M Thomas Apple Author Page

Science fiction, actual science, history, and personal ranting about life, the universe, and everything

‘PigeonBot’ Brings Robots Closer To Birdlike Flight

January 18, 2020
MThomas

True story: On the first day of our honeymoon, a pigeon shat on the top of my head as we were walking to the mountain hot spa.

I wonder what would come out of robot pigeons 🤔

— Read on http://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/796786350/pigeonbot-brings-robots-closer-to-bird-like-flight

99.9999999% of Your Body Is Empty Space

January 14, 2020
MThomas

atoms gif.gif

Are you sitting down for this? Well, you’re not really. Your butt isn’t actually touching the chair you’re sitting on. Since the meat of your atoms is nestled away in nuclei, when you ‘touch’ someone (or something), you aren’t actually feeling their atoms.

Nobody has ever really touched anything in their lives.

Sleep tight…

(Not exactly a new article, but still interesting; and, yes, I might be using this to justify an awful lot of my soon-to-be-beta-read new novel 😉

No, it’s not actually an iPhone. Yes, please stop the sloppy reporting, thanks

January 9, 2020
MThomas

AncientIPhone

This is already a few months old, but I thought I’d finally get around to blogging about it: The “ancient iPhone” of “Russia’s Atlantis.”

Spoiler alert: it’s not one, and there was no such place. But that didn’t stop the “news” from spreading. Continue Reading

Happy (Belated!) New Year’s 2020!

January 4, 2020
MThomas

NY2020Tokyo.jpg

Hi, everyone. I guess I should have planned a little better — should have written a “new year’s post” and then saved it before the holiday season began, scheduled the post, and then enjoyed overeating, overdrinking, and sleeping in.

Except of course that’s not what actually happened. Continue Reading

What’s more valuable than gold? This rock

December 27, 2019
MThomas

If you find a big rock in your backyard, and you can’t break it open with normal tools, guess what?

The researchers argue that the Maryborough meteorite is much rarer than gold. It’s one of only 17 meteorites ever recorded in the Australian state of Victoria, and it’s the second largest chondritic mass, after a huge 55-kilogram specimen identified in 2003.

This next bit is more interesting to me:

“Other rare meteorites contain organic molecules such as amino acids; the building blocks of life.”

Hmmm… 🤔 Sounds like a storyline…

flip.it/PjaS-D

Bringer of Light: Prologue now available!

December 15, 2019
MThomas

After what seemed like ages, the ship rolled left and headed toward the location of the explosion. Earth slowly came back into view, followed by a new field of debris streaming away from the planet.

Silence filled the command module.

“Hamno…”

ISS

It’s been a long road, getting from there to here… 🎶

And the time is finally almost right…to announce that I am nearing the end of my science fiction slash fantasy novel, Bringer of Light.

The story follows Captain Clarissa “Riss” Kragen and a misfit crew of mixed ethnic backgrounds as they encounter a mysterious alien life-force, begin to question their sense of self and reality, and are swept up into a conspiracy to overthrow the ruling councils of the Lunar Base and Ceres Mining Consortium. Fans of Philip K Dick, Ursula Le Guin, Philip Joe Farmer, and the Expanse will love this!

Click here to read the Prologue, which introduces Riss and her mentor, along with a crew that will eventually prove to be both ally and enemy…

Odo has returned to the Great Link

December 8, 2019
MThomas

Another TV and movie great has left us a legacy of decades of entertaining, thought-provoking, inspiring stories.

Farewell, René Auberjonois. The Great Link welcomes you home.

http://blog.trekcore.com/2019/12/rene-auberjonois-star-trek-deep-space-nines-odo-dies/

Humans Have a ‘Salamander-Like’ Ability to Regenerate Damaged Body Parts, Study Finds

October 12, 2019
MThomas

Paging Dr. Connors! Dr. Kurt Con….

Our bodies have retained the capacity to repair injured or overworked cartilage in our joints, says new research published today in Science Advances. Remarkably, the mechanics of this healing process are practically the same as what’s used by amphibians and other animals to regenerate lost limbs…

Oh.

Um.

Nevermind. It was a cool idea, anyways…

— Read on gizmodo.com/humans-have-a-salamander-like-ability-to-regenerate-d-1838909848

Space Hopper Go!

October 10, 2019
MThomas

I have a vehicle in my novel called a “Hopper.”

Damn you, Musk! Must you steal ALL my ideas??

www.syfy.com/syfywire/amazing-video-spacex-starhopper-test-hop-to-a-height-of-150-meters

Winter is coming…well, not quite but

October 9, 2019
MThomas

Sorry I haven’t posted anything in a while. I know it’s been about two months. Summer was filled with fun family activities in Montreal. September was filled with trips to libraries and feeling sorry for myself. Got into a bit of a funk.

Now I’m back in Japan, back to the daily grind, and trying to find time to sort out all the stuff I mailed back from Montreal.

Rest assured, there’s lots of stuff to write about. Some of it even makes sense.

I’ll be writing a few quick posts about various cool science and space things in the upcoming days. Then maybe a couple of longish ones about weird family history. And maybe even an update on my SF novel.

Yeah. I still didn’t finish the first draft. Stuck on 70,000 words. But the end is in sight!

More later…

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