Reading Update

What have I been reading lately?

ANIME ThunderCats for Trailer 2011

Thundercats was such a huge part of my childhood that when I saw this I was both super excited and full of dread. It looks different and I have to remind myself that the original series although an American show had a lot of anime influences (just check out that old intro) so this is a natural progression on that genre. And you know what it looks amazing. Can't wait to watch it.

Eagle Watching

Bald Eagle
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

Took Ami to see the Bald Eagles in Pembroke Pines and it turned into a lesson is DDT and Wildlife Conservation.

Cardinal

Cardinal 2
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

Got some great pictures of a cardinal this morning. A male and a female were darting around the bushes by where I run and I went back in the house and grabbed the camera. The female didn't stay still enough for me to capture her but I got a few good shots of the (more vividly red) male.

Fossil genome reveals ancestral link

A distant cousin raises questions about human origins.

The ice-age world is starting to look cosmopolitan. While Neanderthals held sway in Europe and modern humans were beginning to populate the globe, another ancient human relative lived in Asia, according to a genome sequence recovered from a finger bone in a cave in southern Siberia. A comparative analysis of the genome with those of modern humans suggests that a trace of this poorly understood strand of hominin lineage survives today, but only in the genes of some Papuans and Pacific islanders.

More here: http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101222/full/4681012a.html

And Discovery News: http://news.discovery.com/human/human-ancestor-bred-neanderthals-siberia-101222.html

Consider Phlebas

Okay, I finally got my hands on a copy of Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks and enjoyed it immensely. The story is great, lots of really cool bits and despite the large size of the volume, it's all very fast paced. I love the ambiguity of it all. My one gripe: Most of the characters are total assholes. I found the snippy little robot to be the most likable character.

More on Human-Neanderthal Hybridization

Just read two articles concerning Human-Neanderthal hybridization.

The first was in Discovery News about remains they've found in China with a mix of baseline human and neanderthal features.

The second more amusing article in Scientific American is about Ozzy Osbourne's genomes containing Neanderthal hints of DNA.

House of Suns

Can't read as much as I used to and my book queue is getting longer. I was going to start Consider Phlebas but someone checked it out the second it hit the shelf... Bastards!

I loved Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series so when my library got House of Suns, I jumped on it. I'm so glad I picked this up. What a fantastic read. It is one of my new favorites.

The characters are all interesting, likeable and real people (yeah, even the robots.) and the ideas and adventure are just massive, on insane timescales. I loved it and I want more.

I finished the first draft of my Man-Kzin story and I'm pretty proud of how it came out. What a fun universe to play in.

Sheathclaws

Just when I thought I was done with Larry Niven and his Known Space universe, I managed to track down his short story, Fly-by-Night, highlighting the planet Sheathclaws. whose scant mentions teased me while reading Ringworld's Children.

The Kzin tend to be pretty one dimensional, like the Klingons in Star Trek, but the titular character, Fly-by-Night, is totally rounded and interesting. A latent(?) Kzin telepath born and raised on a remote planet where humans and Kzin live in peace (and play video games and go hand gliding) have given him the best of both worlds. He's got all the temper and cultural quirks of a Kzintosh, but he cracks jokes and sips cappuccinos. My one gripe with this story is the poor handling of population genetics (which Niven treats well in the Ringworld series) I mean Sheathclaws was populated by one male Kzin and six females (the humans are out of the equation because they can't interbreed), seven individuals does not make a viable population! A few generations of inbreeding would give Fly-by-Night all sorts of health problems. Trust me, as a Floridian, I'm all too aware of what a tiny population can do to big cats! It would've been easier if instead of picking up a Jotoki slave on Fafnir, Fly-by-Night would've been trying to either pick up more females or adopt young Kzinti to boost the gene pool on Sheathclaws and then transport them aboard Odysseus frozen like Shaffer's family.

Anyway, far from sating my curiosity about Sheathclaws this story has made me want to read more about this damned boondocks planet! I found out this is sort of a sequel to Hal Colebatch's Telepath's Dance, which deals with Fly-by-Night's ancestor Shadow and the events that led to the founding of this odd world. So I'll probably track that down, but seriously Larry Niven and Hal Colebatch should get together and write a novel exploring this weird corner of Known Space a little further. It's much too cool to go to waste.

Update!

I finally got to read the superb Telepath's Dance and it has inspired me to write a Man-Kzin story of my own. Should be fun.

Ringworld Series

Just finished Larry Niven's Ringworld series and I enjoyed most of it quite a lot. The two high points for me were Ringworld Engineers and Ringworld's Children (the latter being my favorite). I beleive both these books did the best job of forwarding the mythos while telling complete and interesting stories. The third book The Ringworld Throne was disappointing and the main characters are reduced to minor roles and the book becomes way too concerned with rishathra (inter-species sex). Over all, a fun read and I loved Niven's huge brilliant ideas. Also, even though he's not given any credit for 3D characters, I grew to love Louis Wu. He's the most un-action hero protagonist I've ever read. His passive role is almost zen-like and over the course of the series it makes you wonder if isn't him, and not Teela Brown, that's been bred for luck.

I have to also mention that as much as I like the Kzin (humanoid warrior tigers from space) the Perison's Puppeteers have to be the most original alien species I've come across in fiction.

I'm really glad I visited Nevin's classic Known Space Universe through the Ringworld series and although I probably won't track down and read every book and short story set in this vast and complex universe... I've been left intrigued by mentions of the planet Sheathclaws, a colony of human and Kinti telepaths. So if I find a novel or short story showcasing this world I'll definitely pick it up.

Exo-Planet found in Habitable Zone

This is amazing (if not totally unexpected) it seems like the first Earth-like planet orbiting within the cushy Goldilocks zone has been spotted. I know that at the moment we have no telescopes that can see it or probes that can make the 20 light year trip over there, but I would love to get a glimpse of Gliese 581g.

Here are some links:

Space.com: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/earth-like-exoplanet-possibly-habitable-100929.html

msnbc.com: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/09/29/5202633-alien-planet-looks-just-right-for-life

Discovery.com: http://news.discovery.com/space/earth-like-planet-life.html

updated!

Here's a cool interview with discoverer Steve Vogt:

http://io9.com/5653433/the-astrophysicist-who-discovered-zarmina-describes-life-on-second-earth

I'm 32!

I turned 32 today! Man, time is going by so fast. Basically I spent all weekend eating and celebrating my birthday... having a huge breakfast at Cracker Barrel, devouring burgers at Fudrucker's Saturday. Marge's mom made some awesome tacos on Sunday.

I got an external hard drive for all my pictures and DVD boxsets of Fringe and Big Bang Theory... all I need now it time to watch them.

Family Portrait

We finally caved and decided to get one of those cheesy family portraits done at the JCPenny Studio, which turned out really well, the photographer was really nice and patient (since Sophie wasn't having any of it) and the pics came out great. It's nice to have pictures of the three of us. Usually one of us is missing cause we're taking the pic.

Sophie's Baptism

Baptism
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

I'm not particularly religious but Marge is and there was no doubt that Sophie was going to be Baptized Catholic. I really liked the ceremony though and she behaved absolutely wonderful. (We thought she was going to wail the whole time like Damien in the Omen.)

Sophie at 6 Months

first words
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

Sophie's been very talkative lately saying mama and dada a lot. Also, went to the doctor yesterday and she's 18.12 lbs. and 27 ½ inches long.

Quinces!

Alex dancing with Lauren
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

Who would've thought I'd be dancing 15s in my 30s! Still, I had a great time drinking mojitos and hanging out with my cousins... any excuse to bring the family together is a good one. The 15s itself turned out awesome. Loved the Cuban theme!

Family History

I've been working on a digital scrapbook for my parents and I found this old photo of my great grandfather from the turn of the century (last century). Jose Ignacio Hernandez was the son of Canary Islander immigrants (Jose Antonio Hernandez and Encarnacion De la Nuez) who died in an ambush during the war for Cuba's independence. A relative of mine in Texas still has his war machetes!

I was also able to go back one more generation and get Jose Ignacio's grandparent's names (my great great great parents): Jose Sebastian Hernandez and Isabel Rodriguez Guerra.

9 years

al & mai
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

Today Marge and I celebrate 9 years together. (2 and a half married) and it's been awesome... here's to 9 more years.

General Update

Man, I haven't had time for anything geeky now that Sophie is much more active and demanding 100% of our attention. I haven't been able to see any TV and only 2 movies. I have been able to read though (usually at 6:30 am before she wakes up) because it's quiet and I can do it in short sessions (10 pages here, 5 pages there).

So far I've read: Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep, Larry Niven's Legacy of Heorot and I just started Larry Niven's Ringworld.

When I get done with Ringworld I'm going to hunt down and read Iain M. Banks' Consider Phlebas, which I heard was really worth the read.

My 1st Father's Day!

Geek Dad
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

What a great day. Ate way too much though... still digesting.