This post went to Patronizers at the beginning of August, and to the public at the beginning of September. Not a Patronizer? You could be!
The apartment complex opened the pool. It’s right beneath my balcony. Now that my smaller desktop works, I can roll out and work while sneering at the people in the pool doing weird things like “relaxing” and “having fun” and “not melting in the heat,” all activities I have never tried and can thus authoritatively declare lack merit.
I attended a writers’ gathering at the end of July. Why a gathering? Conference is too strong a word. There were no scheduled events. Party isn’t right, either. Two colleagues invited a few dozen writers, artists, and publishing professionals into the mountains of Washington State to one, discuss the state of the industry, and two, allow the locals to sneer at those of us who thought we were in the mountains. There was barbeque. I learned some things. I reinforced old contacts. I reminded myself of why I do things this way and that this silly career could be fun. Exhausting, but worth the trip.
More exhausting was getting up at 2AM to catch my flight home yesterday. I slept ten hours last night. I’m walking into doorframes today. My youthful resilience has gone on vacation. I hope it comes back when its two weeks are up.
OpenZFS Mastery is taking shape. This book is structured much like a castle. The first third of the book is a massive foundation of knowledge. We have finished that foundation, subject to dashing back in to fill in details we forgot. Now we’re proceeding to individual narrow towers built atop that knowledge, with occasional outbuildings for zvols and replication automation, not to mention the deduplication dungeon. In some ways, these smaller topics are easier. The foundational topics are deeply intertwined and require careful handling so the reader can deeply absorb them all. Topics like deduplication and DRAID are downright bizarre and require careful handling for entirely different reasons. The manuscript’s about a third of the way done, but the foundation is clearly the largest, most complicated part. Yes, there’s more complex topics like DRAID and deduplication, but they are smaller and thus easier to organize.
One strange thing about revisiting books from ten years ago is discovering where they were insufficiently accurate. We discussed native file compression in FreeBSD Mastery: ZFS, but on a fairly superficial basis. The discussion saved many people a lot of trouble. Great. But a decade later, Allan has gone from “interested in ZFS” to “running a consulting service that writes new features for OpenZFS.” I, of course, have gone from “eccentric who wrote a shelf of books” to “full-on nut job who wrote a case of books.” We both know too much to ever be happy again, and can’t stop ourselves from asking questions. Where, exactly, does OpenZFS perform file compression? Is it on a sector-by-sector basis, stripe-by-stripe, or somewhere else? For many readers it will be a detail of minor interest, but for a handful the answer will be vital.
The books need updating for hundreds of details like this.
That means OpenZFS Mastery will be an entirely new book. Starting over would have been easier than revision, but we’re committed now.
Speaking of easier and starting over, I’m trying to work on fiction again. Yes, the nonfiction makes more money, but if I only write nonfiction the words dry up. The words have dried up for many reasons, but the only way to get them flowing again is to prime the pump and get started. I’m trying to write at least 50 words of fiction every day that I’m not indisposed. What is “indisposed?” That depends. Getting up at 2AM to catch a eastbound transcontinental flight, that causes indisposition.
With any luck, 50+ words a day will get me an orc Christmas story by the end of the month, letting me prepare to launch Twisted Presents. I can’t launch it, but I can completely prepare it.
Twisted Presents is a collection of Christmas stories. Half of them are crime stories. The other half are fantasies. A Prohibition Orcs story is both. I enjoy writing orc stories, and there are folks who will back a collection solely to get a new orc tale. I need to include one.
But:
In Michigan, divorces end with an even division of assets. Crowdfunding proceeds are an asset. Fulfilling a Kickstarter takes about half the proceeds. The date my divorce is final is determined entirely by the court; I don’t get a say, and I don’t necessarily get much warning. There’s a race condition where I collect Kickstarter funds, have to give half of them away, then have to fulfill the Kickstarter. I’m more than willing to split net, but splitting the gross means I get zero. Yes, I could pay a lawyer to negotiate around this, but lawyer fees would cost more than Twisted Presents is going to bring in. The divorce should be settled well before OpenZFS Mastery goes to print, at least.
Twisted Presents is a Christmas book. If I have it ready to go I can launch a ten-day campaign as late as Halloween and still fulfill. That requires I have a date for the divorce, though. I hope to know something by then.
We’re also waiting for the house to sell. We set the initial price before the US attacked Iran, though. The attack knocked down the real estate market, so we’re trying to ride the changes and see what we can get. (The political and economic stupidity that attack displayed is flat-out stunning.) If you want to live in Grosse Pointe Woods, in a house that’s guaranteed probably free of systemd infestation, this is your chance.
I wish I could tell you I’m doing something dramatic, but truly, I’m just grinding through the book. Making words, day after day. Attending the dojo 4-5 times a week. Saving money by cooking meals and avoiding processed crap. Attempting to sleep. You know, the usual.
I deeply appreciate your support as I get back on my feet.