Fantasist's Scroll

Remote monitoring.

In this case, remote monitoring of biosignals. Human biosignals, to be exact. According to this article on Wired News, NASA has developed a new device to monitor astronaut’s biosignals remotely. Of course, there’s already been talk of the ways this can be used right here on Earth. This would be a great tool for heart patients, for instance. And, I can see how it might be used for things like deep-sea diving and mountain climbing. Anyway, it’s cool to see how space technology spinoffs benefit us in the public sector.

Robots for a better tomorrow?

Well, maybe, maybe not. In either case, considering all the things that can go wrong for humans on a battlefield, I can see why the military might be interested in having a robot fight in place of people. And, according to this article on Wired News, they may just be headed that direction. Based on the article I can easily picture something like this replacing current armored divisions. Much safer for humans, but still giving the heavy fire-support that troops need.
Personally, I’m not sure I’d want to follow Sargent “Chips” into battle, but, then again, I’m not sure I’m all that cut out for military life anyway. And, I wonder, too, how long before we get to completely robotic armies. And, how long after that before they get out of control….

Okay, so if you’ve been wondering what’s up…

I’ve been busy! Lots of stuff going on at my day job, er “jobs”, including some talk about outsourcing. Luckily, part of why I’ve been so busy has been a job interview. Not much time for writing, but at least I’ve been reading. I have a couple of reviews to do up and I’m working my way through Describing Morphosyntax : A Guide for Field Linguists. I can see why this was reccomended by several conlang folks. Basically, it takes you through building a descriptive grammar step by step. It rocks!
More soon, I promise…

No, really, it is easy!

Or, at least, it is if you’re Philo T. Farnsworth inventor of the television and the Fuzor!
Honestly, I’m not sure if this site is real or a joke, but if they’re kidding, it’s the most elaborate hoax that I’ve ever seen. I mean, the idea of a fusion reactor small enough to fit on your desk is pretty far out, but, then, so is the PC and the Internet and they’re real! Then, too, there’s that name: Philo T. Farnsworth. It’s almost too good to be true. And, if it is real, then why aren’t there news stories about it? How come I’ve never heard of it before?
In any case, it’s Friday, so go take a look and have some fun.

Well, it seems so…

At least according to this page on SciFi.com. Of course, it’ll be on the Science Fiction Channel, but still, it’s coming. Apparently, they’re going to make the first two books into a mini-series, much like Dune and Children of Dune. Now, this could either be really, really cool, or the lamest thing since the cancellation of Farscape.
First off, I read the books a number of years ago and have re-read them several times. These books were the “Harry Potter” of their time, though it turns my stomache to compare the two that way. To fans of fantasy literature, they remain the very high standard to which everything else is held. So, if they can recreate this series on TV, then it will be great.
But, just like the Lord of the Rings, the movies will be missing things. They really just have to be less complete and less, well, “fulfilling” than the books. No one can imagine for me what it’s like to walk through the grove on Roke. Nor can they recreate what I saw when Ged faced the Shadow. It just can’t be done. That’s the beauty of books. My imagination is my own, unique creation and that’s what I see when I read books. No special effect can beat that.

In any case, I hope it’s done as well as the Dune mini-series was. At least then I won’t be outraged when I watch it. And, who knows, it might even get my step-daughter to actually read the books!

Today is William Gibson’s Birthday!

For those of you who have been hiding under a rock, or are freshly hatched from the Great Egg, William Gibson is one of the fathers of the cyberpunk movement. He’s generally credited with coining the term “cyberspace” and popularizing a somewhat more realistic, if sometimes bleak, view of the future.
He also ran away to Canada in 1968 to avoid the draft. Which is the only bad thing I can say about him. I otherwise admire his work and thought processes. Certainly his literature is beyond compare.
If you’re interested in science-fiction at all and haven’t read any of his work, you have no idea what science-fiction really is. And not the movies, either, you have to actually read his work.

Anyway, Happy Birthday, Bill.

I’m a “Top 10 Conlanger”?

Well, according to the Wikipedia, yes, I am. That’s really interesting to me, since I don’t actually have any conlangs at the moment. Apparently, they’re basing this ranking on hits in Google, which, of course, means that I am, in fact, in the “Top 10”. Mainly for the free tools and such that I have here for conlangers. Still, it’s a bit, well, odd to me that I’m in the “Top 10” list of anything, much less conlanging…
It’s kind of cool, actually.
Oh, my resources are all at this page. Enjoy them!

Well, not in the United States!

This article in Wired News discusses the Korean created cloned human embryo and the stem cells derived from it. In part, it says, the Koreans managed this before us because of our moral and religious leanings. Our politics and medical ethics are derived from our, primarily, Judeo-Christian outlook on the world. Those beliefs have stymied clone experimentation on humans in the United States. Wrongly or rightly is something for every individual to judge.
I, on the other hand, find myself speculating on what that will mean to the future of the world. Will we have thousands of copies of Kim Jong Il? Or, since China is working on these kinds of things too, Chairman Mao? Will we be reading about a genetically “improved” army marching out of Asia somewhere to conquer the world? Or, do we just have to worry about having shorter lifespans than the average Korean? Perhaps, as William Gibson has suggested in his fiction, we will all be going to Asia, somewhere, for the “best” surgeries and “improvements”.
Who knows… But, as a writer, the possibilities are thought provoking, to say the least!