Monthly Archives: August 2003
Away
Posted on August 28, 2003
I think Athena was a little upset when I told her I was going away for five days: But I’m sure she’ll make it through the pain. Not too sure about the cats, however. I kid! And I kid because I love. Anyway, I’m off to Torcon. It’s not at all unreasonable to expect that […]
Addendum to Books, Writing, Etc.
Posted on August 25, 2003
In case you’re wondering what I’m doing with my day today, I’m sending e-mail to all the people I want to meet at Torcon, saying “Hi, I’m a slobbering fanboy! Let me invade your personal space!” I figure that will make me popular. What do you think?
Books, Writing, Etc.
Posted on August 24, 2003
Three notes from the writing life. 1. The Book of the Dumb is done. I finished it up in the wee hours of Sunday morning as I pulled in the last of the quotes on stupidity from famous people, which we’ll use to fill out pages where the main text is a little short. There […]
Pluses and Minuses of Wireless
Posted on August 22, 2003
A good test of the success of a technology is whether after you have it you wonder how the hell you lived without it. I’m definitely beginning to feel this way about wireless technology. At the moment, I’m writing this in Athena’s room, on the floor the computer propped up on my lap; Athena is […]
It’s Official
Posted on August 21, 2003
Starting today I’m officially blogging for AOL. The blog is called By The Way… and is viewable here. This is a permanent link, so feel free to bookmark it. To recap what this means: 1. Yes, most of the time I’ll be writing over there, at least through the length of my AOL contract. Because, […]
Hmmm.
Posted on August 20, 2003
I have to wonder if this will actually be construed as protected speech.
Viruses.
Posted on August 19, 2003
People have got to be getting stupider, which is the only explanation I can come up with for the sharp increase of virus-laden e-mails in my in-boxes today. What amazes me is that most of these e-mails are from people I don’t know, but since these viruses suck out addresses from people e-mail address files […]
Oooh, Nice Link.
Posted on August 19, 2003
Eric Zorn, a Chicago Tribune columnist whom I have known for a while now, is so kind to link here from his corporate blog. You’re a sweetheart, Eric. Now give me your job.
Fun! Fun! Quiz! Time!
Posted on August 19, 2003
Just to keep y’all in the loop with what I’m doing, I’m, like, this close to wrapping up Book of the Dumb, which is good. The main chunk of the articles is done, and now I’m just doing interesting little “series” articles, which are recurring bits interspersed between stand-alone articles. These categories are Tips For […]
I Speak
Posted on August 15, 2003
Hey, a shout-out to all my science fiction geek homeys: In addition to simply loitering at Torcon 3 (i.e., The 61st World Science Fiction Convention), I’m also going to be on two panels. Yes, I’m managed to make them think I’m an author. Ah ha ha ha ha ha! The fools. Anyway, here are the […]
Also —
Posted on August 15, 2003
I’ve been beta blogging for AOL the last couple of days. You can see it here. Be aware that the title of the blog is not permanent, nor is the URL: We’ll be switching both when it goes live. So don’t bookmark. But if you’ve been wondering where I’ve been most of the last week, […]
Mail Implosion
Posted on August 15, 2003
FYI — if you’ve sent me mail in the last day or so, I may not have received it — Eudora crashed on me, big time, and I’ve had to switch mail clients. In the process mail may have been lost. So feel free to send it again.
Teeth. Tablet. Blog. Teeth.
Posted on August 13, 2003 1 Comment
I am nothing if not efficient. I was at the dentist this morning to get not one, not two, but three cavities filled. How does this make me efficient? Well, they were all on the same tooth. “You’ve got one on the front, one on the side, and one on the back,” my dentist explained, […]
Forever September
Posted on August 10, 2003 2 Comments
So, I’ve been reading the various commentary around my announcement about being hired by AOL, and it seems generally positive, so that’s nice. But I’ve noticed that people have some some reservations about the AOL Journal concept in a larger sense; they’re worried about another “September That Never Ends.” So let’s talk about that for […]
Contrasts
Posted on August 8, 2003
So, I’m sitting here on my porch, playing with my new computer, watching an Amish horse and buggy go by. It’s just me, but there’s something resonant about that, not in the least because the guy using the new technology is sitting still, while the ones using traditional tools are on the move. Does it […]
I’m Kinda Boring at the Moment
Posted on August 8, 2003
In the comments thread of the last entry, Ed Thibideau asks: A fascinating post. But why don’t you ever write about political and social issues any more? That’s what brought me here. But Whatever is rapidly falling to the bottom of my daily surf list. Gore made a great speech yesterday. What did you think […]
Fun With Tablets!
Posted on August 8, 2003
Hey, everybody! I’m entering this with the pen of my new tablet pc! Whee! I’m like a performing monkey! Okay, enough of that. Pecking out words with your pen is fun and all, but it’s also really inefficient. I was using the little onscreen keyboard that comes with the tablet PC; I tried doing the […]
Now It Can Be Told
Posted on August 7, 2003 21 Comments
I’ve been playing coy about some big news, but now I’ve signed the contracts so I can spill. Here it is: In a couple of weeks, I start blogging for AOL. To expand: As many of you know, America Online has built a new blogging tool and area, which it is calling AOL Journals. Jeff […]
Sharon Short
Posted on August 5, 2003
I’m giving a quick shoutout and mad props to my literary homey Sharon Short, whose first novel Death of a Domestic Diva just came out. Sharon’s a fellow Dayton Daily News freelancer; she writes a weekly humor column for them (as do I, except it’s cleverly disguised as DVD reviews). Diva’s a mystery novel that […]
Note to Music Industry
Posted on August 4, 2003 1 Comment
Hey, guys: Now that the favorite type of music theivery involves downloading albums from the Internet — and indeed this sort of theft is several mega multiples of a problem than physical in-store theft — can we please, please, please lose the stupid sticky plastic strip you place across the top of every CD? I […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying