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Updates: My 2020 in Review (Best SF Novels, Best SF Short Fiction, and Bonus Categories)
January 1, 2021 Joachim Boaz	83 Comments
I'm not sure what I can add about the general sentiment of 2020. It was awful in every way. Here's to a better 2021.
Reading and writing for the site—and participating in all the SF discussions it's generated over the year—was a necessary and greatly appreciated salve. Thank you everyone!
I also have one (hopefully more) review coming out in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (the Curiosities column) in the spring. I've not included my reviews of those esoteric SF novels in this particular post.
Without further ado, here are my favorite novels and short stories I read in 2020 (with bonus categories). Tempted to track any of them down?
And feel free to list your favorite vintage (or non-vintage) SF reads of the year. As always, I look forward to reading your comments.
My Top 10 Science Fiction Novels (click titles for my review)
Tim White's cover for the 1983 edition
1. Electric Forest, Tanith Lee (1979), 5/5 (Masterpiece): Tanith Lee spins a gauzy, sinister, and terrifying tale of manipulative resurrection. A brilliant inventor projects the mind of a grotesque social outcast into a new transcendent body—but this isn't an altruistic act. There's a plot afoot. Electric Forest (1979), a shimmery nightmare of psycho-sexual manipulation, enters my pantheon of favorite 70s SF visions.
2. Dance the Eagle to Sleep, Marge Piercy (1970), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Piercy's novel can be read as the rise and fall—intense, ecstatic, meaningful, tempestuous—of an Students for a Democratic Society-esque student-driven movement (The Indians) in a near-future totalitarian America. Piercy follows a cast of characters whose paths, visions, and routes to revolutionary activity differ. As the movement is beset by external and internal forces, what remains when the fragmentation sets in, and the end comes over all, is a resounding nostalgia of what could have been.
Michael Whelan's cover for the 1982 edition
3. A Storm of Wings, M. John Harrison (1980), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Highly recommended for fans of convention-breaking fantasy/SF more focused on disquieting scene and metaphor. But be prepared for a moody inundation… let yourself sink in, float across its waters as the moon dims, and beware the severed insect heads!
Ed Emshwiller's cover for the 1962 edition
4. The Long Tomorrow, Leigh Brackett (1955), 4.5/5 (Very Good) not only clocks in as the best of her work I've read so far but also joins my pantheon of favorite post-apocalyptical 50s SF visions. At first glance Brackett's novel appears to traverse standard SF juvenile territory where a teenage boy, in a religiously and socially oppressive society, encounters an object and memories of the past that opens up a path to self-discovery. But memories are memories. And dreams are dreams. The world is a far more violent and rocky place.
Uncredited cover for the 1969 edition
5.Termush, Sven Holm (1967, trans. 1969), 4.5/5 (Very Good) depicts, with stark minimalism, the psychological state of wealthy survivors holed up in a hotel shelter after an apocalyptic nuclear event. The novel delves into the psyche of the survivors, their isolation and inability to grasp the immensity of the changes beyond their walls, and their internal transformation as the rituals of "civilization" are maintained while the "reality" of external world infringes upon their oasis.
6. Twilight Country, Knut Faldbakken (1974, trans. 1993), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Review forthcoming! SF in translation from Norway. I accidentally deleted my extensive notes which pushed back my review writing. This is an unsettling tale of the inhabitants of a future city dump.
I am reminded of the lyrics of The Poppy Family's "Of Cities and Escapes" — "I'm caught in the grip of the city, madness and smog." Sampled by Dan the Automator and Del the Funky Homosapien in the song "Madness" on Deltron 3030 (2000).
Al Nagy's cover for the 1st edition
7. Hyacinths, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (1983), 4.25/5 (Very Good) is an unsettling dystopian tale of a future where even the unregulated creative world of Dreams is harnessed and controlled. On another level, Hyacinths lays bare the dangers of unregulated industry and the ingrained sexism within western capitalism. There's a deep sadness within these pages, a sadness at the lack of progress for equal rights in the workplace, a sadness at our collective inability to help those who need it most.
Bob Haberfield's cover for the 1973 edition
8. The Black Corridor, Michael Moorcock and Hilary Bailey (1969), 4.25/5 (Very Good) explores the effects of physical (a spaceship with a lone awake crewman hurtling across space) and societal ( a near-future world plunging into fascism) isolation. Highly recommended for fans of New Wave SF for the crystalline rendering of the narrative, sustained and intense exploration of "inner space," and its inventive typographical art.
Catherine Huerta's cover for the 1st edition
9. City Come A-Walkin', John Shirley (1980), 4/5 (Good), an early cyberpunk novel, succeeds as a surreal and earthy paean to diverse urban community and punk rebellion. A club owner and angst rocker join forces with a physical manifestation of San Francisco to fight the forces of technological change. I wasn't convinced by the plot but the images and tone transfixed.
The Brothers Hildebrandt's cover for the 1976 edition
10. The Ship Who Sang, Anne McCaffrey (1969), 4/5 (Good): Cyborgs. Grand adventure. Space plagues. Theater performances for aliens. Trauma and recovery. The stories follow the space opera adventures and emotional development of the cyborg Helva, a "shell-person" implanted into a scout ship, and her various operators. I am not convinced by McCaffrey's discussion of the moral implications of the world she's created. That said, I was pulled into the individual adventures and felt deeply for Helva.
My Top 10 Science Fiction Short Stories
1. "Death of a Spaceman" (variant title: "Memento Homo"), Walter M. Miller, Jr. 5/5 (Masterpiece): Retired spacer Old Donegal ("Donny") lies in his bed dying of cancer: his family "had all known it was coming, and they had watched it come" (7). In his rundown house with his long-suffering wife Martha at his side, he waits for the inevitable release with his magnasoles on his shriveled feet propped up on his bedframe. A remarkably engaging story that unveils the complexities of thinking through death.
2. "What's It Like Out There?" (1952) Edmond Hamilton, 5/5 (Masterpiece): Edmond Hamilton argues that returning spacemen will experience similar trauma to that of war veterans. And just like we glamorize war in media, the dangers of space travel (both physical and mental) are sanitized by gaudy pulp adventures. The story succeeds as a complex analysis of the tales we tell each other to obfuscate traumatic experiences and give comfort to those suffering loss.
3. "The Dead Astronaut" (1968), J. G. Ballard, 5/5 (Masterpiece): Ballard at the height of his powers… With NASA's program long discontinued, Cape Kennedy is now a wasteland of swamps and stark "gantries rising from the deserted dunes" (11). In this decayed near future, Judith and Philip, married ex-NASA employees, await the descent of a dead astronaut.
4. "The Killing Ground" (1969), J. G. Ballard, 5/5 (Masterpiece) postulates a near future U.K. occupied by a technologically advanced America. Like the French holed up at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954), a group of Americans are surrounded by British revolutionaries revolting against the English puppet government in London. Major Pearson interacts with three nameless American prisoners, a wounded African American soldier, a young soldier with a bag filled with books, and their captain who tries to clean the Kennedy Memorial near where the prisoners are held. Beautiful. Stark. Intense.
5. "Thus Love Betrays Us" (1972), Phyllis MacLennan, 4.5/5 (Very Good). Deirdre, a nightless and oppressive world filled with thick mists and layers of moss, had only just been charted and described. To finish the survey, the ship Magus leaves Alex Barthold behind to catalogue its biological features. At first Alex craves the freedom an empty planet promises after the personal friction, lack of privacy, and constant noise on an interstellar ship. Soon after its departure, an accident destroys the Magus leaving Barthold alone in his research tent…. and the nightmare that unfolds chills to the bone.
6. "Nine Lives" (1969), Ursula K. Le Guin, 4.5/5 (Very Good) explores mental ramifications of cloning. A group of ten clones are assigned to a remote mining planet, manned by a skeleton crew. Reflective and powerful. A disaster tale done right!
7. "And Read the Flesh Between the Lines" (1974), R. A. Lafferty, 4.5/5 (Very Good): First, imagine history as one would a memory–compressed, selective, porous, constantly rewiring itself. Now imagine a physical manifestation of memory—a throbbing room filled with ephemera of youth and the items of nostalgia and the language of comic books… This proximity of images collides with what could be an alternate-history, as a man ruminates out loud with his Australopithecus servant serving drinks. Memory as a passive myth-generating process? I want to reread this one and re-uncover its threads! Lafferty at his best (and most oblique).
8. "When They Find You" (1977), Craig Strete, 4.75/5 (Very Good): a disquieting allegory of colonization on an alien world. A deliberate and haunting story that explicitly parallels the effects of colonization on an alien world with the western encounter with Native Americans.
9. "Baa Baa Blocksheep" (1968), M. John Harrison, 4.5/5 (Very Good): I enjoyed this enigmatic early Harrison story! It contains the same oppressive melancholy as his better known works. A urban manifestation, as "physically real" as cardboard cutouts on a set, plays out an oppressive emptiness in which our characters attempt to interact and parse out.
10. "The Statue" (1953), Mari Wolf, 4.5/5 (Very Good) is devilishly simple and deeply affective. Martha and Lewis Farewell, the last survivors of the first Mars colonization mission 65 years earlier, desire to return to Earth before they die. But the elderly cannot make the three-month trip due to medical risks without a special dispensation. On a Mars redolent with Ray Bradbury-esque frontier feel, Martha and Lewis ponder their pasts, their shared love, their accomplishments, their last desires, and the pull of home, wherever that might be.
Reading Initiatives
Ernest Schroeder's interior art for the Amazing Stories, March 1954 (Illustrating "Death of the Spaceman")
I've started a fun (mostly read-along) series on SF short stories that are critical in some capacity of space agencies, astronauts, and the culture which produced them. Stay tuned for future installments! And thanks for all the great conversation.
Short Stories Covered
1. "Death of a Spaceman" (variant title: "Memento Homo"), Walter M. Miller, Jr. 5/5 (Masterpiece)
2. "What's It Like Out There?" Edmond Hamilton, 5/5 (Masterpiece):
3. "The Dead Astronaut" (1968), J. G. Ballard, 5/5 (Masterpiece). I read this before I started my series but it fits! (see above for the brief rundown).
My Top 5 Academic History Reads
In a given year, I tend to read far more history than science fiction. Here are some gems worth tracking down.
1. A Generation Divided: The New Left, The New Right, and the 1960s, Rebecca E. Klatch (1999): A brilliant comparison of both liberal and conservative youth organizations in the 60s — SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) and YAF (Young Americans for Freedom). Klatch suggests that we cannot view the 60s without looking at both. If anything, YAF had a greater impact by creating an entire generation of conservative politicians and leaders and set the stage for the 70s and 80s conservative backlash while SDS imploded.
2. Gods in Dwellings: Temples and Divine Presence in the Ancient Near East, Michael B. Hundley (2013): This is the first book devoted to perceptions of the divine presence within the temple in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Hittite Anatolia, and Syria-Palestine. What relationship between deity and image does a temple convey? How does this relate to the divine presence outside of the sacred environs?
3. The Early History of Heaven, J. Edward Wright (2000): I'm a sucker for comparative historical texts. Wright traces ideas of Heaven from the Mesopotamian and Egyptian ideas world where Heaven was a liminal netherworld to Jewish and early Christian conceptions of Heaven as an abode of God influenced heavily by Greek thought. Christianity was in a complex dialogue with its predecessors and contemporaries.
4. The Cults of the Roman Empire, Robert Turcan (1992, trans. 1996): The Roman World contained a marketplace of religions (of which Christianity was but one). Turcan's monograph explores this religious landscape–from the cult of the Great Mother and her Eunuchs to Isis of the Many Names, or Our Lady of the Waves. Highly recommended.
5. The Ghaznavids: Their Empire in Afghanistan and Eastern India 994-1040, C. E. Bosworth (1963): Explores the origins and early history of a Turkish slave dynasty in Afghanistan and India in the political landscape of the disintegrating Abbasid Caliphate. Keep in mind the publication date on this one! But there are no other monographs on the topic… I also read the later companion volume.
These are the same as my goals for 2020.
1. Keep reading and writing.
2. Perhaps start a podcast? (there are plans brewing)
3. Perhaps start a Patreon? I have made an account but haven't set it up. (Many conflicting thoughts here. We shall see).
1950s1970s1980sAnne McCaffreyapocalypticavant-gardebook reviewsChelsea Quinn YarbroexperimentalHilary BaileyJohn ShirleyKnut FaldbakkenLeigh BrackettM. John HarrisonMarge Piercymichael moorcockpaperbackspost-apocalypticsci-fiscience fictionTanith Lee
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83 thoughts on "Updates: My 2020 in Review (Best SF Novels, Best SF Short Fiction, and Bonus Categories)"
Expendable Mudge says:
Gods in Dwellings: Temples and Divine Presence in the Ancient Near East, Michael B. Hundley (2013)
Book bullet! Directly onto my wishlist.
HNY old sport
Thanks for all the discussion! Greatly appreciated.
Despite my far more restrained history purchases, I end up spending just as much as I do on SF! But yes, a brilliant book, I need to figure out how to incorporate sections into my World History course.
It's a tricky piece of territory, at least in schools w/firm policies about religion being taught and how it's presented. But it's also a central subject for a complete view of history (all of it from pre- to post-). (Fie of Francis Fukuyama, BTW)
I'll probably use it in discussion of the first Mesopotamian cities and when we discuss Egyptian temple complexes near pyramids. But we shall see! But yeah, I fight constantly against modern conceptions of "belief" vs. ancient ideas of the importance of "ritual."
The verb "to appease" versus the verb "to worship"–I do not envy you that explanation.
What were your favorite vintage SF reads of 2020?
"World Well Lost", hands down. Very heartening to realize someone not-gay recognized the stupidity and uselessness of homophobia.
As I mentioned before, I need to read that one.
Have you read Sturgeon's Venus Plus X (1960)? I'm still trying to figure that one out…. I find it hard to pinpoint exactly what Sturgeon is trying to say re-gender neutral people. There's a short review on my site but I struggle with pinpointing his message.
I think everyone overthinks this. What did he actually put on paper? An enby (Non-binary) person takes the stage and acts a part in it. What more needs be said? Such people exist, one of them is in the story and moves it in a particular direction like the MF binaries do, end of lesson.
If you read it you'll see what I mean. It's an experimental novel with two parallel narratives — one is a modern family where men are more like housewives. The second narrative follows a modern man who wakes up in a non-binary future. The implication is that conflict in modern Earth is often caused by gender strife. It's a strange little parable.
So there you just answered your own question: What is he trying to say? "…conflict in modern Earth is…caused by gender strife. It's a strange little parable."
Okay, I got a more knurly and snarly problem — and one I'm struggling with for a review for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I'll message you in the next few days on Twitter.
Here's what Jo Walton said about it. But she also doesn't really dive into the issue of what he's actually trying to say….
https://www.tor.com/2010/12/12/hugo-nominees-1961/
kaggsysbookishramblings says:
Glad to see MJH in there! Happy new year!
Happy new year as well! Read any good SF yourself?
Recently, only MJH!
Sounds like you need to get bitten by the Soviet SF bug again! haha.
natalieinne says:
I just finished reading The Last by Hannah Jameson, and the description of Termush would nearly fit The Last. I might need to track down a copy to compare how an author from the 1960s thought we'd respond to a nuclear war compared to a modern author.
Unfortunately, you'll probably not be able to find a copy. I purchased the only available volume online that I could find — and it wasn't the cheapest.
I wish you luck in tracking it down. It's quite spectacular and its muted/brittle way.
Have any favorite vintage SF reads from 2020?
ubik says:
I read Leigh Brackett's The Long Tomorrow in 2020. It's a genuine underrated classic by a very underrated writer, a fine novel indeed. Some think her husband's (Edmund Hamilton) writing improved after they were married perhaps due to her editing.
Speaking of Edmond Hamilton, I just reviewed "What's It Like Out There?" (1952) (also on this list in the short story section) — she found an early 30s version rejected by the publisher for being too dark it in a file and he rewrote it (and I assume, she edited it).
Thanks, I'll check that out.
I need to check out the Tanith Lee. I recall reading a short story by her, perhaps in an issue of F&SF.
Currently reading a Michael Bishop novel from way back I missed; Transfigurations
Michael Bishop is a favorite — although Transfigurations, in my view, isn't his best. Reviewed on the site!
https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2014/08/01/book-review-transfigurations-michael-bishop-1979/
Bishop is very good, Catacombs Years is one of my favorites of his novels. Also, naturally, Philip K. Dick is Dead, Alas.
Heading out for some groceries now…
A review of Catacomb is up on the site as well. I haven't read PKD is Dead, Alas — yet.
TL's The Electric Forest via Gateway on my Kindle or via Thriftbooks and DAW?
Thriftbooks it is, cheaper too and just seems more appropriate.
I haven't checked your site but have you read any of Chad Oliver's novels? He's someone else who I think is underrated and has his own voice.
I'm all for paperbacks/hardbacks — I like to have a physical book in my hands and limit screen time. Your call!
I have a handy index of reviews on the site: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/science-fiction-book-reviews-by-author/
The only novel of his I've read was the poor The Shores of Another Sea (1971) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2013/12/15/book-review-the-shores-of-another-sea-chad-oliver-1971/
The best Oliver work I've probably read is his generation ship story "The Wind Blows Free" (1957): https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2019/11/18/generation-spaceship-short-story-review-chad-olivers-the-wind-blows-free-1957/
I've read that one. It's certainly interesting, especially if you might like to read a 70s SF intersection of Frankenstein and Pygmalion. I like several of hers better, but I'm weak for likeable characters, and I seem to like her fantasies better.
Which one? The Tanith Lee?
Yeah, I adore it as my review should show. I care little about likeable characters — haha. https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2020/03/15/book-review-electric-forest-tanith-lee-1979/
I've also reviewed her okay first novel — Don't Bite the Sun (1976) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2019/06/29/book-review-dont-bite-the-sun-tanith-lee-1976/#more-18191
I meant that to show up under one of the comments about The Electric Forest, oh well. Also, I read The Ship Who Sang when it came out, and liked it enough that I was disappointed by its ~sequels. OTOH, I caught echoes of it in Ancillary Justice (faintly) and the Becky Chambers books (particularly the ones with ship AIs). Finally, Twilight Country looks interesting, but its description on Amazon is a little daunting.
Sorry! I couldn't clearly see who you were responding to. No worries.
Twilight Country is not for the fainthearted. I'll have a review up soon. I like a good dose of morbid, disturbing, etc.
Norwegian (and Scandinavian more generally) SF from the decades I'm interested in was mostly mainstream authors writing SF (there wasn't a defined genre scene). So it has some content that wouldn't appear in much genre of the day… (some New Wave authors got close).
Sarah, what were your favorite vintage SF reads of 2020?
Off the top of my head, my favorite vintage SF read of 2020 was one of Maureen McHugh's, when I decided to work my way through all her stuff, but it's not on her Amazon or Wikipedia pages, so I'll have to dig up the title. Probably published as late as the 90s, though. Oh, and REALLY vintage: Carnacki, the Ghost Finder (anthology pub. 1913) which had some ~scientific (well, engineering) investigations into ghosts. This year I plan to read Heinlein's Double Star and more John Wyndham, and I'm pretty sure I have some women authors from 50s/60s in my TBR boxes (I tried a Leigh Brackett and it didn't send me, but I have some more).
And I probably re-read James H. Schmitz, but I can't swear it was 2020 not 2019 the last time I re-read The Demon Breed or an anthology of his shorts.
If you do not know about it, isfdb.org is by far the best speculative fiction database out there — you can search by artist, author, publisher, etc. http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi
I'm not a fan of Heinlein. Wyndham is an unknown quantity — I've read a lot about him but haven't read his work.
Thanks, heading over now to see what you thought of those novels.
J.W. Wartick says:
I quite enjoyed the two of these I've read–"The Ship Who Sang" and "The Long Tomorrow."
"The Long Tomorrow" has stuck with me much more, though. It seems an almost quaint coming of age story, but then hits in unexpected ways, dancing at the edge of philosophical questions about human nature.
[Sorry if repeat, it wouldn't let me post the first time?]
Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by The Long Tomorrow. I didn't expect to like it.
Hmm, let me check if your first comment was flagged as spam.
I loved The Long Tomorrow, it's a very good novel indeed, a genuine underrated classic. David Pringle includes it in his The100 Best SF Novels. I could tell two or three pages in that I was in the presence of a very talented writer. Perhaps unsurprisingly she also worked as a Hollywood screenwriter with some "big gun" directors, e.g. Howard Hawks.
The Long Tomorrow is the only work of hers I've enjoyed so far. Not a big fan of the super pulpy stuff and I found some of her other SF novels banal — like The Big Jump (1955) (from the same year!) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2011/07/24/book-review-the-big-jump-leigh-brackett-1955/
I have a collection of her short stories that I intend to get to. One "problem" with her is that her preferred genre was really considered out of date and old-fashioned at the time she was writing. I haven't read The Big Jump, but wlll soon.
Re Heinlein, I love the Heinlein juveniles and actually consider Starship Troopers his best novel (turned into a cartoon of a movie by a director on whose own admission hated the book and didn't finish it). But Heinlein was treading a fine line at that point between storytelling and preaching and I understand why Scribners rejected it. There's good evidence his editor at Scribner, Alice Dalgiesh, was keeping him in check, nixing tendencies that would later emerge unchecked by editors making him, for me anyway, unreadable.
Oh man, LB's The Big Jump was first published as an Ace Double alongside PKD's first published novel, Solar Lottery:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Jump.
Checking Thriftbooks, Abebooks and ebay at this moment…(like that cover art too).
I attempted to read Solar Lottery at one point — didn't care for it.
I found his second novel (I think), The Man Who Japed (1956) far better [note: my review is from the first years of my site and isn't the best — I can no longer write about PKD for a variety of reasons] https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2010/07/31/book-review-a-man-who-japed-philip-k-dick-1956/
Joachim, an interesting post as ever, bursting with thoughts and suggestions. I feel like I've joined you on and off for some of the year just gone, and find that I've read a few of the works you've covered.
In 2020 I read, and like you enjoyed immensely, Brackett's The Long Tomorrow, Miller's Death of a Spaceman, Hamilton's What's It Like Out There?, and Wolf's The Statue. Many years back I read Harrison's A Storm of Wings while on a Viriconium bender. It's all a bit vague now, but I dimly recall it being a dense and often poetical affair. High on the to re-read list. Similarly with Ballard's The Dead Astronauts, though I'm more likely to reread that soon—and I'm eager for more on your theme of "critical of space agencies" etc. I read the first of McCaffrey's The Ship Who Sang stores two or three years ago and remember it fondly.
Of those books & stories I haven't read, the ones that most appeal are Electric Forest, Hyacinths, The Black Corridor, City Come A-Walkin', Nine Lives, And Read the Flesh Between the Lines—particularly the short stories and the Yarbro and Shirley novels.
Finally, on the question of 2020 itself. What a year! Though sadly, and despite the clock ticking over, I feel that it is far from over. Trump's departure is, for me, the merest of surface phenomena unfortunately. We're left with a growing fascist movement in the US and elsewhere, not to mention the ongoing crises of COVID, climate and that most miserable of all: economics. Certainly, here's to better times, but I feel that we'll be knee deep fighting for them for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, this time we'll win.
Hello Anthony,
I have a bunch in my series planned. Up next (although it'll in a review of a complete collection), is William Tenn's "Down Among the Dead Men" (1954).
If you read any Electric Forest, Hyacinths, The Black Corridor, City Come A-Walkin', Nine Lives, or And Read the Flesh Between the Lines, let me know! I'd love to hear your thoughts.
2020 was awful. I've been following the political landscape closely — I hope there's a serious reckoning within the Republican party about presence of right-wing radicalism and terrorism (although I doubt it). We shall see.
I love Down Among the Dead Men. Very happy to have a look at this story again–what with shades of Cordwainer Smith's Scanners Live in Vain.
I'm not sure when I'll get to those novels. I am in the midst of cooking up a project that will necessitate a reread of Harrison's Viriconium stories. Thanks for the inspiration!
I can't see how that serious reckoning will happen within the context of mainstream politics. The Republicans appear to be in an advanced state of decomposition under the influence of populism/fascism. What's more likely–to my mind–is the full blown emergence of fascism into the US mainstream, rather than its marginalisation or eclipse. But we will see I suppose…
I keep on trying to write my review of the Tenn collection and then rechecking the news…. Hopefully I manage to formulate my thoughts this week.
Did you have a clear favorite 2020 SF read? I know you mentioned a few you enjoyed in the earlier comment.
I don't read anywhere near as many sf novels as you. Last year I enjoyed 'The Long Tomorrow' at lot. A surprise fave was Richard Matheson's 'The Shrinking Man' (1956). I was expecting to like it, but then found the novel an surprising exploration of the anxieties and insecurities of the white, middle-class, heterosexual male in the US of the 1950s. Highly recommended.
A non-genre novel I liked immensely and read in 2020 was Patrick White's 'Voss' (1957). White is the only Australian to have won the Nobel prize in literature. Voss is an excellent fictional examination of the empty heart of the European invasion and colonisation of Australia. It's a depressing read, albeit beautifully done. Highly recommended.
Of the man short stories I've read, I've already mentioned a few of my favourites: 'A Man of the Renaissance' by Wyman Guinn, 'The Dowry of Angyar' by Ursula Le Guin and 'Hunter, Come Home' by Richard McKenna. The McKenna in particular was a real stand out. I also read Ray Nelson's 'Turn Off The Sky', and loved his attempt at rendering a near future bohemianism. Apparently, the published version is not the complete work, and as far as I can tell it's never been published in full. I'd love to read the entire work.
I reread Lautréamont's 'Maldoror' (Fr. orig. 'Les Chants de Maldoror', 1868/69) at the beginning of the year, and found it even more beguiling on this reread. I truly believe this work is the pinnacle of the "anti-novel" and contains the entirety of the literature to come sketched out between its covers. Simply staggering.
that should read "I wasn't expecting to like it…" re: the Matheson.
Oh yes, I've read Voss, and it was good. The more fantastic parts of it (when Mr. Judd is kind of being absorbed into the land) remind me of some of Willa Cather's work.
I almost forgot… I read Alec Nevala-Lee's 'Astounding'. It's a fascinating story of John W. Campbell's various pathologies, and the way his quasi-fascism shaped modern sf. I really liked the theoretical critique in the introductory chapter, and whereas I found the story of Campbell, Heinlein, Asimov, and Hubbard compelling (and horrifying at times), I felt that Nevala-Lee should have more clearly drawn out his theoretical critique throughout the narrative. But this is a minor quibble–it's one of the best sf history-critical books I've read.
I need to read more SF scholarship. Still waiting for a monograph on the impact of the Vietnam War on SF! I can't believe one doesn't exist….
I need to pick up a copy of Nevala-Lee's Astounding. Thanks for the reminder!
I have a McKenna collection lined up for the spring. I've read a bunch of his short stories over the years but none recently. It's time to return to them.
The monograph sounds fascinating. Author, title?
I've started reading M John Harrison's critical writings—mostly review pieces from New Worlds. I'm disappearing down a rabbit hole over the question of "realism" and formal experimentation in SF. Hopefully i'll return with some tales to tell!
There isn't one! I want one! Why there isn't one bewilders…. you'd think the Vietnam War and SF would be a sexy topic.
"still waiting"—oh i get it! Yeah that is crazy. Surely there's been the odd article in SFS that touches on the subject? Maybe we need to write it!
So, maybe I'm not looking in the right places as I'm no longer in academia and I've lost my research chops, but I can't find an article that isn't focused primarily on the best known SF novels that are Vietnam-inspired, like Haldeman's The Forever War.
That is strange. But then i am not up to speed on the breadth of SF scholarship over the last 50+ years. Still putting my toes into the water. I will report back if i find anything along those lines.
So there's this article which is as close as I can find.
H. Bruce Franklin's The Vietnam War as American Science Fiction and Fantasy in Science Fiction Studies Vol. 17, No. 3 (Nov., 1990), pp. 341-359 (19 pages)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4240011?seq=1
There are also books like David Seed's American Science Fiction and the Cold War: Literature and Film but it doesn't even have a chapter specifically about Vietnam…. he states in his intro that he won't cover it.
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=r5p4Ko4oP2cC&oi=fnd&pg=PR6&dq=vietnam+war+science+fiction&ots=7tDecmcKbT&sig=KIgRsZc83AGZ1IGSsqep64CidEo#v=onepage&q=vietnam%20war%20science%20fiction&f=false
Here's Franklin's Vietnam article — it appears to be THE article on the topic, and one everyone cites…
https://www.depauw.edu/sfs/pioneers/franklin52.htm
Thanks. Was it written in French in the original? Maybe we need to scour French SF scholarship. A recent book that i am very excited about is by Jean-Clet Martin: 'Logique de la science-fiction : de Hegel à Philip K. Dick' (2017). The idea of Hegel as a reference for SF has been something i've been ruminating over for a few years now.
I don't think so. I think it originally appeared in Science Fiction Studies in English.
But PKD…. I want scholarship to move beyond Le Guin and PKD and the most standard authors. Argh…. haha. You know me.
Sure. It's not PKD I'm interested in here so much as Hegel! Plus it seems to me that Martin missed the most obvious direct influence Hegel exerted: on Stapeldon.
Tangent: Here's a fascinating article I found in my perambulations of Academia.edu looking for Vietnam War and SF articles: "Better Living Through Chemistry: Science Fiction and Consumerism in the Cold War" (2019).
https://www.academia.edu/38693492/Better_Living_Through_Chemistry_Science_Fiction_and_Consumerism_in_the_Cold_War
AND FINALLY, I found a relevant article in The Cambridge History of Science Fiction volume the above article appeared in: David M. Higgins' "New Wave Science Fiction and the Vietnam War" (2019)
Wow, these look great. Keen to get on to them!
Speaking of the Vietnam War in speculative fiction — I'm going to take the plundge and finally read John A. Williams' Captain Blackman (1972). A wounded black Vietnam War soldier hallucinates or time-travels to experience different periods of time when black soldiers fought in America's conflicts…
I have two of his speculative fiction novels — that one and Sons of Darkness, Sons of Light. I eventually wanted to put together a series on three accounts of racial violence in a near future NYC — by a black (Williams), Chicano (Hank Lopez), and white (Warren Miller) author.
sounds like an interesting project. as usual, coming up with the more obscure (to me) goods. hopefully they're gems.
Stapeldon (and Hegel) is still a big hole in my SF knowledge. IT's one of those authors I know I'll get to eventually.
I'm not sure I'd recommend Hegel to anyone—that way lies madness! His lectures on history and art are probably the best entry for the nonspecialist.
You haven't read Stapeldon !!!! I think four exclamation marks are appropriate here. Get thee to a sfnal repository tout suite!
There are a bunch of famous/important SF things I haven't read. And I'd like to think that I've read a bunch of SF that should be famous that isn't read….
I'm certainly not calling into question the excellent work you've done plumbing the little crossed backstreets and byways of sf. Not to mention the many leads you've provided to me and others. Still, you're in for a treat when you do get to Stapeldon.
I know. It's more my self-justification for not reading some of the things I should!
You read more sf than i do, and i read a lot!
I've got the followings book recently: 'Parietal Games: Critical Writings by and on M. John Harrison'. It has collected all of his critical from New Worlds and elsewhere. He even has some intriguing things to say about Brunner's Zanzibar in passing!
Enjoying the Williams novel so far! Although, a tad bit too much like a history lesson…. we shall see!
Max Cairnduff says:
Not surprised to see Tanith Lee and M John Harrison make your list. Termush sadly looks completely out of print, which is a shame as I'd have picked it up.
The Long Tomorrow I have and haven't read. I liked The Big Jump more than you did I think, but it wasn't ever going to trouble an end of year list I don't think. I'll bump Tomorrow up the pile though.
The Shirley I read years ago and have no real memory of. I suspect I'll leave it that way. The Black Corridor I already bought to reread, quite likely due to your talking about it previously I suspect!
Thanks for stopping by Max! Did you have any great SF reads of 2020?
The Long Tomorrow was my surprise of 2020. The first section felt like it would end up being like a bland juvenile post-apocalyptic tale — but the complex morality of it all made it worthwhile.
The Black Corridor might be in the "Most Readable Yet Radically Structure"-type New Wave category… Worth reading to see what New Wave tried to do and how it often worked!
As for Termush, I spend $25 (far more than my usual acceptable purchase price) for the only copy I found online. It needs a reprint or at least a Kindle edition.
Jannik Juhl says:
I was sufficiently tempted by your reviews to track down both Electric Forest and Black Corridor in 2020. I haven't got to the latter yet, but Electric Forest was brilliant. I'll also get Termush, which is both cheap and easy to find in the original danish version.
In addition to Electric Forest, my favorite SF reads of 2020 were:
JG Ballard: Chronopolis – a superb collection
Tatyana Tolstaya: The Slynx – a highly original and very russian take on post-apocalyptic bleakness, a fascinating surrealistic allegory.
John Crowley: Engine Summer – even though I'm not usually a big fan of post apocalyptic settings, this is yet another surprsingly idiosyncratic take (and very different from Tolstayas), equal parts disturbing and sorrowful.
DG Compton: The Unsleeping Eye – indeed as good as its reputation (I wasn't quite as taken by The Silent Multitude I must say).
Christopher Priest: A Dream of Wessex – not among his very best, but still pretty good.
Stanislaw Lem: Eden – one of the few Lem books I hadn't read. Some of his (and mine) favorite themes placed in a much more rudimentary frame than in later masterpieces like Solaris and His Masters Voice. More primitive, and with a pretty weak "resolution", but still with plenty of the thrilling alien weirdness that Lem is so good at.
Some that are only borderline SF, but still great:
Josephine Saxton: Vector for Seven – not quite up there with Hieros Gamos but close (and definitely the second best of hers that I've read)
Kobo Abe: Secret Rendezvous – much better than Inter Ice Age 4 (which I also read this year, and which is much more "proper" SF), really looking forward to getting to The Box Man at some point.
Alfred Kubin: The Other Side – like Secret Rendesvouz an unreal, Bruno Schulz-esque nightmare; only vaguely SF.
Finally, I read a couple that were somewhat hard – at times downright grating – to get through, but stil worth it for their sheer originality (extremely different as they are):
William Hope Hodgson: The Night Land
Brian Aldiss: Barefoot in the Head


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Football-mad grandad thought he'd missed big Barcelona game - until this happened
It was a stroke of luck that allowed Andy Simpson and his grandson to watch the match at the Nou Camp
Zena HawleyAgenda editor
Booking tickets online for a major Barcelona football match should have been the start of a thrilling adventure for a man and his grandson – but it very nearly turned into a nightmare.
Andy Simpson had been planning to take his grandson, Connor, and his son-in-law, to a home game at the Nou Camp stadium during a family holiday as part of a 10th birthday treat.
He said: "I looked up the dates of the games and realised that on the day after we arrived in Tossa de Mar, Barcelona would be hosting Malaga. I looked up train times and realised we could get public transport to the stadium and back which worked really well for us.
"So after some consultation with the rest of the seven-strong party, it was agreed I would book three tickets, which I did."
Andy Simpson, who nearly never made it to the Barcelona stadium
But it was only after Mr Simpson, who lives in Stretton, printed out the tickets that he realised that in the time between researching the game and booking the tickets, it had switched days because of television demands and was taking place on the night the family was due to arrive in Spain on Saturday, October 21.
Chellaston man's stress as his number becomes the same as a taxi company's!
He said: "The tickets cost me 268 euros and as well as letting Connor down, I realised what a waste of money it had been. There was no way we could get there on time as we weren't landing until 7.45pm and lick-off was 8.45pm.
"So I set about trying to get the money back and contacted the club to tell them about the situation but my request was refused, despite repeated emails, which made me very angry when I think of all the money that the club has – it's awash with it."
This was the view inside the Barcelona stadium for Mr Simpson, Connor and his son-in-law
So that was the end of any hope of getting to the game - or so Mr Simpson thought. He said: "When we packed for the holiday, I put the tickets in my hand luggage for some reason.
"Part way over France, the pilot announced that the plane was ahead of schedule and we would be landing at 30 minutes earlier than scheduled at about 7.15pm.
"The game was due to start at 8.45pm and we realised that might still be a chance to get to the game if we took a taxi from Girona airport to the game, leaving the others to grab the luggage and head for Tossa de Mar as planned."
Burton Albion fan Connor is pictured with John Brayford at the end of the 2016-17 season
Mr Simpson, Connor - who is a Burton Albion fan - and his dad, got through passport control, hailed a cab and found themselves at the stadium as the whistle blew for the start of the game.
"But because it took us about 10 minutes to get to our seat, we missed the first goal after two minutes. But we saw another one later and Barcelona won 2-0, said Mr Simpson, who runs Strategic Artist Management.
Do you know your consumer rights? Six of the biggest shopping myths debunked
"Connor was delighted, especially as he saw Messi play. It ended up costing us another 150 euros because we took the taxis, which was way more than we wanted to spend but it was worth it.
"But I am still angry that Barcelona refused to refund any of the money and when I made inquiries in this country, there did not seem anyone who wanted to help out with the situation either.
"So anyone booking tickets like we did – check first that you can get there because you won't be able to get your money back – not even as a goodwill gesture."

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Deluxe room with mountain views : Hotel have only 2 deluxe room on the top floor with excellent Annapurna mountain range with Fishtail mountain views. One room # 11 with 1 large king size bed ( 6×6.5 fits ) other Room # 10 is with 1 queen size bed and 1 single bed ( 5 x 6.5 and 3 x 6.5 fits ) which is suitable for a couple, 2 different people and family of 2 people with children. Deluxe room have facilities of multi channel Smart Television with internet, ceiling fan, automatic temperature controllable air- conditioning (air con).
Standard Triple Bed Room at Hotel New Pokhara Lodge Lakeside Pokhara. Carpeted rooms with wooden furnishings come with a cable TV and wardrobe. The private bathroom is equipped with shower facilities. Rooms are with plenty of lights and private windows, some rooms offer mountain views but all rooms offer garden views. Very high speed WI FI internet is on the air free of cost for all hotel guest. Standard Triple Bed Room can be booked for 3 people or for a family. It has 3 separate single beds.
Economy Double or Twin Bed Room at Hotel New Pokhara Lodge Lakeside Pokhara. Carpeted rooms with wooden furnishings. The private bathroom is equipped with shower facilities. All Economy Double or Twin Bed Room offer garden views. Very high speed WI FI internet is on the air free of cost for all hotel guest. This Economy Budget Rooms are located on ground floor and can be booked as single and double occupancy . This rooms has no TV.
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This is a professional product only to be used by therapists in treatments needing an oxygenating, soothing or anti-bacterial effect.


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Olaplex is an additional service that can be added to your colour or highlights to dramatically reduce breakage and make your colour last longer.
Olaplex is free of silicones, oils, parabens and aldehydes.
Olaplex has now arrived in the UK and available at top salons by invitation only. If you are looking to improve your hair strength and shine then please ask for Olaplex when booking your appointment.


And that's what has been most of the conversation leading up to Game of Thrones's eventual return this Sunday. There have been months—nearly an entire goddamn year—of conjecture based on things as trivial as what Emilia Clarke was wearing while filming a CGI dragon scene. The Game of Thrones actors have—for the most part—been very, very good at keeping plot details secret.
While many fans agree that most characters will finally converge in the coming season, they don't have any conclusive evidence to support this theory—especially when everything in Game of Thrones moves so goddamn slow. Yet, here we have an insider on the show very directly confirming that in Season Seven Jon Snow will absolutely meet both Cersei and Daenerys.


Described by BBC ATL as 'Jangly rock and roll with attitude', County Down band Parapa Palace have so far released their self titled debut E.P on 22nd April 2015 followed by the critically acclaimed double single "Myopic/Visions" on 14th August 2015. Both are available to download via the bands bandcamp page.
Building a reputation for their intense and engrossing live shows, the Northern Irish rockers are going from strength to strength.
Since their live debut at The Menagerie Belfast in February 2015, the band have played several high profile shows including Belfast Voodoo, The Empire Music Hall and in June performed an in-store gig in HMV Belfast. 2016 has so far seen the band back in the studio and working on new material, as well as playing showcase shows in McHugh's basement and Dublin's Bello Bar.
New single 'Cruel Hands' was released on 26th May 2016 and is now available to download/stream from all major digital music services.


text:
Trophon parodizi is een slakkensoort uit de familie van de Muricidae. De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 2005 door Pastorino.

Muricidae

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The British Parliament has called to declare Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, to explain how the company acquires and retains the data of its users, and what preventive measures it adopts to prevent that information from being used by third parties.
Zuckerberg will also have to answer questions about Facebook's links with Cambridge Analytica, the data firm that has used and manipulated the profiles of up to 50 million users for electoral purposes.
"All the official responses that have been given so far have underestimated this risk and they have been misleading," says Conservative deputy Damian Collins, chairman of the parliamentary committee investigating digital security and the phenomenon of 'fake news', in the letter addressed to the founder of Facebook.
The parliamentary committee calls on Zuckerberg to respond before March 26. "The time has come to listen to a senior Facebook executive, and with enough authority, to explain how a failure could have occurred in the process," says Collins, even knowing that Facebook's founder is not obligated to appear and could delegate to a senior position in the company.
"There is a high interest in the public on the subject of data protection," Collins adds. "We are confident that you will understand the need for a representative at the top of your organization to address this concern, given their commitment at the beginning of the year to" fix "Facebook, we hope that you will be the top representative.
"The president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, has also asked the founder of Facebook to go to the euro parliament to offer explanations: "Facebook needs to clarify before the representatives of 500 million Europeans that personal data are not being used to manipulate democracy", Tajani said on his Twitter account.
In the United States, according to Efe, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC, for its acronym in English) is investigating Facebook for access to private information of about 50 million users. Specifically, it investigates whether the popular social network violated the terms of its consent agreement, established in 2011, by providing data from its users to the company Cambridge Analytica.
If found guilty, Facebook could have to face millions in fines for the violation of the agreement with users of the social network.
According to media such as 'Observer' 'The Guardian' and 'The New York Times', Cambridge Analytica used the data collected without authorization in early 2014 to develop a computer program that predicted and influenced the electoral choices of users. The more than 50 million affected profiles account for approximately one-third of active US users and almost a quarter of potential voters.
It should be noted that investors at Cambridge Analytica include Trump's former chief strategist and former head of his election campaign in 2016, Steve Bannon, and a prominent Republican donor, Robert Mercer.
The application that collected the data was 'thisisyourdigitallife', the work of university professor Aleksandr Kogan, of the University of Cambridge. Kogan's company, Global Science Research (GSR) and Cambridge Analytica paid hundreds of thousands of users to get personality tests and obtain their data for academic use.
However, it also collected information from Facebook friends of the subjects of the study, which resulted in millions of data. The conditions of use of Facebook limit the collection of data of friends to improve the user experience in the application itself and expressly prohibits using them for sale or advertising.
In its 2011 contract, Facebook undertook to request the consent of its users before making certain changes in the privacy preferences of its users, as part of an agreement with the State, which at that time accused the company of cheating Consumers when sharing with third parties more information than authorized.
Facebook announced on Friday the suspension of Cambridge Analytica and its parent company, Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL) for information that they did not delete user information and for inappropriate sharing.
In the session on Monday, the shares of Facebook gave 6.77% of its value, a setback equivalent to the loss of about 35,000 million dollars (28,507 million euros) of the company's stock market capitalization.
Next An Xbox controller, the strange equipment of the most modern submarine of the US Navy.


Situated at the gateway to the National Capital is Thoroughbred Park, located on the grounds of the Canberra Racing Club.
Thoroughbred Park Function & Convention Centre is quickly developing an enviable reputation for conference and function facilities. Offering the best of both worlds with the freedom and tranquillity of the countryside, a beautiful view, unlimited free parking and is situated only five minutes from the heart of Canberra.
In a very competitive market, we are delighted to see people looking outside the standard conference and function facilities offered by most around town. The racecourse is a wonderful alternative offering a relaxed and peaceful setting with one of the best views in Canberra.
The club has conference and function facilities to suit everyone, from small conferences of 15 people to large corporate events of 2000. Specialising not just conferences, but also corporate events, weddings and trade shows.
The Canberra Racing Club has recently undergone a $10 million development that has provided Canberra with arguably the best track and racing facilities outside of the major state capital cities.
Thoroughbred Park is quickly developing an enviable reputation for function and conference facilities. This venue offers the best of both worlds with the freedom and tranquillity of the countryside and a beautiful view of the Brindabella and Majura mountain ranges.
Situated only five minutes from the heart of Canberra with complimentary parking in a secluded and secure environment, Thoroughbred Park is the perfect location for your next event. This space offers a wonderful alternative with a relaxed and peaceful setting and spacious light filled rooms fitted with floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking the race course.
For enquiries or to book your next function please contact Thoroughbred Park via email.
Beer Day Out at Thoroughb..
Student Race Day at Thoro..


I would like to thank you for stopping by to see what is going on in my life today. I hope you had a great day today.
It was another stay at home and in bed day for me. I had major dental work done two days ago and my mouth is still killing me. I was starting to get worn down from doing several events lately so it has been helpful to stay home and sleep for a couple of days. I will not be able to do that tomorrow due to an event I have scheduled. So besides sleeping I have been spending time with my pets and catching up on correspondence while watching coverage of the $700 billion dollar bailout in America. Now I have discussed that issue for the past two days and I am over it. I already know our politicians are going to saddle us with this debt so they can protect the rich. Now remember the people who made money on these "toxic debts" are not having to pay any of those ill gotten gains back. So once again the middle class is saving the rich. Please tell me we are not practicing socialism now. What has happened to this country? Where were our leaders and regulators? And why shouldn't they all be thrown in jail?
But I digress, it just makes me so angry because I also know the effect it will have on public funding. Mark my words.
I missed Dancing With the Stars last night. My mouth was killing me so I ended up in bed very early. I heard today that Ted McKinley was voted off last evening. It has been several years since he has been on television so that probably did not help him with getting votes. After spending a couple of hours with Gary, I had to go to bed. He got home this evening around 6pm since he decided to walk home from work. It is only about three miles so it is good exercise for him. Not like either of us is getting any younger you know. I am looking forward to working out again after my doctor gives me the okay. I am hoping he will this next month.
I have not been able to eat hardly anything solid in the past three days so I have been starving. I am still doing my two protein shakes every day but it is not the same as eating a nice plate of food especially if you have a craving for something. But the thought of having to chew right now is not something I want to think about doing. It hurts just sitting here. ARRGH!
Gary ended up making some cheese ravioli with red sauce which I was luckily able to do a fair job eating. My mouth is sore as hell now but it sure tasted excellent. We also went for our walk after dinner tonight. The temperatures have been a little cooler at night for the past few days so it makes for great walking weather. Unfortunately, it looks like we will be warming up again starting this coming Sunday. But fall is not too much further away.
We ended up watching the series premier of Ugly Betty this evening. I think Ugly Betty is one of the few well written shows on television right now. It has a fresh, unique concept which has played well with the audience. Most of the other shows will also be showing their season premier soon like Brothers and Sisters, Desperate Housewives and many others.
Well I am headed off to bed now. Starting to fall asleep as I am typing this. I hope you have a great tomorrow.


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Home › Articles & Blogs › Fisheries - Are They Bouncing Back?
Fisheries – Are They Bouncing Back?
There is growing evidence that certain stocks are recovering.
By Guest Bloggers on 26th August 2011 in Fisheries
Image: By Patrick Gijsbers (http://www.allemaal-beestjes.nl/cpg145/index.php) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By: Amanda Holt
Its been all over the news and on the tip of politicians tongues: stocks are depleting, but are the tides turning?
There is growing evidence that certain stocks are recovering, generally when fisheries are forced to close due to the un-exploitable stocks. One of the most notable and famous examples is the cod fishery off Nova Scotia. Newly explored seas opened this area for fishing in 1497 with the famous explorer John Cabot commenting "The sea there is swarming with fish, which can be taken not only with the net, but in baskets let down with a stone, so that it sinks in the water,". It was closed in 1993 when cod had been fished almost out of existence in the area, leaving very little catch with market value. This area, particularly Grand Banks, is used as the prime example of over exploitation of fish stocks in the modern world. It has been estimated that approximately 8 million tonnes of cod were caught between 1647 and 1750 which covered around 25-40 generations of cod. Factory trawlers caught the same amount in around 15 years, peaking 81,000 tonnes in 1968. This obvious greed, lack of foresight and management resulted in a reduction of 75% of spawning biomass in all stocks within the area (some northern areas decreased by 99%). This meant that the area could not recover whilst being fished, due to low recruitment, and it was questionable as to whether it would ever recover without fishing. This is because by removing an organism from the food chain the ecosystem changes, provide a chance for opportunistic organisms to flourish.
Although, things could be getting better!
A journal recently posted in nature suggested that cod, as well as other commercially valuable species (i.e. generally predatory fish), are coming back to the area (these include haddock and pollock). Cod are reacting to numbers of foraging fish and increase when they are low. This means that more juvenile cod are surviving to become adults. There is quite a large catch with it, the size of the catchable stock is getting smaller. This is seen in many areas where overfishing has taken place, because it becomes advantageous to a smaller and therefore less desired fish. This can also be explained with the increase in competition for food, so it is plausible that the cod have changed the way they feed.
This should be looked on with great expectation but also caution. Cod may never fully recover but its a good start. We should use this as an example of how mother nature cannot be controlled and its possible to recover if we are wise enough to step back for a while.
Tags: fisheriespopulation
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In areas where fishing still takes place a further theory with regards to the decreasing size of mature fish is of course fisheries enduced evolution. Where fish which mature at a larger size are being removed from the spawning population before they can "spawn at least once" and so smaller, early spawners are becoming more prolifent in the gene pool.
This has the potential to completely alter the genetic structure of a stock and may explain the return of smaller individuals to previous fishing grounds.
Debbie 31st August 2011 at 3:46 pm Reply
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New Hope for Rare Parakeets
Orange-fronted parakeets are small, brightly coloured forest-dwelling birds. They are classified as critically endangered by the IUCN, and as nationally critical in New Zealand which means, according to the Department of Conservation, that "the next stop is extinction."
By Alex Taylor
Bridges for Langurs
The golden langur is endemic to the Indo-Bhutan region, in a small area of western Assam in India and the foothills of the Black Mountains of neighbouring Bhutan.
Pine Martens: The Comeback
Small populations survived in Wales and areas of northern England at very low densities, but the only viable populations left could be found in the North West Highlands of Scotland where persecution pressures were less.
The Eastern Cougar Extinction
Widespread persecution by European settlers led to the downfall of this subspecies. The big cats were killed to protect the settlers and their livestock through hunting, trapping, poisoning and bounty programmes.
And we'll send you lots of interesting stuff!


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Q: how can i protect REST Webservice from being hit if used from any tool I am using Jersey REST Webservices for my Application which is responsible to show some data present in Database .
The website has got no user registration , so anybody can type the url and see the website .
My worry is that people can see the REST API calls from browser network tab and fire them .
My web service looks somewhat this way
package com.services;
@Path("/sgxservice")
public class SGXService {
    @GET
    @Produces("text/plain")
    public String fetchsgxvalue() {

    return "somevalue";
}
}

And this is the way i  am making call to the webservice
function displaynewsbycompany(enteredtext) {
    var url = 'http://localhost:8080/TradeOnlineChat/rest';
    var s = "";
    url = url + '/sgxservice,
        jQuery.ajax({
            type: 'GET',
            url: url,
            cache: false,
            dataType: 'jsonp',
            jsonp: false,
            cache: false,
            timeout: 17000,
            async: false,
            jsonpCallback: 'companynews',
           success: function(newsbycompanyresponse) {
               jQuery("#newsbycompanyRss").html("
" + s + "
");
            },
            error: function(x, t, m) {
                jQuery(".loadingWrapforlivenews").hide();
            }
        })
        .done(function() {
        });
}
}

how can i protect REST Webservice from being hit if used from any tool

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A Sporting Life: Guillermo Vilas
A Sporting Life – taking on the challenge to put together sports and style (not exactly natural bedfellows), and making a plea for outdoor sports
It's clay-court season and Rafael Nadal just won his tenth Monte Carlo title yesterday, becoming the only player in the history of tennis to win the same championship ten times. It was also his 50 clay-court trophy, beating Guillermo Vilas' until-last-year record of 49. You may have read about Nadal a couple more times here on the blog or on my Instagram, so regardless of his milestone achievement, I don't want to repeat myself. Instead, today I am going to talk about the other Spanish-speaking champion of la terra batuda – the aforementioned Vilas, considered the best Argentinian tennis player of all time.
When I started this series, I meant to make it mainly about former sports champions, about those times when players combined substance and image, and defined a game. And as long as we talk about tennis, the stars of the modern men's game will never arise the kind of passion and adulation tennis players generated a few decades ago. My father, who is much more advised to talk about those times than me, says that the top five players of those years were unequivocally more valuable than those of today. Vilas was one of them. His tennis was skillful, accurate, consistent. Tennis may be more spectacular and rapid today (due to space-age rackets, new technologies, improved equipment, more rapid court surfaces that unfortunately sometimes produce better servers than complex tennis players – and, frankly, that is what my problem with Serena Williams has always been), but the players were undoubtedly more talented back then, continues my dad. And there is more than that. In the wood-racket era, the tennis stars of the 1970s and 1980s dominated the sport not only with their abilities, but also with their personalities, as James Kaplan was pointing out in a New York Times articles some years ago. And the style of the head-to-head rivalries counted as the third player on the court. "Artistry has yielded to velocity."
Even if he was strangely inefficient at the French Open, winning only one of his four finals there (it must be noted though that he lost to Björn Borg twice and to Mats Wilander once, in 1982, at the Swedish player's first attempt at Roland Garros – only Nadal would also win the title at his first attempt, in 2005), the left-handed Argentine's command of play on clay is undisputed. In the late 1970s, Vilas went on a title-winning rampage, making history with his winning streak of 53 straight wins on clay in 1977, a record that Rafael Nadal later eclipsed with 81.
Known for his one-handed backhand and smashing good looks (apparently Borg had a rival even in sweating a headband), Guillermo Vilas fused success with stardom. PUMA's iconic "GV" line was reintroduced in 2007, in homage to the Argentine legend who, back in the day, paired with the brand to create a line of tennis shoes that matched his winning style.
Related A Sporting Life entries: Roger Federer / Rafael Nadal / Jean-Claude Killy / Nacho Figueras / Björn Borg
photos: 1-Björn Borg and Guillermo Vilas, Suntory Cup, 1982 / 2- Argentina Exceptión, 1975
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eBPF maps are a core component of most XDP programs.
I am working on a library called libflowbypass that uses some code and ideas from Suricata to implement flow cutoff inside the kernel using eBPF and XDP in a reusable way for any network monitoring tool. The core of this is 2 maps (one for v4 and one for v6) whose keys are the 5 tuple (proto, src, sport, dst, dstport) of each flow to be dropped in the kernel. The value for each key stores some per flow metadata like packet and byte counts.
At some point connections end and map entries become outdated and need to be garbage collected. For TCP flows these entries could be removed when a FIN or RST packet is seen, but this would not work well for UDP flows. Plus, there is no guarantee that the FIN packet is seen. One of the endpoints could drop offline mid connection.
The solution to this is to also track the timestamp of the last packet seen for each flow. Then, periodically iterate through the map and remove any flows whose timestamp is too old.
You pass it the file descriptor of a bpf map, a pointer to a key(that can be NULL or invalid) and a pointer to store the next key.
Here is a program that creates a bpf_map and adds 5 items to it.
Got key -1 No value??
It deleted keys 101 and 103, but other keys showed up multiple times in the iteration. If we were not outputting the 'Got' lines it would not have looked like anything was wrong. What's going on here?
The problem is that when we use bpf_map_delete_elem to delete the current key it is no longer valid on the next call to bpf_map_get_next_key. This causes the iteration to start over again from the beginning. We need to ensure that bpf_map_get_next_key is called before bpf_map_delete_elem.
Wiring an existing home for Ethernet is a fun project. There is a lot of information out there on how to accomplish this, unfortunately much of it is vague or outdated. It's not uncommon to find guides that talk about using Cat5 cable or show pictures of ancient 10mbit networking devices. Other guides are more modern, but they gloss over specific details and fail to mention various pitfalls.
Part 1 - Bulk Cable - This document.
Part 2 - Tools - Drilling holes and cutting wires.
Part 3 - Pulling - Running cable through tight places.
Part 4 - Mounting - Rack mounted or wall mounted?
Part 5 - Patching & Terminating - Making the bulk cable runs useful.
Part 6 - Switch - What is everything going to be connected to?
Part 7 - Access Point - You may have heard of WiFi.
The first thing you need in order to start this project is a decent amount of quality, solid copper, bulk Ethernet cable.
How much cable you need depends on how many runs you will be doing and how large your home is. When estimating how long each of your runs is going to be don't forget to include the height from an attic down to a jack near the floor. A run three feet up into an attic, thirty feet around obstacles, and then down seven feet to a wall jack will turn into a 40ft run. Two such runs each to three different rooms can easily require 250 feet of cable.
If you are only planning a few runs for some ceiling mounted access points and security cameras, you may only need 100 feet total.
I estimated that I would only need 400ft, but went with a 1000ft box. The cost per foot for the 1000ft box was a bit lower than the 500ft box. The last thing I wanted was to have to buy 2 boxes and end up spending more in the end.
In 2017 there's little reason to use anything lower than Cat6. Even though 10GBaseT is rather uncommon and support for NBASE-T is non-existant, it doesn't make sense to run Cat5e anymore. Cat6 is not that much more expensive, and it's the hardest thing to upgrade once it is in place. 'You aren't gonna need it' is often true, but I'd rather not need it than have to re-wire everything in the future.
The box matters too ?!
You want to make sure the bulk cable you are buying comes in a Pull Box. A Pull box is designed so that you can easily Pull the cable directly out of a hole in the box without it getting tangled.
Many bulk cable boxes are advertised as 'Solid Cable', but the fine print mentions 'CCA'. CCA is NOT solid copper. CCA Stands for copper clad aluminum. Copper clad aluminum is inferior to solid copper and should be avoided at all costs.
There are two ways to tell the difference between solid copper Ethernet cable and CCA: Cost and weight. Solid copper will currently cost about $100 for 1000 feet, while CCA costs about half that much. 1000 feet of solid cooper will weigh about 35 pounds, CCA about 15 pounds. Before using it, throw your new bulk cable on a scale to verify that you did not get ripped off!
After deciding on cat6, avoiding inferior CCA cable, and ensuring I would be getting a pull box, the cable I purchased was Vertical Cable Cat6, 550 MHz, UTP, 23AWG, Solid Bare Copper, 1000ft, White, Bulk Ethernet Cable . The cable that actually arrived was labeled Cat6E tested at 600mhz. I'm not sure if I got it by mistake, but I can't complain.
Part 2 will cover all the tools that you will need, but an important item that you should not skip is fish line. This is a fancy word for string, but it's useful to get the specific kind designed for this application. I have Greenlee 430-500 Poly Fish Line, Tracer Green, 500-Foot which convienently comes in a container designed like a pull box. 500 feet should be good for at least 50 runs.
For every run that you do, you will be leaving extra fish line in hard to reach areas. This fish line can be used as a pull string to pull new cable (and new fish line!) in the future.
When writing a component like a storage backend you often want a way to switch between different implementations like memory, sqlite, or redis. Another common example is authentication backends for LDAP or Kerberos.
to create an arbitrary backend with the appropriate options.
At this point, we already start to run into trouble making these backends plugable. The new BoltDBStore implements the same interface as MemoryKVStore, but the NewBoltStore has a different signature from NewMemoryKVStore.
Changing MemoryKVStore to return a nil error is easy, but it doesn't make sense to add an unused filename parameter.
Now, these two New functions take almost the same interface, aside from MemStoreOptions and BoltStoreOptions not being the same type.
To solve this problem, we can use a type assertion.
This is almost everything we need to implement our config file.
A lot of fancy reflection can do this in a generic way, but this keeps things simple.
This is fully functional but it can still be improved. NewStoreFromConfig has to have knowledge about each store type. It would be better if each store was 100% self contained. This problem can be solved by having store backends register themselves into a map.
At this stage the backends are fully pluggable and the core of the kvstore library has zero knowledge of any individual backend implementation. Adding a new backend is simply a matter of importing a package that uses Register to add a new KVStoreDriver that implements the right interfaces.
The code for this post is available at go-interface-blog-post .
The message format is terrible.
The proposed syslog RFC was updated in 2009. Despite being a recent standard, it is primary a formalization of current implementations and retains much of the baggage from the 1980s. There are alternatives, but nothing standardized. Most embedded devices or turn-key systems only support the bare minimum required.
The syslog header has a few bytes reserved for the source of the log message. Still use UUCP? The syslog protocol has you covered. Use anything more recent than 1985? Sorry, you're out of luck.
Facility values MUST be in the range of 0 to 23 inclusive.
Most of the facilities also have a short keyword associated with them: kern, user, mail, auth, news, ftp, etc. Instead of simply using 4 bytes to represent mail as 'mail', it squeezes it into 2 bytes along with the priority. And then after saving 2 bytes, it wraps this value inside of <> brackets.
Instead of representing a priority 7 NTP log message as the 5 bytes 7 ntp it is represented as the 5 bytes <103>.
Why is this value wrapped in brackets but nothing else is?
The end result of this is that the facility field is all but useless for modern systems. Most likely if you are receiving syslog from an appliance it is sending you everything under local0.
Use TCP and risk your entire application locking up if the server is not reachable.
Use UDP and risk dropping messages under load.
The syslog protocol does not provide acknowledgment of message delivery. Though some transports may provide status information, conceptually, syslog is a pure simplex communications protocol.
I used to monitor close to 1000 switches. One of the most infuriating issues with the implementation of syslog was that if an uplink port flapped, you would not receive any log messages from that event. In most cases a 1k buffer would have been enough to ensure reliable delivery of all messages.
Some implementations of syslog include support for reliable delivery, including buffering messages when the server is not reachable.
RFC 3195 contains a 15 year old proposal for reliable syslog.
It is a good specification, other than not specifying how types (ints, bools) are logged and having no support for nested data like lists.
You can easily represent this as JSON, but there is no RFC5424 equivalent.
It doesn't matter that the support for structured data is limited because most software does not support logging in this format in the first place.
Software continues to use unstructured 'printf' style logging. This ends up manifesting itself as what I call 'lossy serialization'.
authlog is a wrapper that eventually ends up calling syslog().
Many programmer-years have been wasted trying to parse this message. Often, these attempts result in bugs and security issues.
Inside sshd, ssh_remote_ipaddr(ssh) was a single value containing the remote address but once it is logged it gets lost inside the rest of the message. If sshd (and any other daemons that need to log structured data) used an API similar to the following, there could be actual reversible serialization instead of the lossy mess we have now.
How do you specify structured data and have it escaped properly? You do it yourself, have fun. Think this functionality should be part of libc? NOPE.
You're probably failing at reliably shipping logs to a remote system.
If you don't know what happens to your infrastructure when a syslog server fails, find out ASAP.
For what messages you do receive, good luck extracting useful data from them.
A popular sentiment is that binary logs are evil and the only way to properly log information is by using plain text.
I don't particularly care about the argument between plain text versus binary logs. However, if your reasoning for not wanting to use binary logs is because they are opaque and can be corrupted then you should take a close look at your log rotation or archival process. If you are archiving logs by first compressing them using something like gzip, you no longer have plain text log files.
My last post (over 2 years ago) was my initial tests of running my http_flood project under docker. At the time, there was a huge performance impact running through docker. Performance dropped by almost 90%.
Two years later, things are a bit different.
There is still some overhead, but that is still over 10 gigabit.
How does this manage to be faster than the bare metal process? Most likely the google/golang container I am using is running a newer version of go that peforms better.
I spent a while the other day figuring out how to get websockets working on heroku, so I thought I'd write it up.
First, Heroku doesn't actually support websockets, so you must use something like socket.io which can fallback to various long polling mechanisms.
Without this, socket.io tries to connect first using websockets and it takes a while to timeout before switching to long polling.
Enabling xheaders is a good idea when deploying to heroku in general and is not tornadio specific.
Add the xheaders option to the main SocketServer initialization, and everything is happy.
Whatever you do, make sure you are using versioned python packages, even for simple tasks. And use pip+virtualenv.
So you want to program in python..
It seems like only yesterday, and not 7 years ago, that I decided to learn python. I may not be the best python programmer, but I have made probably every mistake you can, so here are a bunch of things not to do, and a few things you should be doing.
No matter how good your logic is, if you couple the logic with your input and output you are painting yourself into a corner. I've seen people write scripts like this, and then have other scripts call them using os.system. In a loop. Then they wonder why python is so slow.
If I wanted to run a program on a new system, I had to rsync the entire directory tree.
Since there was no dependency information, the first time I wanted to share a program I wrote, I had to figure out the dependencies manually.
I had no idea what modules were being used, and which were obsolete.
When I started writing test code and documentation, I did not have a good place to store them. I used a single directory for all my tiny modules because one directory per module seemed like overkill at the time.
When the version of python on the system was upgraded, bad things happened.
It's very tempting to simply throw all of your python code into a single directory tree, but that method only causes problems later on.
If you have a full package instead of a single file module, you should use packages and not py_modules. The the official documentation should be read if you are doing anything more complicated. There are fields for your name, short and long descriptions, licensing information, etc. This example was kept purposely short to make it clear that there is not much you actually have to do to get started. Even a barebones setup.py is better than no setup.py.
and at that point, you are just re-implementing what console_scripts does for you.
Do: Version your packages and depend on specific versions.
So, after years of doing-the-wrong-thing, I finally created proper packages for each of my libraries and tools. Shortly after that I started having problems again. While I had been versioning all of my packages, any package that required another package simply depended on the package name and not any specific version or it. This created problems any time I would add new features. I would install the latest version of a utility package on a server, and it would crash since I had forgotten to upgrade the library it depended on. Since I wasn't syncing the entire directory tree anymore, libraries were becoming out of date.
Once you get to the point where you are using versioned packages, you'll want to be able install different versions of modules under different python versions. When I was simply sticking everything under /srv/python it was next to impossible to have multiple versions of python. I could change PYTHONPATH to point somewhere else, but there was no easy way to maintain two complete different trees of modules.
However, if you plan on using python for anything more complicated, you will want to learn how to take advantage of modules and packages. Python doesn't force you to do this, but not doing so can quickly turn into a maintenance nightmare.
os.popen uses the shell by default, and unlike subprocess.Popen, has no way of disabling it. Problems can occur when the program you are trying to run does not exist or is unable to be ran due to a permissions issue.
While sh started fine, the actually command could not be ran. Since os.popen also does not pass the exit code back to the parent process there is no easy method to use to see if anything went wrong.
One of the first steps in groking ipv6 is getting a handle on ipv6 addresses.


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Q: Mock user location in MapBox Android In MapBox IOS SDK there is a possibility to mock user location by implementing a custom MGLLocationManager. I have implemented mine and works great.
Now I'd like to implement the same feature on Andorid, but I can not find any similar classes. Would you be to kind to suggest me the way it works on Android?
Thanks a lot!

A: The location engine that is used by the Mapbox locationComponent can be set programmatically. For that you can also use a MockLocationEngine.
Please see this article that explains how to define and initialize a locationEngine that would be used with the Mapbox locationComponent:
https://docs.mapbox.com/help/tutorials/android-location-listening/#initialize-the-locationengine
If you do not want to create a MockLocationEngine yourself, you can make use of the Android default location engine and set test locations using setTestProviderLocation
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/location/LocationManager#setTestProviderLocation(java.lang.String,%20android.location.Location)


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Togepi é uma das espécies presentes na franquia Pokémon, é um Pokémon do tipo Fada. Togepi pode evoluir para Togetic ao aumentar de nível com alta amizade e para Togekiss com exposto à uma Shiny Stone.

A felicidade que Togepi recebe de outras pessoas é armazenada em sua casca para compartilhá-la com pessoas de bom coração. Há um provérbio que afirma que a felicidade virá para aqueles que conseguirem deixar um Togepi em pé enquanto ele dorme, feito que aconteceu com o Togepi da personagem Misty.

Togepi assim como os outros Pokémon possui diferentes poderes, entre os principais golpes, estão incluídos: Hustle, Serene Grace, Super Luck, Sweet Kiss e Metronome. Este último o Pokémon já utilizou na série animada.

Sua fraqueza são os pokémon do tipo metal e veneno.

Recepção
Togepi tem sido um personagem presente em diversas campanhas de marketing, incluindo brinquedos e fantasias, além de promoções em lojas como Burger King. O mesmo também foi apresentado várias vezes nos jogos de cartas Pokémon Trading Card Game, e de promoções da Nintendo com a Eggo, além de aparecer em um decalque de um avião comercial junto a outros personagens.

Desde que apareceu em Pokémon, Togepi teve uma recepção favorável. A revista Wired comentou que o personagem era um dos favoritos desde que apareceu pela primeira vez no episódio "Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon". Ele também foi descrito como um "adorável pokémon em forma de ovo" pela editora Fiona Parker, uma contribuinte do Mirror. O portal IGN, por sua vez, listou o personagem como candidato para os leitores mais jovens escolherem como um dos mais fofos. e foi incluído em uma pesquisa de leitores mais jovens sobre os melhores Pokémon. Eles também descreveram Togepi como "agradavelmente rechonchudo" e "gordinho". Alguns editores, todavia, criticam o desenho do personagem. De acordo com o editor da GamesRadar, Brett Elston, como estava entre os primeiros Pokémon dos jogos Gold & Silver a aparecer no anime, todos os fãs poderiam falar sobre "este" ou "aquele" Togepi. Mais tarde, ele criticou o design do personagem, comentando que a sua aparição em Super Smash Bros. Brawl colocou as pessoas para "dormir". Raymond Padilla, editor da GamesRadar, descreveu Togepi como uma criatura sem utilidade, alegando que era irritante no anime.

No livro The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture: From Godzilla to Miyazaki, o autor Mark I. West descreve Misty, uma protagonista do desenho, como uma figura materna, e que seus instintos maternais são demonstrados através de seus cuidados com o Togepi, que ele descreve como uma "bebê hiperativo" que necessita de atenção constante. Para o autor Gerard Jones, Togepi era um Pokémon para fãs que gostam de bebês.

Pokémon
Personagens da série Pokémon
Protagonistas
Mascotes


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2011 French Open: Li Na Having Best Year Of Professional Career
By Matt Conner Jun 4, 2011, 11:07am CDT
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With her win at Roland Garros for the women's singles trophy over Francesca Schiavone at the 2011 French Open, sixth-seeded Li Na is coming into her own as a major player on the women's circuit. And moving forward, there's no reason to believe she can't continue her steady success through the final two Grand Slam events of the year: Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Before this year, the Chinese star had only played in four French Open tournaments with a fourth round exit has her best finish. As recently as last year, she went out in the third round and stayed that way through much of 2010. For example, she lost in the first round of last year's U.S. Open and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. Then came 2011.
This year has been a career defining one for Li Na. She opened the year with the biggest singles win of her career at Australia's Medibank Invitational, beating Kim Clijsters to claim her fourth overall title. She then finished as the runner-up at the Australian Open, losing a three set match to Clijsters. Now with her straight set victory over Schiavone, Na should move to No. 4 in the world rankings.
With this type of momentum, it's unclear just how far the 29-year-old will go, but it's clear that few can stop her at this point. Li Na has finally come into her own.
2011 French Open: Men's Final TV Schedule, Odds For Nadal, Federer
2011 French Open: John McEnroe, Lindsay Davenport Advance To Legends Finals


I was wondering how to go about determining a bullets max range. I see many people saying to keep atleast 1000 ft/lbs of energy as a general guideline but when I check a calculator some bullets are traveling below listed expansion velocities still have 1000 ft/lbs of energy left. Do people shoot for high shoulder and use bone to help the bullet expand or what exactly is the deal. Can 1000 pounds of energy break shoulders?
I limit myself to 500 yards currently for practice reasons, but also because I'm not sure on determining a max range. My current hunting bullet is a 200 grain accubond out of a 300 weatherby. Any help or info would be greatly appreciated.
The technical limit to a bullet's max effective range on animals, assuming appropriate application of bullet to animal, is the minimum expansion velocity. Forget about ft-lbs of kinetic energy.
Pretty easy, the manufacture should list the min velocity for max expansion. Determine your ballistics and find that velocity, if it is 764 yards, then that is your range. If it is 1011 yards then so be it. No matter what you should never (IMHO) shoot beyond your comfort zone. I practice to 500 and I am comfortable to 600. Anything beyond that I feel as a hunter I owe it to myself and the animal to do my best and get closer. I will always attempt to get as close as I can. Luckily I haven't had the need to take an animal beyond 245 yet.
I use the lesser distance of a number of metrics to determine max range. The most important is the minimum velocity for expansion, which for a lot of bullets is in the 1800fps range. I then use 1500ft/lbs for larger game like elk and 1000ft/lbs for deer sized animals. The energy based ones are very rough guidelines that seem to generate a lot of arguing... I figure they give me a reference point that accounts for larger bones and thicker skin in an elk.
Also keep in mind that caliber has a lot if impact on the results. In general, 30 cal bullet will be more effective than a 7mm with the same speed/energy.
The most important part is to know your own shooting limits... I practice at 600 yards since that is the longest range at the local clubs. I use clays as my reference point--it is fun busting them and they are small enough that I'm comfortable with taking an animal at that distance when I can hit them very consistently. This is in a calm situation at the range so add in adrenaline and unusual shooting positions and the groups will likely open up in the field a little.
Thanks for the replies guys. What you guys are saying is what I try to use for myself. I asked mainly because I see certain people on tv shooting at animals at distances should fall below the listed expansion speeds. They probably tested minimum expansion in gel or something, but it just made me really curious.


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