Beta-Readers

    A writing tip.  The second-worst number of beta-readers to have is zero.  The worst number of beta-readers to have is two.

Science Fair

    A picture of me and my 6th-grade science fair project. 

Math Puzzle

    The Foxtrot humor aside, there is a unique solution to Paige's math puzzle.  Have fun figuring it out.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “What do you think he wants from my parents?”

    “We don’t know,” Hickory said.

    “He didn’t say anything to you while he was waiting for John and Jane to show up?” I said.

    “No,” Hickory said.  “He kept to himself.”

    “Well, sure,” I said.  “Probably because you scared the crap out of him.”

    “He left no feces,” Hickory said.

    (from Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi)

    6½*/10.  The full review is here.

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Prepositioning

    I'm speechless.  Well, nounless and verbless, at least.

OCD Drawbacks

    This is why OCD people should never choose a life of crime.

400 Years Ago

    I recently downloaded a discounted (non-fiction) e-book about the Inquisition.  I'm looking forward to determining how many times over I would've been put to death back then.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “She’s hyperventilating.”

    “Tachycardia,” Harry says.  “She’s going into hypovolemic shock.”

    Mary stares at him.  “What does that mean?”

    “She’s lost so much blood that her body isn’t getting oxygen, so her heart is pumping faster to compensate for it.”

    “What do we do?”

    “Stop the bleeding, and get her a transfusion.  Then feed her some liquids.”

    Mary stares at him, impressed.

    Harry shrugs, says, “I’ve got the first three seasons of ER on DVD.  Great show.”

    (from Fuzzy Navel by G.A. Konrath)

     8*/10.  The full review is here.

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Yro'ue

Science Wednesday

    Take that, Round-Earthers!

2018 Reading Summary

- 2018 Reading Summary -

Books Read: 65 (down 1 from 2017)
Longest Book: 1,008 pages (Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton)
Shortest Book: 108 pages (tie between 2)
Foreign Books: 2 (1 Russian, 1 Turkish)
Banned Books: 3 (2 Harry Potters, plus "We")
Women Authors: 12½ (fraction due to anthologies with multiple authors)
Poetry: 1 (The Congo, by Vachel Lindsay)
Highbrow Lit: 2 (Sinclair Lewis, Sabahattin Ali)
Middlebrow Lit: 2 (Edward Abbey, Ursula LeGuin)
Biography: 3 (Shakespeare, Scientists, Princesses)
New Authors: 29
Non-Fiction: 8

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Historian.  I have called yet again for the captain of the company of Engineers.  I begin to believe the man does not exist – tell me, have you ever seen him?”

    Duiker shook his head.  “I am afraid not, although I have been assured that he lives, Fist.”

    “By whom?”

    The historian frowned.  “I … I can’t actually recall.”

    “Precisely.  It occurs to me that the sappers have no captain, and they’d rather not acquire one.”

    “That would be a rather complicated deceit to carry off, Fist.”

    “You feel they are incapable?”

    Oh no, sir.  Not at all.”

    (from Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson)

    8½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Hot Water Heaters

    This is everything you need to know about water heaters.

Our dogs

    Those are our two dogs.  Bella on the left; Blackjack on the right.

Anti-Social Ingenuity

    Sheer genius!

One down, two to go.

    First step done.  Two to go.  Check back in 2020.

We Were Promised Jetpacks

    On an only marginally related topic, there is a Scottish indie-rock band called "We Were Promised Jetpacks" that you really should check out.

God of the Ants

    Truth.  I used to play this a lot as a kid.  I was a pretty cruel and heartless God of the Ants.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Where have all the insects gone?”  Teresa glanced around them.

   “Something is coming.”  The ground trembled again and Gabriel tried to gauge the direction of its origin.

    “You think maybe we made too much noise?”  Teresa stood beside Gabriel, still holding his hand.

    “No more yelling in the jungle.”

    “You were yelling.  I raised my voice for emphasis.”

    (from The Edge of Eternity by G.L. Breedon)

     7*/10.  The full review is here.

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Existential Chemistry

    Why not, indeed?

Hmm

    Go on, get it over with.  You know you're going to try this out to see if it's really true.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Just think.  Those two, in paradise, were given a choice: happiness without freedom, or freedom without happiness.  There was no third alternative.  Those idiots chose freedom, and what came of it?  Of course, for ages afterward they longed for the chains.  The chains – you understand?  That’s what world sorrow was about.  For ages!  And only we have found the way of restoring happiness."

    (from We by Yevgeny Zamyatin)

    8½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Pooh

    We have returned from our annual pilgrimage to the Pacific Northwest to spend Christmas with our son.  Good to be there; good to be home.

    While we were gone, someone evidently turned the thermostat down here in Phoenix.  It will be 37°F for a low tonight, which is roughly the same as the lows Seattle was having whilst we were there.

Frosting

    This pretty much describes my wife and I.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    He picked up the brass tablet and stuck it under his arm.  Natalie gave him a neutral look.

    “Taking it for an outing?  Get some air?” she asked.

    “I guess it’s kind of silly … I mean, if I leave it in the car, the chances of it being stolen are higher than someone breaking in here.  And I can’t carry it to dinner, like some latter-day Moses.”

    “You can do whatever you like, sweetie.  I won’t laugh, no matter how weird it gets.  You can wear my underwear if you want,” she assured him with a look of complete insincerity.

    (from The Voynich Cypher by Russell Blake)

  8*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Intelligence vs. Fat

    Makes perfect sense to me.

Disenchanted

    I used to be a Tarot-card reader.  But I gave it up; I couldn't see any future in it.

Fonts Matter

    What amazes me about the righthand version is that it really is done with a font.  The (multiple) A's, Y's, L's, etc. are all identical.  I'm impressed.

Portmanteau Wednesday

Book Excerpt for the Day

    The room within revealed itself to be nothing less than a Chamber of Power.  There could be no mistake.  The furniture, the fixtures, the fittings.  The Fabergé, the famille, the Fantin-Latours.  The ferns, the fiddle-backs, the finery.  This was one effing Chamber of Power.

    (from The Brentford Chainstore Massacre, by Robert Rankin)

     9*/10.  The full review is here.

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Plot Twist

    Okay, how's about "the last 20+ days of 2018"?   Shoulda posted this a couple weeks ago.

Crop Circles

  Quote for the day:
    "Crop circles are the stigmata of the Corn God."  (Robert Rankin)

Why Beta-Readers are Important

    Beta-Readers.  The key to success for any writer, published or not.

Geezer Wave

    Just to clear up any misunderstanding, I was nowhere near Rochester, Indiana that day.

WYSIWYG

    At some point in the very near future, someone is going to pen a best-selling reference book titled "Archaic Acronyms"; those letter-contractions that were at one time in common usage, but today are esoteric and obsolete.

    One such acronym is WYSIWYG.  Pronounced "Wizziwig".  In the days of software programs like Lotus-123, it was an expression we used every day at work.  Now it's been decades since I've heard anyone say it.

    Another example would be WWF, as it applies to the wrestling world.

    I didn't have a decent image for WYSIWYG, so I am making do with the one above.

A Double-Dose of Surrealism

    A little bit of surrealism during one's day always brightens things up.

    A panhandler was playing his trade this morning on the intersection where our corporate office is.  I came upon him around 9:30 as I was doing my morning Fitbit walk around the outside of the office.

    He held a sign that said "Too ugly for prostitution", and was waving to cars going through the light and shouting out numbers by count.  "37!  38!", etc.  He'd also stoop down a bit and wave to motorists stopped to make a right-hand turn at the intersection.  "39!"

    I tried to avoid eye contact with him as I passed him by.  But he looked at me, gave me a big smile, and waved.  I couldn't help it, I had to wave back.  "40!" he cried.  "40 smiles today!"  And I beamed a bit more at the morning surrealism I found myself participating in.

    He was still there when I did my Fitbit afternoon walkabout, around 2:30.  "How many smiles are you up to now?" I asked.

    "I'm not sure.  I do some of the counting in fractions (half-smiles?, thought I) , and I'm not very good at arithmetic."  And that was my afternoon dose of surrealism.

    FULL DISCLOSURE: The above picture is not of him.  I pulled it off the internet.  I still wasn't ready to risk setting him off by snapping his photo.

How many TV's?

    The third panel of this cartoon makes absolutely no sense to me.  But I do like the cartoonist's tastes in music.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Whoever did it must have been Spider Woman’s daughter,” Bernie said.

    “Who?  I never heard Grandma talk about that one,” Bigman said.

    Bernie said, “She’s the one my mother always joked about when she had to redo a section of a rug.  Mama told me she helps with life’s unexpected complications, untangling messy situations.  When I start to tell her about some hairy case, Mama says, ‘Oh, you’ll figure out how to weave it all together.  You’re like Spider Woman’s daughter.’”

    (from Spider Woman’s Daughter, by Anne Hillerman)

     7½*/10.  The full review is here.

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Trans Siberian Orchestra

    We went to see Trans Siberian Orchestra tonight.  We've been meaning to see them for years now.

    It was a fantastic concert, both the music and the special effects.  Highly recommended for lovers of symphonic rock/metal.

Celestial Saturday

    The universe is a dazzling place!