Sci-Fi Extravaganza!

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I've been away from this blog for quite a while, but I'm not completely disengaged from it, nor do I have the intention of abandoning it. Truth is, I've been busy with something else——writing a book of a totally different genre. As the post title suggests, I am currently writing a hard sci-fi romance novel. And now that I'm near finishing, I thought it is time to announce it to my readers who're following this blog. 

This is my first attempt at sci-fi narrative. Readers may wonder why I chose this seemingly unrelated path in my writing endeavor. Well, for one thing, this has also been my dream all along. But being an engineer by trade, my interest and focus is in passing on my knowledge to the engineering community, to leave a legacy if you will for future generations of engineers who want to take up this niche skillset of PCB reverse engineering.

But after finishing my sixth and last engineering book (PCB Diagnostics) some time last year in February, I felt quite burned out on this genre of writing. Not that I do not have any other skillset or knowledge to impart, but eight years writing the same kind of related stuff can be quite stifling even for any prolific writer, much less an indie author like me. 

Recent years have seen advancements in the fields of AI, quantum computing, and neurosciences. I've kept myself abreast on these development and wonder if there is a way to integrate these elements into a coherent sci-fi narrative. That's when I suggested to my wife and she seemed quite excited at the prospect. So, after some deliberation, I decided to give it a go.

The result——HAVAH, a love that transcends the metaphysical realm. Readers who bought my engineering books would have been familiar with my writing style. The novel will be no exception, except (pun intended) that you can expect more of my creative demeanor in the storyline and the colorful characters. And it's not just a sci-fi romance. Through engaging dialogues in the novel, readers will be exposed to a plethora of issues and questions accompanying these technologies that are shaping and changing the world we're living in.

My primary purpose for writing this novel then, is to create awareness of the changing landscapes and encourage healthy, constructive discussions that will prepare us to embrace the inevitable future, and not be caught off-guard and find ourselves being left behind. 

I hope to release it by end of this month. As usual, there will be a print edition to be followed by an electronic edition later on. Readers can keep track of my progress by simply clicking on the banner on top of this post to go over and take a look.

Do spread the word around to family or friends who enjoy reading science fiction. Cheers and take care in the new year!

 

Simply Sensational...!

Well, sort of, considering that many of today's home appliances and electronic gadgets contain a variety of sensors and transducers to make our lives convenient and comfortable. Some people though, tend to get confused over the two, thinking they are the same when there is a difference:

If ever Tony Stark's Iron Man suit get to materialize in real life, you can bet that it will contain all sorts of sensors interfaced to the central processing AI brain called JARVIS.

So we see that sensors and transducers are indispensable, not only in our mundane daily routines but also in the Marvel Comic Universe and possibly the Metaverse in the not too distant future...

The Matrix Reprogrammed

Since it's debut in 1999, The Matrix has spun two successive movies four years later, a sequel (The Matrix Reloaded) and a trilogy (The Matrix Revolutions). It's latest incarnation, The Matrix Resurrections came almost after a 20-year absence, re-igniting interest in this topic. But will the storyline and special effects deliver?

I'll have to admit, it took a while for me to figure out the concept behind The Matrix when I first watched it. Special effects aside, the idea that reality is simulated in the brain instead of lived out in the body seemed far-fetched back then. Not anymore in this age of the Metaverse, where virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) began to blur the line of distinction between what is real and imaginary. Kinda scary, isn't it?

The Matrix, however, has been around even before it came onto the silver screen. We electronic engineers encounter them on a daily basis, in the form of programmable logic devices:

Whether it's factory or field programmable, from the early days of PROM all the way to today's complex FPGAs, The Matrix continues to re-invent itself (not just reloaded or revolutionized). Heck, if resurrections is anything to go by, it'll probably be a retrospection of past technologies rejuvenated by today's advances in science and a fair bit of fiction.

And that's a whole bunch of 'Re-'s if you care to count...

Reset, ReSET, RESET...!!!

I'm not much of a fan of the World Economic Forum, an international non-governmental and lobbying organization that meddles with the economic affairs of the world. Since the start of the CoVid-19 pandemic it's founder, Klaus Schwab, has been entertaining the possibility of a Global Reset, a move that he believes will help bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. But not many people buy into his idea, especially his wry remark:

Seriously, we'll own nothing and be happy? 50 years on since founding the WEF (or as some people say, WTF), he may be close to realizing his dream of owning a large part of the world with the rest of the global elites, while the rest of us are expected to loan the earth from 'them', our masters. This is one BIG RESET I would rather not see happen.

The only kind of reset that is of real benefit is the PoR i.e. 'Power on Reset'. Most electronics and computer systems depend on it to function properly and predictably, though getting the charge-up time correctly is a matter of trial and error.

Now, if only there's a Re-SET that can redistribute the wealth of these greedy globalists to the needy and hardworking people of the world, that would be nice, isn't it? We just need to find THAT switch to the MARTIX...

What Goes Up Must Come Down

That's as far as gravity is concerned, though there are those who argue it is the density of an object and not the gravitational force of the earth that is at work. I'm not a physicist but an engineer, so I'll just focus on what I know best——pull-up and pull-down resistors.

When you think about it, digital circuits aren't that 'digital' to begin with once you peel off the facade that confined their operational limits to the binary universe. Since its inception until today, the term 'digital' is not just about TTL or CMOS anymore. The insatiable appetite for the never ending quest of higher operating speeds has resulted in a kind of 'digital' metaverse, one in which different operating voltages exist side-by-side and interacting with each other via translators in the form of digital 'stargates'.

If ever MCU Studio decides to come out with a new series (X-Men and Avengers are really showing their age), perhaps they might want to consider Meta-Warriors or something to that effect. Just a suggestion.