Fictionalization of Second Glance

This past week I started an 8-week fiction writing class through Arlington County's Adult Education programs. The course is VERY basic, but my motivation is more than just educational--I'm taking the course primarily to motivate myself to write. So far, I'm about halfway done with the draft of my first assignment--a short scene (which I think could double as a very short story).

My 2 or 3 blog readers may have noticed that I have not blogged nearly as often in recent years. I ascribed this not to a lack of ideas so much as a diminished enthusiasm for writing in the blog medium. So I hope to express some of my new "bloggable" ideas through the medium of short fiction (stories anywhere from 500-2,000+ words). By "fictionalizing" my ideas--I'm sure there is a more accurate term--I hope to bring more life to the idea.

So why not a novel? I think my recent increased interest in writing short fiction has stemmed from a thoroughly practical matter. Weaving many ideas into a novel-length piece would take a lot of time and much effort, and frankly, I'm not up to the challenge right now. I came to a similar conclusion 6 years ago. But also, I've recently started reading short fiction and was inspired by what Paulo Bacigalupi was able to do with the medium in Pump Six and Other Stories.

Writing fiction, even short pieces, will take me a lot longer than writing a blog post, so I would not expect my contributions to this site to increase. In fact, I'm considering migrating to a more reader-friendly format for longer pieces. Suggestions welcome.

Monkeys popping balloons = Formula for Addiction

The tower defense genre ranks among the more addicting gaming options for the casual gamer. Unlike PC and Console games, all you need is an Internet connection to play, yet it has many of those qualities that make more complicated games addicting:

1. Short levels that give instant gratification. You get a little rush of glee every 3-5 minutes.
2. Something to protect. If an enemy gets past your defenses you gasp as your life force (or balloon quota) is depleted.
3. Steadily progressing difficultly. Causing a little stress ("Will I be able to hold the balloons off next round?") but making each victory that much more sweet ("Yay, my monkeys popped all the balloons!").
4. Simple Rules; Less simple strategy. To play you just need to drag and drop some monkeys; to win, you need to think ahead and save your money for more effective defenses and upgrades (monkeys with boomerangs!).

An economic theory of clubs

And yes, I am actually referring to James Buchanan's seminal work which among other things describes the optimal size of a club. His response could very well have been

Specifications:
Weight: 7.5 ounces (213 g)
Length: 20.25 Inch (514 mm)
Diameter: 3.25 Inch (83 mm)

And now you see that I am also talking about juggling clubs. More precisely a club of club jugglers. How valuable is an e-mail account if you're the only one with one? Like e-mail accounts, where if your friends, family, co-workers, etc., have them, then having one yourself become more valuable, having people around that can juggle, makes juggling skills more valuable. The more people in the network, the more people with whom you can interact using that medium.

Now in a club there is an upper limit on the number of people, beyond which additional members are a burden on the club. For example, in a secret club that upper limit is lower because additional members bring additional risk of spilling the beans. However, when it is a juggling club, and so far there is only one member, you really don't worry about upper limits much. Now, I'm no longer as blindly optimistic as my high school class believed back in 2002, but it costs me very little to advertise via this medium, and if I get just one member, it would be worth it! Gosh, I sound like such a spammer.

Basically, I'm looking for people interested in juggling, including learning to juggle. If you need convincing, here is a rather unconvincing list of reasons you should pick up the balls and give them a whirl:

1. Juggling is great exercise... if you do it while you are running.
2. Juggling brings people together... if you count throwing stuff at people bringing them together.
3. Juggling sharpens the mind... especially if you juggle knives before you're ready.
4. Juggling makes people fear and respect you... clowns juggle, case in point.
5. Juggling relieves depression... (if you don't think about the fact that you can never win; you can alway add one more ball.)

Guess your way to becoming a pilot???

How should the flight controls be held while taxiing a tailwheel airplane with left quartering tailwind?

A. Left aileron up, elevator neutral.
B. Left aileron down, elevator neutral.
C. Left aileron down, elvator down.

-From the FAA private pilot written test question database

In order to become a private pilot one step is to pass the FAA written test. The test claims to test essential knowledge an airman needs to conduct safe flight operations.

When I heard that the test was multiple choice I immediately thought of those old AP exams with 5 possible responses where they subtracted 1/4 point for wrong answers. The FAA test has only 3 choices per question. If it followed the AP style it would subtract something like 1/2 point for each incorrect response.

To pass the FAA test requires 70% correct responses. Assuming 100 questions, let's say you KNOW the answer to 58 questions and guess on the 42 remaining questions. If you get 1/3 of those right and 2/3 wrong you have a raw score of 70 and would be on your to getting your wings. AP style, your 7o raw score would end up being... 58, i.e., the number you KNEW and you'd fail. In fact, under the AP method, answering 79 questions correctly and missing 21 questions would result in failure, because you only knew 69 of the questions.

Of course you could get lucky and get more of your guesses right (say by eliminating a few obviously wronge choices). Is it worth getting lucky on the test only to be unlucky while taxiing your $150,000 Diamond DA20-C1 with a strong left quarting wind?

Check the comments for both answers.

Blogger's Block: Revert to Reading

When your ideas run dry, use other people's ideas. Over the past two weeks, I've read several books (or parts thereof, including comic books) as well as started writing my first novel. Here is the round-up:

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns -- Batman comes out of a 10 year retirement to save Gotham City. A refreshing new look at Batman, though the 13-year old girl as Robin is a little weird, as is the fight between Batman and Superman, though the context of the fight is interesting.

Atlas Shrugged -- Possibly the best book I have ever read. It is a stirring call for freedom and reason. Masterfully written, but incredibly long (1000+ pages).

V for Vendetta -- I read this because I saw the movie. I'm kind of obsessed with the whole communist/facist regime take-over story. Interesting, though I need to read it again to understand some of the interplay. A few of the characters look alike.

Anthem -- Another Ayn Rand title though this one is incredibly short at just 120 pages. Essentially a short version of an extreme version of 1984. I enjoyed it, only took a couple hours to read.

The Gunslinger, The Dark Tower 1 -- The only Steven King book I've read, at the suggestion of a friend. To be honest, I haven't finished it and if I hadn't bought it I would not bother. It's a future western mixed in with some dark magic.

Silent to the Bone -- Young adult fiction. I'll explain. My mom bought it for my sister but I was bored and decided to read it. Basically a kid witnesses his sister nearly die and he stops talking, to anybody. We find out he is ashamed of something that happened between him and his sicko au pair. The hints of pedophilia that run through the book made me a little uneasy and may be too mature for younger readers, but as a young teen reader exposure to its existence may have merit.

Lies my Teacher Told Me -- A look at how American History Textbooks white-wash history so as not to offend white students. Basically the author took a survey of 12 high school history textbooks and evaluated how they addressed controversial events and figures. It paints a more realistic picture of early american leaders and policy. All these type of books have some hidden agenda, so I don't give this one 100% credibility, but it introduces another interesting perspective on American History.