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

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Linkee-poo, give us your money, we've got no time for your silly toys

"You might think those five golden rings pushed up the prices. But in fact, the price spike was driven by a spike in the cost of lords-a-leaping and ladies dancing." Price of the 12 Days of Xmas is up 7.7% this year.

Just in case you're writing that medieval fantasy and you want to use the old lie of arrows being silent. They aren't. Oh, and hey, doppler effect for the win! (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)

Worldbuilders 2013 is off and running.

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." Irene Gallo and picturing The Hobbit.

Ah, the human mind. There's six modern playgrounds to unleash your inner child at. We won't speak of Pennsic Wars (which aren't listed, but should be). (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Okay, so you may think I'm a little too intense when it comes to typography. Honestly this conversation about a recurring trend in type is probably a little more than I normally do in public, but not nearly as in depth as some of my professional conversations.

"'Shouldn't we demand higher quality hoaxes?'… I say to you, my friends: we should. And we can, and it's not that hard." This story about "winning Thanksgiving" from a series of tweets reminds me not only of some of my writer friends who get on airplanes and tweet about the experience (let us not talk about what is out on the wing), but also about late 19th century photographs showing ghosts in houses or fairies at the bottom of gardens. We should look at the web as a subjective experience. Not every one is a trustworthy narrator. Of course you all know you can trust me, though.

"Our present lives, however, are not forever. But to think: 'Death is the enemy' is totally wrong. Death is part of our lives. Of course, from the Buddhist viewpoint, this body is in some sense an enemy. In order to develop genuine desire for moksha – liberation – then we do need that kind of attitude: that this very birth, this body, its very nature is suffering and so we want to cease that. But this attitude can create a lot of problems. If you consider death is the enemy, then this body is also the enemy, and life as a whole is the enemy. That’s going a little bit too far." The Dalai Lama on death and living. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

The sociopath in the corner office. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"'When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; and when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.' Proverbs 11:10" Alternatively, ding dong, another witch is dead. I know that being a good person means not taking delight in another's misfortunes or death, but sometimes I can't help myself. Paul Crouch, the founder of TBN (of which my local cable provides two channels - both of which I've blocked), is dead. Having watched TBN for the entertainment factor (like drinking games) when I lived in West "By God" Virginia, there's another quote in my head whenever I think of TBN, "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." I think it was the teleplay that showed some very white indians celebrating the arrival of the Europeans because they brought them Christ. Never mind those European slaughtered most of them in the name of that same Christ.

The new normal when it comes to part time work. The employers are saying, "you need to be available full-time, but we'll call you when we need you."

Glenn Beck just gets weirder and weirder. If he wasn't so proud of having gotten sober I'd wonder just exactly what he's drinking. It's gotta be stronger than kook-aid.

"If the ritual of pledging allegiance to the flag is presented as an invitation to express one’s patriotism, then it might not be harmful. But if this ritual is commanded… then the whole business takes on an entirely different meaning — it’s… only an expression of compliance to a demand for obedience." Land of the free and home of the brave as it were. But if you don't do what we want you to, we'll take our little red ball and go home.

The top 10 reasons why the US may be the most corrupt country in the world. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Tweet of my heart: @mhoye Whenever I hear about a "skills gap" in the economy, my brain hears "people aren't taking the lowball offers", and I think well, golly.

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