7 Comments on “More “Sagan Diary” Goodness”

1. Forgive me for raining on the parade, but this article made me think: why would any member of the CDF use their BrainPal to keep a journal, when any superior officer could simply snoop it? Or is accessing data files stored on a subordinate’s BrainPal not a standard feature?

   However, this doesn’t really apply to Sagan, I suppose, as she well knows that if the CDF wants to know what is going on in her head, they can.

   But the question stands for general soldiers – do you envision them as keeping journals in their heads, or writing them down for privacy’s sake?

2. SF author John Scalzi told COW FI Wire that his next book, “The Sagan Dairy,” isn’t a clover field, but a bail of hay set in the Old Man’s Barn milieu. It will be harvested in February as a limited-edition hardclover chapbook. “‘Chronologically, it takes place between The Ghost Herd and The Last Steer,” Scalzi said in an interview at Moocon in Farmer Brown’s kitchen last month. “The conceit is that [the protagonist, Jane Heifer,] is basically writing journal entries to herself more or less on her FifthCud, so what I’m trying to write is something that is not exactly stream of [milk]—because that’s undrinkable—but [something that] is reflective of what would go on in her cud processes. … In some ways, it’s the most difficult thing I’ve had to write so far, because it’s stylistically so different than everything else that I’ve chewed over.”

3. Brandon:

   “Forgive me for raining on the parade, but this article made me think: why would any member of the CDF use their BrainPal to keep a journal, when any superior officer could simply snoop it?”

   In a general sense I would imagine that a CDF officer is as able and likely to snoop a subordinate’s BrainPal as a current military officer is able to snoop a subordinate’s laptop or e-mail; I’m not aware in the latter case that it keeps anyone from writing whatever they please. So I’m not sure I entirely understand the question.

   However, in the particular case here, the question is moot, for reasons that will be explained within the story.

   Trent: Uh, okay.

4. Ah, dang. Now I need to go make sacrifices to the SlushGod for more of Sclazi goodness. Again. And I’m fresh out of roast beast!

5. Psssssst, John. You spelled “diary” wrong in the title.

   I think that’s what Trent was after.

6. Ah. Now it’s all clear. Fixed.

7. So, it’s not a Scalzified version of Heidi?

   Man… And here I was looking forward to reading a tale about an innocent, young, yodeling Swiss milkmaid who could shoot someone in the face.