Light (novel)

Light is a science fiction novel by M. John Harrison published in 2002. It received the James Tiptree, Jr. Award and a BSFA nomination in 2002, and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2003.

Overview

The book centres on the lives of three individuals — the physicist (and serial killer) Michael Kearney, on the verge of a breakthrough in theoretical physics sometime in 1999; Seria Mau Genlicher, the cybernetically-altered female pilot of a "K-ship", and the ex-space pilot and adventurer Ed Chianese. Seria Mau and Ed's stories take place in the year 2400 AD.

The lives of these three individuals are linked in many ways, though most tangibly by the presence of a mysterious creature called The Shrander, who appears in many guises to all three characters throughout the novel (with anagrammatic names of Sandra Shen and Dr. Haends). They are also linked by the Kefahuchi Tract, a space-time anomaly described as "a singularity without an event horizon", an object of awe and wonder that has been the ruin of many civilisations attempting to decode its mysteries.

Window

A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof or vehicle that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound.

Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material. Windows are held in place by frames. Many glazed windows may be opened, to allow ventilation, or closed, to exclude inclement weather. Windows often have a latch or similar mechanism to lock the window shut.

Types include the eyebrow window, fixed windows, single-hung and double-hung sash windows, horizontal sliding sash windows, casement windows, awning windows, hopper windows, tilt and slide windows (often door-sized), tilt and turn windows, transom windows, sidelight windows, jalousie or louvered windows, clerestory windows, skylights, roof windows, roof lanterns, bay windows, oriel windows, thermal, or Diocletian, windows, picture windows, emergency exit windows, stained glass windows, French windows, and double- and triple paned windows.

The Romans were the first known to use glass for windows, a technology likely first produced in Roman Egypt, in Alexandria ca. 100 AD. Paper windows were economical and widely used in ancient China, Korea and Japan. In England, glass became common in the windows of ordinary homes only in the early 17th century whereas windows made up of panes of flattened animal horn were used as early as the 14th century. Modern-style floor-to-ceiling windows became possible only after the industrial plate glass making processes were perfected.

Divine light

In theology, divine light (also called divine radiance or divine refulgence) is an aspect of divine presence, specifically an unknown and mysterious ability of God, angels, or human beings to express themselves communicatively through spiritual means, rather than through physical capacities.

Spirituality

The term light has been used in spirituality (vision, enlightenment, darshan, Tabor Light). Bible commentators such as Ritenbaugh see the presence of light as a metaphor of truth, good and evil, knowledge and ignorance. In the first Chapter of the Bible, Elohim is described as creating light by fiat and seeing the light to be good. In Hinduism, Diwali — the festival of lights — is a celebration of the victory of light over darkness. A mantra in Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad(1.3.28) urges God to 'from darkness, lead us unto Light'.

Various local religious concepts exist:

HTC TyTN

The HTC TyTN (also known as the HTC Hermes and the HTC P4500) is an Internet-enabled Windows Mobile Pocket PC smartphone designed and marketed by High Tech Computer Corporation of Taiwan. It has a touchscreen with a left-side slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The TyTN's functions include those of a camera phone and a portable media player in addition to text messaging and multimedia messaging. It also offers Internet services including e-mail (including Microsoft's DirectPush push e-mail solution, as well as BlackBerry services with applications provided by BlackBerry-partnered carriers), instant messaging, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity. It is a quad-band GSM phone with GPRS, and EDGE, and a single/dual band UMTS phone with HSDPA. It is a part of the first line of phones directly marketed and sold by HTC. On AT&T/Cingular, the TyTN was the successor to the HTC Wizard, known as the Cingular 8125. Also on AT&T, the TyTN was superseded by the HTC TyTN II, known as the AT&T 8925 and the AT&T Tilt.

Steinberg Cubase

Cubase is a music software product developed by German musical software and equipment company Steinberg for music recording, arranging and editing as part of a digital audio workstation. The first version, which ran on the Atari ST computer and recorded via MIDI only, was released in 1989.

In January 2003, Steinberg was acquired by U.S. firm Pinnacle Systems, within which it operated as an independent company before being sold to Yamaha Corporation in December, 2004.

Operation

Cubase creates projects, which allow the operator to edit MIDI files, raw audio tracks, and other associated information like lyrics, and to present them in a range of formats including musical scores, editing console, event lists, etc. The operator can also mix the various tracks down into a stereo .wav file ready to be burned to a compact disc (CD) in Red Book format, or .mp3 burned to CD or DVD as files, or to be published on the Web.

Versions

Notes

Cubase has existed in three main incarnations. Initially Cubase, which featured only MIDI, and which was available on the Atari ST, Macintosh and Windows.

HPI Pro 4

The HPI Pro 4 is a 1/10 scale radio controlled touring car manufactured by Hobby Products International (HPI). It features a centre propshaft to transfer the power from the motor to the rear and the front ball differentials. The gearbox features a bevel-and-ring gear design, and is made of graphite-reinforced plastic. The car is extremely popular with racers all around the world, because of its ability to be tuned to different track conditions. The Pro 4 won the 2004 National Championship.

External links

Cube (film)

Cube is a 1997 Canadian science fiction psychological horror independent film, directed and co-written by Vincenzo Natali. The film was a successful product of the Canadian Film Centre's First Feature Project.

The film follows Quentin, a former cop, leading a group of people through cube-shaped rooms, with some rigged with various traps. However, some go insane, and threaten the lives of everyone.

During its theatrical release, Cube divided critics, with mostly favorable reviews, out of mixed or negative reviews, and has since gained a cult following. The film spawned a franchise of films, and a remake is currently in development at Lionsgate.

Plot

A man named Alderson awakens in a cube-shaped room with a hatch in each wall, the ceiling and the floor, each of which leads to other cube-shaped rooms, identical except for their color. He enters an orange room and, without warning, is killed by a trap. In another such room, five people – Quentin, Worth, Holloway, Rennes, and Leaven – meet. None of them knows where they are or how they got there. Quentin informs the others that some rooms contain traps, which he learned by nearly being killed by one. Rennes assumes each trap is triggered by a motion detector and tests each room by throwing one of his boots in first. Leaven notices numbers inscribed in the passageways between rooms. Quentin, a policeman, recognizes Rennes as "the Wren", an escape artist renowned for getting out of jails. After declaring one room trap-free, Rennes enters and is killed when he is sprayed with acid. The others realize that there are different kinds of detectors, and Quentin deduces that this trap was triggered by heat.