Science Faction Podcast

This episode contains: Steven and Ben wonder if anyone is reading these notes… but regardless, they're your hosts this week, just so you know what to expect. Can you believe that Rubik's Cubes are back? Ben's son has mastered ye olde cube of Rubick, but isn't it kind of like magic on the surface? And don't even get me started on juggling Rubik's cubes, geesh! You should stop what you're doing and watch Godzilla Minus One. It's an incredible depiction of the horrors of WWII. Ben got frazzled preparing for a BBQ, and told a story where he was asked to rate an Instacart driver's scorpion face tatoo, even though it was shedding. What does one do after a BBQ? Well, Ben and Steven met in person and had beers and played Kings in the Corner. Ben was hoping to maybe play some Buried Treasure, but Steven wouldn't have it.

Rules for Kings in the Corner: https://www.wikihow.com/Play-Kings-Corners

Rules for Buried Treasure (it's a great game, really!): https://www.denexa.com/blog/buried-treasure/

Science or Fiction:

Ruh Roh: As leaks on the space station worsen, there's no clear plan to deal with them. NASA and Roscosmos are struggling to address worsening leaks in the International Space Station, specifically in the PrK module of the Russian segment. Despite attempts to mitigate the issue, the leaks persist. While not currently posing an existential threat to the station, the leaks are now classified as a high likelihood, high consequence risk. The aging infrastructure of the station, particularly the Zvezda module, and limited resources due to geopolitical tensions, are contributing to the problem. The situation raises concerns about the future of the space station, set to retire in 2030.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/06/on-the-space-station-band-aid-fixes-for-systemic-problems/

Roh My: Adobe Sparks Backlash Over AI Terms That Let It 'Access, View Your Content'.

Adobe's updated terms of use allow its machine learning tools to view and use customers' content to develop future Adobe products—but it's unclear exactly what that entails. This is a big deal for a company making enterprise-level and industry leading products, and may impact whether corporate customers that have NDAs should continue to use Photoshop. Adobe later says the controversy is a misunderstanding about its effort to crack down on child sexual abuse material, but that seems flimsy, especially as they didn't lead with that when they pushed the new terms to customers. Steven remembers the beginnings of Photoshop, and it's connection to Industrial Light and Magic through Executive Creative Director John Knoll, who codeveloped Photoshop with his brother Thomas.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/adobe-sparks-backlash-over-ai-terms-that-let-it-access-view-your-content

https://www.ilm.com/people/john-knoll/

Who is this show for? Everybody! Let's go! Steven review the first two episodes of The Acolyte. Is it truly the first BRAND NEW Star Wars since A New Hope? The rumor mill is swirling with talks of a new Star Wars trilogy set 25,000 years before the Skywalker Saga. We are here for it. Maybe not Devon, but Star Wars still has the other two man-children who host this show in it's thrall.

Book Club:

Next week we'll be reading Stories in the sand, by Griffon McElroy, published in the Star Wars short story anthology From a Certain Point of View.

But this week, we read a different story from that same anthology: The Trigger by Kieron Gillen. The story follows Aphra as she encounters stormtroopers while scavenging on Dantooine. Aphra is sentenced to execution… how will she escape? The story explores Aphra's changing views on the Empire after the destruction of Alderaan. So cool to see another story following Doctor Aphra, and another story by Kieron Gillen. We like it. So will you.

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Chelli_Lona_Aphra

This episode contains: All three of your favorite hosts join this episode. We talk about who we would be in the bat-universe, and none of the answers are great. Steven and Devon have been playing Sea of Thieves, and having a blast. Ben ran a poetry workshop for his sons school called "Lie, Steal and Spll rong" and his students had a blast. Are you having a blast? You should be.

General Concepts: Fine-tuned universe. Devon gets high concept on us, and tries to explain to us plebians about the constants of nature and how their values do not seem to be arbitrary. Is this intelligent design? We also touch on Stephen Baxter's Manifold:Time book, and the Three Body Problem books.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fine-tuned_universe

It's Been A Long Road: Star Trek: Discovery series finale: Life, Itself. Ben recaps the finale of Star Trek Discovery (or Disco, as the cool kids call it). We talk Progenitors, links to Calypso and Starfleet Academy. Should the show have taken more chances?

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Life,_Itself_(episode)

https://trekmovie.com/2024/05/30/recap-review-star-trek-discovery-pulls-it-all-together-for-life-itself/

Book Club: Laina by Wil Wheaton in From A Certain Point of View. We recap this very short (micro?) story that was recommended to us by a Patron (Thanks Renee!). We talk about the lack of connections to other Star Wars stories, while still being firmly in-universe. We also mention the hidden tragedy in the story, and how war affects families.

Next week: The Trigger by Kieron Gillen (also in From A Certain Point of View)

This episode contains: We're all here for this massive episode filled with science and science fiction. Steven made the mistake of getting married around Memorial Day and Devon made the mistake of being born on Memorial Day. Steven thinks about what it would be like if some of his closest friends never existed. Devon has no plans for his birthday. Ben wants to return to the sensory deprivation chamber. Steven is watching Fallout with his wife who is enjoying the show ("She said yes!"). Devon watched the super depressing, but really good movie Iron Claw and cleansed his palate with Seinfeld. Ben recommends everyone watch the insane game show: Game Changer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Changer_(game_show)#Season_6_(2024)

Ben beat Wizorb. It's $3 on Steam. It's a brick breaker, which is when you have a paddle on the bottom of the screen and bounce a ball to break bricks. Tack balls are great for Wizorb.

https://wizorb.com/

Brain Matters: Devon read Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will by Robert Sapolsky a few months ago and finally talks about it. The point of the book is that no one has free will and how we should change society in light of that fact. Devon explains determinism and why we likely do not have free will. We also learn why quantum mechanics and chaos theory do not provide us with free will. We then discuss the ethical consequences of there being no free will.

https://www.amazon.com/Determined-Science-Life-without-Free/dp/0525560971

Conway's Game of Life is an example of a determined outcome that is unpredictable.

https://playgameoflife.com/

For Shame: Spotify bricking Car Thing in December without refund. In 2021 Spotify released "The Car Thing" to put in your car to have streamlined access to Spotify. However, they are now discontinuing support for the devise and will not open it up to the 3rd party firmware. As Redditor Wemie1420 put it: "Doesn't feel great that there is literally no alternative other than trashing it. Feels like we're being punished for supporting them. Dissuades me from buying anything Spotify puts out in the future. I feel like there would be some way to approach this without being like, 'yeah we're done. Just throw it out it's a waste of money now." Ben finds this UNACCEPTABLE!

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/pleas-for-open-sourcing-refunds-as-spotify-plans-to-brick-car-thing-devices/

Witness Me!: Steven watched Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Steven was surprised by the film and gives it a 4/4. Don't expect a rehash of Mad Max: Fury Road. Although some of the special effects were questionable. Get his mostly non-spoiler review here!

Book Club: Chatbot Kingdom on Bad Space by Scott Base is a story of how humanity uploads to a simulation and the eventual decline and destruction of that simulation. We enjoyed the poetic narrative and chilling images. We discuss capitalism, utopia, the fermi paradox, and simulation theory.

https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/chatbot-kingdom

This episode contains: We three hosts are back at it again, and while it's been the normal posting schedule recently, for us "It's Been A While" (like two weeks) and Aaron Lewis of Staind gets a lot of shout outs. Steven won a game of Shatterpoint! And guess what? You too can kitbash like the pros and like Steven, if you've got access to a Dollar Store. Ben took his mom to the Wonderfront Music Festival for Mother's Day and whoo boy was it amazing. Big highlights were Beck (as the headliner), The Roots (wow, WHAT A PERFORMANCE) and Steel Pulse. Speaking of The Roots, hat tip to Ben's mom for recommending Questlove's book "Music Is History". Devon got a new iPhone, and in true Texas style he likes 'em big and thicc (it's a Pro Max model).

https://www.amazon.com/Music-History-Questlove/dp/1419751433

Don't vomit in the car, man! Apple announces new accessibility features, including Eye Tracking. Yes, Ben is an Apple fanboy, but hardware updates are boring. Like, how exciting is the fact that this slab of glass is thinner than ever before? However, software updates are king! Every June, Ben looks forward to WWDC (where they announce the features in new Apple operating systems), and in September when they come out it's like Ben gets to enjoy a birthday with a dear friend. Occasionally, Apple announces features outside of the typical June and September cycle, and recently they announced some pretty wild things coming to iOS 18, in celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day. The coolest of these, to Ben, is Vehicle Motion Cues. It will be able to help reduce motion sickness for passengers in moving vehicles. Research shows that motion sickness is commonly caused by a sensory conflict between what a person sees and what they feel, which can prevent some users from comfortably using devices or reading a book while riding in a moving vehicle. With Vehicle Motion Cues, animated dots on the edges of the screen represent changes in vehicle motion to help reduce sensory conflict without interfering with the main content. Using sensors built into iPhone and iPad, Vehicle Motion Cues recognizes when a user is in a moving vehicle and responds accordingly.

Apple announces new accessibility features, including Eye Tracking (Apple Newsroom)

Movie review: Kingdom of the PotA. Steven's a real Ape movie fan, whether new or old... except for maybe that one with Marky Mark? We're in the middle of a nine movie Ape-stravaganza. Steven loves how the new films are portraying ape society. Devon wonders if it's just an analogue for our modern human societies... like, is there an Ape Trump? Anyhow, in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Steven gives it a 3 out of 4 stars, noting the special effects are amazing.

Show update: Resident Alien. Devon is still really enjoying Resident Alien starring Alan Tudyk. Catch it on Netflix or Peacock.

Book club: The Jaunt by Stephen King. A truly chilling sci-fi story from the master of horror. We loved it. Steven connects some dots with this story and the Deadlights across many of Stephen King's stories.

The Jaunt (Goodreads) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNg27VrdW4M&pp=ygUvdGhlIGV4aXN0ZW50aWFsIGhvcnJvciBvZiBldGVybmFsIGNvbnNjaW91c25lc3M= Deadlights (Stephen King Wiki)

Next week in our book club: it's a short scifi horror webcomic:

Chatbot Kingdom by Scott Base, from his Bad Space Comics anthology series.

This episode contains: Ben and Steven have record so as to not ruin Mother's Day. We don't understand morning people, ugh. Especially when those morning people have too many mods in their video games. Steven has finally started painting his Star Wars Shatterpoint mini models. Ben talks about his kit-bashed X-wing pilot and Hello Kitty. We also somehow talk about Frisbee Golf (Frolf?) and Ultimate Frisbee. Ben gives us a review of the board game Azul.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/230802/azul

This Week in Space: Possible atmosphere surrounding rocky exoplanet. Atmospheric gasses have been detected surrounding 55 Cancri e, a hot rocky exoplanet 41 light-years from Earth. This super earth should have a temperature around 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, but instead it's only around 2,800 degrees. This is a very strong indication that energy is being distributed from the dayside to the nightside, most likely by a volatile-rich atmosphere.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/05/240508121127.htm

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-hints-at-possible-atmosphere-surrounding-rocky-exoplanet/

You want thingamabobs? I've got twenty: Underwater bicycle propels swimmers forward at superhuman speed. French company Seabike has developed a swimming device that uses your own leg power to accelerate you through the water. It is strapped to the waist, your feet find the pedals and the 15 in propeller help you glide through the water. Best of all, you can instantly charge the device by eating a hot dog. Ha.

https://newatlas.com/marine/seabike-swimming-propeller/

https://movesea.nl/products/water-bike-2-0-seabike

Science Fiction: No Devon this week, our book club will continue next week with Stephen King's The Jaunt. Out patrons recommend From a Certain Point of View, the Star Wars books that fill in some gaps. We chat quite a bit about X-Men '97 episode 9, and what it means for our favorite mutie (spoilers, Wolverine isn't dead!). Steven talks about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, an amazing story by original and new creators. Plus, a video game is coming to PS5??

This episode contains: All three hosts are here and ready to talk about sci-fi; no science, sorry. Devon tells us about a birthday party at a trampoline park and Steven played a bunch of Star Wars board games. Meanwhile Ben was recording his son's performances on his iPhone. Ben's also been playing digital pinball on a vertical monitor. Devon has finished the Three Body Problem on Netflix and was pleased that it included elements from the second and third book. He was worried they would only include the first book, which he feels is only the prologue to the real story. Steven gives us a rundown of Tales of The Empire on Disney Plus. This show provides backstory to characters in Ahsoka. Ben and Steven talk about X-Men '97. If you're not watching X-Men '97, you should be! It includes wacky and wild, heart stopping moments. X-Men '97 was written for us, but new viewers could still understand about 90% of the show.

Book Club: For this episode we read the short story "2043... a Merman I Should Turn to Be" by Nisi Shawl.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58647676-2043-a-merman-i-should-turn-to-be?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=UGvenc3N0K&rank=1

Devon made sure to read the short story for this episode and has read the story for the next episode. Devon thinks the story would be better as a digital short given the "off-the-wall" concept and action in the story. Ben reminds us that the story is connected to the Jimmy Hendrix song: 1983 A Merman I should Turn to Be. The story reminded Ben of Lovecraft Country. Ben liked the statement about enemies wanting the same things we do. Steven enjoyed the story but was confused on some of the elements. We have a discussion of who and how people would actually modify their bodies to live in different habitats. We note that adapting to new habitats is not easy and ponder what the first inhabitants of the Moon, Mars, etc. will face. We all give the story 3 out of 4 stars.

For the next episode we are reading The Jaunt by Stephen King.

https://archive.org/details/the-jaunt-stephen-king

Until next week, keep watching the skis! I mean skies.

This episode contains: These three fools are back at it this week. Steven's had a rough go with little sleep, and he really enjoys the new videogame Manor Lords (are those two things related?). Ben's super excited to play the new Venice course in Walkabout Minigolf. All we can say is "Good Job, Mighty Coconut!" Devon's had a rough go of it too, what with dealing with extended family staying at his house. There's also been car troubles. TEST THE BATTERY! FIX THE GARAGE DOOR! GET IN THE CHOPPA! Steven had a different experience this week: he attended the DisneyLand Star Wars night "Season of the Force." It was AWESOME: so many Star Wars nerds everywhere, and since it was after hours, there was a much smaller park population. Goes to show you gotta give the mouse his due to be around Steven's people: Star Wars people meets Disney people in a capitalist Venn diagram of scum and villainy. He also got to try out new food. The events were a little boring. I mean, the wrong era is represented in Galaxy's Edge: Steven wishes it was Vader and the 501st instead of the "March of the First Order." And then they changed Space Mountain to… HYPERSPACE MOUNTAIN??!?! Star Tours premiered some new characters and scenarios from Mandalorian and Ahsoka. And… well, Ben's ready for May the Fourth with his Star Wars Day shirt: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1100663519/galaxy-far-away-sw-space-wars-inspired

Shock to the Heart: How Pluto got its heart. The mystery of how Pluto got a giant heart-shaped feature on its surface has finally been solved by an international team of astrophysicists. The team is the first to successfully reproduce the unusual shape with numerical simulations, attributing it to a giant and slow oblique-angle impact.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240415163720.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombaugh_Regio

Big Cheese: A vegan cheese beat dairy in a big competition. Then the plot curdled. A vegan cheese called Climax Blue was selected as a finalist for the prestigious Good Food Awards, shocking traditional cheesemakers. However, the cheese was later disqualified by the awards foundation, leading to a controversy over the definition of "cheese" and the role of plant-based alternatives.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2024/04/27/vegan-cheese-good-food-awards-climax

Book Club: Void by Veronica Roth (from The Far Reaches Collection).

TLDR, here are the ratings: Steven: 4/4 stars. The mystery allowed him to turn off his brain and just enjoy it. The characters were just right.

Ben: 3/4 stars. This could have been a decent pilot for a tv show on the Redundancy.

Devon: baseball analogies? Something about a bunt? Does that mean 1/4 stars? Devon compared it to other murder mysteries (Apples Never Fall, the works of Liane Moriarty) and this falls short.

Next week: 2043…(A Merman I Should Turn to Be) by Nisi Shawl, part of the Black Stars collection. Ben's excited because the Audible version is read by LeVar Burton.

This episode contains: Everyone is here and accounted for, but earlier than usual. We talk about why. Steven played some Fallout Wasteland Warfare and watched the entire Amazon Prime Fallout series, because of course he did. Devon has been watching as well, Ben is still in progress. If you liked the show, you should play Fallout 4 (or maybe Fallout 76). Steven and Ben are watching X-Men '97 and if you're not, you're really missing out (Devon, looking at you). It's a mutant soap opera and we're here for it. Steven comments that it's not a Wolverine show, and that makes it different and makes it feel more X-Men-y. We chat about the Life/Death storyline in the show and in the comics. Ben is super excited to talk about Star Trek Discovery and it's latest time-loop episode.

Sweet Dreams Til Sunbeams Find You: 50 Years Later, This Apollo-Era Antenna Still Talks to Voyager 2. Deep Space Station 43 (DSS-43), an antenna located at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, has been instrumental in space exploration for over 50 years. It is responsible for over 40% of all data retrieved by celestial explorers and is the only antenna capable of communicating with Voyager 2. DSS-43 was honored with an IEEE Milestone in March during a ceremony held at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/apollo-era-antenna-voyager-2

This Week In Space: Astrophysicist explains science behind once-in-a-lifetime nova outburst that will light up the sky this year. The nova will create a "new" star in the night sky, and will light up sometime between now and September. It will be as bright as the North Star. We also talk about what a Type 1a supernova is.

https://phys.org/news/2024-03-astrophysicist-science-lifetime-nova-outburst.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_Ia_supernova

Book Club: The Long Game (The Far Reaches Collection) by Ann Leckie.

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Game-Far-Reaches-collection-ebook/dp/B0C4QPCYZ4

Steven and Ben both read the short story, while Devon completely forgot. Boo Devon. Both Ben and Steven enjoyed the story, but had a few little nitpicks. We also talk about where this segment is going in the future.

Next week: Void (The Far Reaches Collection) by Veronia Roth.

This episode contains: It's our 501st extravaganza! Except due to technical difficulties, it's not really. Steven tells us about the M. Night Shyamalan trilogy of Unbreakable, Split and Glass, which is now available on Netflix. Ben watched the classic 1991 Addams Family movie and Devon wonders if the new Munster's movie by Rob Zombie is any good. It was panned when the trailer dropped but Devon thinks it actually looked kind of fun, and he's a fan of Rob Zombie (more on that later). Devon also correctly identified MC Hammer as the artist who performed the theme for the Addams Family movie. Weird flex, but okay.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14813212/

Ben talks about Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire again, which is like speed racer meets The 5th Element. Ben's taste is very specific for Ben.

https://www.disneyplus.com/en-gb/browse/entity-6b4f6834-0f00-4e3e-8a79-e5aa05ba0495?sharesource=iOS

Devon and his wife Jen started Dark City (on Tubi) but then switched to Fallout! Devon gives Fallout a positive review, despite some issues with inconsistent tone. Devon played the last three Fallout games to Steven's surprise. Also, Deven gets cancelled for making fun of Polish people. We then lament the cancellation of Lower Decks, which will conclude with the upcoming 5th season. Will there be anymore animated comedy Trek?

https://trekmovie.com/2024/04/12/breaking-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-renewed-for-season-4-lower-decks-to-end-with-season-5/

Book Club: Just Out of Jupiter's Reach (The Far Reaches collection) by Nnedi Okorafor. This was different kind of story than we were used to. Steven drank the Kool-Aid and listened to this episode. Steven and Ben enjoyed it but don't think it's for everyone. Devon was lukewarm on it. We discuss the diverse cast of characters, new points of view and a different type of storytelling.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4QR4SX7?ref_=dbs_m_aos_rwt_calw_tkin_4&storeType=ebooks

Next week we will be discussing the story The Long Game by Ann Leckie.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/151908306-the-long-game

We conclude with a discussion of Rob Zombie being a vegan, a non-drinker and a non-drug user. Apparently he's just like that normally. We also try to analyze his recent album titles, such as The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy and The Electric Warlock Acid With Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser.

This episode contains: All three of your co-hosts are back to prove that 500 is just another number. We recorded on Rex Manning Day (you know, from Empire Records) and we missed First Contact Day (you know, from First Contact). Nobody remembers the Genetics Wars (you know, from nothing at all), or was it the Eugenics Wars? But you know what it really was today? It's the Great American Eclipse! "I actually live in the path of totality" - Devon, and like several thousand more people. What kind of bedlam and absolute riot would there be at a ren faire during an eclipse? Shouts of "BURN THE WITCH" and whatever. Ben didn't record last time because he had date night in the middle of Spring Break. Date night did NOT include seeing Dune, but did have terrible service, cold tacos, rain, and allergy medicine. Steven traveled to DisneyLand again (does he, like, live there now?) and there's been some major updates to the tech in the queues for rides. Even with the new games you can play on your phone while waiting for the rides, the Peter Pan queue is just too skinny (it was made for people in the 1950s, and I guess we didn't have an overweight problem in the US back then). Steven's ready for war to never change, cause this upcoming week is the new Fallout TV show. You lucky dogs, reading this in the future… you've probably watched it all, haven't you?

Death comes for us all and other light musings: What happens in the brain during the process of death? A woman named Patient One who suffered cardiac arrest became the subject of a study by neurologist Jimo Borjigin. When Patient One's brain activity was monitored after being taken off life support, unexpected electrical activity was still detected. Devon goes through the historical context on scientific interest in near-death experiences (NDEs) and consciousness after clinical death. More recent technological advances have allowed many more people to be resuscitated after cardiac arrest, providing new opportunities to study what happens in the brain during the dying process. Science may be on the verge of new discoveries about death, consciousness, and the relationship between the mind and brain.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/02/new-science-of-death-brain-activity-consciousness-near-death-experience

This odd mindset shift regarding death could cure procrastination forever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC4jcrB4RHc

What does an eclipse sound like? Once upon a time, there was light in my life / But now there's only love in the dark. (Ben sings it!) An app called Eclipse Soundscapes was developed to help blind and visually impaired people experience solar eclipses. It provides audio descriptions of the eclipse's progress matched to the user's location, and also includes recorded sounds of animals reacting to the dimming light as if night has come, and a "rumble map" feature allowing users to feel the eclipse's stages through vibrations on their smartphone screen. The app aims to make the experience of the eclipse more accessible through multiple senses.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/what-does-eclipse-sound-180964203/

https://eclipsesoundscapes.org/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/eclipse-soundscapes/id1262152991

Science fiction: Netflix's Three Body Problem has dropped, and it's so Game of Thrones in the best way. Ben presents Star Trek episodes 909 and 910. That's right, Disco is back, baby! And it's a wild Indiana Jones adventure this season, with strong ties back to a Next Generation episode that really should have been revisited a long time ago. Even though Devon and Steven poo-pooed Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire last week, Ben saw it, and he LIKED IT. Kinda weird Ben wasn't excited about Ghostbusters: Afterlife before Steven gave his review of it all those years ago, and this time the tables have flipped. Kumail Nanjiani steals the show in the new Ghostbusters, but have you seen him in The Big Sick? Devon recommends. How do you like the new Science Faction website? It's actually legible! https://sciencefactionpodcast.com/

Next week our book club will cover Just Out of Jupiter's Reach (The Far Reaches collection) by Nnedi Okorafor. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4QR4SX7