Sea Chanty

Steel Stonehenge — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:43:55 -0700

I'm a rather landlocked seafarer living up here in Interior Alaska. Although I've sometimes entertained notions of sailing a Viking ship up the Chena River, for the most part I must remain content to ruminate and regurgitate early childhood memories of sailing on the San Francisco Bay. Certain things get permanently embedded in one's cerebral cortex, and there isn't much you can do ...

Clumps and Clusters

Steel Stonehenge — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:46:07 -0700

It would be nice if you could actually plan your writing schedule. It seems that writing assignments come in clumps and clusters....everything seems to happen at once. While Steel Stonehenge, the "prequel" to Plasma Dreams is out there in the Universe on its latest round of "ignorings" I've been slavishly attempting to finish three prosaic pieces all at once. The ...

Detours and Destinations

Steel Stonehenge — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:26:18 -0800

My writing of late has taken a less literary, but more pragmatic bent. The timing is certainly not my choice, but I couldn't turn down these projects. They are great for my resume, if nothing else.Please try to curb your excitement, but I've been deeply involved in the rewriting and revision of the FCC General Radio Operator's License (GROL) manual, by the W5YI Group. Much of this material ...

Me me me me me........a meme

Steel Stonehenge — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:54:50 -0800

Nearest Book MemeGrab the book nearest you. Right now. Turn to page 45. Find the fifth sentence. Post that sentence (with attribution) along with these instructions to your own blog, and leave a comment below so I'll know whose blogs to come visit! Well, I just happened to have a copy of Plasma Dreams on my desk. Since page starts in the middle of a sentence, I actually have two possible ...

My Book Report

Steel Stonehenge — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:01:17 -0700

I just finished A Study in Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes episode. (I have obligated myself to finish the entire body of Sherlock Holmes....something every literate American is supposed to have done, but never actually has. I must confess I have several, to be obfuscatory, "discontinuities" in my classic literary repertoire, but I am making a sincere, conscious effort to ...

Stream of Unconsciousness

Steel Stonehenge — Tue, 27 May 2008 10:50:10 -0700

One of the problems with blogging is that it's so easy to degenerate into a stream-of-consciousness writing style, the antithesis of good writing. The skilful "bloggist" needs to constantly remind himself/herself that not every synapse that fires off in the privacy of his/her cranium is of compelling interest to his/her readers/victims. On the other hand, if you do decide to blog, ...

Who Has 'ma Plasma?

Steel Stonehenge — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:36:01 -0700

I got into Plasma Physics quite by accident. Well, maybe not sheer accident, but by Providence, perhaps. By all rights, I never should have been even associated with such esteemed luminaries in the field, such as Frank Chen, arguably the man who singlehandedly defined how we should go about making nuclear fusion happen. Amongst others. These are all intellectual giants with ...

Required Reading

Steel Stonehenge — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:10:28 -0700

For a while now, I have been reading the essays of Paul Graham, author of "Hackers and Painters." I consider all his writings required reading for any creative or entrepreneurial person, but his latest one, "Be Good," is even more so. Read this and pass it on far and wide.http://www.paulgraham.com/good.html Eric

Farewell, Dan Ison

Steel Stonehenge — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:49:14 -0700

On Tuesday, April 14, 2008, the world lost an irreplaceable father, husband, friend, musician and practical joker, Dan Ison. He was 32. I've always looked upon my job as a writer to explain the inexplicable, but I'm not going to even touch this one. None of us saw this coming. There were no signs. No letters. No strange behavior. No withdrawal from friends. No liquidation of ...

My book report

Steel Stonehenge — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:31:11 -0700

Well, here I am at last, amidst the company of giants. What can I say? Ruminate, ruminate...... Ah, yes, I'll say this. I want to publicly thank Belle Yang for her putting in a good word for me with her agent. I've been trying to market Steel Stonehenge for so long, I am loathe to even ponder. As fate would have it, Plasma Dreams, the sequel to Steel Stonehenge actually caught the ...