Timing Error

OBJECTIVE-C AND THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Some I'm trying out Objective C (programming language) and as part of my research I read this in Wikipedia:

Structured programming was implemented in order to help "break down" programs into smaller parts, primarily to make them easier to work on as they grew increasingly large. However, as the problems being solved grew in size, structured programming became less useful as more and more procedures had to be written, leading to complex control structures and a low level of code reuse.

I laughed: that sounds pretty much like a description of the twentieth century, right?

(I'm such a cross disciplinarian geek it ain't even cool)

DIY GENETIC ENGINEERING: REPLICATION BY NUMBERS?

Neat story from the AP, via Neatorama, on homebrew genetic engineering:

Using homemade lab equipment and the wealth of scientific knowledge available online, these hobbyists are trying to create new life forms through genetic engineering 

I wonder how a future RIAA/MPAA deals with that. The future is plastics.

PAPERS: BEST .PDF MANAGER BY FAR

I'm always looking for ways to organize my .pdf: I collect them (JSTOR and "print-->save as-->.pdf" mostly).

Papers is that holy grail. It acts like an itunes/iphoto app for documents. 

Best of all, it will allow you to search Google Scholar, JSTOR and other sites to get the meta data for those .pdfs that download with only numeric nomenclature (an annoying feature of JSTOR). 

Caveats: it is mac only and licensed (but fully functional without actually purchasing the license). 

In fact, it's so good, I'm going to purchase a license to kick a few dollars towards their development efforts.

AND TO ALL, A...

CONSIDER MARS

Neat little look at some of the economics of Solar Colonization at Colony World.

Coupled with the fact that Mars lacks major resources of any kind (note: at least that we know of), the crimson world may only be inhabited by scientists, various cults and individuals disillusioned by Earthen (and Lunar) governments.

I love that--send the nuts; when I write stories about Martians, I have this image in my head, one DRB neatly illustrated a couple of days ago:

Looks like the perfect 'martian homestead'.

SECRET/NOFORN/FOCAL POINT: MUST CREDIT ANON

So I was reading this New York Times article on torture, and got annoyed by the way they opaquely referred to the "Torture Report" released by the Senate Armed Services committee. Me, I like direct links; so I toggled off the NYT and went googling...and started laughing. Found this:

The WAPO uploaded the document from SASC 03 (Senate Armed Service Committee 03?) pretty much as is; to include the SECRET/NOFORN/FOCAL POINT header (that's probably what's under the black bars on the tops and bottoms of the document).

Given that the report was issued on the [Corrected] 11th of Dec, that's some pretty fast leaking. I wonder was the print even dry on the .pdf?

CREATIVE VOYEURISM

I like stuff like this: Scott Adams draws Dilbert. I could just never do the vertical drawing thing, but the WACOM looks sweet.

Via, umm, Scott Adams.

"THE COST OF LIVING"

Over at Strategy Page, newsreel reel video  from the Battle of the Bulge; appropriate for this snow December (lived in comfort).

FEELING HIS INNER AKITA

Well, the dog really loves the snowfall; but then, he didn't spend an hour and 15 minutes driving fifteen miles from work.

He actually loves it when I toss snowballs at him.

FORGIVE ME JOBS, FOR I DID NOT KNOW

Garage band rocks. Evidently, it can be used for more than just making ringtones. Sweet.

A SAD DAY FOR ROBOSAPIENS

Given a choice between a Roomba robot vacuum cleaner and one of those Dyson Ball thingies, my wife (wisely) elected for the Dyson Ball. Alas.

I'm not deterred: I'll find a way to smuggle robots into our house. I am sure.

MY FIRST SNOW FALL*

Clean snow is starting to drop. I just realized it's the first snow fall I've seen in over two years; it warms my (former) Nor'Eastern heart.

*I don't count that one day of sludge we got in Baghdad.

THAT "EVIL HUMMER" STARE

I've never understood it, the stares my wife or I will get tooling around in the Hummer.

From where we sit, we drive a subcompact. 

All a matter of perspective, I guess.

"BIOLOGICAL" WARFARE

Neat vid at Danger Room on the next generation micro air vehicles:

Quiet birdlike.

Blimps, sats, bots and small unit formations pretty much define the small, nook and crannies wars of the future. 

FLASH FICTION FRIDAY: SERENITY VALLEY

This weeks fff. It's actually a perfecta, coming in (unintentionally) at one thousand words. In all the near fiction fff I've got stored in my trunk, it's the first time I've actually 'set foot' on the moon.

Please enjoy.

SERENITY VALLEY

There were fifty of the Serens, standing there in the field, golden grains and green grass swaying around their lithe bodies.  Men and women from Serenity City, the first and last line of defense: bare-chested and dressed only in brightly colored loincloths and handmade headdresses with swords, spears and shields held in various states of readiness.

If you knew their tribe, and my time there had made me loosely familiar with them, then you understood that the paints and patterns which illustrated their bodies told stories of allegiances, families, hopes and fears. Their paints indexed them within the technosocial milieu that was their city.

But the paint was not only decorative: it was also ablative, designed to turn, for a precious few seconds, the lasers of their sworn enemies, John Laws in service of the Grand Jurist.

TOONS AT WAR

I've a big fan of cartoons; as symbols and propaganda (positive or negative), they can communicate so much. Wartoons have always been a particular favorite of mine: from instructional to nose art. Back when war machines were a bit more homebrewed, artistic adaptation was allowed; with the high tech gadgets we use today, not so much.

Here's a cool site: Toons at War.

So, when do we start seeing nose art on these?

I'M GLAD I DON'T WRITE POLITICAL THRILLERS

There's plenty of talk in science fiction writing circles on how difficult it is to write near future fiction; accelerating trends in technology jam up the old predict-o-meter.

Now imagine you write political thrillers: Rob Blagojevich just made you obsolete.

Throw in some sex, a little light murder, and this manuscript is complete: I've been laughing all day.

Actually, you probably couldn't sell the book: too over the top.

Rob has brass balls.

Plenty of people smarter than me will cover the ins and outs. I caught the word while driving to work and even now, many hours later, I'm still laughing like a little girl. Read the complaint: its a great insight into our other economy, the political economy.

SUPPORT THE ARTS!

Well, Randall Munroe, author of the excellent XKCD, has started offering signed prints.

That's a deal maker for me: I went ahead and ordered 'Duty Calls' and 'Height'. Great wall candy. If you enjoy his work, check out the store.

THE FUTURE IS WILD AND /RANDOM/

Pace Tom, I highly recommend the Future is Wild. My wife and I are only about a hundred million years into the future, and it is fantastic.

/Random/

>I've got a blog brother?

>The future (city) is also green; I still think de Chardin is going to wipe the floor with Vinge ;)

 

>Still doing the 'Mrs Robinson thing', Mr. Photodude?

 

>Collect the iconography: the art of (President-elect) Obama. (though the unicorn chasing is a bit odd).

>Venice beneaththe waves? Surf's up. I spent a December morning, years ago, slipping and sliding across a frozen St Mark's Square in formal shoes; I don't remember having that much fun.

BUSY, BUSY

Being back at work takes, well, work. The happy news is that I'll be out of command in a few weeks.

I'm going to hold onto the last flash fiction story I failed to post (headspace and timing error) until next week; I'm lazy like that.