ItaiRose.com

I’ve signed up for NaNoWriMo.

They encourage people to announce that, so that the embarrassment of having to admit to failure will drive us to actually finish the novel. So, this is me, announcing that I signed up to NaNoWriMo – hopefully I’ll make it all the way through. If I do, I’ll have a crap-tastic (that’s part of the NaNoWriMo attitude – quantity over quality) steampunk crime novel.

Let’s see how it goes.

So here’s how it is.

You have a computer and on this computer runs a program, right? It can be any program – word processor, iTunes, a chat client or even Duke Nukem. Now, you start up another program. For the sake of the argument, these programs are not of the kind that can “talk” to each other. It’s not Photoshop and Flash or something like that. Let’s say it’s iTunes and a spreadsheet thing. These two programs are operating in the same confined space, that is – your computer. They, however, have no knowledge of each other. Each operates on its own, unaware of other programs which may be running right “next” to it.

This is much like our universe. We each run on our own “program” or planet, there may be other planets running next to us (“next” being a relative term, of course) and we will never know. Programs start being aware of each other either when you add some feature that enables them to do so, a plugin or something like that, or when they start competing for system (i.e. natural) resources. So that is how we’ll eventually become aware of other sentient beings – once we improve our capabilities to the point where we’re able to properly communicate with them, or once we start fighting for resources.

It doesn’t end there, however. Cause your tiny little computer is not the only computer out there. You have iTunes running on your machine, but your buddy also has it. As does that chick who works at the Starbucks. You all have your own, special copy of iTunes. Hell, you and the Starbucks chick may, by some weird coincidence, have the exact same songs in your music library. Hers, however, are arranged by album name, while yours are by artist. That’s a tiny difference that affects and amazingly huge list of things. This is what is known as alternate universe. The same program (or planet), with the same data (people), but something tiny that’s a little different. Your buddy’s iTunes may be completely different, he may listen to death metal while you’re a jazz type – that’s how we get an Earth where Hitler won the war.

If you want your computer, your little universe, to talk to other universes, you need to connect them, hook them up together somehow. What you need, is some sort of protocol. For computer we have one, we have several actually. For trans-universal communication we don’t. Or rather, we didn’t. Not until this thing I’m holding right here. TUCP – TransUnivsersal Communication Protocol. Let’s make a phone call, shall we?

So, after another attempt of trying to commit to regular bloggery, I find myself facing another failure. Both “Something Awesome/Something Terrifying” and “Let Me Tell You Something” failed as attempts at a regular column-esque thing. The latter was removed because it was just plain embarrassing to have a “regular” column with one installment.

So the question must be asked – should I just give up on a blog, as all my previous attempt at regularly maintaining one failed?

As I was contemplating this, the answer came to me in a flash of light and a crash of booming thunder (granted, that may have been the bus that swerved from running me over). I need to stop trying to fill some sort of niche with this blog. That is not the purpose of this thing. Forcing myself to write into a specific pattern is killing the will and need to write on this particular platform. This blog/website/what-have-you has my name blazoned across the top, so I do what I will with it, and not try to please others with my sharp-as-a-wed-blanket wit. That’ll come naturally, or it won’t.

So the new mission statement is thus: I will update this blog when I feel like, with what I fell like however often I feel like. It may 4 times a day, it may be once every 3 months. The bottom line is – if you enjoy listening to what I have to say, come by, check the blog, sign up for the RSS, do whatever you want. I may do another “Something Awesome/Something Terrible” if I feel like, I may never touch that particular idea ever again.

As of right now, this blog isn’t attempting to be a specialized blog, it’s just me, ranting and raving about whatever I see fit.

It’s sort of a back-to-basics approach really, as the blog always sported the tagline – “Plenty of fuss, no content”. Somewhere along the line, I made the mistake of trying to deliver content. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.