War of the Worlds-Lego style.

When it comes to music, it is very rare that I have to admit “I stand corrected”, especially when it comes to a piece of music I know inside out.

‘Jeff Wayne’s musical version of the War of the Worlds’ is by far my most favourite album in my collection, I actually have a variety of versions of the album. The original vinyl from 1978 and 3 CD versions. The original version on CD, the 2009 live version recorded in Dublin and the 2011 new generation album.

I saw the 30th anniversary show live in Dublin in June 2009 , which I really enjoyed, I was however very disappointed(to use an understatement) that in later years, Justin Hayward would be replaced by Westlife’s Brian McFadden(something I still can’t understand). I did write to Jeff Wayne and asked him to clarify why he replaced a very talented singer and musician with someone who has less talent then my small toe.(I did not use those exact words though.

But before I get side tracked, the blog is about a mistake I made. One of the singles from the original, and subsequent, album is “Forever Autumn” a romantic but yet haunting ballad. The song was played on the radio this week and the presenter mentioned that this song was actually written for a Lego  commercial.

I was outraged and said that it was a ridiculous statement. The thought of it, a classic piece of a concept album originally  music for Lego. I went on to say, that I am an expert when it comes to that particular album. However after a bit of research(and not even that much research) I discovered that the original melody was indeed written by Wayne in 1969 as a jingle for a Lego radio commercial.

Vigrass and Osborne, the performers of the original jingle, added lyrics to the song and recorded it for  their 1972 album Queues. Their version was also released as a single and gained moderate commercial success in Japan, selling more than 100,000 copies and becoming a top-20 hit on the country’s record chart.

Although it pains me, I am a big enough man to admit “I stand corrected”.

Ending the blog with the version we all know and love so well.

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Star Trek to boldly go… hey wait a minute we are there already.

Netflix has released a new series in the Star Trek franchise called “Star Trek Discovery” I don’t want to judge because I have only watched the first episode so far, which left me a bit underwhelmed to say the least.

There were just a few things that annoyed me and maybe I was to focused on that, For starters the ship isn’t called Discover but Shenzhou, and the main character although a woman is called Michael.

Maybe there are trying to be just too political correct which leads me to the purpose of this blog. Star Trek has always been politically correct but in a positive way, for example they were the first show to show an  interracial kiss.

But were they were really ahead of their time was in the actual science, especially the original season. Lets have a look at some of the scientific gadgets used in Star Trek that we now use on a daily basis or are available in some part of it.

The communicator

Whenever Captain Kirk left the safe confines of the Enterprise, he did so knowing it could be the last time he saw his ship. Danger was never far away. And when in distress and in need of help in a pinch, he could always count on Bones to come up with a miracle cure, Scotty to beam him up or Spock to give him some vital scientific information. He’d just whip out his communicator and place a call.Fast-forward 30 years and wouldn’t you know it, it seems like everyone carries a communicator. We just know them as mobile or cell phones. It even looks like companies like Motorola took the ideas for their flip phones from Star Trek.

The Tricorder

In the TV show, a tricorder is a handheld device that scans for geological, biological, and meteorological anomalies, however it is main purpose is as some kind of medical scanning device. It is basically a handheld MRI Scan, although the current MRI scanning machines are very big, they are working on more mobile ones and good progress is made. So soon enough they will be handheld.

In fact  NASA employs a handheld device called LOCAD, which measures for unwanted microorganisms such as E. coli, fungi and salmonella onboard the International Space Station.

Geordi laForge’s Visor

What made Geordi unique, perhaps even mysterious, was his funky eyewear. Geordi was blind, but after a surgical operation and aided through the use of a device called VISOR (Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement), Geordi could see throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. Though it may sound far-fetched, in reality, similar technology exists that may someday bring sight back to the blind.

In 2005, a team of scientists from Stanford University successfully implanted a small chip behind the retina of blind rats that enabled them to pass a vision recognition test. The science behind the implants, or bionic eyes as they’re commonly referred to, works much the way Geordi’s VISOR did. The patient receives the implants behind the retina, then wears a pair of glasses fitted with a video camera. Light enters the camera and is processed through a small wireless computer, which then broadcasts it as infrared LED images on the inside of the glasses. Those images are reflected back into the retina chips to stimulate photodiodes. The photodiodes replicate the lost retinal cells then change light into electrical signals which in turn send nerve pulses to the brain.

The Replicator

Captain Jean-Luc Picard used to say ‘Tea, Earl Gray, hot!” and it would be replicated instantly. Today’s 3D printers don’t tackle tea, but there are machines that actually can print food. And other printers, like the MakerBot Replicator 2 are quite adept at making small objects—just as they were shown to do on later episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

PADD

PADD or Personal Access Data Device. Some of you might actually be reading this blog on a  Personal Access Data Device.It is basically a tablet computer. And I don’t think it is a coincidence that Apple called their tablet computer an iPad.

Teleporting

Before I get you hopes up, unfortunately Teleportation is not possible yet and never may be, but how great would it be. Visiting family in Australie or New Zealand just to have a cup of coffee and be home on time for dinner.

Some scientists believe it is not possible to teleport macroscopic objects such as human beings, but there may be teleportation in the microscopic world. Three possible kinds of teleportation in quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics have been proposed: state teleportation, energy teleportation, and particle teleportation..

In 1993, Bennett et alproposed that a quantum state of a particle could be teleported to another distant particle, but the two particles do not move at all. This is called state teleportation. There are a lot of following theoretical and experimental papers published.Researchers believe that quantum teleportation is the foundation of quantum calculation and quantum communication.

In 2008, M. Hotta proposed that it may be possible to teleport energy by exploiting quantum energy fluctuations of an entangled vacuum state of a quantum field. There are some papers published but no experimental verification.

In 2016, Y. Wei proposed that particles themselves could teleport from one place to another. This is called particle teleportation. With this concept, superconductivity can be viewed as the teleportation of some electrons in the superconductor and superfluidity as the teleportation of some of the atoms in the cellular tube. Physicists are trying to verify this concept experimentally.

But perhaps one day we could just teleport ourselves from a dreary rainy city to a tropical beach.

To a beach were no man had boldly gone before.

Donation

I am passionate about my site and I know you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2, however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thank you. To donate click on the credit/debit card icon of the card you will use. If you want to donate more then $2 just add a higher number in the box left from the PayPal link. Many thanks.

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