Another signed PBO:
Farmer, Philip Jose. The Lovers. Ballantine Books, 1961. First edition paperback original (PBO), a Very Good+ copy with crease across bottom rear corner and slight spine lean, signed by Farmer. One of the first science fiction novels to deal frankly with sexual themes. Brizzi, The Work of Philip Jose Farmer, pages 18-24. Currey, page 185. Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4, *3-69. Supplements a signed copy of the later hardback first edition. Won off eBay for $9.99.
Three different Jack Vance firsts, bought from various sources.
I should point out that this is the new, new, new, new, new incarnation of New Worlds, this time as a hardback anthology series.
Gevers, Nick, and Peter Crowther, editors. New Worlds Issue #1. PS Publishing, 2021 (i.e., 2022). First edition hardback, #49 of 200 copies, a Fine copy in decorated boards and a Fine dust jacket, and a Fine embossed slipcase. Latest resurrection of this venerable UK fiction title, most famous for Michael Moorcock’s New Wave editorship in the 1960s, and Moorcock contributes a story (and signature) here, as do Alan Moore, Michael Swanwick, Ken MacLeod, James Lovegrove, Ian Watson, Ian R. MacLeod, etc. The trade paperback version came out last year, but this hardback edition is already out of print. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount.
I will have two copies of this to sell in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog (currently in progress).
Holy crap that’s a lot of money. I need they were collectable, but not that collectable. It’s not even “mint in box” (or probably “shipping baggie” for that period).
The estimate for the auction is $300,000 to $400,000. Frequently those are just high estimates for show, but it may actually make it this time…
I finally got off my lazy butt and got an SSL certificate for this blog.
So the official address is now https://www.lawrenceperson.com (note the new all important “s” after “http”).
FYI, my SSL certificate was free through WordPress and the Bluehost folks made the change for me.
Update your bookmarks accordingly, since Google and Firefox are starting to get all pissy about http connections (not that I really blame them).
Having problems with links not going to the Heading you linked to in Microsoft Word?
Here’s a random tip that may help.
Do not put slashes in your headers (“Sales/Marketing”). The header will appear just fine, but links may not work properly. Mine were jumping back to the title page for no apparent reason.
The solution is to:
It should work now.
I’m using Microsoft Word for Mac Version 15.37. Can’t say what other versions the bug may affect.
Well, isn’t this a lovely, cheerful thing to contemplate?
It’s expensive to build an automated factory, and even more pricey to repurpose one. German manufacturing giant Siemens wants that to change, and they’ve developed an army of robot spiders to make it happen.
Utilizing what Siemens calls “mobile manufacturing” researchers in Princeton, New Jersey have build prototype spider-bots that work together to 3D print structures and parts in real time. Known as SiSpis, or Siemens Spiders, these robots work together to accomplish tasks, and can be reprogramed to learn new jobs.
The ability to be reprogramed gives the bots an advantage over traditional manufacturing robots. Opening an industrial manufacturing factory currently means installing expensive robots that can only do one or two tasks well. In theory, the SiSpis’ programing can be altered to address new tasks, allowing for greater flexibility for manufactures.
As a devotee of spider-menace movies, I think I know exactly how this will turn out. Why, the SyFy Channel movie practically writes itself. (As does the inevitable sequel, Spiderbots vs. Lavalanchula…)
46 years ago today, mankind landed on the moon.
And “An Ending (Ascent)” (which you only get a little bit of above) is the greatest piece of music Brian Eno ever did…
Via Scott Adams comes word that a team in Japan is teaching robots to fight with swords.
I’ve seen enough movies to know that this won’t end well.
But honestly, this entire post is just an excuse to show the robot sword fight from Exterminator City.
(Remember, that’s the best scene of the worst film ever made…)
…but you’ll never be “Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark delivering a bionic arm to a seven year old boy” cool…