Monthly Archives: October 2006
The Most Unintentionally Funny Bit of Political Spittle Flinging You’ll Read All Day
Posted on October 31, 2006 55 Comments
It’s here, via the Fredricksburg Free Lance-Star. It’s pretty much exactly like your angry conservative uncle four-fifths of the way through a bottle of Maker’s Mark. This fellow was apparently director of foreign-policy speechwriting at the White House from October 2003 to July 2005, which means it’s possible he’s the genius behind the “Stay the […]
This Picture Has Got Everything You Need, or, Hey! My Book is Out!
Posted on October 31, 2006 14 Comments
Look! A copy of The Android’s Dream AND Bacon taped to a cat! It doesn’t get any better than that. Christian sent this in. I think Christian had probably better sleep with his head under the covers tonight; that cat does not look altogether pleased. In other news, it is now Halloween, October 31, 2006, […]
The Occam’s Razor Theory of Literary Rejection
Posted on October 30, 2006 60 Comments
Nick Mamatas, who apparently has some preternatural sense when it comes to finding interesting characters online, points us to an aspiring writer who is apparently having difficulty selling his work to publishers, and has come up with a theory to explain his lack of success: There’s a conspiracy in publishing against men — fomented, of […]
TAD Photo Fun
Posted on October 30, 2006 10 Comments
People sending of their Android’s Dream photos: Android photographed at everyone’s favorite amusement park: Radium Land! Android: The choice of discerning cats everywhere. Discerning cats with messy desks, too. Android has had a hard day. Now it’s time for sleep. Thanks Roger, Terry and Matthew! Also, someone sent me another infinite repeating TAD picture, but […]
Computer and Steve Brust Geekery
Posted on October 30, 2006 36 Comments
For those of you who were wondering what I was doing with myself yesterday instead of hanging out with all y’all online: I went shopping. Specifically, I went shopping for computer parts, because I had finally settled on what I wanted to do with my PC computing life and I drove down to CompUSA (which, […]
Sunsets and Open Threads
Posted on October 29, 2006 43 Comments
My plans today involve not being on this computer very much — I know, what the hell is wrong with me — so here’s a picture of yesterday’s sunset, the last during daylights savings time — and also a declaration of an open thread. And to get you started, a topic: How sensitive is your […]
Insta-review
Posted on October 28, 2006 9 Comments
Glenn “Instapundit” Reynolds has nice things to say about The Android’s Dream: I thought it was quite good, though it was nothing like Old Man’s War or Ghost Brigades, it was more lighthearted and focused on interstellar diplomacy. Not quite in the vein of Keith Laumer’s Retief stories, but occasionally I got a bit of […]
Some Encouraging News For Fans of the Separation of Powers
Posted on October 28, 2006 24 Comments
According to this CNN poll, “Sixty-seven percent of 1,013 people surveyed by Opinion Research Corp. on behalf of CNN said federal judges — and the decisions they make — should not be subject to more control.” Yay, Americans! You’re getting your sanity back! It does seem like the phrase “activist judges” and much of the […]
Infinite Repeating Android’s Dreams, 10/28/06
Posted on October 28, 2006 7 Comments
Oh noes! Three IRAD submissions, all at once! Better post them all in the same entry, then: Thanks Tor, KevenQ and Chang!
How I’m Voting, or, Abort & Reload
Posted on October 27, 2006 24 Comments
Barring some astounding change of circumstances, here is how I’m voting in the elections on November 7th. As reference for those of you who don’t know, I live in Ohio, in Darke County. Governor: Ted Strickland. Aside from Ken Blackwell and his cronies spending the last couple of weeks trying to suggest that Strickland is […]
Mmmm… Rude-osity
Posted on October 27, 2006 57 Comments
You know, there are many things I don’t like about solicitors, but one of the really big ones is that they’re trained not to listen to you when you deviate from your script. For example, the jackhole who just solicited me on the phone from some veterans’ organization or another. Charitable organizations have finally figured […]
Infinite Repeating Android’s Dreams
Posted on October 27, 2006 15 Comments
Whatever reader JT found another copy of The Android’s Dream out there in the wild, and was kind enough to snap a photo of it, which I show you here (I copied the picture and put it on my site in order to avoid running up his bandwidth — hey, it could happen). What I […]
An Uxorial Portrait
Posted on October 27, 2006 35 Comments
As long as I’m showing off my mad Photoshop skillz, yo, here’s a portrait of my wife I made all arty and such. She really likes it, which is an important thing when one is posting a picture of one’s spouse: She thinks it captures a certain essence of her personality. I agree entirely; also, […]
Black and White
Posted on October 26, 2006 11 Comments
Two Halloween-themed pictures of Athena for you, which, if nothing else, confirm the fact that when I’m not interested in writing I go for the Photoshop action, and that Halloween is a fun excuse to make pictures that are creepy and pictures that are cute: I like them both, although I have to say the […]
You’ve Been Reaped! Adorably!
Posted on October 26, 2006 15 Comments
I’ve got nothing for you today — really, all day long thinking has been just like trying to sprint through molasses — so here’s a picture of Athena as the Grim Reaper, in front of, oh, I don’t know, Mount Doom: I had an even better one of her in front of a Hieronymus Bosch […]
New Jersey, Being Subtle
Posted on October 25, 2006 91 Comments
New Jersey’s Supreme Court said today that same-sex couples are entitled to have the same rights as married couples but also punted to the legislature the issue of whether that collection of rights should be called marriage or could be called something else. That’s interesting to me, and I think a pretty subtle piece of […]
What? No Politics?
Posted on October 24, 2006 65 Comments
From the e-mail: It’s been a week since you’ve written about politics! Are you not feeling well? Heh. First: I feel fine, thanks. Second: I haven’t been writing about politics because for the last week or so I don’t think I have anything particularly constructive to add to the conversation, so anything I’d write here […]
SCI FI Interview re: Android’s Dream
Posted on October 24, 2006 28 Comments
The industrious John Joseph Adams has interviewed me about Android’s Dream, in which I talk about how Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard were touchstones for the book. The interview is here. Unrelated: The University of Chicago has the best business school in the country, according to Business Week. Go U of C! Yes, yes. Look, […]
Thank You Shelley Eshkar
Posted on October 23, 2006 15 Comments
Got my Big Box O’ Author Copies of TAD today, which makes me happy. But as I was admiring the box, I remembered that I forgot to do something, which was to thank cover artist Shelley Eshkar in the acknowledgements. I’ll correct this in time for the paperback release, but in the interim, let me […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying