Scientists have come up with high-tech glasses that let you share a drink with someone–even if you’re far apart. The glasses incorporate a variety of coloured LEDs, liquid sensors and wireless links: When either person picks up a glass, red LEDs on their partner’s glass glow gently. And when either puts the glass to their …
It’s a white, bitter-tasting crystalline powder. It’s an addictive drug. It has some of the same effects as heroin and cocaine. And it’s readily and legally available just about everywhere. Don’t call the cops. It’s caffeine, and if you haven’t had any today, you’re in the minority. Tea has been imbibed by the Chinese for …
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Here’s an interesting article on (other) science fiction authors who blog. (Via blogging-SF-writer Robert J. Sawyer.)
OK, this one takes a little explanation. This isn’t technically a photograph. It’s actually the first landscape I rendered with Terragen, a free-for-personal-use landscape generator. I guess it’s been around for years, but I didn’t hear of it until today. I can see I’m going to waste way too much time playing with it, too! …
I’m an agnostic when it comes to the virtues of Margaret Atwood’s new invention, the Long Pen, designed to allow long-distance signing of books by harried authors who just can’t make it somewhere in person. (I should have such troubles.) I do, however, confess to a frisson of schadenfreude (to mix languages) upon hearing that, …
Tobacco plants have been shown to “eavesdrop” on chemical signals released by sage plants under attack from herbivores, and prepare their own defenses, in this latest study of plant-to-plant communication. I wrote a science column on the topic a few years ago that seems to be one of most-frequently referenced columns on my main website; …
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J. G. Ballard reflects on the movie version of his semi-autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun on the eve of its release on DVD. I loved the movie when it first came out. Ballard liked it too…but can’t help feeling his memories were somewhat hijacked by Hollywood.
This is going to make Alberta even richer, isn’t it?
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Here’s a great idea for people who are away from electrical outlets for long periods of time: roll-up solar panels you can use to charge small electronic devices (or, if you get the bigger roll, even laptops and camcorders). It’d be perfect for, say, a robotic pack mule and prospector. (See previous post.)
