fontosaurus

The anthology Dark Faith, which includes my short story "The Last Words of Dutch Schultz Jesus Christ", is now available for pre-order, and will be released in May. The first 500 direct orders will also receive a bonus chapbook containing four more stories. Click on the link to spend your Christmas money wisely.

This should be a good one. Back when I wrote the story I asked la_nausicaa to proofread it and she yelled at me the whole late-night walk with Kazzie from my house to hers for not also being interested in the editorial feedback she wanted to give. She has since claimed no memory of these events. Which demonstrates that the sigils embedded in the text work perfectly well.

There is also fiction by Brian Keene, Jay Lake, Cat Valente, Lavie Tidhar, Ekaterina Sedia, and Rich Dansky. It's an unusual mix of writers primarily known for horror and those primarily known for SF, a nice relief in these days when anthology line-ups can often be predicted with 90 percent accuracy from just knowing the theme and editor.

Hi native midwesterners...is there a cheap and easy way to insulate the windows in my Stadium Village rental unit? It's crazy cold near them windows.

We currently have Venetian blinds, and no other curtains. I'm unfamiliar with living in the midwest and even more unfamiliar with window treatments, but if I just know a little bit more what to ask for my landlord might supply it for me -- he pays the heating bill, after all.

I was using Adium tonight and usually have the sound turned off on my iMac [2Ghz Core Duo, running 10.4.11], but tonight I was dismayed to be listening to the alert sounds that are available for incoming or outgoing messages and such on Adium. I would like to be able to access my iMac system sound set, but don't know where to find it, or how to go about using it in Adium.

Also, are there places on the net that have system sounds for download, like you can find clipart? I had some that I got online many moons ago when I had a PPC iMac, but I don't know where I got them from, and they don't seem to work on this Intel machine.

I appreciate any help or advice.

I had a newer version of DivX and it was causing some problems, so I'm trying to switch to a version of DivX 6. I thought I had deleted all of DivX off of my HD, but when I try to install DivX 6 it says I can't because a newer version already exists on this volume.

I've searched my applications, and even tried using finder... I don't see any DivX 7 things...

Help?

Macbook, 10.5.7

Hey bikepirates,

What's the longest bike commute you've ever regularly ridden for any extended period of time? Did you have the option of driving or taking public transportation if you wussed out? How hard was it? What's the longest commute you think you could handle?

Pausing, briefly, before I plunge into a chore -- a shore that has been hanging fire since well before the fire. I'm going to start organizing / throwing away / filing / acting on my mountain of paper.

I have the bad habit of feeling that if I've put a piece of paper somewhere neatly, then it's been settled. This means that I end up with a lot of neat, smouldering papers. I've put my in basket, notebooks, three-hole punch, and files on the table, and equipped it with a trash can and a paper shredder. I'm going to try to be effective for at least a couple of hours. Wish me competence!

Just so I remember it myself, and because it's much easier to type on a keyboard than with the iphone keyboard, I'm posting my workout schedule for the week here, as prescribed by my trainer.
( I wish I was kidding )
I'm also to send him a food diary and he wants me to lose a pound and a half. He can want that all he wants, but I'm not going to stop eating my daily pudding cup.

Dudes, I like my body. And I also like food. And I like exercise. I can like all of these things at once and no realistic goal of mine is ever, ever compromised. In short, suck it, weight nazi.

I understand that people who post about their workouts all the time are either boring, showing off, or both. So I understand your irritation and I assure you, I'll eventually have something else worth saying. (And hells yeah I'm showing off. I am a beautiful animal and I've worked frickin' hard to get there.)

Also, this is a hugely long shot, but if you are a female lefty boxer at the advanced-beginner level, roughly a middleweight, abnormally long reach preferred but optional, and you would like to take on a sparring partner, we must talk. But I understand I may actually be the only one in my circle.

Looks like a local shop made the FailBlog today.

Mean Streets, which includes a Dresden Files story written by Jim Butcher, is available in paperback today.

"Readers will be delighted with this collection of original novellas tied to popular crime/fantasy series. The standout is Sniegoskis Noahs Orphans, in which angel PI Remy Chandler must solve the murder of the biblical Arks builder, whose battered corpse is found on an abandoned oil rig. Sniegoski manages to make a far-fetched setup both plausible and moving. Butchers The Warrior hints at a mysterious ongoing war, while wizard detective Harry Dresden solves a case with typical dry wit. Green employs darker humor in The Difference a Day Makes, in which PI John Taylor assists a woman who wandered into the dark world hidden within London, while Richardsons The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog neatly merges noir conventions with a fantastical plot. All solid and suspenseful, these stories are sure to please." --Publishers Weekly

Happy with your thrift find, proud of a paint job, want to show off pictures of your new saucy sofa? Inspired by something you saw or just want to leave a show-me-your... request?



You can show it here... have fun!

Yesterday I was in one of those moods where I just have to do things RIGHT NOW WHILE I'M ALL EXCITED ABOUT IT. I get that way and then I am insanely productive. So in 4 hours I did a veritable mountain of paperwork and made eleventeen phone calls. And now I'm ready to move on to the next thing on the list. Yay me.

Phone calls. O! I know that there will be much phone calling in the next few weeks. I have a great, but not unlimited, cell phone plan. Right now I'm not interested in spending too much more on a cell plan either. SO. Hello Skype. I did my homework and discovered that three months of unlimited calls to landlines on Skype cost just a little over $8. Really. So I jumped on that. The call quality is good. I don't have personalized caller ID on the line, so it will either show up as a weird number or with no ID at all. When my peoples don't pick up I leave a message.. "Hello it's me! I'm going to call you right back in a couple minutes, so you'd better answer next time!" Heh. It works.

Today is All about the Numbers Day™, in which I will sit down and figure out all the expenses (and be thankful for mint.com and quicken.com), and decide if there are any more costs that can be reduced. I've been very good with the belt-cinching in the last year. I even got rid of the fancy nails in favor of just plain ol' regular nails (and not-as-often manicures). The only other thing I can think of where there might be some cost-cutting room is in the cable bill. I'm at the medium tier now.. so I need to see what I give up dropping to the next-lowest. 

The nice thing about the numbers is that they can be done anywhere... so I'm going to head downtown to number crunch and then meet up with my ragazz' for a little lunch.

And finally - my mornings are a little different now. I'm still up before 8:00.. but the 5am days are done for a while.

And the day is always better with coffee from my favorite mug.

Ciao.

http://www.cartoonlabs.com/comics/index.php?date=2010-01-05&show=sinfest

Sinfest
Tatsuya Ishida

I currently ride a Trek 7.4(?) hybrid bike, with some other modifications (nice seat, springloaded seatpost, new rear derailleur, some other things)

I want a road bike. Not a lot of money to spend--would like something used I think. I'm female, and very long from hip to knee, with a 34" inseam, short torso, and long arms. I'm 5'8". Basically I'm a monkey. I'm looking for something that will allow me to log plenty of miles but I'm kind of afraid of crashing on the ice this time of year. I've been riding indoors as a result, but I feel like I'm bouncing all over the bike, I think because of the hip to knee length. I crank up the seatpost but it seems like the handlebars are too close to the seat or something.

So I have a few questions:

1. Should I get one of those specially designed "women's bikes" or will it be silly because of my height/proportions?
2. Any former or current (horseback) riders here? I feel like being on a road bike is kind of like being in two point position. It's actually more comfortable for me than the upright feel of the hybrid.
3. What kind of bike might I find that would allow me to ride comfortably without spending a fortune? What kind of bikes should I be looking at? I thought about modifying my current bike but it's so much money to get brifters and rework everything I might as well get a new bike. True?
4. Are studded tires worth it for winter? I'm in the upper Midwest. Also how should I dress? I get COLD.

I had a Schwinn Varsity I fished out of a Dumpster and fixed up but it was uncomfortable for me (standover height too tall) so I gave it to my brother who promptly made it a single speed. Should I look at riding another one because of cost, or is there some happy medium that will get me an aluminum frame bike for under $500?

My pal Trevor Dodge teaches literature and fiction writing at a community college. Last year, as part of his fiction class he had students read short stories by Poe, Hawthorne, Jamaica Kincaid, David Foster Wallace, and Mark Twain. The last author on the list led to a student publicly condemning Trevor as a teacher of "anti-Christian writing."

Trevor has now been compelled to put this disclaimer on his syllabi:

"We will cover material in this course which students may consider graphic or offensive in terms of language, sexuality, violence and/or other political perspectives. Students are expected to take responsibility for their experience in this course by examining their own reactions to material they consider offensive. At all times, our priority will be critical engagement with the material. By remaining enrolled in this course, you are agreeing to complete all assignments and participate in discussions, regardless of objections you might have on these grounds. All ethical perspectives and opinions will be tolerated and respected both by the instructor and by all class members at all times. Students who are unwilling either to read, hear or think critically about such material are encouraged to drop this course."


Personally, I'd just flunk half the class and let them come back ten years later after growing up (or growing old) a bit. Of course, that's easy for me to say! But this is what people apparently have to do now to teach Mark Twain in college.

It seems that drag/gay bingo has died in the Twin Cities; I'm having a hard time finding bars that still do this.  Anyone know of any?

Also, foam parties.  Every time I check for one, I see that I missed it.  :(  Does anyone know of any upcoming foam parties?