I’m a long time proponent of so-called hard science-fiction. While I generally enjoy fiction in all it’s forms, there is something uniquely interesting, and often eye-opening, about those well versed in esoteric (sometimes impenetrable) subsets of the science community trying to extrapolate the cutting-edge developments of their fields into ethical, moral, or straight-adventure tales. It’s […]
Do Engineers Dream of 0wnz0red sheep?
July 30th, 2008 · 1 Comment
Tags: welcome to the future
Dear Robot Developers: Why Do You Want Your Creations to Kill Us All?
July 28th, 2008 · 2 Comments
I was talking to someone the other day about a documentary from HotDocs called “Mechanical Love“. One of the themes the film touches on is how Japan has an official initiative of Robot integration to replace their rapidly ageing population (by 2055, over 40% of the population will be older than 65). One of the […]
Tags: welcome to the future
On the wisdom of crowds
July 24th, 2008 · 1 Comment
after last weeks Batman story I got an e-mail grilling me on why I have a rule to not see movies on the opening weekend. As the individual pointed out, I not only advocate going to the theatre generally (watching movies in large groups is a profoundly different experience than doing so at home), but […]
Tags: Uncategorized
What’s The Deal with Rogers DNS Hijacking?
July 24th, 2008 · No Comments
It was discovered today that Rogers Internet has started a new practise (often called “DNS Hijacking”) that redirects you to a Rogers-branded pages full of advertising instead of a “Page Not Found” page when you mis-type a web address (or type a non existent web address). Click on for a patented “What’s the Deal?” Breaking […]
Tags: A series of tubes · online privacy · what's the deal?
Logo Mash-Ups
July 21st, 2008 · 1 Comment
Mario Amaya’s collection of logo mash-ups and his follow up sequel have been well circulated around the internet by this point – but I noticed something interesting today for the first time. While my initial pass through the list was just enjoyable for the novel sake of the visual puns, if I ask myself “what […]
Tags: media ramblings
Obligatory Batman Tie-In Story
July 18th, 2008 · 3 Comments
I was picking up my pull list at my local comic haunt last week (confidential to readership: If you don’t know what a “pull list” is, this story is probably not for you) and ended up in line behind a mother and her young son discussing which comic character he would dress up as for […]
Tags: congratulations · copyright reform · funnybooks · people I wish I were · personal · Uncategorized
XKCD meets state campaign financing
July 17th, 2008 · No Comments
Given that, US politics often influences Canada to varying extents, there’s been a number of times I’ve been frustrated that I can’t donate to US political campaigns… although almost always at the national level. I can’t say I’ve ever really wanted to support a Kansas state representative before. I’m sure it’s a lovely state, I […]
Tags: A series of tubes · political windbaggery
A Blog Post: Beta Version
July 16th, 2008 · No Comments
I think I inadvertently insulted someone today, with one of those odd reminders of how some tech terms haven’t quite permeated the general lexicon as much as I think they have. I was talking about an upcoming meeting, one involving a few people involved in a much larger meeting later in the week as a […]
Tags: copyright reform · eh? · personal