Tag Archives: science

In the air and across the Cosmos

Posted on May 25, 2023 by smellincoffee

This month’s science reading served up two surprises, both pleasant. When I arrived at university and joined the Astronomy Club, which met once a month to aim a giant telescope at the skies and gasp as we saw Saturn’s rings … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Scenes from Prehistoric Britain

Posted on April 28, 2023 by smellincoffee

Scenes from Prehistoric Life: From the Ice Age to the Coming of the Romans© 2021 Francis Pryor320 pages Scenes from Prehistoric Britain is a curious mix of extreme detail and fanciful speculation, visiting twelve sites in (mostly) prehistoric Britain that … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The Beauty of the Beastly

Posted on April 20, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Beauty of the Beastly© 1995 Natalie Angier304 pages The Beauty of the Beastly is a fun collection of science pieces by Natalie Angier, ranging from macro to microbiology, with some science interviews added at the end. The reader will … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Gaming on the ZX Speccy, oceans, and harrumphing at the White House

Posted on March 30, 2023 by smellincoffee

I think I’ve managed to avoid doing any ‘short rounds’ posts this year, but three months in the streak ends. It’s not my fault, I swear. It’s the books. First up is The Nostalgia Nerd’s Retro Tech, a mostly-graphic look … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Human Experiment

Posted on February 9, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Human Experiment: Two Years and 20 Minutes Inside Biosphere 2© 2006 Jane Poynter384 pages From this patch of desert in sunny Oracle, Arizona, eight Americans are beginning the trip of a lifetime.  Divided into two tribes and locked into … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Eating on Mars, Cap’n Mal, and organic gardening on steroids

Posted on January 25, 2023 by smellincoffee

Since twelve men left their mark on the Moon,  humanity has wondered about the prospects of venturing further out, to the Red Planet.  It’s a daunting undertaking, from the journey itself to the prospects for sustaining life on a planet … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Of galaxy and creeply-crawlies

Posted on January 19, 2023 by smellincoffee

Origins is a history of life, the universe, and everything. (Sort of).  It’s an odd book, in that  it begins in an expected fashion: Tyson and Goldsmith look first to the origin of matter, delving into the first seconds of … Continue reading →

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

Pests

Posted on January 11, 2023 by smellincoffee

Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains© 2022 Bethany Brookshire368 pages Humans believe in and have attempted to create, a very orderly world. There are our cities and homes, where the only animals that belong are those there for our amusement, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Chasing New Horizons

Posted on January 6, 2023 by smellincoffee

Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto© 2019 Alan Stearns & David Grinspoon320 pages For most of my life, and I’ll warrant for most of yours, Pluto was the Great Unknown in the solar system.  Take any … Continue reading →

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

Nixon’s pyramid, the future, and intelligent octopus arms

Posted on October 12, 2022 by smellincoffee

At some point in the last year a book tipped me off to Tom Vanderbilt’s Survival City, in which the author tours ruins and remains of DC’s vast Cold War infrastructure while providing a history of the way popular fears … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments