Christopher McKitterick's Blog, page 12
August 28, 2013
Vin Diesel saves space puppy. Also, WorldCon schedule!
The new Riddick: Rule the Dark! (exclamation mark added for emphasis; why doesn't it come with an exclamation mark? All Riddick movies should come with exclamation marks) comes on in just over a week!
As if I needed any more reasons to see this movie, this'll do it: Riddick saves a space-puppy!
Click the image to see the short clip.
I love Vin Diesel for many reasons, but here's another:
Yes:
Click the image to see the Penny Arcade page.
In other news, I'm heading to LoneStarCon3 on Friday morning (meaning I miss the James Gunn Guest-of-Honor reception on Thursday evening, which I helped organize... stupid first day of only-once-a-week class). Here's my WorldCon schedule (with a couple items I helped organize but can't attend):
Thursday
6:00pm - 8:00pm: Reception for students and close associates of Guest of Honor James Gunn
If you want to be part of this but haven't yet gotten an invite, let me know ASAP and I'll try to get you on the invite list! I'm sad that I can't attend, but I get to see Jim every week. Still, what's up with WorldCon starting on the Thursday of the first week of classes? ARGH.
Friday
5:00pm: "When is Hard SF Too Hard"
008A (Convention Center)
Nancy Kress, Michael J. Martinez, Christopher McKitterick, Jack Skillingstead.
Our panelists discuss the delicate balance between punching a button to go into hyperspace, and reaching for your calculator to figure out if you really could.
Saturday
4:00pm: "Cartography of Genre: Roman Epic Space Opera and the Academic Legacy of Jim Gunn"
008A (Convention Center)
Christopher McKitterick (Mod), Donald M. Hassler, Bob Cape
This includes a couple of papers: "Space Opera and the Greco-Roman Epic" Bob Cape, Austin College; "A Key Cartographer of the Genre: Jim Gunn" Donald M. "Mack" Hassler, Kent State University.
5:00pm: James Gunn Tribute
103B (Convention Center)
Michael Page, Gary K. Wolfe, Kij Johnson, Christopher McKitterick, John Kessel, and hopefully others!
A tribute by our panelists to LoneStarCon 3 Guest of Honor, James Gunn.
Sunday
5:30pm - 6:00pm: Reading: Christopher McKitterick
This one is uncertain, as at first I had thought I wasn't going to still be at the con on Sunday evening, so maybe and maybe not. *sigh*
Monday
Do you know a teacher, parent, librarian or anyone else interested in getting SF into the hands of young folks? The Center's two new AboutSF Volunteer Coordinator student-employees will present a "Teaching Science Fiction: A Workshop for Teachers, Librarians, and Parents" for much of the day on Monday. In their trial-run at ConQuest this year, they gave a fantastic presentation, and have been working hard at this longer version. I can't participate, as I'm on the plane during this time, but they'll do a great job, I'm sure. Check 'em out!
Okay, back to 1) writing and 2) work!
Best,
Chris
As if I needed any more reasons to see this movie, this'll do it: Riddick saves a space-puppy!
Click the image to see the short clip.
I love Vin Diesel for many reasons, but here's another:
Yes:
Click the image to see the Penny Arcade page.
In other news, I'm heading to LoneStarCon3 on Friday morning (meaning I miss the James Gunn Guest-of-Honor reception on Thursday evening, which I helped organize... stupid first day of only-once-a-week class). Here's my WorldCon schedule (with a couple items I helped organize but can't attend):
Thursday
6:00pm - 8:00pm: Reception for students and close associates of Guest of Honor James Gunn
If you want to be part of this but haven't yet gotten an invite, let me know ASAP and I'll try to get you on the invite list! I'm sad that I can't attend, but I get to see Jim every week. Still, what's up with WorldCon starting on the Thursday of the first week of classes? ARGH.
Friday
5:00pm: "When is Hard SF Too Hard"
008A (Convention Center)
Nancy Kress, Michael J. Martinez, Christopher McKitterick, Jack Skillingstead.
Our panelists discuss the delicate balance between punching a button to go into hyperspace, and reaching for your calculator to figure out if you really could.
Saturday
4:00pm: "Cartography of Genre: Roman Epic Space Opera and the Academic Legacy of Jim Gunn"
008A (Convention Center)
Christopher McKitterick (Mod), Donald M. Hassler, Bob Cape
This includes a couple of papers: "Space Opera and the Greco-Roman Epic" Bob Cape, Austin College; "A Key Cartographer of the Genre: Jim Gunn" Donald M. "Mack" Hassler, Kent State University.
5:00pm: James Gunn Tribute
103B (Convention Center)
Michael Page, Gary K. Wolfe, Kij Johnson, Christopher McKitterick, John Kessel, and hopefully others!
A tribute by our panelists to LoneStarCon 3 Guest of Honor, James Gunn.
Sunday
5:30pm - 6:00pm: Reading: Christopher McKitterick
This one is uncertain, as at first I had thought I wasn't going to still be at the con on Sunday evening, so maybe and maybe not. *sigh*
Monday
Do you know a teacher, parent, librarian or anyone else interested in getting SF into the hands of young folks? The Center's two new AboutSF Volunteer Coordinator student-employees will present a "Teaching Science Fiction: A Workshop for Teachers, Librarians, and Parents" for much of the day on Monday. In their trial-run at ConQuest this year, they gave a fantastic presentation, and have been working hard at this longer version. I can't participate, as I'm on the plane during this time, but they'll do a great job, I'm sure. Check 'em out!
Okay, back to 1) writing and 2) work!
Best,
Chris
August 26, 2013
Useful writing advice for everyone.
I spent the day so far prepping for the start of the semester tomorrow, and about to get off-line to resume writing, but really needed to share this back-of-the-envelope advice from a cynic:
Yep, that's about right. I share a lot of successful authors' advice during my Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop, but this boils it down pretty well. From Buzzfeed's Copyranter.
Speaking of writing, here's what's kept me out of trouble since the end of the CSSF Summer program:
The Galactic Adventures of Jack & Stella progress:
...and with that, I'm back to it! Have a great evening.
Chris
Yep, that's about right. I share a lot of successful authors' advice during my Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop, but this boils it down pretty well. From Buzzfeed's Copyranter.
Speaking of writing, here's what's kept me out of trouble since the end of the CSSF Summer program:
The Galactic Adventures of Jack & Stella progress:
...and with that, I'm back to it! Have a great evening.
Chris
August 20, 2013
Astro-Porn of the Day: Mosaic of Hubble Photos...
...assembled into a riff on Van Gogh's "Starry Night":
Click the image to see the WIRED article and more photos. Click here to see a much-larger version of the image. Click here to see some amazing close-ups and samples of Hubble's best photos.
Astrophysics post-doc Alex Harrison Parker made this mash-up.
Science and art, unite!
Chris
Click the image to see the WIRED article and more photos. Click here to see a much-larger version of the image. Click here to see some amazing close-ups and samples of Hubble's best photos.
Astrophysics post-doc Alex Harrison Parker made this mash-up.
Science and art, unite!
Chris
August 10, 2013
Four cats, a dog, and a stuffed bobcat walk into a room...
...and here's the result:
You're welcome.
Don't forget the Perseids tonight!
Chris
You're welcome.
Don't forget the Perseids tonight!
Chris
August 9, 2013
Astro-Porn of the Day: Perseid Meteor Shower Time!
The Perseids are coming! The famous Perseid meteor shower is underway already, though at a slow rate. Things get hot on Sunday and Monday nights. If you can get to truly dark skies, expect to see about 100 meteors per hour during the peak (cut that in half if you're watching near a city). Looks not-so-hot for Kansans (it seems to be fall weather here), but if the skies clear, don't forget to look up! A chaise lounge and mosquito repellant are your friends. Human friends are good, too, as is a nice bottle of wine.
Click the image to see photographer Oshin D. Zakarian's page.
More details on the Sky & Telescope blog, here.
Chris
Click the image to see photographer Oshin D. Zakarian's page.
More details on the Sky & Telescope blog, here.
Chris
August 5, 2013
Astro-Porn of the Day: New Supernova!
News from the galaxy M74, the faintest of the Messier objects (but still observable in a smallish telescope):
A new supernova has burst to life (the bright star in the cross-hairs, below):
If you want to see it in a telescope, here's where to look:
We see supernovae when super-massive stars explode, often outshining the galaxies where they erupt. This supernova is magnitude 12.5 and has stopped brightening; the entire M74 galaxy shines at only magnitude 10.0, so it's almost as bright as the other 100 billion stars shining as normal. Whoah.
Here's what a supernova looks like after it's exploded, shed much of its mass (the glowing "planetary nebula"), and shrunken to the white-hot dot of its core neutron star. In fact, some supernovae are so massive before the explosion that they end up as black holes. Here's the Crab Nebula, recorded by Japanese and Chinese astronomers (and Native Americans, among others) in 1054, still glowing bright nearly a thousand years later:
The Sun will never explode like that; however, it will expand to red-giant phase over the next few billion years, engulfing first Mercury, then Venus, and even the Earth: Yes, the Sun's diameter will swell to larger than the Earth's orbit.
Astronomy is full of AWESOME. And I mean that in a very literal way.
Chris
A new supernova has burst to life (the bright star in the cross-hairs, below):
If you want to see it in a telescope, here's where to look:
We see supernovae when super-massive stars explode, often outshining the galaxies where they erupt. This supernova is magnitude 12.5 and has stopped brightening; the entire M74 galaxy shines at only magnitude 10.0, so it's almost as bright as the other 100 billion stars shining as normal. Whoah.
Here's what a supernova looks like after it's exploded, shed much of its mass (the glowing "planetary nebula"), and shrunken to the white-hot dot of its core neutron star. In fact, some supernovae are so massive before the explosion that they end up as black holes. Here's the Crab Nebula, recorded by Japanese and Chinese astronomers (and Native Americans, among others) in 1054, still glowing bright nearly a thousand years later:
The Sun will never explode like that; however, it will expand to red-giant phase over the next few billion years, engulfing first Mercury, then Venus, and even the Earth: Yes, the Sun's diameter will swell to larger than the Earth's orbit.
Astronomy is full of AWESOME. And I mean that in a very literal way.
Chris
August 3, 2013
House troubles.
I have good news and bad news about my house.
The good news: You know those carbon-monoxide alarms you can get combined with your fire alarm? Well, mine work, as they went off last night (both of them). I changed the batteries before going to bed, thinking that was the problem - and also opened the doors to let in the sauna-air, just in case.
The bad news: This morning, on a hunch, I looked into the utility closet and discovered that the vent atop the gas-fired water heater had slipped off. Odd; has the house settled that much? Then I noticed water around the bottom of the water heater... seems it's about to blow, not only leaking a bit but also settling in a discomforting way.
Great month for this discovery: This is the month I don't get paid, and also the month I pay for my vehicle tabs, taxes, and insurance. *sigh*
Fate, you are mean-hearted.
The good news: You know those carbon-monoxide alarms you can get combined with your fire alarm? Well, mine work, as they went off last night (both of them). I changed the batteries before going to bed, thinking that was the problem - and also opened the doors to let in the sauna-air, just in case.
The bad news: This morning, on a hunch, I looked into the utility closet and discovered that the vent atop the gas-fired water heater had slipped off. Odd; has the house settled that much? Then I noticed water around the bottom of the water heater... seems it's about to blow, not only leaking a bit but also settling in a discomforting way.
Great month for this discovery: This is the month I don't get paid, and also the month I pay for my vehicle tabs, taxes, and insurance. *sigh*
Fate, you are mean-hearted.
August 1, 2013
Art from ancient times was a lot more clever than I'd thought.
Take, for instance, the Killer Bunny that showed up throughout illuminated manuscripts from the Middle Ages.
This is too much fun not to share: A joust between a dog and a bunny, one riding a snail (with a human head) and the dog riding a bunny who just now seems to realize what's up. I kid you not:
Perhaps you remember the Rabbit of Caerbannog from Monty Python and the Holy Grail :
Turns out they weren't the first to fear killer bunnies! Run away, run away!
For more on the Killer Bunny, see The Sexy Codicology Blog.
Now let's go back another thousand years to the "Siberian Princess," whose tattoos have recently been revealed in their full glory:
Those are the reconstructions, but you can see the originals and more drawings in the full article. Wow, who knew people got such amazing skin-art 2500 years ago?
Lunch break's over - back to grading final projects!
Best,
Chris
This is too much fun not to share: A joust between a dog and a bunny, one riding a snail (with a human head) and the dog riding a bunny who just now seems to realize what's up. I kid you not:
Perhaps you remember the Rabbit of Caerbannog from Monty Python and the Holy Grail :
Turns out they weren't the first to fear killer bunnies! Run away, run away!
For more on the Killer Bunny, see The Sexy Codicology Blog.
Now let's go back another thousand years to the "Siberian Princess," whose tattoos have recently been revealed in their full glory:
Those are the reconstructions, but you can see the originals and more drawings in the full article. Wow, who knew people got such amazing skin-art 2500 years ago?
Lunch break's over - back to grading final projects!
Best,
Chris
July 29, 2013
Hot-Rod Newport progress: A few steps forward, a big step back....
Over the past few days, I've spent a bit more time trying to start the newly fuel-injected, digitally programmed, updated Newport than I'd care to admit. No luck. Got a few nice misfires, but nothing remotely resembling "running." Yesterday, my buddy MadMattMax came over to help get it fired up, as I thought I'd reached the point where it'll happen. I'd set all the initial parameters in the MSD computer, I'd customized the ignition-timing curve, and the distributor was clocked correctly with the camshaft. When cranked, however, the engine disagreed. Turns out that the instructions in the MSD manual are wrong... well, wrong if you don't follow their suggestion to not use MSD computer control of ignition timing until you get the engine running. Well, my distributor was locked out, so I have to do it that way. So I was initially off on the timing by at least 20 degrees. That might not seem like a lot, if you consider a 4-stroke engine has a total of 720 degrees of rotation per cylinder's power-stroke; actually, though, it's more than enough to prevent the car from starting. I spent some time on the online forums and found my answer, we pulled the distributor and re-clocked it against the cam gear, and all seemed right in the world.
Oh, and even here I had to do custom work, like everything else on the Newport, this time a special, custom-ground distributor cap. Yep, to make the new MSD digital distributor's cap fit (and so I can rotate it as needed for tuning), I've had to grind it a bit:
It's a tricky balancing act, because I don't want to remove too much material to make it weak, but it won't fit right or work correctly if I don't remove just enough....
Anyhow, back in it went with the new timing adjustment, but of course by then we had cranked the engine a lot of times, and the fuel injection dutifully kept squirting in more gasoline the whole time. So we flooded it. The spark plugs were pretty much dripping gasoline. Time to let it sit and dry out.
This morning I went to the parts store and picked up a new set of spark plugs, because the soaked one also looked fairly filthy from previously running on a carburetor and poor ignition timing. I put the plug back in, then continued along to piston number 1 (the magical cylinder where one sets one's timing). Just to be safe, I decided to pull the valve-cover to make sure I had inserted the new distributor at TDC (top-dead-center, when the piston rests at the top of the cylinder, half-way between the up-stroke and down-stroke), which is when the spark should fire and create the power-stroke, rather than at the anti-TDC (same as normal TDC, only when the valves are open to let the exhaust out and the fresh charge is starting to pour in). I got a little surprise when I pulled the cover.
I guess this explains at least part of the difficulty I'm having in starting the car:
See that curved gray tube near the right-center of the photo, just below the cork gasket on the right side of the head? That's the end of a pushrod (minus its little cup-end, which had fallen off entirely - but thankfully didn't drop into the bottom of the engine). It should look like its sibling, the straight rod just to its left, resting against a ball on the bottom of an adjustable black nut on top of the valve's rocker arm.
Time to order a new pushrod. I guess I had better check the other side, too, just in case. Engines don't run well when they can't open valves.
In writing news, I'm coming along on The Galactic Adventures of Jack & Stella - just had a few breakthroughs in understanding Jack and Stella and their personal character arcs. Hooray! Also making more progress on a new SF story.
In teaching news, just started diving in to the final projects for my summer Intensive Science Fiction Institute course. Had to deal with a really annoying and slow new version of Blackboard to do so, bless the little hearts of the Blackboard programmers; can't wait to figure out how to turn off all the new crap that gets in the way of doing my job.
That's all for now. If you live around these parts, I hope you're enjoying our new Fall-Like Summer in Kansas! (Seriously, weather? Temps in the 60s and all-day thunderstorms? *sigh*)
Best,
Chris
Oh, and even here I had to do custom work, like everything else on the Newport, this time a special, custom-ground distributor cap. Yep, to make the new MSD digital distributor's cap fit (and so I can rotate it as needed for tuning), I've had to grind it a bit:
It's a tricky balancing act, because I don't want to remove too much material to make it weak, but it won't fit right or work correctly if I don't remove just enough....
Anyhow, back in it went with the new timing adjustment, but of course by then we had cranked the engine a lot of times, and the fuel injection dutifully kept squirting in more gasoline the whole time. So we flooded it. The spark plugs were pretty much dripping gasoline. Time to let it sit and dry out.
This morning I went to the parts store and picked up a new set of spark plugs, because the soaked one also looked fairly filthy from previously running on a carburetor and poor ignition timing. I put the plug back in, then continued along to piston number 1 (the magical cylinder where one sets one's timing). Just to be safe, I decided to pull the valve-cover to make sure I had inserted the new distributor at TDC (top-dead-center, when the piston rests at the top of the cylinder, half-way between the up-stroke and down-stroke), which is when the spark should fire and create the power-stroke, rather than at the anti-TDC (same as normal TDC, only when the valves are open to let the exhaust out and the fresh charge is starting to pour in). I got a little surprise when I pulled the cover.
I guess this explains at least part of the difficulty I'm having in starting the car:
See that curved gray tube near the right-center of the photo, just below the cork gasket on the right side of the head? That's the end of a pushrod (minus its little cup-end, which had fallen off entirely - but thankfully didn't drop into the bottom of the engine). It should look like its sibling, the straight rod just to its left, resting against a ball on the bottom of an adjustable black nut on top of the valve's rocker arm.
Time to order a new pushrod. I guess I had better check the other side, too, just in case. Engines don't run well when they can't open valves.
In writing news, I'm coming along on The Galactic Adventures of Jack & Stella - just had a few breakthroughs in understanding Jack and Stella and their personal character arcs. Hooray! Also making more progress on a new SF story.
In teaching news, just started diving in to the final projects for my summer Intensive Science Fiction Institute course. Had to deal with a really annoying and slow new version of Blackboard to do so, bless the little hearts of the Blackboard programmers; can't wait to figure out how to turn off all the new crap that gets in the way of doing my job.
That's all for now. If you live around these parts, I hope you're enjoying our new Fall-Like Summer in Kansas! (Seriously, weather? Temps in the 60s and all-day thunderstorms? *sigh*)
Best,
Chris
July 23, 2013
COSMOS returns to the screen - updated, and with Neil deGrasse Tyson!
You might already knew about this, but Neil deGrasse Tyson is reprising Carl Sagan's most-awesome-ever program,
Cosmos
! It'll show on both the FOX network and National Geographic TV starting next spring.
More details:
"More than three decades after the debut of Cosmos: A Personal Voyage , Carl Sagan's stunning and iconic exploration of the universe as revealed by science, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey sets off on a new voyage for the stars. Seth MacFarlane and Sagan's original creative collaborators - writer/executive producer Ann Druyan and astronomer Steven Soter - have teamed to conceive a 13-part docu-series that will serve as a successor to the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning original series."
Here's the original-series trailer:
"Hosted by renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the series explores how we discovered the laws of nature and found our coordinates in space and time. It brings to life never-before-told stories of the heroic quest for knowledge and transport viewers to new worlds and across the universe for a vision of the cosmos on the grandest scale. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey invents new modes of scientific storytelling to reveal the grandeur of the universe and re-invent celebrated elements of the legendary original series, including the Cosmic Calendar and the Ship of the Imagination. The most profound scientific concepts are presented with stunning clarity, uniting skepticism and wonder, and weaving rigorous science with the emotional and spiritual into a transcendent experience."
And here's the brand-spankin'-new trailer for the new series, just released for DragonCon:
"Carl Sagan's original series
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
was first broadcast in 1980, and has been enjoyed by more than 750 million people worldwide." Including me, a few times now. I can hardly wait for this new one!
And now it's back to working on tonight's talk on "Science Fiction: Mythologies for a Changing Age." (scheduled to begin at 7:30pm in Lawrence's Free State Brewery; I'm arriving for dinner at 6:15pm).
Best,
Chris
More details:
"More than three decades after the debut of Cosmos: A Personal Voyage , Carl Sagan's stunning and iconic exploration of the universe as revealed by science, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey sets off on a new voyage for the stars. Seth MacFarlane and Sagan's original creative collaborators - writer/executive producer Ann Druyan and astronomer Steven Soter - have teamed to conceive a 13-part docu-series that will serve as a successor to the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning original series."
Here's the original-series trailer:
"Hosted by renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the series explores how we discovered the laws of nature and found our coordinates in space and time. It brings to life never-before-told stories of the heroic quest for knowledge and transport viewers to new worlds and across the universe for a vision of the cosmos on the grandest scale. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey invents new modes of scientific storytelling to reveal the grandeur of the universe and re-invent celebrated elements of the legendary original series, including the Cosmic Calendar and the Ship of the Imagination. The most profound scientific concepts are presented with stunning clarity, uniting skepticism and wonder, and weaving rigorous science with the emotional and spiritual into a transcendent experience."
And here's the brand-spankin'-new trailer for the new series, just released for DragonCon:
"Carl Sagan's original series
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
was first broadcast in 1980, and has been enjoyed by more than 750 million people worldwide." Including me, a few times now. I can hardly wait for this new one!And now it's back to working on tonight's talk on "Science Fiction: Mythologies for a Changing Age." (scheduled to begin at 7:30pm in Lawrence's Free State Brewery; I'm arriving for dinner at 6:15pm).
Best,
Chris
Christopher McKitterick's Blog
This is my long-lived LiveJournal blog (http://mckitterick.livejournal.com), but if you really want to stay in touch, check out my Tumblr and Facebook pages.
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