Drone Communiques

So, I'm not journaling. I am doing quite poorly, I think. Mostly this is a response to Lack Of Job but partly it's that I have spent an inordinate amount of time playing Silksong, a video game that came out somewhat unexpectedly at the beginning of September. Which is also something of a response to Lack Of Job.

Continuing to apply for both GIS and tech-writer jobs; so far I've seen a grand total of three responses, since May. Not great.

Anyway, I'm currently in Duluth MN at a GIS conference, in the hope that there will be Networking Opportunities. Not that I know how to Network; I am notoriously bad at being social with strangers even at SF/gaming/etc conventions.

In other fun news, the connector port on my phone died last Monday (while I was spending the day accompanying Mya for minor outpatient surgery), and the connector port on my tablet died on the way to Minnesota. The phone I can at least charge magnetically; the tablet is as good as dead until I can get it fixed. Bah. Never rains but etc. I would consider replacing my phone but a) money, and b) it is the Correct Size of phone (iPhone Mini) and they don't make them like that anymore.

Finally getting around to reading Neon Yang (fka JY Yang)'s Tensorate novellas. I forget who recommended these, or if it was anyone specific vs a general "hey these exist and are pretty good". They are in fact pretty good: Chinese-inflected fantasy, magic that feels magical, excellent prose and broad but quite believable characters.

Onward. Sleep and then more sociable.

I Am An AI Hater: "I am not here to make a careful comprehensive argument, because people have already done that. If you're pushing slop or eating it, you wouldn't read it anyway. You'd ask a bot for a summary and forget what it told you, then proceed with your day, unchanged by words you did not read and ideas you did not consider."

How to not build the Torment Nexus: "I guess what I'm saying is that it's getting close to impossible to be in this industry -- at the moment -- without being on the Torment Nexus Team. And lest you think 'at the moment' is load-bearing... well, I wouldn't lean too hard on it. I don't see shit improving too soon."

How to Tell the Difference Between a Lone Wolf and a Coordinated Effort by the Radical Left: McSweeney's, no humour beyond the obvious repeated dark variety, plenty of links and documentation.

And, not about the present and thus more cheerful reading, Your Review: Joan of Arc: "This is, then, an agnostic's review of the evidence for Joan of Arc - artillerist, fraudbuster, confirmed saint, and Extremely Documented Person." Fascinating reading.