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Redshirts: The Tor Essentials Edition is Out Today
Posted on October 12, 2021 7 Comments
Surprise! I have a book out today! It’s the “Tor Essentials” edition of Redshirts, my Hugo and Locus Award-winning novel about a doomed spaceship crew trying to change their fate. What’s different about this edition from previous editions? 1. Slightly updated cover graphics! 2. A kind and lovely introduction by my friend (and Hugo, Locus […]
Yet Again, My Annual Unsolicited Endorsement of WordPress
Posted on October 11, 2021 13 Comments
In October of 2008, after years of dealing with site software that was less than stable and had difficulty handling the load of traffic, I switched Whatever over to WordPress, both as software and as hosting. Since that time, the site’s been down maaaaaaaybe three or four times, and never longer than a couple of […]
Out For the Weekend
Posted on October 9, 2021 6 Comments
Here’s a happy dog with a stick to keep you company until I get back. — JS
The Big Idea: A.M. Muffaz
Posted on October 8, 2021 5 Comments
In her debut novella Finches, author A.M. Muffaz looks at marriage in a way many of us here in the United States might have never considered, and the damage that can be done when promises assumed and made are broken. A.M. MUFFAZ: There’s never a good way to find out your father is cheating on […]
Someone Got His Flu Shot Today
Posted on October 7, 2021 33 Comments
Spoiler: It was me. They were having a little clinic at our local library, so it was convenient to do. The shot itself was painless, and now I’ll have a day or so of feeling vaguely crappy and then I’ll hopefully be substantially flu-resistant through the end of the flu season. Also, in an era […]
Three Flowery Sentiments, 10/7/21
Posted on October 7, 2021 11 Comments
From the yard and deck today. Because who doesn’t like flowers? (If you don’t like flowers, please keep it to yourself, thanks) — JS
The Great Facebook Collapse of October 4 2021 and What It Can Teach Us
Posted on October 5, 2021 46 Comments
Facebook and its associated services Instagram, Whatsapp and Oculus went down for several hours yesterday, coincidentally after a damning 60 Minutes interview with a whistleblower on the service. While this afforded a few hours of schadenfreude for many, myself included, others noted that there are lots of folks who actually rely on Facebook and its […]
The End of a Tree
Posted on October 4, 2021 12 Comments
I mentioned before that the crabapple in front of our house had reached the end of its life this year; today brings the actual end as its (mostly already-dead) body is taken out and a new tree is brought in to take its place. I’m sad to see the crabapple go because for many years […]
Get Signed, Personalized Copies of “Kaiju” Through Subterranean Press
Posted on October 4, 2021 3 Comments
First: Hey, look, I got an ARC of The Kaiju Preservation Society today. Here it is with cat for scale. It’s always cool to get ARCs of one’s book, because it’s a nice physical representation of it. It’s convincing proof it doesn’t just exist in your head anymore. And yes, I’ll probably do an ARC […]
View From a Hotel Window, 10/2/21
Posted on October 2, 2021 13 Comments
I don’t necessarily post hotel window picture when I’m doing personal travel (because when I travel for myself, it’s not the Internet’s business), but this one is kind of fun: A full-blown construction site, with people working industriously and everything. Actually not all that loud — I suspect the windows here are well-insulated, and that […]
“Whaddya Mean September Is Over?!?!?”
Posted on September 30, 2021 8 Comments
I am disbelieving of the news that Spice is delivering to me, about the status of the month of September, 2021. And yet, here we are, at the end of it nonetheless. In other news, I am likely to be scarce here for the next few days, as I take some personal time to visit […]
“Kaiju” Gets a Starred Review in Booklist
Posted on September 29, 2021 18 Comments
We’re still about six months out from the release of The Kaiju Preservation Society, but that doesn’t mean reviewers haven’t been getting their hands on it already — and loving it. I’m delighted to announce that Booklist has given Kaiju a coveted starred review, flagging it as being a book of particular note. The full […]
A Girl and Her Stick
Posted on September 28, 2021 11 Comments
This branch from a dead tree fell into the yard today, and Charlie was very very very excited, because there are very few things in the world she likes more than a really big stick. Sadly for her, it was a little too unwieldy for her to pick up and trot around with. I broke […]
Today’s Musical Interlude: “Ode to Somewhere”
Posted on September 27, 2021 2 Comments
This is a song from “Deathloop,” the video game that’s caused me immense frustration recently by being awesome and yet not wanting to play nice with my computer. That said, this song is the bomb and has been running through my head for a solid week at this point. The video title calls it “City […]
My College Essay
Posted on September 26, 2021 35 Comments
Over on the University of Chicago Class of 1991 Facebook page, one of my classmates asked if any of us could remember what essay questions the College asked of us when we were applying (there were several and you got to choose). As it happens, not only do I remember the essay question, I also […]
Questionable Foodstuff Review: Cheetos Bag Of Bones Snacks
Posted on September 25, 2021 27 Comments
This is the first time I’ve ever seen these things, although a quick visit to Google suggests they arrive seasonally and have done for the last couple of years. In this particular case, despite the Cheetos name, there is no cheese flavor; instead the vaguely buttery extruded corn in vaguely skeletal shapes is dusted with […]
New Book and ARCs, 9/24/21
Posted on September 24, 2021 10 Comments
A super-sized stack of new books and ARCs for you this Friday. What here would make for lovely fall reading? Share in the comments! — JS
Today’s Big Event on Horatio Harris Creek Road
Posted on September 23, 2021 23 Comments
Our neighbor Bob texted Krissy and told her to tell me to get out my fancy camera because something big was about to come down the road. He was right; about twenty minutes later, and preceded by the Ohio Highway Patrol blocking off the road and providing an honor guard, this big damn truck rumbled […]
The Last of the Crabapple Blossoms
Posted on September 22, 2021 10 Comments
Today’s the first day of autumn here, and the weather is rainy and gloomy, and temperatures have dropped by more than 25 degrees from yesterday, and yet the crabapple tree right off from our front porch decided to send out a few optimistic blossoms this morning. These blossoms are even more errant than you might […]
Climate Change as a Personal Mission
Posted on September 22, 2021 35 Comments
Interesting video from the Kurzgesagt folks about whether individual action can make a difference on the climate change front. The short answer is no (no matter how much you as an individual work to decarbonize your personal life, it’s literally a fraction of a drop in the bucket in terms what the total change required […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying