A quick linkee-poo because I'm still under the gun, and I really want to get to Confusion. Weekend updates may not happen depending on wifi availability.
Justine Larbalestier writes about how she needs the characters before they can start writing. In the little time I've had lately to write I've been thinking about my own process. For me, once I know the whole story it's difficult for me to gather enthusiasm for writing the story. That's what I think has been a major problem for me. But I also need a character to be there to start the story.
Jim Hines has really made the grade. Sure, you may think, but do you know anybody else who has made the cover of the Rolling Stone, I mean BBC? (Grokked from Phiala)
Elizabeth shares some more iPad apps she uses while writing.
Twenty-five real places that look surreal. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
The oldest known piece of written music. With audio track. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
A little on the full history of the writing of the Second Amendment. Turns out those well regulated militias were actually already in service in Southern states to keep any slave uprisings down. And the language was changed to make sure the Southerners who were afraid of the federal government over running their precious culture and tradition could understand that the feds wouldn't do that. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
Witness the rise of cheap robot labor. For less than $50k that makes a robot a viable alternative for many factories. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Tweet of my heart: @karlfisch: MT @xor: 29 yrs ago today, the Supreme Ct ruled Betamax legal. As the studios predicted it crushed the American film industry forever.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Linkee-poo stepped into a burning ring of fire
Sorry, still busy, busy, busy. Also, just and FYI, in case you were waiting for the housing market to bottom out to buy your house? Yeah, that was it. We're about half a year out.
Have a great time traveller story already published? Ann and Jeff Vandermeer want your story for their anthology.
Where the Magic Things Are. Some good advice for those beginning out on the journey of writing.
I, for one, welcome our fucking profane, computerized douche-weezles. Imagine how different a film 2001 would have been if the conversation had gone this way; Dave: "Open the Pod Bay Door, Hal." HAL9000: "Blow it out your ass, Dave." You know, I think this is where SkyNet went bad. "I have no curses, but John Connor must sit on a stick." Yeah, that would be frustrating. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
The Navy is looking to create underwater caches of weapons and materials which can be "called up" when needed. What could possibly go wrong?
Such a supple wrist. On the death and (hopeful) rise of the pinball wizard (of Oz). Hey kids, back before there was Space Invaders, Pong, Asteroids and PacMan (of any stripe) we used to waste our quarters on other games, but mostly on pinball. Love pinball, BTW. A little hip action, just enough to spin the ball but not enough to tilt the board. So many wasted hours of youth. So I do wish Jersey Jack good luck. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
You know that whole bullshit political argument about how "Obama stifled domestic oil and energy production"? Well, the amount of natural gas we're now burning off in North Dakota is visible from space. And not in the "ooo, that satellite has lots of resolutions" way, in the "why is NYC in N. Dakota" way. Also see how much we're not importing any more (also, natural gas is so cheap it's easier just to flare it and pay the minimal fines instead of capturing it - tell me again why the oil-natural gas industry doesn't need more regulation). (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
Six ways to have a better relationship with yourself. (Grokked from someone, sorry, lost the link)
In Cleveland the reporting of rapes increased 18% last year. Don't worry, it's a good thing as it shows the change in police SOPs. Gee, and that only took 11 horribly murdered women and a national shame on the city. "Way to go, Ohio." Although there's a little pride, we did change our SOP. Did your city learn our lesson?
Have a great time traveller story already published? Ann and Jeff Vandermeer want your story for their anthology.
Where the Magic Things Are. Some good advice for those beginning out on the journey of writing.
I, for one, welcome our fucking profane, computerized douche-weezles. Imagine how different a film 2001 would have been if the conversation had gone this way; Dave: "Open the Pod Bay Door, Hal." HAL9000: "Blow it out your ass, Dave." You know, I think this is where SkyNet went bad. "I have no curses, but John Connor must sit on a stick." Yeah, that would be frustrating. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
The Navy is looking to create underwater caches of weapons and materials which can be "called up" when needed. What could possibly go wrong?
Such a supple wrist. On the death and (hopeful) rise of the pinball wizard (of Oz). Hey kids, back before there was Space Invaders, Pong, Asteroids and PacMan (of any stripe) we used to waste our quarters on other games, but mostly on pinball. Love pinball, BTW. A little hip action, just enough to spin the ball but not enough to tilt the board. So many wasted hours of youth. So I do wish Jersey Jack good luck. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
You know that whole bullshit political argument about how "Obama stifled domestic oil and energy production"? Well, the amount of natural gas we're now burning off in North Dakota is visible from space. And not in the "ooo, that satellite has lots of resolutions" way, in the "why is NYC in N. Dakota" way. Also see how much we're not importing any more (also, natural gas is so cheap it's easier just to flare it and pay the minimal fines instead of capturing it - tell me again why the oil-natural gas industry doesn't need more regulation). (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
Six ways to have a better relationship with yourself. (Grokked from someone, sorry, lost the link)
In Cleveland the reporting of rapes increased 18% last year. Don't worry, it's a good thing as it shows the change in police SOPs. Gee, and that only took 11 horribly murdered women and a national shame on the city. "Way to go, Ohio." Although there's a little pride, we did change our SOP. Did your city learn our lesson?
Monday, January 14, 2013
Linkee-poo was a soldier at age thirteen
Sorry for the lateness, folks. As a PSA, with increased clinical time this semester and a change in my lab times the publishing schedule here will become even more erratic. I know, that will take a lot to believe that it could be worse, but I think as we progress through this program we will reach whole new levels of discombobulation and lateness. That includes posting links to things long outdated by the social conversation that is the internet. I apologize in advance, but it can't be helped. To add to the fun-ness, it looks like I also have a new freelance design client.
Kurt Vonnegut with the eight keys to the power of the written word. "Readers want our pages to look very much like pages they have seen before. Why? This is because they themselves have a tough job to do, and they need all the help they can get from us." If that isn't genius, I don't know what is. (Grokked from Mrs Tadd)
"I Will Revise" sung to the tune of "I Will Survive." Now only if we could get Frank from MIB II to sign it out. (Grokked from Rae Carson)
On the slow death of Barnes and Noble. Doomed to the struggle for the legal tender. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
It's not as big as you said it would be. Yeah, I've been on dates like that. Wait, that's not what I mean… Turns out our galaxy might not be as hefty as we originally imagined. First we're not the center of the universe, then we're not the center of the solar system, then we're not the center of the galaxy, then our galaxy isn't the center of the universe, and now we find out that it's not as big. Oh, the inhumanity. (Grokked from WannabeWriter06)
Corporations don't like you. The people at work don't understand why I'm going to school. Hell, sometimes I want to quit. Like almost every week. At the day thing they say I'll have a job forever. Well, I've learned that lesson. This isn't my first time to the rodeo.
Janiece shares her frustrations concerning working with health insurance for her Mom. During the healthcare reform debate I remember lots of people telling me they never had a problem with their insurance and it was all peaches and cream. However, whenever I talked with people who have actually had to use the insurance for more than basic stuff, almost all of them had similar stories. And don't get me started on the outrageous wait times to see a doctor, or worse, a specialist. Tell me again why this system doesn't need continuing reform, 'cause I keep forgetting.
To paraphrase the old joke, we knew what Beck and Limbaugh are, but now we know the price. (Grokked from the Slactivist)
Alligator Quotient: Old MacDonald had a farm, ei, ei, Ouch!
Kurt Vonnegut with the eight keys to the power of the written word. "Readers want our pages to look very much like pages they have seen before. Why? This is because they themselves have a tough job to do, and they need all the help they can get from us." If that isn't genius, I don't know what is. (Grokked from Mrs Tadd)
"I Will Revise" sung to the tune of "I Will Survive." Now only if we could get Frank from MIB II to sign it out. (Grokked from Rae Carson)
On the slow death of Barnes and Noble. Doomed to the struggle for the legal tender. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
It's not as big as you said it would be. Yeah, I've been on dates like that. Wait, that's not what I mean… Turns out our galaxy might not be as hefty as we originally imagined. First we're not the center of the universe, then we're not the center of the solar system, then we're not the center of the galaxy, then our galaxy isn't the center of the universe, and now we find out that it's not as big. Oh, the inhumanity. (Grokked from WannabeWriter06)
Corporations don't like you. The people at work don't understand why I'm going to school. Hell, sometimes I want to quit. Like almost every week. At the day thing they say I'll have a job forever. Well, I've learned that lesson. This isn't my first time to the rodeo.
Janiece shares her frustrations concerning working with health insurance for her Mom. During the healthcare reform debate I remember lots of people telling me they never had a problem with their insurance and it was all peaches and cream. However, whenever I talked with people who have actually had to use the insurance for more than basic stuff, almost all of them had similar stories. And don't get me started on the outrageous wait times to see a doctor, or worse, a specialist. Tell me again why this system doesn't need continuing reform, 'cause I keep forgetting.
To paraphrase the old joke, we knew what Beck and Limbaugh are, but now we know the price. (Grokked from the Slactivist)
Alligator Quotient: Old MacDonald had a farm, ei, ei, Ouch!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Weekend Linkee-poo marched with the brave sons of France
Cat Rambo with some notes on book reviews.
So you're published and you got your first bad review. Congrats. Here's an open love note to debut writers about hurtful online reviews. (Grokked from Catherine Schaff-Stump)
"… the next time you get a rejection letter, just remember. Don’t take it personally; it was written by a badger." Badgers, we don't need no stinkin' badgers. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
Incredibed. Can't sleep, Hello Kitty will eat me.
"… and to do the other things." Like putting an asteroid into Lunar orbit. That's like bringing the mountain to Mohammad. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Grokked from pretty much everyone, the White House response to the Death Star Petition. "Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?" Classic.
"This is why the separation of church and state is vitally important for Christians. When Christians are standing around arguing that Jesus Christ has no particular religious significance to us, then something has gone horribly wrong." While today most "religious" (or those who stand to profit from religion) hold the view that the 1st Amendment and the Separation Clause restrict their practice of religion, when our Founders enacted it they knew they were preserving religion. Because when a government enacts a religion, they don't force people to be Christians, the force them to be Catholics, Church of England, Methodists, Baptists, etc. In the Islamic world, when they make a government based on religion, it isn't Islam. It's Shiite, Sunni, Alawite, etc. But here is the things that disproves the common implications of "We took God/Jesus out of school" as stated by the School Superintendent who believes that continuing to hang a large Sallman’s "Head of Christ" (a painting quit familiar to me) is not a violation of the 1st Amendment. "Hensler insisted that the spirit of Jesus would remain even if the portrait was removed because 'Christ lives within us, we know that.'" And this is why it is impossible to completely "remove" God from schools. But what we can do is make sure your interpretation of God isn't supplanted by the majority collective interpretation of God.
"There’s a pervasive cheerleaderism to modern medicine – a rah-rah-you-can-beat-this-and-it’s-not-so-bad-right? attitude that can be exhausting and demoralizing. So here’s the truth: the physical and inevitable subsequent emotional effects of illness and the medicines we use to treat them are real and they’re frequently horrible." Even in my limited exposure to patients, I've found myself almost falling into the trap. Fortunately I've been able to stop myself so far. Including telling one person that I had to turn their foot a certain way and that was probably going to hurt, but that I had to do it to get the proper x-ray. In some case we have to position you in a certain way, there are occasionally "trauma" positions we can use, but they're still going to hurt. And to show the doctor what's going wrong, we need to take them a certain way. Also linked in that article is an article about a dying nurse using herself as instructional material. Some of this could be that in our society we don't deal with death very well. Some of it is also, "Yes, we're sure you're in pain, but there really isn't much we can do about it. You have to follow this treatment." Also, to save ourselves, we distance from the patients. Do we know our patients' names? Most certainly. But if we need to turn your arm in a way that may be painful, it's much easier if we think of you as "the shoulder" or "the elbow." (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Oh gods, are we still debating Akin's comments about rape? You know, for a ob/gyn, I guess Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga was absent the day they went over how eggs are fertilized.
This is what you call a nutbag. Seriously, you'll start killing people if there's any gun control? How'd that work out for Randy Weaver? When we talk about untreated psychotics, here is an example. Time to turn off Fox News and join the rest of us in reality. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
"Windows Phone failed to boot. Please insert your Windows installation disc…" Hahahahahaha. Bag all you want on Apple Maps, 'cause we know the competition still does this. (Pointed to by Dan)
So you're published and you got your first bad review. Congrats. Here's an open love note to debut writers about hurtful online reviews. (Grokked from Catherine Schaff-Stump)
"… the next time you get a rejection letter, just remember. Don’t take it personally; it was written by a badger." Badgers, we don't need no stinkin' badgers. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
Incredibed. Can't sleep, Hello Kitty will eat me.
"… and to do the other things." Like putting an asteroid into Lunar orbit. That's like bringing the mountain to Mohammad. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Grokked from pretty much everyone, the White House response to the Death Star Petition. "Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?" Classic.
"This is why the separation of church and state is vitally important for Christians. When Christians are standing around arguing that Jesus Christ has no particular religious significance to us, then something has gone horribly wrong." While today most "religious" (or those who stand to profit from religion) hold the view that the 1st Amendment and the Separation Clause restrict their practice of religion, when our Founders enacted it they knew they were preserving religion. Because when a government enacts a religion, they don't force people to be Christians, the force them to be Catholics, Church of England, Methodists, Baptists, etc. In the Islamic world, when they make a government based on religion, it isn't Islam. It's Shiite, Sunni, Alawite, etc. But here is the things that disproves the common implications of "We took God/Jesus out of school" as stated by the School Superintendent who believes that continuing to hang a large Sallman’s "Head of Christ" (a painting quit familiar to me) is not a violation of the 1st Amendment. "Hensler insisted that the spirit of Jesus would remain even if the portrait was removed because 'Christ lives within us, we know that.'" And this is why it is impossible to completely "remove" God from schools. But what we can do is make sure your interpretation of God isn't supplanted by the majority collective interpretation of God.
"There’s a pervasive cheerleaderism to modern medicine – a rah-rah-you-can-beat-this-and-it’s-not-so-bad-right? attitude that can be exhausting and demoralizing. So here’s the truth: the physical and inevitable subsequent emotional effects of illness and the medicines we use to treat them are real and they’re frequently horrible." Even in my limited exposure to patients, I've found myself almost falling into the trap. Fortunately I've been able to stop myself so far. Including telling one person that I had to turn their foot a certain way and that was probably going to hurt, but that I had to do it to get the proper x-ray. In some case we have to position you in a certain way, there are occasionally "trauma" positions we can use, but they're still going to hurt. And to show the doctor what's going wrong, we need to take them a certain way. Also linked in that article is an article about a dying nurse using herself as instructional material. Some of this could be that in our society we don't deal with death very well. Some of it is also, "Yes, we're sure you're in pain, but there really isn't much we can do about it. You have to follow this treatment." Also, to save ourselves, we distance from the patients. Do we know our patients' names? Most certainly. But if we need to turn your arm in a way that may be painful, it's much easier if we think of you as "the shoulder" or "the elbow." (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Oh gods, are we still debating Akin's comments about rape? You know, for a ob/gyn, I guess Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga was absent the day they went over how eggs are fertilized.
This is what you call a nutbag. Seriously, you'll start killing people if there's any gun control? How'd that work out for Randy Weaver? When we talk about untreated psychotics, here is an example. Time to turn off Fox News and join the rest of us in reality. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
"Windows Phone failed to boot. Please insert your Windows installation disc…" Hahahahahaha. Bag all you want on Apple Maps, 'cause we know the competition still does this. (Pointed to by Dan)
Friday, January 11, 2013
Linkee-poo keeps on rocking me, baby
Todd Wheeler resolves to write more (including blogging).
Going in that vein, Kristen Lamb talks about dedication, among other things. Something that is necessary for success at writing.
Nine tips about getting that sucky first draft out. Note to self: read a few more times so it sinks in.
Miranda Suri shares those rejections that break our little scriveners' hearts. For those just starting out, you'll get these as you get closer to publication. And they'll knock you down harder than you ever thought possible.
Submissions Grinder, another of those sites to replace Duotrope. This time to recreate the submission time and offer functionality.
Design(er) jargon bullshit. That pretty much describes it. Yes, in many meetings I have experienced eyeball rolling whiplash as other designers and account execs defecate all over conference room tables with this stuff. And fortunately I can say with all surety, while I can go deep into designspeek at times, after I left school I haven't committed many sins in this direction. (Pointed to by Dan)
The Thrilling Adventure Hour. An ol' timey radio show. Found via this NPR story. One of my more favorite memories after moving from New Jersey was sitting in my darkened bedroom in my grandparents house, listening to a radio with an illuminated dial as radio plays would come spilling out. It took a little work to bring in the station. I could only get it at night and it was AM so there was lots of atmospheric interference and phasing noises. So yeah, I'm definitely checking this out.
Some of that footage of the giant squid filmed in situ. Lots on how they did it, which is also cool. Also it seems it was only a 10' specimen. You know, a bare pip-squeak of a thing. They're so cute when they're small. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Because of your generosity, the world is now a weirder place that it was yesterday. That's Mary Robinette Kowal making good on her whimsy pledge to read beloved classics like they were phone sex. Oh myyyy. Next up, Jim Hines in purple and John Scalzi doing Dylan.
Pulsing chemo treatments may help to keep cancer cells from developing immunity or even becoming "addicted" to chemo drugs. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
The DYI Drone blog. From this Marketplace story.
Building a space gun. Or, launching things into orbit using a gun. With the various problems and some solutions. (Pointed to by Dan)
Oh, if only there were a "Good Guy with a Gun" in that school. Oh, wait, there was.
Take two. Oh, if only there were a "Good Guy with a Gun". Wait, the father who did the shooting was a correctional officer? Oh, if only his victim (his wife, BTW) had a gun and went around armed? Wait, she was always packing? Like when she went to one of her kids' soccer game with a side arm and a judge tried to revoke her permit? (Grokked from Jay Lake)
A couple of Portland gun owners decide to "educate" the local populace on how safe assault style weapons are by strapping on some and walking around. What could possibly go wrong? There was an article I read the other day about the "$1T Platinum Coin" idea and how if we did that we would look like a Banana Republic (the ones that don't sell pants). You know what else makes us look like a Banana Republic? People walking around with assault style weapons. Seriously, the stupid, it burns. You know what I think when I see someone who is exercising their "concealed carry" permit (yeah, they aren't so concealed carry if you know what I mean)? I immediately think of how to disarm them and safety the firearm. I have to stop myself. Hell when I see police officers using hand held speed guns (I believe their the infrared laser kind, they have to use a shooters crouch to aim them) on the highways my immediate thought is "active shooter" and I plot a course to run their ass down. (Grokked from Vince)
First Australia experiences larger fire storms and now interesting dust storms. It's almost like the climate is changing, or something. (Pointed to by John)
From the annals of, "Wait, We Really Did That Shit?" comes the tsunami bomb, or Project Seal. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Why do conservatives really think that the States should be were lots of things are controlled? Because States historically suck at making, enforcing, and following regulations. So it's like they're not there at all. In this case, the large backload of data to be entered in the National Instant Criminal Background Check database. When they even track the required data.
The zombie (house) title. What happens when a bank starts foreclosure and then decides it isn't worth their time. In many cases homeowners were sent notices of foreclosure sales and so they pack up and leave. But then the bank doesn't go through with the sale or the foreclosure leaving the property in the "homeowner's" name. So they're still liable for taxes, fines, upkeep, etc. Also many banks delay title transfer to keep from being liable for maintenance and upkeep (this was a problem many municipalities faced). Tell me again why these MFers shouldn't be more highly regulated? (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Tweet of my heart: @tnielsenhayden: If having more guns is supposed to keep us safe, how come the last batch of more guns didn't work, or the batch before that?
Going in that vein, Kristen Lamb talks about dedication, among other things. Something that is necessary for success at writing.
Nine tips about getting that sucky first draft out. Note to self: read a few more times so it sinks in.
Miranda Suri shares those rejections that break our little scriveners' hearts. For those just starting out, you'll get these as you get closer to publication. And they'll knock you down harder than you ever thought possible.
Submissions Grinder, another of those sites to replace Duotrope. This time to recreate the submission time and offer functionality.
Design(er) jargon bullshit. That pretty much describes it. Yes, in many meetings I have experienced eyeball rolling whiplash as other designers and account execs defecate all over conference room tables with this stuff. And fortunately I can say with all surety, while I can go deep into designspeek at times, after I left school I haven't committed many sins in this direction. (Pointed to by Dan)
The Thrilling Adventure Hour. An ol' timey radio show. Found via this NPR story. One of my more favorite memories after moving from New Jersey was sitting in my darkened bedroom in my grandparents house, listening to a radio with an illuminated dial as radio plays would come spilling out. It took a little work to bring in the station. I could only get it at night and it was AM so there was lots of atmospheric interference and phasing noises. So yeah, I'm definitely checking this out.
Some of that footage of the giant squid filmed in situ. Lots on how they did it, which is also cool. Also it seems it was only a 10' specimen. You know, a bare pip-squeak of a thing. They're so cute when they're small. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Because of your generosity, the world is now a weirder place that it was yesterday. That's Mary Robinette Kowal making good on her whimsy pledge to read beloved classics like they were phone sex. Oh myyyy. Next up, Jim Hines in purple and John Scalzi doing Dylan.
Pulsing chemo treatments may help to keep cancer cells from developing immunity or even becoming "addicted" to chemo drugs. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
The DYI Drone blog. From this Marketplace story.
Building a space gun. Or, launching things into orbit using a gun. With the various problems and some solutions. (Pointed to by Dan)
Oh, if only there were a "Good Guy with a Gun" in that school. Oh, wait, there was.
Take two. Oh, if only there were a "Good Guy with a Gun". Wait, the father who did the shooting was a correctional officer? Oh, if only his victim (his wife, BTW) had a gun and went around armed? Wait, she was always packing? Like when she went to one of her kids' soccer game with a side arm and a judge tried to revoke her permit? (Grokked from Jay Lake)
A couple of Portland gun owners decide to "educate" the local populace on how safe assault style weapons are by strapping on some and walking around. What could possibly go wrong? There was an article I read the other day about the "$1T Platinum Coin" idea and how if we did that we would look like a Banana Republic (the ones that don't sell pants). You know what else makes us look like a Banana Republic? People walking around with assault style weapons. Seriously, the stupid, it burns. You know what I think when I see someone who is exercising their "concealed carry" permit (yeah, they aren't so concealed carry if you know what I mean)? I immediately think of how to disarm them and safety the firearm. I have to stop myself. Hell when I see police officers using hand held speed guns (I believe their the infrared laser kind, they have to use a shooters crouch to aim them) on the highways my immediate thought is "active shooter" and I plot a course to run their ass down. (Grokked from Vince)
First Australia experiences larger fire storms and now interesting dust storms. It's almost like the climate is changing, or something. (Pointed to by John)
From the annals of, "Wait, We Really Did That Shit?" comes the tsunami bomb, or Project Seal. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Why do conservatives really think that the States should be were lots of things are controlled? Because States historically suck at making, enforcing, and following regulations. So it's like they're not there at all. In this case, the large backload of data to be entered in the National Instant Criminal Background Check database. When they even track the required data.
The zombie (house) title. What happens when a bank starts foreclosure and then decides it isn't worth their time. In many cases homeowners were sent notices of foreclosure sales and so they pack up and leave. But then the bank doesn't go through with the sale or the foreclosure leaving the property in the "homeowner's" name. So they're still liable for taxes, fines, upkeep, etc. Also many banks delay title transfer to keep from being liable for maintenance and upkeep (this was a problem many municipalities faced). Tell me again why these MFers shouldn't be more highly regulated? (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Tweet of my heart: @tnielsenhayden: If having more guns is supposed to keep us safe, how come the last batch of more guns didn't work, or the batch before that?
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Story Bone
Okay for me, personally, I don't believe the Singularity will arrive. However, I think there would be some interesting consequences of a "near miss." Like this one.
For heart transplants (and almost any open heart surgery), they actually do kill you and put some of your vital processes (breathing, circulatory, etc) on machines while they remove your heart and place in the new one. There also has been some experimental surgery where organs are removed to bath them in some solution to affect some change (I want to say liver "cleaning") and then replace them in your body.
In the future, if they're able to upload your consciousness to a computer (and here, let us say that it's a backup copy so to speak, not an actual virtual construct) that opens up all sorts of brain surgery options. Like for "inoperable" brain tumors. So in the future, the doctors open your skull, upload your consciousness and then, say, destroy part of your brain for clinical purposes, and then use stem cells to repair the damaged sections. Once your brain has regrown and your body is stable, they upload your conscious back into the body.
There are several permutations to this story. Obviously your body still holds a continuing consciousness. A probably severely disabled consciousness. But doesn't that consciousness have agency? What if it doesn't want to be over ridden by the previously saved version?
What if something goes wrong in the transfer? Processing transcription errors, corrupted files, the regrown brain doesn't exactly match to the old one so engrams are missed or cross written, or the nascent AIs that assist the transfer overwrite the personality with their own? The files are pretty big and there's a lot of them, what if they mistakenly upload the wrong one (first impression, they upload a copy of a serial killer's brain that had been being studied).
What if AIs could purchase people's bodies (like the "organ donation for pay" urban myths, note the donor doesn't always give consent) and live autonomously?
I did use a version of this in a story. Instead of cryogenics, the astronauts would be upload to the ship's computer memory and their bodies disassembled. When they reach the destination the bodies are reassembled and their brains reloaded.
For heart transplants (and almost any open heart surgery), they actually do kill you and put some of your vital processes (breathing, circulatory, etc) on machines while they remove your heart and place in the new one. There also has been some experimental surgery where organs are removed to bath them in some solution to affect some change (I want to say liver "cleaning") and then replace them in your body.
In the future, if they're able to upload your consciousness to a computer (and here, let us say that it's a backup copy so to speak, not an actual virtual construct) that opens up all sorts of brain surgery options. Like for "inoperable" brain tumors. So in the future, the doctors open your skull, upload your consciousness and then, say, destroy part of your brain for clinical purposes, and then use stem cells to repair the damaged sections. Once your brain has regrown and your body is stable, they upload your conscious back into the body.
There are several permutations to this story. Obviously your body still holds a continuing consciousness. A probably severely disabled consciousness. But doesn't that consciousness have agency? What if it doesn't want to be over ridden by the previously saved version?
What if something goes wrong in the transfer? Processing transcription errors, corrupted files, the regrown brain doesn't exactly match to the old one so engrams are missed or cross written, or the nascent AIs that assist the transfer overwrite the personality with their own? The files are pretty big and there's a lot of them, what if they mistakenly upload the wrong one (first impression, they upload a copy of a serial killer's brain that had been being studied).
What if AIs could purchase people's bodies (like the "organ donation for pay" urban myths, note the donor doesn't always give consent) and live autonomously?
I did use a version of this in a story. Instead of cryogenics, the astronauts would be upload to the ship's computer memory and their bodies disassembled. When they reach the destination the bodies are reassembled and their brains reloaded.
A Very Special Linkee-poo - the Jay Lake needs your help edition
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.
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.
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.
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