Long Weekend Round-up

Happy Canada Day (four days late) and Happy Independence day , USA (one day late)!

I was visiting my mother-in-law on the weekend (out of Toronto! Yay!), so no posting got done.
I was very pleased to only have to spend part of the weekend in front of the computer (and displeased that I didn't get what I wanted accomplished). Would rather have been swimming, but the edit must go on and Lake Ontario is bloody cold this time of year (really. I nearly froze my ankles off. I would have gone in deeper, but I was carrying the kid at the time and there's no way I'm exposing her to that).

Speaking of the edit, and of freezing, last week was a week of sticking points. First, a section in Chapter 7 got me completely flummoxed for about a day, then another section in chapter 8. In both cases it wasn't until I was walking to work the next morning that I got the answer, which meant immediately getting to my computer and firing off the idea before I forgot it.

My personal favourite, thought, came on Wednesday. The line was originally, "The watch tower was a dim shape in the distance." Briana, my editor, asked, "What sort of shape?" I thought, good point. No problem, it's a...

a...

Two hours over one word. I must have been tired or something. I ended up quitting in favor of television that night, got the answer on the way to work (again) and emailed it to myself. Sad, really.

Now, as we approach the middle of the first week of July, I've made it through chapter 9, which contains a pivotal conversation and reveal, which meant re-writing nearly the entire chapter so it made sense. All the information was there, sure, but the order was atrocious. Had me confused, and I wrote it.

Fortunately, it's much better now.

So that was my long weekend. Hope yours was good.

Back to work.

The Perfect Wave

Yesterday was the summer solstice (hope you Pagans out there had a good party!) and my boss showed me something very cool.

If you visit the offical US time website, and click on your timezone, it will give you the time where you are. More importantly, it will show you a map of the world, with which areas are currently in daylight, and which ones are in shadow. At the solstice, the shadow forms a perfect sine wave, which will turn into almost a straight line as we move towards the equinox, then a sine wave the other direction as we move to the next solstice.

Neat, huh?

Yeah, I'm a geek, but in a world full of wonders, its the geeks who go looking that see the most.

Back to work.

Oh, look

Not-for-profit health care is better than for-profit

Anyone else out there not surprised?

Good God!

Stephen Harper said something smart.

My favorite quote is:

"It is true that somewhere, in some communities we do find promoters of terror, people who use cultural, religious symbols to perpetrate violent crime. They abhor open societies, pluralist societies, democratic societies, because they advocate the exact opposite: a closed, homogeneous, dogmatic society."

Hmmm. Who does that sound like...

Say, do the Neocons know that you're badmouthing them, Stephen?

Evolution and Anthropology

No, I'm not going to join the debate about Evolution vs. Intelligent Design. I've already picked my side, and it isn't Intelligent Design. If the universe was intelligently designed, George Bush would never have become president, and Stephen Harper would never have become Prime Minister (of course, neither would Paul Martin).

While looking up something entirely different at work, I stumbled across the Anthropology home page of Palomar College in San Marcos, California, which has a couple of very interesting tutorials about anthropology, including the evolution of evolution theory.

So have a look if you like.

Back to work.

A Quick Post

Because I haven't posted in a while. Things are busy. Relatives have been coming to visit so it has been cleaning, entertaining and editing, editing, editing. My editor and I figured out the problem the computer was having with the chapters she was sending, and it has been nose at grindstone ever since.

Having an intersting time with one section. A couple of astute questions from my editor turned a few notes into a major revision of one bit which has improved the section to no end. It also has left me slightly stumped, as it changes some of the motivations for the next bit, and requires some working around to get fixed. I figured it out on my way to work this morning, and just have to remember it for when I get home tonight.

Meanwhile, dwarf dinosaurs here, because sometimes science is neat.

Back to work.

Well, Dammit

I have just discovered that my computer is not showing all the changes that my editor has put in Small Magics Chapter 7. This is annoying, because without seeing them, I can't tell whether or not I agree, and we will have nothing to argue about.

I meant discuss. Really. I'm not argumentative at all. Really.

Stupid computer.

I have contacted my editor, who is very good and will no doubt get back to me quickly. Annoying, though. It means I am paused.

Drat.

Oh well.

Back to work.

(On something else for the moment)