Finance in Fiction
More than a few times, I’ve commented on how important it is for a fantasy or science fiction writer to understand basic societal economics if that writer wants to portray a workable and realistic...
View ArticleJuly Question
Do you have any idea how long you will continue writing books in the Recluce Saga? The short answer is, “No, I don’t.” The longer and likely more accurate answer is that I’ll continue writing so long...
View ArticlePenalty Kicks and Free Throws… Again
I don’t watch soccer/football much, in fact, seldom, but I did end up watching the World Cup semi-final match between the Netherlands and Argentina… and the result underscored something I’ve said...
View ArticleTechnology, Money… and Rights [Part II]
Unfortunately, the problem of “rights” is even larger than just religion, as adjudicated in the Hobby Lobby case, because first amendment to the Constitution also states: “Congress shall make no...
View ArticleThe Inconvenience of Your Convenience
One of the largely unacknowledged aspects of the incredible speed at which personal and professional communications technology change is the fact that such changes not only often waste more time than...
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Since the last time I posted, I’ve actually read a few books that I’ve enjoyed, along with more than a few that I didn’t or thought were vastly overhyped, and one that I enjoyed but, upon reflection,...
View ArticleRevolution
The other day I got to thinking about political revolutions, especially about the “successful” ones, and a few of those that seemed successful for a while. From those that I know of and those I’ve...
View ArticleThe Next Casualty?
When I was a Navy helicopter pilot all too many years ago, the only “real” helicopters in the world were U.S.-built, by Bell, Kaman, Boeing, and especially Sikorsky. That’s no longer true, and hasn’t...
View ArticleMiddle Class Living Standard
Recently, USA Today published an article stating that a “middle class” living standard in the United States would require a couple with two children to come up with $130,000 annually. I’d heard this...
View ArticleUnderstanding
The other day I overheard a conversation in which one person made the observation that already rising sea levels were affecting millions and that in a century, higher sea levels would make many places...
View ArticleWriters
The author David B. Coe (also writing as D.B. Jackson) wrote a piece last week on his pet peeves, one of which was reviews – reviews of any sort. Among other things, he made the point that we writers...
View ArticleTechnology
Much has been written about technology, and there’s been a great deal of discussion for at least a century about technology, its benefits and drawbacks, and rebellions against its use in replacing old...
View ArticleTheocracies?
Religious extremists all over the world, and in the United States – as well as religious figures who would never consider themselves extreme – are currently demonstrating the dangers when religious...
View ArticleAugust Question
Why isn’t Scion of Cyador available in ebook form in Great Britain? Scion of Cyador isn’t available there because of the complexity of subsidiary/foreign book rights. Orbit, a division of Little Brown,...
View ArticleThe End of Everything? From So Many Mighty Powers?
Have fantasy and science fiction become a choice between the endless series and the “end of everything” fiction, with the middle ground being the endless series attempting to fight off the coming...
View ArticleMindsets
The word “mindset” is so descriptive. The most common definition is something along the lines of “an established set of attitudes held by an individual.” We all have mindsets of one sort or another,...
View ArticleIn Praise of Excellence?
Except that the vast majority of people not only don’t praise excellence; they don’t even recognize it. They only think they do. This is to a greater or lesser extent in all fields, even in science. In...
View ArticleFerguson
I recently ran across a Pew Research Center national poll about the police actions and killing of Michael Brown, the eighteen year old black male shot by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer. The...
View ArticleWriting Celebrity?
Almost thirty years ago, I attended a science fiction and fantasy convention on the east coast, where a then-popular writer was toastmaster, and he made witty remarks, and was in fact the toast of the...
View ArticleWaiting…
I’m definitely a Type A, sometimes a super type A. I feel like I’m late if I don’t arrive somewhere at least a few minutes early, and especially more than that at the airport. One of the things that...
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