France's Minitel shutting down after 30 years

After 30 years of service, France’s Minitel information service is shutting down for good. Launched in 1982 by the French state telephone company Poste, Téléphone et Télécommunications (PTT), which later became France Télécom, it was France’s answer to the World Wide Web before the Web was even created. However, despite remarkable initial success, it proved unable to compete with the modern internet and on June 30, 2012 it will be switched off... Continue Reading France's Minitel shutting down after 30 years

Space 1999: Matter of Life and Death

The Rotten State of Britain

We were promised Cool Britannia and a People’s Government, but instead, we got boom and bust, injustice, surveillance, regulation, stealth taxes, interference, sleaze, lies, hoodies, and binge-drinking ladettes… Our whole relationship with the state has become adversarial, rather than collaborative.

The Library of Law and Liberty looks at Eamonn Butler's The Rotten State of Britian. As you can see from the above quote, it's not exactly a laugh riot.

Citroen U55 Cityrama Currus

Dark Roasted Blend looks at the career of the greatest bus ever.

Pointy Shoes

Utilikilt

Only in Seattle could such a preposterous insult to the noble kilt take hold.

Water cyborg

Shenu: Hydrolemic System from takram on Vimeo.

I won't go into the technology here, as the flaws would fill a very large book. What really gets my odd toed ungulate is that people will look at this video's premise that Earth is on the verge of becoming a damp version of Arrakis and nod sagely.

And they think that people getting ready for the inevitable zombie apocalypse are silly.

Welcome to the 21st century

Dark Roasted Blend has a post on people and vehicles carrying huge loads that includes these ironic photos of Third World transport of First World technology.

It's a strange thing about the modern world.  I'll never forget the first time I stuck my head into an African hut straight out of King Solomon's Mines only to come face to face with a colour television run by a bank of car batteries.

The Adventures of Captain Marvel: Part 8: Boomerang

Ammunitioning Ship

The Fantastic Four: Menace of the Miracle Man

Click here to listen.

Automated system detects and fills cracks in asphalt roads

They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, but when it comes to road maintenance, an ounce of prevention is worth several tons of tarmac. A tiny crack in the asphalt may not seem like much, but once it lets in rain and frost, it’s a ticket to potholes and a very expensive resurfacing. The problem is that crack repair is time consuming and labor intensive, so the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) has come up with an automatic pavement crack detection and repair system that operates at comparable speeds to conventional methods, but with fewer people and less exposure to hazardous fumes... Continue Reading Automated system detects and fills cracks in asphalt roads

Frankenstein: The True Story

Invade and destroy

From the BBC:

The EU should "do its best to undermine" the "homogeneity" of its member states, the UN's special representative for migration has said.

Translation: The UN's special representative for migration urges the EU to declare war against its member states.

It's time to invest heavily in tar and feathers.

The Day the Universe Changed: Part 6: Credit Where It's Due

Libaries and studies

The nerve centre of davidszondy.com

The Art of Manliness looks at the libraries, studies and writing rooms of 15 famous men.

Sadly, the one at Chez Szondy (seen here) isn't included.

Space: 1999: Breakaway

Sexism at NASA is fine so long as it serves Feminism

From NASA:

Eighty-four female high school students (We used to call the "girls". Ed.) from 29 states will plan a simulated mission to Mars and experience life as an engineer or scientist when NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston hosts two events focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in June and July.

The Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars project, or WISH, is sponsoring two six-day summer camps for rising high school seniors. The young women will work in teams with female NASA mentors to develop mission plans for launching to Mars, living and working there, and integrating the many components necessary for a successful planetary mission. They will work within the confines of a fictitious budget and build several small mockups of vehicles to demonstrate a successful launch and landing of the Mars spacecraft.

How splendid! So, NASA, when is the version exclusively for boys scheduled? I thought not.

Bread and Butter

No shoggoths yet.

NASA press release:

A new university-led study with NASA participation finds ancient Antarctica was much warmer and wetter than previously suspected. The climate was suitable to support substantial vegetation — including stunted trees — along the edges of the frozen continent.

They discovered this by way of borings that brought up samples of vegetation, pollen, elder signs...