Well, it’s not quite the Elysium smelter mirrors, but it’s getting there…
Category: Articles
Writing Update.
After running around sorting out our TV (aerial coming on Wednesday) and also de-crapping the loft, I’m back on course with Zero Point. 2,000 words cleared today and some neat little plot elements beginning to tie off. One character, created in a Chandlerish moment of ‘this is getting slow, need to walk in man with gun’, started to turn into a bit of a loose end. This was, until I realized that he fits into the story like that dusty old jigsaw piece you find under the sofa.
It would be easy to think in terms of predetermination at such a point, but it’s not that at all. I mean, I hadn’t been considering the possible existence of Line War when I was writing Gridlinked. I had written an outline and about 30,000 words of The Line of Polity but, as I’ve mentioned before, I dumped the outline and all but a few thousand words when I came to write it. And at that point I didn’t even know the title of the next book, or the ending of TLOP.
I think it’s all about having read an awful lot, and then having written an awful lot. Maybe the programming is in place in my skull and now all I have to do is feed in the story as it occurs to me. Plot elements, characters, situations, technology, whatever, all get number crunched and results start popping up on the mental screen, and the answer to that perennial question, ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ has to be a finger tapped against the skull with perhaps the addition of the words, ‘Fuck knows how.’
Where's my Hammer?
Bloody televisions!
Our old TV was still a 26 inch tube, with a chip in the screen and was generally not as clear as it used to be. The only freeview we had available was through a Sky box (though we no longer subscribe to Sky), and the old DVD & hard disk recorder has been playing silly buggers for some time. So, also bearing in mind that VAT his going to shoot up, we decided it was time to invest in some new equipment. We got a Sony LCD flat screen (with integral freeview) and a Panasonic DVD & hard disk recorder. And I haven’t even got to the stage of turning on the second of these on.
I unplugged about twenty metres of various cobwebby cables and detached all the other equipment, then got the new TV and recorder in place – nice and simply connected with an HDMI cable. All a lot neater, lighter, better…
The instructions were of course pretty simple. They always are until something goes wrong. I ran the automatic tuning on the thing and all seemed hunky dory and the picture was superb. Then I checked the digital program list and found ITV, Channels 4 & 5 and numerous other channels missing. I tried again, but they were still missing. I tried the manual retune but could make neither head nor tail of it until I researched it on the Internet. Meanwhile Caroline turned on the TV in the bedroom only to discover heavy interference on all channels. We searched out the manual for that, retuned it, but with no luck.
Tomorrow I’m going to have to call up ‘Academy Aerials’ since, it seems, either the connections in the co-ax in the loft are causing problems, or we need a new aerial. But I’m still not sure how that relates to the problems with the bedroom TV.
Aaargh!
Metal Storm ADWS
24 Terabytes?
Now is this taking us forward a bit faster than stated by the updated version of Moore’s Law?
The technology, when applied to current density HDD (with areal density of about 500Gbits / square inch), will result in an 8-fold increase in the recording density. This means that we could see HDD with capacities of 24TB in the future.
Super Capacitor Advance
I picked up some info on graphene from a newpaper article this year, but haven’ pursued it much. Anyway, this is looking pretty cool:
These energy density values are comparable to that of the Ni metal hydride battery. This new technology provides an energy storage device that stores nearly as much energy as in a battery, but can be recharged in seconds or minutes. We believe that this is truly a breakthrough in energy technology.
Brass Monkeys
Damn, the brass monkeys have bought up all the insulated scrotum protectors and are running for cover. The snow hasn’t hit us in this part of Essex yet but, as you can see, it ain’t exactly Cancun outside and the snow is on the way.
I have to wonder just how much longer I’ll be able to keep on cycling without risking being mowed down by some prick in an SUV who thinks ice is what happens to other people. I fully intend to keep trying, even going so far as raking out my old fleece-lined fishing suit if necessary. But cycling through blizzards will have to be a no-no since I don’t have windscreen wipers on my eyes.
Mmm, I wonder what the betting now is on a white Christmas?
11.05AM and the temperature reads minus 4.
Jebel Krong Bookmarks 3
Jebel Krong Bookmarks 2.
Here’s a refinement of Jebel Krong’s bookmarks (he tells me his OCD kicked in).
And to remind everyone: I want bookmarks, using the Jon Sullivan cover pictures (clear versions can be found on his site), and they must include this blog address. No more entries after January 1st when I’ll be judging this competition (if the poll I put up before is anything to go by). The top three get copies of my books that they haven’t got in their collection (after their prizes) … oh, and when I say that, I mean any of the Macmillan books. The top two get the Spatterjay series with the new covers, whilst the winner also gets the Cormac series, all signed of course. Send them to me here at ndotasheratvirgindotnet.