Monthly Archives: May 2007

Regular XML Expressions

I have been toying with the idea of a specialized regular expression syntax for XML. Often, the regular expression questions that people email to me indicate that they are using them on XML and HTML. There is a very nice … Continue reading

Posted in Programming | Comments Off on Regular XML Expressions

The Coming Intelligence Explosion

The Singularity institute has a post describing what it calls the upcoming “inteligence explosion.” The concept is that once we learn to start modifying the brain to make ourselves smarter we get a positive feedback loop — more intelligence gives … Continue reading

Posted in future | Comments Off on The Coming Intelligence Explosion

It’s About People, Not Technology!

I often hear that sf should be about people, not technology. And I don’t disagree. There’s nothing worse than reading page after page of technobable (or watching Trek characters spout it for minutes on end). After all, future technology is … Continue reading

Posted in science fiction | Comments Off on It’s About People, Not Technology!

Orion’s Twins:

Recent pictures of Orion with the Spitzer Telescope are telling us more about the science of star formation. I think a region of active star formation might have interesting story possibilities. Imagine two similar star systems, formed at about the … Continue reading

Posted in science fiction | Comments Off on Orion’s Twins:

Proof of God, DNA, and Drake

A number of proponents of “Intelligent Design” attempt to show, possibly using the Drake equation, that the occurrence of intelligent life anywhere is extremely unlikely, that a miracle would have been required to create us, to explain our existence. I … Continue reading

Posted in Theology | Comments Off on Proof of God, DNA, and Drake

Using Brown Dwarfs to Make Smoke Signals

This article from PhysOrg says that brown dwarfs may be like light houses, emitting beacons of strong radio pulses. An appropriately advanced civilization might be able to manipulate such an object (if it were within its solar system) to send … Continue reading

Posted in science fiction | Comments Off on Using Brown Dwarfs to Make Smoke Signals

Coding Conventions

It is important to follow standard naming conventions when writing code. It increases clarity and readability. Thus, in the "Elements of Java Style," we are told to capitolize class names but not function names, etc. A recent elaboration on this … Continue reading

Posted in Humor, Programming | Comments Off on Coding Conventions

The Matrix Refactored

The first two Matrix movies were quite fun — despite the rather strange and improbable premise that humans make good batteries. However the third movie was quite disappointing. In the software development world, the process of revising your software to … Continue reading

Posted in movies, science fiction | Comments Off on The Matrix Refactored