I am happy to announce that I have just published my first short story. It is titled “Nickle.” It is about what happens when two telepathic workers on a space station flip a nickel to see who gets to go out in space to replace a failed Cryo unit. You may read it on the…
The Divine Experiment: Why is there evil? Why do humans hurt themselves, destroy things, live selfishly? The evolution of Homo sapiens must finally involve an understanding and accomplishment of the eternal. This life is a time of testing to bring humanity to that end. It may not have been the original plan but accepting that…
“Imperfection” in evolution’s process: Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan, in their book, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, write: “…every part of the body, every aspect of life, is instructed by a particular DNA sequence. Every sequence is vulnerable to mutation. … Most [mutations] are harmful, a few are helpful, and even the helpful ones may–like the…
Before the moon gets too high… That’s what I think about when I’m active in doing astrophotography with one of my two telescopes. Because the light of the moon can swamp the dimmer light of the nebula that I’m trying to catch digitally. There are filters, of course that you can use and I do…
AI , Encyclopedias, Slide Rules and Film Cameras What do those four things have in common? Not much. Except three of the four things required the user to think about and know what they were doing. Can you guess which of the four those three are? Hint: those three no longer exist in common use,…
Wherefore FTL? Much of the science fiction genre known as Space Opera uses locations in the galaxy far from Earth. That is many lightyears distant. Generally, for a satisfying read, the story’s characters need to get to or move around in these locations with the same ease and timeliness that they would on Earth. Hence,…
Book Review: “Lilith’s Brood” by Octavia Butler Lilith’s Brood, a trilogy by Hugo and Nebula Award winner Octavia E. Butler, is a compelling read about saving humankind by genetic manipulation. Manipulation, that is, by an alien species. The Oankali have come to Earth to save a remnant of its population after its near extinction by…
Why Do Subaru Cars Have a Logo that Seems to Refer to the Star Cluster, the Pleiades? I always thought that the logo on Subaru cars (we own one) was incorrect in the number of stars shown (there are six: five small ones and one large one). Afterall, in Japan the Pleiades is also known…
Superconductivity: A Tutorial for Laypersons I spent the last 15 years of my professional career doing research in the design, development and demonstration of superconducting power systems. Superconductors are new to the power industry, as in not yet commercial. In the belief that they will be someday, I continue in retirement to keep a low…
Solar Eclipse – April 8, 2024 I used my homemade Pinhole Camera telescope again to capture photos of the solar eclipse today (4/8/24). Here in LA area it was less than 50% at maximum (about 1115 am). The problem with this Camera is the translucent window I used. It has a wavy surface that distorts…