Mapping is one of the skills that gives us an extraordinary power over our environment – if we have the ability to read them, of course. Technology is coming to the aid of the visually impaired by creating devices that can turn maps into tactile environments through haptic (touch-based) interfaces [via]. Now imagine mashing that technology up with 3D mapping a la the new Google Earth features, and we’ve come a long way in a short time. And talking of coming a long way, those Google boys have a sense of humour, whatever else you may think of them.

If you’ve not seen another website today, you might not yet know that legendary author and counter-culture icon Kurt Vonnegut passed away yesterday. The BBC announcement used a phrase all too familiar to genre fans when it described him as being initially “dismissed as a science fiction writer.” But then again, Vonnegut himself tried hard to shake off what he saw as the stigmatism of science fiction, which is a pretty common phenomenon amongst writers and film-makers alike. Why they gotta hate us so much, huh?

Behavioural studies can be fascinating to read about – like this one that suggests we instinctively cooperate to foster equality, even if it involves disadvantaging ourselves in the process. Though I’m often a bit cagey about the interpretations of the results; the psychologists suggest altruistic motives for a behaviour that could equally be ascribed to sheer bloody-mindedness.

My dingy little flat is pretty messy, and my excuse is that I’m always too busy to keep on top of things – blogging really chews up the hours, don’tcha know. Maybe I can apply to beta-test Domo, a robot housekeeper being developed by the techie types at MIT. Granted, his remit is to help the elderly or physically disadvantaged, but I think I could make a good case for my natural untidiness being a form of disability …

I’m sure a lot of people here have read some good old-school science fiction stories set on alien planets teeming with unfamiliar animals and vegetation. Current scientific thinking validates the work of authors who went wild with the colour scheme and wrote of strangely hued plant life – because different types of star supply different ranges of light, and vegetation needs to absorb the best of it to survive.