Kate Rauner's Blog, page 60

Listen to Berserk-Norse Tale of Terrible Magic #Fantasy #podcast #listening #today #story #fun

[image error]Eirik joins a raiding party led by invincible Berserkers, terrorizing coastal villagers with sword and axe. What’s the secret to their strange magic?

Listen to Eirik’s story – episode now live.

Go to 600 Second Saga now!
http://insani-x.com/2017/06/14/s2-11-berserk/
Listen on your favorite platform:



iTunes


Stitcher


YouTube


Facebook


Twitter


Or just go to 600 Second Saga


How to listen to podcasts

Then scroll through the archive. There are lots of science fiction and fantasy stories, each one perfect for a break during your day. You’re sure to find something you love.

[image error]You can read Eirik’s story in my latest collection, Jupiter Diving and Other Short Reads in Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Enjoy short stories, flash fiction, and microfiction – a crew mining Jupiter’s atmosphere finds more than they expected, an angel has a photo-op on Mars, sea level rises for an island nation, excerpts from my On Mars series, and more. Take a break with one story or curl up in your favorite chair with the whole book.

Available on Amazon in ebook and paperback – read for free with Kindle Unlimited, and Amazon Prime’s Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

Do you write stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy? 600 Second Saga is now accepting flash fiction! Check them out on iTunes. It’s a lot of fun to hear your story – it has been for me.

Filed under: Kate's Books, Science Fiction Tagged: berserkers, flash fiction, listen to podcast, magic, Norse mythology, sea raiders, short story, tale of fantasy

Listen to Berserk – Norse Tale of Terrible Magic #Fantasy #podcast #listening #today #story #fun

[image error]Eirik joins a raiding party led by invincible Berserkers, terrorizing coastal villagers with sword and axe. What’s the secret to their strange magic?

Listen to Eirik’s story – episode now live.

Go to 600 Second Saga now!
http://insani-x.com/2017/06/14/s2-11-berserk/
Listen on your favorite platform:



iTunes


Stitcher


YouTube


Facebook


Twitter


Or just go to 600 Second Saga


How to listen to podcasts

Then scroll through the archive. There are lots of science fiction and fantasy stories, each one perfect for a break during your day. You’re sure to find something you love.

[image error]You can read Eirik’s story in my latest collection, Jupiter Diving and Other Short Reads in Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Enjoy short stories, flash fiction, and microfiction – a crew mining Jupiter’s atmosphere finds more than they expected, an angel has a photo-op on Mars, sea level rises for an island nation, excerpts from my On Mars series, and more. Take a break with one story or curl up in your favorite chair with the whole book.

Available on Amazon in ebook and paperback – read for free with Kindle Unlimited, and Amazon Prime’s Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

Do you write stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy? 600 Second Saga is now accepting flash fiction! Check them out on iTunes. It’s a lot of fun to hear your story – it has been for me.

Filed under: Kate's Books, Science Fiction Tagged: berserkers, flash fiction, listen to podcast, magic, Norse mythology, sea raiders, short story, tale of fantasy

Listen to Berserk – Norse Tale of Terrible Magic #Fantasy #podcast #listening #today #story

[image error]Eirik joins a raiding party led by invincible Berserkers, terrorizing coastal villagers with sword and axe. What’s the secret to their strange magic?

Listen to Eirik’s story – episode now alive.

Go to 600 Second Saga now!
http://insani-x.com/2017/06/14/s2-11-berserk/
Listen on your favorite platform:



iTunes


Stitcher


YouTube


Facebook


Twitter


Or just go to 600 Second Saga


How to listen to podcasts

Then scroll through the archive. There are lots of science fiction and fantasy stories, each one perfect for a break in your day. You’re sure to find something you love.

[image error]You can read Eirik’s story in my latest collection, Jupiter Diving and Other Short Reads in Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Enjoy short stories, flash fiction, and microfiction – a crew mining Jupiter’s atmosphere finds more than they expected, an angel has a photo op on Mars, sea level rises for an island nation, excerpts from my On Mars series, and more. Take a break with one story or curl up in your favorite chair with the whole book.

Available on Amazon in ebook and paperback – read for free with Kindle Unlimited, and Amazon Prime’s Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

Do you write stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy? 600 Second Saga is now accepting flash fiction! Check them out on iTunes. It’s a lot of fun to hear your story – it has been for me.

Filed under: Kate's Books, Science Fiction Tagged: berserkers, flash fiction, listen to podcast, magic, Norse mythology, sea raiders, short story, tale of fantasy

In a Dry Forest #haiku #nature #poem #poetry #flower

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In my yard

Agave flowers

Lifts their blooms above the trees

Reaching for the sun

by Kate Rauner

Find more poetry inspired by science and nature here – every other blog or so. Or read one of my collections of rhyming poetry and a few haiku too.

Filed under: Poetry Tagged: agave flower, blooms, Century Plant, haiku, nature, poem, poetry, what flowers bloom in late spring in New Mexico

IKEA in Space – Spinoffs from Mars and We Aren’t Even There Yet in Person #Mars #NASA #colonization

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Since Apollo, space technology on Earth

We’ve all heard about the technology spinoffs from NASA to our everyday lives. Things like memory foam, freeze-dried food, firefighting equipment, emergency “space blankets”, DustBusters, cochlear implants, various computer and medical technologies, turning trash into oil, and putting better bubbles in our beer. (Oddly enough – not some things you’ve often heard mentioned – not Tang, Velcro, or Teflon.)

In this age of budget cuts, NASA wants you to know these spinoffs contribute to America’s economy by generating billions of dollars in revenue and creating thousands of jobs.

Now IKEA, the maker of cheap and chic furniture, is sending some of its designers on a trip to the Mars Society’s simulation habitat in Utah.

Truthfully, this sounds more like hype than research. The designers will only spend three days playing colonists. If they really want a feel for living in cramped quarters with little privacy or comfort, I’d recommend at least a month. But maybe contemplating a few conveniences for future explorers will help today’s apartment dwellers.

Less trendy but more important spinoffs are coming too – exploring farming on Mars may help us get more nutritional bang for our energy buck in drought-stricken regions on Earth. In the meantime,

…if IKEA can design a clothing storage system that works well inside a Martian habitat, it can certainly design a clothing system that works well inside your horrible apartment in Brooklyn.

Watch for their new collection in 2019.

[image error]Until humans step foot on the Red Planet, science fiction is your only route to Mars. Try my on Mars series – the first colonist take a one-way trip in the near-future. Start with Glory on Mars – Emma wants to explore and make a home on Mars with the first dozen colonists, but something is terribly wrong on the Red Planet.

You’ll also find paperbacks at Create Space and all major digital formats at Smashwords.

Filed under: Neat Science News Tagged: IKEA, Mars simulation, NASA, spinoff technologies from the space program, The Mars Society

White Bread, Wheat Bread – Depends on Your Gut #poem #poetry #health #healthbenefits

Never

are you alone,

You’re like a little world[image error]

Where flocks of fungi, viruses,

And bacteria lay curled.

No matter what you think of them

[image error]They’ll always live with you,

Will pay their rent with vitamins

And help digest your food.

Your levels of blood sugar

Depend on what you’re eating,

Also on microbes that you host,

Essential to well-being.

The zoo that you contain[image error]

Is practically unique,

So it’s your inner swirling mob

That says what’s best to eat

By Kate Rauner

As I’ve rhymed before, It can be surprising to learn we human beings are part of nature whether we like it or not – host to a world of critters – some bad but lots good. Thanks to Popular Science for their article on the glycemic response to white and wheat breads, and especially for pointing out that one study should never change what you eat.

What the study does suggest, however, is that if you are diabetic or pre-diabetic and notice that certain nutrient-rich foods causes your sugar levels to spike, you might be better off avoiding them and finding other, also nutrient-rich foods, that don’t send your sugar levels soaring.”

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2nd edition now available! Expanded!

All my books, including collections of my science-inspired poetry, are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and other major online retailers. All major digital formats are available at Smashwords, and paperbacks are at Create Space and Amazon. Read one today.

Signup to receive an occasional offer and a piece of my flash fiction at http://eepurl.com/bCpx1v

Filed under: Poetry Tagged: blood sugar, glycemic index, gut bacteria, healthy eating, microbes, poem, poetry, which is better white bread or wheat

Absolutely Amazing UFO But Not Why You Think #ufo #citizenscience #skeptic #video #ufos

A Chilean chopper spotted something unidentified on November 11, 2014, and the search for an explanation began.[image error]

If the object had a prosaic explanation, then you would certainly expect such a group of experts to be able to identify it—or at least provide a plausible explanation… CEFAA could not figure out what it was, and after two years they made an announcement declaring it a genuine unexplained phenomena. They released the video. csicop.org

That’s when something fascinating happened. Five days later, the case was solved. All the details of possibilities considered, rejected, and finally identified are here: the UFO involved persistent aerodynamic contrails and some incorrect assumptions made in the original investigation.

A group of experts could not identify this UFO after two years of study. So how could a few people on the Internet possibly figure it out in five days? Because while no panel of experts can possibly include an expert in everything – the internet can and does. Remember that, and remember that assume is spelled ass-u-me: Assume makes an ass out of you and me.

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Filed under: Neat Science News Tagged: airplane contrails, Center for Inquiry, Chile, Chilean Navy helicopter, citizen scientists, crowd sourcing to solve problems, how assumptions lead to wrong answers, UFO, ufo sighting

Absolutely Amazing UFO But Not Why You Think #ufo #citizenscience #skeptic #video

A Chilean chopper spotted something unidentified on November 11, 2014, and the search for an explanation began.[image error]

If the object had a prosaic explanation, then you would certainly expect such a group of experts to be able to identify it—or at least provide a plausible explanation… CEFAA could not figure out what it was, and after two years they made an announcement declaring it a genuine unexplained phenomena. They released the video. csicop.org

That’s when something fascinating happened. Five days later, the case was solved. All the details of possibilities considered, rejected, and finally identified are here: the UFO involved persistent aerodynamic contrails and some incorrect assumptions made in the original investigation.

A group of experts could not identify this UFO after two years of study. So how could a few people on the Internet possibly figure it out in five days? Because while no panel of experts can possibly include an expert in everything – the internet can and does. Remember that, and remember that assume is spelled ass-u-me: Assume makes an ass out of you and me.

[image error]

Filed under: Neat Science News Tagged: airplane contrails, Center for Inquiry, Chile, Chilean Navy helicopter, citizen scientists, crowd sourcing to solve problems, how assumptions lead to wrong answers, UFO, ufo sighting

UFO Absolutely Amazing But Not Why You Think #ufo #citizenscience #skeptic #video

A Chilean chopper spotted something unidentified on November 11, 2014, and the search for an explanation began.[image error]

If the object had a prosaic explanation, then you would certainly expect such a group of experts to be able to identify it—or at least provide a plausible explanation… CEFAA could not figure out what it was, and after two years they made an announcement declaring it a genuine unexplained phenomena. They released the video. csicop.org

That’s when something fascinating happened. Five days later, the case was solved. All the details of possibilities considered, rejected, and finally identified are here: the UFO involved persistent aerodynamic contrails and some incorrect assumptions made in the original investigation.

A group of experts could not identify this UFO after two years of study. So how could a few people on the Internet possibly figure it out in five days? Because while no panel of experts can possibly include an expert in everything – the internet can and does. Remember that, and remember that assume is spelled ass-u-me: Assume makes an ass out of you and me.

[image error]

Filed under: Neat Science News Tagged: airplane contrails, Center for Inquiry, Chile, Chilean Navy helicopter, citizen scientists, crowd sourcing to solve problems, how assumptions lead to wrong answers, UFO, ufo sighting

Gravity Fights Dark Energy, Expanding Space the Winner #physics #quantumphysics #science #poem #poetry

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NASA’s detailed, all-sky picture of the infant universe reveals 13.77 billion year old temperature fluctuations (shown as color differences) that grew into galaxies.

Where space holds no matter,

There vacuum is the void.

Where you expect there’s nothing,

Instead there’s quantum’s ploy.

Dark energy that causes

A strange propensity

Is driven by the vacuum

Decreasing density,

With vast immensity

It dissipates the energy,

But retains the mystery

Of quantum gravity –

The structure of space-time.

By Kate Rauner

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2nd edition now available! Expanded!

Thanks to livescience.com and a new study published in the May 15 issue of the journal Physical Review D. I don’t have the math to speak quantum physics, and it still boggles my mind. Gravity – the only one of the four basic forces I have an intuitive feel for – refuses to fit into theoretical physics. But if gravity is the shape of space-time, then it’s not a force at all? Is it?

Find new science-inspired poetry on my blog here, about every other post, or in one of my collections.

Filed under: Poetry Tagged: cosmological constant Einstein's biggest blunder, fluctuations in energy carried by vacuum, Qingdi Wang, University of British Columbia