The Lakeside Kickstarter to finish up their film of a year in Jay Lake's life. It looks like they've already made their goal, but I'm sure more money will help with the incidentals.
If you'd rather use your money to help Jay directly, Catherine Shaffer and Mary Robinette Kowal have started a fund to secure a full genome sequencing of Jay's cancer. As the site says, "Whole genome sequencing can be used to compare the entire gene sequence of a cancer cell to the sequence of a normal cell." With that there are possibilities of extra/different treatment options. It may be a long shot, but sometimes the Hail Mary works (which is why teams still practice it).
Also, Jay Lake writes SF. How fantastically SF would it be to have a full genomic sequence done?
In case you haven't noticed, without Jay I would lose something close to half my blog content. I need that man.
All joking aside, the $10,000 goal is just the first marker on that journey. More money can see the sequencing expedited. More will get faster analysis. And time, as they say, is of the essence.
Edited to add Jay Lake says "Thanks." It was directed at other people, and I couldn't help that much, but you, sir, are entirely welcome.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Linkee-poo is whatever makes you stronger
I'm busier than a one-legged man fighting a bobcat in a telephone booth. So not a lot and a number from Jay Lake.
Tobias Buckell has a sit down with his intern. Some good advice to all us newbie writers. Gods, am I still a newbie?
Writing in the time of people being short of time. Which is something I've thought about, so it's interesting to see someone come to similar conclusions. Although there is the alternate argument, some people read to slow down. They want the long letter because the adore its time expanding effect. (Grokked from Absolute Write)
Some more Kurt Vonnegut. Because can't we all do with more Kurt Vonnegut?
Do you need an agent? Like the article says, maybe, maybe not. But probably maybe. (Grokked from Absolute Write)
More bad news for sweetened drinks. Although we should point out, this is just one study. However that study shows a fairly significant correlation between sweetened (and diet) drinks and depression. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
"Anesthesia Awareness", one of those interesting things about modern medicine that the public's perception of what is happening isn't really what is going on (there's also a lot on consciousness and what that means). There are many types of anesthesia and people are put under different ways. Sometimes in surgery they will need to have you respond in some fashion, so while you may be "under" you're still able to respond. Some anesthesia simply decouples your hypothalamus from forming long term memories (or at least those that are easily recalled). You're still able to respond, you may be able to consciously move (but things like walking are out of the question). MY A&P professor recounts having to put in a chest tube on a patient where at the end the patient shook his hand and thanked him for not making it painful. However, as he says, during the procedure (and if you don't know what it takes to put in a chest tube, well, my advice is to stay ignorant) the patient was screaming bloody murder and he (the doc) finished the procedure drenched in sweat. The difference is the patient had been fully "awake" but unable to form memories. So while they were in great pain during not only could they not remember the pain, they couldn't remember the sensation of "I'm in pain." I'm pretty sure during my first surgery for my broken fibula I wasn't fully gone. While I don't remember the surgery itself, I do remember them wheeling me out of the surgery room and the nurse asking me if I was in pain and wanted morphine (the answer was "yes, please") That memory is only of being on the gurney, hearing the doors open and the voice of the nurse. I'm told my eyes were open but I have no visual memory. Actually I don't have a visual memory until the next day as I was about to leave (although I also remember talking with my wife during the overnight). When they removed the pins and plates, during the preoperative interview I informed the anesthesiologist of that memory. The only thing I remember after going into the surgery room is waking up in post-op and having my O2 monitor go off when I slept. This is why it's good to talk with your healthcare people, be forthright and honest with them. If you don't say anything, they'll follow normal procedures. If they know how you differ, they can compensate. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
If you wish to think of humans as collections of electrons, protons and neutrons with their limited forms of arrangement and through extrapolation come to the conclusion that their is no free will because we're all working through possibilities that have been selected by the atomic, chemical, and biological laws, than I think you're missing that those possibilities are for all intents and purposes infinite (after all, infinity is a number, just one more than what we can reasonably hold in our heads) and isn't that close enough to free will that there would be no real difference between them? It's like the problem of an object approaching another object by halfing the distance every second. It never will arrive at the second object, but just come really, really close. Well, what is the effective distance starting one foot out and running for 24 hours and what is the difference between that and the two objects touching one another?
Tweet of my heart: @KameronHurley: Sometimes the Internet reminds me too much of high school. Took me a long time to not give a shit what people think. Learned skill.
Alligator Quotient: If I were only up to my armpits in them, that might qualify as a vacation.
Tobias Buckell has a sit down with his intern. Some good advice to all us newbie writers. Gods, am I still a newbie?
Writing in the time of people being short of time. Which is something I've thought about, so it's interesting to see someone come to similar conclusions. Although there is the alternate argument, some people read to slow down. They want the long letter because the adore its time expanding effect. (Grokked from Absolute Write)
Some more Kurt Vonnegut. Because can't we all do with more Kurt Vonnegut?
Do you need an agent? Like the article says, maybe, maybe not. But probably maybe. (Grokked from Absolute Write)
More bad news for sweetened drinks. Although we should point out, this is just one study. However that study shows a fairly significant correlation between sweetened (and diet) drinks and depression. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
"Anesthesia Awareness", one of those interesting things about modern medicine that the public's perception of what is happening isn't really what is going on (there's also a lot on consciousness and what that means). There are many types of anesthesia and people are put under different ways. Sometimes in surgery they will need to have you respond in some fashion, so while you may be "under" you're still able to respond. Some anesthesia simply decouples your hypothalamus from forming long term memories (or at least those that are easily recalled). You're still able to respond, you may be able to consciously move (but things like walking are out of the question). MY A&P professor recounts having to put in a chest tube on a patient where at the end the patient shook his hand and thanked him for not making it painful. However, as he says, during the procedure (and if you don't know what it takes to put in a chest tube, well, my advice is to stay ignorant) the patient was screaming bloody murder and he (the doc) finished the procedure drenched in sweat. The difference is the patient had been fully "awake" but unable to form memories. So while they were in great pain during not only could they not remember the pain, they couldn't remember the sensation of "I'm in pain." I'm pretty sure during my first surgery for my broken fibula I wasn't fully gone. While I don't remember the surgery itself, I do remember them wheeling me out of the surgery room and the nurse asking me if I was in pain and wanted morphine (the answer was "yes, please") That memory is only of being on the gurney, hearing the doors open and the voice of the nurse. I'm told my eyes were open but I have no visual memory. Actually I don't have a visual memory until the next day as I was about to leave (although I also remember talking with my wife during the overnight). When they removed the pins and plates, during the preoperative interview I informed the anesthesiologist of that memory. The only thing I remember after going into the surgery room is waking up in post-op and having my O2 monitor go off when I slept. This is why it's good to talk with your healthcare people, be forthright and honest with them. If you don't say anything, they'll follow normal procedures. If they know how you differ, they can compensate. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
If you wish to think of humans as collections of electrons, protons and neutrons with their limited forms of arrangement and through extrapolation come to the conclusion that their is no free will because we're all working through possibilities that have been selected by the atomic, chemical, and biological laws, than I think you're missing that those possibilities are for all intents and purposes infinite (after all, infinity is a number, just one more than what we can reasonably hold in our heads) and isn't that close enough to free will that there would be no real difference between them? It's like the problem of an object approaching another object by halfing the distance every second. It never will arrive at the second object, but just come really, really close. Well, what is the effective distance starting one foot out and running for 24 hours and what is the difference between that and the two objects touching one another?
Tweet of my heart: @KameronHurley: Sometimes the Internet reminds me too much of high school. Took me a long time to not give a shit what people think. Learned skill.
Alligator Quotient: If I were only up to my armpits in them, that might qualify as a vacation.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
On my honor, I will do my best
Joe Hill has recently tweeted on truth and guns. Some of his tweets got me thinking, and I'm not sure twitter is a long enough forum to actually have a discussion.
And some things he says I whole heartily agree with. "@joe_hill: If your heroes never ever miss, if bystanders never suffer injury, if no one is scared, if wounds are shrugged off, you're being dishonest." Oh hell yes. And this brings me to some troubling things within our media myths. The best example of what I'm thinking about can be demonstrated with Star Wars in the scene in the Death Star hanger just after Darth strikes down Alec Guinness who then goes back to respectable theater. Something close to 20 Storm Troopers start firing at our group of heroes. These are trained soldiers that you may remember Obi-Wan commenting, "These blast points are too accurate for Sand People. Only Storm Troopers are so precise." So, you know, these aren't shabby shots. But somehow, by grace of George Lucas, obviously the Death Star is manned by the Storm Trooper Academy dropouts or something. So, Luke, so fresh off the farm Leia was happy to go down the chute into the garbage just to wipe the smell of dung from Luke's shoes, is now able to hit the door closing mechanism, less than a 1 foot square, from about 100 yards away (okay, sure, this is obviously his trick shot as he did it before, although that was point-blank range), but trained Storm Troopers are unable to hit any of our heroes as they scramble up the Millenium Falcon's landing ramp. Oh, and Luke offs a few of the Storm Troopers in their ablative armor just for good measure. Sure, I'm not expecting head shots, but Jeez guys, don't they teach center mass shots at the academy? Also note how many bolts the Storm Troopers fire versus how many the good guys get off.
You want to see wounds being shrugged off? Okay, watch Serenity. My wife actually asked me if anyone would be able to suffer that much punishment and still walk. The answer is, "No. Not really." But then there was the whole body paralysis/rigidity because of nerve cluster/pressure point thing so I guess both sides were playing a little loose.
Then there was "@joe_hill Fiction is not an excuse to lie. Fiction is make-believe in service of true truths." And here I'll agree again… as far as it goes. We've never held content creators' feet to the fire regarding "truthfulness" about anything; guns, science, relationships, gravity, money, religion, deduction, politics, police procedure, Superman reversing the spin of the Earth to turn back time or the more recent infamous "Red Matter." Fiction should have truth in it, and I do believe a content creators should do service to the truth as much as they can. And truth is extremely powerful way to get the reader/consumer to suspend disbelief and trust the creator as that creator starts spinning out the more fantastical parts of the story.
Do I think guns hold this "Holy" place in modern fiction (especially the visual media of TV and movies)? Yes. Guns are often used to instill tension, increase stakes, equal conflict, and in service to "conflict" in general as an easy crutch. Guns have a magic power that can be demonstrated by Bob Hoskin's gun in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The bullets go around corners when they need to, but then lose the scent and go off in the wrong direction because, as he explains, they're "Dum dums." Guns often behave this way even in more sincere movies and shows. For the good guys, the bullets go where they're needed and the bad guys seem to be very competent when the sidekick needs to buy it, but suddenly can't hit the broadside of the barn when it comes to the protagonist. Or if the protag is hit, somehow they're "lucky" and the bullet doesn't hit anything vital.
We won't even discuss the magic nature of the bullets that knock people off their feet, through windows, over cliffs, whatever.
But then why should we stop at guns? I mean, personal problems never really resolve in 25 minutes (or even 47 minutes). But having them do so on TV leads to an unrealistic expectation which can only cause heartburn and heartache in the general population when their own problems don't resolve in the same way or in the same time frame.
I mean were people really disappointed that we didn't elect President Bartlett? Do people involved in a murder mystery sue because they didn't have a great dinner party at the end of the investigation? Are visitors to the Jersey Shore upset that most residents of the shore aren't fucking insane goombahs? And why oh why won't just one of these writers come up with an effective and reasonable FTL technology, or fusion, or (gosh darn it) jet packs.
I don't know, I think I was 6 or 7 when my Mom looked me in the eye and said, "It's TV, it's not real." And the same with movies. And music. And porn. Are pizza delivery boys upset that they never deliver to the house of scantily clad women who are so glad to finally get a slice that they just want to have sex with their deliverer?
Do we have a culture of violence? Yes. Does our media feed it back to us? Yes, in multiples. Should our stories treat guns in a realistic manner? Personally I'd like to see some more reality. I'd like a lot of our tv/music/movies be a little less like gun porn.
But then I don't consume these things because I want a double dose of reality. I do want to see/read something that takes me out of reality. Do I want an extra hour tacked on to The Dark Knight Rises that explains the full ramifications of detonating a 4 mega ton weapon about 6 miles (which that copter/bat thingies would have to travel 360 mph to accomplish, BTW) off the shore of a population center? You know, it's a long enough movie as it is and I don't think Hans Zimmerman could keep the emotional tension building for that much longer, that musical movement was long enough (and so was the movie).
So I agree, in the main, of being a little more realistic in our portrayal of how guns actually function and more of the physical and psychological effects of that violence (you know, more than the obligatory "the rookie tosses their cookies in the background after seeing their first bloody dead victim). But there is also story, and to be realistic, fully realistic, the story will go off the rails. And even the small nods that are made towards how people realistically deal with tragedy/trama/loss whatever are not reality.
I'm not sure I'm making any point here. I guess what I really want to say is that what is really needed is for all of us to get a grip and for us to tell our children early on that media is not the truth. Entertainment is not truth. It's what we do to often get away from reality. And I think as a culture we've forgotten that basic lesson. TV and movies lie. Realistic games aren't reality.
And some things he says I whole heartily agree with. "@joe_hill: If your heroes never ever miss, if bystanders never suffer injury, if no one is scared, if wounds are shrugged off, you're being dishonest." Oh hell yes. And this brings me to some troubling things within our media myths. The best example of what I'm thinking about can be demonstrated with Star Wars in the scene in the Death Star hanger just after Darth strikes down Alec Guinness who then goes back to respectable theater. Something close to 20 Storm Troopers start firing at our group of heroes. These are trained soldiers that you may remember Obi-Wan commenting, "These blast points are too accurate for Sand People. Only Storm Troopers are so precise." So, you know, these aren't shabby shots. But somehow, by grace of George Lucas, obviously the Death Star is manned by the Storm Trooper Academy dropouts or something. So, Luke, so fresh off the farm Leia was happy to go down the chute into the garbage just to wipe the smell of dung from Luke's shoes, is now able to hit the door closing mechanism, less than a 1 foot square, from about 100 yards away (okay, sure, this is obviously his trick shot as he did it before, although that was point-blank range), but trained Storm Troopers are unable to hit any of our heroes as they scramble up the Millenium Falcon's landing ramp. Oh, and Luke offs a few of the Storm Troopers in their ablative armor just for good measure. Sure, I'm not expecting head shots, but Jeez guys, don't they teach center mass shots at the academy? Also note how many bolts the Storm Troopers fire versus how many the good guys get off.
You want to see wounds being shrugged off? Okay, watch Serenity. My wife actually asked me if anyone would be able to suffer that much punishment and still walk. The answer is, "No. Not really." But then there was the whole body paralysis/rigidity because of nerve cluster/pressure point thing so I guess both sides were playing a little loose.
Then there was "@joe_hill Fiction is not an excuse to lie. Fiction is make-believe in service of true truths." And here I'll agree again… as far as it goes. We've never held content creators' feet to the fire regarding "truthfulness" about anything; guns, science, relationships, gravity, money, religion, deduction, politics, police procedure, Superman reversing the spin of the Earth to turn back time or the more recent infamous "Red Matter." Fiction should have truth in it, and I do believe a content creators should do service to the truth as much as they can. And truth is extremely powerful way to get the reader/consumer to suspend disbelief and trust the creator as that creator starts spinning out the more fantastical parts of the story.
Do I think guns hold this "Holy" place in modern fiction (especially the visual media of TV and movies)? Yes. Guns are often used to instill tension, increase stakes, equal conflict, and in service to "conflict" in general as an easy crutch. Guns have a magic power that can be demonstrated by Bob Hoskin's gun in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The bullets go around corners when they need to, but then lose the scent and go off in the wrong direction because, as he explains, they're "Dum dums." Guns often behave this way even in more sincere movies and shows. For the good guys, the bullets go where they're needed and the bad guys seem to be very competent when the sidekick needs to buy it, but suddenly can't hit the broadside of the barn when it comes to the protagonist. Or if the protag is hit, somehow they're "lucky" and the bullet doesn't hit anything vital.
We won't even discuss the magic nature of the bullets that knock people off their feet, through windows, over cliffs, whatever.
But then why should we stop at guns? I mean, personal problems never really resolve in 25 minutes (or even 47 minutes). But having them do so on TV leads to an unrealistic expectation which can only cause heartburn and heartache in the general population when their own problems don't resolve in the same way or in the same time frame.
I mean were people really disappointed that we didn't elect President Bartlett? Do people involved in a murder mystery sue because they didn't have a great dinner party at the end of the investigation? Are visitors to the Jersey Shore upset that most residents of the shore aren't fucking insane goombahs? And why oh why won't just one of these writers come up with an effective and reasonable FTL technology, or fusion, or (gosh darn it) jet packs.
I don't know, I think I was 6 or 7 when my Mom looked me in the eye and said, "It's TV, it's not real." And the same with movies. And music. And porn. Are pizza delivery boys upset that they never deliver to the house of scantily clad women who are so glad to finally get a slice that they just want to have sex with their deliverer?
Do we have a culture of violence? Yes. Does our media feed it back to us? Yes, in multiples. Should our stories treat guns in a realistic manner? Personally I'd like to see some more reality. I'd like a lot of our tv/music/movies be a little less like gun porn.
But then I don't consume these things because I want a double dose of reality. I do want to see/read something that takes me out of reality. Do I want an extra hour tacked on to The Dark Knight Rises that explains the full ramifications of detonating a 4 mega ton weapon about 6 miles (which that copter/bat thingies would have to travel 360 mph to accomplish, BTW) off the shore of a population center? You know, it's a long enough movie as it is and I don't think Hans Zimmerman could keep the emotional tension building for that much longer, that musical movement was long enough (and so was the movie).
So I agree, in the main, of being a little more realistic in our portrayal of how guns actually function and more of the physical and psychological effects of that violence (you know, more than the obligatory "the rookie tosses their cookies in the background after seeing their first bloody dead victim). But there is also story, and to be realistic, fully realistic, the story will go off the rails. And even the small nods that are made towards how people realistically deal with tragedy/trama/loss whatever are not reality.
I'm not sure I'm making any point here. I guess what I really want to say is that what is really needed is for all of us to get a grip and for us to tell our children early on that media is not the truth. Entertainment is not truth. It's what we do to often get away from reality. And I think as a culture we've forgotten that basic lesson. TV and movies lie. Realistic games aren't reality.
Linkee-poo dreamed he met a Galilean, a most amazing man
A little on the history, economic punditry, and overzealous press releases of Borders, B&N and all the rest with a little on e-readers.
In relation to the link on Neil Gaiman's answer to the advice of rewriting, now comes Chuck Wendig with a little more exposition on how one can accomplish the rewrite.
The Writing Excuses Retreat Scholarship is still open. Get in on the ground floor.
Dr. Doyle with some good tips on handwaving. When I do my handwaving, I prefer the "Queen's Wave" methodology.
John Joseph Adams has updated his article on attending writing workshops. Worth the time to both read and attend. (Grokked from Tor.com)
John Scalzi discusses the idea of "selling out." Sigh. As a professional graphic designer I've always been accused of selling out. As John says, if making money is part of the plan, it isn't selling out. For writing, if you don't think I've had the idea of making money with writing stories and novels, well I must not have talked about it lately, but if I made a metric buttload of money from writing popular novels that I want to write, hey, that's the dream. I do know some writers who have taken the deals and wrote books for packagers. And you know what, it's a job. Most have not made a name for themselves, at least not yet. So it's not like they're trading on their names (actually most of them published under other people's names or pseudonymously). Current popular musicians actually do "commercialized" versions of their songs while still in the studio. I write this blog for the love of it. And I have thought about serializing my novel here, but I'm still hoping to sell it for money. Because money affords me the two luxuries I've come to know and enjoy: eating and sleeping indoors.
Why heckling is still terrible no matter what idiot pundits think it ads to the act. You know what's even better, when a comic losses their train of thought mid act and then has to find they way back to the routine. That's hilarious. Wait, no it's not. That's scrambling, and I didn't pay for that. Saying that heckling ads to comedic acts is like thanking that waitperson for spitting on your hamburger because their weed inflected spittle added to the taste. Nah, I don't think so.
The Davis Happy Meal Project. While the tagline is "nothing has changed" it looks to me like a little dehydration has occurred, but you would expect that. However I will pass on the thoughts of a nutritional scientist who said, "If it doesn't rot, you really don't want to be putting it in your body." Now, if this had been sealed in a hermetic environment, sure I can see it go for a while. In the regular environment, well this will creep you out if you haven't learned it yet, is literally crawling with bacteria including some floating in the air. At the very least you would expect yeast spores to find their way to the surface and grow there. But if microbes won't grow on it, there's a good portion of your digestion that requires microbial reaction. Also, in case you didn't know this, McDonalds' food is highly engineered. This is just an experiment showing how much it has been transformed. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
You know that plan to arm teachers as way of defending schools in case of shooters? Yeah, about that. While it looks like a situation that was defused, note that the call that lead to the teacher's involuntary commitment, a restraining order from the spouse, etc all stemmed from neighbors calling into police when they saw him carry an AR15 to his car, not from the coworkers who felt threatened by his email and Facebook postings (although I'm sure that with the police being notified of those, when a neighbor said, "Hey, I saw him put a rifle in his car" they sent the car out quickly). (Pointed to by Dan)
Fred Clark on the re-rise of the company town, now with Church. I. Just. Wow. Sometime the audacity of people's claims leave me speechless because of their brazenness and stupidity.
Isn't there something about forgiving us our debts? Oh wait, that's right, Catholics say "trespasses." It's only the Protestants that have the whole "money" thing going on. That's an article on the Swiss Court telling the Church that a debt incurred over 600 years ago is null and void after the Swiss had passed new laws regarding lending in the 1800s. There's also something about "unto the 7th generation", which I think is 140 or so years. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
So, a court finally tells a student that no, the RFID school ID badge isn't the Mark of the Beast. This also fails the logic test. Okay, let's say for the moment that the ID is the Mark of the Beast(which it doesn't match the description, but, hey, it's not like the preachers spewing this stuff actually read the Bible either), that makes the Beast either the Northside Independent School District, the State of Texas, the Department of Education, or the USA Federal Government. In that case, by staying in the school system, as a student, you're already a part of the Beast (if you wish to envision it as an organization). You're already tainted and doomed to the fire. So I'm not seeing where just getting out of wearing the ID badge is any improvement on the situation. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"Yet such a move would almost certainly be widely seen as an audacious display of ingratitude." Gee, ya think? So, AIG shareholders are suing the US Government because as a part of the bailout they feel they got shafted. And since the majority (private) holder is the one bringing the case (in what sounds like sour grapes motivation to me) the AIG Board needs to decide if they're going in too or if they expose themselves to a shareholder suit. Yeah. Okay, well, IANAL, but I really don't see their case here and agree with the top level reasoning of the NY judge who dismissed it. But that doesn't indemnify the Board of AIG. See it wasn't only the "bailout" money to AIG (which then flowed to other companies to settle their credit default swaps), the FED has also been buying up those "Toxic Assets" to get them out of the economy. So, tell me again why we don't need even more oversight on these companies?
Not content to show ignorance on an evolutionary scale with denying evolution, the age of the universe and global climate change, apparently conservatives have a problem with Einstein. Including reason #16, "The action-at-a-distance by Jesus, described in John 4:46-54, Matthew 15:28, and Matthew 27:51." But in their world, Star Trek is one of the greatest, conservative TV shows. I'm going to paraphrase Mr. Universe here by saying, "Can't stop the stupid, Mal." (Pointed to by John)
To deal with climate change in Australia, they've resorted to opening a new box of crayons. Their colored (colored?) heat maps weren't calibrated for the increase in temperature, so they've had to add new colors to show the new extremes. The good news is that with the decrease in snow coverage in the Arctic we have extra colors we're no longer using. So, maybe it'll balance out, color wise. Temperature wise, we're boned. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
In relation to the link on Neil Gaiman's answer to the advice of rewriting, now comes Chuck Wendig with a little more exposition on how one can accomplish the rewrite.
The Writing Excuses Retreat Scholarship is still open. Get in on the ground floor.
Dr. Doyle with some good tips on handwaving. When I do my handwaving, I prefer the "Queen's Wave" methodology.
John Joseph Adams has updated his article on attending writing workshops. Worth the time to both read and attend. (Grokked from Tor.com)
John Scalzi discusses the idea of "selling out." Sigh. As a professional graphic designer I've always been accused of selling out. As John says, if making money is part of the plan, it isn't selling out. For writing, if you don't think I've had the idea of making money with writing stories and novels, well I must not have talked about it lately, but if I made a metric buttload of money from writing popular novels that I want to write, hey, that's the dream. I do know some writers who have taken the deals and wrote books for packagers. And you know what, it's a job. Most have not made a name for themselves, at least not yet. So it's not like they're trading on their names (actually most of them published under other people's names or pseudonymously). Current popular musicians actually do "commercialized" versions of their songs while still in the studio. I write this blog for the love of it. And I have thought about serializing my novel here, but I'm still hoping to sell it for money. Because money affords me the two luxuries I've come to know and enjoy: eating and sleeping indoors.
Why heckling is still terrible no matter what idiot pundits think it ads to the act. You know what's even better, when a comic losses their train of thought mid act and then has to find they way back to the routine. That's hilarious. Wait, no it's not. That's scrambling, and I didn't pay for that. Saying that heckling ads to comedic acts is like thanking that waitperson for spitting on your hamburger because their weed inflected spittle added to the taste. Nah, I don't think so.
The Davis Happy Meal Project. While the tagline is "nothing has changed" it looks to me like a little dehydration has occurred, but you would expect that. However I will pass on the thoughts of a nutritional scientist who said, "If it doesn't rot, you really don't want to be putting it in your body." Now, if this had been sealed in a hermetic environment, sure I can see it go for a while. In the regular environment, well this will creep you out if you haven't learned it yet, is literally crawling with bacteria including some floating in the air. At the very least you would expect yeast spores to find their way to the surface and grow there. But if microbes won't grow on it, there's a good portion of your digestion that requires microbial reaction. Also, in case you didn't know this, McDonalds' food is highly engineered. This is just an experiment showing how much it has been transformed. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
You know that plan to arm teachers as way of defending schools in case of shooters? Yeah, about that. While it looks like a situation that was defused, note that the call that lead to the teacher's involuntary commitment, a restraining order from the spouse, etc all stemmed from neighbors calling into police when they saw him carry an AR15 to his car, not from the coworkers who felt threatened by his email and Facebook postings (although I'm sure that with the police being notified of those, when a neighbor said, "Hey, I saw him put a rifle in his car" they sent the car out quickly). (Pointed to by Dan)
Fred Clark on the re-rise of the company town, now with Church. I. Just. Wow. Sometime the audacity of people's claims leave me speechless because of their brazenness and stupidity.
Isn't there something about forgiving us our debts? Oh wait, that's right, Catholics say "trespasses." It's only the Protestants that have the whole "money" thing going on. That's an article on the Swiss Court telling the Church that a debt incurred over 600 years ago is null and void after the Swiss had passed new laws regarding lending in the 1800s. There's also something about "unto the 7th generation", which I think is 140 or so years. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
So, a court finally tells a student that no, the RFID school ID badge isn't the Mark of the Beast. This also fails the logic test. Okay, let's say for the moment that the ID is the Mark of the Beast(which it doesn't match the description, but, hey, it's not like the preachers spewing this stuff actually read the Bible either), that makes the Beast either the Northside Independent School District, the State of Texas, the Department of Education, or the USA Federal Government. In that case, by staying in the school system, as a student, you're already a part of the Beast (if you wish to envision it as an organization). You're already tainted and doomed to the fire. So I'm not seeing where just getting out of wearing the ID badge is any improvement on the situation. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"Yet such a move would almost certainly be widely seen as an audacious display of ingratitude." Gee, ya think? So, AIG shareholders are suing the US Government because as a part of the bailout they feel they got shafted. And since the majority (private) holder is the one bringing the case (in what sounds like sour grapes motivation to me) the AIG Board needs to decide if they're going in too or if they expose themselves to a shareholder suit. Yeah. Okay, well, IANAL, but I really don't see their case here and agree with the top level reasoning of the NY judge who dismissed it. But that doesn't indemnify the Board of AIG. See it wasn't only the "bailout" money to AIG (which then flowed to other companies to settle their credit default swaps), the FED has also been buying up those "Toxic Assets" to get them out of the economy. So, tell me again why we don't need even more oversight on these companies?
Not content to show ignorance on an evolutionary scale with denying evolution, the age of the universe and global climate change, apparently conservatives have a problem with Einstein. Including reason #16, "The action-at-a-distance by Jesus, described in John 4:46-54, Matthew 15:28, and Matthew 27:51." But in their world, Star Trek is one of the greatest, conservative TV shows. I'm going to paraphrase Mr. Universe here by saying, "Can't stop the stupid, Mal." (Pointed to by John)
To deal with climate change in Australia, they've resorted to opening a new box of crayons. Their colored (colored?) heat maps weren't calibrated for the increase in temperature, so they've had to add new colors to show the new extremes. The good news is that with the decrease in snow coverage in the Arctic we have extra colors we're no longer using. So, maybe it'll balance out, color wise. Temperature wise, we're boned. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Linkee-poo will sing you a song about spinning, that was a good trade in our time
I've been letting this one stew a little, and in it's way I've been hoarding a precious gem. Elizabeth Bear on social relevance, timeliness, and the exquisite lie that science fiction shows us the future. A best, it can show us how we are. There's a meme out there in the zeitgeist that SF has a place because it gives us a road map to the next thing. And in service of this myth we talk about Clarke's satellites, or that cell flip phones are our communicators. It's bullshit. My cell phone can not call a space ship, and communicators weren't much more than encrypted (at best) radios. The broken promises of SF that can never be salt the ground of our imaginations. But that doesn't mean SF has no value. It is a pearl of great price.
"Yes, you see, a giant retail chain being legally required to provide health insurance even for lady parts is exactly like the death-by-stoning of St. Stephen." Hubris, and the political "evangelicals" are full of it.
Hide-a-Pod. Hahahahahaha. Okay, they would have gotten extra points if they could have made the Zune-camo actually drive your iPod/iPhone, but still. (Pointed to by Dan)
And if you ever wondered why I use Apple products over Microsoft, there is this. See, thieves decided to raid Microsoft's Mount View campus, but only took Apple iPads and left all the Microsoft products alone. This is like a friend who had their car broken into and their stereo taken but none of their tapes. As they said later, "That's kind of insulting when you think of it. Like the thieves are telling you that your taste in equipment is good but you taste in music sucks." (Pointed to by Dan)
Also, you know how most tech gurus like to bag on Apple, especially with its newfound hegemony in the tablet market with the iPad? Well, if Apple spun off it's iPad business it alone would be the 11th largest tech company and #98 on the Fortune 500. How's that for having such a poor product.
Have you ever wanted to see robots play metal? Sure you have. (Grokked from Mer Haskell)
USB 3.0 to to get a speed bump to 10gig throughput. When I was a kid, 10gig seemed unreasonably high and even getting to 10meg speed throughput was an amazing leap forward. I feel like I'm saying, "we used to be able to buy two pieces a bubblegum for a penny." And thus I stamp both my geek and geezer card for the quarter. (Pointed to by John)
With some alternatives to hitting the debt ceiling being floated again, GOP Leaders are showing they understand just how tenuous their threats about going over the next cliff are. Gee, ya think? Even the architect of the last time the government had to close down is saying, "Bad idea, guys." But here is the reality, while the GOP leadership may still contain a brain and memory, their rank and file have lost both of theirs. So what it might come down is that Boehner will need to strike a deal with Congressional Democrats and abandon his "majority of the majority" policy all together (like he did last week). Before the Republicans could play this card and strike a blow at an Obama Second Term (after all, an economy in the toilet, even if laid at the proper feet, would have drained a lot of votes from him). Well, they no longer have that bullet, and it's looking like that was their major play. Obama has already signaled that he won't deal for this (what he actually does may be different). But my guess is a call was made to the White House to schedule a meeting and was rebuffed, which sent the message that the President may be willing to either pull one of the two nuclear scenarios, or let Congress damn themselves.
Lookie here, one Congresswoman gets sworn in sans Bible. She used a bound copy of the Constitution. Queue the social conservatives over at Fox to start up the spittle flecking machines. Well, at least it wasn't being sworn in on Jefferson's Koran. I mean, that would have been horrible. I can see the Tea Party getting thrown into an endless loop over this one, "But it wasn't the Bible, but it was the Constitution, but it wasn't… Norman, coordinate!" (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
Pointing to this video about Social Media's influence because I may need it later. Yeah, it's an ad, go figure. I do dispute some of their numbers (or at the very least the implications they're trying to draw). But, yeah, a company really can't ignore social media any more if they want to thrive. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
Alligator Quotient: Today they're being contrary cusses.
"Yes, you see, a giant retail chain being legally required to provide health insurance even for lady parts is exactly like the death-by-stoning of St. Stephen." Hubris, and the political "evangelicals" are full of it.
Hide-a-Pod. Hahahahahaha. Okay, they would have gotten extra points if they could have made the Zune-camo actually drive your iPod/iPhone, but still. (Pointed to by Dan)
And if you ever wondered why I use Apple products over Microsoft, there is this. See, thieves decided to raid Microsoft's Mount View campus, but only took Apple iPads and left all the Microsoft products alone. This is like a friend who had their car broken into and their stereo taken but none of their tapes. As they said later, "That's kind of insulting when you think of it. Like the thieves are telling you that your taste in equipment is good but you taste in music sucks." (Pointed to by Dan)
Also, you know how most tech gurus like to bag on Apple, especially with its newfound hegemony in the tablet market with the iPad? Well, if Apple spun off it's iPad business it alone would be the 11th largest tech company and #98 on the Fortune 500. How's that for having such a poor product.
Have you ever wanted to see robots play metal? Sure you have. (Grokked from Mer Haskell)
USB 3.0 to to get a speed bump to 10gig throughput. When I was a kid, 10gig seemed unreasonably high and even getting to 10meg speed throughput was an amazing leap forward. I feel like I'm saying, "we used to be able to buy two pieces a bubblegum for a penny." And thus I stamp both my geek and geezer card for the quarter. (Pointed to by John)
With some alternatives to hitting the debt ceiling being floated again, GOP Leaders are showing they understand just how tenuous their threats about going over the next cliff are. Gee, ya think? Even the architect of the last time the government had to close down is saying, "Bad idea, guys." But here is the reality, while the GOP leadership may still contain a brain and memory, their rank and file have lost both of theirs. So what it might come down is that Boehner will need to strike a deal with Congressional Democrats and abandon his "majority of the majority" policy all together (like he did last week). Before the Republicans could play this card and strike a blow at an Obama Second Term (after all, an economy in the toilet, even if laid at the proper feet, would have drained a lot of votes from him). Well, they no longer have that bullet, and it's looking like that was their major play. Obama has already signaled that he won't deal for this (what he actually does may be different). But my guess is a call was made to the White House to schedule a meeting and was rebuffed, which sent the message that the President may be willing to either pull one of the two nuclear scenarios, or let Congress damn themselves.
Lookie here, one Congresswoman gets sworn in sans Bible. She used a bound copy of the Constitution. Queue the social conservatives over at Fox to start up the spittle flecking machines. Well, at least it wasn't being sworn in on Jefferson's Koran. I mean, that would have been horrible. I can see the Tea Party getting thrown into an endless loop over this one, "But it wasn't the Bible, but it was the Constitution, but it wasn't… Norman, coordinate!" (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
Pointing to this video about Social Media's influence because I may need it later. Yeah, it's an ad, go figure. I do dispute some of their numbers (or at the very least the implications they're trying to draw). But, yeah, a company really can't ignore social media any more if they want to thrive. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
Alligator Quotient: Today they're being contrary cusses.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Linkee-poo will tell you she's an orphan, after you meet her family
Jason Sandford wants to know your worst examples of subtitles.
Saladin Ahmed's essay on the popularity necessity, and history of world-building in fantasy.
Neil Gaiman with about the only writing advice you'll need. Okay, not really but it's still pretty damn good. (Grokked from Joe Hill)
Shaun Farrell of is looking of input and writers of reviews.
A long description of to different publishing terms regarding rights to print and distribute in various countries. Or, "Why you can't buy my (once I get published) book in Germany right away, no matter how much I may want to sell it to you." (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
Following on the various posts regarding placing massive troves online, now the Dead Sea Scrolls are online. Actually I thought they had done this before, but maybe I'm remembering the start of the optical scanning. And now that archive is searchable. (Grokked from the Slactivist)
Russell Means on capitalism, marxism, revolution, and indigenous culture. Sometimes the enemy of my enemy is my friend, sometimes it's the same old bastard in different clothes. If you're writing a story that involves an oppressed people finding their way and resisting being defined by their oppressors, you really should read this. Or if you just want to understand the American Indian mind a little more clearly, this is a good primer. If this is the first you've heard of Russell Means, this wiki article is a good starting point. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
The Slactivist with a story about the real American Work Ethic. I've had conversations like that. Including the internal "rebellious commitment to doing good work as a way of doing justice for the customer and simultaneously flipping off the bosses — that’s pretty much all that’s keeping corporate America afloat."
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Okay, GOP, do it. Don't raise the debt ceiling. Just fucking do it. I'm tired of this crap. No, don't blink. You've placed your rhetoric on the line. I triple-dog-dare you. Why? Because I'm tired of this brinksmanship and doing this will destroy any credibility the GOP has left and history will sweep you under a rug. The rest of us will then have to put the pieces back together again and maybe an intelligent, savvy, respectable opposition party will be formed to take your place. Sure, we'll be in the economic deep end for years, but by the time my nieces and nephews get into their major earning years and I hit retirement it'll be solved, without the GOP. This is what happens when you bully too much. Those being bullied become immune to it and are just waiting for their moment when you've spooled out enough rope.
Tweet of my heart: This is going to be a little different. This is really why you should follow @MaryRobinette, because there are these wonderful gems she throws into your day, like:
@MaryRobinette: Man... cleaning out the back porch finally and there are so many random body parts. Where did all these arms come from?
AND
@MaryRobinette:Woot! Found the box of weasel fur. Now I just need to find their heads.
AND
@MaryRobinette: Curiously, the weasel heads were in the same box where I put the leftover eagle balls.
AND
@MaryRobinette: I'm heading to the back porch with my box of weasel heads.
Saladin Ahmed's essay on the popularity necessity, and history of world-building in fantasy.
Neil Gaiman with about the only writing advice you'll need. Okay, not really but it's still pretty damn good. (Grokked from Joe Hill)
Shaun Farrell of is looking of input and writers of reviews.
A long description of to different publishing terms regarding rights to print and distribute in various countries. Or, "Why you can't buy my (once I get published) book in Germany right away, no matter how much I may want to sell it to you." (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
Following on the various posts regarding placing massive troves online, now the Dead Sea Scrolls are online. Actually I thought they had done this before, but maybe I'm remembering the start of the optical scanning. And now that archive is searchable. (Grokked from the Slactivist)
Russell Means on capitalism, marxism, revolution, and indigenous culture. Sometimes the enemy of my enemy is my friend, sometimes it's the same old bastard in different clothes. If you're writing a story that involves an oppressed people finding their way and resisting being defined by their oppressors, you really should read this. Or if you just want to understand the American Indian mind a little more clearly, this is a good primer. If this is the first you've heard of Russell Means, this wiki article is a good starting point. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
The Slactivist with a story about the real American Work Ethic. I've had conversations like that. Including the internal "rebellious commitment to doing good work as a way of doing justice for the customer and simultaneously flipping off the bosses — that’s pretty much all that’s keeping corporate America afloat."
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Okay, GOP, do it. Don't raise the debt ceiling. Just fucking do it. I'm tired of this crap. No, don't blink. You've placed your rhetoric on the line. I triple-dog-dare you. Why? Because I'm tired of this brinksmanship and doing this will destroy any credibility the GOP has left and history will sweep you under a rug. The rest of us will then have to put the pieces back together again and maybe an intelligent, savvy, respectable opposition party will be formed to take your place. Sure, we'll be in the economic deep end for years, but by the time my nieces and nephews get into their major earning years and I hit retirement it'll be solved, without the GOP. This is what happens when you bully too much. Those being bullied become immune to it and are just waiting for their moment when you've spooled out enough rope.
Tweet of my heart: This is going to be a little different. This is really why you should follow @MaryRobinette, because there are these wonderful gems she throws into your day, like:
@MaryRobinette: Man... cleaning out the back porch finally and there are so many random body parts. Where did all these arms come from?
AND
@MaryRobinette:Woot! Found the box of weasel fur. Now I just need to find their heads.
AND
@MaryRobinette: Curiously, the weasel heads were in the same box where I put the leftover eagle balls.
AND
@MaryRobinette: I'm heading to the back porch with my box of weasel heads.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Weekend Linkee-poo look out kid, it's something you did
Spent the day putting away Xmas decorations. Was very cold and I hurt. Tomorrow will see a few extra hours at the hospital to keep in the groove. So not much time on the internets today and probably not a lot tomorrow.
Riding a horse over a frozen lake in Siberia. Wow.
What comes as a surprise (to no economist who works without an ideological bent) is that the austerity measures the IMF enforced on the European (and other) countries needed economic help turns out to not work they way they thought it would. Instead of having an economic impact multiplier of 50%, it runs out it's actually 150% (that is, every euro of government spending cut removed 2.5 euros form the economy - the original euro and the 150% multiplier). That's one quick way to decimate your economy. Of course the correction isn't getting nearly as much press as the whole, "You've gotta cut to the bone" original advice did. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
Another economics article, this time on how the gold standard in Middle Earth allowed Smaug to cause a long term economic crisis. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Why the robot apocalypse will be short lived. Norman, coordinate! (Pointed to by Dan)
A long (but fascinating) story about Apollo Robbins, pickpocket. I think I remember seeing him on a PBS special (NOVA I think, at least I remember some of the things being discussed). (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Jay Lake outlines one of the reasons I continue to support health care reform. Health insurance often is not so much insurance, especially when it comes to statistics. Insurance companies are companies,their goal is to make money. And if they can make money by denying you service, they will.
Riding a horse over a frozen lake in Siberia. Wow.
What comes as a surprise (to no economist who works without an ideological bent) is that the austerity measures the IMF enforced on the European (and other) countries needed economic help turns out to not work they way they thought it would. Instead of having an economic impact multiplier of 50%, it runs out it's actually 150% (that is, every euro of government spending cut removed 2.5 euros form the economy - the original euro and the 150% multiplier). That's one quick way to decimate your economy. Of course the correction isn't getting nearly as much press as the whole, "You've gotta cut to the bone" original advice did. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
Another economics article, this time on how the gold standard in Middle Earth allowed Smaug to cause a long term economic crisis. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Why the robot apocalypse will be short lived. Norman, coordinate! (Pointed to by Dan)
A long (but fascinating) story about Apollo Robbins, pickpocket. I think I remember seeing him on a PBS special (NOVA I think, at least I remember some of the things being discussed). (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Jay Lake outlines one of the reasons I continue to support health care reform. Health insurance often is not so much insurance, especially when it comes to statistics. Insurance companies are companies,their goal is to make money. And if they can make money by denying you service, they will.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Linkee-poo will be the round about, the words will make you out in out
Cory Doctorow on where characters come from. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
The Guardian with a squib about where SF is going in 2013. Mostly, "woohoo, SF rocks!", but some other things in there. Given last weeks Writing Excuses was also about four ways the industry is changing I'm starting to see a meme emerging. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
You know how some evolution deniers like to talk about how evolution isn't reproducible in or could be studied in a laboratory (you know, unlike Creation which has oh so many lab applications)? Well, they're even more wrong. In this case it isn't so much forcing animals to evolve (that's been done for a while, but mostly on bacteria), but to prove and theory held about evolution and the rise of larger-brained animals. In this case they bred guppies for larger brains and saw a decrease in other organ size and the size of the broods. Which is what was predicted. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
"… Roughly 1 in 5 families with children are not getting enough food…For some, free or reduced-price school meals have become a major source of basic nutrition. When schools close for the holidays, many of those families struggle to fill the gap." (Full disclosure, I qualified for free lunches when I was in school) Good thing we're cutting food stamps and the other social net programs. After all, if we're going to have a 3rd world economy with 3rd world income disparities, we have to have the starving kids with Kwashiorkors to go along with the package.
Physicists have created a gas which can reach "sub-Kelvin temperatures." There's going to be various technical arguments about exactly what they did and the definition of absolute zero, but it's this line that is the payoff. "Another peculiarity of the sub-absolute-zero gas is that it mimics 'dark energy',". (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Someone else's thoughtful insights into the 2nd Amendment. (Grokked from Mirandi Suri, I think, although Eric shows up in the comments)
Oh, what might have been. Actually it does make sense that Steve Jobs nixed putting a cellular phone in the Newton, as he killed the product off a short time later. But what if Apple had started the smart phone revolution (rather than upsetting the cart later)? (Pointed to by Dan)
The DCCC is being helpful by sending Freshman Conservative Representatives Tea Party Membership cards. Before you get irate, read the last paragraph on what the NRCC sent Democratic Freshmen. (Pointed to by Dan)
Empathy is a long climb. Isn't it strange that when people have direct and deep contact with our healthcare system they tend to have the scales drop from their eyes. It isn't just Medicare that limits PT visits, when I broke my leg I ran up against my insurance's yearly PT visit limitation. For mental health issues, most insurance in Ohio limits you to 4 visits per year (and even that was an epic battle to change regulations to require mental health coverage at all, such a battle would be impossible in today's environment).
Another take on Sen. Kirk's epiphany regarding Medicare. That leap, the one saying, "Hey, I know about this one thing, but this is one of many things" is a difficult one. It is doubly so in some conservatives' brain spaces which can compartmentalize how their actions are just but if someone else does the same thing, they're wrong (see the number of "my abortion was necessary and right, all yours are because your selfish and want to kill babies" stories). On in other words, learning to walk the walk means you need to do more than put one foot in front of the other. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
The Day's Quote: (brought to you via Teri Windling) "In order to write the book you want to write, in the end you have to become the person you need to become to write that book." ― Junot Díaz
The Guardian with a squib about where SF is going in 2013. Mostly, "woohoo, SF rocks!", but some other things in there. Given last weeks Writing Excuses was also about four ways the industry is changing I'm starting to see a meme emerging. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
You know how some evolution deniers like to talk about how evolution isn't reproducible in or could be studied in a laboratory (you know, unlike Creation which has oh so many lab applications)? Well, they're even more wrong. In this case it isn't so much forcing animals to evolve (that's been done for a while, but mostly on bacteria), but to prove and theory held about evolution and the rise of larger-brained animals. In this case they bred guppies for larger brains and saw a decrease in other organ size and the size of the broods. Which is what was predicted. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
"… Roughly 1 in 5 families with children are not getting enough food…For some, free or reduced-price school meals have become a major source of basic nutrition. When schools close for the holidays, many of those families struggle to fill the gap." (Full disclosure, I qualified for free lunches when I was in school) Good thing we're cutting food stamps and the other social net programs. After all, if we're going to have a 3rd world economy with 3rd world income disparities, we have to have the starving kids with Kwashiorkors to go along with the package.
Physicists have created a gas which can reach "sub-Kelvin temperatures." There's going to be various technical arguments about exactly what they did and the definition of absolute zero, but it's this line that is the payoff. "Another peculiarity of the sub-absolute-zero gas is that it mimics 'dark energy',". (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Someone else's thoughtful insights into the 2nd Amendment. (Grokked from Mirandi Suri, I think, although Eric shows up in the comments)
Oh, what might have been. Actually it does make sense that Steve Jobs nixed putting a cellular phone in the Newton, as he killed the product off a short time later. But what if Apple had started the smart phone revolution (rather than upsetting the cart later)? (Pointed to by Dan)
The DCCC is being helpful by sending Freshman Conservative Representatives Tea Party Membership cards. Before you get irate, read the last paragraph on what the NRCC sent Democratic Freshmen. (Pointed to by Dan)
Empathy is a long climb. Isn't it strange that when people have direct and deep contact with our healthcare system they tend to have the scales drop from their eyes. It isn't just Medicare that limits PT visits, when I broke my leg I ran up against my insurance's yearly PT visit limitation. For mental health issues, most insurance in Ohio limits you to 4 visits per year (and even that was an epic battle to change regulations to require mental health coverage at all, such a battle would be impossible in today's environment).
Another take on Sen. Kirk's epiphany regarding Medicare. That leap, the one saying, "Hey, I know about this one thing, but this is one of many things" is a difficult one. It is doubly so in some conservatives' brain spaces which can compartmentalize how their actions are just but if someone else does the same thing, they're wrong (see the number of "my abortion was necessary and right, all yours are because your selfish and want to kill babies" stories). On in other words, learning to walk the walk means you need to do more than put one foot in front of the other. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
The Day's Quote: (brought to you via Teri Windling) "In order to write the book you want to write, in the end you have to become the person you need to become to write that book." ― Junot Díaz
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Linkee-poo ain't a beauty, but you're all right
For all the new people, what is it about this linkee-poo post that is driving such crazy numbers? Something that I did must have rung true with a lot of people, I just can't figure it out.
Now that I'm not really submitting short stories I haven't looked at Duotrope in a while, but I did happen to like the service (although I never used the submission tracker part of the site). While I support Duotrope, I'm not sure I'd do it through a subscription, for many of the reasons pointed out in this article with some alternatives to using Duotrope. (Grokked from Jason Sanford)
"If I want a house-cleaning business, the second I gather all of my cleaning supplies and a vacuum together in the back of my SUV and print off some business cards, I am a house-cleaning business. Even before my very first client." Kristen Lamb on the lies that can poison your dreams and what it takes to be a real, gosh darn writer. Or as Jim Hines has said in many a panel, "IF you need someone to tell you you're a writer before you believe you're a writer, fine, you're all writers."
What fan fiction can tell us about writing. Back when I was a younger writer and I discovered fanfic, I was immediately dismissive. However some very good friends have disabused me of that prejudice. And here's 7 things you could learn fro reading or writing fanfic. (Grokked from Tor.com)
More this is your brain, this is your brain on stories. Story does more than inform, it's actually the way our brains remember. If you don't believe this, just go listen to any of the "motivational" speakers out there. They all use story. Story is how we think and how we process information. Also, just a hint, our brains are very good at "mirroring". It's what's been colloquially known as the "monkey see, monkey do" function. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
Speaking of brains, new research shows your cognitive functions work better when exposed to nature. So put down the internets and walk away from the computer. Although what I think they're really seeing is the vacation effect (people who take vacations are more "energized" and able to focus on tasks when they return). Which has already been well documented. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
Want to see something uplifting? Terri Windling shares a film teaser for "Landfill Harmonic". That's a film about people using recycled material (trash) to create musical instruments so their kids can grow up with music. There are literally millions of children who grow up in these desperately poor communities, but even they value art (where in the US, the most prosperous nation, we cut it from our schools' curriculums). Art finds a way. And if you don't tear up as Bebi tells you about his cello and plays the Prelude to Bach´s Cello Suite No. 1… well you might want to check your conscious. Sure, it's not Yo Yo Ma's Davidov (a Stradivarius), but he plays it well and it's beautiful music.
Apparently witchcraft, spells, and curses are no longer just third world plagues. This time it's in Wales (all my neo-pagan friends in the UK, start hiding the matches). Before you smirk, it's not like we don't have people here in the US who have this problem. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Speaking of, the Slactivist is collecting any stories you have about being discriminated against for playing Dungeons and Dragons (or any of the many alternatives). I played AD&D back in the 80s and have quite a few good memories of it, and I definitely have ideas about what makes a good DM and adventure experience. I also remember encountering the whole, "You're going to go insane" or "Only devil worshipers play those", but I've always been one to brush off those comments when I'm doing something I want to do.
It happens every time there is a new technology people don't really understand, the quacks come out of the woodwork to fleece the masses. At CES 2013 a company is supposed to "demonstrate" (but mostly "sell") a "veterinary tricorder" that will, though the power (read: Magic Happens Here) of "quantum computing" download a healing package directly to your pet's brain. How's that for awesome sauce, you know, the rancid kind of awesome sauce that gets all over your shoes and won't come out. Another device with a long history that includes "sunshine" therapy (with magnifying lenses so you to can understand what it's like to be an ant), corn flakes for masturbation prevention (stop laughing, I'm serious), electrifying various parts of the anatomy (you know this is how they start the animal artificial-insemination process), crystals, and long distance faith healing (which this seems to be a direct descendent of). Although for me it's very interesting because I have a short story where a computer can connect via a tele-neural interface (which I started rewriting Tuesday, no, really, I did). (Pointed to by Dan)
So, here's something that should be a real inspirational poster. In case you ever want to complain about your job, think about these guys. Feel better? The good thing is that these days cleaning the screens in the "waste water treatment plant" is automated (although some older plants may still do it manually). It really doesn't make the job that much better. As a councilman, one of my first jobs was liaison to the water board. As a part of that I learned all I could about our village's water supply and treatment. Fortunately we were just finishing a brand new treatment plant (of which my name is up on the dedication plaque with the other councilmen). It's still a dirty job (I believe Mike Rowe did several episodes in various water treatment plants). What the photo isn't showing is the presence of flies, and although I am experiencing an olfactory memory you probably aren't. (Grokked from Elizabeth Shack)
Another response to Wayne LaPierre's (can I just call him Black Jacque Shellac, it has the same number of syllables?) screed. Okay, we agree that "There exists in this country… (a) corrupting shadow industry that sells… violence against its own people" (Hey Wayne, the 80s are calling, they want their cause celeb back), now do something about it. (Grokked from Justine Larbalestier)
"Now, researchers who've studied the effect of the laws have found that states with a stand your ground law have more homicides than states without such laws." I'm sure the NRA has an answer for this, something about liberty, protection, whatever. I wonder when this fact becomes know, "this analysis found the additional deaths caused by the laws were largely concentrated among white men" if people will reconsider these laws. I know, I'm being cynical, but lately in my mind when I hear Stand Your Ground Laws being defended as the "Right to Protect Yourself" I automatically substitute the phrase, "Your Right to Shoot Brown People." I guess I need to rethink that prejudice.
Lastly on gun control, well, that didn't take long. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Tweet of my heart: @pourmecoffee: Everyone pay tribute to the expiring 112th Congress today by doing absolutely nothing with occasional bursts of great harm.
Now that I'm not really submitting short stories I haven't looked at Duotrope in a while, but I did happen to like the service (although I never used the submission tracker part of the site). While I support Duotrope, I'm not sure I'd do it through a subscription, for many of the reasons pointed out in this article with some alternatives to using Duotrope. (Grokked from Jason Sanford)
"If I want a house-cleaning business, the second I gather all of my cleaning supplies and a vacuum together in the back of my SUV and print off some business cards, I am a house-cleaning business. Even before my very first client." Kristen Lamb on the lies that can poison your dreams and what it takes to be a real, gosh darn writer. Or as Jim Hines has said in many a panel, "IF you need someone to tell you you're a writer before you believe you're a writer, fine, you're all writers."
What fan fiction can tell us about writing. Back when I was a younger writer and I discovered fanfic, I was immediately dismissive. However some very good friends have disabused me of that prejudice. And here's 7 things you could learn fro reading or writing fanfic. (Grokked from Tor.com)
More this is your brain, this is your brain on stories. Story does more than inform, it's actually the way our brains remember. If you don't believe this, just go listen to any of the "motivational" speakers out there. They all use story. Story is how we think and how we process information. Also, just a hint, our brains are very good at "mirroring". It's what's been colloquially known as the "monkey see, monkey do" function. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
Speaking of brains, new research shows your cognitive functions work better when exposed to nature. So put down the internets and walk away from the computer. Although what I think they're really seeing is the vacation effect (people who take vacations are more "energized" and able to focus on tasks when they return). Which has already been well documented. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
Want to see something uplifting? Terri Windling shares a film teaser for "Landfill Harmonic". That's a film about people using recycled material (trash) to create musical instruments so their kids can grow up with music. There are literally millions of children who grow up in these desperately poor communities, but even they value art (where in the US, the most prosperous nation, we cut it from our schools' curriculums). Art finds a way. And if you don't tear up as Bebi tells you about his cello and plays the Prelude to Bach´s Cello Suite No. 1… well you might want to check your conscious. Sure, it's not Yo Yo Ma's Davidov (a Stradivarius), but he plays it well and it's beautiful music.
Apparently witchcraft, spells, and curses are no longer just third world plagues. This time it's in Wales (all my neo-pagan friends in the UK, start hiding the matches). Before you smirk, it's not like we don't have people here in the US who have this problem. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Speaking of, the Slactivist is collecting any stories you have about being discriminated against for playing Dungeons and Dragons (or any of the many alternatives). I played AD&D back in the 80s and have quite a few good memories of it, and I definitely have ideas about what makes a good DM and adventure experience. I also remember encountering the whole, "You're going to go insane" or "Only devil worshipers play those", but I've always been one to brush off those comments when I'm doing something I want to do.
It happens every time there is a new technology people don't really understand, the quacks come out of the woodwork to fleece the masses. At CES 2013 a company is supposed to "demonstrate" (but mostly "sell") a "veterinary tricorder" that will, though the power (read: Magic Happens Here) of "quantum computing" download a healing package directly to your pet's brain. How's that for awesome sauce, you know, the rancid kind of awesome sauce that gets all over your shoes and won't come out. Another device with a long history that includes "sunshine" therapy (with magnifying lenses so you to can understand what it's like to be an ant), corn flakes for masturbation prevention (stop laughing, I'm serious), electrifying various parts of the anatomy (you know this is how they start the animal artificial-insemination process), crystals, and long distance faith healing (which this seems to be a direct descendent of). Although for me it's very interesting because I have a short story where a computer can connect via a tele-neural interface (which I started rewriting Tuesday, no, really, I did). (Pointed to by Dan)
So, here's something that should be a real inspirational poster. In case you ever want to complain about your job, think about these guys. Feel better? The good thing is that these days cleaning the screens in the "waste water treatment plant" is automated (although some older plants may still do it manually). It really doesn't make the job that much better. As a councilman, one of my first jobs was liaison to the water board. As a part of that I learned all I could about our village's water supply and treatment. Fortunately we were just finishing a brand new treatment plant (of which my name is up on the dedication plaque with the other councilmen). It's still a dirty job (I believe Mike Rowe did several episodes in various water treatment plants). What the photo isn't showing is the presence of flies, and although I am experiencing an olfactory memory you probably aren't. (Grokked from Elizabeth Shack)
Another response to Wayne LaPierre's (can I just call him Black Jacque Shellac, it has the same number of syllables?) screed. Okay, we agree that "There exists in this country… (a) corrupting shadow industry that sells… violence against its own people" (Hey Wayne, the 80s are calling, they want their cause celeb back), now do something about it. (Grokked from Justine Larbalestier)
"Now, researchers who've studied the effect of the laws have found that states with a stand your ground law have more homicides than states without such laws." I'm sure the NRA has an answer for this, something about liberty, protection, whatever. I wonder when this fact becomes know, "this analysis found the additional deaths caused by the laws were largely concentrated among white men" if people will reconsider these laws. I know, I'm being cynical, but lately in my mind when I hear Stand Your Ground Laws being defended as the "Right to Protect Yourself" I automatically substitute the phrase, "Your Right to Shoot Brown People." I guess I need to rethink that prejudice.
Lastly on gun control, well, that didn't take long. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Tweet of my heart: @pourmecoffee: Everyone pay tribute to the expiring 112th Congress today by doing absolutely nothing with occasional bursts of great harm.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Story Bone
Watching PBS's Nova special on the Doomsday Volcanoes in Iceland.
"Grimsvotn lies beneath Europe's largest glacier." If that isn't the start of an Icelandic epic saga, it should be. In some places the ice is over a thousand feet thick.
"Grimsvotn lies beneath Europe's largest glacier." If that isn't the start of an Icelandic epic saga, it should be. In some places the ice is over a thousand feet thick.
Linkee-poo is watched by empty silhouettes, who close their eyes but still can see
Just a little wave to everyone who has shown up in the past few days, especially the hundred or so from Russia. Hi, everybody. Things are again, a bit hectic, so a somewhat off balance linkee-poo.
I don't often talk about the day thing here, and for good reason(s). However when we get included in news I can take the opportunity to talk about some of the cool stuff I get to work with. Like last night's 60 Minutes piece on robotic limbs being directed by neural interfaces. While we aren't doing the medical research ourselves, the arm and hand being used was developed by us and we licensed it out to PU Hospitals. While we aren't pursuing this side of the business (we're focusing more on what Scott Pelley looks at in his overtime piece where you can see our logo on the arms), this arm was developed with neural interfacing designed into the arm with the intent to use it as a prosthetic. Right now robotics is a very small part of our business, however we have high hopes for this tech.
Why I love the SF/F fan community, because it does things like showing a rough cut of "Star Trek Into Darkness" to someone who has less than 2 months to live. And there are hundreds of stories like that every year. (Grokked from Tor.com)
Chang is keeping up with the cool quotes re: creativity.
Ever wanted to remember/know just how fucked up we were during the Cold War? How about Project Sanguine and it's goal of using the entire Earth as a transmitter to "transmit tactical orders one-way to U.S. nuclear submarines" (read: "send the launch orders as the rest of civilization died"). Also a little on the Soviet "Dead Man" system (read: "we're all dead, so fuck the world"). (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Slightly related to the post on how yo use trees as radio antenna and transmitters. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Apparently some Fox News viewers have realized they've been had. Some of their "talking head" shows have lost significant viewership post-election. While it's not point at them and laughing in the street, a drop n the target market audience will translate into lower ad revenues. You might remember that was the disease that Glenn Beck suffered. It hasn't turned all that bad for him, and all those "talking heads" still have their radio shows. (Grokked from Mat Staggs)
You might Remember my squib about artificial sweeteners, and I think I did mention that high-fructose corn syrup (aka "corn sugar") wasn't all that much better. Here's a Scientific American article on how HFCS trick the brain into thinking you're less satisfied/full which then causes you to eat/drink more. While they talk about how the body processes Fructose in the brain, they don't mention how your liver works (processes fructose before glucose which it has to store as fat until the liver can get to it, the fructose is also processed into fat before it will be used by the body). Also they mention how Glucose and Fructose are "molecularly" the same, which is only true as far as chemical composition. They're actually quite different morphologically. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Alligator Quotient: Well, it's good to see they missed me over the holidays. Bite, bite, bite.
I don't often talk about the day thing here, and for good reason(s). However when we get included in news I can take the opportunity to talk about some of the cool stuff I get to work with. Like last night's 60 Minutes piece on robotic limbs being directed by neural interfaces. While we aren't doing the medical research ourselves, the arm and hand being used was developed by us and we licensed it out to PU Hospitals. While we aren't pursuing this side of the business (we're focusing more on what Scott Pelley looks at in his overtime piece where you can see our logo on the arms), this arm was developed with neural interfacing designed into the arm with the intent to use it as a prosthetic. Right now robotics is a very small part of our business, however we have high hopes for this tech.
Why I love the SF/F fan community, because it does things like showing a rough cut of "Star Trek Into Darkness" to someone who has less than 2 months to live. And there are hundreds of stories like that every year. (Grokked from Tor.com)
Chang is keeping up with the cool quotes re: creativity.
Ever wanted to remember/know just how fucked up we were during the Cold War? How about Project Sanguine and it's goal of using the entire Earth as a transmitter to "transmit tactical orders one-way to U.S. nuclear submarines" (read: "send the launch orders as the rest of civilization died"). Also a little on the Soviet "Dead Man" system (read: "we're all dead, so fuck the world"). (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Slightly related to the post on how yo use trees as radio antenna and transmitters. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Apparently some Fox News viewers have realized they've been had. Some of their "talking head" shows have lost significant viewership post-election. While it's not point at them and laughing in the street, a drop n the target market audience will translate into lower ad revenues. You might remember that was the disease that Glenn Beck suffered. It hasn't turned all that bad for him, and all those "talking heads" still have their radio shows. (Grokked from Mat Staggs)
You might Remember my squib about artificial sweeteners, and I think I did mention that high-fructose corn syrup (aka "corn sugar") wasn't all that much better. Here's a Scientific American article on how HFCS trick the brain into thinking you're less satisfied/full which then causes you to eat/drink more. While they talk about how the body processes Fructose in the brain, they don't mention how your liver works (processes fructose before glucose which it has to store as fat until the liver can get to it, the fructose is also processed into fat before it will be used by the body). Also they mention how Glucose and Fructose are "molecularly" the same, which is only true as far as chemical composition. They're actually quite different morphologically. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Alligator Quotient: Well, it's good to see they missed me over the holidays. Bite, bite, bite.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Linkee-poo bears a prickle as sharp as any thorn
Happy New Year, everyone. May the next New Year see us in better places and more prosperous.
Chuck Wendig with 25 resolutions for writers. Lately I've been thinking about a great many of these. I might have to read this list a few more times.
John Scalzi shares a little more of the story of how he sold Old Man's War on the tenth anniversary of having made the sale.
"Instead we have a million [science] magazines [and] sit around the table and talk about how people came up with their ideas and what we would do differently." Just in case you ever wondered how those kids you hear about develop industry changing technology and excel at school. That's from an article about Jack Andraka, who at 15 developed a new, less expensive and more sensitive enzyme test which can detect pancreatic cancer before it becomes invasive. Most kids probably don't need parents with advanced degree (although it doesn't hurt), but mostly parents who encourage, feed and excite their curiosity. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Vince shares an excellent quote for GRR Martin that explains some of what is wrong with us. It's very much like Madonna's rebuttal over having one of her videos banned on MTV.
"The suggestion that online piracy may not be all that bad for the box office is in line with two recent academic studies. The first showed that the US box office is not suffering from movie piracy at all, and another one came to the counter-intuitive conclusion that the Megaupload shutdown negatively impacted ticket sales… The challenge for the movie industry is to make legal offerings more appealing than their pirated counterparts." You know, like what happened with the music industry. What this means for the book publishing industry remains to be seen. Part of that would be to remove DRM (which is fortunately happening). I'm not sure the less than $10 ebook price is a part of that, but it could be. I think what we're seeing is that easy access to quality digital content is the key.
Math is hard, let's go to Bible study. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
"The entire opposition to the UN treaty existed for no other reason than to create a cottage industry of opposing the UN treaty. And given their increasing dependence on the media machine, the GOP had no choice but to acquiesce and put the profitability of that machine above its own political and policy interests." In case you don't think there is a vast right-wing conspiracy, but their motive isn't so much to advance their ideals as it is to generate money. I'm not sure if I linked to it before, but there was an article that had the money line of "there's money in making people angry." Also a little perspective of why the Fiscal Cliff avoiding deal couldn't be made in time (because "solving" issues doesn't bring in enough money as letting us fall over the cliff would). (Grokked from the Slactivist)
"After weighing the evidence on both risks and benefits, the study proved that the risks of having a gun in the home greatly outweighed the benefits or perceived benefits." Actually, as the research shows, guns in the home aren't used to stop crimes or anything else the NRA likes to get their membership to believe. Guns in the home are most often used to kill spouses and children and a to a lesser extent, parents. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
"An Indiana man convicted of setting fire to a mosque in Ohio told a judge on Wednesday that he committed the crimes because Fox News and conservative talk radio had convinced him that 'most Muslims are terrorists.'" While I think it has more to do with the 45 beers he consumed in the 6 hours before driving to Toledo and setting fire to the Mosque, but given his statement to police when he was arrested, I'm not so sure this was just a ploy to get a reduced sentence. (Grokked from the Slactivist)
Just in case you still think the rich are just like the rest of us. That a story about Dick Army's exit from Freedom Works. After all, he "couldn’t leave with empty pockets."(Grokked from Jay Lake)
And, apparently the rich can change when they die to avoid higher estate taxes, the so called "death elasticity" factor. This is what happens when statistics goes bad. (Grokked from the Slactivist)
So just how rich are the rich today? Well, according to this paper the rich are more rich when compared to the rest of us than the Tzar was to his peasants. You know, that Tzar whose economic policies brought forth the dream of the Communist movement. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Chuck Wendig with 25 resolutions for writers. Lately I've been thinking about a great many of these. I might have to read this list a few more times.
John Scalzi shares a little more of the story of how he sold Old Man's War on the tenth anniversary of having made the sale.
"Instead we have a million [science] magazines [and] sit around the table and talk about how people came up with their ideas and what we would do differently." Just in case you ever wondered how those kids you hear about develop industry changing technology and excel at school. That's from an article about Jack Andraka, who at 15 developed a new, less expensive and more sensitive enzyme test which can detect pancreatic cancer before it becomes invasive. Most kids probably don't need parents with advanced degree (although it doesn't hurt), but mostly parents who encourage, feed and excite their curiosity. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Vince shares an excellent quote for GRR Martin that explains some of what is wrong with us. It's very much like Madonna's rebuttal over having one of her videos banned on MTV.
"The suggestion that online piracy may not be all that bad for the box office is in line with two recent academic studies. The first showed that the US box office is not suffering from movie piracy at all, and another one came to the counter-intuitive conclusion that the Megaupload shutdown negatively impacted ticket sales… The challenge for the movie industry is to make legal offerings more appealing than their pirated counterparts." You know, like what happened with the music industry. What this means for the book publishing industry remains to be seen. Part of that would be to remove DRM (which is fortunately happening). I'm not sure the less than $10 ebook price is a part of that, but it could be. I think what we're seeing is that easy access to quality digital content is the key.
Math is hard, let's go to Bible study. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
"The entire opposition to the UN treaty existed for no other reason than to create a cottage industry of opposing the UN treaty. And given their increasing dependence on the media machine, the GOP had no choice but to acquiesce and put the profitability of that machine above its own political and policy interests." In case you don't think there is a vast right-wing conspiracy, but their motive isn't so much to advance their ideals as it is to generate money. I'm not sure if I linked to it before, but there was an article that had the money line of "there's money in making people angry." Also a little perspective of why the Fiscal Cliff avoiding deal couldn't be made in time (because "solving" issues doesn't bring in enough money as letting us fall over the cliff would). (Grokked from the Slactivist)
"After weighing the evidence on both risks and benefits, the study proved that the risks of having a gun in the home greatly outweighed the benefits or perceived benefits." Actually, as the research shows, guns in the home aren't used to stop crimes or anything else the NRA likes to get their membership to believe. Guns in the home are most often used to kill spouses and children and a to a lesser extent, parents. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
"An Indiana man convicted of setting fire to a mosque in Ohio told a judge on Wednesday that he committed the crimes because Fox News and conservative talk radio had convinced him that 'most Muslims are terrorists.'" While I think it has more to do with the 45 beers he consumed in the 6 hours before driving to Toledo and setting fire to the Mosque, but given his statement to police when he was arrested, I'm not so sure this was just a ploy to get a reduced sentence. (Grokked from the Slactivist)
Just in case you still think the rich are just like the rest of us. That a story about Dick Army's exit from Freedom Works. After all, he "couldn’t leave with empty pockets."(Grokked from Jay Lake)
And, apparently the rich can change when they die to avoid higher estate taxes, the so called "death elasticity" factor. This is what happens when statistics goes bad. (Grokked from the Slactivist)
So just how rich are the rich today? Well, according to this paper the rich are more rich when compared to the rest of us than the Tzar was to his peasants. You know, that Tzar whose economic policies brought forth the dream of the Communist movement. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
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