Category Archives: Play

"A single, absolutely verified theophany"

Reading, ,

In which I respond here because I’m no longer in college.

valisI’m reading one of the late Philip K. Dick‘s final three works: a wild tour of drugs, insanity, and longing called VALIS.

While the characters – so far at least – are so engaging that it’s worth reading, there’s a great deal of vocabulary. Some of it is off-putting, because I already possess a reasonably massive vocabulary, with as solid a relationship with modern English’s predecessors as a product of public schooling can reasonably expect to have, but on some pages there will be three or four – or even more – words I need to look up. Is this communication, or is it masturbation? Who was he writing for? (And will I ever be one of them?)

It doesn’t escape me that the more words one has, the more topics one can think about… I mean to say, can we think about something without having first fashioned words to describe it? I don’t think we can. So: esoteric topics require their own jargon. Fine.

Anyway. Point is, athiests: always pissed off because [1] they can’t force themselves to experience God the same way they can force material things to interact; [2] the existence of suffering in the world upsets them so much that no clear thinking can be done about God or love after the topic of pain is introduced; [3] they require physical, dimensional proof of a force that possesses neither characteristic directly (but only indirectly, as a side-effect); and, [4] if they’re thinky, they tend to go on and on obfuscating and defining and defending and thrashing about and making the entire thing so fucking achingly complicated that no one has the energy to enter into meaningful dialog with them. Which they take to mean they’re right. Continue reading "A single, absolutely verified theophany" →

Earning My Stalker Card

Reading, , ,

In which I use my powers for evil good.

You know I’m a whore for the hard sci-fi, right? Totally devour the stuff. By the metric ton. It’s a big part of my free time, the sci-fi is, so I’m gonna talk about it. If you don’t read sci-fi, you can safely skip this whole entry.

I just finished a Greg Bear novel called Psychlone and it utterly sucked, and so did the last new Bear, Quantico, and, I mean, well, damn. Because I used to love Bear. Infinity Concerto was so wonderful I’ve read it thrice (I rarely re-read, plus I don’t even like fantasy). I loved Eon and Darwin’s Radio and Slant, and he just used to write such good sci-fi.

But Psychlone? Ugh. IMO the premise was weak, the characters didn’t even like themselves, and the denouement failed to satisfy. It was a terrible disappointment. It’s well-crafted and expertly written, of course, but it just didn’t work for me. I don’t think the author himself even knew quite what it was he was trying to convey, because I certainly couldn’t tell and I’m deep. (Snort.) A scientific basis for demons? Okay, fine, but please. Just… please. Finish defining your universe before you start breaking it.

So the Bear novel broke my heart and to cheer myself up I broke into the William Barton I’d bought recently and was hoarding. It’s called Acts of Conscience and I’ve devoured half of it in 24 hours… and oh, yeah, yeah, it’s good. I love Barton. Looooove him.

So I went surfing for more information, because I’ve decided I’m going to read the rest of Barton’s backlist. This year. All of it. Because that’s just how I roll when I find a yummy new-to-me author.

Enter the confusion: there were problems, people. Where the hell is the info on this guy? Not highly indexed, that’s for certain: I found a bio on Librarything combining this Barton’s work with the work of two other writers of the same name, a domain name with no content (!!!), and a google hit six pages deep about a SQL programmer who writes sci-fi and may or may not be the author I’m stalking looking for.

How in the hell, I ask you, is a devoted reader supposed to stalk learn about an author what ain’t hardly on the Innartubez whatsoevar? Christ. Man’s been published since the 70’s and there’s hardly a pinch of info on him! His wikipedia entry is comprised of fewer than one hundred words, there appears to be a 14-year hole in his release schedule, and I had to update his Librarything page myself for fuck’s sake!

I ran searches in three different engines, mined the isfdb, read the blurb in the back of the book I’ve got and triangulated the author’s town of residence with the registration on the domain name, and… hah. Gotcha.

And I emailed him.

Which is a big deal for me, ’cause I’m shy about my sci-fi authors. Once I emailed Sarah Zettel, though, and she emailed me back. But as a rule I avoid the boards where the writers hang out, and don’t send fan mail. (No comments from the peanut gallery on my use of the word ‘shy,’ now. The fact that I’d’ve walked up to Miles Davis and asked to borrow a dollar without batting an eyelash simply means that I’m not afraid of musicians. Writers are entirely different. Probably ’cause I ain’t one of them.)

Now ‘scuse me plz while I go read.

Working. (A lot.) Shopping. And. Well. Uh…

Wishlists, ,

In which I’m still boring and you shouldn’t even be reading this.

My new 120Gb hard drive arrived yesterday. I got it so cheap I can hardly stand myself! It came in an envelope instead of a box… I’d forgotten how tiny laptop drives are. It’s still sitting in its anti-static container, waiting to be installed tomorrow.

I bought an AC adapter for this little hard drive enclosure I rescued from the trash back in Iowa. Maybe it’ll work, maybe I’ll end up with a six-dollar adapter that I have no need for. Who knows. It would be cool though if I could put my old hard drive in it and have it work, because it’s small and has a cute little carrying case.

Today I bought an ebook for my 1150. I love that thing. (The reader, not the book. (Well, I’ll probably love the book too since it’s second of a series and I loved the first one, but I was talking about the reader.))

Hmm. What else? Well, I’m freakin’ tired. I’ve been complaining about having to work full-time, so just to kick my ass the universe suddenly causes me to find myself working overtime. Not only that, but instead of getting up at ten like I normally do, I set my alarm for 7:30 and then Bindu woke me up at six because she needed to go outside. She’s a good dog and I’d rather have her wake me than make a mess, but suddenly getting up four hours early hurts my head.

I’m supposed to go out tonight and see the Coyote Kings play, but I might just blow it off and stay home. I could probably manage to be social for a couple of hours, but I just don’t think I can stay awake until two or three when I could get a ride home from one of the musicians.

I need my own damn car so I don’t have to depend on others for rides.

Get Ready… Again

MP3s, ,

In which there’s music.

Here’s the second rough of one of my new band’s demo tunes:

[display_podcast]

(And yes, Naomi, I had RB fix the ‘chew’ sound you didn’t like. I live to serve!)

One of these days, we’ll get organized and record a third tune… and then learn enough material to actually do a gig if someone hires us!

Running Late Due to Cuteness of Device

Reading, ,

In which I had no idea what time it was.

eBook ReaderYesterday I got my new gadget, my eBookwise ebook reader.

It’s so cute! And so far I’m giving it a total thumbs up (although I already have a list of things I want in the next OS update, like: font face changeability, categories, and an ‘undo’ function for markups). Both of my favorite ebook vendors (Fictionwise and Baen) offer books in the proper format for it, so I’ve been able to pack the thing full of stuff to read. Besides Rocket eBook formatted files, it’ll display HTML, .doc, and text files too.

Instead of having a local book-managing application (though there is one available for about $15), the device syncs with an online bookshelf at ebookwise.com. You can buy content from there or upload your own. The reader device has a built-in modem for direct dial-up connectivity, or a USB port so you can use your computer’s connection to the Internet.

There’s no way to organize books into reading lists or categories, which would get extremely unwieldy if there were like 200 books on it, but I think the idea is to keep the bulk of one’s library online and only current books on the reader itself.

It’s a little heavy at a tad over a pound, but that’s because the batteries are huge. It ran for 15 hours on a 3-hour charge, so that little bit of extra weight is worth it. The screen is backlit, glare-free and easy to read. The device is juuuust a tiny bit too big to fit into my coat pocket, but it came with its own cover so it doesn’t get banged up in my bag.

There’s a rotate screen option so I can be left-handed, but then of course the stylus ends up on the bottom and all the icons on the case are upside down. But at least there is a left-handed option.

The only glitch is that the 64Mb expansion card failed after about 2 hours. I got the device, registered it, connected it to my computer via USB and put books on it, then put it away. During my lunch hour I reconnected it to download a couple of books I’d just bought, but the device froze so I disconnected it and stuck a paper clip in the reset divot per the manual. Since then, the device hasn’t recognized the memory card. (I have an open trouble ticket with the OEM; they sent me some instructions with all kinds of groovy ‘hold this while pressing this’ voodoo I’ll have to try when I get home.)

Naturally I stayed up late last night reading, and I woke up early this morning for no apparent reason. When I saw my new toy lying beside the bed naturally I picked it up and started reading rather than going back to sleep. Unfortunately, I’d set its clock wrong, so when I thought it was 9:30 this morning, it was actually 10:30… when I went to connect the ebook reader to my laptop and was downloading more books (I’ve been rereading old sci-fi shorts), was startled by the time: it was 11:23 already! EGAD! The bus comes at 11:35 and it’s 2-1/2 blocks away!

I brushed my hair, got dressed, brushed my teeth, and made it to the bus on time.

Because I? Am superfast. Like, once or twice a year. Just to prove that I can.

Update: The fix I got from the OEM worked – I had to reformat the card and now it’s all good. Yay!

Oops. I totally just did it.

Wishlists,

In which I complete an unpremeditated transaction.

eBookwise 1150 Reading DeviceI woke up this morning to the sound of my cell phone trilling. I had a text message. The message informed me that my paycheck had been direct-deposited into my account. Money! Yay!

During my lunch break this afternoon, I dutifully went to the post office and bought two money orders: one for mom, one for the lab that doesn’t take plastic. Later, I dutifully called and paid the surgeon and the anesthesiologist their payments.

And just now? I went to eBay and bought one of these, with a 128Mb storage card, for no good reason.

I had no intention of buying a dedicated ebook reader; it just happened. I’ve been thinking about getting one for awhile now, because while I used to love the multipurpose functionality of my Pocket PC, I no longer use it for anything but ebook reading (I use my cell phone for everything) and the form factor’s not as ideal for that as it could be.

Not only is the 1150 much less expensive than the Kindle or the Sony Reader, but it boasts instant page-turns (without the Kindle’s momentary blackscreen), a back-light, free online storage, a built-in dictionary, built-in dial-up modem, a USB port, and a gray-scale display equal to the other more expensive devices.

It seems like the 1150 is best option available, particularly considering the Kindle’s page-turn bug would drive me utterly bat shit within moments and that neither of the other devices have built-in freakin’ backlight, AND with the bundled expansion card it holds 200 books – more than either of the others. (How in the hell is someone supposed to be able to read in the dark with a device that isn’t fucking back lit? Gah!)

Anyway. I have yet to see the thing, so I don’t know if it’s really all that or not. But I think I’m gonna love it and hold it and pat it and squeeze it and call it George, and that’s the coolest thing that’s happened all day!

Aunts and Uncles and Cousins, Oh My!

Events, , ,

In which Xmas day was super plus fun!

Xmas 2007Christmas Day totally rocked.

It’s been years since I’ve celebrated this holiday with my blood family, and it was really great to be at Gramma’s house with a whole passel of aunts and uncles and cousins and their spouses and parents. We ate dinner mid-afternoon, then Dave went to get his kids and we opened gifts around three in the afternoon.

Yes, I said three. Three! In the afternoon! It took forever to get to the present-opening; I thought I was gonna die. (I got cute red jammies from Gramma, two gift certificates, earrings, coffee, mugs, candy, and lots of other fun stuff. It was awesome.)

My band wanted to record a demo that afternoon, but I didn’t go. While their enthusiasm is awesome, as far as I know we don’t have even three songs worked out yet. The idea is that we need to slap together a demo and start booking gigs so that we will have a reason to practice… we’re all people who write papers the night before they’re due, I guess.

In completely unrelated news, I have a dental appointment on January 2nd. Yay! I need to get my teeth cleaned so bad it’s disgusting, but this particular office didn’t let me make an appointment for a cleaning – I have to got through their evaluation and intake crap first, and get x-rays. They’d better get me back in the next fucking day, though, because I think my teeth are so plaque-ridden that I’m running a low-level infection in my gums. Which is totally gross, and which makes my mouth taste like tin foil, and which makes my tongue all white and gross when I wake up every morning. I’ll probably need another planing and scaling, which is expensive and takes four visits, but which keeps one’s gums from receding and leaves one’s mouth pristine.

First the uterus. Then the teeth. Next, the eyes. Eventually I’ll be practically normal!

Belated B-Day Goodness

Wishlists, ,

In which there’s a box in my box!

Yesterday on my lunch break I went to the post office to check my post office box, and there was a ticket that said, ‘Parcel too large for box.’

Yay!

I stood in line and the hawt red-headed postal guy took the ticket and in return gave me a box from Amazon.com. I came back to the office and busted into the package, and it was this:

Diamond Dogs

Diamond Dogs! Bowie! From Southern Expressions, who is SUPERIOR IN ALL WAYS! (Well, except for the way in which he lives somewhere warm so there’s no need for me to knit him a hat. I’ve been trying to think of something to knit him for a couple of years, but knit things and warm climates don’t really go together.)

Thank you, Brad! *smooch*