Posts in Life, the Universe, and Everything

The blog is going dark until 2017. Whichever holidays you celebrate this time of year, I wish you peace, joy, and abundant naps. See you next year! Read More  

  Have a junior science lover on your holiday shopping list? Here’s how to give them a special treat: Buy a copy of Fox Talk or Fuzzy Forensics from your favourite bookseller Email a copy of the receipt to shop@foxtalk.ca ... Read More  

I love Miracle on 34th Street. The original 1947 version, of course. In black and white, with Maureen O’Hara, whom I will watch in practically anything.   Seventy years later, this movie still stands up. In fact, in an age ... Read More  

My family was never particularly religious, but we always celebrated Christmas. And one of our favourite holiday traditions was playing Christmas carols. While some Christmas songs are so irritating that I practically punch holes in my car’s dashboard attempting to ... Read More  

Have a junior science lover on your holiday shopping list? Here’s how to give them a special treat: Buy a copy of Fox Talk or Fuzzy Forensics from your favourite bookseller Email a copy of the receipt to shop@foxtalk.ca Include ... Read More  

Another piece from my archives for Throwback Thursday this week! After I defended my PhD, I took a job at Chapters (best job for aspiring authors ever). Most of my customers were fabulous, but one was truly possessed by ... Read More  

  Have a junior science lover on your holiday shopping list? Here’s how to give them a special treat: Buy a copy of Fox Talk or Fuzzy Forensics from your favourite bookseller Email a copy of the receipt to shop@foxtalk.ca ... Read More  

On Cyber Monday, Amazon informed me that The Hobbit Extended Edition trilogy was deeply discounted on Blu-Ray. I nearly bought it… and then I had second thoughts. I have The Lord of the Rings Extended Trilogy on Blu-Ray, and ... Read More  

December 1 – the day I switch on the twinkle lights and start playing Christmas Carols. Also the day I switch from whatever Bath and Body Works scent I’ve been using all fall to my holiday favourite – Twisted Peppermint. ... Read More  

Have a junior science lover on your holiday shopping list? Here’s how to give them a special treat: Buy a copy of Fox Talk or Fuzzy Forensics from your favourite bookseller Email a copy of the receipt to shop@foxtalk.ca Include ... Read More  

Ann emptied her purse onto the bedspread and poked through the coins. Ninety-seven cents. A Barbie doll cost three dollars. She sighed. “I’ll never earn enough.” Tree branches scraped against the window, and Ann flinched, her pulse jumping. “It’s ... Read More  

It was one of those projects that was on my list for years. Also one of those projects that sounded simple, but turned out to be a bit more complicated in the actual implementation. Read More  

Want more creepy good bloodsucking facts? Check out Bite Into Bloodsuckers by Kari-Lynn Winters and Ishta Mercurio – perfect for the ghoulish 10-year old in your life! Read More  

A lot of us have had a really rough week. A lot of us are wondering what a Trump presidency is going to mean for us, and for our family and friends, and for the world at large. For every ... Read More  

If you were a superhero, what power would you pick? Reading minds? Super speed? How about invisibility? That last one is a good choice. Scientists around the world are already working on ways to make everyday objects – like ... Read More  

In keeping with my longstanding Halloween tradition, I’ve been watching scary movies for a couple weeks. In this context, my definition of scary is fairly broad, including such films as: Cabin in the Woods (the perfect combo of terror ... Read More  

The doctor will see you now. Read More  

I’ve been cleaning out my manuscript files, and came across this little news piece. Since I wrote it in 2011, it’s not quite news anymore. But Google tells me that an additional 30 Canadian bison were added to the ... Read More