the best and most reliable form of research is the double - blind, placebo - controlled study. a treatment cannot really be said to be proven effective unless it has been examined in properly designed and sufficiently large studies of this type. in these experiments, one group of subjects receives the " real thing " — the active substance being tested. the other half receives a placebo designed to appear, as much as possible, like the real thing. individuals in both groups don ' t know whether they are getting the real treatment or placebo ( they are " blind " ). furthermore, the researchers administering placebo and real treatment are also kept in the dark about which group is receiving which treatment ( making it a " double - blind " experiment ). this last part is important, because it prevents the researchers from unintentionally tipping off the study participants, or unconsciously biasing their evaluation of the results. the purpose of this kind of study is to eliminate the power of suggestion. it is true, although hard to believe, that people given ( fake ) treatment frequently report dramatic and long - lasting improvements in their symptoms. however, if the people in the real treatment group fare significantly better than those in the placebo group, it is a strong indication that the treatment really works. what you ' ve just read is a highly simplified introduction to a crucial and non - intuitive topic. if you ' d like a more in - depth analysis, see the article why does this database rely on double - blind studies?


’ s perceptive pixel touch screen. ” other election news broadcasts employ a barrage of even showier electronic toys like giant montage processors, professional video processors used for multi - image displays to create led walls and multiplex screens texted by screenwriter® software — equipment so cool it would make a techie drool. i am reminded of the newspaper report about orson welles ’ debut day at rko, the first day on the set of his first movie, a little item entitled “ citizen kane. ” a reporter asked orson what it was like to come from new york radio and theater to a movie set. said welles, “ it ’ s the biggest toy a boy ever had to play with. ” from that same day there is a photo of welles, slim, handsome, 25 years old, beaming with delight. etymology of the word telestrator doctor reiffel invented the word telestrator. he made up the compound from tele ( greek ‘ far away ’ ) and illustrator. telephone, telex, telegraph, television : all contain as their initial element the greek adverb tele used adjectivally in words naming inventions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. in the sixteenth century, the verb to illustrate entered english from medieval latin illustrare ‘ to light up, to clear up, to make famous. ’ the ultimate root is lux lucis latin ‘ light. ’ the best known phrase containing the word is from the vulgate, saint jerome ' s latin version of the bible, where in genesis, god says “ fiat lux, ” ‘ let there be light. ’ so is fiat, the italian automobile brand, the same word? no. founded in 1899 the company name fiat is an acronym for fabbrica italiana automobili torino ‘ italian automobile factory of turin. ’ naturalmente in a roman catholic country, it didn ' t hurt that the car name pleasingly echoed the very words of god. the evolution of illustrate ’ s meanings in english 1526 – to make clear in the mind ( first english usage ) 1538 – “ thou shalt see that one translation declareth, openeth, and illustrateth another. ” prologue to the coverdale bible 1603 – to show in a good light, to make illustrious 1625 – to light up an object 1638 – to make something clear by drawing a picture of it ( the most frequent modern meaning of the verb to illustrate ) it is interesting how almost all of the current meanings of the verb to illustrate arose so early in the word ’ s english


an object 1638 – to make something clear by drawing a picture of it ( the most frequent modern meaning of the verb to illustrate ) it is interesting how almost all of the current meanings of the verb to illustrate arose so early in the word ’ s english life. often verbs with a long history in english take centuries to evolve new meanings. © 2008 william gordon casselman i invite you to tour my site and select from the hundreds of word stories here. to begin, click on the word list banner below. then perhaps browse the site map with its links to every page of my if you want to share some wonderful canadian sayings, you will find more than 3, 000 canadian expressions in my books. each of my three volumes of canadian sayings contains about 1, 200 zesty phrases used by canadians both today and throughout our history. remember that profits from the sale of my books keep this website online. this new book is available from november 2007 and can be ordered at any bookstore in the world. among the essay contributors in readings for technical communication are george grant, marshall mcluhan, c. p. snow, george orwell, stephen strauss, william zinsser and, yours ever in abject humility — bill casselman. if you can ' t find my books online or in stores, order them directly from the author. just send me an email. any comments, corrections, emendations, additional word lore, orders for my books? please email me at firstname. lastname @ example. org 2007 - bill casselman ' s latest publication is an essay in a new book entitled barry callaghan : essays on his works in the writers series published by guernica editions sales of my book support the continuance of this website. $ 10. 95 in all canadian bookstores says one reader on the chapters website : “ if you ' re canadian you gotta read this book. this book made me laugh till i cried. things i thought only i heard during my youth were there in print before my eyes! i love this book. everyone i show it to has the same reaction. different sayings tickled my funny bone on different days - so they never get boring. keep up this wonderful treasure - trove of canadiana, bill. ” — angie plamondon published by mcarthur & company, toronto, canada order my books anywhere in the world


“ though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. since the same god who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, god cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth. consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same god. the humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of god in spite of himself, for it is god, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are. ” catechism of the catholic church, par 159. ri can faith exist in a world where science is demonstrating ever more details of creation and the evolution of human life? is there a place for science among those who believe that the book of genesis is god ’ s inspired revelation? anchored “ modern science / ancient faith, ” a conference sponsored by the benedictine - run portsmouth institute, housed in rhode island ’ s portsmouth abbey school, on june 22 - 24. the event brought together some ninety scientists, theologians, philosophers, clergy, lay faithful, and skepticsor some mix of the aboveto explore the dialogue between the natural sciences and christianity. while few participants expressed difficulties with the coexistence of faith and reason, the how of this coexistence wasn ’ t always in agreement. some demanded a decidedly scientific approach to questions of beginnings. others championed a more literal understanding of genesis. this made for polite but fiery discussions that began in the early summer ’ s heat of the abbey ’ s grounds and now continue online. with adoration and the rosary, the first talk was a review of the galileo affair by rev. dom paschal scotti, o. s. b. his presentation set an amicable tone for the conference by demonstrating christianity ’ s affinity for the natural sciences. the priest made clear that the driving issue at play in galileo ’ s run - in with the church was not an inherent fear of science. rather, most catholic theologians and scientists working with galileo fought with the astronomer to keep scientific observations in their proper arena. and as in the modern debates about issues such as evolution or climate change, what further inflamed the galileo saga were the nuances of human sin, politics, and egos.


fundamentalists. he also applauded the catholic predisposition that holds faith and science in relation. a self - described “ religious skeptic, ” ruse sought to foster a “ middle way ” to bring order to faith - reason debates. conference speakersbrown university ’ s dr. kenneth miller and southwestern baptist theological seminary ’ s dr. william a. dembskidemonstrated that such debates are very much alive. miller is a well - known defender of evolutionary science while dembski defends intelligent design, which has been described by some as an exploration of a less “ materialist ” explanation for how humans came to exist than most evolutionists allow. others see intelligent design as just another form of biblically literal creationism. both miller and dembski have been on opposing sides of legal disputes between citizens and public school districts over how to teach the origins and development of life. conference, miller, a catholic molecular biologist, gave an overview of findings from fossil records and genome studies that show adaptations and intermediary steps in the evolution of life. miller also championed his faith ’ s allowance to let science be sciencein particular quoting pope benedict xvi. but to emphasize the role that reason in general, and scientific reason in particular, should play in the lives of the faithful. when asked about the many questions that evolutionary sciences have not answered, miller responded that “ to say ‘ nobody really knows ’ is not the same as ‘ we know nothing. ’ ” miller urged his fellow catholicsand all religious believersto not look for god in areas of science that have not yet been explained, because someday scientists may answer those questions, too. dembski, a mathematician and professor of philosophy, spoke in agreement with much of what evolutionary sciences have demonstrated. but he noted that in areas such as the development of life, its increasing complexity, and its self - awareness, science has much more to explain than it hasor can. dembski made a critical distinction between matter and information and he asked if there is something “ outside ” of matter that is informing it, guiding the cosmos and life to develop as it has. selection is the method that evolution uses, that ’ s fine, ” dembski said after his talk. “ but where does the information needed for this process come from? ” miller later said that dembski was being “ disingenuous ” in stating acceptance of specific elements of evolution, such as natural selection, “ and the record proves this. ” he added that science has in fact demonstrated that life


document id : 12905 cisco ios® network address translation ( nat ) is designed for ip address simplification and conservation. it enables private ip internetworks that use nonregistered ip addresses to connect to the internet. nat operates on a cisco router that connects two networks together, and translates the private ( inside local ) addresses in the internal network to public addresses ( outside local ) before packets are forwarded to another network. as a part of this functionality, you can configure nat to advertise only one address for the entire network to the outside world. this effectively hides the internal network from the world. therefore, it provides additional security. there are no specific requirements for this document. this document is not restricted to specific software and hardware versions. for more information on document conventions, refer to the cisco technical tips conventions. one of the main features of nat is static port address translation ( pat ), which is also referred to as " overload " in a cisco ios configuration. static pat is designed to allow one - to - one mapping between local and global addresses. a common use for static pat is to allow internet users from the public network to access a web server located in the private network. in order to get more information about nat, refer to the nat technical support pages. this table shows the three blocks of ip address space available for private networks. consult rfc 1918 for more details about these special networks. | ip address space | | class | | 10. 0. 0. 0 - 10. 255. 255. 255 ( 10 / 8 prefix ) | | class a | | 172. 16. 0. 0 - 172. 31. 255. 255 ( 172. 16 / 12 prefix ) | | class b | | 192. 168. 0. 0 - 192. 168. 255. 255 ( 192. 168 / 16 prefix ) | | class c | note : the first block is nothing but a single class a network number, while the second block is a set of 16 contiguous class b network numbers, and third block is a set of 256 contiguous class c network numbers. in this example, the internet service provider ( isp ) assigns the dsl subscriber only a single ip address, 188. 8. 131. 52 / 24. the assigned ip address is a registered unique ip address and is called an inside global address. this registered ip address is used by the entire private network to browse the internet and also by internet users that come from the public network to reach the web server


science fiction ( abbreviated sf or sci - fi with varying punctuation and capitalization ) is a broad genre of fiction that often involves speculations based on current or future science or technology. fiction is the telling of stories which are not real more specifically fiction is an imaginative form of narrative, one of the four basic rhetorical modes. science ( from the latin scientia, meaning " knowledge " or " knowing " is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding technology is a broad concept that deals with a species ' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts and how it affects a species ' ability to control and adapt science fiction is found in books, art, television, films, games, theater, and other media. in organizational or marketing contexts, science fiction can be synonymous with the broader definition of speculative fiction, encompassing creative works incorporating imaginative elements not found in contemporary reality ; this includes fantasy, horror, and related genres. speculative fiction is a term used as an inclusive descriptor covering a group of fiction genres that speculate about worlds that are unlike the real world in fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and / or setting horror fiction is broadly fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience science fiction differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically established or scientifically postulated laws of nature ( though some elements in a story might still be pure imaginative speculation ). science fiction is largely based on writing entertainingly and rationally about alternate possibilities in settings that are contrary to known reality. these include : exploring the consequences of such differences is the traditional purpose of science fiction, making it a " literature of ideas ". outer space, often simply called space, comprises the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the escape velocities of celestial bodies. extraterrestrial life is life originating outside of the earth. this article details time travel itself for other uses see time traveler. psionics is the study and / or practice of using the mind to induce paranormal phenomena nanotechnology, sometimes shortened to nanotech, refers to a field of applied science whose theme is the control of matter on an atomic and molecular a robot is a mechanical or virtual artificial agent in practice it is usually an electro - mechanical system which by its appearance or movements science fiction is difficult to define, as it includes a wide range of subgenres and themes. a genre ( ˈʒɑːnrə


mechanical or virtual artificial agent in practice it is usually an electro - mechanical system which by its appearance or movements science fiction is difficult to define, as it includes a wide range of subgenres and themes. a genre ( ˈʒɑːnrə also / ˈdʒɑːnrə / from french " kind " or " sort " from latin : genus ( stem gener - ) is a loose set author and editor damon knight summed up the difficulty by stating that " science fiction is what we point to when we say it ". damon francis knight ( september 19, 1922 & ndash april 15, 2002 ) was an american science fiction author, vladimir nabokov argued that were we rigorous with our definitions, shakespeare ' s play the tempest would have to be termed science fiction. this page is about the novelist for his father the politician see vladimir dmitrievich nabokov. william shakespeare ( baptised the tempest is a comedy written by william shakespeare. it is generally dated to 1610 - 11 and accepted as the last play written solely by him although according to science fiction writer robert a. heinlein, " a handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read : realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method. robert anson heinlein ( july 7 1907 – may 8 1988 was an american novelist and science fiction writer. scientific method refers to bodies of techniques for investigating phenomena " rod serling ' s stated definition is " fantasy is the impossible made probable. rodman edward " rod " serling ( december 25, 1924 & ndash june 28, 1975 ) was an american screenwriter, best known science fiction is the improbable made possible. " lester del rey wrote, " even the devoted aficionado – or fan - has a hard time trying to explain what science fiction is, " and that the reason for there not being a " full satisfactory definition " is that " there are no easily delineated limits to science fiction. lester del rey ( june 2 1915 & ndash may 10 1993 ) was an american science fiction author and editor. " author mark c. glassy stated that the definition of science fiction was very much like the definition of porn ; you don ' t know what it is, but you know it when you see it. pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer forrest j. ac


very much like the definition of porn ; you don ' t know what it is, but you know it when you see it. pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer forrest j. ackerman publicly used the term " sci - fi " at ucla in 1954, though robert a. heinlein had used it in private correspondence six years earlier. forrest j ackerman ( born november 24, 1916 ) is an american collector of science fiction books and movie memorabilia and a science fiction robert anson heinlein ( july 7 1907 – may 8 1988 was an american novelist and science fiction writer. as science fiction entered popular culture, writers and fans active in the field came to associate the term with low - budget, low - tech " b - movies " and with low - quality pulp science fiction. popular culture ( or pop culture ) is the culture — patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance — a b movie is a motion picture made on a low or modest budget originally the term was used for films intended for distribution as the less - publicized second half of a double pulp magazines ( or pulp fiction ; often referred to as " the pulps " were inexpensive fiction magazines by the 1970s, critics within the field such as terry carr and damon knight were using " sci - fi " to distinguish hack - work from serious science fiction, and around 1978, susan wood and others introduced the pronunciation " skiffy. terry gene carr ( february 19, 1937 – april 7, 1987 ) was a u damon francis knight ( september 19, 1922 & ndash april 15, 2002 ) was an american science fiction author, susan joan wood ( august 22, 1948 - november 12, 1980 was a canadian author, critic, and science fiction skiffy is a deliberate humorous misspelling or mispronunciation of the controversial term " sci - fi " a neologism referring to science fiction. " peter nicholls writes that " sf " ( or " sf " ) is " the preferred abbreviation within the community of sf writers and readers. " david langford ' s monthly fanzine ansible includes a regular section " as others see us " which offers numerous examples of " sci - fi " being used in a pejorative sense by people outside the genre. david rowland langford ( born 10 april 1953 is a british author editor and critic, largely active within the science fiction field an ansible is a hypothetical machine capable of superluminal communication and used as a


. mary shelley ( nee mary wollstonecraft godwin ; 30 august frankenstein or the modern prometheus, generally known as frankenstein, is a novel written by the british author mary shelley the last man is an apocalyptic science fiction novel by mary shelley, which was first published in 1826 edgar allan poe ( january 19 1809 – october 7 1849 was an american poet, short - story writer, editor and literary critic, more examples appeared throughout the 19th century. then with the dawn of new technologies such as electricity, the telegraph, and new forms of powered transportation, writers like jules verne and h. g. wells created a body of work that became popular across broad cross - sections of society. jules gabriel verne ( february 8 1828 & ndash march 24 1905 ) was a french author who pioneered the science - fiction herbert george wells ( 21 september 1866 & ndash 13 august 1946 he was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political in the late 19th century the term " scientific romance " was used in britain to describe much of this fiction. see also history of science fiction scientific romance is a bygone name for what is now commonly known as science fiction. this produced additional offshoots, such as the 1884 novella flatland : a romance of many dimensions by edwin abbott abbott. for other uses see flatland ( disambiguation flatland a romance of many dimensions is an 1884 science fiction edwin abbott abbott ( december 20, 1838 & ndash october 12, 1926 ) english schoolmaster and theologian, the term would continue to be used into the early 20th century for writers such as olaf stapledon. william olaf stapledon ( may 10, 1886 & ndash september 6, 1950 ) was a british philosopher and author of several influential works in the early 20th century, pulp magazines helped develop a new generation of mainly american sf writers, influenced by hugo gernsback, the founder of amazing stories magazine. pulp magazines ( or pulp fiction ; often referred to as " the pulps " were inexpensive fiction magazines hugo gernsback ( august 16 1884 – august 19 1967 ) born hugo gernsbacher, was a luxembourg american inventor amazing stories was an american science fiction magazine launched in april 1926 by hugo gernsback ' s experimenter publishing. in the late 1930s, john w. campbell became editor of astounding science fiction, and a critical mass of new writers emerged in new york city in a group called the futurians, including isaac asimov, damon


s experimenter publishing. in the late 1930s, john w. campbell became editor of astounding science fiction, and a critical mass of new writers emerged in new york city in a group called the futurians, including isaac asimov, damon knight, donald a. wollheim, frederik pohl, james blish, judith merril, and others. john wood campbell jr ( june 8 1910 – july 11 1971 was an important science fiction editor and writer analog science fiction and fact is an american science fiction magazine. the city of new york the futurians were an influential group of science fiction fans, many of whom became editors and writers as well isaac asimov ( c january 2 1920 & ndash april 6 1992 ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv originally исаак озимов but now transcribed into russian as, was a russian damon francis knight ( september 19, 1922 & ndash april 15, 2002 ) was an american science fiction author, donald allen wollheim ( october 1 1914 & ndash november 2, 1990 ) was a science fiction writer, editor, publisher and frederik george pohl jr ( born november 26, 1919 ) is a american science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career james benjamin blish ( east orange, new jersey, may 23, 1921 – henley - on - thames, july 30, 1975 ) was an judith josephine grossman ( january 21, 1923 - september 12, 1997 ) who took the pen - name judith merril about 1945 was an other important writers during this period included robert a. heinlein, arthur c. clarke, and a. e. van vogt. robert anson heinlein ( july 7 1907 – may 8 1988 was an american novelist and science fiction writer. sir arthur charles clarke, cbe ( 16 december 1917 – 19 march 2008 was a british science fiction author, inventor, and alfred elton van vogt ( april 26 1912 – january 26 2000 was a canadian - born science fiction author who was one of the most prolific campbell ' s tenure at astounding is considered to be the beginning of the golden age of science fiction, characterized by hard sf stories celebrating scientific achievement and progress. the first golden age of science fiction, often recognized as a period from the late 1930s or early 1940s through to the 1950s was an era during which the science fiction genre gained wide this lasted until postwar technological advances, new magazines like galaxy under pohl as editor, and a new generation of writers


often recognized as a period from the late 1930s or early 1940s through to the 1950s was an era during which the science fiction genre gained wide this lasted until postwar technological advances, new magazines like galaxy under pohl as editor, and a new generation of writers began writing stories outside the campbell mode. galaxy science fiction was a digest - size science fiction magazine, the creation of noted editor h in the 1950s, the beat generation included speculative writers like william s. burroughs. william seward burroughs ii ( – ˈbʌroʊz was an american novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word in the 1960s and early 1970s, writers like frank herbert, samuel r. delany, roger zelazny, and harlan ellison explored new trends, ideas, and writing styles, while a group of writers, mainly in britain, became known as the new wave. franklin patrick herbert jr ( october 8 1920 & ndash february 11 1986 ) was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful american samuel ray delany jr ( born april 1, 1942, new york city ) is an award - winning american science fiction roger joseph zelazny ( may 13, 1937 – june 14, 1995 ) was an american writer of fantasy and science fiction harlan jay ellison ( born may 27, 1934 ) is a prolific american writer of short stories, novellas, teleplays the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, commonly known as the united kingdom, the uk or britain, is a sovereign state located new wave is a term applied to science fiction writing characterized by a high degree of experimentation both in form and in content and a highbrow and self - consciously in the 1970s, writers like larry niven and poul anderson began to redefine hard sf. laurence van cott niven ( born april 30, 1938 los angeles california ) is a us science fiction author. poul william anderson ( november 25, 1926 – july 31, 2001 ) was an american science fiction author who wrote during a golden ursula k. le guin and others pioneered soft science fiction. ursula kroeber le guin ( ləˈgwɪn ( born october 21, 1929 ) is an american author in the 1980s, cyberpunk authors like william gibson turned away from the traditional optimism and support for progress of traditional science fiction. cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on " high tech and low life. william ford gibson ( born march 17 1948 is an american - canadian writer who has been called the " noir prophet


support for progress of traditional science fiction. cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on " high tech and low life. william ford gibson ( born march 17 1948 is an american - canadian writer who has been called the " noir prophet " of the cyberpunk subgenre star wars helped spark a new interest in space opera, focusing more on story and character than on scientific accuracy. star wars episode iv a new hope ( originally released as star wars ) is a 1977 space opera space opera is a subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure set mainly or entirely c. j. cherryh ' s detailed explorations of alien life and complex scientific challenges influenced a generation of writers. carolyn janice cherry ( born september 1, 1942 ) better known by the pseudonym c extraterrestrial life is life originating outside of the earth. emerging themes in the 1990s included environmental issues, the implications of the global internet and the expanding information universe, questions about biotechnology and nanotechnology, as well as a post - cold war interest in post - scarcity societies ; neal stephenson ' s the diamond age comprehensively explores these themes. this is a list of environmental issues that are due to human activity biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. nanotechnology, sometimes shortened to nanotech, refers to a field of applied science whose theme is the control of matter on an atomic and molecular cold war is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the united states and the soviet union ( ussr and their respective allies from the post scarcity or post - scarcity describes a hypothetical form of economy or society, often explored in science fiction, in which things such as neal town stephenson ( born october 31, 1959 ) is an american writer known primarily for his science fiction works in the postcyberpunk genre the diamond age or a young lady ' s illustrated primer is a postcyberpunk novel by neal stephenson. lois mcmaster bujold ' s vorkosigan novels brought the character - driven story back into prominence. lois mcmaster bujold ( born november 2, 1949, columbus, ohio ) is an american author of science fiction and fantasy the vorkosigan saga is a series of science fiction novels and short stories by lois mcmaster bujold, most of which concern miles vorkosigan, a physically the television series star trek : the next generation began a torrent of new sf shows, of


saga is a series of science fiction novels and short stories by lois mcmaster bujold, most of which concern miles vorkosigan, a physically the television series star trek : the next generation began a torrent of new sf shows, of which babylon 5 was among the most highly acclaimed in the decade. star trek the next generation ( sttng or tng ) is an emmy and peabody award - winning science fiction television program created by gene roddenberry babylon 5 is an american science fiction television series created produced and largely written by j a general concern about the rapid pace of technological change crystallized around the concept of the technological singularity, popularized by vernor vinge ' s novel marooned in realtime and then taken up by other authors. the technological singularity is a theoretical future point of unprecedented technological progress caused in part by the ability of machines to improve themselves using artificial vernor steffen vinge ( ˈvɪndʒi ( born october 2, 1944 in waukesha wisconsin, u marooned in realtime is a 1986 murder mystery and time - travel science fiction novel by vernor vinge, about a small time - displaced television shows like buffy the vampire slayer and films like the lord of the rings created new interest in all the speculative genres in films, television, computer games, and books. fictional narratives ( and works of art exist beyond their completion e the lord of the rings film trilogy consists of three live action fantasy epic films the fellowship of the ring ( 2001 while sf has provided criticism of developing and future technologies, it also produces innovation and new technology. the discussion of this topic has occurred more in literary and sociological than in scientific forums. cinema and media theorist vivian sobchack examines the dialogue between science fiction film and the technological imagination. vivian sobchack is an american cinema and media theorist and cultural critic technology does impact how artists portray their fictionalized subjects, but the fictional world gives back to science by broadening imagination. while more prevalent in the beginning years of science fiction with writers like isaac asimov, robert a. heinlein, frank walker and arthur c. clarke, new authors like michael crichton still find ways to make the currently impossible technologies seem so close to being realized. isaac asimov ( c january 2 1920 & ndash april 6 1992 ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv originally исаак озимов but now transcribed into russian as, was a russian robert anson heinlein ( july 7 1907


& ndash april 6 1992 ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv originally исаак озимов but now transcribed into russian as, was a russian robert anson heinlein ( july 7 1907 – may 8 1988 was an american novelist and science fiction writer. frank walker may refer to frank comerford walker, former chairman of the democratic national committee frank ray walker architect partner in sir arthur charles clarke, cbe ( 16 december 1917 – 19 march 2008 was a british science fiction author, inventor, and john michael crichton, ˈkraɪtən, ( born october 23 1942 is an american author film producer, film director, medical doctor, and television producer this has also been notably documented in the field of nanotechnology with university of ottawa professor jose lopez ' s article " bridging the gaps : science fiction in nanotechnology. nanotechnology, sometimes shortened to nanotech, refers to a field of applied science whose theme is the control of matter on an atomic and molecular for the university in ottawa kansas see ottawa university. the university of ottawa or universite d ' ottawa in french " lopez links both theoretical premises of science fiction worlds and the operation of nanotechnologies. authors and filmmakers draw on a wide spectrum of ideas, but marketing departments and literary critics tend to separate such literary and cinematic works into different categories, or " genres ", and subgenres. literary criticism is the study discussion evaluation and interpretation of literature. a genre ( ˈʒɑːnrə also / ˈdʒɑːnrə / from french " kind " or " sort " from latin : genus ( stem gener - ) is a loose set these are not simple pigeonholes ; works can be overlapped into two or more commonly - defined genres, while others are beyond the generic boundaries, either outside or between categories, and the categories and genres used by mass markets and literary criticism differ considerably. hard science fiction, or " hard sf ", is characterized by rigorous attention to accurate detail in quantitative sciences, especially physics, astrophysics, and chemistry, or on accurately depicting worlds that more advanced technology may make possible. hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail or on scientific accuracy or on both physics ( greek physis - φυσις in everyday terms is the science of matter and its motion. astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties ( luminosity, chemistry (


physics ( greek physis - φυσις in everyday terms is the science of matter and its motion. astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties ( luminosity, chemistry ( from egyptian keme ( chem meaning " earth " ) is the science concerned with the composition structure and properties many accurate predictions of the future come from the hard science fiction subgenre, but numerous inaccurate predictions have emerged as well. hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail or on scientific accuracy or on both for example, arthur c. clarke accurately predicted ( and invented the concept of ) geostationary communications satellites, but erred in his prediction of deep layers of moondust in lunar craters. sir arthur charles clarke, cbe ( 16 december 1917 – 19 march 2008 was a british science fiction author, inventor, and a geostationary orbit ( geo is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the earth ' s equator ( 0° latitude ) with a period equal to the earth ' s some hard sf authors have distinguished themselves as working scientists, including robert forward, gregory benford, charles sheffield, and geoffrey a. landis, while mathematician authors include rudy rucker and vernor vinge. this is about the physicist and science fiction writer you may be looking for his son robert d gregory benford ( born january 30, 1941 in mobile alabama ) is an american science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the charles sheffield ( june 25, 1935 & ndash november 2, 2002 ) was an english - born mathematician physicist and science fiction geoffrey a landis works as a scientist and writer of science fiction. rudolf von bitter rucker ( born march 22, 1946 in louisville kentucky ) is an american computer scientist and science fiction vernor steffen vinge ( ˈvɪndʒi ( born october 2, 1944 in waukesha wisconsin, u other noteworthy hard sf authors include hal clement, joe haldeman, larry niven, jerry pournelle, kim stanley robinson, robert j. sawyer, and stephen baxter. harry clement stubbs ( may 30, 1922 in somerville massachusetts – october 29, 2003 in milton massachusetts ) better joe william haldeman is an american science fiction author. life and work haldeman was born in 1943 in oklahoma city oklahoma laurence van cott niven ( born april 30, 1938 los angeles california ) is a us science fiction author. jerry eugene pournelle (


is an american science fiction author. life and work haldeman was born in 1943 in oklahoma city oklahoma laurence van cott niven ( born april 30, 1938 los angeles california ) is a us science fiction author. jerry eugene pournelle ( born august 7, 1933 ) is an american science fiction writer, essayist and journalist kim stanley robinson ( born march 23 1952 ) is an american science fiction writer, probably best known for his award - winning robert j sawyer is a canadian science fiction writer born in ottawa in 1960 and now resident in mississauga. stephen baxter ( born 13 november 1957 is a british hard science fiction author. the description " soft " science fiction may describe works based on social sciences such as psychology, economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology. the left hand of darkness is a science fiction novel by ursula k ursula kroeber le guin ( ləˈgwɪn ( born october 21, 1929 ) is an american author soft science fiction, or soft sf, like its complementary opposite hard science fiction, is a descriptive term that points to the role and nature of the social science fiction is a term used to describe a subgenre of science fiction concerned less with technology and space opera and more with sociological the social sciences comprise academic disciplines concerned with the study of the social life of human groups and individuals including anthropology, communication studies psychology ( from greek grc ψυχη psykhe, " breath life soul " and grc - λογια - logia ) is an academic and economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. political science is a branch of social sciences that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems sociology ( from latin : socius " companion " and the suffix - ology " the study of " from greek λογος logos " knowledge " anthropology ( / / from greek grc ανθρωπος anthropos, " human " - λογια - logia ) is the study of noteworthy writers in this category include ursula k. le guin and philip k. dick. ursula kroeber le guin ( ləˈgwɪn ( born october 21, 1929 ) is an american author philip kindred dick ( december 16 – march 2 ) was an american science fiction novelist and short story writer. the term can describe stories focused primarily on character and emotion ; sfwa grand master ray bradbury is an


, 1929 ) is an american author philip kindred dick ( december 16 – march 2 ) was an american science fiction novelist and short story writer. the term can describe stories focused primarily on character and emotion ; sfwa grand master ray bradbury is an acknowledged master of this art. ray douglas bradbury ( born august 22 1920 is an american mainstream, fantasy, horror, science fiction and mystery some writers blur the boundary between hard and soft science fiction - for example mack reynolds ' s work focuses on politics but anticipated many developments in computers, including cyber - terrorism. dallas mccord " mack " reynolds ( november 11, 1917 - january 30, 1983 ) was an american science fiction writer related to social sf and soft sf are the speculative fiction branches of utopian or dystopian stories ; the handmaid ' s tale, nineteen eighty - four, and brave new world are examples. utopia is a name for an ideal community taken from the title of a book written in 1516 by sir thomas more describing a fictional island in the a dystopia ( from the greek δυσ - and τοπος alternatively cacotopia, kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti - utopia ) is the vision of a society the handmaid ' s tale is a dystopian novel by canadian author margaret atwood, first published by mcclelland and stewart in nineteen eighty - four ( also titled 1984 ) by george orwell ( the pen name of eric arthur blair ) is a 1949 english novel brave new world is a 1932 novel by aldous huxley. set in the london of ad 2540 ( 632 a satirical novels with fantastic settings such as gulliver ' s travels may be considered speculative fiction. gulliver ' s travels ( 1726 amended 1735 officially travels into several remote nations of the world in four parts the cyberpunk genre emerged in the early 1980s ; the name is a portmanteau of " cybernetics " and " punk ", and was first coined by author bruce bethke in his 1980 short story " cyberpunk ". neuromancer is a 1984 novel by william gibson, notable for being the most famous early cyberpunk novel and winner of the science - fiction " triple william ford gibson ( born march 17 1948 is an american - canadian writer who has been called the " noir prophet " of the cyberpunk subgenre cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on " high tech and low life. steampunk is a subgen


is an american - canadian writer who has been called the " noir prophet " of the cyberpunk subgenre cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on " high tech and low life. steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s bruce bethke is an american author best known for his 1980 short story " cyberpunk " which led to the widespread use of the term and his novel the short story is a literary genre of fictional prose narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such the time frame is usually near - future and the settings are often dystopian. common themes in cyberpunk include advances in information technology and especially the internet ( visually abstracted as cyberspace ), ( possibly malevolent ) artificial intelligence, enhancements of mind and body using bionic prosthetics and direct brain - computer interfaces called cyberware, and post - democratic societal control where corporations have more influence than governments. information technology ( it ) as defined by the information technology association of america ( itaa is " the study design development implementation support the internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks cyberspace & mdash from the greek el κυβερνητης ( el kybernetes steersman governor pilot or rudder & mdash is the global domain of electro - magnetics accessed bionics ( also known as biomimetics, biognosis, biomimicry, or bionical creativity engineering ) is the application of biological in medicine, a prosthesis ( plural prostheses ) is an artificial extension that replaces a missing body part. a brain - computer interface ( bci sometimes called a direct neural interface or a brain - machine interface, is a direct communication pathway between a human or animal cyberware is a relatively new and unknown field ( a proto - science, or more adequately a “ proto - technology ” nihilism, post - modernism, and film noir techniques are common elements, and the protagonists may be disaffected or reluctant anti - heroes. nihilism ( from the latin nihil, nothing is a philosophical position that argues that existence is without objective meaning purpose postmodernism literally means ' after the modernist movement ' while " modern " itself refers to something " related to the present " the movement of modernism film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity


banks of the lethe " in andromeda ) and as one - off productions such as the flipside of dominick hide. doctor who is a british science fiction television programme produced by the bbc. " the city on the edge of forever " is the penultimate episode of the first season of star trek. star trek is a science fiction television series created by gene roddenberry that aired from september 8, 1966 through " babylon squared " is an episode from the first season of the science - fiction television series babylon 5. babylon 5 is an american science fiction television series created produced and largely written by j see andromeda ( disambiguation for other uses of " andromeda " the flipside of dominick hide is a british television play which has attained cult status alternate history stories are based on the premise that historical events might have turned out differently. alternate history or alternative history is a subgenre of speculative fiction ( or science fiction ) and historical fiction these stories may use time travel to change the past, or may simply set a story in a universe with a different history from our own. classics in the genre include bring the jubilee by ward moore, in which the south wins the american civil war and the man in the high castle, by philip k. bring the jubilee, by ward ward moore ( b august 10 1903, madison new jersey - d january 28 1978 ) was the working name of american author joseph ward causes of the war see also origins of the american civil war, timeline of events leading to the american civil war the coexistence of a slave - owning south the man in the high castle is a 1962 alternate history novel by science fiction writer philip k dick, in which germany and japan win world war ii. world war ii, or the second world war, ( often abbreviated wwii ) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world ' s nations, including the sidewise award acknowledges the best works in this subgenre ; the name is taken from murray leinster ' s early story " sidewise in time ". the sidewise award for alternate history were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year murray leinster ( june 16, 1896 in norfolk virginia - june 8, 1975 ) was a nom de plume of william fitzgerald jenkins military science fiction is set in the context of conflict between national, interplanetary, or interstellar armed forces ; the primary viewpoint characters are usually soldiers. military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are


fitzgerald jenkins military science fiction is set in the context of conflict between national, interplanetary, or interstellar armed forces ; the primary viewpoint characters are usually soldiers. military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking for the military meaning see armed forces. for the soviet sports society see armed forces ( sports society armed forces stories include detail about military technology, procedure, ritual, and history ; military stories may use parallels with historical conflicts. heinlein ' s starship troopers is an early example, along with the dorsai novels of gordon dickson. starship troopers is a science fiction novel by robert a heinlein, first published ( in abridged form as a serial in the magazine the childe cycle is an unfinished series of science fiction novels by gordon r gordon rupert dickson ( november 1, 1923 – january 31, 2001 ) was an american science fiction author joe haldeman ' s the forever war is a critique of the genre, a vietnam - era response to the world war ii - style stories of earlier authors. joe william haldeman is an american science fiction author. life and work haldeman was born in 1943 in oklahoma city oklahoma the forever war is a 1974 science fiction novel by joe haldeman. the vietnam war, also known as the second indochina war, or the vietnam conflict, occurred in vietnam, laos and cambodia world war ii, or the second world war, ( often abbreviated wwii ) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world ' s nations, including prominent military sf authors include david drake, david weber, jerry pournelle, s. m. stirling, and lois mcmaster bujold. david drake ( born september 24, 1945 ) is an author of science fiction and fantasy literature david mark weber is an american science fiction and fantasy author. jerry eugene pournelle ( born august 7, 1933 ) is an american science fiction writer, essayist and journalist stephen michael stirling is a french - born canadian - american science fiction and fantasy author lois mcmaster bujold ( born november 2, 1949, columbus, ohio ) is an american author of science fiction and fantasy baen books is known for cultivating military science fiction authors. baen books is an american publishing company established in 1983 by long time science fiction publisher and editor jim baen. television series within this subgenre include battlestar galactica and stargate sg - 1. battlestar galactica is a franchise of science


by larry niven in 1976 and later expanded to a novella of the same name which however, most authors and readers make a distinction between fantasy and sf. in general, science fiction is the literature of things that might someday be possible, and fantasy is the literature of things that are inherently impossible. magic and mythology are popular themes in fantasy. magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers. the word mythology ( from the greek grc μυθολογια mythologia, meaning " a story - telling a legendary lore " there are many elements that show up throughout the fantasy genre in different guises it is common to see narratives described as being essentially science fiction but " with fantasy elements. frankenstein is a horror film from universal pictures directed by james whale and very loosely based on the novel of the same name " the term " science fantasy " is sometimes used to describe such material. science fantasy is a mixed genre of story which contains some science fiction and some fantasy elements horror fiction is the literature of the unnatural and supernatural, with the aim of unsettling or frightening the reader, sometimes with graphic violence. horror fiction is broadly fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience the term supernatural or supranatural ( latin : super, supra " above " + natura " nature " pertains to entities events graphic violence is the depiction of especially vivid brutal and realistic acts of violence in visual media such as literature, film, television historically it has also been known as " weird fiction. " although horror is not per se a branch of science fiction, many works of horror literature incorporates science fictional elements. one of the defining classical works of horror, mary shelley ' s novel frankenstein, is a fully - realized work of science fiction, where the manufacture of the monster is given a rigorous science - fictional grounding. mary shelley ( nee mary wollstonecraft godwin ; 30 august frankenstein or the modern prometheus, generally known as frankenstein, is a novel written by the british author mary shelley the works of edgar allan poe also helped define both the science fiction and the horror genres. edgar allan poe ( january 19 1809 – october 7 1849 was an american poet, short - story writer, editor and literary critic, today horror is one of the most popular categories of films. horror films are movies that strive to elicit fear, horror and terror responses from viewers works in which science and technology are a dominant theme, but based on current reality, may be


critic, today horror is one of the most popular categories of films. horror films are movies that strive to elicit fear, horror and terror responses from viewers works in which science and technology are a dominant theme, but based on current reality, may be considered mainstream fiction. much of the thriller genre would be included, such as the novels of tom clancy or michael crichton, or the james bond films. the thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, gaming and television. thomas leo clancy jr ( born april 12 1947 ) is an american author best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science storylines john michael crichton, ˈkraɪtən, ( born october 23 1942 is an american author film producer, film director, medical doctor, and television producer james bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer ian fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story modernist works from writers like kurt vonnegut, philip k. dick, and stanisław lem have focused on speculative or existential perspectives on contemporary reality and are on the borderline between sf and the mainstream. modernism describes an array of cultural movements rooted in the changes in western society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century kurt vonnegut jr ( november 11 1922 – april 11 2007 ( ˈvɒnəgət was a prolific and genre - bending american novelist known for works blending satire, black philip kindred dick ( december 16 – march 2 ) was an american science fiction novelist and short story writer. stanisław lem ( sta ' ɲiswaf lɛm 12 september 1921 – 27 march 2006 was a polish science fiction, philosophical and satirical writer existentialism is a philosophical doctrine which posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives and that this essence follows from their existence according to robert j. sawyer, " science fiction and mystery have a great deal in common. robert j sawyer is a canadian science fiction writer born in ottawa in 1960 and now resident in mississauga. both prize the intellectual process of puzzle solving, and both require stories to be plausible and hinge on the way things really do work. " isaac asimov, anthony boucher, walter mosley, and other writers incorporate mystery elements in their science fiction, and vice versa. isaac asimov ( c january 2 1920 & ndash april 6 1992 ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv originally исаак озимов but now transcribed into russian as, was a russian anthony


isaac asimov ( c january 2 1920 & ndash april 6 1992 ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv originally исаак озимов but now transcribed into russian as, was a russian anthony boucher ( born william anthony parker white ) ( august 21, 1911 – april 29, 1968 ) was an american science fiction walter ellis mosley ( born january 12, 1952 ) is a prominent american novelist most widely recognized for his crime fiction. superhero fiction is a genre characterized by beings with much higher than usual physical or mental prowess, generally with a desire or need to help the citizens of their chosen country or world by using his or her powers to defeat natural or superpowered threats. superhero fiction is a subgenre of fiction that deals with superheroes supervillians super - powered humans aliens, or mutants many superhero fiction characters involve themselves ( either intentionally or accidentally ) with science fiction and fact, including advanced technologies, alien worlds, time travel, and interdimensional travel ; but the standards of scientific plausibility are lower than with actual science fiction. some of the best - known authors of this genre include stan lee, keith r. a. decandido, diane duane, peter david, len wein, marv wolfman, george r. r. martin, pierce askegren, christopher golden, dean wesley smith, greg cox, nancy collins, c. j. cherryh, roger stern, and elliot s! maggin. stan lee ( born stanley martin lieber ; december 28, 1922 ) is an american writer, editor, creator of comic book characters keith robert andreassi decandido ( born april 18, 1969 in new york, united states ) is an american sci - fi and fantasy writer diane duane ( born may 18, 1952 ) is an american science fiction and fantasy author for the grenadian politician see peter david ( politician. peter allen david ( often abbreviated pad ) ( born september 23 len wein ( born june 12, 1948 ) is an american comic book writer and editor best known for co - creating dc comics marvin a " marv " wolfman ( born may 13, 1946 ) is an award - winning american comic book writer. george raymond richard martin ( september 20, 1948 ) sometimes referred to as grrm, is an american author and screenwriter john pierce askegren ( 1955 - november 2006 of the louisiana askegrens was an american author best known for his work in adaptations of licensed properties and is a lifelong christopher golden is an


soon fans began writing letters to each other, and then grouping their comments together in informal publications that became known as fanzines. once they were in regular contact, fans wanted to meet each other, and they organized local clubs. in the 1930s, the first science fiction conventions gathered fans from a wider area. science fiction conventions are gatherings of the community of fans ( called science fiction fandom ) of various forms of speculative fiction including science conventions, clubs, and fanzines were the dominant form of fan activity, or " fanac ", for decades, until the internet facilitated communication among a much larger population of interested people. among the most respected awards for science fiction are the hugo award, presented by the world science fiction society at worldcon, and the nebula award, presented by sfwa and voted on by the community of authors. the hugo awards are given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year the nebula award is an award given each year by the science fiction and fantasy writers of america ( sfwa for the best science fiction / fantasy fiction one notable award for science fiction films is the saturn award. the saturn award is an award presented annually by the academy of science fiction fantasy & horror films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy it is presented annually by the academy of science fiction, fantasy, and horror films. there are national awards, like canada ' s aurora award, regional awards, like the endeavour award presented at orycon for works from the pacific northwest, special interest or subgenre awards like the chesley award for art or the world fantasy award for fantasy. the prix aurora awards are given out annually for the best canadian science fiction and fantasy literary works art works and awards for fan activities the endeavour award, announced annually at orycon in portland oregon is awarded to a distinguished science fiction or fantasy book written by a pacific northwest the pacific northwest is a region in the northwest of north america ( the term refers to the land not the ocean the chesley awards were established in 1985 by the association of science fiction and fantasy artists to recognize individual works and achievements during a given year the world fantasy awards are annual international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy. magazines may organize reader polls, notably the locus award. the locus awards were established in 1971 and are presented to winners of locus magazine ' s annual readers ' poll conventions ( in fandom, shortened as " cons " ), are held in cities around the world, catering to a local


locus award. the locus awards were established in 1971 and are presented to winners of locus magazine ' s annual readers ' poll conventions ( in fandom, shortened as " cons " ), are held in cities around the world, catering to a local, regional, national, or international membership. minicon is a science fiction and fantasy convention in minneapolis usually held on easter weekend general - interest conventions cover all aspects of science fiction, while others focus on a particular interest like media fandom, filking, etc. media fandom is a fan term invented in the late 1970s to describe the collective fandoms for contemporary television shows and movies filk is a musical culture genre and community tied to science fiction / fantasy fandom. most are organized by volunteers in non - profit groups, though most media - oriented events are organized by commercial promoters. a non - profit organization ( abbreviated " npo " also " not - for - profit " is a legally constituted organization whose objective is to support or engage the convention ' s activities are called the " program ", which may include panel discussions, readings, autograph sessions, costume masquerades, and other events. activities that occur throughout the convention are not part of the program ; these commonly include a dealer ' s room, art show, and hospitality lounge ( or " con suites " ). conventions may host award ceremonies ; worldcons present the hugo awards each year. the hugo awards are given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year sf societies, referred to as " clubs " except in formal contexts, form a year - round base of activities for science fiction fans. they may be associated with an ongoing science fiction convention, or have regular club meetings, or both. most groups meet in libraries, schools and universities, community centers, pubs or restaurants, or the homes of individual members. long - established groups like the new england science fiction association and the los angeles science fiction society have clubhouses for meetings and storage of convention supplies and research materials. the new england science fiction association, or nesfa, is a science fiction club centered in the new england area the los angeles science fantasy society or lasfs ( pron " lahss - fuss " " loss - fuss " " lass - fass " or " lahss - fahss " is a membership fan the science fiction and fantasy writers of america ( sfwa ) was founded by damon knight in 1965 as a non - profit organization to serve the community of professional science fiction authors.


" or " lahss - fahss " is a membership fan the science fiction and fantasy writers of america ( sfwa ) was founded by damon knight in 1965 as a non - profit organization to serve the community of professional science fiction authors. science fiction writers of america, or sfwa ( ˈsɪfwə or / ˈsɛfwə / was founded in 1965 by damon knight. damon francis knight ( september 19, 1922 & ndash april 15, 2002 ) was an american science fiction author, fandom has helped incubate related groups, including media fandom, the society for creative anachronism, gaming, filking, and furry fandom. media fandom is a fan term invented in the late 1970s to describe the collective fandoms for contemporary television shows and movies society for creative anachronism ( usually shortened to sca ) is a historical re - creation and living history group founded in 1966 which historically the term " gamer " usually referred to someone who played role - playing games or wargames. filk is a musical culture genre and community tied to science fiction / fantasy fandom. furry fandom is a fandom devoted to anthropomorphic animal the first science fiction fanzine, " the comet ", was published in 1930. fanzine printing methods have changed over the decades, from the hectograph, the mimeograph, and the ditto machine, to modern photocopying. the hectograph or gelatin duplicator or jellygraph is a printing process which involves transfer of an original prepared with special inks to a pan of a spirit duplicator ( also referred to as a ditto machine or banda machine ) was a low - volume printing method used mainly by schools and churches a photocopier ( or copier is a machine that makes paper copies of documents and other visual images quickly and cheaply subscription volumes rarely justify the cost of commercial printing. modern fanzines are printed on computer printers or at local copy shops, or they may only be sent as email. electronic mail, often abbreviated to e - mail, email, or originally email, is a store - and - forward method of writing sending receiving the best known fanzine ( or " ' zine " ) today is ansible, edited by david langford, winner of numerous hugo awards. a zine ( an abbreviation of the word fanzine, or magazine ziːn " zeen " is most commonly a small circulation non


zine " ) today is ansible, edited by david langford, winner of numerous hugo awards. a zine ( an abbreviation of the word fanzine, or magazine ziːn " zeen " is most commonly a small circulation non - commercial publication an ansible is a hypothetical machine capable of superluminal communication and used as a plot device in science fiction literature david rowland langford ( born 10 april 1953 is a british author editor and critic, largely active within the science fiction field other fanzines to win awards in recent years include file 770, mimosa, and plokta. file 770 is a science fiction fanzine published by mike glyer and named for the party in room 770 at the 1951 worldcon science fiction mimosa is a genus of about 400 species of herbs and shrubs in the subfamily mimosoideae of the legume family fabaceae. plokta is a science fiction fanzine, first published in 1996 subtitled " the journal of superfluous technology " the magazine includes artists working for fanzines have risen to prominence in the field, including brad w. foster, teddy harvia and joe mayhew ; the hugos include a category for best fan artists. hugo award for best fan artist. about this award the hugo awards the most prestigious awards in science fiction and fantasy the earliest organized fandom online was the sf lovers community, originally a mailing list in the late 1970s with a text archive file that was updated regularly. a file archiver is a computer program that combines a number of files together into one archive file, or a series of archive files for easier transportation in the 1980s, usenet groups greatly expanded the circle of fans online. usenet, a portmanteau of " user " and " network " is a world - wide distributed internet discussion system in the 1990s, the development of the world - wide web exploded the community of online fandom by orders of magnitude, with thousands and then literally millions of web sites devoted to science fiction and related genres for all media. the world wide web ( commonly shortened to the web ) is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the internet. most such sites are small, ephemeral, and / or very narrowly focused, though sites like sf site offer a broad range of references and reviews about science fiction. sf site is a webzine edited by rodger turner. established in 1996 by john o ' neill, it is based in canada, but includes contributors from around fan fiction


sites like sf site offer a broad range of references and reviews about science fiction. sf site is a webzine edited by rodger turner. established in 1996 by john o ' neill, it is based in canada, but includes contributors from around fan fiction, known to aficionados as " fanfic ", is non - commercial fiction created by fans in the setting of an established book, film, or television series. the community surrounding modern fan fiction has generated a considerable number of unique subgenres and literary terminology over the past several decades a non - commercial enterprise is work that values other considerations above and beyond that of making a profit this modern meaning of the term should not be confused with the traditional ( pre - 1970s ) meaning of " fan fiction " within the community of fandom, where the term meant original or parody fiction written by fans and published in fanzines, often with members of fandom as characters therein ( " faan fiction " ). science fiction fandom or sf fandom is a community of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy literature, and in contact with one another a science fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi - professional magazine published by members of science fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day examples of this would include the goon stories by walt willis. walter alexander willis ( 1919 - 1999 was a well - known irish science fiction fan, resident in belfast in the last few years, sites have appeared such as orion ' s arm and galaxiki, which encourage collaborative development of science fiction universes. orion ' s arm, ( also called the orion ' s arm universe project oaup or simply oa is an online science fiction world - building project founded by m galaxiki is a web - based free content virtual community web 2


‘ we spent a good deal of time thinking about how accident, disruption, distraction, and difference increase the motivation to learn and to solve problems, both individually and collectively. ’ the article : collaborative learning for the digital age by cathy n. davidson makes me think that collaborative work itself could challenge the limited feature of the human brain, whose performance level is usually or relatively low when it has to deal with multitasking assignments. the conceptual breakthrough, which does not limit our ability due to the result from the experimentation described in the first part of this article is a lesson for me not to get depressed easily because of the negative consequence, which refers to ‘ attention blindness ’. collaborative learning could be a savior of the insufficient inherent capability. we are living in this world to enable an individual knowledge to be replaced with his / her community. an individual brain would be no longer more valid or highly valued than what it is now or it used to be, rather its collaborative mode would be appreciated or recognized to be an authentic qualification for human intelligence. ‘ i think therefore i am ’ by descartes is manipulated by ‘ ipod therefore i am ’, which could also be replaced by ‘ we think therefore i am ’. however this does not mean to say each person could learn less than before ; on the contrary s / he would learn more being motivated to enjoy further studies. online collaborative projects, which i went through could therefore persuade me to think that the underline concept of competency lies in her / his connectivity and collaboration with outsides. the value of what is meant to be intelligent enough to cope with all issues of this coming era differs from that of definition without social network system. how the world wide web has changed the world from digiteen projects based on flat classroom projects and workshopa from the 1001 flat world tales project certainly not only show us the new process of learning in the 21st century but also give us the solution to challenge side effects of social network communication system. they could refer to how we can possibly manage or control the massive flow of information ; how we can be confident that what we are doing is on the right path ; how we could easily or efficiently live in the digital information era. things should be getting more convenient for us to learn, yet at the same time we have additional or extra burdens to be overseen and monitored constantly. whether it is controllable or not also seems to rely on the potential of collaborate learning. these projects running in the world premise not only save time and space but also give another credit to his / her


and children without any recompense. the strong, or man of parts, had no more in division of victuals and clothes than he that was weak and not able to do a quarter the other could ; this was thought injustice. the aged and graver men to be ranked and equalized in labours and victuals, clothes, etc., with the meaner and younger sort, thought it some indignity and disrespect unto them. and for men ’ s wives to be commanded to do service for other men, as dressing their meat, washing their clothes, etc., they deemed it a kind of slavery, neither could many husbands well brook it. upon the point all being to have alike, and all to do alike, they thought themselves in the like condition, and one as good as another ; and so, if it did not cut off those relations that god hath set amongst men, yet it did at least much diminish and take off the mutual respects that should be preserved amongst them. and would have been worse if they had been men of another condition. let none object this is men ’ s corruption, and nothing to the course itself. i answer, seeing all men have this corruption in them, god in his wisdom saw another course fitter for them. freed from the theoretical, americans set about creating a distinctive and largely spontaneous commercial culture. self - interest would drive it, and self - control would restrain it. the judeo - christian legacy would inform that self - control and inspire it, but always imperfectly, given the fallen nature of man. the relative absence of external control would allow this dynamic to work itself out and, in the process, forge the most productive industrial enterprise in world history, but the balance between forces would always be a delicate one. on nov. 6, we saw how the mis - education of our children has helped upset that balance. let the re - education begin, and there is no better way to start than by sharing bradford ’ s words of wisdom over the thanksgiving dinner table. read more at http : / / www. wnd. com / 2012 / 11 / how - the - p... vzi7owt0q2r. 99


the greenhouse effect. it is remote and sort of intangible. one example of someone who is doing something about it is my friend, architect kristian von bengtson. he is a boutique example of a citizen starting a private and autonomous space project. why would a private citizen invest time and money into space exploration? as he explains : before the age of robots and machines, humans were key participants in any exploration. from marco polo to present cave divers, the human presence is seen as the approval of a discovery. human involvement in exploration enables sharing the story of the exploration with the whole world, not only objectively, but perhaps more importantly, subjectively. " being there " as humans is important. but since the development of robots we have created augmented senses and presence which is considered just as good these days. the question is, can one argue that humans have been on mars through the use of rovers and landers? there is a big difference between exploration using robots and humans. when nasa landed rovers spirit and opportunity on mars they lasted 100 times longer than anticipated. it was a major achievement. compared with humans, rovers are relatively easy to ship to mars — machines do not require food and safety. but the two rovers lasting for many years on mars were estimated to have performed exploration work comparable to one human presence on mars for only two weeks. robots do not sense what is important nor do they think rationally or independently. humans are required in any serious exploration if we want to go somewhere seriously with in this matter. in the development phases of human spaceflight, corporations have always turned towards engineers. however, engineers may have a hard time dealing with factors which cannot be added into equations because of irrational behavior in human nature, human needs and " functionality. " architects, designers, psychologists and anthropologists are widely used and much required to make it all happen. the integration of machine, mission and humans is a task for these professions to solve. it has been done for many decades with much success and future human exploration calls for more participation from these professions. besides autonomous space projects, a few other things that could be done : - outsourcing some non - core projects to private companies. - revamp national and international projects with a clear goal to bring the human species into space. - change international space law to be in favor of " messing " with space. right now space law is in favor of conservationism. - reinforce and communicate the link between environmentalism and spacefaring — between terraforming and geo - engineering, preserving our


international space law to be in favor of " messing " with space. right now space law is in favor of conservationism. - reinforce and communicate the link between environmentalism and spacefaring — between terraforming and geo - engineering, preserving our habitat, earth and finding new ones. in the past, the united states has thrown down the gauntlet of greening the globe and the rest of the world has picked it up. who will be there to seize the mandate of space migration now? jens martin skibsted is a designer, entrepreneur and philosopher, who rose to celebrity status with the instantly iconic biomega bike, which stands for an entirely new sort of urban mobility. for more than a decade, he has helped ambitious companies build products that redefine marketplaces. he ' s the founding partner of biomega, a luxury bicycle manufacturer, and kibisi, a product design consultancy. his bicycle designs live in the permanent collections at the moma, le cnap and sfmoma. a young global leader who spoke about icons at davos 2011, he is a member of index award, world economic forum ' s global agenda council on design innovation, and the danish design council. he is also a guest blogger for fast company. jens martin graduated from esec in paris, uc berkeley and copenhagen university. @ jmskibsted


a schoolmate nitin would introduce himself with the line : " i ' m nitin, the same backwards and forwards ". however cheesy that may be, at least it gave a mnemonic - people didn ' t forget his palindromic name in a hurry. palindromes are words or phrases that read the same in either direction. words like mum, deed, refer, the famous long one malayalam. phrases like nurses run and madam i ' m adam and so many dynamos. when a palindrome appears in a cryptic puzzle, the clue will often make use of its same - both - ways attribute in the wordplay. times sunday 4312 : it swivels up and down ( 7 ) ft 13124 ( mudd ) : flat food turned over just the same ( 4 ) times 24250 : standard that may be raised to no effect ( 5 ) guardian 24502 ( orlando ) : witnesses going up and down ( 4 ) - the word " palindrome " is derived from the greek palindromos, meaning " running back " ( palin = back + dromos = running ). - other than the traditional palindrome which has character - by - character symmetry, variants such as these are also classed as palindromes : - word - unit palindrome : a phrase / sentence with symmetry of words rather than letters. e. g. fall leaves after leaves fall. - mirrored palindrome : a graphically reversible sequence. e. g. wow, bid. a traditional palindrome is not necessarily mirrored ( e. g. did is not a mirrored palindrome ). - the shishupala vadha, an epic sanskrit poem composed by magha in the 8th century, has a stanza which is palindromic not just forwards and backwards but also up and down. read more here. - the guardian carried a palindrome - themed puzzle by araucaria a few months ago. check it out here : guardian 24587. - if you are afraid of palindromes, you ' re suffering from aibohphobia according to wikipedia ' s list of jocular phobias ( and if you ' re really possessed by this fear then don ' t learn this word as it is itself a palindrome ).


definitions for great lakes water withdrawal registration for purposes of implementing the great lakes water conservation and management act, the following definitions are applicable for registering water withdrawals and losses. - facility is one or more pieces of water withdrawal equipment at the same site, including but not limited to any place of business, farm, factory, industrial or commercial site, institution, structure, open land, vessel, or rolling stock, where water is withdrawn for any purpose. - agriculture is the practice of farming on a farm for crops, plants, vines and trees ; and the keeping, grazing or feeding of livestock for sale as livestock or livestock products. - farm is an agricultural business that may be composed of up to 25 non - contiguous parcels of land within a radius of 40 miles that are under the ownership or control of the same person. - water withdrawal is a withdrawal of surface or ground water from the great lakes basin of 100, 000 gallons per day averaged over 30 consecutive days. - water loss means the consumptive use of great lakes water, or the diversion of water out of the great lakes basin, or both. - consumptive use is a use of water that results in a failure to return any portion of the amount withdrawn to the great lakes basin. - interbasin diversion is a transfer of water out of the great lakes basin through any mechanism such as a pipe or canal and including a change in ground water flow caused by pumping. - great lakes basin is shown in a map along with a list of basin communities in appendix a of the great lakes water withdrawal registration program handbook.


a digital preservation program exists within an organizational context and as such must fit the needs, priorities, and resources of that organization. the core of a digital preservation program is a digital preservation system. this tutorial focuses on the organizational context for a digital preservation program and has as its foundation two key documents that have emerged from the digital preservation community. the first document is trusted digital repositories : attributes and responsibilities ( tdr ), produced by the research libraries group ( rlg ) and oclc. tdr defines the organizational context for a digital preservation program. tdr embraces oais and demonstrates what adhering to oais will mean for an institution. the second document is the reference model for an open archival information system ( oais ), produced by an international group of digital preservation researchers and practitioners convened by the nasa consultative committee for space data systems ( ccsds ). oais is an iso standard ( iso 14721 : 2003 ) that provides the functional framework for sustaining digital objects in managed repositories. oais has been adopted as the foundation for many important digital preservation initiatives, and incorporates definitions and relationships between participants and the component parts of an archival information system. oais defines what is needed but not how to build it. currently, ccsds has updated oais using input from the user community. this update is ccsds 650. 0 m 2. you could say that the tdr is primarily organizational and the oais primarily technological, but the two must work in concert for a digital preservation program to be successfully planned and implemented. organizations have tended to focus on the technology — and more often on their fear of the technology — though there are many organizational pieces that need to be in place, including policies, procedures, and sustainable resources. here we present the two foundation documents in some detail with a special emphasis on preservation metadata and then discuss how they fit together to provide a starting point for cultural organizations wishing to establish a digital preservation repository.


concrete examples of orderings last week, i noted that if you have an object with two components, each of which you know how to order independently, it requires at least a little thought to figure out how to do so. moreover, there is a commonly used strategy, often called lexicographical order or dictionary order, for taking the ordering strategies for individual components and combining them. the c + + library is considerate enough to implement dictionary ordering for its users in ( at least ) three places. the first is the std : : pair template, which defines the six comparison operators in terms of the corresponding operators of the pair ' s components. specifically, pair ( x1, y1 ) < pair ( x2, y2 ) is defined as x1 < x2 | | (! ( x2 < x1 ) & & y2 < y1 ) note that this definition is careful to use only < on components, not > or = =. part of its technique for doing so rests on the fact that the comparison x2 < x1 can take place only when it has already been established that x1 < x2 is false, so that! ( x2 < x1 ) is really a clever way of saying x2 = = x1 without using = = or! =. pair ( x1, y1 ) = = pair ( x2, y2 ) is defined as x1 = = x2 & & y1 = = y2 this definition is careful to use only = = to define = = on pairs. you might think that the other four comparison operators would be defined in terms of the corresponding operators on the component, but you would be wrong. instead, pair ( x1, y1 ) > pair ( x2, y2 ) is defined as pair ( x2, y2 ) < pair ( x1, y1 ) pair ( x1, y1 )! = pair ( x2, y2 ) is defined as! ( pair ( x1, y1 ) = = pair ( x2, y2 ) ) pair ( x1, y1 ) < = pair ( x2, y2 ) is defined as! ( pair ( x1, y1 ) > pair ( x2, y2 ) ) pair ( x1, y1 ) > = pair ( x2, y2 ) is defined as! ( pair ( x1, y1 ) < pair ( x2, y2 ) ) the underlying principles are easy


y2 ) ) pair ( x1, y1 ) > = pair ( x2, y2 ) is defined as! ( pair ( x1, y1 ) < pair ( x2, y2 ) ) the underlying principles are easy to understand once explained : - the pair template never depends on more than the = = and < operations on the components. - order relations are defined entirely in terms of other order relations. - equality relations are defined entirely in terms of other equality relations. - if the element types have relations defined that meet the library requirements, then the resulting relations on pairs will also meet the library requirements. as a generalization of pair, the library tuple template also implements the six comparison operators in terms of < and = = on the tuple ' s elements. like tuple does not reply on the other four comparison operators on elements. the third place where the library implements dictionary order is in the lexicographical _ compare algorithm. this algorithm accepts two pairs of iterators, each of which defines a range of elements, and uses an extended version of this comparison procedure to compare the sequences : - if both sequences have the same length and every element is equal to the corresponding element of the other sequence, the two sequences are considered equal. this case holds even if both sequences are empty. - if one sequence is a prefix of the other, the shorter sequence is considered less than the other. - otherwise, the result of the comparison is the result of comparing the elements that make up the first discrepancy between the sequences. this function offers an easy way to define sequence comparison in terms of element comparison when all the elements have the same type. unless there is a good reason to do otherwise, one ' s first thought about how to define comparison between two data structures should probably be to compare the data structure ' s elements along the lines that we ' ve been discussing. the main mistake that beginners make is to believe that it is possible to define pair ( x1, y1 ) < pair ( x2, y2 ) as something such as x1 < x2 & & y1 < y2, which doesn ' t work. there is another pitfall in defining comparison relations : sometimes the obvious way of comparing individual elements doesn ' t always work. we ' ll look at some examples of that pitfall next week.


three use cases ( with one score for each ) — portrait, landscape, and sports — report on different aspects of sensor performance. each use case score is associated with one defined image quality metric as defined below : flash studio photography involves a controlled and usually maximal amount of light. even when shooting with hand - held cameras, studio photographers rarely move from the lowest iso setting. what matters most when shooting products or portraits is to aim for the richest color rendition. the best image quality metric that correlates with color depth is color sensitivity. color sensitivity indicates to what degree of subtlety color nuances can be distinguished from one another, often meaning a hit or a miss on a pantone palette. maximum color sensitivity reports, in bits, the number of colors that the sensor is able to distinguish. the higher the color sensitivity, the more color nuances that can be distinguished. as with dynamic range, color sensitivity is greatest when iso speed is minimal, and falls rapidly with rising iso settings. dxo labs has focused on measuring only maximum color sensitivity. a color sensitivity of 22bits is excellent, and differences below 1 bit are barely noticeable. landscape photographers often carefully compose their images and choose the optimal time to shoot. this type of photography commonly involves mounting the camera on a tripod and using the lowest possible iso setting to minimize noise, thus maximizing image quality. unless there is motion, relatively long shutter speeds are not an issue with a tripod. what is paramount is dynamic range, especially because photographers will often aim for detail in high - contrast settings, juxtaposing bright sky with shadowy foliage, mountains, etc. ideally, the dynamic range of the camera should be greater than the dynamic range of the scene, otherwise details in shadows are lost or highlights are burned. dynamic range falls rapidly with higher iso settings, as any analog or digital amplification performed will increase the noise in the darker areas, making it harder to distinguish between fine levels of contrast. maximum dynamic range is the greatest possible amplitude between light and dark details a given sensor can record, and is expressed in evs ( exposure values ) or f - stops, with each increase of 1 ev ( or one stop ) corresponding to twice the amount of light. dynamic range corresponds to the ratio between the highest brightness a camera can capture ( saturation ) and the lowest brightness it can capture ( typically when noise becomes more important than the signal, i. e., a signal - to - noise ratio below 0 db ). a value of 12 ev is excellent, with differences


capture ( saturation ) and the lowest brightness it can capture ( typically when noise becomes more important than the signal, i. e., a signal - to - noise ratio below 0 db ). a value of 12 ev is excellent, with differences below 0. 5 ev usually not noticeable. this scale is open, as incoming light is not a bounded quantity. unlike the two previous scenarios in which light is either generous ( studio ) or stability is assured ( landscape ), photojournalists and action photographers often struggle with low available light and high motion. achieving usable image quality is often difficult when pushing iso. when shooting a moving scene such as a sports event, action photographers ’ primary objective is to freeze the motion, giving priority to short exposure time. to compensate for the lack of exposure, they have to increase the iso setting, which means the snr will decrease. how far can they go while keeping decent quality? our low - light iso metric will tell them. the snr indicates how much noise is present in an image compared to the actual information ( signal ). the higher the snr value, the better the image looks, because details aren ' t drowned by noise. snr strength is given in db, which is a logarithmic scale : an increase of 6 db corresponds to doubling the snr, which equates to half the noise for the same signal. an snr value of 30db means excellent image quality. thus low - light iso is the highest iso setting for a camera that allows it to achieve an snr of 30db while keeping a good dynamic range of 9 evs and a color depth of 18bits. a difference in low - light iso of 25 % represents 1 / 3 ev and is only slightly noticeable. as cameras improve, low - light iso will continuously increase, making this scale open.


| accelerating infrastructure innovations | | federal highway administration > publications > focus > october 2001 > the abcs of heat - straightening repair for steel bridges | | october 2001 | | publication number : fhwa - rd - 01 - 068 | the abcs of heat - straightening repair for steel bridges a number of calamities can cause damage to steel bridges, including vehicle impact, earthquake, and fire. while the procedure of heat - straightening has been used sporadically over the past 50 years as a way of correcting this damage, the technique had never been well - documented. to provide guidance to state highway agencies and contractors, the federal highway administration ( fhwa ) released a two cd - rom set, heat - straightening repair for damaged steel bridges : an interactive guide, in 2000 and will be offering specialized training through a series of 2 - day seminars. fhwa has also published a manual, heat - straightening repairs of damaged steel bridges : a technical guide and manual of practice. heat - straightening is a repair process in which a limited amount of heat is applied in specific patterns to the deformed regions of damaged steel in repetitive heating and cooling cycles to produce a gradual straightening of the material. a benefit of using the process is that the repairs generally don ' t require the temporary shoring of the bridge. another benefit is that the process can eliminate or greatly curtail the need for traffic detours. when done properly, the heat - straightening technique is an effective and economical approach that can be used in many damage cases. the same principle can also be applied to the fabrication of new bridges for curving or cambering a girder. the manual of practice and cd - rom provide information on the management and design of heat - straightening repair projects, as well as techniques for using the procedure. the cd also presents a detailed case study of a heat - straightening project on a bridge near lake charles, louisiana. the two - lane bridge crossing on i - 10 had been damaged when equipment on a flatbed tractor - trailer impacted a bridge beam. the repair was designed by a team from louisiana state university and implemented in conjunction with the louisiana department of transportation and development. seminars will be held in little rock, arkansas, on november 27 - 28, 2001, and in crawfordsville, indiana, on december 10 - 11. additional workshops will also be scheduled over the next 2 years. the training programs will cover : workshops were previously held this year in topeka, kansas, and atlanta, georgia. the topeka workshop drew more than 50 attendees, while the atlanta


high speed research car t - 16 in november, 2000, the federal railroad administration ( fra ) began operating high speed research car t - 16 to investigate methods for providing a safer and smoother ride for passenger and freight trains traveling at higher speeds. fra ' s office of research and development uses t - 16 to study the dynamics of wheel - rail behavior, to investigate methods for improving track inspection, and to assess potential high speed rail corridors. t - 16 also assists amtrak, local and regional commuter authorities, and individual railroads in assessing their routes. t - 16 is a former amtrak metroliner passenger car which was refurbished and instrumented with advanced technology, with capabilities for measurement and data collection at speeds up to 160 mph. measurement capabilities include track geometry, rail head profile, ride quality, and wheel - rail forces. t - 16 can also be used as an instrumentation platform to collect data from sensors mounted on other cars in the train. t - 16 has the capability to process and display collected data in several formats. monitors throughout the train can be configured to show the various displays. exceptions are displayed in a list with specific details about each instance and on a gis map to show their location in reference to other features. raw data is streamed across a video strip chart that provides a graphical representation of measured parameters. the on - board system calculates and displays track quality indices ( tqi ) based on track geometry data collected by the car. when requested by track inspectors onboard, data can be printed to an exception report or paper strip chart. data can also be downloaded to removable media for offline viewing.