Fantasist's Scroll

The first movable type Bible available for free.

Gutenberg is widely aknowledged as the first Westerner to use movable type, an achievement that changed our world. His biggest seller was the world’s best selling book, the Holy Bible. Now, thanks to Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas in Austin, the Gutenberg Bible is available on-line.
It’s worth a look, even if you’re not Christian, just for the historical significance.

A notable author noted my website!

Well, he may not be the most well known author, but he’s written some real gems. The author in question is Joe Clifford Faust, author of The Company Man and Ferman’s Devils. He apparently found my other website, Diary of a Network Geek, where I mention him briefly. I have to admit, until I wrote that little entry, I hadn’t thought about The Company Man in a very long time. But, it was a good book, which I still have, and well worth finding, if you haven’t read it. Come to think of it, so is everything else I’ve read by Mr. Faust. So, go buy his books and maybe the old stuff will come back into print.

Anyway, it was a small thrill to be found by a Real Writer and exchange e-mail with him. Always is for me. Writers are my celebrities. God, I’m a geek.

Okay, so I’ve been bitten by the Harry Potter bug.

Not too long ago, I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and, now I’m finishing up Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Next, of course, I’ll be reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, then Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, followed quickly by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. That is, if my wife and daughter are done with it! I hate to admit it, but they really got me hooked on this stuff. It’s not hard reading, or even very challenging, but it is fun and nice, light Summer reading. And, while I’m studying for my CNE Update test, it’s a nice diversion.
I think my daughter is getting a little too into the latest book, though. Sunday afternoon, she caught our dog doing something naughty and yelled “Potter!” in a very Snape-like voice. The poor dog, who’s named “Hilda”, didn’t quite know what to do. Especially when we all were suddenly caught up in a fit of laughter. Ah, well, they’re good family fun!

At least, it kills my web pages!

This weekend I got a note from my web host telling me that they had to disable one of my CGI scripts because it was taking up too much processor time and killing the webserver. Specifically, it was the script behind my ConLang Generator. So, I had to do some modifications to it. Hopefully, I’ll maintain its usability while keeping it from killing the server again.
But, if that doesn’t do enough, I’ll have to reduce my datasets some so that fewer words are generated. We’ll see how it goes…
In the mean time, why not check out my other web page? It’s at Tales of Hoffman.

Notice how bare the Fiction cupboard is?

Well, there’s a reason. My day job has kept me pretty busy. And, as much as I love this site and writing, my day job is what pays the mortgage and puts food on the table.
You can see what my “other” life is like here.
And you can see my Resume, here.

I love paper art.

I have ever since I was a kid. My Dad brought home a couple of origami books from work one day and I was hooked. They were just some samples from a printer, who turned out to be a gangster, but they opened up a whole new world for me.
I’ve played with origami, or Japanese paper-folding, ever since. I can do some things from memory, like the ubiquitous “flying crane”, but most of the time, I need someone else’s directions. So, of course, I found someone on the web… The site is called Paper Folding. It’s well worth the look.

Enjoy!

I think I’m starting to see things.

No, seriously, I’m so tired that I think I’m starting to hallucinate. Oh, just little stuff, really. Shadows that aren’t there. Creepy crawlies that are just at the edge of my vision, but disappear when I turn my head. Just little things. It’s not like I’m hearing voices or anything.
You’d think having visions would make me more creative, though, right? Nope. Not at all. In fact, I’ve been less creative this week than I normally am. And, I don’t see much relief in sight because we’re adopting a puppy this weekend. Though, I might be inspired to write a dog story or two. I’m so excited about it, I baked dog biscuits last night.

Ah, well, sleep and creativity are both over rated.

As proud a parent, or step-parent, can be!

My wife reported to me today that our daughter is a bit of a writer, which I knew. What I did not know, however, is that at least one of her teachers thinks she’s good enough to get published. Or have her work submitted to a contest. I wish I could claim that it was biological superiority that made her such a literary genius, but, alas, she is my step-daughter and I can make no such claim. However, it does give weight to the nurture-vs-nature argument. She has, after all, seen me working at the Craft for more than five years now. Surely, some of that must have rubbed off on her.
In any case, I have all the tools to help her find the appropriate publication or contest to submit her work to, if she wishes. I will not push her to do so, only suggest. At the moment, she writes for her own pleasure and I’d hate to take that away from her.
In the mean time, I’ll just be as proud as I can be of my daughter, the Writer.