I’ll miss you all! If I can get into an internet café while I’m away then I will. Otherwise, see you in a fortnight’s time.

In other news, I’m off to Ireland on Saturday so I may not be around much because I’ll be packing, or trying to. CFS and packing aren’t a good mix. Plus the washing machine chose to break down last Friday and it’s not likely to be fixed before we go. It needs an “unusual part”. I’d like to tell Hotpoint where to put their unusual part but I shan’t in case I get them annoyed enough to make me wait even longer!

We won’t have internet access on holiday. Oh noes! So I shall be away from you for two whole weeks. I’ll try not to cry but it will be a close thing.

Sorry for the lack of pictures but Blogger is being naughty. If it carries on then I’m off to my blog at WordPress. I’ll let you know if I go so you can come too!

Too much thinking can lead to worse judgements, according to this article in Wired.

When students were simply asked to rate jams for flavour their scores closely matched those of jam experts. However, when a second group of students were asked to do the same task but to give detailed reasons for their decisions, they went haywire and rated one of the worst jams as the best.

Reason doesn’t seem to be very good at helping us make decisions and might even get in the way. What it’s very good at is helping us persuade others that our judgements are correct.

I don’t know about you but I don’t find this a very comfortable thought.

I’ve just seen that California’s ban on gay marriage has been overturned. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Article here in Huffington Post.

Lexi Revellian is offering free ebook copies of her murder mystery/romance Remix, just for this week. (If you miss the freebie, the ebook is only $2.99 full price – it’s a bargain!)

If you download the book in Epub format then you can download Adobe Digital Editions (also free) to read it on your pc and you’re away.

I’ve read the first few chapters and I feel I’m in safe hands. The plot is developing nicely and the writing feels smooth and well-edited. I’m enjoying it.

Definitely worth a look!

The Clarity of Night flash fiction contest has ended and the results are up.

Congratulations to Aerin on taking second prize both for the main contest and for the Readers’ Choice! Other friends got well-deserved honourable mentions: Precie, Peter and Shona.

All the winning and honourably mentioned stories were well-written but I have to admit to a certain disappointment. I really thought Jane’s humorous piece deserved to be up there with the greats. I actually found the winning entry too strong for my taste despite, or maybe because of, its being beautifully written.

I’ve realised that I like my fiction gentle, funny and upbeat. What sort of stories do you like to read?

…with a flavour-changing cookie!

You choose a flavour from a computer, then as you go to eat the plain cookie an image of the appropriate texture is projected on to it and the right scents are wafted to your nose. Almond or chocolate? The same cookie can be any one of seven flavours.

You just can’t get more extreme in writing sci fi than real life already is.

The full article is in New Scientist.

You may remember that I asked you to help me win some books, and lots of you did! Today the books arrived, all the way from Canada.

So, many thanks to Jen for the competition and for posting them to me. I’m hoping for some sunny days so I can lounge in my new garden hammock and eat chocolate and read them. (Sunshine is optional. Chocolate isn’t.)

I’m not sure all the books were claimed. There may still be scope for more of you to join in and get your share of the goodies! So if you haven’t been to Oxygen, why not pop over there now?

But at night, he likes to stretch out in his hammock.

He seems to feel safe there. Presumably because Bonnie keeps away from him. Whereas when he sprawls out on a chair

he’s likely to get unwelcome attention from his sister.

I just hope his hunting is unsuccessful today.