Links for 14-02-2007
DIY robots with railguns, Michael Crichton in ‘making sense for a change’ shocker, Sir Patrick Moore on an envelope near you, boosting radio signals using your head…
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1 - Coilosapien: Rail gun on yer robot
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen anything new on the robosapien front, but I’d say that a laser sighted rail gun for our favorite robots is worthy.” Everything can and will be hacked - pre-order your ED209 now.
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2 - Navy May Deploy Anti-Terrorism Dolphins
“Dozens of dolphins and sea lions trained to detect and apprehend waterborne attackers could be sent to patrol a military base in Washington state, the Navy said Monday.” What happens when the terrorists train their own?
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3 - Patenting Life
Here’s a novelty - Michael Crichton talking sense, in this case about genetic patenting. Guess technophobes can come in handy occasionally.
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Centauri Dreams reports: Sir Patrick Moore honoured in philatelic form! Awesome.
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5 - Building the Cortex in Silicon
“The man-made brain could help scientists understand how the most recently evolved part of our brain performs its complex computational feats, allowing us to understand language, recognize faces, and schedule the day.”
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6 - London Libraries Development Agency calling SF&F Small Presses
“It seems that the LLDA are interested in talking to small and indie presses for their Autumn focus in 2007.” Jolly good show - let’s hope this initiative goes well and spreads nationwide.
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“Writing about favourites is always hard. Not — at least for me — because it’s hard to be critical, but because it’s too easy.” Niall Harrison on Stephen Baxter.
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8 - Raytheon Successfully Demonstrates Satellite Communications Alternative
“Troposcatter operates by bouncing signals off irregularities (small changes in humidity, temperature and pressure) in the troposphere, approximately 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface.” Via Michael Martine.
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9 - A siesta a day keeps the doctor away
“A regular afternoon nap might be one of the best defences against heart disease, according to a new study.” Try telling your boss that, though.
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10 - Certification test for underwear fans and fetishists
“Japanese clothing manufacturer Gunze has announced the establishment of an underwear knowledge certification test…” Ooooookay.
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11 - In a virtual world, an actual job may be waiting
TMP is the first company to set up a real-world recruiting service on Second Life, said Louis Vong, TMP’s vice president of interactive strategy. Until now, recruitment in the virtual space was limited to virtual jobs.
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12 - Boost RF range with your head
“Here’s a weird tip I learned way back from a hardcore Sun engineer, Ben Stoltz… You can use your head as an antenna to boost the range for little RF devices like car key fobs, garage door openers, etc.” Via Bruce Sterling.
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