When even a scientific magazine like Wetenschap in Beeld (Science in the Picture) makes huge errors like this, errors in their thinking as much as in their facts, it’s no wonder that less and less people really understand science, and more and more people lose faith in it. In their April issue, WiB printed an […]
Read MoreA very extensive review appeared in The Levant yesterday of Robert N. Stephenson’s anthology Worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, Vol.IV. The reviewer had some surprising things to say about my story The Life and Death of George Hayes: This is a very good story. It’s beautifully written and deals with the Faustian choice […]
Read MoreLast week, while waiting for my train, I heard a song that I just had to identify. I held up my phone, tapped Shazam, and in seconds, I knew it was Music Box Dancer by Frank Mills. In an seemingly unrelated thread of my life, I decided that I wanted to learn to play the little […]
Read MoreDe Nederlandstalige versie van dit bericht is te vinden op mijn Nederlandstalige site. Who would have thought that Apple, of all companies, wants to keep their customers firmly rooted in the fifties? Yes, you can buy early rock’n’roll music in iTunes, but those are not the fifties I mean. Rather, I’m referring to the fifties […]
Read MoreIt’s that time of year again, when the remainder of the year shrinks at an ever-inreasing pace*, and the awards nomination season is almost upon us. If you happen to be in a position to nominate or vote for the Hugos an/or the Nebulas**, I’ve had three stories published in 2018 that you might be […]
Read MoreStubborn persistence pays off, as Heinlein teaches us. Can I have a Hallelujah to that? All the way back in 2009, when my marriage was only four years old, and I wasn’t even a father yet, we took a trip to the mid-Atlantic island of Sao Miguel. The volcanic beauty and verdant exuberance of the […]
Read MoreBofixier is the extra app that all Dropbox users have never know they’ve always needed. Dropbox is awesome. I assume you all know this. As a backup, data syncing, and sharing solution, they’ve got their competition whipped*. I’ve been a Dropbox user for years, and haven’t spent a single thought on backup since. Also, since […]
Read MoreDe Nederlandstalige versie van dit bericht is te vinden op mijn Nederlandstalige site. Tonight before bed, both our sons (eight and six) suddenly* decided they wanted to pray**. Since we choose to allow our kids the freedom to believe what they want, I didn’t object in the least. I exercized self-restraint, and refrained from forcing […]
Read MoreOude tijden herleven: mijn zoon van bijna acht wilde plotseling een Rubiks Kubus. Een paar klasgenootjes hadden er een en hij was gefascineerd geraakt door de kleurrijke driedimensionale puzzel. In het verleden bezat ik er een heel stel; bovendien had ik een volledige oplosmethode uit het hoofd geleerd vanuit een handig klein boekje. Helaas hebben […]
Read MoreBlast from the past: my not-quite-eight-year-old son suddenly wanted to own a Rubik’s Cube. A couple of his classmates had one, and he was fascinated with the colorful 3D puzzle. I used to own a bunch myself, and had a method of solving the thing memorized from a convenient little booklet. Unfortunately, we had recently […]
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