tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82377365319200345822024-02-18T22:56:31.771-08:00Dal JeanisDal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-55842547122224139162013-05-10T21:36:00.000-07:002013-05-10T21:58:15.237-07:00The Trolls Lose Again!Prenda bites a bitter pill in <a href="https://www.eff.org/Judge-Wright-Prenda-Sanctions-Order">this ruling</a> by Judge Otis Wright, littered with Star Trek references, and beginning with Spock's Kobiyashi Maru epigram from the Wrath of Khan.<P><P>
Gotta love a judge that quotes Spock and kicks Troll butt.<P> <P>
Also gotta love a judge that calculates his sanctions with an eye toward irony. See footnote 5.<P><P>
And lest you think it's just an Internet torrentfreak thing, here's <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/federal-judge-fires-phasers-photons-at-prenda-for-80k-damages-130507/">an article in Forbes</a> and <a href="http://www.americanlawyer.com/PubArticleTAL.jsp?id=1202592591283&Lawyers_Face_Sanctions_over_Porn_Copyright_Shakedown">one in American Lawyer</a> about it.
Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-20023593067508082572013-05-10T18:48:00.002-07:002013-05-10T18:48:58.261-07:00How Recent is YOUR Latest Backup?Agent Rachelle Gardner <a href="http://www.rachellegardner.com/2013/05/never-never-never-lose-your-work/">has recently blogged</a> about a writer of hers who almost lost a novel due to a hard drive crash. And what every writer should do to avoid that.<P><P>
Myself, I have just spent a dozen hours collecting up twenty years of writing from various backups and getting it all (or most of it) copied onto a single writing machine. Over the summer, I expect to winnow it down to a single set of organized backups, where everything is actually organized in some semblance of logical order.<P><P>
The important parts can probably all fit on a single flash drive, big as those are nowadays. That being done, I expect to start moving forward again presently. <P><P>
Wish me luck.<P>
Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-12499153923462666162013-04-25T18:13:00.001-07:002013-04-25T18:17:50.387-07:00And the Good Guys Win Another OneAmid all the antics of the Prenda Copyright Trolls, who are in the midst of an amusing and <a href="http://www.popehat.com/2013/04/21/angry-prenda-is-angry/">hopefully fatal meltdown,</a> comes notice that <a href=""http://www.popehat.com/2013/04/19/victory-for-blogger-patterico-in-free-speech-case/>Patterico has won his defamation defense case.</a>
<p><p>
Long story short on the Patterico case -
P commented about a woman who was involved in illegally recording congresswoman Maxine Waters. The woman sued P, claiming P said all kinds of things. The judge read what she claimed P said, read what P actually said, and read what harm she claimed to have suffered because of P and what laws she wanted to recover from P under. Bottom line - she presented no actual facts that would support recovery under her theories. <p><p>
Also, to keep the case in Federal court, she would have to prove at least $75K of real damage attributable to his unpriveleged words, and didn't even prove that. Mere allegations without facts that demonstrate clear probability of liability are insufficient to proceed.<p><p>
<blockquote>conduct that is merely consistent with liability is not enough to get you there either.</blockquote><p><p>
Case dismissed, half with prejudice, half without. She's appealing, but it's unlikely she'll prevail.
Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-81883524927006244382013-03-13T19:48:00.000-07:002013-03-26T18:23:39.233-07:00Girl Genius, Pure GeniusOkay, Phil and Kaja Foglio <a href="http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130313" style="float:right;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJMj0D1_QOAhYBcfxQhxuhSO3qfksZ8u0ANI1cHcTgUr2ydK3DzQCjwjji-YVJbI1qz8jrRPknwci94qJToiixtXmrXZgffzC7cFB20kGDNrXPgSacnqB9f3APrxaJ8oOoTedAvnqjMRXo/s320/TheJokeB24.JPG" /></a> had me laughing so hard at this one that I couldn't even attempt to explain the joke to my wife, not without backing up all the way to <a href="http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130118">January</a>... of course, old <a href="http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130313">Klaus didn't get it</a> either.
<p><p>Of course, really the payoff is most funny if you've been waiting for it and didn't know when it was coming...
Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-84090792432187606392012-12-30T13:01:00.001-08:002012-12-30T13:01:03.463-08:00Resumes and Profile Buzz WordsAn <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/please-stop-using-these-15-words-in-your-linkedin-profile-immediately-2012-12">article</a> widely circulated on LinkedIn had a list of common Buzz Words that the author believes should be deleted from resumes and other experience summaries. <p><p>
Here's my thoughts on them.<p><p>
<b>Creative, Innovative, Analytical, Responsible, Effective</b> - Ummm. You'd better be. Why are you mentioning it? If these adjectives are attached to a particular thing you did - "designed a <b>creative</b> solution to the issue of thingwhatchies", "implemented an <b>effective</b> program that increased thingwhatchie return by 15% ROI" - then it might be okay. Talk about what you have done, not your personality. And be prepared, if a recruiter asks, to say what made your solution "creative", and so on.<p><p>
<b>Motivated</b> - Ummm. Boilerplate, and bad boilerplate. "I am a motivated individual"... blah.<p><p>
<b>Organizational</b> - This is an adjective. If the relevant skills or experience you are listing is "of or having to do with the organization", then it may be a good word. On the other hand, if you are talking about your ability to organize, then that's not the right word anyway.<p><p>
<b>Extensive Experience, Track Record</b> - These are boilerplate (a cliche) when you are introducing a particular type of experience. Extensive experience in what? Track record of what? I don't know why a recruiter would object to the terms themselves, as long as what followed described a skill or type of experience that helped the recruiter know what your capabilities were.<p><p>
<b>Problem Solving</b> - similar in character to "Extensive Experience" and "Track Record", but too general. <b>Everyone</b> solves problems. What exact things have you done that mattered? "Implemented improvements that resulted in annual cost savings greater than my salary", "Reduced machine down-time by 1.1% on a monthly basis by adjusting the schedule of maintenance and upgrades".<p><p>
Here's <a href="http://www.money-zine.com/Career-Development/Resume-Writing/Resume-Power-Words/">another list</a> of "Power Words" to use, but many of them have the exact same problems listed above. Use at your own risk.
Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-35579355818215972072012-12-01T14:49:00.000-08:002012-12-01T14:49:35.222-08:00Emperor of the World, your Private Utopia, Real PeopleOver on LinkedIN, there is a really interesting discussion based on the question of what changes you would make to better everyone's livingness if you were in charge of the world.
<p><p>
Many of the posters wanted to eliminate money and so on.
<p><p>
MONEY
<p><p>
Money is necessary at this stage of human evolution, as a feedback mechanism and an accounting mechanism. Money is simply a way of facilitating exchange, a way of rewarding productivity, a way of allocating resources, and even a way of keeping score. Any system without some measure for those things will be effectively random in its results, quickly overrun by freeloaders, and strongly subject to a mega-size "tragedy of the commons".
<p><p>
Worse, without the "keeping score" factor, there's no way for individuals to know how they are doing, relative to any external or intrinsic standard. While that complete absence of a measuring stick might work for the top-tier individuals who have already earned their way through a dozen levels of real competition onto Star Trek's imaginary flagship of the fleet, where there are literally no resource constraints and the ship will be rebuilt at the beginning of the next show, no matter what happens, it's unlikely to work on any world populated by a realistic cross section of anything we would recognize as human. (More about real human populations below.)
<p><p>
NON-MONEY SYSTEMS
<p><p>
In systems where some other item acts as both reward and incentive - for instance academia, where degrees, publications and tenure provide the group and personal senses of status and value - you end up with gatekeepers and a nasty social dynamic where the mostly neutral place of the economically "token-gifted" is held by networks of the socially "control-gifted". In essence, you have high school cliques running the rest of your life.
<p><p>
The only counter-example I know of is the US military, which appears to have a status and hierarchy system that works in a fairly benign manner. Anyone care to have *everyone* live in that system the rest of their life? Anyone know any other positive examples that are open systems with a large cross-section of humans in them?
<p><p>
TOKEN-GIFTED
<p><p>
On the negative side, when tokens are the medium of assigning value and productivity, the people who get the most tokens are not necessarily the people who are the most valuable or productive, but are instead usually the people who are best at gathering and keeping tokens. This is a natural function of their aptitudes and motivations, and a necessary byproduct of a token-based system with choice and freedom of action. It's annoying to some, but it cannot be eliminated without losing the benefit of the tokens to the system.
<p><p>
Also, this side-effect of "bonus bucks to the token-gifted" is not in itself good or bad, regardless of what you might personally think of governments, bankers, developers, or other rich people. Over history, the token-gifted are the ones that funded everything you think of as culture and high art. Every world-class museum you've ever been to, every world-class city you've ever been to, and almost every human-made place you ever want to go, were all created via money from the token-gifted. As a rule, the Medicis were terrible people, but they funded great art. Same with the Popes, as near as I can tell.
<p><p>
There is this liberal tendency towards envy and false charity - the quite unliberal thought that no one can possibly deserve to possess and control billions (or sometimes only millions) of dollars, regardless of that fact that they themselves may have worked to create it, and scrimped to keep it. The liberal compulsively imagines all the people who have *not* earned it, but who need something that money might provide, so it's very natural for a liberal to want to *seize* from the rich to "give charity" to the poor, in order to make the liberal feel better about themselves. Bad idea.
<p><p>
First, when a person gives their own money, they can - and usually do - make sure that it goes to a place where it will be used effectively. On the other hand, when someone gives away money that they did *not* earn, they almost never take such care. After all, they say, "It's the thought that counts, and my intentions are good."
<p><p>
Second, if it isn't your own money, it's not your charity, and you deserve no good feeling from it.
<p><p>
I'd have to say that, given a few hundred million, I can think of quite a few problems that can actually be addressed, and the world can be changed for the better. But it wouldn't be by eliminating money, or taxes, or income, or anything else that gives people the freedom to choose their own paths.
<p><p>
REAL HUMAN POPULATIONS
<p><p>
In any system that permits diversity of thought, belief, behavior, motivation, and so on - and in most that don't - you will have diversity of thought, belief, behavior, motivation and so on. And each of those diverse people will use the system to accomplish their personal objectives, what *they* see as the best highest good. Or, if they are thoroughly thwarted by your system, then they will succumb to despair, or act to pervert the system toward their best good, or to destroy the system. If you want the greatest good for the greatest number, make sure that the heart of your system thwarts the most harmful and the least valuable and the least productive, rather than the least harmful and the most valuable and the most productive. And make sure that "harm" and "value" and "productivity" are objectively distinguishable.
<p><p>
In any realistic system, half the people will have below average intelligence. (By the definition of average, duh.) In any human system, a sixth of the people will be at least one standard deviation below the mean - in the US, that means an IQ of roughly 84, which falls under the current psychiatric designation of "Borderline Intellectual Functioning". Yep, one sixth of the populace, by definition, is mentally impaired.
<p><p>
**PLEASE** don't knee-jerk here. **PLEASE** put relative merit discussions aside for another day. Sure, we could engage in an entire series of cliche and highly charged comments about the high or low value of dull people, and about the value of certain productive dull people relative to the value of certain unproductive token collectors. **PLEASE** Just consider that we already had that whole thread, because the entire thread is totally predictable to people who aren't dull. You know what you'll say, you know what they'll say, and it has nothing to do with the point I'm making.
<p><p>
The take-home point I'm making here is that your utopia will need to address the needs and values of people at both ends of the intelligence scale. Try to make your Utopia work for the salt of the Earth as well as for the Heinlein characters.
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UTOPIAS AND REAL PEOPLE
<p><p>
So, after your initial planning of your Utopia, make sure that you drop in some regular real-ish people who disagree with you and see how happy they are. Drop in a Christian surgeon trying to keep her son moral by her own standards, a Hindu streetwalker whose personal worth is built on compliments and presents by her regulars, an alpha male gay Mathematician graduating high school, a Muslim woman mourning the death of her six-year-old, a man whose self-worth is based on the operation of a fifth generation tire store, another man who is trying to build enough self-worth (and enough bling) to attract a particular mate. What do they think of your perfectionized world?
<p><p>
Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-55878289407520171862012-10-08T19:08:00.000-07:002012-10-08T19:08:00.677-07:00Recent YA High Fantasy by Female AuthorsStacy Whitman has <a href=http://slwhitman.livejournal.com/193367.html>posted</a> a link to a <a href=https://pinterest.com/stacylwhitman/recent-ya-high-fantasy-alternate-world-no-real-wor/>list of Recent YA High Fantasy Books</a> over on pinterest.<p>
Okay, I got chills because I have been excruciatingly busy for the last couple of years, and Tamora Pierce's third Beka Cooper novel, Mastiff, has made the list. Fantasy magic police procedurals. Yum. <p>
So why did I get chills? Because I hadn't known the <b><i>second</i></b> Beka Cooper novel was out yet. So I have <b><i>two</i></b> to catch up on! (grin) <p>
Of course, it wasn't until I got to the bottom of Stacy's list that I realized the list only includes female authors. I wonder if anyone else out there on the Internet has written the other half - or more likely third - of the list? Any takers?Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-68007677858145427002012-10-04T06:00:00.000-07:002012-10-04T06:00:00.266-07:00Human Strangeness, Antwerp StyleI meant to write this up a couple years back. Like, the first draft was written in late 2009. No telling what the date on the post will be.
<p>From <a href="http://taramayastales.blogspot.com/2009/04/another-perfect-example-of-human.html">Tara Maya's Tales</a>, comes this moment of Perfect Human Strangeness.
<p>I'd really like to see <a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE3CNu_rtY>one of these things</A> live, although I'd probably end up joining them and tripping up the whole choreography...
<p> On the other hand, I'd love to have an interview with the planners and find out how many people had been at the practice (if any), compared with how many participated in the live event. It sure seemed like several of the people out there were just following along as best they could.
Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-91956156632947104192012-10-03T13:49:00.000-07:002012-10-03T13:49:35.207-07:00Twenty Words to Soup Up Your WritingOver on <A href=http://siebendach.livejournal.com/1376.html>Smuggler's Rendezvous</A>, Author John Blackport, AKA siebendach, has a list of twenty words that can use to speed up your writing. <p>By <i>searching for them</i> and <i>killing them</i> where needed. <p>
<p>Heres a few: <p>
<list>
<li>Just
<li>Look
<li>Could
</list>
<p>Go read the rest.Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-11236987150440915882012-10-02T14:28:00.000-07:002012-10-02T14:42:38.083-07:00SuperComputer on the Moon - Yeah
Okay, so a second post in one day! <p>
Wired has two articles on Ouliang Chang's <a href=http://denecs.usc.edu/hosted/ASTE/527_20111/The%20US%20Department%20of%20Space/G%20Lunar%20Supercomputer%20Complex.pdf>proposal</a> to put a supercomputer on the moon in order to cut down on the NASA <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Space_Network>Deep Space Network</A>'s data <a href=http://www.space.com/7815-nasa-boost-speed-deep-space-communications.html>bandwidth problems</A>.
<p>
The two articles are Robert McMillan's<a href=http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/10/supercomputer-moon/> Why We Need It</a> and Mike Barton's <a href=http://www.wired.com/cloudline/2012/10/supercomputer-moon/>Will It Happen?</A>
<p>
See, also, Hal Hodson's <a href=http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2012/09/supercomputer-moon.html>writeup</a> of the idea at New Scientist.Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-5568189615369007072012-10-02T13:15:00.000-07:002012-10-02T13:25:39.554-07:00World Building Notes by Hope Collier and othersThere's an interesting article by YA author Hope Collier on her blog <a href=http://lilliputianjourney.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-war-of-worldcraft-creating-new.html> A Lilliputian's Journey to Publication</A>.
<p>
Also worth looking at is J.M. Staff's <a href=http://jmstaaf.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/crafting-believable-worlds/> reply</a>.
<p>
I was going to give you a link to Holly Lisle's site as well, which has massive amounts of good stuff on it, but the minute I tried to open a tab onto it, IE started freezing up on me. Don't know what that's about. Here's one about <a href=http://hollylisle.com/fantasy-is-not-for-sissies-real-rules-for-real-worlds/>Worldbuilding for Magic Systems</a>. check the list to the right of that page to see other articles on world building.
<p>
And, if you want the granddaddy of all hypertext worldbuilding links, go over to Patricia Wrede's <a href=http://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/>list of worldbuilding questions</A> on SFWA.
<p>
And then, just for fun, over on io9 there's a list of sci-fi authors' favorite bits of <a href=http://io9.com/5032215/sf-authors-pick-favorite-examples-of-world+building>worldbuilding</A>. Except that's just where I found a bit of it - it's really over at <a href=http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2008/07/mind_meld_what_are_the_best_examples_of_sff_worldbuilding/>SFSIGNAL</A>.
Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-32844365855785221422010-11-26T14:42:00.000-08:002010-11-26T14:56:42.729-08:00Why Every Beginning Writer Should Study HorrorLately I've been listening to podcasts. I listen to all three sister podcasts in the Escape Artists family: Podcastle for Fantasy, Escape Pod for Science Fiction, and PseudoPod for Horror.<br /><br />Now, I don't particularly like Horror as a genre. I don't watch Horror movies, I don't read Stephen King or any of the horror greats much, and honestly, there are over 30 stories from Pseudopod on my iphone at the time of this writing that I haven't gotten around to listening to yet. <br /><br />So, why am I telling you, a beginning writer, to study Horror?<br /><br />Fiction is about having an effect on the reader. The effect is different for each genre and subgenre, and even varies by scene in longer works, but there's always an effect that the writer is trying to achieve.<br /><br />When you are studying painting, you look at both the overall balance of the composition and the effects of the individual brushstrokes. You can do the same thing with writing. In Horror, the brushstrokes are very clear. Thus, a beginning writer can learn a lot from studying them.<br /><br />Take, for example, Pseudopod 165: The Copse, by Robert Mammone, read by Ian Stuart. It's a relatively simple story about a family going to dinner someplace -- well, someplace bad.<br /><br />To a writer's ear, this is no subtle piece. To use a musical metaphor, this is more akin to Wagner's great brass fanfares than Mozart's clever interplay of cascading notes. But "The Copse" works, and that's the point.<br /><br />Pay close attention to the use of descriptive details, the symbols repeated, the visceral responses of the characters. This is Horror.Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-65002122263186518692010-08-14T10:51:00.000-07:002010-08-14T11:04:51.823-07:00The meaning of "AND"One pet peeve I have in writing is when people try to impose rules on the language that are not actually in the language, and (d1) pretend that they are. <br />Take, for instance, the meaning of "and".<br /><br />Sometimes "AND" does mean simultaneity; sometimes it doesn't. And (d1) sometimes an editor or writer's group will hallucinate a pseudo-linguistic rule that has no basis in the language. Please note that those three cases do NOT necessarily happen at the same time. In this case they aren't related by anything but the point I'm trying to make. <br /><br />Try and (d5) understand the point. (definition 5 means "in order to").<br /><br />Neither Webster's nor the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) indicate that the word "AND" *always* means simultaneity. The primary meaning (d1) in Webster's Unabridged (1977 Encyclopedic version) is "also". The derivation in Webster's indicates that the original meaning was "thereupon, then, next". And (d1) there are several column inches of different definitions in the OED. <br /><br />So I'm going to post this post and (d3) get to printing today's stories. That's two things I'm going to do, listed together, and you might think by definition 1 the word "and" indicates that they are linked or grouped in some way. Not necessarily by happening at the same time. Perhaps they are happening in a short sequence. Or perhaps they are related in theme. Or perhaps, as in this case, one is causing the other or enabling the other, which is definition 3. In which case, they could not possibly be simultaneous. <br /><br />It's as easy as adding two and (d2) two.Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-18591823010104266052010-05-11T04:48:00.001-07:002010-05-11T05:01:19.151-07:00Spider Man SwingOkay, had to post this as soon as I saw it linked from the Tor Website. Sheer fun, to offset the sad news of legendary artist Frank Frazetta's passing. The barbarian has left the gates.<br /><br />But, take a look overhead... or, underhead... or something...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5xIJAD-Mec&feature=player_embedded"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 105px; height: 107px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4vgG-iUiyneFYhBcHeDuDy_kce6TcU6qhevSVfiDBi3n02VZ-_ekg48Da7yiVE3j9OWkcuzeZAgrjggWup1G0SxmDYAAVXFfIkd_GKYPG06TNMyId1ZCm-FdLtsNMBdcpAyRUNLCgXiZ/s200/spiderbop.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469979948051686738" /></a>Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-43139002272030575542010-02-15T16:09:00.000-08:002010-02-15T16:32:19.106-08:00Genius Girl Approaching Finale?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnmMbTcSsRugdsCvHwORgRhtCcVG1lE4mGUWJRRXpvx6T1Rn4Sfg6SFiWmmYKZntr-IbNDdyQTOnnyju0hJqYHOEzTcxkK1kRONNYismgijcueWNrwCC_aIqCFg1v-MOO3CvMOkTg-OAZD/s1600-h/geniusmontage.bmp"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnmMbTcSsRugdsCvHwORgRhtCcVG1lE4mGUWJRRXpvx6T1Rn4Sfg6SFiWmmYKZntr-IbNDdyQTOnnyju0hJqYHOEzTcxkK1kRONNYismgijcueWNrwCC_aIqCFg1v-MOO3CvMOkTg-OAZD/s200/geniusmontage.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438627365916053778" /></a><br />I'm getting goose bumps... which is a good thing.<br /><br />It looks like <a href="http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php">Girl Genius </a>... Steampunk - er Gaslight Fantasy - Graphic Novels at their best... is approaching its series finale. I'm getting that impression because lots and lots of minor characters and major characters and love interests and plot devices are all showing up for a final showdown beneath the ruins of an insane castle, and, well, doesn't that sound like a finale?<br /><br />Really, I wouldn't be surprised if they all joined in a chorus line and sang, "There's no business like show business..." <br /><br />It's that kind of a comic: Adventure... Romance... Mad Science! And the occasional alternate universe chorus number.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DHxdeYnsK4IXpZixAbMrOfTPkCjASg44oZJUD50aNpoLK7X_YiJozGa5f2lVriefGsSl0VP9zGUdEcD8-oNvdcPXHYIZdrFIk6gqGXSvx5GohKun-58Wxf7OlvB88sGt156GHi-brhx3/s1600-h/jagerhat.bmp"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 88px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DHxdeYnsK4IXpZixAbMrOfTPkCjASg44oZJUD50aNpoLK7X_YiJozGa5f2lVriefGsSl0VP9zGUdEcD8-oNvdcPXHYIZdrFIk6gqGXSvx5GohKun-58Wxf7OlvB88sGt156GHi-brhx3/s200/jagerhat.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438631454285628514" /></a><br />Oh, poop. Speaking of chorus numbers, that montage I made, above right, really should contain at least one Jagermonster with a bit hat, but they haven't appeared in a few pages. Darn.<br /><br />Okay, here's one from last year. <br /><br />"Nize hat!!!!"<br /><br /><br />NOTE: Original images copyright 2008-2010 Studio Foglio LLC. Homage montage belongs to them too, even if I made it.Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-21548884264828658602010-01-24T11:15:00.000-08:002010-01-24T11:26:08.436-08:00Online PublicityLindsay Robertson posts about the <a href="http://lindsayrobertson.tumblr.com/post/330892541/the-dos-and-donts-of-online-publicity-for-some">Do's and Don'ts of Online Publicity</a><br /><br />Robertson is apparently in an eco-zone of the Internet where news that's more than an hour old is considered archaic-- she serves as a feeder-of-new-news toward the top tier, thus won't post older information that might waste the top tier's time -- so take her ideas from that point of view. <br /><br />She suggests that a publicist should study a small number of mid-tier blogs and send them information closely tailored to their needs and wants, and send that information within minutes of its being public. <br /><br />Hat tip, <a href="http://dglm.blogspot.com/2010/01/blog-publicity-dos-and-donts.html">Dystel & Goderich Literary Agency</a>.Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-79927802197942090102010-01-24T11:11:00.001-08:002010-01-24T11:27:06.730-08:00It's Alive! ?There's a rumour out there that Kirkus might arise from the dead. <br /><br /><a href="http://dglm.blogspot.com/2010/01/kirkus-not-giving-up-yet.html">Dystel and Goderich</a><br /><br />points to <br /><br /><a href="http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2010/01/kirkus-reanimates.html">Agent Kristin at Pub Rants</a><br /><br />who points to <br /><br /><a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6713584.html?nid=2286&rid=#CustomerId&source=title">Publisher's Weekly</a><br /><br />on the subject.Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-10277336856637902732010-01-22T15:29:00.000-08:002010-01-22T15:41:01.755-08:00Honest, but BadCats Make Bad Agents. Honest, but bad.<br /><br />From <a href="http://badagentsydney.blogspot.com/2009/12/sydney-wisdom-of-day.html"> Bad Agent Sydney T Cat</a>: <br /><br /><blockquote>If it isn't original, I am not interested.<br /><br /> If it is original, it is different.<br /><br /> If it is different, I cannot sell it.<br /><br /> If I cannot sell it, I am not interested."</blockquote><br /><br /><br />That's the entire post, so go <a href="http://badagentsydney.blogspot.com/">here</a> to look at his entire blog.Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-7798636165384660262010-01-21T17:50:00.000-08:002010-01-21T17:55:51.641-08:00Et Tu, Hitler?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACJ7MAsXNikYlgqd_VUXjAZ7Hl7wUxOZuGazX4Qtg54vHeCpyn97GEDGKKwLr5HRBAUC1TYcB9q1PY376xFSDIM_UG4tfZBLhOHM6pXiJS1Ju2pbF0HKBYbA2I6TNG2bUJzEilZKyM5EP/s1600-h/HitlerBrown.PNG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 146px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACJ7MAsXNikYlgqd_VUXjAZ7Hl7wUxOZuGazX4Qtg54vHeCpyn97GEDGKKwLr5HRBAUC1TYcB9q1PY376xFSDIM_UG4tfZBLhOHM6pXiJS1Ju2pbF0HKBYbA2I6TNG2bUJzEilZKyM5EP/s200/HitlerBrown.PNG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429376814536726066" /></a><br /><br /><br />Huffington Post Video <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/20/hitler-finds-out-scott-br_n_429843.html">here </a>under the auspicious title "Hitler Finds out Scott Brown won Massachusetts". Hilarious, no matter which side of the purple you live on.Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-20055530476578991512010-01-21T17:28:00.000-08:002010-01-21T17:56:22.025-08:00Rosemary Wins Again!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wAivGAxyevKyxua7eCjso0LjR8DESQereJVNWnK6ockfI8Gefyf4Toqd80Eynj-pXt_OKa8g68160dFPPqex07L1vhVDITwvMIQXlgT1KBG0K8QtGs0wlWGvgsBaj-b1DJZK1UweJReL/s1600-h/hwy.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 130px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wAivGAxyevKyxua7eCjso0LjR8DESQereJVNWnK6ockfI8Gefyf4Toqd80Eynj-pXt_OKa8g68160dFPPqex07L1vhVDITwvMIQXlgT1KBG0K8QtGs0wlWGvgsBaj-b1DJZK1UweJReL/s200/hwy.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429370689567640626" /></a><br />Rosemary Clement Moore made the ALA/YALSA "2010 Best Books for Young Adults".<br /> <br /><blockquote>The <a href="http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/bbya2010.cfm">list of 90 books</a>, drawn from 203 official nominations, is presented annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. The books, recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens. The list comprises a wide range of genres and styles, including contemporary realistic fiction that reflects the diversity of the teen experience, nonfiction that brings to teens an awareness of the world they live in and its history, and fantastical stories told in both narrative and graphic formats. </blockquote><br /><br />I loved that book. Go read it.<br /><br />Hat tip, <a href="http://varkat.livejournal.com/138790.html"> Varkat.</a>Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-29224006914022809572010-01-12T17:00:00.000-08:002010-01-12T17:11:40.142-08:00One Man's Eye Candy...The movie <em><strong>Avatar</strong></em> is having some interesting effects in China, according to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703652104574651764117659286.html?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb">an article in the Wall Street Journal. </a> <br /><br />Private property is one of the most sensitive issues in the country today, and "Avatar" has given the resisters a shot in the arm.<br /><br />Read it.<br /><br /><em>Hat tip, James Taranto, Best of the Web.</em><br /><br />Also over at the journal, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126325594634725459.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read">this article </a> that says, <br /><blockquote>But Harvard's Mr. Katz warns that past experience suggests such conjecture [about future economic performance and job recovery] is likely fruitless. "One thing we've learned is that when we attempt to forecast jobs 10 or 15 years out, we don't even get the categories right," he says. </blockquote>Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-19691354102484603232010-01-11T17:22:00.000-08:002010-01-11T17:26:34.943-08:00Extreme Winter Caused by American space beam from NorwayPakistan Daily <a href="http://www.daily.pk/norway-time-hole-“leak”-plunges-northern-hemisphere-into-chaos-14311/">Reports</a> that <br /><br /><blockquote>Russian scientists are reporting to Prime Minister Putin today that the high-energy beam fired into the upper heavens from the United States High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) radar facility in Ramfjordmoen, Norway this past month has resulted in a “catastrophic puncturing” of our Plant’s [sic] thermosphere thus allowing into the troposphere an “unimpeded thermal inversion” of the exosphere, which is the outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere.</blockquote><br /><br />If true, then global warming is solved!<br /><br />On the other hand, this might just be a leak of the plot of the next Dan Brown novel.Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-4215801059218507342010-01-07T17:21:00.000-08:002010-01-08T15:52:51.055-08:00And then?There's a whole bunch of people who write professionally who get tied up in rules about words. One editorial fad that an <a href="http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-26914-Saginaw-Culture--Events-Examiner~y2009m12d12-And-then-and-then--how-when-and-why-to-use-them#">editor friend of mine seems to have fallen into</a> is the idea that "and", used as a conjunction between independent clauses, means that the two clauses must occur simultaneously.<br /><br />She starts by accepting this arbitrary rule that someone hallucinated, then writes a sentence like:<br /><br /><blockquote>Joe opened the door and walked out into the hall.</blockquote><br /><br />She then says that sentence is wrong because Joe didn't <em>open</em> and <em>walk </em> at the same time.<br /><br />Well I'm here to say that <em><strong><a href="http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/conjunctions.htm#and">"and" doesn't always mean simultaneity</a></strong></em>. In plain American English, as it is used by humans, "and" can mean sequence just as well as it can mean simultaneous action.<br /><br />When I say, "I ate dinner and dessert", do I have to mean that every bite of dinner was mixed with a bite of dessert? Not on my planet. <br /><br />When I say, "I drove to the store and bought a gallon of milk", do I have to mean that the milk was bought during the drive? Obviously not.<br /><br />Changing that conjunction from "and" to "and then" may be more specific, but it results in an extra word. <blockquote><list><li> On the one hand, if you have "then", <a href="http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/transitions.htm#transitions">which is called a "conjunctive adverb" when performing that function</a>, you don't need "and" - "and" is completely optional. (If present the word "and" demotes the word "then" to a plain adverb.) </li><li> On the other hand, unless the reader has a reason to believe that Joe can walk through closed doors, then the sequence obviously follows from the order of the sentence, and "then" is unneeded.</li></list></blockquote><br />Purists, like Uncle Jim over at Absolute Write, say that "and then" is never correct, because at least one word is excess. This comes from the journalism school of writing, where every word must be savagely assassinated if possible because you have to pay for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegraphy">telegrams</a> by the character. Did I mention it's an <em><strong>old</strong></em> rule? Then Uncle Jim unfortunately perpetrates the same <em>"the word 'and' means only what I say it means"</em> line of manure. <br /><br />I say, all three constructions obviously mean the same thing in English. Use whichever one sounds the best in context of your story.<br /><br />Final statement: the rule is <em><strong>only</strong></em> necessary where (1) there might be confusion about whether the actions in the sentence happen at the same time, and where (2) that confusion matters to the story or the reader. If those two are both the case, you can save two words by using a punctuations mark: a period.<br /><br />(Use semicolon only if you are an expert.)Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-82445732400295350022010-01-07T04:58:00.000-08:002010-01-07T05:16:12.335-08:00Roundups and WhatnotOkay, I haven't posted in ages, so this is just a roundup that doesn't even tell you about my brand new grinch pajamas or the fact that I now weigh the lowest weight since my marriage (12 years!)... okay, I lied, you have been told about those cool things. Maybe I'll post a pic later.<br /><br />Here's a <a href="http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-i-know.html">roundup of five years of author J.A. Konrath's blog</a>.<br /><br />Here's an article from Strange Attractor about crowdsourcing application <a href="http://charman-anderson.com/2009/12/15/ushahidi-and-swift-river-crowdsourcing-innovations-from-africa/">Ushahidi</a>.<br /><br />Here's the <a href="http://apparentlyaprilynne.blogspot.com/2009/12/covers-news-and-year-in-review.html">awesome cover </a>for the Russian version of author Aprilynne Pike's <em><strong>Wings</strong></em>. It is so hot! And something more important, Aprilynne's <a href="http://">descriptions of chocolate making</a>! Yum.<br /><br />And, I can't post them yet, but I've received the artwork that will be printed with my two new short stories, one in <a href="www.cyberwizardproductions.com/AbandonedTowers/rmenu.html ">Abandoned Towers magazine</a> and one with my next Billy Steadman story in the new silly western anthology due out in 2010 by Cyberwizard Productions. <br /><br />There. At least my feet are wet for the new year. Maybe more tomorrow.Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237736531920034582.post-62678325114917539262009-11-28T19:25:00.000-08:002009-11-28T20:19:08.697-08:00Green Avenger is Back<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9QwGg95TgG6kZiWf_O7PH3RU2Op_7k9FLUHBjJx1e8C0TGdomOHTe3tmO4F1u1Gh2Iw8EydhNfe5WEHKVMPoKIJlB8SFWakIZc_lBDvjnxf5B3W98AdybEZK1S57W6hEEX84cVq0DNl3/s1600/GA1.bmp"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 78px; height: 109px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9QwGg95TgG6kZiWf_O7PH3RU2Op_7k9FLUHBjJx1e8C0TGdomOHTe3tmO4F1u1Gh2Iw8EydhNfe5WEHKVMPoKIJlB8SFWakIZc_lBDvjnxf5B3W98AdybEZK1S57W6hEEX84cVq0DNl3/s200/GA1.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409375264480223954" /></a><br />One of my favorite webcomics is actually updating again! About two years ago, I was following <a href="http://www.green-avenger.com">the Green Avenger</a> when the character disappeared, then the comic stopped updating.<br /><br />Well, both the character and the series are back!<br /><br />Three cheers for Superheroines who look like people! Hips and lips and everything!Dal Jeanishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652296391869599080noreply@blogger.com2