Cheap thoughts: melting and freezing matter at will

During the beach daydream of the other day, I also had a strange but interesting idea flash through my mind. It was of a material that can change its state and density instantly through some sort of simple but as-yet-undiscovered process. When an electric or mechanical field is applied, the material changes from a solid, concrete-like density to a liquid form (or various stages in between). It’s like melting a block of ice and refreezing it, only instantly – with a flip of a switch. This change can also affects the material’s weight (but perhaps not its mass), so that it can be easily manipulated with the process is in effect but becomes heavy again in its natural state. The process involves harmonizing the material’s molecules or atoms in some way so that they’re all synchronized, a process which somehow suspends the material’s usual properties.
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Stepping out to the surf

I walked out of one of the buildings on the company campus the other day and became hypnotized by the warm sun and gentle breeze. I daydreamed the steps I was walking down were sand dunes and the well-manicured lawn I was facing was an endless ocean. Suddenly, returning to a windowless cubicle in an air-conditioned maze wasn’t as appealing as it had been.

Dang my luck that the best job in the world was just claimed. That’ll teach me to actually apply for something next time!

N&O covers broadband backwater fight

The N&O ran the following story today on the fight to derail H1252/S1004, the [Un-]Level Playing Field Act.

Cable TV fights towns’ fast Web links
The industry backs a bill to impede municipalities offering high-speed service.
By John Murawski – Staff Writer

What started as an experiment in a small tobacco community in Eastern North Carolina has shown how a local government can provide its residents with some of the fastest Internet speeds available anywhere.

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