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It is with heavy heart that I admit that this terrible time has come

I have brooded, of late. I have lain awake and pondered. I have constructed lists of pros and cons. I have considered my past and my future. I have wondered what I stand for, what I believe, what it all means.

And I have come to a momentous decision. The same decision that many of my friends have made, over the years. Again and again I chose not to follow them: but it seems clear to me now that the long-dreaded time has finally come.

Some may see my choice as elitist, a clear signal that I am no longer one with the people¹. Some may even take it as a personal betrayal. But that's a chance I have to take. I would like it to be known that I will understand if you choose to turn away from me in response to what I now must do. No hard feelings. I won't judge. Indeed, part of me will even sympathize.

Some may wonder what I will do with my right middle finger, and the outer edge of my right thumb. I must admit that it is this which weighs most heavily on my mind. Once, when I followed the old ways, those were very nearly my instruments of choice. Now I fear they may languish all but unused, save for *, 8, I, K, the comma, and the spacebar. For as I understand it the new one-button regime will not require their special services.

Yes, it's true.
I'm gonna go Mac.
Will I ever go back?


¹Don't look at me like that. I was totally one with the people. Ask any of 'em. No, not that guy. Someone else. Well, maybe not her. Look, some of my best friends are people!

feast your retinas

Meanwhile, I've been noodling around with my Flickr account, and created a new and highly idiosyncratic Top 10 set. ('Cause really, I can't expect anyone to go through my 76 supercool shots, much less the 300+ prettycool ones.) Said ten being these (click to see larger versions):

Nicholas Kristof and the dread taxi drivers of doom

I like New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof a lot, but I take some issue with today's column, which is largely about how to avoid theft, kidnapping battery and murder while travelling in the developing world. Not that his tips are invalid: but too many non-travellers already think that the developing world is a hive of lawless anarchy full of desperate starving people who will treat you as if your clothes were made of hundred-dollar bills, and that column will only reinforce that belief.

But it ain't remotely so. OK, I've been mugged in Mexico City, pickpocketed in St. Petersburg, and had my bag stolen in Bolivia - but I've also spent more than a year of my life travelling in Africa and Asia, including a fair number of some theoretically very dubious places, mostly on my own and via local public transit, without once being robbed or feeling like I was in genuine danger. (I did witness a money-changing scam in Zambia once; not the same thing.) As for the risk statistics, I went to a great talk by Redmond O'Hanlon once, where he outlined the most common causes of death for Western travellers overcome by mortality while travelling in Africa. They went something like this:


(To be fair, Kristof does allude to this with his fourteenth point.)

with nothing on my tongue but hallelujah

I'm pleased to report that I've finished the third draft of my latest book, tentatively titled Swarm, and sent it off to my agents.

It's a near-future technothriller about high-tech terrorists using unmanned aerial vehicles for smuggling and assassinations, honesty in relationships, extraordinary people, and the end of the world as we know it.

South American spotlights

Here are a few of the highlight pictures from the month I just spent in Brazil and Argentina. Click to see larger versions:


Ipanema beach. (Ipanema means "dangerous waters", incidentally.)


Rio from the Corcovado (aka the famous Jesus statue.)


Iguazu Falls.


Yours truly in front of 700 megawatts at Itaipu Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric power plant.


Caiman, Iguazu Falls.


Lago Torres and Cerro Torres, Patagonia.


Tiny human silhouettes before colossal wall of ice, Glacier Perito Moreno, Patagonia.


Trekking across the glacier.


Glacial blue.


A bed of icy spikes.


Sunset over Argentina.

Full set here.

to every squirrel there is a season

Well, whaddaya know: my pet-project squirrel novel Beasts of New York seems to be getting some online traction, a year after I released it into the wild. It tops the most recent most-downloaded list from Feedbooks, and site visits have more'n doubled this last month.