1924 replies to this topic

[asator]

Creepy and cool at the same time...

http://www.youtube.c...pic.php?id=2858

You aint kidding! That thing could give me nightmares!


But, if they could put that thing on another planet, imagine the images it could send back.

[el midgetron]

Creepy and cool at the same time...

http://www.youtube.c...pic.php?id=2858

Wont be long until they have a weaponized version........

[gilgar]

oops,

[gilgar]

Niven said a good way to help hospitals stem financial losses is to spread rumors in Spanish within the Latino community that emergency rooms are killing patients in order to harvest their organs for transplants.

“The problem [of hospitals going broke] is hugely exaggerated by illegal aliens who aren’t going to pay for anything anyway,” Niven said.

Larry Niven, the bestselling and award-winning author of such books as “Ringworld” and “Lucifer’s Hammer,”

[Imp]

Context, please!?

[el midgetron]

I have read Lucifers Hammer, entertaining book, well at least the second half.....

Frankly, I don't see why the illegals shouldn't fear what I do.

[gilgar]

Context, please!?

no context per se, just thought it was a cool idea that didn't deserve it's own topic

[gilgar]

[Imp]

Context, please!?

no context per se, just thought it was a cool idea that didn't deserve it's own topic

Heh. True, though maybe the context belongs in that nanny government thread Soupie started...

Looking to prevent the next terrorist attack, the Homeland Security Department is tapping into the wild imaginations of a group of self-described "deviant" thinkers: science-fiction writers.

"We spend our entire careers living in the future," says author Arlan Andrews, one of a handful of writers the government brought to Washington this month to attend a Homeland Security conference on science and technology.

Those responsible for keeping the nation safe from devastating attacks realize that in addition to border agents, police and airport screeners, they "need people to think of crazy ideas," Andrews says.

The writers make up a group called Sigma, which Andrews put together 15 years ago to advise government officials. The last time the group gathered was in the late 1990s, when members met with government scientists to discuss what a post-nuclear age might look like, says group member Greg Bear. He has written 30 sci-fi books, including the best seller Darwin's Radio.

Now, the Homeland Security Department is calling on the group to help with the government's latest top mission of combating terrorism.

Although some sci-fi writers' futuristic ideas might sound crazy now, scientists know that they often have what seems to be an uncanny ability to see into the future.

"Fifty years ago, science-fiction writers told us about flying cars and a wireless handheld communicator," says Christopher Kelly, spokesman for Homeland Security's Science and Technology division. "Although flying cars haven't evolved, cellphones today are a way of life. We need to look everywhere for ideas, and science-fiction writers clearly inform the debate."

Bear says the writers offer powerful imaginations that can conjure up not only possible methods of attack, but also ideas about how governments and individuals will respond and what kinds of high-tech tools could prevent attacks.

The group's motto is "Science Fiction in the National Interest." To join the group, Andrews says, you have to have at least one technical doctorate degree.

"We're well-qualified nuts," says Jerry Pournelle, co-author of the best sellers Footfall and Lucifer's Hammer and dozens of other books.

Pournelle and others say that science-fiction writers have spent their lives studying the kinds of technologies and scenarios Homeland Security officials have been tackling since the department began operating in 2003.

"We talk to a lot of strange people and read a lot of weird things," Bear says.

At the Washington conference, Bear offered to put biometrics researchers in touch with movie special-effects experts. The experts might be able to help the government determine how to match the face of someone walking through an airport to a grainy photo of a known terrorist.

Bear's latest book, Quantico, is a sci-fi thriller that has FBI agents and a bioterrorism expert racing to hunt down a homegrown terrorist.

"We'll play 'What if?' with anything," says Sage Walker, an emergency medicine physician turned sci-fi writer and the only woman in the group. She says the discussions with government officials "tend to be very intense and far-ranging."

So are discussions between the writers. During a coffee break at the conference, Walker, Bear and Andrews started talking about the government's bomb-sniffing dogs. Within minutes, they had conjured up a doggie brain-scanning skullcap that could tell agents what kind of explosive material a dog had picked up.

The 9/11 Commission called the 2001 terrorist attacks a result of the government's "failure of imagination." For this group, Walker says, there's no such thing as an "unthinkable scenario."

Why offer their ideas to the government instead of private companies that pay big bucks?

"To save civilization," Ringworld author Larry Niven says. "We do it in fiction. Why wouldn't we want to do it in fact?"

[jmac]

"im a flower with nothing to say" little shop of horros.

[el midgetron]

choice...



I can't wait untill next week!

[gilgar]

Harry Potter in the Hood

[Soupie]

It is absolutely inexcusable for some people to be so overweight when so many other people don't even have enough to eat.

Think about that the next time you're considering grabbing a burger at a fast food joint.

Without launching into a philosophical political rant, the only theoretical way to insure that everyone in the world has equal access to essential and non-essential elements would be to put into place a global, Socialist, World Government. While socialist governments work on paper, history has shown us that powerful central governments ultimately degrade into inefficient and corrupt systems that offer universal, but shizznitty services. In the end, the people suffer (equally).

On the other hand, capitalism and democracy, while making no guarantees that everyone will have equal access to non-essential elements, does have a knack for producing top-notch goods and services. That is to say, in a capitalistic democracy, everyone is guaranteed equal access to non-essential elements (food, water, shelter) but not everyone has equal access to BMWs, beach houses, and large toy collections.

The main problem I currently see with capitalism and democracy is that the supposed "have nots" think that their "rights" extent to them having equal access to everything, including non-essential elements. The other main problem are those citizens who -- because of the hard work and ingenuity of their forebears -- find themselves in positions of luxury which they take for granted.

Democratic Capitalism = free upper, middle, and lower classes

Socialism = enslaved lower class



I do believe that Americans -- while in no way directly responsible for the suffering of 3rd world countries -- should feel philosophically obligated to help every citizen in the world gain access to essential needs. And in fact we are and do as the democratically elected Bush admin. has made HUGE financial donations to poor African countries. That's our money that is being sent over there. Also, from the capitalistic mind-set, it's in our own best interest to get the economies of all these countries up and running. The better their economies do, they better ours does. (In a socialistic system, this does not follow.)

Finally, American citizens (and American governments) are NOT responsible for going into every state/nation around the world and "fixing" it. It's the responsibilities of each nation's citizens to govern themselves -- and in neighboring nations best interest to help them. With that in mind, I'm hoping that the neighboring nations in Africa finally decide to do something about Zimbabwe. After all, it's in their own best interest.

So, basically what I'm saying is, it's ridiculous to imply that Americans should feel guilty for eating fast food. There are PLENTY of reasons not to eat fast food -- the fact that there are 3rd world countries is not one of them.

[gilgar]

not to mention, gluttony is a sin

[gilgar]

fun with black tape

Edited by gilgar, 20 April 2008 - 11:52 AM.

[Soupie]

lol

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[gilgar]

[Imp]

So, I go to the drive-in last night with the girls (my friend, her mom, and her niece. It was a Mother's Day gift for her mom.). We saw Iron Man, which totally rocked, and were amused by the second feature of Baby Mama. It was cold, but I was bundled up in all my winter gear.

The exciting bit came on the way home, when Chris was driving on the Turnpike, and a deer decided to become roadkill by leaping smack into her car. Hit the hood right in the middle, made it crinkle up some, and the headlights were cracked up. At two in the morning, swerving around on an unlit highway...yeah, that was not fun.

We're fine, the car was drivable, even the headlights kept on working (up until after we got off the Turnpike, then one light went dead). Chris hasn't called me to let me know, but she was going to look for a body shop today and hope that it's just the hood and lights and the insurance company won't consider the car totaled.

Freakin' shame, when she got out the hole with some bills, now she's got this. But she's got three days off this week anyway, so she can spend some time on it.

[gilgar]

[Soupie]

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a... flying penis?

[gilgar]

hope nobody yawns!

[Imp]

Hey it's a "griefing" in real life!

Heh

[gilgar]

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[gilgar]

[el midgetron]

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a... flying penis?

That dude in the red shirt looks like he is having an epiphany. He also seems to be standing alittle to close to the blad guy with the disturbed look on his face.