Hatchlings!
Sep. 24th, 2013 11:35 amTwo nests and one found egg mean I now have six new hatchlings in my Flight Rising lair:
( Hatchlings under the cut )
( Hatchlings under the cut )
Flagpoles... Some at half mast
Jul. 1st, 2013 08:24 pmOn the way to work and on the way home I had the chance to observe flagpoles, noticing some at half mast and others not. For those who don't know, yesterday 19 fire fighters were killed fighting a fire near Yarnell, Arizona yesterday. These were 19 of 20 members of a single hotshot crew (essentially the elite of wildfire fire fighting crews). They were based out of Prescott, meaning one small town has now suffered 19 deaths and taken a big hit to their own fire fighting capabilities. So as I looked at the flagpoles I found myself asking why so few of them were at half mast.
Fire fighters are everyday heroes. Day or night, war or peace, every season and any weather they stand ready to throw themselves into harms way to not merely protect our lives but to simply protect our property. Often doing so knowing that we did something foolish to create the problem to begin with. I remember hearing about five or so years ago during a spike in gas prices about a home that burned down because someone decided to hoard gasoline. They filled twenty or so gas cans and then stuck them all into an indoor closet -- where fumes collected until one tiny spark started a blaze that burned the place down. Seeing such foolishness fire fighters don't abandon us, they put out the fire, shake their heads, and head back to the station and prepare for the next fire. And unless they're showing up to fight a fire at our own home our thanks for them is usually grumbling on our part when we have to pull over to let their truck pass by. Or worse trying to take advantage of their presence to speed through traffic putting them at risk of accidents.
So for lack of a better conclusion I'll simply ask, why the hell aren't more of the flags at half mast here in Arizona and suggest that you thank the next fire fighter you see. They may not be around to thank tomorrow.
Fire fighters are everyday heroes. Day or night, war or peace, every season and any weather they stand ready to throw themselves into harms way to not merely protect our lives but to simply protect our property. Often doing so knowing that we did something foolish to create the problem to begin with. I remember hearing about five or so years ago during a spike in gas prices about a home that burned down because someone decided to hoard gasoline. They filled twenty or so gas cans and then stuck them all into an indoor closet -- where fumes collected until one tiny spark started a blaze that burned the place down. Seeing such foolishness fire fighters don't abandon us, they put out the fire, shake their heads, and head back to the station and prepare for the next fire. And unless they're showing up to fight a fire at our own home our thanks for them is usually grumbling on our part when we have to pull over to let their truck pass by. Or worse trying to take advantage of their presence to speed through traffic putting them at risk of accidents.
So for lack of a better conclusion I'll simply ask, why the hell aren't more of the flags at half mast here in Arizona and suggest that you thank the next fire fighter you see. They may not be around to thank tomorrow.
Character: Nyalla the cat girl engineer
Jun. 9th, 2013 08:41 pmName: Nyalla "Just Nyalla" (original notes give Thedritch as the family name. Um... no.)
Race: Kellian (think anime/manga cat person)
Family: A (so called) brother named Levara, others known to exist but not identified.
( more under the cut )
Race: Kellian (think anime/manga cat person)
Family: A (so called) brother named Levara, others known to exist but not identified.
( more under the cut )
Grammar: Lay vs. Lie, why can't it die?
Mar. 14th, 2013 12:47 pmFrom the title you can perhaps gather that lay vs. lie is a bit of grammar that annoys me just a tiny bit. Why is this rule difficult for so many? Because this bit of vocabulary is a bleeping jerk that persisted long after every other verb in English abandoned the rule it demonstrates. It is the only English verb that still represents transitivity through a vowel sound change. It is an artifact that should just die off already. Conveniently enough I've read in multiple sources that it is dying off due to its unique nature causing so much trouble. Soon it will be gone.
Oh sorry, did I get your hopes up? As with geology, grammar moves on a time scale that feels very slow to humans. Soon in grammar terms means that even our great-grandchildren will most likely still be complaining about lay/lie and how confusing it is. Grammar rules age extremely slowly (except for when they change quickly).
So, since we're bleeping well stuck dealing with lay/lie for the rest of our lives I've decided to make a little post we can refer back to when this item of vocabulary bites us.
It all comes down to transitivity. Wait! Don't run! Transitivity isn't that hard to explain! Simple question, is something acting on something else or not? Transitive verbs have something that receives the action:
Intransitive: Bill smirked.
Transitive: Bill punched me.
In the first example Bill was smirking. Nothing receives the smirk in a grammatical sense, it's just something Bill does. In the second example bill was taking the action of punching, and I was receiving the action. This Bill is a jerk isn't he? Almost as much as the verb lay/lie is.
How about lay/lie? Is lay/lie an intransitive verb like smirk or a transitive one like punch? The answer: yes... The answer is that lay/lie can be transitive or intransitive and the sound of the vowel signals which it is. In fact English used to have a whole category or verbs which marked transitivity with this -ay/ie vowel change (quite possibly different sounds prior to The Great Vowel Shift, which is a completely different post).
How about a definition?
Lay/lie: a verb having to do with being in a resting/reclining position, which can be transitive or intransitive. In the transitive version something is or has actively been placed into this resting/reclining position. The intransitive version can be thought of as referring to the action or resting or reclining itself rather than the action of putting something else into a resting or reclining position.
Lay is the transitive version (you are the subject, the credit card is the object):
* (Present Tense) You lay your credit card on the receipt.
* (Past Tense) You laid your credit card on the receipt.
Lie is the intransitive version (you are the subject, there is no object)
* (Present Tense) You like to lie on the table.
* (Past Tense) You lay down on the table. You did this some time ago. You are weird, who rests on tables when there are beds around?
How about a table?
So how the heck do you remember this? Massive repetition. Write examples over and over and over again until your fingers fall off. Or Google. A simply search can get you web pages with explanations of proper usage. You'll notice that lay/lie is particularly cruel as the intransitive form, lie, uses lay as its simple past tense form. What a jerk the verb lie is.
Do you know a good mnemonic device for remembering lay vs. lie? If so, please share!
Also, if you see me lying on the table, please don't laugh too loudly. I'm clearly tired and mentally stunned by trying to remember the lay/lie distinction.
Oh sorry, did I get your hopes up? As with geology, grammar moves on a time scale that feels very slow to humans. Soon in grammar terms means that even our great-grandchildren will most likely still be complaining about lay/lie and how confusing it is. Grammar rules age extremely slowly (except for when they change quickly).
So, since we're bleeping well stuck dealing with lay/lie for the rest of our lives I've decided to make a little post we can refer back to when this item of vocabulary bites us.
It all comes down to transitivity. Wait! Don't run! Transitivity isn't that hard to explain! Simple question, is something acting on something else or not? Transitive verbs have something that receives the action:
Intransitive: Bill smirked.
Transitive: Bill punched me.
In the first example Bill was smirking. Nothing receives the smirk in a grammatical sense, it's just something Bill does. In the second example bill was taking the action of punching, and I was receiving the action. This Bill is a jerk isn't he? Almost as much as the verb lay/lie is.
How about lay/lie? Is lay/lie an intransitive verb like smirk or a transitive one like punch? The answer: yes... The answer is that lay/lie can be transitive or intransitive and the sound of the vowel signals which it is. In fact English used to have a whole category or verbs which marked transitivity with this -ay/ie vowel change (quite possibly different sounds prior to The Great Vowel Shift, which is a completely different post).
How about a definition?
Lay/lie: a verb having to do with being in a resting/reclining position, which can be transitive or intransitive. In the transitive version something is or has actively been placed into this resting/reclining position. The intransitive version can be thought of as referring to the action or resting or reclining itself rather than the action of putting something else into a resting or reclining position.
Lay is the transitive version (you are the subject, the credit card is the object):
* (Present Tense) You lay your credit card on the receipt.
* (Past Tense) You laid your credit card on the receipt.
Lie is the intransitive version (you are the subject, there is no object)
* (Present Tense) You like to lie on the table.
* (Past Tense) You lay down on the table. You did this some time ago. You are weird, who rests on tables when there are beds around?
How about a table?
| Tense | Lay | Lie |
|---|---|---|
| Present | I lay the book on table. | I lie on the table. |
| Present (continuing) | I am laying the book on the table. | I am lying on the table. |
| Present (perfect/finished) | I have laid the book on the table. | I have lain on the table. |
| Past Simple (Preterite) | I laid the book on the table. | I lay on the table. |
| Past (continuing) | I was laying the book on the table. | I was lying on the table. |
| Past (perfect/finished) | I had laid the book on the table. | I had lain on the table. |
| Future | I will lay the book on the table. | I will lie on the table, someday. |
| Future (perfect/finished) | I will have laid the book on the table. | I will have lain on the table. |
So how the heck do you remember this? Massive repetition. Write examples over and over and over again until your fingers fall off. Or Google. A simply search can get you web pages with explanations of proper usage. You'll notice that lay/lie is particularly cruel as the intransitive form, lie, uses lay as its simple past tense form. What a jerk the verb lie is.
Do you know a good mnemonic device for remembering lay vs. lie? If so, please share!
Also, if you see me lying on the table, please don't laugh too loudly. I'm clearly tired and mentally stunned by trying to remember the lay/lie distinction.
Writing goals for March
Mar. 3rd, 2013 11:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aldersprig and rix_scaedu have posted writing goals for March, so I'll get on the bandwagon and throw out some goals too:Overall: 10,000+ words
* Unquiet Past: 2000+ new words
* The Journey: 1000+ new words
* Iced Tea followup: 2000+ new words
* Either potential serial: 1000+ words
* 30 Days series 2: 1000+ new words
* Fenspace: 1000+ words
* Review/Revise/or toss Chainbreaker
* Write some more haiku
* Brainstorm for story seeds in:
** The Galactic Academy setting
** The Capitalist-Techno-Hippies setting
** Possible followups to:
*** Ready, Aim, Miss
*** Home at Last
Also ponder themes for potential prompt calls.
G&A Prompt Call: Ready, Aim, Miss
Jan. 30th, 2013 05:43 pmTitle: Ready, Aim, Miss
Fandom/'verse: Unspecific science fiction setting
Rating/Warnings: Should be safe for all
Summary: Lieutenant Nolan's final wargame and where it leads...
Word Count: 629
Prompter:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kunama_wolf, "Aiming to fall short"
Twenty days earlier.
One of Nolan's lieutenants looked up and groaned, “New update coming in.”
Nolan looked up from the map table, pausing in his review of possible orders for the next round of the exercise.
( continues under the cut )
Fandom/'verse: Unspecific science fiction setting
Rating/Warnings: Should be safe for all
Summary: Lieutenant Nolan's final wargame and where it leads...
Word Count: 629
Prompter:
kunama_wolf, "Aiming to fall short"Twenty days earlier.
One of Nolan's lieutenants looked up and groaned, “New update coming in.”
Nolan looked up from the map table, pausing in his review of possible orders for the next round of the exercise.
( continues under the cut )
Five questions
Jan. 30th, 2013 12:03 pmVoluntarily tagged by aldersprig I received the following questions
* So: Why Fox?
I've always been more of a cat-person than a dog-person, so this is actually a good question. Foxes don't seem to be as pack oriented as wolves, so that probably fits with the introvert in me. They're often shown as silly and/or tricksters which my sense of humor likes. RL foxes when not suffering from malnutrition or disease can be rather cute (Fennecs! Few creatures can give them a challenge in the cuteness competition). Then of course there are kitsune, from traditional to modern interpretations - not always nice even when not villains, but usually reserving their largest cruelties for the deserving.
I'm not certain when exactly it happened by somewhere between the mid-90s and mid-00s foxes ended up near the top of my preferred critters list.
* Favorite story/world/author as a child?
I got bit by the third incarnation of Tom Swift after a cousin got me the first three books as a Christmas present. A young inventor, from an inventor family, who lives on a space station, and has adventures in space? What wasn't for a young geek to love? The rest I only got to read by way of the library, but I held onto those first three. Even rescuing them after my mother tried to put them in a yard sale box. I still have them on one of the bookshelves in my room.
* And now?
Today is a harder question. I enjoy the Honorverse books by David Weber and Co., Jim Butcher's Dresden novels are pretty much buy-on-sight, and I love the blending of genres that Charles Stross brings to The Laundry stories (think a blend of Ian Fleming, Douglas Adams, and H.P. Lovecraft -- The Bond stories if the agency was under funded, the spy was a computer geek, and Lovecraftian horrors waited to be unleashed by something as simple as running a fractal screen saver on just the wrong part of the Mandelbrot Set).
* One thing you don't regret at all
All the hours I "wasted" as a kid on first our old Apple //e and then an IBM PC (I used that PC XT with 10 MB hard drive right up until 91 or so, long after it was obsolete). Learning to get stuff to run (often without direct access to manuals) is a large part of how I built up the problem solving skill set that got me the job I have today.
Only regret there would be that I didn't add more programming, even in BASIC, to that "wasted" time.
* If you had to split your time between a fictional 'verse and this one, which 'verse would it be?
I'm not sure I'd really want to drop into many of my own fictional realities, many of them are Not Very Nice. My Galactic Academy setting could be fun assuming I actually had a source of tuition funds. On the other hand even a short visit to the Star Trek setting could probably see a number of health/body issues dealt with (they've apparently got a medicine that can in a few doses fix all but the worst cases of near/far-sightedness). I'm not going to even go within the multiversal neighborhood of S.M. Stirling's Draka series without an entire fleet to back me up (and some anti-matter hooked up to a deadman switch) (The Draka, just about the one thing you can get people on the Spacebattles forum to agree on is that the Domination of Draka is in good need of a curbstomping).
That said, I'll go for the online shared universe of Fen Space. A setting created on the Drunkard's Walk forums in which science fiction and fantasy (and other genres but mostly those) get hold of honest-to-goodness unobtanium and migrate to space. It could be a very fun place to visit so long as you avoid the villains and don't taunt the catgirls.
- - - - -
If you'd like, leave a comment and I'll leave five questions for you. Quoting from Aldersprig's journal:
"• I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can get to know you better.
• Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
• Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions. (<- let's make that optional"
aldersprig I received the following questions* So: Why Fox?
I've always been more of a cat-person than a dog-person, so this is actually a good question. Foxes don't seem to be as pack oriented as wolves, so that probably fits with the introvert in me. They're often shown as silly and/or tricksters which my sense of humor likes. RL foxes when not suffering from malnutrition or disease can be rather cute (Fennecs! Few creatures can give them a challenge in the cuteness competition). Then of course there are kitsune, from traditional to modern interpretations - not always nice even when not villains, but usually reserving their largest cruelties for the deserving.
I'm not certain when exactly it happened by somewhere between the mid-90s and mid-00s foxes ended up near the top of my preferred critters list.
* Favorite story/world/author as a child?
I got bit by the third incarnation of Tom Swift after a cousin got me the first three books as a Christmas present. A young inventor, from an inventor family, who lives on a space station, and has adventures in space? What wasn't for a young geek to love? The rest I only got to read by way of the library, but I held onto those first three. Even rescuing them after my mother tried to put them in a yard sale box. I still have them on one of the bookshelves in my room.
* And now?
Today is a harder question. I enjoy the Honorverse books by David Weber and Co., Jim Butcher's Dresden novels are pretty much buy-on-sight, and I love the blending of genres that Charles Stross brings to The Laundry stories (think a blend of Ian Fleming, Douglas Adams, and H.P. Lovecraft -- The Bond stories if the agency was under funded, the spy was a computer geek, and Lovecraftian horrors waited to be unleashed by something as simple as running a fractal screen saver on just the wrong part of the Mandelbrot Set).
* One thing you don't regret at all
All the hours I "wasted" as a kid on first our old Apple //e and then an IBM PC (I used that PC XT with 10 MB hard drive right up until 91 or so, long after it was obsolete). Learning to get stuff to run (often without direct access to manuals) is a large part of how I built up the problem solving skill set that got me the job I have today.
Only regret there would be that I didn't add more programming, even in BASIC, to that "wasted" time.
* If you had to split your time between a fictional 'verse and this one, which 'verse would it be?
I'm not sure I'd really want to drop into many of my own fictional realities, many of them are Not Very Nice. My Galactic Academy setting could be fun assuming I actually had a source of tuition funds. On the other hand even a short visit to the Star Trek setting could probably see a number of health/body issues dealt with (they've apparently got a medicine that can in a few doses fix all but the worst cases of near/far-sightedness). I'm not going to even go within the multiversal neighborhood of S.M. Stirling's Draka series without an entire fleet to back me up (and some anti-matter hooked up to a deadman switch) (The Draka, just about the one thing you can get people on the Spacebattles forum to agree on is that the Domination of Draka is in good need of a curbstomping).
That said, I'll go for the online shared universe of Fen Space. A setting created on the Drunkard's Walk forums in which science fiction and fantasy (and other genres but mostly those) get hold of honest-to-goodness unobtanium and migrate to space. It could be a very fun place to visit so long as you avoid the villains and don't taunt the catgirls.
- - - - -
If you'd like, leave a comment and I'll leave five questions for you. Quoting from Aldersprig's journal:
"• I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can get to know you better.
• Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
• Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions. (<- let's make that optional"
G&A Prompt Call: All According To Plan
Jan. 9th, 2013 07:14 pmTitle: All According to Plan
Fandom/'verse: Tales of the Mascot
Rating/Warnings: Should be safe for all
Summary: Kyle and his band of heroes in training put a sneaky plan into play...
Perched on Lydia's shoulder Kyle watched as Tamitha and Rodrick carefully guided the unconscious guards' bodies to the ground then dragged them into the nearby bushes. Slowly the moved forward into the isolated camp. He was glad to see that all stayed on their toes. It seemed his warnings about the Dread God Murphy and the That's Why He's Called The Enemy tenet had taken hold.
( Click here to continue... )
Fandom/'verse: Tales of the Mascot
Rating/Warnings: Should be safe for all
Summary: Kyle and his band of heroes in training put a sneaky plan into play...
Perched on Lydia's shoulder Kyle watched as Tamitha and Rodrick carefully guided the unconscious guards' bodies to the ground then dragged them into the nearby bushes. Slowly the moved forward into the isolated camp. He was glad to see that all stayed on their toes. It seemed his warnings about the Dread God Murphy and the That's Why He's Called The Enemy tenet had taken hold.
( Click here to continue... )
G&A Prompt Call: They Think What?!
Jan. 8th, 2013 02:31 pmTitle: They Think What?!
Fandom/'verse: Original
Summary: Invasion never seem to go as planned, even when the enemy is caught completely by surprise...
Word Count: 1034
Prompter:aldersprig
It was a valuable world. A mostly intact ecosystem by Imperium standards, plenty of land to divide up, and according to the seers no magic worth speaking of. Battle Sorcerer Shethkane looked over his troops with an eager tooth filled grin.
"The seers have located one of their major cities. We move as soon as the gates stabilize. The fools have built it ripe for the plucking. No city walls, no interior walls, and the only troops to be seen are few in number and carry neither swords nor identifiable wands or staves." ( Click here to continue... )
Fandom/'verse: Original
Summary: Invasion never seem to go as planned, even when the enemy is caught completely by surprise...
Word Count: 1034
Prompter:
aldersprigIt was a valuable world. A mostly intact ecosystem by Imperium standards, plenty of land to divide up, and according to the seers no magic worth speaking of. Battle Sorcerer Shethkane looked over his troops with an eager tooth filled grin.
"The seers have located one of their major cities. We move as soon as the gates stabilize. The fools have built it ripe for the plucking. No city walls, no interior walls, and the only troops to be seen are few in number and carry neither swords nor identifiable wands or staves." ( Click here to continue... )
G&A Prompt Call: Best Laid Plans
Jan. 2nd, 2013 06:55 pmTitle: Best Laid Plans
Fandom/'verse: Our world, or one quite like it.
Summary: With similar interests and some enjoyable dates, Blaine takes Kristine out to the country to pop The Question... (and not actually where I originally expected to go with this prompt)
Word Count: 662
Prompter:aldersprig: Planning and when it goes awry
Blaine grinned as he pulled his car off the barely paved country road onto the gravel side road. "And welcome to my home away from home. Or simply home after graduation."
Waiting until they drove past the trees that hid his plot of land from the road, Kristine took a good look at the house before answering. Thick walls, backing into a low hillside, "It almost looks like an Earthship, but without the huge greenhouse wall."
The sun facing wall did have quite a few windows, but all made from rather average sized panes rather than a wall of glass.
"I did borrow some ideas, but even if I wasn't considering potential vandalism I wasn't sure I wanted to try mounting any of those large sheets of glass on my own."
"You build all this on your own? That's a little hard to believe, how long has it taken?"
He parked and showed her to the entrance. "Not the whole thing, I had Dad and Eddie's help at first. Started during my Junior year of high school. Dad paid for the land and we started working on weekends and over breaks. Got most everything but finishing off the front wall done before I was on my own."
The sun facing wall might not have been all glass, but with eight window strips that arcs up to become skylights the large room was well lit. A few scattered light strips banished the shadows when Blaine flipped a few switches near the door.
"The part you'll love is back here." Heading off to the right they took a short hallway that lead into the mountainside. Approaching a cluster of doors the soft hum of fans could be heard.
"On the left is the larder. Over six hundred cubic feet of freezer space and plenty of shelf space for everything else. But the real gem is to the right." Opening the door Blaine motioned Kristine in and grinned again at her reaction.
"Are you honestly showing me a supercomputing cluster?"
"Well, it won't make it on the Top 100 list, but yeah. Two clusters and some independent servers. And two buried lines to connect the place to the net."
"You're right, I might be falling in love. The things I could make this room do," Blaine could almost swear he heard a purr coming from her. The, this is mine you just don't know it yet, look she gave him was certainly feline enough. Perhaps it was time to ask the question.
"So... We've been dating long enough to come out for a weekend in the woods. Perhaps you'd like to bump it up a level. I could set up a guest account on the network... Or if you'd prefer, would you like this place to be yours as well?"
She gave him a most beautiful smile he could remember seeing, "Blaine, are you..." The smile faltered as she looked closer at the monitor beside him. "Red Hat? Really? These boxes are running Red Hat?"
"What, you'd prefer Windows?"
"Please, no need to curse. I just prefer a truly open operating system."
"Oh, so Ubuntu? Debian Linux?"
"No, not Linux, I said a truly open OS. FreeBSD for my computers."
"Come on, that's nearly as bad as Redmond's FUD, the only restriction the GPL license puts on you is that you share the same rights to everyone else for any changes you release."
"You said it yourself, it's got restrictions. The BSD licenses give you the freedom to do anything you want with them, anything."
"Including removing those rights from others!" Blaine paused and shrugged, "You can at least agree they're both far better than anything coming out of Redmond, right?"
"Of course they are! You even have to ask?" Kristine leaned in grinning that feline grin again, "Go ahead, set up that guest account. I'll have root and set up one of those clusters my way before the weekend is out."
"Ha! You're on."
Fandom/'verse: Our world, or one quite like it.
Summary: With similar interests and some enjoyable dates, Blaine takes Kristine out to the country to pop The Question... (and not actually where I originally expected to go with this prompt)
Word Count: 662
Prompter:
aldersprig: Planning and when it goes awryBlaine grinned as he pulled his car off the barely paved country road onto the gravel side road. "And welcome to my home away from home. Or simply home after graduation."
Waiting until they drove past the trees that hid his plot of land from the road, Kristine took a good look at the house before answering. Thick walls, backing into a low hillside, "It almost looks like an Earthship, but without the huge greenhouse wall."
The sun facing wall did have quite a few windows, but all made from rather average sized panes rather than a wall of glass.
"I did borrow some ideas, but even if I wasn't considering potential vandalism I wasn't sure I wanted to try mounting any of those large sheets of glass on my own."
"You build all this on your own? That's a little hard to believe, how long has it taken?"
He parked and showed her to the entrance. "Not the whole thing, I had Dad and Eddie's help at first. Started during my Junior year of high school. Dad paid for the land and we started working on weekends and over breaks. Got most everything but finishing off the front wall done before I was on my own."
The sun facing wall might not have been all glass, but with eight window strips that arcs up to become skylights the large room was well lit. A few scattered light strips banished the shadows when Blaine flipped a few switches near the door.
"The part you'll love is back here." Heading off to the right they took a short hallway that lead into the mountainside. Approaching a cluster of doors the soft hum of fans could be heard.
"On the left is the larder. Over six hundred cubic feet of freezer space and plenty of shelf space for everything else. But the real gem is to the right." Opening the door Blaine motioned Kristine in and grinned again at her reaction.
"Are you honestly showing me a supercomputing cluster?"
"Well, it won't make it on the Top 100 list, but yeah. Two clusters and some independent servers. And two buried lines to connect the place to the net."
"You're right, I might be falling in love. The things I could make this room do," Blaine could almost swear he heard a purr coming from her. The, this is mine you just don't know it yet, look she gave him was certainly feline enough. Perhaps it was time to ask the question.
"So... We've been dating long enough to come out for a weekend in the woods. Perhaps you'd like to bump it up a level. I could set up a guest account on the network... Or if you'd prefer, would you like this place to be yours as well?"
She gave him a most beautiful smile he could remember seeing, "Blaine, are you..." The smile faltered as she looked closer at the monitor beside him. "Red Hat? Really? These boxes are running Red Hat?"
"What, you'd prefer Windows?"
"Please, no need to curse. I just prefer a truly open operating system."
"Oh, so Ubuntu? Debian Linux?"
"No, not Linux, I said a truly open OS. FreeBSD for my computers."
"Come on, that's nearly as bad as Redmond's FUD, the only restriction the GPL license puts on you is that you share the same rights to everyone else for any changes you release."
"You said it yourself, it's got restrictions. The BSD licenses give you the freedom to do anything you want with them, anything."
"Including removing those rights from others!" Blaine paused and shrugged, "You can at least agree they're both far better than anything coming out of Redmond, right?"
"Of course they are! You even have to ask?" Kristine leaned in grinning that feline grin again, "Go ahead, set up that guest account. I'll have root and set up one of those clusters my way before the weekend is out."
"Ha! You're on."
G&A Prompt Call: Home at Last
Jan. 1st, 2013 11:31 pmTitle: Home at Last
Fandom/'verse: Possibly the same as the Galactic Academy stories, possibly new, still deciding on that.
Summary: The victem of an actual alien abduction finally arrives back at Earth after spending more than half his life on the journey home.
Word Count: 707
Prompter:rix_scaedu, with the prompt, "Lasting long enough to get home."
Twenty-six years. Twenty-six years to get back to Earth. The pale blue dot he grew up seeing on TV hung outside the viewing port. Twenty-six years it seemed was long enough for the pale blue dot to gain a near ring of stations.
( Continues beneath this cut )
Fandom/'verse: Possibly the same as the Galactic Academy stories, possibly new, still deciding on that.
Summary: The victem of an actual alien abduction finally arrives back at Earth after spending more than half his life on the journey home.
Word Count: 707
Prompter:
rix_scaedu, with the prompt, "Lasting long enough to get home."Twenty-six years. Twenty-six years to get back to Earth. The pale blue dot he grew up seeing on TV hung outside the viewing port. Twenty-six years it seemed was long enough for the pale blue dot to gain a near ring of stations.
( Continues beneath this cut )
The Oh-Look-A-Landing-Page Prompt Call
Dec. 27th, 2012 05:00 pmUpdate The prompt call will close at the end of day 1/19/2013 is now closed.
It's still in need of better layout, but I now have a landing page (LJ Link) with links to fiction I've posted to LJ/DW since late 2009. What better way to celebrate than to issue a new prompt call (even if I'm still finishing up the previous one).
If you've seen a prompt call before this is pretty much standard:
Theme
Goals and accomplishments. You aren't obligated to run with this theme for all prompts, but let's see just what you can pull from them.
It's still in need of better layout, but I now have a landing page (LJ Link) with links to fiction I've posted to LJ/DW since late 2009. What better way to celebrate than to issue a new prompt call (even if I'm still finishing up the previous one).
If you've seen a prompt call before this is pretty much standard:
- Each prompt shall consist of:
- A short sentence or phrase
- A story/scene of mine you'd like to see more of
- A character you'd like to see more of
- I will pick a prompt of my choice and write at least 100 words to it
- Nothing that must be porn or fanfic please
- Exception: If I've already got fanfic for a setting listed on the Index & Landing page I'll consider it.
- Not an exception: I've written 'suggestive' stuff before, but put it under LJ/DW's age locks. I'd prefer not to have to age lock things.
- Prompting is free. These will all likely be measured in the single digit hundreds of words.
- That said, if you want more I might be open to bartering additional writing for writing or sketches.
Theme
Goals and accomplishments. You aren't obligated to run with this theme for all prompts, but let's see just what you can pull from them.
You know, politicians seem to love the pattern: Tragedy! - Something must be done! - This is something, therefor it must be done!
So if I was to say I think our current crop of politicians were making these tragedies more likely to occur by inflaming things... They would be all for having panels set up to investigate them and suggest how to rein in their extremist tendencies, right?
Yeah. Didn't think so. They're only in favor of nonsense when it's pointed by them at others.
Behaving sensibly sadly is about as likely as their pushing to improve mental health care, supporting community policing over antagonistic occupation policing (why yes, our local sheriff does indeed have an armored personnel carrier, not a van with ego issues but an actual APC complete with fifty-caliber machine gun), or put significant increases into basic science and engineering R&D.
So if I was to say I think our current crop of politicians were making these tragedies more likely to occur by inflaming things... They would be all for having panels set up to investigate them and suggest how to rein in their extremist tendencies, right?
Yeah. Didn't think so. They're only in favor of nonsense when it's pointed by them at others.
Behaving sensibly sadly is about as likely as their pushing to improve mental health care, supporting community policing over antagonistic occupation policing (why yes, our local sheriff does indeed have an armored personnel carrier, not a van with ego issues but an actual APC complete with fifty-caliber machine gun), or put significant increases into basic science and engineering R&D.
Multiple prompt calls open!
Dec. 16th, 2012 01:45 pmIt's that time again.
"Time to run in circles panicking about gift giving?"
No, that's not for a few days yet. Nope, it's time to point to some prompt calls!
"Time to run in circles panicking about gift giving?"
No, that's not for a few days yet. Nope, it's time to point to some prompt calls!
- rix_scaedu still has a prompt call going through December 24th. Leave requests on her December Prompt Request post on Livejournal. Caution, requests for seasonal weather may have unexpected results (tis Summer in the Southern Hemisphere).
- aldersprig has a prompt call open as well. Leave requests at the post Giraffe Call Open: Siblings over on livejournal. As the post title suggests the prompt theme is siblings. Having them, not having them, loving, hating, becoming...
- Finally greenwick as of this posting still has a few slots open for sketches. Find out more at Holiday Sketch Requests also on Livejournal.
Rix's October Promp Call!
Oct. 8th, 2012 04:02 pmHey everyone, rix_scaedu has a prompt call going and you still have time to get in on it. Until sometime Saturday the 13th of October you can leave brief prompts and have a short scene written to it. Check it out at October Prompt Request.
Have I left prompts? Certainly have! You can find her response to my first prompt at, On the Night of Disguises. This is I believe the third piece in her Prince of Cats setting. The prior parts being, The Prince of Cats and A Confession.
Check out as well, The Palace Will Shortly Be Making an Announcement, and Artifice, both written to prompts left byaldersprig. The first is part of a series but ought to be fine read on its own. The second involves a creative solution to some wedding planning difficulties.
rix_scaedu has a prompt call going and you still have time to get in on it. Until sometime Saturday the 13th of October you can leave brief prompts and have a short scene written to it. Check it out at October Prompt Request.Have I left prompts? Certainly have! You can find her response to my first prompt at, On the Night of Disguises. This is I believe the third piece in her Prince of Cats setting. The prior parts being, The Prince of Cats and A Confession.
Check out as well, The Palace Will Shortly Be Making an Announcement, and Artifice, both written to prompts left by
aldersprig. The first is part of a series but ought to be fine read on its own. The second involves a creative solution to some wedding planning difficulties.Title: Galactic Academy – Rescued From the Arrivals Desk
Fandom/'verse: Galactic Academy
Rating/Warnings: Should be safe for all
Summary: Stuck waiting at the arrivals desk at the spaceport since the previous part was posted last August, Richard finally meets someone new...
Previous parts: First Class Education (no DW link) and The Computer Is Never Wrong (no DW link). The 30 Days 2nd Semester Prompt #3 post Aliens & Weddings (And on LJ) is set about a year later.
Richard had made a game out of reading the announcements scrolling across the various wall displays visible from the academy admissions counter. It wasn't a very exciting game but it seemed better than trying to talk to Korath again. Any time he tried talking to or even wandered near the vaguely bear-like alien would simply look over and repeat, "Human please to left side stay and wait."
He had just given up on the game and started re-reading the translator's translation of it's instruction manual, so far the Russian version seemed the easiest to understand, when a new voice interrupted.
"You are Richard Logan?"
( more text cunningly hidden beneath this cut tag... )
Fandom/'verse: Galactic Academy
Rating/Warnings: Should be safe for all
Summary: Stuck waiting at the arrivals desk at the spaceport since the previous part was posted last August, Richard finally meets someone new...
Previous parts: First Class Education (no DW link) and The Computer Is Never Wrong (no DW link). The 30 Days 2nd Semester Prompt #3 post Aliens & Weddings (And on LJ) is set about a year later.
Richard had made a game out of reading the announcements scrolling across the various wall displays visible from the academy admissions counter. It wasn't a very exciting game but it seemed better than trying to talk to Korath again. Any time he tried talking to or even wandered near the vaguely bear-like alien would simply look over and repeat, "Human please to left side stay and wait."
He had just given up on the game and started re-reading the translator's translation of it's instruction manual, so far the Russian version seemed the easiest to understand, when a new voice interrupted.
"You are Richard Logan?"
( more text cunningly hidden beneath this cut tag... )
Surrender: A scene fragment
Apr. 26th, 2012 11:01 pmTitle: Surrender
Fandom/'verse: Fantasy
Rating/Warnings: Should be safe for any non-allergic to elves
Summary: Not really a full scene, but this fragment is what I've got.
Trelander kept a neutral face while the human king across the table debated the treaty with his advisor. He suspected Dylan knew he could hear everything they said, still it would be rude to be obvious about it.
"You cannot truly mean to sign it now? We have only had but a single chance to read it. We should bring in one of the surviving scholars. Someone who has made a study of the elvish tongue."
( A few more lines under the cut... )
Fandom/'verse: Fantasy
Rating/Warnings: Should be safe for any non-allergic to elves
Summary: Not really a full scene, but this fragment is what I've got.
Trelander kept a neutral face while the human king across the table debated the treaty with his advisor. He suspected Dylan knew he could hear everything they said, still it would be rude to be obvious about it.
"You cannot truly mean to sign it now? We have only had but a single chance to read it. We should bring in one of the surviving scholars. Someone who has made a study of the elvish tongue."
( A few more lines under the cut... )
This isn't like collecting Pokemon
Apr. 24th, 2012 09:54 amRemember that prompt call of rix_scaedu's I mentioned yesterday? You can now read Public Consultation, the response to my prompt, "Jackalope collecting."
rix_scaedu's I mentioned yesterday? You can now read Public Consultation, the response to my prompt, "Jackalope collecting."Rix's April Prompt Call
Apr. 23rd, 2012 04:11 pmHello everyone. I'm way, way behind in posting writing. But that doesn't mean you have to do without (let me pretend :) thank you), for rix_scaedu is holding a prompt call.
Leave a phrase or short sentence; or leave a setting, story, or character you'd like to see more of. Signal boosts get more of your prompts written to (so uh, yeah, I'm getting something from this but I really do believe you should do this, just take a look at prior posts) and more prompters will mean added text to a serial story and background pieces.
Well, what are you doing still looking at my post? Link's up above in the first paragraph.
rix_scaedu is holding a prompt call.Leave a phrase or short sentence; or leave a setting, story, or character you'd like to see more of. Signal boosts get more of your prompts written to (so uh, yeah, I'm getting something from this but I really do believe you should do this, just take a look at prior posts) and more prompters will mean added text to a serial story and background pieces.
Well, what are you doing still looking at my post? Link's up above in the first paragraph.
