Three Girls, Six Books

Two trilogies (well, one trilogy and one trilogy due to the author's death) that I read this year were similar in that they both featured strong female characters, were written by men and could both be science fiction...sort of.

William Gibson has been working on his latest trilogy (do any of these start out as such?) since 2001, encompassing Pattern Recognition, Spook Country and Zero History.

Stieg Larsson had finished the first three (and, according to various reports, gotten well along a fourth) books of a ten (!) book series before he passed away. Featuring eye-catching covers (which is why I picked up the first, before it became the wonder that it did), they have spawned multiple editions (two or three different hardcover editions, the weird paperback that is between a mass market and a trade, and a "normal" paperback), a trilogy of movies filmed on location and in the native language, and plans for a (no doubt way overblown) Hollywood remake.

Both trilogies feature men in primarily secondary roles and women in the strong primary role (spoiler warning on Gibson). Both feature real-world and more or less present-day settings. Both feature a lot of technology and product placement (I propose a drinking game for each of the trilogies...every time a product is mentioned, take a drink...how long before you are totally drunk?).

Gibson started, ostensibly, as a science fiction writer. Larsson did not. But both trilogies are science fiction.

Seriously, think about it. What is one thing that science fiction is good for? It takes a trend that the author has noticed and puts it in a odd setting (the future, outer space, another dimension) in order to have us take a new look at that trend. Gibson and Larsson did that—but with a real science fictional twist of using our "reality" as the science fiction setting. Both look at our world through the lens of science fiction.

(Yes, yes, Larsson is not a genre writer...well, not a writer of the science fiction genre. But try reading both trilogies mixed in your yearly reading and you'll see what I mean, I believe.)

Six enjoyable reads. The third Gibson will, as with previous books, require one or two more readings for me to fully appreciate it (it seems to be a pattern). Recommended.

William Gibson; Pattern Recognition (Putnam; 2003; ISBN 0-399-14986-4; cover by Benita Raphan).

William Gibson; Spook Country (Putnam; 2007; ISBN 978-0-399-15430-0; cover by Nicole La Roche).

William Gibson; Zero History (Putnam; 2010; ISBN 978-0-399-15682-3; cover by Nicole La Roche).

Stieg Larsson; The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Knopf; 2010; ISBN 978-0-307-26975-1; cover by Reg Mendelsund).

Stieg Larsson; The Girl Who Played With Fire (Knopf; 2010; ISBN 978-0-307-26998-0; cover by Reg Mendelsund).

Stieg Larsson; The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Knopf; 2010; ISBN 978-0-307-26999-7; cover by Reg Mendelsund).

Addendum: And for another look at the Larsson trilogy, try this pastiche.

Addendum: Over 1 million electronic copies? Still thing eBooks are a passing trend?

Solar Cycles

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows 2010's solar pattern.

Eclipse

The recent lunar eclipse is featured in today's Astronomy Picture of the Day.

News Flash!

A previously unreleased story by SF great Alastair Reynolds!

Skylights and Glowing Horizon

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows stars, signs of humanity, and zodiacal light over Libya.

We Are the Dead

I really have not been attracted to the whole zombie thing. Like the vampire thing, the werewolf thing and all the other reboots of various horror tropes I've passed them due to a lack of time or a lack of interest or a lack of understanding (I cannot get my mind around the romantic vampire, for example...these things want to drain your blood and your life and you lose your soul...)

That being said, this was the year of the zombie for me. I think I became interested when I realized the stories were less about the zombies themselves than those who survive. Toss in a change to the whole post-apocalypse sub-genre and I can relate to them more.

The second thing that got me interested was the AMC mini-series based on the graphic novel The Walking Dead. The first 15 or so minutes of the first episode got me, from the point where the main character wakes up in a hospital to the point where the leaves the hospital and sees what is in the loading area. Fantastic writing, directing and acting.

So, I will explore the sub-genre, to a limited extent. Here are three books that I've enjoyed so far!

Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Tony Moore and Cliff Rathburn: The Walking Dead, Compendium One (Imagecomics.com; 2010; ISBN 978-1-60706-076-5).

John Joseph Adams (editor): The Living Dead (Night Shade Books; 2008; ISBN 978-1-59780-143-0; cover by David Palumbo).

Made up of: Introduction (John Joseph Adams); Some Zombie Contingency Plans (Kelly Link); Death and Suffrage (Dale Bailey); Blossom (David J. Schow); The Third Dead Body (Nina Kiriki Hoffman); The Dead (Michael Swanwick); The Dead Kid (Darrell Schweitzer); Malthusian's Zombie (Jeffrey Ford); Beautiful Stuff (Susan Palwick); Sex, Death and Starshine (Clive Barker); Stockholm Syndrome (David Tallerman); Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead (Joe Hill); Those Who Seek Forgiveness (Laurell K. Hamilton); In Beauty, Like the Night (Norman Partridge); Prairie (Brian Evenson); Everything Is Better With Zombies (Hannah Wolf Bowen); Home Delivery (Stephen King); Sparks Fly Upward (Lisa Morton); Meathouse Man (George R. R. Martin); Deadman's Road (Joe R. Lansdale); The Skull-Faced Boy (David Barr Kirtley); The Age of Sorrow (Nancy Kirkpatrick); Bitter Grounds (Neil Gaiman); She's Taking Her Tits to the Grave (Catherine Cheek); Dead Like Me (Adam-Troy Castro); Zora and the Zombie (Andy Duncan); Calcutta, Lord of Nerves (Poppy Z. Brite); Followed (Will McIntosh); The Song the Zombie Sang (Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg); Passion Play (Nancy Holder); Almost the Last Story by Almost the Last Man (Scott Edelman); How the Day Runs Down (John Langan).

Counts as five (5) entries in the 2010 Year in Shorts.

Counts as five (5) entries in the 2011 Year in Shorts.

John Joseph Adams (editor): The Living Dead Two (Night Shade Books; 2010; ISBN 978-1-5978-0190-4; cover by David Palumbo).

Made up of: Introduction (John Joseph Adams); Alone, Together (Robert Kirkman); Danger World (Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due); Zombieville (Paula R. Stiles); The Anteroom (Adam-Troy Castro); When the Zombies Win (Karina Sumner-Smith); Mouja (Matt London); Category Five (Marc Paoletti); Living with the Dead (Molly Brown); Twenty-three Snapshots of San Francisco (Seth Lindberg); The Mexican Bus (Walter Greatshell); The Other Side (Jamie Lackey); Where the Heart Was (David J. Schow); Good People (David Wellington); Lost Canyon of the Dead (Brian Keene); Pirates vs. Zombies (Amelia Beamer); The Crocodiles (Steven Popkes); The Skull-Faced City (David Barr Kirtley); Obedience (Brenna Yovanoff); Steve and Fred (Max Brooks); The Rapeworm (Charles Coleman Finley); Everglades (Mira Grant); We Now Pause for Station Identification (Gary A. Braunbeck); Reluctance (Cherie Priest); Arlene Schabowski of the Undead (Mark McLaughlin and Kyra M. Schon); Zombie Gigolo (S. G. Browne); Rural Dead (Bret Hammond); The Summer Place (Bob Fingerman); The Wrong Grave (Kelly Link); The Human Race Scott Edelman); Who We Used to Be (David Moody); Therapeutic Intervention (Rory Harper); He Said, Laughing (Simon R. Green); Last Stand (Kelly Armstrong); The Thought War (Paul McAuley); Dating in Dead World (Joe McKinney); Flotsam and Jetsam (Carrie Ryan); Thin Them Out (Kim Paffenroth, R. J. Sevin, and Julia Sevin); Zombie Season (Catherine MacLeod); Tameshigiri (Steven Gould); The Days of Flaming Motorcycles (Catherynne M. Valente); Zero Tolerance (Jonathan Mayberry); And the Next, and the Next (Genevieve Valentine); The Price of a Slice (John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow); Are You Trying to Tell Me This is Heaven? (Sarah Langan).

Counts as three (3) entries in the 2010 Year in Shorts.

Counts as three (3) entries in the 2011 Year in Shorts.

Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho


Dave Freer talks about eBooks, piracy and pricing in response to a recent piece by Paul Cornell on the same subject.

Me? Give me reasonably priced eBooks in multiple formats without DRM. Stop treating me, the legitimate customer, like a damn thief. Stop imposing technology restrictions on me that don't exist when I buy a paper copy of a book. Respect me and I'll respect you.

Otherwise...maybe I'll need to resort to British Television.

And while we're at it, please pick up a copy of Dave's Dragon's Ring, now out in paperback. Or the eBook. Good stuff!

One Million Galaxies

What does infinity look like? Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day will give you some hints.

Sidewise Through Space!

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a sidewise Orion over the skies of Ireland. Did the Hunter slip on some ice?

Winter Decorations

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a very nice detail shot of the area north of Orion's Belt. Think of it as the Milky Way's attic.

Retro

Some retro-style gadgets. I actually still have a number of LP records, so the ability to convert these to MP3 files would be nice.

Trails

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows circum-polar stars rotating around the point in the sky where the pole "goes through".

The Decline and Fall of a Writer

John Scalzi points out a problem with cloud computing. In retaliation, the people who do no evil suck him over to the dark side. He totters, he wavers...and then he is seen in a coffeeshop. With a laptop. In a cloud of coffee.

Pride goeth before the fall, Mr. Scalzi.

(With tongue planted in cheek and tinfoil hat on top my head, I am joking about this all but jealous that some folks get free computers!)

Red Moon at Night, Observers Delight

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the recently eclipsed Moon. There was a conflict between the curse of the full Moon and the curse of the astronomical event over my house: normally when there is an astronomical event, it is cloudy but normally it is clear when there is a full Moon (as the Moon washes out the faint fuzzies). The lunar curse won and I was able to see the eclipse.

Dystopian Wars

Listening to reviews of this game, it sounds like Spartan has a winner. But looking at the miniatures...I want these just to build and paint!

Shockwave Rider

Over at Technovelgy, Winchell Chung points up a similarity between Wikileaks and John Brunner's The Shockwave Rider.

Bruce Sterling looks at the players and personalities of Wikileaks in this very good read.

Spiralgraph

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows IC 342, a partly-obscured galaxy in the constellation of Camelopardalis.

Not Our Destination

Space Shuttle Discovery and the partially eclipsed Moon. Too bad we are not going there.

Questions

Jeph Jacques: Questionable Content (Volume 01) (Topatoco Books; 2010; ISBN 978-0-9824862-5-2; cover and interior by Jeph Jacques).

I'm not sure when I first ran across Questionable Content. Not at the beginning, but somewhere near the beginning. For several years now, five times a week, I tune in to see what is up with Marten, Faye, Dora and the others along with Pintsize and Yelling Bird.

Now, to be sure, I am not the target audience of this webcomic. Emos? Get a life. Hipsters? Get a job? Indy rock? Give me my Eno records.

But...it is dang funny. Sure, the indy rock references sail past me, but the comments about relationships, life, work...spot on.

This collection takes us from the first strip to 299 (plus a bonus). As of this writing, the strip is up to 1822 entries. You can catch up for free (heck, you can read everything but the bonus for free), but buy the book. And the t-shirts. That way I can keep up with Marten, Faye, Dora, Pintsize...and Yelling Bird.

Solstice Sun

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day marks the summer for some, the winter for others. Brrrrr!

Surprises of 2010

The biggest surprise is that The SF Signal Podcast keeps asking me to come back! Episode 21 is up!

Tech Talk

Lucy A. Snyder: Installing Linux On a Dead Badger and Other Oddities (Creative Guy Publishing; 2007; ISBN 1-894953-47-9; illustrations by DE Christman and Malcolm McClinton).

I first heard about this book while listening to a recent episode of The Functional Nerds podcast. The wallet cringes!

This is a short and very funny collection. It is clear that Snyder has spent way too much time eithe reading or writing corporate puff pieces and training manuals. There are a couple of more straightforward stories, as well, if one can tag "straightforward" a rescue of our planet through the use of a device to cook...french fries.

Made up of: Installing Linux on a Dead Badger; Authorities Concerned Over Rise of Teen Linux Gangs; Your Corporate Network and The Forces of Darkness; Faery Cats: The Cutest Killers; Dead Men Don't Need Coffee Breaks; Business Insourcing Offers Life After Death; Corporate Vampires Sink Teeth Into Business World; Unemployed Playing Dead To Find Work; Trolls Gone Wild; The Great VuDu Linux Teen Zombie Massacre; Wake Up Naked Monkey You're Going to Die; In The Shadow of the Fryolator.

Counts as twelve (12) entries in the 2010 Year in Shorts.

All the Colors

Freeman J. Dyson: A Many Colored-Glass—Reflections on the Place of Life in the Universe (University of Virginia Press; 2007; ISBN 978-0-8139-2663-6; cover art uncredited).

I've been interested to note how the books I've read about Freeman Dyson seem to be shifting their scope. With the first encounter (Disturbing the Universe), we had large concepts such as the Orion atomic bomb "powered" spaceship and the Dyson Sphere. Each subsequent entry refined its focus smaller and smaller and sharper and sharper down to the Earth and the implications of technology such as the internet and advances in biology.

This collection is based on a series of lectures that Dyson gave for the Page-Barbour series in 2004 and focuses mainly on biology and biotechnology. Dyson is always controversial, always interesting and this serves as a good introduction to his smaller focus the past several years.

Made up of: Preface; The Future of Biotechnology; A Debate with Bill Joy; Heretical Thoughts About Science and Society; A Friendly Universe; Can Life Go On Forever?; Looking for Life; The Varieties of Human Experience.

Counts as three (03) entries in the 2010 Year in Shorts.

Secret Powers

John Berlyme (compiler and editor): Powers: Secret Histories—A Bibliography (PS Publishing; 2009; ISBN 978-1-84863-011-6 for trade edition; ISBN 978-1-84863-012-3 for slipcase edition with two books; ISBN 978-1-84863-013-0 for slipcase edition with three books; cover by John Berlyne & Dirk Berger).

I've made it clear previously that I am a big fan of the works of Tim Powers and consider him one of America's best practitioners of fantasy (maybe a more marketable term would be "magical realism"?). My first encounter with his stuff was on the way to an opera (I kid you not) where I had a copy of The Anubis Gates in my pocket for the ride into New York City. I don't remember much of the opera at this point, but that book has stuck with me ever since and is one of my all-time favorites. Think of a cross between Dr. Who and Charles Dickens...that works.

I came across this book about a year ago and now have two (!) copies, one of the signed-and-numbered single volume set and one of the signed-and-numbered two volume set (if I win the lottery, I'll hunt down the three volume set, as well as copies of his other much more limited books and chapbooks).

The book is a combination of essays by other writers (mostly friends to Tim Powers such as James Blaylock) and bits and pieces from Powers, ranging from sketches to drafts to calendars used to keep track of events in various books.

This is an invaluable resource for fans of Tim Powers. If you've never encountered Powers, give him a try: I'd recommend the previously-mentioned The Anubis Gates or perhaps the inspiration (?) for the next Pirates of the Caribbean flick, On Stranger Tides. Last Call (mentioned above) is a strong start to a trilogy.

Excellent books. And this is an excellent resource.

Made up of: Foreword (John Berlyne); Introduction (Dean Koontz); Notes on the Bibliographic System (John Berlyne); Bibliography—Novels; Bibliography—Novellas, Short Stories and Other Works; Bibliography—William Ashbless: Selected Sightings; Putting Ashbless to Rest: A Refutation (James P. Blaylock); A Refutation of a Refutation (William Ashbless); A Look Behind the Curtain (John Bierer); Juvenilia; The Extraterrestrial Stories of Arthur Asteroidbelt; Selected Early Poetry & Drawings, 1969-1979; The Skies Discrowned/Epitaph in Rust; The Drawing of the Dark; Excerpt from To Serve In Hell; The Anubis Gates; Why The Anubis Gates Shouldn't Exist (China Mieville); Dinner at Deviant's Palace; On Stranger Tides; The Stress of Her Regard; Last Call; Expiration Date; Earthquake Weather; Declare; Three Days to Never; Afterword (Karen Joy Fowler).

Counts as twenty (20) entries in the 2010 Year in Shorts.

Solstice Moon

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows an eclipse of the Moon allowing the viewing of some celestial sights that would normally be washed out by a full Moon. By coincidence, tonight will have a lunar eclipse on the winter solstice. It looks like it'll be washed out by clouds here, so I hope you are able to see it!

Blockage

Man solves problem embedded in a Google commercial and wins notebook running Chrome. Alas, he is apparently not eligible to win!

Computer Bugs

Ants lead to better algorithms.

Little Lost Nano

Is NASA's NanoSail-D experimental solar sail vehicle lost?

Come In, Dear Boy, Have a Cigar

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Messier 82, an irregular galaxy known as the Cigar Galaxy.

Another 15 Picoseconds of Fame

Integration, A.E. van Vogt and having read too many books.

Bird and Continent

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the North American Nebula and the Pelican Nebula in the area of Deneb. I saw the North American Nebula once, under very dark skies and using a special filter. I was so excited I forgot to look for details of the other as well!

2010: Odyssey Two

We're heading into the home stretch and if I find the time/energy I should be making a number of (mostly book-related) postings by the end of the year. Time to wind down!

What a year. I have never felt more exhausted, tired, depressed at times. My father died in January, my in-laws have faced a series of health-related issues the entire year. The job is in stasis, no news on the upgrade and if rumors about the incoming administration are at all accurate, it won't make much difference, nohow. I continue to have joint difficulties, to be sure I am not in "extreme" pain, but constant low-level pain gnaws at your soul as well. Nightmares continue to echo from the year of the last Clarke novel, as it were.

Sure am a happy camper, am I not?

Let's not even trot down the path of the economy, politics (let alone elected officials) and the overall tone of "social discourse" of late. We just put the FUN in dysfunctional, don't we all?

Ah yes, update. Less than four hours after getting out of the hospital, my father-in-law is back in. With a broken hip.

GOOD NIGHT, NURSE.

Geminids

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a downfall of Geminids over the skies of Kitt Peak Observatory.

Kablam

Hey look, the sun is getting active again. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a recent solar filament.

Nice View

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a nice close-up of a launching Delta IV Heavy. Not a place you'd **actually** want to be standing in, mind...

Epic Fail

A author who comes out against pirating books is revealed to wear an eyepatch herself.

Sky View

Several people look up and see the sights in today's Astronomy Picture of the Day.

Rollout

The Soyuz spacecraft and "stack" that will carry ISS Expedition 26 into space rolls out to the launch pad.

More Falling Stars

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a fall of lions.

Desert Sky

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a meteor streaking across a dark desert sky.

Save the Monkey, Buy a Coconut

A vast confluence of events appears to have shot a hole in the sales of a hardcover by an author I enjoy. This could mean the end of his career as an author, at least as a solo author. So help the Monkey! Buy a coconut! Please pre-order the paperback edition of his book, Dragon Ring!

Kiss the Moon

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows an occultation between an extremely thin crescent Moon and a fairly dim planet Mars.

M81 and Arp

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a fantastic shot of galaxy M81 and the tidal tail known as Arp's Loop.

Intrepid

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a nice view of Intrepid Crater on Mars, as imaged by the MER Opportunity. Hey, let's go to those hills in the distance!

COTS!

The "demonstration flight" of the SpaceX Falcon IX and Dragon capsule just took off. Looks good so far (from this non-professional set of eyes).

Addendum: Staging went well. Terminal burn went well. Dragon in orbit: deploy verified!

Back. It. Is.

Ansible 281. We're edging closer to two-hundred away from the half-millennium mark!

I'm A Wanderer

While it is "inverted", is this a streambed on Mars? Created by water? Or?

GREAT 2010

Face recognition, computer programming and cosmology. Do you have what it takes?

Speck

Atlas and Saturn and the Rings. Wowza.

So, How Do You Like Them Ribs?

Top Chef, a guilty pleasure that my wife watches (but which I generally don't watch, except when Anthony Bourdain is on, like the current season!) runs a pair of contests each episode, designed to kick people off the island (or is that a different show?). Two seasons ago (or last season, if you ignore that horrible dessert show) one of the contests was to come up with a dish to be served in space. That dish is now making its way (slowly) to the ISS. I wonder how much the space version will resemble the original dish?

My, It Has Grown

A shot of the International Space Station after less than a year of habitation. It has gotten a tad larger.

Humorous Puzzles

Would children learn more if more learning was...funny? That and more thoughts on thinking.

Paging A.E. van Vogt

I read this and thought of A.E. van Vogt. Along with his various "supermen" (the Slans, the Players of Null "A", etc.), he also came up with "Nexialism" in the "Space Beagle" tales. Writing at that time he saw that we were accumulating more and more knowledge...with the problem that people were becoming more and more specialized...and knowing less and less about "everything else".

Bow-Wow-Wow, The Dog Said

Alas, my employer did not make the cut.

Whoosh!

Some kids at JPL have launched a model rocket! Well, not really a model...

Best Of

The SF Signal Podcast returns! We pick our best for 2010. What did I mention?

The Space Review

This week's episode of The Space Review has several articles of interest. Travis Senor looks at the past as a gate to the future. Can we get beyond the glory days of Apollo and make significant progress with a different model? Dwayne A. Day follows up on last week's interesting bit of Apollo history (by Vance Mitchell) and looks deeper (hah) into how Apollo would have worked with spy satellite technology. Lou Friedman beats the drum for SETI. Finally, Jeff Foust reviews a new book (monograph) on space debris. Send up the Toybox!

To the Blue Event Horizon

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a depiction of what you would see if you get too close to a "frozen star".

First Light

The Large Binocular Telescope (the mind boggles) has taken initial images of Beta Peg (part of the constellation Pictor). Two mirrors, with their light combined, create one big scope. Now for an amateur version...

Silicon Next?

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Mono Lake in California. Mono Lake is the home of the recently discovered bacteria that proves that the Poet is once again correct. The universe is a darned strange place.

Double Mountain

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the Moon rising between two mountains. No, in between two mountains. Or does it?

More Stars

I hadn't really noticed this, given all the light pollution I live under. Apparently we are seeing more stars recently.

Groundbound, But Thinking in Space

Before some computer code is sent into space on the ISS, it is first tested on the ground. These computers replicate the space-based systems.

Clear, Cold Water

Where did Earth's water come from? Our planet? Or space (well, technically, we are part of space, but you know what I mean...). A recent study suggests our water is "home-grown".

Clarke's Laws

Ray Kurzweil and the dangers of prediction. I'm sure some of his stuff will eventually come to pass, just later rather than sooner.

Rays and Jetty

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a sunset (with crepuscular rays, they're back!) over the spiral jetty at Utah's Great Salt Lake.

M33

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Messier 33, the Pinwheel or Triangulum Galaxy.

Cometeers and Clusters

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Comet Hartley 2 (103/P Hartly) passing in front of Messier 47 and Messier 46.

Orbital Spud

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a nice view of Phobos in orbit around Mars.

Very, Very Scary

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a sight firmly on the Earth. One that would probably make you a bit nervous if you saw it heading your way.

Send Up the Toybox!

An orbital debris collector with "real money" behind it? I'm skeptical about the money mentioned, given the usual Russian approach to space projects (Kliper, anyone?). A nice mention of Quark and Planetes (I'm rewatching Dark Star currently, not mentioned...but that was "debris on a grand scale).

OUTBREAK

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the resurgence of Jupiter's dark Southern Equatorial Belt. Shuttling moons, the Great Red Spot and an occasional splatdown by a meteor...Jupiter is an ever-amazing view.

Migrating Books

Books in the iPad boring? The quest to make books "better through technology" has been going on (for me) ever seen "hypertext" on the first Macintosh I bought. For most books, I'm not sure how "interactive" they would need to be (the same philosophy can probably apply to most "features" to a word processing program...do most people need to embed videos in their documents?).

Magazines seem to be dead out of the gate from what I've read. Never mind making them exciting...make them more compact! Magazines should not be a tad more "lite".

The Space Review

In the current issue of The Space Review we find several articles of interest. Dwayne A. Day looks at the Apollo program. Plans were in place to combine the Apollo command and service modules with secretive reconnaissance satellites. I'm sure the conspiracy crew will have a field day with that! Lou Friedman waves the budgetary flag. And people wonder why I don't belong to The Planetary Society anymore... John Hickman looks at the theme of space colonization as it appeared in several popular works. Bonus points for the citation of the classic work by J.D. Bernal, but here's a corrected link. Jeff Foust says what we all know: NASA is in limbo. No kidding.

Rays!

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows anticrepuscular rays over Colorado. These are formed by a combination of clouds and the setting Sun. I've seen these a couple of times and they've even been depicted in at least one science fiction film.

Thin But Rich

Saturn's moon Rhea has been found to have an oxygen-based atmosphere. Not quite at the level we can take vacations there without equipment, but it is significant in that we have now found a second body with an oxygen-based atmosphere out there.

Star Streams and Dust Lanes

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a section of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. A favorite haunt of professionals and amateurs alike, this section of the sky is so dense with galaxies that you need a computer-assisted telescope or lots of patience and a good map to identify all the targets that you see.

Flame On!

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 2024, the Flame Nebula. Located at the edge of Orion's more famous nebula, this is one sight (alas) better viewed with a professional scope than an amateur scope.

Stardust

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a portion of the night sky in the constellation Aries. Reflection nebula, dusty nebula and more!

Flow Goes the Universe

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is an animation of aurora over Norway!

Even Closer

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is another (much closer) shot from the recent flyby of Comet Hartley 2. IMMMPAAACCCCCTTTT!!!!

Innnnn Spppaaaaccce!

Technology on the International Space Station. Makes you feel all retro at times!

Dune...Desert Planet...Arrakis...

Well, not quite. But today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is evocative of that book. A dune field in Proctor Crater on Mars, first imaged 35 years ago by Mariner 9, the probe that was the "singularity" of studies of Mars.

Cloud Carver

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 6357 and a star that resides within. As time goes by, radiation (heat, light) pressure from the star causes the gas of NGC 6357 to move, creating the clouds and patterns we see here.

Quintet

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 7319, 7318A, 7318B and 7317, Stephan's Quintet. They are also film stars.

I've Only Seen This Once

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a sight in the sky that I was only lucky to see once, under very dark skies in New Mexico. Cygnus (the Northern Cross) and associated nebula (run the cursor over the picture to get some pointers).

Gifts for Geeks

In Episode 16 of The SF Signal Podcast, I contribute a couple of low-tech no-battery ideas for our gift guide. Links for the items are below.

The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes (three volumes), edited and compiled by Leslie Klinger.

Zombie Dice from Steve Jackson Games.

Space Hulk—Death Angel: The Card Game from Fantasy Flight Games.

Phil Eklund's High Frontiers (and expansion) from Sierra Madre Games.

Near and Far

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a frosted leaf under an Orion-bedecked sky.

Insurance Agent Needed

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 7252, two galaxies involved in a massive collision.

Youngster

Chandra has discovered a black hole that is only 30 years old. Holy frack, I'm older than a cosmic object!

(O.K., O.K., before everybody yells at me...yes, I know how old it really is...)

Home

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson looking at Earth through the recently-installed cupola. What. A. View.

Addendum: A different view of the cupola.

Across the Multiverse

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a depiction of the multiverse concept. Credit to Philip Jose Farmer, Michael Moorcock and others for exploring a hot topic in physics (probably before most of the physicists were born!).

Nice Spiral

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day won't get any cute commentary from your guide (me). M66. A spiral galaxy. Coolness abounds.

Addendum: More here. Another interesting story about Saturn here.

Spokes!

A view of the spokes in the Rings of Saturn. A comparison between images collected during the Voyager missions and the current Cassini mission.

GUCP

The Ground Utility Carrier Plate: A closer view (videocast) of what has grounded Space Shuttle Discovery.

Iris

While I am sporting a red eye (courtesty of an over-energetic Miss Mocha, a.k.a., New Dog Mark 4.0) today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is the Iris Nebula, NGC 7023.

Double Crescent

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows two views of the same thing: a thin crescent Moon and a thin crescent Venus.

Tattoo You

The Russell Crater dune field on Mars. Frost and dust devil tracks lead to a nice mottled appearance.

Bubbles!

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows bubbles. Around the galaxy. X-ray bubbles. What mad universe we live in!

Gem Star

A brown dwarf (looking green) in a field of "diamonds". Image courtesy of the WISE spacecraft.

Good Diet

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 4452. This galaxy has obviously been following way too many diet programs.

Writing Device

Harlan Ellison's typewriter is up for grabs. Maybe I'll win the lottery.

Room with a View

The Cupola on the ISS. Wowza!

Two Fast Movers

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a view of Comet Hartley 2 as the EPOXI spacecraft was 700 kilometers away. What a view!

Reflections

Eerie reflections in the nebula around Merope (part of the Pleiades star cluster).

What Mad Universe

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the highly active central region of the very active galaxy Centaurus A. Local eyes could see some interesting sights in their night sky!

Elephant

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows IC 1396 and the "Elephant Trunk" (how many shades of red can you spot?).

Flyby!

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the flyby of Comet Hartley 2 by the EPOXI probe. This was the fifth close encounter with a comet by a spacecraft from Earth. Trivia: what was EPOXI before it was EPOXI? Answer here.

Night Lights

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the night sky...or rather the ground at night...from the ISS.

Necklace

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows us the recently discovered Necklace Nebula. A subtle hint for the upcoming frenzy of gift purchasing?

Fermat's Last Theorem

"Bill?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Can you do some equations for me?"

"Sure, what kind?"

"Differential."

"Anything else?"

"Wear a bowtie."

"O.K."

"And don't say math. Say 'maths'!"

He sighed. It was a strange relationship. But somehow, it worked.

Fred's Reading Report (Through October 2010)

Yep, behind on my updating. But the numbers have ended October nicely.

Long works? 88 books YTD. Reads through October included Lois McMaster Bujold (re-reading the Canon According to Miles before reading the newest addition); more Jim Butcher and the exploits of Harry Dresden; two volumes by William Gibson; steampunk by Mark Hodder; various bits of non-fiction and much more.

Short works? Since I started including short audio (as I had included long audio last year), it just goes to show you: I drive way too much. One-thousand, nine-hundred and sixty-six items. Gadzooks.

Onwards!

Jets!

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows spicules (jets) on the "surface" of our Sun.

He's Back!

Ansible 280! Accept no substitutes!

The Dead Past. 36 Years Ago, Robert Silverberg wrote a booklet on drugs in sf, now extensively cited in the latest Druglink magazine from the UK charity DrugScope: Marcus Roberts's article 'Dream-Dust from Mars' acknowledges having 'borrowed from Robert Silverman's [sic] "Drug Themes in Science Fiction" published by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse in 1974.' Dr Rob Jackson comments: 'As well as using the surnames Silverman and Silverberg in a randomly interchangeable way throughout the article, he also refers to some bloke called Chine Mieville, and a 1984 William Gibson novel called Necromancer. I have also spotted a Robert Silverman novel called Downward to Earth. (No "the".) If their proofreading is this good in the rest of the journal, I'm not that sure I can trust them to tell the difference even between cocaine and codeine, let alone between methadone and mephedrone.'

Stars in the Furnace

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the Milky Way arching over Piton de la Fournaise.

Ghost Head

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is very, very scary, boys and girls!

Flare

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows vdb 141 (Sh2-136). A more poetic name is the Cepheus Flare.

Hide and Seek

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Mirach's Ghost. This is one that has eluded me, so far. Need darker skies and more aperture!

The Andromeda Strain

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a dual image of the Andromeda Galaxy ("mouseover" the picture to see the alternative view): ultraviolet light vs. visible light.

Rambling With Gambling

Oh noes! Another installment of the SF Signal Podcast! Number thirteen in a series!

Passerby

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Comet Hartley in the neighborhood of one of the best sights in the Fall evening sky: the "Double Cluster" in Perseus.

Wet Moon

What lies beneath our Moon? Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows how much hydrogen was detected in various areas of the Moon during last year's "splatdown" of the LCROSS probe.

The Girl with the Memory Stick

Lisbeth? Lisbeth? Was that you?

10/23/83

On this day in history...Valentinian III became Emperor of the Western Roman Empire (425 AD), The Battle of Edgehill (1642 AD), The War of Jenkins' Ear (1739), the Hungarian Revolution (1956), Operation Linebacker (1972) and the attack on the USMC barracks in Lebanon (1983). Oh, and I got married (1983).

Water from the Sun

This reminded me of Freeman Dyson's The Sun, The Genome and The Internet. Not as far seeing as J.D. Bernal's The World, The Flesh and The Devil but still a darned good read.

Two Shakes

I have discussed this research with my dogs. They feel it needs more peer review. The physics of shaking dogs.

Do No Evil

Sounds like some really tasty food! Dutch Sandwich! Double Irish! Remember...do no evil. Google-a-ga-ga.

Future Schlock

The amazing precognitive powers of Howard Tayler! If you don't already read this strip...take the rest of the weekend and do so! Now! You'll sleep better!

Know Your Rights

England "owns" images of Stonehenge no matter who took them? What?

A New Model

Wikipedia as a model for universities? It'll never happen, too many groups have too much vested in the "old school".

Eclipse

The UN does not want us to blot out the Sun. If somebody actually has the ability to do this, will they bother listening to the UN?

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

A house made from a 747. Massive reuse in action! Now about all those cargo contains in Port Newark...

Bricks on Bricks

You can make anything with Legos...including, apparently, more bricks!

Long View

NASA is now looking at starships. Not much money involved, but it'll be interesting to see what comes of this over time.

Triple Your Pleasure

Joseph Mallozzi, of Stargate Universe, discusses culinary secrets. Still catching up on the first season of the show, I recommend you watch the DVD set as I find it works better as a really long movie rather than a series of hour-long episodes.

Pale Ale

Next up, Monty Python and the Holy Grail gets re-cut.

Head to Toe

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a mosaic of images showing one of the best sights in the night sky: the Great Nebula in Orion.

Flaming Pillars

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 7822 in the constellation Cepheus. Pillars, swirls, young stars and more.

Overstaying My Welcome

Wow! Episode 012 of The SF Signal Podcast. We discuss things that have overstayed their welcome. For some reason I'm back again!

MWP1

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a nice planetary nebula in Cygnus. A nice challenge for fall skies!

Pattern Recognition

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the path of Venus through the early evening sky over a period of time.

Prometheus Rising

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Saturn's small "shepherd moon" Prometheus as it sweeps through the F-Ring.

SF Signal

Episode 12 is up! We discuss genre series (written and otherwise) that over stay their "welcome". And David J. Williams is interviewed. Go, download and listen!

Monster

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day...IT CAME FROM THE SUN!!!

Fractals

Benoit Mandlebrot has passed away. I first came across his name in some non-fiction essays by Sir Arthur C. Clarke, who later used fractals in The Ghost from Grand Banks. (I've blogged about the dangers of reading Clarke's essays and afterwords in the past). I bought a book on fractals, downloaded programs to make fractals, zoomed into fractals.

Interesting guy, interesting stuff.

The Other Neighbor

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the LMC's neighbor, the Small Magellanic Cloud. Time to catch a sailing ship south.

LMC

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the Large Cloud of Magellan, one of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies. Another reason for a trip south!

Much Better Than Microsoft Vista

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a real vista.

Banks on Banks

A two-part interview with Iain M. Banks. Part 01 here. Part 02 here.

Abstraction

Our nearest neighbor as art. Very nifty!

Heart Stars

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Comet Hartley's cruise past some nice clusters and the Heart Nebula

Scale Model

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day depicts a model of the Hubble Space Telescope in a (very nice looking) museum. The real HST will not be displayed, alas.

The Ringworld is Unstable! The Ringworld is Unstable!

On its 40th anniversary, an introduction to a SF classic.

To Say Nothing of the Dog

As if one appearance at The SF Signal Podcast was not enough, I make a return visit! And beyond that, now you can learn what three men locked in a car with no air conditioning do for about an hour!

Ringworld

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the complex interplay of light, dark an rings in the Saturn system. The geometry of shadows, indeed.

Organization

How J.K. Rowling organized the Harry Potter series.

Galactic Edge

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 2683, a galaxy seen on its edge. Somebody should dust!

Worlds in Collision

Asteroid collision...caught on film.

Collaborators

Frederik Pohl continues his stroll down memory lane and looks at the various ways (minus one) he collaborated over the years. Jack Williamson, C.M. Kornbluth and Isaac Asimov are touched upon.

The Restless Moon

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Buzz Aldrin standing near the lunar seismometer. It turns out for a "dead planet", the Moon has a whole lot of shaking going on.

Globular

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows us NGC 6934, a globular cluster in Delphinus. Globular clusters are wonderful sights in small to medium telescopes, resembling spilled sugar crystals in my mind.

When Worlds Collide

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows at opposition with Earth: Jupiter (nice overexposure to capture the belts and the moons!) and (no jokes, please) Uranus.

Wacka-Wacka!

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows emission nebula NGC 281 (The "Pacman Nebula") and Comet Hartley 2, the green comet.

Beware the Cometeers!

The Knight of Orion

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is of one of my favorite places to visit in the winter sky: the Orion Nebulae with the Horsehead Nebulae. The Horsehead is a difficult object to spot in my muddy, light-polluted skies.

SF Signal Podcast

Stroll on over to SF Signal and download the 10th episode of their podcast. They've got some new talent there...

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling...

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows us a new view of Mars. Opportunity continues to give us new views of Mars (I wish my car was as reliable...). Spirit still has not called home, alas.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Sputnik I celebrates its launchday today, October 4, 1957.

True Color

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Jupiter's highly-active moon Io in "true color".

Naval Gazing

"Drunkenness nowadays in the Navy kills more men than the sword." Life in The Canon according to O'Brian.

Ayn Rand on the Bus

John Scalzi as cheap entertainment. Talking about cheap entertainment, bus rides and sex in prisons. Saturday morning fun!

Twitch, Twitch

My antennae are twitching.

Baaaam!

Lightning and the VAB.

Towards the Core

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a view from the Hubble Space Telescope of Messier 8, the Lagoon Nebula in Sagittarius. Good hunting grounds in the summer, now fading into the west as the seasons change.

Interstellar Communications Portal

Ansible 279 is out!

Stephen Baxter is thrilled that 'some Czech biologists have named a new trilobite after my "Xeelee" books. The beast itself looks like a woodlouse (to me), is about a centimetre long, and apparently was a big cheese about 500 million years ago. "This is very important species with surprisingly very advanced features just very close to the origin of entire group," they say. Quite an honour! For me, I mean, not the trilobite.' From the 10 September paper: 'We place it tentatively in the genus Mezzaluna as a new species Mezzaluna? xeelee ... DERIVATIO NOMINIS: Xeelee – a legendary civilization of very advanced extraterrestrial beings forming a mainstay of excellent science-fiction sequence of Stephen Baxter.' (Journal of the National Museum [Prague])

Eaux le Deux

I've been podcastified! Again! Three men locked in a Honda Civic for about an hour, fogging up the windows. What WERE they doing in there?

As soon as the shows are up, I'll post links.

Goldilocks

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is an artist depiction of Zarmina's World, better known as Gliese 581g, a potentially habitable world around another star.

Coreshine

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shoes dusty clouds shining in infrared.

Be Afraid

I've been podcastfied! And might be more podcastified tonight!

Double Image

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows an airplane passing in front of the Moon. Happens a lot, when I observe. Dang startling at times!

More Dancing Barefoot

From Dancing Saturn to Dancing Venus...Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the south polar vortex at Venus.

Dancing Barefoot

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the compilation of hundreds of pictures from Cassini. They were combined to help scientists understand the dynamics of Saturn's atmosphere.

A Hacker's Tour

A video tour (spread over multiple parts) of electronics shops in one part of Japan.

The Shadow in the East

Is The Hobbit film a political football?

Cosmic Tadpole

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Arp 188, a disrupted galaxy that is known as the Tadpole.

24 Returns!

Great shot of Expedition 24 returning from the ISS.

I (Heart) Nebula

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Melotte 15 and IC 1805, a cluster of young stars and a dusty nebula.

Back to the Moon

Well, if we're not going to do it for real, at least I can read about it. I have been waiting for this one for about two years now!

Memories of Jack

Frederik Pohl continues his occasional recollections of Jack Williamson on his blog (which I hope will eventually be incorporated into an updated autobiography). This one is a very moving entry.

Shine On

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day continues the march of the seasons and flips us from the Iron Sun to the Harvest Moon.

Solar Passage

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day marks the changing of the seasons.

Shadowmancer

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the shadow of space shuttle Discovery projected as the shuttle is brought to the launchpad for its last (currently scheduled) flight.

Throttling Sales

So William Gibson has a new book out, Zero History (official site here), the third in the sequence that also has Pattern Recognition and Spook Country in it. I picked up the hardcover the other day and started reading it last night.

Alas, it does not appear that I'll be buying the eBook, as I have with any other book by Gibson that I've been able to buy over the past few years. Fictionwise does not have any Gibson title listed (despite the fact that this is where I bought them in the past), the result, I guess, of their urinating contests with various publishers over prices. How about Mobipocket? Nope, nothing there. Mobipocket is owned by Amazon, I guess Amazon is trying to channel people towards the Kindle. Barnes and Nobles? They have it, but in a format that is DRM-locked and unable to be read on anything other than a desktop, some mobile devices, and their gadget. Perhaps that is why Fictionwise does not have it, seeing that B&N bought Fictionwise and ever since then choices have been getting smaller and smaller. Hey, what about Amazon? They have it, but for the Kindle. Same program that my eBook gadget uses, Mobipocket, but Amazon bought Mobipocket and imposed restrictions on files that previously did not exist. It is a different "flavor" of Mobipocket and won't work on my gadget.

So I won't be buying the book in electronic format, which means, ultimately, lost sales to the publisher and the author. When I first started reading electronic books on my Newton and my Palm Pilot I could read eBooks in multiple formats (using programs that are now owned by Barnes & Noble and Amazon) without conflict. More than one DRM file format could live on the gadget. But since publishers have gotten more interested in the market and the big distributors bought up the smaller players, things have gotten more and more restrictive. Choices have shrunk. Books vanish from my virtual "bookshelf" or are yanked from the stores all together. Prices rise thanks to the "agency model", no discounts or price competition allowed.

So...Congress...FTC...and others: how did all that DRM legislation help me and expand trade? How did all these mergers and acquisitions help me and expand trade? Publishers, instead of looking out for yourselves and trying to control an increasingly shrinking market (a lot of things are calling for our attention), why do you act to squash every innovation?

Sorry, Mr. Gibson. I guess only one copy of the book for me.

Unplugged

Joe Haldeman, a man who writes about future-than-light travel, colonizing Mars and more writes with a fountain pen by the light of an oil lamp.

Another Starry, Starry Night

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a painting of the night sky by Vincent van Gogh. No, not the one you are thinking of!

Mating

Discovery is "mated" to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters in preparation for its final scheduled flight. Always a thrill, but so sad that we can't get our act together and build a replacement vehicle.

Cosmic Wall Hangings

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows aurora over Norway. An amazing variety of shapes seen across the sky.

Through a Nebulae, Darkly

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows dark clouds in the Carina Nebula. Clouds and knots and beauty, oh my!

10 Billion Trillion Carats

Shine on, you crazy diamond. Didn't Poul Anderson and others use this. And Clarke had a big honking diamond in 2061: Odyssey Three.

Endless Rooms

Steven Pressfield on writing, exploring rooms and learning to spell. Gates of Fire rocks.

Dunsany, Eich-Pee-El and Klarkashton, Oh My!

Sounds like this guy drinks from the same literary well as some of my favorite writers.

Celestial fantasies of deathless night,
Enraptured colonnades adorned with pearls,
Resplendent guardians of crimson light,
Expanse of darkness silently unfurls
Among colossal ruins on this shore,
That once was purled by Xantoos' rolling seas;
Nothing remains upon this barren core
Of Mars, but your palatial memories.

Wide View

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a wide view of the fall sky and a bright visitor: Jupiter, the closest (and brightest) it'll be for a number of years.

Curtains in the Sky

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows ghostly sky curtains across Prelude Lake (Canada). On occasion we're lucky enough to see them here or even lower across the northern hemisphere.

A Veil in Cygnus

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the Veil Nebula in Cygnus. I've only been fortunate to see this a couple of times with my own telescope.

Moon Shot

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a beautiful daylight shot of the Moon, clouds, birds and Venus.

Could be an Arp

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows IRAS 23166+1655. It almost looks like something out of Halton Arp's catalog, but it is actually a planetary nebula, possibly disrupted by a nearby star.

Dust in the System

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows zodiacal light over Namibia. I've seen this once or twice, a strange sight.

More Things in Heaven

Today's Astronomy Picture of the day shows a rarity: a natural nuclear reactor. I recall running across this in one of Stephen Baxter's Manifold books and never knew it was real!

Star Streams and Sunflower

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Messier 63 in Canes Venatici (a somewhat vague constellation, especially in today's light-polluted skies). A nifty sight, even in smaller instruments if you have "good seeing".

Remnant

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the glowing remnants of a supernova in Vela. Too faint (as far as I know) for most amateur-class equipment, amazing detail can be found in this image.

Trunk to Bubble

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows clusters, nebulae and dust clouds in the Cepheus region. Fall is a great time to explore this region!

Complex Structures

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows various complex galactic structures. Run the mouse over the picture for some details.

The Brads

He speaketh the truth.

A Hysterical Artefact

Harlan Ellison's first typewriter is going up for sale. Anybody want to loan me a few bucks?

Endeavour

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is one of several digital "posters" created as a tribute to the space shuttles. This is the one for Endeavour, you can also find "posters" for Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia, Discovery.

Dork Tower

A classic joke about Classic Traveller. Huzzah!

The Wallet Cringes

A new look at the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. And...a look at the calculus with side trips through zombies, weight loss and music.

Summer's End

Maybe I'll need to get one of these for next summer.

Shooting the Center

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows an apparent laser strike at the center of the Milky Way.

Food, Glorious Food

MRE's seem to have come a long way.

Whirlpool

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a depiction of the black hole GRO J1655-40. Swirly!

Young Stars

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows young stars in NGC 7129. Nice shot!

In the Navy

Following in the footsteps of the famous Skippy List, here are things you can't do in the navy. Squids, ahoy!

Have Space Suit, Will Travel

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the Small Magellanic Cloud.

Hourglass

Just like grains of sand in an hourglass...

Ansible!

It is back! What more do you need to know?

As Others See Us. The Guardian attacks the very great evil of tie-dye clothing: 'It's Terry Pratchett books and Games Workshop. It's the implication that elsewhere in your wardrobe there may lurk a T-shirt that says "SMEG HEAD" and that, on occasion, when someone asks what you're having in the pub, you smirkingly ask for a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster. / Under the circumstances, perhaps dip-dye is the answer. It's tie-dye's cooler brother and arrives free of the inference of chakra-realignment or Red Dwarf fandom.' (Alex Petridis, 10 July) [PW]

"The 24th Shitkickers Were Never The Same After The Peloponnese"

Episode 5 of Ancient Rome Refocused is up. Highly recommended for anybody who has served or who went through a situation like 9/11.

And listen to the earlier episodes as well!

Technology Creep

How technology has made movies obsolete.

Dancing on the Ceiling

I've encountered this in science fiction (see Von Neuman's War by "Doc" Taylor and John Ringo). Climbing robots!

Tripping Out

I've had more than a few of these books.

Divides

High pulp, low pulp, acid-free, ultra-deluxe-limited-fanboi-edition, paperback, hardcover, first edition, reprint, papyrus, clay tablets, clunky computer screen, Apple Newton, Palm Pilot, second and third generation Palm, Handspring Visor, Sony Clie, Bookeen Cybook.

For me, it makes no real difference whether it is a "real book" or a eBook. It is the story inside my head that matters, not the method the story is stored on.

(Quick: how many of the listed delivery platforms do you think I've actually used?)

Fifth Best

NASA ranked "fifth best" place to work in the US government. No direction, no leadership, programs go nowhere or get canned. Sounds like utopia!

Just Can't Win

An author tries to give away books for free...and somebody makes money off of it anyway. And then tells the author to "pound salt" when the author complains!

Heart of the Sunrise

Expedition 24 greets the "morning" sunrise.

Breaking the Fourth Wall

A bit better list here. Science fiction author's who became characters in either their own books or in other books (and media).

Passing the Torch

Charles S. Roberts, a man who helped invent the gaming industry, has passed on.

The Pilgrim Project

No, not the classic book or the Robert Altman flick (still not widely available on DVD, drat it). Here's an interesting concept using the Orion system to explore a Near-Earth Asteroid. One problem: show me the money!

Tubeway Army

A "rail transit map" of modern science. Very cool.

Epic. Fail.

Crappy list of greatest fictional inventors. No Richard Seaton or Marc DuQuesne? Phah!

Urban Sprawl

What ever happened to arcologies?

Spy Bunker

An internet hosting company located in a former bomb shelter. Looks like the set for the next James Bond flick.

Drink, Drink, Drink

Heavy drinkers live longer? I'm sure there will be some contention over that headline.

Horizontal Test

Successful test of a five-segment solid rocket booster. Too bad we can't figure out where we are going in space or what we're doing there. Sigh.

Homebrew

A working (!) 1/10 scale "model" of a Cray supercomputer. Will wonders never cease?

That Coming Technological Singularity

Now you can take your virtual girlfriend to a beach resort.

Planetes

Schemes to rid NEO of space junk. Send up the Toy Box!

That Unique Flavoring

Whiskey made from the urine of a diabetic. About as good as coffee made from beans that pass through the digestive system of a small mammal, I guess.

Short Hops

Some of NASA's money will be going towards private sub-orbital companies. The more launchers, the merrier...

Bubble

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula.

Fall In

Ansible 278, just in time for Fall.

Margaret Atwood was interviewed by Ira Flatow on NPR. IF: 'You know, in your books, science and technology don't necessarily make the world a better place. They don't necessarily mean that we're making progress.' MA: 'Science is a tool. I should say, science is two tools. One is a tool for investigating, just finding out and knowing. And the other is, we call it technology. It's a way of taking what we know and turning it into what, if it were an iPhone, you would call apps. [Laughter] Make apps. We make applications. And I think you've just enraged about five million science fiction fans by implying there is not any truth in science fiction, which of course isn't the case. A lot of science fiction writers have, in fact, anticipated things that we later did.' IF: 'Sure. I never meant to imply that.' MA: 'Oh, yeah. Take it back now. [Laughter ...] But what I what I call my books is speculative fiction, what you might call a subset of the genre ...' (www.npr.org, 20 August) [RF]