Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 3,174 entries, all of them here in full.
December 11, 2009 · 277 words
Solar For the Home
Lowe’s now sells solar panels that you can install yourself. Lowe’s has begun stocking solar panels at its California stores and plans to roll them out across the country next year. This shows how far the highest of the high-tech alternative energy technologies has come. Solar power is now accessible to anyone with a l
Read entry →December 11, 2009 · 101 words
Is it Live, or is it HD?
Here is Charlie, our younger cat, watching the nature documentary Winged Migration, which features a lot of eye-croggling footage of birds on the wing. Our cats normally ignore the TV, but Charlie found the film irresistible. He sat in front of the set and watched it for at least twenty minutes. Of course during his [&
Read entry →December 9, 2009 · 282 words
Idea Cool and Insane
Friend of the blog Michael Ruppen pointed me at this article, modestly titled “Blueprint for a Quantum Propulsion Machine.” In recent years, a new way of thinking about the quantum vacuum has emerged which has vastly more potential. And today, one physicist describes how it could be used to create propulsion . . . The
Read entry →December 8, 2009 · 86 words
Who’s Tricking the Watchmen?
Got all confused about the stolen emails from the British climatologists? Suddenly wondering whether the entire scientific establishment is involved in a conspiracy to conceal the truth in order to brainwash us into becoming their Marxist bitches? Here’s science journalist potholder54— who actually knows what the
Read entry →December 8, 2009 · 90 words
More Scenery
For the last few days I was involved in graduating a new crop of karate black belts. I always get the warm fuzzies watching them pound each other (and themselves) into hamburger, the more so because, as a judge, I didn’t lose any skin myself. I still feel as if I’m on vacation, for all […]
Read entry →December 2, 2009 · 45 words
Cuteness
There is some kind of French Cuteness Authority that rates villages. At the top are the villages rated Plus Beau, then villages of Character, villages of Charme, and finally (I guess) the dreaded Unrated. This one is Saignon, which is Plus Beau in my book.
Read entry →December 2, 2009 · 149 words
Alternate Alexanders
Thanks to an alert on io9, we present a startling piece of alternate history— the failed pilot for the mid-Sixties TV series Alexander the Great, starring William Shatner as the King of Macedon and Adam West as his henchman Cleander. (Also featured are Joseph Cotton and John Cassavetes, both of whom look embarres
Read entry →December 1, 2009 · 309 words
The Perils of Lucidity
I was interviewed for an hour at Utopiales, standing in for GoH Robert Charles Wilson, who was down with la grippe porcine. The audience was tiny at the start, but grew to a gratifying size by the end. A surprising amount of the interview was taken up with the question of why I am not, […]
Read entry →December 1, 2009 · 60 words
On the Video
Here’s an interview from ActuSF, conducted at Utopiales a few weeks ago. The interviewer is Julien Morgan. If I’m a bit more articulate than is usual for me– particularly considering that this event took place in the morning— consider that it was the second time I’ve answered these questions. (The first tim
Read entry →November 25, 2009 · 45 words
Graphic Plots
The brilliant XKCD provides charts showing time and movement of major characters in Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and other classics. I sometimes graphically plot the dramatic movements in my stories using differenly-colored pens, but I’ve never got as elaborate as this.
Read entry →November 25, 2009 · 183 words
Got Fab?
Okay, so it’s a kit. You may have to do some soldering. But it’s still a 3D printer for your home. For only $750.00. I’d buy one if I were you. You can earn the money back in just a few weeks by selling phony IDs printed on your new machine. Kit includes: * The […]
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