Fantasist's Scroll

Frozen squirrels?

It sounds rather strange to me, but according to this article on Wired News, there’s a squirrel in the arctic that can lower it’s body tempurature to below freezing and still be able to walk around. Scientists are studying this incredible adaptation to see if they can synthesize it in humans. It would be a giant step toward all the cryogenic sleep chambers that science-fiction loves so well. Not to mention what it might do for real-world space travel!

In any case, it’s an interesting article and a fascinating concept.

I say, “Yes”!

And, apparently, so do a group of scientists and researchers. According to this article on Space.com, mining specialists, space engineers, and energy strategists who attended the Space Resources Roundtable V held at the Colorado School of Mines thought that mining space was a good investment. Of course, they acknowleged that there some issues that needed to be dealt with first. Little details like food, water and air. All things that Earth has in abundance, but that are lacking on the moon and other “hot” mining sites. Getting resources in space is a big issue.
But, what I found most interesting was some of the new legal concepts that came up. For instance, the idea of how to “take possesion” of asteroids for mining via remote robots. What’s more, who will have rights when? How will claims be managed? Unfortunately, there’s plenty of room in space for lawyers. And, of course, legal disputes. Well, I guess all those lawyers better start reading up on their science-fiction! And, I better start writing a intergalactic courtroom drama….

It’s here!

Good or bad, biometrics has hit the retail markets. I’m not talking about those keyboards that have a thumbprint reader to unlock your PC either. I mean that there are retail establishments that are testing pay-by-thumbprint, right now! There’s an entry on Slashdot that has links to both the good, and the bad, side to this technology. Frankly, it’s the dark side that I find the most interesting.
Ever seen Minority Report? If not, you need to see it for just this. Picture being tracked through a shopping mall via biometrics, with advertising targeted to you and calling you by name. To borrow an overused marketing phrase, it’ll take spamming to a “whole new level”. Ubiquitous computing? Forget that. Ubiquitous advertsing. That’s a more likely scenario by far. I shudder at what this will do to our world. And, I can already see a steep rise in amputation related crimes. You thought identity theft was bad in our time? Wait until people are stealling thumbs!

(And, yes, I posted this on my other blog first.)

A whistling language?

Sure, why not! Not too long ago, someone on one of the many conlang e-mail lists I’m on started talking about a whistle-based language. I have to admit, I thought it was quite intriguing. I started to picture a bird-like race that might have developed such a language. In fact, I thought that someone had finally come up with a unique, new idea for a conlang. Nope.
At least, not according to this article on CNN.com. It seems there’s a whistle language that’s existed for quite some time in the Canary Islands. Unfortunately, it’s a language that’s started to die off already. But, on the bright side, the government is working at preserving it. In fact, they’ve gone so far as to require lessons in it in their schools in an attempt to preserve this highly unusual language. The article also mentions the “First International Congress of Whistled Languages” which also brought in experts in whistled languages found in Greece, Turkey, China and Mexico.
Just goes to show, I guess, that nothing we can imagine is so alien that it can’t exist! Let that be a lesson to you aspiring writers out there as you invent languages, and worlds, for your fiction!!

No, really, there’s a scientific study!

Right here on MSN Health they say that dark beer is good for you. Or, at least, better for you than the lighter beers. Something about the “flavonoids” that make it dark help prevent blood clots, which help prevent blood-vessel related problems. (This is also how that whole red wine thing works, too, by the way.) So, what the heck, it’s Friday, go have a nice, dark beer. For your health!

No, not a computer virus.

That’s right a real, live virus that was created in a lab. According to this article on USA Today, such a thing now exists. Once confined to the slum of science-fiction, completely artificial virii now exist. Thursday, November 13, a team lead by Craig Venter announced that they had created an artificial virus based on a real one in just two weeks’ time.
Now, at this point all they did was make a virus that infected bacteria, but how long before they’re moving on? Where will it end? With a “flu” like Stephen King imagined in The Stand? Or will it be more subtle than that? Or less?
Will we eventually feel that it’s okay to “manufacture” animals through the same process? Will we make unicorns and minotaurs? Where do you draw the line?
I sure don’t know, but it’s a little more confusing now that the line has been redrawn for us. The only good thing about all this is that it gives science-fiction writers a whole lot more to write about!

Starting yesterday you can keep your cell number when you change plans.

At least, in some metropolitan areas. The rest follow on May 24th. Unfortunately, the article on Wired News doesn’t say which areas start getting this option today. Still, it’s nice to know. I know that I have hesitated to change plans because of the hassle of getting my new number to everyone. I mean, I have a lot of people who contact me via my cell phone. Not least of which is my wife and recruiters!
I wonder how long it will take before we’re assigned phone numbers at birth, like Social Security numbers…

(Oh, and yeah, I posted this at my other blog yesterday.)

Yep, you can bid on a space mission on eBay.

Seriously. Of course, I’m not sure what the average Joe would want with a satellite, but you never know. It does have a camera, according to this article on Wired News, but is it really worth the price? Well, I guess we’ll see.
Personally, I like it. Sure, I’m not going to bid on it, but I like the idea of privitizing space this way. After all, how else are we going to get out there? What’s more, how else are we going to make it cheap? Cars and planes used to be horribly expensive, until everyone started using them. Now, almost every family owns a car and everyone flies somewhere. Okay, maybe not in their own plane, but still… Combine this with a little space tourism and we might actually start to get out into space!