Mainframe's Random Stuff

My NaNoWriMo 2011 Experience

2011-12-06T18:51:00.001-05:00

I'm an official NaNoWriMo winner; as in I wrote 50,000 words by November 30th on an original work that I didn't start before November 1st.

I decided to just write from the beginning and see where it took me. No character sketches, no outline, no notes, not nothing, just one word in front of the other.

What I learned was:

1) I can actually do it, write a longer form story. I've written short stories, but never anything longer than I could write a first draft of in a day.

2) I actually liked quite a lot of what I wrote. I enjoyed the dialog between my characters. I put my super-powered protagonist through several challenges and I enjoyed the way he interacted with his family and friends. I wrote a bit of romance into the story, and it helped serve the plot as well as the
characterization.

3) There is a lot that I need to really fix. I really wasn't happy with the last 10,000 words. I think that what is going to work best is to end the story at my 40,000 word point in the draft and flush some things out. I should be able to use some of the last 10,000 if I ever write a sequel. I need to really punch up what I think is going to be the end. I like the character of the protagonist's daughter, but I left her out of the last half of the book. I think I need to look at what I want that character to do and flush her out more.

4) I can write 4,000 decent 1st draft words in a day. These are days off of work, but with my typing speed, that's not bad.

So will I do it again next year? I definitely want to.

So what am I going to do with the 1st draft of my novel (more of a novella, I think)? 1) In a week or so, I want to take an edit pass just for grammar and spelling... maybe reword where I've used the same word too close together. Essentially what I'd call light editing. When I do, I'd like to take some notes for the next pass.

Since NaNoEdMo (edit for 50 hours) is in March, I'm thinking that will be when I make that pass. I think after pass number 2 it will be ready for beta readers. Then I'll take an edit pass keeping their comments in mind.

After that, I don't know. I may self publish it in e-book for the exercise of it. This will depend on how well it is received. I may work on one of the two other book ideas I have. If I can get into a two book a year cycle, that would be great even if I don't do anything serious with them.

If you want to check out my progress over NaNoWriMo, you can go to my NaNoWriMo page.

You can check out some of my first draft samples from my book here.

If the samples aren't enough, you can find the pdf of all 50,000 words here, I'll be updating it as I make changes.

Finally, I have my book in a competition at Curiosity Quill's NaNo-Virtuosos Competition, feel free to read a short sample and comment (negative and positive comments are welcome) here. You can find all 31 works in the contest here. You can scroll down to vote.

Thanks so much to everyone who everyone who encouraged me. It really was a lot of fun.

NaNoWriMo: My Opening

2011-11-23T12:59:00.001-05:00

Here is the draft opening two scenes in my NaNoWriMo novel:

Wed Jan 20 9:05PM

Robert Andrews trudged through the cold night, heavy bags inhand, heading toward the parking lot where his equally cold car awaited. It was game night at his favorite comic bookstore so he stayed to watch the players for a couple of hours after paying forhis books.

Construction near the store meant that the car was evenfurther than usual. Robert hated parkingin the far lot. The few operating streetlights never seemed to actually help one actually see, but rather highlightedthe disrepair of the adjoining buildings.

He rested his shopping bags on the ground for a moment tofish the car keys from his coat pocket. But before keys could meet the doorlock ….. WHAM! …. Rob found himself on the ground, glasses thrown from hisface. The next breath caused his ribsto complain bitterly.

“What is THIS?” … Rob grabbed his glasses in reflex andturned toward the voice.

“I SAID, what is THIS?” … A young brute of a man had fistsfull of crumpled comic books. The restof the books were scattered on the icy pavement.

“How am I supposed to get any money for THIS?”. Rob thought to himself that he himself hadjust spent quite a few dollars on the 3 weeks worth of comics lying at thethug’s feet.

The light bespectacled Robert was no challenge for the biggerman to pluck from the ground and heft against an SUV. Robert’s feet almost dangled as his attacker's eyes burned.

“Gimme all your money!” the thief demanded.

“I’d really rather not” was the meek reply.

“What DID you say?”

“Sorry, I’ll speak up … I’d really rather not. For that matter, I must insist that you backoff. If you do, then I’ll let you go inpeace. Otherwise, I can’t promise anything.” Robert said in a shockingly calmvoice.

“....” After a long pause, the brute blinked. Shock gave way to anger and frustration.

A fist drew back. Thesmall man grew heavy and feet dropped to the pavement. Rob’s expression changed to one ofdefiance. The mugger just wanted to endit.

Fist met face … and the fist lost. The big man snatched his hand back inpain. Obscenities flew. Robert brushed off and walked calmly towardhis attacker.

A fist drew back slightly. The young man shrunk back involuntary. The punch to the chest stunnedand dropped the criminal to the ground.

“Now we are even. Please, let’s not do this again.” In the dark, the predator fled his intended prey.

Rob leaned back against his car and rested for a moment ... acracked rib mended and bruised tissue healed. Bending down, he picked up the remains of his purchases and got into hiscar.

…

Wed Jan 20, 9:45PM

In his small apartment, Robert laid out the comic books onthe table. All were damaged, but most were readable. “Darn it! Why did he have to destroy the new‘Power Team #1’? Now I have to avoid theInternet until I can get another copy.” Robert sighed. He made a short list of the comic books hewas going to go back for tomorrow, this time during lunch to avoid anotherpotential altercation. This was alldistraction and Rob knew it.

Robert Andrews walked into the bathroom and stood in front ofthe mirror for long moments. A linedface with graying hair looked back at him. He was just a 50-ish IT guy with a failed marriage, a poor diet, and adaughter he only saw every other weekend. Why did he have these … powers he couldn’t explain? Sure they just saved him a load of pain lessthan an hour before; but he was a peaceful person. He really didn’t feel good about hittingsomeone, even in self-defense. Or was itdefending himself, he wondered, if in less than a second he could … he had nowords for what he could do ... DID do. He needed someone to talk to someone. The whole thing was crazy wasn’t it … or maybe he was.

Regardless he needed to confide in someone. Perhaps even if he were crazy, it would bebetter to know that than not, right? Jason … perhaps Jason could handle it. His cousin wasn’t just family but a life-long friend. Tomorrow he’d call Jason and schedule ameeting to talk about … everything. Butnow it was time to get some sleep.

Robert unfolded the couch into a semblance of a bed, put apile with the day’s mail and about a third of the comics beside him. He didn’t remember falling asleep, justwalking up at 3AM with the television playing some infomercial. He hit the mute button on the remote androlled back over to sleep for a few more hours.

NaNoWriMo: Sample from Chapter 12

2011-11-22T09:57:00.001-05:00

Now that I'm deep into my NaNoWriMo book, there is very little I can post without there being spoilers or without confusion from lack of context. This is some buddy banter between the super-powered protagonist Robert and his cousin Jason. Jason is the first person Robert confides in, and this scene is set at Jason's house out on his family's farm. Enjoy:

Jason and Robert watched TV while they ate. Jason had recorded a college football gamefrom earlier in the day and they had both diligently refrained from anynews source that might have spoiled it for them. Jason preferred watching his sports this way,so that he could skip though half-time and commercials.

Half way into thesecond quarter the action slowed into a back and forth ground battle. “So how’s Maggie doing? Did you tell herabout your being the hero and all?”

Rob replied, “She’s fine. And I told her over dinner lastnight. We went to this Italianrestaurant and …”

“So you two went on a date.” Jason interjected.

“Not a ‘date’ date, we were just two friends eating dinnerout.” Rob tried to re-direct.

“So the place wasn’t romantic?” Jason probed.

“Well, kind of, but we just needed a place where we couldtalk privately ….” Robert hoped to divert the interrogation that was sure tocome.

“Oh! A secluded boothin the corner I bet …” Jason was enjoying how this scene was playing out.

“It wasn’t like that! We just didn’t want anyone to overhear…” Robert countered.

“Was it your idea or hers?” Jason pressed.

“Well hers, … I guess” Robert knew this wasn’t helping andthere was precious little he could think of in defense.

“Oh, I see. And whatdid you two do after dinner?” Jason wanted to know how far the evening went.

“Went home.” Robert hoped to end it at that.

“So you drove to your apartment and she to hers?” Jason knewthere was more than Rob wanted to say.

“She wanted to have a couple of drinks so I drove her home inher car. Later I glided back to retrievemy car. Then I drove home.” Robert hopedthat that would satisfy Jason.

Jason would have none of it. “So she picked out a niceromantic place for you too to eat. Then she had a few drinks and you drove herto her place. So give with the rest of the story. You know you are going to tell me so drop thecoy act.”

Robert sighed and told Jason, “Yes, we had a lovely timetalking at the restaurant. And yes, she had more to drink that she would haveif she were going to drive herself. Iwalked her to her door; she went in, end of story.”

“That might be the end, but I’m thinking that you probablyleft out some of the middle. Did she askyou in? Any good night kiss? Any …?” Jason pressed until interrupted byRob.

“She did ask me in, but not for what you might think. It was late, so I passed on it. …. And I didkiss her …” Jason tried to interrupt at that but Robert continued. “… on thecheek. It was totally platonic. Immediately after that she went in and Ileft. Beginning, middle, and end ofstory … done.”

“Did she hesitate for just a small bit before walking intothe apartment?” Jason had to ask for just one more detail.

“JASON! Now stop it!”Robert had already said more than he wanted to. He did remember a slight pause and a little backward glance as she wentinside.

“She likes you.” Jason declared.

“We are friends, so I hope she likes me at least a little.”Robert was exasperated at this point.

“Ask any of your other female friends, they’ll tell you.”Jason said with a sense of authority in such matters.

“I don’t have any other female friends.” Robert retorted.

“So you are just going to have to make due with me. Trust me, for the next good night kiss, makeit on the lips. Oh and next time sheinvites you in, say ‘yes’. To tell her ‘no’ twice in a row would just be rude.”Jason remembered something from a magazine that he had to endure when he lastwaited at the dentist’s office.

“Oh, so now you are an expert in etiquette. You should do acolumn for the paper.” The barb was a feeble attempt and Robert knew it.

“Alright, let’s just focus on the game. Please?” Robertsurrendered.

“Okay, but only because my team is winning.” Jason relented.

As Robert drove home from the farm later that evening, hewould have no memory of the rest of the game.

NaNoWriMo: Sample from 11/19/11

2011-11-19T21:05:00.001-05:00

Another romantic scene, I think I'm trying for the record of the number of times my characters sleep together without having sex, of any kind. I wrote a lot of other stuff today, but most of the rest would make no sense out of context, so ... :

Margaret let herself into her apartment to see Robert sleeping on the couch. She hated to wake him, but she knew that if he didn't want her to he would have gone to his own apartment.

She took a moment to admire how cute he looked to her as he slept. Then she leaned over to kiss him on the forehead. “Hey you.” Robert said as he stretched. “How are you doing?”

“I'm fine. I slept in this morning, so I was late getting back. That and I was starving, so I stopped at the first restaurant on the way back. I never knew fried catfish could taste so good.” Maggie lipped her lip slightly at the memory.

“I know what you mean. I'm not even sure I ate at all yesterday. As I finished up my errands this morning, I stopped at a buffet for an early lunch. I took the 'all you could eat' as a personal challenge. Then I came straight here, I hope you don't mind that I let myself in.” Robert hoped.

“Not at all. Not every girl has a super-hero boyfriend that can walk through walls when he needs to. I don't even need to give you a set of keys.” she winked. “By the way, if I ever lock myself out, I'm calling you and saving the locksmith bill.”

“I am at your beck and call, m'lady.” Robert said with a flourish in his tone.

“And don't I know it.” Maggie took her pocket book from around her and snuggled up with her man. Playful kisses were exchanged, Robert could have sworn he heard giggles.

“You know, we were on our way back here when we got interrupted Friday night.” Maggie remembered.

“So, were we going to take it to the next level or not?” Robert probed.

“Probably, but we are both way too tired and we don't need to rush things. It is just truly a joy to be with you.” Maggie kissed him again.

“You, my darling, are turning into a big softy.” Robert teased.

“I can still bring it when I need to, Ghost-boy. I'm just happy that we are both safe after the other night. That; and for a big geek, you can be pretty sexy sometimes.” Maggie bantered back.

“Like when?” Robert kissed her gently on the lips again.

“Like when you try to help someone. Even someone who tried to fry you with lightning ...” she brushed his lips playfully “ … sort of, kind of, by mistake.” Her lips met his again briefly.

“Any other times?” Robert continued.

“I'm sure there are others, I'm just way too sleepy to recall right now.” Maggie gently poked him on the tip of his nose. “You know, my bed is much more comfy; and it's right over in the next room.”

Robert shifted and lifted the auburn tressed woman in his arms. “I can take a hint.” Robert gently laid her on the bed, pulling back the covers as he did.

Robert lay down beside her and commented “I'm not sure couples sleep together any more and just sleep. I guess my age is showing.”

Maggie pushed him to the side to spoon him. “That's okay, you are my old man, and I like you this way.” She ran her fingers thorough a particularly white part of his hair. “Now go to sleep.”

“Yes, ma'am.” Robert felt himself beginning to drift off even as he spoke.

Maggie listened to the sound of his breathing as she fell asleep herself.

NaNoWriMo: Sample from 11/18/11

2011-11-18T20:42:00.001-05:00

My last NaNoWriMo sample was romance. Here is a hint of horror from today. And yes, my novel is a super-hero story.:

Electra was sure that she had killed herself. She scolded her stupidity, while waiting for whatever the afterlife held for her. She lay in the dark, restrained unable to move. What horrors did the demons of hell have for her, she wondered. Perhaps this anticipation was part of their torture.

Suddenly a sliver of light appeared. Just as suddenly, most of that light was blocked as a dark figure approached from where the brightness originated. She could only fear what would happen when it touched her.

She screamed the cry of the damned.

From My NaNoWriMo Work in Progress - 11/17/11

2011-11-17T11:00:00.001-05:00

"You are truly beautiful, you know.”Robert spoke across the table to the striking woman. They sat in thecorner booth of an Italian restaurant. The lovely odors of wine andmarinara complemented her perfume.

“And you know, one of the best thingsabout dating, is that unlike before; you tell me things like that.”Margaret replied, casually brushing her hair aside with a flirt.

“I've complemented you before.”Robert defended.

“Yeah, but now I know you mean it.”Maggie teased.

“That I do. And is there anythingyou want to tell me.” Robert fished as he straightened himself inhis chair.

“Yes, Robert. You have … the mostimpeccable taste in women.” Maggie batted her eyes.

“I see this is getting me absolutelynowhere.” Robert sighed.

“I don't know, I find a man who cantake a little teasing in good humor to be awfully sexy. That and youhave a pretty well developed sense of humor yourself.” Maggie hadthe slightest purr in her voice at “sexy”.

“Moi? Surely you jest.” Robert saidin with a mock air of distinction.

“Oh, it's subtle; but don't think Idon't know.” her eyebrow raised slightly.

“There's no sense denying it then;I'm adorable.” Robert grinned.

“I've created a monster. But at leastyou are my monster.” she broadened her smile in reply.

NaNoWriMo

2011-10-31T19:14:00.001-04:00

I'm going to try NaNoWriMo this year.

I don't have a title (right now it's "Untitled Superhero Novel"). I have a very rough premise - a middle aged geek gets super powers from aliens, now he has to figure out what to do with them. I'm going to try just starting from the beginning and see where it leads. All the while trying to write ~1700 words a day.

I'm going to try to put what I write up on this site as I go. It will be ugly but I hope some of you have fun. If nothing else, you should feel better about your writing after perusing some of this.

My NaNoWriMo user name is "mainframe" so feel free to check my progress at http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/mainframe

I just signed up today, Oct 31, so expect things to look rough.

Feel free to take a look at the work in progress at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5246143/Reluctant_Hero-Beginnings.pdf .

You can make comments here or on Twitter.

--Richard Green aka "Mainframe"

You Are SOOOOOOOO Wrong!

2011-09-19T20:52:00.000-04:00

You are wrong. And the sad part is you have no idea how wrong you are.

There are things you'd practically bet you life on that are just plain wrong. Yes. there is that one word that you have been mispronouncing all your life .... it's still wrong. There is that one thing you would swear you know exactly where it is ... and it just isn't (good luck finding that thing, by the way; you are going to need it).

O.K. there are a lot of things you are wrong about that just don't matter. You are not off the hook. There is that thing you really think that would solve a societal problem, but if it were implemented it would harm so many people that it would keep you up at night if you knew.

Being wrong has its consequences. Look at history for thousands of examples. That darned "medical" theory of the four humors led to who knows how many of cases that were treated by blood letting ... when it was kind of the exact opposite of what was needed. By the way, eating food and drinking water contaminated by lead ... not a good thing, and more than one major leader has made some really screwed up decisions because of it.

And that's just science, how about philosophies that devalued other groups of people to a point that genocide has been "justified". Yeah, being wrong doesn't just hurt you, it harms every one around you.

I see that top honor graduate in the back smirking. What was your average on your tests in school? 99? Outstanding! Then perhaps you can comprehend just how many different systems totally break down with a one in one hundred error rate. Trust me if your smart phone was that "wrong", it would barely function at all ... to dial another number (forget the rest). That phone seems a whole lot "smarter" now, doesn't it?

So what about your belief system? Well so much of what you believe is mutually exclusive of what some other person believes. Add all those points up and the odds that you are right about every single one ... well I don't know, but some really smart mathematician could figure the odds. Most likely the answer might be off some what, but it would probably be in the right ballpark ... which would be extremely slim to none. I'm going to round that off to "none" right now and save me the pain.

So you are wrong ... accept it and deal with it. You are in some truly excellent company .... o.k. and in some really seedy company too (but don't let that part get you down; there's no upside in that).

So with this knowledge, what do you do?

First off: Realize that just because that other guy is obviously wrong about something does not make him less wrong than you (I've met that guy so I know how painful that is to think about).

Second: Do not live your life without other people to call you on your serious B.S. . Unless you are going to be a serious hermit ... and that includes staying out of the virtual society too, this is your best bet at being able to cause the least amount of harm ... and it is the best way to maximize the amount of good you can do. You need friends and you need a community to be a part of. And do not cut that person out of your life just because they disagree with you. That person may be doing you one of the best favor anyone can do for you if you are willing to at least consider it ... and if they aren't right this time, maybe they will be the next time.

Third: Since we can't be right about everything, how about if we cut other people a lot mere slack than we do now. Yeah, they need to do what they can about their own stuff. But let's stop being more impatient with other people than we want them to be with us. Let's try to be a little more decent to each other at least a little more often. And maybe one day even learn to celebrate our differences when and where we can. O.K. we can't tolerate the murder, child abuse, rape, and a host of other really bad things - but how often are these the reasons we don't value the person next to us? Yeah, I thought so.

Fourth: Realize that apparently being right about everything isn't what being a person is about. If it's an impossible goal, then it is not part of this thing called humanity. So search for truth, but realize that we never actually arrive, so there has to be value in the paths to try to get there. But how about we walk down that road and be glad for the progress we've made more than beating ourselves up over how far we are from the end.

Fifth: ... Hey, I'm just some guy and I'm just as screwed up as the rest of you guys, so why is it up to me to finish this darned list? I've already said more than I really know. You are most likely more qualified to speak to this than I am. How about you think about what your response needs to be to the notion that you are wrong. You'll probably be more profound than I will be.

My only saving point is I know I'm wrong ... as I find out more what I'm wrong about, apologies will be forthcoming. Oh and there are the times I forget how wrong I am ... that's when I'm the most wrong .... I think

Next time, I'll try to cheer you up with how very right you can be. :)

Vocabulary

2011-04-18T10:36:00.003-04:00

Vocabulary is important, and I'm not just saying that because some middle school English teacher said so. Vocabulary is about learning words that allow you to talk about a particular subject matter.

This is why just about any field has its own jargon. Yes it helps to shortcut the conversation, letting you get 15 words out of the way and just use the words you need to get down to the real discussion. But vocabulary does more that that.

Secret: Vocabulary allows you to THINK about new concepts. For a LONG time, Mathematics had no concept of "zero". It wasn't that people didn't know when they were without something, but the word "zero" allowed the concept of nothing to be thought of mathematically.

I heard an NPR show, probably "This American Life", where they looked at the difference in a school for the deaf in a developing country where the students developed crude a sign language on their own. These students had no real conversational language before and couldn't read or write in any language. Over the course of years the sign language at the school naturally evolved, rather rapidly. Years later, people had students from multiple "generations" at the school take a series of tests. And there was a cognitive gap between the early students who used the more primitive sign language, and those who used the more advanced later version. These people weren't stupid, but the limitations of their language ... their vocabulary limited the concepts their minds could easily address.

Have you ever read a book, knew you liked it, but really didn't know why? Happens to me all the time. But as I've interviewed authors this past year, I'm just beginning to develop a bit more of a vocabulary about writing and story-telling. In the process, I'm developing a much clearer idea of what I think works in a story, and why, than I did last year this time.

The thing is, they don't have to even be new words per se; but learning new definitions even for old words in a new subject matter makes a difference.

Take the word "low". A "low" baseball pitch means one thing. "Low" when referring to "low fantasy" means something all together different.

So what is my point? Words are important, and the more you understand the vocabulary of a subject matter, the more you will gain an appreciation for the structures inherent to that subject matter. You really do have to learn how to learn.

This is what your teacher, who had you drill a set of twenty words each week for a test on Friday, never told you. Learning vocabularies will increase your enjoyment of what is around you and give you a match to light your lantern so you can see in the otherwise (proverbial) dark forest around you.

Reading, and vocabulary, really are fun-da-mental :)

Hug Club!

2010-08-19T08:52:00.006-04:00

This post was inspired by a tweet from J.C. Hutchins. Follow J.C. at @jchutchins :)

Welcome to Hug Club.

The first rule of Hug Club is: You do talk about Hug Club.

The second rule of Hug Club is: You DO talk about Hug Club!

Third rule of Hug Club: If someone yells "stop!", goes limp, or taps out, the hug is over.

Fourth rule: Only two guys to a hug.

Fifth rule: One hug at a time, fellas.

Sixth rule: The hugs are full hugs. No A-frame hugs, no side-to-side hugs, no back-to-front hugs.

Seventh rule: Hugs will go on as long as they have to.

And the eighth and final rule: If this is your first time at Hug Club, you have to hug.

(Disclaimer: This is a parody homage to the Fight Club Rules and does not endorse any actual organization.)

Helping Tee Morris and Sonic Boom

2010-01-09T11:41:00.008-05:00

Something has happened for which I have no words, but I have to - so I have no doubts it will be done poorly. Please go to Remember Natalie for much better attempts.

Natalie Morris, wife of Tee Morris and mother to their young daughter, has died unexpectedly. If you are inclined to help please do so. You can donate money at http://teeandserena.chipin.com/tee-and-sonic-boom

You can also participate at http://www.theboomeffect.org/ in an auction for the family. If you have items to be auctioned please email donations@theboomeffect.org

(Added 1/15/10)
Tee's Video tribute to Natatlie

I can't imagine what it must be like for Tee and his family, especially his daughter. It is literal something that I don't wish on my worst enemy. Someone commented on Twitter that they had just had one of the worst days of his life recently; and that he would rather face a month straight of days like that than go through what Tee is having to face. I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment. Tee and his daughter do not deserve to have Natalie taken from them like this, but it has happened anyway.

Probably most of you who read this are already familiar with Tee Morris's work. If you aren't then I'd suggest that you do yourself a favor and listen to some of his free audio books. If you like them, consider buying his printed books including books on Podcasting and Twitter.

If you already know and love Tee's stuff, then I encourage you to write reviews at iTunes and Amazon (or other podcast and book review sites). If you have a blog or podcast, then I encourage you to invite others into Tee's community.

I'm not sure if Tee will read this, but in case he does, this is my message to him:

Tee, you have done so very much to bring light and laughter my way. Not only because of your writing and podcasting, which have provided many hours of enjoyment - but because of what you have and continue to do for podcasting and social media. So very many of the podcasters I listen to every day (and I subscribe to over 100 podcasts) have been inspired and directly helped by what you do.

You have shaped the land on which you walk. And when look at what this community is trying to do on your behalf, it is in large part to the way you've brought us all together. No matter what we do, your load will be heavy in the coming days - but to the extent that we are able to help you bear it, please allow us and gain strength from us.

Finally, thanks so much for those countless hours of interviews and guest appearances on other podcasts. Because you have left me literally laughing out loud - and laughter is the best medicine.

Know you are in our prayers and thoughts.

Richard Green aka "Mainframe"

Fun New Computer Stuff at Work

2009-01-21T20:43:00.007-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit. Been busy so I thought I'd take a moment to blog a bit about what's been taking a lot of my time from my podcasting series.

By day, I am a mainframe system administrator. The fun parts - for me - of computer systems are 1) learning them and 2) solving problems. The not-as-much part is making detail changes to systems like the ones I've done hundeds of times before. It's an important part of managing a computer system that actually does helpful things for other people; and I really don't mind (really) - it's just not as much fun.

This week so far has been *way* fun all over again for me. At work we have a new (and big and powerful) new system that - da da da - uses a new operating system and set of configuration tools. I am involved (with some contractors and others at work) in the process of configuring this new system and installing a number of AIX (an IBM version of Unix) Lpars (kind of like virtual machines).

AIX isn't exactly a "sexy" operating system like Ubuntu, but it is Unix and I'm being introduced to a lot of things that Unix and Linux server admins probably do every day. Oh and the new system supports Linux Lpars (*sweet*) as well as AIX ones.

AIX is required for a major new application my company will be converting much of it's business processes to. However, my management is also interested in seeing where we might have opportunities to take advantage of Linux and other open source software - especially if it can support test beds (or portions of the test beds) for this new application.

So in addition to my current mainframe duties (which I like), I'm being paid to learn/use AIX and probably Linux servers. On top of that some of what I'll learn will help me learn more about what's under the covers of my personal Ubuntu system. I'm unapologetic in my likes for the Linux :) .

So I'm putting in more hours at work, and my brain needs more down-time to absorb all this new stuff; but don't worry about me - if you are a computer geek, envy me (oh yeah).

Podcasts - The Basics Part 2

2009-01-06T09:54:00.018-05:00

So what kind of podcasts do I listen to? A lot. These all fall into many of my areas of interest, you can find podcasts that are more your own tastes. See http://www.podcastpickle.com/ , http://podiobooks.com/ and the podcast area of the iTunes store for good starting places for finding podcasts. Once you start listening to a few, you almost certainly will hear promos in those shows for others you might like.

If you are into Sci-fi/speculative fiction, check out the Parsec Award http://parsecawards.com/ winners and nominees. The competition in most of the categories is such that all the nominees are winners in my book.

Audio Fiction - Novels: Many of these are available at http://podiobooks.com/ . If they are already completed podcast novels, I tend to get the chapters there. If they are in progress, I usually get them from the author's site. The Podiobooks.com version is closer to traditional audio books; the "author's direct" episodes typically include news and banter along with the book content - this is where you get to know the author and learn how to get involved personally.

I listen to all the books from Scott Sigler (http://www.scottsigler.com/), J.C. Hutchins (http://jchutchins.net/), Tee Morris (http://teemorris.com/), Nathan Lowell (http://solarclipper.com/), and Christiana Ellis (http://christianaellis.com/). I also recommend novels by Mur Lafferty (http://murverse.com/), Philippa Ballantine (http://www.chasingthebard.com/), and Seth Harwood (http://sethharwood.com/) - I just haven't listened to ALL their stuff. Again, check out the Parsec Awards nominees.

End of Part 2... Coming soon, Part 3 - More podcasts I listen to.

Podcasts - The Basics Part 1

2009-01-05T16:09:00.006-05:00

I really like podcasts. Some people listen to music, others talk radio, or public radio. I listen to podcasts. They are kind of like "internet radio shows" you download to your computer and mp3 player. There are "video shows" available too - I just don't have a portable video player.

First of all they are free! (O.K. some aren't, but the vast majority are free.) If you have internet access (preferably high speed) and a computer, you can easily have access to any of thousands of these " shows". A portable MP3/media player is a good idea, with the Apple iPods being the most popular. The free program iTunes - you know the one you probably use to buy music (and maybe videos) - can be very easily used to subscribe to podcasts.

Subscribe? You know when you subscribe to a magazine, when a new issue is available it is mailed to you. When you subscribe to a podcast, iTunes (or some similar program) automatically downloads new episodes when they become available. Then it automatically syncs them with your iPod when you connect it to your computer. Pretty cool!

Oh and how do you subscribe to podcasts? You can search for them in iTunes. Also if you find a website for a podcast you are interested in, there almost always is a handy "subscribe in iTunes" button prominently displayed on the site.

I'm sure there are also really easy and cool ways to get podcasts on your iPhone, but I don't have one so ...

I actually use a slightly more involved process, since I am cheap and I can handle a few more steps - especially since it gives me a bit more control (a degree of control most people wouldn't care about - I'm a computer geek, it goes with the territory). I won't bore you with what I actually do, it would probably bore me to write it.

End of Part 1 ... Coming soon, Part 2 - What are these shows he's listening to?

New Blog

2008-12-31T13:58:00.005-05:00

I've been spending a bit of time lately in Twitter (userid "Mainframe") commenting on stuff. Occasionally, I'd like more that 140 characters to discuss somethings, so time for a blog.

Since I'm interested in a wide variety of things, I will try to properly label my posts so that you can easily find the posts you might be interested in.

Over time, I hope to have some posts about comic books, podcasts, movies, TV, scifi, tech, history, Ubuntu Linux, z/OS (mainframe), AIX, family life, weird news, etc - like I said a lot of different stuff, geeky stuff mainly.

I am a Christian and actually have some personal beliefs and morals. I also do not take myself too seriously. That means whatever you think and believe are pretty much welcome in the blog comments. If I ever want to get preachy or evangelistic, either regarding religion or politics, I promise to create another blog for that. I probably won't, but just wanted you to know.

I spent time in the military (USAF), so you are probably not going to offend me (even if you try). I do not want to offend any of you readers unduly; so if I ever do, let me know and I will probably apologize profusely.

Since I do not want to make this an age restricted blog, I do want to keep the comments G or PG. I'll be moderating your comments solely for that reason.

If you want to send me comments that are aren't all-age appropriate, contact me on Twitter. Check the contact information somewhere else on this site (hopefully) for other ways to contact me.

I hope you enjoy something on this site, and I hope that is is a pleasant diversion for you as you browse into this out of the way place on the Internet.