• 11:39 Lemuria is often incorrectly identified with Mu. #
• 16:19 Mu is the sound made by the Chao. #

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• 00:12 You've got your vril in my bacon! You've got your bacon in my vril! #
• 13:44 ...the sourenesse of the countenance... #
• 18:51 Hey, Sal, the apes are in the salad again. #

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Kristyn and I did make it to PenguiCon 2008 this year, though we only made it for Saturday evening through Sunday early afternoon. It was a good time, all told (and before you ask, I was entirely oblivious to this controversial activity). I picked up a couple intriguing books (Where's My Jetpack by Daniel H. Wilson, and Discarded Science by John Grant), saw a number of I-seem-to-see-them-only-at-con friends, and generally had a fun time.

But by far, the coolest thing that went on at PenguiCon 2008 was this (as captured in this YouTube video):

The Singing Tesla Coils

(Note: this is the first of what looks like a series of videos chronicling the Tesla Coils at Penguicon, which had concerts on both Friday and Saturday evenings.)

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Ever have that feeling that the universe has you in its sights and is ready to squeeze the trigger?

It does, and it is!

(On the plus side, instead of killing us, it might turn us green and give us super-strength.)

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Work has gone from just sitting on my head to jumping up and down on it. Apparently, it wears stiletto heels on its feet. Who knew?

And when that's not been happening, I've been in the middle of a re-finance of my mortgage (from an ARM to a fixed rate) that's somewhere between fiasco and farce, but is very nearly done.

So, I've been reading LJ off and on, usually only on weekends, but have had little time to post or even comment. And that will continue to be the case through March and probably the first couple weeks of April.

Damn, I have to do my taxes sometime in there, too.

But other than this, life is pretty fair. It could be worse. Last year at this time was considerably worse than now.

How's by you?

Joining the caboose of this long meme train:

Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random. The article title is the name of your band.
Go to http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3. The final words of the last quote on your page are the title of your album.
Go to http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/ The FOURTH image on the page is your album cover. You can choose to go to http://www.flickr.com/groups/flickrsocial/pool/ if you prefer a more dynamic, less philosophical cover.
Design your cover. Layout and presentation are up to you.
Post your cover, along with these instructions. In the comments your friends will tell you what kind of music you play and the name of the album's single.

My Band: Coaming
My Album: Leave Immediately After
My Album Art:


(Coaming, it should be pointed out, sounds dirty, but it's not.)

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FBI wiretap cut off for unpaid bill

This is just like that time the CIA had to stop using waterboard torture because someone forgot to pay the water utility...

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A fun meme what comes my way from murrday. Hidden behind the cut as there are many (150) little pictures and such:

( My Interests Collage! )

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Rad 93, part one of three
Rad 93, part two of three
Rad 93, part three of three

This will likely be the last time I make specific note of a Superguy or Sfstory posting in this, my personal LiveJournal. Since I also post the notices to the superguy_list community, there's no real sense in doing it twice. So if you care to get such notices in the future via your LJ friends list, that's where to go.

I'll also be scaling back my Superguy efforts some in the coming year -- though only some, as I'm having much fun with it, and it's done wonders for banishing the creative funk I was in. But I need as to balance this fun stuff with... well, other fun stuff for which I hope to someday get paid. I've got short stories to whip into shape, a couple ideas for my next effort at a novel, a synopsis to write for an old novel I spent some of this year hammering into publishable shape (this is not to be confused with The Novel, which continues to languish on a slush pile somewhere), some collaborative notions I'm toying with... and who knows, maybe I'll even get a webcomic going. And maybe my spleen will start making squeaking noises. Anything is possible in the new year.

In the meantime, please enjoy the episode, and have a happy and rococo New Year.

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I just learned this morning, from lemagia, that Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with an early-onset form of Alzheimers. Which is not good news for anyone, though Terry's announcement handles it with optimism and warm wit.

I don't think I'm going to get into, just now, how much his books have affected me, or how I have in recent years read his books to see how it is he got so damn good at what he does. Like he says, he's 'not dead yet,' so no eulogies, please. (And the last line in the announcement is priceless, and pure Terry.) And well wishes shouldn't have anything to do with how many books he wrote (a lot), or how good they were (very very and very some more).

I met him at a science fiction convention held in Detroit a few years back (the first Penguicon, actually), and found him as kind, warm, witty and charming as anyone who's read his books could hope. So I'll just wish him my best in this, and hope that the end is still a long ways away.

I enjoyed this quote from this post in the abstractthought community way too much:

"Art is like Vaseline. When you put it on, it sticks to everything."

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A meme I pinched from... me.

1. Look over my list of interests on my profile. Choose one, and ask me what's up with me listing it as an interest.

2. Look over my list of interests again, and if there's something you expected to see there that is not, ask me what's up with that. (Limit 1 per customer.)

3. I comment back with my entertaining and informative reply.

4. You post this meme in your LiveJournal, and I get to ask these questions of you.

5. Profit!

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Having knocked the rust off my Superguy writing with last month's Rad episode, I thought I'd turn to my even-longer corroding Sfstory series, Universal Solvents, to see if I could kick it back in gear. Lo, here are the results:

Universal Solvents #19, part one of two
Universal Solvents #19, part two of two

For more info on what Sfstory is, and how it relates to Superguy, check out the succinct but essentially accurate Wikipedia entry on Sfstory, and of course the always-useful Sfstory Archives.

(x-posted to superguy_list)

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As brought to my lutefisk-ravaged attention by robotech_master and flemco:



I haven't checked yet, but given popular conspiracy theories concerning the true authorship of Shakespeare's works, it's entirely possible the word that 'gwox' was substituted for is 'bacon.'

Mmmmm. Bacon.

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The superguy_list discussion community is now here! Hide the sampo! Lock up the cheese!

Seriously, somebody had to do it...

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After 14 months, I finally get around to posting the next episode! Hurrah!

Rad #92, part one of two
Rad #92, part two of two

(Looking for the previous installment? Check here.)

Man, that was a long wait for what is, essentially, a lot of exposition and dialogue. I gotta put some ninjas into the next one.

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I've finished html-ifying the Sfstory archives, for those who care about such matters. What's more, I've moved them to their very own subdomain on my Novitious.com website:

sfstory.novitious.com

And yes, I will finish the Universal Solvents series. Sometime before the end of the decade. Possibly.

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Mystery Underwear Stymies Guantanamo Investigators

I bet it turns out the illicit undergarments were brought in by the same guys who bring in the waterboard and the car battery with the testicle clamps. 'Cause I'm sure none of the guys there thought they'd need a change of undies.

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I tried out TrustFlow II for LiveJournal. The following people not on the friends list for gwox are close by:

• starmanmatt (50 - 100)
• arconius, dansr, wheredo_ibelong, jenmfinj, gwalcharianwife, sunpony, jennyz29 (150 - 200)
• pleonastic, tbutler, bodhranplayer, jarodrussell (200 - 250)

( More results below the cut... )

Created by ciphergoth; hosted by LShift.

TrustFlow II: Who is closest to your friends list?