Gunn Helped Legitimize SF
Dec. 19 — SCI FI Wire just published a piece I wrote about next year’s SFWA Grand Master honoree, James Gunn.
True Caribbean Pirates
Did anyone happen to catch the History Channel’s pirate documentary, True Caribbean Pirates? I just got around to watching it (it had been languishing on my DVR since July). It was damn entertaining (and educational). If you take a look at the History Channel’s online store, you’ll see that they’ve got a few other pirate documentaries available on DVD, which I’m now interested in seeing. Sadly, it doesn’t appear that any of these are available via Netflix. But True Caribbean Pirates is well worth watching, and it looks like it’s scheduled to re-run on Sat, Dec 23 @ 8:00 PM and Sun, Dec 24 @ 12:00 AM on the History Channel.
Green Tree Is Magic SF
Dec. 18 — SCI FI Wire just published a piece I wrote about Jim Grimsley’s new novel, The Last Green Tree, which is December’s SCI FI Essential Book.
Links of Interest
- Written as a joke in response to my widespread reviewing activities, which I’d forgotten to link to until now, is this Amazon.com review in which I branch out into new media.
- Get zombified by artist Rob Sacchetto.
- See what the once entertaining Michael Crichton has stooped to doing in his novels (besides being boring and pedantic).
Swanwick Does Dragons
Dec. 15 — SCI FI Wire published a piece I wrote about Michael Swanwick’s forthcoming novel, The Dragons of Babel.
‘Genius’ Saunders Pushes Boundaries
Dec. 14 — SCI FI Wire published my piece about George Saunders having been recently named a MacArthur Fellow (i.e., was given the $500,000 “genius” grant).
Colony Wraps War Series
Dec. 13 — SCI FI Wire published yet another piece I wrote about John Scalzi, this time about the conclusion–for now–of the Old Man’s War series, The Last Colony.
Comments Temporarily Disabled
Comments on my blog are going to be temporarily disabled due to the unending waves of combat spam overwhelming our poor server. Until my web guru can figure out a way to strike back, feel free to email me any comments, or post them to the appropriate post in my LiveJournal feed.
Sword’s Point Is Women
Dec. 12 — SCI FI Wire just published a piece I wrote about Ellen Kushner’s latest novel, The Priviledge of the Sword.
Tech Talk
Oh, and speaking of my Pocket PC (phone)…
Okay, let’s start with the positive. It does many cool things. I can talk on the phone, send text messages, send email, access the Web from anywhere (including high-speed EVDO access in most areas). I can take photos with it, use it as a voice recorder, as an MP3 player and as a video player, or just as a pocket photo album.
So, considering how sophisticated it is, why in the hell couldn’t they figure out a way to tell the battery charger to TURN OFF once the battery is fully charged? Because, like most cell phones, you can “overcharge” the battery, and thus reduce its lifespan. This is not a big deal, but come on! My iPod can be left plugged in indefinitely and it will not “overcharge”; once the battery is full, the charger shuts off. Genius!
Another thing that won’t overcharge is my new bluetooth iPod headhones, which are, amusingly enough, called “iMuffs.” And that’s by no means the only awesome thing about them. These things are so cool. As you can see from the photo, you just plug this small adaptor into the bottom of the ‘pod, and then you put the headphones on and you’re good to go! Audiophiles who can detect the minute differences between an LP and a CD, or between 128 kbps and 160 kbps MP3s might quibble over purity of sound, but to my ears the headphones sound perfectly fine. I can’t tell the difference between the sound on these and the sound on my earbuds. And controls on the side of the right speaker give you pretty much full control over your iPod: you can adjust volume, pause, skip tracks (or go back. It’s pretty sweet.
Really, the only downside I’ve noticed thus far is that they’re not terribly well-suited to using while laying down, or sitting up with your head supported by a pillow or whatever, due to the behind-the-head brace (as opposed to the more traditional top-of-the-head kind).
Well that, and the fact that they kind of make me look like Lobot from Empire Strikes Back.