Blog

Professor Calculus’ submarine…

tintin_red_rackham\'s_treasureFans of Hergé‘s superlative graphic novels  The Adventures of Tintin will appreciate this creation of a dolphin speedboat that bears a strong resemblance to Professor Calculus‘ shark (rather than dolphin) submersible in Red Rackham’s Treasure, from Ananova News:

The two-man £30,000 craft has been designed to mimic the shape of a dolphin and self-rights whenever it splashes down.

The mini-submarine has a top speed of 45mph over the surface of the water and half that when it dives under.

The 15ft fibre-glass machine can stay under for long periods as it has a snorkel that supplies air to its 1,500cc, 215hp marine engine.

Awesome!

[story via Slashdot][cover from Wikipedia]

Blog

Weird…

1 Comment

Neal Stephenson’s new novel Anathem is to be published on the 9th September (according to Amazon). There is a kinda weird movie that claims to have something to do with the book (made by these folks apparently, though the movie is… vague and weird. I mean, it piqued my interest but I was probably going to buy the book anyway.

Even more compelling is the Amazon promotional video of Neal Stephenson himself reading an extract from the book. There is also a further video here of Stephenson discussing some of the ideas that go into the book:

Looks pretty good.

[via Slashdot]

Blog

Global warming and the Plague (yeah, that Plague)

4 Comments

plague-towerOutbreaks of bubonic plague in the U.S. might be linked to climate change in the Pacific Ocean.

Scientists from Norway, The US and Sweden found that the number of infections in the US seemed to shift along with changing climate conditions known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO).

The outbreaks seemed to occur during times of warm, wet conditions, authors wrote in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

Global warming might mean fewer cases in a hotter, drier North America, but parts of the world expected to see warmer, moister tempertures might not be so lucky.

[Plague tower, Austria by celesteh]

Reviews and Criticism

BOOK REVIEW: Sagramanda by Alan Dean Foster

2 Comments

Sagramanda - Alan Dean FosterSagramanda: A Novel of Near-Future India by Alan Dean Foster

Pyr Books, 2008, 290pp, $25, ISBN 1-59102-488-9

***

In the Indian city of Sagramanda, a scientist, Taneer, steals secrets from the multi-national biotech company he worked for and goes on the run, trying to find a buyer for what he has stolen at the same time as avoiding the inevitable retribution.

There seems to be an increasing number of science fiction novels by western writers set in non-western locales; Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s Arabesk books and Ian McDonald’s River of Gods are obvious examples. As the economic future of humanity seems to be moving ever more in that direction, it seems inevitable that more sf is being set in the emerging nations. This brings its own dangers for western writers as they attempt to reflect the cultures of these countries in a way which neither patronises nor demonises them, but which simultaneously remains honest about their issues. Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: Sagramanda by Alan Dean Foster →

Presenting the fact and fiction of tomorrow since 2001