Author Archives: skullsinthestars

Jupiter and its moons

Posted on September 28, 2022 by skullsinthestars

This past Monday turned out to be a rather rare event for skywatchers: the planet Jupiter’s closest point of approach to the Earth since 1963! This was the coincidence of two situations. The first is the planet being in opposition … Continue reading →

Posted in Physics, Science news | 2 Comments

Old School Dungeons & Dragons: Part 27

Posted on September 13, 2022 by skullsinthestars

Keeping up my epic long-running series looking at classic Dungeons and Dragons of the TSR era! The Complete Book of Necromancers (1995), by Steve Kurtz. This one is a rarity, and relatively pricey! I finally sucked it up and ordered … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Fantasy fiction, role-playing games | 1 Comment

Missed my blogiversary again!

Posted on August 17, 2022 by skullsinthestars

Well, it turns out I missed a big anniversary for my blog — again! August 14th marks 15 years of me blogging, which is pretty amazing considering this was really just going to be a minor thing that I experimented … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | Leave a comment

Old School Dungeons & Dragons: Part 26

Posted on July 20, 2022 by skullsinthestars

Time for more old school Dungeons & Dragons, compiled from the threads I post on twitter! Without further ado, let us begin: Lords of Darkness, by Ed Greenwood et al. (1988). This is another one of those reference books that … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Fantasy fiction, role-playing games | 3 Comments

The oldest falling cat explanation

Posted on July 2, 2022 by skullsinthestars

So when writing my book Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics, on the history and science of how cats land on my feet, I attempted to track down the oldest explanation in print that attempted to explain why cats seem to … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, History of science | Leave a comment

From “The Fireside Sphinx”

Posted on June 21, 2022 by skullsinthestars

My apologies for my relative quietness on the blog lately — I’ve been quite busy with work, which has left me little energy for detailed blogging! However, I rediscovered a small story about cats that amused me, and that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Silliness | Leave a comment

Old School Dungeons And Dragons: Part 25

Posted on May 23, 2022 by skullsinthestars

Time for the next installment of old school D&D! I have been buoyed by a visit to Games Plus in Mount Prospect outside of Chicago, which has a massive collection of new and used game stuff! (So expect posts to … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Fantasy fiction, role-playing games | 2 Comments

Rough photos of lunar eclipse 2022

Posted on May 16, 2022 by skullsinthestars

Today, May 16, is the 2022 International Day of Light, designated by UNESCO to recognize the role of light in science, art, and education. You can read more also at the optical society Optica’s webpage. I’m out of town for … Continue reading →

Posted in Optics, Physics | Leave a comment

Old School Dungeons and Dragons: Part 24

Posted on April 17, 2022 by skullsinthestars

Twenty-four blog posts about old school Dungeons & Dragons? I can hardly believe I’ve done it! Let’s begin right away: Palace of the Silver Princess (1981), by Tom Moldvay and Jean Wells. This module is one of the true classics, … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Fantasy fiction, role-playing games | 1 Comment

Burn, Witch, Burn! by A. Merritt

Posted on March 23, 2022 by skullsinthestars

I’ve long been a fan of the works of Abraham Merritt (1884-1943), a talented and successful writer of weird fiction, and have blogged about many of his works. His 1920 novel The Metal Monster is one of my favorite works … Continue reading →

Posted in Horror | 2 Comments