The Future And You
Ideas and opinion about the future based on verifiable facts of today.
 

Les Johnson (NASA physicist, manager and author) is today's featured guest.

Part Two of Les Johnson's talk on Space Law. Highlights include: The U.S. project in which NASA employees are sent to speak on Al Jazeera to help the Muslim world feel better about Islamic contributions to space exploration (This is not a joke; but a real project, paid for with real tax dollars); good and bad specifications of the Moon Treaty (which the U.S. never signed); and eye-witness observations of the Dirty Little Secrets Within American Universities.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 29, 2010 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 44 minutes] This panel was recorded in front of a live audience on July 10, 2010 at LibertyCon in Chattanooga.

Les Johnson serves as the Deputy Manager for the Advanced Concepts Office at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He was the technical consultant for the movie Lost in Space. And In his spare time he writes popular science books and articles--for example. In collaboration with C Bangs (an artist) and Greg Matloff (a professor of astronomy) he wrote: Paradise Regained: The Regreening of Earth (2009); Living Off the Land in Space (2007); and with Greg Matloff and Giovanni Vulpetti he wrote Solar Sails: A Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel (2008).

Direct download: TFAY_2010_12_29.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:00am EDT

Part 2 of Bones Burnt Black by Stephen Euin Cobb

This is the second of ten weekly instalments which will contain the complete text of the science fiction thriller Bones Burnt Black.

Plot: A methodical serial killer sabotages a large commercial spacecraft's engines to keep it on a trajectory to burn up in the sun, and then remains aboard the craft to murder and torment its passengers and crew.

This audio-book (read by the author, and being released in ten parts over a ten week period) will contain the complete text of the original paperback version (which was published and copyrighted 2004).

These audio files are released under the Creative Commons--noncommercial, no derivative works--2.5 license, which may be viewed at CreativeCommons.org. Briefly, this means you may--indeed you are encouraged to--copy these audio files as many times as you wish, and give them away to as many people as you wish. But you may not copy only a portion of any one audio file, you may not charge anyone any amount of money for them, and you may not use any portion of them to make something new.

If you enjoy this book, please share it with a friend.

Thank you.

Stephen Euin Cobb

Direct download: Bones_Burnt_Black_2_by_Stephen_Euin_Cobb.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:00am EDT

Stephen Euin Cobb (author, futurist, magazine writer--and your host) is today's featured guest.

Smartphones -- Part 2. Free apps which provide powerful and useful features such as an impressive color detecting app, and an app which changes the phone into a Star Trek style tricorder which provides dozens of accurate scientific measurements. Also, my expectations as to what form smartphones will take during the coming decade (eyeglass computers within three years and implanted computers within ten--yes, the internet on your face, and the internet in your brain).

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 22, 2010 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 26 minutes]

Stephen Euin Cobb is an author, futurist and host of the award-winning podcast The Future and You. He was a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen's Universe Magazine for three years; and has written for Robot Magazine, H+ Magazine and Grim Couture Magazine. He is also a game designer, artist, essayist, transhumanist, and is on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation.

Direct download: TFAY_2010_12_22.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:00am EDT

Part 1 of Bones Burnt Black by Stephen Euin Cobb

This is the first of ten weekly instalments which will contain the complete text of the science fiction thriller Bones Burnt Black.

Plot: A methodical serial killer sabotages a large commercial spacecraft's engines to keep it on a trajectory to burn up in the sun, and then remains aboard the craft to murder and torment its passengers and crew.

This audio-book (read by the author, and being released in ten parts over a ten week period) will contain the complete text of the original paperback version (which was published and copyrighted 2004).

These audio files are released under the Creative Commons--noncommercial, no derivative works--2.5 license, which may be viewed at CreativeCommons.org. Briefly, this means you may--indeed you are encouraged to--copy these audio files as many times as you wish, and give them away to as many people as you wish. But you may not copy only a portion of any one audio file, you may not charge anyone any amount of money for them, and you may not use any portion of them to make something new.

If you enjoy this book, please share it with a friend.

Thank you.

Stephen Euin Cobb

Direct download: Bones_Burnt_Black_1_by_Stephen_Euin_Cobb.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:00am EDT

Stephen Euin Cobb (author, futurist, magazine writer--and your host) is today's featured guest.

Smartphones are the topic. The Internet in your pocket. What smartphones are, trends in the growth of their popularity, and a detailed sampling of some of their current features and many of their useful apps which may be downloaded for free. Also described are: the touch screen; the still camera and video camera; Weatherbug; Google Maps (and especially Google Traffic) Navigator (just like a GPS navigator and will likely put standalone GPS device makers out of business); Pandora (which is actually better than a radio); thousands of free audio books from Librivox  (free because they are out of copyright classics and have been read by volunteers); and a number of apps which transform the smartphone into various useful scientific instruments.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 15, 2010 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 32 minutes]

This episode marks the show's 5th anniversary. To celebrate this milestone Stephen has decided to release one of his novels as an audio book for all the listeners to download and enjoy for free.  The novel is the SF thriller: Bones Burnt Black.  It will be released in half-hour segments, one each week, every Sunday morning, for about 12 weeks. The segments will be found in the same place listeners already find the episodes of this show. The first segment will become available on December 19, 2010.

Stephen Euin Cobb is an author, futurist and host of the award-winning podcast The Future and You. He was a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen's Universe Magazine for three years; and has written for Robot Magazine, H+ Magazine, Grim Couture Magazine, and Space and Time Magazine. He is also a game designer, artist, essayist, transhumanist, and is on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation.

Direct download: TFAY_2010_12_15.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:12am EDT

Les Johnson (NASA physicist, manager and author) is today's featured guest.

Space Law is the topic. Such as the ramifications of the International Outer Space Treaty (which bans nuclear weapons in space, and specifies who is liable when satellites fall to earth.); the incident when a Russian spy satellite dropped a nuclear reactor onto Canada; the incident in which the region of Australia where Skylab fell fined the United States $400 for littering--a bill which the US Government has never paid; how the company called Sea Launch attempts to circumvent the International Outer Space Treaty; and The Moon Treaty (which the U.S. never signed).

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 8, 2010 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 38 minutes] This panel was recorded in front of a live audience on July 10, 2010 at LibertyCon in Chattanooga.

Les Johnson serves as the Deputy Manager for the Advanced Concepts Office at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He was the technical consultant for the movie Lost in Space. And In his spare time he writes popular science books and articles--for example. In collaboration with C Bangs (an artist) and Greg Matloff (a professor of astronomy) he wrote: Paradise Regained: The Regreening of Earth (2009); Living Off the Land in Space (2007); and with Greg Matloff and Giovanni Vulpetti he wrote Solar Sails: A Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel (2008).

Direct download: TFAY_2010_12_8.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:11am EDT

Experts in three different areas of energy technology (hydrogen, chemical plants, electric cars) are today's featured guests.

Scott Greenwood (of The Center for Hydrogen Research) describes the trends and near future of hydrogen energy.

Dave Young (from Simtronics) talks about a simulation training software package which he describes as the equivalent of a flight simulator for those who operate refineries and chemical plants.

Brian Feverel whose personal vehicle is a rare fully electric 2003 Toyota automobile describes the good and bad of its use as a day to day personal car. (Toyota only made a few of these, possibly to test the market for electric cars.)

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 1, 2010 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 27 minutes] These interviews were taped from the exhibition floor of the 2010  Business, Innovation and Technology Expo which was held on the campus of the University of South Carolina on July 17 2010.

Direct download: TFAY_2010_12_1.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:00am EDT