Archives
This sounds like the setup for a science fiction story…
...but it's real:A web-based "expert system" that helped users prepare bankruptcy filings for a fee made too many decisions to be considered a clerical tool, an appeals court said last week, ruling that the software was effectively practicing law without a license.(Via KurzweilAI.Net.)Do you lie about what you read?
Apparently the Brits do:People once said ‘you are what you eat’ but it appears the phrase has been hijacked by image-conscious Brits to state ‘you are what you read.’So suggests new research from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, which found almost half of people lie about their literary credentials.Joining in conversation motivated 40% of people to fib about reading classics like Jane Eyre, while an equal number said they’ve cited such heavyweight novels to appear more intelligent.So-called ‘book snobbery’ is most likely to come from adults aged 18-21, but these youngsters, ironically, are the likeliest to get caught out....My alma mater makes the news…
...albeit it in slightly embarrassing fashion: "Mayhem at Harding: Dancing Breaks Out."Oh, and there's video.Your pocket change isn’t spying on you after all
Turns out that report about tiny transmitters in Canadian coins wasn't true.Guess I can take the tinfoil out of my pockets now and put it back on my head where it belongs.Here’s the kind of headline you like to see:
Cheap, safe drug kills most cancers.Of course, so far it's only killed them outside of the body, but keep your fingers crossed.Darn, and we just moved…
Dracula's castle is up for sale.From now on, view your pockets with suspicion:
U.S. Warns About Canadian Spy Coins, says the headline, and the gist is:In a U.S. government warning high on the creepiness scale, the Defense Department cautioned its American contractors over what it described as a new espionage threat: Canadian coins with tiny radio frequency transmitters hidden inside. The government said the mysterious coins were found planted on U.S. contractors with classified security clearances on at least three separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled through Canada. Intelligence and technology experts said such transmitters, if they exist, could be used to surreptitiously track the movements of people carrying the spy coins.Of course, what should concern Canadians, but ..."Gradatim Ferociter!"
The veil has been lifted on the secretive Blue Origin private space program created by Jeff Bezos (of Amazon.com fame--and fortune). Their website now boasts photos and video of their recent first test flight.Oh, and the slogan means, more or less, "Bit by bit--ferociously!"And if you happen to be a rocket scientist--they're hiring!UPDATE:Apparently this post is at or near the top of Google results when you search for "Gradatim Ferociter," which is doing wonderful things for my hit counter.So...while you're here, check the rest of Hassenpfeffer. Not to mention my books. Like adventurous science fiction of the space opera variety? Check out my science fiction novel Lost ..."Poland ponders giving Jesus an earthly realm"
Says the CBC:A move is underway to make Jesus Christ the honorary king of Poland, the country's influential Rzeczpospolita newspaper reported on Wednesday.I wonder how that plays with those of a pre-millennial apocalyptic bent, like the guys who wrote Left Behind?"Sasquatchewan?"
Hairy ape-like creatures have been recently sighted in Saskatchewan, and it's not even football season.**(Yes, I know, many football players are cleancut, smart, well-dressed, etc. But what can I do? Sometimes a joke is so obvious you just have to make it. Witness yesterday's post...)
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Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
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
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel 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….
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).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
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.
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