I've been a bit of a skeptic when it comes to the warnings of environmentalists regarding catastrophic climate change, but this chart based on the temperature data over the past ten years shows that while there was a bit of stability during the first few years of this millennium, the long-term trend is strongly reasserting itself.    The blue arrow... read more »

More free fiction!  But I'm not plugging my own this time, I'm plugging a story by my friend Ken Scholes.  Ken and I were in Writers of the Future, Volume XXI, together.  Anyway, his story "Edward Bear and the Very Long Walk," which I loved when I read it a few years ago, is now available in audio format at... read more »

Unfortunately, the night of the lunar eclipse, the sky was completely clouded over here. However, the next night I went out and took some pictures of the moon using a tripod and the telephoto lens on my camera.  It's not quite a telescope, but some of the images worked out okay.  For the ones I've uploaded here, I either cropped... read more »

As a science fiction writer, I spend time wondering what could happen in the future.  But science fiction writers aren't the only ones who do that.  Insurance agents do, too. For the past few months I've been in training to become an agency owner with Farmers Insurance.  I'm nearing the end of the training, and what I really need now... read more »

Orson Scott Card has announced the dates and location of his next workshop: July 28-August 2, 2008, in San Diego, California. The location is a bit of a surprise, as I thought he was alternating between east and west, and last year it was in Utah. In any case, I highly recommend his workshop for new writers who want to... read more »

My story "Tabloid Reporter to the Stars" is now available for free at Intergalactic Medicine Show.  Click here.

Once again, I'm a panelist at BYU's science fiction and fantasy symposium: Life, the Universe and Everything.  The Guests of Honor are Orson Scott Card and Gail Carson Levine. Here's my schedule: Thursday, Feb. 14 1:00pm - Satire in Science Fiction and Fantasy (Dan Willis, Howard Tayler, Eric James Stone, Robert J. Defendi) 4:00pm - The Astronomy Behind Space Travel... read more »

Skeptical Inquirer magazine published an article last year called "Cinema Fiction vs. Physics Reality: Ghosts, Vampires, and Zombies."  The article is by two physicists, and the section on vampires is a perfect example of how you can prove whatever you want as long as you make the right (or wrong) assumptions. Here is their conclusion: We conclude that vampires cannot... read more »

In the Republican primary, Utah is a winner-takes-all state.  The winner-takes-all method has both advantages and disadvantages.  For a relatively small state like Utah, it has the advantage of increasing its importance in the race for delegates at the national convention.  However, in cases where a candidate has local ties or is otherwise an overwhelming favorite to win (like Mitt... read more »

In Utah's Republican primary today, Mitt Romney is probably going to win overwhelmingly.  People will chalk that up to Mormons voting for a Mormon candidate, and while there is probably some of that going on, I don't think it's quite so simple. The Utah Republicans I know tend to be fairly orthodox in their positions on national issues--they tend to... read more »