Tree update–how did Metro Parks do through the ice storm?
Flipping through Facebook last Thursday and Friday, it felt like a series of pictures of downed trees and branches. I talked to Joe Brady, Metro Parks' Natural Resource Manager, about how Metro Parks did since we, you know … have a lot of trees. Our developed parks came through it pretty well. Some downed branches, of course, but no major issues that we've discovered so far (and assessments are still ongoing). Metro Parks regularly prunes its trees in the developed parks–and by developed I mostly mean the parks with a lot of grass, playfields, Wapato Lake, Wright Park, etc.–so many Read more…
Tech thought for the day
I have a general interest in the–dare I say the word–philosophy of technology. Maybe trends is a better word than philosophy. Or just effects. Either way, I try to read a lot about what it all means and where it's going. Part of it is in relation to my work on a sci-fi novel 90 years in the future. Bu again, part of it is that I'm just interested. Previously I posted about Moore's Law, and the fact that if it holds, we can expect computers to be millions and billions of times faster than they are now. ("The Back Read more…
SOPA and PIPA
I didn't black out this blog today, but I think SOPA and PIPA and bad solutions to a trumped up problem. The SOPA and PIPA laws attempt to correct piracy in a really counterproductive way. Here's a good run-down on why that is: [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/31100268 w=500&h=283] For me personally, when I think about my books, there are worse things than having my books pirated. Like, obscurity. I have not enabled digital rights management on my books (when given the choice). I freely enabled it for as many sharing options as possible. I have willingly emailed the ebook file to book Read more…
A weekend of writing …
Mary and I headed east for a weekend in Plain, Washington. My goal was to get a lot of writing done. I figured that the snow and the quiet would motivate me. And it did! I wrote about 5,000 words this weekend, and things are really moving along. I also enjoyed the beautiful snow. We got several inches over the weekend (of course, had I known that Tacoma would get dumped on too, we probably could have just stayed here for the same experience). The snow dragon was from an afternoon trip into Leavenworth yesterday. And the colorful fiber is Read more…
RIP Reginald Hill, author of Dalziel and Pascoe mysteries
One of my favorite mystery authors, Reginald Hill, recently died at 75. His Dalziel and Pascoe series were always a treat. Funny, literary, thoughtful, compelling … they were fabulous. I didn’t read them in order, so allow me to recommend one from mid-series: Pictures of Perfection. I don’t know what it would be like to read this one first, but it’s one of my favorites of his. It’s a book that few authors could pull off: the central mystery is trying to figure out if a crime has even been committed. Reginald Hill taught me a few good things about writing Read more…
A day in front of people
If you get TVTacoma, you might see me on CityLine this week, talking about upcoming programs at City Club. We taped it this morning, and it was a lot of fun. Shortly thereafter I was a panelist at the Women’s Council of Realtors lunch, where I talked about using social media. Co-panelists included Realtor-extraordinaire Marguerite Giguere, Tessa Miller of the Business Examiner, and Matt Sweet, who handles social media for Ticor Title. We had an interesting panel discussion about good uses of blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. I mostly talked about how I used social media for the election last year Read more…
Here’s something e-books can’t do
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKVcQnyEIT8?wmode=transparent] Speaking of fun videos about books … (this one is also from the stranger)
Convenient!
This is an interesting alternative to reading newspapers online. Clicking that “next” button is so much hassle. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOMIBdM6N7Q?wmode=transparent] (via The Stranger)
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