The old blog, active from 2006 through 2012.
The Ever-Expanding Brand
Daniel Gross wrote a fascinating piece in the L.A. Times this weekend about companies, like Starbucks, that expand too quickly and sacrifice their brand magic. Continue reading→
Global Warming Skepticism
I've been mulling the idea of writing a piece about my skepticism over global warming, but now it looks like I don't really have to; my friend and fellow Pyr SF novelist Joel Shepherd has written it for me. Continue reading→
The End of Hollywood
In fact, in case you've missed this decade altogether, it's no secret that the entire Hollywood movie industry is dying. Why? Here are my reasons, and some of my prescriptions for Hollywood finding new relevance. Continue reading→
Windows Vista Frustrations
I've got a new part-time job, and along with that job came a brand-new Dell PC that came with Windows Vista Ultimate preinstalled. Here are my first impressions about the good and the bad. Continue reading→
Mervyn Peake’s “Gormenghast” and “Titus Alone”
Mervyn Peake's "Gormenghast" is a suitable companion-piece to "Titus Groan." The two are so alike in tone and theme, that they seem to have been written in a single burst of inspiration. But "Titus Alone" is a completely different animal altogether. It's an amazing novel in its own way, but it stands completely aloof from the first two novels of the series. Continue reading→
A Preview of “MultiReal,” the Sequel to “Infoquake”
Today I've reached a milestone. I've finished what I'm labeling the fourth draft of "MultiReal," the sequel to "Infoquake." Here are some things you can expect to see when "MultiReal" finally hits the shelves. Continue reading→
“Infoquake”: The Bad Reviews
I’ve noticed a few other authors posting links to bad reviews of their novels on their websites. By bad reviews, I don’t mean poorly written or incomprehensible reviews — I mean reviews that tear your book a new asshole. I mean reviews that compare your book unfavorably to various types of animal dung. There’s one site I visited recently where the author had three columns displaying the “good,” the “bad,” and the “ugly” reviews of... Continue reading→
Windows Vista and Easy Security
I’ve owned and continuously operated Microsoft PCs since that clunky 8086 behemoth running MS-DOS 3.3 that I took to college with me in 1989. It ran at a sizzling 6 MHz, unless you pressed the big white button labeled “Turbo” on the front, and then — look out! — 12 MHz. (Why you would ever turn this button off, I don’t know.) In all that time, I’ve never been hit by a computer virus, worm,... Continue reading→
You Are What You Read
Never let it be said that I’m not a sentimental idiot. I had a fun little idea earlier tonight about taking my catalog of books on LibraryThing and doing a photo mosaic out of it. You know, to prove that “you are what you read,” or something jejune like that. So I took a couple of photos of myself and one of the Infoquake book cover, and I done did it. Here are two of... Continue reading→
Hugo/Campbell Nomination Deadlines
Just a friendly public service announcement that just so coincidentally happens to pertain to, well, um, me. The deadline to submit nominations for the Hugo Awards and for the John W. Campbell Best New Science Fiction Writer Award is not until March 3, 2007. Plenty of time. However… in order to nominate someone, you must have either been an attending or supporting member of last year’s WorldCon in Anaheim, CA or this year’s WorldCon in... Continue reading→