A Niven Question

Someone asked about my views on older Niven collections in one of the earlier entries but I can't recall which one.

Roughly speaking, I liked everything up to about Convergent Series, which is just getting into Post-Playful Niven (OK, some of it is from his first collection, which I have never seen a copy of, and some of it is more recent). If I had to rank them:

( Read more... )

A Niven Question

Someone asked about my views on older Niven collections in one of the earlier entries but I can't recall which one.

Roughly speaking, I liked everything up to about Convergent Series, which is just getting into Post-Playful Niven (OK, some of it is from his first collection, which I have never seen a copy of, and some of it is more recent). If I had to rank them:

( Read more... )

A Niven Question

Someone asked about my views on older Niven collections in one of the earlier entries but I can't recall which one.

Roughly speaking, I liked everything up to about Convergent Series, which is just getting into Post-Playful Niven (OK, some of it is from his first collection, which I have never seen a copy of, and some of it is more recent). If I had to rank them:

( Read more... )

Related to the Francophone African solar system

If it turns out that the appropriate model for people in space is something like a highly automated mining camp (Rather than, oh, O'Neill's California Suburbs innnnnn Space), then if there are Canadians up there, I bet that they won't be from the relatively prosperous parts of Canada. Ontarians will be too smugly comfortable, Albertans will still be working through their sea of oil and nobody from BC will be able to pass the drug test. No, the planets might belong to the groups known for migrating to places that can offer them jobs, the Newfoundlanders and the Maritimers.

I thought of this while watching Stand Up in Kandahar last week, when one of the Newfoundlander comics made a joke that they'd go anywhere for work. "Anywhere" covers a lot of territory.

Related to the Francophone African solar system

If it turns out that the appropriate model for people in space is something like a highly automated mining camp (Rather than, oh, O'Neill's California Suburbs innnnnn Space), then if there are Canadians up there, I bet that they won't be from the relatively prosperous parts of Canada. Ontarians will be too smugly comfortable, Albertans will still be working through their sea of oil and nobody from BC will be able to pass the drug test. No, the planets might belong to the groups known for migrating to places that can offer them jobs, the Newfoundlanders and the Maritimers.

I thought of this while watching Stand Up in Kandahar last week, when one of the Newfoundlander comics made a joke that they'd go anywhere for work. "Anywhere" covers a lot of territory.

Related to the Francophone African solar system

If it turns out that the appropriate model for people in space is something like a highly automated mining camp (Rather than, oh, O'Neill's California Suburbs innnnnn Space), then if there are Canadians up there, I bet that they won't be from the relatively prosperous parts of Canada. Ontarians will be too smugly comfortable, Albertans will still be working through their sea of oil and nobody from BC will be able to pass the drug test. No, the planets might belong to the groups known for migrating to places that can offer them jobs, the Newfoundlanders and the Maritimers.

I thought of this while watching Stand Up in Kandahar last week, when one of the Newfoundlander comics made a joke that they'd go anywhere for work. "Anywhere" covers a lot of territory.

David Langford on How to woo publishers and agents

How to woo publishers and agents

David Langford on How to woo publishers and agents

How to woo publishers and agents

David Langford on How to woo publishers and agents

How to woo publishers and agents

Dan Savage comments on a recent article of Garrison Keillor's

A hetrosexual serial adulterer lectures homosexuals for complicating marriage. Luckily, he has Teh Gay stereotypes to support his argument. Dan Savage seems a bit testy about all this for some reason.

Nicked from burger-eater.

When we annex Minnesota, do we have to take Keillor?

Dan Savage comments on a recent article of Garrison Keillor's

A hetrosexual serial adulterer lectures homosexuals for complicating marriage. Luckily, he has Teh Gay stereotypes to support his argument. Dan Savage seems a bit testy about all this for some reason.

Nicked from burger-eater.

When we annex Minnesota, do we have to take Keillor?

Dan Savage comments on a recent article of Garrison Keillor's

A hetrosexual serial adulterer lectures homosexuals for complicating marriage. Luckily, he has Teh Gay stereotypes to support his argument. Dan Savage seems a bit testy about all this for some reason.

Nicked from burger-eater.

When we annex Minnesota, do we have to take Keillor?

I don't see the flaw in my logic but there must be one

I just went shopping.

Logically, shouldn't a low number of carts in the store's cart depots mean that there's a lot of people in the store? But it doesn't. Tonight there were almost no carts and also almost no people.

I don't see the flaw in my logic but there must be one

I just went shopping.

Logically, shouldn't a low number of carts in the store's cart depots mean that there's a lot of people in the store? But it doesn't. Tonight there were almost no carts and also almost no people.

I don't see the flaw in my logic but there must be one

I just went shopping.

Logically, shouldn't a low number of carts in the store's cart depots mean that there's a lot of people in the store? But it doesn't. Tonight there were almost no carts and also almost no people.

Right, it's St. Patrick's Day, isn't it?

On behalf of my mighty Irish ancestors, "woo".

Right, it's St. Patrick's Day, isn't it?

On behalf of my mighty Irish ancestors, "woo".

Right, it's St. Patrick's Day, isn't it?

On behalf of my mighty Irish ancestors, "woo".