Dublin 2019: Retrospective Hugos for 1944

Dublin 2019: An Irish Worldcon was the 77th World Science Fiction Convention, the oldest science fiction convention in the world. Each year, it meets in a different city, and for 2019, the host was Dublin, Ireland, the first time for Continue reading Dublin 2019: Retrospective Hugos for 1944

Early version of Google

This was the early version of Google. Using these humble wooden drawers, generations of scholars and researchers, desperate students and cunning spies, despairing parents and fanatical bibliophiles, and every other shape and size of reader delved into the depth and breadth Continue reading Early version of Google

Tudor’s biscuits?

One thing that separates the United States from England is the humble biscuit. We simply cannot agree on what a “biscuit” is, and this disagreement was one of the flash points of the American Revolution. (Possibly baking points rather than Continue reading Tudor’s biscuits?

Why I didn’t become a graphic artist

I spent most of my grade school years drawing pictures instead of doing classwork. Classwork was easy, so I did that quickly and then “illuminated” my work with fanciful spacecraft, mythic maps, and lots of lizards and horses. My maps Continue reading Why I didn’t become a graphic artist

Adam the First

Genesis states that man was formed from dust of the ground, and this first man, Adam, went on with Eve to populate the Earth. This happened before 4000 BC, according to Bishop James Ussher (1581-1656), who precisely dated the creation Continue reading Adam the First

Highly encrypted map of Maryland

This highly detailed map of Maryland was reconstructed from a mass of fiendishly encrypted cardboard tokens. It was assembled after an intense multi-discipline effort by a health care informatician, a systems analyst, a nurse, a psychologist, a theologian, a historian, Continue reading Highly encrypted map of Maryland

Flash Forward

2754 There is a new ABC TV series called “Flash Forward.” It is an exercise in non-sequiturs, or possibly pre-sequiturs. Each episode consists of short vignettes, from the past, present or future, in which the characters try to figure out Continue reading Flash Forward