Fantasist's Scroll

Okay, this is more “science-fiction” than fantasy, but…
Aw, it’s Friday and I need a cool link for you all. So, here is, thanks to Gizmodo, a link to an article about a moisture ‘vaporator. Yeah, that’s what I said! This compact device pulls water out of thin air, just like, well, science-fiction. So, now, it’s not impossible for me to concieve of water “farmers” on Mars, or even more distant planets. How cool is that?

Cut me some slack! It’s Friday and the link is fun, so click on it!

StarTrek tech come to life.
It looks like the promise of “holographic data storage” is coming true. According to this article on ExtremeTech, a company by the name of InPhase is releasing 200GB drives that are based on holographic technology this week. What that means is that instead of using spinning media, they use moving lasers to store data in a fixed matrix. Primarily, this would be Write Once, Read Many data storage, which is used as an ultra-safe backup or for special imaging or archiving applications. The drives which are making their debut this week will be available to customers in early 2006. But, that’s not all….
According to this article on Engadget, they have also been working on rewriteable holographic drives as well. (Okay, I couldn’t find that reference, either, but the original link said it was there somewhere.) And, they’re talking about having a 1.6 TERABYTE drive available by 2009.
Yet another example of how science-fiction is becoming a reality.

Mythbusters tried this.
But, these guys did it! I’m late for work, so I’ll keep it short, but there are some folks that have created a primative solar death ray. Even better, they published information about it on the web! Right there at Home of the Solar Death Ray.
Another cool link brought to you by Gizmodo.

Hey, I’m in a hurry and it’s Friday, so if you have more time than I do, click the link!

Yep, we’ve got one.
Considering the funding cutbacks at NASA, this seems like a really “forward thinking” document to me, but the United States Government has a non-armmament space treaty. Or, more specifically, “TREATY ON PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE ACTIVITIES OF STATES IN THE EXPLORATION AND USE OF OUTER SPACE, INCLUDING THE MOON AND OTHER CELESTIAL BODIES“. Basically, it says that we’ll all play nice up there. It’s not clear who actually signed this treaty, but it does mention that there are copies in the following languages: English, Russian, French, Spanish and Chinese. I find that all interesting in light of the so-called “Star Wars” program and all the research the Russians did into space-based weapons platforms.
Anyway, it’s the most fun link I could find this Friday. So, go have fun reading the boring government document!

Remember when I posted about an unusual star system some time back?
Well, according to this article on Space.com, there’s even more evidence that such a system can not only be possible, but may actually exist! Hey, I’m a visionary! (Well, okay, I had help from an astrophysist, but, still, I did imagine it.) So, it’s possible that somewhere out there a planetary system very much like Hoffman’s Quartet exists. How cool is that?
Oh, by the way, I have that document that I mentioned in the other post. I finally got it scanned in and proofed. So, I’ve also finally uploaded it. You can find it here, on the World Building page.

Right out of science-fiction.
I can’t even begin to recall all the different science-fiction books and movies that used fingerprints as identification for everything, including monetary transactions. Well, now it’s reality. According to this news story from Cnet.com, Thriftway has setup something called “Pay By Touch” which lets you pay with your fingerprint. Of course, there is a setup procedure and this is only good in Thriftway stores, right now, but it’s still there. How long before it spreads? Can Walmart be far behind? I would bet they will be because the article claims that Pay By Touch now “makes up 30 percent of Thriftway’s electronic payments”. Cool.

Okay, specifically, Star Trek Hooch.
You’d think I was an alchoholic with all the references I have made to strong drink over the years, but, really, I’ve been doing it in the interest of science. Or, science-fiction. Or something like that. In any case, no one has better fictional liquor than Star Trek. (Personally, I think it was a “thing” with Roddenberry, but that’s just me.) In fact, someone’s put together a rather decent history of hooch in Trek: Star Trek Hooch. Take a look!

Aw, go on! It’s Friday, traditional day of the drunkard, so click the link.

Hmm, there have been a lot of rat-brain stories lately…
No, really, there have been a lot of stories about experiments done with rat brains. First, there was the story about the scientists in Florida who got a rat brain to pilot an aircraft. Then, there was a story about the android run by a rat brain. But, when I got really got me thinking was when I saw this article about how rats can tell the difference between two languages.
Taken separately, they don’t seem like a big deal, but, what happens when you combine them together into a single package? How long before we see these freakish things on the battlefield? Truth is stranger than fiction. But, you know what? A science-fiction author predicted this kind of thing back in the early 80’s. Yep, Joe Clifford-Faust, author of “Company Man”. He didn’t get much attention back then, I thought, but he sure seems right on the money with his predictions. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?