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In my previous post I mentioned a soon-to-be ballyhooed concept: “A Day without a Geek.”

Imagine for a minute, if every person that plays World of Warcraft or Second Life decided to skip work for a couple of days. This has actually taken place at least 3 times before: with the release of the new Star Wars films, various economic impact studies suggested that hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity occurred.

Now imagine if millions of telecom engineers disappeared overnight, along with all other skilled computer technicians. First off, both the phone and electric grids would grind to a halt. All long-distance communication systems would be incapable of transmitting any kind of message, as would most non-automated electronic devices.

This back-to-the Stone Age scenario is a reality many people living in developing countries face every day, and it is the same problem that legislatures in Australia and Belgium are about to thrust upon their respective populaces if their idle hands are not stymied (Australia wants to regulate search engines into the ground as does Belgium. See also Net Neutrality).

At any rate, many of the conveniences we take for granted today are a direct result of computer technologies that have been incorporated, fused into our everyday lives — and we would only notice their existence when they stop working… because the nerd on the other end of the terminal keeps pressing the any key. [Note: if a rapture happened to every architect, the end result would not be the collapse of high-rises and sky scrappers, that is how mission-critical engineers and their trade have arguably become.]

And this “rapture” could take place with a relatively simple idea: a universal factory. One that is capable of creating any object with any type of matter.

Whoever ultimately creates this device could alter the economic and technological landscape of the planet markedly (or at least until the next guy comes up with one).

Exhibit A

Here is a scenario. Ram Rod International creates six of these factories and places them on barges along the equator, across the globe approximately 200 miles from any body of land (see Law of the High Seas): so a couple in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. From these barges the factories replicate dozen of other factories. And these factories build 4 things:

- an airport, with numerous runways
- a seaport, with big ol’ cranes
- a replica of the Boeing Sea Launch rocket platform
- thousands of machines - a swarm of nanobots - capable of consuming the average Homo sapiens, leaving nothing left except the nervous system intact. Whereupon, the nervous system automagically interfaces at the molecular level with an artificial network of computronium, boxed into meter-sized crates.

The scenario could then play out like so. At each one of these six geographic locations, the nanofactories could build multi-staged rockets from the surrounding water (i.e., disassemble and reassemble hydrogen & oxygen into other compounds). They could also construct thousands of miles of solar arrays. Then they would launch these arrays up into space and create a Halo/Niven ring of sorts around the globe along a geosynchronous orbit.

After hundreds of such launches, all six of these locations would be connected to one another and the light gathering capabilities would allow Ram Rod International to not only power any kind of enterprise data centers they placed in orbit, but also beam down energy-on-demand via solar-power satellites (think: a ginormous scaffolding floating around the earth).

The next phase makes one big assumption that is entirely dependent on neuroengineers: interfacing the brain with computers, safely. Assuming that this can be done, each brain could be lofted into orbit (ultimately moving to something like a Lagrangian point, as proposed by the L5 Society) where it will remain free from any political control (e.g. government-free) and will be powered via relatively cheap, unobstructed, and reliable energy source.

And this is where fiat-based economic systems would be faced with a looming crisis: not only would many of the big taxpayers be eying political autonomy in the skies (i.e., lots of tech geeks with stocks), but the only currency worth more than a Continental, would be mass.

Pure mass could be the payment for services rendered by Ram Rod International, because they could create an near infinite amount of paper money, or even gold and silver. Thus, a quick liquidation of fiat dollars into transportable mass may become the order du jour. Or, perhaps transferring funds to Ram Rod, in exchange for the millions of tons of water would become a viable investment practice.

At any rate, those willing and able to transport themselves to one of these 6 equatorial locations across the globe would have every incentive to buy as much mass as possible before their own mechanical transformation (once they have become politically autonomous, they may lose any chance at purchasing property due to reaction from the State and its machinations).

Once launched into orbit, these people could then convert some of the mass they saved up into more computronium whenever updated hardware and software became available. In turn, this would allow them to think and process at an increasingly faster rate. For example, assuming a 40 hour work week, if you did not have to eat or sleep, you could become at least 4-5x more productive than your non-transformed, terra firma-based counterpart (2000 hours versus 8750 in a year).

And, because the State is not able to apprehend you, you could delve into a world without IP. So imagine if you will, thousands of these floating crates in space, all connected via fiber optics and wireless technology. Not only could you play around with existing software, but you could mix/mashup existing artistic works without fearing the wrath of a media company.

And on earth, companies could still keep in contact with you via satellite and outsource projects to you. And since you would never need to sleep, your productivity levels could potentially be much higher than any other earth-based programming house. And with the “money” you receive, you could purchase more “dumb” matter on earth and have the nanoassembler turn it into computers, launch it into space and attach it to your evergrowing shell.

Again, this assumes that there is a way for computers to interface with the brain, and it certainly would not be a product that everyone would want. For instance, I doubt many doomsday evangelicals would sign-up for the service, fearing that their soul would be destroyed in the process (they hold similar arguments against being cryonically frozen).

And once more, this example uses only proven technologies and logistical methods currently in practice today to achieve the automated end. Who knows, perhaps space elevators could somehow be utilized, allowing for the eventual deconstruction of the entire planet — converting all “dumb” matter into useful computronium.

The question is, would Leeroy Jenkins jump on board?

Ray Kurzweil is one among several futurists that suggest the end is nigh, or rather, the rapture for nerds is just around the corner.

The concept of a “Day without a Geek” will be explored in a different post, but it has some of the same themes that other cultural interest groups promote: such as immigrants (”Day without a Mexican“) and of course, the poster child for such movements, religious sects such as Dispensational Christians.

However, imagine if you will, a black box that is able to eat your average Homo sapiens, leaving nothing left except the nervous system intact. From inside this box, the nervous system interfaces at the molecular level with an artificial network of computronium.

Furthermore, within the same day that the biological exoskeleton surrounding the brain is consumed, the brains new home inside this black box is launched into geostationary orbit above earth. And in orbit, a vast grid of these black boxes numbering into the millions are interconnected with one another — fed solely by energy provided by solar arrays.

While this may sound something from a Philip K. Dick story line (Matrix-esque even), I think this scenario is more plausible in the short run than the stereotypical “strong AI” or “uploading consciousness” because it can done with atom-sized factories.

There is plenty of room at the bottom

Many of the integrated circuits found inside typical desktop computers are manufactured on the scale of 100 nanometers or less. Newer chips created at foundries owned by Intel and IBM are etched out at a mere 65 nm, with 45 nm in the coming months. In fact, many memory modules as well as the head on a the spindle of a hard drive measure in the same ballpark.

However, one caveat should be noted: current lithographic techniques employed throughout the semiconductor industry usually involve one of two methods for construction. In a nutshell, the traditional method uses optical lasers, whereas the “next-gen” uses beams of electrons.

However, regardless as to the minuscule sizes they can resolve down to, neither of these methods can build widgets along the lines of what Eric Drexler popularized: molecular nanofactories (think: Lego building blocks versus a can of spray paint). That said, we do know through empirical engineering processes that the phenomenon occurring at this atomic and sub-atomic level can be safely and reliably manipulated en masse (see for instance, Electron Tunneling Microscope and Atomic Force Microscope).

Which brings us to one of many quagmires facing biomedical engineers in the nascent brain-computer interface industry: how do you connect the various lobes to silicon synthesizers and provide the same level of experience and sensations a meat-space user feels in the real world… to the now-caged gray matter?

While this may take decades to master, various research groups across the globe have successfully forged ahead in numerous areas of this interface field. And oddly enough, the answer to many of the questions may come from a hidden source: those who are mentally handicapped as well as brain trauma victims.

By studying these individuals and by creating tools in which they can speak to humanity through computers (e.g. by analyzing specific brain waves and patterns, software can decipher what an individual is thinking and types it onto a monitor), their struggle could very well pave the road for humanities next step in purposeful evolution. An evolution that could very well lead to Solar-scalar engineering.

One thing that the current president of A&M does that his predecessor did not, is to continually email all of the faculty, staff, and student body throughout the semester.

These emails range anywhere from a summary of recent fundraising milestones, capital investments, and faculty hirings to the discipline of students that perpetuate “hate” crimes.

His name is Robert Gates and after 4 years at the post, he has just tendered his resignation. His previous line of work included a long stint at the CIA, where he ultimately became the director of the entire organization (’91-’93). Upon leaving, he eventually would become the president of A&M in August of 2002.

A year or so after arriving in Aggieland, he was offered the head job as the new Director of National Intelligence, a job he declined and one in which he wrote a lengthy email to faculty, students, and staff about shortly thereafter. However, it seems he could not hold out forever, as he is now in the process of being confirmed as the new Secretary of Defense.

I never really met the guy, though I shook his hands on two separate occasions (at each graduation). In fact, the only gripe I have involves an electric golf cart.

You see, among the various perks a college president has, one is always discretionary money. A story was published in the school newspaper several years ago, about how Gates can now be seen driving around in one of those $30,000 golf carts. And among other details it was noted that the money came through private channels.

As a poor college student, upon learning this revelation, I immediately proceeded to email the president@tamu.edu to find out what charities and foundations he utilized to purchase said vehicle. And I received no reply.

Yes. While Bonfire was canned, grades were excluded, diversity shenanigans were blazed, trademarks were infringed and other drama took place, the one thing that really bugged me was the golf cart finance mystery.

While I remain a harsh critic behind the business model of Higher Education, I think that Gates did as good a job as anyone else in his position — which is to say, the school ranking did not decline during his tenure…

And this brings us to his replacement, which involves dorm gossip in the spring of 2001.

While I will refrain to name names, a certain individual in the know (his father was a large donor of sorts), mentioned that then both college president Ray Bowen and football coach R. C. Slocum would receive the axe in the next year. They were just not “moving with the times.” And sure enough, a year later they were both handed a pension check and began the loathesome past-time of lounging and layabouting (sic).

Now, if you’re familiar with Texas politics in the past 20 years, there was a three-term senator by the name of Phil Gramm who bested a libertarians only friend in Washington D.C.: Ron Paul — but this is neither here nor there. Prior to his election in 1985, Gramm had been a economics professor at A&M. And if you did your math, you can see that Gramm vacated his senatorial seat in 2002, which coincided with A&M’s presidential search.

You see, reportedly Gramm was offered the presidential gig at A&M, however, Gates already had his foot in the door as he was currently an interim dean of sorts over at the Bush School of Government at A&M.

And guess who has a lot of clout on campus, despite the fact that neither he nor any of his offspring ever attended the university? Yep, ol’ George Bush Senior. And guess who he helped ascend up to the list of candidates?

Well, do you remember that time many moons ago when Bush Sr. was the president? Guess who was the director of the CIA at that time? That would be the one and only Robert Gates.

Gates ultimately got the nod, got the job and Gramm was left to cruise around on the $1500/plate lecture circuit.

And now that Gates has left the building, perhaps Gramm might finally get the job. Who knows, he might even get a new golf cart.

Note: realpolitik aside, I doubt that Gates will take an anti-war stance as the new Secretary. He might “let” Iran play around with sand castles and dune buggies, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on an end to the Eyeraki War anytime soon.

To get in the spirit of the non-voting times, here is a Movementarian.com classic from 4 years ago (see Archive.org for my original):

Vote: it’s easier than working

Note: Sean Lynch noted that the above post sounds similar to some recent posts of Scott Adams. Therefore, in a bid to attract media attention, I claim that he plagiarized my likeness. And my sexiness.

Here are some of my previous comments on this topic:

Kerry Versus Bush: Whoever Wins… We Lose
Vote Or Die, Vote For Something, Vote For A Chicken In Every Pot
A Call To Sharp Pointy Objects In A Less Civilized Era

Today I had the fortunate chance of reading Mark Twain’s classic “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.”

Superficially you may be thinking that this is a stereotypical children’s novel found in junior high schools, but in reality Twain deals with numerous political affairs including republicanism, noble classes, involuntary servitude and a host of other issues.

While I am not a huge fan of his other two well-known novel’s, this one not only made me laugh, but got me thinking.

In a nutshell, it is a simple time travel story. Interestingly enough though, it is written in 1889, prior to the publication of many other scifi classics that would later dominate that genre (including “The Time Machine” by Wells).

As the reader you basically follow the life and times of a central character, Hank Morgan, who so happens to be a Jack-of-all-trades. While living a comfortable bachelor lifestyle, his loud mouth literally knocked him from his seemingly modern abode in Connecticut (during 1878) back into the early 500s of feudal England, and more precisely: the legendary land of Camelot.

And while Twain’s description of what life may or may not have been like in these Hobbesian times is brow-raising, one thing above all piqued my interest: the main characters ability to turn everyday engineering into theatrical magic.

For instance, on one occasion Hank Morgan is about to be offed by one of the knights of the round table, when he calls upon a curse of sorts, to black out the sun. Fortunately for him, he remembered the day of the year in which a solar eclipse would take place and warned the populace that they would face his wrath if they pursued in terminating his life.

And much later, he used a lightning rod during a storm to ignite some gun powder. Or in other words, he used simple parlor tricks to show off his “omnipotent” power.

What Twain illustrated time and again was Robert Heinlein’s adage: “One man’s magic is another man’s engineering, supernatural is null word.” In other words: because of the mindnumbing years of superstitious training the hoi polloi undergo throughout their life, they rarely questioned the underlying reason or logic behind why phenomena occur. Thus, empowering villains, scoundrels, and do-gooders such as Morgan.

In many ways, this novel is a polemical case against the Catholic Church, which is a named target throughout much of the storyline. In addition, many political themes are discussed and we can even characterize the Morgan through his own words: an enlightened despot.

You see, his internal technocrat got the best of him. He fell victim to the classic “I know what is best” syndrome, by trying to invent subjectively “better” governmental institutions to regulate and manage industries. The first of which was the almighty patent office, followed closely by a newspaper, school system, and many others.

In fact, he even created several military academies and called forth for the raising of permanent standing armies — all of which was funded through a yet “more efficient” tax system. And to the chagrin of Austrian’s everywhere, he created fiat monies by which he was able to debase and inflate the existing “hard” money system.

So, while the story genre is colorful and inventive and most certainly ahead of its time, the characters modus operandi, their mechanical means to an end, were simply hackneyed rehashings of statism in its socialistic form.

Note: Twain’s rich description of the relatively dreary living conditions that every person endured, from king to pauper, reminded me of a speech from Don Boudreaux: “Cleansed by Capitalism.” Bug him sometime to see if he will put that online.