PLANET RS
We step outside and are instantly assailed with all kinds of stuff. Bird poop. People chatting on their phones while walking. Puddles. Encyclopedia salesmen. Spit, so much spit. Yes, Ramadan is here and of all the things you have to watch out for, spit is the most randomly unexpected projectile that could splatter you any moment. We make it a little easier by bringing you a selection of random stuff to read this week. Random makes life interesting. Except for random acts of spit, unless it's on someone else.
-- Ehsanur Raza Ronny, RS Editor
Dare to dream… of zombies
Putting aside the conspiracy theories, humans made it to the Moon 43 years. But in all this time, we haven't yet set foot on Mars. NASA has even shut down many of its more far reaching space programs and our thoughts have become more regionalised on satellites, spy or otherwise, and even those satellites are breaking down and rotting. What to do with rotting things? Make them into zombies.
A company called DARPA [not Derpa] is planning on making specialised robotic space scavengers, which will attach to rotting satellites with some functional components. They will then either extract those resources or use those combined with their own complementary resources [acting as a leech] and function like a new satellite. Like an Igor.
An example can be that satellites have solar panels which last for quite a while. If they are still functional, these leeches will extract power through there and perform functions. Zombies with extra arms attached, anyone?
Wanna live on the moon? Well, you can't.
Don't lie! You all wanted it. Dark side of the moon; stars out in all their glory at night due to lack of interference from the non-existent atmosphere; the Earth hanging over the horizon like a giant blueberry; nothing could be more romantic. Well sorry to burst your bubbles, but we aren't creating a Lunar base any time soon. Why? Because moondust can kill you.
You see, moondust is very fine. When we say fine, we don't mean Beyonce, we mean fine as in dust, except finer. While dust is caught by the mucus in the your lungs and by those precious nosehairs we have, moondust just goes through it all, deep into your lungs. Why is that a problem? Well, it can cause lung cancer. And the fact that it has been bathed in radiation from the sun without the back up of the ozone layer means that it is extra murderous.
So instead of having a romantic starlit dinner, you might get lung cancer. Unless, of course, we device a device [yes, we went there] that can sieve out the moondust in the air filtration system. But until that happens, the price of real estate on the moon is likely to go face first into the, er, dust.
No more backups!
Arguably the most tedious task we have to do with our computers is to back up our hard disks on DVDs, because let's face it, once that 500GB crashes, the hoarded wealth of music, TV shows and movies will go bye-bye. While DVDs cost somewhere around 15-30 taka a pop, depending on your preferences, the hours spent copying is very annoying.
Some scientists thought so too. So they built a practically undead HDD. It's made out of sapphire and platinum and is going to last roughly a million years. No joke. So what purpose will this fulfil? Apparently, they thought a record of our nuclear waste disposal should be kept for the future generation. Not just today, tomorrow or the next couple of years, but for the next few thousands of years as nuclear waste tends to linger like unwanted relatives.
But after they made the $30000 hard drive, they realised that there's no way to predict how information will be relayed or read ten thousand years from now, seeing as how we had a hard time reading Egyptian before the Rosetta Stone was discovered. So yeah, a bunch of scientists made an expense indestructible hard drive that can't be used for the purpose it was intended for. But hey, that's the perk of being a scientist.
Ode to High Heels
By Mahejabeen H. Nidhi
Since the beginning of my lifetime I've witnessed your wonder
You have made yourself immortal, the reason of that I do ponder
Only because of the vibrant colors and the slim cutting, is it?
Or is it because you boost our confidence by a bit?
You make us suffer by walking in your hard tough-to-balance body
I curse you with all my heart, having you ain't been a goody
I am not short, but without you I feel so insecure
You've been a friend but buddy; you are not a sane cure
Sadly I realized to late that my feet had already began to blister
My feet hate you so; you are one evil thing, sister
I write this to bid you a farewell, but to stay away forever, you know I can't
But trust me you really did deserve a home on the fire hydrant
People said things. We said things. We all had a merry time. But no cake.
Miftahul Islam
So, I guess I'm getting a black dot for my birthday this year?
Happy with your gift? - RS
Annoyíng Ayon
Yo, That Guy, you might've forgotten Herakut, Oakoak and Dolk. They were worth a mention. Specially Oakoak.
Herakut's pweety! - RS
Fardeen Zareef
Today's Rising Stars was something Different ... ART!
Art is not different. Art is the expression of the everyday, the mundane. Art is the presentation of dreams and dreams aren't uncommon. We see nothing beyond what we have already seen. We are merely making combinations. Nothing is different. Everything is the same. - RS
Partho Mostafa
Reading 'Paintballs, remember?' for the 8th time.
Don't you know 3rd time is the charm? - RS
Siham Sarawat
Wall paintings of a lost time reminded me of the Egyptian wall paintings. Really loved it. Just can not believe there is something like that in my own country.
Arif Khan Nabil Similar paintings of Hindu Gods' and Goddess' can be found in the Ajanta Cave. You really don't need to go that far (Egypt) and the fact that there's some in our country is really awesome.
Mifta F Rahman
Artsy stuff is always amazing. The cover article was brilliant and the BetaWriters entry as well.
Shaer Reaz Thank you.
Ehsanur Raza Ronny You need to thank 4 other people. Maybe even split your pay 5 ways.
Shaer Reaz but I brought it all together. Take away the framework and what do you have left? A blank canvas.
Moyukh Mahtab Not really. You have a piece of art which isn't framed.
Mushfiq Redwanuz Zaman
For some reason the cleaning guy (on cover) reminds me of Adnan M.S. Fakir bhaia.
Adnan M. S. Fakir From fokir to a cleaner; I am certainly progressing in life
