Recently updated blogs

The big news is that I will be attending the Paperback & Pulp Book Fair and I will have copies of DREAMING OF UTOPIA with me. I will only have a dozen or so copies, and only a handful of other books (BEYOND THE VOID, TRIALS OF HANK JANSON) on me because I'm travelling up by bus and train and the trolley proved problematical last time.Lugging books around aside, I'm …

After finally looking at the options, we have a main low-investment proposal; the writeup will appear soon (optimistically this month, pessimistically next month). Here is the timetable for the fastest intercity trains: Boston 0:00Providence 0:23New Haven 1:04Stamford 1:30New York 1:56 (arrival)New York 1:59 (departure)Newark 2:07Philadelphia 2:46Wilmington 3:00Baltimore 3:32Washington 3:55 This timetable incorporates schedule padding, of 4% on the Providence-New Haven section (dedicated to high-speed trains except at the north end …

My dad was born in 1944 in the village Tarn Taran in India. He lived in a small clapboard house on a sandy sidestreet and shared a tiny bedroom with his three brothers and one sister. He was only three when his mom died of unknown causes and the family suddenly had trouble making ends meet. With his dad running a Singer sewing machine shop in nearby Amritsar their aging …

My chisels have been living in a roll-up fabric pouch, which I have to unroll and place somewhere whenever I need a chisel. Not a very elegant solution, to be honest. Time for a chisel rack! I own a set of Ashley Iles butt chisels, some bench chisels MKII, some “firmer chisels”, and I own a few other chisels that I want to store in a proper, easy-to-reach way. They …

Photographer: Patti WeeksSummary Author: Patti Weeks Why does the center of a sunflower develop in such a fascinating way? The answer can be traced back to the 13th century Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci. In his 1202 book Liber Abaci, he proposed this hypothetical mathematical problem: How many pairs of rabbits would be produced in a year, starting with one breeding pair, and adding their subsequent breeding offspring pairs each month. …

Start looking for oranges on sale. Dried orange slices are really easy to make, last for years & look just as good with a modern or a classic Christmas. PLUS there's a new trend in citrus drying on the Internet. And I test it. You can take your seats and relax because this is probably...Read More

You should be able to mention anyone on the web publicly, from anywhere, and have them be able to get it (if they want). Google Alerts kinda almost does this, but usually only for “news” sources (many of which are questionable), and its a closed system. I don’t know much about them, but talking with ChatGPT is leading me to believe that elements of such a concept exist already in …

By David Tuller, DrPH Karen Hargrave is co-founder of an advocacy campaign called #ThereForME, which was launched this past summer to draw public awareness to the UK’s lack of care and treatment and to call “for an NHS [National Health Service] that’s there for people with ME and Long Covid.” The campaign has drawn significant … Trial By Error: Interview with Karen Hargrave, Co-Founder of #ThereForME Read More »

Three days in San Francisco to celebrate my birthday? Uh, huh! The City by the Bay… The Golden Gate City… and never, ever Frisco or San Fran. We’ve visited San Francisco innumerable times during our working years attending meetings, conferences and conventions and it was always one of our favorite cities. Our first non-business ‘dinner date’ was in San Francisco. We spent our honeymoon in San Francisco. We hadn’t been …

LOBSTER JOHNSON HELLBOY REACTION FIGURES (SUPER 7) Okay, who’s ready to punch some Nazis? Well, a good chunk of Golden Age comic heroes, for sure, and also some retroactive additions to that time period as well. Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, which has its main character arrive on our world during World War II, is obviously supportive of the punching Nazis front, and that includes later retroactive addition Lobster Johnson, WW2-era pulp …

There’s a chain of conveyor belt sushi restaurants called Kura Sushi. When you go there, if you eat enough sushi plates, you can win little prizes! A couple of years ago, I went there for my birthday because they had Pac-Man prizes! I wrote a big article about it here, so I recommend checking it […]

Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, November 25 through Sunday, December 1, 2024! This list includes both in-person and online events. Note that each item in the list includes: When the event will take place What the event is Where the event will take place Who is holding the event This week’s events Monday, November 25 Tuesday, …

Don't call it a Substack. Substack is, just as a reminder, a political project made by extremists with a goal of normalizing a radical, hateful agenda by co-opting well-intentioned creators' work in service of cross-promoting attacks on the vulnerable. It's always good advice to avoid Substack because they’re platforming Nazis and racists. And if for some reason you need another reason to avoid it, why not consider their truly hostile …

Step right up, step right up! Rubber tramps on display! Trendy or trashy, whatever you think of people who live on wheels, we’re here to explore all the different kinds of people who call the road home. These are the 5 types of vehicle nomads. I’m referring to full-time nomads who have no other home besides their vehicle, or those who spend at least half the year living in their …

I've been browsing the internet for maths related stocking fillers. I thought it might be helpful to share what I've found, to save time for anyone else looking for mathsy gifts. Posters and PrintsThere are some lovely mathematical posters on Etsy but most have to be downloaded digitally. A teacher looking for classroom or corridor displays might pay to download posters then print them