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Posted by: JohnE. at 05:11 AM | Comments (164)
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Posted by: rdbrewer at 07:14 PM | Comments (757)
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"Hey, Isn't This Thing Supposed To have An Engine?"

Good morning morons and moronettes and welcome to AoSHQ's prestigious Sunday Morning Book Thread.

Every Moron Likes Free Books

...especially if they're pulp sci-fi books from the 50s. So I discovered this site here that specializes in what they call "off- trail" sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. The have a free section where it looks like they've adopted the Baen strategy of offering some of an author's work for free in the hopes that you will like it well enough to actually purchase other books.

A lot of the freebies are reprinted "pulp" authors from the 50s. And some of the titles are a real hoot:

The Man Who Saved The Universe [The Adventures Of Johnny Mayhem #1] by C.H Thames. (Look, any book with a main character named 'Johnny Mayhem' has got to be worth reading)

The Dream Girl [The Hilarious Adventures of Toffee #1] by Charles F. Myers. (OK, the title isn't much, but look at the cover art -- dude's obviously living the moron lifestyle)

Interplanetary Huntress by Arthur K. Barnes. The blurb for this one is great:

Science Fiction's first heroine! Out of print for more than 50 years! The action-packed exploits of Gerry Carlyle, Interplanetary Huntress, on assignment from the London Interplanetary Zoo to capture the rarest alien lifeforms in the solar system – and "bring 'em back alive." The only fly in the ointment of this intrepid woman is pilot Tommy Strike, who's just as determined to prove no woman is his superior. Their battles with the most fearsome of otherworldly critters are nothing compared to their battle with each other!

So check 'em out.

Gone With the Wind Prequel Coming

And the main character will be Mammy:

The Mitchell estate has authorized writer Donald McCaig to write a novel, titled “Ruth’s Journey” (Ruth is Mammy’s real name in this telling), that details how the character is brought to America as a slave and how she views the events of Mitchell’s original novel. McCaig’s novel “Rhett Butler’s People,” which was released in 2007 and explores the childhood and family history of “Wind” romantic hero Rhett, was one of two books previously authorized by the Mitchell estate, with author Alexandra Ripley’s “Scarlett” also approved.

Huh. I hadn't heard about these other prequels. I'm thinking they can't be good, but what do I know?

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Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:58 AM | Comments (184)
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There are two types of people: Those who only sometimes procrastinate those who are so inclined to it that it creates havoc in their lives. Lately, I tend to be the latter of the two. So, while I should have been practicing using MS Visio all day, half my day was spent here with you fine folks.

My procrastination has been so bad today that I actually researched "procrastination" in order to procrastinate a bit longer. Then, I tweeted about my procrastination in order to drag it out even further. Then, others joined in, and it was clear that I am far from the only one.

Well, the fine folks at The Next Web blog have posted a very timely article on the science of procrastination, and it makes all the sense in the world.

It's a fight or flight response.

The amygdala is the section of the brain associated with our automatic emotional reaction to a situation. In moments of being overwhelmed, such as having many tasks to do or a difficult one to do, there is a fight (resistance) or flight (ignore) reaction.

Both are procrastination – the brain is protecting us against possible negative feelings. The norepinephrine chemical takes over, causing increased levels of fear and anxiety. Adrenalin gets pumped in.

We are addicted to dopamine, which is produced by pleasurable experiences. So long as a task has a higher historical likelihood (or perceived future likelihood) of producing dopamine, our brain is addicted to reproducing these activitiesÂ… and avoiding the others.

Do you want to play Candy Crush or do tax returns? Yeah.

It occurs to me that, if we identify the cause, we can also mind-play our way through it. Perhaps we can tell ourselves repeatedly that the faster we get it over with the faster we'll feel relief that it is over. Or... perhaps we can stop hitting ourselves in the head with the hammer in the first place because procrastination seems to arise from fear... fear of failure, of rejection, of not being good enough and, frankly, isn't the world tough enough without us kicking the crap out of ourselves on a daily basis?

Tell them about it, Stuart.

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Posted by: Open Blogger at 04:04 PM | Comments (352)
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I assume Connecticut will want money for that, but who knows. I guess Democrats have a political incentive to share here.

Maryland officials are set to replace the stateÂ’s online health-insurance exchange with technology from ConnecticutÂ’s insurance marketplace, according to two people familiar with the decision, an acknowledgment that a system that has cost at least $125.5 million is broken beyond repair.

The board of the Maryland exchange plans to vote on the change Tuesday, the day after the end of the first enrollment period for the stateÂ’s residents under the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

...

Maryland is not alone in having deep-seated problems with its health marketplace. Technical issues also have plagued Oregon, Minnesota and Hawaii. But Maryland will be the first to walk away from its site, a particular embarrassment for Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D), who was placed in charged of implementing health-care reform in Maryland by Gov. Martin OÂ’Malley (D).

It was not immediately clear how much more money Maryland may have to invest to get a fully functioning system, according to the two individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the changes.

Stuff Democrats buy never "costs" anything. The War in Iraq "cost" a great deal of money.

But in the media's telling, Democratic expenditures are usually "investments."

phreshone worked out the math:

MD spent $125 million in an effort to enroll 150,000 people. Essentially $1000/person projected transaction cost (actual is running $2500, and cost will expand as the system will be replaced with a copy of CT's before the next enrollment period.

Maryland invested $1000 per sign-up.

What are you, against investing in our own people?

Posted by: Ace at 11:12 AM | Comments (257)
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Yesterday, Ace linked to a touching story about a lady who had been deaf since birth and blind since her twenties. Through the miracle of a Cochlear Implant device she is now able to hear. It's an allergy provoking video to say the least. However, something in the article seemed to escape notice in the comments here so I thought we might take a second look.

This lady, Joanne Milne, asked one of her closest friends to compile a playlist of music for her.

Can you imagine the significance of that task?

In the end, he decided to create a list using one song from each year of her life, starting with this:

You've been asked by your friend to provide a list of the most important music she'll ever hear. Do you build the list based upon important works, or joyful hymns, or vibrant pop.... it would be an incredibly daunting task. Myself, I think I would offer this for her fist piece of music, and branch out from there:

If given such a monumental task privilege, what would you add to her very first playlist? Why?

Open thread.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 08:09 AM | Comments (306)
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It seems that Y-not had a situation come up and had to rush out of town, so I’m flying solo this week. Last week someone requested pests. Well, they requested we talk about pests, the other way doesn’t make much sense. I once had someone come up to me in a mall and ask if I wanted to make a donation “for childhood cancer”. I told her with a straight face that I didn’t support childhood cancer and walked off. By the look she gave me she didn’t get it. Oh well, the following year I shaved my head for St. Baldricks because those folks are fighting childhood cancer, and THAT’S a cause I support.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 01:00 PM | Comments (265)
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All you Fox News-addicted, staunch Republican types sure could use a morning open thread, amirite?

Posted by: andy at 03:45 AM | Comments (470)
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You've long had the fantasy of piloting a goat, right?

Sure. Who hasn't.

Well April Fools Day is your lucky day then.

"Goat Simulator is the latest in goat simulation technology, bringing next-gen goat simulation to you," Coffee Stain Studios writes. "You no longer have to fantasize about being a goat, your dreams have finally come true!"

They also call it a "stupid, small, broken game," and brag that the game has "millions" of bugs and glitches in it, but they're leaving them in anyway, to enhance the Goat Simulation, or whatever. (They say they'll fix the game-breaking glitches but the rest will stay in.)

What might you do as a goat? Well, you do the same thing as you do in every other game: You move around, destroy objects and vehicles, and kill people. (Though the creator says the inert bodies you leave behind are merely "sleeping.") The goat headbutts things until they explode, the explosion sometimes launching him into flight, and you set people on fire by headbutting barbecues into them.

Then you go to the town's zero-g simulator because, well, of course it has one.

You can also carry around heavy objects by licking them with your tongue. Because your tongue sticks to them, and then you can carry things around and kill people with them.

The way goats do.

Below, the official launch video for what people are calling (in a Sharknado-like way) "the greatest video game ever made."

And here's some gameplay with the Goat Simulator, with simultaneous interview of the creator. At 4:23, the creator shows off the "Tall Goat" mode, which is worth watching.

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Posted by: Ace at 09:13 AM | Comments (190)
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Hi again, 'Rons n' 'Ettes. DDR, here. Seems CDRM is busy running around telling people to do stuff tonight, so I'm filling in on his behalf in order to ensure that your Friday night ONT needs are met to a relatively plausible degree. As you know, I have this thing where I can't just throw together a bunch of stuff and call it an ONT. I don't know what it is, but I have a compulsion to try and tie a bunch of crap into a neat little package and pretend I knew where the hell I was going when I started.

Tonight's ONT will be centered around what I do when I'm not lurking or commenting here at the HQ, taking and editing photos, practicing the guitar, or drinking -- which is bartending. I've covered this territory before here, but inasmuch as my occupation is a key feature in the Ace of Spades Lifestyle, I figured I could go back to the well and no one would notice. It's not like anyone reads this part of the ONT, anyway.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 06:02 PM | Comments (1202)
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