Archive for March 2008

Energy-Saving Lightbulbs

24/03/2008

I’ve been meaning to buy some lower energy replacements for my halogen GU10 bulbs for a while, but I wanted to test the options out first. For those who don’t know, GU10 bulbs are the standard halogen bulbs used in down-lighters and a lot of the small, modern room lights. We’ve got plenty [...]

A Darkling Plain

22/03/2008

I’ve loved what is now called the Mortal Engines quartet from the very first line of book one (Mortal Engines):
It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea.
How can you not love that? The books [...]

Man Builds Robot to Kill Himself and Succeeds

22/03/2008

Were safe - relatively speaking

21/03/2008

Not that I don’t agree with spending the money on protecting our shores, but:
In 2006, alcohol killed 8,758 people and cost the country an estimated £20bn. Tobacco killed 114,000 people. Road deaths numbered 3,150.
By way of comparison, since 2001 the annual death rate from international terrorism in the UK averages out as eight.
We do seem [...]

Nerve-tapping neckband used in ‘telepathic’ chat

14/03/2008

The most interesting thing is mentioned at the end of the video, they see an application where you think about something, they Google it and tell you the answer. An idea I have long thought will be the future of brain power.
Mind you, anyone else notice they use scripted conversations (presumably because it only [...]

Author Terry Pratchett funds Alzheimers study

14/03/2008

Pratchett has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers, and I’m sure his comments strike fear into anyone, especially those who pride their minds.
He says he is starting to notice its effect on him.
“I’ve given up my driving licence because I didn’t feel confident driving. And if I’ve got something inside out, it’s a little bit puzzling [...]

The Gilded Chain

13/03/2008

Another one from the Sci-Fi Club Top 50 and another cracker. Most people think of fantasy novels like many of the posters you see, or a Conan movie, all muscle-bound heroes in loincloths and damsels in barely anything, fighting against dark lords and huge beasts. That’s rarely the case, certainly with the best [...]

Misspent Youth

12/03/2008

I generally like Hamilton’s books, and this is a precursor to the Commonwealth novels of Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained, the first to feature rejuvenation, something that is used heavily in those books.
It’s been suggested this was a way to feel out and test the water of some of the technologies that would be used [...]

Ender’s Game

11/03/2008

This was a recommendation from the Science Fiction Book Club Top 50 science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002 (via Binary Bonsai). It was a good choice, I was a bit dubious, a sci-fi action novel starring a six-year-old, but Ender’s Game is fantastic. Sometime in the future Earth has to fight off an invasion force [...]

Hacker’s Tales

9/03/2008

I have read both Clifford Stoll’s The Cuckoo’s Egg and Tsutomu Shimomura’s Takedown, both of which are excellent stories about tracking hackers. I was hoping Hacker’s Tales was more of the same, but what I found was disappointing. There are very few real stories and the book basically serves as an excuse for [...]