Posts by Colin Brett

What happened to episodes 7, 8 and 9?

The most annoying thing I ever saw on the Internet was on the official starwars.com website.

A few weeks after the launch of Episode 1, I checked starwars.com. There was a button for Ep 1, two blank buttons (presumably for 2 and 3) then buttons for 4, 5 and 6. Just beside those were three more blank buttons which I assumed were for the sequel trilogy. Two weeks later, I checked the site again and these blank buttons had gone.

Will there ever be a sequel trilogy or has George Lucas ruled it out completely?

Colin

Bring it on, I say

39 days to Mars as opposed to 6 months. Marvellous!

The real question is: who has the guts to back this project financially and not get the jitters and pull the funding the next time the banks hit the skids?

What's needed is large scale international cooperation at all levels. Will we see it? Sadly, I don't think so.

Colin

Exotic princess?

"How much more fun for us all would it have been if Prince William had escaped his minders somehow, gone on an unauthorised adventure of some sort to the outrage of his grandma - and returned with a more mysterious princess from a more exotic background."

There are some pics on the BBC news site in which Ms Middleton looks rather like Koo Stark, Prince Andrew's ex, except with clothes on.

So perhaps William did get out of the walled garden?

Colin

Martian Colonies

Have you read Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy (Red, Green, Blue)? Unmanned ships were sent ahead to drop off supplies, then 100 scientists were sent to Mars to form the first colony. They had plenty to do: building the first settlement; mining; hydroponics projects; seeding the planet with Earth plants. They even started deliberately producing greenhouse gasses to warm up the Martian atmosphere. By the end of the trilogy, humans were colonising or exploring a number of the inner planets.

A fascinating read. I must pack it in my luggage for the first flight!

Colin

Anyone remember Spitting Image?

Way back in the mists of ancient history, when Spitting Image was funny, the Royal Family were discussing names for a new prince (Harry or Wills, I can't remember which). Princess Margarate, slightly tipsy, said "What about Bing? We haven't had a Bing in the family for ages.!

I never could take the name Bing seriously after that.

Colin

RE: Did you know the scripts were censored?

Apparently, the first words spoken (whistled) on the Clangers were Major Clanger saying "Oh sod it! The bloody thing's stuck again!" He was trying to open a door.

There used to be a www.clangers.com site (now defunct) which said the episodes were scripted in English but then translated into whistles so they sounded like a real language.

Quake

I seem to remember in the old Arthur C Clarke "Mysterious World" series that the technology to needed to build a gramophone existed in the time of the Roman Empire. It's just that no-one thought of bringing all the components together at that time.

Now look at the NCR:

Didn't El Reg recently report on a Quake-style tool for systems administrators? (Mentioning at the time the old Doom admin-interface.) These would form useful front ends to the DARPA cyber Range.

From there all we need is a neural interface to "jack in" to the Range. In fact, the Beeb has already reported on the first steps to this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7254078.stm

and

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3485918.stm

Bring all these components together and Operation Screaming Fist is go.

Mine's the one with Case's fake ID and a shuriken in the pocket.