Tech"punk"

Tech"punk" are the idea that speculates if a certain era and philosophy dominated technology and culture, and vice versa, producing anachronistic realities. The first things that comes into mind when talking about tech "punk" are steampunk and cyberpunk.

Types of Tech"punk":

Steampunk
 Steampunk is the idea that Victorian Age industry could have accomplished much of the technological results we see today and beyond using steam and conventional methods. For example, in steampunk, spacecraft, artificial intelligence, and other technological marvels today would have been built with just steam engines and conventional technology of gears and springs. Jules Verne is a source for many steampunk-like devices.

Cyberpunk
 What if the Internet connected everything and everyone? What if cybernetics were commonplace? This is the world that is cyberpunk. It typically is a near future world with robots, virtual reality, holograms, large corporations, and a currency of credits. Programs are advanced enough to be considered conscious. Movies like Tron and Robocop are cyberpunk.

Clockpunk
 A more primitive version of steampunk, "clockpunk", just uses springs and gears. So instead of using coal to power devices, pendulums are set, coils are tightened, and springs are compressed. While the much-touted Difference Engine, an ancestor of the computer, is usually considered steampunk, its gear-based nature places it as clockpunk. Leornardo Da Vinci's inventions are considered clockpunk. That being said, many people do not see a distinction between steampunk and clockpunk.

Sandalpunk/Bronzepunk/Ironpunk
 A "punk" for the Classical cultures of Greece and Rome. It assumes that Archimedean types of inventions did not cease. Typical equipment include highly advanced catapults and siege machinery, balloons, primitive submarines, wooden equivalents of clockpunk, classical gear computers(like the one found called Antikythera mechanism, pictured above), primitive steam engines of Alexandria, bronze mirrors that redirect sunlight to burn ships... An interesting variations would be Egyptian sandalpunk, with optics and pyramid building tools; and Chinese sandalpunk which would consist of fireworks and junks. Bronzepunk and Ironpunk are variations of Sandalpunk.

Teslapunk
 Nikola Tesla was one of the most brilliant and unheard of scientist of his time. He envisioned a world of free energy and worldwide communication. Teslapunk incorporates his dream of death rays, Tesla coils, wireless communication, and antigravity devices into fiction.

Atompunk
 The Atomic Age ushered by the 1940's. So in that tradition, everything or mostly everything in atompunk runs with nuclear energy. Radiation, nuclear warfare, mutations from such are the main problems in an atomicpunk story.

Dieselpunk
 The dependence on oil exaggerated is dieselpunk. A fantasy of the oil companies, it envisions all vehicles, equipment, and weaponry running in fossil fuels. (By the way, the computer shown is not running in oil, but is submerged in it to dissipate heat.)

Decopunk
 The chrome version of the future! In decopunk, the 1950's and 60's version of the future comes to fruition.

Biopunk
 What if genetic engineering has accomplished what our current technology did? A purely brain-based internet, organic transportation, psychic weaponry, a whole hosts of poisons, solar energy power from literal plants are some examples of biopunk. Pictured above is Mandark from the popular cartoon "Dexter's Laboratory", holding an organic/biopunk laser.

Nanopunk
 Nanotechnology is the emphasis for nanopunk. Nanobots, nanomaterials, nanomedicines... It is assumed nanobots make and maintain everything in a  nanopunk world.

Stonepunk
 Think of the technology used by the Flintstones. That is Stonepunk. The cavemen have cars and other modern equivalents using "Stone Age" technology. (Mind you, the author of the blog does not believe in a literal Stone Age, but believe humans were always advanced as a result of Creation, but he digresses.)

There's a few more "punks" that I felt was not invented, yet. And so I invented them:

Etherpunk 
 The ether theory of the nineteenth century is found to be true. In this universe, technology is mostly ether based. Ether seems to be the medium in which light transverses.

Crystalpunk
 Crystals hold piezoelectric properties. Thus, technology based solely on crystals are possible.

Chronopunk/Timepunk
 A techpunk relying on time travel. I don't exactly know how feasible that is, but it sounded cool.

Hydropunk/Waterpunk
 If cold fusion is ever feasible, it would change the world.


Aethericpunk
 A combination of Crystalpunk and Etherpunk. The (im)material that is Aether is understood to be partly spiritual, partly multidimensional, and barely matter-influenced. Also, it is the material that composes the time-space continuum. I use this for creating the fictional Mirror Universe.

Some other punks I didn't have time to write about...
Transistorpunk
Nowpunk
Splatterpunk
Elfpunk
Mythpunk

Mindwrap: Time Travel

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:16

Man has dreamed of time travel throughout the centuries. The chance of changing the past or manipulating the future has haunted many. But is it possible?

Science postulates that it is possible by using wormholes(a spinning black hole) and sending a space ship through it. We may go to the past by exceeding the speed of light. But the problems with this are obvious. We do not have the technology to accomplish such feats.

Some are in favor of "time traveling" with the mind. The advantages of this is obvious. First, one would not be affected physically by any constraints. Secondly, time itself will not be affected, since it is an observation without any influence on the Time stream. This may be called "prophesying" or "divination". However, the Bible explicitly bans any form of "divination", since it is a demonic form of mental time travel. Prophecy has already ceased for the Church (I Cor. 13).

We know that God is an Infinite and Eternal Being. He created Time itself. As you know, Time is a dimension. Space is composed of three dimensions of width, height, and depth, however, Time seems to be only comprised of one(or two, depending on your perspective). Does Time have more than one dimension that we can't access but only God can?

I find it useful to think of Time as a line, and Eternity as a sea around that line. The sea of Eternity is three-dimensional, while Time is one-dimensional. God can see all of Eternity at once, as if the past and future doesn't exist, as if everything happens at once to God in His Eternal Present. God, however, in His human form, our Lord Jesus Christ, limited Himself to our Time "line".

In the Bible, it records that the prophets had special insight from God concerning the past and the future. Moses recorded a Creation that he did not witness, and the other prophets like Daniel and Isaiah saw the future of the nation of Israel.

There is one person in the Bible that seems to have traveled in the future, physically. Even farther than our own future right now(in the time of this writing). That person is the Apostle John. In Revelation, it is recorded in the first chapter, tenth verse: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,"


The Lord's day is a reference to the Rapture. The Rapture hasn't happened yet.


Some may say that John was actually in a trance. But if you may recall, in Acts, Phillip the apostle was too transported physically by the Spirit. It is akin to teleportation.


Acts 8:39: "And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing." 


The answer is, time travel is possible... if only God transported you Himself by His will. We cannot alter the past, or rectify the present by going to the future. But who needs tine travel when the Bible already records the past, present, and the future of the universe and beyond?

Grandfather Paradox

Operation Mission Vacation

Incoming Transmission...

Briefing:
Flew from Port Columbus International to Chicago O'Hare to Seoul Incheon International Airport.
     The flight time consisted of 24 hours overall, about two hours per time zone crossed. This includes time spent in the airport waiting.
Watched the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea.
     Witnessed the North Koreans threaten to launch a nuclear missile, thinly disguised as a spacecraft carrying a satellite.

Flew from Seoul Incheo International to Manila Ninoy Aquino International.
Transported to Baguio City, Philippines.
     This city is my birthplace. I still somewhat recognized it apart from its now-hotter weather and smoky buildings. My family stayed in my grandma's house.

"Operation" Finished
     This trip has a threefold purpose: "Operation", a surgery; "Mission", a missions trip; and "Vacation", a time of relaxation. My dad had surgery on various parts of his body. Since the healthcare system was slow back in the West, my family decided to have it in Asia, where medical operations do not need much paperwork. I thank all that prayed for him! He had some tumors and growths that were removed and he recovered in two weeks.

"Mission" Finished
     My family went around the country to minister to several small churches. We provided some free tracts from the Fellowship Tract League of Lebanon, Ohio; helped in distributing said tracts and helped in soulwinning and visitation; sang some specials in church services; preached sermons for the congregations; and basically helped around, like missionaries. Here they are in order of attendance:

 Baguio Family Independent Baptist Church
 Victory Baptist Church
     My first church, the church of my childhood. The church celebrated a reunion of its pioneer members and the anniversary of my dad and mom. I preached a short message on "Celebration".
 Cornerstone Baptist Church
     This church has an awesome youth group, by the way. Well, all of these churches do, but this is the first that struck me as different from, say, American youth groups.
 Fishers of Men Baptist Church
 Makhasi Irisan Baptist Church
 Mountain View Lighthouse Baptist Church
     Pastored by my uncle Jovito Garcia. This church is in the middle of a tribal territory high up in the mountains. I taught Sunday School with my sisters and cousins as my dad preached in the main auditorium. The people here were very kind to us. It was somewhat strange living inside the church for the weekend.
 Bethany Makati Baptist Church
      Attended the "Youth Quest", an annual youth conference. This church has its own Christian school and Bible college and many daughter and granddaughter churches. Bethany Makati solidified my view on the "advanced" state of spirituality here, especially among the young people.

"Vacation" Finished
     To top it all off, we toured and went sightseeing and shopped and reunited with other friends and family. We went to the beach several times, particularly San Fabian and Lingayen. In Lingayen, we also visited a World War II Memorial, the site where General McArthur returned with the American forces in helping liberate the islands from the Japanese. I met many of my cousins, uncles, and aunts; nevermind that some of them were second and third cousins removed.

Transported to Manila City, Philippines.
Flew from Manila Ninoy Aquino International to Seoul Incheon International to Chicago O'Hare to Port Columbus.

Status: Operation Mission Vacation Accomplished

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