Blog

After setting up a rouge access point, Betsy managed to eavesdrop on the willing participants (victim’s) internet traffic. § Where to start? At least the little girl is being recognized for her computer skills. I’m sad the recognition comes from a let’s scare the stupid people article. But the article mentions hardened cyber criminals! /facepalm This is simply reading unencrypted web traffic. IT IS NOT “HACKING”. Do people do stupid things without encryption?

The U.S. Senate has voted overwhelmingly, 98 to 1, to approve an amendment affirming that climate change is real and "not a hoax." The vote came on an amendment to legislation that aims to force approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from the Canadian oil sands to the United States. § So this. But then the excuse was made by the Republicans, “climate changes all the time!

I first bumped shoulders with James Stark in a dark alley called Aloha From Hell. Richard Kadrey’s third book in the Sandman Slim series. I faithfully followed the series through the next three books. Watching Stark adapt to life outside of Hell has been a roller coaster ride through Los Angeles. But what was Stark like when he first came home? Reading the first book never quite made it to the top of my to-do list.

Here’s the cover for Sandman Slim 7, KILLING PRETTY. I hope you like it. I do. § I really like how he’s gone with the movie poster look. I’m totally expecting Hollywood to screw up (i.e. tone down) Stark. If there aren’t movies in the pipe already, I’ll be surprised.

INTERVIEWER Now, that old chestnut: Do you have any advice for young writers? BALLARD A lifetime’s experience urges me to utter a warning cry: do anything else, take someone’s golden retriever for a walk, run away with a saxophone player. Perhaps what’s wrong with being a writer is that one can’t even say “good luck”—luck plays no part in the writing of a novel. No happy accidents as with the paint pot or chisel.

Amazon Studios, known for television series such as multi-Golden Globe winner Transparent, Annie-nominated Tumble Leaf, and Mozart in the Jungle, today announced that it will begin to produce and acquire original movies for theatrical release and early window distribution on Amazon Prime Instant Video. § Amazon just said to Hollywood, “oh, your precious movies, we can undercut you there too.” The usual way of doing films & TV has needed disrupting for decades now.

And the connection economy depends on that simple truth. If you care about something, you must not wait for someone in charge to organize everyone else who cares about it. § The next iteration of “just do it ”

It was the one thing I owned with the most inertia attached. A 2001 Ford Ranger, with alloy wheels and dent in the bed. I haven’t been driving it as I prefer my motorcycle. The insurance was coming due tomorrow. I needed to either renew the insurance or tell the state it was parked. This gave me a deadline to decide. It’s been shambling along for a while now. I bought it with 101,000 miles and drove it for another 40,000 more in four years.

How are you removing distractions so you can write? § My first response was “focus.” If I am fully engaged in a task, a bomb could go off and I won’t notice. I think this is a universal concept. Books have been written about The Zone or getting into Flow. The fastest way for me to realize that I’ve been in a state of focus is the surprise when I’m knocked out of it.

My main writing tool is Ulysses III. Simply put, it’s where my text is. In a way, it’s like an office. When I open the app I write. What is Ulysses Most importantly, Ulysses is a writing environment. All writing is done on “sheets,” which are managed by the app. The sheets (documents) are kept in a library, organized with a database. This means all files are kept out of sight and don’t clutter up the documents folder.