A Bug's Life

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/26462304-upcoming-bujold-appearances

So...

I will be a local writer guest/panelist at this year's Minicon 59 here in Minneapolis, April 2 - 5. Writer GoH is Patricia C. Wrede!

https://mnstf.org/minicon59/

for further information of all kinds.

On Saturday May 16th at 1 PM, I am going to be doing a signing at Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore, also here in Minneapolis.

http://www.unclehugo.com/prod/index.s...

Mostly in honor of the 4th Penric collection in hardcover from Baen Books, Penric's Intrigues, which will be released the first week of May. My box of author's copies arrived from the printer yesterday, and they look great!

Meanwhile, the Subterranean Press signed limited edition of the Pen & Des novella "The Adventure of the Demonic Ox" is delayed at their printer, which is not an uncommon glitch for them. It is available for pre-order at SubPress -- https://subterraneanpress.com/bujold-... -- and also at Uncle Hugo's and Dreamhaven bookstores, here in MPLS.

(In a complete side note of idle curiosity, does anyone have any idea why I've been getting such a spate of likes for my first review of The Rivers of London this past week or so? It's normal to get a trickle of likes for my assorted old reviews, but not so many at once.)

Ta, L.

posted by Lois McMaster Bujold on March, 20

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/26462304-upcoming-bujold-appearances

Posted by Passant Rabie

https://gizmodo.com/solar-eclipsing-probe-back-from-the-dead-after-a-month-of-silence-2000736236

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736236

An anomaly caused ESA's Proba-3 to ghost ground control, but now the spacecraft has finally made contact.

https://gizmodo.com/solar-eclipsing-probe-back-from-the-dead-after-a-month-of-silence-2000736236

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736236

Posted by Cheryl Eddy

https://gizmodo.com/kpop-demon-hunters-sequel-netflix-deal-2000736106

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736106

Netflix is digging deep to reward Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, the Oscar-winning directors of its biggest-ever movie.

https://gizmodo.com/kpop-demon-hunters-sequel-netflix-deal-2000736106

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736106

Posted by Bruce Gil

https://gizmodo.com/stravas-fitness-app-exposed-the-real-time-location-of-a-french-aircraft-carrier-2000736266

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736266

A sailor’s publicly shared workout made it possible to pinpoint the ship’s movements in the Mediterranean sea.

https://gizmodo.com/stravas-fitness-app-exposed-the-real-time-location-of-a-french-aircraft-carrier-2000736266

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736266

Posted by Ece Yildirim

https://gizmodo.com/nvidia-ceo-wants-tech-execs-to-stop-laying-off-workers-and-scaring-people-2000736053

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736053

At GTC, Jensen Huang was on damage control for AI.

https://gizmodo.com/nvidia-ceo-wants-tech-execs-to-stop-laying-off-workers-and-scaring-people-2000736053

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736053

Posted by Gayoung Lee

https://gizmodo.com/physicists-say-theyve-cracked-the-mystery-of-volcanic-lightning-2000736209

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736209

No divine sign, just science.

https://gizmodo.com/physicists-say-theyve-cracked-the-mystery-of-volcanic-lightning-2000736209

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736209

Posted by Matt Novak

https://gizmodo.com/nevada-bans-kalshi-for-at-least-the-next-two-weeks-2000736211

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736211

The ban comes at a time when regulators and lawmakers are on high alert over prediction markets.

https://gizmodo.com/nevada-bans-kalshi-for-at-least-the-next-two-weeks-2000736211

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736211

Posted by Matthew Phelan

https://gizmodo.com/new-study-highlights-carbon-fiber-weakness-that-sounds-all-too-familiar-after-titan-fiasco-2000736168

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736168

Researchers planned to test how carbon fiber reacted to intense heat and humidity, but they found out something else entirely.

https://gizmodo.com/new-study-highlights-carbon-fiber-weakness-that-sounds-all-too-familiar-after-titan-fiasco-2000736168

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736168

Posted by James Whitbrook

https://gizmodo.com/star-trek-all-tv-shows-and-films-in-the-works-paramount-2000736135

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736135

As the franchise prepares to celebrate 60 years of boldly going, its future in TV and film remains more in flux than it's been in a decade.

https://gizmodo.com/star-trek-all-tv-shows-and-films-in-the-works-paramount-2000736135

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736135

Posted by AJ Dellinger

https://gizmodo.com/trump-proposes-a-light-touch-national-framework-for-ai-policy-2000736105

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736105

The next closest thing to no rules at all.

https://gizmodo.com/trump-proposes-a-light-touch-national-framework-for-ai-policy-2000736105

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736105

Posted by Gayoung Lee

https://gizmodo.com/grid-down-scientists-say-your-ev-could-provide-the-needed-backup-power-2000736063

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736063

If EVs survive the ongoing political fiasco, here’s how we could get the most bang for our buck.

https://gizmodo.com/grid-down-scientists-say-your-ev-could-provide-the-needed-backup-power-2000736063

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736063

Posted by Germain Lussier

https://gizmodo.com/marvels-upcoming-movies-now-almost-extend-until-the-next-decade-2000736176

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736176

The studio must feel good about its post-'Doomsday'' and 'Secret Wars' world as films now go into 2029.

https://gizmodo.com/marvels-upcoming-movies-now-almost-extend-until-the-next-decade-2000736176

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736176

Posted by Matt Novak

https://gizmodo.com/getting-to-the-airport-3-hours-early-is-no-guarantee-youll-make-your-flight-as-tsa-crisis-worsens-2000736098

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736098

"I've NEVER seen Hartsfield Jackson this bad," one local reporter in Atlanta wrote.

https://gizmodo.com/getting-to-the-airport-3-hours-early-is-no-guarantee-youll-make-your-flight-as-tsa-crisis-worsens-2000736098

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736098

Posted by Jordan Liles

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chuck-norris-democrat-quote/

People sharing the alleged quote claimed the "Walker, Texas Ranger" star said the Democratic Party "lost all reality of what America stood for."

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chuck-norris-democrat-quote/

Posted by Passant Rabie

https://gizmodo.com/nasa-is-exploring-a-reduced-role-for-sls-as-it-gets-cozier-with-spacex-2000736049

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736049

The Starship rocket could take on a central role in the Artemis missions, propelling astronauts to lunar orbit and landing them on the surface.

https://gizmodo.com/nasa-is-exploring-a-reduced-role-for-sls-as-it-gets-cozier-with-spacex-2000736049

https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000736049

Today is mostly sunny and quite warm. It's already 78°F outside. 0_o

I fed the birds. I've only seen a few sparrows and house finches, but lots of birds are singing all around the yard. I suspect they're more interested in foraging.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 3/20/26 -- I sowed 3 troughs with 'Sugar Ann' snap peas and 3 with 'Avalanche' snow peas. I put 2 peas in each end of a trough, leaving the middle open to plant other things. That makes 24 pea plants. These are bush types and did well last year.

EDIT 3/20/26 -- I sowed one trough with 'Lovely Lettuce Mesclun Blend' and one with 'Thumbelina Baby Ball' carrots. I plan to sow more of those 2 weeks later.

EDIT 3/20/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 3/20/26 -- I trimmed a few spray bits of brush in the parking lot, and followed up with weed spray. My partner Doug is trying to find someone to come install a load of gravel.

A large flock of several dozen blackbirds has gathered high in the trees.

EDIT 3/20/26 -- I watered the six troughs on the benches of the new picnic table garden.

EDIT 3/20/26 -- I used the last partial bag of compost & manure to spread a little over the eight big pots atop the new picnic table garden. So I'm out of that and nearly out of the American Countryside potting mix.

EDIT 3/20/26 -- I put topsoil in four of the big pots atop the new picnic table. They're not completely full yet; there's room to add a bit of potting soil.

EDIT 3/20/26 -- I put topsoil in the other four of the big pots. I still have a partial bag left.

I am done for the night.

The Friday Five for this week, since I suppose I feel like doing it for the first time in a very long time, and why not? Questions here.

1. What was the reason you began a Dreamwidth or LiveJournal account (or both)?
LiveJournal — because it was the Year of Our Lord 2003, and it was what everyone else in fandom was doing. I'd just turned sixteen and thought it was the bee's knees.

Dreamwidth — post-Strikethrough, saw the writing on the wall, made one under my (now defunct) lj username for writing-only (and God, what a long time ago that was!), then made this one after I realized that I didn't want to be known as a pun username for the rest of my life...

2. How many DW or LJ communities do you subscribe to?
A handful? Fewer than 10, definitely; I don't really use DW for that.

3. Do you have a favorite community or one you check out often to see what's new?
I'm fond of the book reviews that get posted in booknook.

4. How did you pick your user name?
I wanted something that would be difficult to link directly to me, that was unlikely to be taken on most sites, and that was something that had meaning to me. "hafnia" is the common name for Hafnium (IV) oxide, a material used for high-k dielectrics (if this makes you go, "???", fear not, it's a semiconductor thing). It also happens to be one of the materials I worked with most during my PhD.

I'm hafnia or titania the web over. If I ever make another pseud on AO3 (...maybe? can't imagine what for), it'll be as zirconia, probably. Group IV all the way.

5. If you could change your user name, would you?
I'm fond of it, so, no, it stays!