The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion
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Cheryl wrote: "I did not realize that, Jim. I imagine that might have something to do with the addition of the reread feature. I'll have to consider combining my intentional duplicates as rereads.Yes, Deborah, ..."
Many thanks Cheryl!
I had a wonderful day in the shop yesterday. It was nasty out (cold & rainy) so I spent the day working on Xmas presents & did some modifications for the tablesaw that I've been meaning to do for ages. It was a thoroughly relaxing day; no rush since I've got all next week off. I'm working on Quoridor games for each kid's family. I've never played it, but it looks like a neat game & I like to do some sort of toy or game each year. I'm making these out of maple boards made from a tree I cut down at my daughter's house. I'm going to mount each as the top of a box with a drawer in it to hold the pieces & instructions. It's coming along well.
I looked at my reading stats today & wound up exporting my bookshelves to look at them in Excel. I almost wish I hadn't. I sorted by "Date Read" & found a huge difference between today's export & the one I did earlier this year for those I read in 2018. Further hunting revealed they were in the export, but the "Date Read" field hadn't exported. I checked a couple & the reviews showed the dates read here on GR, so I sent a note to support to find out what is going on. I really like tracking what I read across various categories (e.g., fiction vs. nonfiction) & it's going to be a real drag if I have to try to chase down 1/3 of the books I read this year. I read a lot & have been here a long time (12 years!) so I have a lot of books on my shelves. What a mess.
I have also noticed that what GR posts doesn't correspond very well to reality, for my reading record. Sigh. I'd hoped they could be a trustworthy resource. Doesn't look like it, does it? At least for heavy readers.
I don't understand that, Peter. How?I tried Library Thing & still have a membership there, but I'm not comfortable with their method of shelving. I never could get the hang of it nor was I comfortable using the site. None of the groups seemed as good or friendly, either.
The My Books sort by Date Read has been broken for a long time... at least many months. It's awful. One of the reasons I signed up for the big GR Challenge is because there all the books that I read this year are listed, and in order of how I read them. Exports still save your data; it's just not real easy to find. GR's My Books probably has the data, too, but it's even less easy to find now, sometimes.
I know there's a resource, I wanna say Calibre? that some people use if they are both Willing to pay for it and Care even more than I do about their records.
I'm still on LibraryThing, kinda, too. If enough of us decided to meet over there we could probably get the hang of it and also invigorate the groups, but GR just isn't that bad (yet).
Mod
As far as I can tell, there has been no change in GR policies. It has always been against the policies to make pages for individual stories, but it is up to librarians to enforce the policies. Some individual librarian has apparently been enforcing this one recently.
Ed wrote: "As far as I can tell, there has been no change in GR policies. It has always been against ..."Hmmm... You're right in this case. I wish there was a statute of limitations on incorrect entries or a warning, in that case. It sucks to have a review turned into gibberish months later when I have no hope of remembering how to fix them.
I'm still peeved over how many of my lectures got turned into "Not A Book". Some turned back, but not enough, IMO.
Mod
On a different subject, I've gotten two paper catalogs in the mail this past week. Today's was for a name that I haven't used since my divorce four (five?) years and a cross-country move ago. And it's for a company I've never heard of, Carbon2Cobalt (have any of you heard of it?). Interestingly, I am admiring their goods and just might order something from it. 'Course, I'll order online, as I always do.
I think they're not just doing data scraping, but digging deeply. Have any of you noticed signs that we're being marketed to more aggressively in this particular sort of way? (I don't mean more banner ads or probably anything online, but a more like a return to getting our attention by sending us something physical addressed to our name (instead of resident.)
Cheryl wrote: "I'm still on LibraryThing, kinda, too. If enough of us decided to meet over there we could probably get the hang of it and also invigorate the groups, but GR just isn't that bad (yet)."Agreed. I've been tempted a couple of times, but it is such a hassle & I'd miss a lot of my GR friends. I never felt as if LT was nearly as friendly.
Cheryl wrote: "I know there's a resource, I wanna say Calibre"...
Calibre is free, unless you want to send some money in. I've been using it for years & have a couple of times, but it's just really good conversion software for ebooks, IMO. I don't think there's a way to put in reviews or other book formats. Might be with an add-on, but I wouldn't count on it.
Years ago, I did try some software (Collectorz?) to catalog my books, but I decided it was too proprietary, I think. I've been burned too many times over the years by proprietary programs. I've spent hours getting them set up & used them, then the company goes out of business or changes the software so it sucks. We lost hundreds of photos that my uncle scanned & annotated when he got a computer upgrade. The program wasn't updated & didn't keep its data in place that was transferred, so it was gone & no one realized until too late. Anyway, unless a program will export its data into another database easily, I don't want it.
My other issue is that it's a lot of work keeping the data in a second platform. It would be worth it if I could import my GR books into it. I can & do that in Excel now. Shortly after New Year, I export my GR books, sort by "Date Read", & copy last year's books into a new worksheet. I run a set of macros which break out my various shelves, count them up, & put the results into a worksheet with the other years where I can compare the categories & trends. It's not perfect & I'm missing review comments, but usually good enough.
Unless they fix the export issue, it's going to be a LOT of work to make sure this year is 'good enough'. I'm not terribly worried about missing a short story or even 3, but having to track down 50-75 books is daunting. My export lists over 3500 books. Some of the books I read in 2019 were added in earlier years. Well, I'll figure it out if I have to, but I don't want to.
Got an answer on my trouble ticket for the export issue:Thanks for taking the time to write in about this! I checked, and it looks like we've received other reports from members that have come across the same issue. I see we have already escalated this to our team of developers, and they are working on fixing it, though at this point there's no timeline for the fix, unfortunately. That said, your report has been added to the developer ticket, and I'll be sure to let you know once it's resolved. I'm truly sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.
Yet again (3 years running!) export issues have been noted & might get fixed sometime. Sigh.
Otoh, duplicates seems to be kinda fixed. I have found no bizarre entries... and the ones that are still not right are the ones that I moved to another shelf: somehow it gave me another edition when I moved the book from one exclusive shelf to another. I've done as many as I have energy for now, will do the rest later.
Mod
Yeah, same for me. Earlier today it said I had about 10, but now only 2, and those were probably my fault for putting in one version as "to read" and later another version as "read".
Cheryl wrote: "Otoh, duplicates seems to be kinda fixed. I have found no bizarre entries...."Mine are fixed, too. There are still 200 or so, but they're all books that I've read in both text & audio format.
Making game pieces, I decided to try doing a 3D scrollsaw piece. It requires gluing the template on to 2 sides of the block, cutting one side, taping it together, & then cutting the other side. The finished figure pops out & it's really cool.
Here's another view of the block popped open.
I found that it's best to make as continuous of a cut as possible on one side. Makes sense since then it holds itself together better & less tape is needed.
Here's a couple of pics of the Quoridor games I made up, one for each household in the family, for Xmas. It's a fascinating game, far more complex than I originally thought. I made up the game boards as the top of a box to hold the pieces. 20 walls & 4 game pieces are needed for each, so it would be easy to lose them. The squares on the tops of the board are 3/4", to give you some size reference.
Here are most of the game pieces I made up. Obviously, I went a bit overboard. Painting them was the most difficult part for me.
Mod
Wow, Jim. I'm Impressed. I was into woodworking for a while, when I was younger. Haven't done anything in years. Really makes me appreciate what you're doing.
Jim wrote: "Making game pieces, I decided to try doing a 3D scrollsaw piece. It requires gluing the template on to 2 sides of the block, cutting one side, taping it together, & then cutting the other side. The..."Amazing woodworking! Book author, group mod for multiple groups, family man, employed full time, reads, keeps up on TV and movies, cares for and rides horses.... Jim, I can only assume that you live in a neighboring dimension where time flows differently than it does here on Earth. Either that or you don't sleep. Or you have a secret workshop of elves.
Thank you all. I had the week of Thanksgiving off & it was bad weather, so I got to play in the shop & still take a nap after lunch. I thought I knew something about using the scrollsaw, but I'm finding out I have a lot to learn, something I love doing. Oh, I forgot to mention that the wood is from a Sugar maple tree I cut down behind the kids' house a couple of years ago. I had a neighbor cut it into boards & they've been drying in the barn, so everything about the games is home grown.
I really like making something unique & fun for the kids each year. My oldest boy told me he still has the stack toy I made for his first Xmas 37 years ago. I still have the high chair that my great grandfather made for my great uncle & grandmother in about 1897. My grandson has used it. That's one of my goals in life.
Amazing Jim. So you even cut down the tree yourself. I can only say that for me this is appropriate to read here as we speak about Science Fiction.
Our oldest had to put in some 'face time' at work, so he flew in from RI & spent some time with us. (He's a programmer & works remotely.) It was great to see him & we played the Quoridor game several times with both 2 & 4 players. Wow, it's an interesting game. You can find a 2 player version here:https://danielborowski.github.io/site...
We opened presents & I got a new handle for my oxy-propane torch. I originally bought the set from Harbor Freight & the lower oxygen valve has always been a PITA. It was just a bit loose, so touching it on the side would release more oxygen, a real problem now that I'm using propane. It's a lot touchier than acetylene, especially when starting. My other son sent me a new set of hoses, so I practically have a new set now.
:)
Mod
Ed wrote: "I have gone 2 whole weeks without checking Facebook even once! And my life has not fallen apart as a result!"What have you done with all the hours you've gained back in the day?
;)
Mod
I talk to my cat.
I probably should actually get a cat first, but I'm practicing.
Ed wrote: "Jim wrote: "What have you done with all the hours you've gained back in the day? ;)"I talk to my cat.
I probably should actually get a cat first, but I'm practicing."
I thought cats were Facebook's best thing.
We are about to embark on a round-robin road trip for Christmas. Going Upnorth to visit family (Georgia and South Carolina, brrr) So it means having to be ready for the big day a week and a half early. Peggy has nearly knocked herself out wrapping presents. I wrapped one too. Our sleigh runneth over. I figure we'll hear about 25 hours of audiobooks.
I guess I didn't spend enough time on Facebook since I barely recognized a handful of 100 memes that defined the decade. Thankfully, I was unaware of the rest. Wish I still was. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/...
We got some snow today. Made a mess of things around the morning rush. When I left at 4:30am, the temp was just at 32 & it was raining. Around 8am, the temp was up to 34 & it was snowing hard, but it's quit & melting off now, thankfully. Good snow - brief & nonsticking.
Mod
OK, Boomer.
LOL! The changes in society are one of the things that's rarely done well in books about immortality. Oh, big things are mentioned, but the amount of little things that are really irritating or bewildering are often glossed over. I think one of the best scenes in "Demolition Man" was when Stallone found out about the 3 sea shells.:)
Jim wrote: "I guess I didn't spend enough time on Facebook since I barely recognized a handful of 100 memes that defined the decade. ."Me too, but I guess that's because they are mainly US, not international memes
p.s. and I'm a generation away from Boomers :)
Ed wrote: "Jim wrote: "...I barely recognized a handful of 100 memes that defined the decade. ..."OK, Boomer."
Easy, Karen....
Mod
Ed wrote: "I'm a little behind on my challenge. I've read 236 books out of my goal of 5000. Goodreads sent me a message saying "There are 12 days left but you can do it!"."Go for it! Read of Bust!
I'm bowing out in order to use my energies for other projects. Have fun, y'all!
You can do it, Ed! If you had the ability to travel back in time!
Wood is a handy substance, but now it's even better! They're making 'super wood' that's almost as strong as Kevlar. Others are making it transparent. Wow.https://getpocket.com/explore/item/st...
I've been cleaning my shop, trying to get rid of the omnipresent sawdust. Even making a hood for my compound miter hasn't helped too much, though. (It is a high tech attachment, a cardboard box, but it works better than the store-bought one I have for the radial arm saw.) At least I got to see what I actually have in the shop. I'm always stashing 'useful' items in odd corners. I've had a grinding wheel axle & a motor kicking around for a decade or more, so I spent most of the weekend making a low speed grinding table. I have it all done, although I'm not happy with the guide on the grinding wheel yet. Even though I used a lot of different materials, I didn't have to go to the hardware store at all. I had a smaller pulley of the right size for the motor, a selection of V belts, cabinet hinges, electrical boxes, switch, & such.
I love the speed! I have to sharpen my lathe tools often & my old grinding wheel (My father's that is older than me.) runs at 3450 rpm, way too fast. This one should be running at about 1300 rpm with the 3" pulley I had in stock. It sharpens quickly enough & doesn't heat the metal up very much at all, so I'm tickled. I do have a 4.5" pulley, but that would run a bit over 1900 rpms. I'd have to buy a 4" pulley for 1750 rpm, the typical speed. I hate to do that, though.
:)
Jim wrote: "I've been cleaning my shop, trying to get rid of the omnipresent sawdust. Even making a hood for my compound miter hasn't helped too much, though. (It is a high tech attachment, a cardboard box, bu..."My shop has become a junk room. I've been planning to build a storage shed to alleviate the problem, but it's becoming a long term project.
I have a bandsaw that my father in law got from his father in law. It is from the 1930s or maybe even earlier. It has no plastic parts. Still works great.
I'd love to have a good, old bandsaw. My bigger one is a plastic piece of crap from Sears. I generally use it for roughing out bowl blanks, so it's inaccuracies don't matter too much, but occasionally I like to resaw wood & then it's a PITA. I have a lot of planing to do.I don't have many old electrical tools left. Few ever died, but they were just too heavy. I had a 8" worm drive circular saw that could power through anything, but I think it weighed 25 lbs & it blew 15 amp circuit breakers. I had very little need for it after I quit remodeling, not much even before that, so I gave it away.
Merry Xmas, all. We had lamb chops & my daughter made macaroons, so good food last night. I expect we'll chat with the boys at some point today. I already called Mom. It's best for us to chat first thing in the morning, about 5am, before we get busy. She's got to feed the horses, cut a little tree off a path in the woods, & then she's going up to see my son & his kids.
I did my path clearing yesterday. My little chainsaw is acting up, so I need to get to the bottom of that. I had a tough time clearing some dead ash trees that fell across paths yesterday with it, so that's on the list today.
E&J gave me an electric 3" rotary metal cutter. That will get a work out today as I'm going to make up the tool holders/blade guides for the new grinding wheel. Then I'll work on cell phone holders. I made one up yesterday, a rearing horse on a platform about 5" high. It wound up falling off the bandsaw & broke, so I glued it back together with super glue. Erin tested it & likes it, so now that I know what I'm doing, I'll make up some more of those.
It's supposed to be really nice out again. Almost 60 with clear skies! I'll probably go for a ride with Marg. Cloud has gained some weight, so he should be comfortable.
Merry Christmas, Jim!Happy holidays to all who are celebrating!
Mod
He made me pay for it, though.
The Evolution of Science Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
A History of the English Speaking Peoples, 4 Vols (other topics)Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer (other topics)
A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? (other topics)
Bleak House (other topics)
A Night in the Lonesome October (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Winston Churchill (other topics)Roger Zelazny (other topics)
Felix Salten (other topics)
Sam Kean (other topics)
Chuck Tingle (other topics)
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I only saw a couple of short stories that turned into a magazines, but I don't know what the stories were. There are half a dozen in each issue & I didn't write down the title in my review since it was redundant then. I didn't even post a link, which I do if it's not in the story description, so my reviews don't make a lick of sense.
I really wish they would tell us when they decide to make sweeping changes to our books. I'm sure they'll tell me they say so in the Librarian group, but I can't keep up with that. Far too many posts & it's huge. I'd have to spend all day looking at it.