Science Fiction Stuff

[Haggis@wk]

06:00 Wednesday - I wonder how many other people mentally spell out "Wed-nes-day" in their mind when they spell it? - anyway, I was awake pondering the great mysteries of life like why doesn't the BB have spell check when it occurred to me that we don't have a Science Fiction thread so I promptly got out of bed and started one. Good Morning.

Anyway, I saw this and thought "This will be good for the first generation BOLOs!". Video: [url=http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-04/video-railgun-blasts-aerodynamic-round-seven-kilometers-through-steel-plate]Railgun Blasts an Aerodynamic Round Seven Kilometers Through A Steel Plate.[url] At least until they perfect the Infinite Repeater.

Sigh, Keith would have loved this.

[Schmeelkie]

Yeah Haggis!! While I often trade info about fantasy books with Selma, I do cross the line into SciFi quite often. My subscription to Analog Science Fiction and Fact keeps me up-to-date (well close to as I'm generally a year or two behind on reading) on science and scifi-type stuff. That railgun sounds awesome!

I never got too much into the 'Masters', but have read some and use info from Analog to select books to my taste. My husband and parents have large collections and I will, from time to time, delve into those.

[Haggis@wk]

You can call it anything yo like but it's a disease. In 1959 I casually picked up a book called "Have Space Suit, Will Travel" by Heinlein and was hooked by the second page and addicted by the third. All that summer I haunted the hahn Air Base, Germany library for his juvenile series and almost passed out from excitement when I was told he also writes (wrote) for adults He did/does? Really!?!?!

I read Analog from the early 60's and had a subscription through the early 70's when Campbell died. Ben Bova and Stan Schmidt were able editors but the magic of Analog died with campbell. Then I got married and let my subscription lapse in the mid 70's I threw out all of them in 1984 when I returned to the states from England.

"Fantasy" to me is ERB's Pellucidar, Captain John Carter of Barsoom, and Carson of Venus. Today's definition of "fantasy" leaves me cold.
I suspect Selma probabaly likes Anne McCaffrey as do my wife and I but I don't consider that to be "fantasy" in the modern sense of the word.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

I suspect Selma probabaly likes Anne McCaffrey as do my wife and I but I don't consider that to be "fantasy" in the modern sense of the word.

...and Flint, and Correira, and Bujold, and Moon, and Lee/Miller, and Drake, and Andrews, and Harris, and Briggs, and Hodgell, and Huff, and - oh, I'm an omnivore. Thank goodness there's such a thing as a kindle.

[jamiebk]

For some great sci-fi reading, try this one: http://www.amazon.com/Light-M-John-Harr ... t_ep_dpt_1

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

You can call it anything yo like but it's a disease. In 1959 I casually picked up a book called "Have Space Suit, Will Travel" by Heinlein and was hooked by the second page and addicted by the third...

Just found this again. Yup. Addiction.

For me it was 1957, Asimov's "Lucky Starr, Space Ranger", the local library branch in the park, and a major scene involving an affronted librarian with rigid notions concerning gender and age appropriage reading material for 9-year-old female children, and my father with rigid notions about the obligations of the librarian to hand books over to children that want to read them. It was loud. It was crude. It was glorious. It may have been his finest moment. I think nazis even got dragged into that argument...

I was issued an adult library card, and could read anything I wanted, thereafter. I still do.

[Haggis@wk]

It was loud. It was crude. It was glorious. It may have been his finest moment. I think nazis even got dragged into that argument....

Wonderful story. Growing up in a military family on military installations had its own....challenges. Parents were the final arbiters of misbehavior of their children but everyone one else was an informer. If you got in trouble in school the teacher called your father and you had to face his "justice" when he got home. Or if you're across the housing area doing something stupid Major Smith's wife calls your mother and bingo, another conversation with Dad.

In 1962 I went to my first "civilian" school in the 7th grade. One day I innocently threw a dead wasp out the window but it apparently bounced and landed on a young lady. I got three "whack" with a rather large paddle. I was mortified and embarrassed and only after a few days did my Mom see the bruises. She had an earnest discussion with the principal and my father had a similar discussion with the teacher (a sadist, a view I have to this day) about how the military community handled discipline problems with their children.

Years later when I was an adult Dad shared the exact wording he used in that particular discussion and had he used that same language today he would have faced prosecution.

Nevertheless, I never faced corporal punishment and that teacher never, ever made eye contact with me the remainder of the school year. I got an “A” in his class; trust me the numbers of “A”s I earned in 12 years of school were few enough that I remember them all!!!!

[Haggis@wk]

It was loud. It was crude. It was glorious. It may have been his finest moment. I think nazis even got dragged into that argument....

Wonderful story. Growing up in a military family on military installations had its own....challenges. Parents were the final arbiters of misbehavior of their children but everyone one else was an informer. If you got in trouble in school the teacher called your father and you had to face his "justice" when he got home. Or if you're across the housing area doing something stupid Major Smith's wife calls your mother and bingo, another conversation with Dad.

In 1962 I went to my first "civilian" school in the 7th grade. One day I innocently threw a dead wasp out the window but it apparently bounced and landed on a young lady. I got three "whack" with a rather large paddle. I was mortified and embarrassed and only after a few days did my Mom see the bruises. She had an earnest discussion with the principal and my father had a similar discussion with the teacher (a sadist, a view I have to this day) about how the military community handled discipline problems with their children.

Years later when I was an adult Dad shared the exact wording he used in that particular discussion and had he used that same language today he would have faced prosecution.

Nevertheless, I never faced corporal punishment and that teacher never, ever made eye contact with me the remainder of the school year. I got an “A” in his class; trust me the numbers of “A”s I earned in 12 years of school were few enough that I remember them all!!!!

[Schmeelkie]

You HAVE to check this out!! Husband found it last night and we had a great time going through!
http://www.box.net/shared/static/a6omcl2la0ivlxsn3o8m.jpg

[piqaboo]

Its a good laugh. Thanks for linking it.
Just re-read U LeGuin's Earthsea quadrology.
Reread A Canticle for Lebowitz recently. Possibly my all-time favorite book.

Also Adiamante, by L.E. Modesitt Jr. I like his stuff.
I have a lot of reasons not to want a kindle, but book storage is the one thing that is in its favor for me.
(not saying that's the only benefit for others. Its the only one I see for me, myself, I.)

[Haggis@wk]

I have a lot of reasons not to want a kindle, but book storage is the one thing that is in its favor for me.
(not saying that's the only benefit for others. Its the only one I see for me, myself, I.)

well, I love mine and can't recommend it more. If price is an object go to your local Fry's, there's lots of ebook readers out there!!!

They also make it reeaaaal easy to spend money so be careful! As for SiFi always visit Baen's webscription Ebook site first and visit the free library. Many books that you'll pay &7-12 on Amazon (or not even find on Amazon) are free. Almost the entire 1632 series is free except, I think the last two - three novels and they are priced at less than 50% than Amazon (they are all $6)

There are a lot of the great classic (Retief, Schmitz books) that are available for free while my paper copies decay on the bookshelves in the garage

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

As for SiFi always visit Baen's webscription Ebook site first and visit the free library. Many books that you'll pay &7-12 on Amazon (or not even find on Amazon) are free. ...There are a lot of the great classic (Retief, Schmitz books) that are available for free while my paper copies decay on the bookshelves in the garage

I been tellin' you that...

[Schmeelkie]

Starting to think about an e-reader...it would certainly lighten the load when we travel....

On a random note, was channel surfing the other night and came across the horrible Transformers movie - I think the sequel? Anyway, at the end, to try to stop the major bad guy, the black ops type character calls in to an aircraft carrier to use their classified weapon - a rail gun. I was just amazed that such a crappy movie would have a 'real' science fiction concept in it!

Finally up to 2010 in my Analogs. Isabelle is finally getting to sleep at a semi-decent hour so I have more time for reading and TV. Oh, I SHOULD probably to something more constructive with my new free time, but, really, I'm finding more time during the day to do 'constructive' things - gotta have some down time! And it's much easier to concentrate on reading when the house is quiet!

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

The newest generation of Kindles have a model available now at $79, a Touch at $99, and the color Fire will be $199. (I have a Fire ordered) My main reason for sticking with the Kindle line is my considerable library of amazon digital content - any or all of which will transfer at a touch to the new Fire as soon as I tell it to. It's mine, Amazon knows it's mine, and they won't try to re-sell it to me. If I try to re-purchase things (which, having the memory of a butterfly, I've done in the past) they refuse, and remind me that I already own it. I like that.

My sister has a color Nook. She loves it. A lot of her reading is professional or hobby journals and magazines with color content and it works really, really well. She's probably as locked into the Nook line as I am the Kindle line, for the same reason - proprietary content. The Baen stuff, or Smashwords stuff, will load onto either device, or your computer, or whatever. Amazon also offers Kindle apps so that you can read Kindle content on a variety of other devices.

If you want to load color content - magazines, photos, childrens books - you will want a Fire, a color Nook or an iPad. Don't let the kids read in the bathtub.

[jamiebk]

Just my luck....as soon as I opted for the Kindle reader, they come out with Fire. I can't keep up with this stuff...

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

I know. I spent twice as much for Hypatia as I did for Heron, and Peacock will cost about the same as Heron did. But Heron holds more and is half the size of Hypatia, and Peacock is a tablet, not just a reader, and color besides...

Remember when home computers were new? Remember when you got your first mouse, and what you paid for the computer it connected to? And what you paid for the last computer you bought? Readers are doing this now, but faster. My head spins.

[Giant Communist Robot]

My daughter has taken an interest in science fiction. From where I sit I can see three Heinlein books--"Stranger in a...", "Starship Troopers" and "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress". On weekends I have been checking out science fiction DVD's from the library to show her and her friend. I inflate an air mattress, cover it with some pillows, throw it in front of the TV, make some popcorn and fire up the blu-ray.

So far they have watched "2001: Space Odyssey", "Forbidden Planet", "Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy" and "Mars Attacks". I have been waiting four weeks for "This Island Earth" to come from Hilo. The girls loved "Hitchhikers'..." absurdity and my 10 year old son couldn't stop laughing at the Martians' exploding heads in "Mars Attacks".

I prefer the older movies for their lack of graphic violence, nudity and sexual situations, crude language, etc.