Good shot, Dr. Gonzo

[Jones Beene]

I suspect most Vorts are fans of Jules Verne and Arthur C. Clark, even if they are not whole-heartedly into Sci-Fi. Those two prophets have shown us that good Sci-Fi easily presages real technological progress.   Two other candidates, coming in from the cold, are names to add to that list of Sci-Fi visionaries who "coulda" invented something useful, given the resources. Neal Stephenson is one of them. In "Snow Crash," there were "Smartwheels"... Now, not long after that story appeared, we have non-pneumatic Snow Crash-like wheels from Michelin: http://www.gizmag.com/go/3603/ Each one consists of a hub with many telescoping spring-like spokes, and with a normal rubber tread on the bottom to smooth things out.   It took much longer for Verne's visions to materialize than Stephenson's, and that may mean something.   The other great Sci-Fi visionary worth mentioning, is Kurt Vonnegut.   Is ice-nine (from Cat's Cradle) a possible threat to the world, or is it the possible savior of humanity ? Vonnegut, the master of the surreal, would never let you know directly, would he?   For those non-Vonnegut fans on Vortex, ice-9 is both real and fictional - it is a crystalline form of high density solid water which is stable... http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/phase.html ...at and above normal ambient temperatures (at high pressure) and which is entropically favorable to liquid water - the idea being that a small seed of ice-9 would  quickly solidify any liquid water it contacted, and in the Oceans it would sink rather than rise, following which, an ice age would set-in and all life would freeze into not extinction, but something frosty.   For the reason that ice-9 could be a trickster... and Savior, not Destroyer, one must realize that this very phase structure could be a relic of how ZPE effects are translated into normal reality - and can then be engineered to become a possible solution to the world's impending crisis of methane poisoning...or not.   Stay tuned. First, I have to get over a very brief mourning period for Dr. Gonzo. Can anyone spell nanosecond.   I heard that Rush Bimbo said that "at least he was a good shot!". But what else can you expect for a relapsing junkie? Hunter would say, takes one to know one Rush, want to borrow my revolver... (please!!)   There is no doubt that Hunter liberally borrowed from Vonnegut's juxtaposition of the surreal, combined with a large dose very twisted humor.  "The marker was an alabaster phallus twenty feet high and three feet thick" , Vonnegut crows, inviting you to stand in the cold with him and wonder with the driver, exactly what in hell is going on…Hunter could probably answer that one now. And he is probably very cold in the thin air of Colorado...   ...thanks for the laughs, Dr. G.   Jones