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Mugged in London
Nov. 25th, 2009 05:19 pmSome moron just tried the Facebook "mugged in London" scam on me. Transcript follows. Name of friend redacted for privacy reasons.
( Friend: Hey Terence... )
( Friend: Hey Terence... )
[Obit] Forry Ackerman is Dead, Alas
Dec. 5th, 2008 08:24 pm( Forrest J Ackerman, 1916-2008 )
It all began October 1926 when a little nine-year-old me was standing in front of a newsstand and the Hugo Gernsback magazine "Amazing Stories" jumped off the newsstand, grabbed hold of me and - most people are too young to know, but in those days magazines spoke - and that one said "take me home little boy. You will love me!" And everything grew from that.
My only encounter with Forry was eight years ago at Chicon 2000. I was in the Dealer's Room browsing (as you do) when I saw someone passing by out of the corner of my eye. I turned to give him room, and there he was - I recognised him from photos I'd seen before and was dumbstruck: here was Forrest J. Ackerman! The Forrest J Ackerman!
He looked at me, smiling, I stared back goggle-eyed at him, and the moment must have gone on a tad too long, because he then broke it by extending his hand and offering me a copy of his newsletter. I took it and finally had the presence of mind to stammer out a request for his autograph, which he graciously gave.
That incident (along with an encounter with Harry Harrison in the Green Room) prompted the writing of my signature song, Fanboy Soul.
My only encounter with Forry was eight years ago at Chicon 2000. I was in the Dealer's Room browsing (as you do) when I saw someone passing by out of the corner of my eye. I turned to give him room, and there he was - I recognised him from photos I'd seen before and was dumbstruck: here was Forrest J. Ackerman! The Forrest J Ackerman!
He looked at me, smiling, I stared back goggle-eyed at him, and the moment must have gone on a tad too long, because he then broke it by extending his hand and offering me a copy of his newsletter. I took it and finally had the presence of mind to stammer out a request for his autograph, which he graciously gave.
That incident (along with an encounter with Harry Harrison in the Green Room) prompted the writing of my signature song, Fanboy Soul.
Stick close
Jun. 3rd, 2008 02:22 pmReading this story about the posthumous Medal of Honor going to PFC Ross McGinnis, who threw himself on a grenade to save the lives of his fellow soldiers reminded me of a story from my Army days.
During basic training, we were taught how to throw a grenade, and also how to react when a grenade is thrown into our immediate area. The approved procedure is to shout "Grenade!" as a warning, then leap quickly away from it and stay as low as you can. Heroics are not encouraged — after all, a live soldier is always better than a dead one. Well, as long as he's on your side.
While lessons were going on, the instructors had a habit of wandering by, and without warning, dropping a drill grenade (basically a solid hunk of plastic) into our bunch of recruits, just to test our reactions. One time this happened, all of us dutifully yelled "Grenade!" and leapt to the side... except one guy, who threw himself onto the drill grenade.
There was stunned silence. All of us looked up in disbelief. The instructor who threw the drill grenade also stared, nonplussed.
He then turned to the rest of us and intoned calmly and sagely: "Now, listen very carefully. When we actually go to war..."
He pointed at the hero, "Stay close to this guy."
During basic training, we were taught how to throw a grenade, and also how to react when a grenade is thrown into our immediate area. The approved procedure is to shout "Grenade!" as a warning, then leap quickly away from it and stay as low as you can. Heroics are not encouraged — after all, a live soldier is always better than a dead one. Well, as long as he's on your side.
While lessons were going on, the instructors had a habit of wandering by, and without warning, dropping a drill grenade (basically a solid hunk of plastic) into our bunch of recruits, just to test our reactions. One time this happened, all of us dutifully yelled "Grenade!" and leapt to the side... except one guy, who threw himself onto the drill grenade.
There was stunned silence. All of us looked up in disbelief. The instructor who threw the drill grenade also stared, nonplussed.
He then turned to the rest of us and intoned calmly and sagely: "Now, listen very carefully. When we actually go to war..."
He pointed at the hero, "Stay close to this guy."
Khaotic twitters
Feb. 11th, 2008 12:03 am- 02:15 Shopping once again - I am the Imelda Marcos of T-shirts. #
- 06:57 Heard about the fire at Camden. Hope everyone I know in London is okay. #
- 16:06 On the way back to Singapore. #
Khaotic twitters
Feb. 10th, 2008 12:04 am- 09:31 Chinese New Year, day three. Down to KL's Chinatown in search of food. #
- 09:31 The sought-for yong tau foo stall is shut, so we settle for pig organs porridge - with fried intestines, which you can hardly find in Singapore. #
- 14:54 We return in triumph with bak kut teh and won ton mee. #
Chinese New Year withdrawal
Feb. 6th, 2008 01:05 amI'll be off to Kuala Lumpur until Sunday, where there will be family, food, gossip, drama and most shockingly, no Internet access until I get back. So, anything urgent, call me on my mobile. Those who need to know have the number.
Have a happy Chinese New Year, all.
Have a happy Chinese New Year, all.
The Naming of Computers, Part Deux
Aug. 22nd, 2007 10:37 pmThanks to all who put in their suggestions. Based on the various candidates (some of which came through my Facebook page), the new MacBook Pro, which I purchased today — 15" widescreen, 2.2 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB HD, 128MB RAM graphics card — has been christened Callisto, which means "most beautiful" in Greek.
It was pretty much a toss-up between Cassiopeia and Callisto, but when I laid my hands on the box, Callisto seemed more appropriate. In a way, I like to let my possessions name themselves.
It was pretty much a toss-up between Cassiopeia and Callisto, but when I laid my hands on the box, Callisto seemed more appropriate. In a way, I like to let my possessions name themselves.
The Naming of Computers
Aug. 21st, 2007 10:32 amThinking of replacing my 12" Powerbook G4 with a MacBook Pro in the next couple of weeks or so, which leads me to the weighty question... what to name it?
My first Powerbook G4 was named Cassandra, because like her, Mac users predict the future but no-one believes us.
My next Powerbook G4 (current one) is Charity, a silly pun because I wanted not just to evoke the Faith, Hope and Charity trifecta, but I could also say that I was giving money to Charity when I bought accessories for her.
My Mac Pro is named Emma, after the inimitable Emma Peel.
Any suggestions for the new lady in my life? To follow the Avengers theme, Tara comes to mind, but I'm looking for quirky, multi-layered meaning names.
My first Powerbook G4 was named Cassandra, because like her, Mac users predict the future but no-one believes us.
My next Powerbook G4 (current one) is Charity, a silly pun because I wanted not just to evoke the Faith, Hope and Charity trifecta, but I could also say that I was giving money to Charity when I bought accessories for her.
My Mac Pro is named Emma, after the inimitable Emma Peel.
Any suggestions for the new lady in my life? To follow the Avengers theme, Tara comes to mind, but I'm looking for quirky, multi-layered meaning names.
San Diego trip
Apr. 5th, 2007 08:33 pmSo I'm finalising my plans for the San Diego Comicon trip, and wondering if I should extend my stay after the con - seems a shame to just go there and not see anyone else. Anyone in California want me to visit?
(One of the things I'm thinking about is maybe taking a trip down to Anaheim to the Disney California Adventure park to take the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride. Yes, I'm a geek. Of course, my knowledge of Californian geography is sketchy at best, so I really don't know where you all stay or what's in easy reach. Let me know?)
(One of the things I'm thinking about is maybe taking a trip down to Anaheim to the Disney California Adventure park to take the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride. Yes, I'm a geek. Of course, my knowledge of Californian geography is sketchy at best, so I really don't know where you all stay or what's in easy reach. Let me know?)
In WOW-related news, this pair of rings is just too, too adorable for words.
In other WOW-related news, I dinged 68 yesterday. I was slowed over the four-day weekend because I was up in Kuala Lumpur visiting my mom's side of the family for Chinese New Year, but that just means more rest bonus. Shadowmoon Valley is scary.
I also realize that I need to shell out at least 1440 gold for the flying mount eventually, since I didn't factor in the 540 gold I needed to raise my Riding Skill to 150. Ouch.
In other WOW-related news, I dinged 68 yesterday. I was slowed over the four-day weekend because I was up in Kuala Lumpur visiting my mom's side of the family for Chinese New Year, but that just means more rest bonus. Shadowmoon Valley is scary.
I also realize that I need to shell out at least 1440 gold for the flying mount eventually, since I didn't factor in the 540 gold I needed to raise my Riding Skill to 150. Ouch.
Ain't she sweet?
Feb. 9th, 2007 11:32 am[x-posted to Vox]
Finally upgraded my desktop! Meet Emma (named after the delectable Mrs Peel), a Mac Pro Quad Processor beauty, with two 2.0 GHz Intel Xeons, 1 GB on-board RAM, a 16X Dual-Layer Superdrive, an ATI Radeon X1900 512 MB, and two 250 GB hard drives, one running Mac OS X and the other Windows XP.
Sitting up top is a 20-inch widescreen LCD monitor and a new set of speakers/subwoofer. I got to say, World of Warcraft looks awfully pretty on widescreen...
Finally upgraded my desktop! Meet Emma (named after the delectable Mrs Peel), a Mac Pro Quad Processor beauty, with two 2.0 GHz Intel Xeons, 1 GB on-board RAM, a 16X Dual-Layer Superdrive, an ATI Radeon X1900 512 MB, and two 250 GB hard drives, one running Mac OS X and the other Windows XP.
Sitting up top is a 20-inch widescreen LCD monitor and a new set of speakers/subwoofer. I got to say, World of Warcraft looks awfully pretty on widescreen...
Update: I'll be a little late
Jan. 3rd, 2007 06:25 pmCrap.
Just after I posted the last one, I discovered that my passport expires in April. In case anyone else except my moronic self wasn't aware of this, you need to have at least six months left on your passport to travel around. So I ran myself down right away to Singapore Immigration to see if I could get a last minute extension.
Nope.
Best they could do is to issue me a new passport tomorrow afternoon, which means I'm going to have to push my flight back 24 hours or so. So I'll be in about 8pm on Friday night instead of the Thursday evening. Bummer.
I'll be there. Just a little later than scheduled.
Just after I posted the last one, I discovered that my passport expires in April. In case anyone else except my moronic self wasn't aware of this, you need to have at least six months left on your passport to travel around. So I ran myself down right away to Singapore Immigration to see if I could get a last minute extension.
Nope.
Best they could do is to issue me a new passport tomorrow afternoon, which means I'm going to have to push my flight back 24 hours or so. So I'll be in about 8pm on Friday night instead of the Thursday evening. Bummer.
I'll be there. Just a little later than scheduled.
Vox populi
Oct. 28th, 2006 11:35 amI just started up a Vox blog at http://khaosworks.vox.com
I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, although the prospect of putting up videos and audio there is intriguing.
I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, although the prospect of putting up videos and audio there is intriguing.
Oh Pandora, I adore ya
Aug. 26th, 2006 08:58 pmNot that I'm that much of a updater these days, but I thought I should tell people why they haven't even seen me much on IRC. Charity, whom some will remember as my 12" Powerbook G4, has been in the shop. There was something wrong with the DC port and the battery wasn't charging: in the end, what was supposed to be a 3 to 5 day fix turned into 2 weeks and a motherboard replacement because the Applecenter's parts were also faulty. Luckily I shelled out for the extended warranty.
Anyway, Charity's back, and a call from my sister today turned me on to the Music Genome Project at Pandora.com.
As usual, I'm probably late to the party, but for those who are even less hip than I am (a bad assumption, but I'm making it), you can probably figure out what it does from the name. Basically, it breaks down songs and artists by keyword categorisation. The final implementation, though, is the cool part - a Flash app embedded in a web page where you can type in an artist name or a song name and it then generates a customised streaming radio station for you. And you can continue to refine its selections, add more stations, more artists to a particular station, etc.
Downside so far is that if you want to register with them (and keep your stations across computers and connections), you need to supply a US zip code. But I'm sure you would never do anything so underhanded as to enter a random US zip code if you're not actually in the United States. Of course you wouldn't. There's also ads, but a good ad blocker will take care of that.
It's a nice little idea, and I'm really liking it so far. There are also standalone apps available for Pandora which are essentially shrinking the web page down to the player (and a Mac OS X Dashboard widget that doesn't work really well, so I don't recommend it) so you don't have to keep your browser on all the time, but I'll leave you to Google for it.
Anyway, Charity's back, and a call from my sister today turned me on to the Music Genome Project at Pandora.com.
As usual, I'm probably late to the party, but for those who are even less hip than I am (a bad assumption, but I'm making it), you can probably figure out what it does from the name. Basically, it breaks down songs and artists by keyword categorisation. The final implementation, though, is the cool part - a Flash app embedded in a web page where you can type in an artist name or a song name and it then generates a customised streaming radio station for you. And you can continue to refine its selections, add more stations, more artists to a particular station, etc.
Downside so far is that if you want to register with them (and keep your stations across computers and connections), you need to supply a US zip code. But I'm sure you would never do anything so underhanded as to enter a random US zip code if you're not actually in the United States. Of course you wouldn't. There's also ads, but a good ad blocker will take care of that.
It's a nice little idea, and I'm really liking it so far. There are also standalone apps available for Pandora which are essentially shrinking the web page down to the player (and a Mac OS X Dashboard widget that doesn't work really well, so I don't recommend it) so you don't have to keep your browser on all the time, but I'll leave you to Google for it.
I'm in the Library of Congress
Aug. 14th, 2006 11:30 amHoly crap, there's a copy of my book, The Nightmare Factory, in the Library of Congress.
And in eight other libraries in the US, including Yale, Cornell and Berkeley.
See here.
(P.S. I wrote the stories in it when I was between 17-21, and the angsty pretentious self-centeredness shows. It's not terribly good, except for maybe one or two stories. Just so you know.)
And in eight other libraries in the US, including Yale, Cornell and Berkeley.
See here.
(P.S. I wrote the stories in it when I was between 17-21, and the angsty pretentious self-centeredness shows. It's not terribly good, except for maybe one or two stories. Just so you know.)
