Futurist

There are 396 posts filed in Futurist (this is page 37 of 40).

Skylab and beyond

Skylab

The recent balloon launch and it’s subsequent pictures of near space has gotten my thoughts lifted skyward. I was pondering the 4-pound weight limit of the balloon and contrasting it to the heavy lifting that was once done in this country by rockets like the Saturn V. That led me to some online videos of Skylab.

Skylab was America’s first space station, launched in 1973 on a modified Saturn V rocket. The station itself was made from spent Saturn V rocket stages and was so roomy that it makes the current International Space Station look like a toy. Sadly, Skylab fell from orbit in July 1979.
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Does a new Chinese missile doom aircraft carriers?

Dogfeng photo by Max Smith

A new weapon in the Chinese military arsenal is said to be causing a stir in the U.S. Navy: the Dongfeng 21D anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). Some experts are calling it a “game changer” because the missile is the first ballistic missile with the capability to take out a moving aircraft carrier. Because it’s ballistic it can travel at incredible speeds: this missile reportedly clocks in close to an astounding Mach 10!

Says the U.S. Naval Institute blog:
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Earth’s helium reserves ‘will run out within 25 years’ | Mail Online

Earth’s supply of helium is dwindling fast.

It is more commonly known as the gas that fills cheap party balloons and makes your voice squeak if you inhale it.

But helium is actually a precious resource that is being squandered with Earth’s reserves of it due to run out within 25 to 30 years, experts have warned.

Earth’s resources of helium are being depleted at an astonishing rate, an effect which will spell disaster for hospitals which use it to cool MRI scanners.

via Earth’s helium reserves ‘will run out within 25 years’ | Mail Online.

Roku player

Roku player

Our geek-owned beach house includes a Roku Digital Video Player. Formerly known as the Roku Netflix Player, this player has branched out beyond Netflix. It now has dozens of video and podcast streams that can be delivered straight to your television.

I admit I had my doubts about this modest little box, but after seeing it in action I’m convinced. We already enjoy Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” video streaming through the built-in capability of our Samsung Blu-Ray player. To my surprise, the Roku blows our Samsung away. The Roku user interface is far better than our Samsung player’s.
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High-altitude balloon launch

A group of friends is launching a helium balloon to the upper reaches of the atmosphere. Josh Shaffer of the News and Observer wrote a story on it in this morning’s paper.

I am not involved in the project (I’m at the beach now), which kills me because I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. The best I can do is what everyone else can do, which is track the balloon online. Those in Raleigh can see the launch at Horseshoe Farm Park at 8 AM Sunday.

Update 23 August: Success! See the results!

Smiling in passport photos

Don't dare smile

I just had two sets of passport photos taken, one at work and one at the local Costco. Both photographers told me not to smile in my photographs: that they could get rejected by the State Department’s passport processing if I were smiling. I thought that was ridiculous but to hear it from two photographers made me wonder.

Checking the Internets, I see there are differing opinions on whether this is a legitimate requirement. A few web forums say smiling is (and is not) allowed. The U.S. Consular Services in Canada office (where one would expect to find the official word) says you may smile if you wish.this is because smiling breaks the facial recognition software. Now, I would think any facial recognition software that can be defeated by the bad guy smiling isn’t worth much. I chalk it up to more security theater.

Interestingly, the Costo guy asked if my photograph was for a U.S. passport or a Canadian one. Apparently you can still smile in your Canadian passport photographs. No wonder Canadian travelers get better welcomes than Americans.

Facebook’s facial recognition creeps me out

Wouldn't you like to know?

In a process known as tagging, Facebook users have long been identifying the friends that appear in the photographs uploaded to the social networking site. Tagging involves someone selecting the area of a photograph in which a person appears and then associating the person’s name or Facebook profile to that area. It’s all been a manual process, though an easy one.

I noticed today that one of the photos in my collection I purposefully have not tagged showed up on my Facebook page today: a photo of my son on his bike. Facebook had found this untagged photo and was asking me who he was. Apparently Facebook has implemented facial recognition software.
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Evil lair to become B&B

Remember the evil MT.Net lair I diabolically schemed to purchase? The winning bidder, Richard Neal of Mint Hill, intends to turn the former Frying Pan Shoals lighthouse into a bed and breakfast. Curses!

A Mint Hill man hopes to turn an abandoned tower standing 60 feet above the white-capped waves of the Atlantic into one of North Carolina’s most distinctive vacation getaways.

The tower’s 5,000 square feet of living space includes seven bedrooms, a kitchen and a rec room. Guests would come by boat or helicopter. They could expect fabulous views of sunrises, sunsets, sea turtles and even migrating whales.

While I am intrigued with the idea of spending time on this rusty outpost just for the fun of it, I find the best thing about beds and breakfasts is the neighborhood around them. When you get to Frying Pan Shoals B&B, what are you going to do? Can’t go for a walk. Can’t shop at the quaint stores nearby because nearby is 25 miles away. However, if you like to fish you’ve got a great place to do it. Also, I think it would make a great recording studio. Or pirate radio station!

Or … an evil lair. Sigh.

Update 29 July: You can follow Richard’s progress (and book a reservation) here.

What the BP oil disaster has shown me

Deepwater Horizon burns

It’s now been three days since BP capped the Deepwater Horizon well and so far this temporary solution seems to be holding. The pause in the gushing oil has provided me an opportunity to think about what it means.

One thing I’ve learned is just how recklessly desperate the world is for oil. This drives a greed-filled drive to meet that demand, no matter what the environmental cost. I thought the wildcatting days depicted in the movie There Will Be Blood were over but that is apparently far from the case. I had no idea before the disaster that tens of thousands of oil rigs are drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Another thing I now know is how oil is killing us. Petrochemicals make our modern world: the things they do for us are truly miraculous. At the same time they’re poisoning us. How did we get in this dilemma and how do we get out of it?

This disaster has not only deeply wounded the Gulf of Mexico, it has wounded the concept that we can continue our dirty-energy lifestyle as long as the wells don’t run dry. But they will eventually and that’s a fact. A disaster like this one must never be allowed to happen again.

We’ve had our warning shot. The next one might be fatal to us all.

Fairview Road and high-speed rail

There has been lots of discussion about how the Southeast High Speed Rail project will affect downtown Raleigh. One proposed route would close a grade crossing at Fairview Road. Some have suggested that the neighbors near Fairview Road might prefer that Fairview Road stay open.

I don’t live in right next to the tracks but I do live close enough to cross at Fairview every now and then. About half the time the crossing is blocked: the trains at the nearby Norfolk Southern yard frequently stretch across the road as their freight is assembled. It’s gotten to the point that I simply assume the road will be blocked and that I’ll have to wait. As far as I’m concerned, closing an already-congested crossing wouldn’t be that big of an impact.

Then there’s the noise. All day and night, the trains sound their horns as they move back and forth across the road. I live a mile away from this crossing and even from here they sound loud. I don’t know how the folks at Roanoke Park deal with it. Living right next to the tracks, the trains must be deafening. Closing the crossing would mean the trains would no longer sound their horns. That sounds like a plus to me.

Will the high-speed trains bring change? Sure they will. But they’ll bring more good changes than bad ones.