...except for me, naturally. I woke up around 10:45 last night, and felt like I'd been asleep a long time. I think I'd just conked so quickly that it felt like that. Got up early, as ever.
The boys enjoyed their Christmas; B1 said "I wish today would never end." which was sweet and sad. I told him he'd have many more good Christmases to come. B1 still believes in Santa Claus. B2 wanted there to be more presents under my tree, but I'd stuck with getting the boys three presents each, with three that were shared between them, too, for a total of nine gifts. I thought that was plenty. But I can't compete by myself with Exene's family, who pile on the giftage -- I mean, it's 5:1 odds against me, there, peoplewise! I'm sure Exene's sister and mom went over the top on gifting. I got a glimpse when I picked up the boys. The boys enjoyed what I got'em, but I just didn't get'em as much as their relatives did, I guess.
We had a white Christmas, which was pretty. Not as idyllic as the snow of the other day, which was very picturesque. But it was nice enough.
I took advantage of Exene having the boys Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning to finish the editing of the third book I'm trying to sell. I'm going to get that out the door this week. All part of increasing the odds, getting the product out the door! After that, not sure what I'll work on next. I have to take stock, see what I should work on next. It's all about getting the books out that I can get out the quickest, rather than the drafts that require more massaging to get finalized. It's nice to have that much material to fall back on, however, to be in the position of having to choose what to send out the door, and having more, rather than less material.
Some SF ideas that I've had in my head awhile are bouncing around in there, and I may indulge them sooner or later. I'm trying to eat my broccoli, writing-wise, and handle the business side of things, instead of diving into the fun of working on a new piece.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Magno
On a whim, playing HALF-LIFE 2, I took Dog's toy, a defused magnetic mine, along with me, just to see how far I could take it. The magnetic mines are kind of cute, bouncing along, pursuing you. This one, which I dubbed "Magno," became a kind of pet and/or sidekick for me on the game for awhile, bringing unanticipated benefits -- sure, Magno could be used as a deadly projectile by the zero point energy projector (aka, "Gravity Gun"), and would wander back to you in its bumbling way.
It served as a great headcrab-squisher, as if you weren't in the area (since it always tries to come back to you), it'll track after anything else moving in an area, and it proved excellent at chasing down and squishing headcrabs.
What's more, lobbing Magno into a zombie area worked like hotcakes, as the zombies would fixate on Magno, trying futilely to pummel it, leaving you alone -- basic zombiebait. I'd lob Magno at them, and it'd roll right up to the zombies, fully occupying them.
Then I'd just snipe at the zombies until they were gone, then pick Magno back up again and move on. The one liability with Magno is that if it got anywhere near fire or explosions, it would blow up, too. Otherwise, Magno was very useful, and it was great fun watching it go after enemies.
I managed to take it through Ravenholm, where it was a huge help, and even (after some effort) found a way to get it to Father Grigori, who didn't know what to make of Magno, and would shoot at it. The Ravenholm linkup was a bit of a challenge, as there was some kind of programming firewall that kept Magno from accompanying me all the way in the gondola -- it would be repelled by something midway through. However, I was able to launch Magno into Father Grigori's "parish" (hahah, "perish") and know it got there successfully by Grigori shooting at it with his shotgun.
Magno was a huge asset against the mass of cemetery zombies, as they just dogpiled the chirpy mine. I had to move Magno to the fenced-off area that advances you to the next level, just because of all the fire and explosions that occur in the main area. But with Magno happily bouncing behind the fencing, the zombies just piled up there, trying to get at it, making them prime targets.
I took Magno with me down into the mine, actually dropping it ahead of time, since that mine is packed with all types of headcrabs. It's normally a pretty horrifying place to be, but with Magno chasing after irate headcrabs, "Benny Hill"-style, it was amusing. The fast headcrabs would gesture in irritation, too, clearly trying to come to terms with their tormentor.
Sadly, I couldn't take Magno with me the entire way, because magnetic mines explode when they come into contact with water, and there's an area in the mine where you have to swim through a flooded part of the mine in order to escape, and if Magno goes beneath the water, it detonates. I couldn't find a way around that, so I left Magno in the main part of the mine, to chase down headcrabs and squish'em.
At least other Lambda operatives could find aid from Magno, if they got down there. I hated to leave it behind, since I wanted to ultimately return it to Dog, hadn't counted on it being so useful in the game.
Magno had no problem squishing even the big toxic headcrabs.
It served as a great headcrab-squisher, as if you weren't in the area (since it always tries to come back to you), it'll track after anything else moving in an area, and it proved excellent at chasing down and squishing headcrabs.
See? Zombies that would normally
be going after me are busy with Magno!
be going after me are busy with Magno!
What's more, lobbing Magno into a zombie area worked like hotcakes, as the zombies would fixate on Magno, trying futilely to pummel it, leaving you alone -- basic zombiebait. I'd lob Magno at them, and it'd roll right up to the zombies, fully occupying them.
Magno fucking up a toxic headcrab.
Then I'd just snipe at the zombies until they were gone, then pick Magno back up again and move on. The one liability with Magno is that if it got anywhere near fire or explosions, it would blow up, too. Otherwise, Magno was very useful, and it was great fun watching it go after enemies.
You can just make out Magno in this mass of zombies.
I managed to take it through Ravenholm, where it was a huge help, and even (after some effort) found a way to get it to Father Grigori, who didn't know what to make of Magno, and would shoot at it. The Ravenholm linkup was a bit of a challenge, as there was some kind of programming firewall that kept Magno from accompanying me all the way in the gondola -- it would be repelled by something midway through. However, I was able to launch Magno into Father Grigori's "parish" (hahah, "perish") and know it got there successfully by Grigori shooting at it with his shotgun.
Father Grigori (l) clearly flummoxed by Magno.
Magno was a huge asset against the mass of cemetery zombies, as they just dogpiled the chirpy mine. I had to move Magno to the fenced-off area that advances you to the next level, just because of all the fire and explosions that occur in the main area. But with Magno happily bouncing behind the fencing, the zombies just piled up there, trying to get at it, making them prime targets.
A moment in the gondola, before Magno gets repelled.
I took Magno with me down into the mine, actually dropping it ahead of time, since that mine is packed with all types of headcrabs. It's normally a pretty horrifying place to be, but with Magno chasing after irate headcrabs, "Benny Hill"-style, it was amusing. The fast headcrabs would gesture in irritation, too, clearly trying to come to terms with their tormentor.
Magno, last seen in the mine at Ravenholm.
Note the dead headcrabs (r).
Note the dead headcrabs (r).
Sadly, I couldn't take Magno with me the entire way, because magnetic mines explode when they come into contact with water, and there's an area in the mine where you have to swim through a flooded part of the mine in order to escape, and if Magno goes beneath the water, it detonates. I couldn't find a way around that, so I left Magno in the main part of the mine, to chase down headcrabs and squish'em.
Magno gets in a Fast Zombie scrum, driving'em bananas.
At least other Lambda operatives could find aid from Magno, if they got down there. I hated to leave it behind, since I wanted to ultimately return it to Dog, hadn't counted on it being so useful in the game.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Snow Globe
It snowed last night, like a proper snowstorm, and looked lovely. We didn't get too much snow -- maybe three inches fell? But it was idyllic, the big, fluffy flakes. Lovely stuff. I asked the boys if they wanted to go to Zoo Lights last night, but they both balked -- B2 even ran and put his PJs on, and said "See? I'm in my jammies!"
I'm revising one of the fantasy novels, which was around 82,000 words long; while doing so, I compared it with another draft of it that was 113,000 words long, and I decided to mine that larger version and put that stuff into the draft I'm working on, so I added around 27,000 more words to the book, making it around 108,000 words long, which is a nicely-sized fantasy novel. I think it'll work better at that length. I think I had dropped the size of it in the past because one character in the story kind of upstages the hero of it, and I didn't want that to happen, but there were a lot of good sections in that longer draft that I decided to incorporate, anyway. I'll make those work.
The boys are definitely psyched about Christmas, of course. And B1's birthday is right after the new year starts, so I always have double duty, giftwise. After that, things should settle down markedly. It's kind of amazing to think that Christmas is nearly here, and 2010 is nearly over. Lordy, it went by quickly.
I'm revising one of the fantasy novels, which was around 82,000 words long; while doing so, I compared it with another draft of it that was 113,000 words long, and I decided to mine that larger version and put that stuff into the draft I'm working on, so I added around 27,000 more words to the book, making it around 108,000 words long, which is a nicely-sized fantasy novel. I think it'll work better at that length. I think I had dropped the size of it in the past because one character in the story kind of upstages the hero of it, and I didn't want that to happen, but there were a lot of good sections in that longer draft that I decided to incorporate, anyway. I'll make those work.
The boys are definitely psyched about Christmas, of course. And B1's birthday is right after the new year starts, so I always have double duty, giftwise. After that, things should settle down markedly. It's kind of amazing to think that Christmas is nearly here, and 2010 is nearly over. Lordy, it went by quickly.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Leggo, Lego!
Lego's Minifigures are super-cute, but it's such a ripoff. I like this one...
The license plate is a nice touch. And this one is great, too, and comes with two additional mime heads, with different expressions, like a happy mime head, sad mime head, frantic mime head...
They're great, but Lego's got them way, way overpriced, the Danish bastards! So, I won't be getting any anytime soon, but they are cute.
The license plate is a nice touch. And this one is great, too, and comes with two additional mime heads, with different expressions, like a happy mime head, sad mime head, frantic mime head...
They're great, but Lego's got them way, way overpriced, the Danish bastards! So, I won't be getting any anytime soon, but they are cute.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Christmas Commando
I am a Christmas commando. Exene hadn't had the boys since, what, Tuesday of last week (she'd had stomach flu Friday, and balked at having the boys over, which I can't blame her for that), so I had been minding the boys since Wednesday, and so today is one of the only days I have this week to actually do any proper Christmas-stuff. I'd already gotten the boys their gifts, by and large, although I'd wanted to get a few more things, just for coverage. I don't believe in overgifting for Christmas -- in my view 3-4 gifts each is plenty for the kids (not counting stockings). So, I had four gifts for B1, three gifts for B2, and three "combo" gifts for both of the boys. That'll do'em just fine (especially since Exene's family is trekking to the city once again to dutifully drop presents off -- tough gig, I know. Were I still in the yoke, I'd be driving to the Outlaws with Exene snoozing in the car. But I'm not -- YAY!) Anyway, everything's wrapped and hidden away -- I love that I have a perfect hiding place in the closet for the gifts, and the boys never would even think to look there -- B1 because it'd violate his sense of fair play to even look for presents, and B2 because he doesn't realize that there's a perfectly good cubby in the master closet for gifts -- muahaha!)
Anyway, glad to have that all locked down, well in advance of the holiday. I never do last-minute shopping; not my style. But not having to worry about that stuff makes it even better. Especially since, with B1 on vacation, now, I only had a window of opportunity today/tonight to get that stuff all handled, because the boys would immediately suss out any Christmas stuff, if they saw it! Bahah!
Mission accomplished. Now I can relax, coast right up to Christmas. Exene's got Christmas Eve this year, since her family's in town; I'm getting Christmas Day. Important to note that, since next year, I'm sooo getting Christmas Eve.
Anyway, glad to have that all locked down, well in advance of the holiday. I never do last-minute shopping; not my style. But not having to worry about that stuff makes it even better. Especially since, with B1 on vacation, now, I only had a window of opportunity today/tonight to get that stuff all handled, because the boys would immediately suss out any Christmas stuff, if they saw it! Bahah!
Mission accomplished. Now I can relax, coast right up to Christmas. Exene's got Christmas Eve this year, since her family's in town; I'm getting Christmas Day. Important to note that, since next year, I'm sooo getting Christmas Eve.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Vae Victis
I was amused by some of these Overwatch chaps I dispatched in "Half-Life 2" -- their poses...
Nice stretch, right? Flexible fellow.
This fellow I managed to pin to the billboard with a crossbow shot to the neck, and was amused to see him hanging there, since I'd only expected him to fall, not to hang there.
This guy could make the Rockettes envious.
Nice stretch, right? Flexible fellow.
This fellow I managed to pin to the billboard with a crossbow shot to the neck, and was amused to see him hanging there, since I'd only expected him to fall, not to hang there.
This guy could make the Rockettes envious.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Days of Future Past
This piece irks me, for many reasons...
http://www.salon.com/books/fiction/index.html?story=/books/feature/2010/12/16/21st_century_science_fiction
SF didn't run out of things to say; it's just that people stopped paying attention to it.
http://www.salon.com/books/fiction/index.html?story=/books/feature/2010/12/16/21st_century_science_fiction
SF didn't run out of things to say; it's just that people stopped paying attention to it.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Sickies
B1 is sick with stomach flu; I got a call from Exene this morning, asking to come get B1, that he'd been up sick most of the night with stomach flu. Poor guy. I called him in sick from school. I've got the boys for the next few days, so that'll at least give'em a fighting chance, TLC-wise.
B2 hasn't shown any signs, yet (or he may have had it the other day, since Exene told me that he'd been sick the other day). So, hopefully he's over it, since I'd not like to have two sick boys at the same time. I'll handle it, whatever comes along.
B2 hasn't shown any signs, yet (or he may have had it the other day, since Exene told me that he'd been sick the other day). So, hopefully he's over it, since I'd not like to have two sick boys at the same time. I'll handle it, whatever comes along.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Birch Barking
C-c-cold
Way cold today, although, thankfully, not windy. But still, chilly, Chicago-style.
Worked hard this morning, crafting synopses and outlines for one of the books.
Mostly what I was up to today, just because it was a hunker-down chilly kind of day.
Worked hard this morning, crafting synopses and outlines for one of the books.
Mostly what I was up to today, just because it was a hunker-down chilly kind of day.
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