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Opening Sentences
io9 has a nice discussion of opening lines that really grab your attention. “They set a slamhound on Turner’s trail in New Delhi, slotted it to his pheromones and the color of his hair.” — Count Zero by William Gibson. Okay, come on. This is just so fun. It’s got the wacky jargon: “slamhound,” “slotted,”…
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ET Phone an Anger Management Class
Seth Shostak of the SETI program is tired of ad hominem attacks on himself and other scientists by UFO “true believers.” He warns that his response may be a bit heated, but it’s actually a thoughtful and measured rebuttal to the idea that skeptics are automatically evil. I, too, was attacked, generally along the lines…
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Happy Birthday to Us
The O*W*C blog turned two yesterday! Why, I remember when it was just a little cluster of electrons, and now it’s all grown up. :::sniff::: Now’s your chance to lay some feedback on us. What do you like about the blog? What could we improve? Are there topics you’d like to see us focus on?…
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Robot Controlled by Rat Brain
Researchers at the University of Reading in England have created a robot controlled entirely by a biological brain made of rat neurons. “Gordon” contains around 60 electrodes which pick up the neurons’ signals. When the robot approaches an object the electrodes stimulate the cluster of brain cells, which then responds by turning the wheels to…
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Atomic Tourism
The Bureau of Atomic Tourism is dedicated to the promotion of tourist locations around the world that have either been the site of atomic explosions, display exhibits on the development of atomic devices, or contain vehicles that were designed to deliver atomic weapons. A friend once brought Shadow and me a smear of graphite from…
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Dabbled Robots
Dot at Dabbled draws winsome little illustrations, many of them featuring robots. She’s kindly made many of them available for download, such as this little guy, who’s part of a set of robot-themed party invitations and thank-you cards she did. I kind of like her Cthulhu ad poster, too. (Well, what else would Cthulhu be…
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Filk Radio
Live365 has a wide selection of streaming radio broadcasts, including filk stations. Type “filk” in the search box to bring up a list of broadcasts. I had no idea there was such a thing as an all-filk station. It sounds like a prank. (Hat tip to Wyrm)
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How to Survive an Alien Invasion
We all know they’re coming. What do we do when they get here? Step 4: Killing an Alien Just so everyone’s clear, your pissy ‘human’ weapons will have no effect whatsoever on an honest-to-goodness alien. You’re only likely to get them all riled and angsty, which means double the probing for you. So don’t go…
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Science Made Stupid
The winner of the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book, Tom Weller’s Science Made Stupid: How to Discomprehend the World Around Us is a parody of high school science textbooks. The book itself is out of print, but an abridged version (endorsed by the author) is online. What is Science? Put most simply, science…
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Modern SF Novelist
Author Jim C. Hines has written lyrics to the perennially-parodied Gilbert and Sullivan song “Modern Major General.” I am the very model of a modern SF novelist, I’ve manuscripts space opera, anime, and fantasist, I know the kings of fandom and the best flamewars historical From Andrew Burt to LiveJournal, in order categorical; I’m very…