Posts for the Week of 3-25-2011

Interesting Links for 3-25-2011

Have you ever had one of those weeks when you lose track of what day it is? On top of that, Forward Motion started the March Madness challenge this morning. I’m a little over 1k into a new steampunk novella. Well, better late than never, here are your interesting links.

Life

A look at sleep, needs and consequences of too little, as well as some tips for recovering from sleep deprivation:
http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/2011/03/ttyu-retro-sleep-tidbits-for-characters.html

Publishing

With the Google Settlement case back in the news, I found this exploration of the events, complete with quotes from various players, to be clear and interesting: Read the rest of this entry »

Do eReaders Signal a New Life for Short Stories?

I’ve been involved in a big project for a while so my reading time has been limited. What this means regarding my Wednesday posts is that I haven’t finished the wonderful steampunk short story collection, The Shadow Conspiracy II, I’m in the middle of, so can’t very well review it. Instead, I wanted to talk a bit about eReaders and what I’m discovering as I use mine more frequently.

I’m a determined supporter of short fiction, but over the years I’ve not been much of a reader, whether online or in print. I have a number of subscriptions, but the magazines pile up with few getting a full read.

Since February 8th, I have read 3, almost 4 books. All of them have been eBooks, the longest run of eBooks vs. print so far, and with the exception of the first, they’ve all been short story collections or magazines.
Read the rest of this entry »

A Different Creativity Tool

So I now have an Android phone. I wanted it to replace my Palm, which can no longer sync with my new computer. My focus was on email, contacts, notes, and task lists (something I still having achieved because I use a local Outlook install.

What I have discovered is Zuma Blitz, various solitaires, and (of course) Angry Birds. The Palm had been a source of productivity for me as much as a distraction, and seeing as I’ve done novel notes, wrote book reviews, and even outlining using the quick office app, I can’t say my phone has not served that purpose well. I’ve yet to do a creative work, but I see that time coming soon enough.

However, I’ve discovered that “creative work” might be taking a different direction than I’d expected.

A little backstory: Read the rest of this entry »