Crysknife Show in Oakland, August 9 2013

They're playing Oaktown 9 August 2013 at the Grand Lake Coffeehouse.

Defiler Playing Whisky a Go Go, Wed 19 Dec 2012

Here's the show info, here's for tickets. Here they are on Facebook.

Oct 19 7pm, San Diego Transhumanists at Rock Bottom

The title is "Understanding Paths and Goals to Our Improvement" for the San Diego Transhumanists at Rock Bottom in la Jolla.  RSVP here.  Sorry, no outdoors bonfire this time, but this way we can have good beer and food.

Oct 19, I'm Doing a Talk for San Diego Transhumanists

This Friday October 19 I'll be doing a talk entitled "Understanding Paths and Goals to Our Improvement" for the San Diego Transhumanists. RSVP here. It will be informal and relatively brief with discussion afterward, and I'm planning on doing it outside with a bonfire (exact location to be announced in the next few days). Bring a snack and a fleece if it's chilly, or just modify yourself to tolerate the cold better, your call.

Nerdcore Night at the Ruby Room, 8pm Thurs 4 Oct

I just ran across the San Diego Speculative Fiction Society, Inc. which among other things is the sponsor of the San Diego Sci-Fi/Fantasy Meetup Group. They're even having a con this weekend, but I'll just be going to Nerdcore Night this Thursday 4 Oct 2012, 8pm at the Ruby Room in Hillcrest.

Vandenberg Launch Now Scheduled 14:39 Pac Time Thurs 13 Sept.

And I'm not holding my breath for that one either.  Too bad it's during the day.

I Ain't Never Seen THIS Autobot Afore

From Comic-Con 2012, San Diego.

Vandenberg Launch 0027 Friday 3 August

The launch of the NROL-36 payload (a spy satellite) was delayed 1 day. This means it will be launched Thursday night/Friday morning at 12:27 a.m. I've seen a launch from just outside Vandenberg but I want to see if it's visible from San Diego - it's 230 air miles but it should be, since these launches are usually visible from San Francisco which is further. Vandenberg launch schedule here. Beware sudden-onset fog at the coast! If this hadn't been delayed, I would have missed it last night for exactly that reason.

  Atlas V launch from Cape Canaveral earlier in 2012.  Skip to 2m20s for the liftoff.

Seeing Prometheus in San Diego

In San Diego?  Planning to see Prometheus?  A group of folks from varying walks of life including med students, San Diego New Atheists, beer enthusiasts and other miscreants are going to head to one of the theaters in La Jolla either the evening of June 8 or 9, most likely to be followed by a beverage, details to be decided and posted here later.  Email me at mdcblogs@gmail.com if you're interested in joining the horde. 

Cast Iron Crow Opening for Death Angel 2/23

But first Cast Iron Crow is playing in the Battle of the Bands, Chabot College, Saturday 2/18 (starting 6pm at the Buffington Performing Arts Center).

THEN, they're opening for Death Angel (yes, that Death Angel) at the Fat Cat, Modesto, Thursday 2/23. Get tickets here. I'll be at the show. There are few if any bands who represent the quintessence of thrash better than Death Angel.

Upcoming Metal Shows in San Diego

As a service to the community (so you don't miss cool shows like I just did) check these out. Don't forget to check SDmetal.org.


Please enjoy Symphony X while perusing these events:




Friday 13 January 2012: a total metalfest at Electric Ladyland, with Ruinist, Caymul, Damcyan, The Parlour Shootout, Beheading the King, Thirty30, and Ruinist headlining.

Che Cafe has a bunch of shows coming up, AND they're trying not to close. If ever you buy a ticket and get in there, now's the time.

Wednesday 22 February 2012: Symphony X, Iced Earth and Warbringer at House of Blues San Diego.

Goddammit, the Iron Maidens Were Here

I'm walking down the street in Ocean Beach today with the modern-day Kevorkian, one Dr. Desai MD, PhD whose identity will remain protected, when I see that the all-girl Iron Maiden tribute band the Iron Maidens played a show in San Diego last night. Many Anglo-Saxon terms were used when I realized I'd missed them. I've wanted to see them for a long damn time. Next show is up in Garden Grove on 17 December.

Nomad 927, Choke (2011)

Check out Nomad 927, a San Diego experimental band. If you think of a very well thought-out Pelican with vocals, you'd be close. As cannot be pointed out enough, metal is awesome, and science fiction is awesome, and the song below has a famous insane computer in it at one point. What more do you need you idiot?!?! Their debut live performance (the anti blackout show) is tomorrow (today really), Tuesday, October 4 at 7:00pm at the Park Gallery in University Heights, San Diego. Click the little play button to hear their song Choke.

Choke (vocals by Gerg, music by Chanauk by Nomad 927 (Listen with headphones)

Get more of Nomad 927 here.

There Are Many Nerds In San Diego

...and below is where to meet them. Moving here from San Francisco 2 years ago, I've often complained that San Diego culture isn't nearly geeky enough. Slowly but surely over the past few months I've discovered the nerdy corners and nooks of this place. There are lots of interesting, smart, fun, strange people here. In the interest of making San Diego a nerdier place, and to save you the trouble of digging, I highly recommend the following organizations to meet your fellow oddballs, science geeks, metalheads, and deviants:

The San Diego New Atheists and Agnostics - a predominantly social organization that continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Atheist groups are always great places to meet interesting folks. General secular group events (including this one's) are listed centrally at SDCoR's calendar (the San Diego Coalition of Reason).

3RDspace is a cool venue in Normal Heights that hosts groups, art shows, you name it. Look at their calendar to see what's coming up.

Lesswrong - whether or not you're in San Diego, this rationality blog lists meetups for cities around the world, and some have been in San Diego and Irvine.

Sifter - gathers interesting folks and often focuses on exercise and outdoors stuff.

Che Cafe - frequent metal.


Should you decide to go to any of their events, feel free to say it was Mike and his awesome blog Speculative Nonfiction that steered you there. This will gain you immediate credibility.

Goddamn that SRL

Survival Research Labs is clearly running away from me. First they're in the Bay Area. Then I move to San Francisco and they go to Phoenix. Then as soon as I move away, they're back, right up the road in frickin Petaluma. One of these times I'm gonna go in there and show em what's what.