It’s become a trope: the super-smart hacker, faced with a highly secure system, frantically hammers on the keyboard for a few seconds (if it’s a really tough job, with a few pauses to show a thoughtful face) then another burst of activity, and they’re in.…

I’m working on a novel with self-driving cars, privacy compromises, a persecuted journalist, and chock full of human failure. So this week’s Uber news couldn’t be more relevant.

Uber is a pretty good approximation the infrastructure basis of how self-driving vehicle travel might operate one day.…

More and more of my friends are getting diagnosed with cancer. This is tragic in every sense of the word.

And here am I, blogging about it. Poor me–it must be rough having to go through all the pain and suffering of having friends with cancer.…

Nice look at this issue in the LA Times.

Of more than 520 American writers surveyed, 16% have avoided writing or speaking on what they consider controversial topics, and 11% “have considered doing so.”

I think part of it is the ridiculous power imbalance.…

On this week’s This American Life, a fascinating tale of a false confession. If you write stories with humans (or human-analogues) you need to be a connoisseur of the soul. It’s shocking how easily we can be convinced of counter-factual truths simply by repetition combined with fatigue.…

What is the spec fic story that you wish someone would write but hasn’t?

In an effort to flex my self-promo muscles I am going to (gasp) produce more on-topic, useful content on these pages.

So join the discussion. No promises, but if any of the ideas grabs me, I just might do something with it.…