279. Tech Problems at NaNoWriMo-Waah!

We knew this might happen.

The tech gurus at the Office of Letters and Light (OLL) closed down the Nanowrimo site about September 21, with a promise to re-open on October 1.

Then they did a little shifty sleight of hand and re-opened early. Cheers!

But they warned us that, come October 1, when the hordes of writers from around the world came thundering back, the site might crash.

And lo--the site is down. The message says the site is currently overloaded.

But it's worse than that. While Nanowrimo was officially locked down, some of us were hanging around the forums at Script Frenzy (that other OLL project). And now it, too, has crashed. Leaving all of us nanowrimo fans homeless, without even a place to go to discuss what's happening, and in limbo as to our calls of distress.

Not to mention all the unanswered forum questions. It's like sitting in the dark (figuratively speaking).

97. SPLICE--A Nifty Music tool

So I don't know how to do the whole video thing. I don't even yet have a video camera, although my digital camera has a video icon on it (and I don't even know why!). I'm a Luddite at heart. But I'm a curious Luddite. So while I was looking for something totally different, I ran across this, and thought--wow, that's neat. It appeals to me, the lawyer, because it offers a legal way to add music to your videos. And it just seems technologically easy and cool. So I share, for those who might benefit from it. A video explains "Splice":





UPDATE 3/5/2008--that video no longer works, but this one does.

45. Another great invention-$100 laptop

Wow! Those men and women at MIT are amazing. Working on a concept for a $100 laptop to help educate the children of the world, they've come up with this.

Read more here: MITProject

And consider its possible impact on the entire publishing industry: TechnologyReview

44. Great Inventions

You can read my book review of THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick in this Friday's Variety. I'll link to it here when it comes out. ANewInvention

The book is fabulous. It tells the story a boy--orphaned, working as a timekeeper in a train station, and stealing parts to fix an automaton that will write. The boy, Hugo Cabret, believes the writing automaton has an important message for him, possibly from Hugo's father.

The story captures the mystery and intensity of a boy alone in a larger world. It also reminds us of a time when mechanical marvels were thought to be magical (that's almost the way I view how my computer works now!).

So here's a look at some old time mechanical marvels.

An 18th century French writing doll.



And a look inside at how it works.




And a 19th century doll writing kanji.



And if you want to understand how it works, here's a little article explaining the mechanical principles. Automatons

You can see a small sample of the variety of automatons at this gallery . And see a picture of yet another writing automaton here: Renee's

And if you want to read more, or make your own, here's a place to get more books and tools. AmazonHasEverything

But if you don't want to spend money, you can get a quick glimpse of the history of automatons, i.e. robotics (and learn where that term came from if you don't already know), here: HistoryofRobotics

And if you're interested in the film by Geroge Melies referenced in THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, you can watch it here: ATripToTheMoon

The fascination with machines is as old as humankind. And a good story about a kid who is fascinated with a machine--well, that's THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET.

30. Some Stupid Americans

Some of America's "leaders" are idiots. This statement is, of course, my humble opinion. In support of it, I offer you this.

AJewishConspiracy

Elected representatives in Georgia and Texas are spending time and using goverment materials to spread the word that evolution is a Jewish conspiracy. According to them, so is the notion that the earth revolves around the sun.

We don't need to fret, though. This is just the last gasp of a dying breed ( I hope). The future is scary, but perhaps computers will be able to sort out truth from fiction better without the prejudices and bigotry of idiots.





(With thanks to Angelo for the Shift Happens video.)

24. Call me Ansgarr--For all the Luddites out there

I'm a Luddite, I admit. I have trouble with new technology. That's why I haven't yet been able to figure out how to embed the You Tube videos directly onto my blog. So I can relate to this one! BEVERAGE ALERT.

HelpDesk

You can also check around on You Tube for the original Danish version--better quality imaging. Once you've figured out what's being said, it won't matter so much that it's not in English.

Enjoy.

OKAY--Thanks to P.I.C. here it is (this is a slightly different English version--the other subtitled one has been removed):

15. Blogs-- You Were Looking for WHAT??

I blogged about the criminal activities by the Red Heart Massage owner & manager. I blogged about federalizing minimum wage in the CNMI. I blogged about writing awards in mysteries and children's literature.

In other words, I blog about things I find interesting.

Out of curiousity, I recently clicked on the "next blog" link at the top of my blog. It took me to porn. I did this for days on end and every time it took me to porn. I figured that was because I had two blog entries on the --you know--RHM.

Sheesh. How ridiculous.

I'm not the only one noticing that blogs and websites get linked up--not by actual content but by coincidental word choices.

Check out this!

At Last! Writer Beware Blogs! A.C. Crispin and Victoria Strauss Reveal All!: Victoria Strauss -- You Were Looking for WHAT??

Some hilarious and unlikely connections.

Gives new meaning to 6 degrees of separation.