Stephen Euin Cobb's Blog, page 24

The Future And You -- May 9, 2012

Les Johnson (author, speaker and NASA deputy manager) is today's featured guest.

Topic: Part 2 of Trends in space exploration. What's going on now, and some of the missions which are planned for the future.

Les Johnson serves as the Deputy Manager for the Advanced Concepts Office at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He was the technical consultant for the movie Lost in Space. And In his spare time he writes popular science books and articles--for example. In collaboration with C Bangs (an artist) and Greg Matloff (a professor of astronomy) he wrote:Paradise Regained: The Regreening of Earth (2009); Living Off the Land in Space (2007); and with Greg Matloff and Giovanni Vulpetti he wrote Solar Sails: A Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel (2008). And with Jack McDevitt, he has a new book coming out this month called: Going Interstellar.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 9, 2011 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 35 minutes] This is the second half of an interview recorded using Skype on April 27, 2012.

News item: This is the 250th episode of The Future And You.

The Future And You -- May 2, 2012

Les Johnson (author, speaker and NASA deputy manager) is today's featured guest.

Topic: Trends in space exploration. What's going on now, and some of the missions which are planned for the future.

Les Johnson serves as the Deputy Manager for the Advanced Concepts Office at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He was the technical consultant for the movie Lost in Space. And In his spare time he writes popular science books and articles--for example. In collaboration with C Bangs (an artist) and Greg Matloff (a professor of astronomy) he wrote:Paradise Regained: The Regreening of Earth (2009); Living Off the Land in Space (2007); and with Greg Matloff and Giovanni Vulpetti he wrote Solar Sails: A Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel (2008). And with Jack McDevitt, he has a new book coming out this month called: Going Interstellar.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 2, 2011 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 39 minutes] This is the first half of an interview recorded using Skype on April 27, 2012.

News item: The BBC news website published an article describing research showing ways in which pacemakers and other medical implants can be attacked by hackers. Some of these attacks have potentially lethal results. And Listener Emails: Concerns with Marshall Brain's new book Manna: Two Visions of Humanity's Future.

The Future And You -- April 25, 2012

Marshall Brain (founder of HowStuffWorks.com) is today's featured guest.

Topic: The remarkably GOOD future which we can create for ourselves using the robots which will dominate our economy during the next decade or two. (Last week Marshall explored the bad possibilities, this week he explores the good.)

This is a thorough examination of Marshall Brain's new book: Manna: Two Visions of Humanity's Future. One of his two visions is remarkably bad, and the other is remarkably good.  Both are completely different from any form of civilization we have seen before. Currently we are on track toward the future that is bad. In today's episode we will discuss the remarkably bad future, Next week we will discuss the remarkably good future.

Marshall Brain is best known as the founder of HowStuffWorks.com, which grew into one of the top Web sites in the country, and sold in 2007 to Discovery Communications for $250 million. He hosted the TV show "Factory Floor" which appeared on the National Geographic channel. And he has written a number of books, articles and essays, which -- just like the famous website he created -- explain in a no-nonsense way how stuff works. A perfect example is his article "How to make a million dollars."  Which can be read for free on his website: MarshallBrain.com.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 25, 2011 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 33 minutes] This is the second half of an interview recorded using Skype on April 6, 2012.

The Future And You -- April 18, 2012

Marshall Brain (founder of HowStuffWorks.com) is today's featured guest.

Topic: The remarkably BAD side of what the rise of robots may do to our culture, civilization, economy, and lifestyles during the next decade or two. This is a thorough examination of Marshall Brain's new book: Manna: Two Visions of Humanity's Future. One of his two visions is remarkably bad, and the other is remarkably good. Both are completely different from any form of civilization we have seen before. Currently we are on track toward the future that is bad. In today's episode we will discuss the remarkably bad future, Next week we will discuss the remarkably good future.

Marshall Brain is best known as the founder of HowStuffWorks.com, which grew into one of the top Web sites in the country, and sold in 2007 to Discovery Communications for $250 million. He hosted the TV show "Factory Floor" which appeared on the National Geographic channel. And he has written a number of books, articles and essays, which--just like the famous website he created--explain in a no-nonsense way how stuff works. A perfect example is his article "How to make a million dollars," which can be read for free on his website: MarshallBrain.com.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 18, 2012 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 30 minutes] This is the first half of an interview recorded using Skype on April 6, 2012.

The Future And You -- April 11, 2012

Paul Fischer (digital network engineer) is our featured guest.

Topics: Fun, Interesting and Cool Stuff (but no future or computer security). For example: Beer (especially high-end micro-brews), BaltiCon and the BaltiCon Podcast, The one time your host accidentally visited a Brothel, the time your host's high school chemistry teacher showed the class how to make wine, and the world's simplest method for distilling wine into hard liquor. 

Bonus: After you have listened to this episode you will know how to make all the wine you want at home using materials anyone can buy at any food store. You will also know how to distill any wine you make into hard liquor without effort over a period of eight hours using only devices you already own--a method which uses no heat, no fire and no evaporation.  

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 11, 2012 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 35 minutes]. This is the final part of an interview recorded using Skype on March 3, 2012.

Paul Fischer is a digital network engineer. In his spare time (teamed with his wife, Martha Holloway) he organizes the new media track at the science fiction convention Balticon; produces the Balticon Podcast; and has several times served as judge for the annual Parsec Awards which are given for Excellence in Podcasting.

News Item: Google Glasses (augmented reality glasses) are scheduled to become publicly available before the end of 2012. (As per an article in the NY Times dated Feb 21, 2012 written by Nick Bilton.)

Announcement: Bones Burnt Black (the FREE audio book) took the #1 position on the list of "Today's Top Subscriptions" at Podiobooks.com on April 9, and simultaneously took the #2 position on their list of "Most Popular Books by Number of Subscriptions in the Last 30 Days."

The Future And You -- April 4, 2012

Paul Fischer (digital network engineer) is our featured guest.

Topics: Cyberwar: Several specific examples of computer hacking done by military forces around the world. How Iran's nuclear program was successfully cyber attacked. How the Chinese government successfully attacked a school in the USA (and bragged about it on their official TV news program). How a commercial airliner's onboard computer was accidentally infected with a virus which crashed the plane and killed all aboard. Also described: Why your car is now vulnerable to computer hacking, and how this can put your life in danger. And at least one incident without any hacking at all: how Fidel Castro cleverly tricked the Cubans into first giving up their ammunition, and then later (when they had no bullets) forced them to surrender all their guns.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 4, 2012 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 36 minutes]. This is the third part of an interview recorded using Skype on March 3, 2012.

Paul Fischer is a digital network engineer. In his spare time (teamed with his wife, Martha Holloway) he organizes the new media track at the science fiction convention Balticon; produces the Balticon Podcast; and has several times served as judge for the annual Parsec Awards which are given for Excellence in Podcasting.

Announcement: J.C.Hutchins (author of the popular 7th Son trilogy) said this about the new audio book version of Bones Burnt Black which is available for Free at Podiobooks.com:  "A riveting and realistic portrayal of space travel gone wrong, and of a crew who must fight for their survival. Bones Burnt Black is exciting, and expertly told. A must-listen." Don't miss out. Listen to Bones Burnt Black today.

The Future And You -- March 28, 2012

Evo Terra (author, speaker and digital business strategist) is our featured guest.

Topic: Trends in New Media: Where we are now, how we got here, and some of the shifting trends which are changing the direction of New Media in our future.

Evo Terra is: co-founder of ePublish Unum; founder of Podiobooks.com; a professional public speaker at digital & social media events; and a digital Business strategist at ASW Consulting Services. Previously Evo was the host of Dragon Page Live Fire at 550 AM KFYI Radio, and was co-founder & show host at FarPoint Media. He is also co-author of the books Podcasting for Dummies and Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 28, 2012 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 46 minutes]. This is the complete interview recorded using Skype on March 17, 2012.

News Item: The audio book of your host's novel Bones Burnt Black is now available on Podiobooks.com for FREE. Read by the author himself, this is an improved version of the audio book edition (cleaner sound, and with music added to the beginnings and ends). If you enjoy audio books (especially those that are Free) please give its first chapter a listen.

The Future And You -- March 21, 2012

Paul Fischer  (digital network engineer) is our featured guest.


Topics: Even more examples of how your smart phone is vulnerable to viruses, trojans, worms, and other hacker software; some of which attacks your phone by way of blue-tooth, Wi-Fi, attached to the apps you download, or by tricking you into thinking the attacking software is actually an update for a trusted app you installed some time ago.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 24, 2012 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 42 minutes]. This is the second part of an interview recorded using Skype on March 3, 2012.


Paul Fischer  is a digital network engineer. In his spare time (teamed with his wife, Martha Holloway) he organizes the new media track at the science fiction convention Balticon; produces the Balticon Podcast; and has several times served as judge for the annual Parsec Awards which are given for Excellence in Podcasting.

The Future And You -- March 14, 2012

Paul Fischer (digital network engineer) is our featured guest.


Topics: specific examples of why your smart phone is even more vulnerable to viruses, trojans, worms, and other hacker software than is your computer, and why you can do pretty much nothing about it; how Corpus Christie's automated water meter-reading system caught a thief who'd stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of water, as well as allowed the city to lay-off every last one of their meter readers; and why cities and towns are scrambling to build their own wireless networks for their police, firefighters and other city employees.


Paul Fischer is a digital network engineer. In his spare time (teamed with his wife, Martha Holloway) he organizes the new media track at the science fiction convention Balticon; produces the Balticon Podcast; and has several times served as judge for the annual Parsec Awards which are given for Excellence in Podcasting. 

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 14, 2012 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 39 minutes]. This is the first part of an interview recorded using Skype on March 3, 2012.


News Item: Some of you may be wondering why there has not been a final update on my TA-65 evaluation project yet. Well, it turns out we still have more pills to take. My mother read somewhere that it was good to take a break one day each week when taking TA-65. And so she did. And so we aren't out of pills yet. Although I should mention that even when we run out we will still need to have blood drawn, sent to UCLA for testing, and the results returned before I do a final explanation of all the results; so this could still take another month or two. I ask for your continued patience.


Second News Item: I am pleased to announce that the audio version of my novel Bones Burnt Black will soon join the nearly 600 books available on Podiobooks.com. All of which are offered at everyone's favorite price: Free. If you haven't had a chance to listen to my novel, that opportunity will present itself beginning on March 28, 2012. And if you have heard it already, Podiobooks.com holds many other titles you can enjoy as well. (BTW: This is a new and improved version of Bones Burnt Black. The audio has been cleaned a bit more; and to give it that professional touch, music has been added at the beginning and end of each episode, as well as in the breaks between scenes.)

The Future And You -- March 7, 2012

George Dvorsky (futurist and ethicist) is our featured guest.

Topics: Why he has changed from a Vegetarian Diet to a Paleolithic Diet (which is limited to the foods our species ate before the rise of farming and animal husbandry),  and his recent personal-record-breaking dead-lift of 400 pounds. Also, his expectations concerning: techlepathy (neurotechnologically-assisted telepathy); postgenderism; astrosociobiology (the speculative scientific study of extraterrestrial civilizations and their possible social characteristics and developmental tendencies); caloric restriction; the work of Matt Lalonde and Rob Wolfe; the Conscientious Carnivore; Ancestral Health; Primal Transhumanism; and his worry that the Fermi Paradox represents a "Great Filter" which may still lay ahead of us, and which our species might not survive.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 7, 2012 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 41 minutes]. This is the final third of an interview recorded using Skype on February 17, 2012.

George Dvorsky is a Canadian futurist and ethicist. He has written and spoken extensively about the impacts of cutting-edge science and technology—particularly as they pertain to the improvement of human performance and experience. He is the Chairman of the Board at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and is the program director for the Rights of Non-Human Persons program.