I was just doing some digging around into the past and stumbled across an item that was a fixture of my youth but I had completely forgotten about.
(more…)Category: thinking
Albert Camus quote
Life continues, and some mornings, weary of the noise, discouraged by the prospect of the interminable work to keep after, sickened also by the madness of the world that leaps at you from the newspaper, finally convinced that I will not be equal to it and that I will disappoint everyone — all I want to do is sit down and wait for evening. This is what I feel like, and sometimes I yield to it.
— Albert Camus, “Letter to P.B.” in Lyrical and Critical Essays (1970)
Converting blog to .md (.txt)
Vibe coding is the best part of AI, really.
There are times that I just want a simple script. Something useful to do something absolutely stupid-simple except that I don’t have the coding skills or the knowledge on which commands will get me what I want.
Some of the WordPress plugins I did for my gothic western were a bit more complex, but in no way would justify paying someone $10 annually for a subscription to “not quite do what I wanted it to do, but it was good enough for my needs” kind of thing. AI wrote those plugins in minutes flat for nothing.
I have no intention of taking work away from real coders, but having something to covert my old blog .xml files from sceadugenga.com (2019-2025) into a readable (or even printable) is not stealing money from anyone. It’s something that some simple coding can do, and more efficiently than both free and paid options out there offer.
(more…)Half-Penny Thoughts — 04sept26
What’s with this trend I am seeing of writers who publish Kindle-first books of giving superfluous subtitles to their work?
Or has it always been around at this frequency and I am only now noticing it? I am well aware that the idea of using a superfluous subtitle in of itself is not a new thing, but when this month’s offerings of “free” Kindle books for Prime customers are littered with subtitles that make no sense to add, I have some head scratching going on inside my skull.
“Title: A Novel“
“Title: A Thriller“
“Title: A Historical Romance“
“Title: A Horror Story“
In every case, the subtitle doesn’t add to the title, but arguably subtracts from it. The subtitle describes the book’s genre/subgenre, it doesn’t create an narrative atmosphere in any way.
(more…)Disruptence and Discord.ance
My break from posting new content notwithstanding while I do a personal reset, I am not planning at sitting idle, tapping at tabletops with forefinger and repeating “What to do? What to do?” while trying to find a Zen moment streaming Yanni.
As appealing as it might be to listen to Yawni all day, I am honestly trying to disrupt my personal thinking and writing processes.
(more…)Half-Penny Thoughts — 21aug26
Whether in relation to my own writing or to others’ writing, I am often surprised at the interpretations readers assign to the pieces in their comments.
In those moments, I cock my head off to the side like a confused puppy and even sometimes audibly utter, “Wot?”
That’s not to say anyone’s interpretations of anyone’s writings is wrong — because writing that invites individual interpretation is when writing is at its best. But I am trying to say that sometimes those interpretations come from a place I never imagined might exist.
Sometimes, that place in the comments is so far removed from what I imagined I wrote or read that I have to go back and see if we are referencing the same piece. And I am not always satisfied that the commentor and I are looking at the same thing, or are even in the same galaxy, let alone neighborhood.
So it goes.
My invitation to join a entirely and absolutely scientific discussion prompt for today is: Is this a wholly personal experience and am I the odd duck? Or it pretty much the norm from your experience? Bonus points: Do you disagree with my earlier statement, “Writing that invites individual interpretation is when writing is at its best”? Agree?
Please Note: Right now, the US is phasing out pennies in favor of nickels as the base measure of the dollar — “What could possibly go wrong with that idea?” they asked after declaring the penny ‘cancelled’; no more $1.99 deals, I expect — so you’ll need at least ten thoughts before that threshold is crossed.
Half-penny Thoughts — 18aug26
At risk of sounding like I am a broken record myself, I am still pondering the idea of what makes a form of artistic expression (music, writing, etc.) “unique” as opposed to “derivative”.
I make it no secret that I employ AI for exploring ideas, philosophy and personal education (i.e., “How do I construct a coldwave synth pad on my Hydrasynth? What wave types on my three oscillators, envelope and LFO settings would help me get that sweeping ‘icy’ sound?” or “Explain to me the Sámi cosmologic worldview as currently understood and correcting for Christian bias in the written records. Point out the suspect areas and provide scholarly references for further review. Do not rely on information gathered from unsupported or unreferenced statements.”
Things like that. AI is really good at collecting information quickly and doing a darned fine job of filtering it when you give the right instructions. Plus, no ads.
(more…)Half-penny Thoughts — 17aug26
I was thinking about narrative and the phrase “there are no new tales left to tell” and its myriad variations.
Looking into it, someone was suggesting writing in “the quiet, eerie margins” was a writing space left largely untapped. Described as: “It is the difference between a sudden, violent storm (the loud center) and the heavy, electric stillness in the air just before the barometer drops (the quiet margin).”
Of course, I’m curious about your thoughts.
Are there truly no new tales left to tell? Is everything derivative? Can you think of a story that doesn’t have an easy analogue?
Or, how would you interpret writing “in the quiet, eerie margin”? Do you have a different description or opinion? Where would you start if you were writing in/of the margin?
Speechless in Purgatory
Photo by Bui Van Dong on Pexels.com I have lost my mojo.
It started about the time I quit smoking, so I always joke that if you gave me a cig, I’d talk your ear [edit: that should be “your shirt”] off while attempting to sell you your own shirt back to you. Or: I blame it on the lack of a smoke, anyway. Either way, it feels like something about smoking made it easier to talk to people.
My other jest: if you put me in front of a microphone and expect me to give a presentation, hand me a guitar as well and I’ll knock it out of the park. It’s more lie than reality, but I could probably give better presentations with a guitar in hand.
Now I fumble over the simplest chatter.
Was it that cigarette? Or was it just having a prop in my hands? A drag on the cigarette as a visual semicolon, gathering my next words before speaking with dramatic tension built up before the exhale and finishing my thought?
Or was it something that helped me focus? I’ll admit my mind is a restless thing, that smalltalk tends to make it wander. I’ve not made it a secret that I’m impatient with extended smalltalk. Was smoking what made it easier to keep my mind on track for social niceties?
Perhaps I should try holding a pen when I go to social gatherings. A toothpick? A fidget toy in my pocket — only someone is apt to notice the movement and think you are diddling yourself…
If I could only manage to avoid putting my foot in my mouth for an hour and then never managing to extract it, but just switch the position as I blush more an more with it sitting there for all to see. Ha ha ha. Ugh.
I’m still one-day-at-a-time with the smokes after well over a decade. I might be an alcoholic still, but I rarely think about finding a drink after roughly the same amount of time. It’s all: Smoke smoke smoke, how can I justify a smoke?
Maybe that’s all this really is, if I’m honest with myself. An excuse looking for a problem.
Maybe all I really need is some more practice being social. Shudder.
Maybe not.
But, man, I do miss that little extra bit of income from selling shirts.
Mild rant
I recently had a lengthy discussion with someone who wanted to share with me their amazing mind-expanding experiences with psilocybin. This person had “an awakening” after the experience and wanted me to hear their version of “the good word”.
I won’t go into the details of their belief system, as it is really unimportant. People believe what they will believe and I try not to judge what they believe, although his awakening is based quite heavily on the use of hallucinogens and convoluted conspiracy theories treated as science by merely applying the word “science” to the material.
Anyway, I think he was trying to get me to join his psilocybin community. Most people would jump at the chance, honestly. Not interested, personally.
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