And don't forget Stand on Zanzibar. *And* The Sheep Look Up. Dystopias that stand with the bes--, er, the worst of them.

Finally! Everyone knows he wrote the classic ST episode The Trouble with Tribbles, but he also wrote two other classics: When H.A.R.L.I.E. Was One -- a 'computer becoming aware' book that ranks up there with Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and -- my fave -- The Man Who Folded Himself -- a time travel adventure that makes Heinlein's classic story By His Bootstraps seem simplistic. Message to Hollywood: Make The Man Who Folded Himself into a movie! Please! Not only do you get a mind-bending book that movie-making technology has finally evolved to enable you to present in a realistic way, but you also get a great author who can write the kickass screenplay too. You're very welcome!

(by inventing Scientology as part of a casual bet with Heinlein over who could invent the best religion)

According to Harlan Ellison, who was there, the actual event came about at a Con in NYC in 1952 when L. Sprauge de Camp made a joke that, if you wanted to make money with science fiction, you should just invent your own religion. L. Ron, however, took it seriously.

L. Sprauge de Camp, unfortunately, remains unappreciated.

Since you are dealing with 3D space, you will need *4* points of awareness to keep the center of gravity in balance. You might think that 3 legs and one tail would be best, but then you have to deal with a disbalanced processing problem: triangulation in space, followed by an add-on to balance that. Better to deal with three 2-point axle balancing problems instead. (A:B, C:D, AB:CD).

to insect-sized reconnaissance drones.

'The sound increases air velocity

Use four insect drones to 3D triangulate the position of mosquitoes, which have a unique visual signature in flight. Use a synchronized sound burst from three to push a mosquito directly into the path of a synchronized infrared laser pulse from the fourth, which heats and kills it. Repeat. Good-bye malaria.

The revolution is occurring around the world," it reads. "It is occurring in the private sector, not the public sector. It is occurring despite wrongheaded attempts by governments to micromanage markets through disastrous industrial policy.

Yes, wrong-headed attempts like INVENTING THE INTERNET. The fact is that the private sector didn't even arrive at the Net until the infamous Green-Card spam some *25* years after the net was conceived, designed and built by scientists funded by the US government-funded DARPA. Argh. There's a reason the average age of a Libertarian fanboy is under 25: people grow up and start grasping how economics *actually* works. They discover that the world is not -- and never was -- the black-and-white free market so lovingly depicted by Libertarian utopianists -- and never will be. [SOP] On the plus side, it is good that Libfans exist -- their constant screeching keeps the creeping fascism of neoliberalism somewhat at bay.[/SOP]. Hooray for dynamic tension.

wiretap-friendly

Why ...hello, Mr. Orwell. Didn't see you come in. Nice newspeak: you mean: constitutionally-unfriendly, isn't that right?

What I wanted to say though was that this can be looked at in light of the probable outcome of the 'Can the government *require* you to purchase health insurance? My guess is that the answer will be NO. Can the government legally *require* you make your site "wiretap-friendly"? If it's in the Constitution that Congress has jurisdiction over interstate commerce; it's also in the Constitution that 'The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.' It would seem that the government CANNOT *legally* REQUIRE you to do this -- even MORE than it cannot REQUIRE you to purchase health insurance (assuming that's the outcome of the Obamacare case). Like wiretaps, the government should have to do this on a case-by-case basis. Freedom should be the default condition, not just what's left over.

The researchers also found that brain regions for planning, self-control and other aspects of executive function overlap to a significant extent with regions vital to general intelligence. The study provides new evidence that intelligence relies not on one brain region or even the brain as a whole, Barbey said, but involves specific brain areas working together in a coordinated fashion.

So.... are trolls actually missing functional areas, or are they just cognitively uncoordinated?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mind

When he wrote his first book on consciousness, The Emperor's New Mind in 1989, Penrose lacked a detailed proposal for how quantum processing could be implemented in the brain. Subsequently, Hameroff read Penrose's work, and suggested that microtubules could be suitable candidates for quantum processing, an hypothesis which remains intensely controversial. The Orch-OR theory arose from the collaboration of Penrose and Hameroff in the early 1990s. Microtubules have a well established position in conventional biology and neuroscience. Microtubules are the main component of a supportive structure within neurons known as the cytoskeleton. In addition to providing a supportive structure, the known functions of microtubules include transport of molecules including neurotransmitters bound for synapses and control of the development of the cell. Microtubules are composed of tubulin protein dimer subunits.

http://www.gizmag.com/memory-storage-theory/21900/

Tuszynski and his colleagues noted that the geometry of the CaMKII molecule was very similar to that of tubulin protein compounds. These tubulins are contained within microtubule protein structures, which in turn occupy the interiors of the brain’s neurons. They are particularly concentrated in the neurons’ axons and dendrites, which are active in the memory process. The scientists wanted to understand the interaction between CaMKII, tubulin and microtubules, so based on 3D atomic-resolution structural data for all three protein molecules, they developed highly-accurate computer models. What they discovered was that the spatial dimensions and geometry of the CaMKII and microtubule molecules allow them to fit together. Furthermore, according to the models, the microtubules and CaMKII molecules are capable of electrostatically attracting one another, so that a binding process can occur between them. This process takes place within the neurons, after they have been synaptically connected, to (in some cases) permanently store memories.

Memory, consciousness -- really, what's the difference?

"All your data are belong to ME! Give cookie NOW! Or I RANDOMIZE!"

Louisiana Bans Cash for Secondhand Transactions

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/money/personal-finance/louisiana-bans-cash-secondhand-transactions

A new Louisiana law, House bill 195, passed earlier this year says that those who buy or sell secondhand goods are prohibited from using cash. State representative Rickey Hardy, who co-authored the bill, says: "They can give a check or a cashiers money order, or electronic (transfer)." Rep. Hardy says the bill is targeted at criminals who steal anything from copper to televisions, and sell them for cash. He claims that having a paper trail will make it easier for law enforcement: "It's a mechanism to be used so the police department has something to go on and have a lead." Besides non-profit resellers like Goodwill, and garage sales, the language of the bill covers stores that resell used goods and even flea markets.

Here's a teachable moment in civics: organize the students to recall the school board -- for living in the wrong century. I don't which century they are living in, but it clearly isn't the 21st.

Oh wait....South Carolina? I think they stopped comprehending civics in 1860.

...a team of engineers at Stanford has harnessed a sophisticated weather model to recommend optimal placement of four interconnected wind farms off the coast of the Eastern United States...

This map indicates that Michigan has wind resources consistent with community-scale production. The map shows that the land-based community-scale wind resources in Michigan are concentrated along the immediate shores of the Great Lakes (especially Lakes Michigan and Superior) and on islands. The Great Lakes themselves have good-to-outstanding wind resource.

http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/maps_template.asp?stateab=mi

Chicago (and Northern Illinois, Northern Indiana, Southern Wisconsin, and Western Michigan) would certainly benefit from these wind farms in Lake Michigan; they could be placed far enough from shore so that there is no 'Nantucket problem'.

As long as there are legal purchases for which many people would prefer to have plausible deniability, there will be cash.

Law Bans Cash for Second Hand Transactions

Cold hard cash. It's good everywhere you go, right? You can use it to pay for anything. But that's not the case here in Louisiana now. It's a law that was passed during this year's busy legislative session. House bill 195 basically says those who buy and sell second hand goods cannot use cash to make those transactions.

http://www.klfy.com/story/15717759/second-hand-dealer-law

Law Bans Cash for Second Hand Transactions

Cold hard cash. It's good everywhere you go, right? You can use it to pay for anything. But that's not the case here in Louisiana now. It's a law that was passed during this year's busy legislative session. House bill 195 basically says those who buy and sell second hand goods cannot use cash to make those transactions.

http://www.klfy.com/story/15717759/second-hand-dealer-law