Your Saturday moment of zen.
Gears, eastern Washington state. © 2007, 2011, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.
This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Posted: 3:31 am Sat July 16 2011 | Comments(0) |
You smell, I stink — Language Log on smell words. I run into this in my writing, where I do try to keep track of the five senses rule.
How Much Does it Cost to go to Hogwarts? — (Via Freakonomics.)
Mass psychosis in the US — How Big Pharma got Americans hooked on anti-psychotic drugs. Speaking as someone who is neurotypical and psychologically healthy, but is also carrying an antipsychotic prescription for an off-label usage, this isn’t quite this simple.
Maps reflect Flickr and Twitter Usage
A starry night over Dubai — APOD with a Gulf States cityscape that is quite striking.
Tomorrow’s Transistor, Built Atom by Atom — A more precise manufacturing method will help as electronics shrink ever smaller.
Taking a Look at the Governor, Back When He Was a Democrat — The New York Times on conservative darling Rick Perry. (Via my Dad.)
Jane Smiley reviews Frank Schaeffer’s ‘Sex, Mom, and God’ — I may have to read this book. (Snurched from Slacktivist.)
?otD: What question would you put here?
Posted: 3:30 am Sat July 16 2011 | Comments(3) |
Yesterday’s travel from Portland to Boston was delightfully uneventful. I slept some, and got a ton of work done on Sunspin. Currently catching up to the manuscript to get the voice and plot back in my head, reasserting my span of control before I start writing again. Unfortunately, my forthcoming cancer surgery falls right about when and where I’d be jumping back into the book deeply, so there will be a hiatus of 2-3 weeks.
Dinner last night with la agente at the startlingly good restaurant here at the Readercon hotel. Magnificent food. Since I’ll be going on clear liquids Monday, then IV feeding for 2-3 days starting Tuesday, then back on clear liquids for a while after that, I decided to bork my diet and enjoy the dinner for what it was. The wages of sin is gustatory bliss, I’m here to tell you.
Readercon today, in a low-key way. Look for me in the bar if you’re here, or maybe the dealer room. I’ve already run into tons of friends, and look forward to making many new friends this weekend.
Posted: 4:37 am Fri July 15 2011 | Comments(1) |
Your Friday moment of zen.
Classic Northern Pacific box car, eastern Washington state. © 2007, 2011, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.
This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Posted: 4:31 am Fri July 15 2011 | Comments(0) |
The Problem Is You — The Internet and work ethics.
Google+ Improves on Facebook — (Via my Dad.)
Dawn probe set to orbit Asteroid Vesta
Loss of predators in the food chain can alter the ecosystem — As the Tea Party says, “We cannot elevate nature above people. That’s against the Bible and the Bill of Rights.”
The Mere Sight of an American Flag Can Shift Voters Republican — Exposure to Lee Greenwood has the opposite effect on me.
A Gun Activist Takes Aim at U.S. Regulatory Power — When you vote Republican, you’re voting for this nonsense. Hope you’re proud of it.
Church Doctrines and Politics — Conservative Commentator Daniel Larison on Michele Bachmann’s religion. He’s cheating a bit in this essay, in that he sidesteps the fact that Bachmann’s church explicitly declares in so many words that the Pope is the Antichrist. Not that I care personally in that other people are free to argue all day long over their imaginary friends, but that’s a bit more than the abstract doctrinal difference Larison is pretending is at stake. Also, c.f. Jeremiah Wright, who was very important to the press during the last election. Will Your Liberal Media treat Bachmann or Romney’s religious beliefs with the same critical eye they brought to Obama?
The Bible on marriage, in its own words — And Jesus was a single dude who mostly only hung out with men. One man, one woman, my ass. Read your own damned Bible, Christianists, instead of laying the hate on my GLBT friends for wanting the same rights you already have. (Snurched from Dispatches From the Culture Wars.)
Secular charities don’t discriminate — Making the point that religious charities, pretty much by definition, do. Mmm, that thousand points of light really shines.
?otD: Con this weekend?
Posted: 4:31 am Fri July 15 2011 | Comments(2) |
Off to Readercon. Expect limited blogging through Monday. I’ll see some, all or none of you there.
Posted: 4:53 am Thu July 14 2011 | Comments(1) |
Your Thursday moment of zen.
Rail car wheel, eastern Washington state. © 2007, 2011, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.
This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Posted: 4:52 am Thu July 14 2011 | Comments(0) |
Scrivener’s Error in interesting about book marketing — Also Rupert Murdoch and conservative politics.
Advocating for Aesthetic — A discussion of steampunk as a genre, or not. Mike Perschon touches on some of my own thoughts here.
How to Sell Your Fantasy & Science Fiction to Agents and Editors Live Webinar Registration — Phil Athans does a Webinar.
Signal boost: An estate sale in Walnut Creek, CA — If you’re in the area and want, you know, books.
Ponds on the Ocean — Melt ponds on the Arctic ice cap. Cool photo.
Solar Wind Changes Atmospheric Pressure over South Korea
Tea party members tackle a new issue: manatees — As one tea partier is quoted as saying, “We cannot elevate nature above people,” explained Edna Mattos, 63, leader of the Citrus County Tea Party Patriots, in an interview. “That’s against the Bible and the Bill of Rights.” God bless America. (Via David Vincent.)
?otD: How strong were you by the time you got to Woodstock?
Posted: 4:50 am Thu July 14 2011 | Comments(0) |
Good day, and a good evening yesterday, but a very bad night. More chemotherapy-induced lower GI issues causing wide ranging sleep disruption and intermittent discomfort. The severity seems to be getting worse, not better. This doesn’t bode well for my cross-country flight tomorrow. I may have to resort to the dreaded medication. (Dreaded because taking Imodium to shut down my GI almost always badly overshoots the mark, and I have the converse problem, which really isn’t that much of an improvement. I sleep better when I’m constipated, but I’m uncomfortable and after a couple of days stop wanting to eat.)
On the plus side, the borborygmi of the past ten or twelve hours have been spectacular, and even novel in my extensive experience of abdominal acoustic effects. This includes a creaking door, a dripping faucet, and a wide variety of groans. It’s enough to make me think a poltergeist has taken up residence in my gut. The only one I haven’t heard of my usual wide inventory is the rushing waters.
Meanwhile, I’m already punchy and tired and it’s not even 5 am.
Posted: 4:55 am Wed July 13 2011 | Comments(2) |
Your Wednesday moment of zen.
Flower, eastern Washington state. © 2007, 2011, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.
This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Posted: 4:48 am Wed July 13 2011 | Comments(0) |