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Research

U=(N/T)M*G: Debris

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Earth surrounded by debris.

The announcement of the mission extension for the ISS gives me mixed feelings. I mean, I love the Station. Wrote about it here a few times. Hell, wrote a whole trilogy on board the “little” thing. I’m such a nerd about it that I’ve got the Haynes manual. It’s a thing I plow through regularly. I’m pretty concerned about it though. Not the drama over Russia’s will they, won’t they attitude in regards to continuing with the Station’s mission. I always knew they’d keep on with the ISS. I’m talking about all the little bits and bobs of debris up … Read more

U=N/T(M*G): Paper

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Black book with the word productivity on the front in gold letters.

I’ve started writing a new book! So stoked. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been able to really write anything and I have really missed it. It’s a spy romance and it has a whole lot, but I’m not here to talk about all that today. Sorta. See, the love interest has a paper productivity planner. He’s an assistant to the protagonist, kind of, and most assistants have some type of journal or planner they use to keep track of their boss’ schedule. More or less. And, of course, it got me thinking. I use a planner my own … Read more

U=N/T(M*G): Core

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Planet in the light of the Galactic Core.

Once every couple of years, I get the wild hair to reread C. S. Friedman’s Coldfire trilogy. I love this story, no lie. It’s one of the best I’ve ever read and has some of the most complex characters I’ve ever seen. And the premise is amazing. In fact, it’s the premise that brings up this post. See, Coldfire trilogy is set on a planet called Erna close to the Galactic Core. Humans came and settled it a long time before the story starts (though you see pieces of what happened to the original settlers at the start of various … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: Strands

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Rainbow collection of threads on a black field.

Like something out of Star Trek, or Star Trek fanfiction, this is one of those stranger than fiction moments. In fact, I think I’ve read this ST fanfiction. So, there’s cosmic threads cutting through the heart of our galaxy. A whole lot of other galaxies too. The fun part is no one knows what the hell they are. Galactic heartstrings? Road to Hell? Connections to a parallel dimension? No clue. Scientists think it might be from the black hole blowing out radiation, maybe. Honestly though, I think that’s the fun part. That point in time when we find a new … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: Unearthed

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tardigrade - deposit photos

Any time I can talk about Tardigrades, you can bet good money I’m going to do exactly that. These little “bears” have so much potential in science. They do all the things, and it’s my personal belief that trans-human modification will start with enhancements from gene-splicing with Tardigrades. Especially with the problems we’re still trying to solve with deep space exploration. Macrobiotus naginae are a soil type Tardigrade. At this rate, there will be more types of these suckers than Pokemon. The specialty of these ones is the ability to live in arid conditions. Deserts. Cold ones too. If humans … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: Snow

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Tubular model for fluid dynamics.

Physics is weird. Of course, I mean that in the most respectful way possible, but physics is weird. Weak forces and strong forces and thermodynamics. Fluid dynamics. Quantum mechanics. I sort of understand most of it, but did science, as a whole field, really have to make the whole thing as opaque and esoteric as possible? For instance, I was reading articles on the probability of snow falling upwards under the ice sheets covering Europa. Super cool stuff. I had to crawl through about six articles packed full of the science lingo before I figured out what was going on. … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: Meltdown

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Computer chip

I guess Google had a meltdown? It lasted long enough for people to notice? I must have been at the day job when that happened and missed it. It’s pretty funny how weird that sounds. I first jumped online as a wee teenager back when AOL and Netscape were the major players, when dial up was the only way to get online. When the first Diablo game was super popular. If something like Google crashed back then, we’d collectively shrug and find a different search engine. No big deal. Not to get political about this, but this is why monopolies … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: Shaun

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Artemis - NASA

It always surprises me when NASA is about to do something major, and their collective goofiness as people and nerds smacks me right in the face. The Artemis launch is one such example, though there have been many. The Mission Control mohawk guy is probably still one of my favorites. I have no doubt the Artemis mission will be a success, and with it humanity’s ambitious plan to set up the first major part of our path to Mars. It’s a wildly exciting time for space nerds like me and I’m vibrating in my chair with anticipation. A lot of … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: Dreaming

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Tiny jumping spider with drewdrop on head.

I have a theory about the life on this planet. If there’s a brain, there’s intelligence, no matter how rudimentary. If there’s intelligence, there are dreams. Now, I don’t have clue what, say, a fish is dreaming about as it’s suspended in water, but I have noticed little twitches in my little Mycroft Betta when he’s asleep. The same twitches my zebra finches have when they’re sleeping. Same with the Cat Army. Same with my teenager. So, when I noticed this article about dreaming spiders (CW: SPIDERS), I wasn’t surprised. Terrified because spiders. Not surprised though. It did get me … Read more

Science Brings Us Super Bendy Ice!

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Super Bendy Ice

Ice is stiff and brittle — if you bend it, it will snap in two. Right? Not quite. Researchers just found that when grown in tiny strands, ice can defy its reputation for breakability, becoming so elastic it can even bend into a loop, according to a new study. These ice microfibers are so bendy that they are near the theoretical limit for ice elasticity. Perhaps even cooler, the scientists who grew the bendy ice think that their teensy ice strands could lead to both an avalanche of new ways to better understand ice in its natural state and more … Read more