Researchers have found a way to get buttons to pop up on touchscreen surfaces.
Retirement of the space shuttles might be delayed.
Small Beer Press is having a huge sale.
SF Gate has an article about why some books still aren't available as ebooks.
TNT has announced start dates for their original programming. The Closer returns June 8th, Leverage returns July 15th, and they've added new shows I'm not going to be watching.
New evidence suggests that dinosaurs in some areas survived up to 500,000 years after the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous era.
There are some good new images of Mercury taken by the Messenger spacecraft at Space.com and Wired.
Artificial Intelligence as an aid for archeologists? Check out this Wired article.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
4-28-09
Amazon just bought the company that makes Stanza (the ebook reader I use on my iPhone). I wonder about what this will mean for Stanza functionality, although they say there won't be any changes. I mainly use Stanza to read books I purchased at Fictionwise (which was recently purchased by Barnes & Noble). Sources: SF Gate, CNet, AppleInsider, PC World, Lexcycle announcment. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, see the CNet review of Stanza's most recent version update to see what it is.)
RIP Tom Deitz. The author died yesterday of heart failure.
Locus Award finalists have been announced. The winners will be announced in June. Sources: SF Signal, John Scalzi
I've loved the last 2 episodes of Chuck this season (and there better be more next season). I'm going to share some Chuck-related posts I've found:
* Review of finale episode by What's Alan Watching
* Reviews of last week's episode by What's Alan Watching and SF Scope.
* 2-part interview with Chuck's co-creator: Part 1 was 3 weeks ago, Part 2 was last night
* SciFi Wire interviews Scott Bakula at the 20th anniversary of Quantum Leap (and asks about Chuck and Enterprise too).
The largest amateur model rocket was launched on Saturday. A 1/10 scale Saturn V rocket. See Rocketry Planet article for the pre-launch construction info & plans. See Popular Mechanics article for photos from the launch. Update: Wired now has a follow-up with video.
NASA is testing a full-scale mockup of their new "moonship" in the ocean for landing trials.
As I'm clearing through some old articles, I found io9 has 2 updates on Pushing Daisies comics (with potential story direction comments). First article, 2nd article.
RIP Tom Deitz. The author died yesterday of heart failure.
Locus Award finalists have been announced. The winners will be announced in June. Sources: SF Signal, John Scalzi
I've loved the last 2 episodes of Chuck this season (and there better be more next season). I'm going to share some Chuck-related posts I've found:
* Review of finale episode by What's Alan Watching
* Reviews of last week's episode by What's Alan Watching and SF Scope.
* 2-part interview with Chuck's co-creator: Part 1 was 3 weeks ago, Part 2 was last night
* SciFi Wire interviews Scott Bakula at the 20th anniversary of Quantum Leap (and asks about Chuck and Enterprise too).
The largest amateur model rocket was launched on Saturday. A 1/10 scale Saturn V rocket. See Rocketry Planet article for the pre-launch construction info & plans. See Popular Mechanics article for photos from the launch. Update: Wired now has a follow-up with video.
NASA is testing a full-scale mockup of their new "moonship" in the ocean for landing trials.
As I'm clearing through some old articles, I found io9 has 2 updates on Pushing Daisies comics (with potential story direction comments). First article, 2nd article.
Monday, April 27, 2009
4-27-09
RIP Bea Arthur. The actress who specialized in playing great acerbic & sarcastic women died of cancer at 86. Sources: BBC, Zap2It, What's Alan Watching blog
The Nebula Award winners have been announced. Sources: John Scalzi's blog, SF Signal, SciFi Wire
Check out SF Signal's Tube Bits for today to see Joss Whedon accepting the Bradbury award (also available at SciFi Wire), a link to an interview about Stargate Universe, a link to the Wired issue about JJ Abrams and Star Trek, etc.
Aardman Animations and Sony are planning 2 new animated feature films. Unfortunately, they won't be Wallace & Gromit.
Scientists in Spain were able to isolate a parasite causing honey bee colony collapse and successfully treat it. Other colonies will now be examined for that parasite. I hope they've managed to find the cause.
Wired has a gallery of amazing Hubble photos.
As part of the "Save Chuck" campaign, people are encouraging fans to buy Subway sandwiches and use the comment cards to indicate their sponsorship of Chuck was what brought them in. Following a convention in the UK, Zachary Levi & Adam Baldwin led 400 fans to the local Subway and Zachary Levi helped serve them their sandwiches. See SciFi Wire article or YouTube video.
Although NBC did renew Heroes, they did it for less episodes (18-20 instead of 25). Sources: SciFi Wire, TV Guide via SF Signal, io9
Heliotrope #5 is now available for download. It has stories by Neil Gaiman, Chris Roberson, and many others. More info in Tor.com blog.
Rumor has it that Gillian Anderson may guest star as The Rani on Doctor Who.
The 3rd Twilight movie now has a director and a release date: June 30th, 2010.
Primeval might become a feature film next year.
CNet has had several informative articles on Firefox and its extensions recently:
* Gallery of 9 Add-ons to try (at least 3 of which I plan to add soon)
* 3 Add-ons to enhance Google searches
* 15 Add-ons for developers
* Google reader is now available as a popup extension
* An article stating that Firefox 3.0 has pulled ahead of IE in Europe
SF Gate has an article on the return of the electric car.
Scientists have found a way to multiply stem cells taken from bone marrow.
DVR timers for the week:
Mon 5pm Greek
Mon 8pm Chuck (season finale), Big Bang Theory & House
Mon 830 How I Met Your Mother
Mon 9pm Heroes (season finale) & 2.5 Men
Mon 10pm Medium
Tue 8pm Reaper
Tue 9pm Fringe
Tue 10pm Cupid
Wed 8pm Scrubs
Wed 9pm Lost
Wed 10pm CSI: NY
Thu 7pm Krod Mandoon
Thu 8pm Bones & My Name is Earl
Thu 9pm CSI & Supernatural
Thu 10pm Private Practice (season finale)
Fri 8pm Ghost Whisperer
Fri 9pm Dollhouse
Fri 10pm Numb3rs
Sat SYN Legend of the Seeker
The Nebula Award winners have been announced. Sources: John Scalzi's blog, SF Signal, SciFi Wire
Check out SF Signal's Tube Bits for today to see Joss Whedon accepting the Bradbury award (also available at SciFi Wire), a link to an interview about Stargate Universe, a link to the Wired issue about JJ Abrams and Star Trek, etc.
Aardman Animations and Sony are planning 2 new animated feature films. Unfortunately, they won't be Wallace & Gromit.
Scientists in Spain were able to isolate a parasite causing honey bee colony collapse and successfully treat it. Other colonies will now be examined for that parasite. I hope they've managed to find the cause.
Wired has a gallery of amazing Hubble photos.
As part of the "Save Chuck" campaign, people are encouraging fans to buy Subway sandwiches and use the comment cards to indicate their sponsorship of Chuck was what brought them in. Following a convention in the UK, Zachary Levi & Adam Baldwin led 400 fans to the local Subway and Zachary Levi helped serve them their sandwiches. See SciFi Wire article or YouTube video.
Although NBC did renew Heroes, they did it for less episodes (18-20 instead of 25). Sources: SciFi Wire, TV Guide via SF Signal, io9
Heliotrope #5 is now available for download. It has stories by Neil Gaiman, Chris Roberson, and many others. More info in Tor.com blog.
Rumor has it that Gillian Anderson may guest star as The Rani on Doctor Who.
The 3rd Twilight movie now has a director and a release date: June 30th, 2010.
Primeval might become a feature film next year.
CNet has had several informative articles on Firefox and its extensions recently:
* Gallery of 9 Add-ons to try (at least 3 of which I plan to add soon)
* 3 Add-ons to enhance Google searches
* 15 Add-ons for developers
* Google reader is now available as a popup extension
* An article stating that Firefox 3.0 has pulled ahead of IE in Europe
SF Gate has an article on the return of the electric car.
Scientists have found a way to multiply stem cells taken from bone marrow.
DVR timers for the week:
Mon 5pm Greek
Mon 8pm Chuck (season finale), Big Bang Theory & House
Mon 830 How I Met Your Mother
Mon 9pm Heroes (season finale) & 2.5 Men
Mon 10pm Medium
Tue 8pm Reaper
Tue 9pm Fringe
Tue 10pm Cupid
Wed 8pm Scrubs
Wed 9pm Lost
Wed 10pm CSI: NY
Thu 7pm Krod Mandoon
Thu 8pm Bones & My Name is Earl
Thu 9pm CSI & Supernatural
Thu 10pm Private Practice (season finale)
Fri 8pm Ghost Whisperer
Fri 9pm Dollhouse
Fri 10pm Numb3rs
Sat SYN Legend of the Seeker
Friday, April 24, 2009
4-24-09
Primeval season 3 starts on BBC America on May 16th, continuing until the end of July (10 episodes).
A new malaria microchip can determine from a blood sample if a patient has malaria and which strain it is, taking only about 30 minutes. This is much faster and more accurate than previous testing, which should allow for better treatment options.
Evan Rachel Wood will be playing the queen of Louisiana in True Blood season 2. Sources: Zap2It, Ausiello Files.
SciFi (which becomes SyFy that week) has announced premiere dates for Warehouse 13 (July 7th) and Eureka (July 10th - moving to Fridays).
A new malaria microchip can determine from a blood sample if a patient has malaria and which strain it is, taking only about 30 minutes. This is much faster and more accurate than previous testing, which should allow for better treatment options.
Evan Rachel Wood will be playing the queen of Louisiana in True Blood season 2. Sources: Zap2It, Ausiello Files.
SciFi (which becomes SyFy that week) has announced premiere dates for Warehouse 13 (July 7th) and Eureka (July 10th - moving to Fridays).
Thursday, April 23, 2009
4-23-09
Zap2It has a breakdown of the pilots for NBC and drama pilots for Fox. None of these interest me from the info given.
ABC announced renewals for 12 more shows - with the remaining ones presumed to be canceled. No big surprises.
Will Smith is producing a movie for SciFi called "Unfinished Business" that could turn into a series.
There are rumors (which I doubt are real) that the 4th Twilight movie might not get made because they can't figure out a way to make the subject matter work on-screen. On a better note for the series, Zap2It has a picture of the wolfpack from the set of New Moon.
Space & astronomy photos & news:
BBC has an article on using e-book readers to keep newspapers alive.
Studies have linked vitamin A & C deficiencies to increased risk for asthma.
Listverse lists the Top 20 Films of the 90s. I've seen all but about 7 or 8 (#20 sounds familiar but I don't remember if I saw it or not) and some are come-upon-it favorites that I've seen over and over.
Wired had an issue specializing in puzzles:
CNN has an article on the nutrient-rich Maya nut which grows in Central America and the woman who is showing natives how to find and prepare it.
ABC announced renewals for 12 more shows - with the remaining ones presumed to be canceled. No big surprises.
Will Smith is producing a movie for SciFi called "Unfinished Business" that could turn into a series.
There are rumors (which I doubt are real) that the 4th Twilight movie might not get made because they can't figure out a way to make the subject matter work on-screen. On a better note for the series, Zap2It has a picture of the wolfpack from the set of New Moon.
Space & astronomy photos & news:
- Space.com has a great new Hubble photo and a link to a gallery of galactic collisions. Check out the amazing photos.
- Space.com also has a gallery of the Top 10 Views of Earth.
- The Big Picture has a bunch of amazing photos from the Cassini Saturn mission. (Found through John Scalzi's blog entry.)
- In honor of Earth Day, CNet has a photogallery of NASA's Top 10 Achievements for the Earth.
- Hundreds of NASA images will become more accesible due to a new partnership with Microsoft Research's Worldwide Telescope.
- SETI scientists have found a way to detect earthquakes shortly before they happen.
- Space-based solar power plants could be used to break up hurricanes as they form.
BBC has an article on using e-book readers to keep newspapers alive.
Studies have linked vitamin A & C deficiencies to increased risk for asthma.
Listverse lists the Top 20 Films of the 90s. I've seen all but about 7 or 8 (#20 sounds familiar but I don't remember if I saw it or not) and some are come-upon-it favorites that I've seen over and over.
Wired had an issue specializing in puzzles:
- A chart on how the types of games relate.
- Evil brainteasers.
- Digidoku - an LED interactive Sudoku-type game.
- Oddly shaped jigsaw puzzles where the pieces can be put together in different ways, but only one is correct.
CNN has an article on the nutrient-rich Maya nut which grows in Central America and the woman who is showing natives how to find and prepare it.
Friday, April 17, 2009
4-17-09
Over at Tor.com, Jo Walton has recently been reviewing one of my favorite series: Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga. (Check out the comments threads for responses from Bujold.) If you're curious, here are the links (she reviewed in publication order): Shards of Honor, Warrior's Apprentice, Borders of Infinity, Brothers in Arms, The Vor Game, Barrayar, Mirror Dance, Cetaganda, Memory, Komarr, A Civil Campaign, Diplomatic Immunity, and the series overview. I'm feeling the need to re-read them now. Follow-up: She later added a review of Winterfair Gifts and an interview with Lois McMaster Bujold.
The Colo(u)r of Magic will be released on dvd in July.
If you liked the classic TV Guide description of the Wizard of Oz ("Girl journeys to psychedelic landscape, kills first person she meets then teams up with others to kill again"), then check out the Uncomfortable Plot Summaries at postmodernbarney.com.
Zap2It has "Up-isodes" to tease us or tide us over until the new Pixar movie.
YouTube is expanding its selection of (legal) movies and TV shows.
DVRs for next week (since I probably won't post again until Wednesday):
Mon 5pm Greek
Mon 8pm Bones & Chuck
Mon 9pm Heroes
Mon 10pm Medium
Tue 8pm Reaper
Tue 9pm Fringe
Wed 8pm Scrubs
Wed 9pm Lost
Thu 7pm Krod Mandoon
Thu 8pm Bones & My Name is Earl
Thu 9pm CSI & Supernatural
Thu 10pm Private Practice
Fri 8pm Ghost Whisperer
Fri 9pm Dollhouse
Fri 10pm Numb3rs
Sat SYN Legend of the Seeker
Sat 6pm Ashes to Ashes
The Colo(u)r of Magic will be released on dvd in July.
If you liked the classic TV Guide description of the Wizard of Oz ("Girl journeys to psychedelic landscape, kills first person she meets then teams up with others to kill again"), then check out the Uncomfortable Plot Summaries at postmodernbarney.com.
Zap2It has "Up-isodes" to tease us or tide us over until the new Pixar movie.
YouTube is expanding its selection of (legal) movies and TV shows.
DVRs for next week (since I probably won't post again until Wednesday):
Mon 5pm Greek
Mon 8pm Bones & Chuck
Mon 9pm Heroes
Mon 10pm Medium
Tue 8pm Reaper
Tue 9pm Fringe
Wed 8pm Scrubs
Wed 9pm Lost
Thu 7pm Krod Mandoon
Thu 8pm Bones & My Name is Earl
Thu 9pm CSI & Supernatural
Thu 10pm Private Practice
Fri 8pm Ghost Whisperer
Fri 9pm Dollhouse
Fri 10pm Numb3rs
Sat SYN Legend of the Seeker
Sat 6pm Ashes to Ashes
Thursday, April 16, 2009
4-16-09
Twilight: New Moon is now fully cast. This Zap2It article lists everyone if you're curious.
John Madden is retiring. Even though I don't watch much football anymore, I recognize the end of an era. Sources: Zap2It, What's Alan Watching. Follow-up: The Mercury News has an article on his impact.
Tonight is the sci-fi homage episode of CSI. If you don't usually watch CSI, this is probably the one to make an exception for.
Michael Chabon will be making some revisions to the John Carter of Mars script. Source: SF Signal
John Madden is retiring. Even though I don't watch much football anymore, I recognize the end of an era. Sources: Zap2It, What's Alan Watching. Follow-up: The Mercury News has an article on his impact.
Tonight is the sci-fi homage episode of CSI. If you don't usually watch CSI, this is probably the one to make an exception for.
Michael Chabon will be making some revisions to the John Carter of Mars script. Source: SF Signal
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