Chalk up another one for Einstein. The world, NASA says, is dragging time and space with it as it rotates…just as Albert predicted in his general theory of relativity.
Category: Blog
A blast from the past
Occasionally, I find myself missing Dungeons and Dragons. Apparently, I’m not the only one. Who knew? I, too, have a dusty case full of D&D manuals, old dice, and pages and pages of campaign material. My group at university scorned pre-published scenarios; we made up everything from whole cloth. Alas, my D&Ding died away when …
Dactylic hexameter: good for what ails you
I spent last weekend in Saskatoon at the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild‘s annual fall conference. Among the events was a joint reading by two renowned Canadian writers, science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer and poet George Elliot Clarke. It should surprise no reader of my column that I generally prefer readings by SF writers to readings …
Death of the Prime Abductee
When I was a kid, I read a book called Interrupted Journey. So did a lot of other people. It pretty much had me convinced that Betty and Barney Hill really were abducted by aliens (I’d take it with a lot more salt now at age 45 than I did at age 10). Betty certainly …
Ninety days to Mars?
Two years or more to Mars is too long. Fortunately, there may be a better way.
I’m back!
No blogging for the past few days due to a trip to Saskatoon (and back, and there, and back again). We went up to see Sting and Annie Lennox at Saskatchewan Place. Fabulous concert (not the greatest venue in the world, being a hockey rink, but adequate). I had to drive back the very next …
Why do curling rocks curl?
Among the mysteries of the ages are burning questions whose answers have eluded great thinkers for decades, centuries, even millennia: What is the meaning of life? How do they get the caramel into a Caramilk bar? And why do curling rocks curl? For the first two questions I have no answers at this time. For …
Switching off gene switches off cancer
Promising news on the cancer-treatment front:switching off a particular gene in mice–using a common antibiotic–also switches off liver cancer cells. Of course, fighting cancer always seems to be easier in mice…
How to build the Universe
Take teeny-tiny four-dimensional building blocks, add a dash of causality, and let stand for 20 billion years.
Death of a seminal figure in spaceflight
The designer of the Mercury spacecraft has died at age 83.
More signs of water on Mars
This planet isn’t unique. I don’t believe for an instant that we’re the only intelligent species in the universe. Whether we’ll ever prove that I’m correct, or make contact with our fellow sapients…well, that’s another question. One that science fiction is quite prepared to tackle, I might add.
Writing Diary: October 7, 2004
Light blogging the last couple of days, except for posting my science column, but I’m still ticking! I’ve gotten in some good licks on Excalibur Reforged, and, of course, there was the aforementioned science column on the Ig Nobels (always one of my favorites). I’ve also had some Regina Lyric Light Opera stuff to work …
My latest live walk and vlog
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