Free College-Level Classes
Some friends introduced me to a new web site this week: Coursera. This site is part of the new college trend of offering a selection of courses for free to the public. This site offers a wide variety of classes from various big-name universities. It's a little different from some sites where you just pick a video and watch it (though those are still very cool). These are actual classes with a start date, a finish date, some course work, and a letter of completion from the professor. It's more like an actual class. It does not grant actual credit toward a degree, but it can be a good way to introduce yourself to a new topic for personal learning. I have signed up for an Astronomy course that begins later this month and an Astrobiology course that starts in late January. I am very excited about them, and I think the work will help me in my quest to write solid science fiction.
Some of the course offerings are quite exciting and off the beaten path:
- Bioelectricity: A Quantitative Approach
- Writing in the Sciences (I may consider this one in the future as the current one is in progress now)
- Computational Neuroscience
- Control of Mobile Robots
Some of these classes are for the beginner; others are aimed at people with specific backgrounds. The class descriptions describe the intended audience. Looking at the course list, I kept thinking, "Ooooh! Story fodder. Like it. Cool. Story fodder. Story fodder! Story fodder!!!!" and "Where was this when I was in college!" But, you know, it's never too late to learn. I'm 42 years old, and my brain is still hungry.
Astronomical Events This Month
Speaking of astronomy ... we do have a few interesting Astronomical Events coming up this month - a couple of eclipses and the Leonids Meteor shower are on the menu for our skies in November.
November 13 - Total Solar Eclipse. Oh goody! Eclipse! Oh no, it's only visible from the South Pacific area. Never fear, in the Age of the Internet, everything is broadcast! The SLOOH Space Camera will broadcast the eclipse on November 13 starting at 2:30 PM Eastern. I intend to log in and have a gander. If you do live in the area where it will be visible, please take the normal eclipse viewing precautions with filters and glasses.
November 17 - 18 - Leonids Meteor shower peaks after Midnight; bundle up and makes some hot cocoa. I'm going to drag out my favorite viewing chair and a warm blankie.
You can see more events for the rest of the year on the astronomical events calendar at the Seasky web site .
Indie Author Newsflash
When I'm writing, I don't get a lot of time for my first love -- reading. However, I did take advantage of the recent free downloads from Amazon to pick up a few books from fellow indie authors. At the moment, I'm reading the YA novel "Cassidy Jones and the Secret Forumla" by Elise Stokes on my tablet Kindle app. I am enjoying it a great deal. I've been a comic book/superhero fan since the 80s (Titans Forever!!!), so I always enjoy a good teenage superhero tale. I'm still reading it, but I have really enjoyed it so far. Cassidy is a fun young lady. I look forward to reading more about her; I just wish she'd been around when I was 13 to read! :)
Ok, back to the keyboard for more writing! (*whipcrack*)
