Tidbit Tuesday: Ada Lovelace

Woohoo! I always love the beginning of new projects, when I get to learn all kinds of new stuff! Lately, I've been researching some amazing women in science and math, including Ada Lovelace. Ever heard of her? Here are just a few things you should know about her:

• Ada Lovelace is credited with creating the first computer program - more than 100 years before the first computer was ever built! Her program was designed for a computing machine called the Analytical Engine that was designed by Charles Babbage but never built.
• Ada was the daughter of Lord Byron, a famous English poet. But her father left when Ada was only a month old. Ada's mother worried that she might turn out to be artistic like her father. So she decided to educate Ada in one of her favorite subjects - mathematics - instead.
• When Ada published notes on the Analytical Engine, she used her initials instead of her name, since it was not considered proper for women to publish academic articles.
• In the 1970s, the U.S. Department of Defense created a computer language named Ada, in her honor.

How about you? Tell me what you've learned today, and I'll enter you in a drawing to win a signed copy of one of my books!

Tidbit Tuesday: Heart Transplants

You know I love to learn new things! So I've spent the last few days research heart transplants for a new project. Here's what I've found out:

• More than 4,000 people are currently on the waiting list for a heart transplant.
• The heart nerves are cut during the transplant surgery. As a result, a transplanted heart often beats faster than the patient's original heart.
• Most heart transplant recipients have to take 20 or more drugs and supplements every day to keep his or her body from rejecting the heart or experiencing other complications.

Image courtesy of cooldesign at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What have you learned lately? Tell me in the comments, and you'll be entered into a drawing for a free signed copy of one of my books.

Tidbit Tuesday: Crime Scene Investigation

Wow! I'm learning lots of interesting stuff researching crime scene science. Did you know: 

1. Police can expose items to superglue fumes to find hidden (latent) fingerprints.
   
2. Prints from the palms or the soles of the feet are as unique as fingerprints and can be used to positively identify suspects.
   
   
   
3. Crime scene investigators need good observational and writing skills to document the scene of a crime. Such documentation can be crucial when a case goes to trial.
   

Interesting stuff, huh?

What have you learned today? Leave a comment about something new you've learned, and you'll be entered into a drawing for a free copy of one of my books (your choice!).* Be sure to include your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win!

*Drawing to be held May 29, 2015.

Tidbit Tuesday: John F. Kennedy

One of my favorite parts of being an author is learning new things every day. Some of those things make it into my books, but, unfortunately, there isn't room for everything. So here's where I'll share with you the fun things I've learned recently that may or may not make the final cut.

Right now, I'm researching the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Of course, I already knew some things about that day, but since I wasn't born until 17 years later (uh-oh, now you can guess my age!), there are plenty of things I didn't know, like:

1. Authors C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia) and Aldous Huxley (Brave New World) also died on November 22, 1963. Their deaths were barely noted by the media, which focused almost exclusively on coverage of the president's assassination.
2. After her husband's death Jacqueline Kennedy arranged for the White House to look just as it had after Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Kennedy's casket was even placed on top of the same catafalque (platform) as Lincoln's had been.
3. Although Kennedy's goal of sending a man to the moon by the end of the 1960s was meant to demonstrate American superiority over the Soviet Union, the president later began to explore the possibility of partnering with the Soviet Union on the venture. He died before plans could be made.

So, what have you learned today? Leave a comment about something new you've learned, and you'll be entered into a drawing for a free copy of one of my books (your choice!).* Be sure to include your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win!

*Drawing to be held May 29, 2015.