Geek Links!

Been a while since I posted any science stuff, so here's a couple of cool ones I found today.

Archaeologists won't separate prehistoric couple unearthed in eternal embrace

and

Arctic island to house world's first seed vault

And now, I have a proposal to write. And some more of Cold Magics.

Back to work.

Wheeeee!!!

It was great!

Day 1: We got there late, so no skiing, but had a fabulous dinner and shot some pool and got board games from the front desk and relaxed for the evening (yes, we are geeks). Slept without interruption (except to turn down the room heater which would not stop blasting out heat no matter how warn the room got).

Day 2: Skiing!

Now Sara, my lovely wife, had never been on downhill skis in her life, so the larger part of the day was spent teaching her how to get down the hill without killing herself or someone else. Got to say, she picked it up very quickly and was skiing down the longer runs without falling by the end of the morning. She did fab.

As for me, didn't fall once, which is a minor miracle, went down the beginner runs repeatedly, then got the chance, once Sara was feeling confident enough to ski alone, to try my luck at the intermediate runs.

I swear that intermediate runs were much less steep when I was sixteen. Still, made it down those as well, though on one I leaned back so far that My uphll arm hit the snow. Hurt myself but managed to stay more or less upright. Naturally, I did it again. Whee!

And the kid did very well on her weekend with Mum-Mum. Both had colds, so they spent the time indoors, playing, coloring, and watching videos. Mum-Mum had a great if very tiring time and so did Maggie, who went down like a rock.

And that was the weekend. A good time was had by all except Thomas (lead character in Cold Magics and Small Magics) who has been waiting two days for me to get him to the next bit of his adventures.

So, back to work.

Skiing!

That's right, skiing.

My wife and I are off to a nearby resort this weekend for some rest, relaxation and fun while our daughter's Mum-Mum (her maternal grandmother) takes care of her overnight Saturday.

Of course, our beloved Maggie (our daughter) has decided to have a cold and a fever this weekend. Still, Mum-Mum is game and we're heading out (taking the cel phone with us just in case). Fortunately Maggie is now two and both old and big enough for cough medicine. She is sleeping the sleep of the drugged even as I write this.

But that's not the most exciting part. The most exciting part is that we're going skiing!!!

I haven't been on skis in 20 years. Literally. And my wife has only been on them once. Neither of us have proper gear and we're going to rent skis.

It should be hilarious.

So, wish me well, and here's hoping for a minimum of falls as I get me ski legs back.

Back to work...

And then to bed.

When it all goes to...

I'm trying to keep swearing to a minimum. Hence, the incomplete title.

Cold Magics is now363 pages (double spaced, for you writer types out there). The idea is good, the story is good, and it was going along swimmingly until I wrote one really, really good scene about one of the characters. Not even the lead, mind you, but someone important.

It's a great scene, and I was worried it would never fit into the rest of the book, the way it was going. And then I realized why.

Every character you write has a journey (or should). Some have very short journeys. This character's journey is about finding out who she is in terms of one very specific thing, and the scene that I've written is one of the major turning points for her and really about a major theme that needs to be developed. The problem is, that it's not supported by the rest of the book. Which means everything has turned bad, all of a sudden.

It's been bugging me for days; it's put a cramp in the entire process, and it's stopped me moving forward. Now normally, I'd just make a note to myself in the appropriate place in the manuscript and move on, with the idea of fixing it in the next draft. Problem was that, until today, I had no idea how to do that.

Now I do. And I need to go back to 62 to start the process.

Dammit.

Back to work. And I mean, way back...

I did well!

(I was going to say "I done good!" but given the nature of the quiz, I thought better of it...)

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz

How's your grammar?

Hat Tip to Chet at The Vanity Press.

Hiatus Over!

Been back at the computer since Tuesday and have added seven new pages to Cold Magics. I have written one scene which I really like but have a sneaking suspicion it isn't going to make it through the next draft. Still, good to be working again.

And speaking of work, I'm on the clock in two minutes, so time to get to it.

Writing Hiatus

Much to my annoyance, I could not magically create extra hours in the day, so I'm having to take a couple of weeks off writing my latest book to study. I'll be putting fingers to keyboard again after January 13 (my exam day).

Meanwhile, blogging will continue sporadically as always.

And The New Harry Potter Title Is:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows


Can't wait to see the cover art.

Back to work (I'm just finishing lunch)

Geek Link: The Global Carbon Project

For those of us who are concerned about the environment (and these days that's most of us who aren't in the pockets of the oil industry) here's a good link with a lot of scientific information about what carbon is, how it works, how it is necessary to life, and how the way we produce it is helping to destroy the planet.

http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/index.htm

Some good stuff here.

And now, back to the dishes (I'm goofing when I should be doing housework). Then I have this writing thing I should do. And at some point I think I'm supposed to sleep.

A Moment of Silence

For one of the voices of my youth.

Dudley Do-Right writer dies

Chris Hayward, a television writer who brought his off-beat sense of humour to the Rocky and Bullwinkle TV show and comedies such as Get Smart and Barney Miller, has died.

Hayward, 81, died of cancer Nov. 20 at his Beverly Hills, Calif., home, his wife Linda said on Sunday.

Hayward is credited with helping create the bumbling Mountie Dudley Do-Right for the Rocky and Bullwinkle show, which debuted on ABC in 1959, then moved to NBC in 1961.

Hayward was part of the animation comedy writing team that developed at the Sunset Boulevard studios of Jay Ward.

Ward's "philosophy was: 'Just write sharp stuff for yourself and the audience will get it.' It was very freeing," said Allan Burns, a Bullwinkle writer who was Hayward's partner.

The show was packed with puns and parodies of classical literature and developed an adult following for the cast of zany characters. Much of that quick wit came from Hayward.

That show used to make me laugh myself silly. Rest in peace, Chris Hayward, and good work.

(Image from http://bullwinkle.toonzone.net/characters-dudley.htm)

Good News About Booze

Brain repairs alcohol damage, scans suggest

Thank goodness. There's hope for us all yet.

Speaking of which, where did that whiskey go...

Geek Link: Good News for Diabetes Sufferers

Latest research on Diabetes. A very cool breakthrough, though not ready for humans yet.

Here's the link:

Canadian scientists reverse diabetes in mice

Meanwhile, writing is proceeding slowly. Got myself stuck but I think I'm almost ready to break out of it. Annoying, but it happens.

So I want to redesign my website...

But I haven't the foggiest idea how to go about it.

I put together the first one using an old version of Dreamweaver given to me by a friend. I was quite pleased with the results, but it is in an out-of-date format (frames, don't ya know) and there is no flash or anything really cool.

Plus, with the book coming out in 2007 (I'm getting chills thinking about it. Really. It's cool) I want to have somewhere interesting for people to land.

So it's off to search for a designer, I guess. I have a concept, sort of an Erik's office-type front page, where every graphic leads you somewhere, but the execution is beyond my current skill levels.

Anyway, that's my blogging for the week. Not much to say except working hard, writing when I can, and getting ready for Christmas (the decorations went up today. The party is tomorrow).

Oh yeah, and here's a link on writing:

http://www.sfwa.org/writing/

And did you hear:

They're digging up St. Paul

(Sort of)

Why am I not surprised?

Via the Vanity Press

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm You're probably in the final stages of a Ph.D. or otherwise finding a way to make your living out of reading. You are one of the literati. Other people's grammatical mistakes make you insane.
Dedicated Reader
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Non-Reader
Fad Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Went to Beta

So I thought I'd change the look. The other was feeling a bit dark.

Will be updating the links as soon as I have some more spare time.

(or when I decide to miss another night's sleep)

Canadian Politics: The Liberal Leadership Convention

Stéphane Dion is the new leader of theFederal Liberal party.

Good choice.

I have to admit my original choice was Bob Rae, and not just for his electability. I like what he stood for, and I liked how he handled himself. It was unfortunate that he was knocked out in the third ballot, but these things happen (possibly because he went skinny dipping with Rick Mercer). I believe that, in getting Stéphane Dion, we have the better of two remaining choices.

Dion had several advantages over Michael Ignatieff, not the least of which was the ability to know when to keep his mouth shut. Michael Ignatieff's mouthing off is the reason that the whole "Quebecois as nation" thing got raised in Parliament.

Now, I'm not saying that Ignatieff isn't a smart man, or that he might not make good decisions, but the man has no political experience and that made him a major risk. You do not want someone who has never faced down a press scrum or represented your country in a meeting with other leaders (national, provincial or otherwise) taking the helm at a time when the yahoo we have running the country is doing his best to make us a respected world-wide as the USA.

(Sorry to any American readers, but right now, your country's image on the international scene is crap. Hopefully with the Democratic Party in charge of the House and Senate, things will improve)

We need someone with some experience, with a good head on his shoulders, who knows how to talk to the press and to other leaders. And as for smarts, here's a sum-up of Stéphane Dion from the CBC article I linked to at the beginning of this post:

Married with one daughter, Dion, 51, earned a BA and MA in political science from Laval University before obtaining a doctorate from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.

He was recruited by Jean Chrétien to run in the 1996 federal election and was elected in the Quebec riding of Saint-Laurent-Cartierville.

Dion held the post of minister for intergovernmental affairs for seven years but was dropped from cabinet in December 2003, when Paul Martin was sworn in as prime minister. The move was viewed as punishment for his close ties with Chrétien and unpopularity with several prominent Quebec Liberals.

Martin later brought him back into cabinet as environment minister after the Liberals won a minority government in the June 2004 election. In this role, Dion earned high praise for his work chairing the UN Climate Change summit in Montreal in 2005.

He looks to be a well-qualified, well rounded individual, and he has a vision of a Canada with a sustainable economy that will act as a world leader on environmental and human rights issues.

Let's hope he can do it. The Conservatives are really annoying the hell out of me (see previous post).

Canadian Politics: Jerks

The Harper Conservatives are going to close down 12 of the 16 Status of Women offices in Canada.

Why you ask?

Two quotes from Beverly Oda, Heritage Minister:

"What these offices don't necessarily provide is the help directly to women. There was a lot of lobbying groups, there was a lot of advocacy."

"We don't need to separate the men from the women in this country... This government as a whole is responsible to develop policies and programs that address the needs of both men and women."

And when the opposition suggested that this action was reprehensible, Oda's reply was:

"I'm very surprised that the opposition would say, 'Put money back into inefficiencies,' when you can find inefficiencies and streamline the operations."

So, let's clear some things up.

First: Lobbying and advocacy directly help individuals. These actions allow individuals representation before the government that they would not have been able to afford by themselves. They also result in changes to unjust laws. It was lobbying and advocacy that gave women the vote.

Second: It is not removing inefficiencies if you shut down programs, because an inefficient program that helps people is more efficient than no program at all. Only when you replace a program with something better can you claim to be getting rid of inefficiencies, instead of just cutting programs to get rid of those you don't like. Like the Status of Women, or the One Tonne Challenge, or adult literacy, or job creation programs, or funding for museums.

Third: If you claim that your government is responsible for both men and women in this country, then perhaps closing the government office that is responsible for ensuring that women receive equal opportunities as men is hypocritical and stupid.

Jerks.

I hope everyone out there in the Blogosphere will join me in endorsing a 29% pay cut for Ms. Oda, to put her salary in line with the average Canadian woman, who earns 71 cents for every dollar earned by her male counterparts. After all, if Ms. Oda doesn't believe in improving the status of women, she may as well face up to the realities of not improving the status of women.

Small Magics Has Gone To Dragon Moon Press

After much editing, Small Magics is now in the hands of my publisher, Dragon Moon Press. It has been a long, hard row to hoe, and I am very glad to see the end of this part of the journey.

There is more to do, of course, before it reaches the shelves next year, but the sense of completion is wonderful.

Thanks to everyone who helped, and specifically Katrina, Chet and Kim (my readers), Briana (my editor), and most of all Sara (my wife and another reader). Without your help, this book would never have seen the light of day.

And now that Small Magics is out of the way, Cold Magics needs to be finished (it's about 2/3 done) and The King Below needs editing (check my website for the plots) and there's that novel I'm adapting for the stage and the pantomime I want to get written for performance next Christmas and this year's ghost story and I've got an exam in January and ideas for two more novels...

And much more to do.

Back to work.

Global Warming: More Bad News

So, not only are we changing the climate, we're helping to wreck thousands of years of human heritage, and millions of years of natural development.

Here's the story.

Anyone thought of a way to make the Canadian government pay attention yet?

Found an Ab Workout

And it is nasty. It is actually a Core Muscle Strength and Stability test.

I found this at PowerCentering, which is a commercial website that promotes a core workout to get in shape. I have no idea how well their products or regimen work, but since I'm showing one of their tests here, I need to give them proper credit.

Here is the test:

The Core Muscle Strength & Stability Test is conducted as follows:

Position the watch on the ground where you can easily see it

1. Assume the basic plank/hover position (elbows on the ground).
2. Hold this position for 60 seconds
3. Lift your right arm off the ground.
4. Hold this position for 15 seconds
5. Return your right arm to the ground and lift the left arm off the ground.
6. Hold this position for 15 seconds
7. Return your left arm to the ground and lift the right leg off the ground.
8. Hold this position for 15 seconds
9. Return your right leg to the ground and lift the left leg off the ground.
10. Hold this position for 15 seconds
11. Return your left leg to ground and lift your right leg and left arm off the ground.
12. Hold this position for 15 seconds
13. Return your right leg and left arm to the ground and lift your left leg and right arm off the ground.
14. Hold this position for 15 seconds
15. Return to the basic plank position (elbows on the ground).
16. Hold this position for 30 seconds

Your score is equal to the number that corresponds to your last completed position (1-16) Your Score = _____________

I'll do this twice a week and see how I improve. It tried it and, sad to say, got a score of 7. Still, what's life without a challenge?