Matthew Alan Thyer's Blog, page 42

A Question of Etiquette

So, right now I’m feeling a tad bit confused and maybe a little stuck. I’ve been submitting short stories to a variety of venues in the SF world. Eventually, I get back a rejection notice. And while this is perfectly okay with me — I’ll simply move on to the next venue with the story to see if I can find a better fit — I feel a desire to reach out and thank the editor in question for their time.

I’ve done a bit of research. The “do you write a thank you note after a manuscript rejection?” quer...

I Cannot Think of Nothing that Might Go Wrong

Yep, nothing…

Okay sarcasm aside, let’s take something like this to its logical extreme. One-hundred ton road trains crossing vast uninhabited Western wastelands of the west. Crowded stop and go traffic of over-populated urban areas. Stoned hackers who desire nothing so much asa truckload of fresh Chinese Twinkies. Man, talk about mash-up potential. Road warrior meets Minority Report. This has potential.

Make the Ordinary Come Alive

Do not ask your children

to strive for extraordinary lives.

Such striving may seem admirable,

but it is a way of foolishness.

Help them instead to find the wonder

and the marvel of an ordinary life.

Show them the joy of tasting

tomatoes, apples and pears.

Show them how to cry

when pets and people die.

Show them the infinite pleasure

in the touch of a hand.

And make the ordinary come alive for them.

The extraordinary will take care of itself.

William Martin, The Parent’s Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Mod...

Tomorrow I Turn 42

Yes, tomorrow I turn 42. Which, in case you did not know, is the answer to “Life, the Universe and Everything.” And this, in case you were unaware, is one of my all time favorite books. I loved Douglas Adams’ fiction the same way I love pie; with an unhealthy, gluttonousfervor that playsin the borderlands of insane mania. There lies a true poet of our times. He made us laugh, he made us cry, he made us crave perfectly normal. Without trying he described the fundamental nature of our generatio...

Let’s Wage a War on X-mass

This is what happenswhen the worldallows, nayeven encourages, guys like me to wield the awesome power that is Twitter.

For my birthday this year all I asked for is a War on Christmas. Load up the 30mm Happy Holiday cannons

— Matthew Thyer (@FeetForBrains) September 24, 2014

Move the Inter Continental Kwanza missiles into position

— Matthew Thyer (@FeetForBrains) September 24, 2014

Santa Clause isn't coming to town. The anti aircraft barrage will make certain of that

— Matthew Thyer (@FeetForBrains)...

Need Some Space

I just knocked out about seven hundred words on a new Dispatch. Well maybe this one isn’t a Dispatch, maybe it is just a short story. Already it is 3,000 something words long and I’ve only gotten to the first reveal. But what ever it is, it is fun, and I’m enjoying writing it.

That said, what I wanted to talk about today has more to do with parenting. This week has been a challenge for me. Tess has been in Ohio all week solving software problems. I’ve stayed at home with the little guy and the...

Work for

Less this.

More this.

Getting Out There

Race to Alaska

I have been toying with an idea for a while now, since before my appearance at DetCon1 last July actually. Human powered endurance sports tend to existon the bleeding edge of materials science and efficient design. I like to use this in my science fiction writing because it is not much of a stretch to imagine pushing these two contributing factorsjust a little bit further in the pursuit of glories we already seek.

Today I realizethat when I was much younger and had far fewer resp...

After Action Geek Fan Expo

It’s over, but wow what can I say? I got to spend some extra special time with Jim C. Hines, Rob Paulsen and Timothy Zahn. In addition to all the panel time and and three readings there was Guests Against Humanity, a dirty little game of epic proportions. I laughed myself silly along with the rest of you. Add to that the VIP dinner and martini and you may see why I had such a great time. Finally, I got an opportunity to participate in what I think will turn out to be a really fine podcast int...

HLD Allegheny

Zane, something like this but bigger. Things dangling off the bottom. There could be two levels of balloon too. Perspective is off here too, it needs to be wider almost panoramic.

Now that that is out of the way, you’re looking at one of the very many reasons I’m not an artists. My friend Zane, who is a very talented artists, knows this and helps me out because he’s good people.