Category: Thoughts

  • Are You a Good Person?

    Are You a Good Person?

    Last week I watched Ex Machina. And then I watched it again a couple of days ago. Yeah, it’s that good. Go watch it now, you really should. It’s a, introspective, sensible, no-nonsense sci-fi movie, with good visuals and deep dialogue. No explosions, though. In the movie, there are expected and obvious questions like what…

  • Aftermath of an Ebook Promotion

    Aftermath of an Ebook Promotion

    Last Wednesday I ran a promotion for Branch Off. OK, technically speaking, it was not a promotion because the ebook is always priced 99c, but anyway. For $35, I purchased a feature on bargainbooksy.com in the category Science Fiction. They give you a 1-day placement on their site, but more importantly your feature is sent to their…

  • And Maybe This Is Why I Write

    And Maybe This Is Why I Write

    There’s something we humans all share, even in our huge diversity: we need to have a place that makes us feel at home. It doesn’t have to be a physical place. Maybe it’s just an idea, a concept. A tiny personal ritual. A person, or a pet. A song, or a photograph. But we all…

  • Places For Working And Writing

    Places For Working And Writing

    “But you can work from anywhere, right? With the web and email and Skype.” Well. I could work from the middle of the Gobi desert. There’s nothing preventing me, that’s true, but it doesn’t mean that I can. Most of us just don’t function like that. Most of us need to get in the zone,…

  • On Artificial Intelligence

    I didn’t even know that the Future of Life Institute existed until a couple of days ago, when Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, Stephen Hawking and many others signed a petition aiming to ban the military use of artificial intelligence (AI), and in particular autonomous weapons. I tend to agree that over the next few years we’ll see…