Jay Lake: Writer

[cancer] Still with the spoons, plus a bit of unrelated dreaming

The first thing I want to say is that I continue to feel much better these days. My bounceback from this last round of chemotherapy is progressing much more swiftly and smoothly than it did from my 2010 chemo series. My mental energy is very nearly 100%, and at least up to a point, my physical energy is strong. I sleep well, get things done during the day (including basic housework etc. — which was impossible for me for months), am productive in my writing and have the time, energy and focus to parent the_child.

But still with the spoons… Some days I wipe out early and sleep long. As happened yesterday. It’s tied to how much I’ve done that day, and fairly specifically to how much driving I’ve done. For example, yesterday I had lunch with a friend on the southwest end of Portland (far from Nuevo Rancho Lake), then yesterday evening I drove the_child up to northeast part of town (also reasonably far from Nuevo Rancho Lake) for a long, late session with her eighth grade project mentor. By the time I got home around 7:45 I was staggeringly tired, and I was lights out at 8:15.

I’m not sure if the driving is the specific factor that exhausts me, or if it is just a proxy for my overall level of activity. Days when I stay home and lay low, I can stay up til 10:00 or so, sleep six or seven hours, and be fine. This is pretty close to my ordinary behavior when I am at baseline health. Days when I am out and about look a lot more like yesterday, with noticeable fatigue, early bedtimes and hard sleep.

And of course, because I feel fine, I rarely remember to take this fatigue into account. It’s not like while I was on chemo, when every spoon spent was painfully obvious. (For more on spoons, see here: [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ].) So I barrel through the days as if I’m healthy, then have a wipe out lottery in the evenings.

Still, a vast improvement. Still, annoying.

And on an unrelated note, last night I dreamt I was at a big potluck picnic with, among other people, daviddlevine. At one point I approached a cold case someone had set up filled with desserts. (It suspiciously resembled the dessert case at the Sellwood location of Papa Haydn’s.) Except that one of the items on display was a sort of box made of head cheese with pickled jalapeno inclusions among the organ meats. Small items of patisserie were in various compartments of the head cheese box. I could not even begin to imagine the point of that presentation, and was fairly grossed out about it.

Ah, my dreaming mind, such a lovely landscape it is.

Tags: Cancer, Child, dreams, Food, health, Personal, Portland

Posted: 6:40 am Wed February 08 2012 | Comments(0) |

[links] Link salad wonders where the week is going

Westward Weird came out yesterday — I have a story therein, “The Temptation of Eustace Prudence McAllen”, first in the doc, which is a nice position. Various of my co-authors have commented on the anthology and their stories, including Seanan McGuire, Dean Wesley Smith, and Steven Saus.

Próba Kwiatów – Jay Lake — A mixed review, in Polish, of the Polish edition of my novel Trial of Flowers.

SF in SF — Just a reminder that this coming Saturday, 2/11, I will be at SF in SF with K.W. Jeter and Rudy Rucker. If you’re in the Bay Area, come on down.

10 Tips on Writing from David Ogilvy — He’s talking about ad copy, not fiction, but this is still interesting and worthwhile stuff. (Via Curiosity Counts.)

Kill the Local News — Writer Jeremy Tolbert on sensationalism.

Mindful Eating as Food for Thought

Scale of the Universe — Another fun take on the “powers of 10″ meme. (Snurched from Steve Buchheit.)

What did people do: in a Medieval City? — (Via danjite.)

Self-Cloning Seagrass May Be World’s Oldest Living Thing

Mars-bound NASA rover carries coin for camera checkup — This is cool and kind of poetic.

Mapping the Road Ahead for Autonomous Cars

Turing’s Enduring Importance — The path computing has taken wasn’t inevitable. Even today’s machines rely on a seminal insight from the scientist who cracked Nazi Germany’s codes. An interesting article, although I wish in mentioning his suicide it had acknowledged the disgusting way Turing was treated by his own people.

The State of Gay Marriage — Being a handy map to show you where bigotry has triumphed, and where respect for basic human rights is gaining ground.

The Single Most Powerful Quote From California’s Prop 8 Ruling — “Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.” Like opposition to interracial marriage forty years ago, Prop 8 is bigotry, pure and simple, a combination of narrow-minded religious privilege and typically unfounded conservative alarmism. Like opposition to interracial marriage today, forty years from now people will be ashamed to admit in public what they once voted and for and believed.

The Business Case Against Karen Handel — John Scalzi with a very sensible take on the (surprising to me) resignation of Karen Handel from the Susan G. Komen foundation. For my own part, I’ll observe that as usual when the Right tries strong-arm tactics, they only see unfairness when they get caught out.

Planned Parenthood’s Deep Bench — Ta-Nehisi Coates with some interesting thoughts on the fight that Komen picked when they decided to show their true conservative colors.

Why the Energy-Industrial Elite Has It In for the Planet — Social and political commentary on the funding impetus behind the intellectual fraud of climate change denial.

Jesus versus the GOP — The man from Nazareth would have been appalled by the “Christian” Republican candidates. The only thing I have to say to political Christianists is “Matthew 6:6“.

‘We the People’ Loses Appeal With People Around the World — The declining influence of the US Constitution overseas.

Republicans Finally Realize They’re Helping Obama — Like their counterparts from 16 years before, Republicans took control of the House of Representatives last year filled with revolutionary zeal, assuming that they could leverage their hold over one branch of Congress into sweeping changes in the national agenda. And like their predecessors, they blundered into high-profile confrontations with a Democratic president and suffered prolonged and deep damage in their public standing, with each new defeat slowly leeching the fanatical determination out of them.

Santorum Upsets G.O.P. Race With Three Victories — I really can’t decide who would be the bigger disaster for this country, Senator Frothy Mix or Governor 1%. Our last Republican president set an extremely low bar for destructive incompetence, something the GOP electorate seems to have very conveniently forgotten.

?otd: How was your Tuesday?

2/8/2012
Writing time yesterday: 2.0 hours (Sunspin revisions)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 8.25 (solid)
Weight: 230.8
Currently reading: n/a (between books)

Tags: Books, Cancer, cars, climate, Conventions, Cool, Culture, Food, games, gay, gender, Links, Personal, Politics, Process, Religion, reviews, Science, sex, stories, Tech, Trial, Writing

Posted: 6:24 am Wed February 08 2012 | Comments(0) |

[links] Link salad returns to its labors

The Rules of Magic, According to the Greatest Fantasy Sagas of All Time — (Brought to my attention by willyumtx.)

You Eat That? — Disgust is one of our most basic emotions—the only one that we have to learn—and nothing triggers it more reliably than the strange food of others.

Honda revives Ferris Bueller — Zombie Matthew Broderick?

Genetic or Not, Gay Won’t Go Away

Ritalin Gone Wrong

Hysteria and the Teenage Girl

Testicular zap ‘may stop sperm’ — A dose of ultrasound to the testicles can stop the production of sperm, according to researchers investigating a new form of contraception.

U.S. may rely on aging U-2 spy planes longer than expected — The Pentagon has proposed delaying a plan to replace the U-2s with RQ-4 Global Hawk drones because of Defense Department cutbacks.

Too Much of a Bad Thing: Monsanto Did NOT Buy Blackwater — Hmmm. (Via danjite.)

Newt Gingrich’s moon base plan a ‘cheap trick’ to get votes, space experts say — Experts call Gingrich’s plan a gimmick that is too expensive to work. I am shocked that Newt might have said something deliberately misleading. Shocked, I tell you. Shocked.

Gingrich’s Absurd Outsider Pose — But it works with the low information voters who make up the GOP base. Who cares if his claims are true?

?otd: What are you working on this week?

1/30/2012
Writing time yesterday: 2.0 hours (Sunspin revisions)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 8.5 (fitful)
Weight: 227.8
Currently reading: The Man in the Moone, and Other Lunar Fantasies ed. Faith Pizor

Tags: Food, Funny, gay, healthcare, Links, Movies, Personal, Politics, Process, sex, Tech, weird, Writing

Posted: 6:16 am Mon January 30 2012 | Comments(0) |

[food] Eating Haggis on Burns Day

Last night I went to a haggis party at the home of Jersey Girl in Portland. It was fun to be able to go out of an evening, and, well, haggis on Robert Burns day. And this was the real thing, made from scratch with authentic ingredients.

There was a ceremonial reading of the Burns poem on haggis, then there was the serving of the beast. It looked nasty and, honestly, to my palate didn’t taste much better, but I am glad I tried it. Kind of like a feral, inept sausage cut by too much oatmeal. I’m pretty sure I won’t ever need to eat it again. Still, it was fun, and the company of Jersey Girl’s friends was good.

And, well, haggis. Come on. How often do you get a chance?

Haggis in the pan

Haggis on the plate

Photos © 2012, 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.

Tags: Food, Photos, Portland, Scotland

Posted: 6:28 am Thu January 26 2012 | Comments(1) |

[links] Link salad ate haggis last night

Trilogies: Third time’s not always the charm

Hello Kitty Darth Vader — JD Hancock strikes again.

The New French Hacker-Artist Underground — (Snurched from Steve Buchheit.)

No Disrespect for the Meatball Hero — Mmm, food.

X-Ray Laser Turns Up the Heat to 3.6 Million Degrees — I love this line: The advancement represents the first time researchers have been able to produce such plasmas in a controlled way.

Bizarre skin disease Morgellons not infectious, CDC says

Europe, Data, and the ‘Right to Be Forgotten’

The Amazing Government Sting That Cost Google $500 Million (GOOG)

Study: Ocean Acidity Exceeds Natural Norms — Oops.

Five shots against global warming denialism

Who should recuse on Prop 8? — Jed Hartman is funny.

Why Evangelicals Don’t Like Mormons — Oddly, this article refers to Romney as a ‘Protestant’. Are Mormons considered Protestants? I never heard that.

‘Stop-Newt’ Republicans Confront Base Unwilling to Take Orders — Hahahah.

?otd: Have you ever eaten haggis?

1/25/2012
Writing time yesterday: 1.75 hour (1.5 hours on Sunspin revisions, plus a bit of misc WRPA)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 6.5 (solid)
Weight: 226.6
Currently reading: Scourge of the Betrayer by Jeff Salyards

Tags: Art, Books, climate, Cool, Culture, Food, France, healthcare, Links, Personal, Politics, Publishing, Religion, Science, Tech, weird

Posted: 6:16 am Thu January 26 2012 | Comments(7) |

[links] Link salad has one foot on the platform

Ten Bits of Advice Writers Should Stop Giving Aspiring Writers — nihilistic_kid is wise.

The Sky is Falling – Not — Richard Parks on the state of the short story market.

I will be a guest at World Steam Expo, May 25-28, Dearborn, MI — Along with G.D. Falkesen, Gail Carriger and Cherie Priest.

Author D&D Game — Myke Cole reports on the misadventures at Epic Confusion. Brent Weeks on the same.

Lewis Hyde on work vs. labor and the pace of creativity

What if there were another advanced species? — A little AH courtesy of your morning news.

Cute storm trooper photos — Really. By my friend JD Hancock.

Penguin with Russian aircraft — I love the photos x planes has been running lately.

Seattle museum gets ‘keys’ to shuttle trainer from NASA — Wait. “Bypass the Rocky Mountains.” What?

Eternal Monuments Among the Stars — Centauri Dreams on a new approach to SETI.

Scientists at MIT replicate brain activity with chip — Scientists are getting closer to the dream of creating computer systems that can replicate the brain. (Via @Mari_Kurisato.)

Dog skull found in Siberia is 33,000 years old – and hints that man’s best friend didn’t come from one single ancestor — Arf.

100 years of the war on drugs — From the British perspective. (Snurched from @amendlocke.)

Yes, We Have No Tomatoes — Portland’s indoor gardening shops sell all you need for homegrown medical weed—except advice. Ah, the hypocrisy of the War on Drugs.

Muslim Men Rescue Bagel Shop And Keep It Kosher

Graphic of World Military Spending (Iran’s too Small to Show up) — Defense spending isn’t really an issue that ignites me, but this does make me think.

Scalia: Blame Congress For My Decision To Turn Campaign Finance Into The Wild West — I don’t think so, Justice Knucklehead. Coincidentally, the free spending money enabled by the Citizen’s United decision overwhelmingly favors Republicans. Who knew? (Via @twilight2000.)

Arkansas Democrat’s cat killed, painted with “liberal” — Stay classy, conservative America. It’s what you do best.

Could A GOP Victory In 2012 Mean The End Of Roe v Wade? — Remember, the GOP is the party that doesn’t want the government to come between you and your doctor.

Mitt Romney’s Father Palled Around With Saul Alinsky — Oops. Newt’s got his boogeyman doubled down.

Romney, Interrupted — Way to go, Mittens.

?otd: Where is this train bound?

1/25/2012
Writing time yesterday: 1.0 hour (Sunspin revisions)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 7.75 (solid)
Weight: 226.2
Currently reading: Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

Tags: Antarctica, Conventions, Cool, Culture, Food, healthcare, Links, nature, Oregon, Personal, Politics, Process, Science, Tech, weird, Writing

Posted: 6:30 am Wed January 25 2012 | Comments(0) |

[links] Link salad is back home

Presenting the Legendary Licked Book of Epic Confusion

FREE Audiobook – METAtropolis: Cascadia

The success of failure: Pulitzer winner’s surprising road to the top — A very interesting article at CNN on the relationship between creativity, failure and success. (Via jimvanpelt.)

McDonald’s proposal divides healthy Loma Linda — The chain wants to open a fast-food restaurant in the Adventist community, a spiritual enclave where liquor is not sold and cigarettes are not smoked. Not sure how I feel about this story, myself.

Russia Says It Is Planning Moon Base With NASA And ESA

The GOP’s South Carolina nightmare — Newt Gingrich just made life miserable for Mitt Romney – and for his party. Hah hah.

Newt Gingrich, Back From the Dead — Zombie Newt!

Analysis: Romney’s Southern discomfort — I can’t decide which is worse, Newt’s arrogant vindictiveness or Romeny’s flaccid pandering.

?otd: Are you home?

1/23/2012
Writing time yesterday: 2.75 hours (Sunspin revisions)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 5.75 (solid)
Weight: 224.6
Currently reading: The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross; Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

Tags: Books, Conventions, Culture, Food, Links, Metatropolis, Personal, Politics, Process, Russia, Science, Writing

Posted: 6:22 am Mon January 23 2012 | Comments(0) |

[links] Link salad is home

The Writing Life: The point of the long and winding sentence — Pico Iyer says writing longer phrases is a way to protest the speed of information bites people are subjected to each day. (Via scarlettina.)

Uneasy Neighbors in a Southern Gothic Tale — A strange story of racism and real estate. (Via my Dad.)

Role reversal: Employers say they can’t find workers

Americans scaled back on health spending during recession — Hmmm.

Processed meat ‘linked to pancreatic cancer’ — A link between eating processed meat, such as bacon or sausages, and pancreatic cancer has been suggested by researchers in Sweden. Oh, my bacon!

Salad-bar strategy: The battle of the buffet — Why buffet tables are a microcosm of greed, altruism & sexual politics. (Snurched from Curiosity Counts.)

Every presentation, ever — Hahahah.

For Priests’ Wives, a Word of Caution — A weird little squib that does nothing to make me feel better about the Catholic church.

How Likely Is a Runaway Greenhouse Effect on Earth? — The results of the latest analysis are not entirely reassuring. This is science. Asking questions, exploring uncertain answers. Certainty without full and consistent proof is for ideologues.

Felix Salmon: How Capitalism Kills Companies

Italy’s Financial Turmoil Turns Mafia Into Nation’s Largest Bank

Missouri Republicans Introduce Bill That Forces Educators To Teach Creationism In Schools And Universities — Because willful ignorance isn’t spreading fast enough? (Via shsilver.)

Haley Barbour’s pardons put Southern redemption on trial — Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour defended his mass pardon of over 200 current and former convicts, quoting the Christian principle of redemption enshrined in Southern law and tradition.

Israeli Mossad Agents allegedly Impersonated CIA in fostering Baluch Terrorism against Iran

Obama challenges Republicans on goal they embrace — Given that their stated number one priority is to unseat Obama, this isn’t hard. The GOP isn’t interested in jobs, or the economy, or running the country more effectively.

Everyone’s Got a Right to Their Own Opinions… — Another day, another bald-faced Republican lie that Your Liberal Media won’t be challenging.

?otd: Are you in your own space this weekend?

1/14/2012
Writing time yesterday: 1.0 hours (2,500 words on short story)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 8.75 (solid)
Weight: 220.6
Currently reading: 7th Grade Stories by the_child and her class (last year)

Tags: Cancer, Christianism, climate, Culture, Food, Funny, healthcare, Iraq, Language, Links, Occupy Wall Street, Personal, Politics, Process, racism, Religion, Science, Videos, Writing

Posted: 8:32 am Sat January 14 2012 | Comments(0) |

[links] Link salad thanks you for those items that you sent it

You Know, I Learned Something Today — A reader reacts, with critical eye, to the anthology Human For a Day.

A World Of Comic Sans — In a world where Comic Sans is the only font, logos would look like this. Hahaha. (Via Steve Buchheit.)

We’re Eating Less Meat. Why?

Discovery Could Lead to an Exercise Pill — A newly identified hormone acts like a workout, and transforms bad fat into good. How very Silver Age sfnal. Up next: food pills.

Exoplanets are around every star, study suggests

Astronomers weigh in on Milky Way’s true colours

Darwin for economists

Evolution: A Game of Chance — A nice, clear explanation of evolutionary processes. Warning: Facts and informed speculation not valid if you’re not a member of the reality-based community.

Church-state separation extends to religious schools, Supreme Court rules — Well, this is a good idea. Not.

New Supreme Court Ruling Should End Hysteria Over Religious Liberty — Conservative religious groups have long predicted that church freedom would perish at the hands of “activist judges.” But the Supreme Court’s new exemption of religious groups from discrimination laws should silence the false alarms. Or not. The NRA is still screaming about Obama coming to take their guns, against all evidence. And then there’s GOP freakout over the nonexistent EPA farm dust rule. Conservative hysteria and outrage has repeatedly proven immune to reality-based evidence.

My Guantánamo Nightmare — In case you labor under the delusion that Gitmo is about justice. Or even terrorism. Security theatre ruins lives.

The Tea Party’s Not-So-Civil War — It couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of racist loons.

Why Republicans Deny Science: The Quest for a Scientific Explanation — Some of the conservative denial of science may well be cynical in nature. But there’s no doubt from polls that large numbers of conservatives really believe this stuff–that global warming isn’t real, nor is evolution. And indeed, the denial of reality extends well beyond science and into other fields like economics and history. I’m voting for cynical, myself, at least among the GOP political leadership.

Do Republican Primary Voters Actually Prefer Moderates? — Interesting, but not sure I agree with it. Romney and McCain aren’t moderate, except by comparison to the outright bugfuck lunacy of a Bachmann or Santorum. Certainly not in any sane universe.

?otd: What’s up with the plywood violin, anyway?

1/12/2012
Writing time yesterday: 1.0 hours (2,400 words on short story)
Body movement: n/a (hideous weather)
Hours slept: 8.75 (fitful)
Weight: n/a
Currently reading: Lion’s Blood by Steven Barnes

Tags: Food, Funny, Links, Personal, Politics, Religion, reviews, Science, stories, Tech

Posted: 5:39 am Thu January 12 2012 | Comments(1) |

[links] Link salad sits at the bar and puts bread in your jar

The Darth Vader Burger is Here — (Via my brother.)

Airline pilot startled by flying shark — Life imitates, uh… I got nothing. (Via David Goldman.)

The Apollo 11 lunar landing, told through data.

The Greatest Paper Map of the United States You’ll Ever See — Made by one guy in Oregon.

Center produces chimeric monkeys — That’s a hell of a headline. Interesting story, too.

Indonesia’s underwater masters of disguise — Meet the fish that mimics the octopus that mimics scary sea creatures.

Google Earth’s Lessons in Wave Mechanics — A close look at Google’s virtual globe reveals almost unlimited examples of the way waves behave.

X-37B spaceplane ‘spying on China’ — America’s classified X-37B spaceplane is probably spying on China, according to a report in Spaceflight magazine.

Extinctions from Climate Change Underestimated — Hmm. Actual hypotheses from actual data. I’d better tune into Rush Limbaugh to clear my head of these pesky facts.

L.A.-area bishop, father of two, resigns

I Was Shitting You People – A Message From Ayn Rand — Ah, satire. (Via danjite.)

Gay couple win suit over names on birth certificate

The Irrelevance of the Broccoli Argument against the Insurance Mandate

Magna Carta and Wingnut Legislation — I can understand, if not agree with, the conservative impulse to require all legislation to state its Constitutional basis. (I disagree simply because there are far too many issues in modern government and society which are not explicitly, or even implicitly, contemplated in the Constitution. Like many beloved conservative talking points, it’s a simple-minded attempt to solve a complex problem that doesn’t really exist.) But the Magna Carta. Really, guys? Is there a “nuttiest GOP politician” contest going on?

Here’s What Romney’s Unreleased Tax Returns Almost Certainly Hide — Every major presidential candidate for decades has released their tax returns routinely. Not Romney. Nothing to see here, citizen. Move along.

Santorum Becomes Millionaire in Six Years After U.S. Senate Loss — Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum describes himself on the campaign trail as a frugal man of faith and limited means. Right, Senator Frothy Mix. Limited means. And Mitt Romney is unemployed, while Newt Gingrich is middle class. What kind of idiot do you have to be to believe this crap? (I know, the question answers itself.) Not that I object to wealth in politicians or anyone else. I do object to blatantly false claims.

Rick Santorum claims same sex marriage is comparable to polygamy — Santorum is a fool and a moral leper. The more I learn about this man, the more I despise him. And mind you, this in a race where Newt is running.

Rick Santorum’s Google problem remains — As well it should, given his despicable comments on the gay community. I for one am happy to continue to support “Santorum” search results defined as “The frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex”. It’s the least he deserves. See also spreadingsantorum.com.

?otd: Man, what are you doing here?

1/6/2012
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (chemo fatigue)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 9.0 (fitful)
Weight: 214.2
Currently reading: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Tags: China, climate, Cool, Food, gay, healthcare, Links, nature, Oregon, Personal, Politics, Religion, Science, Tech, Travel, Videos, weird

Posted: 6:16 am Fri January 06 2012 | Comments(0) |