Read [Speculation, Fact and Fiction]

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/797026087433568256

Two beetles on a stick.One beetle says to the other "Do you ever get the feeling we are being observed by another lifeform"Zoom out to reveal that they are in a glass case with two scientists studying them.One scientist says to the other "Do you ever get the feeling we are being observed by another lifeform"Zoom out into space. Abouard a spaceship, two aliens watch the scientists on a screen.One alien says to the other "Do you ever get the feeling we are being observed by another lifeform"The aliens turn to look out at the reader.Text below the cartoon reads: From 'Physics for Cats' by Tom Gauld. Preorder it at www.tomgauld.

One of the cartoons in my new book ‘Physics for Cats’ which is out now in the UK, USA, Canada, France and Germany. Order from your local bookshops or online: www.tomgauld.com/

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/797026087433568256

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796928538933608448

A black cat sits on a wicker basket reading the book PHYSICS FOR CATS by Tom Gauld... Ok, so she's not really reading it. She's not even quite looking at it to be completely honest. But it is possible to imagine that she is reading and thoroughly enjoying it.

A poster. An impossible shape against a starry sky. Gravity-defying cats wander around it. Below is the following text:PHYSICS FOR CATSScience Cartoons byTom GauldGOSH Comics Present a LAUNCH PARTY with Tom Gauld onThursday 9th October 2025 from 7-9pm1 Berwick St, London, WIF DRgoshlondon.com @goshcomics

An image of the book 'Physics for Cats' by Tom Gauld. On the cover is an impossible shape against a starry sky. Gravity-defying cats wander around it.

a small, stapled booklet. The title is SHRÖDINGER VARIATIONS. On the cover a stick figure is shown carrying a box, accompanied by a black cat.

It’s publication day!! Luna has her copy of Physics for Cats, but sadly will not be joining us for the launch party tonight 7-9pm.
But you should come along and I will sign your book(s)!

Luna and her copy
The Party Invite
The book!
The mini-comic that comes with Gosh-purchased copies.

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796928538933608448

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

I’ve not had the best, err, months.

( The not-so-great adventures of green_knight )

I've handed in my last mss, which was a mess, slept myself out, ordered a new phone, and found a few brain cells; I'll be ok and I try to do better: read DW more often, finish all the half-written entries or dump them completely and free up my stack.

One thing I want to do more of is play RPGs, but again I haven't had the spoons to actually look for a group. So I started to look into SoloRPGs to just broaden my horizons a bit.

I love DnD. I want to play DnD properly again, but even with two people, scheduling is a problem.

So I've started to play solo, and read a lot of materials, and watched a lot of YouTube, ad poked at numerous systems and came to the conclusion that if I want to get anywhere with this hobby, I need to be more systematic about it.

To avoid cluttering up this journal and make it the SoloRPG ALL THE TIME channel, I've created

solo_knight, and to avoid that feeling of emptiness I've waited until I had several entries polished and a format that I think will work.

It's a mixture of play reports and reviews, with the odd deeper delve into mechanics. Right now, my goal is to explore the space as a whole, so I am willing to play a certain amount of games that I would not have picked voluntarily – I mean, science fiction horror survival? Does not sound like fun. (Wasn't fun. Was an experience I wouldn't want to have missed.)

And I'm writing down my experiences so they don't fall out of my brain immediately, I have a modest goal of two games a month, and a stretch goal of processing all of my Indie games by this time next year. (A lot of them are one-page or close to; things I'm going to play once for a couple of hours if at all, but I also have a number of long form games, and on top of that, I have numerous proper RPG systems I'm curious about that can be played with a GM emulator, but in order to do that, I need to be comfortable with emulators first so this will keep me occupied for a while.

So there you go.

solo_knight briefly turns up, bangs on his shield, and vanishes again.

And for a bonus task when my to-do list is shorter, I'll have to see how to link the two accounts so I can switch more easily between them.

Mood::

accomplished

There are 10 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796852998837010432

Cartoon cats climb around on a pile of science machinery with text that reads 'Physics for Cats: Science cartoons by Tom Gauld"

Cartoon cats and science machinery painted on a window.

Cartoon cats and science machinery painted on a window of a comic shop. The text reads 'Physics for Cats: Science cartoons by Tom Gauld"

A mini-comic with the title "Schrodinger variations" and an image of a cat and a man carrying a box.

I went to Gosh Comics today and painted their window. Just in time for tomorrow’s release and launch party of ‘Physics For Cats’.

sketch
in progress (seen from inside)
The complete window, just waiting for copies of the book.
An exclusive minicomic that comes with copies of the book bought at Gosh.

The party runs 7-9pm. All welcome! Come along and get a book signed. Details here

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796852998837010432

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Yesterday the chain fell off my bike again (it does this all the time) and today it's clonking and chonking and clicking as I cycle. I know it's a cheap bike, for Christ's sake, but how hard is it for a cheap bike to do its damn job. I guess I'm bringing it back to the shop to see if they can figure it out, but this is really frustrating

What's even more frustrating is that most of the time the place behind a gate and under a roof isn't easily available at work when I arrive, so I don't even WANT a nicer bike because this one is likely to end up in the rain and possibly stolen. I just want my cheap bike to WORK.

There is 1 comment on this entry. (Reply.)

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796761280035930112

Panel 1A figure stands at a lectern "This image illustrates my theory that, presented with a sufficient quantity of intricate formulae, overcomplicated diagrams and impenetrable acronyms, an audience will agree with almost anything." The screen is completely packed with such things Panel 2,3,4,5.Four audience members say enthusiastically: "My thoughts exactly!", "Hear, hear!", "I quite agree!" and "Excellent point!"

My latest cartoon for New Scientist.

p.s. My new book of science cartoons ‘Physics for Cats’ is out this week. Details at www.tomgauld.com

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796761280035930112

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

It's re-release day for RAVEN CALLS! (amazon affiliate link)

I'm beginning to feel the enthusiasm of the downward slide here: there are only four Walker Papers left to release after this, and I'm so excited to have the series out in the world again. I've just sent in the cover specs for NO DOMINION, and it's just so cool to see the series come together with the same cover model and everything across the whole thing. ::starry eyes::

After a year of adjusting to having shamanic powers, Joanne Walker has leveled up—and now she’s got to start all over again. She’s more open to the idea now, but it means throwing caution to the wind.

Caution, and her job, and her potential relationship with her former boss...and possibly any hope for a future tied to a timeline she recognizes at all. Determined to heal herself of a magically-inflicted injury, Joanne returns to her ancestral homeland—and when she activates her newly-increased powers, Ireland’s ancient, deep magic rips her out of time and into a history of regrets and unfinished business.

The aos sí of Irish legend—the fair folk, gods, and heroes of old—have paid the price of tangling with a dark power who stands against everything Joanne has ever believed in...and her ability to protect them is stymied by what she’s already done to save others. As the consequences of her actions begin to build up, Joanne is faced with two impossible choices—and loses her beloved best friend Gary to one, leaving her to face the other alone.

And as dark magic devours her from within, Joanne must risk everything to destroy the monster that haunts her—or fight the gods themselves to save it.

RAVEN CALLS is available in e-book at Amazon and in print at Barnes & Noble!

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796671438953283584

Science Cat is noting down important data:

• PHYSICS FOR CATS is out on Thursday!

• There is a launch party at Gosh!

• More details are at www.tomgauld.com

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796671438953283584

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796654039532240896

Title: One door leads to freedom, the others to certain death. You may ask one question. Image: Three guards with shields and speard stand in front of three doors. One guard sits at a folding table working at a typewriter, his shield and spear leaning against the wall.Caption: One guard always tells the truth, one always tells lies, and the third always tells an entrancing story that blends reportage with imagination in an attempt to reach a deeper authenticity by moving beyond the narrow categories of fact and fiction.

A riddle for Guardian Books.

p.s. My new book ‘Physics for Cats’ is out this week in bookshops and online. Details at www.tomgauld.com

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796654039532240896

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Surprise! It's a post about the house.

In the summer months, we rarely use the clothes dryer because it's so warm and dry here that we can just hang stuff on a drying rack upstairs and it will dry out pretty quickly. But it's starting to cool off, and on a rare rainy (and thus more humid) day, I had cause to want to dry something more quickly. I went to put it in the dryer, pushed the start button. Nothing. Everything seemed to be connected. I hung up the jacket to dry and decided that I'd deal with it later.

This morning, when Kayla came back from breakfast, she had an idea. While we had already checked the circuit breakers on the main box and on the sub box located in the laundry room, we remembered that there is yet a third box located in the garage. Going out there, we discovered that two breakers were off. Not in the tripped position, but actually off. I turned them back on and went back into the house and upstairs where the dryer is. Sure enough, the dryer worked. I'd forgotten that for reasons that doubtless made sense to the owner of the house at the time, the electrical wiring for the garage (which is a separate building from the main house) and the upstairs floor of the main house go through a conduit that branches from the main house, goes to the garage, and then back to the main house and upstairs.

This screwball wiring works, but it's something we keep forgetting. Fixing it would be part of a much larger electrical rebuild that would probably cost many thousands of dollars, because step one would probably mean upgrading our too-small electrical service, which means a new drop from the pole and lots and lots of rewiring. We could afford it, but I'm not sure we'll ever do it, just due to the massive hassle it would involve.

location: Fernley, Nevada

Mood::

relieved

There are 4 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796486733736902656

A poster drawn by Tom Gauld. A cabinet which looks like a six panel comic. It contains a variety of things: a castle, a drawing machine, a gallery, a sphere containing a princess and a robot, an insect, an artist, a cat, etc. A speech bubble emanating from the machine reads 'Tom a Quebec'

I currently have work on display at La Maison de la Littérature and in four libraries (bibliothèques Gabrielle-Roy, Paul-Aimé-Paiement et Monique-Corriveau) in Quebec City. Thanks to Editions Alto for sorting this all out.

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796486733736902656

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

When I was learning to read, my parents got hold of a rhyming ABC book. It was American, and inevitably I was frustrated by the final page. I don't think it was Dr Seuss's ABC, but we had quite a few of his, and his ABC illustrates the problem well enough.

Big Z, little z,
What rhymes with Z?
I do.
I am a Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz
As you can plainly see.

Why, I asked, has this book abandoned its rhyme scheme at the final hurdle, having been so strict about it hitherto? My parents, as I remember, hastily changed the subject. The loss of Britain's cultural hegemony was not, after all, a subject for the nursery, especially just before bedtime.

Later, of course, I learned the awful truth about the American pronunciation of the letter I had always known as Zed. Later still, it started to seep into British usage. I think that the phrase "Generation Z" was really the death-knell for Zed, already battered by the popularity of various rapper names, etc. In the mouth of a young person, especially, Zed will soon sound like a hipsterish affectation. Although it will probably be tolerated from elderly people such as myself, it will be at best a charming throwback to a former age, much like a penchant for the works of Vera Lynn.

Two (long) recent YouTube videos that I watched show this process in action. Both had their British presenters (one in his thirties, the other in his forties) pronounce the letter Z inconsistently. First Shaun, in his latest (excellent) analysis of the book The War on Science, starts with Zee, then goes to Zed, then back to Zee. Meanwhile, Simon from Cracking the Cryptic is equally unstable, saying Zed, Zee and then Zed again, while taking a frustratingly long time to notice that "NZ lamb dish rats" is an anagram of "Brahms and Liszt". Neither appeared to notice his own inconsistency. And why should they? In the grand scheme of things, etc....

But I do draw the line (of course, there is always a line) at British people and Australians saying "Dragonball Zee", especially if they are also fluent in Japanese and are thus aware that the Japanese pronunciation of that character is actually "Zetto". Yes, Trash Taste boys, I'm looking at you.

There are 15 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

I don't think I posted about this yet: https://us.macmillan.com/tours/martha-wells-queen-demon/

There's more info at that link, but here's a brief list of the tour stops and dates:

- Mon. Oct. 6 at 7:30pm: Brookline Booksmith with Holly Black, offsite at Arts at the Armory (Brookline, MA)

- Tues. Oct. 7 at 7pm: Politics & Prose (Union Market location) moderated by Leigha McReynolds (Washington DC)

- Wed. Oct. 8 at 7pm: The Strand, with Meg Elison (NYC, NY)

- Fri. Oct. 10 at 6pm: Let’s Play Books, with Chuck Wendig, offsite at Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA)

- Tues. Oct. 14 at 7pm, Third Place Books (Seattle, WA)

- Wed. Oct. 15 at 7pm, Iron Dog Books, with Nalo Hopkinson offsite at Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

- Thurs. Oct. 16 at 7pm, Powell's (Cedar Hill location) with Jenn Reese (Beaverton, OR)

- Mon. Oct. 20 at 7pm: Bookpeople, with Ehigbor Okosun (Austin, TX)

- Tue. Oct. 21 at 6:30pm: Murder by the Book (Houston, TX)

- Thurs. Oct. 23 at 6pm: Nowhere Bookshop (San Antonio, TX)

- Saturday Nov. 8-9 Texas Book Festival, Austin TX

- Sat. Nov. 15 at 2pm: Hyperbole Bookstore, offsite at Ringer Library (College Station, TX)

There are 9 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796386078204608512

A scientist stands in front of an enormous contraption"I created this device to test my theory that our entire reality is a simulation, but the readings I'mgetting suggest something much worse" "What?" Asks a second scientist."We're living in a cartoon!" Says the first. "Does it at least have a good punchline?" says the second. The fiorst scientist carefully looks over the data, then eventually replies "Nope" From 'Physics for Cats' by Tom Gauld - order it at www.tomgauld.com

A cartoon from my new book, ‘Physics for Cats’. Out next week: www.tomgauld.com

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796386078204608512

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

I did a playlist for Witch King (https://marthawells.dreamwidth.org/627157.html) when it first came out in 2023, and now here's one for Queen Demon:

Seven Devils - Florence + Machine

Burning - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Bando - ANNA with MadMan and Gemitaiz

Bringing Murder to the Land - Anton Newcombe and Dot Allison

Bulletproof vs. Release Me - The Outfit

I Owe You Nothing - Seinabo Sey

W.I.T.C.H. - Devon Cole

Egun (theme from Manhunt) - Danielle Ponder

Warm - SG Lewis

Disease - Lady Gaga

Which Witch (Demo) - Florence + Machine

you should see me in a crown - Billie Eilish

Bakunawa - Rudy Ibarra, with June Millington, Han Han, and Ouida.

There are 2 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796210986154590208

Image 1.Title: Slides for my lecture at the geology conferenceThree diagrams of layered forms labelled with:Sandstone,Shale,Igneous rock, Limestone, Granite. Image 2.Title: Slides for my lecture at the desserts conference The same diagrams now labelled with:Sprinkles, Custard, Chocolate, Sponge cake, Berry compote, Biscuit base.

A cartoon from my new book PHYSICS FOR CATS which comes out a week tomorrow! Preorder at you local bookshop or online: www.tomgauld.com/comic-books-v2

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/796210986154590208

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)