I am excited to be a returning special guest at @canconsffh.bsky.social which is taking place October 17-19 at the Brookstreet Hotel in #Ottawa. The author GoHs are @premeemohamed.com and @kateheartfield.com and the editor GoH is @ourmankoto.bsky.social. Here is my schedule: tinyurl.com/CanCon2025

It's the 40th anniversary of the classic @schwarzenegger.bsky.social movie #Commando. 70% of the best Schwarzenegger one-liners came from this film. My personal favourite: "Don't disturb my friend, he's dead tired."

"All-you-can-eat" except they "reserve the right to limit quantities served per guest". This is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since the film The NeverEnding Story. I'm sure Lionel Hutz would have a case.

“We are told by leaders that we are the future. But when it comes to the ongoing pandemic, our present is being stolen right in front of our eyes.” Incredible speech by Violet Affleck who warned about the ongoing dangers of COVID & Long Covid, & advocated for masks and clean air at the UN today!

I'm at a restaurant where they're showing Bob Ross painting videos instead of news or sports and I think it's great.

Kudos to everyone who participated in or supported today's #TerryFox runs across Canada and around the world, and thank you to everyone who so generously made donations. This was my first time participating but it won't be the last.

My Aurora Award nominated story "A New Brave World" appears in the latest issue of JUPITER'S EYE. Thank you to Tyree Campbell and Hiraeth Publishing!

Thank you Gloria McMillan for the opportunity to present on the topic of science fiction and the real-life exploration of space for the September 2025 edition of the HardScience SF Writers Readers Artists Zoom Group speaker series. A recording is on the group's YouTube channel. tinyurl.com/2vb25nfu

I’m on @ouropinions.bsky.social today talking about space and kids’ books! 🚀💖 Always so good to have io9 reunions with @annaleen.bsky.social and @charliejane.bsky.social www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes/20...

I will be participating in a #TerryFoxRun for the first time this year on Sunday, September 14. Please consider making a pledge if you can afford it. No amount is too small. "It took cancer to realise that being self-centred is not the way to live. The answer is to try and help others." - Terry Fox

Apparently I am "Da Man in Can-ada!" :-) Please join me on Saturday, September 6th when I will be presenting on science fiction and the real-life exploration of space as part of the HardScience SF Writers Readers Artists Zoom Group speaker series. Free registration: tinyurl.com/yc8n5spb

My Daughter is a Zombie (좀비딸) made me laugh harder than The Naked Gun.

Congratulations to @ourmankoto.bsky.social for Volume 2 of YEAR'S BEST CANADIAN FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION being honoured with an #AuroraAward in the category of Best Related Work! Stephen will be the editor guest-of-honour at @canconsffh.bsky.social October 17-19 in Ottawa.

My new story "The Observer Affected" will be appearing in the upcoming anthology Unréal produced by AEscifi.ca and published by @flamearrowpub.bsky.social. "The Observer Affected" concerns disturbing events at a Montréal psychiatric hospital (specifically, this one) during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Birthplace of Dr. Norman Bethune in Gravenhurst, Ontario.

"A home without a cat - and a well-fed, well-petted and properly revered cat - may be a perfect home, perhaps, but how can it prove title?" - Mark Twain Happy #InternationalCatDay

Waiver form for Tyendinaga Caverns & Caves: "I acknowledge that I am aware of the risks inherent in exploration..." Unlike James T. Kirk, risk is not their business.

Our very posh senior kitty.

Strange New Worlds S3E2. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" went better with the gasoline fight in Zoolander.

Holy mackerel! This "European style cold smoked whole Atlantic mackerel" branded as "Baltic" Gifts claims to be a product of Moldova...a landlocked country more than 2,000 km east of the Atlantic Ocean and about 800 km southeast of the Baltic Sea. But it was tasty, wherever it actually came from.

What Ray Bradbury did for the Red Planet in The Martian Chronicles, Steven Southard has accomplished for the oceans of our blue planet in #TheSeasteadChronicles. Steve's nautical background and love for the sea shines brightly in this imaginative and ambitious collection.

Two Solitudes

Toronto Transit Commission subway turnstiles (and perhaps even real TTC employees) in #Murderbot S1E10. It's premium quality entertainment.

She's GR-R-REAT!!!

The MOPITT mission is over and all I got was this mug...and an undergraduate thesis, my first space mission experience, and a friend and mentor in Dr. Jim Drummond. And all the world got was...a priceless 25-year continuous dataset of carbon monoxide in the lower atmosphere. tinyurl.com/49wjayf6

Happy 90th birthday to Apollo 17 geologist-astronaut Dr. Harrison "Jack" Schmitt. As the Apollo 17 lunar module pilot, he became the twelfth and final person and only professional scientist to have set foot on the Moon (so far). The ship in my story "From a Stone" bears his name.

It's the 45th anniversary of the wide release of the cinematic masterpiece #Airplane! Surely you can't be serious!

Happy Canada Day! Bonne fête du Canada!

This is a wonderful opportunity for emerging writers from @setiinstitute.bsky.social

I am saddened to learn of the death of Dr. Raymond Laflamme, the founding director of @quantumiqc.bsky.social. I got to know Ray while working at IQC on QEYSSat and I will always remember his leadership, intellect, warmth, and humour. My thoughts are with his family and friends. tinyurl.com/3pnkdzaf

We are re-watching #DeepSpaceNine from the beginning. This has got to be the most #StarTrek moment of the series premiere "Emissary". Michael Piller was a genius. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ33...

Some very fine books at @westernuspace.bsky.social

My sister and I had a blast last weekend at the "Star Trek vs Star Wars: Galactic Musical Showdown" concert performed by the wonderful Ottawa Pops Orchestra at the beautiful Carleton Dominion Chalmers Centre. Which franchise won? Who do you think!

The Greatest Canadian

#DaydreamingInTheSolarSystem by @arcticsaxifrage.bsky.social and Jesse Rogerson spotted in the wild at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

Queens of the Sky at YYZ earlier this week: LH 747-400 and CX Cargo 747-8F.

I learned of the passing of #MarcGarneau at the Space Canada Horizons event last Wednesday. Gasps wafted through the room when the sad news was announced. Marc Garneau's intellect, humility, and dedication to public service inspired countless people including me. My thoughts are with his family.

Settling down for "Clue" at the Royal Alex.

Happy Pride Month, eh!

What the hell #Loblaws?!?

The inaugural session of GHGSat's Science Webinar Series will take place May 19th at 11:00am EST. Dr. Emily Dowd from the University of Leeds will present how a pipeline methane leak was observed by satellites and its significance for climate research and emissions mitigation. tinyurl.com/59snp9ae

Andor S2E10. I found "Make it stop" almost as affecting as "I can't swim."

Space Day 2025 was a great success! We'd like to extend special thanks to our keynote speaker @weinersmith.bsky.social, and our panelists @aerospacewriter.bsky.social, @katehowells.bsky.social, and Helen Gregory for their participation in our Art and Space-themed Space Day! @westernu.bsky.social

Thank you @westernuspace.bsky.social for a wonderful #SpaceDay2025!