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Actually, the heading of this post is a little misleading because I got my flu shot about two weeks ago, but it makes a catchy title.  But it does reflect a subject I’d like to talk about because of recent events, especially posts on Facebook and articles in the news.  Vaccines have come under fire…

Last week in my regular blog I wrote that we shouldn’t expect astronomers to find an Earth-sized planet out there very soon.  I may have spoken too soon.  After that post, two articles appeared on Yahoo News about that very subject.  One story, from Space.com, reported that the NASA Kepler astronomical satellite telescope had found in…

A few days ago I read an online article about how astronomers had discovered a new planet outside our solar system that seemed to be similar in size and density to Earth.  The natural inclination of humans upon discovering a planet roughly the same size as our own is to ask, does it have life on it?  Well, in…

Over most of the last rather ignominious years of my life I’ve watched the English language change in several ways, many for the better, many not.  (For example, “impact” has now become a verb.)  I’ve seen new words arise, especially through the influence of computers in our lives, new words such as blog, email, and modem, and new definitions of older…

I just got through checking the grammar on a science-fiction novelette which I have decided is finished, at least to the point of submitting it to a magazine for publication.  I use Microsoft Word, probably the most common word processor in the US, and I must say I was a little surprised by the results of the Grammar…

It’s that time of year again.  Time for all of those who are writing a novel (or trying to) to think about getting involved with NaNoWriMo.  For all my non-writing friends, that’s National Novel Writing Month.  That’s the month of November where novel writers, novice and experienced, sit down and write the first draft of a minimum 50,000…

As someone interested in science fiction as well as regular science, I tend to watch the news for articles about life on other planets, especially outside our solar system.  The most recent news from the rovers exploring Mars, especially Curiosity, is the definite evidence that water existed on Mars in the distant past because it left behind stream…

Remember the old television series “Mission Impossible”?  It ran from 1966 to 1973 and featured an ultra-secret team of spies and covert operators who carried out highly sensitive missions for the (presumably) US government.  The head of the Impossible Mission force was played by Peter Graves, and the series won several Emmys and Golden Globe awards…

On one of the ubiquitous episodes of Seinfeld that populate late evening television fare, Jerry Seinfeld asks why people would keep books once they’ve read them.  Apparently Jerry either doesn’t read many books or gets rid of them after he’s read them.  Or perhaps he reads only books that he’s checked out of the library.  Let’s hope…

I’ll have to admit right up front that the title of this posting, “The Plausible Impossible,” is a term I didn’t make up, but got it from another source.  But more on that later.  First I want to define it. By “plausible impossible,” I mean something that is actually impossible is made to seem plausible. …

As a beginning writer, I’ve been told frequently and I’ve read many times never to use the passive voice in writing.  (One critic even said it leads to effeminacy and homosexuality.)  It’s supposed to add unnecessary words and not be clear as to who is doing the action.  It also subverts the natural word order for English…

I just got back from Bubonicon 45, the science-fiction convention held here in Albuquerque every August.  For those of us interested in science fiction, either reading it or writing it or watching it on a screen, it’s a great way to meet other people and stay current on what’s going on in sci-fi.  One of the presentations…