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.
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.
Okay, here’s another groupmind query: does anyone know of a good application that would serve as an alternative to Microsoft Outlook? (Note: not to Outlook Express, which is just for email, but to Outlook, which has scheduling functions.) But here’s the catch: I also want this program to be able to sync up with my Pocket PC as well, as Outlook does. I’ve found programs that will replace my Pocket PC calendar program, and I have found things to replace Outlook, but nothing that will do what I want: sync my Pocket PC’s and my desktop PC’s scheduling information. (The email aspect of Outlook is irrelevant to me, so that doesn’t factor into this.)
Does anyone know of a good website that will help me find complete lists of new DVD releases, preferably sortable by category? You know, so I can take a look at what new SF/fantasy DVDs are coming out without having to spend hours browsing. Anyone? Bueller?
Matt Kressel, editor and publisher of Sybil’s Garage, tells me:
As part of a 2006 Holiday Special, Senses Five Press is offering a special deal for issues Two and Three of Sybil’s Garage. If you purchase a print version of Sybil’s Garage No. 3, which includes such authors as Lee Thomas, Paul Tremblay, Yoon Ha Lee and an interview with Kelly Link, you get a free PDF version of Sybil’s Garage No. 2, which includes the fiction of Bruce Boston, Marge Simon, Bruce Holland Rogers, Samantha Henderson, Mercurio D. Rivera, Lauren McLaughlin, Kris Dikeman and others.More info is available here:
http://www.sensesfive.com/orders.php#sg2_3_holiday_2006
Go check it out!
David Louis Edelman asks: “Why did you buy that book?”
I want to hear from science fiction and fantasy readers and consumers. Pick three recent SF/F titles that you’ve purchased, and add a comment telling the world how you heard about them, and what inspired you to buy them. “It was sitting on the bookshelf at Borders next to Robert Heinlein and I liked the cover” counts, as does “one of my friends told me about it” or “Amazon told me that I would like it because I recently purchased Paddy Chayefsky’s Altered States.” Extra points for the out-of-the-ordinary. You can tell me how you found/purchased Infoquake if you’d like, but it’s not necessary; any SF title will do.
Please make your comments over there so the conversation will all be in one place.
:
A couple weeks ago, as I was driving home from work, I noticed, by the entrance to the Pulaski Skyway, this odd message written in giant neon letters across the face of what appears to be an abandoned factory. It said:
I pondered this for a while, trying to puzzle out its meaning. I scribbled it down, asked Gordon about it, who couldn’t make sense of it either. Eventually, I remembered to google it. Turns out, the phrase wraps around the building (which kind of makes it impossible to read the whole thing from any angle, I think), so I wasn’t seeing the whole thing. The entire phrase is:
Which doesn’t really make sense to me either. Apparently, this is a piece of conceptual art by Mary Ellen Carroll called “Indestructable Language.” I read her explanation of it here, but I still don’t understand the phrase or what this is supposed to accomplish, unless its goal is to perplex commuters and possibly cause accidents.
I just learned about this new workshop via Toby Buckell’s blog. I thought it might interest some of my readers, so I’m spreading the word:
Taos Toolbox Writers Workshop presents
a two-week Master Class in Science Fiction and Fantasy
July 8-21, 2007
taught by
Connie Willis
Walter Jon Williams
and special lecturer
George R.R. MartinTaos Toolbox will be a “graduate” workshop designed to bring your science fiction and fantasy writing to the next level. If you’ve sold a few stories and then stalled out, or if you’ve been to Clarion or Odyssey and want to re-connect with the workshop community, this is the workshop for you!
This is not a workshop for beginners. We won’t teach you correct manuscript format or what an adverb is and why you shouldn’t use one, because we’ll assume that you already know. We want to concentrate on giving talented, burgeoning writers the information necessary to become professionals within the science fiction and fantasy field.
Though short fiction will be enthusiastically received, there will be an emphasis at Taos Toolbox on the craft of the novel, with attention given to such vital topics as plotting, pacing, and selling full-length works.
Students will have deluxe individual rooms in a lodge in Taos Ski Valley, NM, where they can work on their craft amid the beautiful mountain scenery that inspired such diverse creative figures as DH Lawrence, Carl Jung, and Georgia O’Keefe. Almost all meals will be included in the cost of tuition.
Applications will be considered beginning December 1.
Mark the date on your calendar!Contact
wjw@taostoolbox.com
Does anyone know if there’s any kind of poll service that lets you create a poll with over 100 options? Since Gordon was asking on the F&SF message board, I was going to create a F&SF 2006 Favorite Story of the Year poll, but all of the poll services I checked seem to have a limit of 20 or so possible responses.