The Voices in Frank's Head

3D printing has been around for awhile now, but it has finally come up with something that truly grabs my attention. They have finally started to use 3D printers to make custom bikinis . Unfortunately, no one has come up with a way to use a 3D printer to create a bikini model. I suppose that will come with a future upgrade. For now, we have to do it the old-fashioned way - either pay them lots of cash to show up or convince them you're European royalty.

I learned, thanks to a Google News Alert, that  Ridley Scott  will soon have an eight-part series entitled "Prophets of Science Fiction" on the Science Channel starting on Wednesday, November 9. He is, of course, the creative genius behind such movies as  Alien , Blade Runner,  and  Gladiator . I'm glad that I saw this because, quite frankly, I didn't even know that there was a Science Channel. 

I'm a PC, but I will still miss Steve Jobs . Rest in peace, sir. Your contributions to the world of computing, and the difference that you made in how we use computers, will be remembered for generations to come.

I got the following email from a friend. I decided to re-post it, along with my response, since a few different people have wondered something similar. A good friend wants me to shoot some video of a ceremony they are having tonight to make a fundraising video for the nonprofit. DSLR’s can shoot video.  I can shoot the video with one of those?  Does it have enough resolution that it would look good on a TV or computer monitor? Assuming your DSLR was made in the past 5 or 6 years, you’ll be fine as far as resolution goes. There are, however, three other issues that you might need to consider. The first is memory. With HD video, the general rule of thumb is 3.5 minutes of video = 1 GB of memory used. Ask yourself how long this ceremony is and if you have enough memory. You might have to get a better memory card or dump the card to a hard drive in the middle of that ceremony. Second, you have to consider stability. Even if you have the hands of a surgeon, if you a...

Atlantis and the STS 135 crew returned safely home to Earth early this morning. They arrived at the Kennedy Space Center just before dawn today. Their safe return brings to a close the 30 year long space shuttle program. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden  outlines what is next for the space agency here . It is an ambition agenda of leveraging partnerships with the private sector, sending a manned mission to explore Mars, continuing the success of the International Space Station, conducting a multitude of scientific research missions, and maintaining its leadership role in aeronautics research. I look forward to the next chapter in NASA's great story.

I really need to stop saying that I've seen it all. Every time I do, the universe comes up with some new way to surprise me. For example, while surfing the internet the other day, I came across a yacht that converts into a seaplane. Or a seaplane that converts into a yacht - depending on how one wants to look at it. Anyway, more information on this magnificent piece of technology - along with lots of photographs - is all available below. Flying yacht - OCTURI - Design & Interior, Fictional aircraft, Light

I've always thought that solar energy had a lot potential. However, I never thought I would see the day when an aircraft took off and flew an international voyage using nothing but solar energy to power itself. But it has happened. The top speed for this aircraft is only 50 m.p.h. It's not about to replace conventional aircraft engines anytime soon. However, the simple fact that it came this far shows that there is a lot more potential in solar energy than most people ever would have thought. More information on this, as well as video of the aircraft, is available via the link below. Solar Plane Takes Flight with First International Trip | Renewable Energy News Article

This Bikini Charges Your Phone Andrew Schneider  is an inventor from New York and a certifiable genius, in my opinion. He has developed a solar-powered bikini that is capable of charging an iPod, iPhone, or any other standard USB device. I can simply imagine the pick-up lines that a woman will hear while wearing this one at the beach. Do we live in exciting times or what?

There's a new book out by Annie Jacobsen entitled  Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base . Since I have a science fiction manuscript pending, called The Roswell Chronicles , I was interested in this had to spend a decent amount of time today reading. In her book, Ms. Jacobsen makes several arguments about the legendary, ulta-secret facility known as Area 51 . One of her reports, and the one that I'd like to talk about the most, is the contention that the aliens who crashed in the New Mexico desert in summer of 1947 were actually the result of a Soviet human experimentation program that was design to educe panic within the American population. Before I go further, I believe a brief excerpt from Ms. Jacobsen's book is order. This is the crux of her assertion. The child-sized aviators in this craft [that crashed in New Mexico] were the result of a Soviet human experimentation program, and they had been made to look like aliens a la Orson ...

Some rather strange things have come out of Germany, not the least of which is David Hasselhof's  popularity. Today, however, we something that is both strange and wonderful from Germany. Stare and Live Longer Researchers in Frankfurt, Germany have concluded that staring at women's breasts actually extends a man's lifespan by about five years. Their research is published in the New England Journal of Medicine . Unfortunately, they did not opine on whether or the breasts in question belong to their respective wives or some other random female. I suspect this study will prompt some curious discussions between couples. In the meantime, I'm downloading all of the photos I can of Jessica Alba , Katherine Hiegl ,  Paris Hilton ,  Sienna Miller ,  Rachel Nichols , and Hayden Panettierre . Heck, I might even throw a little Kirsten Haglund or Rima Fakih into the mix as well.

She Googled Her Wedding Google launched Google Weddings recently. It's designed to use the existing free Google tools to simplify wedding planning. Google Docs  provides a budget template, Picasa provides photos albums , and so on. They even have partners like Boutiques.com to help find the perfect wedding dress and Google Googles for your smart phone to help brides get more details on things they see in print. Yes, Google Weddings really does do everything possible to simplify wedding planning. My first reaction is that this just seems a bit odd to use Google to plan a wedding. However, I'm also painfully aware of the fact that I'm a guy. As such, my first thoughts about weddings in general are to simplify them by running away as quickly as I possibly can. Unless, of course, there's a cool wedding cake at the reception along with lots and lots of booze. In which case, that's an all together different story. Mmm... Cake...

My Own, Personal Robot I'm a man of very simple tastes. All that I really want is a robot that can go to boring meeting for me, like the new Anybots . It's a simple gadget, the next step in teleconferencing, if you will. My robot will see and hear everything that happens in said meeting and project a (possibly pre-recorded) video image of me on its screen. It delivers all of the benefits of being in a meeting without actually being in the meeting. Yes, I'm a man of very simple tastes. All I want is an Anybot. And a trampoline coffee table . And my own personal shark sub . And some of the great t-shirts from Think Geek and Snorgees . And a beer bottle cooler . And - well, you get the point.

President Barack Obama delivered what I believe to be one of the best State of the Union addresses I have heard in years this evening - and I say that as someone who has been watching them since the days of Jimmy Carter. (Yes, I was a nerd as a kid.) First, as a Detroiter, it was great to see newly elected Rep. Hansen Clarke at the State of the Union instead of his predecessor, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick , mother/instigator for disgraced former Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick . As for the speech itself, I loved the fact that President Obama referenced the one million private sector jobs created in 2010. It's great to remind everyone that some good is happening, just not as fast as anyone would like. I couldn't help but notice that when the President proposed a five year freeze in government spending hardly anyone applauded. That is a shame. As a small business owner , I loved the President's idea of simplifying the tax code and lowering the corporate tax rate. I was ...

Every once in awhile, I hear a quote that so perfectly summarizes how I'm feeling at a given moment, I am compelled, it would seem, to emblazon it on the wall by my desk. Today, I came across such a quote. "A hero is no braver than an ordinary man," Ralph Waldo Emerson  once observed, "but he is brave five minutes longer." Today, I pray that each of us finds the strength to hang onto our bravery for those extra five minutes in whatever challenges we may face.

Another Launch from SpaceX SpaceX , a private company based in Hawthorne, California, became the first private company to receive a commercial license from the Federal Aviation Administration to re-enter a spacecraft from orbit. They received their license yesterday. I congratulate everyone at SpaceX for being a part of this historic moment. I look forward to one day seeing many other companies receiving such a permit.

I love of things find their way into my in-box. Some of them are good. Others are bad. And then there are those that I don't quite know what to say about them. The Cristal Bubble is definitely in the last category. I'm simply not sure what to say about it, except that it is an interesting concept. For those who haven't seen this thing, it's a crystal clear inflatable bubble (13 feet in diameter) that one can rent in the south of France. It comes decked out with a king-size bed, a spaceship-style entrance tube, and a fan to keep the inside well-ventilated. There’s even an adjoining bubble if you decide you need servant’s quarters. Cristal Bubble - Now Taking Reservations I think I would like to rent this thing, if only for one evening. It can be set up anywhere in the region and this some amazing scenery in that part of the world. But, yes, it's quite an interesting idea.

I love the British. Really, I love those bloody folks. Cancer Prevention Granted, I am part Irish from my mother's side of the family. Relations between the British and Irish haven't always been ideal. Still, one has to forgive at least part of that now that the BBC has reported that women who get the majority of their exercise by doing housework are less likely to develop breast cancer than other women. I imagine it won't be long now until some guy looks at his wife and says, "Honey, I'd love to help you with the laundry but I don't want you to get cancer." This, of course, will likely spur another report from the BBC on how a rolling pin really can be a deadly weapon.

The U.S. Air Force lost control of one-ninth of this nation's nuclear missiles this past weekend. Luckily, everything is fixed now and there was never a danger to the American public. All I can say about this is, "Wow! I thought I was having a crappy day at my job." Failure Shuts Down Squadron of Nuclear Missiles - Marc Ambinder - Politics - The Atlantic

Video from Red Flag Alaska 10-3 is up on YouTube. This is so f-ing cool. A few hundred planes from three different countries. Ground based anti-aircraft fire as well as an airborne aggressor force. The only thing that would make it better would be boobs. That, however, is likely asking for too much.

Happy Binary Day, everyone! Today is 10/10/10. We'll never see the ones and zeros of the calendar line up in perfect binary fashion like this in our lifetimes. Life is about enjoying the odd moments like this.