Apologies for the long drought between blogs. Has the world produced less news of interest, or have I been delayed by my crippling donut addiction? Let’s pretend it’s the former. But for now, I offer some shiny information baubles that have caught my eye. The Green Fairy Lives I’ve always had a fascination with absinthe, the only alcoholic drink (that I know of) to come with its own supernatural mythology. And what a deliciously creepy mythology it is! The drink itself is supposed to be infused with "la fée verte,” or the green fairy, a tormentor of the mind and soul—one happily … [Read more...]
A Future Under the Influence
Grab a box of wine and your favorite flying robot, dear friends, because the party’s almost over. Beginning on January 15th, 2018, it is illegal in New Jersey to operate a drone while intoxicated. This makes New Jersey the first U.S. state—and as far as I can tell from ten seconds of googling, the first governmental entity in the world—to pass any such legislation. It had to happen. Drones are plentiful, increasingly affordable, and capable of causing serious injury. I haven’t had one drop on my head yet, but I’m always watching the skies. Paranoid? Yes. But with 3.7 million drones … [Read more...]
Coffee and Chaos Theory: Lovesick Snails and Future of Toilet Paper
I’m back with another roundup of my favorite fun-sized developments in science and tech. Call it future-lite; my bi-weekly opportunity to gush about goofy science instead of soul-crushing altered humanity. Ok, here we go. First off: EVERYONE WILL HAVE ARTIFICIAL HEADS IN THREE YEARS. Just kidding (it’s more like seven). Eagles vs. Drones The Dutch have opened a new front in the war against drones. Not to be outdone by the Russians, who use medieval warriors to spear them out of the sky, the Dutch national police are now training bald eagles attack hostile drones. We’ve seen videos … [Read more...]
Big Drone Hunting
Who wants to go drone hunting with me? Everybody? That’s great! You are very brave, and I love you. But we have to make it interesting. No guns. No EMP-blasts. We can’t even use gunpowder. Fourteenth-century weapons only. Middle Ages stuff. Like this hero, a Russian man taking part in a medieval reenactment. He decided the camera drone swooping through just didn’t fit the theme (kill the sound if you don't like techno): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRmhdQB8YRw Check out the article for an enhanced slow-mo view. Now that guy had a good weekend. He speared a robot from the … [Read more...]