When Ducks Attack
It was a muggy morning; the buzz of cicadas filled the air. I’d taken care of the dogs and was heading out for some exercise of my own. As I turned the first corner, I saw motion ahead. One of our local waterfowl had achieved target lock and was waddling toward me on an intercept…Read More
Ash is Live!
I mentioned a while back that I was going to give Kindle Vella a shot with the final novel in the Spark Chronicles. Episode 1 of Ash is now live and can be found here. I asked the cover artist for a few changes and she came through. I wanted the Morrigan figure to be…Read More
Back to the Future of ComicPalooza
Aside from hurricanes and tornadoes, one of the things that can generate 1.21 gigawatts of enthusiasm in Texas is ComicPalooza. This year there are more celebrities than ever, a bigger cosplay crowd, and a pretty cool NASA/STEM tie-in. With the tornado in the past and most of the lights being back on, I can finally…Read More
Rethinking Survival
We live in Houston and last Thursday got hit with a Spielberg-class storm. 100 mph winds, heavy rain, memorable lightning. We’re well away from the nearest pond/lake and a turtle ended up in our yard. Power was out for 3 days and is back on now. Three cheers for AC! Since we live in a…Read More
Tax Time Intrigue
Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m late on taxes this year. One of the things that I have to do, since I sell on Amazon, is pull my sales/royalty information from them to include in tax calculations. It’s fairly painless and yields some interesting information. This little tidbit was a big surprise: In 2023, 60% of…Read More
The Far Side of Infinity
A few posts back, I talked about FIGMO Factor (number of days worked divided by number of days left to work). As the denominator approaches zero, the value of the factor approaches infinity. For you math geeks, where x=days worked and n=days left to work, with n and x being positive real numbers What happens when…Read More
AI Today
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a topic of fascination and innovation for decades, particularly in SciFi, with rapid advancements over the past few years. From self-driving cars and voice-activated virtual assistants to medical diagnostics. I was a big fan of the TV show House but was always irked by the premise. Clearly, an AI would…Read More
Book review: Livewired by David Eagleman
Lots of academics attempt to write for the masses. Few succeed. Kahneman and Sapolsky come to mind. David Eagleman might be the best I’ve read. Livewired is subtitled “The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain.” Skip the subtitle, read the book. It’s outstanding. Eagleman masterfully navigates the complex landscape of neuroscience, revealing how our brains…Read More
Proton-Exchange Membranes and The Destiny of Times
I didn’t expect to blog about proton-exchange membranes (PEMs) but they came up during my interview with Jan Jordynn on her Destiny of Times podcast. Jan’s got a wide-ranging curiosity and we ended up talking about much more than books and writing. Give it a listen here. I’ve been working on a hydrogen-powered aircraft program…Read More
“We don’t see sick patients.”
I left ComicPalooza with a case of COVID. I didn’t meet anyone obviously sick when I was there. No one was coughing or sneezing, I have been vaxxed and triple boosted, yet… The event ended on Sunday. I felt fine. As Monday wore on, I started to feel puny – headache, body aches. Tuesday was…Read More