Category archives: Events
What’s happening, be it menial or 24/7 mass media new coverage.
September 27th, 2009 by lafnlab
Last year, one of the bloggers I follow signed up for something called NaNoWriMo, which I had never heard of. NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, and it’s a contest where participants try to write a novel during the month of November.
This is the 11th year of NaNoWriMo it gets bigger every year. The goal seems simple – write a story of more than 50,000 words. According to the FAQs, anyone who writes 50,000 words is declared a winner, and there are no prizes other than a certificate (as a PDF file). However, the real prize is the satisfaction of having written 50,000 words of a story. That doesn’t mean the novel is good, or coherent, or publishable, or interesting, but it is over 50,000 words, so that’s gotta count for something ;-) Apparently, 50,000 words is about 175 pages, which doesn’t seem very long IMHO, but according to Wikipedia some novels around 50,000 words include The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Brave New World, and The Great Gatsby.
If one is writing according to the rules of NaNoWriMo, writing on the novel begins on November 1st and ends at midnight local time on November 30th or 50,000 words later, whichever happens first. The author can do research, make notes, and do whatever before November, but the novel writing must begin in November. They encourage people not to worry so much about editing (that is what December is for), but to concentrate on getting the words out and reaching the 50,000 word mark. It’s more about quantity than quality, but the story might be a diamond in the rough. It can be polished into something better.
For me, I’ve got some rough ideas and some basic characters floating around in my head, so maybe they can be coaxed into 50,000 words or more. We’ll see what November brings.
June 30th, 2009 by lafnlab
I don’t know about this, but it seems strange/odd. Maybe it’s the economy or something.
At work, I ordered an HP LaserJet printer from a vendor a couple of weeks ago. Shipments from this vendor usually arrive in a few days, so yesterday I sent them an email asking where they expected to ship the printer. Two weeks is a long time for this vendor, so sending an inquiry seemed appropriate. Their reply was received a few hours later, saying there were supply problems and HP notified them it would be 6 – 8 weeks before the printer shipped. That’s a lifetime, so I’ll be shopping around at other vendors for something that isn’t HP. The annoyance factor is their website doesn’t mention if something is in stock or not. It just has the “Add to cart” button.
Last week, I ordered a replacement video card for my MacPro. A day or two later, the company sent me an email saying it would be a few extra days because they had it on backorder with the supplier. Yesterday, they sent me an email saying they were having a hard time finding a source for this card.
If each order was late separately, it wouldn’t seem so strange. This makes me wonder if there is a shortage of something going on. Shipping? Silicon? Simple coincidence?
April 12th, 2009 by lafnlab
What’s Amazon Rank?
Protect people from ‘bad’ books
Can’t read if can’t see
Amazon Rank at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
More info in my previous post here.
April 12th, 2009 by lafnlab
Probably the best place to start is here, with Mark Probst’s description about how Amazon has treated LGBT books – by delisting them from sales ranks. He points out the books were lumped categorized as ‘adult’ even if they had nothing to do with erotica. Meta-writer has been collecting a list of the delisted books, showing that it includes non-fiction books dealing sexuality.
So the Twitterverse has sort of exploded in #amazonfail. Reactions range from regret, anger, and disbelief. Generally, I like Amazon, but this idea is as misguided as it is misapplied. Doing my own research shows the delisting is inconsistent – quite a few books have different editions, so some editions appear to be delisted, while others are not. Still, it’s hard to see how Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Story of O can be delisted, while Tropic of Cancer still has its sales rank. Even some editions of Brokeback Mountain have been delisted. What delisting means is that it doesn’t matter how well a book sells, Amazon will not list it if they think it is ‘adult’ themed. If a book is not listed, it won’t show up in a general search of a topic, or it will appear very low in the search rankings.
I look forward to Amazon correcting, or at least clarifying their position. It’s a PR mess, so I expect they’ll get on it soon.
In the meantime, while I’m not a big believer in boycotts, I’m beginning to think Amazon doesn’t want my money, because they apparently don’t value my taste in books. Twitter hasn’t failed, because the twitterers have offered many alternatives, such as:
Of course, there are many, many more alternatives. Just check your local phone book and see.
Can’t forget to mention Smart Bitches Trashy Books idea about Amazon Rank, and here is a direct link to the definition itself. You can spread the word by passing this URL http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/amazonrank/ to your friends.
January 31st, 2009 by lafnlab
Over the past few months I’ve been following the Vendée Globe boat race. It’s a solo circumnavigation of the world in a sailboat, and the winner is due to arrive in the port of Les Sables d’Olonne in France. With a lead of a few days (more than 1200 nautical miles) over his nearest competitor, the only way Michel Desjoyeaux could lose now would be to sink. He will have gone around the world in 83 days, which is a solo sailing record.
January 18th, 2009 by lafnlab
In these days prior to the inauguration, it’s not surprising there are tons of articles about him. There are two articles worth noting, however.
Obama dominates ‘King Sunday’ at black churches – Monday the 19th is Martin Luther King Day and Tuesday, January 20th is Inauguration Day. In predominantly black churches, the article states, Sunday the 18th was as much a celebration of Barack Obama as it was of Martin Luther King, Jr. Four decades after MLK’s assassination we will witness a partial fulfillment of his dream. It seems poignant that the United States of America will swear in Pres. Obama a day after we celebrate the Rev. King.
As challenges mount, ardor for Obama cools abroad – The title is a little misleading, since the article isn’t about people disliking him. In the face of number of challenges facing the incoming President, people are becoming more realistic in their expectations. While many things written about Obama over the past year have bordered on hagiography, people are beginning to realize he won’t be able to fix everything. Put another way, the expectations were too many and too large. “The idealism has diminished,” said Samuel Solvit, who heads an Obama support network in France. “Everyone was dreaming a little. Now people are more realistic.”
In general, I’m optimistic about the future of our country, yet mindful that we have some serious challenges ahead that will take years to solve.
December 22nd, 2008 by lafnlab
The true test of a ship’s captain isn’t how well he handles the ship in calm seas. The real test of a captain is how well he handles a ship during a storm.
Thinking about the multimillionaire or billionaire CEO’s whose companies are seeking government handouts, it’s possible many of them aren’t very capable at the helm. They might look good on paper if their companies were prosperous during good times, but that’s because they were able to float on the currents of a buoyant economy. The storm has come and it’s time for the executives to show their value. Will they be able to navigate the perilous straits with their companies intact, or will they wind up on the rocks? Are they the rats who leave a sinking ship, knowing it’s in trouble, or are they the captains who go down with the ship, because they bound their fate to that of the ship?
Even good captains can have bad outcomes, but as leaders they are thoughtful enough to know their decisions can affect thousands of employees, customers, and vendors. They know the consequences of bad decisions, and will keep trying to right the ship, even if it’s a lost cause.
A rat, however, thinks only of itself and can’t be trusted. They keep working as long as the money’s good, and need bonuses as motivation to do their jobs. Maybe they don’t understand bonuses ? entitlements. If a CEO requires bonuses to stay on board, the company is probably better off with someone else at the helm.
If the CEO’s can guide their companies through the turbulent seas of the global economy until they reach calmer market conditions, then those CEO’s should be rewarded for their skill. Bonuses and perks should be given to those who’ve earned them, and merely occupying a chair (CEO, COO, etc) shouldn’t be enough to earn a bonus.
Given the current economy, success will be measured by survival, not by the bottom line.
May 5th, 2008 by lafnlab
A few years ago I found about open primaries. I’m an independent, but a friend of mine who worked the polls told me that independents could also vote in primaries in Indiana, but they had to choose one primary to vote in. In other words, an independent could vote in a Democratic primary, but not a Republican, or could vote in a Republican primary, but not a Democratic one. Sounded like an interesting idea, but it didn’t seem to matter too much…until now.
When I found out that the Indiana primaries were in May, I figured they would all be decided and it would be a waste of time to bother voting in the primary. Years ago, I would have supported McCain over Bush. I like the idea of having an armed-forces veteran in the White House. McCain, Kerry, and Gore are all Vietnam veterans, while Bush served in the Texas Air National Guard, which isn’t quite the same thing. However, the economy is going to be a bigger issue in this campaign than the War in Iraq. The war is still an important issue, but the economy will certainly affect more people than the war does. I don’t know anyone in the armed forces at the moment, but I do know the price of groceries seems to be going up a bit. Even though gas prices don’t affect me directly (don’t own a car), I know that the cost of transportation is figured into the prices of things in stores, and as gas prices go up, so do the prices in the stores. The reason I’m not likely to vote for McCain this time around is because he admitted the economy wasn’t his strong point (This was around he time Mitt Romney was still in the race). McCain might be a good War President, he might be a good leader (despite the occasional foot-in-mouth issues), but I think the economy needs more attention at the moment.
Anyway, since McCain has the Republican nomination pretty much sewn up, I can turn my attention to the Democratic candidates. If I vote in the primary tomorrow (today) it will be for Obama. My first thought about him years ago during the Democratic convention was that he is a hell of an orator. However it takes more than speeches to be a good president. I was a little worried about his experience until I found out he served for many years in the Illinois legislature. It also dawned on me that a lot of others (George Bush and Bill Clinton, for example) also lacked experience yet won the White House. I think who he picks for a running mate and for cabinet positions will be important in winning in November. My suggestions woud be Wesley Clark (a retired general) or Bill Richardson ( a former diplomat).
Despite the fact that his campaign has been sending me junk mail, I can relate more to Obama than I can to Clinton. Obama’s parents divorced when he was young. He went to a bunch of different schools and moved around a lot. His family even got Food Stamps when he was younger, which is something I also remember. I have a lot of respect for someone who can go from a childhood like that to eventually become a senator or even president. Even if I don’t vote tomorrow, I wish him luck.
May 5th, 2008 by lafnlab
Now that classes are over and I don’t begin again until August, I’ve been thinking of some things to do over the summer. As mentioned previously I’m scheduled to take the GRE this week. Once the grades for that arrive, then it’s a matter of making a formal application for grad school. Still, those things won’t occupy much of my time, so it’s a matter of figuring out what else to do.
My office and apartment both need Spring cleaning, so I think that is what I will work on this week, at home and at work. Actually, cleaning the apartment might go into next week. Calling it dirty would be giving it too much credit. I’ll try to work in sections and see how that goes.
I’ve also given myself a reading list for summer. Some have to do with the idea that I’m going to be a grad student (knock on wood) and should bone up while I have the chance:
- Surviving your Thesis by Susan Burton
- Developing Multicultural Educators by Jana Noel
- The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language by Steven Pinker
- Reflections on Language by Noam Chomsky
- Language and Responsibility by Noam Chomsky
- Formulaic Sequences: Acquisition, Processing and Use by Norbert Schmitt
- Formulaic Language and the Lexicon by Alison Wray
I’ve read the last two already while researching a paper last Fall. Since I keep thinking about that subject, it may be the basis of my thesis. I’ve never read Chomsky before, even though he is supposed to be very influential in Linguistics. What often happens is people will describe what they think Chomsky said or wrote, and they are only mentioning what is needed to support their point. To get my own idea about what his ideas are, I figured I should actually read his books. The other books caught my eye for some reason.
I also plan on reading House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby, and maybe Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss. When I read novels, they usually only take a day or so to read, so that idea should hold for these books, but not the ones up above. Hopefully, this will take care of all, or most of the summer.
April 23rd, 2008 by lafnlab
It’s election time, so that means…junk mail. Since I don’t watch TV or listen to the radio, I guess that’s about the only way I will encounter candidate ads. Strangely, the only junk mail I’ve received for elections is from Democratic candidates.
It’s strange for two reasons. First, I’m an independent and not registered with any political party. One of the reasons I became an independent (years ago) was to cut down on the junk mail. Guess it works differently in Indiana. The other reason it’s strange is because I only get junk mail from the Democrats. They’ve got more to spend, but for a party that likes to pride itself on being environmentally friendly, they seem to send a lot of trash (literally and figuratively). Maybe the environment is secondary to getting the word out, but it seems like those spam e-mails that promise anti-spam solutions – the message contradicts the medium.
For what it’s worth, this particular piece of mail came from the Obama campaign. Since the primary (I’m an independent, remember) is in two weeks, I expect a lot more junk mail will be in my mailbox until then.
