Exactly eleven years ago today, terrorists attacked the United States of America. They flew planes into the World Trade Center in New York City and into the Pentagon near Washington, DC. They most likely would also have flown a plane into the Capitol building but were stopped by the passengers of United 93. Almost 3,000 people died that day ( Read more... )

Nine years ago today was the Great Blackout of 2003, which hit much of the northeast United States and parts of Canada. Where were you ( Read more... )

Last month, gnomi and I took Muffin and Squeaker to the Boston University Child Language Lab. We had heard that they were looking for subjects for studies, and so we signed up to be alerted in case they had a study that was right for Muffin and Squeaker ( Read more... )

My daily commute takes me through the Copley Square area of Boston, and I frequently enjoy walking through the plaza, especially in the nice weather ( Read more... )

Folks reading here may recall that last month I recommended a novella that had been recommended to me: The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary by Ken Liu. The novella had been recommended to me by Jamie Todd Rubin on his blog, and I found it just as compelling as Jamie did.

I wasn't surprised when it and another Ken Liu story (The Paper Menagerie ( Read more... )

Nomi and I haven't managed to attend Arisia since before Muffin and Squeaker came into our lives. We've wanted to, but the logistics seemed rather insurmountable. (We've also mostly missed Boskone and Readercon, although in 2010 we made it to the Sunday of each ( Read more... )

Exactly ten years ago today, terrorists attacked the United States of America. They flew planes into the World Trade Center in New York City and into the Pentagon near Washington, DC. They most likely would also have flown a plane into the Capitol building but were stopped by the passengers of United 93. Almost 3,000 people died that day ( Read more... )

Last week, I took some time on Friday afternoon to check out the Borders book store in Downtown Crossing. As I presume most of you know by now, Borders, which has been an active business since 1971, has declared bankruptcy and is going out of business.


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Felt it in Boston. I've been updating on Facebook and Twitter (@mabfan) and checking in with people. Short version: Nomi and I both felt it in our downtown offices, but the kids at home apparently slept through it.

At the start of a very, very busy long weekend for us, Nomi and I got a special treat.


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