Doyce – Page 145 – Doyce Testerman

June 12, 2009June 18, 2009

Updates for 2009-06-12

Got the ASUS 1000he this evening. Battery won’t charge. I think I just dropped a big chunk of change to have an new netbook RMA’d. Fuck. #
RMA: fine for later failures, but I can return the thing to Amazon, get my money back, & get a new 1 in 1/3rd the RMA’s time. #asus #netbook #
I’ve been spell-corrected on twitter. Westley told me ROUSes didn’t exist. #
This broken Asus netbook thing really makes me sad. Ironically, I chose this one for the battery life, and it doesn’t. fucking. work. #
Yep. Asus support says I have to RMA the whole bloody thing for this battery problem. (Or… return to AMZ.) Upside: fast suppost response. #
RT @glecharles RT @drewmaniac: Today is #followfriday. Don’t make long lists of names. Give me a recommendation & tell me why. Be USEFUL. #
What? Amazon will send me a replacement netbook BEFORE I send the original back? See… THIS is why I welcome our new robot overlords. #
Anyone know of a word processor that takes raw text and formats it based on ascii symbols, wiki-style? Frex: *bold* or /italics/. #
For #followfriday, I recommend @VeryShortStory, which delivers exactly what’s advertised on the tin. Good stuff. in reply to VeryShortStory #
Re: word processor q: I want a w.p. that does the same thing as GTalk (props: @cyface), so I can write in metapad but ‘do’ formatting. in reply to cyface #
Dear Amazon: you’re not only replacing my netbook, but doing so via 1-day shipping, w/ clear return instructions and apology. *manly tears* #
Rain falling in the afternoon sunshine. Beautiful. #
Adrift: The explosion is followed by howl of hull breach alarms. Yoren whispers he knew I had a plan. He .. http://tinyurl.com/mpodwu #

June 11, 2009June 18, 2009

Updates for 2009-06-11

Nothing like a call to poison control to really wake you up. #
To be fair, if I had BEEN fully awake, I probably would have avoided the events that led to calling poison control in the first place. #
RT @rdonoghue Bookmarklet to make the web more readable – http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/ – Rob, this is awesome. Thank you. #
I am ALL SET to reveal a really good reason to head home early, assuming the new netbook ARRIVES and gives me a REASON for DECEPTION. #
Adrift: Looks like he’s too confused to resort to violence. I tell him we’re off to earn his .. http://tinyurl.com/mzl3t5 #
Sending off the end of the work day with a little hard-rocking ukulele. Yes, it exists. It DOES. Shut UP. No YOU. *huff* #
Salmon, cheddar cheese mashed potatos, fresh carrots and zucchini… Washed down with a Boddingtons and lovely talk with @daphneun. Bliss. #

June 10, 2009June 18, 2009

Updates for 2009-06-10

Samhain/Halloween has faith-significance for some. For me/current story: more useful as the time to cull herds; when the dark months begin. #
RT: @angelajames: The Truth About Twitter (“it’s not about how many followers you have”) http://bit.ly/VyzSi #
No problem @glecharles: I think I’m going to load my new eee netbook with eeebuntu, so expect posts on the subject in coming weeks. in reply to glecharles #
Filling moleskine up with notes for Hidden Things… revision? Can I call it that? No one’s asking for ‘different’/’better’ – just ‘more’. #
RT: @weedatheevil: Ah yes, Summer in the Rockies — the sun, the blue sky…the tornados. #
RT: @DaphneUn: This may be my new favorite YouTube video: http://bit.ly/eZVah Thanks, @megcabot! #
The phrase “throat-punch” shouldn’t make me giggle, should it? #socialnicetyfail #
Adrift: I’ve no idea if Yoren is a good liar; it wasn’t why I hired him. I move in for a hug .. http://tinyurl.com/nz6xpq #

June 10, 2009June 10, 2009

Steampunk has TWO syllables

This observation, lifted from a conversation about something else entirely, is quite worth pondering when I get back to working on Humorless:

Steampunk, to me, often seems to have a whole lot of ‘steam’, and very little ‘punk’.

Which is to say, the emphasis often ends up on the trappings of the fictional steampunk age (flying machines, engine magick, people wearing goggles for no real reason, etc), and not the social issues behind the fiction – class struggle, the social effects of technological revolution, and protagonists who are at odds with authority but lacking in social power or influence.

Couldn’t have said it better myself (largely because it hadn’t consciously occurred to me).

Now, to be fair, there isn’t a LOT of steampunk to be had in the first place, so in ways this is an understandable omission — the author might feel pressure to turn up the ‘steam’ volume on their story to get it recognized as such, and ignore the other half the equation.

I’m thinking over Humorless in light of this observation, and I see a similar kind of overbalancing – zeppelins, brass fittings, strange weapons… sure, but where’s the social imbalance and conflict? It could (and should) certainly BE there, to earn the ‘punk’ syllable… but it isn’t.

(Part of me whines that it’s comedy, not a social commentary, but that’s a cop out.)

Actually, if you accept this whole idea, Girl Genius isn’t steampunk — it’s much more some kind of Steam Fantasy for which there is no official genre designation.

Hrm. More later.

June 9, 2009June 18, 2009

Updates for 2009-06-09

Random Average: More Mouse Guard http://tinyurl.com/mnassd #
Really, it’s unfair that my eyes and nose burn like this without an accompanying coke habit. Stupid allergies. Stupid cottonwood trees. #
RT: @lapsedcannibal: I wholeheartedly support this trend, if it is one. http://bit.ly/pXcQd ((Also love that it’s accuracy-in-code-based.)) #
Related to my last message: interesting page on Logical Quoting (or “the old grammar punctuation style that’s new again”): http://is.gd/UMsJ #
Amazon: Look at this MSI Wind netbook! Was 329! Now the price is so low, we can’t show it to you! Me: What is it? Amazon: 326! Me: … #
Gave Mr. Anderson a bath. He’s so shiny. #
Man, sometimes there is NOTHING like a couple pieces of cold fried chicken. NOM NOM NOM. *licks fingers* #
Adrift: As we walk to his cell, I try to remember the last time I spoke to Yoren directly, instead giving.. http://tinyurl.com/n5l42b #

June 8, 2009June 18, 2009

Updates for 2009-06-08

Adrift: He tells me that, while he won’t release Yoren, he understands I’ll want to see him, .. http://tinyurl.com/kpqutq #
Agent sent feedback on WIP this morning. /Damn/ them for putting the thing back in my hands with much work to do, and being /right/. #
The final version of this story better be mf-ing GENIUS, is all I’m saying. Someone see to it… I’m going to have a lie-down. #
To those as asked: my (brilliant) lit agent is not @daphneun (who is also brilliant). She suffers enough without having having to rep me. #
Dear Work and Other Distractions: I’d like to get back to reading The Blade Itself, please, so if you could just… *makes shooing motion* #

June 7, 2009June 18, 2009

Updates for 2009-06-07

MOUSEGUARD Tonight! Made up characters and did a some background stuff and a quick, cool conflict. Jazzed about getting to play this. #
Also, major grill malfunction; it did not explode or burn the house down, but that will be tonight’s dream/nightmare, regardless. #
Thankfully, fire extinguisher was close at hand. One quick shot at the flame coming out of the pressure valve = win. Hurrah for safety tech. #

June 5, 2009June 18, 2009

Updates for 2009-06-05

Huh. Four months of @finnras story-goodness – kinda missed the date. Ah well, into month five – what horrible thing can we do to him now? #
Wow. Every single person I was going to list for #followfriday has a locked account. So… right. Different list coming up… #
“How to be happy in business” – the venn diagram
http://snipurl.com/jil7u #
RT: @turbine: LOTRO: Really amazing video from the French LOTRO community spotlighted this week. http://tinyurl.com/nvfw5z #
My #followfriday: @mouseguard (who, it looks like, just joined Twitter) — a moving comic, a fantastic RPG. #
Adrift: All I can tell them is ‘trust me’, which goes over… less than well. The Command.. http://tinyurl.com/qalqkl #