Keris

Duple Time (UK filkcon February 2012) update

2011-10-14T14:18:54Z

Just to remind people, if they've forgotten -- Duple Time is the UK filkcon next year (2012) in February.

There will be a Progress Report out shortly, but as this will only be sent to those who have joined the convention (this is a hint, join now if you want to receive the PR!):

Hotel booking is now live on the convention web site at http://www.contabile.org.uk. The form is accessible both from the Hotel page and from the Publications page. NOTE: this and other forms open in a new window or tab (depending on your browser settings), you need to close that window or tab, not just go 'back'.

NOTE: the hotel bill is to be paid AT THE HOTEL. No deposit is needed, and hotel payment with membership will just confuse us horribly.

All of the online forms are now linked both from their relevant pages and from the Publications page. I gather that some people looked on the latter and didn't find the registration form, sorry about that.

And about that hint -- membership rates will be GOING UP shortly. It is currently 35 pounds for adult full members, 25 for adult unwaged[1], and 1 pound per year of age from 6 to 17 inclusive (1 pound for 5 years old or younger, and for things like stuffed toys). Ages are calculated when joining, so if you have children coming up to birthdays it will be cheaper to join now.

[1] 'unwaged' -- not earning a wage. Basically, not working in a job paying at least minimum wage. Full-time students are classed as unwaged, as are retired people not still in employment, long-term disabled, etc. Basically, if you would be eligible for state assistance in the UK (or would have been except from the present government) then we'll consider you unwaged (whether or not you live in a country with state aid). If in doubt, ask, we'll take your word for it. (And again, this refers to status at time of joining, we won't ask you to pay more if you get a job before the con!)
The new rates will come into force NOT BEFORE 1st November 2011. If you can't pay before then, at least register and send a note explaining the problem. Once the new rates are live on the form, those will be the rates you will be expected to pay.

We still don't have an online payment system live, so contact the con about payment. Methods include seeing me or Soir personally, direct transfer to the con account, or sending a cheque in the post. The latter is not advised, we've had problems with post not being passed on (and if it 'bounced' and there was no return address then the post office will have lost it), and sending to my home address is also not guaranteed (a fair bit of post doesn't even reach me).

For people outside the UK, membership rates are basically at cost, contact the con for current rates. To actually pay, contact the con and we'll see what we can work out (which can include, in the extreme, paying at the con).

Hope to see many of you there!

Chris C
Duple Time con chair

Barnes and Noble, Nook e-books, non-US readers

2011-10-12T08:49:04Z

So, andpuff has a new book out as an e-book, being sold by Barnes and Noble for the Nook. Great, I thought, Nook is ePub and I can read that.

So I went to the B&N site, and they let me order, and the order went through. It appeared in my library. But when I tried to download it I was told "you have ordered using an invalid credit card so you can't download" (so why didn't it tell me that when I ordered the book and before it put it in "my library"?). Checked the credit card information, nothing wrong with it (and anyway if it was blocked anywhere else would have rejected the order).

Around an hour later I get an email confirming that -- and telling me that Nook books are not available ouside the US and Canada. So why the F*** didn't they say that when I tried to order it??? They have my address which learly says United Kingdom, why are they wasting my time trying to correct a perfectly good credit card entry?

(Oh, the email does say "you have not been charged". After wasting over half an hour of my time trying to work out what was wrong and who to contact (no one, it seems), they owe me at least 20 quid for the time...)

Nowhere on their site can I see anything which says that Nook books are only available to the US and Canada. There's lots of promotion for them, no mention of geographical restrictions. Perhaps there's something hidden in a locked filing cabinet in a disused toiled in the basement, with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the leopard", but it's certainly not at all obvious. And even if it were, what bozo goes through and makes it look as though the order is accepted, even puts it in the 'library', and only rejects it after it looks OK?

Someone remind me to never try to buy from B&N again.

[ETA: message sent back to B&N]

On 12 October 2011 08:49, Barnes & Noble <authorizations@barnesandnoble.com> wrote:

Dear XXXXXX XXXXXX,

We are contacting you regarding your recent order, XXXXXXXXX. Your order has failed our authorization process therefore we are unable to process your order.

Yes, when I went to My Library to try to download it (the process seeming to accept my order) I was told that my credit card was invalid. Which it isn't, it's just not a US one.

If you received this email regarding your order for a Barnes & Noble NOOK Book or NOOK App, please be advised that these purchases are limited to those customers physically located in the United States and Canada.

Where on the site does it say that? Not when I go to the book's page (via a link). Not when I try to buy it. Not even when it goes through and (presumably) verifies my credit card. In fact, not even when I go to "My Library" and try to download it there, I am then told that the credit card was invalid (and no mention of whay I can do about it).

Every other U.S. online vendor I have used checks the credit card BEFORE accepting the order, and they can then say then if it has been rejected and not complete the order (they also generally give a contact at that point to resolve it). They say up front if a product is only available in some places.

Not B&N. You let me enter my address (with a selection from dozens of countries) with no warning that my purchases may be geographically limited.

Please be assured that you have not been charged for this order.

Oh, that's good to know. It would have been better if you had told me at the time, of course, so that I didn't then waste time trying to fid out what was wrong with my credit card.

Please inform me how to remove my account from your site, because that's not obvious either, since you evidently don't want my custom.

Avoid them like the plague...

Mississippi Personhood Amendment

2011-10-12T08:30:01Z

As zanda_myrande said, as a Brit I can't reasonably tell Americans what to do. However, as a person I can help to spread the word to those who are in a position to do something.

Incidentally, I looked this up (since it seems to be spreading as a single-source meme), and link to the page of Personhood USA about the bills they are promoting -- the Mississippi one is not the only one...

[ETA: and an article in the Huffington Post.]

Originally posted by gabrielleabelle at Mississippi Personhood Amendment
Okay, so I don't usually do this, but this is an issue near and dear to me and this is getting ~~very little~~ no attention in the mainstream media.

Mississippi is voting on November 8th on whether to pass Amendment 26, the "Personhood Amendment". This amendment would grant fertilized eggs and fetuses personhood status.

Putting aside the contentious issue of abortion, this would effectively outlaw birth control and criminalize women who have miscarriages. This is not a good thing.

Jackson Women's Health Organization is the only place women can get abortions in the entire state, and they are trying to launch a grassroots movement against this amendment. This doesn't just apply to Mississippi, though, as Personhood USA, the group that introduced this amendment, is trying to introduce identical amendments in all 50 states.

What's more, in Mississippi, this amendment is expected to pass. It even has Mississippi Democrats, including the Attorney General, Jim Hood, backing it.

The reason I'm posting this here is because I made a meager donation to the Jackson Women's Health Organization this morning, and I received a personal email back hours later - on a Sunday - thanking me and noting that I'm one of the first "outside" people to contribute.

So if you sometimes pass on political action because you figure that enough other people will do something to make a difference, make an exception on this one. My RSS reader is near silent on this amendment. I only found out about it through a feminist blog. The mainstream media is not reporting on it.

If there is ever a time to donate or send a letter in protest, this would be it.

What to do?

- Read up on it. Wake Up, Mississippi is the home of the grassroots effort to fight this amendment. Daily Kos also has a thorough story on it.

- If you can afford it, you can donate at the site's link.

- You can contact the Democratic National Committee to see why more of our representatives aren't speaking out against this.

- Like this Facebook page to help spread awareness.

(Not cut-tagged, nor restricted distribution, this deserves to be seen far and wide. Anonymous and non-friends comments are screened, however, to avoid spam.)

Music: Vivaldi

2011-09-01T08:34:32Z

Some time ago, in a BBC TV programme about the "Red Priest" Antonio Vivaldi, they featured an all-female choir (including female bass) who were performing his works in the style in which they were probably originally performed at the Ospedale della Pietà (some scholars have suggested that men were 'imported', but other records show that women took even the male parts and one in particular is referred to as being a bass).

I can't find the reference to the choir, though, and I'm wondering if anyone knows of them or other all-female choirs who perform (and record) Vivaldi's works of the period.

(I was listening to the 'Gloria' RV 589 the other day on BBC Radio 3, sung as usual by a mixed choir, and thought of this...)

Music: Classical Overtures

2011-09-01T08:23:09Z

OK, a question for music historians:

When did an 'overture' start containing tunes from the opera[1] it preceded? As far as I know, overtures in the time of Bach and Handel were just pieces of music not particularly related to the larger work following, and indeed could be used with other dramatic works or on their own, or were merely the first instrumental part of the music. By the time of Beethoven it seems that many were written for specific operas, but still didn't particularly use the tune from the opera. Wagner, however, used a lot of tunes from his operas in the appropriate overtures, a kind of foreshadowing (almost like a 'teaser' on TV showing clips from the following show), which seems to be the common form in modern music (including film music, the instrumental start to "Star Wars" is almost completely made from tunes heard later in the film).

So I'm wondering, when did this change, and who started it? Did it come in with the idea of the leitmotif? Or possibly with the change in audience behaviour (it was common in Mozart's day, for instance, that people would chatter through not only the overture but also through the performance, but later this was seen as rude behaviour).

[1] Using 'opera' in the original sense, 'work' or 'piece', rather than necessarily a sung dramatic work. Oratorios and some instrumental pieces also often had overtures (the first movement of Bach's orchestral suites, for instance, is labelled 'Overture').

Just curious, I've been wondering about it for many years...

LJ notifications gone astray?

2011-08-05T12:53:34Z

I seem to be not receiving LJ notifications of things like comments, the last one I got was at around 10:30UT yesterday (and there have been several comments on my comments and posts since then). Is anyone else seeing this?

New UK folk music site

2011-07-27T14:04:23Z

There seems to be a new site for UK folk music:

http://www.ukfolkmusic.co.uk/index.html

More of a collection of links at the moment, they have lists of musicians, traders/suppliers, venues, ceilidh bands, etc. but would like more. I notice that several people I know aren't on their lists yet so I'm giving a heads-up to people who would like more free exposure.

AKICOLJ: identify music

2011-07-17T11:08:01Z

I've had this piece on my mind for weeks. I'm certain that I've heard it lots of times on Classic FM or Radio 3, but haven't found anyone who can identify it. Very probably as soon as someone does name it I'll go 'duh!'.

I've created it as a Noteworthy file and saved as audio, with clarinet as the main tune and bassoon as an approximation to a bass harmony (it does something like that).

The MP3 file is here.

(It feels as though it might be an Ave Maria, but it's not any of the obvious ones.)

ETA: Found!
G.F. Händel - Lascia ch'io pianga

Via Musipedia, which I hadn't known before, thanks were_gopher.

Which illustrates the point made by osewalrus recently, that you don't have to know everything, knowing where to find it is just as good (and often more useful, as the referenced information may be more up to date or contain further links).

Wanted: application for doing convention programmes

2011-07-14T14:28:38Z

I'm wondering if there already is such a thing. The thing I have in mind would be a sort of graphics/GUI application. It would allow the number of days (and streams/rooms) and the time constraints to be specified as a table grid (scrollable both ways; the time (vertical) should be able to support divisions at least down to 5 minute granularity to allow for different divisions of an hour), but should then be able to specify (for instance) 15 minute periods or 20 minute or hour or whatever for laying out the grid.

The items to be run (with appropriate size rectangles) would then initially be in a 'scratchpad' area and could then be dragged to the grid in appropriate positions. If it were attempted to drop an item so that it overlapped then options should allow to cancel, move the overlapped item(s) (up or down), or to drop the overlapped item(s) back to the scatchpad for repositioning. (If the option were taken to move other options this could then produce a cascade of the same options for the moved item(s) if that would force another overlap (or as a simpler implementation would simply not allow a 'move' if there wasn't room for it).

It should also be possible to 'lock' items (and 'unlock' them) for things like fixed mealtimes or events determined by other things (for instance Doctor Who at Eastercon depends on the TV schedule, some places have catered food at hotel-specified times, etc.).

It must be possible to save it in any stable state (i.e. not necessarily with conflicts outstanding, but with events still in the sandbox). I'd be happy with an XML storage form (gzipped for space if necessary).

Output and input (export and import) should be possible from several standard formats -- Excel, Word/RTF, OpenOffice/LibreOffice, HTML, PDF, XML, tab separated (for input), etc. Although supporting some of those via an intermediate format and utility would be fine (for instance always output/save in XML and run a separate utility or utilities to produce the other formats). For 'final' formats (like PDF and HTML) there should be options to select how many columns / days per page.

And ideally it should run anywhere -- Windows (at least XP and later), Linux (with X), or on a web server. Or, if anyone wants, iPad or even a phone. Which probably means implementation in Java.

I can't write it. Well, I probably could, but it would be horrible because I'm not a GUI programmer. But someone has probably already done something like this...

'Facebook' application won't close on WinXP shutdown

2011-07-12T09:29:13Z

I've posted about this before, but got no replies.

My WinXP (SP4) machine seens to have picked up something I can't find. At shutdown/reboot it hangs with a "can't end program" box. The program is being called 'Facebook'. Now, I don't go near Facebook and certainly didn't install it intentionally (although I wouldn't put it past things like iTunes or the BBC iPlayer to install it without telling me).

But -- there seems to be no such program on the system. Nothing in the Registry, and no file anywhere with even part of the name 'facebook'. It doesn't show up in Process ~~Manager~~ Explorer. But the "end program" sees it as that name.

(Oh, and the "end program", having done a countdown warning that the program is then going to be terminated, doesn't -- it just sits at another window asking if I want to end the program or 'continue' (both actually terminate it and continue the shutdown/reboot). This is really annoying...)

I'm making this public (but screening anonymous)...

AKICOLJ: disk copying software

2011-06-24T10:00:35Z

Now, you may think that there's enough disk copying software out there that I don't need to ask (from *ix dd to Partition Magic and Parted). But they all have one big problem:

... if there is a bad sector, they stop reading!

Anyone remember the old DOS "Abort, Retry, Ignore" prompt? OK, it came up far too often, but it had that very useful feature, "ignore the error, pretend it worked and use whatever you have". Yes, you could end up with a file with a bit of corrupt data in the middle, but at least all the rest of the file (and other files) would get copied.

That feature seems to have disappeared from everything. I can't even get Linux to ignore read errors when copying. The best I've managed in the past has been to manually run dd, find out how much it has copied (and so the sector/track address) when it finds a bad sector, then restart it skipping that part (and adjusting the destination address accordingly). Very prone to error, and time-consuming.

So, that's what I'm after. A disk copying program (preferably also a partition manager, so it can do resize as well) which can handle disk read errors by ignoring the 'bad' data (setting it to all zeros or whatever). If it will produce a text file log of where it found the errors, so much the better.

Oh, and preferably in a form which can be written to a bootable CD, as booting from the disk with errors on it is not a good idea.

(For further information: the disk which is getting the bad reads is a WinXP one, and so far the only errors reported have been in the swap area -- which of course is cleaned on reboot so I don't care what is corrupted in the copying.)

Why do we work?

2011-06-18T08:19:40Z

This video explains some of it, with some surprising (at least to many economists and managers) results about how financial rewards aren't always productive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=player_embedded

Attention anyone flying to DFDF

2011-05-23T07:53:38Z

It seems there's been another Icelandic eruption, ash cloud may reach UK by Tuesday. No information about flights yet, of course, but there "may be disruption".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13498477

Signal boost: Filker In Need: Joe Bethancourt

2011-05-10T10:37:34Z

Via osewalrus here:

Some of you may be familiar with Joe Bethancourt, also known in the SCA as Master Ioseph of Locksely. Unfortunately, Joe and his wife Cher have suffered a terrible tragedy. A fire has burned down their home. They saved their pets and Joe's musical instruments, but lost everything else.

The musical community associated with AMAZ radio online is putting together a benefit concert for the Bethancourts. If anyone would like to donate to help Ioseph and Cher they may do so at the
AMAZ Radio web site: http://www.amazradio.org/

Please feel free to signal boost and distribute on all appropriate SCA and filk related lists.

More on e-reading

2011-04-21T11:51:04Z

So I downloaded a load of books and put them on the e-reader yesterday evening (Sony PRS-650 for those not keeping up with the game at home). First impressions:

For me it won't replace paper books. It's an additional way to read books, not a replacement. Just as I often buy the hardback for keeping, and then buy a MMPB for easy of taking it (or several) with me when travelling (sometimes the other way round, when I pick up the MMPB first and then buy the HB for keeping), this is just another and easier way of doing it.

The eInk is a lot kinder on my eyes than LED/LCD illuminated screens. I read a short story (equivalent of around 8-9 chapters of a novel, or about what I would normally read in bed before turning out the light) with no more strain than with a MMPB. Weight and size of the reader are comparable to a MMPB, it's slightly wider, a lot thinner, but denser.

Some eBooks don't allow size changes. Yes, D, I'm looking at you! Fortunately I'm finding the font is about right for me (I'd guess around 11pt on this device), but not friendly to people with sight issues...

'Swiping' to turn a page I find very natural, much more than using a button on the side. Although there is an oddity with my use of it. By default it is set up so that to go to the next page you swipe left, the same way as you'd turn a page. However, I find this completely counter-intuitive (indeed, for a while I couldn't work out why it kept going back to the first page after I'd used the button to go forward). I found out why -- when I turn a page of a paper book, I first slide my hand to the right (along the page surface) to find the right-hand edge (usually top RH corner, in fact), and bringing my hand back to turn the page my hand is only in contact with that edge/corner not the surface.

So, I easily found a setting letting me reverse the turn controls, which implies that they do expect people to use it. But my question now is:

When other people turn pages while reading paper books, do they go straight to the edge of the page? Or do they do the same as I do and 'find' the edge by running the hand (finger/thumb) along it? And does this carry over to e-readers? Is this a kinaesthesia thing, some people not neding to 'find' the edge?

Discuss...

Music from Earth and Space

2011-04-10T19:19:04Z

NASA astronaut Cady Coleman plays flute in the ISS, with Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson playing on Earth, in a duet of the 'Bourée' (Bach arr. Jethro Tull) to honour Yuri Gagarin.

Link to YouTube video.

I'm sure Bach would approve...

(Thanks to redaxe for the pointer.)

More on radiation

2011-03-28T08:43:39Z

We should stop running away from radiation

Professor (retired) Wade Allison, who is a nuclear and medical physicist at the University of Oxford, points out some more real figures about radiation and nuclear 'disasters'. For instance, the number of dead from Three Mile Island: none. Number of dead from Chernobyl: 28 among the emergency workers, 15 cases of fatal child thyroid cancer (which would have been averted if iodine tablets had been available). Number of dead from the chemical leak at Union Carbide in 1984: 3800.

Chernobyl was the worst because a badly designed system released all it's radioactive iodine and caesium in the initial explosion. Even at the time none of the reactors in the west were that badly designed, and certainly all of the current ones are a lot safer (the recent ones far safer than the Fukushima ones, which were nearing their end of life).

Oh, and that report that the Fukushima reactor had radiation "10 million times normal" (whatever that means)? It was out by a factor of 100 (i.e. 100 times larger than the real value). Some of the media have actually reported the error, but mostly in much smaller headlines than the original...

Oh, read the article. And his book, written two years ago (note: that link works for me, and directs to being able to read the first few pages of the book, please let me know if it doesn't work for others).

[ETA 2011-03-28T14:25:30]

The Register has another article about the non-story and how the scaremongers are trying to find anything at all to justify it. Like radiation being detected "all round the world", yes there has been time now for winds to carry minute amounts most of the way round the world, and yes there are instruments sensitive enough to detect the minute percentage increase from the normal level, but it's not exactly going to do anyone any harm.

Fukushima's toxic legacy: Ignorance and fear

2011-03-23T14:21:17Z

I can't do better than quote the title of the actual article from The Register. Oh, and its subtitle:

Hysteria rages unchecked as minor incident winds down

I see that the media are still pushing the "Oh, panic, there's radiation" scare stories. Yes, there is -- and if you eat a few bananas then you'll get about as much as you would get in a day 20 miles from any of the Japanese reactors. (I generally eat a banana a day or so.) As for the Americans buying up iodine in case some miniscule bit of the wrong isotope gets there (it can't, the stuff has a half-life of 8 days and it would take a lot longer to get across the Pacific)...

You want a dangerous power source? Try wind power. Or the millions killed by pollution from coal and oil. Or the ones killed in domestic gas 'accidents' and refinery fires.

Go on, read it. Or go to the sources and find the statistics.

A Chicken of Benghazi -- signal boost

2011-03-21T11:08:30Z

Signal boost: for those who are fascinated by chicken behaviour.

A Chicken of Benghazi on Diane Duane's blog.

Because it's true

2011-02-09T18:48:39Z

If there is one person or more on your friends list who makes your world a better place just because they exist and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.

Several, actually. Especially since my use of "the Internet" goes back to Usenet and email before net.September so there are people I have known for almost 20 years through packets over the net and through modems. Some I have met IRL, some I never will, and people I have met via them, and some I know only by repute but who were responsible for influencing those I know in person via the net.

UK Filkcon 2012

2011-02-07T20:59:11Z

Just to make it official, as a few people have mentioned it already:

The UK national filk convention for 2012 will be

Duple Time 2/4

(A Well Tempered Con)

at the Grantham Ramada Hotel, Grantham, UK (same place as the last few UK filkcons) from Friday 3rd February to Sunday 5th February.

Guests:
Mary Crowell (US)
Lissa Allcock (UK)

Cost (for a few weeks, then it will go up):

Adult waged: UKP 32
Adult unwaged: UKP 24
Child (6 <= age <= 17): UKP 1 per year of age (so from UKP 6 to UKP 17)
Infant (under 6) / toy: UKP 1

Note that for age-related prices this will be the age at time of joining.

The costs above will be held until at least two weeks after online signup and payment go live (we hope; definitely until the end of February 2011). Prices will probably rise again nearer the con -- buy early, buy often!

http://www.contabile.org.uk (currently a simple placeholder -- thanks Mike! -- until I get more stuff on it, so bookmark it and check back occasionally)

Books read in 2010

2011-01-02T09:04:57Z

This is a list of books I've read in 2010 (read for fun, that is, not for work or study). Unlike previous attempts, I'm keeping this simple, previous lists have foundered because I tried to do too much (write a summary, for instance, and do links). Date finished, title, author(s), and optionally 'RR' for a book I've re-read. It can probably be assumed that any book I don't otherwise mark is SF or Fantasy.

Series abbreviation time again:

CoW: Chronicles of Westria. The first two books were published together in the edition I have, so I'm recording them as 1a and 1b because the next volume calls itself number 2, but they were supposed to be separate books so I'm recording them separately. Got that? Confused yet? You will be...
PL: Paladin's Legacy. This trilogy follows on from the Deed of Paksenarrion.
PC: Peter Crossman stories.
TO: A Time Odyssey.
DC: Detective Chen (SF/Fantasy/Mystery).
WotO: Women of the Otherworld.

All entries are under cut-tags, apparently the 'pre' formatted text breaks some people's friend lists.


Previously posted:

   Date                     Title                       Author(s)
2010-01-02      The Traveller                           John Twelve Hawks
2010-01-05  RR  Point of Honor                          Dorothy J. Heydt
2010-01-07      Halfling Moon       (Liaden Chapbook)   Sharon Lee + Steve Miller
2010-01-14      Halting State                           Charles Stross
2010-01-19      Moon Flights                            Elizabeth Moon
2010-01-23      Saturn's Children                       Charles Stross
2010-01-27      Maine Quartet                           Thomas A. Easton
2010-01-31  RR  The Green Hills of Earth                Robert A. Heinlein
2010-02-04  RR  Sweet Danger            (detective)     Margery Allingham
2010-02-05  RR  Misfits             (Liaden Chapbook)   Sharon Lee + Steve Miller
2010-02-10  RR  The Mind Readers        (detective)     Margery Allingham
2010-02-15  RR  Glide Path              (non-SF)        Arthur C. Clarke
2010-02-19  RR  The Seeds of Time                       John Wyndham
2010-02-24      Destroyer of Worlds                     Larry Niven + Edward M Lerner
2010-02-28      Lady of Light           (CoW-1a)        Diana L. Paxson
2010-03-05      Lady of Darkness        (CoW-1b)        Diana L. Paxson
2010-03-12      Oath of Fealty          (PL-1)          Elizabeth Moon
2010-03-16      The Apocalypse Door     (PC)            James D Macdonald
2010-03-21      Land of Mist and Snow                   Debra Doyle + James D Macdonald
2010-03-26      Firstborn               (TO)            Arthur C Clarke + Stephen Baxter
2010-03-29      The Confessions of Peter Crossman (PC)  Debra Doyle + James D Macdonald
2010-04-07      Phases                                  Elizabeth Moon
2010-04-11      A Local Habitation (ARC)                Seanan McGuire
2010-04-16      The Babel Effect                        Daniel Hecht
2010-04-18  RR  Fledgling                               Sharon Lee + Steve Miller
2010-04-20      Saltation                               Sharon Lee + Steve Miller
2010-04-23      The Ship Errant                         Jody Lynn Nye
2010-04-30      Banner of Souls                         Liz Williams
2010-05-08      Snake Agent                 (DC-1)      Liz Williams
2010-05-14      A Wizard of Mars                        Diane Duane
2010-05-16  RR  Job                                     Robert A Heinlein
2010-05-25      Nine Layers of Sky                      Liz Williams
2010-05-31      Feed                                    Mira Grant
2010-06-05      Bitten                      (WotO-1)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-06-10      Stolen                      (WotO-2)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-06-12  RR  Scout's Progress                        Sharon Lee + Steve Miller
2010-06-14      Mouse and Dragon                        Sharon Lee + Steve Miller
2010-06-16      Dime Store Magic            (WotO-3)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-06-22      The Enchantment Emporium                Tanya Huff
2010-06-27      Industrial Magic            (WotO-4)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-07-02      Haunted                     (WotO-5)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-07-05      Broken                      (WotO-6)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-07-10      The Demon and the City      (DC-2)      Liz Williams
2010-07-16      Red Hood's Revenge                      Jim C. Hines
2010-07-18      No Humans Involved          (WotO-7)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-07-23      Personal Demon              (WotO-8)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-07-30      Living With The Dead        (WotO-9)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-08-07      Lincoln's Sword                         Debra Doyle + James D Macdonald
2010-08-14      Snake Agent                 (DC-3)      Liz Williams
2010-08-21  RR  The Apocalypse Troll                    David Weber
2010-08-31  RR  In Fury Born                            David Weber
2010-09-05      SALAK: Blood On Bookwalk                Janet M. Warner
2010-09-16      Guardians of Paradise                   Jayne Fenn
2010-09-26      SALAK to RHA: Betwixt and Between       Janet M. Warner
2010-10-02      An Artificial Night                     Seanan McGuire
2010-10-03  RR  Manalone                                Colin Kapp
2010-10-10      Omnitopia Dawn                          Diane Duane
2010-10-17      RAINBY to SALAK: Bracelets, Bells       Janet M. Warner
                                 and Dragon Dice
2010-10-31      The Cipher                              Diana Pharaoh Francis
2010-11-12      Shadow Pavillion            (DC-4)      Liz Williams
2010-11-17      Carousel Tides                          Sharon Lee
2010-11-20      Grants Pass                             Ed. Jennifer Brozek + Amanda Pillar
2010-11-28      Frostbitten                 (WotO-10)   Kelley Armstrong


Newly read (since the previous posting of this list):

   Date                     Title                       Author(s)
2010-12-02  RR  Counterfeit World                       Daniel F Galouye
2010-12-09      Men of the Otherworld       (WotO-11)   Kelley Armstrong
2010-12-15      Tales of the Otherworld     (WotO-11)   Kelley Armstrong
2010-12-20      CANIS MAJOR to RAINBY: The Carraway Connection
                                                        Janet M Warner
2010-12-23      Flash Forward                           Robert J Sawyer
2010-12-31      Null-A Continuum                        John C Wright

( Books read in 2009 )

( Books read in 2008 )

Adventures in electronics

2010-12-11T16:40:08Z

So for the RAE Intermediate exam I need to build a circuit. Since they don't allow valves (radio tubes) these days (the whippersnappers don't understand them) the easiest thing is a little kit from Maplin. Well, it's easiest if one has actually built something within, say, the last 15 years...

So first to find the tools. Soldering iron, check. Solder, check. Cutting thing, check. Oscilloscope, check. Scope probes -- uhoh. I was going to Maplin anyway...

Having got the stuff I need, it then took me half an hour to work out how to plug in, use and calibrate the scope. It's an Tektronics 2211 digital scope, probably 25 years old or so, but still seems to work fine once I'd worked out the controls. Manual? I don't think I ever had one...

And then I took a break to watch "The Sky at Night"...

And... it worked first time! OK, my soldering is not the neatest, and I also used the multimeter to check for unintended shorts, and I used the scope to see that the 555 was oscilating befor fitting the final transistors, but that's exactly the way I program as well, test in small sections as I go. I even took pictures (rather fuzzy ones):

Original square wave:

Square wave integrated:

'Triangle' wave (a bit rounded!):

Sine wave not bad):

Books read in 2010

2010-12-01T01:18:24Z

Series abbreviation time again:</br>

CoW: Chronicles of Westria. The first two books were published together in the edition I have, so I'm recording them as 1a and 1b because the next volume calls itself number 2, but they were supposed to be separate books so I'm recording them separately. Got that? Confused yet? You will be...
PL: Paladin's Legacy. This trilogy follows on from the Deed of Paksenarrion.
PC: Peter Crossman stories.
TO: A Time Odyssey.
DC: Detective Chen (SF/Fantasy/Mystery).
WotO: Women of the Otherworld.

All entries are under cut-tags, apparently the 'pre' formatted text breaks some people's friend lists.


Previously posted:

   Date                     Title                       Author(s)
2010-01-02      The Traveller                           John Twelve Hawks
2010-01-05  RR  Point of Honor                          Dorothy J. Heydt
2010-01-07      Halfling Moon       (Liaden Chapbook)   Sharon Lee + Steve Miller
2010-01-14      Halting State                           Charles Stross
2010-01-19      Moon Flights                            Elizabeth Moon
2010-01-23      Saturn's Children                       Charles Stross
2010-01-27      Maine Quartet                           Thomas A. Easton
2010-01-31  RR  The Green Hills of Earth                Robert A. Heinlein
2010-02-04  RR  Sweet Danger            (detective)     Margery Allingham
2010-02-05  RR  Misfits             (Liaden Chapbook)   Sharon Lee + Steve Miller
2010-02-10  RR  The Mind Readers        (detective)     Margery Allingham
2010-02-15  RR  Glide Path              (non-SF)        Arthur C. Clarke
2010-02-19  RR  The Seeds of Time                       John Wyndham
2010-02-24      Destroyer of Worlds                     Larry Niven + Edward M Lerner
2010-02-28      Lady of Light           (CoW-1a)        Diana L. Paxson
2010-03-05      Lady of Darkness        (CoW-1b)        Diana L. Paxson
2010-03-12      Oath of Fealty          (PL-1)          Elizabeth Moon
2010-03-16      The Apocalypse Door     (PC)            James D Macdonald
2010-03-21      Land of Mist and Snow                   Debra Doyle + James D Macdonald
2010-03-26      Firstborn               (TO)            Arthur C Clarke + Stephen Baxter
2010-03-29      The Confessions of Peter Crossman (PC)  Debra Doyle + James D Macdonald
2010-04-07      Phases                                  Elizabeth Moon
2010-04-11      A Local Habitation (ARC)                Seanan McGuire
2010-04-16      The Babel Effect                        Daniel Hecht
2010-04-18  RR  Fledgling                               Sharon Lee + Steve Miller
2010-04-20      Saltation                               Sharon Lee + Steve Miller
2010-04-23      The Ship Errant                         Jody Lynn Nye
2010-04-30      Banner of Souls                         Liz Williams
2010-05-08      Snake Agent                 (DC-1)      Liz Williams
2010-05-14      A Wizard of Mars                        Diane Duane
2010-05-16  RR  Job                                     Robert A Heinlein
2010-05-25      Nine Layers of Sky                      Liz Williams
2010-05-31      Feed                                    Mira Grant
2010-06-05      Bitten                      (WotO-1)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-06-10      Stolen                      (WotO-2)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-06-12  RR  Scout's Progress                        Sharon Lee + Steve Miller
2010-06-14      Mouse and Dragon                        Sharon Lee + Steve Miller
2010-06-16      Dime Store Magic            (WotO-3)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-06-22      The Enchantment Emporium                Tanya Huff
2010-06-27      Industrial Magic            (WotO-4)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-07-02      Haunted                     (WotO-5)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-07-05      Broken                      (WotO-6)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-07-10      The Demon and the City      (DC-2)      Liz Williams
2010-07-16      Red Hood's Revenge                      Jim C. Hines
2010-07-18      No Humans Involved          (WotO-7)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-07-23      Personal Demon              (WotO-8)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-07-30      Living With The Dead        (WotO-9)    Kelley Armstrong
2010-08-07      Lincoln's Sword                         Debra Doyle + James D Macdonald
2010-08-14      Snake Agent                 (DC-3)      Liz Williams
2010-08-21  RR  The Apocalypse Troll                    David Weber
2010-08-31  RR  In Fury Born                            David Weber
2010-09-05      SALAK: Blood On Bookwalk                Janet M. Warner
2010-09-16      Guardians of Paradise                   Jayne Fenn
2010-09-26      SALAK to RHA: Betwixt and Between       Janet M. Warner
2010-10-02      An Artificial Night                     Seanan McGuire
2010-10-03  RR  Manalone                                Colin Kapp
2010-10-10      Omnitopia Dawn                          Diane Duane
2010-10-17      RAINBY to SALAK: Bracelets, Bells       Janet M. Warner
                                 and Dragon Dice
2010-10-31      The Cipher                              Diana Pharaoh Francis


Newly read (since the previous posting of this list):

   Date                     Title                       Author(s)
2010-11-12      Shadow Pavillion            (DC-4)      Liz Williams
2010-11-17      Carousel Tides                          Sharon Lee
2010-11-20      Grants Pass                             Ed. Jennifer Brozek + Amanda Pillar
2010-11-28      Frostbitten                 (WotO-10)   Kelley Armstrong

( Books read in 2009 )

( Books read in 2008 )

Writer's Block: Stay Fashionable in Winter Weather

2010-11-09T20:12:19Z

Fashionable? What's that? I don't do fashion.

If it gets cold -- like, say, ice is in its proper state as a solid -- I'll put on a jacket. Snow is ice in almost it's proper state, and can be fun but may not justify a jacket, especially if I'm moving around. If it's wet I have a problem -- wear a coat and get wet from the inside because I'm too hot, or not and get wet with molten ice? I'll generally choose the molten ice.

The one exception with temperatures over 273K is that my fingers feel the chill, I have poor circulation. But that's another problem, if I wear gloves I get too hot. Do they make gloveless fingers, like they do fingerless gloves?