Fantasist’s Scroll

No, not the Jules Verne novel.

In this case, it’s actually someone going into the deepest cave on Earth. At least, according to this article on the Sydney Morning Herald, it’s the deepest cave known to mankind. (Based on this article over at Politiken.dk, I’d be impressed if they found something deeper!) It’s a cave in Georgia, the former Soviet block country, not the American State. And, the current expedition is going further down than anyone has before. They’re litterally miles down into the Earth where the whole ecology is different and sunlight has never penetrated. Cool. Of course, when I posted the review of Descent, it should have been apparent that I dig strange stuff like this. If the articles on the real cave intrigue you at all, get Descent. You’ll love it!

That’s the next military frontier.

Or, at least, according to this article on the Sydney Morning Herald it is. Experts in the article indicate that the increasing value of our satellites, and other space-based resources, mean that the next big, battle frontier will be in outer space. That and the fact that the Chinese have sent an astronaut into space. Exciting times. Is it science-fiction, or science-fact? The future is now.

Well, actually, macadamia nuts, but still…

According to this article on the Sydney Morning Herald, there’s now a power plant in Australia that runs on the shells of macadamia nuts. It opened on September 18 and is the first of it’s kind. The “green” facility will “…convert 1680 kilograms of waste shell into 1.5 megawatts of electricity” but “will reduce greenhouse gases by around 9500 tonnes which is the equivalent of taking more than 2000 cars off the road”, and that’s just in its first year.
The article says that several other countries have expressed interest in this plant, including the United States. About time. We need power that is less damaging to our environment. Way to go Australia!

Kind of creepy, really.

But, I can see how it would be usefull. This article on the Sydney Morning Herald describes a new way to generate power from blood. Sure, the first comparison is to the Matrix, but it’s more likely to be used like the Six Million Dollar Man. This process really doesn’t create much power, so it can only power small devices. In fact, the article speculates that it will only be used to power internal “devices” or “enhancements”.
So, now, imagine a cell-phone implanted into your jaw and mastoid cavity that’s powered by your own blood flow. I can see it in the near future. Fascinating concept, actually. What else might this enable? What enhancements would you want to see installed? The answers to those questions are science-fiction stories ripe for the picking. Go forth and write!