Author Archives: smellincoffee

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About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

The Heinlein Interview

Posted on October 18, 2023 by smellincoffee

I am closing in on the end of Astounding, which bills itself as a history of golden-age SF, and so far the most interesting aspect of it was the largely-uncommented-on political history of Robert Heinlein. We meet him as an … Continue reading →

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Moriarty, Consulting Criminal and Scroogled

Posted on October 17, 2023 by smellincoffee

Short rounds! One short story by Cory Doctorow and three short stories by Andy Weir. The first, Scroogled, is a very short story, just hitting 20 pages. Written in the mid-2000s, when Google was beginning its transformation from Mew to … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tis time for teasing tuesday

Posted on October 17, 2023 by smellincoffee

American eccentrics are great. They’re more sincere, unabashed and convinced in their madness than any other eccentrics in the world. And they say hilarious things like, ‘Rule number one is don’t freak out.’ They have two cars, two teenage sons, … Continue reading →

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The Shockwave Rider

Posted on October 15, 2023 by smellincoffee

Nick Haflinger is a man of many names and identities, on the run from what passes for the government these days. With so much of the population constantly on the move, existing more in the plugged-in virtual realm than in … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

FEED IT BOOKS AND MAKE IT GO AWAY

Posted on October 13, 2023 by smellincoffee
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Facebook

Posted on October 12, 2023 by smellincoffee

“Look at us,” my buddy chuckled. It was the halfway point of a 3-hour night class, and we’d been given a fifteen minute break to hydrate, caffeinate, and evacuate. Four people immediately flowed into the student common area and occupied … Continue reading →

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You weren’t born to pay bills and die

Posted on October 11, 2023 by smellincoffee
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Long and Short reviews prompt: creative costumes!

Posted on October 11, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s blogging prompt was ‘most creative costume I’ve worn’, which…erm, should be easy. I’ve only ever gone to two Halloween parties. In one (2019) I dressed as Walter from The Big Lebowski. Tres interesting, since I had an excuse to … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 7 Comments

True Names and the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontier

Posted on October 11, 2023 by smellincoffee

How would you imagine the Internet in 1981? “What a silly question”, say you, “The Internet didn’t exist in 1981! ” Despite this, several authors in the seventies and eighties nonetheless imagined ‘cyberspace’, or as it’s known here, ‘the Other … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged | 11 Comments

T-T-T-TEASES!

Posted on October 10, 2023 by smellincoffee

Turn and face the strange….. Today’s TTT is about bookish jobs. Well, I work as a reference librarian, so that’s a little on the nose. Of course, my job isn’t very bookish. My library is very social-services oriented, so I … Continue reading →

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