South Africa in space...?

This just in (well, sort of). South Africa has plans to become a regional centre for space technology! A quiver of, well, I'm not sure, but possible pride, runs through the ol' veins. Hooray for my country-folk!



It seems that investment in space is all the rage these days. Well, apart from America - perhaps a case of 'been there, done that, have the rusting Saturn Vs'. (I am being flippant, I realise, and I know that far more complex excuses than this have been used).

Australia is also investing heavily (some $88 million) in space research, although they admit they have somewhat missed the boat in terms of world leadership, having done, well, not very much since they were instrumental in the broadcasting of Apollo 11's famous landing. Anyway, a large part of the decision is because they want the contract for the SKA, which they have already started building...

Even New Zealand also has its own burgeoning space industry. Small, yes, but pert (to copy shamelessly a local, but amusing, ad). In fact, our first space mission is imminent. And very exciting. Oh, to see it...

To get back to the SA situation, though: while it's laudable, and definitely heart-rate-increasing for those of us who still get dewy-eyed at the thought of the whole space thing (blame too much Star Trek, if you will), it doesn't seem, well, appropriate.

South Africa has many problems. Many of them centred around health and education. And I just don't know that spending money on a space programme is entirely the right course of action or, for that matter, terribly useful, for a country with as many other problems as South Africa. I think back to my own experience working in Africa's only neural regeneration lab - a lovely idea, but really, it simply wasn't a priority there. As a result, of course, we battled.

Add to that the fact that the SA government is not terribly good at managing projects. Ideas, yes. Practicalities, not really. We will simply have to see whether they can, and will, follow through on their sweeping statements of intent.

And finally: it's competing against Australia for the SKA...

Clever doggie!

This fresh out: dogs are quite a bit more intelligent than we thought. Not a surprise for those of us with border collies, but still...



A leading expert in dogs has determined, apparently, that dogs are, in many ways, similar to 2-2.5yr old human children. This means a vocabulary of up to 150 words, the ability to be deceptive, and basic arithmetic skills.
(This actually describes quite a few more adult people I've come across, too)

But I digress... These skills are, of course, on a sliding scale - border collies at the top (as seeing dogs), and labs somewhere down the bottom (with obeying dogs). All of which makes a lot of sense: after all, 'herd those sheep this way' requires a bit more of the proverbial than 'sit, Ubu, sit'. As it were.

His report was presented at the APA's 117th Annual Convention - marvellous.

And, perhaps, a strong message to those who think that abusing animals because they're 'just animals' is ok...

Universal snacks

Well, the title might be a misleading. This is mostly an excuse to post this, which I thought was funny. After all, what better way to enjoy your next handful of peanuts (particularly when sitting on a plane, of course) - than by expanding for your fellow passenger the central tenets of physics and how they apply to universe shape.



Or not.

And then, just as we had narrowed the possibilities down (they also include, theories that it might be dodecahedral, although I have yet to find a snack shaped like that - possible new product angle, anyone?), someone went back and relooked at our assumptions.

Which is wonderful. Super. Very scientific. And, often, a stunningly good way to upset not only the apple cart, but the entire market with repercussions all the way back to the farm.

You see, it's been realised that dark energy (the black sheep of physics, hngh hngh) might have far more of an effect on the shape of the universe than we thought. Which makes sense. But it really does confuse the matter even more.

And, in a wonderful chicken and egg scenario, this lack of knowledge about the size and shape of the universe, in turn, makes it very difficult to further explore (i.e. find/work out anything, at all, about) dark energy.

Fun, non?

Lunar billboards

Ah yes, science and marketing have come together yet again, in pursuit of selling things to us.



According to this, Moon Publicity has a patent pending for a new robot which will, wait for it, get sent to the moon, and have fun with its friends building mini sand ridges. Of course, said ridges cast shadows, and will therefore form (if properly planned) giant line drawings.

This revolutionary technology is up for sale, and the starting bid for one of the 44 lunar regions is, well, really low at some US$46,000, although I have no doubt that this will skyrocket. Literally.

But still: is this cool? Inevitable? A mockery of all that makes us human? A travesty, even?

I don't know. I do have a strong 'geek' element which, having read too much Transmetropolitan, thinks this is great.

On the other hand - we have been defined, for countless centuries, by our ability to look up at the moon and stars and use them as a launchpad for our imagination and desire for exploration. How might this change when, upon gazing skywards, we are greeted with a giant 'I'm loving it'? Will we really?

On a more pragmatic note: how is anyone actually going to achieve this? Firstly, you have to get the robots, intact, to the moon's surface. This is not, to date, something which we've had oodles of success. Certainly not regularly.

Also, and as a friend pointed out while I was leaping around exclaiming at the hilarity of it, are the logos meant to be seen with the naked eye? That's going to require an amalgamation of some of those 44 lunar regions, and if that's the case, then a lot of ground has to be transformed. It sounds like one of those school maths problems:
A giant logo measuring ([insert silly number]km2 has to be constructed. Assuming each robot can cover [y]km2 per day, calculate how many robots, and how much money will be burned on, potentially, creating logos only people with telescopes can see.

Finally, they claim that this would spur space travel, but I battle to see how. Robots trundling around in the sand aren't sufficiently interesting for a thriving tourist industry.

Little houses...(on the hillside?)

As promised, some architecture (I am simply trying to catch up, here). In fact, I wrote this almost a year ago (aeons in blog terms), before travelling across half the world and being distracted thereby.

Enough: now the post (reproduced below). I promise more up-to-date content in future. Faithfully.

architecture pr0n article #1.
Ooooh, there will be many of these...gird your loins. make steadfast your shoelaces. tame your wayward and feckless bonnets with the power that is hairpins.


I love small houses. little. mini. diminutive (although preferably never dinky, and certainly never incommodious or mean).

Small, however, does not have to mean cramped. That's something I've found in the UK (or at least London and surrounds). While houses vary in size, they invariably feel cramped. It's something about small rooms, low ceilings, and inappropriate furniture. The fact that adults (single or not) have to houseshare well into their adult years doesn't help either. Barbaric. Icky. Certainly not heightening general levels of happiness, contentment, or even just mimbling alongness.

No, by small, I simply mean, well, "fitting". I come from Africa, where space is never at a premium, and houses, flats and gardens reflect this. We're used to oodles of space, both personal and public.

And yet, somehow, I've always preferred the idea of a space that fits me perfectly. Not for me hallowed halls and echoing rooms between which I can bounce endlessly. No. Instead, well-designed spaces which cater to my needs, but (and this is important, folks) never feel cramped. I can't abide cramped or cluttered surrounds. They depress me, and fetter my mind.

And, don't even mention the whole "green" thing.
"What green thing?", you say. To which I reply "I said, don't mention it". (Aaah, Spike Milligan, and thank you, Robert Rankin)

So I continue to watch closely the increasingly innovative ways in which people are making small spaces...fitting spaces. Hooray for the scandinavians (again).



For those interested, the images (and general architecture pr0n, can be found here:
http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/tiny_houses.html
http://www.smallhousestyle.com/2007/07/23/the-mill-house-by-wingardhs/

Alliterative intermission: giant japanese jellyfish

Madness. Utter madness. Giant jellyfish are turning up ever more often off Japan's shores and, while intriguing in a very 'sphere' kind of way, they do pose a substantial problem for fishers and vessels.

Photo from National Geographic, who got it courtesy of Kyodo via AP

Then again, the jellyfish edibles market has been floating along very happily...

Seriously, though - the alarming rate of increase of these giants has scientists a-twitter trying to figure out what has caused the sudden upsurgence in incidence - any takers for climate change as a factor?

TED science talks

TED is, by far, one of my favourite websites. As it should be yours. For those of you not familiar with it (gasp), TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. Each year, it brings together some of the most interesting people in the world, puts them on a stage, and challenges them to talk about why they're so interesting.

As usual, click on the image to go the site...


Their talks are fascinating, and far-reaching in their content, from Ray Kurzweil and his Singularity University to The Raspyni Brothers' juggling act, and everything in between.

Since this blog is devoted to all things sci-tech (and I'm going to be including architecture in this, I must warn you), I would point you, dear reader in this direction: 5 TED talks devoted to science which are, well, brilliant.

Marvellous stuff.

A dream, certainly, would be to attend this illustrious event in person. To fall at the feet of the other delegates only to whisper 'you're quite, you know, cool'. Who knows, even to give a talk (topic TBA).

As a sidenote, and for those of you fond of filling out long, long forms, a TEDx event is being held in Auckland in October. TEDx is a sort of franchised TED event aimed at spreading the word, and events are being held all over the world. Yes, I would love to go...