Filed under: Alzheimer's, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Expert systems, General Musings, Health, Hospice, Predictions, Press, Science, Science Fiction, tech, Writing stuff
Several quick items this morning…
First off, last stats I saw (yesterday morning), over 5,400 people have downloaded the novel. That’s like 1,200 this month alone. Yay!
Hits to this blog have also continued to rise – over 5,000 so far. So have submitted spam ‘comments’, of course, now over 2,000. Glad that the filtering software catches the vast bulk of that stuff.
A friend sent me the current issue of the American Ceramic Society Bulletin. Unfortunately, items he wanted to share with me are not available through their site, but with about 10 seconds of searching, I was able to pull up more complete information on the two things I wanted to mention. Sheesh – when will people figure out that hiding basic information behind a subscription firewall is not only pointless, but aggravating to the average person? Now, rather than linking to their content (and increasing their traffic/exposure/possibility for advertising), I’ll link to the other sources.
First of these is about the latest developments in transparent transistors. This is the thin-film tech I stipulate for the best computers in Communion of Dreams which are not based on the superconducting Tholen gel.
Second is how scientists have discovered a way to embed silicon nanowires right into living cells without causing damage to the cells. This is the basis of the mind-machine interfaces that I use for the computer and communications tech in Communion, though I don’t go into the details of it in the book.
In both cases the tech is further along than I had expected when I first wrote the novel, but it is good to see that my predictions about how things would likely develop were on track.
Lastly, there will be a newspaper feature about my wife and I caring for my MIL in the local paper this evening. I’ll post about it with a link probably tomorrow.
Jim Downey
Filed under: BoingBoing, Flu, Flu Wiki, General Musings, Health, Pandemic, Plague, Predictions, Science, Science Fiction, Society, Space
Fulfilling about 2/3 of all Science Fiction tropes ever created, it seems that there may be a connection with the impact of a meteorite and a mystery illness in a rural Peruvian village:
LIMA (AFP) – Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area, regional authorities said Monday.
Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near their remote village, located in the high Andes department of Puno in the Desaguadero region, near the border with Bolivia.
Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a “strange odor,” local health department official Jorge Lopez told Peruvian radio RPP.
It wasn’t a little thing, either – it left an impact crater reported to be about 100′ wide and 20′ deep.
Now, it remains to be seen whether this is anything more than a simple case of mass hysteria. I mean, if you’re some llama herder and a big damn fireball lands outside your village, it’d be pretty easy to get a case of the vapours over it.
But that don’t mean that it isn’t possible that there’s actually something to this. Panspermia (or more narrowly, exogenesis) has some fairly solid evidence behind it, enough to suggest that it is possible that there is some form of life capable of surviving coming to Earth on a meteor. And, if that form of life is similar enough to us, it could become a problem. A problem our biology might not be able to handle. One that would make a pandemic flu look like a nice little summer cold. One that generations of SF writers have speculated about. Except that in this case, it might actually be true.
Frightened yet?
Jim Downey
(Via BoingBoing.)
Filed under: Apollo program, Astronomy, Buzz Aldrin, Constellation program, General Musings, Google, Government, NASA, Neil Armstrong, Peter Diamandis, Predictions, Press, Science, Society, Space, tech
As I mentioned the other day, news of the new Google Lunar X Prize organized by Peter Diamandis is getting a fair amount of attention, and appropriately so. It’s good to see Diamandis pursuing his dream, as I wrote about in this post about the Heinlein Centennial Gala:
And then Peter Diamandis‘ brilliant, inspiring presentation about how he considered Heinlein to have written not just visionary fiction, but had actually mapped out a functional business plan with The Man Who Sold the Moon. Diamandis said his dream, his goal, was to be there to welcome NASA back to the Moon when the Constellation Program vehicle arrives. This brought a standing ovation and cheers.
Indeed. And with the new Google Lunar X Prize, there’s a fair chance that could actually happen. If private space companies can land a remote-operated vehicle on the Moon under the prize guidelines by 2013 (most people are of the opinion that it’ll happen sooner), then I’d bet that scaling up the tech used to accomplish that to have people – perhaps even Diamandis himself – on the Moon before NASA’s target date of 2020 for Constellation is certainly possible. Remember, we went from having barely function sub-orbital craft to the Apollo 11 Moonshot in just 8 years.
One of the things I find particularly interesting is a bonus possible under the Google Lunar X Prize guidelines. Here it is:
• BONUSES: An additional $5 million in bonus prizes can be won by successfully completing additional mission tasks such as roving longer distances (> 5,000 meters), imaging man made artifacts (e.g. Apollo hardware), discovering water ice, and/or surviving through a frigid lunar night (approximately 14.5 Earth days).
That one bit right there in the middle that I bolded is what I’m talking about. It simultaneously nods to the accomplishments of NASA and also thumbs its nose at the agency. It perfectly sums up the mixed emotions many in the private sector feel about the government’s involvement in space exploration and development: respect for what was accomplished in the past, yet a burning desire to prove that the private players can do more, do it faster, and do it for less money.
I haven’t begun work on it yet, but one of the ‘intervening’ novels of my future history series (between Communion of Dreams and the prequel I’ve started titled St. Cybi’s Well) would be set sometime in the 2030s at one of the Israeli colonies on the Moon. The main character would be an artist who is on sabbatical there, exploring how the space environment effects an aesthetic sensibility. And one of the scenes I’ve envisioned would have him visiting the site of the first Lunar Landing, which has been carefully secured to preserve it as it was left by Armstrong and Aldrin, in order to use the site as inspiration. I must admit, I sort of hate the thought that there would be additional rover tracks there in order that someone could claim a bonus for the X Prize.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Art, Book Conservation, General Musings, Google, Heinlein Centennial, Peter Diamandis
Yes, I should write about the Google X Prize. I’ve even met Diamandis, at the Heinlein Centennial. But it’s been getting substantial coverage in the media. I do have some thoughts beyond “that’s cool” – but am, I think, understandably preoccupied with other personal matters right now. Perhaps this weekend.
OK, things are still sinking in, vis a vis my post yesterday. To a certain extent I feel like my life has just undergone a paradigm shift, as nothing has really changed and yet I see most things in a different light altogether.
A couple of friends have been a little surprised at my wariness about this change. I guess that I have been so conditioned at having people not do the right thing that I am somewhat stunned that this institution is going the right direction with this collection. And, honestly, I’m not used to the notion that things might be going the right way for me, as well. But I meet with the head librarian next Tuesday to iron out details and get the first installment of books, so it really looks like this is going to happen.
I’ll need to make some actual changes in how I work. Since closing the gallery, I’ve been fairly casual about my work hours and the ‘business end’ of the business. I think that’s understandable, since my primary concern has been caring for my MIL, not being a conservator. So I need to lay in some additional supplies, get a large fireproof safe, sort out my accounting software, streamline some of my work habits, establish standardized tracking procedures for handling this volume of work, et cetera. All stuff I know I can do – I ran an art & framing business which had multiple employees and scores of artists we represented for five years – it’s just a matter of getting all the procedures and software set up properly.
So, while I still feel astonished, and pleased, I’m less frightened. Typical for me: I can face just about anything, so long as I have good information and the freedom to sort it out and come to terms with it.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Book Conservation, General Musings, Hospice, Predictions, Society, Writing stuff
Well, that’s a bit of a surprise. More than a bit, to be honest.
I wrote back in May about meeting with an institutional client concerning a large collection (some 7,000 volumes) they had recently acquired, and how the initial expectation on the part of the administration at this institution was that all the books needed to just be rebound to look pretty. I mentioned that my suggestion of proper conservation treatment was completely foreign to them, and that I really didn’t expect that they would want me to do the work for them.
Well, I guess the conservation treatment I gave the three books I worked on as an example of what I do changed their minds. Because I found out this morning that they want me to do the work.
Frankly, I’m astonished. And pleased. Also a bit scared.
“Astonished” I’ve explained. “Pleased” is probably self-evident: this is a worthy collection of significant historical works that deserves proper care, and I know I can provide that care. And this is a multi-year project, meaning some security in terms of income and planning.
“Scared,” though? Well, yeah. This means a lot of work – good work, granted, on my own schedule, but the client will (understandably) want a large volume of books cared for and returned on a regular basis. And right now I can barely manage to concentrate sufficiently to do conservation work for a couple of hours per week.
Now, they don’t expect me to start handling that volume right from the start. I had told them from the beginning that I would need to ramp-up how much work for I did them, as I met previous obligations to other clients. I didn’t tell them about the other major factor limiting my time and energy, though: caring for my MIL.
My wife and I discussed this issue when I was first contacted by this institution, because frankly there is no way I can do the conservation work at that level and still be the primary care-provider for my MIL. So now we’ll need to sit down and sort out how we proceed. I could basically swap places with my wife, in terms of my “working” four days a week and her being home here to care for her mom (she’s an architect, and with some logistical shuffling she could do a limited amount of work from home). That’s one option. We might also consider others, perhaps making more use of the services available through Hospice.
And, of course, my MIL could die this week or next and make all question of needing to worry about such things moot. But that’s not what I hope for, nor how we can plan. Rather, we need to plan as though she is going to be with us, and still requiring substantial attention and care.
So, this means change. Perhaps a little sooner, and in a different manner, than I had been thinking about recently. And change can be a little scary.
Not that it’ll stop me, or even much give me pause.
Well, speaking of such things, I have conservation work that needs doing . . .
Jim Downey
Filed under: General Musings, NPR, Predictions, Press, Publishing, Reproduction, Science, Science Fiction, Society, Writing stuff
I was able to catch a bit of this morning’s Weekend Edition Sunday on NPR, and heard an interesting interview with first-time author Camille DeAngelis about her novel Mary Modern. You can find the story here, and there’s a link to the audio archive.
What caught my attention particularly was when host Liane Hansen asked DeAngelis whether at any point in the publishing process it was suggested that her novel belonged in the Science Fiction category. In the course of the discussion (starts at 3:00 in the audio file) DeAngelis expresses the opinion that in recent years so-called literary fiction has come to include more fantastic elements “because people want to exit ordinary life, and you get kind of tired about reading about missing children and cheating spouses and all that kind of thing.”
I’ve written previously that the term “Science Fiction” is too often used as a pejorative, that SF is a ghetto from which it is difficult to escape, and that the distinction between Science Fiction and more mainstream ‘speculative fiction’ is arbitrary at best. Communion of Dreams certainly *is* SF – but like Mary Modern, it has a much broader appeal than to just the Star Wars crowd.
Anyway, catch the interview if you can, and maybe put Mary Modern on your reading list. I know that when I’m able to think clearly again I’m going to have to give it a try.
Jim Downey
Filed under: General Musings, Government, Nuclear weapons, Predictions, Society
Ah, this makes a nice follow-up to my post the other day about nuclear weapons:
BISMARCK, N.D. – A B-52 bomber was mistakenly loaded with five nuclear warheads during a flight from North Dakota to Louisiana, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
The bomber carried advanced cruise missiles as part of a Defense Department program to retire 400 of the missiles, the Military Times said, quoting three officers who spoke on condition they remain anonymous because they were not authorized to discuss the incident.The officers said the nuclear warheads should have been removed before the missiles were mounted onto pylons under the bomber’s wings for the Aug. 30 flight from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, the newspaper said Wednesday.
One of the things I didn’t fully explain in that other post was that I’m not really expecting some kind of stupid incident to lead to a full-scale nuclear exchange. Rather, I expect either some kind of accident or the use of nuclear weapons between two regional powers, and that only after such a thing happens will the world get serious about nuclear disarmament. That’s one of the reasons I chose that scenario for Communion of Dreams.
Anyway, you gotta chuckle at the following comment in regards to the above news story:
An Air Force spokesman, Lt. Col. Ed Thomas, told the Military Times that the weapons were in Air Force control at all times and the missiles were safely transferred.
* * *
“Air Force standards are very exacting when it comes to munitions handling,” Thomas said. “The weapons were always in our custody and there was never a danger to the American public.”
Yeah, they were always in your custody. You just forgot where the damned things were. Hard to protect something when you lose track of it, eh?
Jim Downey
“When does this plane land?”
“Mom, this is your home. Not an airplane.”
“Well, I don’t want to lose my glasses. I’ll need them.”
“I’ll make sure you have them.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
My wife and I have both noticed a lot more “journeying” reference from my MIL in the past few days. From such things as above, to stories of people waiting for her to return, to news that she is going “on a trip”.
Yeah, that’s probably right.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
There’s a phenomenon familiar to those who deal with Alzheimer’s. It’s called “sundowning“. There are a lot of theories about why it happens, my own pet one is that someone with this disease works damned hard all day long to try and make sense of the world around them (which is scrambled to their perceptions and understanding), and by late in the afternoon or early evening, they’re just worn out. You know how you feel at the end of a long day at work? Same thing.
So we usually don’t worry about it when my MIL gets hit by this. Still, it’ll catch you completely off guard if you let it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
We’re not yet into our first full week of being back on Hospice. And I think that it didn’t come a moment too soon. My MIL is exhibiting more and more of the common signs of an approaching death. Her incontinence (and general body awareness) has gotten a lot worse in recent days. She’s shown signs of restlessness at odd times. There are other physiological cues.
But most notably, has been talk of seeing her long-dead parents, and a sense that they are waiting for her to “go on a trip” with them.
I’m an atheist. I also have little belief in any kind of soul or ‘life after death’. I try and be completely honest, yet not obnoxious about my beliefs. Yet when the other day my MIL looked at me and said that she was worried about her parents missing her, I told her that they left a message for us to care for her until they came to get her.
“To take me with them?”
“That’s right.”
“Up to heaven?”
“Yes.”
Why did I say this? Because she smiled happily at me when I did.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
I think we’re all getting ready. Ready for her to die. And I will be relieved.
No, I’m not being morbid. Or cold. Or selfish. I’m being honest.
Yes, this has been a long and difficult journey, and as I’ve said, I will be glad to be on the other side of it. I’m deep-bones weary. But that is not really why I will be relieved at her passing.
No, I will be glad to see her freed from the pain. Not just the physical pain she suffers from her various health issues (though we do a pretty good job of palliative care, thanks to her doctors and our attentiveness). But rather the pain of confusion, and loss, and fear she suffers due to the dementia. There is only so much we can do to allay that particular pain, and with each passing day it gets a little bit worse, eclipsing her ability to cope while leaving her with a very fundamental fear.
‘When does this plane land?’ Soon, I hope – soon.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jim Downey
(Cross posted to UTI.)
Filed under: Carl Sagan, Climate Change, General Musings, Global Warming, Government, Nuclear weapons, Predictions, Science Fiction, Slate, Society, tech, Violence, Writing stuff
The hydrogen bomb is about six years older than I am. In other words, I’m one of the people who grew up fully expecting a nuclear war of some variety sometime during my life. And in spite of the ‘detargetting’ bullshit of the ’90s, I still do.
I’m in good company, though mostly the focus of awareness and concern has shifted to either nuclear terrorism or some kind of ‘rogue state’ conflict.
Slate Magazine has a piece currently about whether or not there exists a “Doomsday Machine” built by the USSR which is still operational. Citing several sources, they conclude that there is, though it is not a completely automated system. One of the experts they reference is Bruce Blair, who has written extensively about the dangers posed by the nuclear forces of the major powers, and how the systems created during the Cold War are still very much a threat. One small sample:
In addition, U.S. nuclear control is also far from fool-proof. For example, a Pentagon investigation of nuclear safeguards conducted several years ago made a startling discovery — terrorist hackers might be able to gain back-door electronic access to the U.S. naval communications network, seize control electronically over radio towers such as the one in Cutler, Maine, and illicitly transmit a launch order to U.S. Trident ballistic missile submarines armed with 200 nuclear warheads apiece. This exposure was deemed so serious that Trident launch crews had to be given elaborate new instructions for confirming the validity of any launch order they receive. They would now reject a firing order that previously would have been immediately carried out.
Well, glad they cleared that up. But what else is lurking out there in our military, or in the nuclear forces of Russia and China that is just waiting to go wrong? And that doesn’t even begin to touch on the problems of the smaller and newer nuclear powers, who are unlikely to have as good safeguards as we do.
As I mentioned previously, initially I had an asteroid impact being the second major catastrophe of the 21st century, for the ‘history’ of Communion of Dreams. When that proved to be difficult for some of my initial readers to swallow, I dropped back to the idea of a regional nuclear war. Working off of Carl Sagan’s studies of the likely cooling effect of nuclear weapons, this would allow me to offset global warming, stymie the development of Asia, and still scare the hell out of the remaining human race and prompt the rapid development of large-scale space capabilities. Curiously, almost no one has yet expressed the opinion that they find this scenario (that of a regional nuclear war) too outlandish to believe.
Perhaps that is due to so much Science Fiction, and even mainstream fiction, having portrayed the dangers posed by nuclear weapons for so long. Or perhaps it is just that we know humankind too well, and have a realistic assessment of how likely it is that sometime, somewhere, nuclear weapons will once again be used to horrific effect.
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 