Fantasist's Scroll

Today is <a target="_blank" href="http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com">William Gibson's </a>Birthday!

For those of you who have been hiding under a rock, or have been freshly cloned, <a target="_blank" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?tag=fantasistnet&keyw… Gibson</a> is the primary progenitor of the cyberpunk movement. He's generally credited with coining the term "cyberspace" and popularizing a somewhat more realistic, if somewhat bleak, view of the future.
He also ran away to Canada in 1968 to avoid the draft. Which is the only bad thing I can say about him. I otherwise admire his work and thought processes. Certainly his literature is beyond compare. I admire his work very much and occasionally will reread some of his short stories, just to capture the feel of his prose.

Anyway, celebrate his birthday with a little science-fiction in thanks for what he's done for the genre.

The top eleven Geek Pickup lines, second edition, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bbspot.com/News/2004/10/top_11_geek_pick_up_lines_2.html">as stolen from BBSpot</a>, for your Friday afternoon funny )and as they appeared on <a href="http://www.ryumaou.com/hoffman/netgeek/">my other blog</a>):

Geek Pick Up Lines: Part 2
11. You had me at "Hello World."
10. Mind if I run a sniffer to see if your ports are open?
9. You make me want to upgrade my Tivo.
8. By looking at you I can tell you're 36-25-36, which by the way are all perfect squares.
7. Jedi Mind Trick: "This is the geek you're looking for." *waves hand*
6. You can put a Trojan on my Hard Drive anytime.
5. Have you ever googled yourself?
4. How about we do a little peer-to-peer saliva swapping?
3. With my IQ and your body we could begin a race of genetic superchildren to conquer the earth.
2. What's a girl like you doing in a place like this when there's a Farscape marathon on right now on the Sci Fi channel.
1. I'm attracted to you so strongly, scientists will have to develop a fifth fundamental force.

Thought I was going to forget my Friday Fun link, didn't you?
Well, I haven't. Today I bring you the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.invisiblelibrary.com/">Invisible Library</a>. The Invisible Library is a virtual "library" of books that only appear in books. Did you catch that? They're books that don't actually exist but have been written about in other books that do actually exist. Oh, look, just click the link and you can see for yourself!

Specifically, fantasy writer's reference articles.
So, the other day, while I'm looking for something totally different, I find <a target="_blank" href="http://fantasy.fictionfactor.com/articles.html">Fantasy Fiction Factor - Fantasy Writing Articles for Fantasy Writers</a>. WOW! This is an absolute treasure trove of ideas and suggestions and "gotchas" for fantasy writers. They hit everything here from fantasy animals to forms of government to making magic systems to an article on real horses. Some of this, of course, is pretty common stuff, because writers have to deal with it all the time, but some of it I haven't seen anywhere else but here. So, it's well worth a look. You never know what might inspire you!

Ever wanted to remodel your house to look like the Enterprise?
Now, you can! Or, rather, there's a company that you can hire who can: <a href="http://www.24thcid.com/24th_century_design.swf">24Th Century Design</a>. Started by someone who did his own replica transporter for "something to do", these folks are based in the UK, but available for hire. Their site is a regular wonderland of Star Trek-like visions that can become your home.
Cool.

Happy Friday!

The top eleven Geek Pickup lines, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bbspot.com/News/2004/09/top_11_geek_pick_up_lines.html">as stolen from BBSpot</a>, for your Friday afternoon funny:

Geek Pick-up Lines
11. Tell me of this thing you humans call *dramatic pause* love.
10. If you turn me down now, I will become more drunk than you can possibly imagine.
9. They don't call me Bones because I'm a doctor.
8. Your name is Leslie? Look, I can spell your name on my calculator!
7. What's a nice girl like you doing in a wretched hive of scum and villany like this?
6. You must be Windows 95 because you gots me so unstable.
5. My 'up-time' is better than BSD.
4. I can tell by your emoticons that you're looking for some company.
3. Is that an iPod mini in your pocket or are you just happy to see me.
2. Want to see my Red Hat?
1. If you won't let me buy you a drink, at least let me fix your laptop.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can hear the moans and groans from here. Hey, have a few more drinks and they'll start to get funny. At least, that's my working theory.
(And, yes, these were posted on <a href="http://www.ryumaou.com/hoffman/netgeek/">my other blog</a> first.)

Just thought I should throw out a little note about why things have been so quiet here.
First, there's my other blog, <a href="http://www.ryumaou.com/hoffman/netgeek/">Diary of a Network Geek</a>. That bad boy sucks up a lot of my time. Then, there's work. Yes, they actually expect me to work and produce results! Can you imagine!? Then, there's the fact that I'm single again. Yeah, being single takes up a lot of time, especially when you're trying to NOT be single. And, I'm gaining ground there, too. :)
Then, too, are my list of <a href="http://www.ryumaou.com/hoffman/netgeek/?p=900">New Year's Resolutions</a>. I've been working on them pretty steadily. Notice what number Twelve is? Yeah, write more. Specifically, write more for publication. So, while trying to get that going, along with the rest of my life, this blog tends to languish. Still, I do intend to maintain a Friday Fun Link every Friday. We'll see how long that lasts...
Anyway, now you know!

For a change, this isn't one of mine!
Though there are several generators here at Fantasist.net, including a title generator, today's Friday Fun Link comes from off-site. This one arrives via a link on the excellent blog, <a target="_blank" href="http://gwendabond.typepad.com/bondgirl/">Shaken & Stirred</a>, and is called, simply, <a target="_blank" href="http://nine.frenchboys.net/novel.php">Fantasy Novel Title Generator</a>.

Yeah, that's it. What do you want from me? It's Friday and I'm working, even if you aren't, so just click the link and leave me alone!

Well, at least free PDFs for graph paper.
This really interesting company has released FREE PDFs of assorted, blank graph paper that you can use to print out your own in whatever quantity you desire. The company is Incompetech and you can find the PDFs at their <a target="_blank" href="http://www.incompetech.com/beta/plainGraphPaper/">Free Online Graph Paper / Grid Paper PDFs page</a>. Not only do they have standard graph paper, but they also have hex-grid, assorted geometric shapes, musical notation paper, caligraphy practice paper, and assorted "dot" matrix paper in various geometric shapes.
Great if you're a gamer, and cool even if you're not.
And, all just in time for the weekend!

<a target="_blank" href='http://www.fantasist.net/scroll/wp-content/images/floatinglake7.jpg&#039; alt='Floating Lake, reversed airship' ><img class="floatright" src='http://www.fantasist.net/scroll/wp-content/images/thumb-floatinglake7.j…; alt='Floating Lake, reversed airship' /></a> Yes, more silly, fantastical pictures. Nothing all that grand or different than the others I've posted. Still, in the past several months, I threw out more pictures than some digital artists I've known did in a year. At least, more than I saw in a year. Of course, there'll be fewer for quite some time as I get very busy at work for a bit. If you miss me here, you can always check out my other blog, <a href="http://www.ryumaou.com/hoffman/netgeek">Diary of a Network Geek</a>. That's where most of the good stuff is happening these days anyway.