Matthew S. Williams's Blog, page 148

Of Search Terms and Hits

Recently, I went by my traffic page to see just how many hits I was getting in recent days. Naturally, I was sure to take a gander at the referrals and search term portions of this page, just to see who was looking for what and who else might have led them to me in the first place. Needless to say, it was interesting, and pretty consistent with what I’ve been seeing in the last few months.

Ah, but then, I decided to look at the All-Time totals to see just how much of my traffic I owed to certain subjects. You can tell much about your own page and the impact it’s having by seeing what search term more than any other led people to you. And after looking over the grand totals, I thought I might list the top 15 and see what I could conclude from it.

So, here are the top 15 search terms which have led people to my site since it went online in March of 2011:

Joker:  10,060
The Joker:  4,813
Bath Salts Zombie:  2,267
Bath Salt Zombie:  1,585
Predator:  1,010
Moon:  918
COD (Call of Duty):  887
Bayonet:  820
Tiananmen Square:  607
Firefly Serenity:  607
Firefly:  535
Zombie Apocalypse:  511
Zombie Weapons:  495
Desert Eagle .50 cal:  442
Futuristic Guns:  412

What to conclude from all of this? I’m not sure I want to think about it much. If I did, I might have to admit that maybe my site mainly appeals to gamers, gun enthusiasts and people who like reading about insane clowns, zombies and recreational cannibalism. Not exactly the reason I started writing this thing in the first place!

But then again, I could just as easily conclude that, like me, these people enjoy a good romp through nerd territory, complete with dystopian fiction, post-apocalypticism, cool weapons, cool games and cool franchises. And maybe, just maybe, they enjoy learning about history and engaging in some thoughtful discussion along the way.

Hey, a man can always dream, right?

New Anthology Sample!

Hi folks. Life has been pretty busy and distracting of late, but after a few busy weeks I find myself with some time on my hands once again the freedom with which to write. And so I have, specifically on my second contribution to the Yuva Anthology – the Prologue known as “The Torch”. Though the story is not yet complete, I am finally reaching the climax of the tale, where the main character Magid Muktari is arriving to meet his benefactor and the man who intends to make sure his dream of exoplanet colonization becomes a reality.

But of course, there is still the question of terms to consider, some details that need to be ironed out, and an explanation or two as to why this is all happening. But I won’t bore you with a big summation. Instead, I present you with the latest installments in the story where Muktari takes his first commercial flight into space and doesn’t much enjoy it! Relying on research I’ve been doing on Virgin Galactic, the “Skylon” engine, and other sources, this is basically my take on what commercial space flight will look like in the near future.

What’s more, the chapter includes some ideas on the subject of orbital living pods, habitation complexes, and private space stations which may also become a reality in a few decades. Yes, as the technology improves and more and more people find themselves going into space, to the Moon, and beyond, Earth’s orbit could become the new international waters, where just about anything is legal, people do their “off-world banking”, and the rich live and play in low-gravity environments. Enjoy the chapter and please feel free to offer any and all constructive criticisms or comments…

“Treat” was hardly the word Muktari would have used. After a strenuous take off, the plane pulled into a sharp ascent, engaged its hypersonic engines, and was soon breaking the sound barrier several times over. Thus far, the trip was conforming to his expectations, which could only mean things would get worse before they got better. For the duration of their ascent, he had only one thought on his mind.

Why am I doing this? Was entertaining a possible job offer really this important to him? Would a few years in Oslo and the North Atlantic be so bad by comparison? Of course it would, but that didn’t make this personal first any more pleasant.

Of course, it was obvious why Harding had such a place available to him. More and more, one heard of corporate offices being placed in orbit, where the laws were laxer and off world authority was still being established. Most financiers found that they had at least another few decades before the law caught up to them and some interplanetary body would be created that could monitor their floating financial holdings or havens.

Nevertheless, the idea of breaking orbit and enduring near-weightlessness was not something he thought too highly of. Heights had been known to give him vertigo. How would standing above an entire planet feel in comparison?

Things did not improve until they hit atmo, at which point, weightlessness returned all of the blood which had been pooling in his legs to his head . He grunted loudly as the transition hit him, making his headache feel all the more noticeable.

“Don’t drink much do you?” asked Natalia, seated across from him.

“No,” he replied heavily. “Ironically, I think I could use a drink right now.”

She smiled. Pressed the button on the side of her seat. “What can we get you? This flight comes with a full refreshment service.”

“Nothing, please. I doubt I could keep it down right now.” He raised his hand as he said this. The effort to bring it to face height was incredibly easy, and he began to stare at it and everything around him as the ship coasted into the upper atmosphere. Everything that wasn’t anchored in place seemed to be floating carelessly, as if underwater. The sight of it seemed ethereal, almost entirely incorporeal.

He looked out the cabin window and spotted the thin blue layer of the upper atmosphere that was slowly pulling away from them. He had heard of the effect of seeing the great blue marble from orbit, but had imagined it would feel somewhat differently. Looking down at it all, he did not feel particularly grandiose or tiny, as he’d been told to expect. He mainly felt empty, as if some sense of pathos was struggling to be realized within him. He didn’t understand why, nor did he particularly want to think about what it meant…

“Folks, we’re about to engage the third stage drive. Please hang on and remain seated.”

“Oh dear,” Muktari breathed, tightening his grip on the arm rests. Natalia raised her voice to be heard over the sound of the gentle warning bell that began to fill the cabin with its chimes.

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing like breaking orbit. You’ll barely feel it at all.”

She was right too. It was marginally better. As soon as the noise died down, they felt a push that pushed Muktari into his seat and pulled Natalia against her restraints. But the force was relatively calm compared to the concerted effort it took to get them from the ground into the lower atmosphere. It almost felt soothing by comparison, and ended quicker too.

When the engine cut out, they began to coast again and things once again seemed to float everywhere. Muktari leaned back once more and took a deep, cleansing breath.

“Better?” she asked.

“Oh, yes. I love the irony of it too.”

“Irony? What irony?”

He opened his eyes, saw the look of genuine confusion on her face. He considered explaining it to her, how the very man who seemed to be proposing that some segment of humanity break the bonds of Earth and travel to the stars was terrified of doing it himself. That in itself seemed like irony enough, but the deeper implications of that were not something he felt like discussing. It was not simply a joyous experiment, he knew, but a possible necessity.

Mankind would either slip the bonds of Earth forever, or risk perishing below as it became less and less hospitable.  How could he explain that to one such as her, someone still young and from all outward appearances, happy to be alive in her time?

“Never mind,” he said. “It’s a moot point. All that matters is, you’re father wants to see me and I’m obliging him. As I imagine all people do.”

“He does seem to have that effect on people.”

Muktari hummed thoughtfully. “And does he make them all go through the effort of coming topside to see him or does he deign to travel to meet them from time to time?”

Her eyes grew distant and she looked away as she answered. “Not for some time now.”

It was Muktari’s turn to look confused, but nothing more seemed forthcoming and he didn’t feel like asking. He was sure all things would be made plain enough once they reached Harding’s particular module. Then he could marvel over the engineering achievement of such a thing and stroke Harding’s ego by telling him he had never seen one up close. He was sure he would find that flattering enough, and might even choose to intrigue Muktari by describing it’s construction in detail to him. He was sure he would find any discussion of a module’s internal ecology quite interesting to.

After a moment of strained silence, Natalia smiled to him again and retrieved her Flexpad. For the duration of the flight, they said nothing more to each other. Only the occasional corrective burst from the retro rockets seemed to break the smooth monotony of their course. Earth disappeared out the port side window too and all he could see after that was a background of stars. Looking at the rotating star field was likely to trigger vertigo, so he simply closed his eyes and tried to rest until they arrived.

It wasn’t until sunlight broke through the window that he chose to open them again.

“Oh! Oh my!” he said, shielding them from the harsh light. Once more, he was suffering terribly from the effects of a single night of irresponsibility.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Yes, just let me know when the window’s adjusted.”

He heard her giggle. “It already has, so you’re safe. And you really should look. You can see it from here.”

“See what?”

“Curiosity,” she said plainly. That brought his eyes open. Anything with such an abstract name was something he had to see. Straining to adjust his eyes, he looked out the tinted window and waited for something other than the glowing ball in the background to become apparent to him.

And then it came to him. Twinkling in the night, it’s solar arrays stretching to the side like long, shining filaments, the small satellite hung before them. He could make out the hub in the center of it, discernible by its flashing status lights. As they neared, this bulbous middle section elongated and became a cylindrical structure, the lights flashing on it surface indicating that it was rotating. Only a small band at the very center of it remained steady, where the long arrays were mounted.

Towards the bottom end, where they seemed to be heading, a large aperture loomed. Bright lights shined out from within, and more blinking lights moved before his eyes as the doors on which they were mounted seemed to be sliding open to admit them.

Some more corrective bursts, and the entire thing shifted towards the nose of their craft. Slowly, Earth filled the window again and its yellow and green continents and shimmering skies were all that they could see. Another burst pushed him forwards against his restraints, and he felt them slowing.

And then, his window went grey. A long wall overtook them, metal, lighting and composite materials swallowing their ship and closing in behind them. More bursts, more corrective movements, and then a loud clang reverberated through the hall and he felt them come to a stop.

He felt blood trickle back into his feet and was struck by a slight dizziness. He lifted his arm again and noted the return of gravity, albeit just by a fraction. Clearly, the station was simulating barely a quarter g, if that much at all. He would find walking quite disorienting at first, then perhaps a bit adventurous. He would have to be careful.

Natalia’s voice was like a trumpeter call when she announced that it was time.

“Come on. I’ve arranged a short tour before we see my father. You’ll be quite interested to see what Curiosity has to offer.”

Muktari’s ears registered her voice like a harsh disturbance. At the moment, they were attuned to every noise in the ship, every din coming through the walls from the outside.  He could hear the sound of buzzing and whirring at work, coming through the walls fro somewhere to their fore. No doubt, a docking collar was extending from somewhere inside the bay and was busy mounting itself on the ship’s hatch.

“Are you coming?” she said, getting to her feet.

He very carefully undid his restraints, raised himself to his feet, and then sat back down.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I think I’ll wait. Don’t want to exit too soon. Decompression and all that.”

She didn’t laugh or giggle this time. After dealing with all his other hang ups, she appeared to be getting just the slightest bit tired of him. She extended her hand and addressed him the way a mother might address a child.

“I assure you, Doctor. No one is going to let you step off before the collar is fully fixed and pressurized. No one has ever died or suffered from asphyxiation while in my father’s care.”

She imbued his title with some degree of emphasis, he noticed. Perhaps she was seeking to remind him he was a man of science and such behaviors were supposed to be beneath him.

He shook his head. “Even so…”

She sighed once more and took hold of his hand. “Don’t worry,” she said calmly, but firmly. “I’ll be there with you in case anything bad happens. But I promise you, nothing will.”

He looked down at her hand, touching his, then to her face. Her eyes were insistent, but still soft and charming. And her hand felt warm against his, quite warm. Suddenly, he forgot about his dizzy spell and the remote chance he might die as he stepped off the craft. Even his headache seemed a distant memory right now…

US Navy’s Killer Drones! Dolphins Get a Repreive

Yes, it seems the once heralded killer-dolphins of the US Navy are finally getting the pink slips, and not a moment too soon! With the Cold War now behind us, the use of water mammals as hunter-seekers – a controversial practice at the best of times – finally seems to be coming to an end. In the new age, an age of robots and unmanned vehicles, it seems the Navy will be taking a page from the US Air Force and replacing them with drone like the Knifefish (pictured above).

Designed by the Navy not only as a fiscally responsible and humane replacement for Dolphins, this new drone was also inspired by recent demands from the Pentagon to deal with the problems arising from tensions overseas.  Earlier this year, when Iran threatened to close down the Straight of Hormuz – the waterway between Oman and Iran where 17 million barrels of oil pass through every day – the Pentagon became worried. If such a channel were to be mined, clearing it would be dangerous, time consuming and costly work.

Already, they had considered using the the German-made Seafox, a 1.2 meter (4 foot), 45 kilogram (100-pound) semiautonomous drone that is controlled using fiber optic cable. Unfortunately, the limits of this model and the cost ($100,000 per drone) led many to conclude that a more cost-effective option was necessary. Hence, the Knifefish, a 5.8 meter (19 foot) 770 kilogram (1700 pound) robot that has an extended range and improved capabilities.

For starters, it is powered by lithium-ion batteries that give it an operational life of up to 16 hours. It also uses a low-frequency synthetic aperture sonar that can penetrate beneath a soft sea floor, giving it the ability to distinguish mines mines from submerged debris with better accuracy. Mines will be able to be fingerprinted in real time by using resonance patterns obtained during imaging and comparing them to known signatures.

Granted, this is not exactly a cheaper option than importing Seafoxes, but given the benefits to mine sweeping in the Persian Gulf and other potential areas of conflict, the Pentagon considers it a worthy investment. Eight units have been ordered and will be built jointly by General Dynamics and Bluefin Robotics, at a total cost of $20 million. Naval divers are still expected to carry out many mine clearing operations themselves, but drones will reduce dive frequency and associated risk.

The key here is that the Knifefish drones will be responsible for identifying and mapping underwater mines, not destroying them. Responsibility for performing such acts will no doubt be a matter for international bodies and courts to negotiate, applying martime law and international treaties to the mix. Also, the Knifefish is also being proposed as a means for private companies to monitor underwater pipelines and offshore oil rigs. So in addition to aiding in the protection against terrorism or naval blockages, the Knifefish could be used to ensure environmental safety.

Source: Extremetech.com

NASA’s Next-Gen Spacesuit

It’s like something Buzz Lightyear would be seen in, minus the death ray laser. It’s called the Z-1 spacesuit, a prototype that NASA hopes to incorporate into their equipment lineup by 2015. Not only does this new design offer a wide range of advantages compared with the space agency’s previous suit – the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit – it also represents the first major overhaul in spacesuit technology since 1998.

For example, it boasts a rear-entry hatch which lets an astronaut put on the suit from the back, as opposed to putting on the top, bottom and helmet separately. This hatch also coincides with a feature known as the suit port, which allows the suit to be attached to the outside of a vehicle (such as a rover), thus allowing the astronaut to simply enter the suit from inside the vehicle. This is a big step from the current space suits which must be stored and put on internally.

I don’t see a resemblance, do you?

On top of that, the Z-1 excels in the areas of mobility and visibility. The former arises from the fact that the suit comes as a single piece rather than being made up of multiple segments. The larger, bubble dome helmet is what ensures that the astronauts has a better field of view. And finally, NASA plans to address the issue of life support through the portable PLSS 2.0 which condenses all life support systems into one package and does not need external components.

The PLSS 2.0 design also incorporates a massive bonus in the form of the Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator temperature regulator, which would actually make it possible for future astronauts to comfortably walk on extraterrestrial planets. According to NASA’s PLSS engineer Carly Watts, the PLSS 2.0 “can be used in a Martian environment. It can be frozen without damaging the unit, and it’s not particularly sensitive to contamination.” Good news for the astronauts heading to Mars in 2030, assuming the budget environment remains friendly after President Obama is no longer in power.

Check out this video of NASA Public Affairs Officer Brandi Dean talking with Cristina Anchondo, Z1 spacesuit test director, about the Z1 spacesuit at the Johnson Space Center.

Source: news.cnet.com

NASA Makes Appearance at 2013 Inauguration

The 2013 Inaugural Parade on January 21st – my birthday, fyi – was quite the sight to see. In addition to the President and First Lady, many floats, and thousands of onlookers, the good folks at NASA also made an appearance. Specifically, two floats featuring the Orion deep space capsule and the Curiosity Rover were part of the parade, passing in front of the White House and the official reviewing stand while President Obama, VP Joe Biden, their families and numerous dignitaries smiling and waving.

The life-sized models were greeted with plenty of fanfare and fair weather as they floated near the front of the procession, and it is estimated that over a million people were on hand to witness the event. NASA was the only federal agency to be asked to take part in the inaugural parade, which goes to show you how important the administration considers their efforts. But given all that NASA has accomplished as of late, that should come as no small surprise.

In the few short months since it landed, Curiosity has uncovered very compelling evidence that water once flowed on Mars, and the Orion capsule is expect to take astronauts back to the moon and father into space than ever before. What’s more, the Obama administration has already granted the funding for NASA to go ahead with its plans to establish an outpost on the Moon in the next few years, as well as a manned mission to the Mars by 2030. In short, NASA and the Obama administration are pretty tight; and if you ask me, both are stronger for it!

Check out the video below of the procession, or go to NASA Flickr page for more photos of the inaugural parade.

Source: Universe Today.com

The Future is Here: The ASB Glassfloor!

It looks like something out of Tron, doesn’t it? In truth, its LED lights underneath a glass surface, but the end result is nothing short of awesome, not to mention convenient. It’s known as the ASB Glassfloor, the latest creation from German manufacturer Germany’s ASB Systembau. Using a system where an aluminum substructure supports the surface and LED’s provide light lines, a gymnasium or sports arena can be converted from a volleyball court, to a basketball court, to a series of tennis courts by simply pushing a button.

What’s more, ceramic dots on the glass re-create the feel of a wooden surface, while special etchings diffuse the LED light and prevent glare from bothering athletes. And for those who worry that the entire thing will shatter as soon as the home team takes the floor, know that this “glass” is actually a high-tech tempered security variety that is actually more durable and longer lasting than a conventional wood floor, meaning it can bear the weight of multiple teams, and is even available in different colors.

And finally, the company also indicated that since the floor’s are basically one large display device, that they can be programmed to broadcast ads in certain spaces, and that the entire floor itself can be turned into a single screen. Hence, while the player’s are playing, people can also enjoy small ads running in the end zone or sidelines, just in case they felt sports weren’t saturated by enough product placements! And at halftime, the floor can put on a show, either on its own or with the help of cheerleaders and a marching band.

My, with all the new display technologies and high-tech surfaces coming out, one would think the entire future is going to be made of “smart glass” and inundated with images and texts. Seems nobody can be satisfied with a simple, non-augmented window or floor anymore. Oh well, it looks cool and that’s what matters!

To see the Glassfloor in action, click on the gif image above, or watch the video below:

Dredd 2012

Hey all! My apologies for my absence of late, but life has been very busy on the teaching front. Cold season always brings big stretches of busy work, and I’ve been on call steadily for the past three weeks. Luckily, I find myself with a day or two to catch up on other things, and so I decided I’d get back on this horse and start things off right.

Today, I’d like to share a review of a movie I recently enjoyed, the summer remake known as Dredd. Based on the graphic novel Judge Dredd, this movie was an attempt by writer John Wagner and director Pete Travis to reboot the franchise after the semi-disastrous 1995 adaptation that starred Sylvester Stallone.

Though the film failed to recoup its production budget at the box office, which was expected, it was reviewed much more favorably than the original and earned a small following. What’s more, it is expected the movie will continue to gross now that it is released on DVD and will be available on cable and home movie providers.

Synopsis:

The movie opens in the streets of Mega City One, a post-apocalyptic urban environment that stretches from Boston to Washington DC. Dredd’s voice provides voiceover, describing the urban environment in all its bloody, crowded, and dirty glory. We then cut to a scene where Dredd (Karl Urban) is pursuing three criminals that have been spotted by an aerial drone. A tense chase ensues, during which time multiple civilians are killed. After taking out their vehicle and chasing the last man into a Block – one of the cities many massive apartment structures – Dredd concludes that the men were carrying a new drug known as Slo-Mo.

We then cut to Peach Trees, another major block, where we meet Ma-Ma (Lena Headey). She is a notorious crime boss that runs Peach Trees and is responsible for the manufacture of Slo-Mo, and who is plotting to expand production and bring it to the rest of the city. We get a glimpse into just how ruthless she is when she dispenses justice against three men who have been dealing in their Block and that she decides to make an example of. This consists of skinning them and then dropping from the top floor to the bottom level, but first giving them a hit of Slo-Mo so it will seem imperceptibly long.

Dredd is then called back to the Grand Hall of Justice to inspect a new recruit named Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), who is reportedly a psychic. She and Dredd are dispatched to Peach Trees as part of her final evaluation to investigate the dead bodies. After the paramedic examines them, he explains that they all had Slo-Mo in their system, and gives them a rundown on who Ma-Ma is and how she came to be the master of the Block.

They then proceed to the nearest distribution center on the Block and take it down, securing one of Ma-Ma’s men (Kay) in the process. Anderson probes his mind and deduces he was the one who threw the men over the balcony and they decide to take him in for interrogation. When word reaches Ma-Ma, she has her thugs seize control of building security and lock the entire Block down, which consists of external shields closing in around the structure to resist a nuclear blast. All communications with the outside are cut off, and Ma-Ma announces over the PA system that she wants the Judges killed.

Dredd and Anderson begin fighting their way through several groups of armed residents with Kay in tow. Eventually, Ma-Ma orders her men to bring out their greatest weapon, a bunch of Vulcan cannons, and use them to shoot up an entire level. Dredd and Anderson narrowly survive by breaching the outer wall and calling for help, and Dredd then tosses Caleb, one of Ma-Mas henchmen over the balcony in full view of her. Down below, two Judges show up on the scene, but are unable to get through the Block’s sealed walls, and Ma-Ma’s hacker insists this is all part of a security drill.

Retreating to a school house, Dredd concludes that Ma-Ma is desperate to kill Kay to keep him for revealing her secrets and begins beating him. Anderson intervenes and begins mind probing him instead, learning that Peach Trees is the center for the production and distribution of Slo-Mo. Shortly thereafter, Dredd and Anderson are distracted by some armed teens, which allows Kay to kidnap Anderson and escape using the freight elevator to get to the top levels.

Dredd continues to work his way towards the top, prompting Ma-Ma to call in four corrupt Judges. They relieve the men at the front, enter without incident, and agree to take down Dredd for one million credits. Meanwhile, Kay attempts to kill Anderson using her gun, and loses his hand in the process. She escapes and begins working her way down, and becomes a target of the crooked Judges as well. Between the two of them, they manage to take out all four and meet up in the Slo-Mo production lab. Dredd is wounded by Lex, the last of the Judges, but Anderson saves him and the two carry on.

After finding Ma-Ma’s hacker, they manage to obtain the code from him to her private cell. Rather than Judge him, Anderson sees that the man only worked for Ma-Ma out of fear, and that she was the one who took his eyes, forcing him to get bionic enhancements. She lets him go, even though Dredd tells her it could result in an “automatic fail”. She responds by saying she was already taken hostage and her gun was confiscated, which is also grounds for an a fail grade, and they move on.

They finally reach Ma-Ma’s cell and take out the last of her men, though Anderson is also wounded in the process. Ma-Ma then tells Dredd she has the upper levels lined with explosives and the detonator is mounted on her wrist. If her heart stops, the device will go off and everyone in the top 50 floors will die. Dredd shoots her in the stomach and responds by saying the he doubts the device has a range that can reach from the ground floor to the top, and Judges her. Sentencing her to death, he gives her a hit of Slo-Mo and tosses her from the balcony. She falls in slow motion to her death, and the building doesn’t blow up.

Convening with reinforcements and paramedics below, Anderson hands her shield to Dredd and walks away. However, when the Chief Judge comes to him and asks how she did, he replied that she passed. The movie then ends with Dredd providing voice over once again, about how the city is a corrupt mess, and the only thing standing between it and total chaos are the Judges.

Summary:

Consistent with what I heard in advance, this movie was actually pretty good. And even though it didn’t do well at the box office, the result of the meme working against it, I can see it developing a cult following and becoming something of a personal classic to many in the coming years. Despite some flaws, such as the excessive gore and some self-indulgent special effects, it had some noticeable signs of quality.

For starters, the look and feel of the Megacity environment was pretty awesome. The gritty, grimy nature comes through immediately, and without any of the overdone campiness of the original movie. Rather than shooting it in a massively constructed environment with flying cars and lavish costumes, the movie is shot in Cape Town and Johannesburg and uses real locations as a backdrop and relies on CGI and models only to supplement the already dense and dirty urban environment.

And of course there was the attention to detail with the centerpiece of the movie, the building known as Peach Trees. As a Mega City Block, this building is essentially an arcology where all the basic needs of the residents are taken care of in-house. This includes schools, medical care, food, entertainment, and all of these were illustrated at one point or another in the film. And you’ll notice that in all cases, their was graffiti on the walls, garbage on the floor, and metal bars on everything, signifying just how dirty and dangerous the environments are.

And I really enjoyed the whole “lock down” procedure, which was more than just a convenient plot tool. In a world where nuclear holocaust has already taken place and every Block acts as a self-sustaining arcology, the concept of shield walls was just plain genius in my mind. Visually it was quite cool, but it also made perfect sense and it beautifully illustrated the shock mentality and survivalist instincts that are so common to this world.

And of course the movie was thematically consistent. On the one hand, you had the nature of the city, which was packed to the brim with 800 million people and with a homicide rate of 1700 people a day. Whereas Dredd is the perfect symbol of social fascism in this context, a man who has little faith in people and absolute veneration of the law, Anderson is the bright-eyed rookie who wants to help people and believes there is good to be found, even in an overcrowded block like Peach Trees.

These archetypes are offset by characters such as Ma-Ma and Lex, the leader of the crooked Judge. As her back story presents it, Ma-Ma is essentially a sociopathic product of the Mega City environment, a former prostitute who killed her pimp after he cut up her face and who has been on a non-stop mission ever since to bring her own sense of order to the city. Lex, meanwhile, is an embittered veteran who has lost all faith in the system and helping people and is simply looking out for number one.

Through it all, Dredd is softened somewhat by his encounter with the corrupt Judges and Anderson’s gentleness. Naturally, his war of ideology with Ma-Ma ends with him taking her out, but not before a long battle of wills takes place. This is exemplified by the way the two dual for control over the hearts and minds of people in Peach Tree. Whereas Ma-Ma uses their fear to obtain their help in hunting Dredd, Dredd fights back with his unflinching dedication to take her down and anybody who gets in the way. Ultimately, Dredd wins in part because Ma-Ma’s insanity and willingness to kill her own convince people to keep out of the way and let Dredd do his job.

What’s more, the movie was well cast. Karl Urban fits the bill as the surly, sour-faced Judge who never shows his face and is never to be found doing anything other than his job. And Thirlby pulls off the role of the green, untested rookie who comes through in the end quite well. And Lena Headey, whom fans know from 300, the Sarah Conner Chronicles, and (best of all) as Cersei Lannister from a the HBO adaptation of A Game of Thrones, was also very convincing as Ma-Ma.

I was surprised really, seeing as how the previews kind of lent the impression that her role was overdone or just too plain evil. But it is a testament to this woman’s ability to act that she pulls off the psychotic crime boss who knows no mercy. Somehow, between her cut up face, evil eyes and bloody grin, you become convinced she was a victim who turned her abuse into complete madness and shouldn’t be messed with! What’s more, Urban’s usual combination of deadpan frowns and monotone voice worked in his favor, much like how Keannu Reeves same combination of method and monotone allowed him to pull of Neo.

And of course, there were the visual effects. There are those who would say that this movie was just an ultra-violent gorefest with overblown special effects. But to that, I’d say it was a lot more genuine that the original, and much of the gore and violence was appropriate given the setting and tone of the movie. Mega City One is a massively overcrowded, decaying cesspool of humanity, where thousands of murders happen a day and human bodies are recycled for food and goods.

Such a place is neither safe nor sanitary, and violence is a constant, pervasive element. And sure, the concept of Slo-Mo may very well have been an excuse to employ some over the top 3D and slow motion sequences. But after watching the movie, I was forced to admit, it was a pretty damn good one! In the end, you can’t help but feel that these two factors are somewhat excessive but still appropriate.

Naturally, the original movie tried to gloss over this since they wanted to give it as wide an appeal as possible. This failed, as much of the material was just too adult for kids, but the tone and feel of it was too cartoony to be taken seriously. Basically, the movie tried to hedge its bets and ended up flopping for it. But this time around, the directors and producers were going for a cult appeal and stuck to their guns, which I have to respect. By aiming for a smaller range of consumers and a less broad appeal, they were able to keep the movie honest and truer to the source material.

In short, I give it a 7.5/10. And man, I want to see more of Mega City One! That urban landscape had a kick-ass art team putting it together! I’d recommend the movie for that much alone, especially to fans of the Blade Runner, urban noire and post-apocalyptic series’, but the rest of the movie is fun watching too. So get it and contribute to the cult following people. The producers still need to recoup their dough!

More Plans to Colonize Mars!

Folks may recognize the name SpaceX, the private aerospace company that in May of last year launched a module into space to resupply  the International Space Station. An historic occasion, that was the first time a private spacecraft has has ever docked with the ISS, and signaled a growing trend in the development in commercial space travel. Well, it seems that the company’s founder has more ambitious plans now.

Yes, in a bid to make sure his company is not left behind in any future space endeavors, CEO and billionaire Elon Musk has announced plans to colonize the Red Planet with a population of 80,000. The announcement came back in November at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London, where Musk appeared to receive the Society’s gold medal for helping to advance the commercial space industry.

The first phase of the program, which is contingent on the development of reusable rocket that can take off and land vertically, would start off modestly with only a handful of explorers leaving Earth at a time. To make it happen, SpaceX has already started to work on their next-generation reusable Falcon 9 rocket, known as “Grasshopper”. This rocket has already made two short flights, including one in which it reached a height of 2 meters (6 feet), and another in which it leaped to a height of  5.4 meters (17.7 feet). Small beginnings, as they say!

The projected cost for each colonist looking to make the trip would be roughly $500,000. In short, those who are not rich or extremely adventurous need not apply! What’s more, he estimated that the entire program would cost about $36 billion, an inevitable expense to set up the initial infrastructure and transport. But once that is done, he believes enough people will be interested and find it within their means that the venture will pay for itself.

In an interview with Space.com, Musk’s vision for sending people to Mars was described as follows:

“Accompanying the founders of the new Mars colony would be large amounts of equipment, including machines to produce fertilizer, methane and oxygen from Mars’ atmospheric nitrogen and carbon dioxide and the planet’s subsurface water ice.

“The Red Planet pioneers would also take construction materials to build transparent domes, which when pressurized with Mars’ atmospheric CO2 could grow Earth crops in Martian soil. As the Mars colony became more self sufficient, the big rocket would start to transport more people and fewer supplies and equipment.”

So save your pennies and prepare for the day when tickets go on sale! Hard to say exactly when that will be, but chances are, it will be either feasible or abandoned by 2030. That’s when NASA plans to mount manned missions to the Red Planet. And like I said, men like Musk don’t want to be left behind!

Source: space.com

Calling All Revengers…

Hello comrades, thank you all for coming. We’ve completed work on our first three missions and it’s time to take stock of what we’ve done. In our first sorties as a crime fighting justice league, we managed to take down a mob boss, a corrupt city counselor, a  notorious pimp, and a drug manufacturing operation that threatened to pollute our city. In the process, we also saved several lives and made the lives of many more better and safer.

Yes, the city sleeps more soundly tonight thanks to the work of hardened men and women who are willing to do what is necessary to put the scum and the filth where they belong. And yet, it seems that despite our recent efforts, the problems of crime, corruption and abuse goes far deeper than anyone thought. We’ve pulled back the surface layer of scum only to find that the infection runs deep.

It is as an old friend of mine used to say: “You dig a few feet, you’ll find five bodies. You dig ten feet, you’ll find a hundred.” And so it is time to consider what our next moves will be. And I can think of no better place than to consider what was learned from our first three engagements. During our first outing, we learned that Joey the Stare Keithly or Councilman Harlan. We noted the presence of a telepath at that engagement, and this requires some further investigation.

Second came the rather cryptic message discovered by Judgement while investigating the case of the DA’s office and the business tycoon. After finding both parties dead in the DA’s office, her uncovered a note with three words: “Princess” and “the Oracle”. Apparently, these names allude to positions of leadership in the N-Feed community. Naturally, Judgement considers this an internal matter, but our organization has several N-Feed members who are offering their help. We need to look farther into this at some point.

And finally, our interrogation of Billy Bob revealed that his operations are partly controlled by the Bratzsva, the Ukrainian mafia. The drug plant and his brothels are no free of his tyrannical influence, but they remain in effect. What’s more, the girls still need to be liberated and his lieutenants taken down. We don’t want one of them stepping up to fill the void left by Bob’s departure. It’s time to burn this infection out from the source!

And of course, the floor is open for further suggestions. Anybody know of some scumbags or crooked bastards that need to be taken down? Or perhaps there are some innocents who need a helping hand? Or, just a suggestion, a PR mission to let the public know exactly who we are and what we do? It aint all about hurting people, after all. Oh, and always remember to be careful out there!

Pappa Zulu – Chapter 47

“An ambuscade, if discovered and promptly surrounded, will repay the intended mischief with interest.”

-Vegetius

Ross held back and tapped his foot impatiently as the two nurses  pulled the doors open. Dezba thought the room was cold as it was, but the light breeze that came to greet them revised that assessment quickly. Dezba drew a sharp breath and realized just how sweaty he had become. His clingy shirt and dampened pants were a sudden liability.

“They didn’t explain?” he said to Ross. Ross sighed again and shook his head.

“No. Just that they had their orders and I had mine now. Funny how a crisis works, isn’t it? Everybody has their orders.”

Dezba smiled wryly. He was sure this version of the Doc would get mighty tiresome, but at the moment, he was actually enjoying it. It was nice to know that the usual process of angst and impatience could flow in the other directions as well. Somehow, it made one feel less guilty.

The doors were now fully open and Ross stepped forward. He looked into the cool depths as the internal lighting came on, dozens of fluorescent fixtures that gave everything an eerie glow. Dezba followed, keeping her weapon close at hand.

A long series of metal tables filled the room, two sets up against the walls with another running up the middle. They passed fields and rows of containers holding all kinds of solutions and liquids. Dezba didn’t recognize a damn thing, but some of the cases contained what looked like tiny vials. Might have been drugs, the kinds that needed refrigeration. Then again, they might have been saline solution for all he knew.

The only thing that seemed particularly out of place was the large case sitting on its own near the end of one table. It was in the shape of a cube, plastic sheets being held aloft by a metal frame. The top side had a zipper on it that ran diagonally along the face. Every other side carrie d a biohazard image, the word running beneath just in case there was any confusion. Dezba was immediately struck by a strange sense of deja vu.

Ross reached into his pocket and produced some rubber gloves. “Perhaps,” he said, snapping them on, “you can finally explain to me what we’re doing with this.”

He reached out and grabbed the zipper tab, opened it with one hard tug. The flap fell down, and landed on something dark and morbid looking. Dezba stepped forward slowly, Ross’ hand came up to stop him at the point of looking in.

“I’d recommend you don’t touch it, or get particularly close to it. Just tell me what the hell it is.”

Dezba nodded and did as he was told. Coming around a few feet to spot what lay just inside the open flap, he spied the hairy remains and fetid flesh he remembered uncomfortably well. Even though his chilled nostrils detected no trace of rotted odors, he drew back and shielded his nose. He had already spent far too much time with that stinking remains and didn’t want to be reminded of them.

“That’s Mance Harmonn,” he said. “Or at least, what’s left of him after the virus turned him… and my LT took a knife to his head.”

“I see,” Ross said tritely, and redid the zipper. He stepped away from the box and proceeded to remove his gloves, but he kept talking. “And what, might I ask, is he doing in my hospital, can you say?”

Dezba fumbled on that one. Why the hell Mance’s head had turned up on the Doc’s doorstep was as much a mystery to him as it was to the doctor himself.

“I was kind of hoping you’d know, sir.”

Ross turned around and narrowed his eyes at him. “Oh? Was I assuming too much in thinking that in the midst of a crisis like this one, you’d be in the know?”

Dezba couldn’t be sure if that was intended as an insult or not. He simply shrugged. “I guess so, Doc. Been kind of laid out, as you know.”

Ross emitted a noise that sounded somewhat like a chuckle, but there was no trace of joviality in it.

“But you know who that is? You had a hand in killing him.”

Dezba nodded, held up his left arm. “Yes, doctor. Lost one doing it too.”

Ross involuntarily looked at his artificial hand and frowned. “So who is he? And why the hell is he significant?”

“That’s classified,” Dezba replied without flinching. He didn’t know what else to say, but until he was back in the line of duty and told otherwise, he knew better than to share details about a top secret op with just anyone.

Naturally, Ross wasn’t pleased with the answer. “I dedicate my life to helping you people, but in the end, you can’t even give me a straight answer, even if it might save my patient’s lives.”

“I’m sorry… what?”

Ross pointed to the open doors. “Those men out there, the ones you said were coming here. They’re looking for that, aren’t they?”

Dezba dropped his head and eyed his boots sheepishly. He could see where the Doc was going with this, and nodded.

“And now that you know it’s here, you’re going to be putting up a defense with that Corporal and his men, aren’t you?”

Dezba managed to make eye contact again, but couldn’t answer verbally. He nodded again.

“Ah, and when the men who are coming here arrive, do you think they’ll hesitate to open fire on your and yours in order to get at it? Is it important enough to them that they’ll kill anyone protecting it, and those around them?”

Dezba couldn’t answer at all, verbally or otherwise. He tried to nod, shrug, or shake his head, but all he could managed was some vague in-between gesture. Ross took that for confirmation and smiled menacingly.

“And there we have it! This hospital is now officially the front line in a warzone. And not just that, we also have the added distinction of being the enemy’s main objective! So in addition to bringing the war to our doorstep by involving us in their little game of hide the prize, the Mage has made my patients and me potential collateral when the shooting starts.”

He began to pace and waved his hands around to give some added expression to his feelings. When he reached the end of his tirade, he turned to face Dezba for confirmation.

“Have I got all this right?”

Dezba gave it the once-over, noticed one salient point that needed correcting.

“Not quite,” he said. “At this point, there’s a good chance the Mage is dead.”

Ross’ face lost the venomous grin and became very sober. He raised his hand to mouth, but knowing where it just was, reversed it and held the back of his hand to his lip.

“So who’s in charge?” he asked.

“No idea,” Dezba replied. “I’m running blind, just like you. All I know for sure is, some very bad or very misguided men are coming here very soon. And even if they aren’t coming here looking for that,” he pointed to the case. “They’ll take the fact that there are armed grunts here as an indication that this place needs to be secured. Either way, moment they do that, this war is over.”

Ross frowned at him, looked back at the yellow box sitting on his table. “It’s that important to them?”

Dezba nodded. “To them, to us… to everybody out there who hasn’t been infected yet and wants to stay that way.”

Ross kept frowning, but quickly, his eyes took a bright quality and widened by several orders of magnitude. Dezba immediately felt a pang of fear as he realized he had divulged enough for Ross to figure it out. The Doc pointed to the box and began to mutter indistinctly.

“Are you – is that – is he the-?”

“I really can’t say anything more, doc,” Dezba said with a raised hand. “But you get it now, don’t you?”

Ross nodded this time around, as it was his turn to be unable to find any words. The look of near shock of his face also remained. For several seconds, he said nothing at all and just crossed his arms. Realizations seemed to be coming hard today, really hard. But that was the nature of crises. Things never came cheap on such days, everything hitting the fan at once and everything paid for in blood and lives.

All he knew for sure was, they weren’t in a good place to be appreciating such things.

“Doc, can we move this back out there? I’m freezing my ass off.”

Ross uncrossed his arms, realized he had been insulating himself from the cold, and nodded.

“Yeah, sure.”

They stepped back into the adjoining room, where the anxious looking male nurses finally sealed the doors behind them. They closed with a squeezing thud as a whole lot of cold air was trapped inside, and Dezba shivered from the welcome change in temperature.

Ross turned to him again, still looking humbled but with more things to say.

“We moved the patients to keep them safe from the shooting but…” he raised his hand for emphasis. “This… hospital was not made to withstand rocket propelled grenades or explosives. You understand that right?”

Dezba nodded somberly. He knew precisely what the doctor was referring to.

“You want me to try and get them to leave in peace?”

“There are a lot of lives here, Sergeant. If they don’t know that that head is here, you might convince them to move on.”

Dezba shrugged. “If they don’t, maybe. But if they do know… nothing in the world will make them turn away.”

Ross looked to consider that and touched the back of his hand to his lips again. A grave smile had grown there when he pulled his hand away.

“Do your best, Sergeant. Hopefully, luck will be on our side for a change.”