Harry Connolly's Blog, page 193

Suddenly very sick

Heading home early.

Five things for a Friday

1) Important indicator of an improving economy: The line at Starbucks is getting way long. I had to skip my refill this morning to get to day-job on time.

2) Remember that editorial note I mentioned before? The one that's kicking my ass? I skipped breakfast today to get extra time to work on it, and I'm still losing. I'm doing something wrong, but what I don't know.

3) Medical and dental insurance costs for my family and me for the year: $23,381.28. One year. Three people. Core plan....

In other news…

My editorial notes on Man Bites World were really simple and straightforward–ambiguous dialog! contradictory description! repetitive narration!–right up to the last one. The very last comment I had to deal with bowled me over.

It's a line of dialog that makes sense in my head, but none of the meaning it's meant to imply comes out on the page. It is, essentially, a declaration of war on the status quo in the Twenty Palaces setting, and that's not something you clarify in a ten-minute...

More on food and obesity

I've never eaten at a Claim Jumpers restaurant, and thanks to this article I never will. That's two days' worth of calories they're serving there. The baby back ribs are 8 times the calorie load of a KFC Double Down!

And that doesn't include the sides.

As I mentioned in a previous post, posting calorie counts is a sensible thing to do, although the evidence that it has any effect is pretty iffy so far. Posting calorie counts like these ought to be law. The article makes it clear that...

Randomness for 4/21

1) Fantasy art or currently erupting Icelandic volcano?

2) Camera technology detects buried corpses from a plane.

3) A Choose-Your-Own Adventure, Lego Animation Style: Ronald Has A Spider On His Head.

4) Despite the URL, this link is totally safe for work: a celebration of portraiture. I love these pictures more than I should. I especially love the top one in the "Cowboys" entry.

5) I can't see this at work; somebody please watch it and tell me if it's cool.

6) Third edition POKETHULHU rules...

Climate Change, Al Queda, Tater Tots

School lunches declared "National Security Threat" by group of former military officials.

Instead of going after underfunded school lunch programs, they'd have more success legislating against food advertising aimed at kids.

You know those times?

You know those times when you think: "I'll just open up that game and see if I can't finish off that really tough level" and the next thing you know you've retaken Guadalcanal?

Yeah. I shouldn't be having those times.

Usually, I would post this in a review roundup…

… but I want to talk about it a little. The blog linked below doesn't list the reviewer's name (at least not where I could find it) but the Google Alert that directed me there said it was written by one "David Marshall." Check this out:

There's a fantastic market for spin-offs, sequels when one story arc has finished, and prequels. And those prequels can go back as far as you want into childhood. Hey, you could even write some for the YA market. Get them hooked on your heroes young and...

This is why legal documents are not equal to a marriage certificate

Outrage.

Followup to Armbinder's article

Gretchen Reynolds writes about the latest research in exercise.

It's interesting stuff, covering the differences between men and women and touching on the benefits of light vs. vigorous exercise. I can foresee the new weight loss trend just as the wave crests–Don't go to the gym! Put your home computer on a countertop!–but it's interesting how focussed the piece was on weight loss rather than health.