The Acts of Whimsy cancer fundraiser and the Lakeside Kickstarter for the documentary about me, the_child, and cancer are still live. Both have made goal, but additional support is always welcome. Please check them out if you have not done so yet.

How to Write Like My Dad — the_child‘s Act of Whimsy.

Bryan Thomas Sxhmidt with a take on Kalimpura

Featured Author Review: Kalimpura by Jay Lake —

Saturday salmagundi — In which I am somewhat hilariously mentioned.

Timeline of the One Ring — Mmm. Filthy hobbitses. (Snurched from Andrew Wheeler.)

Scientists Build A Working Tractor Beam

Chinese Physicists Build “Ghost” Cloaking Device — A working invisibility cloak that makes one object look like ghostly versions of another has been built in China.

Drill reaches Antarctica’s under-ice Lake Whillans

Dung Beetle Uses The Milky Way For Navigation, First Animal Found To Do So — I’d be more impressed if it was the other way around.

Nature Has A Formula That Tells Us When It’s Time To Die — This is fascinating.

The Happiness Machine — How Google became such a great place to work.

Why You Truly Never Leave High School — New science on its corrosive, traumatizing effects.

The Preppers Next Door — Antisocial lunacy comes in many forms.

Feds: ‘Monsignor Meth’ dealt drug, bought sex shop — Really, how can atheists possibly have ethics or morals without religious guidance?

Mali rebels fleeing Timbuktu burn library full of ancient manuscripts — Town’s mayor says Islamist insurgents torched two buildings containing priceless books as French-led troops approached. I do not understand why people think religious values make for good government and society. Religious values just burned one of the most precious ancient libraries in the world. Religious values destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan. There’s a lot of reasons I’m an atheist, and these are some of them.

Why I Don’t Own A Gun — Ultimately I choose to live without guns because, a) I don’t hunt, b) I’m not a police officer, c) I choose to live gently in a violent world. I choose not to help swell the ranks of the armed in our society. I want to contribute to a more peaceable and gentle society. Does that mean I’m unsafe? No, I don’t think so. But if I am unsafe, well, then I choose to be unsafe. (Via Slacktivist Fred Clark.)

Growing Up With Roe: How a Trip to the Eye Doctor Created a Lifelong Advocate for Reproductive Rights — (Via Slacktivist Fred Clark.)

Texas, where science and history have become ideological battlegrounds — PBS will show the story of the Texas State School Board’s assault on facts. This conservative assault on those liberal “facts” and “data” has been going on pretty much all my life, with little response from the reality-based community.

Jindal, courage is not enough — Good luck shedding that “stupid party” label, GOP. Until you stop trying to generate more angry white men as your basic electoral strategy, you’ve painted yourself into that corner.

Why the GOP Could Be in the Wilderness For a Long Time

QotD?: Did you miss me?

1/28/2013
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (still in post-operative recovery)
Hours slept: 8.0 hours (fitful)
Body movement: 0.0 hours (post-operative recovery)
Weight: n/a (forgot)
Number of FEMA troops on my block enforcing disability rights: 0
Currently reading: The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks