Links for 24-05-2007
Hitachi’s tiny RFIDs and portable brain-scanner, magnetic field propulsion for space, more writing tips and resources…
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“I think I’d like to call these ‘beliefs’ because they aren’t necessarily what I would impose or teach. These are just honest statements about what I’ve learned from trying to write novel-length fiction…” Ian Hocking.
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2 – The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations
“The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations is a descriptive list which was created by Georges Polti to categorize every dramatic situation that might occur in a story or performance.” Via A. R. Yngve.
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3 – Deep Space Propulsion via Magnetic Fields
“What the researcher is proposing is that a spacecraft can be made to accelerate in a direction perpendicular to a magnetic field.” Near-future sf writers, take notes.
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4 – Practice and Theory of the First Sentence
“For me, the first sentence has to do three things: hook the reader, set the tone, and set up the end.” The insightful Jim van Pelt with more writing tips.
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“An increasing number of academics … are concerned that Wikipedia is becoming a stronghold for cranks: people who anonymously submit and edit entries on pet subjects to bolster the credibility of highly questionable theories.”
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6 – Walkman-style brain scanner
“Hitachi has successfully trial manufactured a lightweight, portable brain scanner that enables users to keep tabs on their mental activity during the course of their daily lives.”
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7 – New software can identify you from your online habits
“[Microsoft] is developing software that could accurately guess your name, age, gender and potentially even your location, by analysing telltale patterns in your web browsing history.”
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8 – Say Cheese: Traffic Wardens Get Web-Cams
“Wardens in Manchester are about to get Web-cams fitted on their caps so that they can prove to shocked drivers that they actually did park illegally.”
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9 – Hitachi Shows Off Powder-Sized Smart Tag
“Hitachi [...] recently showed off radio frequency identification, or RFID, chips that are just 0.002 inches by 0.002 inches and look like bits of powder.”
