Last night, I voted for the Hugo awards. You don’t have to be an attending member of the World Science Fiction convention to vote, but you must be at least a supporting member. I thought it was a pretty darn good ballot this year and some of the choices were difficult ones. That said, there…
I just finished reading Robert Heinlein’s “Logic of Empire” in the March 1941 Astounding* and there were two quotes that jumped out at me as particularly apropos to current events in the Federal government today. First quote: “I suppose you’re a radical now?” Doc’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Not at all. Radical and conservative are terms for…
For the first time in quite a while, I had anxiety dreams last night. The were not the ordinary run-of-the-mill anxiety dreams I used to have either. These had one particularly nasty ingredient added to them: they were recursive. Or as the kids today like to say, meta. I used to have two types of…
Anyone who uses Scrivener for fiction-writing will soon come to discover that all of its wonderful features are geared toward one primary goal: allow you, as the writer, to focus on writing without having to worry about formatting, layout or any of those other troublesome tasks. This simple idea is what sets Scrivener far apart…
Two ridiculous things for a Monday: Congress. I’m reminded of the old joke: if “pro” is the opposite of “con” what is the opposite of “progress”? Kids wearing diapers at Disney World. Kids mind, you, not toddlers. The Little Man is in the very early stages of potty training. So naturally, Kelly was searching online…
I read today that Amazon finally caved to Apple’s in-app purchase policy. I can understand Apple’s desire to get its cut, but the desire to enforce this policy puts an unnecessary burden on customers and creates usability issues that are extremely annoying. For instance: Right now, if I want to buy a book from the…
So this guy walks into a bookstore and goes looking for Isaac Asimov’s Caves of Steel. He doesn’t know who Asimov is, but he’s been assured by a good friend that the book is a wonderful mystery story and, being a fan of mysteries, he’ll eat it up. He makes his way toward the back…
When the Golden Age began with the July 1939 (Episode 1) issue of Astounding, spaceflight of any kind, let along human spaceflight was still a dream of science fiction writers and perhaps a few eccentric scientists. It would be some 23 years before the United States put a man in space. Between Episode 19 and…
When the human spaceflight program began in the U.S. varies depending on who you are and when you were born. For me, it began with the publication of the July 1939 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. Of course, others will say that it began on May 5, 1961 just as others will claim it ended…
I don’t get to the movies often these days. In the two years since the Little Man was born, I think I’ve been a grand total of three times, two of which have been in the ten months or so. I could say it’s because it is difficult to get away, but that’s not really…