Mindbat

Quoted

27 June 2008 – 1:29 pm
Erin Hoffman at The Escapist put up a new article in a "Tools of the Trade" series that has a quote from yours truly. The article has a good rundown on the tools indie developers are using to solve their problems without breaking their budgets. Check out Erin's previous article giving a general overview of game tools, as well. Oddly enough (to me), my quote came out of a series of emails sparked by my response to a question Erin put up on LinkedIn. Score one for Web-based Social Networking!

Posted in Chatter, Gaming | No Comments »

Strange Horizons Needs You!

26 June 2008 – 10:38 am
...or rather, your donations! Strange Horizons is a weekly speculative fiction e-zine that's completely free to readers but still pays their artists and writers. Each year they hold a donation drive to help cover their costs. The current drive ends June 30th, and they only need $3,000 more to reach their goal. If you're a Strange Horizons reader, head on over and donate. If you've never read Strange Horizons before, check out their stuff, and then go donate. Give if you can! They're a great magazine publishing good writing.

Posted in Chatter, Fiction | No Comments »

A Short Quiz on Belief

24 June 2008 – 9:30 am
Found this quiz at the beginning of the wonderfully written Doubt: A History. The idea is that by answering these 13 questions, you can find out where on the scale of belief vs unbelief you fall: Do you believe that a particular religious tradition holds accurate knowledge of the ultimate nature of reality and the purpose of human life? Do you believe that some thinking being consciously made the universe? Is there an identifiable force coursing through the universe, holding it together, or uniting all life-forms? Could prayer be in any way effective, that is, do you believe that such a being or force (as posited above) could ever be responsive to your thoughts or words? Do you believe this being or force can think or speak? Do you believe this being has a memory or can make plans? Does this force sometimes take a human form? Do you believe that the thinking part or animating force of a ...

Posted in Chatter | No Comments »

Taking the C++ Challenge

30 May 2008 – 5:00 pm
This week I've decided to roll up my programming sleeves and finally learn how to program in C++. I've been avoiding it for over a decade, so cracking open my copy of the C++ Primer took some courage. To my surprise, my recent forays into Python and Java have prepared me pretty well for what I've encountered so far. I'm 250 pages into the book, and though some elements of the language seem strange to me (why would you use arrays and pointers when you've got vectors?), nothing has flown over my head. That could change as I get deeper into the language. If any of you are familiar with C++, is there anything I should look out for, or pay special attention to?

Posted in Code | 3 Comments »

Balticon 08: Thursday

23 May 2008 – 8:13 am
arrived in baltimore. wondered why i didn't pack a jacket when i know they turn the a.c. on as soon as it hits 60 outside. bbbrrrr. had dinner with ken and shari :) then said goodbye to lora for the night :( and took the light rail to the hotel, which was clean and mostly empty and really cheap. after checking in, had drinks with cmar, burns, lafferty, hutchins, and others (b*tch). actually referred to these photos of Cmar with his 30th birthday cake as 'not as sexy as they sound,' thus proving i was at least somewhat drunk. good times.

Posted in Chatter, Writing | 1 Comment »