Dinopeople

2004.01.30

"Annonymous Rex" gets green light from Sci-fi

How is it that people who control money are so stupid? I mean seriously, a TV show about a private eye who is actually a human sized velociraptor dressed in a human suit? Exactly how much crack do you have to be on to think that's cool? The best part is that the show is based on some series of novels where the basic pretense is that dinosaurs actually make up 5% of our population, but have been sized down and can now disguise themselves as people. Stop the fucking presses right now! I've found the next Lord of the Rings!!!

The worst part about this story is that Sci-Fi channel canceled Farscape, and didn't commission a new Babylon 5 series because apparently they weren't pulling in enough viewers. Instead of pouring a little bit of money into those already successful franchises, Sci-fi keeps dumping buckets full of cash into brand new, and usually horrible, ideas which are much harder to get off the ground and maintain. Now I'm not one to lead a crusade against new ideas, but come on, dinosaurs wearing human costumes and fighting each other in the streets at night?

Give me a fucking break.

Canadian Forces Light

2004.01.29

Canadian Forces Light

You've just got to love Rick Mercer. You'd be hard pressed to find someone more capable of making fun of almost any aspect of Canada. The sad and great thing about his jokes is that they're almost always true, especially in this case. I mean seriously, the only pieces of equipment the Canadian Forces have that were even designed in the 90s are the camouflage and the small arms. Even the camouflage took a decade to get through R&D, testing, and the various levels of approval while our soldiers waited in their World War 2 era olive drab combat gear.. It's camo, not rocket science!

I'm a big supporter of military spending for a few reasons. First of all, there's pride. Most people, especially those on the left, will never understand this reason and therefore I won't bother explaining it, but let's just say I'd rather see Canadian troops pouring into Canadian cities in an emergency, not American ones. Secondly, jobs. Large or moderately sized militaries create lots of employment in the civilian sector. Bases need to be built and maintained, and equipment and supplies have to be manufactured and repaired. The military doesn't make these things "in house", it's done by people working for companies. Last of all, having a strong military means you can meet all sorts of international situations as an equal player and actually have your voice heard. Countries with large militaries tend to be reasonably large economic and political powers, and having their respect tends to lead to more lucrative trading opportunities. Peacenicks may not like the fact that it works that way, but it does.

Keep up the good work Rick. Maybe if you make fun of us enough, someone will actually do something about it.

Spirit

2004.01.28

So Spirit has run out of memory, or at least that's one of the theories about why it's been crippled for the past little while. Of all the things to go wrong on a robotic mission to Mars, a computer crash due to insufficient memory shouldn't be one of them. I suppose it's impossible to test every single scenario before the mission begins, but you'd think that taking pictures would be one of them. Oh well, hopefully they'll be able to free some space and get the rover working again.

It must be somewhat annoying for the European Beagle 2 team to watch NASA land two separate rovers perfectly only a week or so apart. Was it just bad luck which foiled the Beagle 2, or does NASA's superior experience have something to do with it? Could have been a combination of both. With so many mathematical and mechanical variables in a Mars mission of any kind, it would be easy to miss something. It's happened many times before to many different missions, and this won't be the last.

Hopefully we won't drop the ball when there are people inside.

Rovers

2004.01.26

NASA's Opportunity rover has landed safely on Mars. Hopefully they can stay in touch with this one. With the Europeans loosing Beagle 2 and NASA not being able to contact Spirit, it's very apparent to me that we've got a long way to go before we're even technologically capable of sending people to Mars. Small robots are relatively simple pieces of equipment compared to what would be needed to support a manned trip, yet they can hardly be called reliable.

A spacecraft carrying humans to Mars would need to function with little to no support for at least a year, perhaps more, depending on the return solution. We aren't capable of building such a craft yet. All of our technology requires constant maintenance. Cars, trains, aircraft, and every spacecraft to date, need constant maintenance and replacement parts to keep working properly. Would we be able to build a car that could drive for hundreds of days without stopping, carrying all it's spare parts, each of which would have to be used while moving?

Probably not yet.

Elementary Science

2004.01.23

There's a line in an episode of Stargate SG-1 where a character from an advanced civilization refers to quantum physics as "one of the misconceptions of elementary science". I love the idea that everything we think we know about math and physics could be completely wrong. It's very possible.

Today's science cannot explain the universe. Our "knowledge" about the cosmos is based almost entirely on a long train of theories, any one of which could be wrong, derailing everything else. Scientists even admit that the universe is probably only 10% matter. Matter is the only thing we're able to analyze and study, and even then we're only able to analyze the light coming from the matter. We don't even have a way of measuring gravity directly, we have to observe its effects on the matter we can see. If the universe is indeed made up of mostly dark matter and dark energy, two "substances" that we're not even sure exist, how can we possibly pretend to understand how the universe was formed, how it functions, or how it will end? We're looking at the dust floating in a skyscraper and trying to understand the function of the building. It just doesn't work.

Science is too much like a religion for its own good. It seems like the majority of astronomers are only capable of thinking inside a very small box, and anyone who tries to escape it are ridiculed into nonexistence. There's nothing worse than an astronomer who knows for a fact that the universe is 13 billion years old, or knows for a fact that it will collapse back in on itself. Ask him to prove it, and he'll start off with an assumption about some basic unit of measurement, and string together various theories and thoughts which happen to be accepted by the inquisition, until he arrives at his house of cards version of the universe. Step off the tracks for even one second, and suddenly you're a crackpot dreamer who isn't interested in "real" research.

Science or imagination. Pick one.

Big Brother

2004.01.22

Pilot's search for flight sim software spurs visit from State trooper.

Usually when I hear people complaining about how the US is becoming a police state or that George Bush is Big Brother, I take a deep breath and shake my head. Of course, things like this just have to happen, now don't they?

The really scary thing about this incident is that the police and the state had nothing to do with it. Ordinary Americans are so paranoid about terrorism they're willing to call the cops to check out someone looking for a computer game. Although I didn't live through it, I imagine it was similar in the '50s when people would suspect their neighbours of being communists. Well, perhaps.

In any case, it will be interesting to see if the paranoia gets better or worse over the next few years. I suppose a lot of that will depend on what the real terrorists do in that time.

Anger Management

2004.01.21

I had a hockey game last night. About half way through the third period, we're up 5-2 or something like that, and the other team gets a shot on net. Our goalie covers the puck, and one of their guys charges at him, digging away with his stick. Once he realizes that he's not going to shove the puck into the net, he gives our goalie a couple of shots to the head, which causes one of our defencemen to put the guy in a headlock and toss him against the boards behind the net. The Ref calls their player for slashing our goalie, which is the only penalty on the play, so far. The guy starts mouthing off at the Refs about the call, slamming his stick on the ice while making his way to the box. The Ref calls him for unsportsmanlike conduct, so he's up to four minutes in penalties now. He gets in the box and slams the door, yelling a series of insults and beating his stick against the inside of the boards. The Ref turns around and says "that's it six, you're gone", pointing to the dressing rooms. The guy goes crazy, jumps over the boards, tosses his gloves to the ice and goes after the Ref, screaming and trying to shove him around. Several of his teammates had to restrain him and drag him off the ice.

Now what the hell would motivate him to do that? The whole situation started when our goalie covered the puck, and he got pissed off enough about that to start slashing him. Granted, his team was down a few goals and was getting desperate, but that's a little extreme. Are some people just genetically inferior when it comes to keeping their emotions in check? Is it a product of their life experience? If someone can get that upset and out of control over a penalty in a recreational hockey game, what would happen to them if something truly bad happened?

As for this guy, I don't think he'll be playing in that league for a while.

Follow Your Tax

2004.01.20

Everyone is always arguing about where tax money should go. Some groups want it for themselves (arts), some for infrastructure, some for education or health care, some for military or space. I've often wondered if it would be possible to set up a system where people could decide where the tax money went.

Every year you'd choose where a percentage of your tax would go. How many people would choose to send their money to the space program or the military? I know I would, but I'm going to guess that I'm in the minority, at least in Canada. How many people would send it to health care?

Better yet, if there were no taxes at all, or if they were voluntary, who would choose to spend money to have schools built? Wouldn't you much rather buy a new car, or an airplane, or a computer? Tough choices.

Dennis Miller is a God

2004.01.16

The Joke Is on the Liberals, Says Dennis Miller

These days, there is no one I identify more with politically than Dennis Miller. I can watch old episodes of Dennis Miller Live and agree with over ninety percent of what he says. Reading through this article, it's clear that he knows the score as far I'm concerned. He's the perfect open minded, accepting, conservative Libertarian.

Hmmm, this new show of his might actually be something I would want to watch sometime. I'll look into turning on the TV again sometime.

Here We Go

2004.01.15

Bush's space initiative should be exactly what the space program needs: a clear and concise goal. For too long NASA has been running around in circles trying to find something to do. At least now they can move in a straight line, even if it doesn't end until midway through this century.

Naturally, the critics are pouncing on space exploration as they have always done. I find it quite pathetic that several Democrats used the old "we have enough problems here on Earth" line to try and make their point. News flash assholes!!! We've had problems here on Earth for 10,000 years. We had problems here on Earth 40 years ago when the first Moon program was starting. People like you have had more than 30 years to fix the problems here on Earth between giant space initiatives. Do things look like they're fixed to you? Does it look like you did a good job?

The worst part of the announcement was that it doesn't sound like NASA is going to have anywhere near enough money to accomplish anything. A $1 billion increase over 5 years? That will bring their total annual budget to around $16.5 billion in 2008. That isn't going to be anywhere near enough for the actual missions, but it will hopefully be enough to get critical research and development done between now and 2010. We need new ships, new engines, new everything. The Shuttles don't work, and the ISS is a budgetary disaster and a useless symbol of international beaurocracy. At the moment, nothing the manned space program is doing is worthwhile.

That's all going to change.

Space News

2004.01.14

I'm going to jump the gun a little today. I originally thought that I would wait until after Bush's speech to talk about it at all, but I can't think of anything else to write about at the moment. Since we don't know the actual plan yet, I'll try not to speculate about it too much.

It's fantastic to see the space program in the news on a regular basis. Every time I check Google news, or turn on the TV, it seems that there's a story about the Mars rover, the ISS, or Bush's big announcement. Of course most of the media is having a field day with Bush's space plan and its cost. The problem with justifying the cost of the space program is that it takes more than 30 seconds, which is usually what people are given on a national talk show or newscast. It can also be hard to dumb down the explanation enough for people to understand it, but also keep it exciting. I certainly wouldn't want to be a NASA spokesperson.

Ten years from now we'll be back on the Moon. I hope they take an Imax camera.

Not Missing It

2004.01.12

I just realized that I haven't watched an episode of Enterprise is months, and I don't miss it at all. I'm not sure if that's a symptom of my reduced television habits, or if it's because the show sucks. It's probably the latter. People keep defending it for whatever reason, and the worst excuse I've heard it that "I need to give it time".

Chris and I have been going through the first season of Stargate SG-1 on DVD for a couple of months now, and you know what, every single episode is awesome. They're all entertaining right off the bat, and it's the first season of the show. Enterprise is in its third year, and it's still having trouble finding its direction? Give me a fucking break people. It sucks, get over it.

Immortal Problems

2004.01.09

Let's assume for a moment that it were biologically possible for a person to live forever. Sometime in the future you'd turn 25 or 30 and undergo a procedure that puts every cell in your body into a perfect state of constant self replication, keeping you at the same age indefinitely. How long would you really last?

Sooner or later, the law of averages will catch up with you, and you'll be killed. You'll get hit by a car, catch a disease, get a piano dropped on your head, something. Chris figures that an immortal human wouldn't be able to avoid having some kind of accident for more than a couple thousand years, and that sounds about right to me. The likelihood of a person being able to avoid a life ending injury of some kind for ten thousand years is probably pretty small.

What would you even do with all of that time? It would probably only take a thousand years to master nearly everything that humans are capable of doing. You'd have a masters in every subject imaginable, and would probably know almost everything. You will have tried skydiving, skating, flying, snow shoeing, flying, race car driving, dancing, singing, drawing, painting, and everything else there is to do in an effort to avoid boredom at any cost. You will have had dozens upon dozens of careers, hundreds of relationships, and thousands of friends. In fact, you will depend on the world to provide new and exciting things to do on a constant basis.

It's probably better than we don't live forever, although I would never give up the chance to try it.

Boys and Their Toys

2004.01.08

When I look at a fighter jet, the last thing that enters my mind is that it is a weapon designed to kill people. For a great many however, that is the only thought that enters their minds. This disgusting machine, which costs nearly a hundred thousand welfare cheques, kills helpless little babies lying in their mothers' loving arms.

I know that to a certain degree it's true. Military hardware is very expensive, and its ultimate purpose is to kill people, but I just don't care. All of those thoughts melt away for me as soon as I see water vapour streaking off wings, or hear the low loud rumble of fully lit afterburners. My head becomes filled with statistics, inspiration, awe, and respect. Respect for the pilots and for the designers and builders of some of the most advanced and powerful machines in the history of our species.

All of that technology is going to lead somewhere besides war. We might not be able to see it right now, but it will become important. Nothing drives technological advancement like war, which is unfortunate, but is one of the natural qualities of the Human. Someday we'll have to deflect an asteroid away from the Earth, or figure out how to survive the next ice age, or the next magnetic pole shift. Pieces of technology that were once used to kill people will become responsible for the salvation of our species, and maybe even our planet.

Or is that not worth the price?

Sleep

2004.01.07

I envy people who can get away with sleeping less than 8 hours on a daily basis. I'm not sure if they're actually capable of doing it biologically, if they're simply making it up, or if they're forcing themselves awake with drugs. I'm sure some people actually do need less sleep than others, I'm just not sure how much less. I seem to feel tired getting less than 9 hours a day, and since I almost never sleep for 9 hours on a weeknight, I end up feeling tired quite a bit.

It would also be nice to be able to sleep for only 8 hours on a weekend and feel completely rested, with an entire 16 hour day ahead of you. I'll usually get up around 10:00 on a Sunday, and before you know it it's 1:00 or 2:00, and the day is half gone. Whoever can invent a sleep substitute pill will almost certainly become an instant billionaire several times over. I would like to think it's physiologically possible, but I can't really say.

Why the hell isn't the future now? This isn't what they promised!

Back to Work

2004.01.06

I had an amazing last weekend off, full of successful hockey games and fantastic friends, and more! I meant to write a review of "Return of the King" on Sunday night, but something of incredible importance demanded my attention, so the review will have to wait. Life is so fucking awesome right now I can hardly believe it. The only complaint I have is that my car keeps breaking. I'm hoping it will last until March, when I'll hopefully be able to figure out a replacement.

The US Mars probe landed successfully last week, which made me happy after reading about the failed European mission a few days earlier. I know it's not officially lost yet, but it seems to be stuck in the bottom of some huge crater or ravine, so I wouldn't get my hopes up. I guess someone should have checked their math one last time. Nothing could be better than one of the US rovers finding life, or at least the remnants of it. After all, if life could spring up on at least two large bodies in the same solar system, it almost certainly has to be everywhere. Is there anything more exciting?

Cold Water

2004.01.02

I went to English Bay yesterday for the polar bear swim, which is the first time I've done that. It's probably good that it wasn't too cold out, although I'm sure the temperature of the water was about right. I think swimming in water that cold, and walking around on the freezing wet sand, is about the maximum level of discomfort the human body can tolerate before it's described as pain. It's the after effects which are the worst, not the water itself. Your feet become almost completely numb, which is probably why so many people wear sandals. I'll keep that in mind for next year.

I read a great theory about a working time machine today, or at least somewhat. Sooner or later, if aliens aren't already doing it, we'll be able to travel faster than light and get far away from Earth. All you have to do from that point is turn around and point whatever ultra futuristic telescopes we've got back at Earth and see the past by looking at the "old" light. For all we know, aliens could be observing every aspect of our planet from afar, committing it to a perfect record of our planet's entire history. Sounds like a cool idea to me.

New Year

2004.01.01

I'm not sure if it's age, or just the people I go to parties with, but politics never comes up. It always seems like older people's dinner parties become debates about how evil George Bush is, and about how Socialism will either save society or start the end of it. I'm glad I don't have to think about any of that stuff when I'm out with the majority of my friends. I don't care that they're reliving glorious drinking stories instead of bringing up Iraq. One of them makes me laugh, and the other doesn't.

I'm just glad I'm not one of those people who likes to get themselves angry at the world. There's enough of that going around.