A couple of years ago, I got assigned to a couple of projects at work where I ended up writing a lot of code and scripts. I didn’t know a lot of the commands I needed off the top of my head, so often I wrote what we called pseudo-code before writing real code. Pseudo-code isn’t real code that a computer can understand, but rather a summary of what you want the code to do. For example, if I were quickly sketching out what I needed a script to do, I might write something like “do SQL database query here,”… (read more)
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A couple of days ago, my primary desktop computer died. I had some concerns, like long was it going to take me to replace it and how much money was it going to cost me, but one thing I was not concerned about at all was, “is my novel backed up?” 
I was so upset with myself for destroying my last computer that I forgot one of my own cardinal rules — I like it when hardware dies. When old hardware dies, we replace it with newer, faster hardware! In keeping with tradition, Vader’s replacement was also given a Star Wars name. All my workstations are named after characters, all my servers are named after planets, and all my laptops are named after ships (because they fly around). Traditionally I would have given this machine a new name, but I’m so used to referring to this machine as Vader (and have… (read more) Many years ago (back in the mid-90s), a friend of mine and I started a monthly electronic magazine. The magazine consisted of original short stories and poems. Along with copy editing everybody else’s submissions and assembling all the electronic code, I was also on the hook for contributing a few original short stories of poems each issue. After only a few months, “the well was dry,” so-to-speak. I had already printed all of my previously written stuff, and began to experience writer’s block. And so, late at night, I would go for a walk. Yesterday I noticed my main desktop computer was running slow. Although it should be able to handle it, it’s been running rough ever since I upgraded to Windows 10. I searched Google for “Windows 10 performance tips” and one list I found suggested making sure your BIOS firmware was up to date. I’ve never updated the firmware on that machine, so I downloaded the latest one from Acer’s website and double-clicked on it. The firmware update unpacked, got 75% done flashing my computer’s firmware… and then, Windows 10 blue-screened on me. My computer is dead. I tried moving the CMOS… (read more) 
This is approximately 1/4th of my Star Wars collection. Although my collection is pretty big, some of my favorite pieces are actually quite small, like this one: In 1998, having just moved back to Oklahoma from Spokane, I threw a big birthday party — a really big birthday party, with kegs of beer and gobs of food and dozens and dozens of people. One of the party attendees walked through my front door, came right up to me, and handed me this tiny Yoda. “I brought you this Yoda.” “Where did it come from?” “I stole it from Walmart.” And… (read more) In the original outline draft of my novel, I didn’t tell the protagonist’s back story until chapter three or four. The back story was revealed to the reader through dialogue that takes place between the protagonist and a secondary character. The back story, save for the climax, is one of the most action packed scenes in the book. My professor suggested that I move this scene into the prologue. After completely agreeing with her, I went home and searched Google for information on how to write a prologue. Here’s what I’ve learned so far. Like most of you, I spent several hours this weekend bringing an old dead DOS computer back to life. (Wait. You guys didn’t do that this weekend, too? Man, you missed OUT!) I bought this old desktop machine years ago at a thrift store for (I think) five bucks. The last time I used it was to transfer my old Commodore 64 diskettes to D64 disk images using an original X1541 cable. According to this blog entry, that was ten years ago. Ten years of sitting hasn’t been good for the machine. The hard drive spun up, but spins more… (read more) I got hired at Best Buy based on the computer knowledge I already had. The store I applied to only had two computer tech positions, and both were filled. Instead I worked in the computer and software departments for several months until one of the two techs quit. I moved into the repair booth the next day. My job in the tech booth was to do whatever customers asked me to do. We had a posted list of services we offered like hardware installation and virus removal, and for $50/hour, we would do just about anything they asked. Today when… (read more) I got my first record player when I was five or six years old, a little white unit that looked like it came from the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey. While I owned a few records of my own (we’re talking the Star Wars picture disc and Alvin and the Chipmunks’ Christmas album), most of what I listened to was pilfered from my parents’ record collection: Blondie, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix albums. For my 8th birthday I got a boombox with a cassette deck and spent a few years acquiring music in both formats. The last vinyl albums… (read more) |
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