Wondrous Apparitions, Provided by Magicians.

I dreamed last night that we went down to the shore, and met a sect of monks who were making ozone incense for their prayers. Somewhere between sleep and being really and truly awake, I decided that they were a small sect of monks who had dedicated their lives to the contemplation of the mysteries of electricity and its advancement. They recognize electricity as god, and Nikola Tesla as its chosen prophet. And, of course, they are mostly engineers and inventors in addition to their spiritual responsibilities.

Suddenly, I don't know if I want to write a novel, or run a d20 modern campaign. No time for either at the moment, though.

1. Gratuitous pictures of orangutans. OOOK!

2. Wildly unimportant experiments seek insight into the human condition. Featured: Do men or women write better personal ads? How can you tell when someone is lying? Does your last name impact your quality of life? ... and so on.

List of the day: Top Five Really Nifty Things I'm Not Going To Do, Because I'm Already Too Damned Busy. (You can do them, though, if you like.)

1. Steampunk my keyboard. Even if I do have an extra M-type "clicky" IBM keyboard in the office. (Make the noise! I live for the noise!)
2. Organize the Kansas City Drinkin' and Discussin' Weird Shit Society, in honor of my failure to organize a Drinkin' and Discussin' Weird Shit Evening in honor of the passing of Robert Anton Wilson.
3. Write "The Kaballah of Household and Personal Services". (kittenpants and I were driving last night and pulled up next to a van labeled "Adonai Beauty Salon", or some such thing. Discussion ensued of whether that was an appropriate godform for hairdos, and if there were appropriate godforms for other service agencies, say, pest control. The hairdo one broke down in an impasse: are hairdos related to Kether, the Crown? Or are they a function of Tiphareth, Beauty? Does it make a difference if they are Really Big Hairdos, with glitter in?)
4. Organize a zombie flashmob.
5. Join the Science Scouts. Even to earn the "inappropriate nocturnal use of lab equipment in the name of alternative science experimentation / communication" badge.

An e-prime assistant. This nifty little script checks text for forms of "to be", in order that a writer might eliminate them.

Also, Mentat Wiki, yet more resources for using your brain in a meaningful and coherent fashion. I want to be a Mentat when I grow up. Also, I feel a new icon coming on. Watch this space.

I present for your consideration Jon Carroll's column for 11/2. This is the Unitarian Jihad guy. He does a column every day. Like Mark Morford, whose shoes he is apparently filling at the SF Chronicle (maybe?), he's a little hit-or-miss. But on this day, I think he hits. He's talking about the idea of what is real and how we deal with that. I think it's worth my time. I hope it's worth yours.

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