Filed under: Alzheimer's, Book Conservation, General Musings, Hospice, Predictions, Society, Writing stuff
Well, that’s a bit of a surprise. More than a bit, to be honest.
I wrote back in May about meeting with an institutional client concerning a large collection (some 7,000 volumes) they had recently acquired, and how the initial expectation on the part of the administration at this institution was that all the books needed to just be rebound to look pretty. I mentioned that my suggestion of proper conservation treatment was completely foreign to them, and that I really didn’t expect that they would want me to do the work for them.
Well, I guess the conservation treatment I gave the three books I worked on as an example of what I do changed their minds. Because I found out this morning that they want me to do the work.
Frankly, I’m astonished. And pleased. Also a bit scared.
“Astonished” I’ve explained. “Pleased” is probably self-evident: this is a worthy collection of significant historical works that deserves proper care, and I know I can provide that care. And this is a multi-year project, meaning some security in terms of income and planning.
“Scared,” though? Well, yeah. This means a lot of work – good work, granted, on my own schedule, but the client will (understandably) want a large volume of books cared for and returned on a regular basis. And right now I can barely manage to concentrate sufficiently to do conservation work for a couple of hours per week.
Now, they don’t expect me to start handling that volume right from the start. I had told them from the beginning that I would need to ramp-up how much work for I did them, as I met previous obligations to other clients. I didn’t tell them about the other major factor limiting my time and energy, though: caring for my MIL.
My wife and I discussed this issue when I was first contacted by this institution, because frankly there is no way I can do the conservation work at that level and still be the primary care-provider for my MIL. So now we’ll need to sit down and sort out how we proceed. I could basically swap places with my wife, in terms of my “working” four days a week and her being home here to care for her mom (she’s an architect, and with some logistical shuffling she could do a limited amount of work from home). That’s one option. We might also consider others, perhaps making more use of the services available through Hospice.
And, of course, my MIL could die this week or next and make all question of needing to worry about such things moot. But that’s not what I hope for, nor how we can plan. Rather, we need to plan as though she is going to be with us, and still requiring substantial attention and care.
So, this means change. Perhaps a little sooner, and in a different manner, than I had been thinking about recently. And change can be a little scary.
Not that it’ll stop me, or even much give me pause.
Well, speaking of such things, I have conservation work that needs doing . . .
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Book Conservation, Feedback, Flu Wiki, Promotion, Publishing, Writing stuff
Brief note – thanks, I think, in large part to folks from the Flu Wiki, I’ve had over 600 downloads of the novel in the last 36 hours or so. That puts the total downloads over 5,100.
I guess I really should get off my butt and contact some agents again. Too bad I’m exhausted – my MIL had a rough night of it (I was on call), and I have a backlog of conservation work to catch up on.
But I thought I’d share the good news. Maybe more later today – right now I need a nap.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Government, Health, movies, Predictions, RFID, Science, Science Fiction, Society, tech, Wired, Writing stuff
[This post contains spoilers about the plot of Communion of Dreams. I’ll attempt to minimize how much I reveal in the course of discussing this topic, but you’ve been warned.]
RFID tagging is a popular plot device in a lot of movies and fiction, as well as a functional tool for commerce and security. But a lot of people have concerns about how suitable this tech is for the way it is being applied. Let’s put it this way: if you don’t already have a RFID-blocking wallet for your passport (and soon your credit cards), plan on getting one. The authorities claim that RFID passports and other devices are secure, since they can only be ‘read’ by machines at close encounter (just a couple of inches), but hackers have already established that such devices can be read at up to 10 yards.
Anyway, RFID tags are also popular for pet owners, who will ‘chip’ a pet with ID info in case it is lost. Likewise, the tech has been used for monitoring seniors who live alone and for anti-kidnapping devices.
But it seems that there may be medical concerns about implanting the chips into tissue. Concerns which were ignored by FDA. From an AP article the other day:
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved implanting microchips in humans, the manufacturer said it would save lives, letting doctors scan the tiny transponders to access patients’ medical records almost instantly. The FDA found “reasonable assurance” the device was safe, and a sub-agency even called it one of 2005’s top “innovative technologies.”
But neither the company nor the regulators publicly mentioned this: A series of veterinary and toxicology studies, dating to the mid-1990s, stated that chip implants had “induced” malignant tumors in some lab mice and rats.
“The transponders were the cause of the tumors,” said Keith Johnson, a retired toxicologic pathologist, explaining in a phone interview the findings of a 1996 study he led at the Dow Chemical Co. in Midland, Mich.
What’s even better is that it seems as though the man who was the head of the agency which made the decision then went to work for one of the major corporations pushing the technology:
The FDA is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, which, at the time of VeriChip’s approval, was headed by Tommy Thompson. Two weeks after the device’s approval took effect on Jan. 10, 2005, Thompson left his Cabinet post, and within five months was a board member of VeriChip Corp. and Applied Digital Solutions. He was compensated in cash and stock options.
Compensated to the tune of options on a quarter-million shares of stock and some $80,000, according to Threat Level.
Pretty sweet, eh?
Anyway, this whole notion of integrating tech into our actual bodies is a mainstay of SF, and I do a lot with it in Communion, because I see it as likely that this is where we’re headed. That doesn’t mean that it is a good idea, though, as the example of the RFID chips being suspect shows.
And here’s where we get into the Spoilers:
For Communion, I suggest that there are two options for the human race: to continue down a path of integration with our technology, becoming increasingly ‘enhanced’ and wired and decreasingly human; or to embrace something of the sanctity of the human form – we can use technology, but not become merged with it. This happens via the connection with the alien artifact, which revitalizes aspects of our human ability which had long been suppressed. That the flu virus which had threatened human extinction turns out to have been an artifact of our own technology is just reinforcement of this metaphor.
Don’t mistake me – I am not a technophobe. If I need an artificial heart valve, or a pacemaker, or any similar tech bit installed in my body, then I’m fine with that. But I think the larger issue of integrating optional tech into our bodies will be fraught with dangers, and should not be embraced without real consideration – and I’m not talking about the kind of consideration that the RFID chips got from the FDA.
Jim Downey
I got this note from “Tom” at Daily Kos (I’ll let him ID himself further if he wants):
I clicked to your site from your sig at Daily Kos. I plan on reading Communion of Dreams. Thanks for putting it up for download.
I am not one to give advice, but I will offer this: Can you slap up a summary of the story, from 150 to 250 words, on the home page? I’d expect it to raise the number of readers, and help agents or publishers describe it quickly at their meetings.
Duh! Like most bits of really good advice, this is completely obvious – once it has been suggested.
Thanks, Tom. Of course I have summaries and complete plot outlines, et cetera. I’ll sort out what works best and post it off of a link on the homepage for Communion so that it is easily accessible but the spoilers are not there on the front page.
Excellent.
**Afternoon edit:**
OK, so in thinking about it, I decided that I do need something brief on the actual homepage, rather than as a link to elsewhere. This is what I came up with for a brief blurb, as you might find on the back of a paperback book:
Communion of Dreams is an “alternative future history” set in 2052 where the human race is still struggling to recover from a massive pandemic flu some 40 years previously. Much of the population is infertile. National borders and alliances have shifted. Regional nuclear wars have prompted some countries to turn to establishing settlements in space, and there’s a major effort to detect Earth-like planets in nearby star systems for future colonization. Fringe eco-religious groups threaten to thwart the further advancement of science and technology, and resist any effort to spread humanity to the stars.
When an independent prospector on Titan discovers an alien artifact, assumptions based on the lack of evidence of extra-terrestrial intelligence are called into question. Knowing that news of such a discovery could prompt chaos on Earth, a small team is sent to investigate and hopefully manage the situation. What they find is that there’s more to human history, and human abilities, than any of them ever imagined. And that they will need all those insights, and all those abilities, to face the greatest threat yet to human survival.
What do you think?
Jim Downey
Filed under: General Musings, NPR, Predictions, Press, Publishing, Reproduction, Science, Science Fiction, Society, Writing stuff
I was able to catch a bit of this morning’s Weekend Edition Sunday on NPR, and heard an interesting interview with first-time author Camille DeAngelis about her novel Mary Modern. You can find the story here, and there’s a link to the audio archive.
What caught my attention particularly was when host Liane Hansen asked DeAngelis whether at any point in the publishing process it was suggested that her novel belonged in the Science Fiction category. In the course of the discussion (starts at 3:00 in the audio file) DeAngelis expresses the opinion that in recent years so-called literary fiction has come to include more fantastic elements “because people want to exit ordinary life, and you get kind of tired about reading about missing children and cheating spouses and all that kind of thing.”
I’ve written previously that the term “Science Fiction” is too often used as a pejorative, that SF is a ghetto from which it is difficult to escape, and that the distinction between Science Fiction and more mainstream ‘speculative fiction’ is arbitrary at best. Communion of Dreams certainly *is* SF – but like Mary Modern, it has a much broader appeal than to just the Star Wars crowd.
Anyway, catch the interview if you can, and maybe put Mary Modern on your reading list. I know that when I’m able to think clearly again I’m going to have to give it a try.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Bad Astronomy, Bipolar, Carl Zimmer, Cosmic Variance, Fermi's Paradox, Flu, Genetic Testing, Health, Music, Pandemic, Pharyngula, Phil Plait, Plague, Predictions, Saturn, Science, Science Fiction, The Loom, Writing stuff
They’re mixing with the population
A virus wearing pumps and pearls
Lord help the lonely guys
Hooked by those hungry eyes
Here come Tomorrow’s Girls
Tomorrow’s Girls
Donald Fagan, “Tomorrow’s Girls” from Kamakiriad
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
I can always tell when I’m feeling better, or have gotten a bit of sleep and am able to think (somewhat) again: I get that little rush of energy, mind jumping and drawing connections between ostensibly divergent topics. It is a shadow of the way I feel when my bipolar condition swings to the manic phase, and all things seem clear and possible.
Such is the case this morning.
I read a lot of science blogs. Pharyngula. Cosmic Variance. Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy. The Angry Toxicologist. But even before he started blogging at The Loom, I was aware of the science reporting of Carl Zimmer. And recently Carl posted a link to his Seed Magazine cover story “The Meaning of Life.” It’s not terribly long, and you should just go read the whole thing.
But among the entire very interesting article is this wonderful idea: that it is a mistake to try and define what life is right now. Philosopher Carol Cleland of NASA’s Institute for Astrobiology is very much in the thick of this, saying that we do not have the necessary perspective. As Zimmer puts it:
Instead of trying to formulate a definition of life, Cleland and Chyba argue, we need to develop a theory of life—an overarching explanation of nature that joins together a myriad of seemingly random phenomena. Biologists have discovered a number of theories–the germ theory of disease and Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, for example—yet they have no full-fledged theory of life itself. The underlying uniformity of life is one of the great discoveries of modern biology, but it’s also an obstacle. It represents only a single data point, and blinds us to the possibilities of “weird life.” We have no idea exactly which features of life as we know it are essential to life as we don’t know it.
A theory of life would allow us to understand what matters to life, what possible forms it can take, and why. It would let us see connections that we might otherwise miss, just as chemists can see the hidden unity between a cloud in the sky and a block of ice. Scientists are already trying to build a theory of life. A number of researchers have been developing a theory in which life is a self-organized system that can be described using the same principles physicists use to describe hurricanes or galaxies. As biologists learn more and more about how the millions of molecules in a cell work together, these theorists can put their ideas to more precise tests.
For Cleland, the most promising way to build a theory of life is to look for alien life. In 2013, the European Space Agency plans to put a rover back on Mars. Called Exomars, it will drill into the Martian crust to seek out signs of life. NASA has plans of its own on the drawing board, including one possible mission that would bring Martian soil back to Earth for intense study. Meanwhile, other promising habitats for life, such as some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, beckon. Cleland argues that finding alien life would allow us to start figuring out what is truly universal about life, rather than just generalizing from life as we know it. Only when we have more data, she reasons, will we have a basis for comparison. As it stands now, says Cleland, “we have no grist for the theoretical mill.”
Brilliant. This is not unlike the revolution in perspective which occurred with the transition to a heliocentric model of the solar system. It necessarily moves us from the bias that our version of life is the only possible model. I’ve written about this previously, but it is good to see such a complete treatment of the topic as Zimmer gives it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
It looks like scientists have discovered the likely culprit in the collapse of the honey bee populations in the US: a virus.
Virus implicated in bee decline
A virus has emerged as a strong suspect in the hunt for the mystery disease killing off North American honeybees.
Genetic research showed that Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) turned up regularly in hives affected by Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
Over the last three years, between 50% and 90% of commercial bee colonies in the US have been affected by CCD.
And from the same source:
Also open is the question of how the virus arrived in the US. One finger of suspicion points to Australia, from where the US began importing honeybees in 2004 – the very year that CCD appeared in US hives.
The researchers found IAPV in Australian bees, and they are now planning to go back through historical US samples to see if the Antipodean imports really were the first carriers.
If they were, the US might consider closing its borders to Australian bees.
The way the researchers determined that a virus was involved is also interesting. Since the honey bee genome has been ‘solved’ (completely mapped), they were able to assay the entire genetic contents of a hive and then remove the known components. What was left included some bacterial agents which are probably in symbiotic harmony with the bees, and various fungi and other items. By comparing a healthy hive’s genetic assay with one suffering from CCD, they were able to identify possible culprits – in this case, the IAPV.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Communion of Dreams is set in a post-pandemic Earth, where a viral agent was responsible for widespread death and sterility some 40 years prior to the time of the novel. One good model of exactly how that could happen is CCD with the honey bees, though that has occurred in the time since I first wrote the book.
Now, how does this all tie together? Well, only because the researchers looking into the honey bee problem had the tools of genetic mapping available to them were they able to understand what was (likely) going on. Something similar happens in Communion on two fronts – resolving the riddle of the orphan girl and understanding the threat of the new virus. But perhaps more importantly, there is the mystery of the alien artifact and its connection the the superconducting gel, which I describe as “more alive than not” – this gets to the very heart of the issue of understanding the true nature of the universe, and discarding our previous biases.
Oh, and lastly, I’m sure we’ll see something from Zimmer about the IAPV discovery. Why? Because one of his specialties is the nightmare-inducing world of parasites, and looking at the evolutionary struggle between hosts and diseases.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Carl Sagan, Climate Change, General Musings, Global Warming, Government, Nuclear weapons, Predictions, Science Fiction, Slate, Society, tech, Violence, Writing stuff
The hydrogen bomb is about six years older than I am. In other words, I’m one of the people who grew up fully expecting a nuclear war of some variety sometime during my life. And in spite of the ‘detargetting’ bullshit of the ’90s, I still do.
I’m in good company, though mostly the focus of awareness and concern has shifted to either nuclear terrorism or some kind of ‘rogue state’ conflict.
Slate Magazine has a piece currently about whether or not there exists a “Doomsday Machine” built by the USSR which is still operational. Citing several sources, they conclude that there is, though it is not a completely automated system. One of the experts they reference is Bruce Blair, who has written extensively about the dangers posed by the nuclear forces of the major powers, and how the systems created during the Cold War are still very much a threat. One small sample:
In addition, U.S. nuclear control is also far from fool-proof. For example, a Pentagon investigation of nuclear safeguards conducted several years ago made a startling discovery — terrorist hackers might be able to gain back-door electronic access to the U.S. naval communications network, seize control electronically over radio towers such as the one in Cutler, Maine, and illicitly transmit a launch order to U.S. Trident ballistic missile submarines armed with 200 nuclear warheads apiece. This exposure was deemed so serious that Trident launch crews had to be given elaborate new instructions for confirming the validity of any launch order they receive. They would now reject a firing order that previously would have been immediately carried out.
Well, glad they cleared that up. But what else is lurking out there in our military, or in the nuclear forces of Russia and China that is just waiting to go wrong? And that doesn’t even begin to touch on the problems of the smaller and newer nuclear powers, who are unlikely to have as good safeguards as we do.
As I mentioned previously, initially I had an asteroid impact being the second major catastrophe of the 21st century, for the ‘history’ of Communion of Dreams. When that proved to be difficult for some of my initial readers to swallow, I dropped back to the idea of a regional nuclear war. Working off of Carl Sagan’s studies of the likely cooling effect of nuclear weapons, this would allow me to offset global warming, stymie the development of Asia, and still scare the hell out of the remaining human race and prompt the rapid development of large-scale space capabilities. Curiously, almost no one has yet expressed the opinion that they find this scenario (that of a regional nuclear war) too outlandish to believe.
Perhaps that is due to so much Science Fiction, and even mainstream fiction, having portrayed the dangers posed by nuclear weapons for so long. Or perhaps it is just that we know humankind too well, and have a realistic assessment of how likely it is that sometime, somewhere, nuclear weapons will once again be used to horrific effect.
Jim Downey
Just a quick note . . .
I noticed in my stats (now over 4,500 downloads of the novel) that evidently there had been a link to Communion of Dreams from a SF discussion site called The Website at the End of the Universe. Someone there had some high praise for the book, said it was in the same league as some of the recent biggies in Science Fiction – quite a compliment! I thought if anyone who read this blog wanted to comment on Communion, they could do so in this thread.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Feedback, General Musings, Marketing, movies, Paleo-Future, Pandemic, Plague, Predictions, Press, Promotion, Publishing, Religion, Science Fiction, Society, Space, Titan, Writing stuff
In a post-apocalyptic world a cult of religious cyber-zombies prepare to release a hideous new engineered plague on mankind. On Saturn’s moon Titan, an aging space prospector discovers an ancient alien artifact. It will take the psycho-sexual skills of one lone young woman to unlock the secrets of the device and save mankind – but can she do it, before the aliens return?
Find out with the new Science Fiction special effects extravaganza Titan’s Mistress! Rated PG-13 for violence and language, some nudity.
(Based on the acclaimed novel Communion of Dreams)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OK, so here’s the deal. Someone read Communion this spring and *really* liked it. Said person thought that it was a very visual book, and would be perfectly suited to a film adaptation.
That’s all well and good. I’ve heard that from several people.
But this person has some connections into Hollywood.
Huh.
Nothing certain, this person says (and I have reason to trust him). But the novel has been passed on to some people who will at least take a look at it. A serious look. And they’re the sorts who can get things accomplished.
What a weird idea, that the novel could first be sold as a movie. Then it wouldn’t be too hard to do the conventional publishing thing as well.
This is all speculative, of course. And I’ve known about this for a while. But after the last couple of posts being about personal stuff unrelated to the book, I thought I’d mention this.
Could be interesting. Granted, once given the Hollywood treatment, Communion would probably wind up looking like I described above, but still.
So, who would you see in what roles? Any suggestions?
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Failure, General Musings, Health, Hospice, Publishing, Religion, Sleep, Writing stuff
After she finished doing the nursing assessment of my MIL, I escorted ‘Missy’ from the Hospice agency out to her car. We paused just outside the back door, and she looked at me. “You guys are really doing a great job as care-givers.”
She probably tells that to all the people they work with. It’s likely in the manual.
But you know, it was still good to hear.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Every one of family and friends we’ve told have been very supportive. “Glad you’re getting some help.” “About time you were able to find a good Hospice.” “Good that you can have some support.” “Maybe now you can get some regular assistance, even some more respite care in each week.”
But you know, it somehow feels like failure. Like we’re giving up, giving in, saying “we can’t handle this any more.”
I always knew this time would come. Just as I know that someday my MIL will die. Well, part of me knew these things. Part of me didn’t. It’ll take some time for the emotional reality to catch up with the intellectual.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
I found myself while on my morning walk considering what it will be like. To be able to go visit friends without having to coordinate family coming in to stay with my MIL. To not have to listen to a baby monitor 24 hours a day. To get some real sleep night after night after night. Daring to think that I might once again have a life of my own.
Really, that’s how it is. You develop such tunnel vision – everything has to be considered in terms of one objective: being a care provider. Yes, you take breaks as you can, you try and get some exercise, some sleep, eat right. Maybe even do some writing or conservation work. But all of that is secondary. Distantly secondary. Because you have to be there for the person you are caring for. It is a sacred trust, perhaps the only thing I truly consider to be sacred.
But now I start to consider What Comes After.
And it frightens me.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Over 4,300 people have downloaded my novel. That’s an average of 600 people a month. Pretty good for what is basically word-of-mouth. I have a lot of work ahead of me to turn this into landing an agent, getting a publishing contract. If not for this book, then for the next one, on the basis that I have at least that much name recognition, that much of an ‘audience’.
I have the prequel to write. There’s a couple chapters already done that will need to be revised. And outlines for the rest of the book to be reworked.
I have at least two patentable ideas – one firearms related, one a consumer electronics item – that I need to pursue, see what I can do to either formally file a patent, or convince the appropriate large corporation to buy the idea from me with something less formal.
I need to earn some money, pay off debt.
I need to lose a bunch of weight, get back into something resembling decent shape.
And I’m frightened. For the last four years, none of these goals has really been paramount. So it has been easy to not succeed at them, and not take it as a personal failure. Soon, I will no longer have that excuse.
Can I succeed? Can I accomplish something lasting with my life?
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
A friend sent me the “Quotes of the Day” this morning. It contained one of my long-time favorites:
There is no expedient to which a man will not go to avoid the labor of thinking.
— Thomas A. Edison
Certainly true. One only has to look around at the world to see that. So very few people are willing and able to actually think for themselves. Oh, they may believe this or that, and call it thinking. But to actually stop, and consider, and understand? That is a rare thing.
I have been chronically tired for years now. And my ability to think clearly, or for any length of time, has been correspondingly diminished. I can point to this or that instance recently when I was able to think and work for short periods, once I had a bit more sleep and time to decompress. But it is a fragile thing. And I worry that perhaps it has slipped away. . .
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 