Technology

These are the tools I carry for some rather specific tasks. The things you work on may require other tools, or more specialized versions of similar items. Remember, there’s no point in carrying around a bag of tools you don’t know how to use, so take some time to acquaint yourself with each one–especially those that can burn or cut you or the things around you.

A rep from Elecrow, a Hong Kong-based electronics company, reached out to us regarding their latest Kickstarter for the CrowPi2, an all-in-one solution to STEAM education. So, as always, when someone offers to send us something cool in exchange for a fair and frank review, we asked them to provide us with the deluxe model so that we could do more “extensive” and “unusual” testing.  And, as always, we were told no.

[email protected] jiggles, twists and contorts virtual models of proteins into procedurally generated shapes in order to study how those shapes affect their function. This is useful for studying diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer, finding new antibiotics to fight resistant superbugs, and developing drug candidates that could block the ability of viruses like HIV and COVID-19 from attacking human cells.

Until about 2010, most people lived thoroughly two-dimensional lives. The general public was more or less limited to coordinates of the X & Y variety. Then came the Z-axis, the drone pilots, and the FAA drone registration.

Today we’re going to assemble a portable computer that fits into in a lunch box. It’s a good Raspberry Pi beginner project, since it requires no coding or soldering and little tooling of any kind. All you have to do is acquire the parts, plug everything in and secure it within the lunch box.

Diving deep into Bell Labs’ history, Jon Gertner’s book, The Idea Factory, explores the origins of some of the twentieth century’s most important inventions and inventors, telling a story of a small group of career engineers who overcame challenges with innovative solutions. Here was the cradle of communication.

It’s clear that the “Bigscreen” team has “Bigplans” for the future, and it’s fair to speculate that their offerings will continue to expand in the coming months. If anything, this should serve as an early glimpse into the future of VR. If you have a headset, the price of admission may be worth it even simply to be able to look back and say you were here when it all started.

I’ve recently come through a bout of Coronavirus. It was horrible. Imagine running a marathon and then going to a party where cigars are compulsory, the only drink on offer is 120 proof whisky, and the thermostat on the AC unit is broken – causing it to behave as if it’s playing hopscotch across Mercury’s terminator line. Add in some deeply disturbing dreams, and the morning after that party was my COVID-19 experience for two and a bit weeks. Your own experience, when it inevitably arrives, may be different.

Some early cyberpunk predictions feel as distant as their publication date; as those years have come (and gone), other predictions have begun to feel horribly prescient. Sure, we aren’t all cyborgs, can’t plug our brains into alternate realities and don’t live in an eternal night. Yet other ideas – like global corporations more powerful than nations, technologically provoked social upheaval and an alienated lower class – have arrived.

While sex robots are inevitable eventually, in the meantime, many are trying are circumvent the technical barriers of manufacturing by producing sex robots . . . minus the sex robots.  And for reasons that can best be explained as “God damn it Japan,” these virtual girls are generally anime-esque. Ladies and gentlemen, presenting — the virtual waifu.