Ad hoc structures in space

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of technology are working on methods for assembing arbitrary structures in space using only debris and electromagnetic waves:

Komerath and his students have calculated that it would be feasible to use waves to move objects with diameters smaller than five per cent of the radiation’s wavelength. Light can move nanoparticles for example, while microwaves – and audible sound waves – can shift objects millimetres or centimetres across.

But the heavy lifting would be left to radio waves. Given a few months to do the job, Komerath says they should be able to assemble rocks, brick-sized or bigger, into any given shape. Later in October he will discuss his idea at a conference in Atlanta for NASA’s Institute of Advanced Concepts – a think tank of the 88-member Universities Space Research Association.

If only my apartment was an airless vacuum, I could program my radio transmitters to pick up my dirty clothes and dishes, shoot the dust off of my furniture, and pull the dirt off of my carpet.

New Scientist: Radio waves could construct buildings in space

IT’S NOT OVER

Beware! The following link will infect your computer with a magic virus, sweeping you away to enchanted lands under the auspices of the one and only David Copperfield.

Beware! The following link will take you on a mystical journey through the outer realms of your conciousness, returning you safely to your seat, but with heightened levels of awareness.

NOPE! It’s just the crappest celebrity website EVER! And as a little piece of advice, it’s NEVER over. [via b3ta]

Tornado of Fire

CableCo goes to school

About two weeks ago, my fable (free cable) was disconnected. In all of the years I’ve been renting apartments, I’ve never had the displeasure of losing what I thought was a given. Yesterday, I received the following letter in the mail (addressed to “Current Resident” at my address):

Dear Resident,

While in your neighborhood performing a routine inspection of our cable lines, we found that the line to your address was active, yet you are not recorded as a customer in our billing system.

We corrected our error and updated our customer records.

We want to be your cable television provider and invite you to subscribe to our service by taking advantage of a special installation offer. Call 1-800-698-9867 in the next 10 days and receive a FREE CONNECTION to our Standard Cable TV Package!

yada, yada..

Sincerely, AT&T Broadband

Well, shoot. I guess they have me right where they want me, by the proverbial balls. After three months of extended cable service, I’ve enjoyed more than a few moments of television bliss. Then suddenly, my tether to the network world is severed, leaving my apartment (and myself) cold and lifeless.

And boy, let me tell you, it worked. I was on the phone ten minutes after opening the letter, ready to drop for the minimum package. It really makes me wonder… is this some new marketing ploy by AT&T, sort of like an extended preview package for new residents? Psychologically speaking, I was not prepared to spend money on cable, but now as a part of my lifestyle, I find it hard to give up. If this isn’t a coincidence, I give mad props to AT&T for toying with my mind.

Media Lab Australia

Word has broken in the Australian press that the Media Lab is exploring a venture in the vicinity of Sydney. The expansion would be similar to the outcroppings in Europe and Asia. No one is publically positioning the lab in the context of other international Meda Labs, but the word on the street is that it will have an initial focus on art and design.

news.com.au: MIT coup for Australia

Hipster backlash

One of the dilemmas of the modern age: how to rebel against hipsters. What is the alternative? Rampant consumerism? Kerry Da Silva comments on the subject of hipster suckiness:

If you live in a metropolitan city like I do, you start to notice that there are as many hipsters infesting your region as there are cockroaches. Both creatures are equally repulsive and annoying, and once you think you’re rid of them, an entire new community of them comes to life. The only main difference between the two is that you can kill a cockroach legally.

According to the article, I fit a number of the categorical identifiers of the hipster clan, although I reject the classification. I’m in need of a step-by-step guide along the lines of I think I’m a hipster.. what do I do now? (link props: redrick)

Hybrid Magazine: Why Hipsters Suck

24 hour music revolutions

I finally saw 24 Hour Party People last night, after weeks of anxious distractions. I lived with a a friend who experienced that musical period firsthand (from Chicago, not Manchester), and he piqued my interest. After seeing the movie, I’m even more hungry for information.

Given, 24HPP focuses on one first hand account of the period. But this one perspective contains much more that 2 hours worth of raw information. As the movie suggests, I’m sure there will be an inordinant amount of source material on the DVD (which according to the movie website should already be released). But the Factory Records biography is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg: what about The Smiths, The Stone Roses, 808 State, The Charlatans, Inspiral Carpets, The Buzzcocks, James…

It’s odd how certain places are inundated with innovation, while others struggle to be placed on the map. Manchester and Detroit both stand out as cities not exactly in the center of the cultural universe, but somehow produce music revolution after music revolution. Something about their social and economic chemistry inspires generation after generation to push the envelope in some way or another. I just hope I be there for the next wave.

Virtual Manchester: History of Manchester Pop

Manchester Online: Manchester Bands

Allmusic: Artists and Groups from Manchester

Discogs: Factory Records Discography

Timecube awry

Josh pointed out to me recently that Timecube progenitor Gene Ray has taken his theories to a new level of crazy, calling for the death of all educators not teaching Cubicism:

Tis Time to kill any educator who does
not teach Cubicism above cubelessness.
To save humanity from extinction, like
prior civilizations perished, youth must
redirect self teachers, or destroy them.
Stupid Educators know of the Truth I
speak and know that it will indict them
as the most evil bastards on the Earth.
Dumb ass educators fear Gene Ray and
his Time Cube Creation – and they run
from any mention of Time Cube Debate.
Only a dumb student can be educated –
as in brainwashed and indoctrinated.
Time Cube debate denial is educator evil.
It is not immoral for students to kill all
educators who ignore Nature’s Harmonic
Time Cube or suppress free speech rights
to debate Time Cube Creation Principle.
Ignorance of Time Cube is Greatest Evil.

A little bit of history: MIT students thought Gene’s theories were fascinating, so they invited him to give a lecture about them in front of eager learners. To Gene’s dismay, none of the faculty showed up, in what he thought was a conspiracy against Cubicism. The lecture is available online for interested parties.

Gene Ray: Time Cube

MIT: Time Cube Lecture

We blog dex

I just received my copy of We Blog, of course thumbing through to make sure I didn’t sound like an idiot in my interview. The damage doesn’t seem to be irreparable.

I won’t be able to read it in depth (thanks to a pile of 100 other books and papers that is currently poised in front of me, ready to strike.. more on that later). But on first glance, it appears to cover an amazing amount of territory, much more than I expected.

Right now I’m getting quite a kick out of seeing Blogdex in the index of a book about blogs. Oh the irony.

Memepool lovin’

Carson (aka fool) just posted the kraftwerk vs. whitney track to memepool, giving lots of love to my post (thank you Carson).

So now I sit here in my office, listening to the sweet sound of hard drives churning. With over 1,000 downloads in the last day, I’ve pushed over 4 gigs of pure minimal German adult contemporary dance-pop. Ja, you’ve got to love acadmic bandwitdth.

Whoa! Here’s something unexpected: Allmusic gives Whitney Houston’s self-titled album 4.5 stars? That’s a lot of stars. Computer World also clocks in at 4.5 stars, a match made in heaven.