25th Oct2008

Kindle Discount

by Aaron

Hey all, I’m packing up for my vacation but needed to post quickly because this is time-sensitive. My wife showed me that yesterday on Oprah, she declared the Kindle her favorite gadget EVER. She gave one to everyone in the audience and also had Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon on the show. She is in love with it and I think they’re going to sell like wildfire.

Anyhow…. she has a promotional discount available that is valid through November 1st. This is a coupon code good for $50 off the price of a Kindle, bringing it down to $299. If you’re on the fence about getting one, this is the way to go. You enter the coupon code during checkout. The code is OPRAHWINFREY.

Hope this helps anyone who is thinking about getting one. I’ll be back in 2 weeks!

Category : Just me
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24th Oct2008

Two Weeks

by Aaron

I know the above picture is a bit obscure, but think of the movie Total Recall with Ah-nold and you’ll probably remember where this picture is from. :-)

Today brings Copious Notes to the start of a hiatus for the next two weeks. I am leaving for vacation Sunday morning and won’t be back for a week. After I return, that first week in November will consist of my anniversary, Election Day, two back-to-back Smashing Pumpkins concerts and me trying to recover from the week of R&R I had. Plus anyone who’s taken a cruise knows you eat like a glutton, so I’m sure I’ll be trying to cope with the lack of white-gloved room service.

I plan on bringing my Kindle with me on the trip, so I’ll have Freezing Point with me to keep me company when my wife wants to go get a massage or when we want to relax on the top deck at night with only the sounds of the ocean around us. I also just purchased ‘Transfer of Power’ by Vince Flynn as my backup book in case I finish Freezing Point before the trip is over. I’m sure I’ll have people looking at me wondering ‘what the hell is that thing?’.

I’ll pick back up here most likely on Sunday 9th or Monday the 10th. Until then, everyone be well, stay safe, and if you’re doing NaNo: best of luck in hitting that 50k mark!

Category : Just me
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24th Oct2008

Roadblock?

by Aaron

This is a short & free-flowing entry. Please forgive the lack of coherence.

I was getting some writing done the other day and hit a roadblock, which can be annoying when dealing with the ‘universe’ of a book. I was working on chapter 7 when I stopped mid-sentence. I realized that something that is very important to my book was never hashed out in my outlining. More specifically, it is a piece of machinery that I never came up with a shape or design for. I just had a simple idea in my head and never hashed it out. So now I am at a roadblock until I can describe this thing. I really can’t make a place-holder either due to the mechanics being interlaced within the story. It seems I need to get this thing figured out so I can continue.

I did pull out a piece of paper and tried to sketch it out but I suck at drawing and my first ‘design’ doesn’t look like how I want this thing to go. My new goal is to figure this whole thing out and get the logistics working as quick as possible.

Don’t you just hate roadblocks?!?!

Category : Spirit Hackers
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23rd Oct2008

Lyrically Speaking for October 23

by Aaron

I know what you’re thinking. “A Lyrically Speaking Post?? It’s only Thursday!” and you are correct if you’re surprised to see some musical poetry on the day before the end of the week. I’m a bit surprised that I wanted to post this series today, but there is good reason. What is that reason? You’ll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to see!

For now, I want to bring it back to the music. One of my favorite artists is Dido and I love almost all her songs. She is up there in my book with The Smashing Pumpkins for powerful lyrics and music that can be listened to in almost any situation. She has happy, sad, longing and angry songs. She has a new album coming out in November and I am truly excited. I already pre-ordered it on iTunes and have heard three tracks through her website. So far, she hasn’t disappointed.

Today’s song from Dido is filled with anger and frustration. It’s a song about wanting to escape and move on with life. You can hear the way this song is sung that there is angst that comes through. Most of all, it’s powerful and I think most people can relate to wanting to ‘get out into the world’ and get away from it all. I find this song inspiring and most of all, great to listen to because the melody is paired perfectly with the lyrics.

From the album No Angel, this is Hunter.

With one light on
In one room
I know you’re up
When I get home
With one small step
Upon the stair
I know your look
When I get there

If you were a king
Up there on your throne
Would you be wise enough to let me go
For this queen you think you own

Wants to be a hunter again
I want to see the world alone again
To take a chance on life again
So let me go…

The unread book
And painful look
The TV’s on
The sound is down
With one long pause
Then you begin
Oh look what
The cat’s brought in

If you were a king
Up there on your throne
Would you be wise enough to let me go
For this queen you think you own

Wants to be a hunter again
I want to see the world alone again
To take a chance on life again
So let me go
Let me leave

For the crown you’ve placed upon my head
Feels too heavy now
And I don’t know what to say to you
But I’ll smile anyhow
And all the time I’m thinking
Thinking…

I want to be a hunter again
I want to see the world alone again
To take a chance on life again
So let me go

Category : Ideas
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21st Oct2008

Capacious Kindle for October 21

by Aaron

Kindle 2?

So if you’re a Kindle owner like me, one of the biggest worries about buying one is the lingering question of getting an obsolete device. More specifically, it’s the fear of buying a Kindle when a new one may be around the corner. Now, all technology products have product cycles, but Apple and their big-time events have brought that cycle into the mainstream consciousness so people are always afraid to upgrade. Me, I knew the Kindle was only four months old when I purchased it so I knew I would be safe for a bit. That time for a Kindle 2 may be upon us.

On October 4th, Boy Genius Report posted ‘spy pictures’ of a possible Kindle 2 in the wild. These are thorough and seem pretty real. I’m not so sure if they’re Photoshopped. They could always be fake (hot products get this treatment from rabid fans) but I will say one thing about this: I STILL don’t regret getting my Kindle.

Seeing these pictures, I’m actually glad I bought the first iteration of the ebook reader because in my opinion it looks better than this second revision. The larger body makes the e-paper look smaller and I don’t think I would actually like this version. So for now, my $400 investment is safe and I am still enjoying it. I have read more in this year that I have in any year in my life. Most of all, I am enjoying it. The interesting thing about these reports is that since the story ran, there has been nothing on the Kindle front. Either Amazon is keeping things under wraps or these are fake.

So if you’re thinking of getting a Kindle, don’t fear the possibility of change. Just because a new one of anything comes out, it doesn’t mean your gadget is slower, smaller, or even crappy. It’s still the same device you fell in love with the first time you plunked down the cash.

Category : Just me
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20th Oct2008

Status

by Aaron

Spirit Hackers Progress

9204 / 80000 words. 12% done!

I’ve been meaning to post an update to the progress of Spirit Hackers for a few days now and I finally have the chance to do it, aside from all the other blog posts I’ve been putting up on here. The last update I put up here showed my progress to be 6,100+ words. I didn’t post a page-count so I don’t know how many pages I’ve progressed. This is mostly due to me using the Scrivener feature where the page counts are an estimated 350 words-per-page method used for paperbacks and not the actual printed page count.

I’ve gotten some writing done this past week. Some days were really productive and others not so much. I found that the dictation software helps a lot in getting many words down but I seem to pause much more when using it and I don’t get into a flow or groove. I’m worried that may show when it’s read and I will need to pay attention to those sections when I go back in the editing phase. In the previous few sessions I’ve had with S.H., I have typed it up the old-fashioned way using my fingers and a keyboard.

I have been working on chapter six and it’s been a bit frustrating because I had a vision for where it would go and it just doesn’t want to get out what I need it to. I placed a note next to my typing area with the ‘Chapter Objectives’ which I thought would help but 2,000 words later I just built up to it and closed it off with a cliffhanger, which will lead into the objectives being given in the next chapter. I’m not really too upset about it, but I just struggled with the chapter. I’m glad to have it completed, even if I didn’t achieve the goals. I still lead up to them.

So this is where Spirit Hackers stands right now: 9,204 words with 24 pages (using the paperback calculation method). My goal for the book is at least 80,000 words and that’s why I included the meter at the top of the post. So far, so good.

Category : Spirit Hackers
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18th Oct2008

The Weekender: Oct 18 – 19

by Aaron

This weekend, I want to delve into a two-part ‘Weekender’ that I think everyone will want to chime in about: writing method. This is something that everyone who writes has an opinion about and more importantly a style they follow.

In the past with everything I have written, it has been organically. My philosophy has been ‘I don’t know what is happening in the next paragraph’ in all my writing. I literally didn’t have a clue what my characters would be doing next and I would let the story go where it wanted to go. Most of my work wasn’t read by anyone so I really never got feedback on this aspect of my writing. Additionally, I only wrote short stories or got stuff out in ‘free writing’ sessions.

Then I decided I wanted to write a novel. This desire came to me after seeing the author Jodi Picoult with my wife. Every year at the same time, she comes to a well-known bookstore in NY and talks about her latest novel. Listening to her book and seeing what was happening, awoke a sleeping beast. I thought “hey, I could do this” and the next day I began my Robert book. I had no outline. I had no plan. All I had was a very basic idea and an ending. I didn’t really care how the book progressed as long as I got from point A to point B. Looking back on it, I’m surprised I got anything down on paper. 50,000+ words later I had a book!

It was around this time that I was in a writing group and got some actual, real feedback from people who not only cared but actually knew what the hell they were talking about. Besides some classes in college where we didn’t share work with each other, I never had someone tell me how my writing was. I remember the first comment said to me as clear as day: “Let me say first that you’re writing is really good.” That was the best validation I’ve had in a long time about my writing. The next part was getting torn up with critiques, which is cool with me. This comment didn’t pump up an ego but gave me a drive to think that I could actually continue with this journey that I had started not too long previous.

Since then, the Robert book is in flux and I’m trying to learn lessons from that endeavor. In dealing with Spirit Hackers, I’ve seen that having a game-plan helps so much. Knowing at least the direction a chapter or group of chapters needs to go, helps keep me on track and I think paces the book better. Of course I won’t know this until someone actually reads it, but I have a feeling the caliber of book will be much better than the Robert book.

The bottom line is that there are tons of people who write organically and it works best for them. I am at a crossroads right now where I honestly don’t know which method I will use but this whole structured writing deal may be the way for me. We’ll address the ‘outlining method’ next time. For now, I’d love to know what you guys think.

Category : Just me
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17th Oct2008

Lyrically Speaking for October 17

by Aaron

Hey it’s Friday everyone and I’m here to bring you another song that I think has great lyrics and also sounds great. This week, I bring you an interesting song that I didn’t know about a few months ago. As I’ve mentioned previously, I listen to Pandora a lot when I write and even when I’m just not into hearing my songs in iTunes. Pandora is fantastic and the fact that it’s free makes it one of the best web services out there.

This week I want to focus on the group O.A.R. which stands for Of A Revolution. This band has ‘hippie’ roots in their music where you will see people travel to see them and for me, personally it reminds me of Phish, The Grateful Dead, or even Dave Mathews Band. Pandora plays this song all the time since I’ve given it a thumbs up and I finally plunked down the $0.99 to buy it on iTunes. I figure if I like the song enough, I should give the band some money. Coming into work the other day, I got to really hear the lyrics and realized the track has some fun to it and is really enjoyable. I think you will all agree it’s a good song, but also the melody is nice too.

From O.A.R., this is Hey Girl:

I took this girl out last night and we left around 12,
We walked along lonely streets and got to know ourselves,
I like to read – she likes to write,
she likes to sleep – and I like to stay up all night,
My friends say I’m crazy and I agree,
but that’s okay that’s the way I like to be

Hey girl come with me and let yourself go
Hey girl come with me and let yourself go, go, go

I say now hey girl, come with me and let yourself go,
Hey girl come with me and let yourself go
I said hey girl, come with me, and let yourself go, go, go, let yourself go

we went out late that night and we danced through the night
I was holding on to her and she be gripping it tight she was
But she didn’t care, and I didnt mind
I was unaware that she liked to act so kind,
My friends say I’am crazy and I agree,
but thats okay cause thats the way I like to be

hey girl, come with me and let yourself go, come on, come on
hey girl come with me and let yourself go, go, go,
just let yourself go

Hush little baby dont say a word
i would like to give you evrything that you deserve
ill give you my heart ill give you all my soul
you can have all my money if you like you can control
in my mind i miss you every night that your not here
oh i just want to sit around your life and breath your air
and if i can not have you i just dont want to live
oh i got so much i would like to give

hey girl, come with me and let yourself go, come on, come on
hey girl come with me and let yourself go, go, go,
just let yourself go

Hey girl,but baby it all here just let yourself go
Hey girl,but baby but darlin let your self go
Hey girl,but baby but darlin i need to know
Hey girl,but my sweety but my lovely id love to let you go
Hey girl,but im comeing back for you and im looking to you girl

Category : Ideas
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