http://www.mysticnebula.com Studies in the natural, the unnatural and the supernatural. Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:10:18 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en My brother is serving faithfully in Afghanistan. He was so moved by a recent Fallen Comrade ceremony--a ceremony he has performed several time--he felt the need to write about it, and after reading it, and with his permission, I felt the need to print it. A Sad Tradition By Thomas David Vera ... http://www.mysticnebula.com/2009/03/09/my-brother-the-reluctant-poet/ Years ago I was driving on a San Diego freeway. It was raining something terrible and visibility was poor. Before I knew it, the traffic ahead of me had stopped and I slammed my brakes and veered into another lane to avoid collision. My car stalled and the vehicles behind ... http://www.mysticnebula.com/2009/02/13/a-case-for-malignant-spirits/ A friend pointed me to an pessimistic view of technological superhuman intelligence. The main thrust of the article is that in the very near future humankind will develop technology that will create computers that are superhumanly intelligent, resulting in the demise of the human race. Written in 1993, this article was ... http://www.mysticnebula.com/2009/01/02/the-dread-artificial-intelligence/ While trolling the net, I found this old security article I wrote for the ISSA. Good stuff! It still applies. FindArticles - Information security's little secret: a security professional's plea to managers and executives San Diego Business Journal, Dec 4, 2006, by Christopher Vera http://www.mysticnebula.com/2008/12/23/found-this-old-security-article/ As you may know, the Mystic Nebula is dedicated to the study of the natural, the unnatural and the supernatural. I try to avoid politics. You have other blog sites for that nonsense. Let me state here that I have no doubt the Earth is warming and has been for ... http://www.mysticnebula.com/2008/10/01/the-solar-winds-of-change/ I've just begun my poetry editorial debut at Prick of the Spindle. Its a load of work, but quite rewarding. Editing is for me a humbling experience. I used to view it as a position of power (as a poet constantly rejected), and I suppose in some ways it is, ... http://www.mysticnebula.com/2008/09/24/as-if-i-wasnt-busy-enough/ Give it up to Alpinekat. We need more science in rap. You go, girl! This one's about the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. http://www.mysticnebula.com/2008/09/20/science-in-rap/ Its amazing how ignorant we believe our ancestors were. They drew strange images on cave walls of creatures no one has seen. They told stories of monsters that exist in the dark, just beyond the light of the tribal campfire. Colorful explanations abound. And because of their wild and vivacious ... http://www.mysticnebula.com/2008/07/06/what-our-ancestors-believed/ San Diego writers now have San Diego Writer's Online, a new forum in which to collaborate and discuss their passion of writing. Moderated by JeSais, an upcoming writer and marketing guru, this forum is a great way to learn about the craft of writing and meet other writers in the San ... http://www.mysticnebula.com/2008/06/14/san-diego-writers-online/ The ignorant and vicious are burning witches in Africa. Source: MSNBC, Kenya Mob Reportedly Burns 11 witches Now instead of witches, the villages will have 11 angry spirits. http://www.mysticnebula.com/2008/05/22/witch-hunts/