Your Saturday moment of zen.



Dew on moss, Washington state. Photo © 2008, 2013, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

'We Have Always Fought': Challenging the 'Women, Cattle and Slaves' Narrative — Kameron Hurley on non-furry cannibalistic llamas. And much more. (Via rekre8.)

Remembering The Long Lost Germans Of Texas — More than a century ago, German settlers found a pocket of Texas to call home between Austin and San Antonio. And once the local lingo merged with their own language, it proved to be an interesting dialect.

The Princess — How old is 2? (Via willyumtx.)

Defining My Dyslexia

2013 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest — Wow. (Via tillyjane, a/k/a my mom.)

Lunar Corona over Cochem Castle — A gorgeous photo.

Measuring light in the universe since the Big Bang

Cosmic latte — Cosmic Latte is a name assigned to the average color of the universe, given by a team of astronomers from Johns Hopkins University. (Via Daily Idioms, Annotated.)

No Bail for Pa. Parents in Faith-Healing Death — Faith healing isn't religion, it's child abuse. Pure and simple. Adults are free to go to hell in their own way, but they are not free to take children along for the ride. In our Christianist-dominated cultural climate, I am nonetheless surprised to see prosecution.

When Politicians promise ‘Lower Taxes’ they are promising Collapsed Bridges — Infrastructure decay is the inevitable result of conservative tax policy. Unless you believe in the fairy tale of supply side economics, but that has neither theoretical support from objective economists who aren't already committed conservatives, nor any track record of success whatsoever in the real world. Me, I like civil society and public infrastructure, and it takes taxes to keep those things going. Hell, even Republicans drive over bridges.

Three reasons Congress is broken — Only three? There are 233 House Republicans and 45 Senate Republicans. That's 278 more reasons Congress is broken.

QotD?: What is your least favorite joke?

---

5/25/2013
Writing time yesterday: 1.0 hours (WRPA, otherwise on workshop time)
Hours slept: 7.25 hours (interrupted)
Body movement: n/a
Weight: n/a
Number of FEMA troops on my block scamming disaster aid slush funds: 0
Currently reading: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

ETA: We will be having my living wake, the JayWake on Saturday, July 27th. This will be a celebration of my life and a giant flip of the bird to my death. Including both a wake and a roast. Watch this space for more details.

Every year, some people tell me that I need to announce JayCon early so they can get it in on their calendars. Every year, some people tell me I need to announce JayCon later, because they don't plan that far ahead. Sometimes, these are the same people. So starting now, and going on through the spring, I will be reposting this announcement with occasional edits or updates as needed.

In celebration of my natal anniversary, JayCon XIII, my 13th annual 37th birthday party, is Saturday, June 15th, 2013 from 2 to 5 pm at the Flying Pie in SE Portland. We're partying because I was born, and because I have beat cancer again and again and again we may not ever get to do this again.

If you can read this, you're invited. Prior JayCon experience not required.

Also, if you're coming from out of town, and you think I might not be aware of that, please contact me. There are some limited capacity extended festivities from Friday to Sunday.

Flying Pie Pizzeria
7804 SE Stark Street
Portland, 97215
(503) 254-2016
http://www.flying-pie.com/
[ Google Maps ]

As is traditional for JayCon, Paul M. Carpentier is specifically not invited.

I awoke this morning from dreams of loss, conflict and Walter Jon Williams. This may have something to do with the excellent gumbo he cooked last night, followed by bananas Foster.

Donnie Reynolds (@dratz of Waterloo Productions) left yesterday. He was kind enough to finish cooking my momos Wednesday night when my feet gave out, but more importantly, interviewed me yesterday morning, then filmed the critique session for "Rock of Ages". It was good critique, a combination of solid criticism and some important story points, along with validation that the story was doing enough of what I wanted it to do.

My two regrets here at Rio Hondo are that my feet continue to be troublesome, and that my trailing sun sensitivity issues courtesy of my friend Vectibix have not only prevented me from hiking (which given the state of my feet is probably a bad idea anyway) but even from going outdoors at all. I continue to wrestle with the emotional fallout from the recent diagnosis, but being here at the world's greatest Writer Camp is allowing me to parse it in small bits while immensely enjoying my days.

Oddly, I'm not getting much writing or WRPA done. This done not bother me. I am on vacation, after all. I'm spending hours each day immersed in manuscripts and critique, and hours more in fascinating conversations about everything from Age of Sail combat to social media personae for authors. Not to mention publishing gossip, convention horror stories, plotting sessions and all the other things writers get to talking about when you cram us alone together in a few small rooms for a week.

Meanwhile, a few more photos of the faces of Rio Hondo:


The marmot what hangs out in the lower parking lot — I did not have my 300mm lens on the camera body at the time, unfortunately


Donnie Reynolds prepping the critique shoot


David Levine, of whom I finally got several good shots


Rick Wilbur pretending he doesn't notice the camera


Kim Zimring, reading


Daniel Abraham, reading


Diana Rowland and her Girl Power t-shirt


Jim Kelly going for the high angle shot


Oz Drummond, thoughtful


The entire Rio Hondo crew, thanks to Donnie Reynolds piloting the camera

Photos © 2013 Joseph E. Lake, Jr. and Donnie Reynolds



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. and Donnie Reynolds is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Your Friday moment of zen.



Berries, Washington state. Photo © 2008, 2013, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

The first Apple, fetching prices that may crash the system

Acoustic Levitation — This is seriously cool. (Via threeoutside.)

Marketing to the Big Data Inside Us — In your DNA are clues to your health, your ancestry, and maybe even your purchasing preferences.

A molecular window on itch — Researchers discover chemical puppet master behind the need to scratch.

An Interplanetary GPS Using Pulsar Signals — Spacecraft could determine their position anywhere in the solar system to within five kilometres using signals from x-ray pulsars, say astronomers.

New Technique Could Probe Rocky Alien Planet Surfaces

Scientists: Arctic bacteria discovered on Earth may prove life could thrive on Mars

Glow-in-the-dark cockroach among top 10 new species of 2012

White tiger's coat down to one change in a gene

Race, Intelligence, and Genetics For Curious Dummies

The Iraq War Wasn’t Inevitable — Nope. It was a trillion dollar war of choice based on knowingly false premises brought to you by leading conservatives. I wish more Republican voters understood those simple facts. But they watch FOX News and listen to Rush Limbaugh, so they never will.

C.I.A. to Focus More on Spying, a Difficult Shift — Hmm...

Ignorance loves company: Four examples — Ignorance loves company. The truly stupid resent those who are not and won’t be satisfied until they’ve burned all the books, torn down the libraries, closed the universities, and made it impossible for anyone else not to share their own proud ignorance. Who could he be talking about? What segment of American culture and politics? I really cannot imagine, can you?

How Van Halen explains Obamacare, salmon regulation and scientific grants — This is why it's important to do nuance. Too bad Republicans have elected political vandals who proudly don't do nuance to dominate the House and derail the Senate. (Snurched from Slacktivist Fred Clark.)

Toomey's candor sheds light on post-policy party — "There were some on my side who did not want to be seen helping the president do something he wanted to get done, just because the president wanted to do it." Speaking of the GOP as political vandals. (Snurched from Slacktivist Fred Clark.)

President Obama and Counter-Terrorism: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

QotD?: How was your dinner last night?

---

5/24/2013
Writing time yesterday: 0.5 hours (WRPA editing, otherwise on workshop time)
Hours slept: 7.0 hours (very fitful)
Body movement: n/a
Weight: n/a
Number of FEMA troops on my block scamming disaster aid slush funds: 0
Currently reading: The Wee, Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Yesterday was my turn to cook here at Rio Hondo. I made momos, with a substantial assist from David Levine and Carrie Vaughn. In the kitchen cooking, which takes a while, my feet gave out. There's no other way to describe it. @dratz came to my rescue, took over the cooking and final meal prep on my behalf, while I lay on the couch. Even sitting at the table eating dinner with my feet on the floor was painful, so I retreated once more to the couch before going to bed early.

The best I can describe it is that the skin irritations produced by Vectibix sometimes express themselves as very tender, painful calluses on my feet. Being on my feet so much yesterday afternoon put so much pressure on those calluses that I could not be on my feet any more.

Next Monday, I start Regorafenib, a medication which is much harder on the feet (and hands) than Vectibix. This is only a taste of things to come.

Cancer erodes me, piece by piece, until there will be nothing left of me but laboring breath and the last guttering sparks of my will to live.

The workshop at work

( Photos under cut for f-list mercyCollapse )

Photos © 2013, Joseph E. Lake, Jr. and Carrie Vaughn



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. and Carrie Vaughn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Your Thursday moment of zen.



Barbed wire, Washington state. Photo © 2008, 2013, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Relay For Life — Robin Silver raises funds to fight cancer.

Kicked out of the mall — for an anti-cancer hat — The most insensitive mall cops ever aggressively escort out two teens who just lost their mom. That's family friendly, alright. (Via shsilver and others.)

The 5 Ugly Lessons Hiding in Every Superhero Movie — Interesting. (Snurched from Andrew Wheeler.)

German software firm recruiting autistic workers — German software firm SAP is recruiting autistic workers. To help the company hire autistic workers, SAP has hired Specialisterne. Together, SAP and Specialisterne will recruit individuals with autism that can work as software testers, programmers and data quality assurance specialists.

Pavlof Volcano, Alaska Peninsula — Oooh, pretty.

What the State Birds Should Be — Seven cardinals but no hawks? Come on! (Via JL)

Bitcoin Hits the Big Time, to the Regret of Some Early Boosters — The first major conference for the digital currency suggests it is gaining legitimacy, but in a manner disappointing to some early enthusiasts.

Why French Kids Don't Have ADHD — (Snurched from Freakonomics.)

Tornadoes and Global Warming: Is There a Connection? — Will the future bring more twisters to Oklahoma and Tornado Alley? The science isn't clear yet, on account of unlike politics, science doesn't make up its mind in advance of the evidence.

Portland, Oregon rejects drinking water fluoridation by wide margin — Public health measure goes down amid vague concerns about safety and purity. Even progressives can be idiots.

Pope Francis Says Atheists Who Do Good Are Redeemed, Not Just Catholics — Why does any religion get to claim the good done by non-believers. Christ really didn't die for me, or for anyone else who isn't a Christian. While I surely appreciate the gesture of tolerance, it encloses a spike of arrogance. (Thanks to Danny Adams.)

Atheist lawmaker opened with Carl Sagan quote instead of prayer — (Via shsilver and others.)

Ken Cuccinelli Loses Petition To Uphold Anti-Sodomy Law — Yeah, pushing for a ban on oral sex is certainly one way to make the GOP more popular.

Dear Oklahoma: We Feel for you, we love you, but do us some favors — Shorter version: As you sow, so shall you reap. Unfortunately, the rest of America also reaps what you sow. So, sow better.

Reaching the 'weather weapon' stage — [T]he guy raising the specter of Obama using "weather weapons" to kill Oklahomans is the same guy helping influence several Republican policymakers in 2013. Another of the many reasons why rational human beings everywhere think American conservatives are absolute lunatics. The GOP and its politicians embrace this kind of mind-melting insanity instead of rejecting it out of hand. (Via shellyrae.)

QotD?: Eaten Tibetan lately?

---

5/23/2013
Writing time yesterday: 0.5 hours (WRPA editing, otherwise on workshop time)
Hours slept: 8.0 hours (solid)
Body movement: n/a
Weight: n/a
Number of FEMA troops on my block scamming disaster aid slush funds: 0
Currently reading: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Regorafenib

I've spoken to the specialty pharmacy, and my Regorafenib should be arriving in Portland today. To my mild surprise, they are treating this as a pharmaceutical co-pay in line with the insurance company formulary. This is often not the case with specialty pharmacy prescriptions, I'm told. I'll start the medication next Monday when I'm back in Portland. Apparently, the side effects are a real treat.

The Nebula Awards Weekend

I'm still parsing the Nebula Awards Weekend from an emotional perspective. I'm not hung up on losing the Best Novella Nebula — that's just the way the game is played. Rather, as I said the other day, I'm struggling with my sense of being on a farewell tour. It really was a terrific weekend in a number of ways, but the reality of my foreshortened mortality is starting to grind me down.

Tension

That same reality of foreshortened mortality is grinding down the people around me as well. This is creating drama among my immediate circle of family and friends. I am very ill-equipped to handle that sort of drama. I dislike it in general, and right now my reserves are stretched so thin that dealing with such things is a profound distraction. There will only be more of this down the road as well all respond to my deepening illness.

Reserves

Those aforementioned reserves really are an issue. I have no depth these days. Anything small can upset me. I don't have the bandwidth to do everything I want. I frustrate easily, and have trouble tracking and staying with both emotional issues and projects. Right now I cannot tell if this is stress from the new diagnosis, which at some point I'll integrate, or if this is my new reality. I resent every step of loss.

More critique yesterday. More food. More fun. My Aunt M—, who lives in Colorado, turned up with pies. @dratz of Waterloo Productions arrived last night to shoot some Lakeside footage here at Rio Hondo.

My METAtropolis: Green Space novella "Rock of Ages" is being critiqued tomorrow. This means I don't have to do any critical reading today, so I'm cooking momos [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ] for tonight's dinner.

Still struggling a bit with the altitude. Had a terrible night's sleep last night. I did okay the night before, thanks to my friend Lorazepam, and will probably have to do that again tonight. And I regret not being able to go out hiking here during the day, as my UV issues from Vectibix linger on.

All that being said, I am very glad to be here.

Your Wednesday moment of zen.



Washington state woods. Photo © 2008, 2013, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Cloned video GIFs — This is so cool. (Via threeoutside.)

The Phosphorous Atom Quantum Computing Machine — An Australian team unveils the fundamental building block of a scalable quantum computer that could be embedded in today’s silicon chips.

New Efforts to Overhaul Psychiatric Diagnoses Spurred by DSM Turmoil — (Via Marta Murvosh.)

If the Earth had rings — (Via Lisa Costello.)

Red Sprite Lightning with Aurora — A strange photo from APOD. Well worth reading the write-up.

Had the Cookie Crumbled Differently: East and West Dakota

Pat Robertson shrugs off adultery, CBN regrets the misunderstanding — Robertson said the “secret” was to “stop talking about the cheating. He cheated on you. Well, he’s a man. OK.” So glad religious conservatives had this viewpoint during the Clinton years. Imagine the political circus if they'd taken adultery seriously back then.

Asked by Wolf Blitzer if She Thanked God for Surviving the Tornado, Oklahoma Woman Responds: ‘I’m Actually An Atheist’ — Heh. It's a stupid question on the face of things. If we're supposed to thank God for surviving such an event, aren't we equally blaming God for the lives lost? (Via shsilver.)

Anti-Sandy-relief Oklahoma Senator: Aid for Oklahoma is “totally different” than Sandy — The only difference is that the tornado victims vote in Oklahoma. Just like government support for hard working farmers is totally different from food stamps for the lazy urban poor. Ah, that justly famed conservative intellectual consistency.

Oklahoma GOP Sen. Tom Coburn Will Seek To Offset Tornado Aid — At least he's being intellectually consistent in his conservative cruelty, unlike Senator Inhofe cited above. Unusual for a Republican, that.

Fisheries could be in hot water due to climate change — Warming waters are altering the distribution and abundance of fish species. Amazing, the lengths liberals will go to for their global warming hoax. Even to warming entire oceans. Thank god for Rush Limbaugh and the Republican party, otherwise we might have to do something about this.

Will Republicans Screw Up Again? Some Are Already Overreaching — Republicans allowed themselves to look as if they were primarily interested in scoring political points and overturning the results of the 1996 election, even if it meant paralyzing the government. That same danger exists once again for the GOP. "Look as if…" That's remarkably kind to a party whose top legislative priority was ensuring that Obama was a one-term president. Not jobs. Not the economy. Not healthcare. Not our foreign wars. No, overturning the results of the 2008 election. And now, the 2012. They're practically built their entire brand and message around it.

QotD?: What did you read yesterday?

---

5/22/2013
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (workshop)
Hours slept: 5.5 hours (fitful)
Body movement: n/a
Weight: n/a
Number of FEMA troops on my block scamming disaster aid slush funds: 0
Currently reading: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Oz Drummond


Daniel Abraham


Diana Rowland


Rick Wilber


Walter Jon Williams


Carrie Vaughn


David Levine


Jim Kelly

Not shown: K.J. Zimring, Michaela Roessner

Photos © 2013, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Your Tuesday moment of zen.



Jeff VanderMeer at the 2008 South Carolina Book Festivak. Photo © 2008, 2013, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Geomedia — The intersection of tech and art can be gloriously strange.

Hot Lead: 1942 — Mmm, linotype machines.

Navy Dolphin Finds Rare 130-Year-Old Torpedo

Honeybees trained to sniff out landmines in Croatia

Formation of reptilian head scales

Apple’s Web of Tax Shelters Saved It Billions, Panel Finds — Oi.

How to Legalize Pot

6 Women Scientists Who Were Snubbed Due to Sexism — Despite enormous progress in recent decades, women still have to deal with biases against them in the sciences.

Wells Dry, Fertile Plains Turn to Dust — Nothing to see here, just liberal hoaxes being supported by conservative Midwestern farmers.

Alaskan villages try “climigration” in the face of climate change — When a town turns to a perpetual disaster area, it might be time to move it. Amazing, the lengths liberals will go to. Thank God for Rush Limbaugh and the Republican party, or we might have to take these things seriously.

Discrimination and Marriage Inequality — Jim C. Hines on the real world results of anti-gay bigotry. That means you, if you oppose gay marriage, regardless of how high-minded your rationalizations.

QotD?: How'd you sleep last night?

---

5/21/2013
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (workshop)
Hours slept: 9.0 hours (solid)
Body movement: n/a
Weight: n/a
Number of FEMA troops on my block covering up evidence about Benghazi: 0
Currently reading: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

I'm at Rio Hondo, the writing workshop/retreat in Taos Ski Valley, NM. Critiquing etc starts today, but I suppose yesterday was day one. That involved a lot of travel, a quick visit in Santa Fe with Lisa Costello, who just happened to be there, and a yummy dinner here at the retreat. This morning I woke up to snow.

Altitude isn't treating me badly, but I do have a mild headache. And my classic high altitude sleeping problems are making themselves known. Basically, while I don't have any problem staying oxygenated while conscious, asleep my breathing is reduced and I wake up every hour or so feeling very short of breath. I have to consciously take very deep breaths to restore myself. That process makes it hard to go back to sleep...

My METAtropolis: Green Space novella will be critiqued Thursday, and I believe I am making momos for Wednesday dinner. I've already taken a number of photos, but bandwidth here is quite constrained, so the uploading process is wonky at best. Still, I will leave you with this morning's view:



Photo © 2013, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

So, the Nebs. I'm still processing a lot, specifically in the context of my cancer journey. I can't shake the feeling that I'm going on my farewell tour these days. Which is essentially true, barring some extremely unexpected developments. Even if I hang on past the current prognosis, I'll either be wrapped in the misery of treatment or I'll be wrapped in the misery of my terminal decline. I don't expect to travel again much if ever after this summer. That means that while it's reasonably possible I'll still be alive at the time of next year's Nebula Awards Weekend, it's highly improbable I could attend.

Everyone who knows me knows this, too.

I received an amazing amount of well wishing. Almost all of it was delivered tactfully. I got to have worthwhile conversations with most of the people present whom I know personally. I got to see a lot of a few people, and a little of a lot of people. I had hella fun, as did my family and friends. But all of those memories are overlain by sadness.

At least I lived long enough to go as one of the nominees. This is something I'm quite proud of. And it was very gratifying to be able to give Aliette de Bodard her well-earned short story Nebula.

But beyond that rather pointless melancholy, I can't yet tell you what it means. I can only tell you I was present, at this time my life.

Sometimes that's enough.

Your Monday moment of zen.



Test tank exterior at Hanford Site, 2008. Photo © 2008, 2013, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.