It’s obvious from the recent boom in Korean technology that the South Korean government’s programs to support technology. One needs look no further than LG and (naturally) Samsung for the ultimate in success stories, although there are many more, perhaps lesser known, examples- KakaoTalk and Line, while Japanese products, are owned by Naver, a South Korean company.

Last February, it was reported in the Wall Street Journal that the South Korean government is serious about supporting domestic startups as well:

The government has laid out a 15-year plan that includes measures to support startups from infancy to maturity. The project’s roots can be found in the election of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who entered office a year ago pledging to jump-start what she called the country’s “creative economy.” One of Ms. Park’s first acts was to create the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.

A recent post on VentureBurn takes a closer look at how Korean startups have beat the odds:

In 1964, the country had a smaller GDP than the likes of Cameroon, Chad and Mauritania. Today, there are only 13 or 14 countries with larger economies. Not bad for a country with only around 50-million citizens and a relatively small amount of land to play with.

It did this, for the most part, through sheer, bloody-minded will power. Referred to as the Miracle on the Han River, Korea’s post-war economic boom came about through policies involving equitable land redistribution, rapid industrialisation and a focus on ensuring it had top quality exports to send out into the world. A large portion of that growth took place under military dictatorship, but people whose grandparents barely scraped by on small plots of lands now compete for high-level jobs at some of the world’s largest technology companies and car makers.

It’s certainly something the South Korean government should be applauded for; they’ve faced their own set of problems lately, what with accusations of mishandling of the Sewol Ferry Tragedy, and a million-won lawsuit being slapped against them by former comfort women, who blame them for forcing them into sexual slavery for the U.S. Military stationed in South Korea’s demilitarized zone.

In any case, the country has been one to watch for a while, and Korea’s tech-boom is definitely ongoing. TechInAsia recently named them “Asia’s Startup Hub”.

Geeks are well-renowned for their love of sci-fi, particularly sci-fi and horror movies from the 70’s and 80’s. The legions of trekkies following Star Trek, the cavalcade of loyal fans desperate for Firefly to return to airwaves (or at least Netflix), and of course the millions around the world that desperately enjoy the vision of George Lucas (at least, his first three visions), the ridiculously popular Star Wars. In any case, sci-fi is an always growing and flourishing genre – the future is always at least a day out, so it’s hard to run out of awesome sci-fi concepts. For example, just think of adult swims recent smash hit, Rick and Morty. The amount of sci-fi hijinks Rick and Morty get into are not only unique and memorable, but they’re written with an honest and obvious love of the genre.

But there’s a new sci-fi universe ready to be unleashed upon the world, with a unique execution that’s never been done. Imagine, if you will, prog giants such as Pink Floyd crafting concept albums, (let’s use Dark Side of the Moon as an obvious example) but not ending the story with the last song of the album. Imagine if they got Jethro Tull to release a sequel, and then the Who joined the foray with yet another album release, all three tied together through a cohesive and supplemental narrative. Jon of the Shred plans on doing just that when he unleashes “Scythe” on the synthwave music community!

The Scythe universe is a very interesting concept I think most geeks can get behind. Geeks like continuity, they like large sprawling universes created by creative minds looking to break the mold, and that is exactly what is being dished up with this ambitious, 19 track compilation. Each track furthers a story, with 3 story arcs running through the course of the album. The compilation features a substantial amount of Synthwave heavy hitters – DATAStream, Python Blue, Riddlis, Miami Supercops, Dakarius, 20SIX Hundred, Beatbox Machinery, Hide and Sequence, Quantum, Cluster Buster, KFDDA, Bixby Snyder, Killstarr, Protector 101, Ed Harbinger, and project mastermind Jon of the Shred. That’s a whole lot of synth!

What’s even more, each song will be released as a music video on the Luigi Donatello youtube page, a popular Youtube channel for diehard synth fans. This video will then be released, subsequently, every other Wednesday as a special feature on Synthetix.FM with a chapter to depict events being displayed through the original music, and unique art for each and every upload.

This is clearly a daunting undertaking, and geeks can appreciate the level of nerdy know-how that went into the production efforts on several fields. Music, art, video editing, literature, all wrapped into one giant project, executed in a completely unique and fresh fashion – the never ending concept album. An entire music genre connected with a cohesive narrative. It should be a very interesting release, and to see how big this thing gets in the future! With sponsors like Neon Vice, Synthetix Sundays, Outscape, and Carnov it’s clear things should bode well for the synth army!

Speaking of Carnov, they released this press release just earlier today, complete with a crackin’ music video!
http://www.carnov.com/home/2014/9/22/upcoming-album-scythe-video-track

In the whole discussion about energy and oil, the good news is that we keep innovating.

This week a panel experts at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit (still the auto-capital of America), said it would be entirely feasible for automakers to comply with the federal government requirement to meet a Corporate Average Fuel Economy target of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 using current technology. The panel talked about turbochargers, start-stop systems, direct injection and advanced battery technology.

I don’t know if this is good news or bad news.  It’s good that we’re improving fuel efficiency.  It’s bad that the regulators haven’t given the auto industry a more challenging prod.  Basically the message: do a slightly more efficient job with the technology you’re already working with.  Due date: One decade from now.

Whatever happened to hydrogen fuel? Isn’t anyone worried about running out of plastic?

The bad news is: we’re still on track to run out of oil by 2050.

Check out what the consequences of running out of oil might end up looking like, if we don’t get our act together in the next few years.

Presented by Plymouth Rock Energy