Attack of the flying robots!
Friday, August 16th, 2002Robot Teaches Itself Flying Skills in Three Hours
Archive for August, 2002
out of curiosity
Thursday, August 15th, 2002I wonder if a remote-controlled twelve-foot helium blimp could successfully fly across the Atlantic? The control system would have to be wireless, obviously — maybe pull the guts out of a high-quality PDA, or maybe a cell phone, and replace the blimp's receiver. (A cell-phone control would kill you on roaming charges, though.) There would be a serious problem with power, though — most of these remote control systems have a maximum battery life of two hours.
Maybe a remote control glider would be a better idea?
international perspectives
Wednesday, August 14th, 2002Shit like this never makes it into the American media. Don't you wonder why?
a moment of peace
Tuesday, August 13th, 2002What brings you peace is immeasurably small. Mozart's "Laudate Dominum Vesperae de Dominica," or a few bars of the miraculous duet from "Lakme." Or a ballerina in British Columbia who wrote you to say, I think your poems are danceable. Or better yet, that woman who approached you in a cafe somewhere to tell you that your poems saved her life. That woman whose life you saved, who immediately forgot you and went off and married and had children and found God. What brings you peace is so fragile, so forgettable, that misery becomes infinitely easy. But serenity is still there, palpable, concrete to you as a stone or a city. You can have a small drop of peace if you want it.
