You've probably heard it said that humans and chimpanzees share about 98.5% of their genetic material. That makes it sound like they are 98.5% human. That's close enough that you might almost expect them to demand human rights, rather than to be treated as animals. Well, there's another human genetic relative that definitely should not be treated as an animal.... read more »

OK, I've hacked MovableType 3.0D so that if someone uses the same combination of name, e-mail address and URL (if applicable) that has been used for an approved comment in the past, their comments are automatically approved. That should prevent the comment spam from showing up, while making it convenient for the usual suspects commenters. That oughta do it. UPDATE:... read more »

...but it's better than an outright rejection. The editor of Analog has given me the first rewrite request of my career. There's no guarantee that he'll buy the story if I make the changes he suggests, but it's a possibility. Needless to say, I will make the changes. As a personal matter, I'd rather sell a story to Analog than... read more »

If anyone is interested in attending a writers' group in Utah County, I'm a member of one that meets at 7:00pm every Thursday at the Barnes & Noble on University Parkway in Orem. We're looking for new members, so if you are serious about writing for publication, feel free to come join us. We have writers from a mix of... read more »

Forgot to mention that when I returned from California, one of my SASE's had returned. It included a form rejection slip from the Atlantic Monthly. But that's not all it contained. The poor envelope was nearly bursting at the seams because they had folded up and returned my entire manuscript. The manuscript was clearly labeled as a "Disposable Manuscript" on... read more »

Got back yesterday from a family reunion in California. My parents, siblings, siblings-in-law, nieces and nephews were all there for at least part of the time. It was the first time we had all been together since my niece Kate was born earlier this year. It was great to have a chance to spend time together. The main reason for... read more »

Based on the fact that people are congregating under a bridge to get out of the sun, I think Disney is not providing a reasonable amount of shade in the right places.

The credits are rolling. Spider-Man 2 is great fun. It ranks with the other great superhero movies.

Well, genetically altered blood, if you go by the movie version of events. Since I was so far back in line for the Harry Potter movie, I decided to go early for Spiderman 2. I am currently the only one in line for the 12:05am showing. I'm not uniquely crazy -- there are already 13 people in line for the... read more »

After a long period of little or slow progress, I have finished chapter 17. I have now surpassed 50,000 words, and I estimate I'm about 40% done.