Category: economics

Imaginarium X

tl;dr: Lots of fun, much learned, will go back.

Got in Friday after a 4.5 hour drive. Given I’ve been stuck getting through Cincinnati for hours, no complaint. They put me on the 4th floor; cool! I learned last year the ice makers are only on 2,4,6. Annnd, the one on four didn’t work. Oh, well. I need the exercise. Mix a drink, put proper clothes on, and head down. Everyone is still setting up. Found Holly Phillipe then had to re-find her as the Red Bull Rep seemed to think I worked for the con. So much for nicer clothes. Shortly after ran into Stephen Zimmer, a contract employee of mine. I hear he has something to do with the con, but never figured it out.

Came across Lemur Master right after. He made a quip about @CaptainV from Gab. I commented, “Yeah, too bad he’s not here.” Mr Isenberg pointed over my shoulder. “The guy with the goatee? That’s him.” Well, dang. Introductions all around. After bouncing from table to table, we finally found and founded the new Lemur Throne, becoming the social focus of our little subgroup.

The next day, Friday, started at noon. I hit the “Publicity & Marketing” panel, being older about newsletters and paid reviews. Yes, my ethics are now officially out of date; so, I’m looking at Booksprout. I wanted to go to the “Publishing Options” panel, but ended up back at the Throne, talking about a little bit of everything. @CaptainV, given name Mark, I think, didn’t give me permission to use his surname, so I won’t. While an interesting personal background and sitting on TONNES of story material, he’s one of those people who “just haven’t gotten around to it, yet.” People such as that piss me off and I laid into him, someone who could beat me to a pulp if he wanted. Sorry, I’m sick to death of that BS excuse. One of the reasons we lost the culture war was creators from our side of the river sat on their hands, and muttered, “maybe tomorrow.” I did apologize the next morning but he waved it off. Because he knows I’m right.

My panel, “St. Tay, Pray for Us,” was at 1700. Huge room, I had fifty agendas. Maybe ten showed up. I’m not sure exactly why, but as there was a similar panel the next day at 1245, I suspect that, as we live in a post-Christian, hyper-secular society, the panel name turned or scared people off. I tried to keep things bouncing from panelist to panelist, even inviting early questions from the audience. Something I do not normally do. Back to the room for another drink, or two, then to the Throne.

Saturday at 0900, “Increasing Reviews” was something of a recapitulation of the “Publicity & Marketing” I went to, earlier. I’ve done booktours before but never thought about an audio booktour for the one I have. I’ll fix that. That other AI panel (“it’s an expert system!” I shout into the wilderness, unheeded), had about twice as many. There was a brief misunderstanding about panelist seating and I’d like to go on record that Arlan Andrews is rude AF. I’d not much to say, but toward the end, a Mr Hearn asked a two pronged question about macroeconomic impacts and “where’s this all going?” Allow me to retort! I introduced myself after. A short conversation at the Thone led to a need for more whiskey; turned out, 1) his room was next to mine, and 2) he’s got better taste in whiskey than I do. We started talking stories (I had all sixteen of my books on display) which shaded over into book cover design. Clever chap and I want to stay in touch with clever people.

Up early the next morning, I was exhausted. Unlike my DayJob where I need maybe 1% of my brain, being “full on” and personable was killing me. Also, I didn’t want to get stuck in 2-3 hours of northbound Cincinnati traffic, so I left. Still tired, I had to stop at a rest area just north of that city and take a nap. Even so, within less than a mile to go, I fell asleep again, this time while in a roundabout, but for only a split second. Went home, played with the dogs, at was in bed by 1930.

In hindsight, I should have recorded those free-wheeling conversations at the Throne. We likely covered more material in those hours than any ten panels. Perhaps “Insights from the Lemur Throne” will be a panel next year? And, yes, I’ll be going back.

Deus vult.

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Buy Physical Books

Hello, all. Nearly finished with the copyedits for “Imperial Entanglements,” but saw this bit of news come across the transom. It is one of the main reasons I have always pushed for physical media: hard/paperback books, Blu-ray discs, old CDs… Any electronic format is subject both to alternation and deletion; a form of clawback (which can also be done to your ones and zeros in your bank account).

Does it cost a little more? Of course. But then you own a piece of someone’s mind forever, not just until some #woke nitwit decides you or a creative is guilty of Badthink. Enjoy.

Tillamook, part 18

What? You really thought having King Rhun show up was a key plot point? My future history is called Machine Civilization for a reason.

Off to co-celebrate my daughters’ 19th and 21st birthdays in a bit. I’m hoping to get one more scene typed today then see what they can show me before Mass tomorrow.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

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The Ria

Every now and then, usually with bioluminescent  algae blooms or unusual news about quantum computing, I’ll make a post here from the so-called “real world,” which is increasingly “ClownWorld,” to illustrate something about the future history of Machine Civilization.

With the current unpleasantness between Russia and Ukraine, there has been talk in the past few days about Russia and China working together to evade SWIFT restrictions. With India’s recent abstention on a vote in the UN General Assembly, it makes one wonder what is really going on.

I wonder… has anyone ever given any thoughts to the long-term repercussions of this?

“The end of the world as we know it”

The southeast of the US not getting the gas/petrol they need. One of the Interstate bridges over the Mississippi River is fractured and closed… possibly closing shipping traffic on that river… impacting 20% of shipping traffic on one of the most important rivers of the world. Inflation is taking off like a successful SpaceX rocket.

It’s not as if I’ve given this any thought…

Here, for your edification, is the complete Prologue of “Friend and Ally,” where a couple of Somi Corporation engineers try to figure out just what in the world is going on in the US. If you like this, you’ll like the rest of the audiobook, too.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

Exposition in Winchester

Was at my DayJob the last four days then off the last two. The pollen here in central Ohio has irritated my throat so I could only record three chapters of “Foes and Rivals.” I will certainly not be done with that by our vacation departure the first week of June.

But will there be a vacation? Some false-flag pipeline BS in the SE US. Closing of the I-40 bridge over the Mississippi – with the possibility of that impacting ship traffic on the river which forms the backbone of America. The Covid political madness still in place. Maybe we will make it to south Utah. Maybe we’ll make it back. If things fall apart – and trust me, I know that can, FAST – then I’ll have to go full Mad Max to retrieve Daughter #1 from her internship.

In the meantime, in a story I’m not writing which is at 25k words, the intel team of which Prince Robert is just a cog starts off toward their first town of investigation.

I’ve also signed up with a new service and shall try to embed the link here. I’m not terribly good at these things.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/machciv

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The Dismal Science

Which is itself a joke. Normies think “economics” majors must study tons and tons of math. Hah. Most of them cannot add or subtract. I would trust astrology and reading bird entrails before any PhD of Economics. Politicians get crosses; I’ll give econs a clean death at the drop of a rope, just because I’m a nice person.

It seems that Prince Edward has twigged to this fact. Race > Culture > Politics.

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Ports of Call

In engineering, logistics, and similar fields there is a concept called “point-source failure.” That is, the proper function of your mechanism, program, or process is ultimately predicated on one single thing working right. If it fails, the entire system fails. This, obviously, is something to be avoided and designed out from a project’s inception or as soon as possible.

When I first self-published my books, beginning in December of 2014, I was on Amazon. It was the only game in town. Later, I learned of Smashwords and have ported many of my ebooks there. More recently, StoryOrigin, where not only can I sell books, but make parts of all available for reviewers (I’m just getting started on that site). Just last week Helen Smith unveiled Helen’s Page with much more than just books. In the wings, I’m aware that Sarah Hoyt is working on yet another such outlet for indie authors.

I say all that to say this: it is just a matter of time before Amazon gets taken out by hackers, broken to pieces by regulators, or – most likely – I’m deplatformed for having heretical views of what the PoMoTranzi Party believes on any given day. In other words, a point-source failure.

Below the fold is one of the reasons I can only upload books to Smashwords twice per year or so. Exasperating.

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Life imitates my works… I’ve lost count…

On the first hand:  “China and Russia ditch dollar in move toward financial alliance”

On the second hand:  “Step 4: Impeach or otherwise remove Trump by non-Constitutional means.”

On the gripping hand (from the prologue of Friend & Ally):

Hakane took another drag off his cigarette in Somi Corporation’s breakroom, laughing at his colleague’s comment.  It wasn’t so much their company discouraged smoking as that they wished to make sure their products were not contaminated.  Given the delicacy of some of the prototypes, all respected this rule.

“Can you believe it, Atazaki?” he asked, flourishing his newspaper.  “The US economy imploding like this?  I’m an engineer, not at economist, but how in the world…”

“Call it belief; call it faith.  Lose it, and your world ends,” his friend replied, looking at a domestic part of his own newspaper.

“What’s that?”  What Hakane knew of politics could fit into a sake cup.

“Since the war,” for a Japanese, that meant only one thing, “the world economy had the US dollar as its reserve currency, backed, not by gold or silver, but by the faith – mind you – that the US will always be there!”

Atazaki glanced at the clock over the inner door and decided one more cigarette was in order.

“So now we find,” he said, pointing at Hakane’s paper with his lighter, “that as the American President is being removed via extra-Constitutional means, the Russians, Chinese, and Indians are rolling out a new currency… what’s it called?”

“The ria,” Hakane managed.

“Whatever.  Backed by the gold they’ve been buying up for a generation, and indexed to oil.  At that point, US dollars became valueless.”

Hakane was still confused.  But why…

“Why is there rioting in the US?  And getting worse so fast?”

Atazaki blew a blue-grey cloud toward the ceiling’s scrubbers.

“It’s a replay of what almost happened back in 2008:  credit dries up, the velocity of money drops to zero.”

Atazaki realized his friend didn’t get a single word.  He tried again.

“Credit cards stop working; all the zeros and ones in banks are gone, and, for the Americans,” he took another drag, “their food-welfare cards, whatever they’re called, stopped working.”

He exhaled again and sat back.

“All cities in the US are starving right now.  And there is nothing… nothing at all, to stop it.”

I’m not kidding:  I was writing science fiction, not current events…