Grant Hutchison's Blog, page 5

Two Science Fiction Histories

What does seem clear is that there was something in the early lives of nearly all the published writers in the group that isolated them from their contemporaries. Blish, Pohl, Michel, Merril, and I were only children. Pohl, Blish, Wilson, Lowndes, Merril and Michel lost one parent each in childhood, by death or divorce. Wilson … Continue reading Two Science Fiction Histories →

Hill Lists: "On Top Of The World”

I haven’t written about hill lists for a while, and after writing about the classic Scottish hill lists, and dealing in separate posts with the Corbetts and the Donalds, I’m overdue to write about the third (and original) classic, the Munros. But instead, I’m veering off into the long grass with this one, which deals … Continue reading Hill Lists: “On Top Of The World” →

Hill Lists: “On Top Of The World”

I haven’t written about hill lists for a while, and after writing about the classic Scottish hill lists, and dealing in separate posts with the Corbetts and the Donalds, I’m overdue to write about the third (and original) classic, the Munros. But instead, I’m veering off into the long grass with this one, which deals … Continue reading Hill Lists: “On Top Of The World” →

Strathglass

I’ve been meaning to write about Strathglass for a couple of years now, but have never got around to it. This post therefore merges three separate visits to the same location, marked by the little red dot in the middle of my map, above. So you’ll encounter a strange mixture of photographs from spring and … Continue reading Strathglass →

RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module (Again): Part 3

Last time, I was contemplating how to add feedhorns to my High Gain Antennae from The Aerospace Place. The solution I eventually came up with was to use some 0.25mm fibreoptic strands, and to melt the ends into a blob by holding them close to a hot soldering iron. Sprayed white, these gave me something … Continue reading RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module (Again): Part 3 →

Fulsome

ˈfʊlsəm fulsome: offensive to good taste, by reason of being done to excess A news organization has an obligation—and it is an obligation—to report news fulsomely, wholesomely and without fear or favor. That’s what Fox News has always done and that’s what Fox News will always do. Lachlan Murdoch quoted in The Guardian (13 March … Continue reading Fulsome →

Helen Czerski: Blue Machine

For the past thousand years, the human history of the North Sea has been played out on a stage constructed largely of herring. I’ve written about Helen Czerski before, when I reviewed her first book, Storm In A Teacup (2017). At that time I mentioned that she is a physicist with a speciality in oceanography. … Continue reading Helen Czerski: Blue Machine →

Ochils: Daiglen Circuit

Ben Ever (NN 983001, 622m)Ben Cleuch (NN 903006, 721m)The Law (NN 910996, 638m) 11.2 kilometres810 metres of ascent Another in my series of Ochils circuits, in which I trace a new outward route, but return by reversing the outward route of a previous walk. This one retraces my route over The Law, which was the … Continue reading Ochils: Daiglen Circuit →

RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module (Again): Part 2

Last time, I was about to embark on applying the bright chrome finish to the Command Module. This went on over a coat of Xtreme Metal’s Black Base, and turned out looking pretty good. Deceptively so, as it turned out. There were some nice specular metallic reflections: I set it aside to cure for a … Continue reading RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module (Again): Part 2 →

How Apollo Left Earth (And Returned)

This is the fifth in my occasional series of posts about the orbits followed by the Apollo spacecraft as they departed from (and returned to) the Earth. It’s a companion to, and expansion of, my old post “How Apollo Got To The Moon”, informed by a more recent series of posts that culminated in my … Continue reading How Apollo Left Earth (And Returned) →