Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Distracted Driving

CHP claims texting/phoning/driving is quite equivalent to DUI, in lack of attention. People with separate microphones on their radios, however, are almost as safe as unencumbered drivers snerk. de WA6DZS.

Wanna Be a Writer? (About half do)

Robert A. Heinlein once gave a commencement address at Annapolis; it was summarized in an Analog editorial, but you can find the thing elsewhere (Google’s your friend). It’s also quoted as a 1947 essay titled “On the Writing of Speculative Fiction” in several places.

These five steps each cut the wannabe writing population by IIRC about half, and that’s why there are, of the ~250m population of the US at the time, only a couple thousand full-time writers. (Paraphrasing):

1.  Write it down.  (Head-notes are like air guitar; nice, but there's no there there.)

2.  Finish it.  (Then it's real.  See #1.)

3.  DON’T change, except by an editor’s request.  (Editing has changed; you may have to fix something yourself, once it's done.)

4.  Actually be brave and send it out; you’ll get rejections.  (Grow  a thick skin;  then you're a writer.)

5.  KEEP sending it out until it sells. Then you’re a published writer.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

That's Covered Too

I heard Mr. Waxman is willing to have a Single Payer bill voted on the floor, though he doesn't believe it would pass.

A simple Single Payer system, with appropriate audits, where Everybody is covered, This is covered, That too.

Business big and small will save enough to pay for their share of it, and cut their overhead on maintaining the dysfunctional insurance plans. I'm ready.