Category Archives: Blog

Blog

NASA manager opposed to Bush’s lunar plans

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The moonSome dissent in the ranks at NASA; the man who led the development of the Apollo lunar module has come out in vocal opposition to plans to use explorations of the Moon as a test-bed for eventual manned missions to Mars; instead, he argues for full exploitation of the ISS and further robotic missions to the Red Planet.

Arguments of this type are ten a penny in space politics, which is a landscape of conflicting ideologies; Moon versus Mars, robotic missions versus human missions, and so on. An essay at The Space Review argues that these conflicts are “zero-sum games”, and a waste of energy and resources that could be better expended by the different groups working together toward common goals. Human nature being fundamentally factional, I’m not going to hold my breath just yet. [Image by jurvetson]

Blog

Groom lake growth spurt – Area 51 to expand

Tin foil at the ready, conspiracists – Area 51 is expanding! Wired’s Danger Room blog reckons it’s probably to do with R&D being done on new aircraft designs that could be copied if easily seen. But of course, that’s what they would say, having long ago been subsumed by the Conde-Nast alien hegemony. Or something.

Still, if it’s a US military design, they’re unlikely to share even when it’s finished. The Japanese defense agency is rather miffed at being refused the opportunity to buy a few F22 stealth fighters, despite being BFF with the Pentagon, but apparently that export ban applies to everyone. So we can assume that F22s aren’t included with the forthcoming Saudi Arabian transaction.

New shapes for aircraft seem to be the order of the day; Boeing have just successfully tested what they call a “blended wing body” aircraft prototype that moves away from the tube-with-extras format we’re used to seeing in passenger planes. The idea is that the resulting design will be stronger, more fuel-efficient and able to carry more cargo. Added bonus – it looks a bit more cool.

Blog

Writing tips round-up

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There seem to be a lot of posts containing advice for writers in my RSS reader at the moment, so I thought it would be nice to share them with everyone. Let’s see …

First up we have Jeff Vandermeer reposting the start of his “Evil Monkey Guide to Creative Writing” at his recently-relocated blog.

Futurismic blogger and rising science fiction novelist Tobias Buckell is too modest to plug things from his own blog when he writes here, but I have no such shame; he’s got links to some extensive notes on plotting that were taken at the Taos Toolbox writer’s workshop.

Finally, Jetse de Vries is e-submissions fiction editor for Interzone, but he’s a writer in his own right, too. He shares with us the lessons he’s learned from reading the slush pile, and discusses the value of “trunking” stories that you just can’t seem to sell.

[Cross-posted to VCTB]

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Support Strange Horizons!

I figure if you read Futurismic, you’re quite keen on the idea of quality free fiction, poetry and articles from the genre literature scene being available online. In which case, you’re probably already aware of the excellent Strange Horizons site – if not, you are now, and you should go and get acquainted. They’re near the end of their annual fundraising drive at the moment, which is all the more reason to drop over there and wire them a bit of cash so they can keep delivering quality material. It’s tax-deductible for you American types, too.

[Full disclosure: I have written reviews for Strange Horizons.]

Blog

Delete One Protein To Live Longer

070723-10 The protein type 5 adenylyl cyclase (AC5) seems to act as an amplifier of adrenaline response in the heart. Mutant mice that don’t make AC5 live up to 30 percent longer, weigh less as they age than normal mice, and may be more resistant to heart disease and cancer. Researchers are already developing drugs that inhibit AC5, but cardiologist H. Kirk Hammond cautions against hoping for a miracle cure for aging.

“I think first what I would do is get people to slow down on the highway, stop eating Big Macs and stop smoking.”

Eminently practical advice. [dangerousmeta]