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December 29, 2002
Hardened Microwave Relay Dishes
From a simpler, but yet more scary time came interesting design problems. How to design a communications network that could survive a nuclear war? Some solutions are talked about here.
Look at those tremendous hardened microwave relay dishes.
On a lighter note, I'm back from vacation. Got some new anime to watch, so far, I've been rather impressed with Fruits Basket. Like a shoujo Ranma, but funnier, and more heartwarming.
Posted by Kathy at 08:04 PM | Permalink
December 15, 2002
Equal Opportunity for Women Tied to Nation's Technological Prowess
In order for a nation to become a technological powerhouse, it must be productive. In order to maximize productivity, women must be given equal opportunity. Providing access to education is a must. An educated woman will not only be able to contribute to technology, but will encourage her offspring to do so. Educating women in third world countries would also aid in reducing incidences of certain diseases, such as HIV. Unfortunately, there are too many nations that do not understand this principle. In these nations, women are still treated as second class citizens.
Here's a statement from Secretary of State Colin Powell about the implications of women's issues.
There are many organizations that will lend money to women looking to start a business. Generally, these loans are repaid with interest. These small loans allow women in third world countries to follow their dreams of entrepreneurship. Definitely something to think about this holiday season.
Posted by Kathy at 08:06 PM | Permalink
December 14, 2002
Comics, Otakon, and l33t Speak
So I'm trying to decide what to write today. Lots of interesting things come to mind. I recently decided to start drawing again. I used to really enjoy drawing, but gradually seemed to have less and less time to draw. I thought it would be neat to draw my own comic strip. We'll see about that. I plan on posting my drawings periodically, though. Mostly, I'm interested in anime-style drawings.
Here's one of my favorite online comic strips. I went to Otakon in Baltimore this summer, and megatokyo was there. At the art auction, a megatokyo sketch sold for four grand. Wow. Here's one currently for auction on ebay. I like megatokyo because it crosses anime with computers. The characters will sometimes use l33t speak. It can be really hilarious.
Posted by Kathy at 08:11 PM | Permalink
December 07, 2002
Bruce Sterling
For some reason, I have Bruce Sterling's short story, Maneki Neko on my mind at this moment. If you haven't read Maneki Neko, I highly recommend it. In case you're wondering what a maneki neko is, here's a great explanation. Bruce also has a weblog.
Anyway, the premise of Maneki Neko is to explore whether society can function on a different economic model. For example, the bartering system as opposed to monetary economics. What happens when currency is replaced with karma points? By the way, we're also going to utilize the power of the our networking capabilities. Read the story. It is one of the short stories in A Good Old-Fashioned Future by Sterling.
Posted by Kathy at 08:14 PM | Permalink
December 06, 2002
Video Games and Vactors
I play a lot of video games. My favorites are turn-based RPGs, strategy, and rhythm games, such as Dance Dance Revolution. I really like the PlayStation 2 console, but have not quite felt like buying the Xbox. It's not that I have anything against the Xbox, it's just that none of the games have been very exciting. Although many people like Xbox's Halo, shooters are not my favorite category of game. Besides, I dislike buying a console just because there's one game that's good.
Going off on another tangent, wouldn't it be cool if vactors dominated the movie industry? I've always thought "employing" vactors was a far more cost-efficient solution. No more multi-million dollar contracts; perfect personality and looks all the time.
Posted by Kathy at 08:16 PM | Permalink
December 04, 2002
Alternative History and the Great Firewall of China
History is the lie commonly agreed upon. -Voltaire
You have probably thought about alternative history. What would the world be like if Ghengis Khan had not fallen off his horse and died? What would America be like if the South had won the Civil War? What would it be like today if Karl Marx had not theorized communism?
Well, Ghangis Khan might have invaded Europe. Here's an interesting link on what America might have been like today if the South had won the Civil War. Now, for Karl Marx... this is a bit more difficult to envision. However, I think China would not have become a communist state. There would probably still have been an uprising against the Ching dynasty, based on China's history of uprisings against extremely corrupt dynasties. Instead of cummunism, a new dynasty would emerge, perhaps led by Chiang Kai-Shek? Certainly interesting to think about.
Speaking of China, the "Great Firewall of China" blocks many websites from being accessed from within China. Researchers at Harvard Law School have a real-time testing system on filtered sites. I can see the Chinese government wanting to block websites that are Taiwanese, Tibetian, or that promote Falun Gong, but Red Lobster and Granite Curling? Odd.
Posted by Kathy at 08:18 PM | Permalink
December 03, 2002
Kevin Mitnick Case and Book
Most of you have probably heard of Kevin Mitnick. He was portrayed as one of the most damaging cybercrime criminals. If you have not heard of Kevin, here is the Department of Justice post on Kevin's court case. The official Kevin Mitnick website has an alternative view of the case. Recently, Kevin's book, The Art of Deception was published. The first chapter of this book was heavily edited. Here's an interesting link to the unedited first chapter of Kevin's book. The link is off of Kevin's girlfriend's weblog site. The information was not supposed to have made it past Kevin's parole officer. Having read Takedown by Shimomura and Markoff, I found Kevin's perspective very interesting in that I had not expected there to be a pre-existing relationship between Shimomura, Markoff, and Mitnick.
Posted by Kathy at 08:21 PM | Permalink
December 02, 2002
Should We Colonize Mars?
Topic du jour: should we colonize Mars? I think so, but I'm a member of The Mars Society, so I am biased. There are many reasons why colonizing Mars is a good idea. If you are interested, read Robert Zubrin's The Case for Mars. Zubrin is one of the most enthusiastic supporters of Mars colonization, and has actually testified in front of Congress to make the case for colonization. One of the interesting points of contention for colonization of Mars is the issue of property rights. Who gets property? Should it be on a first come, first serve basis? If that's the case, what about all the third world nations that do not have the means to send people to Mars? There have been proposals to divide up the land on Mars such that all Earthlings get a parcel of land that can then either be sold for profit or kept for later use. I can see a couple of problems with that scenario as well. For example, a person who is making $500/year income is going to be more than happy to sell their parcel for a pittance than someone whose annual income is much higher. Also, since the entire surface of Mars is not all equal, who gets which parcel of land? Maybe what will happen is that there will be a central organization that prices each parcel of land according to value and sells the parcels. Anyhow, while you're pondering this point, you can check out these inspiring pictures. There's a new picture each day.
Posted by Kathy at 08:24 PM | Permalink