NASK 2011

So I just received an invitation to attend NASK (La Nord-Amerika Somera Kursaro de Esperanto, http://www.esperanto.org/nask/) 2011, but I can't make it (money, travel, time, etc). If I could, it'd be a blast to geek out.

religion, science fiction, real science

What does me smile is the hidden meaning while using the word "Babel" (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2011:1-9&version=KJV) its or concept in science fiction and computer science. In "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (BBC, 1981; http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/ & movie, 2005; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371724/), the Babel is a fish that people would put in their inner ear that would translate what others would say. In "Doctor Who" (BBC, 1963-1986 & 2005 to present; http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/ & http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/) the TARDIS (the character's space-time vehicle, practically a secondary main character with an intelligence and life of its own; http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/characters/TARDIS) can translate languages directly into the mind of those who travel in it and are its proximity. In the computer field, Babel Fish (perhaps more of a reference to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" than to the Tower of Babel, http://babelfish.yahoo.com/) is a translation service that has a fish as its mascot and as part of its logotype. Maybe I'm too much of a nerd mixing religion with science fiction and "real" science.