Fantasist's Scroll

It’s a cool kid’s book!
And, a website called Gheehappy.com. The illustrations are really simple and cute, just like you’d expect from a kid’s book, but it’s also a neat, compact description of the traditional Hindu pantheon. Okay, sure, it’s simplistic, but, still it gets the message accross, eh? And, it *is* cute. Nice and harmless and safe to show the kids, even the illustration of Kali, Goddess of Death is cute.
Hey, what the heck, it’s a pretty painless way to show your kids a different belief system.

Or, a reactor in every pot.
Well, maybe not quite, but at least they’re getting closer, according to this article at Purdue University News on-line. Researchers at Purdue University have recently established supporting evidence that earlier findings by other scientists, who designed an inexpensive “tabletop” device that uses sound waves to produce nuclear fusion reactions, are, in fact valid. They’ve been working on this for over two years and have finally reproduced good results with their small, deuterium-powered reactor.
According to the article, “development of a low-cost thermonuclear fusion generator would offer the potential for a new, relatively safe and low-polluting energy source. … A cubic kilometer of seawater would contain enough heavy hydrogen to provide a thousand years’ worth of power for the United States. Such a technology also could result in a new class of low-cost, compact detectors for security applications that use neutrons to probe the contents of suitcases; devices for research that use neutrons to analyze the molecular structures of materials; machines that cheaply manufacture new synthetic materials and efficiently produce tritium, which is used for numerous applications ranging from medical imaging to watch dials; and a new technique to study various phenomena in cosmology, including the workings of neutron stars and black holes.”

Wow. I guess all those science-fiction writers were closer to reality than we ever thought, eh? I wonder how long it will be before we have transporters or “stepping disks” ala Larry Niven?

That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.

Ah, if only Lovecraft could live on in that eternal life beyond death. But, alas, he cannot and we have only his tremendous body of work to keep us company. Never the less, knowing that it is his birthday, I feel compeled to mention it.

Also, the Vancouver Gaming Guild is celebrating H. P. Lovecraft’s birthday with a convention! So, if you’re in the area, why not check it out?

Freaky.
While I don’t reccomend fishing for giant catfish with a basketball lure, it does seem to work. At least, if the pictures posted at this link are any indication. I know people have a hard time believeing me, but I met a guy who was a diver in Illinois who talked about these giant, mean catfish in the Mississippi. Apparently, all the nice, warm, waste water from power plants and what not pouring into various dammed parts of the river can produce catfish up to six feet in length. That is a GIANT catfish! And, as a rule, these suckers hide in the muddy, murky bottom just waiting for a tasty morsel to swim by. According to this guy, they seem to like the taste of diver. He described to me how he had to beat one off his arm with a small log because it was trying to pull him under a submerged tree where it lived.
Holy shades of the X-Files!

There are many ways to test one’s constructed language.
There’s the infamous Babel Text, as suggested by Jeffery Henning. There are other religious texts that might be used, like the Lord’s Prayer or the Sermon on the Mount. There’s translating a “folk tale”. I’ve even seen the suggestion put forward to translate dinner menus, street signs, and adverstisments. I, myself, have suggested that, perhaps, creating a phrasebook might be the thing. All of these methods should highlight any flaw or under-developed section of your conlang. When translating, we find holes and errors and things we simply haven’t thought through yet. But, another “test” occurred to me yesterday…
I was talking to my dog in German, telling her “Du bist ein gutes Hund! Du bist ein hübsch Hund!” and watched her get all happy and wiggly. Then, it hit me. “Can you talk to your dog in your conlang?” Of course, it works for any pet, but you get the idea. So, from now on, if I work on a constructed language, I must be able to talk to my dog in it, or it’s just not good enough.
Harumph!

Now this is really cool!
Once again, science-fiction becomes reality with a GPS-enabled, real “Hitchhiker’s Guide”. A prototype traveler’s guide that is more than just GPS-synced maps, this little baby gives you historical information and other tidbits that might interest a tourist based on where it reads you via participating networks. The author tested this on the 850-acre parkland surrounding Ashton Court, which is somewhere in the UK, from what I gather. I’m not familiar with it myself, but it must be a popular tourist destination. In any case, this little bad boy, called an “Explorer”, sees where you are on the GPS grid and serves you multimedia content based on that location. As well as showing you those cool maps that we’ve all come to depend on so much. (You know, I think Gibson wrote about something like this, but more personable, in some of his work, too.)

Anyway, the future is now. At least in prototype-land. Hey, it’s the best I can do for a Friday Fun Link on the same day I’m getting divorced. Get over it!

Well, not quite yet.
But, according to this article on YahooNews, they are sequencing the Neanderthal genome. At least, they’re starting to try and do it. No one, including the scientists involved are sure that they’ll be 100% successful, but, sometimes, it’s the attempt that counts. And, there will be volumes of useful information that will be a by-product of this effort, not the least of which will be a greater understanding of the human genome.
Hmm, Plieocene Park? Well, maybe we’re a ways off from that, but it’s still pretty cool.

Oh, this takes that talking fish to a “whole new level”!
Yes, sir, it’s “Buck, the animatronic deer” over at BoyStuff.co.uk. Honestly, I would have expected this to be for sale in Arkansas somewhere and to be endorsed by our 42nd President, but, no, apparently talking hunting trophies are big in the UK. Well, whatever, it is funny. And, it comes with a microphone, so you can make him talk from the other room, too! Or, invite your animatronic deer-head to indulge in a little karaoke!

Oh, the insanity!