Of the unforeseen, unintended, and unfunny

I've posted on several occasions (most recently, No time to go googly-eyed) about Google Glass. Will it be cool? Yes. Is it a sign of the apocalypse? Probably not. But between ...

You likely won't look this cool

Texting is fairly well estabished as a dangerous distraction to driving. So how about having the Internet in your face as you drive? NOT good. And so: Don't Glass and drive -- lawmakers seek to ban Google Glass on the road. And because Glass is a video recording device, be advised From strip clubs to theaters, Google Glass won't be welcome everywhere.

Still want a pair? Already wear glasses? Then (a note for the deep-pocketed), Prescription Version of Google Glass Expected This Year.

I know firsthand the amount of effort that goes into writing a book. Every book represents a conscious decision to forgo something else -- such as months of salary from more conventional employment. To me it's clear: authors (and their heirs) should have rights to the possibility of a return on that effort. I believe creators of other forms of intellectual property should, too. That doesn't make me a proponent of perpetual copyright. For a thoughtful article about copyright carried way too far, see Copyright Protection That Serves to Destroy.

Between my musings about SF here on this blog and my own books and stories, my appreciation for the genre should be clear. In the interest of more sympathy for science among the citizenry, I believe a strong case can be made for Bill urges addition of science fiction to state reading curricula. That said, I remain agog -- no, make that aghast -- at having read that Scotland may allow Jedi to perform marriage ceremonies.

Electricity doesn't grow on trees

And on a final note, from the Skeptical Environmentalist (Bjorn Lomborg), there's Green Cars Have a Dirty Little Secret. (And it's not that Fisker Reportedly Lost $557,000 On Every Karma, most of it taxpayer money.) "Green" cars -- like corn-based ethanol -- turn out in practice not to be so green ...