Being in the relative sanity of Bluesky you might get the impression that every citizen of the US is appalled at the state sanctioned murder of a concerned citizen...but dip briefly into the cesspit that is X and you will find bots, shills and brainwashed goobers aplenty gulping down Trumps' Koolaid

What I’ve read in the last week: ANALOG Jan/Feb 2026 GALAXY Sep 1972 ASIMOV’S Mar 2003 SUMMERTIDE - Charles Sheffield (1990) SON OF MAN - Robert Silverberg (1971) @analogsf.bsky.social @asimovssfmag.bsky.social W. Macfarlane Kris Neville Larry Eisenberg

Reached 45C here in Wycheproof at 2.30 pm

MTV Rewind kottke.org/26/01/mtv-re...

Lost episodes of Star Trek from the 70s. They were going to do a reboot of the TV series (without Spock!) but the project morphed into the first movie. There are 19 episode scripts & treatments from the project; a few were adapted for ST:TNG. kottke.org/26/01/004814...

My brain just broke.

Is it just me or is the current piracy by the U.S. uncannily like that proposed at the end of the 1975 film “Three Days Of The Condor”?

What I’ve read in the last week: ANALOG Feb 1977 GALILEO #2 Dec 1976 F&SF Jan/Feb 2012 EXPECT ME TOMORROW - Christopher Priest (2022) DYING OF THE LIGHT - George R. R. Martin (1977) @analogsf.bsky.social @fandsf Glen M. Bever

My year in books. www.goodreads.com/user/year_in...

Check out #GoodreadsYearinBooks @goodreads to discover the 253 books I read in 2025! www.goodreads.com/user/year_in...

My 2025 Recommended books from the 250 odd volumes that I read in that year. Have you read them?

December in Wycheproof was close to average with slightly cooler nights: Mean Tmax: 30.5°C (+0.5°C); HI: 42.7°C (18th); LO: 19.2°C (1st) Mean Tmin: 12.3°C (-0.9°C); HI: 22.6C (19th); LO: 5.6°C (15th) Rainfall: 27mm (+2mm) 2026 Rainfall: 311mm (-70mm) Thunderdays: 15 (+3)

Had a world first yesterday! I was the first person on Earth to Shazam "Why Me?" by prog band 3rDegree. A dubious honour for the band, so I'll plug them a bit. (Image courtesy of progarchives.com)

Yesterday’s 23.5C maximum in Wycheproof was coolest Christmas Day since the 19.5C in 2006.

What I’ve read in the last week: ANALOG Jan 1977 GALAXY Jul/Aug 1972 ASIMOV’S Feb 2003 THOUSANDSTAR - Piers Anthony (1980) ARCHITECTS OF EMORTALITY - Brian Stableford (1999) @analogsf.bsky.social @asimovssfmag.bsky.social Alan Skinner

Merry Seasonals to all, and to get in the appropriate mood here’s some alternate movie posters… Muppet Versions of Xmas Movie Posters kottke.org/25/12/muppet...

The White House has been caught. The administration inserted a photo of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross into the Epstein files and falsely implied it showed them with victims. In reality, it’s a publicly available fundraiser photo featuring Jackson and Ross’s own children.

What I’ve read in the last week: ANALOG Dec 1976 WORLDS OF IF Aug 1972 F&SF Nov/Dec 2011 BROKEN ANGELS - Richard K. Morgan (2003) DYING INSIDE - Robert Silverberg (1972) @analogsf.bsky.social @fandsf Albert E. Cowdrey Michaela Roessner

This AI Vending Machine Was Tricked Into Giving Away Everything kottke.org/25/12/this-a...

Seven feel-good science stories to restore your faith in 2025 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Richard Mulligan's character in Soap - if you shut your eyes it all goes away... www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Three days ago Starmer was arguing that the UK shouldn’t think about rejoining the EU because it would unpick all these great US trade deals.

How and why cloud-seeding with silver iodide works so well New characterization of the material's surface reveals how an atom-level rearrangement aids the formation of ice crystals and promotes precipitation physicsworld.com/a/scientists...

What I’ve read in the last week: ANALOG Nov 1976 INTERZONE #27 Jan/Feb 1989 ASIMOV’S Jan 2003 CRYPTONOMICON - Neal Stephenson (1999) @analogsf.bsky.social @asimovssfmag.bsky.social Mary Rosenblum @nealstephenson.bsky.social

Why you suddenly stop giving a fuck (particularly if you are a woman) www.blog.lifebranches.com/p/aging-out-...

This is hella cool! neal.fun/size-of-life/

Elon’s Blue Tick Scam Exposed! bbc.com/news/article...

In addition to creating a wholly self-serving peace prize to the world’s most fragile ego, FIFA have now awarded him a Fields medal, the Archibald Prize, the Palm d’Or, the yellow jersey at the Tour de France and made him Harvest Queen…

What I’ve read in the last week: ANALOG Oct 1976 WORLDS OF IF Jun 1972 F&SF Sep/Oct 2011 LISEY’S STORY - Stephen King (2006) THE BOOK OF RACK THE HEALER - Zach Hughes (1972) @analogsf.bsky.social @fandsf Albert E. Cowdrey @stephenking.bsky.social

Google AI has never heard of Denise Draper apparently… “Neil Young: Neil Young recorded his own version for his 1985 album Old Ways. He did not feature a female vocalist on his track.” Re: The Wayward Wind

New tale of mine in AntipodeanSF www.antisf.com.au/the-stories/...

Warming signal returns (finally) for most of Australia for week 5-12 December collaboration.cmc.ec.gc.ca/cmc/ensemble...

What I’ve read in the last week: ANALOG Sep 1976 GALAXY May 1972 ASIMOV’S Dec 2002 THE GREAT WAR: WALK IN HELL - Harry Turtledove (1999) INVASION: EARTH - Harry Harrison (1982) @analogsf.bsky.social @asimovssfmag.bsky.social Broeck Steadman

If wading into the cesspool that is Epstein’s mail is your thing, two creative people have curated them as a pseudo gmail archive. jmail.world/

If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features." There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.

What I’ve read in the last week: ASIMOV’S Nov/Dec 2025 WORLDS OF IF Mar/Apr 1972 ANALOG Aug 1976 ETERNAL LIGHT - Paul J. McAuley (1991) FIVE AGAINST ARLANE - Tom Purdom (1967) @analogsf.bsky.social @asimovssfmag.bsky.social Marcia Martin Robert Silverberg @unlikelyworlds.bsky.social

What I’ve read in the last week: ANALOG Nov/Dec 2025 WORLDS OF IF Jan 1972 F&SF Jul/Aug 2011 EUROPE AT MIDNIGHT - Dave Hutchinson (2015) THE CLAW OF THE CONCILIATOR - Gene Wolfe (1981) @analogsf.bsky.social Colin Kapp Harry Harrison Joe L. Hensley Doris Piserchia @hutchinsondave.bsky.social

vintageapple.org Treasure Jim!

What I’ve read in the last week: ANALOG Jul 1976 GALAXY Mar 1972 ASIMOV’S Oct/Nov 2002 NOVA SWING - M. John Harrison (2006) SHADRACH IN THE FURNACE - Robert Silverberg (1976) @analogsf.bsky.social @asimovssfmag.bsky.social James White Robert F. Young

This! So much this! www.404media.co/grokipedia-i...

The 50% efficiency barrier is in sight for solar cells! physicsworld.com/a/large-area...

What I’ve read in the last week: ANALOG Jun 1976 GALAXY Jan 1972 F&SF May/Jun 2011 THE HOUSE OF WOLF - M. K. Wren (1981) FINITY - John Barnes (1999) @analogsf.bsky.social @fandsf Kate Wilhelm

What I’ve read in the last week: ANALOG May 1976 INTERZONE #26 Nov/Dec 1988 ASIMOV’S Sep 2002 FARSIDE CANNON - Roger MacBride Allen (1988) PATTERNS OF CHAOS - Colin Kapp (1972) @analogsf.bsky.social @asimovssfmag.bsky.social

Archaeologists have found records of Ancient Egyptian excuses for missing work. They include ‘the scorpion bit him’, ‘brewing beer’, ‘drinking with Khonsu’ and ‘embalming his brother’.

The new Bureau of Meteorology website sucks big time. Let’s just take the radar: No radial distance overlay, no Doppler option, no state wide option. I could make a list of other things but the lack of a lightning tracker on radar is huge.