Last month a very important celebrity marked his birthday. He wasn’t an actor, though he was in a movie; he wasn’t an author, though he appeared in a book. And strangest of all, he died almost 30 years before he was born. He was HAL, the artificial intelligence that guided the spacecraft Discovery to its rendezvous with …
Tag: technology
A new way to paint cars
We bought a new car a little over a year ago, and while choosing what make of car to purchase naturally took weeks of research and consideration, it took us almost as long again just to decide on what colour of car we wanted. (We settled on “platinum green.”) Painting an automobile involves many …
Synthespians: artificial actors
In the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, one of the best performances is turned in by an actor who isn’t entirely real. Gollum, the hobbit-like creature who once possessed the One Ring and would do anything to possess it again is the latest and most-impressive-to-date example of a “synthespian”–a computer-generated actor. …
Joint replacement: what’s a nice joint like you doing in a dame like this?
“Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology.” So began each episode of The Six Million Dollar Man. Twenty-some years after that TV series aired, we still don’t have bionic people capable of superhuman feats of strength and speed, but we do have lots of people walking around with artificial parts: especially, artificial joints. My …
Trains
Trains have been on my mind lately, partly because I just completed a two-day trip from San Francisco by train, but also because trains have been in the news lately: Montreal’s Bombardier was in hot water over cracks in the suspensions of Amtrak’s high-speed Acela trains, McLean’s magazine recently ran a front-page story on …
Air conditioning
If you were fortunate enough to be able to spend last week in a climate-controlled environment, give thanks to Willis Haviland Carrier, whose new-fangled invention, air conditioning, first went into service 100 years ago, on July 17, 1902. Modern air conditioning is an offshoot of an earlier invention, mechanical refrigeration, which is based on the …
Robocup
Picture this: it’s World Cup 2050. The preliminaries are over and the two finalists are facing each other in the first-place game. Onto the field trot two teams–but only one of them is human. The other is made up of robots. Today we’re accustomed to robots that do everything from build cars to defuse …
Ratbots
Picture this: there’s been an earthquake and you’re trapped in the rubble. In the dark you hear a scrabbling sound…and feel the long, naked tail of a rat slither across your cheek… Sounds like a nightmare, doesn’t it? But if recent research bears fruit, it may be a dream come true–because that rat could …
The 2001 Discover Awards
Each year, Discover Magazine honors a number of scientists with Innovation Awards, which spotlight inventions and discoveries with the potential to change our lives. A look at the 2001 winners provides a snapshot of how science and technology are advancing, and just maybe gives us a look at what the future holds. (OK, OK, the awards were …
Star Trek tech
“Like something out of Star Trek” has become a catch-phrase for all things high-tech. But as Erik Baard points out in articles recently posted to Wired Online, we live in such a high-tech age that the Star Trek future is beginning to look more like last Thursday. As Baard notes, fans have wondered for decades …
P-books and e-books
The Saskatchewan Book Awards, honoring the best books by Saskatchewan writers, is coming up on November 30. The short-listed nominees are all worthy, but they’re also all a little old-fashioned, in that they’re all printed on paper. “Paper?” I hear you say. “What else would they be printed on?” To which I reply, who says …
Challenge Bibendum
Will we be driving gasoline-powered cars 10 or 20 years from now? Judging by the 2001 Michelin Challenge Bibendum, some of us will, but many won’t. The Challenge Bibendum (Bibendum is the real name of the made-of-tires Michelin Man) offers manufacturers an opportunity to demonstrate alternative-fuel vehicles in real-world conditions. This year’s challenge drew 27 …
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Episode 169: Sara Wolf – Heavenbreaker
A chat with New York Times-bestselling author Sara Wolf (the Lovely Vicious and Bring Me Their Hearts series) about Heavenbreaker, her new science fiction novel. Websiteauthorsarawolf.com Substackswolf.substack.com X@Sara_Wolf Instagram@authorsarawolf Sara Wolf’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for HeavenbreakerAmazon.caAmazon.com About the Book Bravery isn’t what you do. It’s what you endure. The duke of the powerful House… -
Episode 168: Dan Flanigan – An American Tragedy
A chat with novelist, playwright, poet (and practicing lawyer) Dan Flanigan about An American Tragedy, third book in his Peter O’Keefe crime-fiction series. Websitedanflaniganbooks.com Facebook@eAuthorDanFlanigan X@_DanFlanigan Dan Flanigan’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for An American TragedyAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book No good deed goes unpublished In the scorching summer of 1988, amidst the frenzy of the… -
Episode 167: E.C. Hibbs – The Shade Between Shadows
A chat with author, artist, and storyteller E.C. Hibbs about the first book in her new Nightland Quartet, The Shade Between Shadows. Websiteechibbs.weebly.com Facebook@echibbs Instagram@e_c_hibbs TikTok@e_c_hibbs YouTube@echibbs E.C. Hibbs’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for The Shade Between ShadowsAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book I didn’t think myself truly silent. I possessed a voice, as sure as any… -
Episode 166: Jennifer Anne Gordon – The Japanese Box and Other Stories
A chat with award-winning horror author Jennifer Anne Gordon about her new short story collection, The Japanese Box and Other Stories. Websitejenniferannegordon.com Facebook@JenniferAnneGordonAuthor Instagram@jennifergenevievegordon X@JenniferAnneGo5 Jennifer Anne Gordon’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for The Japanese Box and Other StoriesAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book A collection of short stories contemplating horror, grief, and trauma. Simulacrum: A dark comedic… -
Episode 165: Dr. Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes – A Fifth of the Story
A chat with author, podcaster, and blogger Dr. Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes about her new spy thriller, A Fifth of the Story Websitedrkatherinehayes.com Facebook@authordrkatherinehayes Instagram@authordrkatherine X@khutch0767 Dr. Katherine Huthcinson-Hayes’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for A Fifth of the StoryAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book A fascinating thriller of espionage that takes you into the secretive world of the CIA… -
Episode 164: Kristen Ciccarelli – Heartless Hunter
A chat with New York Times bestselling YA author Kristen Cicarelli about Heartless Hunter, The Crimson Moth Book 1, a “dangerously romantic Scarlet Pimpernel-inspired fantasy.” Websitekristenciccarelli.com Facebook@AuthorKristenCiccarelli Instagram@kristenciccarelli Pinterest@kciccarelli Kristen Ciccarelli’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for Heartless HunterAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Enemies-to-lovers doesn’t get more high stakes than a witch and a witch hunter falling… -
Episode 163: Sebastien de Castell – Play of Shadows
A chat with award-winning fantasy author Sebastien de Castell about Play of Shadows, Book 1 of Court of Shadows, set in the world of his popular Greatcoats series. Websitedecastell.com X@decastell Facebook@decastell Sebastien de Castell’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for Play of ShadowsAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Swordplay, magic, intrigue and friendships stronger than iron: the first… -
Episode 162: Lyn McGinnis – Amarel Mountain
A chat with author Lyn McGinnis about Anu Awakes, an epic fantasy series, and the most recent release in that series, Book 2, Amarel Mountain. Websiteanuawakesseries.com Bluesky@anuawakes Goodreads Instagram@anuawakes Lyn McGinnis’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for Amarel MountainAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Descendants of the Tolku of the Primary Epoch, the Koru, Yakku and Yelda, now… -
Episode 161: Jared N. Michaud – Brightstar
A chat with new author Jared N. Michaud about his upcoming YA science fiction novel Brightstar, first book in the Energematric6 space adventure series. Websiteenergematrice6.com Facebook@Energematrice6 X@Energematrice6 Instagram@jarednmichaud Jared N. Michaud’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for BrightstarAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Brightstar is the beginning of an epic space-adventure series that introduces readers to Nate, a… -
Episode 160: Breakfield & Burkey – Enigma Tracer
A chat with the writing team of Charles Breakfield and Rox Burkey about their long-running techno-thriller series, Enigma, and Enigma Tracer, first book in their new Enigma Heirs trilogy. Websiteenigmabookseries.com Facebook@TheEnigmaSeries X@EnigmaSeries@1rburkey Instagram@enigmabookseries YouTube Amazon Links for Engima TracerAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book The clock is ticking … can Gracie uncover the truth? Phillip Pliant is…
