Packbat's Journal

Goodbye, kind world!

2009-12-07T02:48:18Z

I apologize for the perfunctory and belated nature of this notice, but ...

... I have a problem. My life habits are ill-suited to being a regular Internet denizen - like an alcoholic, I invariably binge, rather than partake, and I find myself interrupting or putting off things I need to do, like working, sleeping, eating, to refresh, archive-trawl, and read and comment.

Given this, I'm dropping all of it - webcomics, weblogs, Wikis, and fora - for the foreseeable future, and I will probably never be active in the way I was. There is a chance that I may revive a few of the less busy feeds, the more idiosyncratic and compelling feeds, to read in small bits at irregular intervals - I was thinking Plan B, possibly Thirteen Ribbons - but this blog and the other will probably fall fallow, and my Twitter, definitely.

Be well.

(P.S. My final bookmarks file.)

Personal Info Meme

2009-11-29T16:09:03Z

From a couple people:

You know how sometimes people on your friends list post about stuff going on in their life, and all of a sudden you think "Wait a minute? Since when were they working THERE? Since when were they dating HIM/HER? Since when???" And then you wonder how you could have missed all that seemingly pretty standard information, but somehow you feel too ashamed to ask for clarification because it seems like info you should already know? It happens to all of us sometimes.

Please copy the topics below, erase my answers and put yours in their place, and then post it in your journal! Please elaborate on the questions that would benefit from elaboration. One-Word-Answers seldom help anyone out.

first name: Robin. I, like my siblings, have a gender-neutral name, and like (at least one of) my siblings, that means occasionally getting mail with the 'wrong' honorific. (As you can see by my scare quotes, I 'care' about this. For the record, the correct honorific is "Mr".)

age: 770 Ms - or about 24 years 5 months, if you like the merely standard units of measure.

location: Near DC on the Maryland side - convenient to the bus lines and Metrorail, which explains why I don't have a driver's license. (Which explains why I have disposable income - can you say "car insurance"?)

occupation: Graduate research assistant at the University of Maryland, College Park, doing research in two-phase cooling for power electronic systems. From the back forward: "power electronic systems" are, for example, the thing that turns your AC into DC or vice-versa; "cooling" is taking the waste heat off the device (it's not 100% efficient) so that it may be dumped into (probably) the air somewhere else; and "two-phase cooling" means doing the above by making a liquid boil, later to be condensed elsewhere. This is something which is an active area of research because it's kind of a messy problem (like turbulence in fluid flow) and the best solutions are of the plus-or-minus-30% strength. Which works in steam power plants, but not in microelectronics.

partner: Romantic? None so far.

kids: In light of the previous question, I am quite glad that the answer here is "none" as well.

brothers/sisters: One each. The sister is a twin, and yes, I've been asked if we're identical. I don't get it either. (The brother is older, and makes me look boring.)

pets: None. My parents had a guinea pig when I was young, and my sister had a rabbit some time later, but I've never been responsible for another living being. (I did quite poorly just caring for a plant!)

3-5 biggest things going on in your life: Largest is the research project, presumably, and second is my schoolwork. (I'm actually pretty stressed these days thanks to an incomplete from last semester I'm having trouble tying up. The class I'm in now is pretty chill.) There on down, it gets pretty minor-scale - the novel I started for Nanowrimo is the biggest thing, and I'm ... not really diligent about working on it.

parents: Both living, and both with a Web presence. I'll mention my father's (done!), as he comments on this blog from time to time. Oh, and is a fierce blogger himself. Pretend that I said that when I mentioned him.

some of your closest friends: There are a couple from my Scout troop that I've been absolute rubbish keeping in touch with (K and W), and then there's several from school with whom I'll banter in the ASME lounge, exchange books, and occasionally play board games (particularly J, J, and T). Other than that, I get on decently with my parents, hang out with my brother, and exchange communications with quite a few people on the Web of Lies (as my mum would call it).

I believe that's better than one-word answers, anyway! Toodles!

Writer's Block: Book worms unite!

2009-11-28T16:57:10Z

What are the three best books you have ever read and what are the three worst? What made them so good or bad?

Submitted By crazylove16

View 1108 Answers

With the caveat that I'm just naming books off the top of my head, and I might miss something perfectly obvious, and the further caveat that I only include books that I've read straight through:

Best:

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome: One of the best English humor books ever written. Three English blokes (and a dog) decide to go on a trip up the Thames river. What makes it hilarious is J's writing - he is a brilliant raconteur with a poetic, charmingly digressive style, and he finds exceptional material in his reminisces.

(Conveniently, it is available online in several places.)
Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling: You could describe it many ways, but it feels to me a bit like film noir Twenty Minutes in the Future (as they say on the Tropes of the TV). Remarkably, it's still Twenty Minutes in the Future despite being published in 1988 (five years before the Eternal September), which should give you an idea of how strong Sterling's SF chops are. In any case, this stands out for its skilled worldbuilding (of course), characterization, and pacing. Events occur kinetically yet vividly, which is a fine line to walk.
Watership Down by Richard Adams: Reportedly, somewhere in the television series Lost, a character named Sawyer says about this: "Hell of a book! It's about bunnies." It would be difficult to describe it more eloquently in less space.

Taking advantage, then, of having more: this is my very first favorite book, and I'm proud to say that it's held up well for more than half my life, reading it again and again. Richard Adams possesses the most fluent descriptive voice that I have ever encountered, and paces it with a master's grace. There is a simply beautiful passage where Hazel (the protagonist) pauses at the mouth of a burrow to check the surroundings before going out in the field, and Adams takes this moment of time to describe in lyrical terms the sights, smells, and sounds of that instant. It is a beautiful trick of the writing art, and Adams wields it with virtuosic skill. A true classic, in the sense of a work which survives the test of time.

And fun to read! Hell of a book, like the man said.

Some books which I considered, but did not include in the top three:

Shardik by Richard Adams
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
A Woman of the Iron People by Eleanor Arnason
A Contemporary Introduction to Free Will by Robert Kane
Fooling Some of the People All of the Time by David Einhorn
The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II

Worst:

Caveat: I enjoyed most of these. All of them, if I'm honest. I (mostly) don't finish books if I don't. That said...

Born to Run by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon: Cheesy modern fantasy. It makes this list less out of any flaw than out of general lack of merit.
War of Honor by David Weber (Book Ten of the Honor Harrington series): The Honor Harrington series follows a very simple formula. That formula has worn paper-thin by Book Ten. The new elements Weber introduces to liven it up do precisely the opposite, except where they introduce a little excitement by being profoundly stupid. I had enjoyed the first two books in the series, continued reading the series out of intertia, and ran out on this one.

In truth, this is probably the worst of my three-worst list. But I feel obliged to bump it from that slot in light of...
The Radiant Warrior by Leo Frankowski (Book Three of the Conrad Starguard series): ...which features the Rape Is Love trope. The first four books are pure fluff otherwise - time-travel wish fulfillment fantasy of the most elemental sort - but the misogynistic aspects are utterly grating. Fortunately, the most epochal Crowning Moment of Awesome for the series is in Book Two. Unfortunately, as far as respect for women is concerned, the aforementioned rape scene is more a dip than a chasm in the narrative.

(I will not include a near-misses list here - I have too much respect for NAME REDACTED and NAME REDACTED, and TITLE REDACTED wasn't supposed to be good in the first place.)

(Edit: Actually below all three books on the list is a Dean Koontz book I read ages ago, my former copy of which my mother decided should be dismembered and recycled rather than continue to exist. I take pride in not remembering the title - it featured incest, Body Horror, thoroughly horrible people, and was written in a loving style which cannot reflect well on the author.)

Why I'm up at midnight on a school night

2009-11-23T05:07:35Z

Yes, I just spent hours of my life 'painting' a virtual car with a virtual skyline and a Maryland flag. But that's not the ridiculous part.

No, the ridiculous part is that I didn't plan on putting that Maryland flag on my hood. I was only making it so that I could put it on the license plate.

P.S. Many thanks to netstate.com, for Maryland flag information.

Some much-needed profanity. tldr: I'm still writing, but not for Nano.

2009-11-21T17:03:54Z

Okay, this Nanowrimo thing?

Fuck this. And I mean that with the greatest generosity towards the project and its goals.

I'm not going to write 38 455 words in ten days. It won't happen, mathematically. I could if I wanted to just type utter crap for four hours a day, but I'm not going to.

Do you hear that? I'm not doing exactly what Nanowrimo is about - screw that up the bunghole.

Why aren't I doing it?

Because I like my book.

I'll still be posting updates, and I'll still be writing - and I'll still be doing both on December ... maybe not 1, but still in the single digits. I'm not going to give up on the novel, I'm going to give up on the obsession with wordcount.

That is all.

Writer's Block: Message in a bottle

2009-11-17T14:57:36Z

What three items would you place in a time capsule to help future generations understand you?

Submitted By mausengeist

View 746 Answers

...oh, wait - it's future human generations! That makes things simpler!

I'd say the following would be quite informative of my personal habits and development:

Imre Lakatos, Proofs and Refutations.
Turn 10 Studios, Forza Motorsport 2.
Hergé, The Adventures of Tintin: Red Rackham's Treasure.

If the videogame is out, substitute Abramowitz and Stegun.

Greta Christina: The Top One Reason Religion Is Harmful

2009-11-16T17:54:45Z

On AlterNet.

Caveat: If the title suggests that you don't want to read this, then please don't read it. I'm mostly posting for my own reference.

Pulling another zero.

2009-11-12T02:55:17Z

Sick today - no writing. (Broke 10k yesterday at the College Park write-in, though!)

4104 and writing war

2009-11-06T04:14:58Z

I'm falling further behind, but I've discovered the writing war trick at my brother's insistence - more updatage in the future, probably after I've finished this chapter.

Pulled a zero.

2009-11-04T04:20:21Z

More Nano tomorrow - studying for test today.

1741 words

2009-11-01T23:03:38Z

Back from the write-in with my quota - barely.

A question I forgot to ask: does anyone want to read f-locked posts of the Novel So Far? I'm thinking I'll go with the classic make-a-filter option if anyone is interested. (For what it's worth, my brother - who wrote 5074 words - seemed to enjoy it.)

1040 words

2009-11-01T20:39:44Z

60% of one day's wordcount, and I've kicked things off with a literal bang. Unfortunately, I've a headache, $2.50 of iced coffee I don't want, 1/3 of a brownie I don't want, and a bit of a block.

I guess I just need to remind myself, as the Bard once said, to "lay on - and curst be he who first cries, 'Halt, enough!'"

Writer's Block: Would you talk to the dead?

2009-10-31T15:10:58Z

Have you ever participated in a seance? If not, would you consider it? What spirit would you summon and what question would you ask them? Do you believe we can get messages from the dead?

View 674 Answers

I haven't - I might attend one as a favor for a close friend if they wanted me there. If I did, though, I wouldn't be planning on trying to summon any spirit at all, or expect to get any message from the dead. I'm fairly sure that death is the end.

That said, I wouldn't object having a chance to have a real conversation with my maternal grandfather. I just think it's impossible.

A couple days ago.

2009-10-25T21:06:30Z

And I just got a stack of CDs to import, too.

For anyone who doesn't follow xkcd daily: Bag Check

2009-10-20T01:01:48Z

(Or rather, because I was incapable of not reposting this.)

Entered NaNoWriMo.

2009-10-18T04:40:58Z

Packbat's writer profile.

Still thinking about what to write.

As you know, Bob, Tony Perkins lies a lot for money.

2009-10-16T00:14:47Z

A link to pass on: Slacktivist explains the lie Tony Perkins is telling for money about the expansion of hate crime legislation to cover LGBT persons. Money quote:

The only extent to which hate-crime protections pertain to "thought" is in the way that all criminal law does, which is to say that motive matters. If you truly believe that the law should make no distinction between accidental manslaughter and premeditated first-degree homicide, because you truly believe that any such distinction constitutes the establishment of "thought crime," then I will accept that you are making this "thought-crime" objection to hate-crime legislation in good faith. (I'll think you're kind of an idiot, but at least a sincere idiot.) But you can't accept that distinction and still argue in good faith that hate crimes are "thought crimes."

P.S. If anyone you know is concerned that hate crime legislation could infringe their freedom of speech, two words: Fred Phelps.

P.P.S. On a related note, a riddle courtesy of eyelessgame in the comments: What terrorist organization has killed more Americans than al Qaeda?

Packbat NaNoWriMo (Y/N)?

2009-10-15T18:35:08Z

View Poll: Should I try NaNoWriMo this year?

If it matters, some Reasons To Enter:

Eric Burns-White said so [teal deer version: because if I like writing, I ought to actually write something, and NaNoWriMo provides motive and emotional support]
Because I'll be going into a PhD program soon, and that'll make it harder to carry out major projects.
Because it's just cool.

...and some Reasons Not To Enter:

Because I'm in a MS program, and that makes it harder to carry out major projects.
Because nomicide is heating up and I need to be available.
Because I'm not getting enough sleep as it is.
Because I'm rubbish at dialogue and plot.

...and some Reasons To Ignore The Above Reasons:

Because I'm not really that busy this semester.
Because nomicide isn't a huge burden anyway.
Because I'm not getting sleep thanks to screwing around on the Internet all night.
Because I won't become any good at dialogue and plot without trying.

...not to mention Reasons To Ignore The Further Above Reasons:

Because there are ways to get writing experience which are more likely to produce good literature.
Because the PhD program won't be forever, and I'll have the rest of my life to do crazy things like this.
Because very few people will be particularly impressed.

...yeah.

Writer's Block: What is your muse?

2009-10-13T13:40:06Z

If you're trying to create something, like a story, a composition, or a design, etc., do you find yourself imagining how others will react to it? Does that impede or enhance the creative process?

View 743 Answers

Oddly, I don't usually think of other people when I'm working on an aesthetic endeavor (as opposed to a practical matter, such as a user interface). Perhaps I should - when I judge it purely for myself I rather come off poorly.

Because we should celebrate

2009-10-12T03:00:08Z

From across the blagocube:

Comment here and tell me something you did recently that you're proud of and I'll comment and tell you that you're awesome and I'm proud of you. And if you see anyone comment and you know them (or understand why they'd be proud of that thing), then you comment to them and tell them why they should be pleased with themselves.

Writer's Block: Go to the head of the class

2009-10-11T23:37:41Z

When you take a class or attend a big meeting, where do you prefer to sit? Up close or way back where you can make a speedy get-away? Can you force yourself to focus even when you're not interested?

View 619 Answers

I usually want to sit near the front and far from the exits - near the exit if I have to leave early, but I rarely do. As for paying attention, I have trouble when I'm sleep-deprived, but boring material is rarely an obstacle: you can always treat it as an anthropological expedition when all else fails.

A letter to Eden Games, developers of Test Drive Unlimited

2009-10-11T22:50:31Z

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to you as a great fan of Test Drive Unlimited for two reasons: first, to thank you for making such a great game, and second, to suggest a few things I noticed that could make it even better.

Before I say anything else, I want to say that TDU is probably my favorite videogame of all time. The driving physics feel realistic without being unmanageable, the fleet of available cars is extensive and well-crafted, the traffic AI is beautifully implemented, and the variety of missions and challenges is enough to satisfy anyone. Most importantly, the major selling point of the game - the freedom to simply drive anywhere on the network of roads covering the island of Oahu - simply works; in contrast to previous games (such as GTA: Vice City), only the rarest of hiccups interrupt one's drive.

I would say that there are only three things to which I must direct your attention. I am sure you are well aware of the corresponding issues, but I will mention them nonetheless.

First, I notice that the game seems to have been designed with the outside-the-car cameras in mind. I don't really object to this - I know many people like to play that way - but I've noticed that when I am using the inside-the-car camera I (a) can't see traffic lights when I stop at the intersection and (b) can't turn the camera quickly to look in directions away from where I'm going. These aren't game-breaking issues, but it would be cool if the team could spend a little more time on them.

Second, the classification system for the cars is somewhat unsatisfactory. For example, in Class G, the Mercedes Gullwing is much slower than the Pontiac Firebird, which is much slower than the Lamborghini Miura, which is much slower than the Shelby Daytona. In the other classes, too, several assignments are dubious (e.g. the TVR T440R as C instead of A). Adding a numerical rating system like in Forza 2 would be able to capture these details more clearly (although even in Forza 2 the Porsche 914 was underrated). It would also support the addition of a more complicated tuning system, like in the Forza and Gran Turismo series.

Third, there's no way to tell whether another human car is a fair challenge for you before you challenge them except by knowing all the models. Again, the numerical system could help with this: for example, an identical opponent could be displayed with a white halo (like the health indications in Left 4 Dead), and the halo could fade towards pink and red for faster opponents and toward gray and black for slower. (I chose these colors arbitrarily - if you have better ideas, please ignore them.)

Thank you for your time and trouble,
Robin Zimmermann

P.S. I just finished all the missions to get "Ace" rank in TDU!

"and if you’re against it, then get out of the way."

2009-10-11T17:36:10Z

From baldanders, here and there:

Alan Grayson (D-FL) is my hero. Seriously, he tells it like it is, without fear of the insurance companies, and certainly not without fear of the Republican lie machine:

"We as a party have spent the last six months, the greatest minds in our party, dwelling on the question, the unbelievably consuming question of how to get Olympia Snowe to vote on health care reform. I want to remind us all that Olympia Snowe was not elected President last year. Olympia Snowe has no veto power in the Senate. Olympia Snowe represents a state with one half of one percent of America's population.

"What America wants is health care reform. America doesn't care if it gets 51 votes in the Senate or 60 votes in the Senate or 83 votes in the Senate, in fact America doesn't even care about that, it doesn't care about that at all. What America cares about is this; there are over 1 million Americans who go broke every single year trying to pay their health care bills. America cares a lot about that. America cares about the fact that there are 44,780 Americans who die every single year on account of not having health care, that's 122 every day. America sure cares a lot about that. America cares about the fact that if you have a pre-existing condition, even if you have health insurance, it's not covered. America cares about that a lot. America cares about the fact that you can get all the health care you need as long as you don't need any. America cares about that a lot. But America does not care about procedures, processes, personalities, America doesn't care about that at all." [. . .]

"Last week I held up this report here and I pointed out that in America there are 44,789 Americans that die every year according to this Harvard report published in this peer reviewed journal because they have no health insurance. That's an extra 44,789 Americans who die whose lives could be saved, and their response was to ask me for an apology." [. . .]

"Well, I'm telling you this; I will not apologize. I will not apologize. I will not apologize for a simple reason; America doesn't care about your feelings. [. . .] America does care about health care in America. And if you're against it, then get out of the way. You can lead, you can follow or you can get out of the way. [. . .] America understands that there is one party in this country that is favor of health care reform and one party that is against it, and they know why.

"They understand that if Barack Obama were somehow able to cure hunger in the world the Republicans would blame him for overpopulation. They understand that if Barack Obama could somehow bring about world peace they would blame him for destroying the defense industry. In fact, they understand that if Barack Obama has a BLT sandwich tomorrow for lunch, they will try to ban bacon.

"But that's not what America wants; America wants solutions to its problems, and that begins with health care."

New jacket!

2009-10-04T20:39:53Z

Went to Value Village today to get some cheap new-to-me slacks for work. And while I was there, I found a pair of leather shoes in my size and ... this.

Only twenty bucks, too! There's a seam with a few stiches loose in the lining, but the zipper is intact and the snap-closures don't stick.

awesome++.

(In other news, eating spaghetti with a spoon is ... less than elegant. Also, Interviewing Leather is still a great read.)

Desktop Snapshot

2009-09-29T02:27:32Z

Meme via wingywolf, shamelessly adulterated by myself:

1. Take a snapshot of your desktop. Now. No changing it!
2. Explain in no more than five sentences why you're using that wallpaper!
3. Post!

Desktop snapshot
As you can see, the icons are right-oriented as per the Macintosh convention. The image is from DeviantArt here.

Why this image? Three reasons: first, it's work-safe; second, it's low-brightness (good for late-night eye-ruining!); and three, it looks quite good.