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Ben R. Hodges

@h2odges

Water resources -- computational hydraulics (not the army general)

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Latest posts by Ben R. Hodges @h2odges

Blue-gray mountain bike leaning against a dead scrub bush at the lip of a canyon.

Blue-gray mountain bike leaning against a dead scrub bush at the lip of a canyon.

Biking Caprock Canyon in Texas

14.03.2026 22:32 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

You should write the books that fill the gap between Nicollo and Lymond. The story of the first Baron Crawford and Sybilla in the landscape of early 16th century France would be fantastic. I think you're the only author with both the historical knowledge and writing/plotting skills to pull it off

27.02.2026 19:36 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I now understand why my favorite authors are Dorothy Dunnett and Ada Palmer.

27.02.2026 00:34 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Why All Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Are Historians SFF authors are the front-line practitioners who put the fruits of history’s craft into daily practice, sharing it in doses the public can consume, combining, treating, administering, customizing, …

My new Strange Horizons essay is up! With a deliberately provocative title!

WHY ALL SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY WRITERS ARE HISTORIANS
Yes, *all*
And, no, it isn't just for the reason you think...

I've been working toward this one for a while, very excited to share it!

26.02.2026 22:15 πŸ‘ 313 πŸ” 120 πŸ’¬ 18 πŸ“Œ 38

I propose the first law of AI: No AI shall be allowed permission to "rm -rf"

08.02.2026 23:17 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

*not sure where that link came from

29.01.2026 22:45 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

If you're near a university, contact profs who teach undergrad fluid mech in Mech Eng and Civil Eng. If they've been at it awhile they probably have dozens of fluid mech books floating around their office that they got free from publishers. I'm always glad to donate a book to a good cause.

29.01.2026 22:44 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I'm envious of how close you will be to great MTB trails

28.01.2026 01:31 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Congrats!

28.01.2026 01:29 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It's now a bank. Once the owner didn't want to run it anymore the the property was too expensive to buy and run a drive-,n.

19.01.2026 02:38 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The Kow Korner in Oak Harbor, Wash. Closed in 2000. It was a 50s style drive-in cause that's when it opened. Basic burgers, excellent fries, and an awesome milkshake. Lots of parking for meet-ups and finding out where the Friday kegger was happening (cell phones killed the "where's the party?" hang)

19.01.2026 02:35 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

And some of Austin's new "bike lanes" are just taking a 54" concrete sidewalk and painting a black line down the middle with a pedestrian sign on one side and a bike on the other. Great fun when you get to the strip mall exit and drivers don't pause or even look at the sidewalk.

18.01.2026 23:49 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I gave up riding bike lanes to work. 4' lanes with single lines (most of Austin's lanes) don't cut it when you lose a foot to the gutter and Texas trucks are allowed to have side view mirrors that project a foot and a half. And the trucks mostly drive with 1 tire on the bike lane white line.

18.01.2026 23:45 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

If Austin is leading, then the rest of the country must really suck. Except for a few new lanes downtown, most of Austin's bike lanes are narrow, unprotected, alongside 35-45 mph roads where people go 55, and suddenly end throwing you into major traffic.

18.01.2026 23:36 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

My life has been just a little bit better since I decided to block all Elsevier's review request emails. I don't even see them anymore.

18.01.2026 22:36 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I want a fantasy/scifi world built on this premise...

10.01.2026 21:53 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

If you're not into the competitive/social aspects of Zwift, give Fulgaz a try. It uses real videos of rides.

04.01.2026 20:28 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Screenshot of random word generator from Meriam Webster that provides "Your 2026 Word." Result is...

brain rot

Screenshot of random word generator from Meriam Webster that provides "Your 2026 Word." Result is... brain rot

Yeah...

01.01.2026 20:34 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Started the new year with a bike ride, but already blew my resolution to take more biking pictures

01.01.2026 20:16 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
View or Rocky Mountains on the distance

View or Rocky Mountains on the distance

End of year timeline cleanse...

01.01.2026 01:30 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Waymo accident rates should be compared to those of professional taxi drivers (not Uber/Lyft).

31.12.2025 12:26 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Flow chart that originally shows (black arrows) progression from liberal to conservative when mugged, from conservative to liberal from medical bills, from conservative to libertarian when arrested, from liberal to libertarian when starting a business, from libertarian to conservative when having kids, and from libertarian to liberal when fired. New flow lines (red arrows) all lead to liberal as "develops empathy."

Flow chart that originally shows (black arrows) progression from liberal to conservative when mugged, from conservative to liberal from medical bills, from conservative to libertarian when arrested, from liberal to libertarian when starting a business, from libertarian to conservative when having kids, and from libertarian to liberal when fired. New flow lines (red arrows) all lead to liberal as "develops empathy."

A less cursed version...

30.12.2025 12:22 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Given what new Ergon grips cost, there should be a used market!

28.12.2025 12:46 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

McMaster-Carr is the US place for mechanical parts

27.12.2025 16:14 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Dark red-brown "Rambling Man" ESB in a classic pint glass from Redhorn brewery. Label says Coffee || Beer || Good Vibes

Dark red-brown "Rambling Man" ESB in a classic pint glass from Redhorn brewery. Label says Coffee || Beer || Good Vibes

End of the drive home..

26.12.2025 20:12 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I've got 1x on my touring bike and gravel bike. Main thing is to know your max pedal rpm and choose a front chainring that gives you the max speed you want at that rpm. My tour bike tops out at 20 mph, but 25 on gravel. If you want to ride road at 30 mph then 2x is better

26.12.2025 00:15 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

You can't tell me we don't have enough "idea people" when a university STEM faculty search for a single entry-level position gets 100+ high quality PhD applications.

16.12.2025 12:21 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I've read a lot of stupid things and this Vox is right up there.

Truth: There are more great ideas out there in science than we're willing to fund research on.

And there's even more great ideas proven in science that our venture capitalists won't invest in because they're all so enamoured of AI.

16.12.2025 12:19 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Add this to the list of things I take for granted in @minneapolismn.gov .

The bikelanes near me are swept often and well by Public Works.

Every city should have this for basic maintenance and safety!

12.12.2025 17:35 πŸ‘ 37 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Awesome book (and series). Might be time to re-read...

12.12.2025 00:47 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0