I have a few things that have caught me eye recently, that I find interesting but don’t really warrant a post all their own.  So today I offer you a bowl of my brain candies!

…that didn’t sound nearly as creepy in my head, I swear…

** So @Kiala wrote a piece over at Nerd Puddle about the Gamewave parody video that I thought was spot on (except that I disagree with her stance on the Geek and Gamer Girl video, but that is okay, we are allowed to disagree).  I don’t really find the video in question offensive in any way.  My best description of it would be “tired”;  Oh. I get it. Nerds don’t get to touch ladyparts. Ha. Ahaha. Next!  The real problem that I see is that it allows for only two possible reactions, really: either you ignore it because it is a tired trope that needs to be put down like an ailing pet, or you let the nerd denial fly (“Squirrel, please!  Man, I get so much tail you don’t even know!  I’m going over to see my girl, and we’re playing “co-op”, you feel me!?“)  And the internet has never really been a place where people ignore the things that bother them, so there has been the usual trollstorm.  All I want to say about it is this: it isn’t funny, because it lacks truth.  With the exception of nerds that have honest-to-god social anxiety issues, most geeks do just fine with the opposite sex.  So stop being lazy, and find something actually funny to parody.

** Science continues to blow my %$#@ing mind!  Especially when scientists are doing things like this and this.  When I was a strippling geek I would have punched you in the taint for a liar if you told me about cell phones and teh internets.  And now we are close to making gasoline out of garbage and recharging batteries with rock and roll!? (Okay, I might be stretching the scope of those articles a bit, but as Shakespeare always said, “Suck it!”)  And if that whole FTL hullabaloo wasn’t a measuring error and actually pans out, my Heavy Metal inspired dreams of flying through space in a garbage-powered starship blasting classic rock tunes may just come true! And really, isn’t that what science is for?

** I’m largely enjoying the new TV offerings this season, as well as the return of old favourites.  My favs so far are Unforgettable, 2 Broke Girls and Prime Suspect, but talk to me again in six episodes and those might change.  Easily discarded was Ringer, which is a shame because I wanted to like it.  I enjoy Sarah Michelle Gellar as an actor, but the writing and some technical issues have turned me off.  I don’t care about anyone and I don’t believe the situations, and those two things will kill a show for me.  Of the returning shows, Castle is like a charming old friend, and NCIS (sorry, Devon) is like the curmudgeonly grandpa that tells good stories.

**  This (below) has become my new Life Rule:

** Since I hung out my shingle as a freelance editor, a few people have asked me why I won’t do some free jobs for them, just to gain experience/exposure.  And I have a few good answers for that.  First, I’m already doing some volunteer editing for experience, with a publication I love and respect.  So I’m getting enough on-the-job training, thanks.  As for exposure…that will come.  If I work for free now, the exposure I’ll get will be, “Hey, here is a guy who will work for free.” And since I’d like to make some sort of living from this, that exposure would be counter-productive.

But here’s my big reason for charging: because I think it engenders respect.  As an editor, I am essentially giving you (the writer) my opinion.  I can’t force you to accept my edits; it’s your work, you can ignore everything I tell you.  If I’m working for free, you can just say to yourself, “Well what does he know?” and dismiss me.  But if you are paying me, you are forced to at least consider what I am saying.  And if you are my client, I am giving your work the attention it deserves because that is my job.  You will get my best work because that is part of our client/employee relationship.

At least that’s how I look at it.  So no, beyond work I have already agreed to do I won’t work for free.  But I can and will work for “negotiable”, so drop me a line and we’ll talk.

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Okay, that’s all the brain candy I have for today.  Want to share some candy below?