A backpack drone, already in use by US forces.  Not really news per se, since the Ghosts (of Ghost Recon fame) have been using them since 2010 or so, but it’s always cool to see reality catch up.

The best use of image searching technology EVER.  Totally frivolous and excellent.

3D printing synthetic human tissue! Baby steps towards exciting and important medical applications for regenerative medicine … restoring damaged organs, replacement skin for burn victims, those sorts of things.  Science!

An academic paper on availability cascades; not exactly light reading, but some interesting thoughts on how social dynamics impact public discourse.  Or, you know, why when everyone else is talking about Game of Thrones, you feel like you should at least pretend you do too.

Support for saving the A-10 close air support aircraft is growing, which is great because it’s an aircraft literally built around one of the most awe-inspiring weapons ever created AND it was the inspiration for Cobra’s Rattler.

My second novel Morningside Fall is set for release on April 29th, and leading up to that the Robot Overlords at Angry Robot Books have seen fit to release some bits of it into the wild!

If you’re interested in a sneak preview, the pages look something like this:

(People often ask me where I get all my ideas for various writery type things, like characters, or events, or technology.  Usually I just say “I read a lot”.  I decided to go one better and invite you all to read along with me.)

Veteran-owned and operated business GORUCK gives a look at their War Stories and Free Beer event, and tells a personal story from a combat veteran’s perspective.

The US Navy released some video of their railgun project using electricity to propel projectiles instead of the usual chemical concoctions.

A fine look at antifragility – things that thrive from disorder and shocks (as opposed to mere resiliency which absorbs shock and stays the same).

No-nonsense marketing and media grandmaster David Mooring lays out 5 sure-fire ways to get repeat visitors on your website.  Handy things I hadn’t even thought about.  (Sorry!)

French scientists use the science of acoustics to create an “earthquake shield”.

University of Edinburgh scientists have, for the first time, regenerated a living organ in an animal.

The US Navy (again!) flew a radio controlled plane using a new fuel made from sea water.

Someone (or someones) deduced the geology of Game of Thrones using “character observations, official maps, and earth principles of the geologic science”.

 

With the release of my second book Morningside Fall coming up (April 29th in the US, 1 May throughout the remaining universe), the Robot Overlords have deemed it appropriate to give away copies of the first book in the series, cleverly titled Three!

Sorry that blargh title is a little misleading … there’s actually only one thing potentially for free.  But it’s AMAZING and you should TOTALLY try to win it, even if you already have a copy! Or maybe not because hey give someone else a chance!  Or do, because you know, one to read and one to keep sealed in plastic and mint condition for later sale when it’s worth literally ones of more dollars!  To summarize, do what you want I’m not the boss of you, but while you’re at it pre-order Morningside Fall !

ANYWAY!

Check it out by clicking on the appropriate clicky place back up there at the top!

Sooo it’s that time of year when various people start handing out various awards to various other people, and depending on who you talk to, winning said awards can either make your career or don’t actually matter all that much AND ARE ONLY A POPULARITY CONTEST ANYWAY SO I DON’T CARE THAT I DIDN’T EVEN GET NOMINATED.

Personally, it’s always been my dream to be able to deliver a “It was an honor just to be nominated” speech, and YOU might be able to make that happen!

My first novel THREE was released last July, which makes me eligible for a few awards, and because it was my debut, it lets me splash around in a couple of special categories:

One is the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. 

Another is the Best Debut Novel category for various awards that actually recognize said category.

All in all, there are lots of things going on out there; the Hugos, the Nebulas, the BSFAs.

2013 was an amazing year for books, and competition for any of those awards is absolutely fierce.  Even just looking at the list of eligible authors from Angry Robot Books, I’m amazed at the level of talent and the quality of work that came out last year.

If you’re someone who read THREE and thought it was worthy of note, I’d appreciate any and all support you could throw behind it.

And speaking of other people who are amazing and also eligible for things, here’s a handy list, in no particular order:

Emma Newman

Adam Christopher

Chuck Wendig

Wesley Chu

Ramez Naam

Lee Harris (for Best Editor)

Steven Meyer-Rassow (for Best Artist)

Free advice often gets a bad rap, and there’s usually a good reason for it.  The whole get-what-you-pay-for thing.  But I’ve found that there are actually two kinds of free advice out there.

Okay, that’s not true, there are actual several different kinds of free advice, but I’m just going to go with the whole “There are two kinds of …” thing because reasons.

The first kind is the also the most common: the personal opinion disguised as advice.  It’s the anonymous internet comment person who says your video would be funnier if it had more cats.  The guy who’s been sitting on the couch for the last five hours shouting that the defense needs to “GET MORE PHYSICAL!!!”.  The helpful emailer who points out how much better your book would have been if only you’d had car chases instead of character growth.

In other words, it’s noise from people who don’t actually have any expertise in whatever field it is that they’re commenting on.  And usually they’re not even dispensing their sage advice to you for your own good.  They’re doing it for their own good.  It makes them feel better.

There is another kind of free advice, though.  It may be rare, but it is precious.  It’s the kind you can find from the grizzled vets who’ve Been There.  The men and women who’ve actually gone out there and Done It, who’ve suffered the cuts and the slights, who’ve sweated the sweats and bled the bloods and who once in a while, out of the goodness of their own hearts, take a moment to remember what it was like when they were first getting started.

And if you’re fortunate, you might remind them of their younger selves, and they might just pull you aside and drop you a choice nugget of wisdom.  It might not even make sense to you at the time, not until you hit the situation they warn you is on the way.  But if you sit up and pay attention, you just might find that you don’t have to hit all the same roadblocks that everyone else does, or that when you do, you don’t panic and give up like so many that have fallen before you.

(I won’t comment on which variety you’re likely to find around here of course.)