Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 223

LMAO, DOODZ!

It's World War II on Facebook. [via Janice:]

Back Taxes

So . . . as I was discussing my 2009 taxes with the Accountant, the Accountant asked: "What about property taxes for 2009?"Hmm. Interesting. I didn't remember paying property taxes for 2009. Or for that matter receiving a bill.So I've been on the phone with the County Clerk and the County Assessor and the County Treasurer. And it turns out that my purchase of the property 16 years ago was

Thought for the Day

If you don't give your reader the ending you promised him, then the ending you give him better be three times better than the ending you promised.

Gravity-Free Assembly

Courtesy of USA Today, an animation showing the decade-long assembly of the International Space Station.

Uh-Oh

From Bruce Schneier, we find that all that anonymous networking data isn't so anonymous after all . . . Computer scientists Arvind Narayanan and Dr Vitaly Shmatikov, from the University of Texas at Austin, developed the algorithm which turned the anonymous data back into names and addresses.The data sets are usually stripped of personally identifiable information, such as names, before it is sold

Unusual Apology

Betraying a refreshingly unusual attitude, the screenwriter who wrote Battlefield Earth apologizes for his work. It wasn't as I intended -- promise. No one sets out to make a train wreck. Actually, comparing it to a train wreck isn't really fair to train wrecks, because people actually want to watch those.It started, as so many of my choices do, with my Willy Wonker. It was 1994, and I had read

Bouncy Castle

There's a huge wind storm going on right now. I was driving home this afternoon and saw a large object bounding down the road ahead of me. Turns out it was the roof to someone's barn or garage.

Get the Plague!

Don't say I never did anything for you! My new Night Shade collection, The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories, is now available for pre-order at half price!

Why I Am Feeling Smug Beyond All Reason

NASA astronaut Colonel Mike Fincke, with whom I had a memorable conversation back in 2008, has invited me to witness his next shuttle launch, STS-134.

Mamet's Memo

A memo written by David Mamet has recently surfaced, one that he wrote to the writers of his TV show The Unit. Though the memo is directed specifically to television writers, it nevertheless contains advice which all writers of fiction should take to heart. . . . OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, ARE EMPLOYED TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION — AND, SO, AT TIMES, IT SEEMS TO US.BUT