The OpenBSD's mailing list page netiquette section is excellent. It is a distillation of how to communicate online, i.e.: Plain text, 72 characters per line [or simplest formatting available]Do your homework before writingInclude a useful subject line [or headline]Trim your signatureStay on topicInclude important informationRespect differences in opinion and philosophy Using only plain text is … Continue reading OpenBSD’s Guide to Netiquette
Tag: writing
How to Write a Short Story — Kurt Vonnegut
Hiker, There is No Road
"Caminante, no hay camino. Pero el camino se hace al andar." [Using Google Translate to roughly translate into English: "Hiker, there is no road. But, the road is made by walking it.]...The way is in not out......search through your memory, your childhood, your dreams, your passions, your failures, your sorrows, your wildest hallucinations, your most … Continue reading Hiker, There is No Road
Lessons Learned from the Hemingway Editor
As an exercise, I tried rewriting an essay I wrote for this blog, Ergot on Rye, in the Hemingway editor. I learned that my writing in too academic. It is too hard to read. Expressions need to be simpler. I need to use fewer qualifiers. The Hemingway editor helps me break down some of those … Continue reading Lessons Learned from the Hemingway Editor
Hemingway Editor
Write like Hemingway. —http://hemingwayapp.com/
Robin Sloan & Writing With The Machine
I am just so compelled by the notion of a text editor that possesses a deep, nuanced model of… what? Everything ever written by you? By your favorite authors? Your nemesis? All staff writers at the New Yorker, present and past? Everyone on the internet? It’s provocative any way you slice it.I should say clearly: … Continue reading Robin Sloan & Writing With The Machine
Son of Man, The Second Coming of Christ
Rough sketch of a story idea: Androids have taken over construction. They form construction families with specialized roles: Foreman, Support, Block & Tackle, Cut & Finisher, etc. They use 3D printers to print large sections of buildings, then they move and assemble them. As embodied generalized artificial intelligences, each must periodically run their processors at … Continue reading Son of Man, The Second Coming of Christ
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) on StarDict on Ubuntu/Debian
So, after reading "You’re probably using the wrong dictionary," I thought I would give installing Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) on a Debian-flavor of Linux a try and write it up the process and some observations of its use. Installation on a Debian-flavor of Linux is straight-forward: $ sudo apt-get install stardict$ cd Downloads$ wget … Continue reading Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) on StarDict on Ubuntu/Debian
You’re Probably Using the Wrong Dictionary
"I don’t want you to conclude that it’s just a matter of aesthetics. Yes, Webster’s [1913] definitions are prettier. But they are also better. In fact they’re so much better that to use another dictionary is to keep yourself forever at arm’s length from the actual language.Recall that the New Oxford, for the word 'fustian,' … Continue reading You’re Probably Using the Wrong Dictionary
cafebedouin.org: 2018 Year in Review and Looking Ahead to 2019
"In 2018, I would also like to get back to more original content. I'm thinking it would be good to post something original once a week, but spread it across different forms: poetry, essays, drawing, photography and so forth. Maybe also do more brief commentary of 250 words or less, sketches of story ideas or … Continue reading cafebedouin.org: 2018 Year in Review and Looking Ahead to 2019
cafebedouin.org 