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I Am Retiring from Fermilab after 45 Years

I am retiring from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory after over 45 years. My final day will be Friday, 31 May.

After beamslinging, atom smashing, neutrino making, then magnet testing, then some tech writing, I wound up becoming a radiation safety physicist.

I learned all kinds of things. I helped get physics done. I worked with marvelous people. And I had considerable fun.

Thanks to Fermilab, and to Fermilab's people, for everything.

Here's what I wrote for Inside Fermilab, the lab newsletter, in response to a questionnaire. (But the questions have been stripped out by the editor, so I seem to be rambling.) (Which, let's face it, is normal.)

I started as an engineering physicist in the Neutrino Department, learning how fixed-target beams are delivered. The Magnet Factory borrowed me to help test hundreds of superconducting Tevatron magnets. Then for a decade I worked shifts in beamline operations; during long shutdowns, I was loaned out to work on a database for Tevatron construction projects, and again to be a technical writer, editor, and programmer for a new beamline control system. When someone was needed to work on shielding analysis, I moved into radiation safety, where I have remained.

Once, at the end of a fixed-target run, I was invited to Lab F in the Neutrino Area. Experimenters had been operating a small Freon-filled bubble chamber for months. The beam intensity was extremely low, so low that it was safe for people to occupy Lab F. On this, the final night, they had removed the cameras, exposing the bubble chamber’s windows. One could mount a low set of steps, and peer into a window. A flash of light would fire each time a pulse passed through I have seen many photos of bubble chamber tracks, but that night, for the first and only time in my life, I saw the delicate, fairy-like traces of the tiny bubbles with my
own eyes. Invisible particles had left a visible trail in their wake—a trail that vanished immediately, after the flash, as the chamber cycled to be ready for the next pulse. It was a magical night.

(See page 15 of this document for a photo of tracks in the Tohoku 1-meter bubble chamber. It doesn’t do justice to what I saw, though.)

During my retirement, I plan to continue my public speaking, giving talks on astronomy, spaceflight, physics and the history of science. I hope to get more nonfiction writing done. And travel far and wide. And I hope to get better at playing the baritone ukulele, or, failing that, at least to learn some more songs.

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Who Are You Calling Obscure? (Science Fiction and Fantasy Department)

Recently James Nicoll (

james_davis_nicoll) polled his commentariat regarding whether they had read various authors who'd been winners of the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award, which is supposedly given to "underread" authors who do not receive the attention their works deserve. I'm confident that James will have more to say about this topic sometime soon.

I recalled that when the folks who developed the Google Books Ngram Viewer first published a paper about their work in Science, they did a study to compare the relative levels of fame of a group of authors, and how fame changed with time. This presumed that "frequency of mention in books and magazines over the years" was a reasonable proxy for "fame."

It would seem one could also estimate obscurity this way. So it would be worthwhile to run the list of Cordwainer Smith Award winners through Ngram Viewer.

One problem: there's a limit to the number of characters a user is allowed to stuff into a query. So we cannot make a grand plot of all the winners at once.

Using James Nicoll's poll as a guide, I broke the winning authors up into groups, within which I hoped authors would have roughly comparable frequency. I then plotted the frequency of their names, within the Google Books English corpus (a subset curated for use with Ngram Viewer) with respect to time from 1900 to 2019. Three of oldest authors got special treatment in a group of their own.

Links to plots:

Henry Kuttner, C.L. Moore, Leigh Brackett, Judith Merril, R.A. Lafferty, Olaf Stapledon, Fredric Brown
Stanley G. Weinbaum, Carol Emshwiller, Edgar Pangborn, Katherine MacLean
Mark Clifton, D. G. Compton, Frank M. Robinson, Daniel F. Galouye, Mildred Clingerman, Rick Raphael, Seabury Quinn, Wyman Guin
William Hope Hodgson, A. Merritt, Clark Ashton Smith

Something funny is going on with Abraham Merritt. Not only is he far more frequent than all other authors from 1900 to 1970, but a peek back into the 19th century show that he was hugely popular in the years before he was born in 1884. I guess the string "A Merritt" must have been used for many more entities than the name of an SF writer. Most of the other authors have name-strings that are probably less common.

I grouped him together with Hodgson and Clark Ashton Smith because they all got their start in the pre-Amazing pulps earlier than most of the others. Both have leaps in frequency, Smith in the late 1970s and Hodgson in the 2010s, that may seem puzzling, but are probably connected to the high resurgence of interest in their not-so-obscure stable-mate, H. P. Lovecraft.

Among the first group, Stapledon's highest peak is around 1983, when his name reaches a frequency of 1.95E-8, or about 19.5 per billion words. At the same moment, Brackett is at 11.3 per billion words, and Kuttner 10.5 per billion words.

Play around. Leave a comment if you learn anything interesting.

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A Salute to Space Cadets, Then and Now

In his column on Tor.com, James Nicoll recently wrote:

"While hardly the first space patrol novel, Heinlein’s coming-of-age tale may be one of the best known."

Indeed, Space Cadet is, as they say over on another Web site, the Trope-Namer.

As they began production of what would become their multimedia juggernaut, the creators of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet paid Heinlein for the broadcast rights to his novel. He would not be involved in the shows, nor would his name appear in the credits, nor would their characters and plots bear more than a passing resemblance to his story, but he received fifty dollars a week.

The TV show was prominent, though not first, among a wave of US TV space adventures in the early 1950s. "Space Cadet" entered the language, somewhat as a synechdoche for all these shows and their characters.

This is my favorite thing to make an N-gram plot of. The phrase "Space Cadet" peaks in frequency in 1952 at 25.5 per billion words, declining as the craze ebbs and the shows are canceled. By 1970 it has sunk to 1.65 per billion words, even though the nonfictional Space Age is well underway.

But wait! In the 1980s, "Space Cadet" begins to climb in frequency again! A new generation has begun to employ it. By 2010, it is back to half its 1952 frequency.

What gives? I credit Moon Unit Zappa. In her 1982 novelty record "Valley Girl," she says, "Like, my mother is, like, a TOTAL space cadet!"

Ms. Zappa revived the phrase with a new meaning: "a flaky, lightheaded, or forgetful person," says the Merriam-Webster dictionary site. Nowadays this is nearly always the intended meaning, with "student in an academy for officers in a spacegoing military organization" a distant second.

It would not surprise me much if the "lightheaded person" meaning arose, but with low frequency, in the years before 1982. But I have not investigated this conjecture. I am pretty confident that the post-1982 boost in "Space Cadet" popularity is due to the Zappa Family Singers.

Meanwhile, a lot of people have been wondering when the United States Space Force is going to establish its own service academy. If and when this occurs, we already know one public-image problem its students are going to be facing.

Now at File 770: "Two Vain Guys Named Robert"

I wrote something called "Two Vain Guys Named Robert" which appeared today on Mike Glyer's science fiction news site, File 770.

It's about Robert Osband, the fan, hacker, and space enthusiast, and Robert Heinlein, the writer. They met once, in 1976, and you can see a picture of that moment.

I figured out that they had something else in common. Something odd. Read the article. It is in no way important. But it might be interesting.

My Schedule for Worldcon, Dublin 2019

The 77th World Science Fiction Convention will be held this year in Dublin, Ireland, from 15 through 19 August. I'm pleased to say that I'm scheduled to participate in several programme* events.

Talks and panels will be held in the Odeon at Point Square Dublin, which in Google's opinion is an 11-minute walk from the Convention Centre. One can shorten this journey a bit by hopping onto a Luas Red Line train.

Be aware that I am not a professional participant on New Horizons, the James Webb Space Telescope, or any other space missions. I have, however, given talks as a volunteer for NASA's Solar System Ambassadors program for 20 years, and have benefited from briefings and materials NASA has provided. I also witnessed the Kuiper Belt encounter with 2014 MU69, or "Ultima Thule," earlier this year while helping with the Launch Pad Astronomy livestream of the flyby.

Below I list my own events. The full-blown 150 page schedule may be found at this link.

[13 August: Edited to add "How Astronomy Might Break Physics."]

*Not the usual way I, an American, spell "program," but "when in Romme..."

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A Million Miles beyond Midnight: The James Webb Space Telescope
Format: Talk

15 Aug 2019, Thursday
12:30 - 13:20
Odeon 2 (Point Square Dublin)

The James Webb Space Telescope will be the next big space telescope. Named for a former NASA administrator, it is slated for launch in 2021. Its 6.5 metre diameter mirror, orbiting the Sun-Earth L2 point 1.5 million kilometres from here, is designed to give astronomers superb capabilities for exploring the infrared universe. Canada, the European Space Agency, and NASA cooperated to create it. Bill Higgins reviews the Webb’s design and the astronomical phenomena it will examine.

Bill Higgins (Fermilab)

Kaffeeklatsch: Bill Higgins
Format: Kaffeeklatsch

15 Aug 2019, Thursday
15:00 - 15:50
Level 3 Foyer (KK/LB) (Convention Centre Dublin)

Bill Higgins (Fermilab)

[This will be a small gathering for anyone who wants to converse with me. Worldcon urges you to sign up in advance for it.]

How Astronomy Might Break Physics
Format: Panel

19 Aug 2019, Saturday
10:00 - 10:50
Wicklow Hall-1 (Convention Centre Dublin)

Astronomy and physics don’t always have an easy relationship, for example regarding the singularity. Panellists consider how astronomy might break physics with phenomena like resolution of the black hole information paradox, time travel, multiverses, and quantum space engines.

John Bray (Moderator), Dr Edmund Schluessel, Dr Laura Woodney, Bill Higgins

[I'm not an expert on these topics, but will try to hold up my end of the conversation.]

Latest Results from Asteroid Missions
Format: Panel

18 Aug 2019, Sunday
15:30 - 16:20
Odeon 2 (Point Square Dublin)

Asteroids are among the next frontiers. What lies in store for us with these floating chunks of potential in space? What missions have been launched? What data have we gathered? And who owns the material and information discovered? Let’s take a look at what we know and what future missions might reveal.

Brother Guy Consolmagno (Vatican Observatory), Bill Higgins (Fermilab), John Coxon (Moderator), Dr Michele Bannister (Queen's University Belfast)

Beyond Pluto to Ultima Thule: NASA’s New Horizons
Format: Talk

19 Aug 2019
Monday 12:30 - 13:20
Odeon 3 (Point Square Dublin)

Famed for its 2015 flyby of Pluto, the New Horizons spacecraft was designed to go further. But not until eight years after launch did searchers find a small, icy target within reach of the post-Pluto mission. On New Year’s Day 2019, New Horizons encountered Kuiper Belt Object 2014 MU69. Bill Higgins tells the story of the frozen body nicknamed ‘Ultima Thule’.

Bill Higgins (Fermilab)

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My Schedule for Worldcon 76 in San Jose

The 76th World Science Fiction Convention starts this week in San Jose, California, at the San Jose Convention Center. I am pleased to be a program participant. Here are the panels I've been invited to be part of.

The Myth of the Astronaut - Who Are the Space Cadets of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow?

Friday Aug 17 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (1 hour)
San Jose Convention Center - 210E

The current definition of an astronaut is someone who crosses the Karman line: 62 miles from the surface of the Earth. With Virgin Galactic selling trips over the line to more than 700 people already, let's start to ask ourselves: who have these idols of society been, really, and how are we going to re-shape our narrative of what an astronaut is and should be in the coming years?

Mary Robinette Kowal (Moderator), Wil McCarthy, Kjell Lindgren, Bill Higgins, Sheyna Gifford

So You Want To Build A Science Fictional Device

Sunday Aug 19 03:00 PM to 04:00 PM (1 hour)
San Jose Convention Center - 210G

Join us for an improv-technology panel - where the audience asks us to design a SFnal device, and the panelists have 5 minutes to come up with our best "non-handwavium" answers.

S. B. Divya (Moderator), Cory Doctorow, Sydney Thomson, Bill Higgins

[Challenging! This will get my adrenaline going, but I'm betting it will be fun.]

The Impact of Evolutionary Theory on Nineteenth Century Science Fiction

Sunday Aug 19 05:00 PM to 06:00 PM (1 hour)
San Jose Convention Center - 210A

A popular argument is that modern science fiction emerged as a consequence of the rise of modern science and the secular theory of progress, and rapid changes in human life brought about by technology and industry. But was evolutionary theory of equal, if not more importance, in triggering the development of modern science fiction in the nineteenth century? Was it only after Darwin and other key nineteenth century evolutionary writers that modern science fiction really blossomed? What important and essential themes and ways of thinking did evolution contribute into the creation of modern science fiction?

Tom Lombardo (Moderator), G. David Nordley, Bradford Lyau, David Brin, Bill Higgins

[Thomas Lombardo has recently published Science Fiction - The Evolutionary Mythology of the Future: Volume One, Prometheus to the Martians and this panel springs from that work.]

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My Schedule for Capricon 37

Here comes Capricon 37, this year again in the Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel in Wheeling, Illinois. It begins Thursday, 16 February, and runs through Sunday, 19 February. I'm participating in a number of program items.

Thursday, February 16

Conventions in the Social Media Age
Birch A (1), 3:30pm - 5pm
Track: Fan Interest

Liz Gilio (moderator), Meg Frank, William Frank, Neal F. Litherland, Bill Higgins

Social Media has allowed us unprecedented access to each other. While in many ways this is a good thing, it also allows anonymity and negativity to enter what many fans consider safe spaces. Has online fandom changed cons? For better or for worse? Has social media filled a void that cons used to fill? Are cons even necessary any more?

Friday, February 17

What Keeps You in Fandom?
Willow (1), 1pm - 2:30pm
Track: Fan Interest
Division: Programming
Dexter Fabi (moderator), Val Hoski, Jessica Guggenheim, Jason Betts, Bill Higgins

Every year you go to the same conventions, or you keep looking for that one author's books, or you dress as that character in the show you like.... what keeps your fandom alive? And what keeps you participating in your fandom at large?

Introduction to Classic Movies
Willow (1), 8:30pm - 10pm
Track: Media
Division: Programming
Dexter Fabi (moderator), Frank Salvatini, Bill Higgins

What classic SF movies are MUST see, and why?

Saturday, February 18

Return to Jupiter: NASA's Juno Mission
Botanic Garden Ballroom A (1), 10am - 11:30am
Track: Science
Division: Programming
Bill Higgins (a solo talk)

Last summer, a new spacecraft arrived at Jupiter. Juno's mission is to orbit the giant planet, studying its powerful magnetic field, intense radiation belts, and the intricate interplay of particles and energies surging through nearby space. Bill Higgins reviews Juno's role in gathering more clues to the formation and evolution of Jupiter.

Writing "Real" Aliens
Botanic Garden Ballroom B (1), 11:30am - 1pm
Track: Writing
Division: Programming
Richard Garfinkle (moderator), Phyllis Eisenstein, Martin L. Shoemaker, Michael Coorlim, Bill Higgins, Natalie Silk

Why do so many aliens look or sound like humans with prosthetics on their faces? Why does human sexual morphism/beauty codes carry across all species? Why aren't there more bugs and blobs?

Kids Plan a Mission to Mars
Elm (1), 4pm - 5:30pm
Track: Kids
Division: Programming
Jason Palmer, Bill Higgins, Lisa Garrison

What would YOU do if you were planning a mission to Mars? What things do you think would be needed?

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My Schedule for Friendship Is Confusion

Once again, I'm heading to Novi, Michigan for the 2017 iteration of Detroit fandom's venerable convention Confusion-- this year named "Friendship is Confusion." I'm participating in three program events. Say hello if you encounter me there.

Fan Guest of Honor Induction
Saturday 1 PM
St. Clair Room

The Fan Guest of Honour Introduction and Induction is a traditional ConFusion event, wherein any attending Fan GoHs of years past welcome the new Fan GoH to the club.

(I was Moonbase Confusion's Fan Guest of Honor in 2007, the year after Chuck Firment and the year before The Roving Pirate Party. This year we'll be inducting Mark Oshiro.)

Return to Jupiter: NASA's Juno Mission
Saturday noon
Manitou Room

Last summer, a new spacecraft arrived at Jupiter. Juno's mission is to orbit the giant planet, studying its powerful magnetic field, its intense radiation belts, and the intricate interplay of particles and energies surging through nearby space. Bill Higgins reviews Juno's role in gathering more clues to the formation and evolution of Jupiter.

Pimp Your Mars Rover
Saturday 5 PM
Manitou Room

What would a vehicle need to traverse the unforgiving surface of Mars? A perfect panel for those interested in engineering the next buggy.
Panelists: Karen Burnham (moderator), Martin L. Shoemaker, Courtney Schafer, Bill Higgins

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out shopping

Out Shopping, Part 13: I Am Being Held Prisoner in an Oatmeal-Packet Factory

Oatmeal Packet Pleads Desperately IMG_20150104_111128 & IMG_20150104_111136 2877x1525

I feel this is a hidden message from some desperate trivia-question oatmeal-packet worker.

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books,
out shopping

Out Shopping, Part 12: The Gluten-Free Bible

Gluten-Free Bible at B&N Springfield 20161226_145632

In which Jesus multiplies fishes. Just fishes.

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Out Shopping, Part 11: Inarticulate Battery Display

Display of batteries seen at Wal-Mart.

What the batteries are saying.
Drawing by an artist who "swiped" from Mike Sekowsky.

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My Schedule for Worldcon: Midamericon II

It's nearly time for the 74th World Science Fiction Convention, MidAmeriCon II, in Kansas City, Missouri. It runs from the 17th to the 21st of August at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Here are program items in which I'm participating. "Kansas City, here I come!"

WSH HH&O 1090x960

Jungian Mindscapes and Clement's Iceworld

Thursday 10:00 - 11:00, 2201 (Academic) (Kansas City Convention Center)

[I'm the second speaker in this academic session of two short talks.]

“The Red One” and Enduring Archetypes of Science Fiction’s First Golden Age:
The Jungian Mindscapes Campbell Inherited from the Writers of the Fin de Siècle
Charles Von Nordheim

The Search for Saar: Looking Back at Hal Clement's Iceworld with 21st-Century Science
William S. Higgins
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Some scientific aspects of Hal Clement's 1951 novel Iceworld are notable 65 years later. First, in 1951 not one exoplanet was known. Clement would live to see an abundance of new planets circling distant stars. Furthermore, rather than seeking Earth-like planets, one may search for worlds Clement's sulfur-breathing aliens might inhabit comfortably. The planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft has identified at least one planet, Kepler 42c, where conditions approximate those of the imaginary world Saar. Second, in detail unusual for SF of its time, Iceworld explores a planet with remotely-operated spacecraft, anticipating the methods of the coming Space Age.

Kaffeeklatsch: Bill Higgins

Thursday 12:00 - 13:00, 2211 (KKs) (Kansas City Convention Center)

An hour of conversation with a few people who wish to converse with me. Attendees must sign up in advance Wednesday afternoon for the limited seating. Signup instructions are here. (I doubt actual coffee will be served.)

Other kaffeklatsch hosts in the same room at the same time—at different tables—will be Kathleen Ann Goonan, Brianna Spacekat Wu, and Christopher McKitterick.

Edison's Concrete Piano

Thursday 18:00 - 19:00, 2206 (Kansas City Convention Center)

Bill Higgins (Moderator), Dr. Jordin Kare, Allan Dyen-Shapiro, Howard Davidson, andyvanoverberghe

Even the greatest minds have some pretty strange ideas. In 1911, Edison decided to create a concrete piano. What other great, or extremely bizarre ideas have found their way to the US patent office? A look at the oddities that people have imagined.

Note: This panel has moved forward one hour from the original timeslot.

Where Science Fails

Friday 15:00 - 16:00, 2502B (Kansas City Convention Center)

Brother Guy Consolmagno SJ (Moderator), Bill Higgins, Anna Kashina, Dr Helen Pennington, Mr. Donald Douglas Fratz

Although scientists are supposed to follow the scientific method, sometimes that allow their human side to get ahead of them. What caused the crisis of replication in social psychology, the false alarm on cosmic inflation detection, or the announcement of cold fusion? How can these errors be avoided, and how do they damage the reputation of science?

Ask a Scientist

Saturday 15:00 - 16:00, 2210 (Kansas City Convention Center)

Mx Rachael Acks, Bill Higgins (Moderator), Dr. Claire McCague, Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen, Dr. Geoffrey A. Landis

Do you have a pressing question about the earth's warming, worm holes, advances in communication technology, cloning? A panel of scientists in varied areas of expertise are here to answer your scientific queries. Answers will be timed out at five minutes each, so don't ask for a detailed explanation of General Relativity! Please keep questions brief and specific.

Fizz and Fuse, the Reactor Brothers

Saturday 16:00 - 17:00, 3501H (Kansas City Convention Center)

Dr. Jordin Kare, Bill Higgins

In this humorous ad-lib chat, Jordin Kare and Bill Higgins diagnose people's spaceship (and other SF) problems in the style of "Car Talk."

Playback from Pluto

Sunday 15:00 - 16:00, 2502B (Kansas City Convention Center)

Bill Higgins

There's a treasure at the edge of the Solar System, a data recorder aboard the New Horizons spacecraft, sending Earth several gigabytes acquired during last summer's flyby of Pluto. The excitement of the initial encounter still lingers. Downlinks in recent months continue to illuminate the mysteries of Pluto, and 2019 brings us all new data. What will we learn?

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My Schedule for Musecon 6

I'm attending Musecon 6 this weekend in the Westin Chicago Northwest hotel in Itasca, Illinois.

I'm on the program for a couple of items.

Return to Jupiter: NASA's Juno Mission
Friday 9:00 PM - 10:15 PM
Room: Carlyle

This summer, a new spacecraft arrived at Jupiter. Juno's mission is to orbit the giant planet, studying its powerful magnetic field, its intense radiation belts, and the intricate interplay of particles and energies surging through nearby space. Bill Higgins reviews Juno's role in gathering more clues to the formation and evolution of Jupiter.

MuseCon's Eternal Ukulele Summit - 2016 Edition
Sunday 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM
Room: Trafalgar

Lisa Golladay, Bill Higgins

We hold these truths to be self-evident: That your life with a uke is better than your life without one. That you can bring a uke or borrow a loaner. That all players are welcome at any skill level, including the ones who haven't started yet. And that anyone who thinks a blues progression in C is "too easy" isn't trying hard enough (we can fix that).

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Let's Talk Pluto! Hangout 2PM This Sunday with Aaron Freeman

Aaron Freeman and I will be conversing by means of Google Hangout this coming Sunday, 28 February, at 2 PM Central Standard Time. The topic is Pluto, recently explored by NASA's New Horizons mission. If that sounds like fun, please tune in. Send your questions along.

In its flyby last July, as you probably recall, New Horizons gathered so much data about Pluto, its big moon Charon, four smaller moons, and Pluto's atmosphere that it's taken many months to play back-- and even now, not all the data have yet been transmitted to Earth. Since new results are announced frequently, there's always something new to say.

So Sunday, we're holding our own personal Plutopalooza, and Aaron has renamed himself "Chaaron Freeman" in honor of the big gray satellite.

To join in, click this invitation link.

It leads to a page that says "You need an invitation to view this event," with a button that says "Request an invitation." Click that button, and you reach a page that says "You requested an invitation to this event. You will receive an invitation when the event organizer approves your request." At this point, I presume, some combination of Google's robots and Aaron himself will work unspecified magic. Come Sunday at 2 PM Central, fire up Google Hangout.

I suspect the event will be recorded, should you choose to review it later. But on such details, I am, like tiny particles suspended in Pluto's tenuous atmosphere, hazy.

During the encounter in July, I witnessed the excitement at New Horizons' home base, the Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, and assisted APL with some education activities. In my capacity as a NASA Solar System Ambassador volunteer, I've been telling people about the mission for months.

Aaron Freeman is presently Artist-in-Residence at the Chicago Council on Science and Technology. His job: communicating about science in his offbeat, witty way. You can find his work on the Web, on Twitter, and on YouTube.

Aaron describes himself as "funnyman, science blogger... improv actor, auctioneer, MC, host, moderator" and a bunch more nouns. He entertains and educates, and has even left his mark in Chicago's history books. Years ago, I was a guest several times on his TV and radio talk shows. Recently we reconnected when the Chicago Council on Science and Technology invited me to give a talk in their Speakeasy series at Geek Bar. Aaron turned up, and it was a delight to see him again.

Long story short (skipping past this remarkable thing), we hatched a plot to do a Hangout next Sunday. Can't wait!

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music

The Very Best Fake Cowboy Song

What's the best fake cowboy song? "Jingle Jangle Jingle?" "Don't Fence Me In?" "Wah-Hoo?" Some other song?

"Jingle Jangle Jingle," also known as "I've Got Spurs That Jingle Jangle Jingle," Joseph J. Lilley and Frank Loesser, 1942.
Lyrics.

"Don't Fence Me In," by Cole Porter and Robert Fletcher, 1934. Lyrics.

(Bonus: Trigger kisses Roy Rogers.)

"Wah-Hoo," by Cliff Friend, 1936. Lyrics.

Until recently I didn't care for the highly-earwormy "Wah-Hoo," but then I discovered the Hoosier Hotshots' cover of the song, and it's growing on me.

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Happy 21 October 2015, Everyone!

And now, a word from President Ronald Reagan.

Audio of an interview with Caseen Gaines, author of We Don't Need Roads: Th Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy.

And thanks to

msminlr for the hoverboard!

My Schedule for Sasquan

Sasquan, the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention, starts Wednesday, 19 August, in Spokane, Washington. Here are the program items I'm scheduled to participate in. (Keep an eye out for last-minute changes…) "CC" refers to rooms in the Spokane Convention Center. "M" designates a moderator.

Pluto in Your Rear-View Mirror: News from the New Horizons Mission
Thursday 11:00 - 11:45, 302AB (CC)

Pluto has always been the planet...errhhh...dwarf planet of mystery. On July 14, the New Horizons spacecraft whizzed past Pluto and its satellites 9 years after blasting off from Earth. Find out what science has learned in 2015 about the worlds on the solar system's frontier, and where the New Horizons will journey next. This panel will open with a presentation on the New Horizons spacecraft mission by Bill Higgins and will include a discussion among the panelists.

Bill Higgins (M), Alan Boyle, Tony Lewis, Guy Consolmagno, David Clements

What’s New in Astronomy
Thursday 13:00 - 13:45, Bays 111B (CC)

What are the latest astronomical discoveries? What are the upcoming events in the exploration of the solar system? Find out what is happening out there and what we are doing about it.

David Clements (M), Mark L. Olson, Bill Higgins, April Faires, Bobbie Benton Hull

SF/Fantasy Set in Washington & Environs
Thursday 20:00 - 20:45, Bays 111C (CC)

From classics like Hal Clement's Iceworld to Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson books, Washington state has been the setting for many works of SF & fantasy.

Bill Higgins (M), Helen Gbala

[Hmm, this is looking a bit thin.]

100 Years of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity
Friday 13:00 - 13:45, Bays 111C (CC)

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the theory of relativity by exploring what physicists have been doing for the last 100 years, the status of the theory today, and what might change in the future.

Mark L. Olson (M) , David Clements, James C. Glass, Bill Higgins, Lori White

[I'm by no means a relativity expert, and can only hope I will be able to add a few remarks to the conversation.]

Pluto Isn't Just a Disney Dog
Friday 19:00 - 19:45, 207 (CC)

Pluto has now been explored! Join scientists to see what NASA has learned about the famous icy world on the edge of our Solar System.

Bill Higgins, Guy Consolmagno

[This is an item in the children's program, so Guy and I will be discussing Pluto with young people.]

Dawn of the Asteroid Belt: Exploring Vesta and Ceres
Saturday 10:00 - 10:45, 207 (CC)

Asteroids are relics of the ancient Solar System. NASA's Dawn spacecraft orbited Vesta for a year. Now its ion thrusters have propelled it across the Asteroid Belt to Ceres, the largest asteroid, where Dawn has again entered orbit. Join Bill Higgins to explore Dawn's findings at Vesta and its plans for doing science at Ceres.

Bill Higgins, Guy Consolmagno

Tech Talk for Teens
Saturday 15:00 - 15:45, 401C (CC)

Join us for a fun discussion that delves into the mysteries of teaching science and technology to kids. What's a good starting point? Does it always have to be "fun"? Which sci-fi concepts might today's teens be turning into reality twenty years from now? We'll discuss all of these things and more!

Torrey Stenmark (M), Bill Higgins, Tim Griffin , E. C. Blake

Entry tags:

fandom,
worldcon

Worldcon: Best Way to Seek Roommates?

We're attending Sasquan. K and I have a reservation for a room in the Doubletree from the 19th to the 24th. It has two queen-size beds. It would be nice to share the cost of the room with one or two others.

What's the best way to find potential roommates?

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This Accident Was DEFINITELY Not My Fault

Okay, I was nowhere near the Deepsea Challenger when it caught fire. I was in another state at the time.

And I'll repeat that I had nothing to do with the loss of that other submersible. So quit spreading rumors.

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On the Road to Pluto, Posted Elseweb

Over on the Vatican Observatory Foundation blog: On the Road to Pluto