Friday, March 23, 2007

Procrastinatus is my Roman Name

It's sad that when I had all the time in the world to write, I hadn't the skill to do it as well as I can now. Yet now when I have the skill, and even when I make the time, I find the world full of distractions - a carnival of minutiae that makes the most banal entertainment seem infinitely more interesting than working on my own book.

I'm certain this is the kind of self-destructive, auto-sabotage that makes most people stay wannabes. The skilled craftsman who never builds, the talented singer whose audience is only the empty car seats on the way to work, and me - a union of wasted potential if we keep up to our old tricks...

I want to finish my book. I'm going to finish my book.

Seperated at Birth - by a Time Machine!?

They favor. The similarity ends there.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

No, I ain't dead...

Been working on my book and at the same time trying to do a bunch of corporate work, freelance work, and selling off CONSIGNMENT stuff. Sadly I wasted a lot of time (in an enjoyable fashion) playing a video game.

But let's be honest. I don't want my tombstone to say, "He played some video games."

Wrote a new "Movies for Gamers who like movies" review. As always, I hope you enjoy it.

------------------

Updated 3-21 to point out that despite my perceptions, a Consignment Sale is not a Yard Sale. Even though you get rid of junk... (But there is no haggling at a consignment sale, AFAICT.)

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

NPR Pod-casts

Well, it had been a while since I'd checked, but three of my favorite NPR programs are now doing podcast editions:

1) The Writer's Almanac - Garrison Keillor talks about writers and reads a poem.
That doesn't do justice to this inspiring and informational 5 minutes of daily support. It's like an artistic devotional, a sermon on the accomplishments of others with the unspoken but repeated message, "You too can contribute to the collective works of man."

2) This American Life - a collection of radio essays, usually bound to a theme, introduced with wit by Ira Glass. To create your own T.A.L., turn on some jazz instrumentals and speak aloud about the time you did something interesting. Can't think of anything? Listen to this show.

3) Fresh Air - host Terry Gross interviews people. There was a naive time when I believed that a person had really "arrived" when they got to be on Fresh Air. This was before I'd heard of press junkets and book tours. I thought, "Man - what a rush it must be when Terry calls you up and says, 'come be on my show!'." But she doesn't do that.

Anyway, of these shows, Fresh Air has a huge archive of previous episodes in either Real or Windows Media format. So the podcast isn't so important on that one, but Writers Almanac - that's like waking up to biscuits and fresh made coffee with a little homemade peach jelly and soft butter.

Monday, February 19, 2007

The magic of B-flat.

Have you heard about b-flat?

This is an NPR story that is sung,
so best listened to instead of read.
But then it's National Public Radio,
not National Public Book.

Make sure your speakers are working and then click the listen button on the NPR page.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Sixty bucks. Hmmmm.

I had no idea.

Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock

Well, I had a good time playing City of Villains last weekend. But I have to put that on hold until April. This is amusing. If I finish my novel in the appointed two months (Feb/Mar) I'll be done on April 1st.

That seems apropos.

I'm leaving my team-speak server up for my friends to use in my absence. Have fun. I sure hope Robyn Graeves will wait for Dead Wreckoner to come back and play...

Monday, January 29, 2007

Need to find a Death Certificate?

The Center for Disease Control has a great resource for every state.

Georgia
Event: Birth or death
Cost of copy: $10.00

Address:
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Vital Records
2600 Skyland Drive, NE
Atlanta, GA 30319-3640

Remarks: State office has records since January 1919. For earlier records in Atlanta or Savannah or other cities or counties, write to the Vital Records Office in county where event occurred. Additional copies of same record ordered at same time are $5.00 each.

Money order should be made payable to Vital Records. Personal checks are not accepted. To verify current fees, the telephone number is (404) 679-4701. This is a recorded message. Information on how to obtain certified copies is also available via the Internet at http://health.state.ga.us/programs/vitalrecords.

The requestor must provide a photocopy of a valid photo ID.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

I had forgotten about this.

Sometimes when I'm surfing I crash into rocks that I really ought to have remembered.



This is an ad from the game Dai Katana. (That means "The Katana".)

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Why I've Moved My Deadline

For those of you interested in my progress on my Southern Knights project, here is an update. In November after NaNoWriMo, I decided that I should work on a project that I felt had real fiscal viability. I love writing, but I'm all my dreams and goals in writing involve me making money. I had anticipated taking the month of December to work on all the necessary background work so that I could start writing in January and push on through February and be done without having to spend any time stopping to do research.
But it turned out that December was a month of sickness and biblical plagues around here, and since I forgot to put blood on my doorway we got nailed by the Angel of Flu. I am stubborn, and decided that even though I didn't have time to do all the prep work I'd wanted that I would press on, but when I started work in January I found about 70% of my time was being spent going back to my research material because I didn't have the notes I needed.
Also, my book's one important female character wasn't important - and that needs to be fixed. She either needs to have some reason to be in the book, or she needs to pick up her stuff and leave. (And she really ought to have some reason...)
But I'm not giving up on this. There is a fish at stake.
Instead, I've decided to move my start date out to Feb. 1st, 2007. My new "finish" date for the first draft will be March 31, 2007. I will spend the rest of January getting my notes & research in order, and feel better already about the viability of the project.

Sunday, December 31, 2006

The End of 2006

I spent a few hours yesterday running through some gaming tests with my friends to figure out what system I want to use for the upcoming 1200AD campaign I'm starting. The tests were interesting, comparing the "A Game of Thrones d20" with "D&D 3.5" in producing the same battle.

Tomorrow is January 1st - and I'm going to start working on my "real" novel in the morning. I've done a lot of pre-work, defining characters & plot elements. Today will be a real slogger for me as I have to finalize some of the work.

The most important thing is that I don't get bogged down on some of the details, but just keep going. I think momentum will be very important to me for the first draft, which I want to have completed by Feb 28th. When I get my chapters all done I hope to have a word count around 90,000.

I spent about two weeks trying to get my story, "The Angle of Incidence" ready to become a novel - but in the end realized it just didn't have enough material in it. I hope to turn it into a long "short story" and submit it in the future. I really like the story it tells, but to make it into a novel would require troweling on a lot of stuff that might not stick, and might look artificial.

So instead, I'm working on a non-supernatural Thriller. My working title is Southern Knights - and it is the Red-Neck DaVinci Code.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

My first chiken tikka masala




This is a photo of my first ever effort at cooking my own Chicken Tika Masala. It turned out pretty darn good. I wish I'd used more yogurt so there'd been more sauce for the rice.

Now I just need to figure out how to cook my own Naan bread, and I'll be able to make one of my favorite meals at home.

Look out General Tso, you're next!

Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas

I was working on a special geek-christmas card, but due to family illness didn't get it finished in time for the date. Perhaps next year, or perhaps I'll just post it out of holiday sequence. That'll teach 'em.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Monday, December 18, 2006

I can't catch up with the past

I'm a gamer. You either identify yourself as a gamer or you don't.

I do.

I've been in a love-hate relationship with computer games since they first became available to me through the VIC-20 and the Atari 2600 Video Computer System Console. On the one hand, I love the way the games let you simulate battle without keeping track of mathematics or having to keep track of hundreds of counters, yet on the other hand the rules of the computer limit your ability to innovate or question the rules as implemented.

The classic example is in Computer Role Playing Games where either the storyline is on a "rail system" where you can only act towards the completion of the programmed plot, or the limitations of the mechanics don't allow you to innovate in your problem solving. For example, if you're playing a rogue in a D&D style computer game and you suspect that one of the King's council is actually going to betray him there is no way to (a) accuse him until the game lets you, (b) poison or otherwise dispose of him to protect the king, or (c) blackmail and/or collude with him to overthrow the monarch.

Or for a more simple example, in Neverwinter Nights (v1) the maps of the inside of buildings are completely different areas than the outside so you can't look out the window and see who is coming because even though you're supposed to be in the same area, you're not.

Anyway, limitations aside, I'm still amazed at the evolution of gaming. Text adventures and arcade shooters have evolved to an astounding degree in the past 30 years... at least on the outside.

But how much have the "GAMES" themselves evolved? Don't be fooled by smoke & mirrors. Yeah, thanks to the work of the graphics card industry, you can now get 3D models with astounding textures, and the computing power to render nearly photo-realistic environments. But if the game is still just a 3D shooter, is it really "better" than Duke-Nukem 3D? Do new weapons and better looking models really make a difference?

Eventually the rendering is going to be irrelevant and what will drive the success of a game will come down to three factors.

1) Marketing: There is a segment (a really big segment) that will buy anything if a hot commercial pushes it. They don't get repeat business this way, but sometimes can clear a lot of inventory.

2) Story: If the game is competently built, an excellent story will sell itself. Games with superb stories and these modern engines can essentially become interactive movies. Half-Life 2 has a great engine and an interesting story. It is essentially an action film where you play the MUTE hero and everybody else yaks all the time giving you the plot through voluminous expository speeches. I wouldn't pay $.50 to see it in theatres, but I happily dished out $50.00 to play the game.

3) Gameplay: If the story is crap and the marketing is crap - the game can still be successful if the GAMEPLAY is awesome & addictive. If you can tell me the narrative of Tetris, Bejewelled or Pac Man, well then you're some kind of very special idiot. Nobody cares about the story, they're just fun to play.

I was originally just going to post a link to the granddaddy of all adventure games , which - just like real casino games - you can now play ADVENTURE online!

Sunday, December 17, 2006

My Secret Obsession - very tiny cars

I love little cars. I'm WAY too big to actually fit into one and ride around, but I just love tiny machines that get great gas mileage and yet would fit neatly in the back of my enormous pickup truck.

Lucky me!

While doing research on the ISO Isetta, I found a really neat micro-car museum. I decided to see where the museum was, figuring some day in my travels maybe I could make my way to The Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum if I ever made it all the way to MADISON, GEORGIA!!!

Yes:

The Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum Inc.
2950 Eatonton Road
Madison, GA 30650

Merely an hour and a half drive from my house. Oh, boy! If I didn't have the flu I'd probably go today. But a trip of 90 minutes takes a little planning. Maybe I'll make an event of it.

And I could go check out Crowe's Open Air BBQ, just up the street from the museum. Hmmm. BBQ and tiny little cars - that seems like a good idea for a nice afternoon.

The website says:
Museum Hours:
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
1:00pm to 4:00pm
closed Nov 21,22,23 (Thanksgiving week)
closed the week Before and 2 weeks After Christmas
closed the months of JUNE & JULY


That's a small window of opportunity, but it might be doable. I'd just have to burn a vacation day. Though it sounds like it'll be next year before I make it. Oh, 2007 - you're such a temptress with your little cars and BBQ...

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Life is Astounding

We are so amazingly privileged in America. I try to never lose sight of that. While I've never "lived off the grid" I am certain that I could survive thanks to my country-ish upbringing. Like the song says, I can lay a trot-line. I believe I can also hunt, grow food, find shelter, find water, etc...

But I can also sit in my bed (like now), write on a laptop which is wirelessly connected to a broadband Internet connection, watch a DVD of "Kolchak - The Night Stalker", and struggle to survive the flu.

I suppose I could also struggle to survive the flu without electricity, but this is more fun. In fact, I just found a nostalgia factory in the form of a website that lets me play classic commodore-64 games through my browser. Now I don't even need an emulator - it's Java, baby!

Still, I wish the flu would leave me and my wife. At least the kids seem to be faring well, though I suspect their inoculations led to my infection.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Remove "UnDock" from your START menu

I am a corporate laptop user. We have docking stations. There is an annoying little menu option when I click START that is perilously close to the shut-down option. It says "Undock Computer" and it annoys me to a terrible degree.

There is a registry hack to get rid of it. Here it is if you want it:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoDriveTypeAutoRun"=dword:00000091
"NoStartMenuEjectPC"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\RestrictRun]
Save that code as "no-undock.reg" and then run it to get rid of that pest.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Humans - a lossy format

You may know by now that James Kim, an editor at CNet, died this week in the mountains of Oregon after he and his family got snowed in on a mountain pass. This story troubled me on so many levels.

Let me tell you my tenuous connection to James. I'm a fan of Tech-TV's Screensavers. Note that I don't say I "was" a fan. I "am" a fan. When Tech-TV merged to form G4, I quit watching because they canceled most of my shows and fired a lot of the people I really felt a kinship to. There was nothing like Tech-TV's shows that really called out to me. There were no regulars on The Screensavers that I didn't feel like would be welcome in my home.

I moved on when that show was canceled, but always kept a place for it in my heart. I had met Pat & Leo at various tours they did here in the south, and in person they were as affable and easy to like as they were on television. Plus, they usually knew what they were talking about, which is a trait that I really prefer.

After The Screensavers ended, I felt a little lost - but had a lot more free hours on my TIVO. Recently I discovered that Leo & Pat (And John C. Dvorak and frequently Jerry Pournelle, plus others) had a weekly podcast called This Week in Tech (or TWiT). On the show I found the same sort of lively, friendly tech-savvy discussion that had made The Screensavers so cool. In many ways, this seemed to be the pod-based resurrection.

Then this past week, tragic news came as Leo & Pat told that James Kim, a mutual friend of theirs, was missing along with his family. My first thought was that they were probably murdered by a wandering serial killer. It never occurred to me that they might have become snowed-in on a rural mountain pass.

Now comes the tragic news that James didn't make it. Going back to look at a video montage over at Cnet I realized that James was very thin. Going for seven days with no food and then setting out on foot to try and hike 30 miles for help in icy weather when you're skinny - that's a formula for trouble. Sadly, James wasn't fat and reportedly didn't have the kind of training and equipment that would serve him well in icy weather.

But fortunately his family was found and his wife and daughters will be OK. I wish he had made it. I'd have much preferred a Reader's Digest style "Drama in Real Life" where James walks 30 miles to get help - only to discover that his wife and kids are already rescued. Sadly, that's not what happened. Whatever caused Jame's death, he was doing the thing he thought most important - risking his own life to try and save his family.

I feel sad for his family, for Pat & Leo, and for Cnet. He seemed like a really nice, funny guy.

Monday, December 04, 2006