This would have made an acceptable 6000th entry

If 6000 had not blown by a few entries ago. Oh, well.

Is there any injustice on the planet as unjust as having once been assigned books one did not care for in high school English class?

This would have made an acceptable 6000th entry

If 6000 had not blown by a few entries ago. Oh, well.

Is there any injustice on the planet as unjust as having once been assigned books one did not care for in high school English class?

This would have made an acceptable 6000th entry

If 6000 had not blown by a few entries ago. Oh, well.

Is there any injustice on the planet as unjust as having once been assigned books one did not care for in high school English class?

The 26 most influential letters

Bold the ones you've used. Strike through the ones you dislike (Explanation optional). Underline the ones you think are underused.

( Read more... )

The 26 most influential letters

Bold the ones you've used. Strike through the ones you dislike (Explanation optional). Underline the ones you think are underused.

( Read more... )

The 26 most influential letters

Bold the ones you've used. Strike through the ones you dislike (Explanation optional). Underline the ones you think are underused.

( Read more... )

Sad me

My favourite pair of socks is wearing out.

They had little high-friction nubbles on the bottom, which I've never seen in a pair of socks before.

Sad me

My favourite pair of socks is wearing out.

They had little high-friction nubbles on the bottom, which I've never seen in a pair of socks before.

Sad me

My favourite pair of socks is wearing out.

They had little high-friction nubbles on the bottom, which I've never seen in a pair of socks before.

What is the best way to check if an author is still alive?

Someone asked me about someone who had been reported dead by a source that did not seem all that reliable. Now it's obvious even to me that if I just ask "Is X alive", that will probably spawn both "why do you ask/what do you know that you are not sharing?" and rumours that X has died.

X is an SF author with credits in other media so I checked wikipedia, SFWA and IMDB as well as some memorial sites and sites of particular relevence to X. What would you have done?

What is the best way to check if an author is still alive?

Someone asked me about someone who had been reported dead by a source that did not seem all that reliable. Now it's obvious even to me that if I just ask "Is X alive", that will probably spawn both "why do you ask/what do you know that you are not sharing?" and rumours that X has died.

X is an SF author with credits in other media so I checked wikipedia, SFWA and IMDB as well as some memorial sites and sites of particular relevence to X. What would you have done?

What is the best way to check if an author is still alive?

Someone asked me about someone who had been reported dead by a source that did not seem all that reliable. Now it's obvious even to me that if I just ask "Is X alive", that will probably spawn both "why do you ask/what do you know that you are not sharing?" and rumours that X has died.

X is an SF author with credits in other media so I checked wikipedia, SFWA and IMDB as well as some memorial sites and sites of particular relevence to X. What would you have done?

I cried because I had no shoes, then I met a President who had too many

This morning, the Rude Pundit decided to honor the efforts of Muntader al-Zaidi, the Iraqi shoe-tosser, by taking out a raggedy old pair of sneakers, putting them in a Priority Mail shipping box, helpfully provided by the United States Post Office, and shipping them to President George W. Bush at the White House. He included a note that read, "This is a farewell kiss from the American people, you dog."

Since throwing objects at the president is generally considered a crime, the Rude Pundit figures sending shoes to Bush is a small, good thing, a gesture of contempt that has context. Sweet Christ, at this point, there should be giant sacks of shoes heading to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20500, like letters to Santa.

I think people who participate in this should be conscious of just badly the people tasked with protecting Bush could react to anonymous packages.

Nicked from jlassen

I cried because I had no shoes, then I met a President who had too many

This morning, the Rude Pundit decided to honor the efforts of Muntader al-Zaidi, the Iraqi shoe-tosser, by taking out a raggedy old pair of sneakers, putting them in a Priority Mail shipping box, helpfully provided by the United States Post Office, and shipping them to President George W. Bush at the White House. He included a note that read, "This is a farewell kiss from the American people, you dog."

Since throwing objects at the president is generally considered a crime, the Rude Pundit figures sending shoes to Bush is a small, good thing, a gesture of contempt that has context. Sweet Christ, at this point, there should be giant sacks of shoes heading to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20500, like letters to Santa.

I think people who participate in this should be conscious of just badly the people tasked with protecting Bush could react to anonymous packages.

Nicked from jlassen

I cried because I had no shoes, then I met a President who had too many

This morning, the Rude Pundit decided to honor the efforts of Muntader al-Zaidi, the Iraqi shoe-tosser, by taking out a raggedy old pair of sneakers, putting them in a Priority Mail shipping box, helpfully provided by the United States Post Office, and shipping them to President George W. Bush at the White House. He included a note that read, "This is a farewell kiss from the American people, you dog."

Since throwing objects at the president is generally considered a crime, the Rude Pundit figures sending shoes to Bush is a small, good thing, a gesture of contempt that has context. Sweet Christ, at this point, there should be giant sacks of shoes heading to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20500, like letters to Santa.

I think people who participate in this should be conscious of just badly the people tasked with protecting Bush could react to anonymous packages.

Nicked from jlassen

New Hope for the Betelgeusians

Habitability of Super-Earth Planets around Other Suns: Models including Red Giant Branch Evolution
Authors: W. von Bloh, M. Cuntz, K.-P. Schroeder, C. Bounama, S. Franck
(Submitted on 4 Dec 2008)

Abstract: The unexpected diversity of exoplanets includes a growing number of super- Earth planets, i.e., exoplanets with masses of up to several Earth masses and a similar chemical and mineralogical composition as Earth. We present a thermal evolution model for a 10 Earth mass planet orbiting a star like the Sun. Our model is based on the integrated system approach, which describes the photosynthetic biomass production taking into account a variety of climatological, biogeochemical, and geodynamical processes. This allows us to identify a so-called photosynthesis-sustaining habitable zone (pHZ) determined by the limits of biological productivity on the planetary surface. Our model considers the solar evolution during the main-sequence stage and along the Red Giant Branch as described by the most recent solar model. We obtain a large set of solutions consistent with the principal possibility of life. The highest likelihood of habitability is found for "water worlds". Only mass-rich water worlds are able to realize pHZ-type habitability beyond the stellar main-sequence on the Red Giant Branch.

Nicked from Centauri Dreams

New Hope for the Betelgeusians

Habitability of Super-Earth Planets around Other Suns: Models including Red Giant Branch Evolution
Authors: W. von Bloh, M. Cuntz, K.-P. Schroeder, C. Bounama, S. Franck
(Submitted on 4 Dec 2008)

Abstract: The unexpected diversity of exoplanets includes a growing number of super- Earth planets, i.e., exoplanets with masses of up to several Earth masses and a similar chemical and mineralogical composition as Earth. We present a thermal evolution model for a 10 Earth mass planet orbiting a star like the Sun. Our model is based on the integrated system approach, which describes the photosynthetic biomass production taking into account a variety of climatological, biogeochemical, and geodynamical processes. This allows us to identify a so-called photosynthesis-sustaining habitable zone (pHZ) determined by the limits of biological productivity on the planetary surface. Our model considers the solar evolution during the main-sequence stage and along the Red Giant Branch as described by the most recent solar model. We obtain a large set of solutions consistent with the principal possibility of life. The highest likelihood of habitability is found for "water worlds". Only mass-rich water worlds are able to realize pHZ-type habitability beyond the stellar main-sequence on the Red Giant Branch.

Nicked from Centauri Dreams

New Hope for the Betelgeusians

Habitability of Super-Earth Planets around Other Suns: Models including Red Giant Branch Evolution
Authors: W. von Bloh, M. Cuntz, K.-P. Schroeder, C. Bounama, S. Franck
(Submitted on 4 Dec 2008)

Abstract: The unexpected diversity of exoplanets includes a growing number of super- Earth planets, i.e., exoplanets with masses of up to several Earth masses and a similar chemical and mineralogical composition as Earth. We present a thermal evolution model for a 10 Earth mass planet orbiting a star like the Sun. Our model is based on the integrated system approach, which describes the photosynthetic biomass production taking into account a variety of climatological, biogeochemical, and geodynamical processes. This allows us to identify a so-called photosynthesis-sustaining habitable zone (pHZ) determined by the limits of biological productivity on the planetary surface. Our model considers the solar evolution during the main-sequence stage and along the Red Giant Branch as described by the most recent solar model. We obtain a large set of solutions consistent with the principal possibility of life. The highest likelihood of habitability is found for "water worlds". Only mass-rich water worlds are able to realize pHZ-type habitability beyond the stellar main-sequence on the Red Giant Branch.

Nicked from Centauri Dreams