I'm Back

Well, just partially.

This is just a check in. I will have a full post tomorrow. It will concern an article that came from the Scientific American magazine. It concerns trying to find out how groups of neurons form qliques in a heirarchal structure to determine what memory or partial memory is called up, and Mice.

I'm off work until Monday. We're going to shop for my Daughters B-day gift, for next week. She'll like it.

Awesome Writing Blogs!

There are a couple of blogs I'd like to share. Both offer instruction and advise in writing. The first, Author!Author!, if written by Anne Mini; she's answers questions and reviews comments made to her deep and lengthy posts.

The second is He Wrote, She Wrote: How to Write. It is co-blogged by Jenny Crusie and Bob Mayer. Together, they have written ove 45 novels and co-wrote some, as well. At the beginning of the week, one of the two will post on a writing topic. At the end of the week and ample time for readers to comment, the other will respond to that topic, while considering readers comments and questions.

I've been visiting Anne's blog for about a month now, and just found the other last night. Can't say that I'll be able to visit each as frequently as I'd like, but it's nice to have options.

Lost:: The TV Series

We just bought "Lost" Season one over the weekend. I've heard of it before just in passing, and for some reason thought it was just another drab, pathetic reality TV show. Don't ask me why. Once learning that there was much inward journying for the characters I thought I wouldn't mind seeing it. My GF watched part of season one at her friends house (Hi, Shelly!) and instead of renting them we decided to buy the first season. Definately worth it. We watched the pilot episode(s) and about half the season in just one day. I'm watching a couple more tonight. Unfortunately other matters are pressing, like work (ugghhh!)

I like the music they play, however, it would be a thrill if they should ever decide to use any Radiohead.

Focus

I've devised a simple little plan to help organize my print reading. At any one time I'll have a book I'm reading in each of 3 categories: Fiction, Science non-fiction, and a writing book.

Well, at least I say this now. My plan is subject to change at any time, and most likely will.

Fear of No Return

I'm afraid of writing
Of getting started

Will I collapse under obligation
of something meaningful to say?

Or is it I'm afraid when the muse strikes
I'll be transferred and transmigrated,

Transmutated, transubstantiated,translated
To lands, peoples and ideas far away?

Forgetting helps you remember the important stuff, researchers say

From ScienceDaily:

"For the first time, Stanford researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have discovered that the brain's ability to suppress irrelevant memories makes it easier for humans to remember what's really important. "

It seems our memories are finite after all. This research essentially shows that our prefontal cortex actually aids new memory formation and recall by "deleting" or forgetting less important details. It's kind of like the saying, "When something goes in, something else has gotta come out". I must be an exception to the rule, because it's not usually not the usual meaningless things that go with me, it's usually the really important things that I forget.

"According to Wagner, the findings demonstrate the brain's ability to discard irrelevant memories. "Any act of remembering re-weights memories, tweaking them to try to be more adaptive for the next time you try to remember something," he said. "The brain is plastic—adaptive—and one feature of that is not just strengthening some memories but also suppressing or weakening others." "

A brief primer on the Singularity

Research Fellow Eliezer Yudkowsky from the The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
wrote a brief 5 minute introduction to the Singularity for a conference and shares it on the Institutes blog.

Essentially he says that an AI will most likely make it's process more effecient and increase it's own intelligence. Not that we know exactly what an AI would think, but it does seem a logical decision to make, and the first one at that. This is, by most definitions, how the Singularity will unfold.

Let's just hope it's on Our side.

Overwhelmed!

As if life isn't complicated enough. I so Frackin' frustrated with myself. I'm trying to push myself, and feel as if I'm about to go over the edge, again. No, it's not that bad, it can never get as bad as that. My mind was the sum negative of what a lost sentience could have become, and yet still be self-aware. What ever that confused, mangled, self could think, anyway.

I'm just frustrated that I don't have enough time to write fiction. Well, I can make it (time) just like every other writer out there. I've even created another blog (a subject I do like and am familiar with, and am experimenting also with adsense) and need to research, etc. I've just bought more books from Amazon, one of which is Write: 10 Days to Overcome Writer's Block. Period. by Karen E. Peterson. I intend to read this one (although in all likelihood it will collect dust onlong with the other 30 some odd books on writing I've amassed). Not to mention the 40 hour work week at the hospital. Stressful job, too. Damn, wish I could go part time. That's my rant!

Radioactivity: Ride The Wave

I am weak, but still strong enough
you must break the bond that ties
still you to I. My Mind is Radioactive
Decay, I weaken . A messenger, I was
A Deliverer I am. Adherence, Deliverance
Ride the wave

Literary Speed Dating

From WritersWrite:

"Here's a new concept for you: literary speed dating. It's like speed dating, but instead of trying to make a love connection you get three minutes to sell your book to an editor."

Hundreds of aspiring authors were present at a New York trade fair (by the date of the article I'm assuming it was Wednesday of last week) trying to sale their pitch to a few dozens agents and editors in under 3 minutes.

"Several dozen agents and editors were taking pitches at Wednesday's "pitch-slam" at the end of a one-day seminar that also included workshops on writing the perfect book proposal. "Don't feel like you're a failure if you don't come out of here with a contract," Lauren Mosko, editor of writers' guide "Novel & Short Story Writer's Market", told her workshop. Analyzing a pitch for a book of women's letters about lessons learned in adversity, she said: "It sounds like a really 'nice' book but there's nothing that really grabs me emotionally.""

Even though only one half of one percent of the 15 million aspirings writers ever get published, to bad I couldn't have been there for a throw at it.