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One last Odyssey

Arthur C Clarke (1917-2008), prolific writer, visionary, and godfather of hard science fiction passed away early this morning due to cardio-respiratory attack at his home in Sri Lanka. He had recently turned 90.

arthur c clarke

While perhaps most widely recognised for his collaboration with Stanley Kubrick on ’2001: A Space odyssey’ Clarke’s fierce insight into the relationship between the advancement of technology and its impact on the human condition led him to foresee the rise of the the telecommunications satellite, cell phones, and even moon landings.

As Issac Asimov once put it “Nobody has done more in the way of enlightened prediction.”

Very truly a great loss for us all. We wish him well on his own journey.

Link

Do You Do Bachelor Parties?

AH Yeah!!! I know it looks tempting, but don’t go there, trust me. If this jumps out of your cake run. I don’t care if she’s holding balloons and can sing don’t let her sit on your lap. It might seem like fun, but the medical bills will be the least of your problems.

10 Worst Things To Do During A Zombie Outbreak

There have been many articles, videos, and postings on how to survive a zombie outbreak, the best of course being Max Brooks book. However I haven’t seen any what not to do, until now. I’m reposting the funny, informative, and helpful article from the zombiephiles.

Ten WORST Things to Do During a Zombie Outbreak

10) Don’t set zombies on fire. Burning zombies smell terrible.

We’re not sure why you see it in every zombie movie, but it stands to reason that the only thing worse than a zombie is a flaming zombie. Remember, it can take a long time for a zombie to burn to death – more than ten minutes, in some recorded cases. Do you really want a burning zombie lighting you and your friends on fire? Play it safe – chances are good that there won’t be any fire-fighting infrastructure during a zombie outbreak if things get out of hand.

9) Don’t get sentimental. Zombies won’t.

Sure, it’s your house. Sure, they were your family and friends. But now it’s a zombie nest, and they’re zombies. Stick around, and your best chance is to become zombie food – worst case, you’ll end up a zombie like the rest. Zombies don’t have any feelings – neither should you.

8 Don’t forget to shut the door behind you. Zombies often come over without calling first.

Were you born in a barn? Zombies might not be the brightest, but they know an open door when they see one. Keep your suburban zombie fortress secure by remembering to close and lock the door behind you. And don’t slam it either! Zombies hate that.

7) Don’t keep zombies in the basement. Even if they are your zombie family.

Devotion to family and friends is touching. However, you don’t want them to be touching you, after they’re dead. Do yourself a favor and make sure you put zombie friends and family down properly. Remember, there is no zombie cure, and keeping them around only prolongs their suffering and increases the risk for everyone. Besides, do you really want to get eaten by your buddies?

6) Don’t try to reunite with friends / family over long distances.

Seems like a great idea, doesn’t it? That’s what everyone thinks. Look, do the math. If you leave your house at noon, heading toward your mum’s, traveling 3 km per hour, and a crowd of zombies leaves the general vicinity of your mum’s at the same time, heading toward you at 1 km per hour, what time will you get eaten by zombies? Skip the math and consult rule #9.

5) Don’t go down. Zombies can go down too.

Zombies can’t climb. You can. In light of this, why would you ever choose to go down, rather than up? Stay out of basements, gullies, sewers, and anyplace else that zombies might unwittingly wander / fall into and be unable to get out of. Remember, it’s unlikely that a human would be in a sewer, but zombies don’t care a whit about the smell.

4) Don’t broadcast your presence. Zombies may be listening.

Zombies that still retain their ears have been statistically shown to have above-average recognition of bassline frequencies. If you absolutely must blast music while killing zombies, do it on your Ipod, and you might want to consider delaying that block party until after the zombie outbreak blows over. During a zombie outbreak, remember to turn your cell phone to vibrate – it’s only polite.

3) Don’t stand in front of the window. That’s just foolish.

You’d think this one didn’t require stating, but apparently it does. Windows are an aesthetic defense against the environment, not protection against zombies and the living dead. Once you find your fortress, barricade the windows as quickly as possible and stay the hell away from them. Whatever you do, don’t deliver speeches with your back to them.

2) Don’t get too creative with zombie defense.

Sure, chainsaw slits in your van seemed like a good idea at the time, before you filled your car with fumes and exhaust, passed out at the wheel and got yourself sawed in half. The temptation to get very creative with zombie dispatching can seem almost unbearable at times, but when it comes to killing zombies, that old adage applies: Keep it simple, stupid!

1) Don’t be “that one asshole,” in your group.

Textual analysis of zombie movies has proven that “that one asshole,” a character ubiquitous in zombie and survival horror movies, only stands a 4.32% chance of surviving until the end of the movie.

Later studies have challenged that figure, citing several movies in which “that one asshole” was one-upped by “the other, bigger asshole,” who then assumed “that one asshole” status.

What do these figures mean? Being nice matters. To dramatically increase your chances of survival, make sure you always have “that one asshole” traveling in your party with you, otherwise you might end up playing the role of “that weak douchebag,” a similarly ill-fated character.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you believe you are already “that one asshole,” you should immediately leave your group. You might be able to pass as “that Kevin Costner anti-hero” if you’re traveling solo.

 

Could it be the future?

Fantastic demonstration of a Stirling Engine in Japan, the design predates the gasoline and diesel designs we’re used to. The premise is that they function off a heat differential acting upon a pressurized cylinder. The benefit of course being that any method of generating a temperature differential (solar, burning fuel, geothermal, etc) will drive the engine; which in turn can spin a turbine. Since electrical power generation pretty much universally depends on different methods of simply spinning a turbine, this describes a myriad of possibilities that electricity could be created. Obviously there’s some issues with the design (deformation of the surrounding material for one) but the principle is truly exciting.

Steampunks, start your engines…

Link Via japundit

“Hardline Howard” dead at 90

Howard Morton Metzenbaum (June 4, 1917March 12, 2008) was an American politician who served for almost 20 years as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate (1974, 19761995).

Unabashedly liberal, the former labor lawyer and union lobbyist considered himself a champion of workers and was a driving force behind the law requiring 60-day notice of plant closings.

He was a cantankerous firebrand who didn’t need a microphone to hold a full auditorium spellbound while dropping rhetorical bombs on big oil companies, the insurance industry, savings and loans, and the National Rifle Association, to name just a few favorite targets.

Metzenbaum is survived by his wife, Shirley, and four daughters.

Link, via CNN