James P. Hogan - Rest in Peace

One of my favorite sci-fi authors passed away July 12, 2010 - James P. Hogan.  I was turned on to Hogan 10 years ago after reading his The Giants Novels - a three book series "Inherit the Stars", "The Gentle Giants of Ganymede", and "The Giant's Star".  I was wowed by his ability to make the scientific method into a gripping suspenseful novel.  Imagine if you will, a recent discovery on the moon of a human man dressed in a space suit of unknown origin.  Upon carbon dating, they find the man to be 50,000 years old - a fact that does not fit within any accepted theory of human origins.  So begins "Inherit the Stars".

A series of excellent books followed, including some of my favorites:  Code of the Lifemaker, The Immortality Option, Bug Park, The Genesis Machine, Entroverse, Cradle of Saturn, and Voyage from Yesteryear.  In these books, Hogan often employed the scientific method as a plot element or took forgotten and ridiculed scientific theories as drivers of the plot.  His heroes always displayed a respect for facts, a prodigious productivity, and a self-awareness of their accomplishments and pride there-in.  In the Code of the Lifemaker, Hogan shows how religion is nothing more than early attempts to understand the universe, but ultimately are self-defeating. When discussing political environments, Hogan often supported a limited role of government in controlling our lives.  It may not come as a huge surprise then, that in one of his novels, the main character dreams of his own heroes, one of which is Ayn Rand.

Hogan, born in London in 1941, was an engineer by training, but started writing science fiction after seeing a the movie 2001.  Upon completion of his first few novels, he moved to the United States and lived the life of writer, enjoying ever minute of it. As a great admirer of science, he was continuous dismayed at the junk science advocated as truth.  When not writing fiction, Hogan applied his writing abilities to cataloging junk theories and defending the proper method of scientific inquiry that leads to solid theories.  His boundless energy, gripping novels, and defense of science leave a legacy for many to admire and enjoy.

Best friends

What can I say?  These two know how to be cute.

University research

What passes for research these days?

While exploring the titles of grant titles for the "New Faculty Research Grant" at EMU, I was amazed by the titles of some research projects that received grants.  (Note: I received the same grant in 2009 and have a great deal of respect for the research committee and provost decisions.  Yet, these projects left me shaking my head.)

Here are some titles I found particularly difficult to understand:
"Early Modern Pornographies"
"Community & Culture: Creating a Plan for Washtenaw County"
"Improving Student Achievement Through an Afterschool Knitting Program"
"Contingency Management for Smoking Cessation Among Sorority Members"
"Gathering the Gossips"

Vacation in St. Louis

Our trip to St. Louis was tons of fun. There are lots of kid friendly adventures in and around the city. Below is the photo montage of our trip.

St. Louis Arch - great for a morning adventure, but security getting into the Arch is similar to taking an airplane. The wait for the tram to the top was long and boring for the kids. Might want to get there early.

The family farm - Lots of fun watching my kids exploring the same barn, tractors, fields, and gardens that I explored as a kid. 

The City Museum - Expensive and difficult to manage unless kids are older or have at least the same number of parents as kids - but it is a BLAST. There are floors and floors of exploration. Not so much a museum as a rooms of climbing, running, crawling, and sliding equipment. The first floor has a set of caves that kids can get lost in about .3 seconds. Deep in the caves, there are stairs that climb 10 stories for a slide back down. On the roof is a Ferris wheel and a whole host of fun carnival rides. In good weather days, you climb on Monstrosity - the set of stairs, slides, airplanes suspended 60 feet above your head, and ... and... and... it keeps going on.

Transportation Museum - A favorite of all kids. Lots of trains, a couple boats, several airplanes, and a building with old fashioned cars. 2 trains to ride - a 1/3 scale locomotive and a full scale electric street car.  My wife says this train reminds her of the Taggart Comet, from Atlas Shrugged.

Grant's Farm - basically, a free petting zoo sponsored by Anheuser Busch, which - and this is the best part for adults - means free samples of beer! The kids love it though.

Missouri Botanical Gardens - we went to see the DinoQuest exhibit, but it was must a bust because it cost extra to see these dinosaurs. But since the Dinosaurs didn't move like at the Detroit Zoo, we were a bit underwhelmed. The kids were not that interested in the plants, so the day ended early when my eldest pushed my middle child in to a fountain.