The Age of Caprica draws near, and life imitates art imitating life...

Roxxy and the Cylon prototype from Caprica (do I need to say which is which?)

12 days and counting...

I am counting the days until January 22nd, when CAPRICA debuts on Syfy (it's on Space in Canada). And by that I mean I am literally counting the days in a series on PinkRaygun.com that started today. 

How would YOU deal with the death of a loved one?

Imagine my surprise then, when today on Friendeed I saw an article about Roxxxy, the sex robot that has just been unveiled to "...adoring fans." Another Buffybot, perchance? Possibly, but it was the end of the article that really made me sit up:

"Inspiration for the sex robot sprang from the September 11, 2001 attacks, when planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon and an empty field in Pennsylvania.
"I had a friend who passed away in 9/11," Hines said. "I promised myself I would create a program to store his personality, and that became the foundation for Roxxxy True Companion."
(Quoted from here)

Eek!

On Caprica a grieving father created a mechanical device to store the personality of his child who was killed in a terrorist attack, that goes on to become the beginning of the end of Caprica.

On Earth a grieving friend created a mechanical device to store the personality of his friend who was killed in a terrorist attack, that goes on to become...a sex slave?

I'm not even sure which one of these scenarios is worse. And I'm really trying not to think how the inventor went from wanting to store his friend's personality to a sexbot that is programmed so she "..loves what you love.." and has wi-fi so she can email you at work. And did I mention there are five models...?And that a male version is in the works?

So the next time one of your less-geeky friends tries to pooh-pooh your love of sci-fi, impress them with your knowledge of the REAL WORLD!

It's happened before and it will happen again.

Things I left out because I have standards:

• wondering if it's protected from backdoor viruses
• wondering what Kryton from Red Dwarf would make of Roxxxy
• if she loves what you love isn't she likely to run off with another plastic sexbot? Or is this the reason they can't walk (yet)
• the whole hygiene issue
• something about handling 3.5" floppies

Friday Review: Softwires and Cylons!

Hard-wired for Geek? I'd rather be Softwired....
Sometime ago I read and reviewed 'Virus on Orbis 1', the first in the 'Softwire' books by P J Haarsma. Since then book 2, 'Betrayal on Orbis 2' has been waiting for me to pick it up. I knew that once I had started reading everything else would have to wait so I've been biding my time. Last Friday, though, there was no BSG and I decided that enough waiting was enough, so I dived straight in. The story starts not long after the end of the first book and we are picked up and propelled straight into the next challenge(s) for JT and his friends. As predicted, it proved to be an exciting and all-encompassing read! So much so, that the '100th Post...' almost didn't get posted...

What makes you care?
I've read a lot of books, some brilliant, some good, some bad, some indifferent. The brilliant ones make an impression that stays with you after you finish. Such are the Softwire books. They are very well-written and complete stories but there are so many things that you want to know more about. What happened with the SpaceJumpers? Why are the Nagools the way they are and how is this going to be of importance in the future? Is the whole of Orbis society on the verge of collapse? Of course, there are the obvious questions about what the future holds for JT, Max, Katheria and the other children, whose side is Charlie on and what will Orbis 3 be like? But the thrill for me is the detail of the time and space the Orbis books are set in. The way the society is set up is completely alien yet so believable. The interaction between the characters and their setting. Yes, PJ, I am hooked, so I hope you are well on your way to publishing Book 3 (see what PJ had to say about what is going to happen to JT in Book 3...! )

See, Hear
If you are still wondering whether these award-winning books are for you then how about listening to Chapter 1 of 'Virus on Orbis 1' read by Nathan Fillion? Yes, really! If you go to the Kids Need To Read MySpace page you can hear Nathan read the first chapter and I have to say it is an excellent reading. And you can also see an impressive promo video on P J Haarsma's website. I could watch a whole lot more of that video!

Did you say Cylons?
Well, BSG is back tonight. I'm interested, but not building my hopes up. I know what if I get too excited someone I really like will get the chop. I'm acting cool in the hope that it will save someone's neck. It could work....But on a happier note - do you live near Vancouver? If so, then you are in for a treat this weekend. The 13th Colony (Vancouver's Battlestar Galactica Fan Club) are undertaking a location scouting in the parks on the North Shore to find shooting locations for Caprica, New Caprica and Kobol tomorrow! I meet Val at the Firefly Meetup and she is a great advocate for BSG - and you will probably find that she looks familiar, too. They are meeting at 1.00 so go to their MeetUp page for more information and to sign up.