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.
May 21, 2009 · 437 words
Not Girly In Singapore!
This Is Not a Game has garnered a great review from the Straits Times, Singapore’s foremost newspaper! While all of this is interesting, without strong characters and an engaging plot, This is Not a Game would be nothing but another bit of ‘fan fiction’ about the joys of living online. Instead, Williams’ novel is punch
Read entry →May 21, 2009 · 102 words
Cell Tower . . . Tree . . . Thing
Kathy and I were driving through Albuquerque the other day and we saw this . . . object . . . on the horizon. “What is that?” Kathy asked in bewilderment. “Is that a Norway spruce?” No, it wasn’t. It was a cell phone tower cleverly disguised as a Norway spruce. Kudos to whoever thought […]
Read entry →May 19, 2009 · 447 words
Clarkson v Honda
Some say that Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson is a swaggering sexist lout. Some say that he’s a smug, anti-environmentalist, gas-guzzling enemy of the ozone layer. All we know is that he’s done a wonderfully savage review of the new Honda hybrid Insight . . . It’s terrible. Biblically terrible. Possibly the worst new car mo
Read entry →May 19, 2009 · 121 words
Real Science
The National Institute of Health, following the instructions of President O, have released their new guidelines for stem cell research.We are now nearing the end of the two-week comment period. Despite the new guidelines being rather on the timid side of the political spectrum, various conservative religious organizati
Read entry →May 19, 2009 · 511 words
According to Posner
Distinguished appellate judge, law lecturer, and public intellectual Richard Posner has taken on the current economic crisis in his new book.Surprisingly for someone appointed by Ronald Reagan, Posner blames not speculators, or regulators, or greed for the current problem, but capitalism itself.This from the NYT review
Read entry →May 15, 2009 · 81 words
Pamukkale
Pictures of the famous travertines of Pamukkale.These small ponds are natural mineral formations. They’re only a couple inches deep, which made me wonder why they’re so darned blue, as well as why the shade of blue is a distinctive turquoise. I remember that last year in Canada we saw a number of glacier lakes that [&h
Read entry →May 15, 2009 · 322 words
Sacred Pool
You might think I’m smiling in this picture because I’m looking at Melinda’s chest. This wouldn’t be true. While I’m sure Melinda’s chest is worth smiling at, I really couldn’t see it from this angle. I’m smiling because, Dude, I’m diving the ancient ruins of Hierapolis! Hierapolis was an ancient spa town built on a [&
Read entry →May 12, 2009 · 391 words
Trek: A Military Analysis
You’ve probably already read a hundred reviews of the new Trek movie, and you don’t need mine. (Short form: liked the characters, winced at the baaaad science and coincidence-heavy plot.) But over at Danger Room, we find the take of a genuine military analyst.* The villainous Romulan ship pulverizes Federation vessels
Read entry →May 8, 2009 · 204 words
The Future of Streaming Video
Comic/TV/RPG writer John Rogers has an interesting post about the future of TV over on Kung Fu Monkey. Now what’s kind of interesting here is that everybody in TV looks at the music industry collapse as the Bad Story and iTunes as the plausible premise for digital entertainment distribution. iTunes makes money. QED, th
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