Insanely detailed analysis of the computer interface designed for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Bracercom.com The LCARS Frame Here are the common fame structures, notice I did not segment it but kept it continuous for the number of segments in a frame is up to the number of options you want your application to display…
From Thrilling Tales (where the future is retro). Ambushed in the Unknowable Vacuum Tube Preserved in the Ultimate Star The Women of Pohl’s Meteors The Satellite from the Equation Hovering Artifact The Poisonous Cat of Space The Comet of Gernsback’s Pool Captives of the Eldritch Behemoth Creature that Blasted Phobos Men of the Unlikely Doctor…
My highly dramatic daughter is not likely to achieve kolinahr any time soon, but we can all wish that she live long and prosper on the occasion of her First Communion.P.S. My wife said I could post this photo as long as I also posted a “normal” one. (See below.)
I was a sophomore in college when Star Trek: The Next Generation aired. Most of the guys in my suite watched the premiere episode, and then sampled a few after that. Then, the guy who owned the TV wanted to watch basketball instead, and after a few attempts to find a place to watch Trek,…
Neal Stephenson’s Diamond Age (1995) features a fantastic interactive book that educates a neglected guttersnipe, turning her into a capable, intelligent independent heroine. The iPad doesn’t quite match the vision of that book, but this video is still amazing.
Christian-based materials dominate a growing home-school education market that encompasses more than 1.5 million students in the U.S. And for most home-school parents, a Bible-based version of the Earth’s creation is exactly what they want. Federal statistics from 2007 show 83 percent of home-schooling parents want to give their children “religious or moral instruction.” Hold…
This eagerly awaited restored version of Fritz Lang’s silent classic uses what it said to be nearly an hour of footage long thought to be lost.This is one of the the most important film archival discoveries in history, as surprising as if the missing ending of “The Magnificent Ambersons” were found. —Roger Ebert According to…
Santa, enraged, kills Ensign Jones and attacks the Enterprise in his sleigh. As Scotty works to keep the power flowing to the shields, Kirk and Bones infiltrate Santa’s headquarters. With the help of the comely and lonely Mrs. Claus, Kirk is led to the heart of the workshop, where he learns the truth: Santa is…
Yes, it was pretentious, sterile, and overblown, but it did rejuvenate the franchise, re-introduced us to the Klingons (love their theme music), and the warp effect was awesome. Star Trek: The Motion Picture came out thirty years ago, Dec 7 1979. I was 11. I had tape-recorded nearly every episode of the series (and I…
All kinds of awesome metatronics going on here.
Okay, this is my one frivolity before diving into my hell Monday (featuring an unbroken stretch of three back-to-back classes and a committee meeting): According to a Natural Resources Defense Council survey, 78 percent of sinister one-eyed industrialists based in the Arctic have been forced to relocate their powerful underworld shadow governments, with many now…
I’m not sure many people really care that today marks the 10th anniversary of the date that the moon was supposed to have blasted out of Earth’s orbit in the British sci-fi show Space: 1999, but here’s a YouTube clip that presents an alternate opening of Star Trek, redone in the style of Space: 1999.…
In 1970, the gap between shows featuring magic and shows featuring more science-based themes is fairly wide, which may be related to the relative cost of producing the different types of shows; Captain Kirk required pricey sets and a makeup crew while Samantha Stevens just needed a film editor and the ability to wiggle her…
I was on the road (and away from a computer) for the past few days, on a little family outing. My wife brought along a copy of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure #4 that she picked up cheap at a library sale. The cover of this book, originally published in 1979, features a big-jawed space hero in a suit…
Political message? You decide. Blip from Sean Mullen on Vimeo.
Set phasers to “meh”! My wife arranged a visit to The Franklin Institute a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t actually know that this Star Trek exhibit was there. I was ready to pass, in favor of the more educational exhibits, but my wife made it a Father’s Day treat and shelled out enough gold-pressed…
I’ve never been a phone guy. My voicemail recording advises people to e-mail me rather than wait for me to remember to check my messages. Around 2004, I told a class of students that I didn’t use instant messager because I would have nobody to talk to. I got a generous “awww!” of pity from…
With the recent release of the new Star Trek, I started to wonder how is this going to affect the kids? Thankfully, mine have heard of and have watched plenty of the original series, so I didn’t have to worry about their state of mind. But there are a lot of kids out there who…
Last night, I went to see the new Star Trek movie with a member of the computer science faculty. A math professor was hoping to come, but had a change of plans. The previews suggested it would be a bit intense for me to take the kids to see it, but now that I’ve seen…
The cuteness of a tribble, the temper of a mugatu, and the ham of a Shatner.