geardrops [blog]

Apparently SF Signal picked up the guest post I wrote for Jeff’s blog and decided to signal-boost it. This makes me double-plus glad, being as that was the first Guest Post Blag I’ve ever done and I was very nervous about its quality.

Perhaps I should do a series on this. Object oriented design paradigms as they pertain to characters? Compilers, Editing, And You? I already have the Five Things Algorithms Has Taught Me About Writing post.

Since I’ve been unemployed, I’ve taken to trying to be a full-time writer. Though I think I’m stretching past the full-time mark, being that I wake up, toddle straight to my laptop, begin editing, take breaks to eat and remind MrMike that I am, in fact, still alive, and then toddle to bed sometime after Unreasonable O’Clock. Though to be fair, coming off working full-time and school part-time to… nothing? I’m used to a 14-hour day. And I took two weeks off to relax (only to watch unfathomable quantities of HGTV). My brain is upset with my laziness.

Good news is The Novel will be off to betas today, and then I can begin studying for my interviews.

I suspect this is something unique to the sciences: we have to study for interviews. It’s been two years since I’ve thought about operating systems in any significant way, or compilers for that matter, and even though I’m competent at TCP/IP and the OSI model and many other things you can ask about the intarwebz, there are many terms and details and I’m not so great with words. I’m also easily confused by acronyms, which I realized when I interned in the aerospace industry. It’s hard enough when I’m dealing with a series of illogically-arranged letters, but that place often had the same set of letters translating into multiple things, requiring me to parse them in a context-sensitive way. Ugh.

And of course, there’s always the nervousness hanging over my head of “Hai guise I totes am doing this second-career thing with writing, but I promise I’m 4srs about the tech stuff too. Pie?”

Have I mentioned that I suspect twitter has completely killed me as a blogger? It’s probably true!

Many things to catch up. Well, for one, I’m FUNemployed right now, which means I’m going to call myself a full-time writer until an interview pans out. (And when someone asks the delicate question of “What have you published?” I will politely smile and ask them to pass the whiskey. And then keep it.) It’s nothing fancy or dramatic. I didn’t shout “You can’t fire me! I QUIT!” and then throw glitter in my boss’ face. Simply a layoff.

I’ve moved in with MrMike. That’s pretty big. We’re presently painting the hell out of his house. And by “hell” I mean “white walls.” Who can live like this?

ComicCon was big, but I tweeted so much about it I feel like I blogged already. Highlights were winning con every single day, in particular the party on the USS Midway, but also-amazing was seeing almost every panel I wanted to see, and getting WHO FEARS DEATH for free. Pile on that all the friends I got to see — almost everyone I aimed to see, I missed out on hanging out with Adam — and the new friends I made, and the old friends who didn’t show up whom I mocked openly for not being there, and you have one hell of a con.

That’s about it for now.

Oh, and I made cupcakes.

Vanilla, with lemon buttercream frosting. Mini-style!

Due to the economic wangst, I am now without job. Totally not stressed, though. Which is nice. Now I have time to work out and spin fire staff and just have fun. So I’ll be spending the next two weeks at ComicCon and watching disturbing volumes of TV before I embark on the journey to find work once more.

Anyone got any good ideas for a job that’ll pay for my MSCE and give me time and sanity enough to be a writer?

I feel like I should blog more, but trust me, my life is largely uninteresting.

Greece, however, was interesting. Once I have some photographs I’ll be likely to share those. Until then, however, content yourself with the concept of Meteora.

Thousands upon thousands of years ago, when the earth was young, the lands of present-day Greece were covered in water, which later receded (clearly). Those waters eroded the land in Meteora, leaving behind these steep cliffs of smoothly-polished rock. The cliffs alone are a sight to behold. I’m not one for staring at nature, but this is some pretty awesome nature.

Then, in the 1300’s, hermit monks built the first of the monasteries of Meteora.

During the Turkish occupation of Greece, these monasteries played a role in maintaining the culture of Greece and the Greek Orthodox faith. Inaccessible unless you were quite determined, they made a great refuge for the sons who were sent there to be kept away from the Turks. Thus, high among the clouds, they kept the culture alive.

How’s that for a fantasy setting?

So I’ve been offline for about two weeks now. This is due to the fact that I received a “suggestion” from the higher-ups that I delay my two-week vacation to Greece, due to our scheduling problems. Well, I put my vacation on the calendar in January, so I offered my own “suggestion,” that perhaps these were not our problems, but perhaps their problems, which is most certainly not my problem. This has resulted in my working very, very hard.

Life has been frantic-busy lately. Last weekend I was in NYC for a friend-of-Boy’s wedding, which resulted in my walking around Harlem at one in the morning in four-inch stilettos, none of which I recommend. (Maybe that’s a little strong. The stilettos were Guess, and rather comfortable, though they certainly slowed my roll.) All of which was excellent timing on my part due to simultaneous Mad Crazy Head Cold and the incoming Posturemoll visit, wherein she was rolling through San Jose in a janky cab playing eyebrow-raising music, right about when I was walking down 127th. (These scheduling problems totally belonged to me. Couldn’t shirk that one off on someone else, not without lies, trickery, and a Jedi mind trick or two.)

Then there was MUSE on Wednesday. My sixth time seeing them live. Some say I have a problem. I tell them No, Sir, I Have A Solution.

The Mad Tea Party is tomorrow. I have plotted three cupcake varieties. Last night I constructed a hat. Photos to come.

And as for the novel, I’m on draft four of editing. Let me tell you, I love writing, I hate rewriting. And that’s what the last 25% of the book required. But it’s currently a lean mean 80K and likely to stay that way. I do hope there’s a market for science fiction that isn’t about science, with a strong socio-political thread and male main character who likes to swear a lot. (No, a lot.)

The lovely Miss Rose Lemberg has had announced a sale at Strange Horizons (which for those unawares is really epic and awesome and I love this market).

Also, Christie Yant has made a pro sale! I cannae say the market, because it is a sekrit at the moment, but let it be known that it is Truly Legitimately Awesome.

And last but biggest is that Wendy Wagner has gone and sold a novel! When I see her, I’m going to throw glitter square in her face.

The following email exchange between myself and my professor, concerning requirements for the cryptography class, is 100% accurate in its quotations.

From: me
To: Professor

Hello Professor –

I was your student last year in [class]. In my upcoming coursework I plan on taking Cryptography, and when I looked at the previous offering, I saw that you were teaching it. I was hoping to ask for your help.

I’m still a bit weak in math, as I haven’t really done much since undergrad, and struggled in your previous class with all the probability. I’m also struggling with the math in one of my current classes (Data Mining and Pattern Recognition). To prevent further struggle, I was wondering if perhaps you could tell me what kind of math I should brush up on, in order to be sufficiently prepared for Crypto?

Thanks very much!

From: Professor
To: me

Hello

As AMTH 387 Cryptology is a 300-level mathematics class, a certain level of mathematics appreciation is required, but not necessary. [emphasis mine]

A basic course in discrete mathematics or number theory should be helpful, but again it is not necessary.

Regards.

From: me
To: Professor

Hi Professor –

Thanks for your reply! So there will be no use of statistics in this class?

From: Professor
To: me

In my opinion, one of the following two requirements would suffice.

1. A likeness for things mathematical (preferable).

2. Do not dislike mathematics (less preferable alternative).

Best Regards.

In summary, my professor is THE FUCKING RIDDLER.

I’ve been bad and not paying attention, and while my back was turned, my friends did awesome things!

First of all, there’s Sharon Mock’s beautiful story The Armature of Flight up at Fantasy. I won’t ruin it for you, except to say that really, beautiful is the only word I can think to describe it. It’s carefully rendered and subtly tragic. Love it.

And then there’s Shweta Narayan who is always busy with something. Her story, The Mechanical Aviary of Emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, is first available through Shimmer’s Clockwork Jungle edition. And now, it’s going to be reprinted in the Steampunk Reloaded Anthology as edited by the ever-stupendous VanderMeers, Ann and Jeff. (Ann, for those unaware, is EIC of Weird Tales, and is overflowing with passion about writers developing their craft. I’ve mentioned Jeff before, but to recap: he’s an odd one. They did the previous Steampunk Anthology which was, I feel, a good representation of what Steampunk is for beginners, and was in need of a companion, which I’m glad to hear is coming out.) And all of her publication madness means she’s eligible for a Campbell. If you have the ability to nominate her, and appreciate her fiction (first taste is free… — also note that this is another story getting itself into an anthology!), please do so.

Whew. Gotta toddle off and see what else I’ve missed.

ETA: I have also been informed by Monsieur Kaolin (of the awesome GUD Magazine) that indeed a second taste of Shweta’s fiction is free. Which paints me as a dirty, filthy liar. I won’t deny it.

LCD Soundsystem: official site, rad song on youtube

Musics from Britain that apparently does quite well for itself, and has been doing so since 2002. Mixing in parts punk and electro with an unobtrusive dash of disco, just enough to give it flavor, does not overwhelm. I say give ‘em a listen.

I decided to try an idea. The Friday Rad. Like Music Monday except I share the coolest thing I done seen on the internet all week.

CL!CK: A Lego Short Film. It’s a short film done in stop-motion, which conveys the iterative process that is creativity, with fantastic music and wonderful visual direction. Seriously, I want to shake the hand of whoever did the sound for that thing.

Of course if you follow me on twitter this sort of thing will prove utterly useless. But perhaps I have followers here that aren’t on twitter? I haven’t the mechanisms to measure these metrics. And that’s a lot of M’s.

Note to self: sort out why I can’t fscking embed youtube videos. Nothing works. Also, site redesign. I really want to get on that. Something simple.