Robert Heinlein is in the news again with the awarding of the first Heinlein Prize for Advances in Space Commercialization to Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, the founder and Chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation.

From the news release:

May 26, 2006–Trustees of the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust announced today that the first-ever Heinlein Prize will go to Dr. Peter H. Diamandis. The Heinlein Prize was founded to reward individuals for making practical contributions to the commercialization of space. Dr. Diamandis will be honored at a dinner and award ceremony on July 7, 2006 at the St. Regis Hotel in Houston, Texas and receive $500,000, a gold Heinlein Medallion, the Lady Vivamus Sword (as described in Heinlein’s book Glory Road) and a Laureate’s Diploma.

“Dr. Diamandis’ accomplishments have started space settlement and commerce,” explains Art Dula, Trustee and literary executor of the Heinlein Estate. “He has catalyzed space activities by hundreds of people and organizations all over the Earth who are creating a proud and prosperous future for humanity.”

Diamandis is a pioneer and leader in the commercial space arena. In the past 25 years he started more than a dozen leading non-profit and for-profit space organizations. Diamandis is best known as Founder and Chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation, whose $10 million Ansari X PRIZE sparked the birth of the personal spaceflight industry.

Congratulations Dr. Diamandis!

The Star Beast and self-heating canned food

Since last year, OnTech has been marketing self-heating canned food in the form of soups and coffee drinks that work much like Heinlein described in his 1954 novel “Star Beast.”

In the book, John Thomas and his alien companion Lummox are hiding from authorities who want to destroy Lummox (read the book to find out why – trust me, it’s worth your while). To prepare a quick breakfast, John pulled a container of ham and eggs from his backpack, “twisted off the top, and waited for it to heat.”

Pretty neat! Fifty years later, OnTech’s products work in a similar fashion: “When it’s time to enjoy a hot beverage, the consumer simply pulls off the tamper-proof cover on the bottom of the can…” Removing the cover causes water to mix with calcuim oxide in an inner core, which produces enough heat to warm the outer container that holds the soup or drink.

I should have said “allegedly work” because, according to this Engadget story, OnTech hasn’t ironed out all the wrinkles yet:

Self heating Wolfgang Puck lattes recalled en masse

Looks like the world’s most beloved slightly wonky Austrian chef extraordinaire is soon to have a PR fiasco on his hands. Those self-heating single serving Wolfgang Puck branded packs are being pulled from the market faster than you can say Spago. Puck’s namesake company demanded brand-licensee BrandSource Inc. pull the products from stores nationwide after complaints of incidents where the cans overheated, leaked, or the calcium oxide found its way into the hot coffee beverage, resulting in some severely burned consumers. It gets sticky though, because BrandSource only licensed the name; OnTech was the company who provided the cans, and they apparently shoddily subcontracted, which has resulted in litigation between the two companies over some very shady dealings. In other words, if you see one of these cans, steer clear, people.

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