Fantasist's Scroll

Affirmitive action in comic books?

Okay, I guess I see their point regarding the lack of minorities in comics, but it seems like people spend way too much time thinking about this stuff. But, according to this article on Wired News, it’s a big deal to some folks. I have to admit, the hyper-sexualized women get to be a little much sometimes. I mean, c’mon, don’t these guys get out at all? When was the last time they saw a real, flesh-and-blood woman?
And, where are all the Asian heroes? Afterall, there are a lot more Asian people than there are Caucasian. It’s changing, but very slowly. Look at how long it took to get realistic Black heroes in the comic books. And, even then, they still tend toward stereotypes.
Well, let’s hope the anime craze will help change that some. Maybe the Asian animators will feature more Asian characters. Only time will tell.

“Good morning, Mr. Anderton…”

Wow, shades of science-fiction! According to this article at the Register.co.uk, the US is developing passports with so-called smartcards in them. And, they expect to have them out by the end of 2004. Again, wow.
These smartcards are going to hold biometric data about the holder so that, in theory, they’re harder to copy or counterfeit. At least, that’s what the government is hoping. On the other hand, as my opening line alluded to, there are always ways around security, even biometrics. The line is from Minority Report, which is a pretty damn good movie. It’s based on a story by Phillip K. Dick, who is a great science-fiction author who also wrote the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which is the basis for Blade Runner.
In any case, see the movie and you’ll see how they get around security by messing with biometrics. It’s really fairly obvious, when you think about it.

Okay, now it depends on how they do it.

According to this article on The New York Times, Amazon is going to be expanding their “Look Inside The Book” program to include more readable text and a search engine. It’s the search engine part that really gets me. Now, I can search books that I haven’t bought to see if they have what I’m looking for or not! What a great idea. Now, I don’t have to blindly buy books from Amazon, hoping that they’re as on topic as they look. I have to admit, that’s burned me at least twice before.
Anyway, I guess this is why Amazon got on top of the on-line book market, and seems to stay there.

Now, this is just cool!

When I read this article on Wired News, and in Wired Magazine, I was totally entranced. The idea of a working anti-gravity drive is just so mind-boggling and, really, the “Holy Grail” of every science-fiction fan that it’s easy to get carried away. Of course, the article eventually debunks the “anti-gravity” portion of the story, but it opens a new possibility… An efficient, working ion drive. Hmmm, now that’s something to think about. Imagine a single-stage-to-orbit craft that uses an ion engine to get up where the atmosphere is thin, then ignites a rocket engine to finish it’s assent. Or, even a lander that uses the ion engine, powered by solar energy, to explore, say Mars. (In fact, that’s just what NASA is contemplating!)
Now, if they can get this working with a form of ionization that works in a vacum… Well, it wouldn’t be anti-gravity, per se, but it would be just as good.

Cheap computing makes research easier and more feasable!

Researchers are using low-cost “super computing” ala Linux to figure out how species differentiate, according to this article on Wired News. They’re also investigating the relationship all these sub-species have to each other currently. It sounds so simple that I think it’s deceptive. They’re inputing tonnes of data, including habitat, diet, and reproduction statistics. Then, they’re analyzing all that for subtle relationships that might not be obvious to human researchers.
But, what’s cool is that they’re doing it on a budget using an Open Source operating system! Truly, we are all standing on the shoulders of giants as we march into this new century of high-technology. And, that, as far as I am concerned, is very, very cool.

Of course, I also wonder what they will find. Can we ever know how things evolved? More importantly, can we begin to predict in what way things will continue to evolve? Will we then try to steer that evolution? Should we? As always, new improvements in science and technology provoke moral and ethical questions that we, as a race, will need to answer eventually. We try to skirt these issues now, but we must deal with them or they will deal with us!

(And, again, this appeared on my other blog earlier this month. This, BTW, is a shameless attempt to promote my Diary of a Network Geek.)

Will memory that remembers make faster, better hand-helds?

Well, maybe, but I’m waiting to see the actually products. See, according to this article on Wired News, there’s a new kind of memory coming that doesn’t get emptied when it looses power. So, the upside is, allegedly, faster startups and better hand-held devices. The down side, to me, is that when you want to clear memory, it’s going to be more complicated than just killing the power. Still, it’s being backed by Motorola, and I’ve always enjoyed their technology. Of course, it helps that my older brother works in Motorola’s R&D department, but, still, they are innovators.
Well, maybe it will help invigorate the IT industry. Now, you’ll have to be an expert to reboot your machine!

(Oh, yeah, this post also appears on my other blog, Diary of a Network Geek. Go check it out!)

Here’s a follow-up story to yesterday’s post.

It’s on MSNBC. The article is all about the expedition that produced the lovely website that I posted about yesterday. Apparently, the whole discovery of new species was a product of serendipity.
These folks went out to study a totally different feature of the ocean floor, had trouble with that, then quickly revamped their mission and made some good progress. The interesting thing, to me, though, is that the article really illustratres how little we know about our oceans. The Earth is 2/3 ocean, but we have almost no idea how their ecosystems work or how much of an impact we have on that ecosystem. I know it’s been done to death, but the ocean really is the last frontier on Earth.
Of course, the list of science-fiction books with the ocean as a major component are almost limitless, too. And, I think, there’s still plenty of room for more.

Well, if you believe in that kind of thing, which I do, it sure seems like a miracle.

There’s a new story on MSNBC about a man who woke from a 19 year coma last month. He was in a car accident 19 years ago this month which killed the other occupant of the car and put him into a coma. He was 20 at the time. Now, he’s 39 and a quadriplegic, but he’s out of the coma. Interestingly enough, the car accident occured on Friday the Thirteenth and he came out of the coma on a Friday the Thirteenth as well.
Now, I find myself trying to imagine what it must be like for him. He’s got a 19 year-old daughter that he’s never met. He has to learn how to function again and, hopefully, regain at least partial use of his arms and legs. Then, he’ll have to find a way to get by financially for what looks like a fairly long life. It’s hard to imagine the struggles he’s about to face.

And, I have to admit, it strikes me that this is a great idea for a very, very compelling story. Not really fantasy or science-fiction fare, but, still, it’s a great premise for a potentially touching and inspiring story.