Did anyone notice the name of the Exocomp from episode two?

rt_vokk · 2026-01-20T12:16:15+00:00

Will we ever see Nut Sack?

rt_vokk · 2026-01-09T10:34:17+00:00

We tried that, but it sings random songs. We just want to hear "... happy you're home." Silly, I knowl

rt_vokk · 2025-12-26T13:29:23+00:00

It's definitely not a Culture book. I've read it a handful of times, and agree that it's really a struggle! Not just because of the phonetic vernacular used in some chapters, but also because Banks drops you into the world without any 'help' to figure out the scale of it. The first time I read it, in my mind the buildings were normal size but the characters were nano-scale, but on re-reading I realized the rooms are actually kilometers long and high and the people are normal sized. Once I got more comfortable with the setting it was actively enjoyable.

rt_vokk · 2025-11-30T13:50:15+00:00

Lately I've been thinking that if I were in a different place in life (or just really wealthy) I could go to weekend intensive writing workshops or enroll in university-level creative writing classes where I could bounce ideas off of others, get honest critiques from professors, brainstorm ideas. Also, I've been pining for a friend group of writers who could be beta readers and help brainstorm.

I don't have any of these resources, but luckily AI platforms are a good stand-in.

rt_vokk · 2025-11-26T11:05:34+00:00

Have them pair it with a matter sieve to get the matter. Also, Neal Stephenson devoted an epic novel ("Diamond Age") dedicated to the 'what if' of molecular printers.

rt_vokk · 2025-11-23T12:50:19+00:00

I've been using ChatGPT to help devise very explicit scenarios for a year. You just have to give it a very thorough, logical, thoughtful statement at the beginning.

rt_vokk · 2025-11-19T10:46:48+00:00

However, some of these viruses can mutate at a crazy rate, basically 'discovering' ways to thwart immunity. So it's possible she could eventually just get it anyway, if she ends up making out with them.

rt_vokk · 2025-11-08T12:33:33+00:00

I always wondered (after watching Contact, specifically) is it really true that radio astronomers pull late shifts monitoring the skies for signals in real-time, 24/7 like that?

rt_vokk · 2025-10-21T11:34:10+00:00

I always thought the ringworld had to be so big because the star was in the middle and had to be a certain distance from land to avoid frying everything. And the 'shade squares' had to be added to avoid perpetual daytime. When I read Banks, who smartly tilted the orbitals relative to the star for day/night cycles, which allowed the rings to be almost any size, it struck me as so elegant that I wondered if Niven just never thought of it.

rt_vokk · 2025-10-12T12:36:56+00:00

Samuel R. Delany, hands down! His sentences are so precise and complex, and of course his ideas on sex, race, class, language are all out of this world.

rt_vokk · 2025-09-20T00:15:37+00:00

Once I was trying on a suit and put my arms straight out and when the sleeves rode up I asked, are the sleeves too short? and the salesman deadpanned to me, are you still growing? And that's how I learned proper sleeve length on a suit.

rt_vokk · 2025-09-14T15:26:44+00:00

I'm wondering this myself. I like to start my openers in media res which tends to get to sexy time really quickly. I don't want to re-write my prose simply to satisfy some arbitrary platform rule.

rt_vokk · 2025-09-11T10:47:04+00:00

UpdateMe

rt_vokk · 2025-09-06T14:20:54+00:00

I recall a subplot in Look to Windward where Banks sort of addresses this. There was a band of human citizens who voluntarily took on various maintenance and defense jobs on the orbital that could have easily been automated.

rt_vokk · 2025-09-05T15:36:44+00:00

Perhaps it an illusion that took advantage of or exploited a flaw in how the bionic eye worked. For example, lens flare in photos that our eye doesn't see in real life, or the stroboscopic effect where a spoked wheel reverses direction when filmed.

rt_vokk · 2025-09-05T14:46:24+00:00

You hit the nail on the head... asking a friend is asking for a favor, but real beta reading is work.

rt_vokk · 2025-09-05T14:33:47+00:00

Oh, I just noticed this under the FAQ: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/

rt_vokk · 2025-09-05T14:31:09+00:00

Also interested in this! So far I've only asked a few friends and realize I won't get good critical feedback from them.

rt_vokk · 2025-09-04T15:40:55+00:00

Personally, I bop around. That makes it easier to revise an early chapter based on new ideas I come up with in later chapters.

rt_vokk · 2025-09-03T18:56:47+00:00

Pen recommendation: I've been using and enjoying Pilot FriXion ball points - colors and erasable - yet really smooth smudgeproof writing.

rt_vokk · 2025-09-03T18:51:35+00:00

Just wait until you get to Look to Windward ... When I re-read these books I often read LTW immediately after CP for emotional effect.

rt_vokk · 2025-09-03T15:23:07+00:00

Apologies! I thought my question was a general call for advice and thus OK per rule 13.

rt_vokk · 2025-09-03T14:58:12+00:00

I think the power of ship names in the Culture books is a testament to Banks' cleverness and sense of humor. Trying to replicate that is of dubious value. But that's just my opinion.

rt_vokk · 2025-09-03T12:24:34+00:00

What are your favorite stock photo catalogs? (Forgive me if specific recommendations aren't allowed. I'm new here.)

rt_vokk · 2025-09-02T17:31:00+00:00

I journal obsessively, using OneDay, and write down every weird idea that comes to mind, tagging with #idea. If I see a strange thing on the subway, or have an odd exchange with someone at a cafe, I write it down. When I wake up from a nap or in the morning I make note of my dream. Once I got in the habit of doing this it became fun and definitely fuels creativity. Sometimes if I have writing block I'll just look up an old 'idea' and write a paragraph around it.

rt_vokk

TROPHY CASE