Sparks of imagination

When I was young, probably around the age of thirteen or fourteen (far too many years back to be comfortable to admit!), I had the chance to see 2001; A Space Odyssey for the first time. I’d already read the Arthur C. Clarke novel and read about the making of the movie in various sci-fi […]

The Cost of Business

I just heard from my supplier that the main door for the garage I bought last year is finally in stock here where I live. In total, it’s taken about five months to arrive, so you’d think it must be something special, but it’s not. Just a regular 12 x 8 roll-up door. The world […]

Terraforming other planets

A recent article posted on Interesting Engineering covered the topic of terraforming Mars and, possibly, Venus. The article is based on comments by James L. Green, NASA’s chief scientist, who said, in part, “Yeah, it’s [terraforming Mars is] doable. Stop the [atmospheric] stripping, and the pressure is going to increase. Mars is going to start […]

Lunacy-Back In Style!

Last week China announced its intention to establish a base on the Moon within ten years. Exciting news for sure, conjuring up images of a lunar colony (dare I say Moonbase Alpha?), and certainly an idea set to warm the cockles of any sci-fi fan. The timeline would have to be described as aggressive, though. […]

To Block, Or Not To Block

I run some fairly wide-ranging ad-blockers on my web browser (UBlock and Privacy Badger on Firefox) in general, and on social media (Social Fixer on Facebook) specifically, and have to confess at being torn by this choice. I’m aware that many sites are struggling for revenue and need every penny they can get in order […]

Are we there yet? (Or why the Moon is closer than Toronto!)

When I was younger on family vacations with my siblings, you could guarantee that within an hour of setting off, we’d be chorusing the phrase “Are we there yet?” much to the annoyance of our parents. They’d do their best to keep us occupied, making up games along the way, and we’d always have a […]