The difference between a good artist and a great one is never a question of competency. No, the great artist reveals the beauty of the subject in a way that creates awe in us whereas the good simply represents. The great reawakens that childish sense of amazement. If this is true, then Neil deGrasse Tyson … Continue reading Review: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Appreciating Lit, a Memoir
Memoir is a genre that I rarely read. I enjoy browsing through that section in the bookstore, but most of the titles seem like either humble-bragging or exploitative messes. Or, even worse, they're preachy, "I've been saved" tales of turning a life around. If reading allows us to experience other lives, memoir and autobiography allow … Continue reading Appreciating Lit, a Memoir
Review: MJ-12: Inception
The fall of Berlin ended one war but began another. America in its modern form has consistently moved from one conflict into another. However, this new Cold War wouldn’t be fought in the same manner of the recent World War. Instead of marching battalions and deployed tanks, it was fought by information gathering and asset … Continue reading Review: MJ-12: Inception
Five Quick Reviews 04/2017
Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky An adventuring party enlists the aid of a creature of darkness in their quest to destroy the Dark Lord. As they pursue said quest, members of the group come to see the creature not as a spawn of pure evil but as something else – not human but not monster. Tchaikovsky … Continue reading Five Quick Reviews 04/2017
Adventure Time
Sue and I have been watching Adventure Time. It's a children's cartoon that follows the adventures of Finn the human and his dog Jake. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the show is wildly inventive, sometimes to the point of what the hell did I just watch. Each episode is about 11 minutes long, and it's … Continue reading Adventure Time
Review: The Island Deception
When real magic is possible, would the Vegas kind satisfy you? It doesn’t for Quinn Bradley, the protagonist of Dan Koboldt’s Island Deception. Quinn, a stage magician, has worked his whole life for the big show in Las Vegas, and with a little help, he finally accomplishes his goal. The opportunity of a lifetime is … Continue reading Review: The Island Deception
The Character of Extreme Ownership
At the beginning of my career as an engineer, I was under the delusion that I wanted to end up in management. As part of planning that career path, I turned to books for advice and lessons on leadership. Most of those books drove home the need to be a strong leader while at the … Continue reading The Character of Extreme Ownership
Searching for Detachment, Part Two
As an awkward teen, I turned to Zen Buddhism as a way to detach emotionally. Read part one to see the journey from martial arts to meditation. As my attempts to be more spiritual continued to fail, I re-engaged in martial arts. At the time it was two different types of practice – one, a … Continue reading Searching for Detachment, Part Two
2017 Goal: Short Story Reading
One of my goals from this year has been to read more short stories, and since that's a very vague goal, I rewrote it to say one short story per week. That's a very easy goal to accomplish. Is it too easy? Well, since at this point in the year, I've read more short stories … Continue reading 2017 Goal: Short Story Reading
Practical Spaceship Design on Dan Koboldt’s Blog
I have a guest post essay up on Dan Koboldt's blog. The essay is part of his Science in SF series, and my contribution pulls in skills from my day job to look at practical space ship design. Click the picture below to read it! While you're there, take a look at Dan's writing as … Continue reading Practical Spaceship Design on Dan Koboldt’s Blog