Don't miss tomorrow's conclusion to Nicolas Cage Month - a search for the salvageable in Seeking Justice!
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A lengthy article that details much of the action being taken both inside and outside Japan to move the country into using sustainable fisheries since they consume 6% of the world's fish harvest. The article is flush with consumption and fishing industry statistics. It is written in the style of a report, and includes very little to no human interest element.
2. Julian, Hana Levi. "Sci-Fi Comes Alive in New 'Temporal Focusing' Microscope." Arutz Sheva 25 July 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.
Professor Yaron Silberberg and Dr. Dan Oron of the Physics of Complex Systems Department at the Weizmann Institute have created a microscope that views cells in both time and space. The microscope works by controlling the focus of a laser light beam in time rather than in space. It has been used primarily for brain tissue analysis so far. The article is written in a revelatory fashion, and dwells on explaining just how the microscope works.
3.Johnson, Carolyn Y. "Boston scientists use light to control behavior in monkeys." White Coat Notes 26 July 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.
Using a technique called "optogenetics," (a process by which algae genes are inserted into brain tissue) a team of scientists in Boston have successfully used light to control monkey behaviour. The team is optimistic that their work will help scientists to breakdown and figure out complex human behaviours and diseases in the future. The article is lengthy, but gives a significant amount of background information on the experiment and where it may lead in a straightforward fashion.
Back To Top
Closing
Don't miss tomorrow's conclusion to Nicolas Cage Month - a search for the salvageable in Seeking Justice!
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Thursday, July 19, 2012
Annotated Links #9: Changing Our Minds
1. Kesterton, Michael. "Keeping an open mind about vacationing aliens." Globe and Mail 12 July 2012. Web. 19 July 2012.
This is a collection of small news briefs about quirky events and findings. The most interesting of these is one entitled "Seat of self-awareness disputed," which summarizes an article from London's Sunday Times about Dr. Donald Pfaff, a neuroscientist who believes that the center of the brain responsible for creativity and self-awareness evolved in primitive fish to help them escape from predators. These news briefs are written around quotes from the original articles.
2. Feit, Daniel. "Hands-On: Nintendo’s Demon Training Purports to Build Your Brain’s RAM." Wired 18 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.
As a 3DS follow-up to the popular Brain Age memory training game, Nintendo is releasing Five-Minute Demon Training on July 28 in Japan. According to Ryuta Kawashima, the neuroscientist who works on Nintendo's brain training games, Five-Minute Demon Training helps to build your memory's speed and capacity. The article is written using the first person, and includes a video of the Nintendo Direct video featuring a demo of the game.
3. Crowell, Todd. "Could Fukushima Cause A Change In Japan's Groupthink?" Asia Sentinel 17 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.
Two commissions, a parliamentary commission headed by Kiyoshi Kurokawa (the Kurokawa commission for short) and "The Verification Committee for the Accident at Tepco’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Station" headed by Yotaro Hatamura (the "Hatamura Committee" for short) are on the verge of publishing investigative reports on the Fukushima disaster. These reports will help to answer whether the disaster was an act of God or the result of Japanese risk-aversion and group-think, though the article takes no sides. This article is written in a clear, concise style and includes some quotes.
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Closing
Don't miss part three of Nicolas Cage month, going up tomorrow, as we get into 2011's Trespass.
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This is a collection of small news briefs about quirky events and findings. The most interesting of these is one entitled "Seat of self-awareness disputed," which summarizes an article from London's Sunday Times about Dr. Donald Pfaff, a neuroscientist who believes that the center of the brain responsible for creativity and self-awareness evolved in primitive fish to help them escape from predators. These news briefs are written around quotes from the original articles.
2. Feit, Daniel. "Hands-On: Nintendo’s Demon Training Purports to Build Your Brain’s RAM." Wired 18 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.
As a 3DS follow-up to the popular Brain Age memory training game, Nintendo is releasing Five-Minute Demon Training on July 28 in Japan. According to Ryuta Kawashima, the neuroscientist who works on Nintendo's brain training games, Five-Minute Demon Training helps to build your memory's speed and capacity. The article is written using the first person, and includes a video of the Nintendo Direct video featuring a demo of the game.
3. Crowell, Todd. "Could Fukushima Cause A Change In Japan's Groupthink?" Asia Sentinel 17 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.
Two commissions, a parliamentary commission headed by Kiyoshi Kurokawa (the Kurokawa commission for short) and "The Verification Committee for the Accident at Tepco’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Station" headed by Yotaro Hatamura (the "Hatamura Committee" for short) are on the verge of publishing investigative reports on the Fukushima disaster. These reports will help to answer whether the disaster was an act of God or the result of Japanese risk-aversion and group-think, though the article takes no sides. This article is written in a clear, concise style and includes some quotes.
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Closing
Don't miss part three of Nicolas Cage month, going up tomorrow, as we get into 2011's Trespass.
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Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Annotated Links #8: Wearing in and Wearing Out
1. Turchin, Peter. "Cultural Evolution of Pants." Social Evolution Forum 7 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.
Peter Turchin posits that pants are worn not because of any sort of comfort, but because of social norms - and that these norms evolved over time. His central argument is that in the Classical West everyone wore tunics or chitons, and they believed that only barbarians wore pants (and laughed at them for it, just as non-Scottish Westerners might laugh at men wearing kilts today). This is a blog entry, strewn with illustrative pictures and written in a casual professional style. The entry includes a link to part two of his argument, wherein he explains why horses led to the prevalance and social power of pants in Western society.
2. "Wearable Hummingbird Feeder." Heatstick.com 2010. Web. 18 July 2012.
The product known as eYe2eye is a hummingbird feeding helmet. This site contains videos and pictures of people using the helmet, and a detailed explanation of what the helmet is and what it's made from, all of which implies that the asking price is a fair one. All of the information is presented in a bright and stylized format, with text written in a simple and direct style.
3. Oremus, Will. "Hacker Uses 3-D Printed Keys to Crack Police Handcuffs." Slate 16 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.
A German security consultant known only as "Ray" demonstrated how 3-D printing can be used to make effective handcuff keys at a New York conference on Friday 13 July 2012. Police departments use one set of keys for all of their handcuffs from the same manufacturer, meaning that anyone with the right digital blueprint and a 3-D printer could create a key to all of a police department's handcuffs. "Ray" plans to make the digital blueprints for the key he used in his demonstration public to show police how new technology is changing the rules of the security game and to help them to keep vigilant. The article is written in a quick and light style.
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Closing
Don't miss tomorrow's editorial entry, or part three of Nicolas Cage month on Friday with a search for the decent in 2011's Trespass. And, of course, come Thursday be sure to watch for Annotated Links #9!
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Peter Turchin posits that pants are worn not because of any sort of comfort, but because of social norms - and that these norms evolved over time. His central argument is that in the Classical West everyone wore tunics or chitons, and they believed that only barbarians wore pants (and laughed at them for it, just as non-Scottish Westerners might laugh at men wearing kilts today). This is a blog entry, strewn with illustrative pictures and written in a casual professional style. The entry includes a link to part two of his argument, wherein he explains why horses led to the prevalance and social power of pants in Western society.
2. "Wearable Hummingbird Feeder." Heatstick.com 2010. Web. 18 July 2012.
The product known as eYe2eye is a hummingbird feeding helmet. This site contains videos and pictures of people using the helmet, and a detailed explanation of what the helmet is and what it's made from, all of which implies that the asking price is a fair one. All of the information is presented in a bright and stylized format, with text written in a simple and direct style.
3. Oremus, Will. "Hacker Uses 3-D Printed Keys to Crack Police Handcuffs." Slate 16 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.
A German security consultant known only as "Ray" demonstrated how 3-D printing can be used to make effective handcuff keys at a New York conference on Friday 13 July 2012. Police departments use one set of keys for all of their handcuffs from the same manufacturer, meaning that anyone with the right digital blueprint and a 3-D printer could create a key to all of a police department's handcuffs. "Ray" plans to make the digital blueprints for the key he used in his demonstration public to show police how new technology is changing the rules of the security game and to help them to keep vigilant. The article is written in a quick and light style.
Back To Top
Closing
Don't miss tomorrow's editorial entry, or part three of Nicolas Cage month on Friday with a search for the decent in 2011's Trespass. And, of course, come Thursday be sure to watch for Annotated Links #9!
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Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Annotated Links #6: A Simulated Pair
1. Barnswell, Helen. "Simulation laboratory a cutting-edge tool in training surgeons." Winnipeg Free Press 9 July 2012. Web. 11 July 2012.
Drs. Teodor Grantcharov and Vanessa Palter have released a study comparing surgeons with and without virtual surgery training. According to this study, simulations increase the confidence and overall performance of new surgeons. The article offers almost no counter-argument or counter point, and implies that simulation training is unquestionably the best practice. The article's style is conversational and it's sprinkled throughout with quotations.
2. "Simulations at the Texas Advanced Computing Center Assist Alzheimer's Research." HPC Wire 10 July 2012. Web. 11 July 2012.
Joan-Emma Shea, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been running simulations of misfolded proteins in the brain related to Alzheimers on the supercomputer Ranger since 2007. Based on these simulations, Professor Shea has discovered that the proteins' precursors, known as oligomers, may be closer to the cause of Alzheimers than the actual misfolded proteins themselves This article is written in plain English, but makes liberal use of technical terms (all of which it defines).
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Closing
Check back here tomorrow for an editorial on some of the newest news and on Friday for part two of Nicolas Cage month - the search for the good in Season of the Witch. Plus, there'll be more annotated links on Thursday.
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Drs. Teodor Grantcharov and Vanessa Palter have released a study comparing surgeons with and without virtual surgery training. According to this study, simulations increase the confidence and overall performance of new surgeons. The article offers almost no counter-argument or counter point, and implies that simulation training is unquestionably the best practice. The article's style is conversational and it's sprinkled throughout with quotations.
2. "Simulations at the Texas Advanced Computing Center Assist Alzheimer's Research." HPC Wire 10 July 2012. Web. 11 July 2012.
Joan-Emma Shea, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been running simulations of misfolded proteins in the brain related to Alzheimers on the supercomputer Ranger since 2007. Based on these simulations, Professor Shea has discovered that the proteins' precursors, known as oligomers, may be closer to the cause of Alzheimers than the actual misfolded proteins themselves This article is written in plain English, but makes liberal use of technical terms (all of which it defines).
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Closing
Check back here tomorrow for an editorial on some of the newest news and on Friday for part two of Nicolas Cage month - the search for the good in Season of the Witch. Plus, there'll be more annotated links on Thursday.
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Thursday, July 5, 2012
Annotated Links #5: Technological Culture, Cultural Technology
1. Totilo, Stephen. "A New, $99 Console Called Ouya Is Real and Radically Different From Xbox, PlayStation and Wii." Kotaku 3 July 2012. Web. 5 July 2012.
This article confirms the existence of a new console called the "Ouya." Apparently the console will sell for $99, run on the Android platform, and come with a developer's kit - inviting people to create their own games and hacks. The article is written in a sparse style that just covers the basics, but promises more information once it becomes available.
2. Mckenzie, Hamish. "The Curse of Culture." PandoDaily 4 July 2012. Web. 5 July 2012.
Mckenzie writes about the limitations that a country's culture imposes on its youth, especially those of an entrepreneurial bent. His analysis focuses on the way in which cultural emphasis on hierarchies, the status quo, and risk evasion found in Asian nations leads to less innovation. This analysis is briefly contrasted with the individualistic culture of America, though with the caveat that Americans often don't know how to handle entrepreneurial hardship since their dreams often face too little criticism. Mckenzie writes in a conversational, yet professional style, and includes some quoted expert opinions.
3. Shin, Ji-Hye. "Culture Technology – a Paradigm Shift from Technology Oriented to Human-Centered." Korea IT Times 3 July 2012. Web. 5 July 2012.
Shin provides two definitions of 'culture technology': technology used to emphasize pre-existing cultural forms, and technology that has stories embedded in its design. Shin also mentions the theory of convergence, and the fact that technology and culture are converging more and more in the realm of the individual as society as a whole puts more and more emphasis on the individual. The article is written in a simple style, but with a few misspellings and grammatical errors that may initially cloud understanding.
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Closing
Be sure to come back to this blog tomorrow for a search for the good in the first film of Nicolas Cage month: Deadfall!
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This article confirms the existence of a new console called the "Ouya." Apparently the console will sell for $99, run on the Android platform, and come with a developer's kit - inviting people to create their own games and hacks. The article is written in a sparse style that just covers the basics, but promises more information once it becomes available.
2. Mckenzie, Hamish. "The Curse of Culture." PandoDaily 4 July 2012. Web. 5 July 2012.
Mckenzie writes about the limitations that a country's culture imposes on its youth, especially those of an entrepreneurial bent. His analysis focuses on the way in which cultural emphasis on hierarchies, the status quo, and risk evasion found in Asian nations leads to less innovation. This analysis is briefly contrasted with the individualistic culture of America, though with the caveat that Americans often don't know how to handle entrepreneurial hardship since their dreams often face too little criticism. Mckenzie writes in a conversational, yet professional style, and includes some quoted expert opinions.
3. Shin, Ji-Hye. "Culture Technology – a Paradigm Shift from Technology Oriented to Human-Centered." Korea IT Times 3 July 2012. Web. 5 July 2012.
Shin provides two definitions of 'culture technology': technology used to emphasize pre-existing cultural forms, and technology that has stories embedded in its design. Shin also mentions the theory of convergence, and the fact that technology and culture are converging more and more in the realm of the individual as society as a whole puts more and more emphasis on the individual. The article is written in a simple style, but with a few misspellings and grammatical errors that may initially cloud understanding.
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Closing
Be sure to come back to this blog tomorrow for a search for the good in the first film of Nicolas Cage month: Deadfall!
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Wednesday, July 4, 2012
[Wōdnes-dæg] Books with Amazing Argentinian Fading Ink
Introduction
The Article Summed Up
The Power of Mystical Emptiness
New Bounds for an old Medium
Closing
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Introduction
Last week's editorial was all about the mainstream acknowledgement of ebooks and indie authors.
This week, we take two steps back from the fore of technology and then one toward it.
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The Article Summed Up
According to Tecca over at Y! Tech (a division of Yahoo News), an Argentine publishing house called Eterna Cadencia is creating books that will not outlast their authors or readers.
It’s not that these books are poorly constructed - quite the opposite in fact.
Using a new ink technology, developed by the ad agency Draftfcb, the Argentine publisher is going to be printing books with short-lived ink. Apparently, these books will fade into illegibility two months after they’ve been opened and exposed to light and air.
However, the publisher isn’t going to be doing this with all of their books, only with collections of new authors’ work. A move that might just help to give them the captive audience that all new writers need.
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The Power of Mystical Emptiness
Although the article closes with a point about the fading ink gimmick only working if people can be convinced to buy “books that'll end up as fancy bound paper within just a couple of months[,]” this might also be the gimmick’s greatest strength.
Many people are reluctant to write in books that they cherish or thoroughly enjoy reading. And rightly so, there’s something special about a book - an inanimate object populated with ink splotches shaped into an old alphabet - that can make you feel or think things that you might otherwise not feel or think.
But what if that book went blank?
Would the book still hold the significance that it did for you while the story was still within? And, if it did, mightn’t that inspire some people to try their hand at writing using their since faded book?
The cost of these fading books, assuming that they’ll be priced at just a little bit more than a standard paperback or hardcover, might be a barrier to their success. But, if Moleskine notebooks can be sold for an exorbitant price based on a link to Ernest Hemmingway, Oscar Wilde, and Vincent Van Gogh, then why wouldn’t these eventually blank books have the same level of mystique?
In a way, they might even have more because they will have actually held what a revered and enjoyed author wrote rather than just having been used by him or her when he or she was alive.
Printing books with fading ink might not be a practice that will catch on for the classics, but it definitely could lead to some interesting stuff down the line for new authors.
Back To Top
New Bounds for an old Medium
Perhaps this gimmick will become something more than a response to ebooks and will lead to a cross between the two, possibly leading to something like the journey book from Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series.
Or, getting more specific, maybe the idea of disappearing ink will seep into the digital world and lead to some kind of technology that lets fans write directly to the author via their faded out tomes.
That gimmicks are needed, or at least believed to be needed, to sell paper and ink books might be one of the death knells sounded over the coffin of traditional publishing, but bringing the book into the digital age like this, without any computerization to speak of, is quite a feat, and points to better things ahead for traditional paper and ink publishing.
The question shouldn’t be will people buy books that will essentially become fancy notebooks in two months time, but rather: What will the use of this disappearing ink lead to?
Back To Top
Closing
Be sure to check back here on Friday for the search for the good in Deadfall, part one of Nicolas Cage month. Plus, don't miss tomorrow's annotated links!
Back To Top
The Article Summed Up
The Power of Mystical Emptiness
New Bounds for an old Medium
Closing
 |
Back To Top
Introduction
Last week's editorial was all about the mainstream acknowledgement of ebooks and indie authors.
This week, we take two steps back from the fore of technology and then one toward it.
Back To Top
The Article Summed Up
According to Tecca over at Y! Tech (a division of Yahoo News), an Argentine publishing house called Eterna Cadencia is creating books that will not outlast their authors or readers.
It’s not that these books are poorly constructed - quite the opposite in fact.
Using a new ink technology, developed by the ad agency Draftfcb, the Argentine publisher is going to be printing books with short-lived ink. Apparently, these books will fade into illegibility two months after they’ve been opened and exposed to light and air.
However, the publisher isn’t going to be doing this with all of their books, only with collections of new authors’ work. A move that might just help to give them the captive audience that all new writers need.
Back To Top
The Power of Mystical Emptiness
Although the article closes with a point about the fading ink gimmick only working if people can be convinced to buy “books that'll end up as fancy bound paper within just a couple of months[,]” this might also be the gimmick’s greatest strength.
Many people are reluctant to write in books that they cherish or thoroughly enjoy reading. And rightly so, there’s something special about a book - an inanimate object populated with ink splotches shaped into an old alphabet - that can make you feel or think things that you might otherwise not feel or think.
But what if that book went blank?
Would the book still hold the significance that it did for you while the story was still within? And, if it did, mightn’t that inspire some people to try their hand at writing using their since faded book?
The cost of these fading books, assuming that they’ll be priced at just a little bit more than a standard paperback or hardcover, might be a barrier to their success. But, if Moleskine notebooks can be sold for an exorbitant price based on a link to Ernest Hemmingway, Oscar Wilde, and Vincent Van Gogh, then why wouldn’t these eventually blank books have the same level of mystique?
In a way, they might even have more because they will have actually held what a revered and enjoyed author wrote rather than just having been used by him or her when he or she was alive.
Printing books with fading ink might not be a practice that will catch on for the classics, but it definitely could lead to some interesting stuff down the line for new authors.
Back To Top
New Bounds for an old Medium
Perhaps this gimmick will become something more than a response to ebooks and will lead to a cross between the two, possibly leading to something like the journey book from Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series.
Or, getting more specific, maybe the idea of disappearing ink will seep into the digital world and lead to some kind of technology that lets fans write directly to the author via their faded out tomes.
That gimmicks are needed, or at least believed to be needed, to sell paper and ink books might be one of the death knells sounded over the coffin of traditional publishing, but bringing the book into the digital age like this, without any computerization to speak of, is quite a feat, and points to better things ahead for traditional paper and ink publishing.
The question shouldn’t be will people buy books that will essentially become fancy notebooks in two months time, but rather: What will the use of this disappearing ink lead to?
Back To Top
Closing
Be sure to check back here on Friday for the search for the good in Deadfall, part one of Nicolas Cage month. Plus, don't miss tomorrow's annotated links!
Back To Top
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Annotated Links #4: Breaking the Surface to Find Truth
1. Lamb, John. “Scientists untangle web of science fiction on Spider-Man.” INFORUM 1 July 2012. Web. 3 July 2012.
A rundown of the various powers that Spider-Man has and whether or not they’re accurate representations of a real spiders’ abilities. This article makes extensive reference to a History Channel documentary called “Spider-Man Tech” and includes expert analysis by Don “The Bug Man" Carey of North Dakota State University. It is written in a plain fashion, and makes use of headings that are based on Spider-Man’s powers.
[N.B.: To view the above article you'll need to sign up for a free account with INFORUM.]
2. Miller, Ben. “‘Incredible’ hoard of 50,000 Iron Age coins, buried in escape from Caesar, found in Jersey.” Culture24 July 2012. Web. 3 July 2012.
A pair of "metal detectorists" have found a horde of Celtic coins in a farmer’s field in Jersey. Experts such as the Curator of Archaeology for Jersey Heritage, Olga Finch, are noted as praising the find as one of great importance in the field of Celtic coins. This article is written in a straightforward style that covers the Five Ws and nothing else.
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Closing
Check back here tomorrow for an editorial on the newest news, on Friday for the first hunt for the good in poorly received Nicolas Cage movies (this week, Deadfall), and on Thursday for another annotated link.
Back To Top
A rundown of the various powers that Spider-Man has and whether or not they’re accurate representations of a real spiders’ abilities. This article makes extensive reference to a History Channel documentary called “Spider-Man Tech” and includes expert analysis by Don “The Bug Man" Carey of North Dakota State University. It is written in a plain fashion, and makes use of headings that are based on Spider-Man’s powers.
[N.B.: To view the above article you'll need to sign up for a free account with INFORUM.]
2. Miller, Ben. “‘Incredible’ hoard of 50,000 Iron Age coins, buried in escape from Caesar, found in Jersey.” Culture24 July 2012. Web. 3 July 2012.
A pair of "metal detectorists" have found a horde of Celtic coins in a farmer’s field in Jersey. Experts such as the Curator of Archaeology for Jersey Heritage, Olga Finch, are noted as praising the find as one of great importance in the field of Celtic coins. This article is written in a straightforward style that covers the Five Ws and nothing else.
Back To Top
Closing
Check back here tomorrow for an editorial on the newest news, on Friday for the first hunt for the good in poorly received Nicolas Cage movies (this week, Deadfall), and on Thursday for another annotated link.
Back To Top
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Annotated Links #3: Invasive Technology
1. 1. Robbins, Gary. "UCSD camera lens can see everyone in a stadium." U-T San Diego 22 June 2012. Web. 28 June 2011.
In a project led by Duke University, UC San Diego has helped to develop a lens for a camera that can take 1-gigapixel images of large spaces. The project is funded by U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and designed primarily for 'surveillance, wildlife observation and sports coverage.' The article is written in a plain style with ample use of quotations.
2. Finnegan, Matthew. "Pigment discovery makes biological chips possible." TechEye.net 27 June 2012. Web. 28 June 2012.
Scientists from the University of Queensland believe that melanin could bridge electronics and human biology because of its ability to switch electrical charges from electrons, essential to electronics, to ions, essential to human biological functioning, and vice versa. The article is a dense summary of information, and written in a straightforward style.
3. Gaudin, Sharon "Google looks to make science fiction real with Glasses." Computerworld 28 June 2012. Web. 28 June 2012.
Google has launched their glasses, wearable computers that are equipped with a processor, memory, cameras, microphones and speakers. The glasses will sell for $1,500 at first, but then Sergey Brin, the co-founder and CEO of Google, is optimistic that they will be offered to the general public for a lower price in 2014. The article is a summary of an interview with Brin that is rich in quotations.
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Closing
Check back here tomorrow for a hunt for the good in Wrath of the Titans.
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In a project led by Duke University, UC San Diego has helped to develop a lens for a camera that can take 1-gigapixel images of large spaces. The project is funded by U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and designed primarily for 'surveillance, wildlife observation and sports coverage.' The article is written in a plain style with ample use of quotations.
2. Finnegan, Matthew. "Pigment discovery makes biological chips possible." TechEye.net 27 June 2012. Web. 28 June 2012.
Scientists from the University of Queensland believe that melanin could bridge electronics and human biology because of its ability to switch electrical charges from electrons, essential to electronics, to ions, essential to human biological functioning, and vice versa. The article is a dense summary of information, and written in a straightforward style.
3. Gaudin, Sharon "Google looks to make science fiction real with Glasses." Computerworld 28 June 2012. Web. 28 June 2012.
Google has launched their glasses, wearable computers that are equipped with a processor, memory, cameras, microphones and speakers. The glasses will sell for $1,500 at first, but then Sergey Brin, the co-founder and CEO of Google, is optimistic that they will be offered to the general public for a lower price in 2014. The article is a summary of an interview with Brin that is rich in quotations.
Back To Top
Closing
Check back here tomorrow for a hunt for the good in Wrath of the Titans.
Back To Top
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Annotated Links #2: Science (Fiction)
1. O'Neil, Lauren. "Google brain simulator learns to identify cats on the internet." CBC 26 June 2012. Web. 27 June 2012.
All about a "Google Brain" that can recognize a cat after constructing the concept of the animal from randomly viewed YouTube videos. This piece of technology, consisting of 16,000 computer processors, was developed by Google's X Laboratory, the research facility responsible for augmented reality glasses, self-driving cars, and a slew of other projects involving computer programming. It is written in a straightforward fashion, and is a fine example of classic, mostly objective reporting.
2. Linster, The. "The best women authors of science fiction and fantasy: Who's on your list?" After Ellen 25 June 2012. Web. 27 June 2012.
This article presents a list of six of the best female fantasy/science fiction writers inspired by a list commemorating Octavia Butler's 65th birthday that can be found at Flavorwire. The list ranges from Octavia Butler to J.K. Rowling, presenting the highlights of each author's work. The article is written in a casual style that makes regular use of the first person.
Back To Top
Closing
Check back here tomorrow for an editorial on some of the newest news, and on Friday for a hunt for the good in Wrath of the Titans.
Back To Top
All about a "Google Brain" that can recognize a cat after constructing the concept of the animal from randomly viewed YouTube videos. This piece of technology, consisting of 16,000 computer processors, was developed by Google's X Laboratory, the research facility responsible for augmented reality glasses, self-driving cars, and a slew of other projects involving computer programming. It is written in a straightforward fashion, and is a fine example of classic, mostly objective reporting.
2. Linster, The. "The best women authors of science fiction and fantasy: Who's on your list?" After Ellen 25 June 2012. Web. 27 June 2012.
This article presents a list of six of the best female fantasy/science fiction writers inspired by a list commemorating Octavia Butler's 65th birthday that can be found at Flavorwire. The list ranges from Octavia Butler to J.K. Rowling, presenting the highlights of each author's work. The article is written in a casual style that makes regular use of the first person.
Back To Top
Closing
Check back here tomorrow for an editorial on some of the newest news, and on Friday for a hunt for the good in Wrath of the Titans.
Back To Top
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
[Wōdnes-dæg] Internet Superpower Google Alarmed by Growing Number of Removal Requests
Introduction
The Article Summed Up
A Brief Reminiscence, and how Things are Now
The Words of House Google
Search Engines: Naturally Democratic?
Closing
Back To Top
Introduction
In the Globe and Mail of 20 June 2012, tucked into the right-hand side of page A3 was an article about Google. Specifically, about how Google has released its transparency report for the first half of 2012 and found an "alarming" trend.
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The Article Summed Up
According to the transparency report the number of requests from governments has increased by a quarter from last year (when Google began to notice censorship struggles). According to the 2012 report, 12,000 items were requested to be removed. These items ranged from videos to blog posts, most of which were political in nature.
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A Brief Reminiscence, and how Things are Now
This article indirectly presents an interesting state of affairs.
I can still remember when "Google" was a new thing, and how I was the one who turned a few of my friends onto it. Yet now the company has so much control over the internet. Such power might make some people nervous, but of all the internet-based properties search engines might make the most benign internet overlords.
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Search Engines: Naturally Democratic?
Search engines exist to help people find content. Content mills are in full swing despite many objections from writers, readers, and almost everyone else. People are always creating more and more blogs. Videos, photos, and music are all being constantly uploaded to said blogs, or to countless other websites.
It's in a search engine's best interest to help make sure that people can create a wide variety of content, and to help keep freedom of speech in tact as much as possible.
If content was completely curtailed and all political, or contentious, or controversial things were blocked from search engines they would lose a lot of their current influence. People would find ways to access content that didn't involve search engines, either going back to sharing content exclusively via direct links, or coming across some other means of spreading around what they had to say. And with these other ways of sharing and finding content, the heart of search engines' power, their search algorithms, would lose more and more importance.
Back To Top
The Words of House Google
At the same time, it's hard to dispute Google's dominance among search engines (although it's quite a bit behind almost everyone else on the social network front - it seems Google+ is still a mystery to many).
Monopolies are never good, and there are alternatives (e.g.: Microsoft's Bing, GoodSearch, and Yahoo!), but a company with "Don't be evil," as its unofficial motto is bound to live by those words, right?
Back To Top
Closing
Check back here on Friday for a hunt for the good in The Last Airbender.
Back To Top
The Article Summed Up
A Brief Reminiscence, and how Things are Now
The Words of House Google
Search Engines: Naturally Democratic?
Closing
 |
Back To Top
Introduction
In the Globe and Mail of 20 June 2012, tucked into the right-hand side of page A3 was an article about Google. Specifically, about how Google has released its transparency report for the first half of 2012 and found an "alarming" trend.
Back To Top
The Article Summed Up
According to the transparency report the number of requests from governments has increased by a quarter from last year (when Google began to notice censorship struggles). According to the 2012 report, 12,000 items were requested to be removed. These items ranged from videos to blog posts, most of which were political in nature.
Back To Top
A Brief Reminiscence, and how Things are Now
This article indirectly presents an interesting state of affairs.
I can still remember when "Google" was a new thing, and how I was the one who turned a few of my friends onto it. Yet now the company has so much control over the internet. Such power might make some people nervous, but of all the internet-based properties search engines might make the most benign internet overlords.
Back To Top
Search Engines: Naturally Democratic?
Search engines exist to help people find content. Content mills are in full swing despite many objections from writers, readers, and almost everyone else. People are always creating more and more blogs. Videos, photos, and music are all being constantly uploaded to said blogs, or to countless other websites.
It's in a search engine's best interest to help make sure that people can create a wide variety of content, and to help keep freedom of speech in tact as much as possible.
If content was completely curtailed and all political, or contentious, or controversial things were blocked from search engines they would lose a lot of their current influence. People would find ways to access content that didn't involve search engines, either going back to sharing content exclusively via direct links, or coming across some other means of spreading around what they had to say. And with these other ways of sharing and finding content, the heart of search engines' power, their search algorithms, would lose more and more importance.
Back To Top
The Words of House Google
At the same time, it's hard to dispute Google's dominance among search engines (although it's quite a bit behind almost everyone else on the social network front - it seems Google+ is still a mystery to many).
Monopolies are never good, and there are alternatives (e.g.: Microsoft's Bing, GoodSearch, and Yahoo!), but a company with "Don't be evil," as its unofficial motto is bound to live by those words, right?
Back To Top
Closing
Check back here on Friday for a hunt for the good in The Last Airbender.
Back To Top
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
[Wōdnes-dæg] Elon Musk, Space Travel, and the Promise of the Future
Introduction
Interpretation
Individuals and Exploration
Playing at an Alternate History
Closing
Back To Top
Introduction
There was an article of note in the Globe and Mail today. Something strange and wonderful. Not that the Globe and Mail having a good article is strange (though it is wonderful) but the content of the article is both of these.
The article is a brief piece that’s straight to the point about it’s headline: “Billionaire businessman cheers a new era of spaceflight.” It’s all about Elon Musk's ship, the Falcon 9, and its launch towards the International Space Station with nonessential supplies.
Marcia Dunn, the article’s author, notes that this flight marked “the first time a commercial spacecraft has been sent to the [International Space Station].”
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Interpretation
That an individual has managed to get a capsule launched into space is either a sign of progress in space exploration, a time when individuals can go into the vast unknown above on their own initiatives or with their own goals in mind, or it's a sign that there are finally people who just have too much money.
In either case, the fact that people can now do what only governments could before is an incredible fact.
And whether it leads to the Federation familiar to Star Trek fans, or to something more dystopian like a lone eccentric billionaire sending fiendishly irradiated spiders into space in capsules rigged with special sunbeam catchers that aggravate the arachnids, forcing them to somehow fully populate their capsules so that he can then threaten the earth with a terrible rain of falling, deadly spiders ('so thick as to blot out clouds and sun,' the eccentric billionaire might declare as his sinister grin appears on every earthly screen) unless his demands are met, is something that will mostly be left to fate.
Mostly.
But what can really be taken away from this article is that all of the talk of things like mining asteroids or sending teams to the moon (maybe Newt Gingrich’s moon colony is closer than any of us can fathom) or Mars have just become one step closer to being turned from science fiction into science fact.
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Individuals and Exploration
Individuals can be dangerous when leading expeditions, either intentionally (think Cortés, and his drive to conquer the Central American interior) or unintentionally (Columbus’ unwittingly bringing European diseases over to the Americas), but at the least they're untrammeled by the slow machinations of large bureaucracies.
Regulations are good, and things like environmental impact definitely need to be considered when launching rockets into space (Cid's launch in Final Fantasy 7 is a light version of what an unregulated launch *could* look like), but too many regulations can weigh down the human spirit and its curiosity.
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Playing at an Alternate History
If Columbus or Cortés had to appear before a court of overseers and assure them that the environmental, social, and physical damage caused by their expeditions would be minimized or non-existent, then the Americas would likely not be the Americas. From a social standpoint, that might have been a much better option from the perspective of all of the First Nations peoples of the Americas who were displaced, destroyed, or disbanded by the Europeans, but from that friction so much was learned.
If there was such a group of overseers in 15th and 16th century Europe, and they turned down the major European explorers’ proposals to sail beyond the sea, would things like cars or planes or computers or the internet have been developed?
Maybe, but the world in which they were would be one very different from ours. And in this brave new world, anyone able to afford his own space capsule would have invariably been someone with a mind twisted by generations of knowing only a strict class system. Someone with the kind of mind that would probably use that fortune to launch metal clouds containing a doom rain of radioactive spiders into orbit rather than a capsule full of supplies to a place in the heavens where once-disparate nations meet and work together to advance human knowledge.
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Closing
Check back here Friday for a hunt for the good in the 2011 adaptation of The Three Musketeers.
Back To Top
Interpretation
Individuals and Exploration
Playing at an Alternate History
Closing
 |
Back To Top
Introduction
There was an article of note in the Globe and Mail today. Something strange and wonderful. Not that the Globe and Mail having a good article is strange (though it is wonderful) but the content of the article is both of these.
The article is a brief piece that’s straight to the point about it’s headline: “Billionaire businessman cheers a new era of spaceflight.” It’s all about Elon Musk's ship, the Falcon 9, and its launch towards the International Space Station with nonessential supplies.
Marcia Dunn, the article’s author, notes that this flight marked “the first time a commercial spacecraft has been sent to the [International Space Station].”
Back To Top
Interpretation
That an individual has managed to get a capsule launched into space is either a sign of progress in space exploration, a time when individuals can go into the vast unknown above on their own initiatives or with their own goals in mind, or it's a sign that there are finally people who just have too much money.
In either case, the fact that people can now do what only governments could before is an incredible fact.
And whether it leads to the Federation familiar to Star Trek fans, or to something more dystopian like a lone eccentric billionaire sending fiendishly irradiated spiders into space in capsules rigged with special sunbeam catchers that aggravate the arachnids, forcing them to somehow fully populate their capsules so that he can then threaten the earth with a terrible rain of falling, deadly spiders ('so thick as to blot out clouds and sun,' the eccentric billionaire might declare as his sinister grin appears on every earthly screen) unless his demands are met, is something that will mostly be left to fate.
Mostly.
But what can really be taken away from this article is that all of the talk of things like mining asteroids or sending teams to the moon (maybe Newt Gingrich’s moon colony is closer than any of us can fathom) or Mars have just become one step closer to being turned from science fiction into science fact.
Back To Top
Individuals and Exploration
Individuals can be dangerous when leading expeditions, either intentionally (think Cortés, and his drive to conquer the Central American interior) or unintentionally (Columbus’ unwittingly bringing European diseases over to the Americas), but at the least they're untrammeled by the slow machinations of large bureaucracies.
Regulations are good, and things like environmental impact definitely need to be considered when launching rockets into space (Cid's launch in Final Fantasy 7 is a light version of what an unregulated launch *could* look like), but too many regulations can weigh down the human spirit and its curiosity.
Back To Top
Playing at an Alternate History
If Columbus or Cortés had to appear before a court of overseers and assure them that the environmental, social, and physical damage caused by their expeditions would be minimized or non-existent, then the Americas would likely not be the Americas. From a social standpoint, that might have been a much better option from the perspective of all of the First Nations peoples of the Americas who were displaced, destroyed, or disbanded by the Europeans, but from that friction so much was learned.
If there was such a group of overseers in 15th and 16th century Europe, and they turned down the major European explorers’ proposals to sail beyond the sea, would things like cars or planes or computers or the internet have been developed?
Maybe, but the world in which they were would be one very different from ours. And in this brave new world, anyone able to afford his own space capsule would have invariably been someone with a mind twisted by generations of knowing only a strict class system. Someone with the kind of mind that would probably use that fortune to launch metal clouds containing a doom rain of radioactive spiders into orbit rather than a capsule full of supplies to a place in the heavens where once-disparate nations meet and work together to advance human knowledge.
Back To Top
Closing
Check back here Friday for a hunt for the good in the 2011 adaptation of The Three Musketeers.
Back To Top
Monday, May 14, 2012
[Moon-dæg] Thoughts on Screens (A Break for Re-Alignment)
Introduction
Screens
Privacy
Closing
Back To Top
Introduction
Great comedy should make you think as much as laugh. Greg Proops’ The Smartest Man in The World is a good example of this kind of comedy - even if much of the thought provoking stuff that Greg speaks of is done during the “boring, preachy part” of (nearly) each episode. Nonetheless, something from episode 149B is strangely thought-provoking.
While answering a question (starting around the 47:15 mark), Greg paraphrases a part of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451: Guy Montag’s wife Mildred asking him “when can we get more screens?”
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Screens
As a person born in the mid 80s, I can still remember what life was like when the only screen that time was spent in front of was the TV screen. Whether it was a broadcast, or a video game, or something off the VCR. Computer screens were around, but they were generally just used for homework.
This isn’t about tooting my horn and saying that those days were better, but rather about wondering if something was lost as screens have became more and more ubiquitous. To speak in Marxist terms, things that are now done on screens but that could be done without it - like the writing of this blog article for instance - are being separated from their creator by these viewing machines.
Yes, it’s my hand typing these words, but they’re being put into my word processor in the same Times New Roman typeface that anyone else with a word processor uses. If I were to hand-write this entry, I might not be able to transcribe it, but it would have a different and unique feel, written in a font that is very much my own.
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Privacy
Perhaps it’s a matter of privacy. If you write something on a piece of paper, then you have almost complete control over that paper. There’s really very little that can happen to that paper that’s outside of your control, either directly or indirectly.
Typing something up in a word processor, though. There’s less privacy there, the threat of viruses, or of remote operators manipulating your system through a hack of some kind make this definite. Plus, anything that only exists digitally is much more difficult to entirely secure, since its existence is much more ethereal.
After all, what you’re reading right now are words, but really these words are made up of pixels, and those pixels are made up of signals that tell them to be one color or another.
So not only is there a lack of privacy on the modern computer, or at leas the threat of it, there’s also a certain lack of concrete-ness - it all looks solid, but at it’s base its all very abstract.
Yet, strangely enough, there’s more trust inherent in the lack of privacy and concreteness related to digital content. Although, maybe trust and the belief that other people will be decent enough to not destroy your online, wired, connected world are the substances that will be used for the new walls that will go up between people, the walls that will come to replace the wood and the drywall that have all been circumscribed by invisible connections traveling through wires or airwaves.
"'Fences make good neighbors,'" as Robert Frost noted, and hopefully fences made of trust and discretion will be more effective than those of wood and steel.
Back To Top
Closing
Check back here on Wednesday for an entry on the newest news, and on Friday for a hunt for the good in Manos: The Hands of Fate!
Back To Top
Screens
Privacy
Closing
 |
Back To Top
Introduction
Great comedy should make you think as much as laugh. Greg Proops’ The Smartest Man in The World is a good example of this kind of comedy - even if much of the thought provoking stuff that Greg speaks of is done during the “boring, preachy part” of (nearly) each episode. Nonetheless, something from episode 149B is strangely thought-provoking.
While answering a question (starting around the 47:15 mark), Greg paraphrases a part of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451: Guy Montag’s wife Mildred asking him “when can we get more screens?”
Back To Top
Screens
As a person born in the mid 80s, I can still remember what life was like when the only screen that time was spent in front of was the TV screen. Whether it was a broadcast, or a video game, or something off the VCR. Computer screens were around, but they were generally just used for homework.
This isn’t about tooting my horn and saying that those days were better, but rather about wondering if something was lost as screens have became more and more ubiquitous. To speak in Marxist terms, things that are now done on screens but that could be done without it - like the writing of this blog article for instance - are being separated from their creator by these viewing machines.
Yes, it’s my hand typing these words, but they’re being put into my word processor in the same Times New Roman typeface that anyone else with a word processor uses. If I were to hand-write this entry, I might not be able to transcribe it, but it would have a different and unique feel, written in a font that is very much my own.
Back To Top
Privacy
Perhaps it’s a matter of privacy. If you write something on a piece of paper, then you have almost complete control over that paper. There’s really very little that can happen to that paper that’s outside of your control, either directly or indirectly.
Typing something up in a word processor, though. There’s less privacy there, the threat of viruses, or of remote operators manipulating your system through a hack of some kind make this definite. Plus, anything that only exists digitally is much more difficult to entirely secure, since its existence is much more ethereal.
After all, what you’re reading right now are words, but really these words are made up of pixels, and those pixels are made up of signals that tell them to be one color or another.
So not only is there a lack of privacy on the modern computer, or at leas the threat of it, there’s also a certain lack of concrete-ness - it all looks solid, but at it’s base its all very abstract.
Yet, strangely enough, there’s more trust inherent in the lack of privacy and concreteness related to digital content. Although, maybe trust and the belief that other people will be decent enough to not destroy your online, wired, connected world are the substances that will be used for the new walls that will go up between people, the walls that will come to replace the wood and the drywall that have all been circumscribed by invisible connections traveling through wires or airwaves.
"'Fences make good neighbors,'" as Robert Frost noted, and hopefully fences made of trust and discretion will be more effective than those of wood and steel.
Back To Top
Closing
Check back here on Wednesday for an entry on the newest news, and on Friday for a hunt for the good in Manos: The Hands of Fate!
Back To Top
Monday, April 30, 2012
[Moon-dæg] "Switch off the Mind and Let the Heart Decide"
Opening Generalities
Wind Turbines Are Eyesores: Revisited
On Futuristic Landscapes
Health Effects Mini-Rant
Closing
What better way to start of a stream of consciousness/rant entry than with some of the electronic musical stylings of Mr. Thomas Dolby (specifically a song named "Wind Power")? At any rate, let's get right to it.
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Opening Generalities
This whole issue of wind farms and such in Ontario really seems to come down to a generational divide, at least in some senses.
Any generality is like a day at the beach - you're bound to get sand in your shoes if you make them, but sometimes they've got to be made, just as you might have to go to the beach to really relax.
Nonetheless, the older generation is generally opposed and the younger generation is actually for. But the sand's about to be kicked out of those shoes, since the reason behind this seems to be the simple fact: the old live in the country and the young live in the city.
Perhaps not major cities, like those clustered around South Western Ontario, but definitely in more densely populated areas where wind farms are quite removed from everyday sight.
This is another generalization, but it definitely holds true. There are, of course, the young who don't care for wind power and the old who are for it, and the young who live in the country and face the brunt of these wind farms and there are the old who live in cities and are removed from the physical presence of the issue.
Really, though, that's it. Those living in towns and in cities who are opposed to wind farms might be so because of the reasons cited in last week's blog entry, or because of others, but those urbanites are not quite in the fore of the issue.
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Wind Turbines Are Eyesores: Revisited
Wind power, though, is definitely something futuristic, something that is at least a little bit inevitable, even if its greenness in both senses might be seen as a handicap by some. The biggest argument against them that carries any weight, and that seems to have no real solution is that they're eyesores.
In response to the eyesore argument, though, it must be said that the landscape is going to change no matter what kind of power is generated - green power or old power. The generation of power means that humanity is present, and as long as humanity is present there's going to be a need for power - so long as any kind of apocalyptic disaster doesn't render human society completely ignorant of electricity and its uses. Why not let the landscape change in a controlled way?
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On Futuristic Landscapes
The change into a futuristic landscape, assuming that a "futuristic" landscape is indeed the end result of human progress to the "Future" of hover- and teleportation and meals-in-pills technology, is definitely going to be a long and slow one, but as long as wind turbines don't knock down any trees or destroy any escarpments or cause damage to homes, they're just another addition.
How did people feel about radio towers when they first went up in the countryside, with their constantly blinking lights?
How did people feel about the giant metal power lines and their supports which cut swathes through the Ontario landscape when they were first erected?
Progress means change, and if it's a change that can be controlled, isn't that for the better? Isn't that what should be striven for?
So what if solar panels and wind turbines change the face of the landscape just a little bit?
Back To Top
Health Effects Mini-Rant
As per the other effects that wind turbines are said to have, it seems that no evidence has come forth to back up claims of health problems due to them, and their effect on wildlife is considered in their construction and erection. 50-150 years ago when things were being built in the Ontario countryside, was wildlife considered? Were health concerns related to the impact of building a major issue?
It's the opinion of this blogger that the health issues that people attribute to wind turbines are the result of anxiety triggered by the presence of something new and radically different.
A power plant is sequestered and out of sight. A hydroelectric dam might be miles away from the homes and businesses that use its power. Wind farms are much more immediate, much more noticeable, and more more conspicuous.
If anything, the wind turbines are causing health issues not because of their motion - though being near any moving object like that does take some getting used to - as much as they are because of turbines' inescapable presence. They're there. They're always there, but unlike solar panels, they make noise and they move about. These facts may cause some people to become distressed, but they are what they are.
Back To Top
Closing
Check back here Wednesday for an article about some of the newest news and on Friday for a hunt for the good in Johnny English Reborn
Back To Top
Wind Turbines Are Eyesores: Revisited
On Futuristic Landscapes
Health Effects Mini-Rant
Closing
What better way to start of a stream of consciousness/rant entry than with some of the electronic musical stylings of Mr. Thomas Dolby (specifically a song named "Wind Power")? At any rate, let's get right to it.
 |
Back To Top
Opening Generalities
This whole issue of wind farms and such in Ontario really seems to come down to a generational divide, at least in some senses.
Any generality is like a day at the beach - you're bound to get sand in your shoes if you make them, but sometimes they've got to be made, just as you might have to go to the beach to really relax.
Nonetheless, the older generation is generally opposed and the younger generation is actually for. But the sand's about to be kicked out of those shoes, since the reason behind this seems to be the simple fact: the old live in the country and the young live in the city.
Perhaps not major cities, like those clustered around South Western Ontario, but definitely in more densely populated areas where wind farms are quite removed from everyday sight.
This is another generalization, but it definitely holds true. There are, of course, the young who don't care for wind power and the old who are for it, and the young who live in the country and face the brunt of these wind farms and there are the old who live in cities and are removed from the physical presence of the issue.
Really, though, that's it. Those living in towns and in cities who are opposed to wind farms might be so because of the reasons cited in last week's blog entry, or because of others, but those urbanites are not quite in the fore of the issue.
Back To Top
Wind Turbines Are Eyesores: Revisited
Wind power, though, is definitely something futuristic, something that is at least a little bit inevitable, even if its greenness in both senses might be seen as a handicap by some. The biggest argument against them that carries any weight, and that seems to have no real solution is that they're eyesores.
In response to the eyesore argument, though, it must be said that the landscape is going to change no matter what kind of power is generated - green power or old power. The generation of power means that humanity is present, and as long as humanity is present there's going to be a need for power - so long as any kind of apocalyptic disaster doesn't render human society completely ignorant of electricity and its uses. Why not let the landscape change in a controlled way?
Back To Top
On Futuristic Landscapes
The change into a futuristic landscape, assuming that a "futuristic" landscape is indeed the end result of human progress to the "Future" of hover- and teleportation and meals-in-pills technology, is definitely going to be a long and slow one, but as long as wind turbines don't knock down any trees or destroy any escarpments or cause damage to homes, they're just another addition.
How did people feel about radio towers when they first went up in the countryside, with their constantly blinking lights?
How did people feel about the giant metal power lines and their supports which cut swathes through the Ontario landscape when they were first erected?
Progress means change, and if it's a change that can be controlled, isn't that for the better? Isn't that what should be striven for?
So what if solar panels and wind turbines change the face of the landscape just a little bit?
Back To Top
Health Effects Mini-Rant
As per the other effects that wind turbines are said to have, it seems that no evidence has come forth to back up claims of health problems due to them, and their effect on wildlife is considered in their construction and erection. 50-150 years ago when things were being built in the Ontario countryside, was wildlife considered? Were health concerns related to the impact of building a major issue?
It's the opinion of this blogger that the health issues that people attribute to wind turbines are the result of anxiety triggered by the presence of something new and radically different.
A power plant is sequestered and out of sight. A hydroelectric dam might be miles away from the homes and businesses that use its power. Wind farms are much more immediate, much more noticeable, and more more conspicuous.
If anything, the wind turbines are causing health issues not because of their motion - though being near any moving object like that does take some getting used to - as much as they are because of turbines' inescapable presence. They're there. They're always there, but unlike solar panels, they make noise and they move about. These facts may cause some people to become distressed, but they are what they are.
Back To Top
Closing
Check back here Wednesday for an article about some of the newest news and on Friday for a hunt for the good in Johnny English Reborn
Back To Top
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
[Wōdnes-dæg] (Korean) Robots on the Rise
 |
Introduction
Robots in the Workforce
Robots in South Korea
Closing
References
Introduction
According to an article in the Korea IT Times South Korea is really pushing to become a major player in the field of robotics.
And why not? More and more robots are entering the workforce in various ways: "lights-out" factories that can operate for up to thirty days without any human intervention (and so the lights and air conditioning are turned off); surgeons operating on patients hundreds or thousands of miles away via robotic arms; teacher and health care robots; as cleaners and cooks.1
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Robots in the Workforce
The transition into a much more robotic society seems inevitable. Granted, the article is from April 2011, but Rodney Brooks - a professor emeritus at MIT - robots will make the American economy more efficient and competitive.2 He bases these point on the facts that robot labor can be quicker, and a robotic manufacturing base on American soil will cut out the cost of bringing in goods from China and elsewhere.2
Plus, increasing the presence of robots in manufacturing might make the overseas production of Apple, and Sony products much more ethically palatable to those who care about such things. A fact that Foxconn seems well aware of, since they plan to employ 1 million robots by 2014.3
However, though Brooks and Bill Gates have said that the robot revolution is happening in a way similar to the computer revolution (slow and specialized, marching towards quick and ubiquitous), Brooks said in 2011 that the robots of the near future will have an eight year old's social skills, a six year old's dexterity, a four year old's language skills and a two year old's object recognition2 - not exactly as dexterous or quick witted as a T-1000 or a Bending Unit 22.
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Robots in South Korea
Still, the ambition and drive of countries like South Korea when it comes to robotics makes it seem like advanced robots are not so far off.
After all, Korean society's "pali-pali" mentality is indeed evident in plans to spend 322 million US dollars between 2012 and 2016 to turn the city of Daegu into a "robot city and hub to the nation’s robot industry."1 Perhaps, in some way, this push for robotics is meant to complement the global spread of its culture.
As wind turbines crop up in more and more places, and with robots apparently well on the way to becoming everyday fixtures, one question that comes to mind: Does this mean we're going to be getting flying cars soon?
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Closing
Check back here on Friday for the hunt for the good in The Darkest Hour
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References
1. Ji-Hye, Shin. "KIRIA Robotics - The Future is Here." Korea IT Times 24 April 2012.
2. Young, Grace. "Are Workforce Robots the Next Big Thing? Rodney Brooks Gives a Definite Yes." MIT Entrepreneurship Review 12 April 2011.
3. Schroeder, Stan. "Foxconn To Replace Some of Its Workforce With 1 Million Robots." Mashable Business 1 August 2011.
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