For 40 years, kids enamored with Luke Skywalker’s beat-up X-34 Landspeeder have had two choices: they could play with a tiny action figure version, or they could sit in a cardboard box and make speeder sound effects. Continue reading… “You’ll soon be able to buy your kids a $500 Luke Skywalker Landspeeder”
Warp drive is closer than you think
Not too long ago, we had to assume that we would never be able to travel faster than light. This was based on scientists’ belief that we can travel through space but cannot change the nature of space itself. Then the idea of ‘Warp Drive’ came along to challenge all of the barriers that Einstein’s theory identified. Warp Drive is about squashing and stretching space. Maybe it’s time to have a look at how far we’ve come or how close we are to seeing a real warp drive built by humans.
Continue reading… “Warp drive is closer than you think”
NASA’s Star Trek inspired spaceship that could travel faster than light
People often say that sci-fi is becoming a reality whenever a bold new technology comes out. Usually that is a bit of an exaggeration. However, Harold White, a NASA engineer and physicist, is in the process of designing a spaceship that is truly straight out of almost every sci-fi story every written.
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NetDragon builds company headquarters in shape of USS Enterprise
NetDragon, the online game developer run by an avid “Star Trek” fan has built its headquarters in China in the shape of the legendary spaceship. Continue reading… “NetDragon builds company headquarters in shape of USS Enterprise”
Real life Star Trek Tricorder By 2016?
The tricorder was a handheld device, featured on the Star Trek shows and movies, that is able to diagnose a wounded or sick patient in seconds.
Continue reading… “Real life Star Trek Tricorder By 2016?”
Human Waste can be used as Fuel in Space
Get your toilet humor and poop puns ready – it’s time for another edition of “What do astronauts do with all that doo-doo?” NASA recently asked researchers to come up with a way to use all of the human waste expected to pile up when it builds a moon base. The best answer was to use it to fuel spacecrafts on their trips back to Earth.
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Latest thinking about terraforming Mars, introducing cyanobacteria
Terraforming Mars
While scientists believe that at one time, long ago, Mars had an atmosphere similar to Earth’s and was covered with flowing water, the reality today is quite different. In fact, the surface of Mars is so hostile that a vacation in Antarctica would seem pleasant by comparison.
In addition to the extreme cold, there is little atmosphere to speak of and virtually no oxygen. However, a team of students from Germany wants to change that. Their plan is to introduce cyanobacteria into the atmosphere which would convert the ample supplies of CO² into oxygen gas, thus paving the way for possible settlements.
Continue reading… “Latest thinking about terraforming Mars, introducing cyanobacteria”
The Rise of Technological Unemployment
A machine that administers sedatives recently began treating patients at a Seattle hospital. At a Silicon Valley hotel, a bellhop robot delivers items to people’s rooms. Last spring, a software algorithm wrote a breaking news article about an earthquake that The Los Angeles Times published.
Although fears that technology will displace jobs are at least as old as the Luddites, there are signs that this time may really be different. The technological breakthroughs of recent years — allowing machines to mimic the human mind — are enabling machines to do knowledge jobs and service jobs, in addition to factory and clerical work.
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The Latest Trends in Gaming
A new study found that more than half of players are downloading their game content on consoles or PC, and that 75 percent spend at least some time playing free games. A third of all gaming time is spent on free-to-play titles, the study showed.
Continue reading… “The Latest Trends in Gaming”
Drones form giant, glowing ‘Star Trek’ insignia over London
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd2VBfLtqCA[/youtube]
The studio behind Star Trek Into Darkness took the film’s title literally, commissioning the flying of a giant, glowing Starfleet insignia in the night sky in London over the weekend. Comprised of 30 LED-illuminated quadrotors, the 308-foot-tall logo rotated in place 118 feet above ground, before dimming its lights alongside those of Tower Bridge and Big Ben in recognition of the WWF’s Earth Hour conservation effort.
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Rich Burlew’s Comic Book Business Success Story
A remarkable Empire of One business
Rich Burlew created the first The Order of the Stick, a hilarious webcomic that celebrates and satirizes tabletop role-playing games and medieval fantasy, on September 29, 2003. The strip was originally produced to entertain people who came to his website for gaming articles, but it quickly became the most popular feature, leading Burlew to eventually abandon writing articles almost entirely.
The entire comic strip is drawn with simple stick characters, hence the name.
On September 30, 2005, The Order of the Stick began appearing in Dragon, the long-running official D&D magazine, and the strip became profitable enough for him to quit his job as a freelance graphic designer and concentrate on cartooning.
Rich also started self-publishing his comics in book form in 2005, but it became hard for him to keep all of the older books in stock. So in 2012 he decided to do a Kickstarter project with a goal of $57,750. Instead, he raised $1,254,120 from 14,952 backers…
Continue reading… “Rich Burlew’s Comic Book Business Success Story”