Matthew Alan Thyer's Blog, page 46

I Want to be a Mountain

There is rain outside, falling steadily on the patio. Internally I am not calm. My mind is not at rest. I rose early and have been anxious to patter wet and cool and happy down a muddy path somewhere high up. Anticipation is forming my day and soon I will pack Aral into the bulki and set off into the weather.

I just came across this film project on Kickstarter and I really want to see this (thanks Rain Shadow Running). It wins the internet today and for a long time hereafter. Watch their fundi...

The Thrill of Words

I am about one-thousand words deep into an idea right now. An idea that developedfor me because of a culmination of little occurrences that just happened to intersect. How would Feng shui change in the vacuum of space? If thephysiognomy of mind, man and earth areseparated from one another is Qi still possible?

I wanted to write adialectic which explored these questions, but in order to accomplish this I’ve needed to also concoct a future history of sorts to contextualize the investigation of m...

Something to Consider (Part Two)

This is part two of the DetCon1 redux. You might be wondering, “What the what? He just said he was getting on the plane.” You’d be completely justified toponderthe worst. I’m here to assure you that nothing bad has happened. I took a bump on my flight for a ticket voucher.

If I wasn’t currently sitting back down in the comfy chair they’ve given me next to a plug writing this blog post I’d be up, jumping around, doing a happy dance. My plane ticket to Detroit in September for Geek Fan Expo is n...

DetCon1 Redux (Part One)

I’m sitting just outside the DTW jetty that will eventually have a plane parked at its other end. This plane will take me to PHX and thence further on, and hopefully home, to SEA. While I sit, sipping an iced chai from the coffee stand down the concourse, I’ve been reviewing the last four days. Trying to form the lessons I’ve learned into something I can use moving forward. Articulate the wisdom of those who have gone before me.

I should note that in addition to all the learning and networking...

A Self-Made Man Looks At How He Made It

FeetForBrains:

Worthy of the reblog, thanks John Scalzi.

Originally posted on Whatever:

To begin, my mother and father are responsible for me existing at all, so I suppose the first round of “How I made it to where I am” begins there.

I was born at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, CA, and as I understand it I was not the easiest of births, taking on the order of three days to be evicted from the womb. That couldn’t have been comfortable or safe either for my mother or for me, so thanks go to...

The Day I Knew I Would Make It

I have come to discover through earnest personal experience and dedicated learning that ultimately the greatest help is self-help;that there is no other help but self-help— doing one’s best, dedicating one’s self wholeheartedly to a given task, which happens to have no end but is an ongoing process. I have done a lot during these years of my process. A swell in my process,I have changed from self-image actualization to self-actualization, from blindly following propaganda, organized truths, e...

DetCon1 Schedule

This upcoming weekend I’ll be attending the 2014DetCon1. This will likely be the biggest gathering I make it to this year. It is the convention that is held in the States when WorldCon is off the continent. This year theNorth American Science Fiction Convention is in down town Detroit. Last I heard, tickets are still available. It’s not too late, you could come too.

Thursday 1700

Reading

Daniel/Eich/Thyer Joliet A Authors Tony Daniel, Raymund Eich, and Matthew Alan Thyer read from their work.

Fr...

Six Rules for Drinking Kool-Aid

Enjoy your favorite flavor. Be happy in the knowledge that you have discovered you’re a lime-kiwi or strawberry-fizz sort of person.
Allow other people the luxury of enjoying their favorite flavor even if it’s not the same as yours.
Encourage other people to try kool-aid. They may find that the enjoy your favorite flavor. They may discover one they love all on their own.
Kool-aid comes in all sorts of colors, the appearance of the beverage does not necessarily resemble the flavor. Don’t just a g...

WTA Hike-A-Thon 2014

In 2009 I ran nearly every day during the month of August. I don’t recall the exact amount, but I know I raised nearly the most for Washington Trails Associations annual Hike-a-Thon. If I recall correctly, I came in second place. The following year, due to some soft tissue injuries and the pending birth of my second child I ran fewer miles, but with a matching gift from my employer we exceeded the fund raising efforts of the previous year.

Since we left Washington in 2011 I have been unable to...

Fast Trekking Packs

I’ve been spending a lot of time getting ready for one of the panels I’m on at DetCon1next week and as a result I’ve been looking at many pictures of endurance races. Thus I’ve also been exposed to the great variety of new gear that is forever coming out. Anyone who has ever run a self-sufficient stage race or attempted to through hike a great distance knows that your pack is the foundation of your whole world. If you forget something, lose something, or break something while underway you wil...