Jay Lake: Writer

[links] Link salad flies home from the mountains of the desert Southwest

New Entries into Old Conversations — Cora Buhlert on trends in SF.

Songs of Empowerment CD — Since 2007 music has been essential in healing from my cancer. I want to make a cd featuring my songs of healing and donate them to cancer groups and patients. (Via danjite.)

Time travel: BOAC’s skycot for infants, 1953 — Whoa. Why did this ever seem like a good idea? (Snurched from Daily Idioms, Annotated.)

Google Considering ‘Wireless Balloons’ to Deliver Internet to Countries

Google Glass Won’t Work in the Enterprise: 10 Reasons Why

Why did our ancestors start walking upright? Ancient terrain may hold clue. — A study suggests that rocky landscapes in East and South Africa could have pushed our apelike ancestors toward bipedalism. Brachiation, we like brachiation…

Fuel Cells Could Offer Cheap Carbon-Dioxide Storage — A new type of fuel cell could make CO2 storage cheaper, but it could also prove to be a good way to pump more oil out of the ground. This seems to have the potential to be a multiple win.

Arctic Amplification — Why are temperatures warming faster in the Arctic than the rest of the world? Remember kids, global warming is a liberal plot. The overwhelming accumulation of “facts” and “data” is just a reality-based scam.

Media Ignores Climate Change Background of Increased Flooding — That’s because media outlets that engage in reality-based reporting are quite rightly accused of liberal bias. The conservative narrative is just that: a narrative. It doesn’t survive contact with the facts on the ground.

Francis’ Humility and Emphasis on the Poor Strike a New Tone at the Vatican — Until he does something substantive about the pedophilia crisis, including the high level coverups, the rest of this is just smoke and mirrors.

Congressman Who Gets Millions In Farm Subsidies Denounces Food Stamps As Stealing ‘Other People’s Money’ — As I have often said, conservatism is both a failure of imagination and empathy. These days wrapped in righteous self-valorization. (Snurched from Slacktivist Fred Clark.)

QotD?: Did you travel this weekend?

5/26/2013
Writing time yesterday: 1.0 hours (WRPA, otherwise on workshop time)
Hours slept: 6.25 hours (fitful)
Body movement: n/a
Weight: n/a
Number of FEMA troops on my block scamming disaster aid slush funds: 0
Currently reading: A Hatful of Sky by Terry Pratchett

Tags: Cancer, climate, Cool, Links, music, Personal, Photos, Politics, Publishing, Religion, Science, Tech, weird, Writing

Posted: 4:13 am Sun May 26 2013 | Comments(2) |

[links] Link salad dreams mountain dreams

The first Apple, fetching prices that may crash the system

Acoustic Levitation — This is seriously cool. (Via threeoutside.)

Marketing to the Big Data Inside Us — In your DNA are clues to your health, your ancestry, and maybe even your purchasing preferences.

A molecular window on itch — Researchers discover chemical puppet master behind the need to scratch.

An Interplanetary GPS Using Pulsar Signals — Spacecraft could determine their position anywhere in the solar system to within five kilometres using signals from x-ray pulsars, say astronomers.

New Technique Could Probe Rocky Alien Planet Surfaces

Scientists: Arctic bacteria discovered on Earth may prove life could thrive on Mars

Glow-in-the-dark cockroach among top 10 new species of 2012

White tiger’s coat down to one change in a gene

Race, Intelligence, and Genetics For Curious Dummies

The Iraq War Wasn’t Inevitable — Nope. It was a trillion dollar war of choice based on knowingly false premises brought to you by leading conservatives. I wish more Republican voters understood those simple facts. But they watch FOX News and listen to Rush Limbaugh, so they never will.

C.I.A. to Focus More on Spying, a Difficult Shift — Hmm…

Ignorance loves company: Four examples — Ignorance loves company. The truly stupid resent those who are not and won’t be satisfied until they’ve burned all the books, torn down the libraries, closed the universities, and made it impossible for anyone else not to share their own proud ignorance. Who could he be talking about? What segment of American culture and politics? I really cannot imagine, can you?

How Van Halen explains Obamacare, salmon regulation and scientific grants — This is why it’s important to do nuance. Too bad Republicans have elected political vandals who proudly don’t do nuance to dominate the House and derail the Senate. (Snurched from Slacktivist Fred Clark.)

Toomey’s candor sheds light on post-policy party — “There were some on my side who did not want to be seen helping the president do something he wanted to get done, just because the president wanted to do it.” Speaking of the GOP as political vandals. (Snurched from Slacktivist Fred Clark.)

President Obama and Counter-Terrorism: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

QotD?: How was your dinner last night?

5/24/2013
Writing time yesterday: 0.5 hours (WRPA editing, otherwise on workshop time)
Hours slept: 7.0 hours (very fitful)
Body movement: n/a
Weight: n/a
Number of FEMA troops on my block scamming disaster aid slush funds: 0
Currently reading: The Wee, Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Tags: Apple, Cool, Culture, healthcare, Iraq, Links, Mars, nature, Personal, Politics, race, Science, space, Tech

Posted: 5:58 am Fri May 24 2013 | Comments(1) |

[links] Link salad can still taste the momos

Relay For Life — Robin Silver raises funds to fight cancer.

Kicked out of the mall — for an anti-cancer hat — The most insensitive mall cops ever aggressively escort out two teens who just lost their mom. That’s family friendly, alright. (Via shsilver and others.)

The 5 Ugly Lessons Hiding in Every Superhero Movie — Interesting. (Snurched from Andrew Wheeler.)

German software firm recruiting autistic workers — German software firm SAP is recruiting autistic workers. To help the company hire autistic workers, SAP has hired Specialisterne. Together, SAP and Specialisterne will recruit individuals with autism that can work as software testers, programmers and data quality assurance specialists.

Pavlof Volcano, Alaska Peninsula — Oooh, pretty.

What the State Birds Should Be — Seven cardinals but no hawks? Come on! (Via JL)

Bitcoin Hits the Big Time, to the Regret of Some Early Boosters — The first major conference for the digital currency suggests it is gaining legitimacy, but in a manner disappointing to some early enthusiasts.

Why French Kids Don’t Have ADHD — (Snurched from Freakonomics.)

Tornadoes and Global Warming: Is There a Connection? — Will the future bring more twisters to Oklahoma and Tornado Alley? The science isn’t clear yet, on account of unlike politics, science doesn’t make up its mind in advance of the evidence.

Portland, Oregon rejects drinking water fluoridation by wide margin — Public health measure goes down amid vague concerns about safety and purity. Even progressives can be idiots.

Pope Francis Says Atheists Who Do Good Are Redeemed, Not Just Catholics — Why does any religion get to claim the good done by non-believers. Christ really didn’t die for me, or for anyone else who isn’t a Christian. While I surely appreciate the gesture of tolerance, it encloses a spike of arrogance. (Thanks to Danny Adams.)

Atheist lawmaker opened with Carl Sagan quote instead of prayer — (Via shsilver and others.)

Ken Cuccinelli Loses Petition To Uphold Anti-Sodomy Law — Yeah, pushing for a ban on oral sex is certainly one way to make the GOP more popular.

Dear Oklahoma: We Feel for you, we love you, but do us some favors — Shorter version: As you sow, so shall you reap. Unfortunately, the rest of America also reaps what you sow. So, sow better.

Reaching the ‘weather weapon’ stage — [T]he guy raising the specter of Obama using “weather weapons” to kill Oklahomans is the same guy helping influence several Republican policymakers in 2013. Another of the many reasons why rational human beings everywhere think American conservatives are absolute lunatics. The GOP and its politicians embrace this kind of mind-melting insanity instead of rejecting it out of hand. (Via shellyrae.)

QotD?: Eaten Tibetan lately?

5/23/2013
Writing time yesterday: 0.5 hours (WRPA editing, otherwise on workshop time)
Hours slept: 8.0 hours (solid)
Body movement: n/a
Weight: n/a
Number of FEMA troops on my block scamming disaster aid slush funds: 0
Currently reading: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Tags: Cancer, climate, Culture, healthcare, Links, Movies, Personal, Photos, Politics, Portland, Religion, Science, sex, Tech

Posted: 5:40 am Thu May 23 2013 | Comments(1) |

[links] Link salad wakes up groggy but rested

Geomedia — The intersection of tech and art can be gloriously strange.

Hot Lead: 1942 — Mmm, linotype machines.

Navy Dolphin Finds Rare 130-Year-Old Torpedo

Honeybees trained to sniff out landmines in Croatia

Formation of reptilian head scales

Apple’s Web of Tax Shelters Saved It Billions, Panel Finds — Oi.

How to Legalize Pot

6 Women Scientists Who Were Snubbed Due to Sexism — Despite enormous progress in recent decades, women still have to deal with biases against them in the sciences.

Wells Dry, Fertile Plains Turn to Dust — Nothing to see here, just liberal hoaxes being supported by conservative Midwestern farmers.

Alaskan villages try “climigration” in the face of climate change — When a town turns to a perpetual disaster area, it might be time to move it. Amazing, the lengths liberals will go to. Thank God for Rush Limbaugh and the Republican party, or we might have to take these things seriously.

Discrimination and Marriage Inequality — Jim C. Hines on the real world results of anti-gay bigotry. That means you, if you oppose gay marriage, regardless of how high-minded your rationalizations.

QotD?: How’d you sleep last night?

5/21/2013
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (workshop)
Hours slept: 9.0 hours (solid)
Body movement: n/a
Weight: n/a
Number of FEMA troops on my block covering up evidence about Benghazi: 0
Currently reading: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Tags: Apple, Art, climate, Cool, Culture, gay, gender, Links, nature, Personal, Politics, Publishing, Science, Tech, weird

Posted: 7:33 am Tue May 21 2013 | Comments(2) |

[links] Link salad checks in from 10,000 feet up in the mountains

Abandoned Stars Wars sets in the desert — Are these meta-artifacts? (Snurched from Steve Buchheit.)

Divide & conquer makes quantum light a breeze to detect

One-Time Pad Reinvented To Make Electronic Copying Impossible

The Brick Testament — The world’s largest, most comprehensive illustrated Bible. Mmm, Legos. Something I think I’ve featured before. (Thanks to seventorches.)

Beware Social Nostalgia — An essay that cuts the heart out of one of the core impulses of conservatism — the Myth of the Golden Age.

Lesbian forced from partner, two kids by Texas judge’s ‘morality clause’ — A lesbian woman has 30 days to evacuate her home after a judge ruled only relatives by ‘blood or marriage’ can be around her partner’s kids past 9 pm. Compassionate conservatism strikes again. (Snurched from Steve Buchheit.)

Washington Gets Explicit: Its ‘War on Terror’ is Permanent — Senior Obama officials tell the US Senate: the ‘war’, in limitless form, will continue for ‘at least’ another decade – or two. We have always been at war with Eurasia. (Thanks to tillyjane, a/k/a my mom.)

QotD?: What’s the highest altitude you’ve ever been at (not counting flight)?

5/20/2013
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (con time)
Hours slept: 7.25 hours (fitful)
Body movement: n/a
Weight: n/a
Number of FEMA troops on my block covering up evidence about Benghazi: 0
Currently reading: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Tags: Cool, Culture, Funny, gay, gender, Links, Movies, Personal, Politics, Religion, Tech

Posted: 6:17 am Mon May 20 2013 | Comments(6) |

[links] Link salad wonders how it can dance when our earth is turning

JayFest — Sci-Fi Book Fair & Group Signing — My friends at Powell’s are hosting a group signing in support of my cancer journey, book sales to benefit the Clayton Memorial Medical Fund. The evening of June 13, 2013, two days before JayCon, at Powell’s Cedar Hills in Beaverton, OR.

Almost All the Way Home From the Stars: Seven Science Fiction Stories — An ebook of my collaborate work with Ruth Nestvold is now available. Includes the story we had in SCI FICTION together.

Vintage Book Jacket Art — (Snurched from Steve Buchheit.)

Two uncomfortable truths: New Merida looks a little whorey. Fewer people care about this than you would think.

Brain Training Helps Clear Cognitive Fog Caused by Chemotherapy — The mental fuzziness induced by cancer treatment could be eased by cognitive exercises performed online, say researchers. I play sudoku online rather obsessively when I am in chemo, as a form of cognitive self-check.

Ranbaxy: Looking Under the Rock — Why generic drugs do not always stack up. (Via David Goldman.)

Eyeball — A throwable building-mapping sphere from Bounce Imaging was recently chosen by PopSci for a 2013 Invention Award. The “throwable, expendable, baseball-size probe,” in PopSci’s words, “has a shock-absorbing shell embedded with six cameras, plus clusters of near-infrared LEDs to light up dark rooms (for the cameras).” Wow.

Opportunity Breaks NASA’s 40-Year Roving Record

Danish Teenager Makes Rare Viking Find — Cool!

Thrilling video of Portland PD high-speed chase… wait for it… — Ah, Portland.

Survey of 12,000 studies finds strong agreement on climate change — We already knew 97% of climate scientists backed the scientific consensus. It’s amazing the lengths liberals will go to in order to spread their climate change lies, even to the extent of using reality-based “facts” and “data”.

GOP raffling AR-15 “Sandy Hook”-type rifles as macabre pro-gun stunt — Stay classy, conservative America. It’s what you do best.

CBS: It was congressional GOP who faked Benghazi email — Conservatives can almost never win on the facts, so of course they lie. That’s the entire idea behind FOX News. And the Bush administration. (WMDs in Iraq, anyone? Anyone? Bueller?) Why should it be any different in the GOP congressional delegation? Water is wet, too.

QotD?: How do we sleep while our beds are burning?

5/17/2013
Writing time yesterday: 1.0 hours (0.5 revisions on my novella for METAtropolis: Green Space, plus WRPA)
Hours slept: 6.25 hours (solid)
Body movement: 0.5 hours (stationary bike)
Weight: 249.2
Number of FEMA troops on my block covering up evidence about Benghazi: 0
Currently reading: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Tags: Books, Cancer, climate, Cool, events, Funny, guns, health, healthcare, Iraq, Links, Mars, media, Personal, Politics, Portland, Publishing, Science, stories, Tech, Videos

Posted: 4:36 am Fri May 17 2013 | Comments(4) |

[links] Link salad knows there’s no love inside the icehouse

Rick Novy interviews me

The Canadian Who Won’t be Returning From the Stars — specficrider on a joint project of ours.

Will insurance cover genetic testing, preventive surgery? — Women who discover they carry a hereditary gene mutation that dramatically increases their risk of breast and ovarian cancers face big decisions and the possibility of tens of thousands of dollars in medical costs. This story is a version of what I went through.

12 Tips from 12 Years Sick — Yep. I’m only barely into year six, but, yep. (Thanks to Lisa Costello.)

Star Trek: The Search for Science — The Bad Astronmer is much with the hilarity.

The secret laser-toting Soviet satellite that almost was — Here’s a little Cold War alt.hist for you.

Billion-Year-Old Water Found in Canada Holds Clues About Ancient Life — You really need to read the expiration dates on those gas station water bottles.

Hunting Pesky Pigs in Paradise — Ham sandwiches on the hoof, where they don’t belong.

Terahertz Image Reveals Goya’s Hidden Signature in Old Master Painting — Darkened varnish obscures Goya’s signature in a 1771 masterpiece, according to a new analysis using terahertz waves

The Spies Who Blundered — Alleged undercover CIA agent Ryan Fogle is one of many spies to bungle the job.

My Despair — Another of those sad, strange posts on Feminist Mormon Housewives where someone of apparent intelligence and progressive sensibilities finds their common sense and observations of the real world in profound conflict with their faith. If I were a faith-holder, I don’t think I could tolerate that much cognitive dissonance.

When did you choose to be straight? — Heh.

Christian denominations and marriage equality: A simple quiz — Slacktivist Fred Clark makes a point that many anti-gay bigots in pietist clothing would prefer to ignore. Christianists find it so much more comfortable to hate inconvenient people than to actually pay attention to their own morality.

What We Mean When We Say ‘Race Is a Social Construct’ — In a world where Kevin Garnett, Harold Ford, and Halle Berry all check “black” on the census, even the argument that racial labels refer to natural differences in physical traits doesn’t hold up. Ta-Nehisi Coates is far more elegant than I ever could be on this topic.

Tullahoma father being reckless when baby daughter shot, police say — Because guns make us all safer. Without the smiling protection of the NRA and the GOP, this dad wouldn’t have been able to exercise his theoretical defense of essentially liberties by blowing away his own child.

QotD?: Can you remember getting any older?

5/16/2013
Writing time yesterday: 1.0 hours (0.5 revisions on my novella for METAtropolis: Green Space, plus WRPA)
Hours slept: 8.0 hours (solid)
Body movement: 0.5 hours (stationary bike)
Weight: 248.2
Number of FEMA troops on my block covering up evidence about Benghazi: 0
Currently reading: The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett

Tags: Art, Books, Cancer, Christianists, climate, Funny, gay, guns, health, healthcare, interviews, Links, Movies, nature, Personal, Politics, race, Religion, Science, stories, Tech, Videos, weird

Posted: 5:20 am Thu May 16 2013 | Comments(3) |

[links] Link salad for another hump day

Biology, Chemistry and Science Pick-up Lines! — Hahahaha! (Via Gabrielle Harbowy.)

It’s Time to Talk about the Burgeoning Robot Middle Class — How will a mass influx of robots affect human employment?

Synthetic Biology Could Speed Flu Vaccine Production — Advanced genetic engineering is already changing vaccine development and could make inroads into other branches of medicine.

The Extinction Orchestra — Designer Marguerite Humeau reconstructs the voices of extinct animals based on speculative extrapolations from their skull structure.

Parents sue South Carolina for surgically turning child into a female — This is about state intervention in an intersexed child’s medical care.

How climate change denial works — Fox’s broadcast was really quite ingenious. They can claim they presented “both sides,” when in fact there were never two sides to the question. That’s the typical conservative response. Their ideas are intellectually bankrupt, so they lie.

RNC Hispanic Outreach Director Becomes A Democrat — What did he expect? He was a Republican. Good for him for finally waking up when his own ox was gored. Like I keep saying, no one likes conservative policies when applied to them personally. (Via shsilver.)

National Security Brief: Poll Finds Americans Aren’t Buying GOP Benghazi Witch-Hunt — A whopping 41 percent of Republicans polled think the Obama administration’s handling of Benghazi is the greatest scandal in U.S. history. “One interesting thing about the voters who think Benghazi is the biggest political scandal in American history,” PPP adds, “is that 39% of them don’t actually know where it is.” Sometimes the jokes just write themselves. Also, Jim Wright with a lot more on the conservative “position” on Benghazi.

When the IRS targeted liberals — Under George W. Bush, it went after the NAACP, Greenpeace and even a liberal church. Yeah, remember all the Republican outrage back then? Nah, neither do I. Not that this makes what’s going on now right, but it certainly underscores yet again the profound hypocrisy of conservatism in general.

QotD?: What’s your favorite day of the week?

5/15/2013
Writing time yesterday: 1.5 hours (Revision on my novella for METAtropolis: Green Space)
Hours slept: 5.75 hours (fitful)
Body movement: 0.5 hours (stationary bike)
Weight: 248.2
Number of FEMA troops on my block covering up evidence about Benghazi: 0
Currently reading: The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett

Tags: climate, Cool, Funny, gender, healthcare, Links, music, Personal, Politics, race, Science, sex, Tech, weird

Posted: 5:03 am Wed May 15 2013 | Comments(2) |

[links] Link salad wonders what’s the fuss

Save Trent’s Teeth, Save His Life — Trent Zelazny needs help with a medical fundraiser of his own.

The Algorithm That Automatically Detects Polyps in Images from Camera Pills — Analysing the footage from camera pills is a time-consuming task for medical professionals. Now computer scientists are attempting to automate the process.

The British ‘Atlantis’ is mapped in detail — Using dual frequency identification sonar, the ruins of Dunwich rise again.

8BBC News – Close-up on Japan’s amazing lunchboxes — Mmm, bento. (Via willyumtx.)

Watch 32 discordant metronomes achieve synchrony in a matter of minutes — Huh. (Via David Goldman.)

‘Junk’ DNA Mystery Solved: It’s Not Needed — I am dubious of this story. National Geographic with more.

Happy whatever — Blogess Jenny Lawson says some very important things about women in general and mothers in specific.

Transgender woman wins right to marry in Hong Kong — Not exactly a noted hotbed of progressivism, that.

Dalai Lama Calls For Care For Our ‘Only Home’ Earth

‘Dramatic decline’ warning for plants and animals — More of that liberal conspiracy to keep the climate change hoax going.

Researchers Create “Hate Map” of the U.S. With Twitter Data — The same researchers previously mapped racist Tweets about President Obama. In both cases there’s reason to be a little skeptical.

Pediatricians take on gun lobby – carefully — Well, the NRA is better armed, and unlike doctors, some NRA members have a habit of publicly threatening people.

QotD?: Tell me what’s a-happening?

5/13/2013
Writing time yesterday: 1.5 hours (1.0 hours of revision, plus WRPA, editing METAtropolis: Green Space)
Hours slept: 7.0 hours (solid)
Body movement: 0.5 hours (stationary bike)
Weight: 249.4
Number of FEMA troops on my block digging for fossils in the yards of God-fearing Republicans: 0
Currently reading: The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett

Tags: Cancer, China, climate, Cool, Culture, Food, gender, guns, health, Japan, Links, nature, Personal, Politics, Science, sex, Tech, UK, Videos, weird

Posted: 4:36 am Mon May 13 2013 | Comments(3) |

[links] Link salad cried because it had no shoes

The fate of today’s book bloggers — Toby Buckell is interesting.

Pear-shaped nuclei may be a key to why our universe survived the big bang — Being rather pear shaped myself, I consider this good news.

Hubble finds dead stars “polluted” with planetary debris

Moon and Earth Have Common Water Source — Researchers used a multicollector ion microprobe to study hydrogen-deuterium ratios in lunar rock and on Earth. Their conclusion: The Moon’s water did not come from comets but was already present on Earth 4.5 billion years ago, when a giant collision sent material from Earth to form the Moon. (Snurched from james_nicoll here.)

Google Earth enters fourth dimension, highlights humanity’s heavy hand — Satellite imagery lets you follow terrain changes over time.

Printing Electronics Just Got Easier — A new technique developed by researchers in China allows easier printing of electronic components onto paper.

Sim City: An Interview with Stone Librande — This is interesting. Also, a long time ago, I was addicted to Sim City, and still remember it fondly. Ta-Nehisi Coates on how EA screwed up the new launch, big.

How to Make an Implant that Improves the Brain

Gang stole $45m from cash machines across globe in hours, say prosecutors — ‘Virtual criminal flash mob’ used bogus swipe cards loaded with data from hacked bank databases to commit thousands of thefts.

That old-time religion — Yep, the intellectual consistency of the religious mind on display once more. (Via Slacktivist Fred Clark.)

After passage, same-sex supporters express bliss — Go, Minnesota. Another domino falls. There simply is no principled opposition to gay marriage, only bigotry disguised as piety and principle. (Hint: nearly identical arguments were used to oppose interracial marriage by people who thought of themselves as high-minded and moral. Does their opposition to interracial marriage seemed anything but bigoted now?)

Boy, 2, dies after shooting self at Corsicana home — Because guns make us all safer, right?

Arizona AG Pleads No Contest To Leaving The Scene Of An Accident — He was in the car with the woman with whom he was having an affair. Ah, those family values, law and order Republicans — so much better than dirty liberals who just want to make sure people have food and clothes and jobs and educations and clean air and clean water.

QotD?: Got feet?

5/10/2013
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (stress)
Hours slept: 7.25 hours (solid)
Body movement: 0.5 hours (stationary bike)
Weight: 247.8
Number of FEMA troops on my block digging for fossils in the yards of God-fearing Republicans: 0
Currently reading: Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett

Tags: Christianists, Cool, Culture, economy, gay, guns, Links, Personal, Politics, Publishing, Religion, Science, space, Tech

Posted: 5:05 am Fri May 10 2013 | Comments(1) |