Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 239

Lovely dinner party Saturday night, with seven people. W...

Lovely dinner party Saturday night, with seven people. We had linguini with Kathy's freshly-made pesto; caprici salad with basil, fresh mozzarella, and heirloom tomatoes from the farmers' market; and roast chicken coated with rosemary, garlic, and balsamic vinegar, with a red wine reduction sauce. Dessert was Nadine's pound cake, with cream cheese frosting and fresh fruit. Now that it's Sunday

Technology Kicks Me in the Butt, Yet Again

For my current project, I invented some cool drone aircraft. Then reality went and invented something even cooler.I refer to the Maveric UAS, made by Prioria Robotics. This little drone can be carried by a single person, folded up in a six-inch tube, then thrown in the air to see what's over the next hill. The drone can have a human operator, or operate on its own via GPS, and can carry two video

Baby-Eating Birds

[from Brad Smith:]A giant New Zealand eagle, extinct now for 500 years, may have snacked on human babies.In a paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, scientists make the case that an extinct giant predatory eagle might have been eating children. The eagle was not a scavenger, as some believed, but a deadly hunter. . .The real significance of the paper is that the bird wasn't the

Drifting

Today drifted away without my quite realizing it. I didn't post, so instead enjoy this picture I took at the Georgia Aquarium.

Last Days in the Bunker

Wow. Adolf and I finally agree on something.

Rodents of Unusual Size

I'm back from Dragoncon, and very tired and full of headache. I'm not sure why, since I actually got sufficient sleep during the convention, and had nothing to do yesterday but drowse. Thanks to those of you who offered suggestions re my undying fame, my sincere thanks. I'll reply in more detail when I've recovered my strength.In the meantime, please enjoy this scientific report about the

Online and Away

So . . . I'm off to Dragoncon. I'll try to check in with you all, but I may be having too much fun.But since I'm going to be away for a while, I thought I'd leave you with a question. Actually, it's the usual question. How can Walter get more fame and money?I couldn't help but notice that this year's Hugo novel list was tilted toward people with a high online profile. Cory, Charlie, Neil, and

Dragoncon Schedule

Here's my Dragoncon schedule, for those of you who may be attending:Title: Writer's Apocalyptic RoundtableTime: Fri 02:30 pm Location: A601 - A602 - Marriott (Length: 1)Description: Want a chance to corner your favorite apocalyptic writer and ask them a question? Here is your chance to talk to some of the best in the business!Title: World Building: Time: Fri 07:00 pm Location: Manila / Singapore

Reviews Too Late: Defiance

I watched my Netflix copy of Defiance the other night, and thought it would make an interesting comparison with Inglourious Basterds. I mean, here were real Jews, killing real Nazis, as opposed to cartoon Jews killing cartoon Nazis. The Bielski partisans did stuff that really mattered, like saving 1200-odd people from the Holocaust; whereas the Basterds did stuff that wouldn't have mattered

Great Flaming Gas Bags!

Jess Nevins at No Fear of the Future has produced a history of the zeppelin pulps, a subgenre I never knew actually existed. (I thought it was all a joke.) And yes, there really was a magazine called Spicy Zeppelin Stories. The article details a rather unusual collaboration between pulp editor Frank Armer and the U.S. Navy, which wanted to buikl public support for its zeppelin program. (The