iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Researching a trip to Australia next year covering Brisbane to Melbourne. Which got me thinking... just how big is Australia? Answer below. Two coasts. Same scale.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Africa is big. That's the post. Because apparently some people never learned about map projections, never had a globe in their house, and don't even understand that north isn't always up.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

My brain works 24x7. At 2 AM, I'll get out of bed to write myself a note like this one. When the book publishes next year, you'll see something like this text in a chapter set at the ELT. In reality, ELT stands for Extremely Large Telescope, certainly one of the dumbest names in science history.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

My simple radiometer + sunshine remind me daily that we live in a magical universe.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I love to find original sources, and this is a good one. A biography of Isaac Newton, written by his friend, William Stukely, not long after Newton's death (1727). This is where we get the story of the falling apple! (No, it didn't bonk Newton on the head, but the rest is true.)

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I'm done with @google. Complicit toadies pushing unwanted AI and authoritarian garbage into our lives.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Second Ascent audiobook publishes today! Pick up your copy wherever audiobooks are sold.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Just four days left until my Second Ascent audiobook releases! I can't wait to hear it. Audiobooks are way more fun than most people realize. In some ways even better than a movie because they tell the whole story. August 25, wherever audiobooks are sold. rbmediaglobal.com/audiobook/97...

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Due to a production error (I screwed up), the paperback edition of First Ascent had no page numbers! It was perfectly readable; you just didn't know where you were. Our production team (me) has since resolved this issue, but if you own a rare copy without page numbers, you are now a millionaire.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Dept. of Learn Something New Every Day: We've always called the saltwater side of Seattle, Puget Sound. More recently, the name Salish Sea came up. A rename? Like renaming Mt. Rainier to Tahoma or Tacoma? Actually, no.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

La edición en español de Quantum Space (Espacio Cuántico) casi há alcanzado el top 10 de ciencia ficción dura en España. Si lo consigue, me pondré en contacto con mi traductor y pondré en marcha el segundo libro. #LibrosEspañol www.amazon.es/dp/B0GTNJJ2YQ

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

The sketch for my next sci-fi book is complete! I have a 30-page outline with enough detail to allow a ghost writer to take over. I won't do that (and I also won't submit my outline to AI) because THIS IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS! Why would anyone not want to write the story they just dreamed up?

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

My detailed outline for Book 3 of #AscendingCarbon Series is nearly complete, but how do I know if I've honed it to perfection? I use a pass/fail grading system. Once the check marks are filled in (or marked not applicable), then I'm ready! I take a deep breath and start writing Chapter 1!

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

My notes for all 3 books of the Ascending Carbon Series! Green are ideas that didn't make it into Book 1 but did get into Book 2. Violet are open ideas. Blue are key concepts/thoughts critical to the story. And yellow are thoughts that still need work. For some reason, I'm getting wordier as I go!

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Okay, after episode 4, I'm a Pluribus fan (Apple TV). It's smart sci-fi, not violent (so far), and seems to be asking the question: how would you convince someone that they are in a cult? Extremely relevant for today's world! #scifi #TVShows

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Please, can we rewind to the days before AI? #Authors #Books

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Tonight I watched the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet for the first time ever. Sure, a few of the special effects were good, and I can see how both Roddenberry and Industrial Light & Magic borrowed from it for Star Trek and Star Wars...

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

For those who don't know the meme, doomer guy and doomer girl show up in dystopian social media posts, but once in a while these two get a happy ending.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Today's book research: Nihilistic doomers, often Gen Z aged, often Americans. They believe civilization is collapsing and nothing can be done about it. In fact, we deserve it. Bring it on!

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

The Indie Book Awards for 2026 have been announced, and I'm proud to report that First Ascent was a finalist. It didn't win, but with so many books now published directly from author to reader, I'm very happy with the silver medal. (Yes, they really sent me a medal!) www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2C7NCVS

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

I don't write a single sentence of my first draft until I have a fully coordinated outline, start to finish. I can't imagine how painful it must be for pantsers to reach the story midpoint and realize they need to rewrite whole chapters. With an outline, I can make the changes in minutes. #author

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Today's book research: how right-wing media dominates US public discourse. I've always pinned our divisiveness on Fox News, but that thinking is out of date. The real answer is far more sinister, as this article explains: objectivejournalism.org/.../media-ma...

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Pop quiz (no cheating): Earth is nearly 4x larger than our moon, Luna. A low altitude spacecraft can orbit Earth in about 90 minutes. How long does it take to go once around Luna? ...

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Today I asked, how would Jupiter and Ganymede appear while standing on Callisto? I got pretty close to the answer from the Solar System Simulator. Callisto in the foreground with Ganymede just coming out of Jupiter's shadow.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Today's research topic: how large would Ganymede appear if you were standing on Callisto? These days, a Google search automatically includes an AI response and this one turned out to be a classic case of AI being supremely confident but absolutely wrong! #AIsucks

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Doing research for book 3 in the #ascendingcarbon series, focusing on Jupiter. This image was taken by the Webb telescope's Near Infrared Camera. The colors indicate temperature with white the coldest. It's a fantastic way to better understand the meteorology going on in this complex atmosphere.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Today's book research topic, Jupiter's magnetosphere, the strongest in the solar system. Unlike Earth's iron core, Jupiter's electromagnetic field is generated by electrically conductive liquid hydrogen and Jupiter's high rate of spin (one Jupiter day is only 9 hours and 55 minutes long).

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Shortly thereafter the physicist returned to the farm, saying to the farmer, "I have the solution, but it works only in the case of spherical cows in a vacuum."

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Today's research topic: the "dark ages", defined as the centuries of intellectual malaise between the classical age of ancient Greece/Rome and the Renaissance. European scholars of the 16th century coined the term in part from Italian poet, Petrarch, who in 1330 wrote:

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Research for the next book. Today's topic: the three body problem. Orbital mechanics for a two-body system like Earth & Luna are straightforward, but when you introduce a third body, things go south fast. Most three-body solutions are chaotic, but some form regular repetitions, fascinating to watch!

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Para mis amigos en España y México... ciencia ficción dura popular, ahora disponible en español. ¡Precio de lanzamiento! www.amazon.es/dp/B0GTNJJ2YQ

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Until Tom Gauld came along, I had no idea book humor was a thing. Now I think whole city library systems should be named after him. #books #humor

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

To this day, Bill Watterson has never licensed Calvin and Hobbes for any reason. Except for his books, anything else you find online is *unauthorized*. Calvin urinating? Bill never drew it. Calvin kneeling before a Christian cross? Pure theft. Watterson is not the kind of guy to sue everyone...

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Fun to check on the company I keep in the Top 100 for Hard Sci-Fi. My latest book, Second Ascent, is mixed with some big names! #SciFiBooks

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

I'm proud to discover that typing "Hard Science Fiction" into the Amazon search bar, then sorting by Avg. Customer Review lists my novel on the same page as Hugh Howey, Andy Weir, Martha Wells, and Cixin Liu. Thousands of readers like YOU put it there! #QuantumSpace #scifi #books

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Sunny day. Solar panels on my roof. Charged the car in about four hours at home, absolutely free. EVs are sooo much better than gas cars.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

I did an interview with NewInBooks related to my new book, Second Ascent. The interview was short, but the questions were fun to think about (see the link in the comments). This author gig can be a blast sometimes!

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Second Ascent is molten hot! The new cover is cranked to super sizzle, and 5-star reviews are pouring in. Thank you sci-fi readers, this volcano is erupting! mybook.to/IGWLPt #acendingcarbon

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

My latest sci-fi book, Second Ascent, is climbing the Amazon Top 100. I always love to see what company I'm keeping, in this case quite a mix of authors and storytelling styles! www.amazon.com/dp/B0GMYHNBDP #acendingcarbon #hardscifi #newbook

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Another book published! Time to celebrate, so my wife and I went out to dinner at Betty's. I'm choosing between the Crow Manhattan and I'm Fine With Water. I'll let you guess which drink won. #seattle

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Today, Second Ascent is the #3 Hot New Release at Amazon! Wow, thank you readers! If you haven't already, get your copy here: mybook.to/IGWLPt But hurry, the pre-release price is only valid through release day, Friday April 17! #ascendingcarbon

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Pre-orders boost visibility, critical for indie authors like me who have to compete against the billion-dollar publishing houses like Penguin and Simon & Shuster. My new book is doing great at #4 in Hard Science Fiction. Will it reach #1 before its April 17 release? That's up to readers like you.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Second Ascent is my 11th hard science fiction book, and it may be my best work. It shares the same positive outlook as my other books (no dystopian!), balances characters & plot, and keeps the pages turning. But this story is so timely it practically wrote itself. #ascendingcarbon

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Woo hoo! Second Ascent is finished, uploaded to Amazon and ready for publication on April 17! There's still time to get the pre-order price for Kindle, or if you prefer a paperback, you can order your copy right now. mybook.to/IGWLPt #ascendingcarbon

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

And finally, for all the flat earthers out there who always claim "NASA forgot to add stars", zoom into the bottom right to see the stars that become visible when the planet is dark enough and the camera aperture is large enough. One picture debunks everything these idiots say.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Then zoom and scroll to the bottom and top to see auroras at both the north and south poles simultaneously! Then notice the thin crescent of white on the right side, which is daylight glowing high in the atmosphere.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

This is a great Artemis photo of Earth for multiple reasons. First, it's the night side of the planet with the camera aperture opened to gather dimmer light. Zoom into Africa/Spain to see city lights.

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Looking forward to photos from Artemis that exactly match Apollo so we can finally flush moon landing denial down the drain. #moonlandings

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

I get these junk pitches all the time, but some are funnier than others. Hey Ryan, if you're a producer at BBC4, why do you use a gmail address?

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Douglas Phillips @dpscifi.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Love Project Hail Mary? Want more feel-good sci-fi that offers a positive future for humanity? Pre-order Second Ascent now! www.amazon.com/dp/B0GMYHNBDP

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