Long Now Foundation

After a couple of years of being a fan of the Long Now Foundation, I’ve finally taken the plunge and become a member.
The Long Now Foundation was established in 01996 to develop the Clock and Library projects, as well as to become the seed of a very long term cultural institution. The Long Now [...]

Demise of civilisation inevitable?

From New Scientist:

DOOMSDAY. The end of civilisation. Literature and film abound with tales of plague, famine and wars which ravage the planet, leaving a few survivors scratching out a primitive existence amid the ruins. Every civilisation in history has collapsed, after all. Why should ours be any different?
Doomsday scenarios typically feature a knockout blow: a [...]

Research: Humans in Outer Space”

Now this looks interesting:
Call for Expressions of Interest from the ESF Standing Committee for the Humanities (SCH) and the ESF Expert Committee European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC)
The deadline for online submission of Humans in Outer Space Call for Expressions of Interest is Saturday 31 May 2008.
Space age has reached its 50th anniversary. Development of robotic [...]

Off-world Origami

An unexpected juxtaposition here. Japanese scientists are teaming up with origami experts to launch a paper airplane from orbit. Tests have gone well:
In a test outside Tokyo in early February, a prototype about 7 centimeters (2.8 inches) long and 5 centimeters (2 inches) wide survived Mach 7 speeds and broiling temperatures up to 230 Celsius [...]

Large Hadron Collider – apocalypse unlikely

So concerned are some that the high-energy experiments at the Large Hadron Collider will destroy the world that a lawsuit has been filed in Hawaii to prevent the LHC from cranking up later this year. Seems rather pointless – much as I’d quite like to live out my natural time here on Earth, if the [...]