Archives
A new feature: the Willett of the Day
I'm proud of my name. My wife will tell you that I am somehow convinced that all Willetts we run across must be relatives of mine. I realize that's probably stretching it a bit, but I was told as a child that some genealogical researcher or other had made pretty much that claim, with a tale (an improbable one, it now seems to me) of an old man named Willett, last of that name, with no heirs, who adopted and raised a boy as his own son; that boy then took the name Willett in honor of the old man, and all Willetts since are descendants of that boy.Yeah, I know, I said it seems improbable to me ...A new feature: the Willett of the Day
I'm proud of my name. My wife will tell you that I am somehow convinced that all Willetts we run across must be relatives of mine. I realize that's probably stretching it a bit, but I was told as a child that some genealogical researcher or other had made pretty much that claim, with a tale (an improbable one, it now seems to me) of an old man named Willett, last of that name, with no heirs, who adopted and raised a boy as his own son; that boy then took the name Willett in honor of the old man, and all Willetts since are descendants of that boy.Yeah, I know, I said it seems improbable to me ...Take me out of the ballgame
I have a confession to make: although born in the United States, I’m lousy at that country’s national pastime. I hit not, neither do I catch. If I had a dollar for every fly ball I dropped as kid, I could buy...well, a baseball glove, probably, but what would be the point?So this week I was pleased to discover that there are solid scientific grounds for missing easy pop flies, and they have nothing...well, very little...to do with a complete lack of skill and/or depth perception on my part.A team of researchers led by Alan Nathan at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and Terry Bahill at the University of Arizona, Tucson, will soon be publishing ...Photo of the Day that was Actually Taken Some Time Ago: Over the Plate
A Baltimore Oriole watches the ball come over the plate in a game against Toronto on a sunny Sunday in August in the Skydome (er, Rogers Place...whatever).More photos here.Of bats and balls
The Subway Series is not, as a non-sports-fan might be forgiven for thinking, an exciting new lineup of sandwiches from a popular restaurant chain. It is, instead, this year's World Series of baseball between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, and even if you're not interested in watching New Yorkers battle each other, you can always watch the games and think about science, instead (assuming the series isn't over by the time you read this, which, based on the first couple of games, it probably is). Baseball is essentially a battle between the pitcher and the batter, and scientifically, it's a battle the batter should never win. It takes a 90-mph fastball (since ...Home runs
It's World Series time again, and it's shaping up to be an exciting one--but for me, nothing can equal the excitement of the 1909 Series. I remember it like it was yesterday. The smell of the grass, the roar of the crowd, as I made my way to the mound to start for the Detroit Tigers... What's that? I'm too young to have pitched in the 1909 World Series? Well, I dare you to look it up. 1909. Detroit Tigers. Ed Willett. See? I'm older than I look. The game has changed a lot since then, but it's still a duel between pitcher and ...Baseball
I'm lousy at baseball. Fly balls fly right over me, line drives make me duck, and I can't run the bases worth a darn--but that's all right, since I seldom hit the ball. So to write this column about the science of pitching, I turned to an expert: Robert K. Adair, Sterling Professor of Physics at Yale University, whose 1990 book The Physics of Baseball provided all the information I needed. If you're a serious baseball fan (or a serious physics fan), I highly recommend it. As every batter knows, the baseball does not follow a perfectly straight line between the pitcher and the plate (more's the pity). In fact, the pitcher ...The science of pitching
I'm lousy at baseball. Fly balls fly right over me, line drives make me duck, and I can't run the bases worth a darn--but that's all right, since I seldom hit the ball. So to write this column about the science of pitching, I turned to an expert: Robert K. Adair, Sterling Professor of Physics at Yale University, whose 1990 book The Physics of Baseball provided all the information I needed. If you're a serious baseball fan (or a serious physics fan), I highly recommend it. As every batter knows, the baseball does not follow a perfectly straight line between the pitcher and the plate (more's the pity). In fact, the pitcher has a number of ...
Edward Willett is a The Shards of Excalibur, Book 1: Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel, coming in October from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
