The Graduate

Doesn't seem like that long ago that I was blogging about my daughter Alexandra's adventures and exploits as a high school wrestler. Well, last weekend, I watched her graduate from college. Bard College, to be precise, with a degree in math and plans to go on to graduate school in mechanical engineering. Inconceivable!

I'll put some pictures up as soon as I remember to get them off the camera.

Technology Keeps Truckin'

I'm always saving links to cool stories, and sometimes I even remember to mention them while they're still fresh and cool. (If you wonder why I seem a little scattered at times, it may be related to the fact that Allysen just started a new, full-time job, I'm still writing a new book and trying to shift to a schedule compatible with Allysen's, we're still recording the audiobook, still getting all the wrinkles out of the ebooks, daughter Alexandra is about to graduate from college, and...well, that's a partial list, but you get the picture.)

News about our light bulbs
Starting next year, 100-watt incandescent light bulbs will no longer be available in the U.S. The reason, of course, is that they're hideously inefficient in their use of electricity, and if we're to get serious about our national energy problem, we need to get serious about using more efficient technologies. Compact fluorescents are far more efficient, but aren't perfect, either. Now, it looks like LED replacement lights will be coming along just in time. But according to this Washington Post article, the best long-term solution will be new panel fixtures that spread the light-source over a wider area, thus allowing for heat dispersal. (Yes, even cool LED lamps have heat-dispersal problems when you cram too many together.)

Jetman flies the Grand Canyon!
If you're like me, you're still wishing for a personal jet-pack. Well, this guy actually has jet engines strapped to his personal flying suit. And he used it to fly over the Grand Canyon! Pictures are better than words:

Full story (and video if you have trouble seeing it here).

Now, that's what I'm talkin' about.

Sale at Backlist Ebooks!

My friends at Backlist eBooks have organized another big ebook sale, this time with 50-plus authors participating, and nearly 200 titles discounted—this week only. Genres include Mystery & Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, SF/Fantasy, and more. These are all books from traditionally published authors who have self-republished their backlists as ebooks. Most of their books are low-priced to begin with, but this week, they'll be even lower. Even though I just had my own special a few weeks ago, I'm participating as well. Go to the Backlist eBooks specials page to see the complete list and get the coupon codes to buy the books at Smashwords. (In most cases, you'll need to copy and paste the codes from there into the Smashwords shopping cart.)

Edit: An extension of the sale to the Sony store, previously reported here, fell through for complicated reasons. Maybe next time.

I'm sorely tempted myself, even though my e-to-read pile is already causing my virtual shelves to sag.