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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
Author Archives: skullsinthestars
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Maracot Deep
One of the fun things about my blogging is that I keep turning up relatively unknown works by famous authors which, although not on par with their classics, give fascinating insights into the authors’ views. They’re usually quite entertaining, as … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure fiction, Weird fiction
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One of those days…
Ugh. I’m having one of those days where everything is going ridiculously wrong. If I maintain any religious faith at all in my life, it comes from those days when it seems clear that a supernatural agency is out to … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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Focusing through a ‘maze’ of strong scattering
One of the broad challenges in a lot of optical applications involving visible light is simply that most materials aren’t particularly transparent. This is rather obvious, at a glance: materials can be strong absorbers of light, strong reflectors of light, … Continue reading
Posted in Optics
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Saturday night catblogging!
I interrupt my regularly scheduled blogging for a sweet picture of the kitties at home: They are stacked in inverse order of authority: Sasha on the lowest step, Sabrina up a step, and Simon on the landing. Zoe, as always, … Continue reading
CNN Holograms? Not really.
I was planning to comment on the CNN ‘hologram’ effect that they used on election night, and though I see that Tom at Swans on Tea beat me to it (I wave angry fist in the air, shouting, “Curse you!”), … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Science news
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Best. Ballpoint pen. Ever.
For those who don’t read Swans on Tea (and if you like fun physics-y blogs, you really should), I have to link to this post concerning product reviews on Amazon.co.uk. People have taken to heart the absurdity of being able … Continue reading
Yay, North Carolina!
I just learned, via Americablog, that my home state has come through for Obama; the AP reports: President-elect Obama has won North Carolina, a symbolic triumph in a state that hadn’t voted for a Democrat in more than a generation. … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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John Wyndham’s The Kraken Wakes
John Wyndham either didn’t like the world much or worried about it a lot! In a previous post, I discussed his classic horror/sci-fi novel The Day of the Triffids (1951), in which a meteor shower leaves most of the world … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Weird fiction
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Victory
I think I may sleep easier, for the first time in a while. “President Obama”… sounds nice. Update: I drove into work blaring Duran Duran songs, which seemed quite appropriate to me, especially “New Moon on Monday”:
Henry Kuttner’s Elak of Atlantis
I’m a complete sucker for sword-and-sorcery fantasy, and actually I’ve written a significant amount of it for my own amusement. Of course, the true master, and really the originator of the genre, is Robert E. Howard, whose Conan stories are … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy fiction, Robert E. Howard
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