In case you missed the news, the first images came in from the James Webb telescope, a nail-biting feat of engineering. Launched on Dec. 25, 2021, on an Ariane-5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America, the James Webb Space Telescope completed a complex deployment sequence in space, where its mirrors were aligned, and its instruments were calibrated to the space environment. Now, the first images of our universe that has ever been taken. As astrophysicist Jane Rigby marveled about SMACS 0723, "We took that image before breakfast." In 12.5 hours, NASA changed the way we see the universe. If Hubble images were mind-blowing— the Webb images are transcendent. “Today, we present humanity with a groundbreaking new view of the cosmos from the James Webb Space Telescope – a view the world has never seen before,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “These images, including the deepest infrared view of our universe that has ever been taken and show us how Webb will help to uncover the answers to questions we don’t even yet know to ask; questions that … [Read more...] about James Webb Space Telescope Unfolds the Universe
Life during Plague Time.
Life in California went topsy-turvy on Marth 19th, 2020, when Governor Gavin Newsom issued a stay at home order to protect the health and well-being of all Californians. Quite suddenly, the world shifted on its access. The ominous sense of dread finally had a definition: Pandemic. From the ground, there was confusion. The city shut down. Those of us who had day jobs, found ourselves confined to our houses. For me, editorial meetings and teaching yoga took place on Zoom. As a writer, nothing changed. Before Covid-19, writing meant entering a fantasy world of my own making, and after Covid-19, my inner landscape remained exactly the same. To write is to step into another dimension. But the real world is something altogether different. Life got tricky. As the deaths mounted and the grim reaper laid body bags down at the steps of the capital, the highest levels of government denied reality. Toxic tribal affiliations had gripped the nation. A simmering distrust of science caused a bizarre slide into disinformation and denial of a very real virus. As a devotee of both … [Read more...] about Life during Plague Time.
Volocopter: Flying Cars No Longer Science Fiction
Once you see Blade Runner 2049, the thought may cross your mind that flying cars (or "hovercars" as Phillip K. Dick wrote in his novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) could only exist in the distant future. Think again. On September 25, Dubai staged a test flight of the Volocopter, a two-seat drone with 18 propellers developed by a German drone firm. Dubai's Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed even attended the test flight. The United Arab Emirates city has long sought to become a high-tech hub of modern innovation by enticing companies through the elimination of sales and income tax and investing in cutting-edge technology such as holograms and robot police. Right now, the Volocopter is a novelty, flying without remote control guidance for 30 minutes (with backup batteries and rotors as well as parachutes). Eventually, the technology will become practical, opening a Pandora's box of questions. What kind of effect will flying vehicles have on society? Will access to advanced transportation technology be exclusive, further dividing the social stratums? Drones have … [Read more...] about Volocopter: Flying Cars No Longer Science Fiction
Author Hugh Howey on Writing, Empathy and Creative Freedom
Hugh Howey is a true iconoclast. His newly released post apocalyptic novel, The Shell Collector, joins a body of inventive work exploring dystopian futures, interstellar travel, alien invasions, zombies and other curiosities. His career has also broken traditional barriers. Originally published by a small press, Hugh broke away to become an indie writer and subsequently made it to the NYT Best Seller List.There is something surprising about Hugh’s writing. His visions steal over the reader unobtrusively, the way one might notice the clarity of a sky or the scent of a spring day. His prose is lean, confident and unpretentious with moments of sheer philosophical grace. He sinks into the background so deeply, you forget you’re even reading. He extends an invitation, like a peep hole through a circus tent, and before you quite realize what’s happened, you’ve entered into a world of wonders. Odd wonders, to be sure. And once you’ve followed Hugh into a world, what unfolds is not always easy. His Sci Fi stories are fantastical but infused with a gritty reality borne from worldly … [Read more...] about Author Hugh Howey on Writing, Empathy and Creative Freedom
Author Michael Bunker on Dystopian Sci-Fi, Off-Grid Living and the Lessons of History
I first encountered Michael Bunker when I happened upon his novel Pennsylvania, the story of an exo-planet migration off world by the Amish. Amish? I thought, re-reading the tagline. Aren’t they the folks who’ve sworn off modern conveyances? Don’t they drive horse carts and milk cows and wear simple unadorned clothing? Yes indeed, Amish Science Fiction. I love having my mind blown so I investigated further. Michael stared out from the pages of Amazon with a taciturn expression, sporting a beard from olden times, yet active in social media. He was on Facebook. He had a blog. In fact, Michael was one of those Indie writers who takes your breath away. It was apparent from his output that he was a serious writer with enormous energy and discipline. In the last few years his popular works of dystopian sci-fi, including the Wick Omnibus, The Last Pilgrims, The Silo Archipelago and the Pennsylvania series have regularly appeared on Amazon’s best-seller lists. He also wrote a bestselling guide, Surviving Off-Off Grid and sure enough, he lived with his wife and four … [Read more...] about Author Michael Bunker on Dystopian Sci-Fi, Off-Grid Living and the Lessons of History
A Million Robot Army
"Whatever distinctly human qualities war calls upon—honor, courage, solidarity, cruelty, and so forth—it might be useful to stop thinking of war in exclusively human terms. After all, certain species of ants wage war and computers can simulate "wars" that play themselves out on-screen without any human involvement. More generally, then, we should define war as a self-replicating pattern of activity that may or may not require human participation— Barbara Ehrenreich I was watching TV pundit/editor of Mother Jones Magazine David Korn commenting on Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld's botched Iraq war when he said, "...it's almost like saying if we had an army of a million giant flying robots things would have turned out better. It's denying reality... it's all a giant experiment for them..." Those two ideas struck me; irresponsible, inexperienced leadership and a million robot army. A scary proposition, fast becoming a very real possibility. DARPA is slowly crafting robots around the art of war. What is DARPA? The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency . DARPA funds an … [Read more...] about A Million Robot Army