Fantasist's Scroll

No, actually, I guess it’s methanol.

Well, according to this news story on Yahoo, NEC has developed a methanol-powered laptop. No more recharging for me! Yahoo indeed!
Well, okay, you’ll have to keep refueling, but still… And, it’s supposed to last ten times longer than a normal battery, so, that’s cool, too.

What’ll they think of next?
Oh, and, yeah, I first mentioned this at my other blog.

Nope, it’s not Star Trek science…

Though, I have to admit, when I saw the article, the term “phage” caught my attention. The Phage was a kind of disease or plague that a species of “bad guys” suffered from on Star Trek Voyager.
In this article from Wired News, though, it’s something different. In the real world, it may be a viable alternative to the massive use of antibiotics that we’ve fallen to using everytime someone gets the sniffles. My wife still suffers from a wounded resistance to common colds and flus thanks to an overuse of antibiotics. Though, a far more disturbing trend is strains of bacteria that are more and more resistant to antibiotics. That is what these “phages”, short for “bacteriophage”, are designed to attack. Bacteriophages, or “bacteria eaters”, are designed to destroy one particular bacteria, leaving all the beneficial bacteria alone. Unlike antibiotics.

Okay, now for the science-ficiton bent… Can anyone see how this technology might go horribly wrong?

Well, not really. But they had binary code!

No, really! According to this news story at the Independant, the Incas had a kind of knot code that was very similar to our own binary coding. They seem to have kept fairly detailed messages in a seven-bit binary code knotted into decorative textiles. So, now we know how it was they had such a detailed, complicated society and legal systems without seeming to have a written language! They just had a kind of writing that we never considered.
I guess it was too hard to imagine a “primative” culture capable of creating binary code. And, really, knotting thread is a pretty inventive and creative way of recording information. The tie-closure on a bag could describe its contents and owner. Shoot, it could even have a shipping address included in it! Such a code could have been woven into other textiles as well. Even the simplest of fabrics could have had messges in them.
Obviously, this is pretty exciting to me. The ideas that this spawns for a created culture are almost endless! And, think of how original it would seem to the average reader of fantasy fiction. After all, this has sat in front of experts for ages before they figured it out, so to we who are less experienced in such things it’s nothing short of brilliant and new and, well, fantastic!

At least, it kills my web pages!

This weekend I got a note from my web host telling me that they had to disable one of my CGI scripts because it was taking up too much processor time and killing the webserver. Specifically, it was the script behind my ConLang Generator. So, I had to do some modifications to it. Hopefully, I’ll maintain its usability while keeping it from killing the server again.
But, if that doesn’t do enough, I’ll have to reduce my datasets some so that fewer words are generated. We’ll see how it goes…
In the mean time, why not check out my other web page? It’s at Tales of Hoffman.

Okay, this is just too cool.

This article from the Guardian talks about the scientists in Taiwan who created genetically modified zebra fish that glow. Apparently, they’ve found a way to incorporate glowing jellyfish genes into these fish and have them breed true. They’re working on more glowing species.
Several groups have spoken out against this, but I think it’s cool. Okay, sure, we’re tampering with genetics and life and no one knows where it will all go and what all the ramifications are. But, if we don’t do a little experimentation, how will we ever know what the ramifications might be? Besides, think of all the science-fiction plots that will be spawned (pardon the pun) by this!

Hmm, that’s not a bad name for a new company…

Regardless, there’s a product better than duct tape now…. Gecko Tape! Apparently, some scientists with a lot of curiosity and an eye on the tape market have figured out how geckos manage to climb walls. Now, they’ve also managed to make a tape based on this technology. The article is here.
Actually, the next application they have for this (sticky gloves, tires, etc.) are what I find interesting. Imagine a gecko suit that lets spys walk up buildings. Or cling to ceilings. Or, better yet, imagine robotic listening devices that can climb walls. Now that is what I call a bug!
Really, the possibilities are almost endless on this. There are so many applications for things that are sticky this way. Could it replace Velcro™? Could it be used for emergency seals on an innertube? So many things….

Oh, and I mentioned this for the first time on my other blog Diary of a Network Geek.

Yeast based fuel?

Hmm, why not? Here’s an article on Wired News about yeast-based fuel cells. I think it would be a good blend of hard and soft sciences, if they can make it work on a large enough scale. I rather like the idea of yeast powering my car, for instance. A nice by-product of water vapor, theoretically cheaper fuel. Ah, there’s the rub. Will the oil companies let this fly? Somehow, I doubt it. But, what if it does?
Here’s a great chance to speculate on how a technology might alter our lives in the future. That is what great science-fiction authors do, of course. They make plausible predictions about what might happen in the future. Sometimes, they’re dead on right. Other times, not quite. But, the fun is in the speculation and the story they tell. So, will this ruin the smoggy skies of dystopian futures? Or, will it lead to completely biological cars? Get out your Imagination Helmet™ and get to writin’!

Is such a thing possible?

Well, according to this article on Yahoo, it just might be! Imagine what it might mean to the future of publishing. Add in some wireless connectivity and you’ve really got something here. Textbooks that change based on which class a student is in when they’re opened. An entire university library available to students on campus, wirelessly. Books that can be downloaded from the ‘net directly to a reading device.
Then, of course, there is the interactivity aspect. The article talks about catalogs that can be used to place electronic orders. Add in the ability to automatically update inventory, price and availability and you’ve really got something.

Of course, we’re a ways off from that, so it’s still science-fiction, but the possibilities are endless. In a fully networked world, devices like this might replace PCs alltogether. They would become the ultimate PDA. It could be the Next Big Thing. Or, it might never get enough market penetration, like the poor Mac. That Mac was revolutionary, too, but it got beat out by a cheap knock-off.
In any case, it did strike me as an interesting thing to have in a sci-fi story.