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

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Linkee-poo Wednesday July 13

Sorry, still trying to get into the swing of this new situation, as well as having some internet issues.

"In big news for science fiction and fantasy publishing, DAW Books is no longer an independently owned publisher. This morning, Astra Publishing House announced its acquisition of the storied SFF imprint."

"As you may have already deduced, fact-checking is the skill that helps you distinguish between trustworthy and sketchy information sources. We live in a time in which everyone is a self-proclaimed authority on every topic, so navigating the ocean of “facts” is no easy task. That’s where fact-checking comes into play." An article on fact checking with some helpful hints. So just as a reminder, the information war is still ongoing and is about to ramp back up with the midterm elections and the coming general election in 2 years. (Grokked from Daisy Hartwell, the author of the article who sent an email)

"Reality TV producers have exhausted singers, dancers, drag artists, potters, tailors, and beautiful young people hoping to find love. Now, it seems, the spotlight has fallen on writers. This week, a call has appeared on social media for contestants to apply to be on the pilot of a new show called America’s Next Great Author (ANGA)." Thirty days to write the novel, while also competing in short term contests. So there's this thing about pedometers that people always say, "you need to walk 10,000 steps." It's complete bullshit and the 10,000 steps figure comes from an early Japanese walking club goal. No science behind it. I see this "30 days to a novel" the same way only the genesis spot is NaNoWriMo (not that they're connected to this in any way, it's just they set the goal and now that timeframe is lodged in the public psyche). I predict this will fail. Not because they won't try hard, but frankly watching writers write is only slightly more interesting than watching slime mold move along a branch. Sure, if you timelapse the thing it's great, but in real time not so much. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

"Fortunately, the worst didn’t happen. There are a few reasons why. To reduce demand, many Texans turned up the thermostat by a few degrees to help save power, and ERCOT’s emergency response program paid some large energy customers to scale back usage during peak times. And significantly, solar power, which has been the star of the Texas grid so far during this interminable summer, continued to set records for energy production. If your air conditioner has been steadily running all summer long, you can thank the mighty power of the sun." Funny how that works. (Grokked from Elizabeth Bear)

"In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's historic decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, doctors say they're seeing a surge in the number of women who want to prevent future unintended pregnancies by getting their 'tubes tied.'… But a lot of patients fail to actually get this surgery, because an important window of opportunity — during hospitalization right after childbirth — is often missed." Reform Medicaid.

"The U.S. Attorney's Office says Denis Vladmirovich Molla, 29, is charged with two counts of wire fraud in connection with the fire that took place on September 23, 2020… Molla reported to police that someone set fire to his camper 'because it had a Trump 2020 flag displayed on it,' and spray painted the Antifa symbol, 'BLM' and 'Biden 2020' on his garage door. The U.S. Attorney's Office says Molla actually lit the fire and defaced the garage himself." So that leaves a question, has any of the supposed "left wing" vandalism stories turned out to be true?

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