Actual Hugo Comments

So, as alluded to over the weekend, the Hugo nominations this year are a train wreck. The short fiction categories are absolutely dominated by works from the “slates” pushed by a particular collection of (mostly) right-wing authors and that prion disease in human disguise “Vox Day.” The primary purpose of the “slates” is to poke… Continue reading Actual Hugo Comments

Cute Kids: Your Hugo Discussion Alternative

Left: The Pip with a screwdriver and his "fixing goggles." Right: SteelyKid inside the awesome house she built.

I was thinking about writing something about the 2015 Hugo Award nominations train wreck, but you know what? Life’s too short. So here’s a couple of cute-kid photos from this morning’s trip to the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology over in Troy. They have these awesome construction toys, consisting of wooden rods with holes… Continue reading Cute Kids: Your Hugo Discussion Alternative

Ethel Stevens, 1915-2015

A couple of years ago, we got a nasty shock when my 98-year-old great-aunt died unexpectedly. It’s happened again, with her sister Ethel (known to a lot of the family as “Auntie Sis,” because she had the same first name as her mother, my great-grandmother), who died in her sleep last Sunday night. She would’ve… Continue reading Ethel Stevens, 1915-2015

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Course Report: Brief History of Timekeeping

Student projects from my SRS (L to R): Measuring the flow of powdered eggshell in a "sand timer," a homemade water wheel clock, and a pendulum to measure the effect of thermal expansion.

A few years ago, I taught one of our “SRS” classes, which are supposed to introduce students to research at the college level– I blogged about it while the course was in progress. I taught it again in the recently-concluded Winter term, but didn’t blog much about it because I was mostly doing the same… Continue reading Course Report: Brief History of Timekeeping