Review: Call Me Joe

A new Quill & The Keyboard post is up.

RoboWriter

Fine!  Take the food out of my family's mouth!  See if I care!

First Men to the Moon

Paleo Future looks at Werner Von Braun's 1960 book where he once again outlines his vision for conquering space.

Oh, for the days when spacesuits had gauntlets that looked like something inherited from an over-achieving pirate.

HAMDAS-R

This is the sort of thing I expect to see operated by someone who keeps asking me "Is it safe?"

They'll be picking strawberries next.

Review: Night Watch

A new Quill & The Keyboard post is up.

Fernsehsprechstellen

In an interesting bit of Future Past trivia, it turns out that the first videophone system was set up in Germany in 1936 to promote the Berlin Olympics.

So, the first use of the videophone was to bicker about track and field statistics.  Sounds about right.

Foodtubes

It seems that there's almost nothing that chasing the chimera of "carbon emissions" won't justify.  Now that climactic version of three-card Monty is being used in Britain as an excuse to drum up money for a Hugo Gernsback scheme (neatly outlined in Ralph 124c41+) to run pork pies through underground tubes. 

If this sounds familiar, it should.   What is truly mad is that the proponents don't just plan to whiz blancmanges around Croydon, but to span the planet as well with three-course meals rushing beneath the sands of the Sahara.  According to CEO Noel Hodson:

In the long term, we could see an ostrich slaughtered in Cape Town, and delivered to Edinburgh.

Someone should point out to Mr Hodson that ostrich steak didn't prove that popular in Edinburgh the first time 'round.

How they are going to make this economical when it involves running three-foot diameter tubes through already crowded roads, let alone the depths of central Africa,  is left to pure optimism.  Stand by for this one to die at the first planning permission hurdle.

Martin-Marietta Mars Rover

Or we could wait until we can build proper walkers.

Cyberneticzoo.com looks at the Martin-Marietta Mars Rover of 1986.

I love these old walking machine concepts.  They're the sort of things that engineers come up with when they're unwilling to tell their bosses that the technology is a generation behind the requirements.

Ducks in the wind

If you're having a bad day, it could be worse.

The Nine Billion Names of God

Click title link to listen.

Captain America: Chapter 7 - Wholesale Destruction

The Lost Continent

Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven interview

A new Quill & The Keyboard post is up.

Satanophobia

2000 AD

"I just love Strontium Dogs."

Science Digest, March 1958, looks at 2000 AD.

And not one word about Judge Dredd.

Wiley Vs Rhodes

Fishy lights

A Japanese aquarium uses an electric eel to power Christmas lights.

At last, something to do with them in between employee evaluations and dealing with unusually persistent visitors.

Larry Niven interview

A new Quill & The Keyboard post is up.

Whither Sweden?

Caution: Blunt speaking.

Suspect coverage

The alleged coffin of the suspected assassin of the supposed president thought to be John F Kennedy who is believed to have been possibly shot in what may have been Dallas, Texas might be up for what is considered to be an auction.

Apparently the supposed BBC doesn't like to get too near established facts.