Category: Sci-Fi

H I A B L M

Gary Lockwood as the ill-fated Frank Poole

I’m back on Watch TCM, except it’s only a computer screen this time, not the projector, and I’m in AZ, not MA. I never tire of seeing “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Even 50 years later, it’s a stunning achievement.

Keir Dullea as the ?-fated David Bowman

In a recently discovered interview with Stanley Kubrick, he revealed the original concept behind the “Star Child” evolution of Dave Bowman. Although Arthur C. Clarke’s name isn’t mentioned, he most certainly was involved with how the enigmatic conclusion of the movie is presented.

The closest that IBM has come so far in creating a real HAL computer is its Watson system, which performed so well on Jeopardy!, defeating both Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. The decision was made by IBM to devote Watson to medical intelligence, but that hasn’t worked out as hoped, and there have been a lot of layoffs.

Speaking of computers being used for medical records — which was how I made my living for 36 years — one of the earliest visionaries in the field, Dr. Warner Slack, died a couple of weeks ago.

Captain on the Bridge

I considered attending this weekend’s Star Trek Tour, featuring none other than William Shatner. For several reasons, a lack of nearby hotel accommodations being one of them, I decided to sit this one out. But here’s some video of James T. Kirk sitting in the captain’s chair. I’ll get to Ticonderoga this summer, on a regular weekend, when there’s a room available at the Best Western.