11-30-07 Couch Potato Corner

The Broadway stage hand strike is over. Let's hope the writers' strike ends soon too.

I'm actually glad I have shows piled up on the DVR that I haven't watched yet. They are my strike insurance. Most of the shows I watch have either already finished or only have 1-3 eps remaining. (There are some exceptions - see the grid from FutonCritic.) The only shows I watch that will start mid-season are Lost, Medium & Jericho (I'm not counting True Blood, the Sookie Stackhouse series on HBO, or New Amsterdam or Sarah Connor Chronicles for Fox, because I'm not sure I'll like them enough to watch beyond the pilots). It looks like I will have a lot of time to read or catch up on skipped shows & DVDs. I just think it is sad that NBC put out a press release about their upcoming shows, and I am only tempted by one (Medium). I am clearly not their target demographic since I hate "reality" shows.

DVRs for the weekend:
Friday:
5pm Flash Gordon (they call this the season finale, but it is actually ep 15 of 22 filmed)
7pm Stargate Atlantis
8pm Blood Ties (final episode on TV - the last 2 will be online: 1 this week and 1 next week)
Sunday:
6pm Tin Man (pt 1 of 3 - SCIFI)

11-29-07 Couch Potato Corner

I never saw it announced anywhere, but apparently Blood Ties was canceled. According to Tanya Huff's livejournal, tomorrow's episode will be the last one on TV. The final 2 episodes will be available online only.

TV Guide announced its Online Video Awards. The winner of the Sci-fi webisodes category was Star Trek: New Voyages, beating Battlestar Galactica and The 4400. I've seen almost none of these, but I think it is interesting that the fan-produced one beat the studio-produced ones.

If you want to read "I, Malcolm" by Nathan Fillion, you have 2 choices. You can buy the book:, Serenity Found: More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly Universe, or you can read the online excerpt at USA Today.

DVR for tonight:
8pm My Name is Earl
930 Scrubs
10pm Big Shots

11-28-07 mix

Korean researchers have developed a plastic fiber optic cable for use in the "last mile" to connect providers with users. While not as fast as glass, it is still much faster than copper, and can be easily bent and connected with other lines. It is also cheap (using glass is costing Verizon approx. $900 per customer to connect, and AT&T is still using copper from the node to the customer rather than pay).

A new skin patch has been developed that may replace injections for medication. It doesn't go deep enough to stimulate pain, it can deliver multiple types of medication in a single patch, and it controls the timing and quantity of doses with a microchip.

SFGate has an interesting article on the research about organic foods.

I've been looking at the list of 2007 books, trying to decide what to order next, and I will probably revise my earlier post in the next day or two, adding genre or description notes and changing the lineup. I may add some (either from ones I found on the NESFA recommendations list or new authors found in Locus while looking for book descriptions) and remove others that are late in a series I haven't read or I don't think will be Hugo-worthy.

DVRs for tonight:
8pm Shrek the Halls (ABC) - A Shrek Christmas special
9pm Pushing Daisies & Bionic Woman (final episode produced)
10pm CSI:NY & Life

11-27-07 Couch Potato Corner

Billie Piper (Rose) will be returning to Doctor Who for 3 eps in season 4 (which premiers on the BBC in March). No word how they'll explain it or if any of the companions scheduled for the season overlap and meet each other.

NBC has picked up Chuck & Life for full seasons. What that means when nobody can write any more scripts is a mystery to me, but still good news.

Kyle XY will return for the 2nd half of its 2nd season on January 14th. It has 10 episodes to play.

Over at the scifanletter blog, they have made a space opera reading list. There are some good books there, although some I didn't really consider space opera, and lots of books are missing, butI still may have to check out a few of the ones I don't recognize.

The Universal Digital Library project has completed scanning 1.5 million works, and made them freely available (copyright permitting) today.

DVRs for tonight:
8pm Bones
9pm House & Reaper

RIP Oliver

We'll miss you.

Oliver was a "feral" kitten living, although just barely, in our Mom's feral cat colony last year. We (my sister & I) were visiting our parents for Thanksgiving of 2006. Our father had just been diagnosed with terminal esophageal cancer and it was far from an ideal hoilday. We went out to the barn with our mom to watch her feed the ferals and a scrawny, half starved, grey and white kitten came right up to greet us. He was covered in ringworm (or should I say, he was nearly bald), in the near freezing weather it was clear he was suffering from the cold. He had a URI, was just skin and bones but he happily let us pick him up and he purred instantly. We immediately named him Oliver, as he was clearly an orphan in need of a healthy bowl of supper and some loving care.

We took him home and told him he could stay with us until he was healthy enough to adopt out. We tried him on more than 12 antibiotics over the course of the past year with no luck in clearing up his URI. We had his sinuses flushed and tried all manner of homeopathic care we could find to treat him. Sadly, he never got healthy, but he did win our hearts. Oliver was a one of a kind kitty who loved to jump amazing distances. He grew tall and lanky, and we called him the "Vertical one" or Oli-Vert which eventually became Vert. He also went by "Snot face" or Vader for his raspy breathing. He loved to perch on the coffee maker (sometimes turning it on) with his shoulder blades sticking up like folded wings, which earned him the nickname "Coffee Gargoyle". He was a happy boy in spite of his chronic URI and we had hope that he would live many long years and perhaps one day grow out of it.

Sadly on Thanksgiving day it became clear that his URI had finally moved to his lungs. He passed from this world while held in my arms during our drive to our Mother's house for the holiday. He is greatly missed in our home.

RIP sweet Vert. We will love you always.

2007 Books for Hugo consideration

Thanks to Locus, I've put together a list of books for us to consider for reading before Hugo nominations. If you want to see the full list (to see what I left off or just have a reference that links to Amazon for each book so you can see what they are), go to:
http://www.locusmag.com/2007/Directory1.html

If you don't yet have a membership to Worldcon next year, get one before the prices go up in January. This is also when they'll mail out the progress reports with the ballots for nominations. No date has been announced yet for a nomination deadline (but March is likely).

(I'm pretty sure the + symbol means that 2007 was the 1st US printing, not the first printing, so it may be an earlier book that is still eligible for a Hugo)


2007 Books I've read and liked:
• Briggs, Patricia • Blood Bound • (Ace, Feb)
• Bujold, Lois McMaster • The Sharing Knife: Legacy • (Eos, Jul)
• Butcher, Jim • White Night • (Roc, Apr)
• Harris, Charlaine • All Together Dead • (Ace, May)
• Kenyon, Sherrilyn • Devil May Cry • (St. Martin's, Aug)
• Kenyon, Sherrilyn • The Dream Hunter • (St. Martin's Paperbacks, Feb)
• Rowling, J. K. • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows • (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books, Jul)


2007 Books I know we own, but I haven't read yet:
• Caine, Rachel • Thin Air • (Roc, Aug)
• Gilman, Laura Anne • Burning Bridges • (Luna, Jun)
• Jones, Diana Wynne • The Game • (Firebird, Mar)
• Lackey, Mercedes • Fortune's Fool • (Harlequin/Luna, Mar)
• McKinley, Robin • Dragonhaven • (Putnam, Sep)
• Novik, Naomi • Empire of Ivory • (Ballantine Del Rey, Oct)
• Sanderson, Brandon • The Well of Ascension • (Tor, Aug)
• Scalzi, John • The Last Colony • (Tor, May)
• Traviss, Karen • Ally • (Eos, Apr)


2007 Books by authors we've bought before or who've been recommended & have potential (I don't think we have these, but there are a few where I'm not sure):
• Armstrong, Kelley • No Humans Involved • (Bantam Spectra, May)
• Asaro, Catherine • The Fire Opal • (Luna, Jul)
• Baker, Kage • The Sons of Heaven • (Tor, Jul)
• Bear, Elizabeth • New Amsterdam • (Subterranean Press, May)
• Bear, Elizabeth • Undertow • (Bantam Spectra, Aug)
• Bear, Elizabeth • Whiskey and Water • (Roc, Jul)
• Berg, Carol • Flesh and Spirit • (Roc, May)
• Bear, Greg • Quantico • (Perseus/Vanguard, Mar)
• Bova, Ben • The Aftermath • (Tor, Aug)
• Britain, Kristen • The High King's Tomb • (DAW, Nov)
• Brooks, Terry • The Elves of Cintra • (Ballantine Del Rey, Sep)
• Bull, Emma • Territory • (Tor, Jul)
• Butcher, Jim • Captain's Fury • (Ace, Dec)
• Card, Orson Scott, & Aaron Johnston • Invasive Procedures • (Tor, Sep)
• Cherryh, C. J. • Deliverer • (DAW, Feb)
• Cook, Glen • Lord of the Silent Kingdom • (Tor, Feb)
+ Courtenay Grimwood, Jon • 9Tail Fox • (Night Shade Books, May)
+ Courtenay Grimwood, Jon • End of the World Blues • (Bantam Spectra, Oct)
• Crowley, John • Endless Things • (Small Beer Press, May)
• Czerneda, Julie E. • Reap the Wild Wind • (DAW, Sep)
• David, Peter • Darkness of the Light • (Tor, Jun)
• Davidson, MaryJanice • Undead and Uneasy • (Berkley, Jun)
• Douglas, Carol Nelson • Dancing with Werewolves • (Juno, Nov)
+ Feist, Raymond E. • Into a Dark Realm • (Eos, Apr)
• Feist, Raymond E., & Joel Rosenberg • Murder in LaMut: Legends of the Riftware, Book II • (Eos, Aug)
• Fforde, Jasper • First Among Sequels • (UK: Hodder & Stoughton, Jul)
• Foster, Alan Dean • Patrimony • (Ballantine Del Rey, Oct)
+ Gentle, Mary • Ilario: The Lion's Eye • (Eos, Jul)
+ Gentle, Mary • Ilario: The Stone Golem • (Eos, Sep)
• Gibson, William • Spook Country • (Putnam, Aug)
• Goonan, Kathleen Ann • In War Times • (Tor, May)
• Grossman, Austin • Soon I Will Be Invincible • (Pantheon, Jun)
• Haldeman, Joe • The Accidental Time Machine • (Ace, Aug)
• Hallaway, Tate • Dead Sexy • (Berkley, May)
• Harrison, Kim • For a Few Demons More • (Eos, Mar)
• Herbert, Brian, & Kevin J. Anderson • Sandworms of Dune • (Tor, Aug)
• Hobb, Robin • Renegade's Magic • (UK: HarperVoyager, Jul)
• Huff, Tanya • The Heart of Valor • (DAW, Jun)
• Kay, Guy Gavriel • Ysabel • (Canada: Penguin Canada, Jan)
• Kerr, Katharine • The Spirit Stone • (DAW, Jun)
• Lackey, Mercedes, & Roberta Gellis • By Slanderous Tongues • (Baen, Feb)
• Lackey, Mercedes, & James Mallory • The Phoenix Unchained • (Tor, Oct)
• Lackey, Mercedes • Reserved for the Cat • (DAW, Nov)
• Lee, Tanith • The Secret Books of Paradys • (Overlook Press, Dec)
• Lindskold, Jane • Wolf's Blood • (Tor, Mar)
• Lynch, Scott • Red Seas Under Red Skies • (UK: Gollancz, Jun)
• MacLeod, Ken • The Execution Channel • (UK: Orbit, Apr)
+ Marillier, Juliet • The Well of Shades • (Tor, May)
• McCaffrey, Anne, & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough • Acorna's Children: Third Watch • (Eos, Aug)
• McCaffrey, Anne, & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough • Maelstrom • (Ballantine Del Rey, Jan)
• McDevitt, Jack • Cauldron • (Ace, Nov)
+ Miller, Karen • The Innocent Mage • (Orbit, Sep)
• Modesitt, L. E., Jr. • The Elysium Commission • (Tor, Feb)
• Modesitt, L. E., Jr. • Natural Ordermage • (Tor, Sep)
• Moon, Elizabeth • Command Decision • (Ballantine Del Rey, Mar)
• Niven, Larry, & Edward M. Lerner • Fleet of Worlds • (Tor, Sep)
• Nye, Jody Lynn • An Unexpected Apprentice • (Tor, Jun)
• Pratchett, Terry • Making Money • (UK: Transworld/Doubleday UK, Oct)
• Roberson, Chris • Set the Seas on Fire • (UK: BL Publishing/Solaris, Aug)
+ Roberts, Adam • Gradisil • (Pyr, Mar)
• Roberts, Adam • Splinter • (BL Publishing/Solaris US, Sep)
• Robinson, Kim Stanley • Sixty Days and Counting • (Bantam Spectra, Mar)
+ Robson, Justina • Keeping It Real • (Pyr, Mar)
+ Robson, Justina • Selling Out • (Pyr, Oct)
• Rusch, Kristine Kathryn • Recovery Man • (Roc, Sep)
• Sawyer, Robert J. • Rollback • (Tor, Apr)
• Schroeder, Karl • Queen of Candesce • (Tor, Aug)
• Shetterly, Will • Gospel of the Knife • (Tor, Jul)
• Shinn, Sharon • Reader and Raelynx • (Ace, Nov)
• Simmons, Dan • The Terror • (Little Brown, Jan)
• Sinclair, Linnea • The Down Home Zombie Blues • (Bantam, Dec)
• Sinclair, Linnea • Games of Command • (Bantam Spectra, Mar)
• Slattery, Brian Francis • Spaceman Blues • (Tor, Aug)
• Smith, Sherwood • The Fox • (DAW, Aug)
• Steele, Allen • Spindrift • (Ace, Apr)
• Stross, Charles • Halting State • (Ace, Oct)
• Stross, Charles • The Merchants' War • (Tor, Oct)
• Tolkien, J. R. R. • The Children of H£rin • (UK: HarperCollins UK, Apr)
• Valente, Catherynne M. • The Orphan's Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice • (Bantam Spectra, Nov)
• Walton, Jo • Ha'Penny • (Tor, Oct)
• Watt-Evans, Lawrence • The Ninth Talisman: Volume Two of the Annals of the Chosen • (Tor, May)
• Weber, David • Off Armageddon Reef • (Tor, Jan)
• Williams, Liz • Precious Dragon • (Night Shade Books, Jun)
• Williams, Tad • Shadowplay • (DAW, Mar)
• Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn • Borne in Blood: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain • (Tor, Dec)
• Zahn, Timothy • The Third Lynx • (Tor, Nov)


2007 Young Adult books by authors we've bought before
• Bell, Hilari • Shield of Stars • (Simon & Schuster, Apr)
• de Lint, Charles • Little (Grrl) Lost • (Viking, Sep)
+ Dickinson, Peter • Angel Isle • (Random House/Lamb, Oct)
• Gaiman, Neil, & Michael Reaves • InterWorld • (Eos, Jul)
• Jacques, Brian • Eulalia! • (Philomel, Oct)
• Le Guin, Ursula K. • Powers • (Harcourt, Sep)
• Lee, Tanith • Indigara • (Penguin/Firebird, Oct)
+ Marillier, Juliet • Wildwood Dancing • (Knopf Books for Young Readers, Jan)
• Sanderson, Brandon • Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians • (Scholastic, Oct)

11-26-07 Science/Tech

A German heavy-freight ship launching next month will be using a football field sized kite to provide most of their power. It should reduce fuel consumption by 50% and greenhouse gas emissions by 10-20%. Kites have been used before for yachts, but this is the first cargo vessel to use one. The company that makes the kites aims to equip 1500 ships with kites over the next 8 years.

China's moon probe has started to send back pictures. There's an article here, but the pictures only seem to be available on Chinese-language sites for now.

2 Australian firms are going to be making algae (for biodiesel fuel, to burn for power generation, or use as fertilizer) from coal mine emissions. A similar program set up in Arizona had to suspend operations earlier this year because it was generating more algae than it could harvest. I hope they both can get operations going so we can reduce carbon dioxide while generating something useful.

The AMA has adopted new guidelines for talking to pregnant patients about cord blood donation. There will be a greater promotion for public cord blood banking. This should help a lot of people.

Researchers have made advances in transforming adult cells into embryonic stem cells, which allows them to use the patient's own cells to cure them of disease or make new non-rejecting tissues.

One last stem cell article: Stanford researchers are developing a treatment that may allow stem cells to treat immune disorders such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. An injection of antibodies specifically takes out blood-forming cells, which can then be replaced by new blood-forming stem cells. This would eliminate the need (and the dangers) of using chemotherapy and radiation to completely destroy all the original stem cells before a transplant and make it safe enough to use for non-life-threatening diseases. So far, it has only been tested on mice, but this holds great promise.

A Georgia professor is working on curing disease in mosquitoes. Rather than just kill the mosquitoes to prevent them from passing on diseases such as malaria and West Nile virus, he is putting medicines in feeders to stop them from developing pathogens, so even if they bite they won't pass on the diseases. Is it wrong that I'd prefer they were just dead? I hate mosquitoes, disease carrying or not, but I guess this is better for the bats and the environment.

A new company has formed to produce what amounts to a nuclear battery. It is a closed system with no moving parts the size of a hot tub, enclosed in cement, and doesn't require operators. It would be trucked to a site, hooked up, buried underground, and could power 25,000 homes for at least 5 years. I want to know what happens after the 5 years.