A few months ago, the editors at Quillette asked me to review Robert Zubrin's newest book "The New World on Mars: What We Can Create on the Red Planet and Why We Must." As a fan of Zubrin's work, I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed the book. But I was pleased and amused to find echoes of work I had done as far back as high school in the 1970s, … [Read more...]
Back to the Moon
September 4, 2016 by
DragonCon is enormous. If you haven't been there, you have no idea how big it is. But, over in the Hilton, is a small (but overstuffed) set of conference rooms that host the "Reality Tracks." These tracks are for a different kind of fan… those who want to build science fiction, not just read about it. … [Read more...]
Spaceport Camden Legislation
February 16, 2016 by
Last Monday, I attended a hearing at the Capitol on House Bill 734, the Georgia Space Flight Act. This legislation is being led by representatives from southeastern Georgia, the proposed site of Spaceport Camden. (You can read more about the spaceport at http://spaceportcamden.us/.) … [Read more...]
These Candidates Need Jobs!
August 7, 2015 by
Based on last night's debates, here's what I'd like to see each of the 17 GOP candidates doing two years from now: (in alphabetical order) Jeb Bush - Secretary of Education Ben Carson - Surgeon General Chris Christie - Secretary of Labor Ted Cruz - Senate majority leader Carly Fiorina - Vice President of the United States Jim Gilmore - … [Read more...]
My Talks at Dragon Con 2014
July 26, 2014 by
My annual post in response to the people asking me "What are you talking about at Dragon Con this year?" … [Read more...]
Cakes Baked at Gunpoint
April 4, 2014 by
I don't often do unabashedly political blog posts. If you're looking for the latest in my "indefatigable" posts about the Atlanta startup community... come back next time. … [Read more...]
I Made Drudge!
February 2, 2014 by
So, yesterday I read a news story about a Tampa woman jailed for feeding bears. (She's an idiot. But there are ways of dealing with idiots that don't involve throwing 81-year-old women into jail without bond. Somebody in the chain of events should have found one of those ways.) … [Read more...]
My Thoughts on (co)lab
September 26, 2013 by
On Sunday and Monday, Leadership Atlanta hosted the first (co)lab event... pitched as a "Collaborative Leadership Summit" that would help Atlanta connect, communicate, and collaborate on issues vital to Atlanta. It was a very well-produced event, with extraordinary speakers. If you weren't there, I recommend you peruse the Twitter stream (hashtag … [Read more...]
Against Going to War with Iraq (2002)
September 6, 2013 by
Lots of discussion on Twitter and Facebook about the steady drumbeat of war, war, war against Syria. The Internet Wayback Machine has the text of a speech delivered on 2 October 2002 by an obscure Illinois State Senator named Barack Obama. I wish we had a President who could give a speech like this about Syria. … [Read more...]
Bitter Pill of Healthcare Costs
February 24, 2013 by
In its March 4th issue, TIME magazine published its "longest single piece ever published by a single writer": Steven Brill's article on healthcare costs. It's available free online, even if you don't subscribe (click here). I started reading it, then backed up to the beginning and started taking notes. Brill did a great job of reporting with this … [Read more...]
