Lynn Abbey's Blog, page 10

Somewhere off the Bahamas…

Technically, I'm on vacation – escorting my parents on a cruise, cabining with Elaine .  I'd hoped to be blogging, but the satellite connection's 'way expensive and my blogging software has decided to go on vacation, too.  (Actually, it left before I did.  Microsoft says they're looking into it.  Sigh.)
I've taken lots of pictures and [...:]

Another Hat Trick (actually, a scarf)

First: how can I not subscribe to a site calling itself "Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories"?
Second: I've been a fan of Carl Sagan since his earliest appearances on Johnny Carson, and it was because of him that I signed up for what became the BOINC Seti project back in 1999.  I've been [...:]

So I guess I need to search more…

There's something inherently interesting about a gathering that dubs itself the Ouagadougou Conference, especially when, after Googling "Ouagadougou" I learn that it's the capital of Burkina Faso and the gathering is being held in Mountain View, CA (otherwise known as Google Central).
One of the holy grails of this or any other 21st-century website is something [...:]

Scrub Jays, Manatees, & Mardi Gras

Spring arrived in Central Florida last Friday afternoon.  After twelve of them, I've grown wise to the signs….the sun's out, the temperature's up, and, suddenly, the air's juicy.  Juicy—that's the local word for "somebody's going to get pounded by a thunderhead this afternoon."
At the very least, the change in seasons meant that I wouldn't have [...:]

Not quite Star Wars

But NASA did in a cloud on Feb 11…. 
Which is another example of strange things happening in Florida.
Coincidentally, yesterday, when my dad and I were moving the unfortunate new computer, I looked up to see a sun-dog near the late-afternoon sun.  I pointed it out to my dad who seemed quite surprised to see [...:]

All hail the space-key

I know it's a poor workman who blames his tools…but after fighting with the keyboard in general and the space-key in particular on my laptop (which is my blogging machine) I conceded defeat and ordered a replacement keyboard earlier this week. 
It arrived today and, during Stephane Lambiel's and Daisuke Takahashi's Olympic free skate, I [...:]

Administrivia – Part 2

I have been remiss.  A week or so ago, at the height of the Amazon/Macmillan kerfluffle, a commenter pointed out that nowhere here at Face of Chaos did I take the time to identify myself nor had I done anything to satisfy a newcomer's curiosity about my storytelling.
I took steps to seal both those loopholes, [...:]

Fever Dreams

As seasons go, autumn is a retreat; spring is a war.  Currently, that war's being fought in Florida….right outside my windows, if I'm not mistaken.  My condo community goes by the name "Spanish Oaks," which is to say lots of oak trees, even more Spanish moss.  The oak trees don't get around to shedding their [...:]

Down Time

I pretty much took the weekend off.
I cleaned, which I really needed to do; got caught up on some mundane, domestic paperwork; and made a bug…

I'll get back to work tomorrow…

Stray thoughts

I don't think there's been such an interesting (in that proverbial Chinese-curse sense) or exciting time in the publishing industry.  Movable type, maybe, but that didn't occur against the backdrop of the Internet and it's possible that the scriptorium monks weren't all that heartbroken about losing their jobs.
I've tucked up a half-dozen meaty articles for [...:]