Stephen Hawking Breaks Free of his Wheelchair

Some things make me happy. This is one of them.

Stephen Hawking's dream of weightless flight fulfilled

Given all that the man has done for physics, I hope he gets to make it into space.

Geek Link!

Anyone want to go on a little trip?

European astronomers find potentially habitable planet outside solar system

I'll never get there, but wouldn't it be cool to go?

Hat tip to Lyda Morehouse over at Wyrdsmiths

With Sorrow in Our Hearts

For those who died in Virginia



"Death in not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come."
-Rabindranath Tagore

Something We All Need to Read

Because Dave was brave enough to share it:

The Galloping Beaver: The Abyss

My grandfather was in the navy in WWII. He never talked about it either, until recently, and then very little. He told me of being in the harbour in Gibraltar, listening to them dropping depth charges throughout the night, to stop the manned torpedoes that the Gremans were sending.

Thanks Dave, for sharing, and for giving us a small glimpse into the horror that men and women around the world are facing in war.

H/T to Chet.

It's Here...

Ain't it cool? Click on it to buy it.

Sporatic Blogging

For those who read me regularly, an apology.

Blogging will be more sporadic than usual for the next couple of weeks. Work (where I'm blogging from now on my lunch break) is moving to a fever pitch as we prep the launch of the new version of our website (www.managemyhome.com) on April 27.

I'm also doing one more edit on Small Magics, this time, on the proofs. Very neat and hopefully there will be as few changes as possible. Most of what I'm looking at is formatting, but there's been a couple of text changes as well.

So that's what I'm doing. I'll try to keep posting, but time is at a premium.

Once April is done, more posts, more often. Anyone got a favorite topic?

Update:
"Sporatic Blooging?" How tired was I when I wrote that? Anyway, it's fixed.

Condolences

It's been a bad week in Afghanistan.

Killed Sunday April 8, 2007
Sgt. Don Lucas
Master Cpl. Chris Stannix
Corporal Aaron Williams
Corporal Brent Poland
Private David Greenslade
Private Kevin Kennedy

Killed Wednesday April 11, 2007
Master Cpl. Allan Stewart
Trooper Patrick James Pentland

Our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers to their families and friends.

Easter Sunday Night Post

Happy Easter to any Christians reading this post, and to the rest, happy whatever makes this day good for you.

My daughter returned from her first overnight visit to Mum-Mum's house (her maternal grandmother). Apparently all went well, save that my daughter did not sleep well in the playpen we sent, and as a result, neither did Mum-Mum. Good to have a day or two on our own, good to have her back.

I have finished re-reading the draft of Small Magics and am going to send it through the spellchecker once more before it goes back to my publisher (Dragon Moon Press) for final proofs. The cover art is coming along swimmingly (and you'll notice I've added Laura Diehl's link to my list on the side there). Laura has done a great job, and put up with me which is no easy feat.

And now, because I read this recently, and meant to post it earlier, I'm going to put here an abridged quote on the nature of existence by Leo Rosten. It struck a chord with me when I found it on the Walking with Ghosts blog, so I thought I'd share it:

Credo, Leo Rosten

I BELIEVE that you can understand people better if you look at them as if they are children. For most of us never mature; we simply grow taller.

I have learned that everyone - in some small, secret sanctuary of the self - is mad. If we want to stay sane we must moderate our demands - on ourselves and others.

I have learned that everyone is lonely at bottom, and cries to be understood; but we can never entirely understand someone else, no matter how much we want to; and each of us will forever be part stranger - even to those who love us most.

I have learned that it is the weak who are cruel and that kindness is to be expected only from the strong.

I have had to learn that life - so precious, so variable, so honeycombed with richness and delight - is held cheap in the scheme of impersonal events. When a human life is snuffed out in an instant, without meaning, without reason, without justice, how can one deny that all our lives hang by threads of nothing more than luck? I cannot escape the awareness that in our last bewildered moment just before we die three simple, awful questions cry out from our souls: 'Why me? Why now? Why forever?'

I have come to see that every person is subject to fantasies so obscene, yearnings so mendacious, drives so destructive that even to mention them shakes the gates we have erected against the barbarian within.

I have been driven to believe that no despotism is more terrible than the tyranny of neurosis. No punishment is more pitiless, more harsh and cunning and malevolent, than what we inflict upon ourselves.

Most men feel cheated if happiness eludes them. But where has it been written that life will be easy, our days untroubled by suffering, our nights unfouled by the beasts within our nature? Where, indeed, is it guaranteed that life will be at the very least fair?

People debase 'the pursuit of happiness' into a narcotic pursuit of 'fun'. To me this is demeaning. I would question the sanity of anyone not often torn by despair. Euphoria is the province of lunatics. I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be 'happy'.

I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honourable, to be compassionate. It is above all, to matter: to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that you lived at all.

And while looking up the reference to who Leo Rosten was for those who wish to know, I found this quote from the man which nicely sums up one of the major problems with neo-conservatives, both north and south of the 49th:

Extremists think "communication" means agreeing with them.

And now, I am going to bed.

Small Magics: Update

A quick post tonight because I'm up way to late once again and 5:30 AM is coming far too soon.

Laura Diehl, my magnificent illustrator is doing great things withthe cover art, and Gwen, my publisher and I are just working out the schedule for the next two months before the book hits the shelf.

Meanwhile, I'm learning as much about generating publicity as possible, because I want to actually sell a few of these things!

Time for bed.

Theatre Review: The Rocky Horror Show

Live at Canstage, here in Toronto.

You know, when we see the movie, there's one thing we forget amist all the toast throwing, water-squirting, flashlight waving and response shouting.

The music is incredible.

You'd never know it from the film. With a couple of notable exceptions, they cast the film with actors that couldn't sing. They tried, they failed. Not so at Canstage.

The cast is hugely talented, the voices are powerful, the staging is brilliant, the characters alive and lively. Instead of just recreating the film, the director and cast made it their own.

Audience participation was encouraged, though there was no throwing of toast or squirting of water (actor safety, you know). Interestingly enough, a lot of the shout-outs didn't happen, because many of them are dependant on timing, and the timing of the musical is different from the film. Shout outs are welcome, though, so go see it two or three times and you'll be able to time it out perfectly.

So for all of you who think that the Rocky Horror Picture Show is great, I can only say:

It is way better live. Go see it.

Geek Link!

Season 8, in comic book form. Can't wait to get it.

Hey, not all geek links are about science.

Hat tip to Chet.