Saturday, January 09, 2010
Storyblogging Carnival IX
NOTE: This is a repost, so I can't guarantee links.
Michele Catalano has posted the Ninth Storyblogging Carnival. With thirteen stories, it's bigger than ever, and Michele's worked hard to make it look beautiful, too. It's going to be a hard act to follow when I host the tenth carnival here. Check it out!
Michele Catalano has posted the Ninth Storyblogging Carnival. With thirteen stories, it's bigger than ever, and Michele's worked hard to make it look beautiful, too. It's going to be a hard act to follow when I host the tenth carnival here. Check it out!
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Friday, January 08, 2010
Storyblogging Carnival VIII
NOTE: This is a repost of an older post, so links may be broken.
The eighth Storyblogging Carnival is now online at Dodgeblogium. There are seven stories from the authors Sheya Joies, Michelle Catalano, Dave Gudeman, Mary Murphy, Tim Worstall, Andrew Ian Dodge, and myself. Enjoy!
Michele Catalano of A Small Victory has volunteered to host the next Storyblogging Carnival. I'll post more details when I have them.
The eighth Storyblogging Carnival is now online at Dodgeblogium. There are seven stories from the authors Sheya Joies, Michelle Catalano, Dave Gudeman, Mary Murphy, Tim Worstall, Andrew Ian Dodge, and myself. Enjoy!
Michele Catalano of A Small Victory has volunteered to host the next Storyblogging Carnival. I'll post more details when I have them.
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Multi-tools
I carry two multitools with me, as well as a couple of items on my keychain.
One multi-tool is the SOG S60-N PowerLock
. It's a bit bulky, but it's capable of pretty much anything I might need--knife, pliers, wire cutter and stripper, Phillips and flat head screwdrivers, can opener--and then a few things I don't need much at all. The pliers are sturdy and comfortable to use, and all the blades lock, which is important. It also has a good feel as a screwdriver, with the head just slightly off-center. The one thing that does feel a bit off is the knife, since the blade faces towards the inside, rather than the edge, when it's open. Still, it's long enough that the handle rarely gets in the way. This tool is very useful when you need it (just in case you have to defuse a bomb or something), and not a pain to carry around when you don't.
The other multi-tool is my iPhone 3G. Don't laugh! Aside from the standard phone and iPod functionality, and the other things which you expect from a modern phone (e-mail, camera, alarm clock, calendar with reminders), it also has a GPS integrated with Google maps, which I use a lot more than I would have expected before I got it. The GPS isn't always very accurate (it can be off by a couple of blocks sometimes), but it does land you in the general vicinity well enough that you can find your way. You can even browse the web better than with most cell phones, though in this aspect you'll likely find yourself wishing you had a laptop instead, as the small display and lack of plug-ins makes the experience rather limited.
With the right apps, you can do a lot more with the iPhone. There are four I find particularly useful:
The first is a Dictionary.com's free dictionary and thesaurus. Sure, you can get that functionality using the web browser, but as a writer, I sometimes need them when the browser's unavailable, such as when riding the subway or visiting another country. And since the whole dictionary app's less than 40 MB, it easily fits on my 8 GB iPhone.
The second is Amazon's Kindle app. The app's free, and more importantly, there are lots of books available for free as well. I've been reading a collection of Robert E. Howard's stories (which doesn't appear to be available anymore) and Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas.
The third one is the only one I've paid money for, Documents To Go by DataViz. This program lets me edit Word and Excel documents, and synchronize them with my desktop. I can't touch type with it, and it can be difficult selecting for cutting and pasting, but it's the only app I've found that lets me write on my iPhone.
And finally is my most recent, and simplest, free application, John Haney's Flashlight. All this does is turn the iPhone's screen on a solid color, and leave it on. You decide the color (white's best for pure illumination), and how long you have it stay on (I have it set to 10 minutes). This provides enough illumination to see, and it stays on long enough for me to use it (unlike the standard setting for the iPhone, which keeps the screen bright for less than a minute). You can adjust the brightness as well. I don't find that it's as good as a real flashlight when it comes to focused illumination, but it provides a good diffuse light when you need to find your way. You can also set the app to strobe, which I can see being useful in an emergency situation.
Finally, there's what I keep on my keychain. Aside from keys, I like having three items: a flash drive, a knife, and a flashlight. SanDisk's Cruzer Titanium
is a nice one for the flash drive, since its metal casing is solid and the USB plug retracts rather than relying on an easily losable cap. I keep the flash drive mainly so I have a backup of my stories (I did mention that I was a writer, didn't I?) and other important data with me at all times. The one problem is that the key ring is kind of flimsy, and I've had to replace it. The knife and the flashlight may seem redundant considering my other tools, but they're the two things I consider most necessary, so redundancy is a feature, not a bug. I like having them both to-hand in case I lose or have to leave behind my other tools--or just want easier access to a more effective flashlight or a smaller knife. Of course, if I can combine the two, that's even better, as long as I don't need the flashlight on a plane, so I just got this combo from Amazon. It's a bit large for a keychain attachment, but not excessively so. The LED is bright, and has an auto-shutoff after three minutes, which is useful since I've often had LED flashlights come on in my pocket and quickly run down their batteries. The knife is small, but sharp and sturdy. It opens easily with one hand, and locks in the open position. It doesn't lock in the closed position, so it could conceivably catch on something and come open unintentionally, which I'll admit is my biggest concern. So far, though, it's a useful addition to my collection.
One multi-tool is the SOG S60-N PowerLock
. It's a bit bulky, but it's capable of pretty much anything I might need--knife, pliers, wire cutter and stripper, Phillips and flat head screwdrivers, can opener--and then a few things I don't need much at all. The pliers are sturdy and comfortable to use, and all the blades lock, which is important. It also has a good feel as a screwdriver, with the head just slightly off-center. The one thing that does feel a bit off is the knife, since the blade faces towards the inside, rather than the edge, when it's open. Still, it's long enough that the handle rarely gets in the way. This tool is very useful when you need it (just in case you have to defuse a bomb or something), and not a pain to carry around when you don't.The other multi-tool is my iPhone 3G. Don't laugh! Aside from the standard phone and iPod functionality, and the other things which you expect from a modern phone (e-mail, camera, alarm clock, calendar with reminders), it also has a GPS integrated with Google maps, which I use a lot more than I would have expected before I got it. The GPS isn't always very accurate (it can be off by a couple of blocks sometimes), but it does land you in the general vicinity well enough that you can find your way. You can even browse the web better than with most cell phones, though in this aspect you'll likely find yourself wishing you had a laptop instead, as the small display and lack of plug-ins makes the experience rather limited.
With the right apps, you can do a lot more with the iPhone. There are four I find particularly useful:
The first is a Dictionary.com's free dictionary and thesaurus. Sure, you can get that functionality using the web browser, but as a writer, I sometimes need them when the browser's unavailable, such as when riding the subway or visiting another country. And since the whole dictionary app's less than 40 MB, it easily fits on my 8 GB iPhone.
The second is Amazon's Kindle app. The app's free, and more importantly, there are lots of books available for free as well. I've been reading a collection of Robert E. Howard's stories (which doesn't appear to be available anymore) and Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas.
The third one is the only one I've paid money for, Documents To Go by DataViz. This program lets me edit Word and Excel documents, and synchronize them with my desktop. I can't touch type with it, and it can be difficult selecting for cutting and pasting, but it's the only app I've found that lets me write on my iPhone.
And finally is my most recent, and simplest, free application, John Haney's Flashlight. All this does is turn the iPhone's screen on a solid color, and leave it on. You decide the color (white's best for pure illumination), and how long you have it stay on (I have it set to 10 minutes). This provides enough illumination to see, and it stays on long enough for me to use it (unlike the standard setting for the iPhone, which keeps the screen bright for less than a minute). You can adjust the brightness as well. I don't find that it's as good as a real flashlight when it comes to focused illumination, but it provides a good diffuse light when you need to find your way. You can also set the app to strobe, which I can see being useful in an emergency situation.
Finally, there's what I keep on my keychain. Aside from keys, I like having three items: a flash drive, a knife, and a flashlight. SanDisk's Cruzer Titanium
is a nice one for the flash drive, since its metal casing is solid and the USB plug retracts rather than relying on an easily losable cap. I keep the flash drive mainly so I have a backup of my stories (I did mention that I was a writer, didn't I?) and other important data with me at all times. The one problem is that the key ring is kind of flimsy, and I've had to replace it. The knife and the flashlight may seem redundant considering my other tools, but they're the two things I consider most necessary, so redundancy is a feature, not a bug. I like having them both to-hand in case I lose or have to leave behind my other tools--or just want easier access to a more effective flashlight or a smaller knife. Of course, if I can combine the two, that's even better, as long as I don't need the flashlight on a plane, so I just got this combo from Amazon. It's a bit large for a keychain attachment, but not excessively so. The LED is bright, and has an auto-shutoff after three minutes, which is useful since I've often had LED flashlights come on in my pocket and quickly run down their batteries. The knife is small, but sharp and sturdy. It opens easily with one hand, and locks in the open position. It doesn't lock in the closed position, so it could conceivably catch on something and come open unintentionally, which I'll admit is my biggest concern. So far, though, it's a useful addition to my collection.Labels: Reviews, Technology, Tools
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Storyblogging Carnival VII
NOTE: Just as a reminder, this is a re-post of an older post, so I can't guarantee that the links are still working.
The seventh storyblogging carnival is now online at Tales by Sheya. Enjoy the carnival, and be sure to link to it.
The seventh storyblogging carnival is now online at Tales by Sheya. Enjoy the carnival, and be sure to link to it.
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Storyblogging Carnival VII
NOTE: This is a re-posting of an old post, so the links may be broken.
The seventh storyblogging carnival is now online at Tales by Sheya. Enjoy the carnival, and be sure to link to it.
The seventh storyblogging carnival is now online at Tales by Sheya. Enjoy the carnival, and be sure to link to it.
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Storyblogging Carnival VI
NOTE: This is a re-posting of an old post, so it's possible that links will be broken.
Welcome to the sixth Storyblogging Carnival. The previous carnival was also hosted here two weeks ago, while the next one will be at Sheya Joie's blog two weeks from now. Today we have one new writer and several old favorites, so let's get started.
Everybody Needs a Ride Sometimes
by Queenie of Rolling My Eyes
A 237 word brief story rated PG.
Con-artist or beggar or both, she still needs to make a living.
Untitled novel length project
by Mike J. of Democrats Give Conservatives Indigestion
A 610 word excerpt of a novel in progress, rated PG.
A private investigator/licensed pilot who specializes in recovering lost, stolen or otherwise missing property lands in Jamaica with his client as the story begins...
Taxi Ride
by cbeck of Feeding the Habit
A 628 word brief story rated PG.
A story of realization; the harsh reality of goodbye.
A Meating of Mines, scene iii (Beginning of the story)
by Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage
The next 1,151 words of a 3,888 word story in progress, rated PG-13.
Rolf and Zantar are hired by one of the feuding families of Winkelfranks.
Fishies
by Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium
A 2,777 word short story rated PG-13.
Rupert, already perturbed to find out that some people like dressing up as animals to get their kicks, has to investigate an even more disturbing club in Aberdeen.
The Child (Parts 11,12,13,14,15,16) (Beginning of the story)
by Sheya Joie of Tales by Sheya
The next 5,245 words of a 11,614 word story in progress.
And so began the sweetest days of the Child's life. Days spent in the company of the Master, her Beloved. Days spent walking together, her small hand in his, her eyes feasting on his dear face - as he delighted in her delight in him. His voice filling both her ears and her hungry heart as he spoke songs of love into her...
[It wasn't obvious at first that this story was allegorical, but it was obvious that it was delightful, as it remains. -DSC]
Thanks for coming by. I hope you'll be able to visit Tales by Sheya for the next carnival. If you'd like to join the Storyblogging Carnival e-mail list, just drop me a line.
Welcome to the sixth Storyblogging Carnival. The previous carnival was also hosted here two weeks ago, while the next one will be at Sheya Joie's blog two weeks from now. Today we have one new writer and several old favorites, so let's get started.
Everybody Needs a Ride Sometimes
by Queenie of Rolling My Eyes
A 237 word brief story rated PG.
Con-artist or beggar or both, she still needs to make a living.
Untitled novel length project
by Mike J. of Democrats Give Conservatives Indigestion
A 610 word excerpt of a novel in progress, rated PG.
A private investigator/licensed pilot who specializes in recovering lost, stolen or otherwise missing property lands in Jamaica with his client as the story begins...
Taxi Ride
by cbeck of Feeding the Habit
A 628 word brief story rated PG.
A story of realization; the harsh reality of goodbye.
A Meating of Mines, scene iii (Beginning of the story)
by Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage
The next 1,151 words of a 3,888 word story in progress, rated PG-13.
Rolf and Zantar are hired by one of the feuding families of Winkelfranks.
Fishies
by Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium
A 2,777 word short story rated PG-13.
Rupert, already perturbed to find out that some people like dressing up as animals to get their kicks, has to investigate an even more disturbing club in Aberdeen.
The Child (Parts 11,12,13,14,15,16) (Beginning of the story)
by Sheya Joie of Tales by Sheya
The next 5,245 words of a 11,614 word story in progress.
And so began the sweetest days of the Child's life. Days spent in the company of the Master, her Beloved. Days spent walking together, her small hand in his, her eyes feasting on his dear face - as he delighted in her delight in him. His voice filling both her ears and her hungry heart as he spoke songs of love into her...
[It wasn't obvious at first that this story was allegorical, but it was obvious that it was delightful, as it remains. -DSC]
Thanks for coming by. I hope you'll be able to visit Tales by Sheya for the next carnival. If you'd like to join the Storyblogging Carnival e-mail list, just drop me a line.
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Carnivals are going up
You probably noticed that I've been putting up the past carnivals. I'll continue putting up one a day until I run out of archived Carnivals--which should be sometime in April. Meanwhile, I'll start soliciting for the next carnival, and get the Storyblogging Carnivals rolling again.
I still haven't finished getting the site up-to-date, so you'll see some changes as I do that.
I still haven't finished getting the site up-to-date, so you'll see some changes as I do that.
Labels: blogging, Storyblogging Details
Storyblogging Carnival V
NOTE: This is a re-posting of an old post, so it's possible that links will be broken.
Welcome to the fifth Storyblogging Carnival! Once again we gather stories from around the blogosphere for your reading enjoyment. The previous Storyblogging Carnival was hosted at Doc Rampage. Meanwhile, if you want to see links all of them, try this page. Today, I broke a rule and included two entries of my own. I try not to include more than one entry per person, but I'm lenient when there are less than ten entries overall. In any case, here we have a total of seven stories, with, I think, a higher average word count than usual.
...And Two Socks
by Queenie of Rolling My Eyes
A 429 word brief story rated G.
Socks. Lots of socks.
[Like most of Queenie's stories, this is funny, short, and sweet.-DSC]
A Meating of Mines, scene ii (Beginning of the story)
by Doc Rampage of Doc Rampage
The next 1,414 words of a 2,737 word story in progress, rated PG.
Rolf and Zantar meet Loan the Ranger and discuss debate points.
[Doc's sense of humor is always fun. His original idea was to turn these screenplays into a computer animated show based on a computer game engine. Any enterprising soul interested in giving it a try? -DSC]
Welcome to the Pack
by Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium
A 3,136 word short story rated PG-13.
Parks in London are not just for the priveledged and the drunks...some of them hide interesting secrets. Have you ever wondered why many have high shrubbery so you can't see in?
Cast Out
by Robin Jones of Beyond Salvage
A 5,652 short story rated R.
A cuckold comes to terms with life after betrayal.
[The psychologist in this story is one of those characters you love to hate. I like the protagonist, though.-DSC]
The Child (Parts 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10) (Beginning of the story)
by Sheya Joie of Tales by Sheya.
The next 6,032 words of a 6,413 word story in progress, rated PG.
She could not remember her past - how she came to be in this house under the Mountain of Spices, where she was resting and growing and healing. The Master, she was told, had brought her here. But who was he? And when would he return for her?
And why did the one taking care of her shine with an unearthly light?
[We had a bit of trouble figuring out how to navigate this story, and we eventually figured I'd just post links to each part of the submission, 2 through 9. I recommend you just go to part 2 and navigate through using the links at the bottom of each part. If you missed Part 1 (which was in the last carnival), you can find it here.-DSC]
I'll be hosting the next carnival, followed by Sheya Joie, and then Andrew Ian Dodge, assuming the scheduling works out. If you want to join the Storyblogging Carnival, send me an e-mail at dscrank-at-alum.mit.edu, or use the web comment feature.
Welcome to the fifth Storyblogging Carnival! Once again we gather stories from around the blogosphere for your reading enjoyment. The previous Storyblogging Carnival was hosted at Doc Rampage. Meanwhile, if you want to see links all of them, try this page. Today, I broke a rule and included two entries of my own. I try not to include more than one entry per person, but I'm lenient when there are less than ten entries overall. In any case, here we have a total of seven stories, with, I think, a higher average word count than usual.
...And Two Socks
by Queenie of Rolling My Eyes
A 429 word brief story rated G.
Socks. Lots of socks.
[Like most of Queenie's stories, this is funny, short, and sweet.-DSC]
A Meating of Mines, scene ii (Beginning of the story)
by Doc Rampage of Doc Rampage
The next 1,414 words of a 2,737 word story in progress, rated PG.
Rolf and Zantar meet Loan the Ranger and discuss debate points.
[Doc's sense of humor is always fun. His original idea was to turn these screenplays into a computer animated show based on a computer game engine. Any enterprising soul interested in giving it a try? -DSC]
Welcome to the Pack
by Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium
A 3,136 word short story rated PG-13.
Parks in London are not just for the priveledged and the drunks...some of them hide interesting secrets. Have you ever wondered why many have high shrubbery so you can't see in?
Cast Out
by Robin Jones of Beyond Salvage
A 5,652 short story rated R.
A cuckold comes to terms with life after betrayal.
[The psychologist in this story is one of those characters you love to hate. I like the protagonist, though.-DSC]
The Child (Parts 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10) (Beginning of the story)
by Sheya Joie of Tales by Sheya.
The next 6,032 words of a 6,413 word story in progress, rated PG.
She could not remember her past - how she came to be in this house under the Mountain of Spices, where she was resting and growing and healing. The Master, she was told, had brought her here. But who was he? And when would he return for her?
And why did the one taking care of her shine with an unearthly light?
[We had a bit of trouble figuring out how to navigate this story, and we eventually figured I'd just post links to each part of the submission, 2 through 9. I recommend you just go to part 2 and navigate through using the links at the bottom of each part. If you missed Part 1 (which was in the last carnival), you can find it here.-DSC]
I'll be hosting the next carnival, followed by Sheya Joie, and then Andrew Ian Dodge, assuming the scheduling works out. If you want to join the Storyblogging Carnival, send me an e-mail at dscrank-at-alum.mit.edu, or use the web comment feature.
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Monday, January 04, 2010
Storyblogging Carnival IV
NOTE: This is an old post, so it's possible that the links will be broken.
Doc Rampage has the fourth Storyblogging Carnival up right now, with ten stories from around the blogosphere. Check it out.
Doc Rampage has the fourth Storyblogging Carnival up right now, with ten stories from around the blogosphere. Check it out.
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Storyblogging Carnival III
NOTE: Once again, I'm putting up a Storyblogging Carnival that originally went up a long time ago. Some links may be out of date.
The third Storyblogging Carnival is up at Beyond Salvage. Eight stories from around the blogosphere, including a story from myself and our first audio submission. The next carnival will be at Doc Rampage.
Update (9/12/2005): As Robin Jones's blog is no longer with us, I've retrieved a copy of the Storyblogging Carnival III from the Wayback Archive. Here it is:
Welcome to Storyblogging Carnival III. Thanks to all of you who participated. I encourage you to submit again to Storyblogging Carnival IV, which will be hosted by Dave Gudeman at Doc Rampage on October 25th. I enjoyed hosting this time out. Thanks to Donald Crankshaw for the opportunity. Unlike Donald, I’ve refrained from commenting on any of the stories. I’m not at all acquainted with the language of literary criticism and would certainly make a fool of myself if I tried to fake it. Suffice it to say that I’ve read all the stories and found them each entertaining in their own way. So here are the eight offerings for Storyblogging Carnival III. You’ll find links to the previous carnivals towards the end of this post.
Silence in the Snow
by Andrew of Philosophical Poetry
a 350 word brief story rated G
Walk With Me
by sheya joie yonathi of tales by sheya
A 500 word brief story rated G
Don’t hurt me I’m small!
by Gunner Miller of Monster Blog
542 words of a never ending story rated G
Denise, Denise
by Gary Cruse of The Owner’s Manual
A 900 word brief story rated G
Birdseed
by Peter C. of Engrossing Tales
a 958 word brief story rated PG
Sniper
by Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage
A 1995 word short story rated R
Holy Spirit Warehouse
by Robin Jones of Beyond Salvage
A 6418 word short story rated PG-13
This submission is in audio (mp3)
Here are the links for carnivals one and two. Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget the next carnival at Doc’s in just two weeks!
The third Storyblogging Carnival is up at Beyond Salvage. Eight stories from around the blogosphere, including a story from myself and our first audio submission. The next carnival will be at Doc Rampage.
Update (9/12/2005): As Robin Jones's blog is no longer with us, I've retrieved a copy of the Storyblogging Carnival III from the Wayback Archive. Here it is:
Welcome to Storyblogging Carnival III. Thanks to all of you who participated. I encourage you to submit again to Storyblogging Carnival IV, which will be hosted by Dave Gudeman at Doc Rampage on October 25th. I enjoyed hosting this time out. Thanks to Donald Crankshaw for the opportunity. Unlike Donald, I’ve refrained from commenting on any of the stories. I’m not at all acquainted with the language of literary criticism and would certainly make a fool of myself if I tried to fake it. Suffice it to say that I’ve read all the stories and found them each entertaining in their own way. So here are the eight offerings for Storyblogging Carnival III. You’ll find links to the previous carnivals towards the end of this post.
Silence in the Snow
by Andrew of Philosophical Poetry
a 350 word brief story rated G
When deep emotion and isolation converge, a man is changed in an instant.
Walk With Me
by sheya joie yonathi of tales by sheya
A 500 word brief story rated G
“A walk with her big brother…”
Don’t hurt me I’m small!
by Gunner Miller of Monster Blog
542 words of a never ending story rated G
Everyone believes in monsters as a child. This is the story of my life after I had to believe again as an adult. That’s when I found, adopted, and raised one for myself. This story never ends, it just keeps going, as long as there is chocolate.
Denise, Denise
by Gary Cruse of The Owner’s Manual
A 900 word brief story rated G
A zany blend of La Femme Nikita and Deliverance
Birdseed
by Peter C. of Engrossing Tales
a 958 word brief story rated PG
The old man, wrapped snugly in an oversized trenchcoat, leaned forward across the stone chess table in the park. His breath came in sporadic bursts of white mist, which drifted slowly to nothingness in the chill atmosphere of this brisk winter day. He wore a knit black cap and heavy leather gloves, and his nose was two shades darker red than normal. He sported a ragged white beard peppered with shards of grey, dripping condensation beading on the hairs in glistening, half-frozen pearls.
Overhead, a coo and flutter. The pigeons had arrived, right on time.
Sniper
by Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage
A 1995 word short story rated R
Some of the nicest people you know were just born that way. They are just naturally full of kindness and empathy and friendliness. Some of the other nicest people you know weren’t born that way at all.
Holy Spirit Warehouse
by Robin Jones of Beyond Salvage
A 6418 word short story rated PG-13
This story is about lost faith and what one man does to recapture it.
This submission is in audio (mp3)
Why I do …
by Marty Dodge of Dodgeblogium
A short story rated PG that runs just over 7 minutes
Another Sage of Wales tale
Here are the links for carnivals one and two. Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget the next carnival at Doc’s in just two weeks!
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
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