Floating cities are just COOL...

If there's an "up-side" to all the recent weather- and environment-related chaos, it's that people are spending lots of time and resources dreaming up things like THIS.




From the linked site:

Each of these floating cities are designed to hold approximately around 50,000 people. A mixed terrain man-made landscape, provided by an artificial lagoon and three ridges, create a diverse environment for the inhabitants. Each Lilypad is intended to be either near a coast, or floating around in the ocean, traveling from the equator to the northern seas, according to where the gulf stream takes it.

That's simply amazing. And, if built properly, it's self-sustaining, getting all its energy from wind, tide and bio power. Oh, yeah, and it actually absorbs CO2, like the water lily that it resembles.

Science fiction? I think not...

Another first - I just volunteered for the Obama campaign.

Wow... I just filled out a volunteer form for the Obama campaign.

This is a first for me - while I've always considered myself more involved than the usual person and always made a point to vote, this is the first time in my 40 years of life that I've actually been excited about the process. I really think that whoever wins, this is going to be an election against which many, many others are measured. Assuming, of course, that the two main candidates can resist the almost black hole-like gravity of their respective parties and can manage to conduct truly debate-driven campaigns. Here's to hoping that they will.

Wish me luck - I have no idea what to expect from this. My mental picture is of hordes of bustling teen-aged volunteers, most of all of which will make me feel like a dinosaur. Hopefully that won't be the case, and even if it is, well, so what? Nothing wrong with a little old-fashioned idealism. I used to have lots of it - maybe I can get some back.

Retro is NOT always cool...

What's really weird is that I actually remember when stuff like THIS was normal looking. Well, some of it anyway. Man the 70's were a creepy time, but I still remember all the kick-ass toys. Although, looking at this Toys 'R Us Star Trek flyer ad, is it just me, or does the saucer section of the Enterprise here look totally like a boob???

Frea-kay.

Someone shoot me now...

I (Heart) Wil Wheaton

I like Wil Wheaton's blog site... He just seems like a guy I'd like to sit and chat with, and not (just) because he was on ST:TNG.

In THIS POST, he talks about a book creating a bridge with his teen-aged son. It's a solid, human peice like all his work, but as a parent, this line really nailed it for me:

I don't know what it's like for other parents of teenagers out there, but getting Nolan to pick up a book for more than three pages has been nearly impossible for the last eighteen months or so. He used to love reading, but . . . well, there are new friends at school this year. 'nuff said.

I don't have scientific data to back me up, but I've anecdotally witnessed a direct relationship between someone's willingness to read and their level of education, success, expectations for themselves, and general, uh, interestingness they bring to the table. I guess that makes me one of those "elitists" we keep hearing about, but with that in mind, you may understand why it's been pretty damn important to me that I instill a love of reading in my kids. (Emphasis mine)