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Well, that may be a leap of logic, but it’s something that could come about if what this BBC News article says is true.

According to the article, University of Washington researchers induced a state of suspended animation in laboratory mice by exposing them to air containing 80 ppm of hydrogen sulfide (a substance that smells like rotten eggs — hence the title of this post).

I guess since we humans are only a genetic stone’s throw away from mice, this technique might apply to us as well, opening the door to a lot really cool stuff like long-distance space travel.

Of course the downside to this is that if such a technique proves useful for putting space travelers into hybernation prior to a long launch, the last thought an astronaut might have before falling into a deep and possibly dreamless sleep would be, “Ok, who farted?”. I guess it’s a small price to pay for expanding frontiers and whatnot.

From Douglas Adams’ family, no less.

One can assume that Douglas’ relatives have insight into what he would have liked. That’s just about as close to an endorsement by Douglas himself as you’re likely to get.

Does it guarantee that the movie will be a big hit? No, but it helps.

It appears that those wacky Japanese have stopped creating giant city-crushing irradiated lizards long enough to develop a refrigerator that — allegedly — uses LED-powered orange light to increase the vitamin C content of vegetables by as much as 10%.

That’s right: Mitsubishi created this line of fridges with a “Delicious Vitamin Boost Light Power Vegetable Compartment”.
With a name that goofy, how can it NOT work as advertised (It’s the “Smuckers Theory of Advertising”)?

And to abolish any lingering threads of doubt, they have included rock-solid proof that this fridge delivers on the ascorbic acid; proof in the form of “before” and “after” photos of a half-head of cabbage. I mean the only proof more convincing than a picture of cabbage would be — oh, I dunno — graphs.

Unfortunately for us Gaijin, the vitamin-boosting fridges are only available in Japan. That’s too bad, ’cause those fridges would be the perfect place for the anime-obsessed American kids to store their Pocky.

I downloaded the soundtrack to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy on iTunes, and judging by what I’m hearing, the film is going to be excellent.

Here’s a review of some of the more notable tracks (spoilers for the film/books may follow):

The Dolphins

This track contains an excerpt from the Guide (voiced by Stephen Fry) telling the story of the exodus of the Dolphins (“So long, and thank for all the fish”) from the doomed planet Earth. Fry’s narration is backed by a synthesized chorus, making for an ethereal track.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

A first for any version of Hitchhiker’s Guide is this Vegas/Chorus-Line-style musical number apparently sung by Dolphins (Having not yet seen the film, I can’t say what will actually be happening on screen, so I calls ‘em like I hears ‘em).

Arthur Wakes Up

The background musical score begins with this track. Nowing the story, you can almost picture what’s going on on the screen. The piece has a light and quiet beginning, as if the score is waking up wth Arthur. Then it moves to a plucking string-heavy plodding, which seems to represent Arthur as he trudges groggily through his house in search of Aspirin. Suddenly, the music swells and then quickly returns to the groggy plodding, as if the audience sees the bulldozer outside the window, yet Arthur, still only half-awake, passes by unaware. It’s a great piece of narrative music.

Shoo-Rah! Shoo-Rah!

This classic 1974 Betty Wright R&B song evokes a different feel for the story, yet somehow seems to fit perfectly.

Here I am (Come and Take Me)

I’m not sure where this Al Green song fits in the film, but I have a few ideas. It’s a great Green classic.

Destruction of Earth

This is a swelling orchestral track heavy on strings and percussion. It’s very reminiscent of scores that accompany climactic scenes in films like Aliens, using pounding orchestra hits to punctuate the chaos happening onscreen.

Journey of the Sorcerer

If you’ve heard the original BBC Radio production of Hitchhiker’s Guide, you’ll know this piece immediately. It’s the famous banjo-and-brass opening, tweaked and updated a bit for the film. It’s still just as good as it was 20 years ago.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

This track seems to be the background music for the Guide. It’s heavy on synthesized instruments, just like the original. A perfect fit for the Guide.

Inside the Vogon Ship

This track is a mixture of classic “impending danger” and “chase” musical score with a little bit of “sense of wonder” and what I can only imagine is “sauntering Vogon” thrown in. It’s alternately humorous, forboding and creepy; three things I can only imagine a Vogon ship to be.

Vogon Poetry

This track surprised me, but once I heard it I laughed, realizing how perfect it was. This piece seems to be the background music heard as Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz reads a sample of his poetry to Arthur and Ford. Vogon poetry is described by the Guide as “the second worst poetry in the universe”. This “wacky track” (music whose tone directly contradicts what’s happening on screen) is lilting and happy — as if it were plucked right out of a Disney film or a ballet — I’m guessing that hearing this while Arthur and Ford scream in poetry-induced agony will make for a funny yet unique twist on the classic Hitchhiker’s Guide scene.

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

This mostly electronic piece returns to the synthesized origins of the original Hitchhiker’s Radio Drama. It’s a funky piece that I think was originally used during the Guide entries for the famous drink.

Infinite Improbability Drive

This track could have been ripped right out of the SID chip of a Commodore 64. Great stuff.

Huma’s Hymn

This is a very funny short hymn (Huma in the title refers to Huma Kavula, a character created for the film by Douglas Adams and played by John Malkovich) that I think sings about the Great Green Arklseizure. If you don’t pay attention to the lyrics, you might mistake it for the real thing. Very Catholic.

Magic Moments

A Perry Como song that just seems to fit the Hitchhiker’s Theme. It’s no Louie Armstrong, but it’s still pretty good.

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish (Reprise)

A slower, calmer arrangement of the second track above, sung by Neil Hannon. Very lounge-lizard-y.

Careless Talk

Judging by the title, I’m thinking this music is set to the Guide entry about how a single statement by Arthur traveled through a wormhole and started an intergalactic war. But I could be wrong. It’s a short synthesized piece with a very alien feel.

Vote Beeblebrox

This is a weird but funny one. Seems to be Zaphod’s Presidential Campaign song. IT has a kind of easy-listening sound, and includes snippets of Zaphod’s lines from the film. Here’s a little bit of the song’s lyrics:

[spoiler]Zaphod Beeblebrox
He’s the guy you want to vote for
When you get into the voting booth
put an X next to his name.

Zaphod Beeblebrox for President
Building bridges between the stars.
In no way is he stupid,
In no way is his brain impaired
It’s just not true,
He’s smarter than you,
And he’s better looking, too.

Zaphod Beeblebrox
Has the longest hair of any candidate,
And he’s got the coolest shades,
And his teeth are white as snow.
So let’s elect him President,
He’ll build bridges between the stars.

Don’t believe the rumors,
Oh no
Don’t belive those vicisou lies
They’re just not true,
He’s smarter than you,
And he’s better looking, too.[/spoiler]

Reasons to be Miserable

It’s Marvin’s theme song. Kind of a techno track sung by Stephen Fry. Pretty funny. It sounds like an end-credits song.

Will Wright, creator of The Sims and the entire line of ‘sim’ games, has unveiled his newest project, called Spore. Spore looks to be the god game to end all god games, allowing you to create your own single-celled organism and evolve all the way up to galactic conquest.

It’s ambitious to say the least.

There’s a page of notes here that explains more about the concept; Will’s “code vs. content” discussion is an interesting one. Today games are filled with high-resolution textures, music and pre-rendered video; There’s very little acutal code (when you look at how much data comprises an average game; 1 or more CDs worth). Spore looks to turn the ratio in the other direction, where code outweighs content.

I finally posted the pictures from our Florida trip.

I’ve also uploaded a special treat.

If you visit Kennedy Space Center, you should definitely take the bus tour. You learn a lot, and you just might be lucky enough to have Larry as a driver/tour guide. Larry was the first driver we had on our tour (the busses make frequent stops at various tour locations, so you can get off the bus, walk around for awhile and hop on any other bus that leaves the area — so you don’t have the same driver for the entire tour).

As you ride on the bus throughout the KSC complex, an automated video presentation periodically displays on monitors in the bus, dishing out facts about the notable points of interest on the tour. During the bus ride, Larry’s commanding presence and authoritative voice would enhance the presentation with his own stories and a unique speaking style.

But I really can’t describe Larry with words. You have to hear it. So I managed to record a snippet of Larry’s spiel on my PDA:

Here’s Larry!