Anyone who has worked on a major project knows the panic of losing their work.  It happens for reasons that are too numerous to count; even to the most organized, disciplined and obsessive.  A hard drive goes bad, the work doesn’t get saved or it might accidently be overwritten in a careless moment.  While some of these setbacks are inevitable frustrations of the Wordsmith, they don’t have to be.  In this, the first of a two articles, we will look at one solution that can greatly simplify a writer’s life: Subversion.

Show me more... »

Tags: Subversion
Categories: Computer, Cool Stuff, Featured, Writing and Literature
3 Comments »

Well … I’ve gone and done it.  I got a nasty email.  My somewhat thoughtful comments on Eragon and Inheritance have apparently scraped a few ragged nerves (not mine, thankfully).  (Coincidentally, the mysterious letter writer fails to specify as a he, she or it; for sake of argument, let’s go with it.)  After making various comments upon my person, upbringing and intellect; the writer comments (letter edited for spelling and grammar):

You’re just a bitter wannabe hack who’s angry and jealous that you don’t have the skill to write your own stories.  It’s just a children’s book, can’t you cut it some slack?

Before going further, let’s clarify a few simple things.  I am not a nice person.  Bitter?  Check.  Angry?  Double check and underline.  Petty?  Oh, yes.  In fact, I have an utterly unique ability to alienate, put-off and offend.  As my supervisors, family and co-workers have remarked; I am preternaturally gifted at pissing people off. But Jealous?  Of Paolini?  Hardly. 

I wish Christopher Paolini nothing but happiness, wealth and phenomenal success.  May he continue to sell well and single-handedly maintain his publishing company.  For, in case you hadn’t heard, they haven’t been doing so well lately.  After all, when I finally do get round to writing my own stories, I expect to be cut a six figure advancement check as well.

But that is neither here nor there, I would like to focus on and analyze the last bit of the writer’s comment, “It’s just a children’s book, can’t you cut it some slack?”

Show me more... »

Categories: Featured, Rants, Writing and Literature
9 Comments »

While the timeless struggle between good and evil has been at the center of Western literature for nearly three thousand years, modern psychology has given us an insight into why some people devolve into heroes and others into villains. One important framework is provided by the mythology of the sociopath. Sociopaths are marked by several important characteristics: impulsivity, irritability and aggression, deceit or manipulation, lack of concern for the safety of others, irresponsibility, or being unconcerned about hurting or stealing. Sociopaths have lost their conscience and soul. They are evil because they can be. Sociopaths don't come with baggage, don't need a back-story or some greedy motive. They just are.

In Christopher Paolini's, Brisingr, we get something rather unexpected: a sociopath in the role of hero. Brisingr's author never explicitly states that Eragon, the novel's main protagonist, is an unfeeling void; quite the contrary, actually. The omniscient narrator, the cast of supporting characters, and even his dragon laud Eragon's actions as careful, considered, and just. A careful reading, though, doesn't reveal this. Rather, nearly every action shows either rash judgments or cold calculation. This represents somewhat of a departure of Paolini's earlier work (Eragon and Eldest). Despite the weaknesses of the earlier books, the character of Eragon was at least likable. Of course he was brash and headstrong, but he at least tried to do and say the right things.

In Brisingr, however, we are presented with another person. Eragon has little mercy or understanding for anyone around him (either friend or foe). This trend only gets worse as the novel progresses. Steadily, we proceed from actions which are merely foolish to those which are profoundly disturbing. Consider how Eragon acts in the first few hundred pages of Brisingr. In the opening chapters, Eragon commits genocide. He later circumvents justice in order to condemn and abandon a man in the desert. Last, he kills a child in cold blood while the boy is begging for mercy. In this essay, we will look at these three scenarios in detail and show that Eragon has lost his way, his conscience and his soul.

Show me more... »

Categories: Featured, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Writing and Literature
37 Comments »

What would the world be like without Ann Coulter?  While some might say, "a much sunnier and happy place," I am not so sure.  Sure, Ann continually manages to rile people's feathers, and often comes off like a sociopath; but she also says things which are interesting or provocative every once and awhile.  After all, she is an author and being provocative sells books.  (Sounding like a sociopath also sells books, sorry to say.)

Book selling, however, isn't why I bring her up.  A few days ago, Ann appeared on a popular daytime talk show called the View.  I'm not really the View's target demographic, but I had a few minutes and caught it on YouTube.  Watching Ann either pound or get pounded is usually entertaining.  The next eight minutes were creepily familiar to far too many staff meetings, dinner barbeques, and family parties I have attended.  In the clip, Ann beautifully plays the case of the asinine dimwit who has an idea and intends to be heard; no matter what!

This got me thinking about something I've had to do far too often: deal with stupid, duplicitous or extremely difficult people.  Dealing with stupid isn't fun for anyone.  It's often messy, and far too often it is more divisive and just downright nastier than it has to be.  After viewing the video, i thought I would share some thoughts on how to manage stupid.

Show me more... »

Categories: Featured, Rants
Comments Off

In their heart, storytellers are liars. They take the boring details of a mundane existence and make them interesting. Storytellers fold and rip apart reality, giving it an interpretation, angle, or even direction. While most might don the storyteller hat (at least for a little while) when they spin yearns of office conquest, the encounter with the co-worker they don't like, or the latest fight with their boss they typically embellish or embolden. Yet, there is an enormous difference between someone who occasionally bends the truth and the masters who revel in their own deviousness. Masters storytellers are more than liars, they wear deceit the way most people wear underclothes. They don't just wrap up existence or give an interpretation, angle or direction; a master storyteller can use their lies to tell the Truth. This places them within the realm of the gods. They can create, destroy, and instruct.

William Shakespeare, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Neil Gaiman, and Robin Hobb are masters of their craft. Inside their stories we find the reality of our own world reflected back at us. Lady MacBeth, Frodo Baggins, Prince Caspian, Shadow and Fitz feel like real people who walk in a world that might fall off the page. Rather than a lie which has been sloppily papered over with the truth (the realm of reality), we get truth that has been masterfully and regally clothed in lies (the realm of imagination).

The Truth has been given many names (of which archetype and allegory are only two) and while the names may shift, they still convey the same idea; underneath the style and glamour, there is something inherently correct and right about what is being portrayed. Truth is beautiul, but only as long as it remains pure and ... the Truth. There is nothing quite as dangerous to Truth as an "almost truth." We often, euphamestically call the untruths, "White Lies" or "Half Truths" and they are deadly.

Big lies hold about as much danger as a bear that has been painted neon green and mounted with enormous strobe lights and warning sirens. Sure, they can still eviscerate and do awful things to the various bits that you should probably keep on the inside; but you can see and hear them coming from a long way off. The smaller lies much are more subtle in their nefariousness.  They can have a presence similar to that of your best friend … right before he pushes you in front of a bus. They can can be beautifully seductive. Sometimes they are things that we wish were true and merely shatter our faith when we learn they are not; but more often they are as dangerous as a deeply flawed keystone at the moment that it accepts weight and shatters under the load. For these reason, half-truths are much more dangerous than their bigger brethren.  Unfortunately, they don't come equipped with the helpful entourage.

Show me more... »

Categories: Featured, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Writing and Literature
3 Comments »

Frank stood on the height of the cliff, silently watching the moving steer below. The cold knife edge of winter was gone, and spring had again returned to the highlands. The bulls moved their heads over the lush green grass. The newborn calves nursed from their mothers, while mindfully watching the bulls.

Show me more... »

Categories: Featured, Horses and Horsemanship, Writing and Literature
Comments Off

Now that I have finished a major component of my PodCast client, I feel as though I have reached a transition point. I have managed to create a useful (albeit small) program and I have become much more productive when I use WPF, Python and the .Net frameworks. So I thought it prudent to take a moment and reflect on some of the lessons which I have learned over the course of the last few weeks. After all, learning doesn't necessarily happen in the struggle and frustration of the moment, but in the quiet reflection which comes after.

While there were many specific things I wish I had known (for example, that the Win32 API is complicated), there were a few general items that I thought particularly helpful. As a result, this post is going to be painted in the broad swash of generalities. A few specific things I would like to touch on are: setting goals and measuring progress, following schedules while maintaining flexibility, working on a real (practical) project, trying new things out, limiting the number of dependencies, and seeking high quality examples and references.

Show me more... »

Categories: Featured, IronPython, Programming
3 Comments »

I live and die by email, instant messenger, and the cell phone. I use these tools to keep in touch with clients, my regular employer and family.  And just like one of Pavlov's dogs, I have been taught to reach for the phone when I hear a text message alert or the email when I hear the incoming mail chime or clunk. Actually, compared to the positively nauseous feeling I get when an email goes unanswered, making dogs salivate on command is nothing.

This tendency is more than a bit distracting, it can be downright frightening; particularly at those moments when I need to get something done.  And I am clearly not the only person who feels this way, as there are a bevy of products on the market that are designed to help me reach a state of Zen like calm.

There is one activity in particular where I need such help: my writing.  In fact, it may be the single most important component of producing something that is witty, intelligent and clear.  Let's see you produce a brilliant paper with the boss, other physicians, and students bothering you every two minutes!

Luckily, there are a number of programs which will help can help simplify and de-clutter.

Show me more... »

Categories: Computer, Cool Stuff, Featured, Writing and Literature
2 Comments »