The ‘The Current War’ trailer.

It’s got Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison, because… I don’t know. Because he wanted the role and who was going to tell him no? Especially since Tom Holland is there, too, thus more than doubling the chance that some of that sweet, sweet MCU fanbase would come and see a dramatization of the fight of Edison vs. Tesla over AC/DC current.

Continue reading The ‘The Current War’ trailer.

Underground LA ‘Loop,’ or final touches on supervillain scheme?

You make the call:

Continue reading Underground LA ‘Loop,’ or final touches on supervillain scheme?

Please do not use cars as video game platforms.

This is a very, very, very, very, very dumb idea.

Continue reading Please do not use cars as video game platforms.

SpaceX Falcon Heavy test flight today.

Via Geeks Are Sexy, here’s the live feed:

3:10 Eastern Time, which means… not at 3:10 Eastern Time, sorry.  Expect a delay on this launch, because there’s always going to be a delay.  Heck, it might not even launch today.  But if it does, Elon Musk is going try to send a Tesla to Mars.

OK. I’m not particularly enamored of our current self-appointed tech barons.  But I have to give him style points for using a car with ‘Space Oddity’ playing as ballast payload.

Disney works on Tesla radiant power scheme for recharging devices, death rays, killer death robots…

Yes, I’m extrapolating. So far the prototype is only going to charge your devices for you while you’re close enough to the Tesla Omni-Directional Radiant Energy Projector* (but not too close).  But we all know that Tesla was working on death rays; and as for the killer death robots, well.

While their system is far from commercial ready, it’s no less impressive and as they develop it further in the coming years, it’s not hard to believe that Disney could (eventually) equip their theme parks with wireless power zones, allowing guests to charge their electronic devices by simply entering the space. If entire attraction queues were flooded with wireless power, guests would never have to worry about draining their batteries by killing time with their devices while waiting. Likewise, one could imagine Disney’s parks one day being populated by free-roaming Audio-Animatronics figures, able to run throughout the day via wireless power sources.

Continue reading Disney works on Tesla radiant power scheme for recharging devices, death rays, killer death robots…

Tweet of the Day, The Internet Never Takes Edison’s Side In These edition.

Not that I am taking Edison’s side against Tesla, either.  Feels a little weird to even type that out. I just noticed that nobody else ever seems to either, that’s all.

Tesla Cars are great! …As long as you have a diesel generator to recharge them.

This is ridiculous, right? It looks pretty darn ridiculous.

Glenn Reynolds looks at it and sees a reminder that the electricity has to come from somewhere, and there’s a reason why we typically burn hydrocarbons to get it.  I, on the other hand, am approaching this video from a theological point of view (although I don’t actually follow the religion that many Tesla enthusiasts apparently do).  I’m sure that there’s some logical reason – assuming that you actually accept the faith’s core assumptions – why it’s not actually absurd to recharge your electric car with a diesel generator while simultaneously believing that you’re cutting down on fossil fuels. I can’t imagine what that reason is, but then I am a heathen to these people.