Letters to Myself

Lisa pointed out to me a couple weeks ago that my ten year anniversary on this corner of the web would be, well, today. Wow. That seems extraordinarily brief in some ways. But heck, I've been doing this since before the word "blogging" was invented, and it seems like that word has been around forever, more's the pity. It's an ugly word.

It's also interesting how things in my life have changed (moves, jobs, offspring, mortgage, semi-responsible adulthood) and how they haven't (rejection! still can't correctly spell the word "similar"!).

For those of you who've been reading me during this time, I'm sorry I haven't been more interesting.

Word counts: Friday, 143. Saturday, 243. Sunday, 208.

Posted by jon at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

And so the move is completed, more or less. On the plus side, my new office is relatively spacious. Now when the players open the door, the description the DM will read is: "Behind the door is a 10' by 10' room. You see a librarian guarding a PC with an Internet connection. What do you do?"

(The traditional answer, of course, is "Attempt to rip out his liver.")

On the minus side, my ID doesn't work to open the door yet, which means I won't be able get back into it come Monday. I shouldn't complain, of course. They only submitted the paperwork for the change a week ago. What was I thinking, expecting it to be taken care of by now? It's not like I need to go in there, after all.

(Rolls eyes)

Stupid bureaucracy.

Update: It works! Hooray! Now I can start preparing traps for unwanted visitors!

* * *

As for the writing, Tuesday was a mere 104 words, Wednesday around 150 (more or less), and last night was 207. And now the weekend!

Posted by jon at 03:22 PM | Permalink

And this morning's random ten:

"Urge For Going," by Joni Mitchell.
"When I Was A Baby," by The New Pornographers.
"Dear Boy," by Paul McCartney.
"Crawling Back To You," by Tom Petty.
"Death Has Never Been A Friend Of Mine," by The Drowners.
"Photobooth," by Death Cab For Cutie.
"Mother's Little Helper," by The Rolling Stones.
"All The Way Up To Heaven," by Guster.
"Felt So Cool," by Adam Schmitt.
"Let It Be," by The Beatles.

Bonus twofer:
"Endgame," by R.E.M.
"I Will Survive," by Cake.

Possibly there is a theme here. But probably not.

Although I haven't reported recently, word totals: last night - 173. Sunday - 156. Saturday - 213.

Posted by jon at 09:53 AM | Permalink

I am gathering boxes in preparation of moving.

No, not for a cross-country trek, risking life and limb to cholera, starvation, bandits or drowning while in search of a better (or at least different) life in arcadian Willamette Valley. No, I'm being moved at work to a bigger office, just across the floor.

I wish I could say it's because my boss poked his head in my door and said, "This is your office? It's the size of a closet! I'll have this fixed post haste!" No, it's just part of some reclamation of library office space scheme of his, moving librarians into better, unoccupied rooms in the library that belong to other departments before someone in appropriate administration realizes they're empty and decides to use them for a spare professor or storage or the like.

(Little known fact: most university libraries don't usually "own" every room in their spaces. Other departments on campus often have rights to rooms in them. They're like consulates from the Sociology department or Athletics, in the library but not of the library, and they use them however they please. Yes, it's all very strange. Welcome to the feudal world of academia.)

So, I'm collecting boxes. I'm not complaining, however. Did I mention I'm getting a bigger office? Also, there's no chance of dysentery in this move. Sweet.

Reading: Satan's Circus: Murder, Vice, Police Corruption, and New York's Trial of the Century, by Mike Dash.

Posted by jon at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

German WWII Flying Ace Discovered He Shot Down His Favorite Author.

Ouch.

263 words tonight.

Posted by jon at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is the freakiest looking thing:

BigDog, they call it. Now, mount a 360 camera and a taser on it, and we've got those robot shock troops the future keeps telling us about.

Um. Yay?

* * *

586 words yesterday on a new story.

Update: And 134 for today.

Posted by jon at 05:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

239 words and another story finished. This one is razor thin and will be in need of serious revision with hinting of what motivated the characters at the end. I have a tendency to be overly subtle on things like character motivations on first drafts, which can leave the average reader puzzled.

This often includes myself, if it's been long enough since I read the story. At any rate, been doing this for 44 days, or just over six weeks. I guess that's a habit.

* * *

Arthur C. Clarke has died. I can't say it's a surprise, considering his age, but still. Very sad.

Reading: Two things, actually. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America, by David Von Drehle (about the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in 1911) and The Marvel Comics Guide to New York City, by Peter Sanderson. The first is straight nonfiction; the second, nonfiction about a fictional treatment of a real place. My only complaint: it needs a map, even an overly simplified one. Ah well.

Posted by jon at 10:22 PM | Permalink

Happy Saint Patty's Day, folks.

Best. Version. Evar.

128 words Friday, 162 Saturday, and 244 on Sunday in a completely different piece. Flash, exclusively dialogue, and ultimately pointless. That counts, doesn't it?

Update: Tonight, 155 words. And there was great rejoicing. Also finished Goblin War. Fun! That book was like an ogre. Or an onion. I forget which, exactly.

Posted by jon at 09:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

That this series, Jughead's Time Police, lasted six issues is unfathomable to me, as it appears to be carefully handcrafted from PURE AWESOME! Also, I was actively buying comics on a regular basis in the early 90's and I have no memory of ever seeing a single issue of this at my local comic shop of the day. Clearly either every issue was snapped up by enthusiastic collectors, or my memories have been erased -- by the Time Police!

This cover is unusually disturbing, as it suggests that the Jughead on the left is accompanied by some sort of alternate world female version of Archie Andrews who, judging by the way she's gazing so worshipfully at her Jughead, that their relationship must be, uh, more than just platonic. Archie/Jughead slash writers take note!

* * *

111 words last night. Update: And 136 for today, crafted at the evening reference desk through the magic of Google Documents. Huzzah! Now I can watch tape-delayed Lost with a clear conscience.

Posted by jon at 07:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The lad's spring portrait, or rather one of them. It's certainly the funniest.

We have another one of him posing with this year's lil' bunny. He's reaching out a finger as if he's expecting to touch it and get some sort of electrical shock. Which maybe he is, after all. Considering all the gene splicing out there, I expect sooner or later someone will crossbreed an electric bunny.

* * *

176 words yesterday, 142 today. Had a moment when yesterday when I sat down to write and didn't have a clue as to what it would be about. I used to write down random ideas all the time, but nothing has to occurred to me in quite a while. It's possible I'll soon be living off my fat.

* * *

Random aside: Based on recent events in Goblin War, I don't think Jim Hines thinks much of The Giving Tree.

Posted by jon at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Truly it can be said: no one comes to the front door unless they want you to give them money. Except on Halloween. Then they want candy. Same thing, really, only easier to chew.

152 words Friday, 167 Saturday, and 560 words on Sunday, which finishes the tale. Hooray! Tomorrow I start something new.

Posted by jon at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

We have achieved garage door! Hooray! The future is ours! Or at least a return to the previous status quo.

Um, yay. Now, then. Why am I still awake?

370 words.

Posted by jon at 11:00 PM | Permalink

Another online game designed to make you feel stupid: How Many Countries Can You Name In Five Minutes? Three tries and my best result is 72. Surely you can do better. I will say, part of the challenge of the thing is spelling them correctly.

Word count fer the day is 344. I have an ending in sight! Yay! Seriously, a few days ago I actually ended the writing for the day with the line

I stepped forward. "Your majesty, I have an idea." I hoped.

Reading: Goblin War, by Jim C. Hines. Yay!

Posted by jon at 09:48 PM | Permalink

Getting things done, things getting done. That's the joy of vacationing at home: you find yourself working on little things that have slipped by the wayside. And I had hoped there'd be more sitting quietly, drinking tea. Ah well.

I did manage to go to buy the next installment in Jim Hines's saga of Jig the Goblin: Goblin War! On sale now, wherever you can find it! And thanks to a Borders gift card I found in my wallet, it cost me nada.

One of the things I have done is twitch the comment filter settings yet again. With luck, this should fix most of the "Comment pending" responses people get when they say stuff here. If it makes you feel any better, under the old rules I had to go in and approve my own comments. Me! These machine intelligences have no respect for their meat masters. But not anymore! Now all (or most) should just skip right on through to be seen by all!

I hope.

* * *

Gary Gygax is dead. Well, crap. There's another blow to my childhood.

* * *

162 words yesterday. Today's count remains, um, theoretical. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go slice up the bread for dinner, then pick up the Boy.

Update: 104 words. Now all I need is a quest for our heroes.

Posted by jon at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Saturday afternoon.

Saturday evening.

Apparently, if I'm in the situation where I have a machine that's ailing and the wherewithal to replace it, I will. Ten minutes of sitting in the showroom chair in front of it and I found myself thinking one thing:

So...beautiful...

Ahem. So, yeah, my earlier dilemma has been resolved. I got a new mac, christened Anduril. It's shiny and pretty and can slice through the Internet like your basic reforged magical sword through an orc platoon.

Uh, 150 odd words yesterday, 125 today. Spring break at Ye Olde Universite starts tomorrow, so I'm taking three days off from work, so that I might get some stuff done.

Posted by jon at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)