Wrote almost a thousand words of chapter 5 over the holiday, in between work on Narbonic vol. 2.

Something’s been bugging me lately. Life updates and political rants are nice, but this blog should be about writing, too, more than just the occasional entry to note my progress on Rogue Systems.

I may start posting some fast/micro-fiction entries — short stories, no more than 1000 words or so, hopefully set down in one sitting, on a lark. I might end up broadcasting utter shit to the entire Internet, but it might also force me to write faster and better.

Also, I’m going to use this place as a research & inspiration depository, the way Warren Ellis uses diepunyhumans.com. For starters, a link has been circulating for a genius comic strip called The Perry Bible Fellowship by Nicholas Gurewitch. I have several favorite strips, but “Check Shot” makes me wonder if there’s some further comedy to be explored with anthropomorphic chess pieces…

(Another quick link: scroll down for Neil Gaiman’s advice on rewriting a novel.)

Here’s a list of corporate PACs whose donations went to GOP over Dems at a rate of 80% or more. I’d like to see a similar list for the other side, but apparently it contains 0 corporations. The closest we get is Cablevisions at 77% Dem.

Otherwise, the best I found is this examination of grocery store politics. CostCo supports Dems and Trader Joe’s is apolitical, which is good because I love TJ’s.

(I’ve heard that CostCo was sued by Wal-Mart for luring its best employees away with promises of higher wages and health care. I guess Wal-Mart’s support of free market economics only goes so far…)

Springman Records is my favorite record label, purveyors of fine punk rock at low, low prices.

I’m listening to my latest purchase right now, Rockets and Robots by The Phenomenauts. They sort of occupy the silly, retro sci-fi mindspace that used to be filled by Man or Astroman. (Download “Earth is the Best”)

As far as I’m concerned, though, the best band on the Springman label is Pain. Energetic nerd punk with a horn section and more than a few songs I can identify with. Midgets with Guns is now one of my all-time favorite albums, and Wonderful Beef is almost as good. (Download “Goggins” and “In a Band”)

Plus, Springman has the excellent $5 Pounded comic book soundtrack, a punk version of the entire Rocky Horror soundtrack, and a bunch of sampler discs for a buck or two. You just can’t go wrong.

Your money is worthless. Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, not yet, but it’s getting there. Thanks to Bush, we’re likely heading for anything from 1970s-style stagflation to a Second Great Depression… and if you don’t believe me, believe the chief economist at Morgan Stanley.

I’ve taken a few small steps to protect myself against this eventuality. Gold has been skyrocketing as the dollar plummets. James believes it’s headed for $800 or more, and I see no reason to doubt him.

And this week I discovered Paypal allows you to keep your money in foreign currencies. (Click on Profile, then Currency Balances.) I carry a Paypal balance anyway, for transactions with Shaenon and other websites, so why not keep it in a currency that will be worth more in a few months, such as Japanese Yen? (Be warned: Paypal charges a 2.5% fee for each currency exchange and isn’t FDIC-insured.)

Not much, but it’s a start. Even without these actions I’m still better off than most people. Anyone who recently bought a house with an adjustable rate mortgage is about to lose it. Anyone who carries significant credit card debt — ie, most of America — may have to declare bankruptcy.

Fun times ahead…

The release of Joss Whedon’s Serenity has been delayed until September 30. Sigh.

Joss posts about it here, under the 11/22 heading.

I am officially the proud owner of a reliable, responsible 2000 Corolla, pictured at left. I may need suggestions on how to pimp my ride.

Done with chapter 4 of Rogue Systems, although I’m not entirely thrilled with it. But that’s why rewrites were invented. I’ll return to it later.

I’m now 15,000 words in, and I have a four-day weekend coming up to hopefully add to it.

A different mechanic looked at the Tercel’s engine and came to the same conclusion as the Toyota people: the engine valve seals are bad, and there’s no way a mechanic could’ve caused it. Why the problem first appeared the day after a $1500 repair job, I still don’t know.

The repair estimate was $1600 to do it right, or $700 for a patch job. I declined both.

I’m going to junk it. Why chase good money after bad?

I already have another car lined up, a gold 2000 Toyota Corolla with 42,000 miles on it. The owner is selling it because her husband died and she doesn’t need two cars. The Corolla is worth exactly what she’s asking, so I didn’t haggle. In return she declined a higher offer this morning because I expressed interest first.

This situation feels better than going to a dealership, honestly.

The final transaction should take place on Monday afternoon. Then the Tercel goes to charity, unless a salvage garage wants to buy it off me.

Via Wolcott: She’s hot, she’s liberal, she has a Master’s degree in philosophy, and her blog handle is an impossibly obscure Hitchhiker’s Guide reference. Clearly a woman after my own heart. (And, unfortunately, the hearts of two million sad geeks just like me.)

Go forth and read Majikthise.

“Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me” by Aussie band TISM, starring a bunny who feels inadequate about his level of sexual experience.

The lyrics can be a little hard to understand, so I tracked them down.

James liked the song but got upset over its poor grammar. (It should be “Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than I.”) James is a silly, silly person.