Baxil [bakh-HEEL'], n.

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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Baxil" journal:

[<< Previous 20 entries]

January 30th, 2009
01:22 am [Link]	Legend of Hero: Filler Week It's been one hell of a week. FurCon was transformative and I'm working on a longer post about it. Before and after the con, we had baphnedia as a house guest during his drive to his new digs in Oregon; kadyg and I spent most of the evening sleeping tonight to recuperate; and I'm about to get caught up in a giant whirlwind of a weekend with about four different cross-scheduled things exploding in my face at once. Meanwhile, there's this little thing called my serial novel that I simply haven't been able to offer even enough mindspace to edit the next few sections that need to be posted. Discretion being the better part of valor, I'm calling a mulligan on it this week. If I'm lucky and/or persistent, I might get some time on Sunday night to catch my breath and get the story back on track. That doesn't mean I haven't posted anything, though! Taking a cue from one of my experiences at con -- a rousing game of Baron Munchhausen with aprivatefox, mufi, krinndnz, cryptodragon and a few other people whose names I forget -- I handed a copy of the rules to Kevin, David and Trent and let them have at it. And today I finally managed to capitalize on two years' worth of good intentions and finally* posted roaminrob's TTU story "Noboarding," an examination of one way that magic might change extreme sports. I hope its prominence makes up a little for my irresponsibility. As a reminder, TTU is always looking for a few good creators -- if something in Legend of Hero or the setting itself catches your creative fancy, write or draw or interpretive-dance away! I'm happy to field questions about the universe; post or repost anything you write (and I promise I won't take two years next time); and I'm slowly, patiently improving the wiki, little by little. So it goes. Edited to add: The Baron Munchhausen gauntlet has been thrown. Join in the fun in comments! -- * Next in queue: waywind drew some fantastic Keith Haring-style icons in TTU themes. That, and a few illustrations from the TTU sketchbook at previous cons, need to be added to the wiki for visual punch once I can sit down for a little while and focus on it enough to figure out how best to upload and link images. Current Location: ~/Brainstorm Current Music: Riven OST, "Gehn Speaks" Tags: legend of hero, ttu (2 comments \| Leave a comment)
December 27th, 2008
04:12 pm [Link]	Writing Quicktakes: Escape from Below A quicktake from the recent Writing Requests thread. More are on the way; read the others via the above link or my microfic tag. Thank you all again for your creative kickstarts. :-) As with my other quicktakes, bonus trivia is in the comments (as an incentive to click through). That hollow knock again, a burst of sound from every direction, inside and out. William woke with a start. Pressed up against the window, lit only by the almost-glow of his radium-handed wristwatch, were the eyes of an inhuman face. Adrenaline sheared through his bloodstream, and he jerked backward, smacking his head against the curved steel wall of his tiny prison. Color exploded into his vision. Blind, William fumbled under his seat for the reassuring chill of the two-foot iron rod. The hatch had a habit of sticking shut once back on the surface; that had been his excuse for stowing a prybar in the bathysphere when he went down. But really, it was a psychological tool. Stuck in a tiny circle of steel amid miles of open water, William found it all too easy to feel helpless, and having a weapon to hold -- as useless as it was -- gave him back a sense of control. The colors spread, danced, and cleared only gradually; departed, and left the merman at the porthole behind. Oh. Them. William's heart started to beat again. William put down the prybar and groped for the electrical connectors at his right. As his fingers found the wire, he reflexively glanced at his watch face. The glowing hands formed a perfect corner, rigid, perpendicular, the only sharp angle in the cramped globe of the bathysphere: nine o'clock. Huh, William thought. There was something about nine o'clock, teasing at the edges of his memory, but it didn't seem pressing -- a merman was back. ( (2,000 words) ) Current Location: ~/computer_desk Current Mood: awake Current Music: "Metal Gear Uh Oh! The Beat Have Started To Move" OC Remix Tags: microfic, ttu, writing (1 comment \| Leave a comment)
November 30th, 2008
09:11 pm [Link]	winnah, winnah, chicken dinnah* As a celebration, I'm posting Premonitions: Act VIII a day early! Yay! Next week's Wednesday/Friday posts are going to find us in a different world ... a world where reality doesn't quite work the same way it does here; a world where new characters are introduced; and a world where Bax recovers from November and does no story writing at all. Back here in this one, feel free to let me know what you think of the story so far. I'll continue to post new sections three times a week over at ttustories, but I may scale back the notifications over here. Are you folks actually following them regularly, or do you prefer to read novels in bigger chunks instead of the webserial way? -- * kadyg requests that any actual chicken dinnahs mailed to us be packed in dry ice. Current Location: ~/Brainstorm Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: "Victory Fanfare," Final Fantasy IV OST Tags: legend of hero, ttu, writing (1 comment \| Leave a comment)
November 12th, 2008
12:56 am [Link]	Legend of Hero: 002 In the interests of collecting the webserial a little more cleanly, I've moved my NaNoWriMo novel -- which seems more and more to be stuck with its working title -- off to its own journal: ttustories Updates will remain Monday/Wednesday/Friday. I have arbitrarily decided -- and I am very open to persuasion on this note -- to post the story there uncut; I will post a one-sentence link here when ttustories updates. So, you can friend me to get simple update reminders, or friend TTUstories to see the entire thing on your friends page. If you're the feed-readin' sort, Livejournal has you covered -- add http://ttustories.livejournal.com/data/rss to your RSS reader. For those of you who missed or skimmed the last post, you can still start reading from the beginning. Today's installment is Premonitions: Act II. Current Location: ~/Brainstorm Current Mood: awake Current Music: Nobuo Uematsu, "Dreams Fade," FFX OST Tags: legend of hero, ttu, writing (Leave a comment)
June 7th, 2008
11:56 pm [Link]	That explains so much George W. Bush clearly grew up on a diet of endless John Wayne movies. Then he became president, and put us in one. Mission accomplished. -- Also, on a completely unrelated note. I'd just like to say that while I am: 1) An Obama supporter; 2) a "not coweringly religious, mind you, but deeply spiritual" person; and 3) a person who considers himself nonhuman in some essential way; I still have absolutely no idea what Mark Morford is going on about in labeling Barack Obama an "attuned being ... who can actually help usher in a new way of being on the planet" (italics his). I like Obama and I like his ideas, but as bradhicks rightly points out, Barack is more likely to be a closet atheist than a closet Buddha. Not that this is a bad thing; the nation (and the world) could use some sane, enlightened secular human leadership for a change. I do think Morford nails it a little further down, where he says: "[I]t's not even about Obama, per se. There's a vast amount of positive energy swirling about that's been held back by the armies of BushCo darkness, and this energy has now found a conduit, a lightning rod, is now effortlessly self-organizing around Obama's candidacy." It's not necessary to posit Obama as some sort of posthuman in order to explain any observed gathering of positive energy around the man. In fact, I would argue that having the man himself be some sort of superhuman would hinder that sort of change. In my urban fantasy setting TTU, this is exactly what happens with Dennis Redwing: He unites nonhumans, focuses them as a community, stands up just long enough to make one big change -- and then promptly sees the larger part of his work undone and his personal life and credibility ripped into shreds as he starts having to deal with the consequences of his show of power. His early leadership crystallized nonhumans together in a way that addressed an early and dire threat, but the sting of the inevitable disintegration also guaranteed that nobody else would be able to do the same for a decade or more. Focusing too much energy, too much credibility, into a single source means that if that source is disabled, the entire buildup can be wasted. Structures united around a cause have longevity far beyond those united around a person. History may be influenced by leaders, but it is made by movements. Current Location: ~journal Current Music: Splashdown, "Karma Slave" Tags: magic, politics, ttu (8 comments \| Leave a comment)
September 28th, 2007
02:51 am [Link]	WUTNWHWL! Sorry for my silence lately -- been getting distracted with offline things such as Go, video games (Shadow Hearts: From The New World is my latest timesuck) and writing. Yep, writing. Still making slow by steady progress on the Ambitious Cat tales ... I just seem to have a knack for transforming tiny scene sketches into multi-thousand-word monsters. While the latest story (which stars both Kiasu and the Redeemers -- and a great deal of subsequent fireworks) is still very much In Progress, I ran across a snippet in my old notes tonight that is ready to see the light of day. (For some value of "ready" that includes both "demented but hilarious" and "cringe-inducing," anyway.) It ... well, um, I think I'll just have to let it speak for itself. So. Never-before-seen SONG LYRICS! (A catchy rock riff introduces an upbeat tune of the sort played by quirky yet talented college bands across the nation.) This singles bar is getting old. I don't know why I came. You look bored too. May I be bold And ask you for your name? Me? I'm a creature of the night A real moonlight child. You seem like the adventurous type -- Wanna go play ... doggy style? We can -- (Suddenly, with no warning, POWER CHORDS! And DRUM FLAILING! The ENTIRE BAND sings in ALMOST-HARMONY! With WOLVES HOWLING! And maybe a banjo, or a theremin, or something!) WAKE UP THE NEIGHBORS! WAKE UP THE NEIGHBORS! WAKE UP THE NEIGHBORS! WAKE UP THE NEIGHBORS! With ... HOT WEREWOLF LUUUV! (Back to the normal instrumentation, but more animated this time, and with 82% fewer pretensions of taking this seriously) You know, you're right, my line lacked taste I'm grateful for the clue You bit me with such canine grace And fur is just so you. Another wolf out cruising bars! I can't believe my luck! To celebrate this find of ours Let's go out back and -- (POWER CHORDS again! Of course.) WAKE UP THE NEIGHBORS! WAKE UP THE NEIGHBORS! WAKE UP THE NEIGHBORS! WAKE UP THE NEIGHBORS! With ... HOT WEREWOLF LUUUV!! I know you're mad, but hear me out This meeting must be fate All these little signs -- like just now, when you threw me through that plate-glass window? I LIKE that in a mate! (BRIDGE! Instrumental n' shit!** A drum solo in the finest tradition of epileptic seizures! Wolf howls! Ambulance sirens! Thrills!) You're right, I just can't take a no But still, you can't disguise Your tail wagging to and fro The interest in your lovely eyes I like your style -- hey, there's that smile! C'mon, I'll take you home Why, sure -- we'll chase sticks for a while Before we bury some bones As we WAKE UP THE NEIGHBORS! WAKE UP THE NEIGHBORS! WAKE UP THE NEIGHBORS! WAKE UP THE NEIGHBORS! With ... HOT WEREWOLF LUUUV!! Yip! Yip! Yip! Yip! AROOOOOOOO!!! (instrumental thrashing and howling, out) Anyway: This shamelessly silly TTU song is called HOT WEREWOLF LUUUV Written by The Howl in 1997, for their eponymous first album*** -- * This note left intentionally blank. Yes, this is how I wrote it out in the original scribbled lyrics page. * But, of course, out here in the non-TTU world it was really written by me.** Oh, shit! I probably didn't want to admit that. Current Location: ~/laptop Current Music: Yip yip yip AROOOO! Tags:** lyrics, my brain now hurts, ttu, writing (24 comments \| Leave a comment)
July 16th, 2007
09:58 am [Link]	New TTU story! A little something to liven up your Monday morning. And a long one, too -- just over 6,000 words: Finders Keepers Its wiki page is up as well. This was meant to be an Ambitious Cat project, but got a little too ... um ... ambitious, and took on a life of its own. After I take care of a few chores I've been procrastinating on, I'll wrap up the microstories and start seriously adding content to the wiki again. Current Location: ~yuba Current Mood: working Current Music: Bach, "Allegro - Brandenburg Concerto No. 2" Tags: ttu, writing (Leave a comment)
June 8th, 2007
02:04 am [Link]	The write stuff Alright, time for a break from the unintentional morbidity ... It's time for ~~ART~~ TTU WRITING MEME! To quote summer_jackel: You give me a brief idea, scenario or just a word, and [optionally] specify which character(s). I will come back with a quick ~~sketch~~ ficbit. The characters you can use are listed below. ... I will take the first 10 or so, or until I get tired of it. I don't insist on meme spreadage, but if you're an artist/writer and want to, pass it on. If you include it, let me know so I can tag you back. :) ( Further details ) ( character minutiae ) Current Location: ~/brainstorm Current Mood: calm Current Music: POTUSA, "Peaches" Tags: ask me a question, ttu, writing (13 comments \| Leave a comment)
01:59 am [Link]	TTU ficbit: Sara and Alex And to kick off the TTU writing meme, Sara and Alex's first meeting. He was sitting on the patio in the cold, ears pointed low, arms crossed against the damp wind, staring vacantly at the city lights cupped in the hands of San Francisco's hills. At the sliding of the glass door, his whiskers straightened and his ears swiveled, though his muzzle didn't turn. ( She stepped out into the night ... ) Current Location: ~/brainstorm Current Mood: creative Current Music: Ian Moore, "Us/Them" Tags: ttu, writing (1 comment \| Leave a comment)
February 1st, 2007
03:20 am [Link]	TWO new TTU stories! Hey, y'all remember that whole Tomorrowlands Universe thing? The one with the wiki that's been eating my brain for a month and a half? Turns out someone finally remembered its purpose in the first place: A setting for stories. Stories! Fancy that. So without further ado, let us present the tale of Smith, who ... um ... "stars" in a drama in two short, interchangeable acts: Ascension \| Declination Read them in either order. Many thanks to roaminrob for the inspiration -- and for letting me name his story "Ascension" so I could dig for the pun. Thanks also to my muse for forcing me to write "Declination" in response, a 600-word conversation with 19 words of dialogue. Current Location: ~/computer_desk Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: Royan Crown Revue, "Deadly Nightcall" Tags: microfic, ttu, writing (Leave a comment)
January 16th, 2007
03:25 am [Link]	Much dragon wuv Looks like I'm a bit slow on the draw for Trogday. TROOOOOOOOGDAY! TROOOOOOOGDAY! Birthdaynating the countryside, birthdaynating the peasants ... On the other hand, I'm writing this post just in time to point out Appreciate a Dragon Day. Yay! (via xydexx) Of course, it's possible you don't have enough dragons in your life to appreciate. So I decided to offer you my assistance in locating one. A broad and rigorous selection process was undertaken, at the end of which your humble author was surprised to find that he was the chosen candidate. So surprised, in fact, that he lapsed into third person for two sentences before clearing his throat and moving on to the point. If you want to help a dragon out today, I can't imagine anything I'd appreciate more than a few pictures for the TTU Wiki.* One of my goals for the place is to start accumulating spot art to give important pages a little visual zest. For example, wouldn't the page on The First Sighting be more vivid if there was a picture of the video footage to go along with the story excerpts? Or the Los Angeles Riots? In return for my request of creativity, I've been adding story pages and world background to the wiki; CategoryStories now has summaries and pointers for some 15 short stories that few people have read since 2003, the era timeline sketches out history and WikiNews summarizes the work in progress. The place is taking shape, slowly but surely. -- * To be specific, simple ones. Line art (or even a finished-looking sketch) is quite sufficient, and what I embed on the page would be 200-300 pixels wide (though it could link to a higher-resolution version). All art would be fully and gratefully credited. Current Location: ~/computer_desk Current Mood: draconic Current Music: The Infinity Project, "Cybertropic" Tags: draconity, requests, ttu (3 comments \| Leave a comment)
January 14th, 2007
03:00 pm [Link]	Holy shit ... Google gets cooler every day While writing the above post, I did some quick Google research for the origins of the D&D magic system ... only to discover a surprising quirk of their search engine. Check out this Google search for "dungeons dragons." Notice anything odd? ... Notice how the context highlighting matches the input phrase dungeons dragons to the page phrase D&D? (Based on my prior search, this is true even for pages on which the words "dungeons" and "dragons" don't appear.) Maybe I wasn't forward-thinking enough when I created DWIM for the TTU setting. Earth web searches might get there yet, magic or no. Current Location: ~calorg Current Mood: surprised Current Music: The Bee Gees, "Tragedy" Tags: geekery, roleplaying, ttu (10 comments \| Leave a comment)
December 18th, 2006
02:50 am [Link]	Ten years ago today ... ... the world suddenly and irrevocably Changed. Ten years ago today, that first dragon to walk the earth sent shockwaves through reality that we are feeling still. Ten years ago today, magic returned. It's been a great ten years. So, happy birthday, The Tomorrowlands Universe. I got you a present. I am happy to announce that I have just opened the doors on the new TTU Wiki. As I and others have written almost a decade's worth of stories, the universe information keeps getting more and more scattered; it's time to start condensing that, and to make TTU what it was meant to be from the beginning -- a vibrant shared setting that a group of writers continuously draws upon and expands. If you're interested in The Tomorrowlands Universe -- as a writer, reader, or otherwise -- come join the wiki. Add and discuss ideas. Help make it your universe too. Don't worry if you don't know much about the story setting yet -- this is the best possible time to jump in. It's a new community, there will be plenty of energy and plenty of explanations, and we can answer your questions quickly and vividly. There's even (separate) plans brewing for online roleplaying. Hope to see you there. (Just be warned that the wiki is still very thin. The software's been polished and tested, but I had planned to give myself another week or two to build up the content there. Then I realized the timing of the anniversary was an opportunity I had to seize.) Edited to add: Comment here with your wiki username and I'll toss you editing privileges straight away. :) Current Location: ~/computer_desk Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: "10 Years On The Inside," Dwayne Ford Tags: tlands, ttu (9 comments \| Leave a comment)
December 14th, 2006
12:21 am [Link]	Notes on the run In case you somehow blinked and missed the news, Science* has spoken: soybeans make you gay. (I'd include a punchline here, but I'm getting post-traumatic stress flashbacks to Orson Scott Card's latest novel. Maybe there was tofu in Malich's MRE that morning ...?) In entirely unrelated news, elynne is brewing up some plans for a " LJ-based, freestyle, write-your-own-adventure Tomorrowlands roleplaying game." If people are interested in this, I'm willing to put on my Wise Universe Moderator shoes and help out. So, as the famous bloggers say, "follow the link." -- * Science, as in, science with an asterisk (and maybe a few pairs of "ironic quotes"). You know. Kind of like Barry Bonds' "home-run record" . Current Location: ~/computer_desk Current Mood: amused Current Music: "Divine Moments of Truth," Shpongle Tags: politics, ttu (2 comments \| Leave a comment)
December 13th, 2006
04:45 am [Link]	BaMoTTuStoTTwo wrap-up November's now behind us, and it's all over but the voting. I refer, of course, to BaMoTTuStoTTwo (my second Month of TTU Stories). It was a nice challenge. This year's 18,500 words didn't quite meet the prolificity standard set by the first attempt's 40,532, but I'm proud with what came out. Part of that pride is that I tried something I hadn't done with TTU yet: Write stories in its present day. Virtually all of my offerings have been set within a year or two after the Changes. Leapfrogging forward to the era of New Atlantis' raising, and taking a look at a time when therianthropy is fading into uneasy acceptance, was a good way to stretch the world's boundaries. Another part of my pride is that I also made good on my choice to go all-culturalia this year. (For you readers who haven't been here a while, "culturalia" is the term I've coined to describe my occasional artifacts-from-a-parallel-universe. Fictional non-fiction.) Not only did I produce eight slices of TTU life rather than "stories", I wove them together in a single strand. I mention this because it's worth marveling at how these things can flow out when you find your creative groove. Anyway, I'm going to take a cue from last time, and give y'all a chance to weigh in on the BaMoTTuStories ...: Poll #887897 Pick a winner or three Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All Pick up to three of November's offerings that you think were this year's best. View Answers Scary Stories - The decade-old article that gets Fang's nostalgia running. 0 (0.0%) DWIM - Introducing magitech Web search technology. 2 (33.3%) Dangerous Waters - On board the New Atlantis Project's flagship. 5 (83.3%) Fire Flies - Magic in the movies. 1 (16.7%) Exploding the Conspiracy - Dark hints of intrigue behind an international standoff. 1 (16.7%) A dwivination Discovery - Explaining some novel applications of magisearch. 2 (33.3%) Still Crazy After All These Years* - Two old friends' e-mail conversation builds to an uneasy climax. 0 (0.0%) Elements - Rules for a real-time card-game mages' duel. 1 (16.7%) * (You can read the e-mail conversation mentioned above, and all of the other stories along the way, by following these links in order: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]. Non-convo posts: [8] [dwivinations]; [9] [Elements].) Additionally, I'd love to hear any random feedback below. (And/or egoboo -- it's no big sin to have Praise Whore Moments once in a while.) It'll help keep my enthusiasm buzz at a nice high while I lay the groundwork for the TTU wiki. ... Oops, was that my outside voice? :) Current Location: ~/computer_desk Current Mood: happy Current Music: "Don't You Forget About Me," Simple Minds Tags: bamottustottwo, ttu, writing (1 comment \| Leave a comment)
November 30th, 2006
11:59 pm [Link]	Chapter 7: In which a crazy idea gets taken a little too far `To: "CB Fox" <cbf@feralnet.net> From: "claw n fang" <redwolves@therimail.com> Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006, 22:22:23 GMT -0800 Subject: Re: Getting some DWIM answers` Lucky me, I can't sleep. :-( At least this means I was up to receive both your letters. Might as well respond to them right away and see if that gets me any closer to shut-eye. ( The e-mail exchange draws to a close ...: ) Current Location: ~/computer_desk Current Mood: finished Tags: bamottustottwo, ttu, writing (Leave a comment)
November 29th, 2006
04:42 pm [Link]	The search for search answers (1 of 2) `To: "Fang, Claw N" <redwolves@therimail.com> From: "Technical Support - FeralNet" <cbf@feralnet.net> Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006, 21:53:17 GMT -0800 Subject: Getting some DWIM answers` Yay new magitech! Hee hee ... sorry to laugh at your frustration with 3T, but you have to admit that's funny :-D As for the search. Whoah. Let's see if I can explain this. First of all, I passed it on to Geo, who gave me the dwim lead in the first place. You and Claw met him last year at Jen's wedding. He's on the dwim development team. They love little mysteries like this. Don't worry, I didn't mention the Gold search. I'm not stupid ;-) He's getting back to me with what he finds out. I'll pass that on probably later tonight. But he did explain to me a little about what they call "dwivinations." It's only a few searches that can turn up freaky results like that. If there's too little information available on the web, it will say essentially "I don't know", like with the Discovery location. If there's a lot of information available, it will go for the most reliable, like with the Gold murders. So basically neither of those is going to turn up different results than you got, no matter how you word it. Unless new facts come up and get made public. btw, my search results for the government search thing were the same. So it wasn't just you. I also tried out the search you suggested, about latitude and longitude. What it gave me was totp://dwim.mag/search?type=saved&user=justthefox&id=f6aAqj38CehS4b&authas=redwolves, the coordinates of the island the vacation pictures you mentioned were taken on. Those pictures were the first result in the plus sign. So I got a more specific answer but based on the same info. Hehehe ... I guess your search with the Pacific map shows dwim has a sense of humor :) As for Claw ... I don't know. :( I'm worried too but I'm worried for both of you. You guys have been with each other a long time ... please don't let this hurt you, ok? He owes you an explanation but you don't even know he was involved with whatever happened. Don't assume he lied until you have a chance to talk. If you think it would be easier maybe I can ask him. Let me know. And look ... I hate seeing you like this. Maybe it would help to come over on Saturday and we can spend the night? I know it's been a while ... I don't want this to be awkward, I never did. But you've been having some rough times. I'd hate myself if I couldn't make the offer. Getting some of this off your chest or maybe getting a little distracted might do you good? Love you, wuffie. Things will be ok. `## ## ## CB Fox, Systems Analyst and Senior Technical Support ## ## ## Phone (510) 555-HOWL ext. 144; cbf@feralnet.net; on-call 9am-9pm Mon-Sat # FeralNet - The nation's first theri-run ISP, serving the S.F. Bay Area Open to all * Quality service * Dial-up, ISDN, DSL. http://feralnet.net` Current Location: ~calorg Current Mood: writiful Current Music: Moonman, "Galaxia (Solar Stone remix)" Tags: bamottustottwo, ttu, writing (Leave a comment)
04:36 pm [Link]	The search for search answers (2 of 2) `To: "Fang, Claw N" <redwolves@therimail.com> From: "Technical Support - FeralNet" <cbf@feralnet.net> Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006, 21:54:02 GMT -0800 Subject: FWD: Re: That search we were talking about` And here it is. -- Forwarded Message ------------------------------------- `To: "CB Fox (Feralnet)" <cbf@feralnet.net> From: "George Sinclair" <geosincronous@dwimail.com> Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006, 18:16:34 GMT -0800 Subject: Re: That search we were talking about` > > A mystery indeed! Do you mind if I do a > > little digging and blog about your friend's > > search? > > Should be alright :) But just in case, maybe you > should take his name out of it entirely, and any > context for the search? I know he wants his > privacy. Fair enough. Here's what I posted. Subject: A dwivination Discovery Tags: dwivination, tinfoil hat, current events Regular readers of our dev-team blog already know that one of our favorite games here at bwim is trying to puzzle out "dwivinations," those search results that are so counterintuitive or bizarre that even magic seems insufficient to explain them. Another stellar example comes to us today by way of a friend of mine who just got hired to dwim-dev. (Congratulations, and see you in the office!) He related to me a search that someone shared with him regarding the New Atlantis Project's recent run-ins with the U.S. government. Take a look at totp://dwim.mag/search?type=saved&user=geosincronous&id=f55HX2aOTp95dB and tell me that didn't send your jaw to the floor. For those of you following along without magitech or who are too lazy to click on the link, that would be a dwiv for "Why isn't the government magically searching for the Discovery?" (the Discovery being the NAP's flagship on their island-raising mission; great reading on them in the current Vanity Parade.) The top link goes to www.annapolis-usna.edu/journal/archive/2006-09-27/06jackson.html (subscription wall; BugMeNot). In a nutshell, a September news brief about a history professor being injured in a natural gas leak. As others have written here, us non-digital beings can easily create ways to link two seemingly unrelated events -- albeit implausible and/or uncomfortable ways. We just don't expect our computers to have that same power. And they don't; search results follow a strictly logical and verifiable process. While DWIM's searches are based on proprietary magical technology, that magic serves exactly two well-defined purposes: Organizing the end user's thoughts, to distill vague desire for knowledge into a coherent question with a coherent answer; and comparing that question against a database of human-generated knowledge. It can't know anything we don't already know; it can't play the what-if games that lead us into conspiracy theories. It can only search for and connect public facts. The chain that DWIM follows unrolls from question to partial answer to refined question to better answer, etc. It can't go anywhere the facts don't lead. So how did it make the seemingly conspiratorial link between the continuing inaction of the world's most powerful government and a single barely notable pipe failure? As usual, the results of dev-team research are below the fold, to give readers a chance to scour the Web themselves before seeing the "official" conclusions. ( Read more ... ) Readers, feel free to flesh out the research or post questions below. As always, we welcome your dwivination submissions at dwim_dev@dwimail.com. - geo Current Location: ~calorg Current Mood: writeiful Current Music: "Secrets," Mike Oldfield Tags: bamottustottwo, ttu, writing (2 comments \| Leave a comment)
November 27th, 2006
02:34 am [Link]	The dark side of magical search `To: "CB Fox" <cbf@feralnet.net> From: "claw n fang" <redwolves@therimail.com> Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006, 16:07:46 GMT -0800 Subject: Meanwhile, with my new DWIM membership` Hey, vix! Sorry I haven't gotten back to you -- I got unexpectedly busy. I've been falling a little behind in my Search & Rescue qualifications. I kept meaning to take care of that, but Kev finally managed to corner me about it, and I couldn't put it off any longer. I've just spent most of the last two days on my WFR re-cert, (because if I did it next week like I was planning I'd have to miss the glacier refresher). In the meantime, the MagiTech Input Sphere (tm) I ordered on Sunday arrived! I didn't get a chance to set it up until this afternoon, (blew off work for an extra day, since if I'd hit the office this morning I would have been a zombie), but I've been playing with it for a few hours, and it's an incredible piece of technology. ( Thought-to-text translation, a DWIM test drive, and the disturbing relevance of the following article: ) Naval Academy Journal Annapolis, Md. September 24, 2006 Professor Injured In Weekend Explosion Journal Staff Report A freak accident on Saturday in Washington, D.C. left nine people injured, including an Academy naval history professor. Cmdr. Ryan Jackson was taken to the hospital in serious condition after what the Defense Department described as a "natural gas explosion" in the Douglas MacArthur Memorial Building in Washington, D.C. Jackson suffered second- and third-degree burns over large areas of his body, broke three fingers, and fractured a rib. He was released from the hospital on Monday evening. Defense spokesman Tim Adrian said that an underground gas line apparently was leaking into a room where Jackson and others were holding a private meeting on the Academy's 2007 outreach programs. "We did detect the leak, closed off the pipe, and were taking steps to evacuate the area for safety," Adrian said. "Unfortunately, something sparked off the gas that had already been released. The whole department's thoughts are with those injured in the incident." Jackson teaches post-WWII history, post-Changes history and the interdepartmental class "The Changing Face of The Navy." He was chair of the school's Department of Magical Studies in 2003 before the short-lived department was closed. Jackson assured students he would be back in the classroom by the end of the week. Substitutes will handle his lectures until then. Current Mood: writiful Current Music: Groove Armada, "Edge Hill" Tags: bamottustottwo, ttu, writing (Leave a comment)
November 22nd, 2006
05:20 am [Link]	Hey, and about that movie ... `To: "Fang, Claw N" <redwolves@therimail.com> From: "Technical Support - FeralNet" <cbf@feralnet.net> Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006, 09:41:04 GMT -0800 Subject: Re: Well, THIS sure takes me back` On Sun, 22 Oct 2006, Claw N Fang wrote: > We should get together sometime. Want to jump up here next weekend? Silly wuff! I haven't seen your new place yet. You'd have to come get me, but as long as you're visiting anyway, let's hit the Cineplex near my apartment. I like their popcorn. > We could hang out in the UDist some and then catch a movie. _Holding Fire_ just started. Oooh! New Kat Crowne movie! I love love love Kat!!! She reminds me so much of who I wanted to be. She makes it look so easy. Of course, the high lasts for maybe ten minutes after the movie. Then I remember how it all came crashing down for us ... yeah. So, yeah, I guess I'm just trying to say, I'm sorry about Claw. How can he go back to that? But at the same time I hope it works out. Somebody needs to have that dream. ... I don't mean to get all depressing on ya, pal. I also wanted to remind you how lucky you are to live in Seattle. You get to read V&V in the paper instead of online. BOTH of them are worshipping _Holding Fire_ this week. So it really MUST be good .... hehehe. Sunday work for the movie? We can meet for Indian lunch buffet first and maybe hit that arcade in Santa Clara? `## ## ## CB Fox, Systems Analyst and Senior Technical Support ## ## ## Phone (510) 555-HOWL ext. 144; cbf@feralnet.net; on-call 9am-9pm Mon-Sat # FeralNet - The nation's first theri-run ISP, serving the S.F. Bay Area Open to all * Quality service * Dial-up, ISDN, DSL. http://feralnet.net` ( Pretend this is you clicking your bookmark to the Strange City's Movie Reviews section. ) Current Location: ~/computer_desk Current Mood: writeiful Current Music: Phish, "Wolfman's Brother" Tags: bamottustottwo, ttu, writing (3 comments \| Leave a comment)

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