Ants. Never underestimate the power of networked intelligence.
Yeah, I'd like to see how long *that* civilization would last. About as long as an all-male civilization would. Would make for a hell of a cool story, though--as long as the author doesn't turn it into Y, The last Man.
Where are all these incredibly hot, yet inaccessible, women-homosexuals of which he speaks? I want to be there!
I live south of Pittsburgh in Fayette County, which is like the friggin' Bermuda Triangle of Pennsylvania...and though I've seen some really weird crap down here over the years, *those* lights are almost certainly just fireballs in the upper atmosphere. Probably dead satellites or some other form of random space junk clipping the ionosphere and heating up for a bit before bouncing back up into orbit or flaming out.
Patrick's a good cat, and I'm glad to see that not only has he succeeded in his lawsuit but is getting national attention.
The Quantum Thief will blow your mind out through the back of your skull. But if you're not intimately familiar with transhumanist/post-Singularity concepts, 21st Century cryptogeek culture, quantum entanglement, and even a dash of steampunk, this book literally *may* cause a mental buffer overload. Still, if you can hack the bandwidth of the world's backstory, you'll find the characters awesome and the story incredibly engaging.
Oh, and one note: I couldn't help but picture Robert Downey Junior as Jean Le Flambeur. If someone ever makes a film out of The Quantum Thief, he'd better be in it.
Oh, and one note: I couldn't help but picture Robert Downey Junior as Jean Le Flambeur. If someone ever makes a film out of The Quantum Thief, he'd better be in it.
Hmmmm. Horner actually makes a lot of sense: a T. Rex is almost certainly not a strict predator but, like most large carnivorous animals, will eat prettymuch anything it comes across that's edible.
But, the thing is...he's right--in a more generalized sense. I doubt solar power will prove to be *the* alternative energy source when windpower, waterpower, and geothermal power are much easier to implement; in fact, while researchers are still struggling to make solar panels eke out a decent wattage, wind, water, and even geothermal technologies already exist and are rapidly gaining in usage. There *is* an energy crisis looming, but throughout the US more and more windmill farms and generating dams are cropping up every year. Eventually solar power should enter the equation as well (maybe within the next ten years), at which point it's not unrealistic to think that a sizable portion of the US's energy budget will be coming from alternative energy processes.
Of course, as you note, corporate and governmental barriers are still a very real factor hassling the spread of alternative energy generation. Even worse than the shortsighted greed of the corporate element and the ridiculous denialism of government, though, are the NIMBY landowners all over the country who refuse to allow wind farms, solar farms, or even natural gas wells to be placed on or near their property because they "spoil the view" or some other idiotic excuse. The US government will not convince me that its serious about alternative energy until it starts eminent-domaining property for energy farming.
Of course, as you note, corporate and governmental barriers are still a very real factor hassling the spread of alternative energy generation. Even worse than the shortsighted greed of the corporate element and the ridiculous denialism of government, though, are the NIMBY landowners all over the country who refuse to allow wind farms, solar farms, or even natural gas wells to be placed on or near their property because they "spoil the view" or some other idiotic excuse. The US government will not convince me that its serious about alternative energy until it starts eminent-domaining property for energy farming.
Well, I know where *my* next story's gonna be set!
Uhhh...what about bedding? We really don't known who invented the feather pillow/blankey. Why not the Neanderthals? All you need to do to make a comfy, WARM bed to doze away those long Ice Age winters is stuff some feathers in between two animal furs.
Those aliens look COOL. Nice to see someone actually put effort in designing actual nonhuman creatures instead of simply dressing up some weightlifters or ex-football players in black plastic armour or latex masks.
This looks AWESOME. It's like The Blair Witch Project crossed with Paranormal Activity...but in spaaaaaaaace!
I am singularly unimpressed. I mean, this literally looks like a shot-for-shot remake of Poltergeist...except that Zelda Rubinstein isn't in it.
This study is bullshit. Everyone knows bears survive hibernation by cutting back on the amount of power they drain from their batteries. Even my *computer* hibernates.
GARY NUMAN PREDICTED EVERYTHING. Of course, like Neuromancer, Numan's vision of the future has become a sort-of self-fulfilling prophecy for weirdos like me who want to be Machmen when they grow up.
O. M. G. It HAS to be a Bollywood production a la Enthiran! There simply MUST be a part in which Aishwarya Rai busts into a dance number with Mr. Nandha!
I'm losing interest in this programme at the speed of light. The loss began last week when it turned out that the life and death of entire universes depended on one man picking which version of a chick he wanted to be with. This week, it turned into Just Another Baby-Daddy Story. If the Alternate Liv turns up on Maury Povich next week, I'm going to hunt down J. J. Abrams and strike him about the head and shoulders rapidly.
If you can make it through this without touching yourself in an impure manner, you're a better man (or woman) than I am.
I need to get some of this stuff. I want to breed my own Space Marines!
Screw 'em. If they can't deal with a world full of semisentient machines, they can leave it.
