Archive for October, 2011

Specialization

Monday, October 31st, 2011

I have a cherished quote from one of my favorite authors (Robert A. Heinlein), which goes –

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

I recently toted up my score. Not counting the last two abilites (which I hope to not have to test for a   l o n g   time), I can conservatively give myself a 15 out of 19.  I even was able to parlay this quote, and some of my accomplishments, into a self-promotion (one of my assignment for school).

So now a two-fold challenge for my readers – first, how do you score on Bob Heinlein’s list?  And second, create a list of your own of 20 or so things every competent human should be able to do (and of course, score yourself on it).

Put your lists and scores in the comments.  Think outside of the box – remember, “specialization is for insects.”

Posted in about living, about writing | 3 Comments »

Raison d’être

Sunday, October 30th, 2011

Oh, yawn!  Another writer’s blog.  Why, for ${DIETY}’s sake, would I want to read yet another wannabe author’s blog??

Well, if that’s your opinion, don’t bother.  I didn’t make you come here.

But like many writers who strive to get published, I have 3 basic reasons to blog.  First, it’s just good practice – more writing of any kind yields better writing of all kinds.  Second, it’s now clear to us that we each have to build a (drum-roll, please!)  p l a t f o r m  .  Which is just a fancy-pants way of saying we have to have someplace to generate publicity.  Third, I hope to be able to share triumphs and setbacks with my peers, give encouragement, gain valuable criticism.

I had started to blog over here over three years ago, and I expected to write about my attempt to re-tool my current career as a programmer and computer systems administrator.  But I have since decided that I would rather write than code, so now you can read me here.

“Let the practice begin!”

Posted in backstory | Comments Closed

Editorial Policy and ‘Rules of the Road’

Sunday, October 30th, 2011

I will be a benevolent dictator in the operation of this blog. I reserve the right to completely delete any entry or comment, without notice or explanation. I believe in free speech, healthy debate, and a wide diversity of opinion; however, if there is unwarranted personal attack (of anybody, not just me), valueless hateful invective, spam, bigotry, or other prima-facie evidence of utter lack of intelligence and/or humanity, out it goes. No appeal. Hey, I’m paying for the storage and bandwidth. Besides, it’s my blog; you want your own blog’o’junque, find a host and have a good time.

Spelling and grammar mistakes, and just run-of-the-mill stupidity, I’ll leave in place – as either an example to others of what to avoid, or as an opportunity to childishly point and laugh.

You have been warned.

Creative Commons License
This blog “Scribo Ergo Sum” and all the contents (including the “Free Stories”) created by ‘theAuthor’ or ‘admin’ are copyright 2011 and later by John D. Bell, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
All comments are copyright the date of publication by their respective authors, under
whatever terms they desire.  (Publication by them here does not imply any claim
of ownership or control by Mr. Bell.)

Posted in administrivia | 1 Comment »