"...All of these precautions... How did anyone ever assemble an electronic computer without breaking something?"
"Well, back then, electronic computers were consumer appliances, just like optical computers are now. Most people bought them pre-assembled off the shelf and never even cracked the case. They worked well enough for however long, and they were replaced regularly.
"It's funny, actually. You see, electronic computers had gotten to the point where they were all laptops, at least off the shelf. The only large form-factor ones were those assembled by hardcore gamers, and they ended up being the first consumer base for optical computers. Nobody else could justify the large form-factor, and most computers for personal use didn't need the speed boost at that point."
"So we have gamers to thank for modern computing, eh? How about that. So, do you like all forms of alternate computing, or just this one?"
"I think that I just like old things. You know, I'm thinking of building a mechanical computer after this. It should be even more interesting: Apparently, they never achieved commercial production before electronic computers took over.
"I dare say that it must have been a terribly interesting time, back then. Even electronic computers could fill entire rooms, and had to be serviced by large staffs...."
Showing posts with label story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label story. Show all posts
Monday, December 6, 2010
Friday, October 30, 2009
NaNoWriMo 2009: maybe
OK, so, a while back, I got convinced that it might be a good idea to use NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) to finally get a full draft of that one novel done. This is the novel containing the story that I was trying to write by putting up here. Since I only have 1 or two not-full-chapters up anyway, I figure that I can just start over with what's going to end up being a rough, yet full, draft of the novel. It's going to be rough because that's how NaNoWriMo works. It's 30 days (specifically: November) of trying to get a 50,000-word novel written. That's about 1,666 words per day, so there's no time for editing and fine-tuning. Assuming that I even finish, I have no plans as of yet to publish the NaNoWriMo version of it, freely or otherwise. I'm just going to write, and fine-tune it later, like next year or something.
Actually, this is assuming that I participate at all. I saw some good ideas floating around, including making an outline of a 30-chapter novel, and dedicating each day to a chapter of roughly the right length. However, due to my being sick for most of last week, and my computer's dying Thursday and not getting replaced until Sunday (btw: Windows 7 is pretty good so far), I'm way behind on stuff, and haven't had a chance to make such an outline yet. I'm still catching up on things, and November is only 2 days away. I've made a NaNoWriMo account, so that's ready if I am.
The big thing for me is that I don't want to make a half-assed attempt at this and only get part way through, since the next best opportunity is next year's NaNoWriMo, and I'm not supposed to start with a partially-written novel.
Before I forget: Fair warning to anyone who actually reads this: The story segments that are up here may or may not end up being canon or other weapons (get it?), and will almost certainly be re-written, since I'm not planning to use those words, since NaNoWriMo is supposed to start from a blank slate. I know, I'm betraying my loyal fan, right? Frak, I don't think that anyone even reads this blog.
Well, that's it. To summarize: I might do NaNoWriMo 2009, and if I do, I plan to do the same story that I've been failing to do for however long.
Actually, this is assuming that I participate at all. I saw some good ideas floating around, including making an outline of a 30-chapter novel, and dedicating each day to a chapter of roughly the right length. However, due to my being sick for most of last week, and my computer's dying Thursday and not getting replaced until Sunday (btw: Windows 7 is pretty good so far), I'm way behind on stuff, and haven't had a chance to make such an outline yet. I'm still catching up on things, and November is only 2 days away. I've made a NaNoWriMo account, so that's ready if I am.
The big thing for me is that I don't want to make a half-assed attempt at this and only get part way through, since the next best opportunity is next year's NaNoWriMo, and I'm not supposed to start with a partially-written novel.
Before I forget: Fair warning to anyone who actually reads this: The story segments that are up here may or may not end up being canon or other weapons (get it?), and will almost certainly be re-written, since I'm not planning to use those words, since NaNoWriMo is supposed to start from a blank slate. I know, I'm betraying my loyal fan, right? Frak, I don't think that anyone even reads this blog.
Well, that's it. To summarize: I might do NaNoWriMo 2009, and if I do, I plan to do the same story that I've been failing to do for however long.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Story Segment: #0512
((Here's story segment #0512. I think that I'll write segment #0513 next, and post it next week.))
Corporal Dalton's gut wasn't very good at telling him things. It only seemed to tell him when he would definitely succeed or definitely fail, which he could usually figure out for himself anyway. He didn't need his gut to tell him not to play the lottery, or not to play that knife game with his fingers, given his coordination. Nevertheless, when Corporal Dalton saw that figure clad in white with bits of black, and holding something that glowed a bright, pale blue in its right hand, his gut told him that he didn't stand a chance.
---
There are three primary ways to improve the visibility of a laser beam, short of looking into the beam itself. One way is to darken the surrounding environment, in order to make the scattered light stand out even more. A second way is to increase the amount of medium-borne particulates which scatter the light in the first place. A third way is to increase the intensity of the laser itself. When dealing with a laser beam-producing device which strongly resembles a weapon, this is relevant to one's interests.
---
Xot Ut ran low to the ground. As he approached the first soldier, he let his sword get so low as to begin to char the stones beneath it. The soldier had barely brought his weapon up to fire when Xot Ut was right under him. Xot Ut leapt up, cutting through the soldier's assault rifle. His jump landed him well past the first soldier's position, where he made a sharp right turn, running low to the ground again toward another soldier. This one had just turned around due the noise, and effectively had no better warning than the first. The rifle was cut in two again, and this time Xot Ut went left, parallel to his original direction, where there were three soldiers conveniently lined up.
---
Corporal Dalton was a bit shocked. It may have been the brief and sudden but strong heat that he felt as the laser sword went past him, mere inches from his body. It may have been that said weapon just cut cut his primary means of attack and defense. It may even have been that someone with no firearms, explosives, or other ordinance just charged an armed soldier like a total loon and somehow won. It was really the sort of thing that would take more than a few seconds to work out.
Dalton did get the notion to warn the others, though. Unfortunately, his shout ended up lacking words. He just yelled. However, the most useful thing that anyone managed to immediately shout was "What IS that?", so he didn't feel so bad about that later on.
---
((Having a random segment of a random story makes no sense? Read this post for the short explanation, and pretty much everything with the story tag for more info.))
Corporal Dalton's gut wasn't very good at telling him things. It only seemed to tell him when he would definitely succeed or definitely fail, which he could usually figure out for himself anyway. He didn't need his gut to tell him not to play the lottery, or not to play that knife game with his fingers, given his coordination. Nevertheless, when Corporal Dalton saw that figure clad in white with bits of black, and holding something that glowed a bright, pale blue in its right hand, his gut told him that he didn't stand a chance.
---
There are three primary ways to improve the visibility of a laser beam, short of looking into the beam itself. One way is to darken the surrounding environment, in order to make the scattered light stand out even more. A second way is to increase the amount of medium-borne particulates which scatter the light in the first place. A third way is to increase the intensity of the laser itself. When dealing with a laser beam-producing device which strongly resembles a weapon, this is relevant to one's interests.
---
Xot Ut ran low to the ground. As he approached the first soldier, he let his sword get so low as to begin to char the stones beneath it. The soldier had barely brought his weapon up to fire when Xot Ut was right under him. Xot Ut leapt up, cutting through the soldier's assault rifle. His jump landed him well past the first soldier's position, where he made a sharp right turn, running low to the ground again toward another soldier. This one had just turned around due the noise, and effectively had no better warning than the first. The rifle was cut in two again, and this time Xot Ut went left, parallel to his original direction, where there were three soldiers conveniently lined up.
---
Corporal Dalton was a bit shocked. It may have been the brief and sudden but strong heat that he felt as the laser sword went past him, mere inches from his body. It may have been that said weapon just cut cut his primary means of attack and defense. It may even have been that someone with no firearms, explosives, or other ordinance just charged an armed soldier like a total loon and somehow won. It was really the sort of thing that would take more than a few seconds to work out.
Dalton did get the notion to warn the others, though. Unfortunately, his shout ended up lacking words. He just yelled. However, the most useful thing that anyone managed to immediately shout was "What IS that?", so he didn't feel so bad about that later on.
---
((Having a random segment of a random story makes no sense? Read this post for the short explanation, and pretty much everything with the story tag for more info.))
Announcement: Story Stuff
Alright, I'm hoping to post a bit of that story that I was writing. You remember that, right? Look for posts under the "story" heading to get caught up.
Here's the short version of good stuff to know if you care:
1. I first came up with the idea around 1999-2000 CE.
2. It originally took place in 2010 CE. Combining this with the 1st point, know that it was at least 10 times as far in the future then as it is now.
3. I'm using a numbering system for the segments that I post. That system is described here.
4. I may suck at writing, but you get that for which you pay. That said, constructive criticism is OK. However, that said, in the end, my purpose in writing this story out is my own. So, even if what I produce amounts to an affront to literature itself, well, so be it.
5. My writing is only done in my spare time. By no means do I consider myself a professional writer at this time. In fact, these are tied together - I do not dedicate working time to writing because I have no reason to believe that it will lead to gainful employment. At the moment, this is just a hobby.
Expect a story segment tonight.
Here's the short version of good stuff to know if you care:
1. I first came up with the idea around 1999-2000 CE.
2. It originally took place in 2010 CE. Combining this with the 1st point, know that it was at least 10 times as far in the future then as it is now.
3. I'm using a numbering system for the segments that I post. That system is described here.
4. I may suck at writing, but you get that for which you pay. That said, constructive criticism is OK. However, that said, in the end, my purpose in writing this story out is my own. So, even if what I produce amounts to an affront to literature itself, well, so be it.
5. My writing is only done in my spare time. By no means do I consider myself a professional writer at this time. In fact, these are tied together - I do not dedicate working time to writing because I have no reason to believe that it will lead to gainful employment. At the moment, this is just a hobby.
Expect a story segment tonight.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Posts to Come: All-in-one List as of Xmas 2008
It's harder to track my list of posts to make when they're all spread about, so here's a consolidated list of what I still need to do, as of now:
Posts:
Was Serenity a Nail in Firefly's Coffin?
Things of a Literary Nature: Innate Timeline Branching in Fiction
Crisps, Chips, or Fries?
Centaur or Thri-Kreen?
something about Arkham Horror (mechanics, summer league, etc.)
some kind of game review
Edits:
Add to and update "RPGs for Me to Play".
http://games.yahoo.com/daily-games/sudokudaily for having found sudoku w/ green dots
I also intend to post a section of that story that I'm trying to write. I'm not doing it by chapter at this point. I am still trying to write, but I seem to have trouble getting the words to flow. Here's what else is going on in my life:
Basically, since commencement (Did I mention that I'm graduating? The bureaucracy still needs to do some stuff, but, as far as I know, I've got a diploma coming my way.), I've been taking a break. That won't last long, since I need to find a job.
I also want to get through the Arkham Horror Summer League (new URL: http://new.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=6&esem=4 - and you have to log in for the text to turn into links). At this point, I'm doing it by myself, and I'm halfway through. The last scenario got released last week. I hope to get through the last of the scenarios that don't require Curse of the Dark Pharaoh by ... soon. Then, I need to get Curse of the Dark Pharaoh so that I can do the rest. I also got 4 books for Xmas, 3 of which I intend to read when I get the chance (the 4th is for either of two RPG systems that I don't use yet, so that will wait).
Of course, this is all aside from the stuff that I need to do, like looking for a job and working on getting some certifications. And losing weight. And practicing my martial arts. And cleaning my room.
That's all for now.
Posts:
Was Serenity a Nail in Firefly's Coffin?
Things of a Literary Nature: Innate Timeline Branching in Fiction
Crisps, Chips, or Fries?
Centaur or Thri-Kreen?
something about Arkham Horror (mechanics, summer league, etc.)
some kind of game review
Edits:
Add to and update "RPGs for Me to Play".
http://games.yahoo.com/daily-games/sudokudaily for having found sudoku w/ green dots
I also intend to post a section of that story that I'm trying to write. I'm not doing it by chapter at this point. I am still trying to write, but I seem to have trouble getting the words to flow. Here's what else is going on in my life:
Basically, since commencement (Did I mention that I'm graduating? The bureaucracy still needs to do some stuff, but, as far as I know, I've got a diploma coming my way.), I've been taking a break. That won't last long, since I need to find a job.
I also want to get through the Arkham Horror Summer League (new URL: http://new.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=6&esem=4 - and you have to log in for the text to turn into links). At this point, I'm doing it by myself, and I'm halfway through. The last scenario got released last week. I hope to get through the last of the scenarios that don't require Curse of the Dark Pharaoh by ... soon. Then, I need to get Curse of the Dark Pharaoh so that I can do the rest. I also got 4 books for Xmas, 3 of which I intend to read when I get the chance (the 4th is for either of two RPG systems that I don't use yet, so that will wait).
Of course, this is all aside from the stuff that I need to do, like looking for a job and working on getting some certifications. And losing weight. And practicing my martial arts. And cleaning my room.
That's all for now.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Announcement: Everything Delayed
Things have been really busy with school, especially with programming assignments. Also, my computer died last Thursday, so my whole weekend was shot. I got a new computer. It's alright. The screen's not as big or ... resolute?..., and it's running vista, but it also has about 6 times the memory and nearly 4 times the disk space of my old one. It also weighs much less and takes about half the voltage of the old one. Plus, new laptop means new battery, so I should be able to use my laptop portably again.
Some of my stuff from my old computer got backed up. It should be most of my important stuff, but I'm not ready to restore stuff yet. I've got a lot of schoolwork to do in these next few weeks. I want to look into putting a virtual machine on here, too. I think that I'll get around to that in the second week of July at the earliest. So, also, don't expect any story stuff until July 18th or thereabouts. Speaking of the story, I've recently been inspired regarding another story. Long story short, it's about supers. You heard me.
Also, regarding my play-by-email RPG, I'm still waiting for some feedback. If any of my players are reading this, I only have a partial response from M, and I have no response from C. You know who you are. However, I don't think that anyone reads this, so I'll be e-mailing folks. Maybe I should mention my blog there.
That's all for now.
Some of my stuff from my old computer got backed up. It should be most of my important stuff, but I'm not ready to restore stuff yet. I've got a lot of schoolwork to do in these next few weeks. I want to look into putting a virtual machine on here, too. I think that I'll get around to that in the second week of July at the earliest. So, also, don't expect any story stuff until July 18th or thereabouts. Speaking of the story, I've recently been inspired regarding another story. Long story short, it's about supers. You heard me.
Also, regarding my play-by-email RPG, I'm still waiting for some feedback. If any of my players are reading this, I only have a partial response from M, and I have no response from C. You know who you are. However, I don't think that anyone reads this, so I'll be e-mailing folks. Maybe I should mention my blog there.
That's all for now.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Announcement: Story Delayed (again)
Well, it looks like I'm not getting any story stuff out this week, either. There's just too much stuff do to for school. As it stands, I'm going to aim for the 20th, with a fallback date of the 27th (the last Friday in June).
Here's what's up:
Tomorrow (Thursday) morning, I have an exam. Then, I'll be spending the afternoon trying to do a programming assignment that's due Tuesday, which requires me to be in the labs. If I'm lucky, I'll get it done then - if not, then I'll be spending Friday in the labs, trying to finish it. Thursday night, I have classes.
Friday depends on Thursday. My first priority is to finish that assignment, since the labs are closed Saturday and Sunday. The remainder of pre-evening Friday should be spent on reading the Ovid and other stuff for Monday (and roughly also Tuesday and Wednesday).
Saturday will be a mix of working on a different programming assignment (also due Tuesday, but not requiring the labs) and reading. Sunday is more of the same, though how much more depends on my luck Thursday and what I accomplish prior to that. Ideally, I will be done with both programming assignments and all of Monday's reading before the end of the day Sunday. Extra time, if available, should be spent on doing more reading for later in the week.
So, that stuff pushes back the next most likely date to next Friday, June 13th. I'm really not going to rely on being sufficiently lucky to get my first story post out by next Friday, especially when that Friday is a Friday the 13th. However, I'll see whether I can manage to get something very very small out this Friday.
Here's what's up:
Tomorrow (Thursday) morning, I have an exam. Then, I'll be spending the afternoon trying to do a programming assignment that's due Tuesday, which requires me to be in the labs. If I'm lucky, I'll get it done then - if not, then I'll be spending Friday in the labs, trying to finish it. Thursday night, I have classes.
Friday depends on Thursday. My first priority is to finish that assignment, since the labs are closed Saturday and Sunday. The remainder of pre-evening Friday should be spent on reading the Ovid and other stuff for Monday (and roughly also Tuesday and Wednesday).
Saturday will be a mix of working on a different programming assignment (also due Tuesday, but not requiring the labs) and reading. Sunday is more of the same, though how much more depends on my luck Thursday and what I accomplish prior to that. Ideally, I will be done with both programming assignments and all of Monday's reading before the end of the day Sunday. Extra time, if available, should be spent on doing more reading for later in the week.
So, that stuff pushes back the next most likely date to next Friday, June 13th. I'm really not going to rely on being sufficiently lucky to get my first story post out by next Friday, especially when that Friday is a Friday the 13th. However, I'll see whether I can manage to get something very very small out this Friday.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Announcement: Story Delayed
Well, I'm not getting a chapter out this week. Some stuff came up for school, and I need to take this weekend to catch up and get ahead. That way, there can be story stuff in later weeks. There *might* be a little something for me to post this week. I won't know for sure until Friday, though.
Basically, what's throwing me off is an issue with one of my computer courses. If I wanted to do the work on my home computer, then I'd need to install some stuff, which requires XP Pro (and I only have XP Home), which in turn requires, among other things, that I clean off some more space on my drive - not to mention the stressful and time-consuming process of dealing with whatever will go wrong when I change the OS. So, rather than try to do all of that in a short enough time to be able to do my first assignment on time, I'll just use the lab computers. I would use a remote connection, but apparently, the university is not set up for that right now. They're working on it, but I don't even have a timeline for that. So, I have to go into the labs, but that's still preferable to the alternative, at least for now. Anyway, I have to use the labs during certain specific hours of operation. So, I have to schedule around that. Most of my delay already happened, in that I had to find out all of these issues and figure out how to deal with them.
So, this week, I'll be using the labs Thursday, and Friday if I don't finish Thursday. So, at worst, for Friday, I'll be working until the labs close. I'll know by the time that I get home whether I'll have anything to post here. Either way, expect something to be here the following Friday.
Basically, what's throwing me off is an issue with one of my computer courses. If I wanted to do the work on my home computer, then I'd need to install some stuff, which requires XP Pro (and I only have XP Home), which in turn requires, among other things, that I clean off some more space on my drive - not to mention the stressful and time-consuming process of dealing with whatever will go wrong when I change the OS. So, rather than try to do all of that in a short enough time to be able to do my first assignment on time, I'll just use the lab computers. I would use a remote connection, but apparently, the university is not set up for that right now. They're working on it, but I don't even have a timeline for that. So, I have to go into the labs, but that's still preferable to the alternative, at least for now. Anyway, I have to use the labs during certain specific hours of operation. So, I have to schedule around that. Most of my delay already happened, in that I had to find out all of these issues and figure out how to deal with them.
So, this week, I'll be using the labs Thursday, and Friday if I don't finish Thursday. So, at worst, for Friday, I'll be working until the labs close. I'll know by the time that I get home whether I'll have anything to post here. Either way, expect something to be here the following Friday.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Announcement: Story Publication Schedule
Now, I'll tell you about the other thing that I've decided to do regarding my story. I'm going to try to publish at least one chapter or section per week, starting next week. I would start this week, but it's kind of late in the week, and I'll probably spend this weekend trying to hang out with friends, get ahead on reading (for school), and work on the story. Also, I don't actually plan to publish anything the weeks that I have exams, and the weeks that my computer science projects are due. I might, but I might not. Regarding this, I have a heavy schedule for the next 8 weeks, and then a light schedule for 5 weeks thereafter. I should be fine for those five weeks - a 1-credit phys. ed. class and a 2-credit humanity - so I only might skip the last week (or two, if I have to do a paper for that humanity) then.
I'm also hoping to publish some schematics (Did I mention that my story has science fiction in it?). I plan to aim for once per week (following the same restrictions as above), but I'm only going to make once per two weeks be as high of a priority as the story itself. That being said, I might actually make more schematics than one per week, since they're easier to do than writing good prose.
Also, be warned that school still takes priority. I might have to drop down to no publications for a while, if school gets too busy. Also, don't forget that writing is an essentially artistic process. Even if I do have free time, I might get stuck when trying to decide how to phrase things, or in what order to present information, or even (for some - usually more minor and temporally closer - events) in what order certain things should happen. It's kind of like writer's block, but I don't know if that phrase really applies. I basically have the story in my head, and I just need to write it out.
So, expect some story next Friday (May 30th), and I might get a schematic up tomorrow.
I'm also hoping to publish some schematics (Did I mention that my story has science fiction in it?). I plan to aim for once per week (following the same restrictions as above), but I'm only going to make once per two weeks be as high of a priority as the story itself. That being said, I might actually make more schematics than one per week, since they're easier to do than writing good prose.
Also, be warned that school still takes priority. I might have to drop down to no publications for a while, if school gets too busy. Also, don't forget that writing is an essentially artistic process. Even if I do have free time, I might get stuck when trying to decide how to phrase things, or in what order to present information, or even (for some - usually more minor and temporally closer - events) in what order certain things should happen. It's kind of like writer's block, but I don't know if that phrase really applies. I basically have the story in my head, and I just need to write it out.
So, expect some story next Friday (May 30th), and I might get a schematic up tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Announcement: Story Publication Format
I've come up with a format for when I start publishing my story on this blog. I'm going to use a numeric spread, of integers within [0000, 1024]. Other than for something that must be the first, second, or last, I'll place things at relative midpoints. So, the first thing will go at 0512, then the next will go at 0256 or 0768, depending on whether it goes before or after it. I don't intend to use all 1025 integers in that range - I'm just using that range to give me plenty of places to fill in all over the place. I have more information to post about this, but that will have to wait until later.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Announcement: Story Publication
I once came up with an idea for a story. I think that it was around 1999-2000 CE, or thereabouts, when I did it. But, I never got the chance to write it all out. Now, here it is, 2008, and I still haven't written it. Ideally, I would write it all out, proofread it, round out the rough edges, and eventually take it to a publisher to publish. Of course, that takes time.
That, by itself, wouldn't be such a big deal, except that, when I came up with it, the story was taking place in the future. To be precise, it took place in a near future - and that future is much closer now than it was back then. So, I would like to at least get it out there when it's still in the future (though it probably would have been best if published when I first came up with it, due to perspective changes and such).
So, here's the plan. I'm going to write portions of it on this blog. I make no assurances about how long or frequent the posts will be, nor do I claim that I will publish it continuously (I'll likely have miscellaneous posts in between story chunks). I don't even promise that the posts will be in order (though I do intend to make the order clear).
Also, I might revise the chunks of the story at any time, mainly to make them sound or flow better. The story itself is basically set, but the prose is still uncreated.
When I do this depends on how available I am, whether I remember about my blog, whether I feel like it, and possibly other factors.
P.S.: I also might come up with other stories and do this with them, though I'd probably stick to short stories until I finish this one.
That, by itself, wouldn't be such a big deal, except that, when I came up with it, the story was taking place in the future. To be precise, it took place in a near future - and that future is much closer now than it was back then. So, I would like to at least get it out there when it's still in the future (though it probably would have been best if published when I first came up with it, due to perspective changes and such).
So, here's the plan. I'm going to write portions of it on this blog. I make no assurances about how long or frequent the posts will be, nor do I claim that I will publish it continuously (I'll likely have miscellaneous posts in between story chunks). I don't even promise that the posts will be in order (though I do intend to make the order clear).
Also, I might revise the chunks of the story at any time, mainly to make them sound or flow better. The story itself is basically set, but the prose is still uncreated.
When I do this depends on how available I am, whether I remember about my blog, whether I feel like it, and possibly other factors.
P.S.: I also might come up with other stories and do this with them, though I'd probably stick to short stories until I finish this one.
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