Posts Tagged ‘machine’

Revisit: Human v2.0

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

BBC Human v2.0Last month I pounded out a post about the implications of our seemingly inevitable immortality — when man becomes machine, or machine becomes man.

Sounds silly, but myself and expert technologists are dead-serious about that “inevitable” part.

Probably not within our lifetime (if you’re reading this in 2010), though. I’d wager at least one future generation or, even likelier, a couple of generations down the crazy road of technology.
Unless you’re as optimistic as Ray Kurzweil.

This is all to admit my ignorance: When I wrote that, I had no idea the BBC produced a fantastic show called Human v2.0 a few years ago.

The sub-1-hour special taps into the minds of visionaries and scientists alike who wake up and go to bed thinking about this stuff. When they do sleep, of course. (more…)

What’s the frak is at NYC’s Union Square subway stop?

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

device in Union Square subway station with NYC DEP logo on sideEvery day — make that twice a day — a vexing questions pops into my head as I stroll through Union Square’s subway stop en route to work:

What the heck is this thing/device/contraption?

Obviously a big “New York City Department of Environmental Protection” is slapped across the side. But Google University doesn’t seem to help… the best that comes up is a noise detector (i.e. for loud noises that may harm riders).

It can’t be that lame… or could it?

My neighbor Patrick suspects that it’s an anti-terrorism device.* A bomb sniffer, perhaps? A biological weapons detector? A vacuum to suck up only terrorists as they walk by, ala Ghost Busters?

The puzzling part is the cup on the top, not to mention that all of the goodies are locked up in steel boxes.

Other guesses include a mosquito catcher, an air quality monitor, a data relay (for information collection on tracks?), or a make-people-who-use-the-subway-go-insane-because-they-can’t-figure-out-what-this-ha-ha-ha device.

If you have a guess, or better yet know what this is, please put ‘er in the comments section.

* Let’s hope I haven’t broken any law by writing this…