Just The Caffeine Talking

More Free Time

It appears I won't need to bother going to this year's WorldCon. If they are willing to believe and promote lies about my publisher, they can get along without me. I urge everyone else who cares about science fiction to skip this year as well.

Steely-Eyed Missile Robot

Congratulations to the Perseverance rover on its successful landing on Mars. Pretty impressive job for a rookie pilot! Let's all wish it a long career of rolling around the Martian landscape.

ADDENDUM: Almost as impressive as the landing is the amazing improvement in data return. Forty-five years ago, when I watched the Viking landings on Mars, it took hours for the first still photos to reach Earth. Today Perseverance sent back pictures within a few minutes.

SECOND ADDENDUM: Here's a video, with control-room chatter synched to the images, of the final descent. If you've ever wanted to dive six kilometers down to the surface of Mars, this is what it looks like. (Remember that the "control" room people are watching ten-minute-old video with no way to interfere. The probe was entirely on its own.)