Tau Architecture: The Reactor

Many of you may wonder what dire fates may have befallen the intrepid minds behind our beloved SciencePatrol. Fear not, believers; for i bring news of the adventures of those men who would dare brave the farthest outreaches of science. Sometimes, the ether gets so thick it can be difficult to transmit our many findings.

Yano Solong: As a result of rampant experimentation within uncharted timespheres, yano solong became diefied by a culture of pre-technological bipedal humanoids. After worshiping him as his acolytes for nearly a milenium of their time, they were satisified with his work in the role of that millenia's diety and promptly attempted to sacrifice him to the next one. We are fortunate to report that Yano Solong made safe egress, and has returned to our own timesphere, having suffered the loss of one 'S' as a result of his escape. Dr. Solong was otherwise unscathed.

Wormocious: Worm has chosen, of his own volition, to self-induce a deep cryogenic stasis inside a self built sensory deprivation chamber. He plans to reawaken as soon as science creates a higher viscosity oil for his many modular prosthetics. Current tolerances are unable to withstand Wormocious' experimentation. He looks forward to the day when mans will catches up to that of machines

Vision von Braun: Is still working in the past, and will remain so until that time becomes the present, from which he will embark upon a journey toward the future. SciencePatrol wishes him the greatest of luck.

I myself have continued my work here at CardiganLabs Sub-Orbital MYND Survey Station.
I have been designing architecture for a race of aliens that will be born 30,000 years in the future, in a distant corner of the galaxy.
Below is a link to a writeup i have done on my latest project, a Tau Reactor.

http://z11.invisionfree.com/Work_In_Progress/index.php?showtopic=14734

note that the writeup was writen under the designation of Prof. Tesseract. I am called many things at many different times.

AT-AT (in stereo)

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

People used to have boomboxes. Or ghettoblasters. Or all terrain armored transports. All three can be used to great effect when pop'n. lock'n, or laying siege to rebel outposts. As for this particular model, it is unclear who or what constructed such a magnificent blending of technologies. All i can tell you is that the signals are being broadcast from the following frequency. Follow the link to see more pics of the AT-AT in hi-fi stereo.

Armed and Operational

Heed and bear witness to the awesome destructive power of the SciencePatrol RSv1 ArmCannon Modification put in place by yours truly, the mad professor Cardigan. Behold the two pictures of his wrist mounted missle launcher. Gaze in wonder as the missle is fired using only RSv1's own mechanical energy. Cower as his infared sensors zero in on your MYND as its primary target. Flee as you attempt to evade the impending wave of cataclysm foretold by the sound of his servos moving his arm into position. None can withstand the 2inch plastic payload the robot unleashes in his stoic fury and robotic lack of remorse.
May Cardigan be forgiven for the calamity he has unleashed on mankind.

The Adventrues of Marilyn, 20th Century Space Goddess

...she quickly replicates as the attack ships of Zeta Reticuli warp from orbit into her neural subspace...

Blogger Doc40 has been appearing on my radar for some time, chronicling the unique sub-history of his own little sector of timespace, but it's this series of posts chronicling the adventures of the late, great Marilyn Monroe that have really caught my eye. Taking as a starting point an intriguing photo featuring our fair heroine, each episode delightfully remixes Barbarella, Burrough's Martian Barsoom stories, and the peculiar situations that Marilyn often found herself in, to exceptional effect.

Cosmic Zoom

The inspiration for this film is very similar to the Eames' brothers' Powers of 10, a film that is well beloved of everyone here at Science Patrol Central.  However, Cosmic Zoom's use of animation, its construction as a single long zoom, and its charming music have vaulted it to the forefront of my mind, and earned it a place on this blog.  It also commemorates the fact that the complete archives of the Film Board of Canada have been placed online, and that you should browse them extensively.  If I were to suggest a non-science film for your viewing, it might be The Cat Came Back, which I saw some years ago; but then again it might not, for I have not yet browsed these halls as much as I would like.  For instance, this film by the same animator also looks interesting. 

Possible Futures and Pasts, Vol. XIII

Although the soundtrack for this film is a song by the lethally terrible Metallica, do not let it dissuade you from absorbing its content.  The lesson I believe is vital to the survival of the human race....(Here is a Youtube link if the below video is corrupt)

Metallica - All Nightmare Long

Solong:Origins

Hail brave explorers. Are you receiving me? I have aligned my transponders to these frequencies to relay a message of utmost pomp and an awful lot of circumstance. In this very week, on this very timestream, The Mad Professor Yanos Solong celebrates one of his many points of corporeal origin. So hats off to Solong, and a good journey wished, as he is no doubt at this very moment patrolling the upper timesphere in search of pan-dimensional answers. In the spirit of Narpa Swordo; I and the rest of the SciencePatrol team, and all of its enthusiasts do wish a very Happy Birthday to the good Dr. Solong. May your eventualities remain stable, and may your destiny be infinite.

My Brain, She Asplode

In commemoration of the tremendous capabilities of the human mind, Jay Walker has compiled a wunderkammer of incredible objects. I was most transfixed by the Enigma machine--he might as well have an Ark of the Covenant in his library--but I would be remiss if I didn't note the numerous illustrated texts from our history of discovery and elucidation, or the amazing construction of the library itself, inspired by Escher and executed with theatrical flair. Oh, let's not forget Sputnik, the baby raptor, and "Thing" from The Addams Family.

Please check out the Wired profile, and cross your fingers that you may someday be invited.

LHC to continue to be rad as hell in 2009

We're all amped at SP HQ for CERN to fire up the LHC after their troubles in September, and on that front, some very good news was released a about a week and a half ago that stoked our amperage. It seems that the brohams at CERN think that they'll be back in operation by the summer. The recent press release also gives some more insight into what happened in the aforementioned incident, and the corresponding shutdown that has lasted 3 months, and looks aimed to continue for several more. Photos were issued to the press giving us an up-close look at some of the broken components that are scheduled for replacement/repair.

So get ready for more shredding from the dudes in Europe super-colliding all kinds of stuff. Sick!

Press Release

Put an APB on that UFO

What precedes is police cruiser dash-cam footage of an alleged "meteor" crashing to the Earth in Edmonton, Canada. Likely cover story, Mounties. We all know that meteors, weather balloons, and gas clouds don't really exist. All of those pretty lights in the sky are actually SciencePatrol personnel returning from holiday in outer-space.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dalek Overlord Davros has no interest whatsoever in wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving. We here at SciencePatrol, however, wish you a very happy one indeed. May you and yours find a plethora of reasons to give thanks this holiday season. Unless of course you are of the turkey speices, in which case "EXTERMINATE!"

The Future is So Bright, I Manufacture My Own Spectacles

In the world of machines that really matter, few are as inspiring as robots. However, when most people imagine a robot, they see a mobile unit designed to interact with or substitute a human, or a machine designed to complete a specific task. What about a machine designed to make copies of things, even itself? Known as 3D printers, CnC machines, rapid prototypers, fabricators, or Universal Assemblers, these machines are predicted to transform the landscape of the 21st century, and indeed, are transforming the lives of a select group of geeks today. The RepRap project is designed to build and popularize such machines, and from the looks of it, they are well on their way, having recently managed to make a version which can copy itself.

It's a wonderful idea, in theory, but one may ask: once one has obtained one of these tiny automated manufacturing plants, what exactly would you do with it? Armed with knowledge of a CAD program, one can sculpt virtual objects and print them out in a variety of materials. Today, those armed with CAD knowledge and inspiration to burn can upload their designs to a new site called Thingiverse, releaseing their creations into the world.

Those interested in trying their hand at designing objects which don't yet exist should download the free Google SketchUp and get cracking.

Legoverse: Wormsign!

"We have wormsign the likes of which God has never seen."


This legoverse eventuality was brought to you by RebelRock at Brickshelf.

Now where did I put my Einstein-Rosen Bridge?

This $20 kit promises hours of fun for the prospective parallel worlds tourist. Simply by activating your device, you could have your pick of trillions of alternate universes. Then you just have to figure out how to get there. Somehow I don't think Hopstop supports this function yet.

Speaking of alternate universes, I have been getting quite a kick out of Neal Stephenson's Anathem. In a strange version of our own world, a hermetic order called the Discipline are the last to preserve the ways of logic and scholarship when the society around them has collapsed into degeneracy. The history of the planet Arbre is eerily familiar to our own, and yet, wonderfully alien at the same time. Like Stephenson's other works, every page unfolds a new treat for the questing mind. Fans of philosophy, alternate worlds, and the Hitchhiker's Guides will definitely enjoy this book.

Jeff Smith, creator of Bone, has a new title out as well, and this world-hopping adventure is definitely not for kids. RASL is the story of a scientist searching through multiple realities for the woman he loves, or something. I'm still trying to figure it out but I'm having a lot of fun along the way.

Happy Halloween!

Science Patrol is joined by radioactive space bug Megalon in wishing you the happiest of All Hallow's Eves.

Thought for the Day

Via Zom-Bot.com, a chilling reminder of the possibilities of science.

The New Sun

Carbon nanotubes are the building blocks of most potential eventualities on our radar screen. They have numerous applications in the medical and electronics fields, and Japanese scientists are currently at work adapting them into a cable for their space elevator. Despite advances in the past five years which have multiplied their strength 100 times, they will need to improve on their current strength another four times to realize this endeavor. We believe in you, Japan!

This photo by Paul Marshall was selected by National Geographic as one of the top microscopic photos of the year. We also recommend this image of the world inside mitomycin.

This image explains everything.

This should make understanding things a bit simpler. It, and many other images found here, are the work of fiction science illustrator Frank R. Paul.


A special Thank You to Frank Wu, for turning me on to the late Mr. Paul, and also for his own prolific body of work in the field of Fiction Science Imaging. (Yanos has pointed out to me that while my attention was elsewhang, he has previously blogged about Frank R. Paul and his voyages to other worlds.)

These Animals are Made Out of Meat

Wormocious has alerted us to an invasion of artistic intentions in the New York City area. A small pet shop in the West Village is selling some very strange animals in its window displays. The proprietor, known as "Banksy," could not be reached for comment.





This pet shop is especially interesting because Banksy has always done his work under the cover of anonymity. An exhibition of this size, however, would seem to require more covert planning and necessary arrangements that could possibly reveal his identity. Does he have a circle of conspirators surrounding him like a cordon of Secret Service agents, who carry out his orders to lease a space and arrange the necessary permits? Are they in fact giant rats?

Or maybe Banksy is a coalition of giant rat artists attempting to increase our awareness that we are not the only intelligent inhabitants of the cities of the world. The infection has spread across the ocean from London to America. It is said that anywhere in the world that humans have congregated, rats and crows can be found in great numbers, but they do not range more than 5 miles from these settlements without their numbers swiftly diminishing. Perhaps we should be expecting great works of art from the crow species as well.

Audiopad: The look and feel of sound.

In the future, DJs will have you shaking your rump and raising the roof by interfacing with projected graphical interfaces that directly manipulate sound frequencies. Wait...thats not the future, that is happening now. James Patten and Ben Recht of localfields created Audiopad several years ago, and have been touching sound ever since. It just goes to show that at SciencePatrol, sometimes the future is the past.

The Uprising Will Be Televised:World War

In the robotic uprisings of the future, long after the machines have decimated humanity in a bid for global domination; the infighting will ensue. The vast legions of robotic war machines will turn in on themselves; separate factions all vying for the same prize. What results is a perverse form of mechanized violence that our fleshy, organic minds can only begin to fathom.
As it happens, this exact scenario is pre-supposed in this short film by digital artist Vincent Chai, as his final project at the University Of Hertfordshire. Watch now before your back is forced against the wall by robotic beings who will stop at nothing to end you. These things are imminent, you know.

The Artificial Animation of Plastic

Joshua Allen Harris is an artist whose medium is plastic bags, animated by blasts of air from subway vents and other unnatural sources. These videos are evidence of a strange new form of artificial life. My favorite is the air giraffe.

In Space, Noone can hear you [expletive].

From the delightful blog divine caroline comes this informative video explaining how astronauts manage to poop in zero Gs. In future dimensions, Astronauts will read SciencePatrol blog posts printed directly onto their rolls of toiletpaper, which will be constructed of carbon-nanotubes; able to withstand the high intensity gamma radiation bursts which they are subjected to while in range of the van allen belts.