Could an unbelievable intellectual treasure still be moldering away in the basement of an ancient Roman villa? Inquiring minds–and The Herculaneum Society–want to know!
My story, Between the Covers
No, that’s not an invitation to read my books in bed, although that’s a fine place to read them–any place is a fine place to read them. Between the Covers, in this instance, is the CBC Radio program, and I heard officially this week that they’re planning to present my short story “Strange Harvest” as …
Making plastics from oranges
Why make plastics from our precious limited supplies of petroleum, when you can make them from a renewable source like orange peels–and use up some carbon dioxide in the process?
Yeah, but how much will the cartridges cost?
University of Manchester researchers have developed a breakthrough technology that could allow made-to-measure skin and bones to be created using an ink-jet printer.
The way of the lotus…
…could lead to self-cleaning windows, water-repellent windshield glass, and more.
"A wonderful surprise"
That mysterious chunk of metal Opportunity ran across on Mars has been confirmed as a meteorite. Lead scientist Steve Squyres calls that finding a “wonderful surprise,” and I suppose it is, but wouldn’t it have been an even more wonderful surprise had things taken an SFnal turn and it had proven to be a chunk …
Seeking the secrets of spider silk
A few years ago I wrote a column to which, much to my delight, I was able to assign the rather B-movie-ish title “Spider-Goat Clones of Montreal.” The column described how a Montreal company called Nexia Technologies had cloned goats that had been genetically engineered to produce spider-silk proteins in their milk. Nexia retrieved the …
My fellow alumnus
Here’s a USA Today feature about Jerry “Boo” Mitchell, who, like me, holds a journalism degree from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. I don’t really remember him, even though we’re the same age–or, rather, because we’re the same age, because my own peculiar schooling history (skipped first grade, summer birthday, Grade 12 credits from Saskatchewan …
Quote of the morning…
From Terry Teachout’s About Last Night: “…the only way to stuff a human being into a pigeonhole is to cut off pieces until he fits.” And if I haven’t yet done so, allow me to recommend both the Arts Journal site in general and Terry Teachout’s blog in particular for arts-related stories and ideas.
The sounds of Titan…
…as recorded by microphones on the Huygens probe, are starting to show up here.
Huygens has landed!
And the data are starting to come in. I’m on pins and needles… UPDATE: And here‘s the first picture!
Hey, my daughter can colour inside the lines…most of the time
As the father of a 3 1/2-year-old, I have to say, don’t these people realize what kind of pressure they’re putting the rest of us under?
My latest live walk and vlog
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