I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Linkee-poo is so not back in the swing of things

Geoff Landis wins the Robert Heinlein Award. Congrats, Geoff, well done.

The 26 tell-tale symptoms that show you're suffering from writer's block of the "Idon'twanna" variety. Hahahahaha… oh, wait. (Grokked from Mer Haskell)

This weekend is Confusion, in Detroit. I'll be there this year (although I won't be on any programming unless it's a last minute substitution, which I doubt will happen). John Scalzi will be attending barcon. Mer Haskell will also be there. So will Cherie Priest (GoH), Saladin Amhed, Sarah Zettel, JC Daniels, Sam Sykes, Kelley Armstrong, Myke Cole, Ian Tregillis, Jim Hines (forgot, Jim is GoH at MarsCon in Virginia), Tobias Buckell, Jacqueline Carey, Kameron Hurley and a whole slew of other guests and fans. Confusion is one of the best cons I've ever attended. It's why since I've cut back on other cons I still make it a priority to attend this one.

Kristen Lamb on learning how to quit to finally win. Mostly it's an article on dropping what is not working so you can find what is working (for your writing), and giving buy-in to your dreams.

I learned this lesson a long time ago, and it's still true, although these days it's stated in the axiom of "reading original source material" (which is a research axiom). If you want to write/think like someone, don't read what they wrote, read what they read.

Delilah Dawson writing on Chuck Wendig's site with 25 damn dirty lies about publishing.

Training your coworkers to understand design. Hahahahahaha. Yea, that'll work (for the record, I have way too many "move the logo to the left" conversations for any sane person to bear, everybody's a damn art director, only they really suck at it).

The five way font licensing gets designers in trouble. Oh, yes, this.

The worms of your nightmares. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

This year may see the start of commercial spaceflight. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Three kids die in fire from jerry-rigged heater after landlord turns of heat and water during the polar-vortex. Yet another example of someone who needs to go to jail, but given the weakening of tenants rights over the past decade, probably won't. (Grokked form Matt Staggs)

Random Michelle K on that chemical spill in West Virginia.

Electroplating the dead. Um. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

There's this argument going on out there over how people choose to approach cancer and their deaths. If you've read my blog long enough, you'll know my feelings on some of the "heroic" efforts that are made to keep people living and how I hope you'll look at the issues and make a decision for yourselves. And I think it may have gotten lost that I believe in that last part. How you or your loved ones die aren't my choice, they're yours and yours as it were. Some people choose to fight, and fight hard. Some choose to ignore the signs and hope those around them ignore those signs as well until it's really to late to do anything about them. And there is a whole spectrum of choices in-between there. I'm not going to link to the various troops fighting on either side, but I felt I needed to say something about it. And I felt I needed to say that nobody gets to decide how someone else dies, unless they have a durable power of health-care attorney and have discussed the options with them. And if you don't have the document, if you're not in the inner circle of family and friends, you don't get to judge the choices of others in this regard (with notable exceptions made).

Well, Congress decided to get dicky about bulbs again. But here's the thing, most bulb producers have already shut down those production lines. (Pointed to by John)

Pro-lifers in Ohio are fighting for the right to lie. Sigh. While one can hope to a decision that comes down to a reiteration of "the right to free speech doesn't give one the right to erroneously shout 'fire' in a crowded theater." But I have a feeling it won't. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

2 comments:

Gristle McThornbody said...

Electroplating the dead got me wondering why nobody has started offering a plastination service for keeping deceased loved ones fresh as a daisy for generations to come. You could take them home and stand them in a corner or pose them as a piece of furniture... the possibilities are endless. Disturbing, but endless.

Steve Buchheit said...

Gristle McThornbody, welcome. From what I understand the process isn't 100% successful and somewhat expensive. I also believe there is an issue with decomposition and leaching chemicals. It's also somewhat violent to the body and necessitates a degree of "freshness". And these are all the reasons behind the accusations of using Chinese prisoners as the main supply of bodies to perfect the process.