TechgnosisWeb ReBoot

Well, folks, TechgnosisWeb is dead. Ding-dong, as a witch. No posts since January? Yeah, stick a fork in it, we’re all done. We had a good run, though. This blog has been going on in one way or another since April of 2003. But it’s finally time to move on to bigger and better things, not just on this blog but in my life. Over the past months, I’ve been getting ready to make a huge change, take a big leap, a chance on something massive. I’m moving back to NYC, along with my girlfriend, and this time we’re planning to stay. And I’m taking this opportunity to clear out a lot of the deadweight in my life and online. This blog, for one, has been hanging around my neck like a digital albatross for far too long. It’s time to put it to bed.

Does this mean you won’t hear from me ever again, though? Hardly! This isn’t an ending.. or at least, not just an ending. It’s also a new beginning. With renewed energy and a new sense of purpose and change, I’ve started a new blog, called Katsu Steps Out, over at http://katsushiro.squarespace.com/ (expect me to buy a proper domain for it soon enough). Just like I’ll be continuing my life soon in a whole new city, so will my online journey continue at a new home.

So! Thank you, to all of you who’ve taken the time to read any of the random idiocy I’ve posted here throughout the years. Thank you, and goodbye. The journey continues… here.

Remember that campaign to get some atheist-themed ads on London buses? The original idea was to raise about $8000 to put these ads on about 30 buses in the London area. How’d that turn out?

Today, thanks to many Cif readers, the overall total raised for the Atheist Bus Campaign stands at a truly overwhelming £135,000, breaking our original target of £5,500 by over 2400%. Given this unexpected amount, I’m very excited to tell you that 800 buses – instead of the 30 we were initially aiming for – are now rolling out across the UK with the slogan, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”, in locations all over England, Scotland and Wales, including Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, York, Cardiff, Devon, Leeds, Bristol and Aberdeen.

From today’s launch, two hundred of the buses will run in London, because the campaign was originally started as a positive counter-response to the Jesus Said ads running on London buses in June 2008. These ads displayed the URL of a website which stated that non-Christians “will be condemned to everlasting separation from God and then you spend all eternity in torment in hell … Jesus spoke about this as a lake of fire prepared for the devil”. Our rational slogan will hopefully reassure anyone who has been scared by this kind of evangelism.

The atheist bus journey

… or “Why I can’t keep my local gaming store alive, even though I’d like to”.

So, I bought myself the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition boxed set today. The one that includes all three basic books: the Player’s Handbook, the Dungeon Master’s Guide, and the Monster Manual. I grew up with D&D, as I often tell people, I actually learned to read with the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Ed. books (thanks, Dad!). I’ve bought every edition since then: 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, and now, 4.0. One thing is different, though, about today’s purchase. Up until the last one, I had always bought my gaming books at, well, a gaming store. Well, not just a gaming store: a comic book/gaming/card/collectibles store, but you get the idea. Almost by necessity, these types of stores are always small ‘mom and pop’ types of stores, run by geeks, for geeks. This is the place where you go and the dork behind the counter knows your name and has a bag with your weekly stash of comics already ready to go, the store where the employees know what your game is and tell you that the newest expansion just came out. The place where you can still get into an argument about who would win in a fight between Superman and Batman (pro-tip: Batman would mop the floor with Supes) with the guy behind the counter, and still leave happy.

It’s also a place that is doomed, and while it is within my power (and that of countless other geeks) to save it, we won’t. Why? Because as nice as the idea of the place is, the fact of the matter is that the ‘mom and pop tax’ has become unbearable. Case in point: the D&D 4th Ed. set I bought today. The local gaming store had it for approx. $105 (plus tax). Amazon had it for $66, with free shipping. Do the math, that’s nearly $40 in difference.. that’s a couple of expansions right there.
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Listen, Barack, dude, I know, ok? I understand. I get what you’re trying to do, what you’re trying to accomplish, the message you’re trying to send. You’re trying to be inclusive, like you promised you would be in your campaign. You’re trying to be open to all points of view, to welcome different points of view even when they don’t agree with your own or with those of your base. I get that, I really do. But that said: did you really have to pick this fucktard to make a speech at your Inauguration?
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Oh boy.. I step back into blogging, and within the first couple of days, I’m already telling a major tech blog to suck my dick. And now, I’m tackling the latest hot-button topic: gay marriage. Why? Well, recent events have brought the topic up here and there, and I figure it’s about time I put down my own thoughts on this matter. Not that it’ll change anyone’s mind, but, I at least feel the need to have my say.

Now, I’ll be honest, this is really a fight I could just sit out. Gay marriage doesn’t really concern me one way or another, for the most part. Hell, I’m skeptical about this whole ‘marriage’ concept to begin with. Also, I’m neither gay myself, nor do I have any sort of religious or moral opposition to gay marriage. No one would blame me for not really giving a shit either way.. and yet, I do give a shit. And here’s why:
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Gizmodo can suck my balls with all their netbook hate, but at least they pointed me at this recent little development: Nvidia’s planning to add in a new graphics processor to Atom-powered netbooks (like my lovely little Asus Eee 1000H, teh Shiny) that will increase graphics speed by 5x, and allow full 1080p video playback. They’re calling the upcoming platform Ion, and I for one can hardly wait.

Gizmodo’s protestations about netbook’s suckiness aside, I’m quite happy with my little Eee. With the 10″ screen and weighing barely 3 lbs., it’s the perfect balance between a full notebook and a PDA for me. I can (and do) take it nearly anywhere. It’s powerful enough for web surfing, blogging, managing music and pictures, and even light gaming. Hell, I play WoW with the full WoTLK expansion) on it just fine. The Atom processor is flexible, and just powerful enough for my needs. No, I can’t play Call of Duty 4 on it. I wouldn’t want to. But for my uses: portability, power, and battery life are perfect. Sorry the netbook format isn’t for you, Gizmodo writer, but, honestly, keep the venom stored up for a product that deserves it. I’m the target market for this thing, and I *love* it.

And next year, when I can buy this same netbook with a slightly faster Atom and NVidia’s Ion for under $500? I’ll be first in line. Have to start planning my stickers for that one already, I think.
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What, you thought I’d just let this blog die, ignored and unloved? You thought I could just sit there and recklessly let this poor little blog fade away into obscurity?

Yeah, well, you mostly thought right. For the past year or two, I’ve barely been able to string enough words together to make a post on Twitter, much less sit down to write a proper blog post. And yet, here I am. Blame Anthony Bourdain.
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Good… good…

… coming soon.

Watch this space.

… like a hawk.

Sorry, as always, about the delay in between posts. And this one will be short, too. I just acquired a 16GB iPod Touch, and have spent the last few days in a happy haze of technolust. The new iTouch is now officially jailbroken (only 74 easy steps!) which means I can run 3rd party apps on it, access the filesystem, do anything I want with it, really. I’ll see about posting up some pics of it to the Flickr stream later. I also installed a couple od iPhone/Touch friendly plugins to this blog, so when anyone browses it from their mobile device, they automatically get a much nicer interface than the usual one, more suited to the mobile browser. Perhaps more importantly for me, I also installed an iPhone friendly interface for the admin side too. In fact, I’m writing this post on it now! More news (cause I know you all care so very much) as it develops.

Wow. It’s been damn near forever since I posted.. I blame Facebook. Most of my friends are on it, and so my blog falls into disrepair.. but I just finished writing a rant in response to a dear friend, and I thought it was worthy of being included here. So, here goes: My friend emails me with the following:

I’ve been keeping up with your blog, and wondered if you’d be interested in commenting on these videos concerning alternative energy sources. Apparently, we do have free energy technology, but the World Bank… wealthy oil shieks, and the government don’t want to share it with the people of the world. They are using it for deep space exploration, star wars, and military warfare such as tanks. Check it out. =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6yRn4IAsrU

also Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8stApCmxYEM

also Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h75_TGiwg78

Other people inventing the same thing. Unbelievable!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVhXrvCCILw

Air Car – Australia & France
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-A3XHFT5qc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq8aZVLpf-c

India Air Car
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_i3aMz7q1w

My reply to her begins below, and continues after the jump:

I saw the videos and the material you sent, and, well.. you know me, I’m always the skeptical spoilsport. I hate to burst your bubble, but, don’t take this stuff at face value. Neither one of those things is the mythical ‘free energy’ that they’re billed as. Let’s start with the so-called ‘Water Car’.

WARNING: Lots and lots of ranting ahead. This is an old topic for me.

The inventor of the ‘Water Car’, Stan Meyer, was convicted of fraud in ‘96. He had been selling ‘dealerships’ to investors for the right to market his Water Engine technology for years, and while he seemed quite willing to demonstrate his device in his own home lab, he never actually *delivered* on the device to his investors, which is why he was sued. He was supposed to show his car to Michael Laughton, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Queen Mary, University of London and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, but when it came time to actually show up for the testing, he made excuses and never showed up. When his Water Fuel Cell was examined by 3 different experts in court, they all came to the same conclusion: it wasn’t what he claimed it was. It was a simple electrolysis device, no more or less efficient than any other. He was convicted of fraud and ordered to repay his investors they $25,000 dollars.
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Mingle² – Online Dating

Yeah, I know I haven’t updated this blog in a while, most of my random linking and sillyness has been concentrated on my Tumblelog and over on Facebook.. but really, why would you want me to update this filthy, terrible, nasty blog, anyway? Did you see what rating it ended up with?

… I’m so proud!

Stole this from Unscrewing the Inscrutable, but it’s like the person who wrote this is inside my very head. I can pretty much relate to each and every one of these things to one extent or another. Welcome to my life:

10 Reasons It Doesn’t Pay To Be “The Computer Guy”

I only met my brother’s ex-girlfriend’s family once — the year they invited our family over to share Thanksgiving dinner. Since we were basically a group of strangers looking to make a good first impression, the table conversation was nothing more than friendly idle chitchat.

When I asked our hostess for more mashed potatoes, she took the opportunity to ask me about myself while dishing out my second helping — “So Shaun, what do you do for a living?”

Hesitantly, I responded: “I work in computer support.”

The transition to silence was immediate. All eyes suddenly turned to me, raised eyebrows all around. If you hadn’t heard my response, judging from everyone’s reaction you might think I said something outrageous like I was a male stripper or a gynecologist — but I knew the awkward silence would soon be broken by an overwhelming outpouring of computer questions.

“Oh wow, a computer guy!” — “So you know how to remove spyware and viruses and stuff, right?” — “Our family computer is really slow, I think it as a virus.” — “Do you have a business card, or can I get your number?”

I politely and patiently answered their questions, hoping that we’d exhaust the subject in a matter of minutes and then move on to something else. As it would turn out, my hopeful prediction was very wrong — the gentleman sitting next to me scooted his seat closer to me to begin an interrogation.

This man I was meeting for the first time must’ve truly believed that I was going to help him with his problem at that very moment. It didn’t matter how uninterested I looked or sounded, he was convinced that I must know the answer he’s looking for and he was determined he would get it.

Situations like this one were common for me. I’ve had eavesdropping strangers approach me with questions about their computer while I was eating in a restaurant. I’ve had oblivious coworkers step in front of me in a buffet line to tell me about their computer problems while I was serving myself food. I’ve had neighbors who spotted me from their window rush outside to coax me into working on their home computer while I was walking to the corner market. My knack for solving people’s computer problems had become so well-known among my neighborhood that these circumstances were near impossible to avoid.

You might be thinking, “So why complain? If your help is in high demand, why not embrace your talents and charge people for your time?”

I tried to for seven years. I’ve worked in the computer industry in various ways — help desk support, web design, consulting and sales, field technician, freelance computer specialist, and whatever other fancy name you want to give “the computer guy.”

I stopped enjoying it. There were certainly times when I enjoyed myself, but most of those times were when my computer talents were still developing. Once I stopped learning new things on the job, I would become fidgety and want to move on to something else.

From my career-hopping experiences in the computer industry, I’ve become acquainted with the Top Ten Reasons it doesn’t pay to be the computer guy:

Reason #10 – Most Of Your Accomplishments Are Invisible

The computer guy never hears anyone tell him, “I just want to let you know … everything is working fine!”

The reality is that people call the computer guy when something is wrong.

As a computer guy, if you work really hard to make everything work the way that it should, and things work fine, then people believe you don’t do anything. Everything you manage to get working correctly or do perfectly will forever remain unnoticed by computer users. They’ll only ever notice that you do anything when something isn’t working correctly, and you are called upon to fix it.

Reason #9 – Every Conversation You Have Is Roughly The Same

When the computer guy dares to mention what he does for a living, the typical response is, “I have a question about my home computer…”

Or when the computer guy first hears about a widespread problem within the computer network he’s responsible for, he can barely begin to assess the problem before a dozen other people call to report the same problem.

Or when the computer guy explains a certain process on a computer to a user who is incapable of retaining the process, he will inevitably need to re-instruct the user of this same process — indefinitely.

Reason #8 – You’re An Expert Of Bleeding-Edge Technology Products, Aren’t You?

The computer guy often finds himself in situations where someone is asking him for advice on a pending investment of the technological variety.

“I heard about (some hardware or software product) that can do (something desirable) for me. I brought you these (advertisements/reviews/printouts) because I wanted your recommendation. Which would you buy?”

Although the inquiring person sincerely trusts the computer guy’s judgment over their own, in almost every instance the real objective of these meetings is to ensure their own immunity from making a risky purchase.

If it turns out to be a bad investment, and they cannot get (the hardware or software product) to do (anything desirable), then you will be their personal scapegoat — “But honey, the computer guy said I should buy it!”

Reason #7 – Your Talents Are Forcibly Undervalued

Thanks to the constantly declining price of new computers, the computer guy cannot charge labor sums without a dispute. If he asks to be paid what he is worth, he will likely be met with the “why not buy new?” argument.

That is, desktop computers are always getting smaller, faster, and cheaper. It’s possible to purchase a new desktop computer for under $400. If the computer guy spends five hours fixing a computer and wants $100/hour for his time, his customer will be outraged, exclaiming “I didn’t even spend this much to BUY the computer, why should I pay this much just to FIX it?”

Reason #6 – You’re Never Allowed A Moment’s Peace

The computer guy is so prone to interruption that he rarely finds an opportunity to work on his own problems. This is because:

Computers never sleep.
Computer problems aren’t scheduled.
Every problem takes time to diagnose.
The computer guy can only give one problem his full attention.
Each user believes their problem deserves attention now.
Consequently, the computer guy has a 24/7 obligation to keep critical computer systems running, while simultaneously juggling everyone’s problems. He’ll often need to forfeit any opportunities to tend to his own needs for the sake of others — because at any moment, of any day, he can be interrupted by someone who wants to make their problem his problem.

Reason #5 – People Ask You To Perform Miracles

The computer guy is often mistaken for someone who possesses the combined skills of an old priest and a young priest. I’ll sum this up easily by example:

“No, I really can’t recover any files from your thumb drive, even if you did find it after it passed through your dog.”

Reason #4 – Your Assumed “All-Knowing” Status Sets You Up To Let People Down

There is no common understanding that there are smaller divisions within the computer industry, and that the computer guy cannot be an expert in all areas. What makes things worse, is when the computer guy attempts to explain this to someone asking for help, the person will often believe that the computer guy is withholding the desired knowledge to avoid having to help.

This is somewhat related to the next reason:

Reason #3 – You Possess Unlimited Responsibility

The computer guy is expected to solve problems. It is difficult to determine the boundaries of that expectation.

Some of the oddest things that I’ve been asked to do include:

Use pirated software to undelete important company files.
Create an Intranet, after explaining I didn’t know how to.
Teach someone how to hide their pornography collection.

Solving problems can range from replacing batteries in a wireless keyboard to investigating why the entire building loses power at the same time every morning. Resolutions can necessitate weaving a 50-foot cable through a drop ceiling, or wriggling under a house on your belly to add an electrical outlet.

Reasons #4 and #3 boil down to this: no matter how often you want to play the role of a hero, there will always be circumstances that test the limits of your ability to be one. It’s difficult to judge when helping someone means doing something immoral, and it’s even harder to admit you are unable to solve someone’s problem — and chances are, that someone will view you as incompetent because you were unable to help them.

Reason #2 – A Life Of Alienation

People only talk to the computer guy when they need him to fix something. Also, when the computer guy approaches a user, they’ll hop up out of their chair under the presumption that he’s there to fix something — as if it would never be expected that he only wants to strike up a conversation.

The fact that the computer guy never gets a moment’s peace can also practically force him to withdraw into solitude. His co-workers don’t understand that he doesn’t want to hear about their computer problems during his lunch hour — he does that every other hour of the day. That’s why the computer guy eats lunch alone with his door closed, or goes out to eat every day — not because he’s unfriendly, but because he needs to escape the incessant interruptions.

Reason #1 – You Have No Identity

It’s an awful experience when the computer guy shows up at a neighbor’s doorstep with a plate of Christmas cookies, only to have the child who answered the door call out, “Mom, the computer guy is here!” He begs for an identity that is not directly associated with computers, but “the computer guy” label walks ahead of him — it simply cannot be avoided. I was given a name and I’d love to be addressed by it.

Having read these reasons, you may believe that I’m complaining. It’s true that I was upset with many aspects of my life as the computer guy, but I’m past the point of complaining.

I took a good hard look at my existence and realized that things were not likely to change in the line of work I had chosen. Instead of just complaining, I took action and began making positive changes in my life.

Working in the computer industry isn’t for everybody. It wasn’t for me. I’ve compiled my reasons for putting it behind me and placed them here, so that anyone who is unsatisfied with their life working in computers might recognize it’s not for them either.

Ahh… cathartic. Looking forward to my own exit from being ‘the computer guy’ in the relatively near future.

50%Mingle² – Free Online Dating

So, I recently upgraded my old 3rd generation 15 GB iPod, and got myself a sexy new 2nd Generation 8GB iPod nano. Yeah, yeah, I know, ‘upgrading’ from 15 Gb to 8Gb doesn’t make much sense, but.. the sexy got the best of me. I *could* have gotten a 30GB iPod Video for the same price, but.. I already have a much better video player than the iPod video ever was (I’m lookin’ at you, Cowon A2), and.. really, the new nano is so tiny and cute and slim, and.. turns out 8 Gb is more than enough room for the music I have and my podcasts. But anyway, on to the point of this post: my podcasts. Let me show you them. Originally, when I started listening to podcasts, I was more focused on talk shows and music shows, but as time has gone on, I’ve found that what I truly love is listening to stories. I recently got my housemate Hal to start listening to The Rookie (GO KRAKENS!!!), and I thought it might be a good idea to share links to other podiobooks and audio dramas that one can subscribe to and enjoy. There’s some really, really good stuff out there, and I’d be doing y’all a disfavor if I didn’t share.

First, if you already have an iPod, you probably already have the latest version of iTunes and can use that to subscribe. Otherwise, go snag a copy of Juice Receiver, so you can subscribe. Then, another quick step that will make your life easy is to go to Podiobooks.com and sign up, it’s free, and it’s the easiest way to get started. Then browse the list below:

Let’s start in with the classics, and where it all started:

• Earthcore: Scott Sigler’s bid for world domination starts here, with the story of a mining company and the secret they discover when they try and go for a huge motherload of platinum 3 miles below the surface. There’s a reason no one’s claimed it before: something’s down there, guarding… and waiting.
• Morevi: Morevi, a landlocked kingdom shrouded by jungles and mystery, falls under the rule of Askana Moldarin, known in her realm as “The Black Widow” following her swift and bloody ascent to the throne. In the dawn of this New Age, hidden traitors in her own regime threaten to destroy everything. Askana, independent of council, seeks help to reveal the conspiracy against her… Enter Rafe Rafton, captain of the Defiant.
• The Pocket and the Pendant: More towards the ‘Young Adult’ side of the spectrum, but if you enjoyed books like ‘His Dark Materials’, this might just tickle your fancy: WHEN TIME mysteriously stops, young Max Quick must travel across America to find the source of this ‘temporal disaster’… Along the way, he and his companions encounter ancient mysteries, quantum Books, and clues to the riddle of stopped Time. But the more Max learns, the more it seems that his own true identity is not what he once believed…

Those were the ‘Big Three’ that sorta kicked things off in the whole Podiobook arena, and they’re all pretty great, and make a great introduction to the genre. After that, more and more books started coming out, and just as exciting, several ‘radio drama’-style have come up as well, with multiple voice actors, sound effects, etc. Here’s some of the best, from both the Podiobook and ‘audio drama’ veins. Most of these are things I’m listening to right now, and I recommend them all:

Let’s start with the rest of Scott Sigler (the hardest working man in the business) has written. Every single one of his books rocks:

• Ancestor: Scientists struggle to solve the problem of xenotransplantation — using animal tissue to replace failing human organs. Funded by the biotech firm Genada, Dr. Claus Rhumkorrf seeks to recreate the ancestor of all mammals. By getting back to the root of our creation, Rhumkorrf hopes to create an animal with human internal organs. Rhumkorrf discovers the ancestor, but it is not the small, harmless creature he envisions. His genius gives birth to a fast-growing evil that nature eradicated 250 million years ago — an evil now on the loose, and very, very hungry.
• Infection: Perry Daswey is 6-foot-5, 265 pounds of angry ex-linebacker. He knows all too well that if he doesn’t control his quick temper, people get hurt. Through constant focus, he has locked his violent past away in the deep dungeons of his mind. — The infection changes everything. — Strange, microscopic parasites tap into Perry’s bloodstream like tiny little vampires. They start as bright orange blisters, but soon take the shape of triangular growths just beneath his skin. The “Triangles,” as Perry calls them, try to control their host by manipulating hormone levels and flooding his body with neurotransmitters – imbalances of which cause paranoia, schizophrenia and excessive aggression. — As Perry begins a desperate battle to cut the Triangles out of his body before it’s too late, his self-control dissolves into raging, murderous madness.
• The Rookie: Imagine a story that combines the intense football action of “Any Given Sunday” with the space opera style of “Star Wars” and the criminal underworld of “The Godfather.” What? space football doesn’t sound like your cup of tea? Give Scott 4 episodes. Just 4. I hate football too.. but this story had me screaming like a loon with every touchdown, every interception, every tackle. It’s insanely good, and it just finished. Go check it out, and GO KRAKENS, WOO!!!

Once you’re done with those three, plus Earthcore, I can guarantee you’ll be just like me: one more damn, dirty junkie jonesing for his Sigler fix. Can’t wait for the next one, Nocturnal.. and Earthcore 2 sounds like it’ll be a blast.

Here’s another author who’s work I thoroughly enjoy: Mur Lafferty. She has several podcasts going on, such as I Should Be Writing and Pseudopod (more on that one later), and she’s written a cool series of podiobooks:

• Heaven, Season One: What if Heaven wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be? Friends Kate and Daniel find that after their untimely deaths, Heaven leaves them dissatisfied and itching for something… else. So they’re off, with a passport to discover more afterlifes, heroes and gods. During their adventures, they find out that their travel isn’t a journey taken on a whim, but may be orchestrated, or even prophesied.
• Heaven, Season Two – Hell:Kate and Daniel are reunited at last, but they have to return to their duties in traveling the afterlife. There are stolen souls suffering without cause in Hell, and only they can help. Kate is back in her corporeal body, but keeping memories of her time as pure soul energy, recently touched by the divine. Daniel carries the magic of an old god
  and the sword of a death goddess, as well a grudge against the deity who tricked him into losing nearly everything. As they search for the missing souls, Kate and Daniel have to come to terms with themselves and see if their friendship – not to mention the cosmos – can handle everything they’ve been through thus far.

I’m highly looking forward to the third book, ‘Earth’, once it comes out. Next in our list of authors: J.C. Hutchens, author of the amazing 7th Son trilogy:

• 7th Son, Book One – Descent: Three weeks ago, the U.S. president was murdered by a four-year-old boy.

  Today, seven men stare at each other in a locked conference room. Kidnapped and brought to this underground facility, the strangers are sitting in silence, thunderstruck. Despite minor physical differences, they all appear to be the same man, with the same name … and the same childhood memories.

  Unwitting participants in a secret human cloning experiment, these seven “John Michael Smiths” have been gathered by their creators for one reason — to capture the mastermind behind the president’s assassination.

  Their target? The man they were cloned from; the original John Michael Smith, code-named John Alpha.

  Soon our heroes — John, Jack, Michael, Kilroy2.0 and the others — realize the president’s murder was merely a prologue to Alpha’s plans. As the mystery deepens and the implications of Alpha’s scheme are slowly revealed, the clones decide to stand against John Alpha. The outcome will unearth a conspiracy larger than they could have ever imagined.

• 7th Son Book Two – Deceit: Two days ago, seven human clones — John, Michael, Father Thomas, Dr. Mike, Jonathan, Jack and Kilroy2.0 — were torn away from their “normal” lives to stop a ruthless plot created by their progenitor, a man code-named John Alpha. Their quest was a descent into conspiracy, violence and death.

  The clones were successful in their mission, but victory was not without its price.

  As 7th Son: Book Two – Deceit begins, the Beta clones are demoralized, reeling from their loss … and about to learn that John Alpha’s plans are far from over.

  To prevent the next phase of Alpha’s plan, John, Kilroy2.0, and the others must unearth more dark secrets about the government project from which they were spawned. They will experience the horrors of betrayal, and race cross-country to track John Alpha.

  And they will finally realize the scope of Alpha’s wrath — the bloodshed the clones have witnessed is merely a prelude to the world-rending destruction to come. Unless they can stop it first.

Book Three comes out on 07/07/07, and I cannot wait. This series is truly, truly excellent. Now, for a few more random books:

• The Failed Cities Monologues: In a hardboiled dystopian future, one major American city has been divided in two. Separated by much more than a river, one side is an unfinished technological marvel populated by mega-skyscrapers where the wealthy live, work, and play. The other is a forsaken wasteland where order is strictly maintained by a rogue group of cleric soldiers known as the street preachers. But this dichotomy is about to change. Slowly, quietly, clandestine forces are working to undermine the small piece of redemption the street preachers have brought to their concrete flocks. In the face of watching their second chance crumble to dust, some will fight to stop it. Others will kill to make it happen.
• Crescent: The past never dies, it only sleeps. — In a solitary station, on the fringe of known space, the past is beginning to stir. — And when it awakens, Crescent Station will be as the belly of the beast… — There are some places far darker than deep space…
• Come, Let Me Whisper: Macabre fiction. Horror fiction. Dark fiction. Whatever you choose to call it, that is what is contained within this collection of short stories. But other than that, these tales are as varied as can be. Ghost stories… they’re in there. Lovecraftian monsters… certainly. Twist endings… got it. Psychological terror… of course. Sunny, happy endings… not so much. Oh, and one other thing these stories have in common: they are intended for a mature audience- one who is not easily offended, I might add.
• Brave Men Run: “Brave Men Run” is the story of Nate Charters. Born different, unsure of his origins, he’s an outcast at Abbeque Valley High School, a self-proclaimed “boy freak” with few friends and low self-esteem. When the Sovereign Era dramatically dawns, Nate finds himself in quest to discover the truth: is he more than he seems, a misfit in a miraculous and powerful new minority… or something else entirely?

And now, for the radio dramas: a different experience, but no less excellent for all of that:

• Shadow Falls- Season One: When a second young girl goes missing and two mysterious strangers arrive in town, there are some locals who believe the 150 year cycle of violence that has plagued the town of Shadow Falls has started anew.
• Shadow Falls – Badlands: One hundred and fifty years before the tragic events of Season One, an ex-soldier’s nightmarish visions of the future, and a town he’s never heard of, leads him on a cross-country journey to unlock the secrets hidden inside his nightmares. What this tired gunfighter believes to be a quest for his own redemption, may only serve to open the door to a darkness far beyond his control.
• Silent Universe: With a style of drama that mixes elements of “24” and the new “Battlestar Galactica,” each episode of the Silent Universe reveals layers of suspense and intrigue that leaves audiences guessing at what twists its plot will take next. Its motley cast of characters includes weapons specialists, a computer hacker, an ex-mercenary and even a casino tycoon, all forced to go to extreme lengths to prevent tragedy from striking the solar system. In a world where nuclear weapons are common to even the poorest countries and the United Nations is nothing but a quaint historical footnote, even the smallest conflict between powers can threaten to plunge mankind into Armageddon.
• Children of the Gods: We barely survived the first Tarthet assault on our planet. Afterward, it didn’t take long for us to realize that our world was too devastated to provide for us any longer. In a bid to allow the planet to recover, we left our homes behind to live among the stars. Five centuries later, science has shown us many wonderful things, and we have finally begun to accept the fact that it may be many generations more before we can return to our homeworld. Now, the Tarthet have returned to claim our birthright for their own. The odds are against us, but we will not give up this battle. We will not simply concede defeat and fade away. We will fight them with every last breath. WE WILL SURVIVE!

And, finally, last but most certainly not least, the short story podcasts, every week putting out brand new short stories:

• Escape Pod: The Science Fiction Podcast magazine, they’ve run stories of all shapes and sizes, many by Hugo and nebula award winning authors.
• Pseudopod: sister podcast to Escape Pod, and the world’s premier horror fiction podcast. If you’re a fan of horror fiction, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
• Variant Frequencies: Variant Frequencies is a monthly podcast of original fiction. Stories blending gothic horror with space adventure, dark fantasy with sci-fi, recalling the reality-bending vibes of The Twilight Zone, and offering something wholly unique that fits inbetween and outside. Our podcasts are fully produced, including talented voice actors and original music scores. Subscription is free. Entertainment and escapism are guaranteed.

So, I think that should be more than enough to get anyone started. Enjoy listening, and if you have any questions, hit me up in the comments. Best part? All of these are free, so download and enjoy, free of charge!
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So, who here is looking forward eagerly to the next Batman movie? Yeah, me too.. well, here’s something to keep you busy as well:

http://www.ibelieveinharveydent.com/

Neat, huh? Now, go here:

http://www.ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com/

Neater! Do your part, put in your address.. the more that do it, the more the secret’s revealed!

Alright, I just found out about this, and I know it’s a bit late (the promotion ends on the 21st), but it takes all of 5 minutes to do online and you could be saving someone’s life:

Because I’m an idiot and shoved a bunch of things into an “action” folder, I’ve almost missed telling you about this:

From May 7 to May 21 you can sign up to be on the national bone marrow registry for free (usually it is about $50-75 unless you sign up at a marrow drive). And they are making it VERY easy- they send you the entire kit in the mail and it only involves swabbing your cheek with a Q-tip, signing some forms, and sending it back. Most people stay on the list and never hear from them for their entire lives but by being on it you could potentially save the life of a child/adult with a bone marrow disease like leukemia.

If you are interested go to the website: www.marrow.org and click on the “Thanks Mom” icon.

Joe’s cousin John sent this to me. Get signed up and get active… please! Headed there right now myself.

Got this from the Wingin’ It guys, and it’s a good thing to do, I just signed up as a donor myself.

Taking a break from the (a)religious flamewar going on below, let’s touch on something I recently discovered that I think is freakin’ brilliant: Pandora.FM. What is it? basically, it’s a mashup of the two best music reccomendation engines I know of: Pandora, and last.FM. I’ve been using both for a while now, as each one has its own charm and uses. Pandora, for example, lets you create a station with as little as one song or artist to build from, letting you stream good, high-quality music no matter where you may be. As you listen to the station, you can fine-tune it to your tastes by giving each song a ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’, which allows Pandora to find out more and more about the type of music you like, and give you more of it. Part of its beauty, to me, is the ability to have multiple stations: Pandora doesn’t just learn if you like rock, country, and dance, it learns exactly what kind of rock, country, and dance you like, and you can have individual stations for each of your tastes, tailored for you.

And then there’s last.FM. I love this service, because it allows me to track, tag, and view everything I listen to, by integrating into Winamp, Windows Media Player, Amarok, or whatever media player I happen to be using. Then, I can mark what I like, what I don’t, and build feeds and lists for me to go through and share with others. What was that track that you listened to a couple days ago about the monkeys? last.Fm knows. It also has a strong social aspect: get your friends to join up, and you can each see what the other is listening to, and make recommendations. The system is even smart enough to learn what tracks that you might like they’re listening to, and it’ll point them out to you. Add the ability to buy tracks directly through iTunes (and even the occasional free mp3 directly from the site), and you’ve got a winner.

Unfortunately, up until now, both services were separate: when I listened to my Pandora station, last.FM knew nothing of it. Songs I love came and went, and I’d lose track of them. Enter Pandora.FM, one of the coolest little mashups that RSS ever made possible. You log into Pandora.FM using your last.FM account, and the service takes care of the rest. As songs scroll by on your Pandora player, a bar at the bottom of the screen allows you to tag them, view and edit their metadata, and submits them to your last.FM profile, so when you look at your feeds, there’s everything you’ve been listening to, tagged, bagged, and ready to parse. Not to mention (if you use the ‘More Options’ interface), view information on the track, the band, your recently played tracks, top played tracks, browse photos and videos of the artist playing, and even start new Pandora stations based on the track you’re listening to. Sweetness. If you’re not using any of these services right now, I can’t recommend them highly enough for discovering new music to listen to. Go sign up for last.FM, set up a Pandora station or three, and feel the love with Pandora.FM.
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Recently, there’s been something of a media backlash against the so-called ‘New Atheism’, that is, the vocal declaration of atheism by those who do not subscribe to a religion and who believe that the universe demonstrates that it is very unlikely that there is a god. In addition, ‘new atheists’, or, as they are called by some, ‘fundamentalist atheists’, have stepped up their attack on religion, no longer content with simply keeping their beliefs (or lack thereof) private, but now writing books, putting up blogs, making movies, and generally getting the message out that religion, in all its shapes and forms, is not only illogical, but downright dangerous.

The general response from many in the religious community has been to, as usual, paint themselves as the victims (even though ‘believers’ far outnumber atheists in the US, and atheists are the last minority that it’s still okay to discriminate against), and basically say: “What’s with these uppity atheists all of a sudden? Can’t they just go back to their stuffy rooms and towers and keep quiet like they used to? It’s downright rude of them to start going on about these things, and anyway, everyone knows that they’re wrong.”

Even among atheists themselves, there are those who say “Why do we need to attack religion? Isn’t it enough to simply accept your own lack of belief, and let others believe as they wish? In short, can’t we just live and let live?” It’s a tempting thought. Let’s avoid the confrontation, and just go on with our lives, and if those wacky theists want to go on believing in their big sky fairy, well, good for them. It sounds reasonable, and proper, and the theists would dearly love it if we just all took that point of view and simply want away. But here’s the problem with that: if we go away, they certainly won’t.

There’s a reason that the ‘new’ atheists are loud and proud, and they’re spreading the word, doing everything they can to let the world know that they exist, that they’re out there, and that they’re not alone: the reason is that they’ve noticed that the world we live in has been getting worse and worse, and so much of it can be traced directly back to religion and faith. We live in a world where religious extremists strap bombs to their bodies and kill themselves, taking out dozens of innocents along with them, because they believe they will be rewarded in the afterlife. We live in a world where a large majority of the population of one of the most powerful countries on Earth honestly believes that the Earth is less than 6,000 years old, that evolution is ‘just a theory’, and that scientists are in league with the devil. We live in a world where a large majority of not only the population, but the people in power, the people with their fingers on the proverbial button, believe, honestly believe, that the world will end within their lifetimes, in a terrible war and destruction. And they see this as a good thing, they can’t wait for the Armageddon to come, because they think that their god is going to pull them up into heaven when that moment comes. We live in a world, too, where people routinely trust the advice of a homeopath over a real doctor, where political leaders consult star charts, or base political decisions that will affect millions of people, on the words of a dusty and discredited book written thousands of years ago.

In this situation, I have come to believe that we cannot sit idly by and let it happen. That to simply keep quiet and let religion and ‘believers’ drag this world down into the muck, to let them destroy thousands of innocent others, to continue to spread lies and hurt the poor and gullible, is downright immoral. We, as atheists, are often accused of having no moral compass, simply because we don’t have our commandments handed down to us by and angry and jealous god. That we cannot possibly make moral decisions, as we have no basis on which to form a moral framework. And yet, any fool can see that to simply lay back and do nothing, to let the world fall prey to the poison of religiosity, is not only irresponsible, but simply wrong from a humanistic standpoint. We cannot go quietly. We owe it to ourselves, and to our fellow man, to fight, to shout, to let people know: you’re living a lie. You are being lied to, and you are following that lie to your grave. Religion is a plague upon mankind, and we can move beyond it. And if we annoy a few religious folks, and even a few less bombastic atheists, I can live with that. But let it not be said that we stood by silent while religion continued to drag the world deeper into chaos and ignorance.
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BluIrony

Originally uploaded by Katsushiro.

Okay, while browsing through the Wired gallery of HD-DVD code photoshops, this ad comes up. Conspiracy revealed? Were the BluRay folks behind it all?!