Filed under: Art, Book Conservation, Publishing, tech, U of Iowa Ctr for the Book | Tags: art, bookbinding, Communion of Dreams, direct publishing, jim downey
Typically, there are many ways to accomplish a given task. Usually, some are better than others. Maybe they’re more efficient. Or less expensive. Or just work better.
And usually it seems like I always manage to find all the worst ways before finally stumbling on one of the better ones.
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
We got the proofs back from the printer! Here’s some pix:
Cover sheet.
Text pages.
* * * * * * *
grain [grān]
(materials)
- The appearance and texture of wood due to the arrangement of constituent fibers.
- The woodlike appearance or texture of a rock, metal, or other material.
- The direction in which most fibers lie in a sample of paper, which corresponds with the way the paper was made on the manufacturing machine.
* * * * * * *
Typically, there are many ways to accomplish a given task. Usually, some are better than others. Maybe they’re more efficient. Or less expensive. Or just work better.
And usually it seems like I always manage to find all the worst ways before finally stumbling on one of the better ones.
But fortunately, I was taught early on at the University of Iowa Center for the Book about the “grain” of paper, and how it makes a crucial difference in how a book works. This was something which actually took papermakers and printers a while to figure out, back when new mechanized papermaking techniques were developed. That’s because typical western hand-papermaking didn’t really impart much of a ‘grain’ to paper used in printing presses for the first several centuries.
But back in the middle of the 19th century papermaking was mechanized, and this left a distinct alignment of the paper fibers. And that changes how this paper behaves. Simply put, you have to make sure that the grain is aligned with the spine of the book, or the paper doesn’t drape or move properly, leading to the book being mechanically ‘unfriendly’ to the hand. Most printers these days know about this and pay attention to it, but every once in a while someone will try and cut corners and use paper stock with the wrong grain orientation, and the consumer will wind up with a book which feels very stiff and hard to open/turn the page. As a bookbinder, this is something I *very* much have to pay attention to for small edition binding, and I always caution clients about it, since most normal people don’t have any idea that paper grain matters at all.
So the first thing I noticed when I took the proof sheets out of the box was that the grain ran the wrong way.
Oops.
Turns out it was just a small miscommunication with the printer, and they’ll make sure to have the actual printed sheets for the book with the grain running the right way. My Good Lady Wife just talked with them, confirming that and giving final approval for the print run. The sheets should be ready for us to pick up the end of next week. Exciting!
Jim Downey
PS: Just a note – the usual convention with paper is to mark it “grain long” or “grain short” on the wrapping for a ream. Sometimes this is also indicated by underlining one of the numbers in the dimensions.
Filed under: Humor, tech | Tags: blogging, GoDaddy, humor, jim downey, technology
…we’ve had a pretty good relationship, but something has come up that we need to not talk about.
Yeah, with a heavy emphasis on the NOT.
A week or so ago I got your nice reminder that I needed to update my credit card info, since I hadn’t done so recently and would have some automatic billing charges at the end of November. That was considerate of you. No, really, it was very thoughtful. I appreciate a short note about such things.
And I took care of it.
But then one of your helpful assistants called me.
Now, I was busy, and so a little more curt than courteous. I’ll admit to that. But I wasn’t rude, just told the person not to call me, and that I had taken care of the update.
That was Thursday or Friday, I think. Yeah, I know, it’s thoughtless of me to not remember such details. I’ll work on that.
But then someone else from GoDaddy called me on Monday. Nah, it wasn’t too early. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that they again wanted to “help” me with the upcoming automatic renewal. ‘To see if we can save you some money!’ he said, in his most upbeat sales-person voice.
Again, I said that I would take care of it myself. And specifically I asked him to NOT CALL ME.
See, I don’t like talking on the phone. Not unless I know the person well.
Sorry. I didn’t mean for that to come across quite so harsh. Yeah, I know we’ve known each other for a long time, and I’ve been pretty happy with the relationship. But I really *don’t* like calls. It’s a quirk of mine. No, seriously, this isn’t about you.
Well, maybe it is a little.
Anyway, sorry. But I thought that would settle the matter.
Then this morning, while I was in the shower, someone from your place called me again. Now, I’m not sayin’ it was you. But it *was* your number. I’ve got it right there in my phone.
And, honestly, that kinda ticked me off.
Now, just to make sure I went the extra mile, so to speak, I just jumped through the hassle of getting into my account and finding the “Contact Preferences” page buried in the site. I gotta say, you might think about making it a little easier to find such things. But yeah, I did find it, and made the necessary change on the question: “May we contact you via phone with support for recent purchases, renewal reminders, or product information?”
So yeah, some of this is on me. I admit that. Though I’ll be honest and say that I don’t think I ever saw that page in the account settings before. Still, it was there, and the default setting was still set to “yes”.
But seriously, I twice asked your helpful assistants to not call me. I thought that was pretty clear. I mean, I didn’t want to scream or curse at them or anything. You know that’s not really my style.
But c’mon, it’s such a little thing. I’m not asking you to change, just to consider my preferences in this relationship.
Cause, you know, there *are* other hosting services out there …
Jim Downey
Edited to add: I tweeted this post, got a quick response from @GoDaddy with an apology and confirmation that the account settings were changed. Good on them — that’s decent & courteous customer service.
Filed under: Amazon, Connections, Failure, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Predictions, Preparedness, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, tech | Tags: Amazon, blogging, Communion of Dreams, direct publishing, free, jim downey, Kickstarter, Kindle, literature, predictions, promotion, Science Fiction, St. Cybi's Well, technology
Just a quick note — there seems to be a glitch in the system at Amazon, and the Kindle edition of Communion of Dreams hasn’t gone to “promotion” yet this morning. I’m trying to get it resolved, but it may not happen today.
Which kinda sucks in terms of timing, since this is the closing day of the Kickstarter.
Not that it would likely make the difference between success & failure for the Kickstarter — we’ve just got too far to go to cover it today. But I take a certain pride in closing down things ‘cleanly’ and on a positive note, insofar as possible, and offering Communion of Dreams on promo had been part of that. Ah well, these things happen, and you just have to roll with them the best you can.
So, if you were intending on helping promote the Kickstarter today, and touting Communion of Dreams being available for free as part of that — at least hold off on the latter part for now. If I get things sorted out early enough, we can still offer it for free through the end of the Kickstarter. If not, then we’ll schedule another “make-up” day soon.
Thanks!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Augmented Reality, Connections, Failure, Feedback, Government, Kindle, Marketing, movies, Music, Nuclear weapons, Predictions, Preparedness, Promotion, Publishing, Science, Science Fiction, Society, Survival, tech, Writing stuff, YouTube | Tags: Al Stewart, Amazon, art, atomic bomb, augmented reality, blogging, Communion of Dreams, direct publishing, jim downey, Kickstarter, Kindle, literature, matrix, movies, music, predictions, promotion, science, Science Fiction, St. Cybi's Well, technology, Trinity, video, writing, www youtube
Did you know that the first atomic bomb test was called Trinity?
* * * * * * * *
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained” they said
So you played for the winner takes all
And tossed the dice high up and craned your head
To see how the numbers would fall
Al Stewart, Midas Shadow
* * * * * * *
When we first see her …
… it’s clear that we’ve disappeared down the rabbit hole.
* * * * * * *
The old/young man smiled. “You have a glimpse of it.”
“Of?”
“The truth. Or what your mind can grasp of it.” The figure was standing beside the glowing burl. He reached down and seemed to scoop up a handful of the tholin, then lifting it, allowed it to flow from one hand to the other, a gloopy, glowing blue mass.
“You have a glimpse of it. Now, what will you do?”
Instinctively, Jon reached out and put his hand under the flowing tholin, felt its warmth pour into his palm, and settle there, waiting. “You said before that there wasn’t much time. What is going to happen?”
“I cannot see the future. But I can see more deeply into the present than others. Things are . . . changing.”
Chapter 15 of Communion of Dreams.
* * * * * * *
Did you know that the first atomic bomb test was called Trinity?
On Monday morning July 16, 1945, the world was changed forever when the first atomic bomb was tested in an isolated area of the New Mexico desert. Conducted in the final month of World War II by the top-secret Manhattan Engineer District, this test was code named Trinity. The Trinity test took place on the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, about 230 miles south of the Manhattan Project’s headquarters at Los Alamos, New Mexico. Today this 3,200 square mile range, partly located in the desolate Jornada del Muerto Valley, is named the White Sands Missile Range and is actively used for non-nuclear weapons testing.
And did you know that there was more than a little debate among the scientists working on the Manhattan Project about what would happen with the test? Yeah, seriously — they weren’t sure:
The observers set up betting pools on the results of the test.[28][29] Predictions ranged from zero (a complete dud) to 45 kilotons of TNT, to destruction of the state of New Mexico, to ignition of the atmosphere and incineration of the entire planet. This last result had been calculated to be almost impossible,[17][18] although for a while it caused some of the scientists some anxiety. Physicist I. I. Rabi won the pool with a prediction of 18 kilotons.[30]
It worked:
Three days remaining on the Kickstarter. Will it work?
I’m still craning my head to see how the numbers will fall.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Architecture, Art, Book Conservation, Connections, General Musings, NYT, Society, tech | Tags: art, blogging, book art, book conservation, bookbinding, jim downey, Legacy Bookbindery, NYT, technology, tools, writing
A good friend shared this item from the NYT with me: A Tool’s Beauty Is in the Eye of Its Holder. It’s a good piece overall, but this particular passage resonated for me:
Why do such objects look so enticing, given that they were designed with very different objectives? One reason is their virtue (another old-fashioned term). It can be both refreshing and reassuring to see an object whose appearance is determined by such laudable qualities as economy, efficiency or reliability, rather than the hope of seducing us visually. Another factor is their honesty. It is easier to feel confident about admiring a utilitarian object, whose appearance is defined by its function, than it can be to enjoy one because of its styling.
Resonated? Yeah. Here’s an excerpt from a meditation about tools I wrote in 1995, and which has gained some recognition since:
This isn’t a respect borne of fear for their sharpness. It is something more . . . something that is almost spiritual. When you use a tool, it tends to take on the shaping of the use, and of the user. It will conform to your hand, wear in such a way that it actually becomes more suited to the task, until in some ways it is easier to use the tool correctly than to use it incorrectly.
I think that this is why old tools, well made and well loved tools, are so valuable. When you take them to hand, you can feel the right way to use them. Some of the time that went into shaping that tool, training it for use, can be shared from one craftsman to the next. So long as the tool is loved, cared for, and properly used, it continues to accumulate knowledge, storing the wisdom of the hands.
If you have a moment, I’d invite you to read both pieces. They make a nice pair.
Jim Downey
PS: Small milestone – this is blog post #1,400 for me here. Just thought I’d share that factoid.
Filed under: Amazon, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Brave New World, Connections, Diane Rehm, Expert systems, Failure, Google, Government, Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, Kindle, Music, NPR, Predictions, Preparedness, Publishing, Science Fiction, Society, tech, Writing stuff, YouTube | Tags: Amazon, augmented reality, blogging, Blood Sweat & Tears, cars, Communion of Dreams, Diane Rehm, direct publishing, failure, Google, Harry Potter, jim downey, JK Rowling, Kickstarter, Kindle, literature, music, NPR, predictions, Science Fiction, St. Cybi's Well, status, success, technology, video, writing, www youtube
“Could you take care of this for me?” I said. “I find myself surprisingly … attached.”
* * * * * * *
Just a couple pages into Communion of Dreams, there’s this passage:
He picked up a meal at the airport and ate in the car on the way over to his office, relaxing and watching the city roll by around him.
Early in the second chapter there’s this one:
The car he was in threaded through the old suburban streets, past still vacant houses and the occasional empty lot. Following the great death of the fire-flu, many homes had simply been abandoned.
The opening paragraph of Chapter 3:
‘What was it?’ he wondered as the car wound through the streets, stopping before the USSA building. He got out, standing there in the plaza, looking up at the golden plasteel supports and the draping glass fabric.
As a writer, particularly of science fiction, you have to know what to explain and what to just assume. By this I mean you have to explain certain things to the reader, enough to give them a grasp on important story elements, but that you can assume they will fill in the background with other less important elements on their own.
Nowhere in Communion of Dreams do I state that cars are largely self-driving. There’s really no need to. Most readers are used enough to the tropes of science fiction that they can read the above passages, and fill in that detail on their own. It’s a little trick which helps anchor the reality of the book in the mind of the reader quickly.
* * * * * * *
And, honestly, the notion of a self-driving car is only barely science fiction at this point. I mean, one of the primary issues right now is having our legal system play catch-up with the technological changes in this field. From a discussion on the Diane Rehm Show yesterday:
GJELTEN: So the — I guess what — driverless cars have been in development for many years. But the big news this week is this law that passed in California allowing some driving of self-driving cars. Tell us what’s in this law exactly.
LEVANDOWSKI: Well, this law is called SB 1298, and it sets forth the framework for the DMV to set up the guidelines that vehicles will need to adhere to in order to, in the future, be able to drive themselves with or without people inside them. It outlines the type of technical standards, the types of insurance requirements. Everything that you would expect a person to go through when they get their driver’s license, you would expect a vehicle that doesn’t have a driver in it to be able to have.
* * * * * * *
“I do feel that I’m a very lucky, lucky person, in all sorts of ways. And one of the ways in which I’m fortunate is Harry Potter set me free to write whatever I want to write. I don’t — you know, we’re not living hand-to-mouth — I, clearly I can afford to pay all of my bills and now my writing life is a great experience. I can really do whatever I want to do. So I’m a fortunate person — I’m a fortunate writer.”
From JK Rowling’s interview on “Morning Edition” today.
* * * * * * *
“Could you take care of this for me?” I said. “I find myself surprisingly … attached.”
“Sure,” said my wife.
Attached?
Yeah, to my car.
Which is a surprise. Because I don’t usually become attached to things. Oh, I keep some things for sentimental value, because they are somehow connected to an important person or event in my life. But otherwise I tend to be very pragmatic about material things.
I got the car new 20 years ago. A Subaru wagon, which served me well. The last five or six years when it needed work I would weigh the pros and cons of getting the work done — was it worth it? Could I afford it? Could I afford not to?
See, I don’t *really* need a car. I work at home. For a while now when I needed to drive any distance, I took my wife’s car anyway, since it is a few years newer and in substantially better shape.
This past spring it developed some exhaust problems. The work it needed was more than the car was worth. I decided the time had come to just sell it and be done. Consolidating down to one car for the household would be a minor annoyance, but made the most sense.
Well, I made the intellectual decision. The emotional one, I found, wasn’t quite as easy.
Why?
I owned, and drove, that car for more than half the time I’ve had a driver’s license. There was simple ‘time in harness’ associated with it.
But there was more. Specifically, status.
I don’t worry a lot about status. As in, conventional measures of “success” in our society. When you don’t make a lot of money, you learn to not put so much store in such things, or it’ll drive you completely nuts. And as I noted earlier this year, I don’t make a lot of money.
But confronting the hard truth that I can not afford to buy a new car was a bit more than I really wanted to face. And selling my car meant exactly that. Because in our society, if you sell your car, you’re supposed to get another one. Preferably a new one. At the very least, a newer one. To not do so means you’re not successful.
And you should never, ever, under no circumstances, admit that you’re not successful.
So, yeah, the emotional truth was harder to come to terms with. Which would mean that I would be piss-poor at selling my car — at advertising it, at negotiating a sale, all that stuff.
But I’ve come to realize that there are other approaches to defining success, other strategies which can change how you accomplish things. My Kickstarter project is one such, stepping in to crowd-fund what a conventional publishing contract would previously do.
So I asked my wife to take care of it. She didn’t have the same emotional baggage to contend with. And she took care of it in her usual competent & efficient manner: last night the car drove away from our driveway for the last time.
Who knows? Maybe next year, after St. Cybi’s Well is done and available, it’ll be enough of a hit that I’ll be able to afford a new car. One which can partially drive itself. Stranger things have happened. Just ask JK Rowling.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Art, Astronomy, Bad Astronomy, Ballistics, Connections, Failure, Feedback, General Musings, Humor, Light pollution, Predictions, Promotion, Science, Science Fiction, Space, tech, Writing stuff | Tags: art, blogging, Communion of Dreams, humor, jim downey, literature, Moon, Paint the Moon, predictions, Randall Munroe, science, Science Fiction, space, technology, Wikipedia, xkcd
Didn’t I just say that Randall Monroe is brilliant? Of course I did. That was writing about his artwork. And this morning he proved (once again) that his science is solid, as well:
Er, let me explain…
Monroe does the popular webcomic xkcd. If you don’t read it regularly, you should. Anyway, this summer he added in another feature called “What If?” which he explains with this subtitle: “Answering your hypothetical questions with physics, every Tuesday.”
And for whatever reason, today’s entry is in response to this question: “If every person on Earth aimed a laser pointer at the Moon at the same time, would it change color?”
Gee … where have I heard that question before? Hmm … perhaps in Chapter 9 of Communion of Dreams?
“You know, I could design a program that would enhance the image. Everyone who looked up at that would see our Moon,instead. Wouldn’t take much. I could even paint it red.”
“Paint it red? You mean the Moon?
“Yeah, old joke. There was this artist back at the turn of the century who had this project called ‘Paint the Moon’. He wanted to get everyone in the Western Hemisphere to focus these popular little hand-held laser pointers on the Moon all at once, with the idea that enough of the laser light would cause a red spot to appear. Had it all figured: what phase of the Moon was best to do it, how people could aim their lasers, the whole bit.”
“Crazy,” said Jon. Then, after a pause, “It didn’t work, did it?”
“Nah. But that wasn’t the point. He always described the project as a ‘shared lyrical fantasy’, designed to bring people together for a single moment, all doing the same thing. The first attempt got quite a lot of attention world-wide from the media. Millions heard about it, and maybe tens of thousands participated. It is still considered a seminal art event – we studied it in school.”
“But . . . what’s the point?”
“Oh, I just always liked that grandiose sense of whimsy. There were a number of crazy things like that back then, before everything went to hell.”
Unsurprisingly, Monroe concludes that the laser pointers wouldn’t accomplish the task. But then he uses that as a jumping-off point to explore what it *would* take to accomplish the task. And then some. It’s a fun piece, and likely the image of his I posted above has just become another instant classic, not unlike this one (which is the not-xkcd-approved Official T-shirt of BBTI).
Jim Downey
PS: Thanks to the people who sent me a link to the xkcd What If? entry this morning — very much appreciated. Now, if anyone would like to pop by the xkcd forums and mention this connection, I’d greatly appreciate it. Cheers!
Filed under: Art, Brave New World, Connections, movies, Predictions, Quantum mechanics, Science, Science Fiction, tech, YouTube | Tags: Alwyn, art, blogging, Communion of Dreams, Diva, Gorodish, jim downey, movies, predictions, science, Science Fiction, technology, video, www youtube
“I think he actually plans that ahead.”
* * * * * * *
Interesting news item:
Study broadens understanding of quantum mechanics
(Phys.org)—Former and current USC Dornsife physicists have led a study that represents the first, quantitative account of the universal features of disordered bosons—or quantum particles—in magnetic materials.
The study published in the Sept. 20 edition of Nature magazine broadens our understanding of quantum mechanics and challenges the accepted predication in quantum theory.
“It’s remarkable to find such universality in disordered quantum systems,” said co-author Stephan Haas, professor of physics and astronomy and vice dean for research in USC Dornsife. “And it’s even more amazing that we may have finally identified a real-life example for one of the most elusive quantum glasses in nature.”
Yeah, OK, so? What’s that actually mean?
Potentially, a lot. Quantum particles are thought of as wave-forms, operating in a range of space/states (this is known as quantum superposition). This characterization leads to such particles being ‘trapped’ — unable to escape a given space/state due to interference — what is termed ‘localization.’ Having a way to control localization is the key to much finer control over quantum effects, and helps to turn it from a theoretical physical problem almost to an engineering one. From the above article:
Quantum magnets and other occurrences in quantum mechanics could set the stage for the next big breakthroughs in computing, alternative energy and transportation technologies such as magnetic levitating trains.
* * * * * * * *
“He dreams of stopping the wave.”
Who? Gorodish:
Gods, I love that movie.
* * * * * * *
“Alwyn, wait up, bud,” said my wife, as our dog trotted past us on our morning walk.
He went a couple more paces, but stopped before he got to the entrance of a care facility. That entrance comes off a busy street, and we only want him to cross it with us so as to keep him safe.
“I think he actually plans that ahead,” I said. “He trots ahead here so that he can sniff that bush for messages.”
Jim Downey
Filed under: Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Brave New World, Fermi's Paradox, General Musings, Humor, Predictions, Science, Science Fiction, SETI, Society, Space, tech, Writing stuff | Tags: augmented reality, blogging, Communion of Dreams, Fermi's Paradox, humor, jim downey, Kickstarter, predictions, Rich Terrile, science, Science Fiction, simulation, space, technology, writing
Interesting article, all in all. But I particularly had a chuckle over this bit:
Beings with whom you could interact?
Maybe, or maybe I’d just let them go. They’d be living out their lives in an incredibly short amount of time. Maybe I could change the physical laws. I could make them live in places both hospitable and inhospitable. I could make it so that they’re completely alone—perhaps that’s a boundary condition for us, and explains why there are no aliens.
Hehehehehehe. Yeah, maybe it does. Maybe it does.
Kickstarter is almost ready. Watch for an announcement soon.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Artificial Intelligence, Brave New World, DARPA, Predictions, Science Fiction, Society, tech, YouTube | Tags: blogging, Boston Dynamics, DARPA, jim downey, predictions, robotics, Science Fiction, video, www youtube
Step by step, the future gets closer:
That’s a new robot from Boston Dynamics called the LS3 – Legged Squad Support Systems. It’ll carry 400 pounds and run for 20 miles/24 hours before needing to be refueled. You don’t even need a ‘driver’: it’ll follow a designated leader automatically, picking its way over terrain on its own.
I’ll leave it to you to consider the implications of that last point.
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 