-
At the end of the day, I personally feel at this moment in time, with all due respect, that this list absolutely is a nightmare, 24/7, and making it? It’s not rocket science.
-
Tongal possibilities (that will make sense to none of you, but it’s a note for me at work)
-
I need to find a good java-based CMS tool. Does anyone know of one?
-
This Republic concept, tied to technological change, is fascinating.
-
I think we have a handle on this but I am always looking for more tips
-
This is a reminder to try out Quicksilver. Anyone out there use it or something like it?
-
to read later
-
Still kind of interested in the Android Phone though (from a professional not consumer standpoint)
-
Now that I have an iphone, I’m afraid you will have to put up with such insufferable crap as this
-
Really quite Photoshop ad
Archive for November, 2008
links for 2008-11-06
This is Odd
Very strange. I’m suddenly feeling an urge to write something non-Roundbottom again. No strong ideas, really, but there are ideas and a tickling in the back of my head. Maybe I should have that tickling looked at. Could be serious. Speaking of Roundbottom, I’m not going to have a podcast for this Sunday, but I hope to have a less-complicated photo and accompanying post to fill in the gap and keep the streak going.
My search for studio space has been a complete failure so I don’t know what I am going to do to take photos for the project this winter.
You know, I think this itch might actually be a side effect of my daily walks. Getting away from the computer? The motion gets me thinking right? I don’t know, but I find this intriguing. I must explore the notion further…
Or perhaps it’s the results of last night’s election? Maybe a spark of hope has ignited in the lump of coal where my heart should be. I witnessed history that didn’t involve the world changing for the worse. I don’t really remember the wall coming down and 9/11 was not remotely positive. I didn’t get to see a moon landing. So that doesn’t happen often. I actually felt something akin to pride for my country. I was so focused on the right guy winning that I forgot who the right guy was until he was giving his acceptance speech. “Oh yeah,” I said. “Barack’s black.” And the full weight of that hit me, and I grinned (inwardly) until I went to bed. That’s not all who he is, but I had lost sight of that historical significance until I was reminded of it again last night by the tears of Jesse Jackson and Oprah Winfrey.
Find a Need and Fill it
Is there something you wish you could do on the web but can’t? Tell me in the comments. Please keep wishes to within the realm of physical possibility. I know my readers too well.…
Some Recent Reading: Michael Chabon and Adam-Troy Castro
I thoroughly enjoyedThe Yiddish Policeman’s Union . The combination of alt-history, exotic-to-me jewish and Alaskan culture, and noir detective thriller was just the kind of thing I needed to read right now. But more than the concept, I was engaged by the characters of Landsman and Berko Schemets. Science fiction has been accused of not having memorable characters, and I support that opinion. I can name the number of memorable SF/F characters on one two hands. It takes both my hands and feet just to name the memorable characters from Dickens. There’s a definite difference there. For the strong characters alone, I’m inclined to say this is more lit fic than sci fic.
The second book I read in October was Emmissaries for the Dead by Adam-Troy Castro. This was a freebie at WorldCon, snatched up at the same party I got the Chabon book. I forget the publisher holding that party, but I owe JJA for getting me in. It was the best event I attended at the con, and not just because I got eight books out of it. I had some nice conversations with some really sharp people.
As to the book itself, it was transparent to me that this is a freshman outing. I’ve been reading Castro’s short fiction for some time, but I don’t think he has found his footing in the novel realm yet. I picked this one up because it too had a noir murder-mystery pitch on the back cover, but with the added appeal of a strange constructed ecosystem with sensuwunda appeal. Unfortunately, the narrator’s personality grated on me. Andrea Cort, but I don’t know that I will remember her six months from now. I don’t want to go into too much detail about this book because I would rather you read some of it yourself and decide whether it’s for you than go on my opinion. It undoubtedly suffers from following so closely my reading of the Chabon, which is a little unfair. But I finished it, which is more than I can say about the last half-dozen SF novels I’ve tried to read.
links for 2008-11-03
New Roundbottom Photonic Capture: A Hawk’s Meal
Dr. Roundbottom has a lovely new photgraph to share with the Four Known Worlds today. He talks a little bit about predation in the park and reveals that his upcoming posts will focus on faery predators. Should be interesting to see what sorts of creatures make meals of the faeries. Check out the photo and the post over at clockpunk.com
It was a quiet morning, thankfully dry and without a rain cloud in the sky. I decided to take advantage of the air to take a walk, and I carried my equipment with me as I always do. This late in the year, I did not expect to make any a new discovery. The sight of the hawk resting on an oak’s branch, its prey hanging loosely in its beak surprised me to the point of making a quickly squelched startled cry, nearly ruining my chance to make a capture.
