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Summer Projects
(06 Jun 2008 at 18:14) |
Here is a super digital zoom picture of me surfing this weekend on an island of wild ponies:
You can tell I don't know how to surf by the angle at which my board is pointing to the sky. But, it was my first time.
And here are my summer projects:
Finish the Pac Tom continental region. I'm in the home stretch now, visiting neighborhoods usually to do final cleanup in them, and the weather and allergies are getting to be real good for running. After that, it's over the rivers! Secret Project H. Soon! Super Mario Galaxy Secret Project 8+LD Secret Project LM. Really soon! Run a marathon, probably the San Francisco marathon. Listenquest Maximus 2k8, though this will probably take me through the end of the year unless I start listening outside of my house. Secret Project L Secret Project SV Get a really sweet video camera that I can attach my EF lenses to and make music videos Endless setlist all-expert mode
Did you know I have so many secret projects? Of course not, that is why they're secret.
Also, here is another fact: His Sophomoric Effort Edition 3 is now available. If you already read this or decided not to read it there is no reason to look again (except some of the typos and particularly cringey text has been fixed), but if you don't know what I'm talking about then maybe you want to go do some cringing in it. | |
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Combo deal
(10 Dec 2005 at 16:56) |
It's like 4 blog posts in one!
Today is/was a beautiful day! Thank you, sky, for snowing on us. I took a few pictures of my treacherous staircase and the curious incident of the snow in the night-time and my refrigerator.
I promised someone a printed copy of my second novel but then I was embarrassed because I remembered all of the typos that people found and that the cover is a little bit washed out and the margins too narrow and there are some parts that needed a little tweaking, so I made a second edition of the book and attempted to expunge all traces of the first. I extend a similar offer to any of my Pittsburgh friends: If anyone actually wants to read my book, I will give you a nice printed copy gratis (which I then encourage you to pass on to others when you are done...)!
I didn't pay my phone bill for 11 months just because I am irresponsible, and then they sent me this funny cancellation notice that says, THIS IS YOUR FINAL NOTICE BEFORE BASIC SERVICE TERMINATION etc. and the whole thing is in capital letters. But it is printed on inviting stationery that says "Verizon: We never stop working for you." Except, like, if you don't pay your bill for 11 months.
Also, I found this amazing thing that is more creepy than any Quake level ever made, but it's real, and it's a Church made out of 40,000 human skeletons. Great gravy! | |
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HSE: Real Books
(14 Dec 2004 at 11:31) |
 I got my honest-to-goodness copies of my novel from the printer lulu today. These guys have gotten a lot better since last year; the cover printing shows no distortion any more (just a little noise in the colors, which is acceptable), the paper inside is thicker and not so typing-paper white, and the halftone is higher resolution. This really feels like a real book and I am so happy! But, since I've already read it like a bazillion times all I can do is hold it and put it in my bathroom and show it to other people.
PS. No song rocks more than the first one minute of The Fucking Champs' "Never Enough Neck Pt. 2." Yes, not even Lightning Bolt. | |
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NEW: His Sophomoric Effort
(06 Dec 2004 at 01:53) |
 Phew! I am delighted to announce that, after a month of gruelling late nights and a week of editing, scanning, and graphic design, I have finally finished the first edition of His Sophomoric Effort. The cover is shown above in quantized 8-bit glory. You can check out the novel's home page to download it or you can order a nice softbound copy from lulu press (don't fear, CMU web police: I make no money off this! It's just for fun!), which is pretty cool. Or you can just ignore it but wow, then that'd be a whole lot of work for nothing!
Total word count: 55790 Total pages: 249 | |
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51k!
(29 Nov 2004 at 02:20) |
Last night I passed the magical 50,000 word mark for Nanowrimo, qualifying me as a "winner." As I've mentioned earlier, I started early this year, so not all of those 50k words were written in November, which then disqualifies me as a true Nanowrimo winner. But, since my novel is not actually finished yet, and I'm already at 51660 words, with two days left, all I need to do is keep up my standard word count and I will total 50k for the month and 55,000 total, requalifying me as a true winner.
Statistics so far: There are 20 illustrations in my novel, though I had planned to have more (I will probably draw some more over the next few days). It is so far 228 pages (my 2003 wrimo was only about 175, due to a lot less dialogue and a lot fewer illustrations). It contains two rock operas.
And so, coming soon to a vanity press near you: His Sophomoric Effort! | |
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Half way there!
(13 Nov 2004 at 00:12) |
I am now half-way done with my nanowrimo. In general I like the way this is shaping up, although this one is a bit more plot-oriented than the last one. (But, that's not saying much.) I still hope to spend a lot of time filling it up with illustrations.
Word count: 25005 (112 pages) | |
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Tomor Da
(27 Sep 2004 at 01:03) |
Happy birthday to me! I am now 25, a nice perfect square.
Today, my good health insurance expires (now I'm stuck with crummy student insurance) but my car insurance becomes cheaper.
In poker this evening, I almost quintupled my money. Thanks, poker gods!
I am still trying to figure out what my thesis will be about. This is probably the hardest part of graduate school so far.
About a month ago, I put out a proper Beta release of Escape, which I never mentioned here. Check it out! While people hunt for bugs and make levels, I have moved on to my next project, which is to get a head start on my nanowrimo for this year. This is that thing where you write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. I did it last year with satisfying results, but I decided this year to change my strategy a bit. First, I am trying to ease the word pressure by writing ahead when I'm in the mood (it can be really painful to do 1700 words a day, especially after a long day of work...). Second, I am going to put a lot more illustrations in this book, perhaps aiming for 175 pages rather than 50,000 words. (It annoys me that illustrations don't normally count towards the goal, since they take significant time to do, and I think they make books more interesting!) I may not meet the stringent requirements of the project, but I'll have another "novel" by the end of November.
Word count: 3472 | |
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Name of Author By Title of Book Book
(09 Jan 2004 at 12:01) |
| After a disappointing first print, I got my replacement copy of my book from lulu, and this one looks great. I now heartily recommend them for printing up your, or my, book. Here's the order page (it costs about $10.00 total including shipping) and of course you can still read it online for free. (The reason I keep reminding you that I don't make any money off this is that CMU, like most schools, has a ban on using their network for personal profit.) | |
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NEW: Tom's Novel: 'Name of Author by Title of Book'
(08 Dec 2003 at 22:31) |
It's finally up! Here's my book, Name of Author by Title of Book. It was created in the month of November with a bit of editing and graphic design in this first week of December.
I've also placed it on lulu.com for print-on-demand. (I don't make any money off copies that they print; just think of it as a convenient way to get a hard copy.) They've got a pretty cool thing going on there! But I wouldn't recommend ordering a copy there until I get mine, because I'm not sure I did all of the uploading and conversion and margins correctly. I'll let you know when my copy arrives. | |
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Winner!
(30 Nov 2003 at 01:47) |
Over 20 hours early (perhaps a new record for anything I've ever done with a deadline), I crossed the 50,000 word mark in the 2003 national novel writing month challenge.
Even though I crossed the mark, I still have a bit left to write, which I'll try to fit in tomorrow. After that the book will be on the web soon, first as the "contest version", and slightly later as a more polished edition that has actually been read through and edited, and given cover art, etc.
In general, this was a really fun, and really tough exercise. I recommend it to anyone for next year. (On the other hand, I feel almost ready right now to commit to not doing it again after a mere 11 month resting period!)
Word count: 50,034 (done!) | |
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