Oh, and Launch Pad is, um, blasting off soon!
Oh, and if you’re just learning about Launch Pad…the deadline to apply for this year is March 31, so decide quickly!
Launch Pad Workshop: Learn Space Science…for Free!
Unlike Odyssey or Clarion, Launch Pad isn’t workshop for aspiring writers about writing, it’s a workshop for established writers about astronomy and science, workshop director Mike Brotherton says. "Clarion instructors are the applicant pool rather than those who would apply to Clarion," he says. "NASA is footing the bill and the workshop is free, or nearly free, for attendees. We even cover airfare for attendees who request it."
The workshop consists of a week-long crash course in modern astronomy that includes lecture, lab exercises, first-hand experiences with professional telescopes, and discussions about how to present scientific concepts effectively to general audiences. "Ideally we’re looking for writers with larger audiences who are looking to include more and more accurate astronomy in their work in the near future," Brotherton says. "While science fiction writers are the majority of applicants, we’re also looking for writers/editors of all kinds who would benefit from this experience."
Brotherton says that the workshop was sold to NASA based on the idea that it could help educate the public about space science and inspire future scientists by better educating the writers who reach the public. "My background as both an astronomy professor and science fiction writer make this a natural marriage of my passions," he says.
The workshop is held in Laramie, Wyoming. Most of the workshop activities will take place at a local university campus; lodging will be provided for students at nearby hotels.
This year’s workshop is scheduled to take place immediately preceding the 2008 Worldcon, in Denver, CO. "We fly attendees for the workshop into Denver (Laramie is only a two hour drive away), and they can stay in Denver after the workshop for Worldcon if they wish," Brotherton says. "Wyoming is beautiful in the summer and the skies are darker than you can imagine."
Brotherton says that Launch Pad is particularly interested in female and minority writers who have been historically under represented in the physical sciences and hard science fiction, though all are welcome to apply.
Last year was Launch Pad’s first workshop; graduates of the inaugural class include: Vonda McIntyre, Jeffrey Carver, Jo Sherman, Eugie Foster, and others. See http://www.launchpadworkshop.org/attendees.html for a complete list.
Tuition: Free
Housing: Provided
College Credit: N/A
Application Fee: None
Application Deadline: March 31
Workshop Schedule: July 30-August 5, 2008
Location: Laramie, WY
Number of Participants: about 12
Founded: 2007
URL: www.launchpadworkshop.org
Smash Lab
I’ve been watching an episode here and there of a new show on the Discovery Channel called Smash Lab. It’s very reminiscent of Mythbusters, but Smash Lab has a more practical scientific outlook–that is, rather than testing myths, they test big new ideas to see if they’re plausible for use in real world situations. Their tests usually involve blowing something up.
One of the episodes has the team playing around with liquefied sand. Despite the name, it doesn’t actually have anything to do with liquid; rather the adjective is being used to describe the behavior of the sand. Liquefied sand is sand that is blasted with air, causing the sand to behave as if it were a liquid, something like quicksand. So for instance, if you have a big tub of sand, you could stand on top of it, because all the sand particles would be compressed beneath you. But when you blast the air into the chamber, it makes the sand behave like a liquid, so you sink into it. Seeing it in action is pretty cool.
But that’s only the beginning. What they do with the liquefied sand is pretty interesting: they use it to make traps, in this case for security purposes, to catch thieves. The team sets up a fake bank heist, with one man on foot and a getaway driver. To foil the robbery, they create liquified sand traps by the door to the bank and by the parking lot exit. Basically, they dig big trenches (really big for the one that’s supposed to catch the getaway car), insert some piping for the air, fill the trench with sand, then cover the pit with bricks. In their tests it worked pretty well, and seemed like an intriguing security method.
In another episode, however, their idea was not as bright. They had the idea to develop a way to stop trucks that are pulling trailers when the truck’s brakes fail. Their idea: strap rockets to it. Yeah, rocket brakes. Needless to say, it doesn’t work, and actually fails spectacularly.
The show’s interesting, but the problem with it is that nothing they do seems practical, or even the stuff that does seem to work seems like it would be so expensive as to be prohibitive. And in the case of the rocket brakes, it’s just so dangerous, I don’t even understand why they would bother testing it. You can’t drive around with a pair of ROCKETS attached to your trailer!
You can watch both of the episodes I was talking about on The Discovery Channel’s website.
RIP: My PS2
Oh, the sadness. My PS2 appears to be broken. That means no more Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Gah.
I wish I’d known it was on its last legs before I bought those five new games and two guitars. Buying a new system hurts the wallet, of course, but the fact that I’ll have to buy all this GH stuff again just makes it worse. I can’t be *too* upset; the thing was 8 or 9 years old, I think, so it had a good long run. But still.
Here’s what it does: Every disc I put in, I get a disc error. Doesn’t matter what disc it is.
I read some troubleshooting tips online, and tried some of them: (a) used the vacuum to try sucking the dust out of the insides, (b) used a compressed air can to blow where sucking didn’t work, (c) I put the PS2 in the optional vertical position, as it supposedly reads discs better that way, and (d) "played" a lens-cleaning disc. All to no avail. The lens-cleaning disc probably didn’t actually even do anything since I couldn’t get the PS2 to play it (the instructions seem to indicate that "playing" the disc somehow activates the cleaning function, so getting the read error on that probably prevented it from doing anything useful).
So, any advice on either fixing the PS2 or on purchasing a new system? I’d considered buying a Wii after playing one over the Xmas holidays, so I thought about getting one of those. However, the research I’ve done seems to indicate that the Xbox360 is the best platform for playing GH and Rock Band, thanks to its networking capabilities that allow you to buy additional tracks at an online store, and play with your friends remotely.
Wastelands: A Post-Apocalyptic Anthology Done Right
Tech blogger Josh Smith is only part-way through Wastelands, but likes it quite a lot thus far: "One of the strongest parts of the anthology thus far is the decision by Adams to focus on stories which portray life after the apocalypse, forgoing zombies and other provocateurs and focusing on the struggles and stories of individuals in a dramatically different world. This method of selection has led to some wonderful stories which allow me to connect with the individual characters and at some level understand them. So far the stories have evoked a strong response from me due in part to the attempts of characters to “do good” in some manner and either failing or coming to a realistic and forlorn conclusion."
He goes on to praise the "For Further Reading" appendix: "As a reader I cannot begin to express how awesome this is to me. Many times after finishing an anthology or collection I have been left at a loss as to where to find more material to read that is within the same vein as the original writing, something not always accomplished by reading the authors’ other published work. This reference has provided em a list of authors and books to add to my ‘To Read’ notebook in One Note."
links for 2008-03-25
Jericho Dead?
SCI FI Wire has a news story about the cancellation of the post-apocalyptic drama Jericho and how the producers are looking around for another network to pick it up.
Interestingly, there’s a note at the bottom of the story that says: "Fans wishing to write SCI FI Channel about picking Jericho up should … send snail mail here: SCI FI Channel, 21st Floor, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112."
So, like Jericho? Sending SCI FI a letter about it couldn’t hurt. Hey, it worked last year with the peanuts.
Doomsday: Don’t Go See It Even if It’s the Last Movie on Earth
As the editor of a post-apocalyptic anthology and someone who is generally considered to be something of an expert on the subject, I feel it is my duty to provide this public service announcement in regard to the recently released film Doomsday. It is, quite simply, one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.
Here’s a quick synopsis, in case you’re not familiar with it already: There’s a massive plague in England, which is contained by sealing off Scotland along Hadrian’s Wall. Thirty years later, the virus starts showing up in the rest of England, so a team is sent into the quarantine zone to search for a cure among the survivors.
Okay, but here’s the thing. Almost nothing that happens in the movie makes sense. None of the SF elements are thought out at all. There’s tons of cliches such as the idiotic post-apocalyptic biker punk society that arises inside the quarantine zone, who for some reason turn to cannibalism even though there are, inexplicably, so many cows wandering around that when the "outside" team enters the quarantine zone they run them over with their tanks. It’s like director Neil Marshall surveyed all of post-apocalyptic fiction and film, took all of the worst elements from each of them and threw them into this movie.
It’s just absolutely abysmal. You just might find yourself wishing the end of the world would come just so you wouldn’t have to sit through another second of this pathetic excuse for a movie.
Trust me: Don’t waste your money. Hell, don’t even go if you get in for free–life’s too short.
Native Environment
I finally found copies of Wastelands in its native environment: bookstores. That I said "finally" shouldn’t imply that it was hard to find; I simply hadn’t been in a bookstore since the book came out, being the sort of person who gets lots of free books and otherwise tends to shop online. I spied it at the Borders near Penn Station in Manhattan. However, it wasn’t in the SF section, where I expected to find it; instead, it was in the horror section. Which makes a sort of sense–I mean what’s more horrific than the end of the world?–though I would’ve never thought to look there (or to even look for a horror section–seems like most bookstores don’t have one and just shelve horror with mainstream fiction). But I ran across one of those look-it-up-your-damn-self terminals and discovered its likely location with its help. And lo and behold, there it was; or there they were, rather–three fine copies of Wastelands.
I’m torn on whether or not this is a good place for the book to be shelved. Do you think it’ll find its audience there, or would it sell better in the SF section? I’m inclined to think it’s not quite ideal and that SF would be a better place for it. And since the computer system said horror, I assume that all Borders stores are putting it there. Complaining probably wouldn’t do any good–from what I hear Borders has got much larger problems at the moment, like being broke.
Nathan Lilly Accepts My Challenge
The other day, I issued A Challenge to Con-Loving, Web-Savvy Fans for someone to create an SF con database searchable by zip code. Shortly thereafter, Nathan E. Lilly responded with Convention Finder.
Looks to be pretty cool. It’s still kind of in beta-mode; there’s only a few cons in the database so far. Spread the word and let’s see if we can’t fill that thing up. It’s really only useful if it’s got most of the conventions out there entered into it.