11 Comments

Preparing for Machu Picchu

  By

Machu PicchuMachu Picchu is on my science traveling list for this year, so I’m doing some preparation and planning for the trip. That includes some background reading like the book, Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time, by Mark Adams. I’m only about 20% into it so can’t comment about the quality of the book yet, but already it’s given me some ideas for the future…and brought back some cool memories of a past trip.

The author is retracing the footsteps of Hiram Bingham III, the Yale professor who is credited with discovering Machu Picchu in 1911. As with many great discoveries, there is some intrigue about whether he was the first or not and how much it was an accident of faith to find it, but that’s a story for another time. What Bingham was actually looking for was the “Lost City of the Incas.” Before stumbling on Machu Picchu he actually first found a place called Choquequirao.

Choquequirao is considered a sister site to Machu Picchu; to this day it remains largely uncovered and undefiled by the tourist hordes. What struck me about Choquequirao was the eerily familiar approach. Adams has a photo that looks like a lot like this:

Pinturas River valley

 

 

My photo above is the approach to the Cueva de las Manos (the Cave of the Hands) in southern Patagonia, Argentina. Those are full size trees in the valley. The caption in the Adams photo says that his valley was mine on steroids – though only six miles total it took “two grueling days” of hiking down, then up. My valley was done in a long half-day, but to me it seemed no less grueling.

Reading the book gives me a taste of what to expect on the trip, as well as some fantastic background history on Inca culture and Andean geography. But it also gave me something completely unexpected – a connection to Abraham Lincoln. It seems that joining Bingham on his expedition to Choquequirao was a “well-connected young man” by the name of Clarence Hay. If that name sounds familiar it’s because Clarence Hay is the son of John Hay, the former Secretary of State to Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt – and former personal secretary to yet another president, Abraham Lincoln.

As I continue reading the book, and continue to prepare for Machu Picchu, I also find myself wanting to write more about my previous trip to Patagonia. I’ll be doing that in the near future. Until then you can read my earlier reminiscences of Patagonia here.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

3 Comments

David Bowie is Dead – He Lives as Nikola Tesla in The Prestige

  By

Pop icon David Bowie is dead, though he will always live on in my mind as Nikola Tesla in the movie The Prestige.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF76qlwWM8s

The Prestige was ostensibly about the rivalry between two turn of the 20th century magicians, but Bowie as Nikola Tesla provides the key scientific element that makes the movie. The rest of the cast in this 2006 movie isn’t so bad either, with some actors you may have heard of: Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Les Miserable, musical theater), Christian Bale (The Dark Knight), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Avengers, Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Andy Serkis (Gollum in the Lord of the Rings; Caesar in Planet of the Apes), and of course, Michael Caine (every movie ever made).

David Bowie was often described as a chameleon, able to adapt to changing musical genres, genders, and generations. Like Tesla, Bowie was somewhat of a polymath, capable of shifting between writing, performing, and producing music; theatrical acting; and maintaining a cult following rivaling Tesla himself. His influence in creating “glam rock,” “punk rock,” and other innovative musical genres. One biographer claimed in 2002, “it was almost impossible to find a popular artist today that has not been influenced by David Bowie.”

Sounds familiar. Nikola Tesla was also a man ahead of his time whose innovation and influence is still felt today.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

5 Comments

Jellyfish at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas – New Orleans

  By ,

Audubon Aquarium of the AmericasMany years ago, in my marine biologist days, I studied jellyfish at the National Marine Fisheries Service laboratory in Oxford, Maryland. I’ve been fascinated with them ever since. I recall the first time seeing them in a large aquarium – in Monterey, California – and have watched as more and more aquariums have installed jellyfish setups themselves.

Jellyfish (yes, I know technically they should be called Sea Jellies since they are not fish, but old habits die hard) are not easy to keep in aquariums. They have very little control over where they go other than to backstroke up or down or side to side. Mainly they just go where the current goes. In aquariums that usually means straight into the filter. Nothing like a mushy, globular, nematocyst-laden carbon filter to gum up your tank.

So it took some engineering, some of which I developed myself in those good old days, to figure out how to keep jellyfish happy. And that makes me happy.

The aquarium also had the usual complement of sharks, skates, rays, and fish of all kinds. Not a bad aquarium at all, and one I’ll talk more about in the future. Check out the other aquariums I’ve visited all over the world.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, is scheduled for release in summer 2017.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

 

[Daily Post]

10 Comments

Science Traveling – 2016 in Preview

  By ,

I’m going to Machu Picchu in 2016. Of course, I said I was going to Machu Picchu in 2015 and had to punt on it to this year. But this year I’m really going. I hope. Like last year, my plans could easily change, but here is what I’m planning for 2016.

Wind SurfThe only trip actually booked so far is a sailing cruise of the Caribbean in late January/early February. We’ll meet four Saints (Maarten, Kitts, Barthelemy, and Lucia), plus Barbuda, Guadaloupe, and Dominica. All while sailing point to point on a 535-foot sailboat.

Beyond that we’re looking at two other overseas trips – one to the aforementioned Machu Picchu in May, the other to China (and hopefully one other country) in October. If it all works out I’ll get to add at least six new countries to my visited list (last year I added only 3, though I was in 6 outside the U.S.).

I’ll also have my annual trip to New England to visit my parents, plus perhaps a second trip for my high school reunion. I’ve never attended a reunion before but this year I just might. It’s not until August so we’ll see when it gets closer.

Lincoln TombSpringfield, Illinois may see me twice this year. I have a scheduled trip there in September with the Lincoln Group of DC, in which we’ll pursue Lincoln’s memory through New Salem, Springfield, and points surrounding. I’m also anticipating a purely research trip, probably in March, to visit with the staffs of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Lincoln is also the focus of a November trip to Gettysburg.

Closer to home, I will likely have a book launch party in August to celebrate the release of my newest book Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World.

Those are the more-or-less planned trips. Others may include Orlando for the SETAC meeting in November, Charlottesville for the CPRC meeting in April, Mt. Rushmore (still trying to squeeze this in at some point), and Newport News, VA (home of the Monitor ironclad).

I’ll be writing many science traveling articles during 2016 so check back regularly.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

No comments

Science Traveler – Wrapping Up the Wrap Ups of 2015

  By , , , , , ,

This morning I realized my watch was set for 1 hour behind the actual time. It took me a while to realize what had happened,* but it was a reflection on the amazingly busy/productive/exhausting/exhilarating year it has been. It’s time to wrap up the wrap ups.

David J. Kent drinking mateHere on Science Traveler I’ve recapped a year in the writer’s life. Two books written, a few articles for magazines and newsletters, and a ton of blog posts. I also summarized a year in science traveling that included everything from some major capitals of Europe to some alligator-infested National Parks to a prison on an island (no, not Alcatraz, the other one). I also cataloged my 2015 acquisitions of Abraham Lincoln books.

Near Cueva de las ManosOn Hot White Snow I summarized all the books I read in 2015 – all 96 of them…and I recapped what I can confidently say was a very good year.

On The Dake Page I reviewed the year in climate change, a year in which 2015 blew past 2014 as the hottest year in global temperatures on record. I also laid out the four things you need to know about the recent Paris climate agreement.

Science smartphoneThere was a lot more, so click on the blog names above and scroll down to see other articles of interest.

So what does 2016 hold for us all? Check back later for plans and predictions (and big changes to this website)!

Finally, thank you all for participating in this adventure with me. I appreciate your support, your loyalty, and your interest. I’m looking forward to providing more content in 2016 to give each and every one of you a reason to keep coming back.

Happy New Year!

*About the watch thing: I had set the watch back an hour for my trip to New Orleans, which is in the Central Time Zone. I never reset it. Since I work at home (when I’m not on the road), I generally don’t wear the watch at all, relying mostly on the clocks on my computer and smart phone. Only this morning as I sat in Panera did I notice the time was off. 🙂

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

2 Comments

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity Rises to #1 Bestseller in its Category AGAIN

  By ,

Earlier in 2015 Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity reached #1 Bestseller status at Barnes and Noble…and now it has done it again! Even better, it reached #1 in two separate categories: “History of Science,” and “Scientists – General & Miscellaneous – Biography.” It also reached #2 in the “Inventors – Biography” category.

Tesla BN 12-28-15 History of Science #1

It has been a good year for Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, with three printings – the 3rd in February, and the 4th and 5th printings in July and August, respectively. With over 65,000 copies in print the sales are still going strong. This is incredibly important as each sale helps bring the world of Nikola Tesla to more and more people. The book is also a favorite check out in many local libraries.

The book has also been translated into Dutch and German, with more languages on the way.

It gets even better – for a limited time during the post-Christmas break, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity is available on the Barnes and Noble website for a drastically reduced price. If you have not yet bought the book, now is the time to do it.

No word on when a 6th printing might be ordered, but it might not be until the summer of 2016 to coincide with the release of my similarly styled book, Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World. Get the Tesla book now, and look for Edison in July. And check out my other writing here.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

4 Comments

The Year in a Writer’s Life – 2015

  By , , ,

Hemingway's typewriterThe last few days of 2015 are bringing me somewhat of a breather from science traveling and writing and reading. It’s been a busy year in all respects. The writing scene has been especially productive.

Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World was the biggest project this year, though definitely not the only one. Following on the success of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (which enjoyed its 3rd, 4th, and 5th printings in 2015!), Fall River Press of Sterling Publishing asked me to write a follow up in the same style. So not only is Tesla still in Barnes and Noble stores, it will be joined in the summer of 2016 by Edison. Needless to say, writing the Edison book kept me busy writing a good part of the year.

But it didn’t stop there. I also wrote an e-book that looked at the surprisingly many connections between my two favorite historic people. Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate is published on Amazon and available for download to Kindle or the Kindle App on any smartphone or tablet. You can also download my earlier e-book: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

This year also saw a few articles. “Abraham Lincoln: The Majesty and the Math of Niagara Falls” was published in the Sept/Oct issue of The Lincolnian. In addition, the next issue will begin my new recurring column in which I offer reviews of two Lincoln-related books. One of the two will be on a new Lincoln book while the other will review a “Classic Lincoln” book, that is, a book that has been around for a very long time and perhaps forgotten or unknown.

To this you can add an article I wrote for the Smithsonian Civil War Studies.Org online newsletter, “And the War Ends,” plus an article for the CPRC Newsletter. The latest issue of the CPRC Newsletter also included an article about me and the SETAC award I won this year.

And let’s not forget the blogs. Over the course of the last year I’ve written around 250 posts combined for Science Traveler, Hot White Snow, and The Dake Page. That’s a lot of writing.

My opening sentence of this piece is not quite accurate. I’m not actually done writing for the year. I’ve been working diligently on my Lincoln book proposal and will be doing some last fine-tuning of it this week so I can send it to my agent immediately after New Years. While she’s reviewing it I’ll be continuing to write the sample chapters. The goal is to have the publishing contract in place as early in 2016 as possible so that I can be working on that book for a 2017(?) release.

So 2016 should be a very good writing year as well.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

No comments

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Science Traveler

Image

  By , ,

Happy Holidays Science Traveler

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

2 Comments

Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions for 2015

  By ,

DACOR Bacon HouseI’m still far short of the 15,000+ books published about Abraham Lincoln, but did make several great acquisitions for my collection in 2015. The following list shows 59 new additions, almost exactly the number I added last year.

Seven of the books are brand new 2015 publication dates, including Looking for Lincoln in Illinois: Lincoln’s Springfield, which I’ll use to prepare for next September’s Lincoln Group of DC trip to Illinois. Another 2015 issue is Kathryn Canavan’s Lincoln’s Final Hours: Conspiracy, Terror, and the Assassination of America’s Greatest President. Kathryn will be the Lincoln Group’s guest speaker during one of LGDC’s March 15, 2016 dinner meeting.

Nine of the books are signed by the author. That includes my 2015 “Harold Holzer Book of the Year” (though he often has several new books come out in any given year). A Just and Generous Nation is co-written by Holzer and economist Norton Garfinkle, and Harold was nice enough to sign it for me during the annual Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg in November. You can read my review on Goodreads.

The coolest book I obtained this year is probably Villianous Compounds: Chemical Weapons and the American Civil War by Guy R. Hasagawa. Given my science and toxicology background, this especially grabbed my attention. The oldest book was published in 1894. Abraham Lincoln: The First American by D.D. Thompson was a gift by the Lincoln Group of DC after my October 2015 presentation on “Lincoln and the March of Technology.”

There are several classic books on the list, including those by Paul Angle, Noah Brooks, and the first and second supplements to the famous Roy Basler Collected Works. Some of the books examine specialty areas of Lincoln research. There’s even one by William F. Petersen that claims the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas were foretold by the weather. [I haven’t read this one yet, but am eager to get the scoop.]

One never-ending problem always attends new acquisitions – where to put them. I’ve reached the point where creative rearranging of bookshelves, combined with strategic sales and library donations, are simply not enough. So my big question for 2016 is “where do I put more bookcases?”

See the list of books below my signature blurbs.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

Here is the 2015 list:

A Portion of That Field: The Centennial of the Burial of Lincoln 1967
Andreasen, Bryon C. Looking for Lincoln in Illinois: Lincoln’s Springfield 2015
Angle, Paul M. The Lincoln Reader 1947
Angle, Paul M. A Portrait of Abraham Lincoln in Letters By His Oldest Son 1968
Baber, Adin A. Lincoln With Compass and Chain 2002
Basler, Roy P. (ed) The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln: First Supplement 1832-1865 1990
Basler, Roy P. and Basler, Christian O. (ed) The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln: Second Supplement 1848-1865 1990
Brookhiser, Richard Founder’s Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln 2014
Brooks, Noah Abraham Lincoln: The Nation’s Leader in the Great Struggle through which was Maintained the Existence of the United States 1909
Brown University Books at Brown Volumes XXXI-XXXII 1985
Canavan, Kathryn Lincoln’s Final Hours: Conspiracy, Terror, and the Assassination of America’s Greatest President 2015
Carnahan, Burrus M. Lincoln On Trial: Southern Civilians and the Law of War 2010
Charles River Editors The Transcontinental Railroad: The History and Legacy of the First Rail Line Spanning the United States no date
Current, Richard N. Lincoln’s Loyalists: Union Soldiers From the Confederacy 1994
Di Bella, Anna and Chapman, Sandy (eds) Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln: A Commemorative Collage 2009
Donald, David Herbert Lincoln’s Herndon 1948
Donald, David Herbert Lincoln’s Herndon 1948
Farley, Jeremy The Civil War Out My Window: Diary of Mary Henry 2014
Fornieri, Joseph R. and Gabbard, Sara Vaughn Lincoln’s America: 1809-1865 2008
Hasagawa, Guy R. Villainous Compounds: Chemical Weapons & The American Civil War 2015
Hightower, C.L. Sr. (Editor-in-Chief) Hood County History in Pictures and Story 1978 1978
Hodges, Robert R., Jr. American Civil War Railroad Tactics 2009
Holden, Raymond Abraham Lincoln: The Politician and the Man 1929
Holzer, Harold and Garfinkle, Norton A Just and Generous Nation 2015
Horgan, Paul Citizen of New Salem 1961
Horwitz, Tony Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War 1998
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency On Lincoln’s Mind: Leading the Nation to the Gettysburg Address 2013
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency On Lincoln’s Side: Reelecting a Leader 2014
Jewell, Scott (Editor) Ipswich in the Civil War 2012
Kempf, Edward J. Abraham Lincoln’s Philosophy of Common Sense: An Analytical Biography of a Great Mind 1965
Knorowski, Carla (Ed.) Gettysburg Replies: The World Responds to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address 2015
Magliocca, Gerard N. American Founding Son: John Bingham and the Invention of the Fourteenth Amendment 2013
Mansfield, Stephen Lincoln’s Battle With God: A President’s Struggle With Faith and What It Meant for America 2012
McGinty, Brian Lincoln’s Greatest Case: The River, The Bridge, and the Making of America 2015
McPherson, James M. and McPherson, Patricia R. Lamson of the Gettysburg: The Civil War Letters of Roswell H. Lamson, U.S. Navy 1997
Miller, Richard Lawrence Lincoln and his World: The Early Years: Birth to Illinois Legislature 2006
Oates, Stephen B. Abraham Lincoln: The Man Behind The Myths 1984
Peet, Tom and Keck, David Reading Lincoln: An Annotated Bibliography 2014
Peraino, Kevin Lincoln in the World: The Making of a Statesman and the Dawn of American Power 2013
Petersen, William F. Lincoln Douglas: The Weather as Destiny 1943
Quercia, Jacopo Della The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy 2014
Rayner, William Horace and Schmidt, Milton O. Elementary Surveying 1957
Reck, W. Emerson A. Lincoln: His Last 24 Hours 1987
Rothenberg, Marc (Ed) The Papers of Joseph Henry, Volume 10: January 1858-December 1865, The Smithsonian Years 2004
Sandburg, Carl Storm Over the Land: A Profile of the Civil War 1995
Shively, Carol A. (Ed.) Asians and Pacific Islanders and the Civil War 2015
Songini, Marc The Lost Fleet: A Yankee Whaler’s Struggle Against the Confederate Navy and Arctic Disaster 2007
Spencer, J. Ronald (Ed) A Connecticut Yankee in Lincoln’s Cabinet: Navy Secretary Gideon Welles Chronicles the Civil War 2014
Temple, Wayne C. Abraham Lincoln From Skeptic to Prophet 1995
Temple, Wayne C. Lincoln’s Connections With the Illinois Michigan Canal, His Return From Congress in ’48, and His Invention 1986
The Heritage Press The Literary Works of Abraham Lincoln 1942
Thompson, D.D. Abraham Lincoln, The First American 1894
Williams, Frank J. and Pederson, William D., eds. Lincoln Lessons: Reflections on America’s Greatest Leader 2009
Winkle, Kenneth J. Lincoln’s Citadel: The Civil War in Washington, DC 2013
The Invisible General 2004
Lust for Love and Battle 1984
Lee Faces Up to Gettysburg 2002
Eyewitness Account Gettysburg 2003
A.P. Hill’s Bloody Bristol Assault 2003

 

7 Comments

The Year in Science Traveling – 2015

  By , , , ,

Science TravelerSomehow I managed not to travel anywhere in February, June, and August. But for the other nine months I had at least one out-of-town trip. It was a very good year in Science Traveling. I’ve finished traveling for the year so it’s time for a quick recap.

January: Everglades, Key West, and the Dry Tortugas. Besides seeing the prison cells that held the Lincoln assassination conspirators I discovered that Ernest Hemingway was a crazy cat lady. I also discovered the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach.

March: A relatively local trip to the eastern shore of Maryland in which I unexpectedly came upon skeleton road at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. I also checked in to the marine biology lab I once worked in, plus a wine tasting in St. Michaels.

April: Another semi-local trip for the annual CPRC scientific conference, this one a full-day affair at the Robinson Nature Center in Columbia, MD.

May: I started May in New England on a writer’s retreat in my old home town. I ended May in Scandinavia on a tour of Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, and Bergen (with stops on the fjords). I even came across a few surprises.

July: The 4th of July brought me back to my home town for the holiday, then a road trip up to Quebec City and Montreal. On the way back the route took us on a quest for used book stores in western Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. One of the highlights was Montmorency Falls.

September: A busy fall began with a trip to New York City, where I got up close with the Statue of Liberty, saw the top of the world from the Empire State Building, the bottom of the world in the new World Trade Center Memorial and Museum, and some aircraft carriers/submarines/space shuttles.

October: Ah, Paris in the spring, er, the fall. For once the weather cooperated and the Eiffel Tower was amazing. In two short days we squeezed in a lot of venues, including Musee d’Orsay and the Pompidou Centre, then took the train through the Chunnel to London. Unfortunately I spent most of my time in the latter city hopping around on one foot.

November: The morning after returning from London I was on a plane to Salt Lake City for the annual SETAC meeting, where I picked up the award for Outstanding Regional Chapter Member. Ten days after my return I was in Gettysburg for the annual Lincoln Forum conference. And then my parents visited me for 10 days. November was a very busy month.

December: December seems low-key given that the sole trip was a long weekend to New Orleans. Okay, technically that isn’t the last trip of the year as we likely will drive up to Amish country in Pennsylvania for the Christmas weekend, but that will actually feel like a nice break from a year of science traveling.

And it was, in fact, science traveling. Every trip had some connection to a book I’m researching or a future book in the plans. It’s amazing how much science (and Lincoln and Tesla and Edison) there is when you look for it. The July 4th trip, for example, included stops in two of Thomas Edison’s most iconic laboratories, and New Orleans has a plaque at Thomas Edison Place. Lincoln was everywhere (including New Orleans).

When I wasn’t science traveling I was writing a book, two books in fact. Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World is finished and will be in Barnes and Noble bookstores in 2016. I also published an e-book available on Amazon: Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. If that wasn’t enough to keep me busy I also have read 94 books this year (with two weeks to go), chaired a scientific committee, attended various local Abraham Lincoln dinners, lectures, and symposiums, and served as a Vice President in the Lincoln Group of DC.

Next year should be even busier!

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.