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| 2009-11-25 04:57 |
| [links] Link salad goes ungently into the unsweet night of surgery |
| Public |
| books, cancer, funny, health, links, madness, personal, photos, politics, reviews, rocket, science |
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A reader reacts to my 2005 novel Rocket Science [ Powell's | Amazon ] — I think they liked it.
Cheryl Morgan reviews Madness of Flowers [ Powell's | Amazon ] — Note the comments section, she's playing an utterly lovely game with a short passage from my book.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) plunderpuss finishes my medical forms — Hahahah.
joshenglish and Mrs. joshenglish drop by with a lovely parting gift — Hilarious.
SMBC on the topic of lung surgery — An odd resonance in today's comic reading, given where I'm headed this morning.
Nothing to Sneeze At: Doctors' Neckties Seen as Flu Risk — Heh. I knew I was on to something with this whole Hawaiian shirt thing.
APOD with the ice fountains of Enceladus — Wow wow wow.
Hacked E-Mail Is New Fodder for Climate Dispute — Well, this is not good.
Everybody flipflops on the filibuster of judicial nominees — Ah, principled consistency in politics.
?otD: Will you miss me when I'm gone?
11/25/2009 Body movement: n/a (surgery prep) Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: 236.2 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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Polyphony is moving to a subscription model as of volume 7 — Go check it out, and consider a pre-order with Wheatland Press.
Oddly Specific — Weird, and hilarious, signs. (Thanks to corwynofamber.)
More silly signs — (Thanks to Scrivener's Error.)
The Standard Model — Particles, etc. for you skiffy writers. (Via John Burridge.)
Apple rejects iPhone application with drawings of US senators and representatives — Ah, logic. (Thanks to goulo.)
?otD: What is that high, lonesome sound?
11/24/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 4.5 This morning's weigh-in: 235.0 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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| 2009-11-23 05:41 |
| [links] Link salad stares down the barrel of a difficult week |
| Public |
| books, cool, culture, green, links, nature, personal, photos, politics, reviews, science |
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The Torque Control post on my book Green has spawned a fascinating coments section — Go check it out. I'm not saying anything there for obvious reasons, but I'm pleased and a bit amazed at some of the careful consideration of my book going on.
Company Wants To Drill For Whiskey Lost In Arctic — (Via @GreatDismal.)
The Secret World of Naked Snakes — Fun wih nature.
A closeup of Enceladus' icescape — Wow. Wow. Wow.
On the Anniversary of Kennedy's Death, Extremism Lives On — the paranoid strain in the American polity has reasserted itself — that strain which ascribes the worst possible motives to one's political opponents, and where lies abound and violence becomes possible Hello, GOP.
?otD: How manic is your Monday?
11/23/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: 236.2 (!?) Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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| 2009-11-22 05:31 |
| [links] Link salad hears a high lonesome sound |
| Public |
| art, books, calendula, cool, links, personal, politics, process, religion, reviews, science, stories, videos, writing |
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A bit more on Interzone 225 — With novelette "Bone Island" by calendula_witch and me.
Get Fuzzy on the perils of authorship (again)
The Extraordinary World of Ex Libris Art — (Via Dark Roasted Blend.)
Best Use of Exploitative Tactis — Drawn! with a very strange, short animation. Cool, and vaguely NSFW.
Cassini buzzes Enceladus once again — Mmm, photographic goodness.
Why do we hate? Academics seek answer in new field — (Via Freakonomics Blog.)
JFK nephew barred from communion: report — Mmm, I loves me some separation of Church and State. And what is it about religious people that makes them want to force the rest of society to abide by their particular beliefs?
?otD: Do you feel like you're king of the hill?
11/22/2009 Body movement: 120 minute suburban walk (about to depart) Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (not yet) Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. — Kameron Hurley riffs on a recent comment of mine about copy writing vs fiction writing.
Two Lumps does steampunk
The Emerging Field of Biophotonic Communication — The growing evidence that cells communicate with photons is generating an exciting new field of research. Wow is that is that strange.
"RuBisCo Stars" and the Riddle of Life — Plus a really cool iPhone app. Centauri Dreams gets jiggy with the interstellar communication.
52% of Republicans think Obama was not legitimately elected — WTF? And don't try to tell me this compares to Bush v. Gore - the issues there were sufficiently legitimate to wind up before the Supreme Court, which made a self-admittedly flaky decision (viz their instructions that the ruling was not to be used as precendent). This is trial by FOX News and conservative paranoia. Not to mention which the numbers don't even begin to hold up on the face of it.
Gingrich warns GOP of dangers of extremism — Much like Howdy Doody warning of the evils of puppetry, methinks. Or possibly Joe McCarthy being alarmed about the impact of Red baiting, to use a more Republican-focused analogy. Newt bears as much responsibility as Lee Atwater and Roger Ailes for creating the psychotic mess that is the modern GOP. Now he's sorry?
?otD: Who are the three men you admire most?
11/21/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 7.0 This morning's weigh-in: 234.8 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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| 2009-11-20 05:36 |
| [link] Out on the road today, link salad saw a Black Flag sticker on a Cadillac |
| Public |
| art, books, cool, green, links, nature, personal, photos, reviews, science, stories, weird |
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A reader reacts to Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ] — And she likes it...
The Guardian on best science fiction titles — In which I am favorably name checked. And title checked.
Enterprise — Star Trek paintings. Heh. (Via Drawn!.)
Police: Would-be Seattle ninja impaled on fence — "The man was "overconfident in his abilities," and that alcohol likely played a role. Um, yeah. (Thanks to corwynofamber.)
Europa might be teeming with fish — Wow. Just wow.
Underwater river of hydrogen sulphide — Wow.
?otD: What is the little voice inside your head saying?
11/20/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 233.2 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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A reader reacts to Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ]
SFWA with a podcast of the Google Books Settlement panel I was on at WFC
The Polish Army in France — WWI poster from Vintagraph.
What the Future May Hold — Bob Herbert on infrastructure. What he said. "Deferred maintenance" is one of the worst ideas our business and political culture ever had.
Thomas Friedman on why it doesn't matter whether or not you believe in global warming — He's right, but I'll add that not believing in global warming is like not believing in evolution or gravity. It's happening regardless of what your wilful blindnesses may tell you.
?otD: Who was she watching, anyway?
11/19/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 234.0 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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| 2009-11-18 05:36 |
| [links] Link salad has its hair pulled back, Wayfarers on |
| Public |
| books, cool, funny, green, health, language, links, personal, photos, process, reviews, weird, writing |
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A fascinating roundup of some (starkly contradictory) reviews of my novel Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ]
Fantasy and Fitness: Interviews with Jay Lake and Elizabeth Bear
Get Fuzzy on what writing really is — Plus bonus parts of speech!
Faults "intollerable and euer vndecent" — Language Log is rather funny about 16th century prescriptivism. With primary sources, no less. A must-read for word geeks and grammar geeks.
Hippos biting a crocodile to death — Wow. And yes, this is a violent photo. Nature red of tooth and claw.
PETMAN prototype — A walking robot that approaches the uncanny valley from a different direction. (Thanks to wilyumtx.)
?otD: Where did you leave your heart?
11/18/2009 Body movement: 60 minute urban walk (San Francisco hills!) Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 233.0 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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Scrivener's Error on the updates to the vile Google Books Settlement — Yep, copyright theft is still copyright theft. Way to not be evil, boys.
Downloading Optimism — Artist Lucy Knisley on digital books. Worth the read.
Fire and Ice: 1900 — Shorpy with some real steampunk.
Anonymous Doc on on unusual medical procedures — A stool transplant? (The first part of the link is about something else entirely, and is rather sad. Interesting blog to follow.)
A 25-year battery — Can I have one for my iPhone?
?otD: Why do they call it Twin Peaks when there's three hilltops?
11/17/2009 Body movement: 60 minute urban walk (San Francisco hills!) Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 234.5 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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My largely complete 2009 bibliography, for all your gift giving, award nominating or reading completist needs [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ]
The Curious Threshold For Creativity — A new model of society suggests that we should spend no more than 50 percent of our time being creative. Hmm...
God, the Army, and PTSD — Is religion an obstacle to treatment? Tell me again why faith-based programs are such a good idea?
[Rhode Island Governor] Carcieri vetoes bill allowing partners to plan funerals — That's what I like to see, family values hitting teh gay where it hurts them the most. Hey, conservatives, are you especially proud of this one? This is exactly what you vote for, every time.
Save yourself! — Jihadism as a response to American anti-terror campaigns, and the value of protest. Whatever your politics, this is worth reading.
?otD: What is the name of Orion's dog, anyway?
11/16/2009 Body movement: 60 minute urban walk (San Francisco hills!) Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: 233.5 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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jaborwhalky with Jay Lake Dorito noodle doom mac and cheese — A recipe in honor of my cancers.
Charles A. Tan with a takedown of International Science Fiction Reshelving day — What he said. (Via Andrew Wheeler.)
Superconductors to Wire a Smarter Grid — More than you probably wanted to know about the US power infrastructure. Still, cool stuff.
Bad Science on the Iraqi bomb detection wands — This is as insane, and in its way deadly, as Thabo Mbeki's AIDS denialism. US conservatism have their global warming denial and evolution psychoses, liberals have their antivaxers, but it's nice to know that antiscience lunacy is not just for Americans.
China's fear of a black president
?otD: Which way to Pismo Beach?
11/15/2009 Body movement: Not yet, but upcoming 60 minute urban walk (San Francisco hills!) Hours slept: 5.75 This morning's weigh-in: 236.5 (!?) Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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I am interviewed by Michael Ventrella
calendula_witch on why we blog
scarlettina documents, among other things, my remarkable forebearance at Imaginary WFC 2009
Greenland's ice sheet lost 1500 gigatons of mass from 2000 to 2008 — Another liberal traitor in the global warming conspiracy.
NASA finds reservoir of water ice on the Moon! — In case you missed this. Big news!
Sunrise over DIA — A nice image from APOD.
?otD: How much up would an woodchuck upchuck if a woodchuck could chuck upchuck up?
11/14/2009 Body movement: 60 minute urban walk (San Francisco hills!) Hours slept: 7.5 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (forgot) Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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| 2009-11-13 02:46 |
| [links] Link salad flies transcontinental |
| Public |
| art, books, cancer, culture, green, links, personal, photos, politics, reviews, science |
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Call for masks — A way of sticking it to my cancer.
Strange Horizons reviews Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ] — Not so much with the liking of the book. No, no, not at all. In great detail, at length with the not liking.
Mercado de San Marcos: 1890s
The Speed of Online Conversation — The Web, Twitter, and you.
Rosetta takes home some pictures — Bad Astronomy with some serious wow factor.
Backward star ain't from around here — Fun with astrography. (Snurched from the Twitter feed of @jstephenyork.)
Hoekstra Helps Al Qaeda — A Republican congressman gives aid and comfort to the enemy. Waiting for the media explosion... waiting... waiting... (Just as a thought experiment, imagine if Barney Frank had done this.)
?otD: How many dances can an angelhead pin?
11/13/2009 Body movement: n/a (airport walking) Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (traveling) Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-12 05:40 |
| [links] Link salad, mostly science edition |
| Public |
| art, books, calendula, cancer, cool, culture, green, links, movies, music, personal, reviews, sale, science, stories, tech, weird |
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Call for masks — A way of sticking it to my cancer.
Interzone 225 ToC announced — With a novelette by calendula_witch and me. Also, she and I have sold a flash piece to Electric Velocipede.
A reader reacts to Green — At the bottom of their summary of recent reading. Some very nice things said.
Early 1970s ad for After Six men's fashions — My eyes! My eyes! Augh!
Google and realtime search — "There were five exabytes of information generated from the dawn of mankind to the year 2003," he said. "That amount of information is now generated every two days." Wow.
Mimicking the Building Prowess of Nature — Scientists build new materials using inspiration from complex biological forms. Some wild photos, and really neat materials science here.
Humanoid dinosaurs? Maybe not so much. — Some arguments about evolutionary paths from Tetrapod Zoology.
Mini ice age took hold of Europe in months — Something to think about in these days of climate change risk.
Why did HAL sing "Daisy"? — Fascinating. (Snurched from the Twitter feed of @jstephenyork.)
?otD: Why was the band on the run?
11/12/2009 Body movement: 55 minute urban walk (airport infrastructure!) Hours slept: 5.75 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (traveling) Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-11 03:27 |
| [links] Link salad thanks a veteran |
| Public |
| art, books, cancer, conventions, escapement, green, links, personal, politics, reviews, tech |
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Call for masks — A way of sticking it to my cancer.
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books gives a shoutout to Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ] — Jay Lake’s Green has one of the most wonderful new female protagonists I’ve read in a while (Thanks to Cora.)
Foreign Service Journal reviews Escapement and Green here and here — (Thanks to my Dad.)
Google Dashboard: Now You Know What Google Knows About You — Um, yeah. (Thanks to lillypond.)
The Very Serious Paradox — The Poor Man institute calls out conservative doublethink on the role of government in society. (Admittedly not hard to do, but this one's still a doozie.)
?otD: Who will you thank for Veteran's Day?
11/11/2009 Body movement: n/a (traveling) Hours slept: 5.75 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (forgot) Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-10 05:36 |
| [links] Link salad follows the example of the comic-paper idol |
| Public |
| books, cancer, cool, funny, green, health, healthcare, links, madness, personal, photos, politics, religion, reviews, science |
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The Dragon Page reviews Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ] — (Thanks to brent_kellmer.)
A reader reacts to Madness of Flowers [ Powell's | Amazon ]
Jay Lake, Religion and a Benediction — Shlomi, on my cancer.
TWA Mechanics from Outer Space — Hilarious photo, ca. 1941.
Saturn After the Equinox — Another APOD image that will take your breath away.
1962 textbook, When You Marry — Check out the excerpted material on class differences in child rearing and sex. It's creepy.
SMBC on the perils of evolutionists — Heh.
Antihealthcare Reform Idiocy — Oh, wow. Money shot: "When I need health care, I pay for it out of pocket," he said, adding that he did not fear the possibility that an accident or illness would leave him with unaffordable bills. "I'm a Christian, so I'm not afraid of death," he said. Good luck with that.
?otD: How thick are you?
11/10/2009 Body movement: 90 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 234.0 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-09 05:41 |
| [links] Link salad looks toward Philadelphia, blinks into the rising sun |
| Public |
| cool, culture, funny, links, personal, photos, politics, process, science, sex, tech, writing |
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Foob on writers — And our "temper mental" selves.
Lucy Knisley on memories of childhood sexuality — Oi. Quite something.
Another fabulous WPA poster on Vintagraph
Dieselpunk Bomber — Mmm.
Martian Landscapes — Boston.com's "The Big Picture" with a roundup of some of the recent, stunning Mars photography. (Via Bad Astronomy.)
A Tiny Revolution on Reagan and the Pakistani bomb — Yep, those Republicans, always looking out for national security. And principled, too! Nothing to see here, citizen, move along.
Unclear on the concept of separation of church and state — Several Democrats, including Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pennsylvania, said they are in touch with their Catholic bishops back home. Altmire said he must have the approval of his bishop in Pittsburgh before he can vote yes. Nice to know that there are some Democrats who hold Constitutional principles in as high regard as their GOP colleagues.
Paranoia Strikes Deep — Paul Krugman on the American Right. He says something I've been saying for years, albeit far more elegantly, in the money shot: ...the G.O.P. has been taken over by the people it used to exploit.
?otD: How many writers does it take to change a light bulb?
11/9/2009 Body movement: 15 minutes of stretching and meditation, 30 minutes on stationary bike Hours slept: 5.25 This morning's weigh-in: 233.0 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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Mitchell Hooks’ Fabulous 50’s Paperback Covers — Very nice stuff linked through from this post on Drawn!
Little but fierce — Ah, Criggo, thy clippings make me laugh until my bladder threatens.
A Common Nomenclature for Lego Families — An interesting article about how children name things. (Via Language Log.)
You Sir, Have Offended My Honor — Ta-Nehisi Coates on bigotry, with sourcing from Brian Chase.
64 Democrats on the Wrong Side of Stupak-Pitts — I expect Republicans to vote in favor of forced pregnancy and government intrusion in private life. Those are among the most cherished conservative principles. But Democrats? I'm sure you guys are proud of yourselves, and that just makes me even more ashamed.
?otD: Who will stop the rain?
11/8/2009 Body movement: 2 hour, 30 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 232.4 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-07 07:37 |
| [links] Link salad wanders into the weekend, idly scratching |
| Public |
| books, cool, escapement, language, links, personal, process, reviews, science, tech, trains, writing |
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A reader reacts to Escapement [ Powell's | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders ]
RULES OF SEDUCTION: writing the opposite sex — Justine Musk on character.
English, Jack — A blog for you really high end grammar geeks.
Articulated Railroad Car: 1935 — Another quite cool patent drawing.
The Fairey Rotodyne — This looks to me like some crazed Soviet project. Would you fly in it?
APOD with an image of Stickney Crater on Phobos
The Gravitational Lens and Communications — Some serious Big Idea science from Centauri Dreams.
?otD: What age is this the dawning of, anyway?
11/7/2009 Body movement: 2 hour, 15 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 5.5 This morning's weigh-in: 231.2 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-06 05:40 |
| [links] Link salad sidles toward another weekend |
| Public |
| art, books, conventions, cool, healthcare, links, nature, personal, politics, reviews, science, steampunk, stories |
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METAtropolis [ Audible.com | Powell's | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders ] reviewed here and here — A mixed bag, at least for my story.
catrambo reports on the reading tonight here in Portland — I've dropped the ball on promoting this, but 6:30 pm at the Press Club in SE Portland, with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) jeffvandermeer, catrambo, tattoo artist-turned-author Jeff Johnson and my own bad self.
Goth scuplture — In an earlier sense of the term. Cool stuff. (Thanks to willyumtx.)
Sketching the Mechanical Elephant — No, that is not a euphemism. Art writing art Guru James Gurney on the giant mechanical elephant.
England's Ancient Ridgeway Trail — Mmm. Want to go. Someone want to invite me to a UK Con as GoH so I can do this stuff?
Dark Red Spot Found on Kuiper Belt Object Haumae — Wow.
Anonymous Doc on the divergent experiences of patients and doctors
Media bias in the Washington Post op-ed page — Liberal media much? I like his phrasing, one of those outlets typically counted as part of the "Liberal Media" by right-wing self-victimizers and their media amplifiers.
?otD: Would 'Thorax' be a great name for a villain or what?
11/6/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (forgot) Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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