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Monday, July 13, 2009

Sports / Books / Nerd Local Sportsblogger Secretly a Nerd

Posted by Paul Constant on Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 3:03 PM

24e0/1247522469-asf0809storiesinteriorcover.jpg Slog tipper Matthew writes to inform us that Derek Zumsteg, who blogs for the U.S.S. Mariner (which is apparently some sort of blog that covers some sort of local sporting event), has a story in this month's Asimov's Science Fiction magazine.

Suite 101, which is a media review site, recommends the story and gives a synopsis:

In Derek Zumsteg's 'Blue' only two of the original seven crew are left alive aboard a stranded research ship in orbit around a black hole that isn't black. They spend their time bickering over food, but their arguments are symbolic of a deeper grief, and guilt that they dare not talk openly about

Mr. Zumsteg is a graduate of Clarion West, the local sci-fi writer's program. Congratulations to him and thanks to Matthew for the tip. I'll track down an issue and let you know what I think soon enough.

Comments (10) RSS

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The Cheater's Guide to Baseball (by Derek Zumsteg) is a really fun read. Even if you aren't a huge baseball fan you'd probably enjoy it.

Posted by Hernandez

on July 13, 2009 at 3:20 PM

Nerds in one thing tend to easily cross over to nerds in another thing. I am a baseball nerd, but also a scifi nerd, and comic book nerd.

Posted by arbeck

on July 13, 2009 at 3:28 PM

Secretly a nerd? I guess you've never read UssMarniner, that's pretty much the nerdiest sports blog ever.

Posted by andrew

on July 13, 2009 at 3:40 PM

Zumsteg also had a story in last September's Asimov's as well. Only one more story needs to be bought and he can join SFWA.

Posted by King Rat

on July 13, 2009 at 3:42 PM

Andrew is right. USS Mariner is very nerdy. The only blog I've ever known to combine baseball and math.

Posted by Lark Hawk on July 13, 2009 at 4:17 PM

@3

Yeah, that's exactly like Adam Lambert being secretly gay before the Rolling Stone piece.

Posted by brent on July 13, 2009 at 4:19 PM

@5, you must not read very many baseball blogs. USSM doesn't have much math at all, though they rely heavily on the work of those that do, particularly Fangraphs and Tangotiger. What they specialize in is the implications of that research, not the calculations themselves (which are really boring in themselves). What's interesting isn't "math" (mostly just +, -, /, and *) but how to think about problems in baseball. Dave Cameron's the big stat guy at USSM, anyways, and excels at it; Derek's main contribution is writing excellence and funny.

Posted by Fnarf