News from the World of Science, Science Fiction and Distributed Computing
SF Signal » SF Tidbits for 7/5/08
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:31:30 PDT
John Picacio shows off the recently finished cover he did for the original fiction anthology Fast Forward 2 edited by Lou Anders. Click the images for larger versions and check out the levels of detail and symbolism. Awesome. Over at Joseph Mallozzi's blog, Kage Baker fields reader questions about her first Company novel, In the Garden of Iden. En...
SF Signal » This Week's Free Tor Book: Flash by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:55:50 PDT
Tor's latest batch of freebies includes: Free Book: Flash by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. (Available in HTML, MobiPocket, and PDF versions.) This week's Free Wallpaper: Chris McGrath's cover art for Red by Jordan Summers. John Harris's cover art for Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi. These are only available for one week, so don't wait to snag 'em....
SF Signal » Thoughts on Wall-E
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:45:28 PDT
Today, thanks to our employer, I was finally able to go see Wall-E at the local supermega-plex. This was one of my two 'must see in theater' movies (Indy 4 was the other). I'm not going to write a review about the movie. There are plenty of those out there on the interwebs. I will say, while not a perfect film, Wall-E is a great film, with enough h...
SF Signal » Friday Video: Boba Fett Flashdance
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:38:01 PDT
Mandalorian Danceby PatrickBoivin [via Star Wars Blog]...
SF Signal » TOC: Interzone #217
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:33:55 PDT
The July/August issue of Interzone is out:Fiction:"Africa" by Karen Fishler"The Two-headed Girl" by Paul G. Tremblay"The Ships Like Clouds, Risen By Their Rain" by Jason Sanford"Concession Girl" by Suzanne Palmer"Little Lost Robot" by Paul McAuley"Comus of Central Park" by M.K. HobsonFeatures:Editorial by Pete Bullock - Our Electronic Editions Edit...
SF Signal » SF Tidbits for 7/4/08
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:29:19 PDT
Lost scenes from an 80-year-old version of the Sci FI classic film Metropolis were recently unveiled. Free Fiction:@Strange Horizons: "Jimmy's Roadside Cafe" by Ramsey Shehadeh.@ManyBooks.net: "Arena" by Frederic Brown (1944).@ManyBooks.net: "The Ninth Life" by E. Charles Vivian (1939).@No fear of the Future: "Memory" (Part 17) by Jayme Lynn Blasc...
Cosmology@Home » Down-time tonight
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:00:00 PDT
There will be a bit of down time later tonight while we tweak the database a bit....
The Planetary Society Weblog » MESSENGER Scientists 'Astonished' to Find Water in Mercury's Thin Atmosphere
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:42:26 PDT
I've just posted a news story on the latest results of the MESSENGER mission, announced in a telephone news conference held today. The timing may seem strange, as it's the day before a major holiday in the U.S., exactly the right time to hold a press conference if your goal is for people to ignore or overlook the news. However, the mission had no c...
The Planetary Society Weblog » Carnival of Space #61
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:40:16 PDT
Go to Mang's Bat Page to check out the 61st Carnival of Space, a weekly tour around space-themed weblogs. And, while I'm linking, don't miss Amir Alexander's update on the status of funding for the Arecibo telescope; A. J. S. Rayl's monthly update on Spirit and Opportunity; and this week's Planetary Radio interview with space scientist and artist W...
Leiden Classical » Project News 4 july 2008
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:00:00 PDT
Yesterday this BOINC project and a lot of other people fell victim to a spammer. Spam content was scripted into this projects fake user profiles and spam send from an yet unknown e-mail relay server, referred to these fake profiles. Measures taken at Leiden Classical were: 1) fake user accounts and profiles removed from DB, 2) user agent checks imp...
The Planetary Society Weblog » GLAST is returning data to Earth
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:48:48 PDT
Phil Plait reports that the Gamma-ray Large Area Telescope, or GLAST, is now returning data to Earth! Phil's been kind enough to send traffic my way for my Phoenix coverage; I'm only too happy to send you guys his way for GLAST, since he used to work on the mission -- he knows what he's talking about, and promises to explain the likely strange-look...
SF Signal » Thursday YouTube: Inside the Actor's Studio: Hellboy
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:28:32 PDT
Call me silly...I'm looking forward to this. ...
SF Signal » Tube Bits for 07/03/2008
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:19:02 PDT
Artist Direct has posted an interview with David X. Cohen about the latest Futurama release, The Beast with a Billion Backs, which just sounds wrong on so many levels. ABC has unveiled a LOST book club, detailing the many books showcased in the series. Several SF books have been shown, check the website for more info. A few days ago I mentioned tha...
SF Signal » SF Tidbits for 7/3/08
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:09:29 PDT
Charles Stross News:Over at his blog, Charles Stross shows off the UK and US covers for Saturn's Children. (Read this before you sound off about the US cover, sez Charlie.)Orbit has posted an extract from Saturn's Children.Stross has also announced three upcoming books: a new short story collection, provisionally titled Palimpsest; a sequel to Halt...
SCIFI.COM » New 007 Game Ties Two Films
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 PDT
Activision's upcoming Quantum of Solace video game, tied to the next James Bond movie, will also recapitulate the story of the previous film, Casino Royale, Jeremy Luyties, the game's co-design director, told SCI FI Wire....
SCIFI.COM » Midnight Is Elizabethan Spy Story
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 PDT
Fantasy author Marie Brennan told SCI FI Wire that her latest novel, Midnight Never Come, commits one of the original sins of fantasy: It's an Elizabethan faerie spy novel based on a role-playing game....
SCIFI.COM » Vegas Trek Attraction Closing
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 PDT
CBS and Cedar Fair announced that the Star Trek: The Experience themed attraction in the Las Vegas Hilton will close on Sept. 1, confirming news first reported on >a href="http://trekmovie.com/2008/06/29/star-trek-the-experience-closing-in-september/" target="outside">TrekMovie.com....
SCIFI.COM » Lost Metropolis Scenes Found
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 PDT
The German >a href="http://www.murnau-stiftung.de/en/04-00-00-news.html" target="outside">Murnau Foundation, dedicated to film preservation, reported that long-lost portions of Fritz Lang's seminal silent SF movie Metropolis have been discovered in Buenos Aires, Argentina....
SCIFI.COM » Scare's Morgan Channels Serling
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 PDT
Tracy Morgan, the 30 Rock star who hosts SCI FI Channel's returning Scare Tactics, told reporters that he couldn't resist an offer to be the show's new host because it gave him a chance to channel his inner Rod Serling....
SCIFI.COM » Third Narnia Shoots In Mexico
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 PDT
The third installment of Disney and Walden Media's The Chronicles of Narnia franchise will move its production to Mexico from New Zealand, where the previous two installments shot, Variety reported....
SCIFI.COM » Atlantis' Higginson Bows Out
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 PDT
Joseph Mallozzi, executive producer of SCI FI Channel's original series Stargate Atlantis, told SCI FI Wire that it's unlikely former series regular Torri Higginson will return as Dr. Elizabeth Weir in the upcoming fifth season, though her storyline was left hanging....
SCIFI.COM » Atlantis' Picardo Isn't Obvious
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 PDT
Robert Picardo, who joins the regular cast of SCI FI Channel's original series Stargate Atlantis, told reporters that he likes that his character, the abrasive bureaucrat Richard Woolsey, isn't the obvious choice to command the city....
SCIFI.COM » Knight's Gyllenhaal On Own
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 PDT
Maggie Gyllenhaal--who takes over the role of crusading prosecutor Rachel Dawes in the Batman sequel The Dark Knight--told reporters that she wanted to respect Katie Holmes' previous incarnation of the character, but ultimately had to make it her own....
SCIFI.COM » Blair Is Stronger In Hellboy II
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 PDT
Selma Blair, who reprises the role of firestarter Liz Sherman in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, told reporters that her character is a stronger woman this time around....
SF Signal » GIVEAWAY: The X-Files and Stargate: Atlantis DVDs
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:43:37 PDT
We have an very cool giveaway for our readers, courtesy of Fox. We have 2 different DVD sets up for grabs: [Update: As of right now, July 3rd at 8am, let's assume US/Canada residents only, unless I hear back other wise. Sorry everyone not in the US/Canada, I forgot to ask and they didn't specifically mention this condition.] The X-Files Revelation...
SETI@home » Project News July 3, 2008
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:00:00 PDT
The future of Arecibo Observatory (where SETI@home collects its data) is threatened. If you are a U.S. citizen, please write your representatives to support the Senate bill and House resolution to continue Arecibo's funding....
The Planetary Society Weblog » Phoenix sol 36 update: Scraping in Wonderland, next steps for TEGA
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:23:58 PDT
The Phoenix team is lying somewhat low this week. With Phoenix' sols aligned almost perfectly with Arizona days, the team has to work through the local night, and at least two members of the JPL newsroom team have taken the week off. And an exhausted operations team is being given a much deserved two-day break centered on the Independence Day holid...
The Planetary Society Weblog » Ustream webcast archived
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:39:39 PDT
For those of you who tuned in today, I'm sorry I forgot to put in a direct link to the webcast! If you missed my webcast on "Be an Armchair Planetary Scientist," you can now watch the recorded version here, and get the chat log and PowerPoint presentation through my video archives page (which is also available from the link on the left nav bar .......
SF Signal » MIND MELD: Is There Gender Imbalance in Genre Fiction Publishing?
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:22:57 PDT
At the risk of starting a flame war - which is not at all my intention - I wanted to address the issue of gender imbalance in genre fiction publishing. I'm not interested in non-constructive finger pointing, but rather a solutions-oriented discussion. So I posed the following questions to this week's Mind meld panel: Q: Gender imbalance in genre fi...
SF Signal » SF Tidbits for 7/2/08
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:40:22 PDT
Interviews and Profiles:Night Shade Books interviews Walter Jon Williams, author of Implied Spaces.The latest podcast of The Future And You features Kevin J. Anderson.Matt Staggs has 5 questions for Ekaterina Sedia (The Alchemy of Stone).The Fix interviews Cat Rambo, co-editor of Fantasy Magazine.At Omnivoracious, Jeff VanderMeer profiles Jack O'Co...
SF Signal » Top 10 SF Signal Posts for June 2008
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:15:42 PDT
Here are The Top 10 SF Signal Posts for May 2008:MIND MELD: Who Are Tomorrow's Big Genre Stars? (+ The Top 18 Genre Authors To Keep an Eye On)TOC: Eclipse 2MIND MELD: The 'Responsibility' of Cover ArtRIP: Algis BudrysThis Week's Free Tor Book: Orphans of Chaos by John C. WrightMEME: What Book Are You Reading Right Now?Why I Stopped Reading: The Yid...
SF Signal » Tube Bits for 07/02/2008
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:04:21 PDT
Everyone's favorite, trippy SF series, The Prisoner, is being re-made by AMC. Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen are set to star. When you have Jesus and Gandalf on your side, you can't go wrong. NBC, Sci Fi and Fox will have a lot going on at ComiCon 2008. Heroes, Galactica, Eureka, Knight Rider, Virtuality and other shows will be receiving a lot expos...
SF Signal » TOC: IROSF July 2008
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:02:01 PDT
The latest Internet Review of Science Fiction is up with the following table of contents:Editorial:Looking Toward the Future by Stacey JanssenObituary: Algis Budrys: Teacher by Bridget McKennaInterviews:An Interview with Jack Skillingstead by Arun JiwaThe Ones to Watch, Part II: And Then There Were Only Four by Dotar SojatFeatures:Japanese Science ...
malariacontrol.net » Project News 2008-07-02
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:00:00 PDT
We will stop sending out work for the optimizer application from tomorrow, 2008-07-03, and resume in ca. 2 weeks time....
Leiden Classical » Project News 2 july 2008
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:00:00 PDT
Today the DutchPowerCows team crossed the 10M credit barrier on our project. Well done guys, keep on crunching!...
Spinhenge@home » Project News July 02, 2008
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:00:00 PDT
Aufgrund von vermehrten Spam Attacken auf unser Forum, haben wir uns entschieden, die Registrierung auf "Aktivierung vom Administrator" umzustellen. On the basis of increased Spam attacks on our forum, we have decided to move the registration on "activation by admin"....
The Planetary Society Weblog » What's up in the solar system for the week of June 30
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:34:17 PDT
Time to take my weekly census of the spacecraft exploring the solar system. I wrote the Cassini part of this update yesterday but didn't have time to finish, and I've been trying to be a good girl about not working after hours -- so I'm a day later than usual, which is unfortunate because my first item was: Happy birthday to Cassini! On this day [w...
climateprediction.net » 33 million model years and counting ...
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:00:00 PDT
CPDN recently passed the impressive milestone of 33 million model years. Continued thanks to all participants for making this tremendously valuable resource possible....
The Planetary Society Weblog » Ustream webcast Wednesday July 2 at 19:00 UTC: How to Be an Armchair Planetary Scientist
Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:58:05 PDT
Please join me Wednesday at noon my time for my next Ustream broadcast. I'm going to do something different this time: I'll start out my broadcast by giving the presentation I gave to the workshop at the Astronomy Society of the Pacific meeting on "How to Be an Armchair Planetary Scientist." This is about how you -- yes, you! -- can participate in ...
SIMAP » Untitled
Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:00:00 PDT
New Workunits: There has been a typo in the yesterdays announcement: in june we have imported 130.000 (not 300.000) new sequences. The workunits are ready and their distribution has just started....
The Planetary Society Weblog » Dawn Journal: Cruising past Mars' orbit
Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:29:17 PDT
Here's our monthly checkup with the Dawn mission, contributed by Marc Rayman, the mission's Project System Engineer. Thanks Marc! --ESL by Dr. Marc D. Rayman Dear Dawnlettantes, Now using an ion thruster that had been powered off since October, Dawn continues to make steady progress on its journey deeper into space. In this phase of the mission, ea...
SIMAP » Untitled
Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:00:00 PDT
New Workunits: The calculation of similarities and features of approx. 300.000 new sequences, that were imported from the databases PDB, GenBank and Uniprot in june 2008, will start in the evening (UTC) of july 1st. Several members of the BOINCSIMAP team will be attending a scientific conference in denmark this week, thus we apologize for possible ...
PrimeGrid » 3*2^n-1 switched to +1
Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:20:00 PDT
We've switched 3*2^n-1 subproject, which has been completed to n=5M and had no more work, to 3*2^n+1. The tasks are significantly shorter now (in the range of minutes), but it will change quite rapidly as we progress through the test space....
The Planetary Society Weblog » Strange things under Phoenix
Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:31:34 PDT
I've received two questions very frequently from readers: "Have they taken another look at Holy Cow yet to see if it's changed?" and "What were those splotches on the leg of the lander in the first image of Holy Cow?" Well, I can now tell you that the answer to the first question is "yes" -- they re-imaged Holy Cow yesterday, sol 31. And there's no...
The Planetary Society Weblog » Carnival of Space number 60
Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:17:43 PDT
This week's carnival of space can be found at Slacker Astronomy. And, while I'm posting links, here's some new stuff on our website... Amateur astronomers: we've just announced the next round of Gene Shoemaker Near Earth Object Grants, so prepare your application! The deadline is September 30, and the call for proposals is the same as it was in 200...
Einstein@Home » Project News Jun 27, 2008
Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:00:00 PDT
You can play a game and learn something about gravitational waves at the new website http://www.blackholehunter.org. This project was developed as part of the Royal Society Summer Exhibition 2008....
Docking@Home » Project News June 26, 2008 19:30:00
Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:30:00 PDT
We distributed 300 more workunits. The deadlines for the workunits have been increased. Please give us your feedback in the forums. Happy crunching !...
BOINC » BOINC news June 26, 2008
Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Congratulations and thanks to volunteer Banshee from L'Alliance Francophone, who has recently contributed over 10 TeraFLOPS to several projects....
Docking@Home » Project News June 25, 2008 19:46:00
Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:46:00 PDT
We distributed 300 more workunits. After checkpointing the CPU time should start from the time before the task was suspended. We are working on updating the Charmm executable for Intel Mac machines, we are not distributing for Macs right now. Please give us your feedback in the forums. Happy crunching !...
Rosetta@home » Project News June 25, 2008
Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT
The rosetta application has been updated to version 5.98. This version includes a bug fix for the stalled client issue. Please report problems in this thread....