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I just finished reading one of the world’s great classic novels, Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson.  This isn’t the first time I’ve read it, nor the second or the third.  I can’t say exactly how many times I’ve read it because the first time was a long time ago, probably when I was in…

What’s the biggest, most important invention/discovery/development ever in your lifetime?  Of everything that’s happened since you were born, what do you feel has been the most significant for mankind and the world in general, not just for you and your family?  Or, to put it slightly differently, after you pass away, what will people say…

Back in high school and even junior high and probably elementary school, we used to have to write “themes.”  Remember those?  I used to hate those damn things.  Many times they only had to be a page or so, though sometimes more, but I hated to have to do the research that was necessary to put them…

Last week I posted my thoughts and comments about the Bubonicon 44 convention in Albuquerque the last full weekend of August, 2012.  I attended a number of author presentations, and in one presentations, I heard someone talk about how they write the novels they’re famous for.  The author said he/she starts out writing not knowing how the book is going…

Well, Bubonicon 44 has come and gone.  That’s the local (Albuquerque area) convention of fans and authors of science fiction that took place August 24-26, 2012.  Always lots of fun, this year didn’t disappoint. I went to a lot of the sessions and talks this year as I do every year, in fact I was…

Yesterday I spent about a half an hour backing up my writing.  Not all of it actually, just the stories and other things that I’ve worked on for the past several months.  That amounted to eleven files in MS Word, and five Excel files.  I’m really bad at backing up.  It’s not that it takes…

I’ve been sending out short stories over the past several months to those literary magazines which I thought might be likely to publish one of my stories.  This has required that I read two things about each magazine: first, the description of the magazine written by the editors, especially the part where they discuss what kind of fiction they like…

I’m a scientist by training, and perhaps even by inclination.  I’ve always liked reading true-life stories, stories about things that actually happened.  Growing up, I read some fiction, but most of my reading–outside of the required reading of fiction in high school–was non-fiction, especially about science.  Sure, I read David Copperfield in high school, (who didn’t?),…

I was watching an episode of Antiques Roadshow a few days ago and an interesting phenomenon occurred to me.  The things that people bring to the Roadshow to be appraised are always objects.  Objects of one sort or another.  The Roadshow doesn’t value ideas.  Other than the philosophical implications of this concept, it means that…

I’ve heard over the past few weeks about a new wrinkle in publishing: books in which the ink disappears in a few weeks or months after you start reading.  That’s right, the ink changes to colorless from its usual (I assume) black so you can’t see it anymore.  After a while you can’t read the book; it’s…

Back on September 27, 2011, I blogged about the TV sit-com, The Big Bang Theory.  I suggested I might continue to watch it in reruns, but left the promise open.  Well, I’ve tried to watch, wondering how Hollywood would handle science and scientists and their interaction with non-scientists.  I’ve come to the conclusion that looking to…

I heard a very interesting talk the other day at one of the regular meetings of SouthWest Writers.  The talk was given by Johnny D. Boggs, an accomplished western writer who talked on writing for young adults.  He made several important points about YA writing, some of which I figured out for myself, but some I didn’t…