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Science Fiction in the News Articles related to the works of Clifford Simak

An inventive and thoughtful author, American author Clifford Simak (b. 1904 - d. 1988) worked with newspapers in the Midwest during the 1930's. He won many awards for his work in the field of science fiction including several Hugo awards (one of them for Way Station) and a Nebula award. Given SFWA Grand Master Award in 1977. The Horror Writers Association made him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. "Gave up the idea of going out west and becoming a cowboy after I spent four years riding a horse to a small town high school, five miles each morning and eve- ning. Attended normal school after that and taught rural school for several years. Went to the University of Wisconsin, majoring in journalism. Learned more about newspaper work in the first few weeks of actual work on a northern Michigan semi-weekly than I did in all the time I spent at university. Married in 1929. No family unless you count our Scottie pup, Hoot Mon Tyke. Byline on stories really should include Mrs. Simak’s name as well, for she acts as critic and typist. Tells me which stories will sell, those that won’t. She hasn’t missed yet!" (Clifford Simak) Science fiction in the News articles describe real-world events that relate to the ideas and inventions in sf novels and movies. Select a news article:

Deterministic Quantum-State Teleportation Achieved With High Fidelity
   Teleportation, the transfer of quantum states between widely separated atoms, was achieved by different research teams in Austria and the United States.
The Robotic Blanket Project And The Hunting Robe
   The robotic blanket interacts with users; the hunting robe traps them.
Symbiotic Sphere By Space Synapse
   Art and space science combine for earthlings - a cheaper way to visit space is coming.
Anti-Adhesive Surfaces Of Plants
   The natural world is the source of some of the best 'thinking' in materials science.
Be The Soul Of The New Machine
   This tele-operated robot will move along with you as you walk, and let you manipulate objects in a remote environment.
Cell Phone Tower Equipment Sheds Way Station-Style
   I'm reaching a bit for this one, but I still think it's cool.
Solar Power Satellites Urged By Pentagon
   Scientists first speculated on this method in the 1960's, but Clifford Simak thought about it much earlier.
Ion Mask - Plasma Coating Waterproofs Electronics, Fabrics
   This coating is a 'plowshared' technology from P2i, a UK Ministry of Defense contractor.
LawnBott Robotic Lawn Mower Bows To Cell Phones
   The WWII generation dreamed of these; now we have them; this device also chats it up with your phone.
Fracture Putty For Compound Fractures - DARPA
   Clifford Simak thought about this almost fifty years ago; it's about time DARPA tries to make it real.
ST-2 Shooting Simulator Like Simak's Virtual Rifle Range
   Clifford Simak had a pretty good vision of this forty years ago; see the ST-2 video and check it against Simak's ideas.
Solar-Hydrogen House Is Energy Independent
   This story about America's first solar-hydrogen residence is still good; the owner is energy-independent in a way that most of us can only envy.
Solar Satellites Beam Back Energy
   This is really a great idea, but I can only go back to 1941 for the earliest kind of reference. Anybody earlier?
BAM! It's More Slippery Than Teflon (And Greener)
   Remarkable material is super slick and super hard, even in the thinnest coating.
SolarEn To Sell Satellite Solar Power
   This idea has been kicked around by sf authors for several generations. Has the time for SBSP (space-based solar power) finally come?
DARPA's Restorative Injury Repair Dream
   Those guys at DARPA must spend all their spare time reading old 1960's sf novels. Not that I'm knocking it; if you're going to read, you can't do better than Phil Dick, Clifford Simak and Larry Niven.
Liquid Glass Universal Spray-On Protectant
   This unique spray-on coating creates a flexible protective barrier that can be used on almost anything.
Put MercuryHouseOne Anywhere
   This retro-futuristic mobile pod lounge can be placed anywhere for off-the-grid comfort.
Stem Cells From Fat May Heal Bones
   A special gel made from a soldier's own stem cells may be able to effect better healing of broken bones.
RG3 Robotic Greens Mower Is Sensor-Equipped
   This sensor-equipped mower is nimble enough to avoid gophers on golf courses.
Robotic Lawn Mower Competition Won By CWRU Cutters
   Ah, the smell of freshly mown grass - and well-oiled robots!
Solar Power Satellite via Arbitrarily Large Phased Array
   'This was really free power, easy power, plentiful power.'
Honda's Miimo Robotic Lawn Mower On Sale
   'The mower reached the edge of the lawn, clucked to itself like a contented hen...'
Microsoft Patents Immersive Display
   'Almost every home had its dimensino room...' - Clifford Simak, 1961.
Veti-Gel Closes Wounds, Starts Healing
   'It's done miracles. It can patch up a smashed and broken body...'- Clifford Simak, 1961.
Shimuzu Luna Ring Solar Power Project
   'This was really free power... Power carried across millions of miles on Addison's tight-beam principle.'- Clifford Simak, 1941.
Shatterproof Phone Screens Coming Soon
   'It was like the pounding of a rock...'-Clifford Simak, 1963.
Microsoft RoomAlive - Your Basement Is The Game
   'Enoch walked over to a panel ... and thumbed a tumbler, then stepped quickly out into the center of the room... '- Clifford Simak, 1963.
Stellar Navigation Based On Network Analysis
   'We are a traveling people. We need a travel station here.'- Clifford Simak, 1963.
3D Printer 'Teleports' Objects Like Simak's Way Stations
   'An entirely new being but exactly like the old one'- Clifford Simak, 1963.
Self-Deployable Habitat For Extreme Environments
   'When you buy one of them, you don't need to tie up to an electric outlet.'- Clifford Simak, 1952.
Fix Michigan Roads, Or Get Hovercars?
   'Dead for many years was the old concept of smooth, hard-surfaced, almost polished highways...'- Clifford Simak, 1961.
China Plans Orbiting Solar Power Station
   'Our beams feed these worlds energy drawn from... the Sun.'- Isaac Asimov, 1941.
Ecocapsule - Simak's Dream Of A Prefab House
   'They are heated and air conditioned by a solar plant that tops anything... that we have today.' - Clifford Simak, 1952.
Guide A Telepresence Robot With Your Mind
   'The floor was hard and smooth and of a bright blue color and a very easy for him to roll on.' - Clifford Simak, 1961.
XSTAT 30 - Plugs Wounds In 15 Seconds!
   'It's done miracles. It can patch up a smashed and broken body...' - Clifford Simak,
Robotic Lawnmower Fulfills SciFi Homeowner's Dreams
   'The mower reached the edge of the lawn, clucked to itself like a contented hen...' - Clifford Simak, 1944.
When Did Chess Computers Seem Unbeatable?
   'A human simply can't beat a robotic expert.' Clifford Simak, 1951.
'Living Bandage' For Knee Injuries
   'It can patch up a smashed and broken body.' - Clifford Simak, 1961.
Robotic Lawn Mower Powered By Sun, Arduino
   'The mower reached the edge of the lawn, clucked to itself like a contented hen...' - Clifford Simak, 1944.
PassivDom 3D Printed House - What If You Could Live Anywhere?
   'The houses are prefabricated units...' - Clifford Simak, 1952.
Hundreds Of Robot Lawnmowers Invade Texas Town
   'The mower reached the edge of the lawn, clucked to itself...' - Clifford Simak, 1944.
Bees Royal Jelly Helps Wounds Heal Faster
   'An alien drug... used by an insect race.' - Clifford Simak, 1961.
Drones Guided By The Mind Alone
   'His treads left no tracks upon the floor...' - Clifford Simak, 1961.
Is Teleportation A Death Sentence?
   'A long trail of dead, he thought, left across the stars...' - Clifford Simak, 1963.
Galini 3D Printed Sleeping Pod Tiny Houses
   'The houses are prefabricated units...' - Clifford Simak, 1952.
Bioreactor Helps Legless Frogs Get Their Jump Back
   'An alien drug... Used by an insect race... It can repair bones and organs. It can grow new tissue." - Clifford Simak, 1961
Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD
   'Gramp Stevens sat in a lawn chair, watching the mower at work...' - Clifford Simak, 1944.
Jet-Powered Hoverboard Works!
   L'audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace!
Jupe Urban Escape Pods Have Tesla, SpaceX Roots
   'The houses are prefabricated units... and they sell at the flat rate of five hundred dollars a room — set up.' - Clifford Simak, 1952.
Solar House Concept Unfolds Solar Panels Like A Flower
   'They are heated and air conditioned by a solar plant that tops anything... that we have today.' - Clifford Simak, 1953.
Prototype 3D Printer Could Print Arteries In Seconds
   '... in the tank the new body and the new mind and memory and life has taken almost instant form.' - Clifford Simak, 1963.
The Sample Transfer Arm (STA), A Unique Mars Robot
   '...a cranelike arm reached out. Grasping steel fingers fished around...' - Clifford Simak, 1944.
Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79
   'the peeper did not operate by virtue of its machinery alone, but by the reaction of the brain and the body of its user...' - Clifford Simak, 1957.

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