A New Opportunity, Unsought

Been Gone Too Long

Well, I really haven't been gone, so to speak, I've just been off learning new things and life lessons. To start with, I'm going to be taking a new job, a side job, as the Vice-President of Marketing and Public relations for a very old company, R. P. Goodfellow's. It was a rare catalogue company founded in 1895 to compete with the Sears, Roebuck, and Company and Abercrombie and Fitch catalogues.
The current Mr. Goodfellow, whose initials are also R. P. (I'm guessing the primogenitor of the family inherits the name without epithet) has contacted me and personally invited me to join his company, an honor I was neither aware of nor seeking. I, of course, accepted. For, he, as a gentleman well on in years, feels completely out of touch with current realities. His catalogue the R. P. Goodfellow's Mail-order Mercantile and Bazaar has fallen very much into the forgotten chapters of history. Indeed, even our oldest friends still in this world might only remember rumors of the catalogue. Though, in its heyday, it apparently did as well as the two main competitors. Through wise investments, Mr. Goodfellow has kept up his funds, despite falling sales, and has decided, in his twilight years, to relaunch a portion of his business.
So, within the year, he hopes to have me help him put together a Web site, post some pictures out of the catalogue, and, most importantly, help him to publish some stories of the things that happened during the years that people got his catalogue. He is writing them as I write this. He seems very eager to see these stories published. He will then ask me to go, when possible and promote these books so that, perhaps, he can create a new stream of revenue for him and his company. I will serve as a modern counselor to his, as he puts it, "troglodytish ways" and help bring him into the 21st Century.
I look forward to helping him get the stories published.
My first steps will be to help him copyright the stories then I will begin giving previews here on my blog. Stay tuned.

My Goodreads Review of Nightingale by David Farland

Nightingale by David Farland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read the book in approximately two days. I haven't done that in years. I still love reading. I write my own stuff too, so I have to read fiction to keep up on my trade. However, I haven't had a book pick me up and become one I couldn't put down in years. I don't even think I had a single college text that engaged me this much. But, not many of my college text books dealt with topics like the following:

*Psionic Communication
*Identity of the Self
*Moral Obligation to Self and Society
*Immoral Actions that Must be Performed for the Greater Good of Society
*Emotional Impact of Those Immoral Actions

Many would classify this as Fantasy. Indeed, I believe Dave did himself. But the echoes of his SF roots are felt and carry through this story to a deep level. He pits his characters, ones for whom you root, against moral choices that will leave the character permanently scarred.

Once again, Dave proves himself a master of the craft. Read this book and read it again. Get the enhanced version for your iPad. Don't miss out on this wonderful peak into a new, unique universe.


View all my reviews

Alas, Poor Google+, I Knew Him, Horatio.

I just posted this in regard to this article: MediaShift . Google+: Social Media Upstart 'Worse Than a Ghost Town' | PBS.


It's a fact I learned long ago when I worked for Novell: It rarely matters if your technology is better, if you're the first to make it out with a gap-filling technology, you usually stay on top. For example, people needed a GUI operating system, Windows filled the gap (or some might argue created their own niche). It doesn't matter that any half-decent flavor of Linux can run circles around Windows, regardless of whether or not you use KDE or Gnome. And security... forget about it! Windows is like a deep sea fishing net compared to Linux. And if you purchase a supported version of Linux (like SUSE and Ubuntu), the support costs are easily half that of Windows. We all know these facts.

However, it doesn't matter, because Windows, more or less, got here first. (No, I won't go into marketing tactics and strategies here).

We could argue the same about Google+. Facebook came to the top (although MySpace seemed to be there first, so, did the superior format win out, or just the fact that Facebook didn't feel as sleazy as MySpace) and stays there. I like a lot of the features of Google+ much better. I feel it's more secure and in a lot of ways easier to use, but, for the present, Facebook will still sit on top...or "Sit on MyFacebook" as one friend calls most of those social media networks.

My opinion is that Google+ is better, but might not ever rise to the top, as it should. Maybe it will just stay as a backwater social network for geeks and those who know what's better, but can't do anything about it.

NASA

NASA’s> Puffin Is Way Cooler Than a Jetpack

I tried using Post This last year, but it didn't work, so I'm cutting their link. I really hope to see more development in this realm of technology.

And it never posted, it got stuck in drafts. I haven't tracked any developments on this in a while, but I did just find this:

In Honor of the Fallen

Today, I wrote to my friend Kevin J. Anderson in response to his Facebook post regarding a banquet he attended in honor of the Challenger astronauts of 25 years ago. In my response to him I wrote the following, and feel that it deserves to be shared with those, who like me, were so impacted 25 years ago by the tragedy and in honor of those who didn't let it stop us from moving closer to the stars.

On 10 January 1986 I had been sent to the library to finish my homework, and I was thrilled to be there, I knew that the Challenger would be lifting off and that the library would have it on TV to record. I turned around from my cubicle, leaving my homework unattended. I counted down with mission control. At liftoff, I said a prayer in my heart for those brave astronauts--whom I hoped to emulate someday. That prayer was answered with a soft "no" as I watched as the flames of rockets became the flames and smoke of utter destruction and we lost seven heroes that day. And true to the real American spirit, we did not let that deter us from returning to space. My world has been forever changed by that day. I still hope to go to space, some day. And when I do, I will leave a copy of a book or something in orbit, to honor Christa and the other six who join Gus Grissom and the other brave pioneers whose legacy will one day lead humanity to the stars.

Google

Google's doodle today rocks! Everyone get out there and play it!

Google

Just Another Day

A quick note. I brainstormed my story. I think there will be a military bend to the story and that some of the unit names will be related to jinn names. Also found some interesting concepts from Wikipedia including Kefizat Haderech(probably where Frank Herbert got his idea for the name Kwisatz Haderach) and Tay_al-Ard. They are both similar ideas that mean teleportation. I want to use some of these ideas in whatever I'm going to actually call my story. I'll see what happens...