// Category Archive for: Science and Technology

Buzz Aldrin, Magnificent Desolation

By Emily Carney

We’re all BFFs! REALLY!

As a kid I was absolutely obsessed with the Apollo missions from the late 1960s and early 1970s. As an adult, I still am.
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The Grey Zone: Or, Why Battlestar Galactica Is So Frakkin’ Good

By David Speranza

I admit I was a latecomer to the new Battlestar Galactica. But as someone who hasn’t had cable since 1999, I’m a latecomer to pretty much all the cool shows (with the record going to The Prisoner, which I’m still trying to catch up with—only 40 years after it first aired). So it’s a point of pride for me that after watching Battlestar Galactica‘s first three seasons on DVD, followed by Amazon downloads of the first half of season four , I’m actually up to date on a current show (just in time, too—its final episodes start airing in January).
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With Facebook, Who Needs a High School Reunion?

By Laura L.

It’s almost summer, and that means many things: Strawberries are in season. Your nearby sno-cone stand is open. Baseball is in full swing (pardon the pun). And you may be planning to attend (or avoid) your high school reunion. Next year marks ten years since graduating high school, so I’m mentally preparing for my reunion. Or I would be, if it weren’t for Facebook.
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Carrying a Tune. . . or a Thousand

By Nicole V.

It’s a strange realization that 800+ songs in my pocket at any given moment isn’t enough music. I need an upgrade. I’m so outdated with my 4GB iPod mini. Initially I thought its storage capacity to be more than sufficient, and of course economical, at just around $200. Four gigabytes? Why would I ever need to have that many songs at once? Now I sit here, stressing out about plugging the familiar white cord into my computer because it means I’m going to have to make some tough decisions.
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How Music Travels With Me

By Christian Lipski

I’m lucky enough to be able to travel a little, and no matter where I go, I always have music with me. If I had to choose between bringing a book and bringing my iPod on a long voyage, it would not be a tough choice. I was thinking on my last vacation that besides just providing entertainment for ears, music serves a couple of additional purposes for me on my travels.
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The Death of the Mix

By Christian Lipski

Photo © Richard Jones

I used to make mix tapes all the time when I was growing up. I liked the idea of creating a single object or concept by combining existing songs, like making a quilt or a collage. When I was done, the tape was to be taken as a cohesive whole, not as individual tracks; that was the ultimate goal.

When recordable CDs became affordable, I was excited to begin a new phase in mix-making. CDs were more durable than cassettes after all, and computer software would allow you to assemble mixes even more efficiently than before. Or so I thought. It’s true that sound-editing programs provide the ability to make creative, cleaner-sounding mixes, but the flip side is that now there are too many possibilities, and that has killed the mix for me.
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How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Robot

By Queen Spajina

From sci-fi novels to bartending to chic hotel bars, robots are made to wear many hats and cater to our every whim and desire, ideally without any regard for their own health or welfare.
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