tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23887156744404421252011-09-07T22:46:27.820-04:00Rasputinnoreply@blogger.comBlogger311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-80796270299878968662011-08-22T05:00:00.001-04:002011-08-22T05:00:06.856-04:00

I received a review copy of The Arranger by L. J. Sellers and the bottom line here is that I think the book is almost awesome. I am not a regular reader of thrillers and maybe my expectations weren't in line with genre norms so consider the source. The story is set in a near future US where the federal government has been radically downsized, unemployment is high, health insurance is rare and a

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-1051251420508464272011-08-16T06:00:00.000-04:002011-08-16T06:00:00.678-04:00

I found this article on spoilers through the Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast which you'll like if you think people who babble on about crystals and bigfoot are batshit crazy. But I digress... The article is about a study done by a bunch of folks at the University of California, San Diego which finds that people enjoy a story more if they have had it spoiled. They presented previously

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-14721997970604827142011-08-15T01:08:00.001-04:002011-08-15T01:10:18.137-04:00

Don’t let the character be a dingleberry stuck to the ass of a toad as he floats downriver on a bumpy log. 25 Things You Should Know About Character

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-52074312748132337902011-08-11T17:35:00.004-04:002011-08-14T21:54:27.310-04:00

Bottom Line:It's a fun read. A Little Deeper:This tale relies more on good characters than a fully developed world. I don't doubt that there is a fully developed world behind the scenes but we don't actually see much of it. We see what is necessary for the story and not much else. That left me wanted more but not in a way that distracted from the story and that's the way it should be. The

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-37718741316093168842011-08-09T06:06:00.000-04:002011-08-09T06:06:00.761-04:00

Four StarsBottom Line: If you like fantasy you'll probably like this. It's an easy world to get lost in. A Little Deeper:I think some people will feel that this story starts off slowly and builds slowly then sprints to the end over the last 10-15% of the book and I think those people will be the ones for whom the plot is everything. If you're like me and care about characters more than the plot

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-43980744417384208582011-08-02T06:34:00.001-04:002011-08-02T06:34:00.972-04:00

This is an awesome story.In one sense, the science fiction elements are pretty limited. There weren't spaceships, faster than light travel, teleporters, ray guns or sharks with frikkin' laser beams. There were some genetically modified creatures, a Star Trek style food replicator and that's about it.But it was set in a post apocalyptic US where the political situation is radically different.

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-91039844734492236172011-08-01T17:48:00.002-04:002011-08-01T18:23:44.313-04:00

So this is supposed to be a writing blog now, which means that for the nonce it is a reading blog since I don't have anything really worth talking about from a writing perspective.So I just got a Kindle.And I completely fell in love with it immediately.This only makes sense with a little back story. I was a bit of a nerdy kid. I wasn't as nerdy as some but nerdier than most. Given a choice

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-27040987625807216342011-07-05T17:36:00.003-04:002011-07-05T17:38:14.024-04:00

This place has been dormant for years and that's going to change. I have decided to try to write some fiction and see if it can actually generate some income. I haven't written anything creatively since oh, I dunno, High School, which was longer ago than I care to think of.Nevertheless, I am nothing if not confident in my own ability to meander about bullshit so even if I never write anything

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-23158690296941579192008-06-03T21:17:00.003-04:002008-12-26T18:29:11.499-05:00

I love my country.Understand me. I am not talking about flag waving pseudo political bullshit where I wrap myself in a flag and march down Main Street. I'm talking about what really is unique about America. We, as Americans, formed a government out of whole cloth and built it on the fundamental principle that people matter.I literally grew up with the names of the people and places on my walls

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-78826021744595070212008-04-10T23:21:00.003-04:002008-04-10T23:30:19.237-04:00

Some smart guys at the University of Texas have powered up a really strong laser. It's over one petawatt. I never heard of a petawatt before and I'm guessing neither have you. Lets put this in perspective. If 1.21 gigawatts is enough to send a Delorean through time, a petawatt can do it 826,446 times.The pulse only lasts a tenth of a trillionth of a second but for that brief moment in time,

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-30910537925068019482007-10-29T16:49:00.000-04:002007-10-29T16:50:27.871-04:00

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-58033481066931371632007-10-15T23:52:00.000-04:002007-10-15T23:59:22.863-04:00

Human sex and marriage with robots by 2050.As is perhaps unsurprising, Isaac Asimov anticipated this in Robots of Dawn.

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-55551754273317952512007-10-15T23:42:00.000-04:002007-10-15T23:46:04.665-04:00

We're down 2-1 and the odds have swung dramatically in favor of the Indians. Yeah we came back from 3-0 in 2004 but that situation is completely different. The 2004 Yankees didn't have anyone on their staff as good as Fausto Carmona or C.C. Sabathia and they didn't have an outstanding bullpen.There's a saying out there that luck is probability taken personally. Well we've come up against the

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-21091722843248023692007-10-09T22:30:00.000-04:002007-10-09T22:59:39.503-04:00

I'm not even remotely kidding.The powers that be in MLB have changed the postseason schedule to make things better for TV, to get more games on the weekends and so forth. The games will be played on the 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 20th, and 21st. That means you can use three starting pitchers and have a total of one game pitched on short rest. Historically short rest has been an absolute

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-67424351043630173212007-06-22T19:23:00.000-04:002007-06-22T19:26:34.984-04:00

To help people.Learn how our DNA changes naturally and you can use that knowledge to make people's lives better.

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-8929779746138223002007-06-11T23:45:00.000-04:002007-07-01T16:48:26.915-04:00

First, the Haiku. It's a tribute to that master of clutchness, Derek Sanderson Jeter.Jeter, anusfaceJeter, Jeter, anusfaceJeter, anusfaceSecond, the limerick. I'm stealing it from Christopher Hitchens. I heard it on the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe premium content episode number two.God's plan made a sporting beginning'Till Eve spoiled his chances by sinningWe trust that the storyWill end with

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-1079444945847942442007-06-06T14:44:00.000-04:002007-06-06T15:50:38.015-04:00

Lloyd Alexander passed away on May 19th.I am just learning this now, and I am crushed.Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain were one of the genuine treasures of my childhood. I never really thought about it before, but of all the things I read as a child, it is the lessons of the Prydain series that have stuck with me more than any other. While I enjoyed—and still enjoy—the Narnia series I didn’t

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-19347415807576814252007-04-19T22:58:00.000-04:002007-04-19T23:05:53.885-04:00

Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, is threatening a scientific war if Germany does not lend to Egypt a bust of Nefertiti for the opening of a museum in 2012.Nefertiti belongs in Egypt. German museums are using Egyptian cultural heritage to make money for Germans. The British are doing the same with the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum.Having these icons

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-79351293456921153082007-04-18T17:47:00.000-04:002007-04-18T17:48:33.117-04:00

Per this report, John Lester will be making one more start for Greenville then heading to AAA for a start on the 25th in Rochester.That's progress and progress is good.

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-75673253608722500422007-04-15T13:31:00.000-04:002007-10-09T21:37:34.616-04:00

One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stuey "The Kid" Ungar, the World's Greatest Poker Player, was supposed to be Ungar's tell all autobiography but Ungar died before it could be published. As is, it is a well written, frank, and engaging biography of one of poker's legends. This reader, at least, was left with the impression that Ungar was a heinous rat bastard that one wouldn't want to

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-39268237386615295522007-04-15T12:38:00.000-04:002007-10-09T19:39:41.512-04:00

This week's image is Jackie Robinson's Hall of Fame plaque.Baseball is honoring his memory today on the 60th anniversary of his first game and this very fitting and proper. I won't go into it much other than to say that it's nice to be reminded that we can become better people.

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-21695937831328276622007-04-08T22:39:00.000-04:002007-04-08T23:04:46.896-04:00

A few assorted comments on the game:Schilling looked so much better it's not funny. If you were worried about him after his opening day start, you don't need to be. He is 40 and on the downside of his career but he's still got a little left in the tank.Alex Cora. ALEX Cora. Joey Cora don't play no more. If you're going to announce games for a living, the least you can do is know who's

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-26660266855500034382007-04-06T22:53:00.000-04:002007-04-06T23:04:56.550-04:00

Since today's Sox game was an abomination, lets check in with the Yankers shall we?Coming into the season the Sox bullpen was their question mark and the Yanks rotation was their question mark. How're they doin'?Game 1: Pavano goes 4.1 allowing four earned runs.Game 2: Pettitte goes 4 allowing two earned runs.Game 3: Mussina goes 4 allowing six earned runs.Twelve and a third innings pitched,

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-4311174146661833002007-04-04T22:16:00.000-04:002007-04-04T22:21:44.678-04:00

It's the sixth inning so I can't really comment on the entire game but Beckett's outing is over and it was pretty good...mostly.He couldn't throw the curve consistently for strikes and that's a problem which led to four walks which is a problem and 90+ pitches in five innings which is a problem.But other than that he kept throwing it and wasn't throwing meatballs and managed to allow just one run

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-15019894318497984822007-04-02T22:27:00.000-04:002007-04-15T12:28:42.839-04:00

And that's pretty much all that needs to be said about that.

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-86952147114073305692007-03-30T22:51:00.000-04:002007-03-30T23:42:10.460-04:00

Johnny Pesky is what life is all about.Born a child of immigrants, he fell in love with America's game, and it fell in love with him. Signed by the Red Sox in 1940, he made the majors in 1942 and played well enough to finish third in the MVP balloting.Just one year into his career, his country came calling and he went off to war because that's what you do when your country calls.He returned to

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-7253723554378740252007-03-28T21:32:00.001-04:002007-03-28T21:32:36.425-04:00

People who are intelligent and witty make the world a better place to live. In that vein, I give you the XKCD web comic. This strip is, I think, what humor is all about. The strip is often some geeky math jokes but is occasionally blatantly maudlin sentimentality so by the time you get to box five you don't know what to expect from box six.

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-39862195646791335272007-03-28T21:30:00.002-04:002007-03-28T21:31:02.457-04:00

I don't like it.What it comes down to is this, a starter is more important than a closer. Most of the time when a closer saves a game, you'd have won the game with a lesser pitcher. With an excellent offense and an excellent rotation you aren't going to have all that many save opportunities and even a mediocre closer is going to save most of them.The rotation protects the bullpen. The bullpen

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-63978309494517806202007-03-28T21:30:00.001-04:002007-03-28T21:57:43.557-04:00

Magic.

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-89716330083216505392007-03-28T21:28:00.000-04:002007-03-28T21:58:03.430-04:00

This comes to us from XKCD which is really funny a lot of the time and sometimes kinda touching.

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388715674440442125.post-87861137538199190742007-03-28T21:25:00.000-04:002007-03-28T21:26:34.852-04:00

So I killed my old blog because the name pretty much sucked. This name is much better.

Rasputinnoreply@blogger.com0