kenscholes

First trailer for ‘The Hobbit’ arrives

Part 1. The Origins of Dinotopia: Childhood Dreams — Art guru James Gurney with a very detailed series of blog posts on how he developed Dinotopia. A wonderful series of pieces on world building for all you writers and artists out there.

Watch the Solstice Approach (and Recede) — Be sure to click through to the year clock.

Metal undergoes novel transition under extreme pressure — Under extreme pressures and temperatures, one of the main materials of the Earth’s interior has exhibited a never-before-seen transition. Cool.

Sheriff: Ohio man cleaning gun killed Amish girl — Ah, the death of a child. As my conservative friends stoutly agree in their party platforms, a small price to pay for the Second Amendment right to defense of essentially liberties. How many deaths are your guns worth to you?

In Madison, 1,000 Singers Defy Walker’s Edict — Ah, the price of free speech. (Via tillyjane, a/k/a my mom.)

Politifact, R.I.P. — The pernicious GOP “liberal media” meme strikes again.

Fox and Friends on the SpongeBob Conspiracy — Further proof that the conservative worldview is nutty crankery. (Via willyumtx.)

?otd: Long nights? Impossible odds?

12/21/2011
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (chemo fatigue)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 12.5 (solid plus napping)
Weight: 208.8
Currently (re)reading: Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey

Electro-magnetic brakes stop aeroplaes — Ah, days of future past.

Weird clock in Shibuya, Tokyo — It’s like a music box from The Matrix or something. (Thanks to .)

Republicans See Big Chance, but Are Worried, Too — GOP discovers “Party of No” is not a good electoral agenda. Also, this just in: sun sets in west.

Scandals in the House Republican Class of 1994 — But the House Republicans of ’94 stand out: No fewer than 15 of the 73 elected in the landslide that year have entertained the nation with flaps that include messy divorces and a suspicious car accident. This is why people vote Republican. Because of their high moral stance and principled family values.

?otD: How wide are your wings?

[ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ]

Incredible Astronomical Clocks — Fans of the Mainspring series, and readers of Escapement in particular, will enjoy this Dark Roasted Blend feature.

Project BLT — Making your own BLT. Literally. (Via Freakonomics.)

I do not know much about rivers. — The Edge of the American West on homoeroticism and race in American literature.

12 Insane Elevated Eco-Parks & Dizzying Outdoor Overlooks — (Thanks to .)

Darwin Blogs the Beagle Voyage — Now there’s a cool idea.

A Startup That Builds Biological Parts — Ginkgo BioWorks aims to push synthetic biology to the factory level.

?otD: When you look down from the jet, don’t you get that magic feeling?

In which and I go play with space rocks [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ]

Guys Lit Wire reviews Mainspring [ Powell's | Amazon thb | Barnes & Noble | Borders | Audible ] — Nice things are said.

Robert N. Lee disagrees with my stance on the Google Books settlement issue

Art writing guru James Gurney on research: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 — I can think of less than a handful of writers who would go this deep. Amazing.

The Western Nostril on pension funds and those who don’t speak Klingon

John Taylor and the Corpus Clock — Chronophage. Huh. Fascinating video. (Thanks to .)

The Five Biggest Lies in the Health Care Debate — Newsweek documents the source and spread of some of the most persistent GOP lies about healthcare. Since conservatives can’t win this one on ideas or on principles, all they have left is lies. Unfortunately for America, they’re damned good at lies.

DeMint: Health Care Is a Privilege, Not a Right — Compassionate conservatism, from a Republican party near you.

McCain Admits Bush Torture Violated Treaties — Includes some fascinating references to Reagan’s stance on torture, as well as the Bush DOJ quoted as saying in a court filing: “[Torture] undermines respect for and trust in authority, government and a rule of law. The gravity of the offense of torture is beyond dispute.” Why didn’t you speak up on this earlier, Senator McCain? Like, oh, when it would have mattered? Remember kids, as the GOP liked to remind us constantly during the Clinton years, character counts.

?otD: How many parts was Gaul divided into? *

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Anachrotechnofetishism: artifacts by pioneers of american steampunk — (Snurched from Dark Roasted Blend.)

Lunniy Orbital’niy Korabl (LOK) — Soviet lunar module.

Cellphone calls fail to crash airplanes

Political Pullback for the Christian Right? — Wow, if these guys aren’t careful, they might accidentally rediscover their own virtues. Which would really suck for the GOP, if Christian America started, you know, acting Christian for a change.

?otD: Which witch is which?

4/5/2009
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
This morning’s weigh-in: n/a (spaced out)
Currently reading: The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade by Herman Melville; Making Money by Terry Pratchett

The Cab Ride I’ll Never Forget — Moving. (Thanks to willyumtx.)

Dark energy: the quest for galaxies — South Pole Telescope offers fresh view of Universe’s expansion. (Thanks to lt260.)

Slime Mold Rehabilitated — Some awesome nature photography. (Thanks to willyumtx.)

For U.S. Astronauts, a Russian Second Home — U.S. Astronauts at Star City, in Russian. (Thanks to lt260.)

Can Microsoft conquer cloud computing? — More near-term futurism from Technology Review.

Study says most corporations pay no U.S. income taxes — Yep. Definitely need more tax cuts here.

Peak Wingnut — “…wingnut is a renewable resource. Peak Wingnut was the shortest lived ‘theory’ ever.” Hahahahahah.

10/15/08
Body movement: 110 minute suburban walk
Last night’s weigh-out: n/a
This morning’s weigh-in: n/a
Currently reading: The Dord, the Diglot, and an Avocado or Two by Anu Garg

Scientists exhume British diplomat to study flu — I’m pretty sure Connie Willis wrote a book about this. (Thanks to lt260.)

Stephen Hawking to unveil strange new way to tell the time — Some serious clock neepery. (Thanks to swan_tower.)

Arctic sea ice reaches annual low — Not quite to last year’s record low. Never mind that global warming hoax. (Thanks to lt260.)

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my — Big cats loose in Galveston in the wake of Hurricane Ike. (Thanks to my Dad.)

If Palin were a Democrat — The K Chronicles nails the conservative narrative. (Thanks to my aunt M.)

Sarah Palin’s powerful “First Dude”

9/18/08
Body movement: 50 minute suburban walk
Last night’s weigh-out: n/a
This morning’s weigh-in: 233.6
Currently reading: FenCon workshop manuscripts