Here is a post where I make excuses for myself.
First and foremost I have not updated heptapod.org because I have been overwhelmed by actual real life. The last two and a half weeks have been nothing but excitement and drama and other shenanigans. Plus I haven't had any time for personal reflection and observing the world.
The figlet server I have been using to make headers here at heptapod.org went down in late March or early April. Being stubborn and lazy I didn't want to search the web for a new figlet server that may or may not have the same figlet fonts or features (smush, kern, et al) to maintain continuity between archival pages. On Saturday I broke down, sought one out and got text for the remaining months of 2007.
Have I mentioned that raddidge has stopped reading or only rarely reads this website? Yeah I've maintained heptapod.org on a far-more frequent basis in the past before this young woman came into my life. But since I'm fairly certain she doesn't come around, not that it's contractual or anything it's nice knowing that she reads or at least skims the daily textdump which is heptapod.org.
Finally all my creative energies have gone into the production and telling of the story which is Asbury Park by Night! One thing I've noticed is that every week the plot changes slightly and never ends up the way I had expected in my head thanks to Jaybird, maribou, elmgrows and Cassius's collective involvement and investment with the game and their characters. Regarding yesterday's musings the blame for a bad game falls squarely on my shoulders.
Recently I read a review of a book which seemed to have a really cool idea. Earth inadvertantly receives and decodes an extraterrestrial broadcast from Sigma Draconis and responds to the aliens. Years pass and the aliens respond with a new code. Unfortunately the folks who originally decoded the first transmission are now elderly and sick. That's when I saw the name of the author and became suspicious. Robert J. Sawyer.
If you've been keeping up with heptapod.org, and for shame if you have not, I recently reviewed his book Hominids. The guy writes like he's trying really hard to crossover but ends up dumbing-down (heh) the story at its own expense. Plus according to maribou Mr. Sawyer is adamant that coyotes and domesticated dogs are too genetically distant to successfully interbreed and have pups. Reckon I'll wait for this to become available at the library.
Same goes for one of my previous guilty pleasures, Jack McDevitt. He has neat ideas but the pacing and presentation is ultimately plodding, heavy-handed and predictable. The guy's gotta be making money for himself and publisher since he's written fourteen novels and a fistful of short stories which have been nominated for awards. Again this guy is the reason for libraries and used book stores.
Looking out the screen door I see there are layered clouds to the east which are full of color. The lower levels are purple and blue but the upper levels of the clouds are red, orange and yellow. Every now and again the colors would bleed, mix then return to the usual scheme.
What stood out about this unusual cloud formation was the fact that there were three stars along the leading edge of the cloud spaced about ten degrees apart. The stars weren't up in the night sky but actually pinpoints of light that would be obscured by the clouds or burn through them. I stood there for a long and indeterminate time wondering what was going to happen next.
