Things I Know I Know

Several updates in one:

I got a rejection this week for a story that I thought was a sure-fire match for the market. Ah well, apparently I do not actually possess the editor's brain.

A comment in the rejection letter, ostensibly not related to the reason for rejection has gotten me thinking about culture and expectations and how things familiar to the writer can seem quite foreign to the reader even when they (writer and reader) are from the same general culture. When you write about things you expect to be unfamiliar you write about them somewhat differently, I think, than when you write about things you think are covered by common culture. But, despite the common complaint about the McDonaldization of American culture, there are things that many people have rarely seen and seldom accurately. It's good writing fodder, but you have to know how to portray the strange so it's familiar and the familiar so it's strange and it helps to know at any given moment which is which.

John Henry continues to do well. I took him out to the training building with me Sunday morning and we renumbered the agility yards. He gets around great and doesn't seem to get any more tired than he did when he had four legs to carry him around. He has totally re-learned how to spin in circles, pounce on non-existent things and chase shadows. I'm taking him in on Wednesday to see how his infection's coming and to see if chemo is still a possibility for him.

We had a big storm tonight--75 mile an hour winds--which the weather service assured us would come after midnight and not go south of Route 30 (Route 30 being a nearly impenetrable barrier for storms). It hit at 7 and definitely crossed Route 30 because I was in a building just a few hundred yards from 30 at the time. The building I was in was a steel building and the wind made the walls flex. Kind of impressive. But, as we say in the midwest, big winds mean they go through quick. And no hail, which when your car's sitting in a parking lot instead of a garage is always a good thing, though I'm pretty sure half the dirt in northern Iowa went by our window.

Posted by debco at 09:38 PM | Permalink

From The Sideshow:

Fred Hiatt wonders why there is more interest in criticizing brutal and illegal activities by agents of the US government than in criticizing the terrorists.

Calling people "terrorists" is already a criticism; it really isn't necessary to elaborate by saying that terrorists are engaging in activities that terrorize people.

The term "United States of America", however, is supposed to mean something else. If Mr. Hiatt prefers that we make direct comparisons between the two, we will have to start saying things like, "America's terrorists are not as bad as the Muslim terrorists." Then we can sit around and parse each terroristic act to see who is worse.

Posted by debco at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For the last couple of months, the search item that has brought the most people to this blog has been 'mean pitbulls,' which has taken people to this post which is actually about cute pitbulls.

I hope no one's disappointed.

Posted by debco at 09:46 AM | Permalink

Discover tells us why our brains got big:

Why did hominin brains triple in size over the past 6 million years?
William Calvin, a neurobiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, argues that it all has to do with throwing a rock. To hit the target, the brain had to coordinate such variables as muscle movements, visual images, and the weight of the stone. Only an increase in brain size could make throwing—especially over long distances—accurate, he says. That neural circuitry was able to handle other complex matters: keeping track of social relationships, planning for the future, and developing language.

But just so you don't get cocky, you should know that they're not as big as they used to be...

via BoingBoing

Posted by debco at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I got the contracts for '46 Directions, None of them North' this week from Asimov's. They have been signed and sent back and I'm very much looking forward to seeing it in print.

Boy, the tree world sure does work on a different time scale than the electric world, is all I've got to say....

Posted by debco at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So, I took John Henry to the vet school yesterday and learned all about chemotherapy which we can't start until his infection clears up. It is starting to clear up, I think, though it is not yet completely gone. He's on two antibiotics now--Clavamox and Antirobe (which for some weird reason I keep wanting to call Agitprop). The oncologist did say that there's some evidence that getting an infection after surgery actually helps (heightens the immune system) so that's, like, good news in a twisted way.

In my various visits to the vet school I've decided that if there were ever one compelling reason to train your dog when it's young and even to board it at a kennel once in a while, it's because when it gets older it might get sick. Every time I've been in the waiting room there's been some big dog barking its head off and some little dog snarling at everyone that goes by. It's stressful for the dog and it's tough on the owner. A dog that's been out a bit, that's got a bond that says, basically, 'I trust my owner to do what's right for me,' will be a lot better off in an emergency than a dog who hasn't got that. You wouldn't think 'sit' and 'stay' and 'stand' and whatever would be the keys to handling new situations, but it is. Just like going to school helps us with things we've never faced before, dogs do better the more they know.

John Henry is autistic (I don't care that that's not an official diagnosis for dogs--he really is) and he's never been a dog that I could confidently put into any situation, though he is also a loving and loyal and intelligent dog. There are things that overwhelm him. But he's been The Man at the vet school. He's been good to the staff and accepting of what's going on and waits in the waiting room, though he doesn't really relax (he also growls his cranky head off occasionally, but, you know, no one's perfect). I'm proud of him and happy that it's less stressful for him than it might be.

So, train your dog. Not competition obedience training, but puppy class or a companion class where they learn to walk on a loose lead and sit and stay and come and be around people and dogs.

Because sooner or later they're going to get sick. And it will be worth it.

Posted by debco at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was in San Antonio last week, very nice city though I suspect much of the time it would be too warm for me.

So...John Henry does have bone cancer--fibroblastic osteosarcoma. We have an appointment with the oncologist tomorrow where I should find out more, but she has told me that it is a slower progressing form of bone cancer so that is good, at least.

Right before I left for San Antonio he started bleeding (I thought) from his incision. I talked to the vet school and they thought it wasn't much to worry about (as did I, really)--he was active, eating, no fever. But then, it kept seeping...and seeping...and seeping. Finally, the woman who boards the dogs for me when I'm out of town, took him into the vet school and they put him on antibiotics and kept him there until I got back. It's still draining (a week and a half later) but some progress has been made and we've added another antibiotic to the mix so I'm hoping for it to clear up soon.

In good news, he's getting around great. He can jump in and out of the car himself (which he thinks is far preferable to having me help). He can go down and up the three steps into the house. Yesterday, through complicated circumstances tedious to relate, he ended up going down the basement stairs, which he did with great grace. Unfortunately for him the basement steps are open stairs--why I have been mostly making sure he can't go down there. So, he had a little more trouble going back up, but he did manage to make it. Though, he had to tell both Billie and I off when he got back upstairs. Made him very happy, though, going down stairs and coming back up.

Posted by debco at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

...from All I Needed to Know I Learned in Video Games, Part 1

2. Always, always be moving. This is most true in multiplayer. Don't hang around waiting, because even though you have the sniper rifle, they might have the shotgun. You're just asking to be sneaked up on. This is a great technique to apply to the office. Walking around, everyone sees that you are there, but you always look busy, on your way to doing something else. They can't pin you down to ask you to do stuff. Plus, it's just good exercise. And speaking of moving...

3. Strafe and stick to the walls. I learned this way back in Doom. Check before you pass doorways, too. Sure you look silly hugging the wall but if there's ever a crazed gunman at your school or local grocery store you'll have a much higher survival rate if you employ this technique. I should add that when possible, kick down the doors to keep your hands free for fightin...and to eliminate any potential threats that may be lurking just behind.

...via BoingBoing

Posted by debco at 02:59 PM | Permalink

When the aliens come, I hope they bring their dogs.
--Dan Moore

Posted by debco at 02:56 PM | Permalink

I have been in San Antonio all week and will do a catch up post on John Henry and San Antonio and things in general in a bit. However...

I got into the Des Moines airport last night about nine o'clock last night, picked up my car, and spend a weird amount of time not being on the right road but ending up in the right place anyway. On I-35 North out of Des Moines, I came around a curve and right in front of me--I swear to god--was a zeppelin.

Sanyo says it's more of a blimp than a zeppelin:

...We're also properly termed a blimp, an airship and even a dirigible (they all mean about the same thing), but we're not a zeppelin, which refers to the old metal airships.

How big is the blimp?
It's a BIG blimp! Our blimp is one of the largest in the world at 165 feet long, 55 feet high and 46 feet wide! Our roomy gondola holds 9 passengers plus the pilot. The giant envelope holds over 150,000 cubic feet of non-flammable helium. How big is that? You could fit nearly one million golf balls in the SANYO Lightship! The giant "SANYO" logo on the side of the envelope is 100 feet long and 32 feet high.

I say it was very big. And shiny....

Posted by debco at 06:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)