Reminds me of the Seveneves book
I couldn't put that book down!
Readit NewsASlave2Gravity commented on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing is a dystopian nightmare · Posted by u/suzzer99
I wonder whether contacting a regulator or a lawyer is better.
Maybe a regulator gives you more anti-retaliation protection.
It was suggested that I could take them to small claims, but I've never done anything like that before, and looking into it seems that Amazon makes it rather hard and admin heavy to do.
I've basically written off KDP for all future publications, and most of my current stuff is for sale through all the other book retailers.
It's a real shame as Amazon is the heart of a lot of indie publishing and provides a good service but ultimately they don’t care about the individual.
I have seen stories of slightly bigger indie authors also raising hell on Twitter and getting various other people involved (BSFA in this case) to speak to Amazon. In that case I believe they got paid.
I’m still shocked that Amazon let me pay for ads for a novel that I would never get the sales money for. That hurt more than just being delisted.
ASlave2Gravity commented on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing is a dystopian nightmare · Posted by u/suzzer99
Just wanted to chime in here and say that I, too, got banned from KDP, but in a rather sinister way. They initially locked me out of my account totally, only for access to be reinstated after an email to them. I thought, phew, that was lucky! Little did I know I was still banned…
What I hadn’t realised until releasing my next novel was that whilst I was free to publish work to the platform—and free to run and pay for ads—I wasn’t actually able to collect my royalties! It took me a while to realise this as there’s quite a lag between sales and payout. I was livid. After many emails I’m still not able to collect unpaid royalties on the new novel.
Congrats! I find I'm using Marginalia more and more, it's especially great for researching for novel writing, and can’t wait to see what the future holds! Good luck!
I try to be anti-busy. My schedule is mostly clear and very little of my work is time-sensitive. I let the most important task float to the surface. I like to keep my energy for frequent and unpredictable bursts of inspiration.
I know that some people love to be put to work, and wouldn't have it any other way, but that's not my case. I did poorly in university, because my coursework didn't let me pursue anything that actually tickled my curiosity. I learned to love physics much later, when I could approach it at my own pace.
This loose schedule approach has worked much better for me. I get much more done in unscheduled bursts of focused work. I always have time for people and play, and I tackle tasks with a clear and focused mind.
Mirrors my experience completely.
The great thing for me at university was that no one forced me to go to the lectures. I was on a computer science course, but was more happy making games in my bedroom or writing fiction, and just skipping everthing course related.
For me, life's best served when there's no one badgering you for your attention or your time. If a friend randomly walks up to my flat and rings the buzzer, there's a good chance I'll use it as an excuse to stop work and go hang.
Even if it takes us like 5 extra years to get that deep knowledge of physics, who really cares? You get there in the end if you have the time and space to actually learn it. The modern world is so focused on optimising for time, it can really hinder some people.
ASlave2Gravity commented on Are You Intellectually Humble? oa.mg/blog/are-you-intell... · Posted by u/sgfgross
EDIT - formatting poetry for Hacker News is tough...
- Humility -
Humility is not letting someone win
or pretending not to care when you lose.
It is not feigned ignorance or polite dishonesty.
Humility is not a trick to gain approval,
nor is it an abdication of your pride.
---
Humility is a stand taken to the end
with passion; an opinion that you choose
and live by with conviction and integrity,
but if shown to be in error in part or full,
and that the truth not be on your side...
---
you change your mind.
---
And furthermore you admit it publicly
and you learn from it internally.
Never let passion to stand up for truth fade.
Don't let desire for becoming right be outweighed
by undeserved pride.
---
Sincere pride,
real humility,
true integrity;
they are one and the same.
---
The true integrity is tough and admits its errors
Value your sincerity enough to live your values
Only then is real pride obtained
or the admiration of anyone,
whose opinion is worth a damn,
gained.
Beautiful! :D Thank you for sharing!
ASlave2Gravity commented on On “A Canticle for Leibowitz” loukidelis.com/canticle-f... · Posted by u/fromwilliam
I would like to read the book and I’m sure it’s good. But whenever a character says “does it not?” I want to soak the book in gasoline and light it on fire.
The 'does it not?' breaks the flow of the quote perfectly. It was intentional, I like to believe; it's as if your peace of a flowing sentence is suddenly interupted by the life of a fantastic writer! :D
ASlave2Gravity commented on On “A Canticle for Leibowitz” loukidelis.com/canticle-f... · Posted by u/fromwilliam
Definitely one of my favorites, too. There's an elegiac quality to it that I haven't quite seen in any other novel.
I have a number of quotations jotted down from it, but since this a tech site I'll restrict myself to sharing this one that I sometimes think of when dealing with a recalcitrant machine or mysterious bug:
"That contraption--listen, Brother, they claim it thinks. I didn't
believe it at first. Thought, implying rational principle, implying
soul. Can the principle of a 'thinking machine'--man-made--be a rational
soul? Blah! It seemed a thoroughly pagan notion at first. But do you know
what?"
"Father?"
"Nothing could be that perverse without premeditation! It must think!
It knows good and evil I tell you, and it chose the later."Elegiac is the perfect word for it!
It's a lovely quote too. I remember reading the novel and thinking, 'Holy shit, he's hit the nail on the head!'
I'd happily run a class on it. Whenever anyone asks for a reading list, it's often on there.
I take the novel as a mystic work, much like Meister Eckhart's works. It's a pendulum swing between the secular and the sacred.
ASlave2Gravity commented on On “A Canticle for Leibowitz” loukidelis.com/canticle-f... · Posted by u/fromwilliam
Easily one of my favourite novels. It's riddled with beauty; there is a lens held up to the shepherding of knowledge that made me really appreciate what it means to be a scholar.
It's a wild ride and I think a book people should read.
My fav quote,
"When you tire of living, change itself seems evil, does it not? for then any change at all disturbs the deathlike peace of the life-weary.”
I'm the current lead dev, so please ask questions.
Got a Canon DSLR or mirrorless and like a bit of software reverse engineering? Consider joining in; it's quite an approachable hardware target. No code obfuscation, just classic reversing. You can pick up a well supported cam for a little less than $100. Cams range from ARMv5te up to AArch64.
It’s been a huge blessing!