Category: Technology

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Starwars as prophecy

Tatooine

Remember the moisture vaporator that Luke was tending in Starwars?  It is what allowed him to live and make a living on the desert planet of Tatooine.  In 1978 it was an impossible concept, placed in the fictional world of George Lucas to support the plot.

Moisture absorption prototype

Now, it’s real.  Yes, you really can distill unlimited water, using only the sun, from the driest desert air (or any other air on earth) using what are called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).  There are 20,000+ of them Continue reading “Starwars as prophecy”

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Inbox assault

I’ve been thinking about this post all day… and I’m still not sure I should write it.  Here it is, anyway, for a simple reason: I’ve never seen this before, and was not sure it was possible, but am now very concerned.  This is possible.  If you are not a parent and will likely never have an e-mail account, you can safely skip it.  For the rest of you…

I was sexually assaulted this morning — sort of.  As I was reading my inbox, a relatively attractive, smiling, unclothed woman popped up, with a phone number.  The e-mail was simple, had clearly gotten by all my spam filters, and I didn’t even need to open it.  There she was, in full glory, in the preview pane.  There was no virus or attachment; just one “come hither” JPEG with a phone #.  That said, I apologize for Continue reading “Inbox assault”

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Worship the Image

Our church has an amazing pastor & teacher.  For years (and I’m not kidding) we have been learning from the book of Exodus, and recently Bill has been teaching on the “Ten Words”.  As a child, I learned them as the 10 Commandments, but they are actually more than that.  Today’s lesson was a kind of preparation for a detailed study of the 2nd word, which I always thought Continue reading “Worship the Image”

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What is this?

Google search page

Does this look familiar?  It should, if you use Google.  So what are the two buttons below the logo?  They are words written in the language this search page operates on, and the logo is a link to Valentine’s Day search in … are you ready? …

Klingon.

That’s right.  You can search the web in a language constructed for the world created by the TV show, Startrek!  That would be a search of the real world using the language of a virtual world that for some people is more real than the world they live in now.

Are you confused yet?

Welcome to the 21st century…

BTW – hope you had a great Valentine’s Day!  We did :-))

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Gorilla Glass

For once, this kind of marketing catch phrase is actually understated!  Watch this video and marvel at what Corning Glass has done for Gorilla Glassthe iPhone and its millions of users.  The most intriguing idea for me is flexible glass– real glass that flexes as if it were plastic, yet is as hard as glass.  In a related article, the author touts the video he watched but couldn’t film- a 3 lb. steel ball dropping from 3 ft. on Gorilla Glass without breaking it.

Don’t try that at home!

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Social- real, virtual or both?

In a recent meeting of our church leadership, the power of social media to make meaningful connections between people we know and those we don’t was brought up.  Someone commented that “Our church’s new picture directory is … Facebook!”.  Furthermore, this has happened quite organically, and without any set plan.  We are now exploring how to make a biblical impact with social media, and this has reminded me of my own experience.  Quite frankly, I am Continue reading “Social- real, virtual or both?”