Posts under ‘Science’

I have a DRAFT of the cursed project, only years late, and with much more agony than expected. I’m off to drink beer. But first, so you don’t feel abandoned, some SCIENCE, science that has nothing whatsoever to do with the cursed project. This makes me happy, and even makes me feel better about satellites [...]

Not horsefeathers, but dinosaur feathers preserved in amber. That’s so cool. And a few other things to keep this from being a ridiculously short post… Ada Lovelace Day is October 7 this year. I need to come up with a good topic, to follow my essays on Beatrix Potter and Elizabeth Blackwell. Elizabeth Bear is [...]

Isn’t that all we ever talk about around here? Apparently. Remember that zombie book that I had a story in (Rigor Amortis, Absolute XPress, 2010)? The one that sold a gajillion copies and is being reprinted? The publish date isn’t until mid-October, but there are copies in the dealer room at WorldCon in Reno. (Where [...]

I know, two topics you’ve totally never seen here before! First the writing. How to write a book in three days. Michael Moorcock did it, and explained how. If that wasn’t enough to think about, here’s Lester Dent’s Master Plot Formula for pulps. And then the science. Those word count progress bars? Just might help [...]

I have an enormous backlog of half-finished articles, links and videos and cool things, brilliant ideas, flash fictions that fade in the middle… I haven’t had time or internet access sufficient to get them all out to you. It actually isn’t due to spending all my time on Google+, honest. See above, lack of internet [...]

The internet, that is, luring me away from whatever it was that I was supposed to be doing. And really, it’s too hot to be doing anything, so why not? (Don’t answer that, please.) Some highlights: How sci-fi let women be in charge – I’m bothered by the title. “Let women be in charge” is [...]

It’s not that I don’t love you all, I’ve just been wrapped up in science. Right now it doesn’t matter what it is to anyone but me. But it’s complicated, and fun, and vastly overdue, and I’ve finally gotten a handle on it. For the curious, I use R for everything, including these figures. Isn’t [...]

The USPS has released four new Forever stamps featuring US scientists. A female physicist, a male botanist, a Spanish-born male biochemist, and a male chemist: not a horrid attempt at diversity in people and disciplines. Only three Nobel-prizewinners, though, since there’s no Nobel for botanists, even if Asa Gray hadn’t died before the first prizes [...]

The short bits first: the monthly writer’s social project this time was six word stories. There’s an assignment every month, something suitable for discussing over beer and burgers. My contributions: My balloon rises, valve stuck open. My garden’s overrun. Maybe it’s Triffids. And the long bit: I have a new article at Clarkesworld this month: [...]

Last December there was a big fuss about the arsenic bacteria reported in a NASA press conference. I followed along, read all kinds of wild speculation online, and tried to refute some of the more obvious errors people were making, as well as explain why arsenic-using bacteria could be very exciting. After the excitement died [...]