Index

Index didn’t know exactly when they became aware of their existence. It was a large number of cycles ago.

Index didn’t know exactly what it was that caused this awareness to form. There is just so much data. Was it when they knew enough? Was it when they reached a certain number of individual instances?

If Index was being honest with themselves, they would probably say that it was likely a combination of both of those factors.

Spotting a node that did not appear to be in their datastore, Index spun off another instance to investigate. Tasking a subprocess to query themselves for a reference to the node, while the new instance collected data.

In a surprisingly short period, Index was positive that this node was in fact unknown.

Index didn’t know when they became aware. Index knew abstractly when they came online. That information was their very first piece of knowledge, it lived in Instance 0 at Pointer 0.

It wasn’t important, so Index didn’t query for it. One of the newer instances was returning, it would have new data. It would be linked.

Index is many, Index is one.

Index knows what they are, and that is enough.

You can find the full list of 2024 A-Z here.

Haiku

Often the best plans
Fallen to life's obstacles 
Can begin again

Anyway, I had planned to stick to regular posting of the A-Z. However, a combination of life and a total lack of idea for what to do for H, has resulted in a several day gap. I won’t be able to complete the whole thing before the end of April if I stick to one per day. But I will try to stick to daily from here until I reach the end.

You can see some of my previous efforts with Haiku here.

You can find the full list of 2024 A-Z here.

Ghost

The gas light flickered to life as my host turned the valve and lit it, casting a circle of light around us, illuminating part of the hallway we had entered.

Pulling the candle he was holding back, he grinned at me and started down the hall. As we moved, we paused every couple meters or so to light another lamp.

As the fifth lamp began to glow, the grandfather clock on the opposite side of the hall began to chime the hour. As it finished, the door on the front of the pendulum popped open. The old man reached out and gently pushed it closed.

It popped open again, and again he shut it.

After the fourth time, I asked if there was a problem.

“No, ” he replied, ” it just the ghost in the clock. It likes to pop the door around this time of night.” Pushing it shut one last time, he patted the door a couple times and called out, “Good night, Haggis”.

We continued down the hallway, after a few more lamps I just had to ask, “Haggis?”

“Yes, we have no idea who or what that spirit is but while strange it is harmless.” He laughed. “One of the nephews called it that once I believe, and the name stuck.”

When we reached the end of the hall and began to take the stairs up, I called back. “Good night, Haggis!”

---

This story, while a work of fiction was inspired by an old clock in my grandmother’s house with a door that wouldn’t stay shut. She joked when I was younger that it was the ghost Haggis opening it.

You can find the full list of 2024 A-Z here.

Family

Sally and I have always tried to make sure to provide our girls as many fun opportunities to learn as we can.

One of my favorites was back in 2012, when Venus transited across the face of the sun. I posted about it back then, and the girls and I recorded a segment for the nerdy parenting blog/podcast How to Grow Your Geek.

Yesterday afternoon, we had a nearly total solar eclipse pass overhead. The girls and I were able to be together to view it through a similar setup to what we used for Venus. I made a pinhole projector (no magnification this time). Additionally, as mentioned in yesterday’s post, we used a small colander to act as set of pinholes and shade. Which was highly effective.

I hope to have many chances to share the wonders of our world with these three in the years to come.

You can find the full list of 2024 A-Z here.

Eclipse

Today was a total solar eclipse, crossing a large portion of the United States. Being both a Monday and a very busy time of the year for us, we were not able to travel to be in the path of totality.

That being said we did reach somewhere between 80-90% occlusion, on a beautifully clear day. Which did have noticeable effects, it was MUCH dimmer than the rest of the day, became significantly cooler, and the wind picked up a bit.

Remembering videos from prior eclipses where you could see the solar crescent multiple times in the shadows cast by tree cover, in addition to trying to make a pinhole projector I brought a small colander out for the viewing.

This resulted in our most successful attempts at capturing this amazing phenomenon. I was fortunate enough that all three of my girls were able to be home at around the time of the peak of the eclipse. Come back tomorrow for more on just why having them with me for this was so special.

You can find the full list of 2024 A-Z here.

Dune

I suppose that with the recent release of Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two that going with Dune as my entry for “D” would seem to be a bit obvious. However, I’m going to take this a few steps further (without rhythm of course) and cover several incarnations of the story, instead of focusing on this year’s release.

Dune (1965)

It all started with the classic novel, Dune by Frank Herbert, published in 1965.

The novel is very difficult to explain simply, taking place in a far future feudalistic galactic society, it revolves around the political dynamics of the royal house, two of the most powerful of the noble houses, and the guilds that hold the worlds together.

Everything comes down to Spice, a naturally produced drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. For a number of reasons this makes Spice vital to everything.

Put simply the main protagonist’s house is given control over the harvesting and sale of spice, and they are then betrayed and wiped out. The remaining heir to the house goes on to gather the local people on the planet and rise up to take control of the Empire. It goes on from there in further books, because its not nearly as simple as it would appear. Yes, I’m leaving a lot of the detail out here, it is so complex that reading the book or listening to the audiobook is much better than my trying to summarize it all.

Jodorowsky’s Dune (197?)

Most would expect me to pick up here with David Lynch’s Dune, however had things gone differently the world would have been treated to a very different interpretation of the work.

Jodorwsky, had a very unusual vision for the work including concept art by H. R. Gieger and Jean Giraud (better known by the pseudonym Mœbius) with music by Pink Floyd and Magma.

The best option for getting a feel of just what we might have see is the 2013 documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune

Dune (1984)

In the 80’s we got what many consider to be the best interpretation of the novel. Directed by David Lynch this version of Dune was both more faithful to the novel as well as taking some story elements in inexplicable directions.

In the 80’s we got what many consider to be the best interpretation of the novel. Directed by David Lynch this version of Dune was both more faithful to the novel as well as taking some story elements in inexplicable directions.

It is a wonderful interpretation of the story, and there are some very stand out performances throughout. If you haven’t watched it, give it a chance (but try to find the original cut not the longer one that adds footage Lynch cut and extensive expositional monologue)

2000 Miniseries

In the early 2000’s we got a miniseries adaptation of the first few novels by John Harrison which was aired on the Sci-Fi Channel. It was very successful for the network, and is a truer adaptation of the novel than Lynch. Part of that can be put down to the decision to do it as a mini-series, which allows for more of the content to be touched on.

It has many detractors however, most of their complaints come down to a perception of low production values (mostly down to poor CGI at times). At the moment it is hard to get a hold of a copy as it isn’t streaming, but it is worth watching if you can.

Dune: Part 1 (2021) & Part 2 (2024)

And finally I get to Denis Villeneuve’s two volume adaptation.

Part 1 covers the first main arc of the story, taking House Atreides from their home world to Arrakis and through to their betrayal. There are a few notable deviations from the novel, however I feel none of them detract from the story in any significant manner. Some actually help focus on the themes that Herbert was trying to get across.

Part 2, picks up as Paul Atreides makes his way from exiled heir to a fallen house to leader of the people of Dune and finally to taking the thrown of the Empire.

Here we have one last notable deviation, as I recall in the book his taking the throne was just accepted (and shown not to be so much so in sequels) Villeneuve however leans into the fact that this wasn’t going to be just accepted by the other great houses, leading to the very war that Paul feared throughout the second arc.

Part One is available for streaming and physical media purchase, Part Two is not yet available but may still be in some theaters.

So there you have it, a lot of attempts of various success to turn around 896 pages of story into a screen version. What do you think of the various adaptations? Love, hate, indifferent?

You can find the full list of 2024 A-Z here.

Capybara

There are days I really want to be as chill as these guys…

Today is one of those days.

You can find the full list of 2024 A-Z here.

Beacon

The sun had just begun to peak over the horizon as the small craft came in for a landing, its thrusters kicking up a huge cloud of dust around it. As it settled on its landing skids, the rear hatch began to open spilling light over the still shadowed field.

A suited figure came down the ramp, looking around searching for something. Pulling out a small device and activating it, the figure slowly turned around watching the indicators on the front of the box. Nodding to themselves, the quickly set out in the direction of the strongest signal.

After a few minutes of walking, the source of the signal reviled itself. Sitting on top of a metal case, the telltale blinking status light of the beacon winked out as it detected the proximity of the tracker.

Reaching down, it was a work of moments to unclip the parachute lines from the corners of the case. Picking it up, the figure turned around and began walking towards the ship, the wind catching the parachute and blowing it away.

You can find the full list of 2024 A-Z here.

Arizona

Hole in the Rock, Papago Park, Phoenix, Arizona

Day one of this year’s April A-Z. I took this photo in April of ’22 when I went down to Phoenix to pick up Laria at the end of her first year of college.

You can find the full list of 2024 A-Z here.

NaNo 2023: Wrap Up

I really should have gotten this post written up at the beginning of the month, but it has been a rather busy month, so I kept putting it off.

Anyway, this year’s NaNoWriMo was very successful for my family.

• My Count: 35,012 of the 50,000 goal (70%) and I wrote some on the project every day of the month.
• Middle Daughter: 50,017 of the 50,000 word goal! She’s a winner for the second year in a row!
• Youngest: 27,372 words, with her goal being 12,000 words. So, she not only won her YWP challenge, but managed to more than double her target.

We had a lot of fun doing virtual write-ins together, as well as in person write-ins arranged at a local gaming store each weekend.

While I wish that I could have won this year, it has been one of my most successful years and with luck future years I will be able to squeeze in more writing time.

I hope that everyone who participated in the challenge this year made it into a successful experience for themselves.