Category Archives: Television

Technology, Television

Faster than the Speed of Light (literally)

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My friend in NYC just sent me an article today about neutrinos (subatomic particles) that travel have tested repeated to be able to travel faster than the speed of light (which physically is impossible for matter to do), at Gran Sasso’s underground laboratories in Europe.

I’ve been watching a lot of  science fiction and a series about the universe with Stephen Hawking, in which I learned that he too is a Star Trek fan.  Some of the episodes have dealt with the ramifications of speed and time in different parts of the universe, such as close to a super black hole, like at the center of our galaxy (and presumably most).

So if matter cannot travel faster than the speed of light, my question, is:  Could we theoretically cover a spaceship with (fast-moving) neutrinos and then launch it to go ten times the speed of light (warp 10), for example?  I realize it would affect the time of the people inside, unless some kind of chronometer was able to adjust for that, but that would certainly alleviate the problem of our short lifespans in getting us to other solar systems, where there is bound to be other intelligent life.

Film, Television

Movies and shows I’ve been watching….

The latest episode of The Office was poignant enough to make me cry (the proposal scene).

Unique experience watching Metropolis, 1920’s sci-fi German, Marxist film restored last year to a length of 2.5 hours.

We watched Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner on Netflix and I was amazed at the countless scenes that I had never seen before!  Truly a movie before it’s time.

Watched The Bubble about a modern Arab-Israeli gay romance.  it was bittersweet, but enlightening.  I think they could have found far hotter men to portray the main characters.

We’ve been watch a lot of Keeping Up Appearances but I’ve complained to Netflix that many of the episodes look like they have tracking problems when you watch them through a PS3, which is how we watch all of our Netflix on the big screen.

Other series we watch regularly have been The Sarah Silverman Show and Strangers with Candy.

We could not get through Earth 2, the series, but we probably kept watching it longer than we would have because Tim Curry was in it for a while.

We watched the entire newer Battlestar Gallactica series but unfortunately the pilot movie and Caprica are not available through Netflix streaming (yet).

I watched the first several episodes of the new V still have the old series on VHS tape in my garage, believe it or not), but I’m behind in the latest episodes and hope to catch up, even if that means having to subscribe to Hulu Plus.

 

Streisand, Television

New man, new media to share

Introduced Bobby to “It’s Me or the Dog”, which taught me a lot about how to raise my puppy well.  He showed me some Monty Python, and in turn I showed him some Little Britain and Crank Yankers.  He is ready and willing to watch a lot of Streisand stuff to familiar himself with her.  His dad is a music teacher and a fan.  So far he’s gotten a good contrast of her by watching “Funny Girl” and “What’s Up Doc?”

Celebrities, Photos, Technology, Television

Bye-bye Cable Television

Most of what I watch is Hulu, CNN Video, NYTimes video, ComedyCentral.com, LogoOnline and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show.  So, inspired by a friend who has Netflix (like I used to ) and Hulu “premium” (I only use Hulu for many fewer dollars per month than what Comcast and other cable companies charge for television, I discontinued my cable tv service and I’m saving $100/month. I literally watch all of my shows on one pc or another (usually a laptop I bring around the house with me, even when I’m cooking and doing other chores).  I watch everything online anyway and now I have a spare monitor my daughter can use on her laptop to use as an extra television, although she’s a little upset that we no longer have television in the living room.  I’ve found playing dvd’s on laptops is far more reliable than the cheap dvd players I’ve bought in stores anyway, so there was no point in letting my flat screen TV languish.  Therefore, it is main PC monitor now!  As per this picture, it dominates my desk.  I don’t have it all worked out yet, as I still need to fix the resolution with drivers.  However, the manufacture web site “Element Electronics” doesn’t seem to have Windows 7 drivers for their television, probably because they didn’t expect a geek like me to use it as a main monitor on a daily basis.