The old blog, active from 2006 through 2012.
Tags vs. Categories
If you’ve looked at the meta line underneath the headlines on this blog recently, you might have noticed that I’ve started tagging on this blog. I’m using a WordPress plug-in called Jerome’s Keywords, which puts a convenient text box for entering tags on your Compose page and then gives you lots of convenient functions to call them up on your blog. In addition to displaying the tags on the meta line, these tags also appear... Continue reading→
Google’s Instant Translation
In case they weren't working on enough already, Reuters reports that Google is working on the ability to instantly translate documents. Google's essentially trying to do the whole thing through pattern recognition, which has some interesting philosophical implications. Continue reading→
Hugo Nomination Kudos
Kudos and congrats are due to some friends who have gotten onto the final ballot for the Hugos this year: John Picacio, nominated for both the Professional Artist category and the Related Book category (for Cover Story, his collection of book covers). Not only is John a phenomenal, groundbreaking artist, but he’s an extremely nice guy too, which isn’t a bad combination. Lou Anders, my esteemed editor at Pyr, has received a well-deserved nomination for... Continue reading→
Dancing with the… Krokus?
Seeing a cheesed-out version of Krokus' "Ballroom Blitz" on "Dancing with the Stars" has reminded me that pop culture dies, and it's a depressing spectacle to watch for those who stick around to see it. Continue reading→
KGB Reading Wrap-up
I arrived back late last night from my trip to New York for the Fantastic Fiction Reading Series at the KGB Bar. Co-organizer Ellen Datlow was kind enough to post photos of the event on her Flickr account. The reading, I felt, went fabulous. At 40 people, the reading audience was both the largest and most attentive I’ve ever been in front of. I read my story “Mathralon,” which, as I told the audience, is... Continue reading→
Reading at the KGB Bar This Wednesday
As a reminder to those in the New York area, I will be reading this Wednesday night at the Fantastic Fiction Reading Series at the KGB Bar in Manhattan. I’m essentially the warm-up act for the legendary Carol Emshwiller, she who hath won the Philip K. Dick and World Fantasy Awards and received multiple Nebula and James Tiptree Jr. nominations as well. What will I be reading? I was told that organizers Ellen Datlow and... Continue reading→
Five Things That Do Happen When You Become a Published Author
Following my somewhat pessimistic post on Five Things That Don’t Happen When You Become a Published Author, here are a few things I’ve noticed that do happen when you become a published author. 1. Strangers will be strangely deferential to you. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met in the past year whose eyes lit up when they discovered I had written a novel published by a real, live, New York publisher. The... Continue reading→
Five Things That Don’t Happen When You Become a Published Author
Just a few random observances of what my life as a published author has been like compared to what I had expected or hoped for. Keep in mind that I can only speak for my own experiences as a debut novelist with a large independent U.S. publisher. Your mileage may vary. To summarize, I quote the great Bruce Springsteen: “There I was one night, just a normal guy. And then, there I was the next... Continue reading→
Dave on Ruby on Rails
Imagine you’ve never played the game of football (the American version) before. You’ve never even seen a football game, and you have no idea what the rules are. But somebody tells you it’s way hella cool, and you’ve got the build for it, why don’t you come on down and join the team. So you suit up and get on the field, but you still don’t have the foggiest idea what’s going on. Sometimes people... Continue reading→
Don’t Worry, Vista Will Handle It
Call me a masochist, but I installed Windows Vista on my home machine this past weekend. I wasn’t about to spend much money to get my rapidly aging Shuttle XPC Vista ready, so I simply opted to buy an $85 ATI Radeon video card that would let me run the Aero interface, however creakily. The list of apps with Vista compatibility problems is truly mind-boggling. We’re talking about stuff I use every day. Dreamweaver, ColdFusion,... Continue reading→