Fantasist's Scroll

Space tourists.

Well, if Richard Branson is as spot on as he’s been, we may be flying Virgin Galactic into space for our vacations. Okay, so, maybe that’s a little “forward thinking”, but, according to this article on Wired News, he’s made a deal to to build an “aircraft” based on Burt Rutan’s SpaceShipOne craft. (Mr. Rutan, and company, is a contender for the X-Prize.) Apparently, Branson’s plan is to start making regular “flights” into space, one assumes with profit in mind. So, in spite of the flamboyant and sometimes downwright strange stunts he’s pulled, Branson may just fullfil the promise of the X-Prize: regular, commercial space-flight.

Cool.

A new age has dawned for spaceflight!

According to numerous sources, my favorite being National Geographic in this case, SpaceShipOne has won the X-Prize. What does that mean? It means that a privately built single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft has been built and successfully launched into space twice within a week. And, if you don’t understand the implecations of that, well… Well, I can’t imagine anyone who could find this blog on the web and not have some idea what that accomplishment means. Maybe I will see a mission to mars succeed in my lifetime. I might even see extraterrestrial mining. The possibilities are limitless.

Wow.

At least, more about the man who cracked it.

Back in June, I mentioned that someone had uncovered the secret of the Voynich Manuscript. Well, to be more precise, he uncovered the fact that it was a fake. This past month, there was an article on Wired News about that man. he’s quite interesting, really. From what I read, he’s basically in the business of, well, thinking about thinking. He looks at how various professionals solve problems and tries to improve their process. He seems to be quite good at it, too! Anyway, read the article.

Okay, this tickled my funny-bone.

This website, A Primer in SF Xenolinguistics, really made me chuckle. It’s really a what NOT to do guide. In a nutshell, it lists all the things that begining writers make when dealing with language in science-fiction and fantasy. Actually, it’s a bit frightening how many people who should know better make these mistakes, too, but I digress.
It’s a fun read and, heaven help me, it’s informative, too.

Hey, it’s Friday, go check it out!