Category: I do these sorts of things so you don’t have to

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“Dunning-Krugerand”* Writers FTL**

All kinds of little “gotchas” are traps for Dunning-Krugerand writers. One of my fav gripes is the inability of some to distinguish between uses of “have got” and “have gotten.” If nothing else has emerged in text before “have got,” its typical misuse by Dunning-Krugerand writers in cases where “must” cannot be substituted, for example, is a sure tell.

*Dunning-Krugerand is a term Larry Correia coined to refer to those incompetents who have a massive, undue respect for their own non-existent competence.
**FTL here denotes “For the Loss.”

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*shrugs* I think These Things So You Don’t Have To

I kinda snicker a little bit when someone starts talking/writing about “sniper rifles.” My two word internal response is always “Simo Häyhä.” Yes, there are specialty firearms designed for extreme long-range accuracy that are frequently used primarily by snipers, but ANY rifle is a “sniper rifle” when it is in the hands of a sniper. Just say, “rifle.”

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Ah! From the File, “Book Blurbs That Make You Say ‘NO!'”

“If you like Hitchhikers guide [sic] to the Galaxy and the Starship Troopers movie, you’ll love this book!”

Firstly, the movie adaptation of Starship Troopers sucked swamp gas. Secondly, The two VERY different stories had almost nothing in common whatsoever, apart from the fact that the books they were based on were a couple of the best works of two very different masters of the science fiction field.

If the execrably written and edited excerpt from a book blurb that went downhill from there is at all representative of the book, then the best thing to do is flip on by with a curt, “No.”

Aside–and having nothing to do with the comment above–I dislike “dramatis personae” lists in the front of a book. Sure, I imagine it might help folks keep characters straight, but I think a writer is better served (and better serves his readers) by organically introducing his characters within the narrative, as different characters meet, and, although if a book is in a series and I have read 1,000-1,100 books–not all fiction, of course–in the six months between episodes (and that’s roughly a six month reading list for me), I still prefer to exercise my lil grey cells and recall the characters that were introduced previously w/o reading down a list of ’em.

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Book Hoarder

So, yeh, I hardly ever let go of a book I own. Have more hardcopy books now than I have shelving for. It’s a problem. Ebooks to the rescue? Well, sorta. First, not long after it was up and running, I requested a CD of all the books Gutenberg-dot-org had at the time. Offloaded those text files to other storage, stored the CD and had LOTS of reading to do.

Not enough, though.

When downloads from Gutenberg became available, I began regular searches for ebook duplicates of my most significant hardcopy books, other books I wanted to read but had not yet obtained, etc. About that time, Baen-dot-com lsted its free library of sci-fi books. I’ve been a sci-fi reader since third grade, so. . . Got ’em all (and read ’em, and updated as new freebies became available). Then I started also buying eARCs from Baen in their bundles of six or more eARCs for $18. Then buying others at list prices. (Crafty, crafty Baen: sucked me in all right!). Then I just started looking for freebie ebooks in general. Found military manuals, preparedness books, all kinds of how-to and craft books, history, theology, math, science, etc., all over the web, oh, and and free books from Amazon, as well.

I am now behind on my reading quite a bit. I have also been storing all ebooks in multiple formats (when available or convertible) on different media on different storage devices, some of which are ALWAYS offline and relatively safe from loss by various means. Different formats, in part, because I enjoyed correcting the text of the eARCs from Baen. . . in the html formats (mobi format is a PITA to edit–for me at least).

So, now my thousands of hardcopy books have much, much more than been surpassed by double in my ebook collection, and I NEED to read faster. . . The more I learn, the more I discover I don’t know. Of course.

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Proposal for a Sane Society

Code duello: we need to bring it back. The trick would be to ensure one is the challenged party, in order to be able to specify the weapons used. There is a range of weapons I would not mind being able to specify, including pillows on one end of the range. “Death by pillow fight” would be a great thing to have put in a deserving fellow’s obituary.

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Car Tips Edition

Helpful Hints from Hairy Helpful

  • Handy-Dandy lil Tip: Eschew “power” windows and always have a sharp knife clipped in a handy place and those specialty “automobile escape tools” become redundant, completely unneeded.
  • Power Tip: Don’t trap yourself in a car wreck to begin with. Drive smart and keep your head on a swivel. 😉
  • Pro Tip: Don’t trust cops. There are easily at least as many corrupt cops are there are a$$h*les in the general population. Have TWO (minimum) car cams and use them. (You have–at the very least–a first amendment right to record cops in the performance of their duty. You may not have had  your due process rights infringed on in your location, so you may be able to legally record them at other times, as well.)
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Rainy Days and. . . Tuesdays?

Nah, don’t always get me down.

Lil P0106 error code on Son&Heir’s 2010 Jetta (pretty nice car, that) that cleared when new PCV valve installed recurred with a P2178 (idle rich) added. MAF sensor/throttle body problem? MAF sensor connector was cracked. Cleaned out oil after removing, cleaning, checking throttle body, sealed MAF sensor connection after Deoxit cleaning of connectors. So far, no errors, but we’ll see. May need to replace a bit of electrical harness/connectors and MAF sensor, if it recurs. *shrugs* And then, of course, there’s always *tum-dum-tum-DUM!* taking it to the mechanic. *heh*

Methinks I’ll check things under the hood on my Wonder Woman’s 2010 Jetta, too, when I change the oil. *shrugs* Who knows? Maybe at least Deoxit* a few electrical connections there, too.

*I love the various Caig Deoxit products. Solved quite a few problems over the years using them. Their dielectric grease is apparently head and shoulders above similar products, going by the results I have had eliminating household electrical problems using it (solutions implemented a decade ago have held up). Computer and electronic woes dealt with, sound quality improvement from sound equipment. Vehicle woes wiped out. Improved network connections. Nice products, IMO.