Monthly Archives: April 2008
There’s Something Inside Your Head
Posted on April 12, 2008 16 Comments
Offline for the rest of the day. Leaving you with a song I’m finding oddly evocative recently. See you later.
Show of Hands
Posted on April 12, 2008 96 Comments
Elsewhere in the Internets, someone is suggesting that my noting the Locus Awards to you all yesterday and offering up cut and paste titles for my works therein is a bit much: “implication is that you are encouraging your fans to vote for your stuff, even if they haven’t read it, or any other eligible […]
Starting the Weekend Early
Posted on April 11, 2008 11 Comments
I’m outta here for today. You kids have fun.
Get Your Vote On
Posted on April 11, 2008 17 Comments
For those of you who want to vote for a significant science fiction/fantasy award but are too damn cheap to shell out a mere $50 for a Worldcon supporting membership to vote for the Hugos (even though it gets you access to electronic versions of four of the Best Novel Hugos — surely a better […]
Find the Site Outage!
Posted on April 11, 2008 23 Comments
So, yesterday Scalzi.com experienced a bit of technical trouble. Using the graph below, can you tell approximately when this trouble occurred? Take your time. It may not be obvious at first.
Meet the Fan Writers: Chris Garcia
Posted on April 10, 2008 4 Comments
It’s time for the second installment of Meet the Fan Writers, in which you make the acquaintance of the folks nominated for the Best Fan Writer Hugo this year. Today we’ve got Chris Garcia, whose fanzine The Drink Tank is nominated (again!) for the Best Fanzine Hugo. Well done, Chris. And now, here he is. […]
My Grammar Bitch For the Day
Posted on April 10, 2008 160 Comments
Dear writers in the English language: “Alright” is not a word. You’re looking for “all right.” For everyone confused by reading in the dictionary that “alright” is a “non-standard usage,” thus maybe okay to use, you should know that “non-standard usage” is polite lexicographer speak for “version used by illiterate hamster pokers,” and when you’re […]
I Miss My Site When It’s Not Around
Posted on April 10, 2008 2 Comments
My host is having some server-side issues today, which explains the intermittent access to Whatever you’ve been experiencing (that is, if you’re not just sucking down the RSS feed). It’s apparently fixed, but don’t be too surprised if there are more hiccups during the day today.
Chad Orzel is Annoyed With Me
Posted on April 10, 2008
As more than a few folks have been the last couple of days. Go and find out why. Comments should go there instead of here, so I’m closing comments on this particular entry.
A Reminder to SFWAns
Posted on April 10, 2008 6 Comments
Jim Macdonald reminds all SFWAns that their ballots for officer elections must be received by the 19th of April, which means that sending in the mail, oh, NOW, might be a good idea. Also, it might be a good idea to stick another stamp on the envelope, because the ballot package is just on the […]
Expiring Links
Posted on April 9, 2008 20 Comments
I’m enough of a geek to notice my Technorati ranking dropped 300 slots today, a negative change of about 25%, which is the blogger equivalent of Black Monday. And indeed, just as that particular crash was caused or at least abetted by technology, so too mine: Technorati assigns rankings based on links to blogs over […]
Because It’s Fun to State the Obvious
Posted on April 9, 2008 33 Comments
If you have to hide the Olympic Torch while ostensibly displaying it, you’re doing it wrong. What “it” is in this sentence I’ll leave evocatively undefined, and for you to fill in for yourself.
Another (Technologically) Mixed Marriage
Posted on April 9, 2008 57 Comments
The way we’re mixed: Krissy is an iPodder, whereas every media player I’ve owned has been something other than an iPod: Three Creative players and the current Archos 605. This is because I don’t like paying a premium to be trapped in the Apple ecosystem as a general principle, and also because I have a […]
In Other News, “Preemptive Ibuprofen” is the Name of My Next Band
Posted on April 9, 2008 36 Comments
Back from the dentist, and the owner of three new fillings. I forgot I had more than one cavity. My dentist, however, did not. The novocaine is slowly wearing off, and I’ve taken preemptive ibuprofen to ward off the inevitable general pain that comes from a grown man and his dental assistant rooting around in […]
The High-Pitched Whine of the Drill is Like the Song of Angels
Posted on April 9, 2008 68 Comments
I’m off to the dentist! To have a cavity filled! Go me! Console me with tales of your own most recent dental appointments. Did you escape unscathed? Or were your forced, like me, to return at a later date to atone for those missed brushings?
Meet the Fan Writers: Cheryl Morgan
Posted on April 8, 2008 10 Comments
As I think most regular readers of Whatever are aware, in addition to having The Last Colony nominated for the Best Novel Hugo this year, I am also nominated for the Best Fan Writer Hugo, which is something I’m pretty pleased about. I wanted to give you all a chance to meet the other folks […]
Quick E-Mail Note
Posted on April 8, 2008 5 Comments
Dragging through my spam queue today I noticed quite a lot of legitimate mail there — more than usual. Makes me wonder if I missed some legit mail earlier. So: If you sent mail in the last couple of weeks that you hoped to hear from me about and got nothing but dead air, go […]
New GoH Appearance
Posted on April 8, 2008 29 Comments
If you were wondering what you might do with yourself over the Fourth of July weekend, here’s a thought: Come to Indianapolis, where I will be a Guest of Honor at InConJunction XXVIII. Or stay at home and desultorily wave around a sparkler or two and then toss an M-80 in the toilet. Because, yeah, […]
Take On Squeeeeeeeeek
Posted on April 7, 2008 58 Comments
Mary Robinette Kowal sent this to me with the following comment: “No one will appreciate how wrong this is as much as you will.” Let’s find out if that’s true. Well?
In Russia, Zoe’s Tale Reads You
Posted on April 7, 2008 16 Comments
Zoe’s Tale has notched its first foreign sale, to Russian publisher Eksmo, meaning that Russia continues to be the only foreign market where all my books have sold (France and Germany are tied for second, with three novels each). I believe this is also the first time I’ve sold foreign rights to a novel that […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying