Cursing Big Business

Those politicians, professors and union bosses who curse big business are fighting for a lower standard of living.

--Ludwig von Mises

Virga: Sun of Suns

Karl Schroder's book Sun of Suns is set inside Virga, a mini Dyson sphere about 5000 miles across. There is a small artificial sun in the center, around which everything else drifts in slow orbits: lesser suns, spinning cities, spherical forests, icebergs, rocks, and immense clouds. "Winter" isn't a time, it's a location--anywhere that is too far from a sun, or shadowed by cities or other permanent features, and therefore doesn't get enough sunlight. Ships through immense clouds.

Hayden Griffen's mother attempts to start a sun for the city-state Aerie, but the project is attacked by Slipstream forces, a city whose orbit has brought it close to Aerie. Hayden sets out to seek revenge on the man responsible for the attack. He meets his enemy's wife, and a youngster serving in the Slipstream navy, and a woman from outside the world. They discover that an enemy nation is getting closer, and it has dreadnoughts; in order to defeat this enemy, they set out to find a legendary pirate treasure.

The story is interesting, the characters are realistic rather than cardboard, but what's really fascinating is the setting, and the worldbuilding behind it. Definitely buy.

Dolphins

During lunch today, I went to the beach at about 50th Street. Two pods of dolphins went by, heading north to south. The first group had about ten members, and they were all dark grey. The second group had six dolphins and two of them were a lighter grey. Perhaps they were Confederates?

No pics, because my cellphone made it hard to distinguish between "here's a fin" and "here's a pixel which is marginally darker than the pixels around it."

Self guided bullet

According to Wired, Sandia has developed what the article is calling a "self-guided bullet", i.e. a four inch long, finned bullet that can home in on a laser spot.

Sunspot Minimum?

Some talk from The Daily Mail about whether Cycle 25 will be lead to a mini ice age.

Saturday

Took the Mutt out to the little woods next to Great Neck library, and let her run around. The ground has some low spots, enough for a mud puddle about two feet wide and ten feet long. The Mutt drank from it, then stood in it, then abruptly laid down in it. Could have been worse, though; she got straight up again when I called her, and she didn't roll around in it.

We've had a Bowflex for a while, and it's mostly been a not-very-efficient clothes rack. We finally sold it today. Yay! Money and more room.

Went to Echos of Time, a costume shop in Virginia Beach. They have lots of stuff there, a lot more than I'd expected from their website: Civil War uniforms, 1920s mobsters, medieval, science fiction red shirts, and more. There was a pith helmet that I'd have bought, except it was rental-only.

Discovered the Highlander restaurant about one block north of Echos of Time. It's an English / Scottish restaurant. It's a generic small restaurant, plus photos of pipers and Scottish landscape--but you're not paying "ambiance" prices either. Service was very good. I had a half serving of fish and chips; the fries were nothing special but the fish was a huge filet of fresh cod, hand battered right there, and really good. The other side of the restaurant is a mini-grocery where you can get things like shortbread, toffees, ales, fish & chips batter, shortbread, Devonshire cream, tinned haggis (not that you'd want to), lemon marmalade, or shortbread.

Went by a game shop to pick up some d20s. Why on earth do people make dice with die/ink color combinations that are nearly unreadable? Marbled brown dice with burgundy ink--you can read it in bright light if you stare closely enough, but why not make it "solid blue with white ink" or something equally easy on the eyes?

Enterprize

Josh got to spend a day working on Enterprize, a two masted topsail schooner, replica of the one that brought settlers to Melbourne in 1835. He had a seat on the end of the bowsprit, went up the ratlines (barefoot), furled the sails, got a bit sunburnt, and had a good time. It did not, unfortunately, have a gun larger than a signal gun. Anyone who has a 68-pounder carronade available, please let us know...