NJS[BLOG]

I concur with Engadget on this one: this would make a fine iPad app!

I know there are probably innumberable reasons why the SARTRE autonomous road train could be considered complete anathema to the driver (note: not commuter), but I can’t help but being desirous of this technology right now.  Who hasn’t wished for a way to put the car on autopilot during a particularly tedious stretch of driving?  Imagine how even having just one SARTRE lane on our highways would provide a safe alternative to driving while getting drowsy and definitely eliminate traffic snarls on tourist filled roadways near beaches, arenas, etc.  An interesting answer to our country’s lack of acccessible – traditional – trains.

(Autoblog)

It’s been a very bizarre trip for cold fusion.

Odd topic, no?

Well, actually no as I’ve covered it once before.  At the time (March 2010) I was fresh off of watching a video clip that had infuriated me.  60 Minutes had interviewed several scientists who had been involved with the 1980s announcement by Fleischmann and Pons of their – several times now proven – findings with a room temperature fusion reaction.  The general consensus was that maybe, just maybe, the science actually worked and “oh, by the way” Fleischmann and Pons were perhaps the victims of some world class backstabbing.  The resigned look of both bitterness and “I freaking told you so” on Fleischmann’s face says everything.

But, looking back from where the field is now in 2012 does provide a little hope.  Dubbed “Low Energy Nuclear Reaction” or LENR now, cold fusion is bubbling back up to the mainstream.

I started hearing about LENR on some fringe-y sites here and there via the work of Dr. Andrea Rossi.  His E-Cat system caught my eye – and the eye of researchers, industrialists and politicians from Sweden to Massachusetts.  Skeptical myself, you can imagine my surprise when I started seeing it pop up in financial network reports.  And presidential candidate interviews.  And most recently in a ringing endorsement from NASA:

We could really use this one, Universe.  Please don’t let me down.

This:

Might look familiar to you if you are a Mac user, as it is – and has been for years – the Command key icon.  Did you know what it actually represents?

A castle as seen from above.  It was apparently widely used to mark points of interest in Swedish campgrounds.

You can learn more fun facts like the one above by reading Steve Silberman’s article on the icons Susan Kare designed for the Mac nearly three decades ago.  It even includes some fun original sketches as she was brainstorming the visual language of the revolutionary little computer.

Engadget asks the question that makes up the post title as it regards product names in the gadget world and comes up with a four prong answer.  They categorize things into the columns of good, safe, meaningless or bad – examples, being Kindle, iPhone 4, Nokia N9 or Epic, in that order.  The reasoning is pretty spot on and I especially like the acknowledgement that with enough time and consistency, even a meaningless naming scheme carried forward by a strong brand can produce recognizable monikers like BMW 328i.  Or maybe I just like the fact that crossing over into automotive territory was necessary to make the point?

I was just proclaiming how I didn’t have any reason to miss TV…and then this ad came on.  Damn you, cable programming!

Shit’s about to get real, dude. This calendar proves it.

Well, this could certainly revolutionize videomaking in the (somewhat distant) future.  My mind is reeling – I wonder how visually – at the idea of simply thinking of the film you’d like to produce and having it produced from the raw thought-source.  Now, we just need to get cracking on doing the same for audio so that our brain masterpieces can have a kickin’ score…

(Engadget)

Fact: Iceland (with the volcanoes, belief in elves and Björk) has a Tumblr.

I can go to bed happy with the internet tonight.

A conversation with Lauren today reminded me how hooked on Tetris I was as a younger version of myself.  Not just the NES version (those damned penguins near the end) but also this really beautiful Apple IIGS iteration that I played non-stop.