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 »

Interesting Links for 3-4-2011

This week has a lot more entertainment than usual, though there are a few writing posts as well. Take a break, enjoy what’s below, and then maybe learn something too.

Just for Fun

Talking with my family about a TV show called Dweebs, we tried to remember the difference between a geek, nerd, or dweeb. Found this Venn diagram that explains it all:

http://laughingsquid.com/nerd-venn-diagram-geek-dork-or-dweeb/

Clearly my extracurricular Internet reading has been focused on taking breaks this week, but here’s hilarious milk commercial: Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting Links for New Year’s Eve (12-31-2010)

Happy New Year’s Eve. Hope you all have wonderful plans and will have fun. Me, I’m hanging out and relaxing after enjoying a holiday trip. Everything’s pretty slow and mellow here, the reason these links are up in the late afternoon, but for those looking for something interesting to read, please enjoy.

Just for Fun

A visual delight of time-lapsed photography set to music:

http://vimeo.com/16369165
Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting Links for 12-17-2010

Just for Fun

When I was a kid, my grandmother would take me in to New York City to look at the window displays, but they had nothing like this back then. Enjoy a YouTube video of Saks Fifth Avenue’s Snowflake and Bubble 3D holiday light show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_9AYqhaw64

Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting Links for 12-03-2010

Sigh. Kids having a party and my computer decided to lock up, while I’m in a scramble to finish my NaNo so I can put together the synopsis for the Harlequin challenge. However, I might not have many, nor have them posted on Friday (though missing by only 8 minutes), but I think you’ll enjoy the links I’ve gathered this week.

Just Because

I didn’t mean to look at these, but they were just too fascinating. Got to the end and realized I had to share these bizarre sea animals:

http://blog.rocketboom.com/post/102948092/the-top-15-most-bizarre-sea-animals

Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting Links for 10-15-2010

This week is a bit of a mishmash. I’m still up to my gills in the Muse Online Writers Conference, but poked my head up enough to catch a few things I wanted to share.

Environment

A wonderfully simple presentation on the impact of oil dependency with hope for the future:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrrVpf45w5E&feature=player_embedded

Fun

Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting Links for 10-08-2010

I’m neck deep in the final preparations for the 2010 Muse Online Writers Conference, where there are writing workshops, networking opportunities, and even pitch appointments all from the comfort of your home, as well as bleeding red ink all over my latest edit, so the pickings are a little slim, but for all that I think you’ll find them fun and worth your while.

FYI, if you’re interested in coming to next year’s Muse Online Writers Conference, you can register here: http://themuseonlinewritersconference.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=369

Note: You will need to create an account on the Muse forum to register, but that is also the account you’ll use for the conference when it rolls around next year.

Just for Fun

Holly Lisle names one of her set of student workgroups with animal collective nouns, and it set me searching. I found this for your amusement:

http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Pointless/AnimalGroups.html

Read the rest of this entry »