Sunday Six: Space Didn't Kill Frank

Today Sunday Six from Chapter Four of Rock Killer:

"Okay, really," Charlie said softly.  "I loved Frank; we were going to marry."
"I know."
"But life in space is dangerous.  We all accept that," she added with conviction.
"But space didn't kill Frank."

(Frank died here.)

Driving as Fast as I Dare

In winter I've noticed a phenomena, at least with my driving.  When roads or slick or conditions not ideal, I drive as fast as I dare.  This could be 35 mph on the Interstate but it is as fast as I dare.  Then, suddenly, road conditions approve and I keep driving as fast as I dare and quickly I'm doing 85 mph on the Interstate (where the speed limit around here is 70).  This happened to me coming back from Portland one time.  I was driving in the Columbia River Gorge on the north (Washington) side and it was very foggy, so I was driving as fast as I dared for the foggy condition which was well under the speed limit.

Then the fog lifted and I forgot to stop driving as fast as I dared.  I think I was doing 72 (in a 60) when the cop got me on radar.  Luckily he didn't give me a ticket (my luck ran out two years ago in June when I was doing 48 in a 35 on a country road that has, in my opinion, a too low speed limit, anyway).

Or, the roads will be bad for weeks so you really get in the habit of driving as fast as you dare, then suddenly they're clear and you're speeding everywhere (because, by and large, speed limits are set too low, anyway).

Other times, during the summer, I drive as fast as I dare and hope there's no cops around.  I'll plead the fifth if asked how fast I go.

Do you drive as fast as you dare?

Sunday Six: Kimchee

Today's Sunday Six from Chapter Three of Rock Killer:

Out of one of the multitude of small dishes on the table, Alex used chopsticks to select a slice of kimchee and put it in his mouth.  He followed the pickled cabbage with a gob of rice.

"I suppose," Kirsten chided playfully, "you expect to sleep in the same bed as me after eating that."

Alex nodded and swallowed.  "All you have to do is eat some and we'll cancel each other out."

Kirsten made a face.

Frankenweenie

I don't go to the movie theater a lot.  Last movie I saw in the theater was The Hobbit in late December but before that it was February 2012 and before that was April 2011 and before that it was 2003, I think (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King).  I do most of my movie watching at home using Netflix (don't get me started on dealing with Netflix).  So I just last night got to see Tim Burton's animated film Frankenweenie.  And I highly recommend it.  It was nearly perfect with wonderful style and great direction.  Even when I thought they were going to do a cheap rip-off of Jurassic Park, they didn't.  It was clever, original, and well made.  And laugh-out-loud funny.  Only two things die (well, that aren't already dead).  The ending maybe be a bit scary and intense for younger kids (like under 12).

Another movie that was (surprisingly) laugh-out-loud funny was Ted.  Definitely not for children but very funny.  Most "comedies" the jokes are either lame or I can see them coming a mile away.  Not so with Ted.

But I digress.  If you want a fun time that your teenagers can watch and enjoy with you, then Frankenweenie is a good choice.  And if you like stylized movies where every frame seems to be a piece of artwork, then Frankenweenie is also a good choice.

Dot Map

I saw this last night on Cartoon Network during Adult Swim watching "Family Guy" because my local Fox station had blocked programing from Dish (my television provider) for about five weeks and Cartoon Network was the only place to see the new Family Guy episodes.  Okay, that's probably more than you wanted to know.

Here is a map with one dot for every person in the U.S. and Canada according to U.S. and Canada census data.  As the website state:

This is a map of every person counted by the 2010 US and 2011 Canadian censuses. The map has 341,817,095 dots - one for each person.
 

And you can actually zoom in to see individual dots.

What I find fascinating is, starting at the splotch in Texas that I assume is San Antonio, you can almost follow a line north (a not quite straight line) to what looks like Winnipeg, Canada.  East of that line there is almost no empty space and a lot of dark smudges.  West of that, there's a lot of empty space and almost no smudges until you get to the West Coast/I-5 corridor.

I think a lot of people living in the crowded eastern half of the continent don't realize how much empty space there is out West.

And I think a lot of people living the the West don't realize how packed the people are in the East.  We take our open spaces for granted.  I can hope in my car, drive an hour, and be where you can't see anything human-built (except the road).

Anyway, fun map that somebody wasted a lot of time on.

Brevity

I do some volunteer work in my community.  This has helped me get freelancing jobs and I enjoy the community contact and service.

So one organization I belong to is thinking of hiring a fundraising firm.  I just looked at two of the proposals.  One was twenty pages, the other five.  Guess which one got a more careful reading?

I am amazed that someone can say in 20 pages what it took another person to say in five.  Yes, there were a few more details in the longer proposal, but there was a lot of "filler" and jargon and sales pitches.  It just got old.

So remember, brevity is what your readers want.  Well, at least some readers.  Like me.

Sunday Six: Dinner

Today's Sunday Six from Chapter Two of Rock Killer:

Dr. McConnell was about 65 and balding.  His grizzled mustache moved in an undulating motion when he chewed.  When he didn't have food in his mouth he puffed on a cigarette, oblivious to how his guests felt about the noxious fumes.  Mrs. McConnell was a dumpy woman who needed to do something, anything, with her short, gray hair.

The meal was a vegetarian delight.  Alex had just spent almost six months in space where meat was rehydrated, tasteless, and expensive as hell.