For Your Reading Pleasure...

I am beginning the process of making some of my previously published works available again. I'll be posting certain pieces here on my blog and also publishing .pdf copies through OneDrive's "Word Online." I might even be publishing a piece through amazon. 

To start, I have  refurbished the layout of this blog, adding tabs along the header that contain stories and poems and essays. Some pieces can be read right here; others are linked to Word Online where downloadable and printable copies are available. 

Again, these are to be writings that were either once available or are currently hidden in old posts. My aim is to make my humble catalog easily accessible all in one place.

First up is an essay entitled "infinite imagination." It is based on a piece I wrote a few years ago, during my first semester in college. It was originally published on Poor Richard's Bloganac in 2012. Simply click on the "Essays" tab above and read about my musings on imagination's infinities. 

Check back every once in a while for more.

Plus, please feel free to share your thoughts and comments and also to let others know about my writings.

My Thanks.

Skeletwins

I have purposefully never posted a picture of my children on the internet...before today.

Here they are.

The Skeletwins!

Book Give-away

Get a free copy of Day Dreamer!

The first dozen people to join this blog shall receive a free e-book, in your preferred format, of my novella "Day Dreamer."

Join this blog and like my official author page on facebook, and not only is a copy of "Day Dreamer" yours, but you'll also get a free .pdf of my short story "Yesterdays Tomorrows."

Even if you're not one of the first twelve new followers to this blog, you can still join up or like my author page on facebook and you'll earn a free copy of "Yesterdays Tomorrows."


Here's the facebook link:
www.facebook.com/DevinHodginsOfficial

I'll notify winners through this blog or through facebook.


My thanks.

Stellarium

I am currently enrolled in a professional development course entitled "Basic Astronomy For Educators." We meet every Thursday evening at the Casper Planetarium. Now, I have a pretty firm grasp on the fundamental astronomical information, but I am learning quite a lot about how to teach astronomy to school children. One of the tools our instructors presented to us is a  program called "STELLARIUM."

It's a "free, open source planetarium for your computer."

And it is amazing!

It includes tracking of the skies and its heavenly bodies: sun, moon, planets, constellations, deep space objects, and more. It has a programmable calendar and an adjustable clock and can be set to show the view of the sky from just about any location on Earth.

I set it for the place of my birth, the hour and minute, and immediately I was astonished to glimpse the astronomical alignments which occurred that very day.

I urge anybody with even the faintest glimmer of interest in the sky above to check it out. It's free, and its a whole lot more interesting and educational than your average digital distraction.

Download it now for free.

Here's the link:
http://www.stellarium.org

August 21st, 2017

On August 21st, 2017, a Total Solar Eclipse shall occur above Casper, Wyoming.
Right over my house!

My brother Brandel and I have been waiting with eyes a' squintin'!
We used to watch eclipses quite often together. We would track partial solar eclipses with makeshift pinhole cameras, tracing the progressive crescents of light in an old notebook. We also filmed quite a few lunar eclipses on our  parents' Hitachi video recorder--remember, the kind that takes full-sized vhs tapes.
I remember finding out a couple decades ago about a total eclipse on its way in 2017. We were astounded. Yet, it seemed so marvelously distant. Now, we only have three years to go. My brother and I will be watching side-by-side, now with our kids.
Should you find yourself in Casper that day, you're welcome to watch with us.
Until then, be sure to stock up on eclipse glasses. (We had a partial solar eclipse a few years ago on Christmas Day. The kids just happened to find eclipse glasses in all their stockings that morning.) I'll soon be getting a few extra pairs.

Here's a bit more information on the impending event:

http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/state_pages/wyoming/wyoming.htm