If you're a fan of Kurt Vonnegut, this story is a must... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FD2V7C5L

If you're looking for a #GreatRead this weekend, check out the latest in First Contact https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FD2V7C5L #ebook #scifi #sciencefiction

What are the best classic science fiction books on First Contact? Check out this list. You might be surprised :)
https://shepherd.com/best-books/classic-science-fiction-on-first-contact

'You can see the impact of vaccination in the USA in the heatmap below. Each row is one state, the colours represent number of reported cases over time. In first half of 20th century, measles rates were high, the years are shown in dark blue, the number of cases rapidly dropped due to vaccination.'
'Measles vaccines save millions of lives each year'.
Source: @scientificdiscovery.dev and @spoonerf.bsky.social (2025).
Published online @ourworldindata.org
Retrieved from:
https://ourworldindata.org/measles-vaccines-save-lives

Goodnight from Noosa

🇨🇳 China Faces COVID-19 Resurgence With Symptoms of Sharp, Burning Sore Throat.

On May 19, epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said the current COVID wave features a more intense “razor blade throat” symptom and more frequent coughing than past outbreaks.

Source: https://archive.md/glkjH

@auscovid19

"Although fiction, these stories are remarkable thought experiments that intelligently explore how an extraterrestrial encounter might play out in real life." https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/about-thinking/202505/would-first-contact-with-aliens-melt-our-minds

Here's an unboxing video with a photobombing cat! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaeB5An98l0&ab_channel=PeterCawdron

ANOTHER UPDATE: About three minutes ago on the website, France literally hit 1000% support for the anti-"Conversion Therapy" initiative. France really showed up here, with ten times the threshold support FR is literally half the supporters on this initiative. Apparently the people of France really, REALLY don't want their trans friends medically tortured

(if this is a boost, see upthread for explanation)

‘A total of 1,024 confirmed measle cases have been reported in the USA from 31 jurisdictions, with 14 outbreaks (defined as 3 or more related cases). Ninety-two percent of confirmed cases are outbreak-associated.’ @cidrap.bsky.social
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/us-measles-outbreak-grows-1024-cases

How rare is life in the universe? Here's the worst-case scenario https://thinkingscifi.wordpress.com/2025/05/13/how-rare-is-life-in-the-universe/

Supreme Court allows Trump to implement transgender military ban.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-allows-trump-implement-transgender-military-ban-rcna204135

#transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA

I downloaded a scientific paper of great interest to me. It is of typical length, about 15 pages in the PDF. I opened it in Acrobat, and got this message highlighted at the top of the page next to an AI sparkle icon: "This appears to be a long document. Save time by reading a summary." I cannot put into words how much this enrages me. First, this is not a long document. Have you met documents? Second, and more important, telling someone to not read a thing they want to read??! Fuck you, Adobe.

Two of my favorites...

Is life older than our planet? https://zeppscommentaries.online/?p=1780 here's an intriguing look at some of the clues about the origins of life on Earth

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"This is the first science fiction I have ever read & I'm 75 years old. I found it to be a very informative and enjoyable read, and very thought-provoking. The descriptions of the aliens and outer space, I thought, were extraordinary. I'm hooked" https://www.amazon.com/Xenophobia-Peter-Cawdron-ebook/dp/B00DJJWG7O/

Have we found life elsewhere in the universe? Maybe... https://thinkingscifi.wordpress.com/2025/04/17/unbalanced-equations/

Read The Minotaur—the #1 Hot #newrelease in #HardScienceFiction on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Minotaur-First-Contact-Peter-Cawdron-ebook/dp/B0DX6QMBJY/

Live footage of Donald Trump stepping back from the cliff edge… #Trumpland #TrumpTariffs www.bbc.com/news/article...

First Contact is "one of the most ambitious and successful projects in all of science fiction." — US book critic Mal Warwick https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082KKRH1Z