brilliance

The building blocks of science fiction

Long before the Downfall meme there was the periodic table, a format infinitely adaptable to cultural reference and parody. And yes, like Downfall, it's become a bit played out. Nevertheless, every now and then another spark of brilliance appears, or at least enough cleverness to make you LOL.

From the Roddenlucathine group, which includes the Star Trek and Star Wars oeuvres, to examples of how nonincluded works are molecules--2Ol (Outer Limits) + Dr (Dr. Who) -> Torchwood--there's boatloads here to laugh at and argue about with your fellow geeks.

If you like science fiction at all, check it … Read more

Ex-default for Kindle 2 text-to-speech: Legal?

Amazon yielded to the inevitable on Friday when it announced (in this statement) that it would no longer enable the text-to-speech feature on its Kindle 2 e-book reader by default; publishers can make the call.

Instead, publishers may enable the text-to-speech feature on a title-by-title basis, if they believe that choice is in their best interest.

I have been sorely tempted to write a response to some of the factually incorrect and even grossly deceitful pieces I've seen written about this issue since the Kindle 2 was launched, but fortunately, Amazon has made that unnecessary. Nevertheless, there are still … Read more

China's BYD touts battery technology

GUANGZHOU, China--BYD is a small automaker here but a major producer of lithium ion batteries for cell phones.

The company wants to use its expertise in batteries to make practical plug-in hybrids.

At the Detroit auto show, BYD will show its F3DM plug-in hybrid, which is on sale in China in limited numbers.

BYD President Wang Chuanfu told Automotive News China that U.S. sales are possible in 2011, but he has not spelled out specific plans.

In September, BYD received a $232 million investment from American billionaire Warren Buffett.

BYD also plans to show another plug-in hybrid, the F6DM, … Read more

U.S. plans fizzle for most Chinese vehicles

Plans by Chinese automakers to enter the United States have largely fizzled.

Chery Automobile, through a deal to assemble cars for Chrysler, stands a chance of entering the United States by 2011.

And Brilliance Jinbei Automotive, a small Chinese automaker, says it plans to sell cars in the United States in 2009.

But other Chinese import plans are in disarray.

Enthusiasm for Chinese vehicles was created mainly by hype from American promoters and wishful thinking from small Chinese automakers who were unaware of the difficulties of selling cars in the United States.

In July 2007, Tom LaSorda, then CEO of Chrysler, announced a deal in which Chery would assemble vehicles for

But since the announcement, Chrysler has revealed few details about its relationship with Chery. A major supplier to Chery says Chery has no definite timeline to begin exports to the United States for either Chery- or Chrysler-badged vehicles.

"We need small cars," LaSorda said in May. "Chery's cars are still not ready for that exposure into these markets." He said China-built cars probably won't be ready to meet U.S. safety and emissions standards for "three years or more."