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Me on Newsworld
Yesterday CBC Newsworld contacted me about doing a short segment on the science of soccer, in honour of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup now being played in Canada. (If you google "The Science of Soccer," the column I wrote in 2002 is the first hit.)I did the interview this morning on the lawn outside CBC Regina. I couldn't see the interviewer (Susan Pedlar) and she couldn't see me, but everything went fairly smoothly. At least, I don't think I said anything stupid. (I hope not. I really don't want soccer fans mad at me...) And I didn't drop the soccer ball I was holding, either, so that's a plus.I don't know when the segment ...Photo of the Day: The Kickoff
Kick-off for tonight's Canadian Football League game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions, as captured by my cellphone camera:Unfortunately, this was as close to winning as the Riders were all night.More (and better) photos here.Nanotechnology marches on…
...to the soccer field.Near-microscopic robots playing soccer. Is this a great time to be alive, or what?Practice makes perfect?
Nope.Turns out:"The main reason you can't move the same way each and every time, such as swinging a golf club, is that your brain can't plan the swing the same way each time," says electrical engineering Assistant Professor Krishna Shenoy, whose research includes study of the neural basis of sensorimotor integration and movement control. He, postdoctoral researcher Mark Churchland and electrical engineering doctoral candidate and medical student Afsheen Afshar authored the study.It's as if each time the brain tries to solve the problem of planning how to move, it does it anew, Churchland says. Practice and training can help the brain solve the problem more capably, but people and other primates simply aren't ...From tennis elbow to hot-tub lung
Once upon a time, most of the injuries people suffered were the result of the hard physical labor they had to perform day-in and day-out to survive. Today we have a whole new set of injuries and ailments that are the result, not of hard work, but of recreation. Take hot-tub long, for instance. This recently identified ailment causes flu-like symptoms and fatigue. Apparently hot tubs, especially when the jets are turned on, can give off a mist laden with a germ called Mycobacterium avium. If the hot tub is indoors, that mist hangs around the hot tub and can infect those using it. To make matters worse, people who don’t feel well because of hot-tub ...Robocup
Picture this: it's World Cup 2050. The preliminaries are over and the two finalists are facing each other in the first-place game. Onto the field trot two teams--but only one of them is human. The other is made up of robots. Today we're accustomed to robots that do everything from build cars to defuse bombs and explore other planets. Ten years ago, Alan Mackworth, a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia, wondered "Why shouldn't they play soccer, too?" He mentioned the idea in a paper entitled "On Seeing Robots." At about the same time, a group of Japanese researchers organized a workshop on "Grand Challenges in Artificial Intelligence." That workshop led to serious ...Soccer
Watch me explain the science of soccer on CBC Newsworld, July 22, 2007: Hundreds of millions of soccer fans are now tuning in to the World Cup, where they'll see, not just exciting games, but a fascinating display of scientific principles. Let's start with the ball. The basic physics haven't changed: when a ball is kicked, the side that's kicked flattens out, then snaps back into shape, hurling the ball away. But this year's ball, the Fevernova, is new. The Fevernova is covered with polyurethane instead of leather. Beneath that is syntactic foam, consisting of equal-sized, highly elastic gas-filled microcells, designed to give the ball more bounce, so it travels ...Bicycles II
It's summertime in Saskatchewan, and that means the roads are full of joggers, walkers--and bicyclists. The first bicycle was the "celerifere," or wooden horse, invented in France in the 1790s. It had a fixed front wheel, so it couldn't be steered, and the rider propelled it by pushing his feet along the ground, like Fred Flintstone. A German baron, Karl von Drais, added a steerable front wheel in 1817, creating the "draisienne," or dandy horse. In 1839, Kirkpatrick Macmillan, a Scottish blacksmith, added pedals which drove the rear wheel by means of cranks. In the 1860s the French invented the velocipede, on which the pedals were attached directly to the front wheel, so that once ...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 ...Olympic technology 2000
"Faster, higher, stronger" are the oft-stated goals of Olympic athletes. Increasingly, science and technology are helping them to achieve those goals. This year, the technological focus is on swimming. Until recently, the goal of swimmers seemed to be to wear bathing suits that preserved the illusion of modesty with as little material as possible, the idea being that bare (often shaved) skin slid through the water better than cloth. This year, that idea has been turned on its head by the full-body swimming suits, especially the Speedo Fastskin suit. When you enter the water, a layer of still water a millimetre or less thick forms around your body. Like glue, it clings to the water swirling ...
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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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