Otherworldly

 The results from the latest iPhone photo contest are in and they are truly otherworldly.  Have a look over at NPR.

Florida Man wrecks MTB, flips into water, grabbed by alligator

 Details at CNN.

Why do I find this to be a fairly normal turn of events?  BTW, I managed to wreck on a gravel ride yesterday while dodging a snake, maybe there's a connection.  Nothing worse than a skinned elbow and a few bike scuffs, FL Wildlife & Fisheries was not contacted.  And the snake slithered away unharmed.

A Pretty Decent Summary of Bell's Theorem

 Over at Quanta Magazine: How Bell's Theorem Proved 'Spooky Action at a Distance' is Real

All I got this week.

I'll Take It

 

Apart from fireworks, too much feasting, a couple of mediocre fishing trips, and a little bit of biking around town, there's just not a lot going on.  Welcome to high summer.  Good time to get some reading in, maybe practice some arborist line-chucking in the cooler(?) evenings.

Book Recommendation: Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary

 No spoilers here, read on with impunity.

Like The Martian, this is another astronaut-up-the-creek-whittles-own-paddle story.  The stakes this time are higher, much higher, and then they unexpectedly double.  The protagonist, interestingly named Dr. Grace (heh), isn't quite the square-jawed astrohero of The Martian, but he rises to the occasion – just as soon as he can remember his name.

Other things to note, without spoiling anyone's read... The whole book has some very somber undertones that were not there in Weir's two earlier novels, the above-mentioned The Martian and elsewhere-reviewed Artemis.  Still, it has the same comfortable nerdy wisecracks we've come to expect, and it's a fast and fun read.  "OK, how's he going to get out of this new fix now?" is the question of every chapter, and the payoffs all along the way keep things moving.  Some parts are downright misanthropic.  Namely, Grace's last academic paper is a giant glowing screw-you to colleagues in his former and future field.  That's just unprofessional and petty, even if we are largely in sympathy with Grace given the situation.  When this is followed by Grace's ultimate situation (no spoilers!), you can feel the warm glow of animosity that simmers throughout the book.  This slight flaw makes for a more interesting character, not the cheap perfection that Grace could have been in the hands of a less capable author.  Ultimately though, Grace re-finds his real calling in the last pages.  Finally, there are two big items that are never explained, but are merely science-y MacGuffins – I promised no spoilers, but this will get close; hang in there – a fully miraculous material and the coating on the central mystery of the book.  I don't quite buy either one, but I was having such a good time reading that it didn't matter all that much.

(Grrr, why can Blogger put images where they should be?  Miserable new interface, *grumble*)

Eh, if you enjoyed The Martian you'll enjoy this one too.  Finally, rumor has it that there's a movie in the works.  Ought to be good.

Mixed Feelings

 From today's xkcd:

Independence Day.... it's almost here.  First I really ought to move the cryopump out of the foyer, then work things from there.  Maybe put it over by the pile of bike parts.

NPR's Sci-Fi & Fantasy Poll

 The question is straightforward: What are the best sci-fi and fantasy books you've read that were published in the last decade?  You can nominate up to five or as few as one.  The info you enter is simple: name, your local NPR station, book name, author.  Here's the link.

They did a similar poll ten years ago, however it was "of all time" not "of the past decade."  (results here)  OK, LOTR won that one hands-down, no surprise there.  This time the results should be more interesting with the focus on more recent work.  I'm always looking for new, good stuff.

FWIW, I nominated Star's Reach and The Martian; you can read my thoughts on them at the links.  Some others I considered but did not included are the Area X trilogy (Annihilation, etc.), Weir's second book Artemis, and the hard sci-fi anthology Carbide Tipped Pens.  I haven't finished Weir's third book Project Hail Mary, but I'm making good progress.

Predictions: Because the article mentions "our panel of expert judges will take your nominations and use them to curate a final list of 50 titles" [emphasis added], we can expect a fair number of little-known books – likely for good reason – that reflect NPR's values.  And that's OK too, their poll, their rules.  Another prediction I'll hazard is that several widely read books that were made into movies will be on the list: the above-mentioned The Martian and Annihilation, as well as Ted Chiang's Stories of your Life and Others, which was heavily adapted into 2016's movie Arrival.  Finally, I will flat-out predict that of the 50 books there should be some interesting stuff.

No "expect the list on or around" date in the article, but I'll keep an eye out for it.  Might have to buy another bookshelf.