Yearly Archives: 2004

Reading, anyone?

Literature

I’m being obnoxious because with the release of my dad’s new book, “Raised Christian Style: The Story of Betty” (the title is ironic – this is the story of a girl who was abused until she became a murderous psychopath and of the state teacher who helped her recover – based on true events), I am very proud of him.

While searching for a good link to the book to put above (which I didn’t find, but see below), I stumbled upon my dad’s blog (!!). Who knew? He turns 70 this month and is right there with the technology. Go Dad!

Finally, because I realized suddenly that many people I know personally are published authors (yay!), I decided to create an Amazon.com “Listmania!” list about it. If you can think of authors I know but don’t know I know or forgot about or something, let me know. Um, yeah….

Hotels in space, on the cheap

Space

“Ahem.”:http://www.lasvegasmercury.com/2004/MERC-Jul-08-Thu-2004/24250261.html

_(written on the board 50 times)_
I will not make predictions about space tourism.
I will not make predictions about space tourism.
I will not make predictions about space tourism.

Hubble discovers 100 new planets

Space

Wow! No description can top that headline, so here it is again: “Hubble discovers 100 new planets”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3856401.stm

Oh, OK, here’s a quote: “_The discovery will lend support to the idea that almost every sunlike star in our galaxy, and probably the Universe, is accompanied by planets._”

Science, Policy, and Ozone

Environment

With the ongoing controversy over global climate change, it’s interesting to look back at a big scientific controversy from the 80s and 90s, “CFCs and the ozone layer”:http://www.wunderground.com/education/ozone_skeptics.asp. The CFC industry fought change for 20 years, but it turned out to be a) a worse problem than even the “doomsayers” anticipated and b) less costly to fix than even the best estimates. A very complete overview of how science, business, and politics collide.