Truly ‘Off the Grid’?

July 29th 2010 at 4:53 pm

Is It Possible to Go Truly ‘Off the Grid’?:
I’m not against sustainability – I’m for anything that saves resources, improves systems, and may save our planet before we fry it in its own petroleum-based oils. But driving your grid-produced pickup to get your grid-produced lumber at a big box store, driving on grid-paved highways [...]

A reminder about books for sale

July 29th 2010 at 3:41 pm

Just a reminder, I’m selling original hardcovers, signed, of my books, and you can pick the price. The deal ends tomorrow, when I ship them all out. Details here.

To achieve more: daydream more

July 29th 2010 at 2:18 pm

I’m deep into working on Arctic Rising at full pace once more, after spending a few weeks with Arctic Rising on a back burner, getting fewer words in per day, as I focused mainly on a novella for a secret project (hopefully you’ll get to hear more about that soon).
I’d left the book at a [...]

Framing kids’ deviance by race

July 28th 2010 at 5:30 pm

Two seven year old kids steal a car to go joyriding in separate incidences. One is white, one is black.
One will be tried as an adult and probably see juvenile prison, one will not.
One will be treated by the media as a god-fearing church goer who did something silly. The media host will laugh with [...]

CO2 filtering ‘necklace’

July 27th 2010 at 11:35 am

Ecouterre has a link to this bizarre oxygen necklace thing that looks better off in an SF flick of some sort. Maybe its something you’d use on a recently terraformed planet? This screams like its part of a stillsuit from Dune.

Selling copies of my books direct for this week

July 26th 2010 at 2:51 pm

After I got back from Oddcon I sold some books direct via the website. Some others had hoped I would do it again, and I promised I would. Also, we’ve had a houseguest for a week holed up in my office, and after getting back into my office, I realized wouldn’t mind clearing out some [...]

Living in the Antarctic

July 26th 2010 at 11:51 am

Worldchanging has a fascinating write up of a student who created a very cool diorama of their ideas about how to create a living space in the Antarctic by burrowing underground.
The presentation is probably the most amazing part of the ideas. Models and magnifying glasses, combined with shots from inside the diorama, make a surreal, [...]

The Nook

July 24th 2010 at 8:36 am

So last Friday I went down to Columbus. Ostensibly I was having lunch with the estimable Charlie Finlay and Paul Melko, but a side goal was that I was also picking up a B&N Nook. I’ve been doing some freelance work in eBook conversion for people,  and it was time to get a Nook for [...]

A touching essay about the impact of the ADA act

July 23rd 2010 at 2:58 pm

Moving words from Haddayr Copley-Woods:

As the physically disabled parent of a developmentally disabled child, I am deeply grateful today.
Things used to be different for people like us: such as for Barb, a girl I knew growing up. She was bright, ambitious and she also had a form of autism. Her parents had to fight to [...]

What gapminder points out about colonialism

July 23rd 2010 at 12:11 pm

I often get people determined to defend colonialism by talking about the sorry state of African countries and telling me they would be better off if white people had remained in control.
While its true some countries have slid back, the truth is, its fewer countries than people realize. On the whole, particularly if you look [...]