Endurance is officially out today — You know you want a copy. [ Powells | Barnes & Noble ]
Endurance is now available at Audible.com — If you're into audiobooks, check it out. Katherine Kellgren of the glorious voice, who narrated Green, is back with this one. And yes, they've acquired the audio rights to Kalimpura as well, so about this time next year you can have the whole set.
A fan review of Endurance — Not so much with the liking.
Ancient Cave Painters Were Realists, DNA Reveals — Art criticism through molecular biology?
Most Vertebrates -- Including Humans -- Descended from Ancestor With Sixth Sense — Or eighth or ninth or something. The point being, we lost it along the way. (Via Science Sushi.)
Light-Based Therapy Destroys Cancer Cells — The new approach, which features a heat-sensitive fluorescent dye, could eventually replace standard chemotherapy. Oh, Ghu.
Worldometers: Real time world statistics — A global dashboard. If you're any kind of an information junkie, you sure could get lost in this. (Via Curiosity Counts, also well worth following.)
Black Holes, Safety, and the LHC Upgrade — If the LHC is to be upgraded, safety should be a central part of the plans. I find this article unintentionally hilarious.
Enceladus fires on Alderaan — Bad Astronomy with a terrific photo and a hilarious headline.
The Light of Alien Cities — Centauri Dreams with more on this concept I linked to elsewhere last week. I'm all for this, but continue to wonder about the multiple embedded assumptions in the idea.
Mississippi amendment on 'personhood' divides Christians — Yes, between those who might be sane and those who are viciously cruel.
Richard Land, Bocephus and the Scandal of Evangelical Ethics — Slacktivist Fred Clark with a long, interesting piece on the deep moral failings of the American evangelical movement.
Occupy Wall Street vs The Tea Party — A rather nifty graphic comparing a grassroots movement to an astroturf Republican front group. (Remember, the original Tea Party gatherings were promoted and sponsored by FOX. Hardly an independent bottom-up effort, that.)
Cain campaign as a sign of decadence — A conservative commentator on Herman Cain, echoing something I've long said. You wouldn’t trust an amateur to spay your cat or to give you sound investment advice for your 401(K) — yet there are millions of Republians who think an avuncular amateur like Herman Cain would do a great job as president of the United States, or at least a better job than Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, or anybody else on offer who has actually worked in politics. Hey, it was the American Right who elected George W. Bush, bringing us 9-11, the Iraq War, and the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. We know what amateur hour in White House can cost.
Romney Will Take Conservatives For Granted (and They Will Let Him) — Conservative commentator Daniel Larison on a possible Romney presidency. I take his point, though his analysis in the piece of George W. Bush as governing from the left is too bizarre to even comment on.
?otD: California much?
11/8/2011
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (chemo fatigue)
Body movement: 30 minutes in hotel gym and spa
Hours slept: 8.5 hours (fitful)
Weight: n/a
Currently (re)reading: The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett