Monthly Archives: December 2009

in memory

Dan Alderson once made a map of nearby stars by mounting little colored spheres on threads strung between holes in two sheets of heavy clear plastic. It occurs to me that, taking the stars in pairs, he could use half … Continue reading

Posted in astronomy, fandom, mathematics | Leave a comment

a minor technical difficulty

This site might disappear for a stupid reason: when my webhost tries to bill my Visa card, something in the chain spits “address verification failure”. I’ve tried variations of my new address (as well as my old address) with no … Continue reading

Posted in me!me!me! | Leave a comment

Circe the siren?

Patrick Henry said in 1775: It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us … Continue reading

Posted in arts, history | Leave a comment