Water on the Moon

Lunar colonization would be easier with ample water.

While it has been known that trace amounts of H2O is on our satellite, not enough is present to sustain a human colony (as far as we know). But one can imagine how the world would be different if enough water had been discovered. The day to day lives we live would most definitely be greatly affected by such a circumstance. Our infinitesimally small existence in the universe, or even our own solar system for that matter, would be vastly different had that simple compound been present when man first stepped foot on the moon over 40 years ago.
On 20 July, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the subject of one of the most important events in human history. By stepping foot on the moon, he established that humanity was no longer bound to the confines of our home planet. At that moment, fiction became reality, and anything was possible for millions around the world. After spending 21 hours on the moon, the crew of Apollo 11 brought back with them 47lbs of moon rocks, which were analyzed and determined to have only trace evidence of water. Read more »

Liquid Glass In a Spray? Too Cool To Be True

When thinking about the future I often find myself wondering why 2010 does not seem as cool as movies and television promised us. I mean come on,  the beautiful second officer of Earth’s Super Dimensional Fortress was supposed to be captured by the giant alien Zentraedi by now.

Alas, I have to settle for the iPad, which is definitely not a hoverboard but is kind of like a datapad from Star Trek, except I will never have a pile on my desk.

But today, I feel like the future may have, in a small way, arrived in the form of liquid freaking glass!

Spray-on liquid glass is transparent, non-toxic, and can protect virtually any surface against almost any damage from hazards such as water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections. The coating is also flexible and breathable, which makes it suitable for use on an enormous array of products. (via PhysOrg.com)

The spray, technically known as “SiO2 ultra-thin layering,” starts as a compound of silicon dioxide which is then mixed with water or ethanol dependent on the application. PhysOrg.com goes into some possible applications such as how clothing can be sprayed with the product to make stains a thing of the past and even how plants can be coated to protect against deadly fungi.

According to a press release from the maker of this product, Nanopool, “This technology is now available for domestic use in Germany. Full scale retail availability in the UK will commence in early 2010.”

I still have tons of questions. Why hasn’t this been talked about in the main stream media? What else does the company Nanopool make? When will this be available in the United States. Can this be used on people/skin? Does it affect the environment if it prevents bacteria and UV sun damage from breaking down waste materials? Is this stuff even real or is this whole article fake?

Anyway, until I see people who suffer from allergies spraying cats and dogs with liquid glass and/or kids playing field hockey like ice hockey on wet liquid glass lawns like giant grassy ice rinks wearing their glass covered shoes, I won’t believe it.

I guess I still have to wait for the future, but at least I have this world wide web thing to keep me busy.

Gone to Plaid

Over the past few days my computer has, seemingly randomly, been freezing up and displaying quite a wide array of colored lines and patterns when it feels like it. See the included picture of my Vista welcome screen, which strangely enough looks like an awesome arrangement for bath/shower tiles from further away!

Amusing as these random images are, at first I totally freaked out thinking it was my monitor. However, I quickly realized I was still able to do system restores and navigate my way around the screen whilst squinting through the jaggy lines. So that left my NVIDIA 7600 GT as the most possible culprit, which I’ve never had issues with before. I know they burn out with age and use though, and I’ve had it since I got my desktop over two years ago. So I guess it’s looking to be time for an upgrade. *sigh*

I went ahead and cleaned the case out, cleaned the gold contacts on the card, and uninstalled/reinstalled the card’s drivers. After the second time reinstalling drivers, everything seems to be happy. I’m hoping it doesn’t crap out completely, but if so, I found a pretty good deal on Newegg for a 9500 GT under $70. Kind of makes me wish I waited on spending $70 the other day on a 1TB internal SATA hard drive. . . but that deal was too good to pass up, and I neeeeed space.