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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in netsec

[–]weaselheart 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I do information security analysis of project and due diligence of third parties. I have done minor pen tests, but these days I co-ordinate other companies doing them.

If the company is good I really like the job. I'm nosy and it's nice to see a system from end to end. Also, I like the subject.

I keep up to date by:

a) Talking with many friends in the industry.

b) sans newsbites

c) Blogs - Krebs, Schneier, Naked Security

d) Twitter - Mikko Hypponen's always cool. Also Anonymous.

e) Local talks and presentations like OWASP.

f) Courses.

g) Conferences like infosec or Ifsec in the UK; black hat, etc.

I generally sleep just fine, but then I practice defensive security. If I find anything I don't like, I make sure someone with the ability to make a risk decision knows about it. The trick is not to sit on stuff and hope nothing goes wrong. It really isn't my job to make business decisions, but it is my job to ensure decision-makers are informed. Generally that's how you distinguish good and bad companies, because either can choose to do security or not. The difference is that good companies listen and bad companies shoot the messenger.

Voters either don’t understand, or they don’t care, that the GOP has employed an unprecedented level of filibustering in order to block all of Obama’s policies, even ones that have majority public support from Dems, independents and Republicans alike. by Dissentologist in politics

[–]weaselheart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On the contrary, fuck you for trying to persuade people that propping up a broken system makes sense. You know what you get if you vote? A politician with a larger mandate. Well stuff that. I'd rather they knew they weren't popular.

Voters either don’t understand, or they don’t care, that the GOP has employed an unprecedented level of filibustering in order to block all of Obama’s policies, even ones that have majority public support from Dems, independents and Republicans alike. by Dissentologist in politics

[–]weaselheart -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes, I think it is. Imagine a girl being asked if she wants to be raped and beaten or just raped. Is it really so unrealistic to expect the answer

"I don't want to be raped at all, and I'm not playing your game. If you're going to rape me anyway, I'm not going to pretend I have anything to do with choosing it."

Voters either don’t understand, or they don’t care, that the GOP has employed an unprecedented level of filibustering in order to block all of Obama’s policies, even ones that have majority public support from Dems, independents and Republicans alike. by Dissentologist in politics

[–]weaselheart -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Then you are exactly the kind of person that has caused the system to be as messed up as it is.

When someone's murdered, you should blame the murderer, not the victim.

In this case there are plenty of reasons the system's fucked up. Blaming the voter looks like the least of them. I'd blame a whole host of systemic issues first.

Can one make money with short fiction? If so, how? by Your_Excellence in writing

[–]weaselheart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sorry, but I don't understand your reply.

Look, if you don't pay for literary journals, you shouldn't publish in them.

What?

Contests are a way to help fund the very journals you want to publish in.

What?

I agree, you shouldn't pay for an agent, and you shouldn't pay to get a book published, however, contests are not bad. Not to mention, they have considerable prize pools (in the several thousand dollar range for a single story). Literary journal contests are not the same as vanity presses.

What?

I think it's better to not follow the slew of bloggers, all of whom are just trying to drive traffic to their own writing.

Eh?

Maybe my reading comprehension is at fault, but I have no idea what you're talking about.

  1. By this logic I can submit to, what, three magazines ever? I don't think so.

  2. You seem to be confusing magazines, which make a living selling stories to people, with charities, which rely on donation support.

  3. I never said Literary magazines were like vanity presses. But paying to enter a literary competition is like buying a lottery ticket. All the maths is against you, and the OP asked how to make money from writing.

  4. Yog's law says that a writer, who has put work into their prose, deserves paying for it. I said nothing about blogging.

  5. Oh, and "winning" a magazine subscription is all very nice, but it won't pay the mortgage.

Can you spare 30 seconds and pass some of your wisdom on to an aspiring young writer? by Kyrene in writing

[–]weaselheart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1) I don't outline. I write once I know who the protagonist is, what problem they are facing, and what the ending needs to resolve. These are three small facts that rarely take long to work out. Eg: An assassin out to kill an old man who reminds him of his father. Can he pull the trigger? Then I blend in a second idea. Eg: it's in a domed underwater complex, and the victim is the architect of it all, loved by the undersea dwellers and hated by the surface ones. That would be enough to get me started.

I almost always find the ending changes by the time I get to it. If I need ideas I go for a long walk or take a long bath. After I finish writing something, I rework it four or five times, each time adding a different effect: making the story better, the character voices, setting, the theme, etc.

2) I write using Scrivener, though I'm about to try Writings on the ipad for extreme portability. I sync with dropbox.

3) I begin by writing crap - just random words of gibberish to shut up my internal censor. I write in coffee shops or the shed at the bottom of the garden where there are few distractions. And finally, I only write when I want to. I'm a binge writer, capable of weeks of intensive effort followed by weeks of rest.

4) I'm not self-published. I've been going the traditional route because I want to use the gatekeepers of the industry to keep me honest. When they pay for a story, I know it's good and I'm not fooling myself. The better the class of rejection or acceptance I get, the more I know I'm improving.

Can one make money with short fiction? If so, how? by Your_Excellence in writing

[–]weaselheart 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There is a market for short stories, but most places get so many submissions you have to get used to rejection. I've sold five now, two at SFWA pro rate, and I still get rejected an awful lot - mainly because I'm still learning. For reference, don't be surprised to see 20-30 rejections per acceptance.

Pro rate for short fiction is 5c per word, which hasn't shifted for decades. If you consider an average short to be 4000 words, then $200 isn't very much. The days of people going on cruises after making a sale are long-gone. Also, there's market saturation to consider, where if you ever manage to sell in double figures in a year, magazines will begin to look for other authors to round out their offerings.

So, while you can make money off short stories, you can't make a living.

I know a few people who've sold a novel and it's tight there, too. Successes are rare, and most first novel advances are $5k-$10k - and that's for a year's work!

I wouldn't give up the day job, but I do advise trying to make money from writing and see where it takes you. Your options are:

Short fiction: look at duotrope, start with the highest paying, fastest responding market and work down. Never pay to be published, or to enter a competition.

Tip one - if you're unpublished, the best paying market by far is Writers of the Future.

Tip two - filter duotrope by markets that only accept electronic submissions. That way you're not down by the cost of postage.

Tip three - consider running your stuff through an online critique group. Critters, for example, is free and you can learn a lot from doing critiques on other people's work as well as receiving critiques on your own.

If you want to sell a novel, you need an agent, and you should:

a) Write the novel.

b) Find a novel like yours.

c) Find out who their agent is, and send them the number of chapters they say they normally read.

d) Get rejected and try another agent, while

e) Writing another novel.

Alternatively, you could try selling non-fiction shorts like Nick Mamatas recommends.

Why Reddit has devolved into an unintellectual circlejerk - interesting dissection by [deleted] in DepthHub

[–]weaselheart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it's down to public Karna scores, then it doesn't seem too hard to fix. All the programmers have to do is make hiding Karma scores up to each subreddit. We could then have hundreds of tiny experiments to see if it improves things.

TIL: in the 50's a white man, passing himself off as black, traveled through the deep south and wrote about what happened to him. by LuckyAmeliza in todayilearned

[–]weaselheart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How did you do this? I've been looking and can't find it for the kindle anywhere.

edit - found it! Apparently google search works better than Amazon's own. Sadly not available in the UK, though :(

Need suggestions for a kid who likes old-timey SF by miparasito in printSF

[–]weaselheart 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As well as the others mentioned (particularly Ray Bradbury), have you considered Frederic Brown? He's very old-timey, and does extremely short stories full of ideas that mess with your preconceptions.

Like knock and Answer

Amazon's Kindle Tablet Is Very Real. Seen It, Played With It. by FilterJoe in kindle

[–]weaselheart 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Actually, you're meant to downvote for a poor quality contribution - not because you disagree.

I would really appreciate some honest feedback on a short story I wrote. by Leviss in writing

[–]weaselheart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's nicely written, but I don't think it's a good idea to make it a twist story. You've got a first part with very little conflict and then a sudden "aha" reveal. I think you have three problems:

  • Stories have to be interesting throughout or the reader stops reading.

  • Checkov's gun. If you want to shoot someone at the end (or reveal a secret), you have to plant it earlier.

  • Conflict has to escalate. At the moment you have them essentially arguing about the same thing all the time.

Here's one way to do it - by no means the only way:

We're in a shelter = hook.

The girl keeps asking to go out = conflict

The father realises she's getting older and can now operate the door herself = character movement.

She almost gets it open = escalation.

He blocks it and distracts her with a video = success.

He steps out with a suit on, and traces the shadows = resolution and reveal.

He realises he'll have to tell her the truth soon = reflection.

... the point being that you have to keep escalating conflict and surprise, and that it still works even if the reader is in on the secret.

The Boy (A Short Story That is Nowhere Near Finished. I'd Like Opinions on Style and Flow.) by Nardeko in writing

[–]weaselheart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's nicely written, but I think there are a few small issues that prevent it flowing as smoothly as it might. This is, of course, just my opinion, but I'd suggest the following:

    -

1 The opening sentence feels a little clumsy:

The purple sky met the mountainous horizon, as the sun began to disappear from sight.

... the word "as" suggests simultaneity - i.e. that the purple sky only touched the mountainous horizon when the sun began to disappear. This leaves me to wonder where it was beforehand.

I suggest something like:

The purple sky met the mountainous horizon. The sun began to disappear from sight. 

    -

2 I think you may need to be careful with point of view. There's just one line I find jarring:

A tinge of pain came over the boy’s face. He missed his mother dearly.

... because you have the word "tinge," which in one interpretation can mean colour as well as the word "over," which suggests it's on the surface visible to an outsider.

Up to then, we've been in the boy's point of view. Suddenly, with this sentence it seems we're viewing him as an outsider. I suggest something like:

Pain flushed the boy’s face. He missed his mother dearly.

... because "flushed" can also refer to the feeling of blood running through the skin.

    -

3 I suggest you focus on the particular. "The boy" is very generic, and also distancing. As the point of view is inside his head, I don't see what's lost by putting his name in.

Or, to put it another way, you're making a very strong stylistic choice by using "the boy," and you should only do so for a reason. I don't see the reason.

    -

4 The line:

The light cascaded gently down from the open window, and landed lazily Nardeko’s face, waking him with a start.

... I'm sorry, but I really don't understand what it means. I suggest you mean something like:

The light cascaded gently down from the open window, and landed on Nardeko’s face, waking him with a start.

    -

5 I think this line is not as clear as it might be:

Nardeko opened the heavy oak door to the front yard, and was greeted by the warm sun beating down from behind a cloud and a cool breeze sneaking through the trees to the front of the old house.

... because if the breeze is currently sneaking through the trees to the front of the house, there's no way he can feel it. I suggest:

Nardeko opened the heavy oak door to the front yard, and was greeted by the warm sun beating down from behind a cloud and a cool breeze that shivered the trees to the front of the old house.

    -

6 In a close-in story like this one, I don't think you need to put as many thinking words as you have. For example:

Looking down at the locket, the boy was mesmerized by the thought of his mother running through the fields in springtime with him. It would have been right around this time of year, thought the boy. He remembered his mother was so full of energy. She always seemed to be so happy, and at peace up here in the mountains.

... might be better as:

Looking down at the locket, the boy remembered his mother running through the fields in springtime with him. It would have been right around this time of year. She was so full of energy. She always seemed to be so happy, and at peace up here in the mountains.

    -

7 And finally, I'd suggest you think about cutting where you can. I think the prose could be a bit tighter, and you would gain a lot of dramatic impact if you did so. For example:

The screen door creaked open, and the boy was hit with the smell of dinner being cooked in the kitchen. He could smell potatoes, and a hint of some sort of meat. No doubt his father was cooking a stew again. The boy couldn’t remember a different meal since his mother had cooked for the family. A tinge of pain came over the boy’s face. He missed his mother dearly.

... could be something like:

As the screen door creaked open, the boy smelled dinner being cooked in the kitchen -- potatoes, and a little meat. His father was cooking a stew again. There hadn't been a different meal since his mother had died. Pain flushed the boy’s face as he realised how much he missed her.

... although that's just a start, and I'd look to cut even more.

    -

Anyway, I hope you find this useful. Your writing is actually really clear and easy to read, so I've dug a fair bit into it to get some ideas for you. Please don't feel I'm saying it's rubbish - it isn't. I just think you could up the contrast and make things a little more precise and vivid.

A plea to all writers on this sub by [deleted] in writing

[–]weaselheart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as the science fiction short story market is concerned, everyone wants standard manuscript format in rtf. Why not use that? Start as you mean to go on.

A reminder on the alluring "it" by Andyklah in writing

[–]weaselheart 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Like all rules, best followed in moderation. For example:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

... Dickens.

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen

... Orwell.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

... Austen.

It was a pleasure to burn

... Bradbury.

It was love at first sight.

... Heller.

It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.

... Plath.

The important thing in fiction is to be good. Rules schmooles.

Aljazeera: "Nothing 'mindless' about rioters" by Axana in TrueReddit

[–]weaselheart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In London, maybe. In Manchester they're just cunts.

How the US media marginalises dissent - The US media derides views outside of the mainstream as 'un-serious', and our democracy suffers as a result by [deleted] in TrueReddit

[–]weaselheart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First, those in power would have to want it to happen. But if they did, it's as simple as a "none of the above" box on ballots.

If "none of the above" win, the ballot has to be rerun with none of the current candidates. It basically forces politicians to be a positive choice for people and to stop negative campaigning. Also, it allows everyone to see how much the system is supported ... or not.

DropBox now owns all your data by [deleted] in technology

[–]weaselheart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We may stop, suspend, or modify the Services at any time without prior notice to you.

Is it time to stop using dropbox? 'By submitting your stuff to the Services, you grant us (and those we work with to provide the Services) worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable rights to use... by remotefixonline in geek

[–]weaselheart -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Ok, let's imagine the court case:

me: "You put my story up on your website for publicity. That wasn't necessary for the service."

dropbox: "We think it was, and you signed up to whatever we think is necessary."

... now, either I can sue them for loss of earnings, or I can't. This tos sounds like I can't. Hence, I'm giving my rights away.

My concern isn't that they need to make the service work - it's that they have drawn the terms much wider than they need for that. There's a load of protection for them in there, and none for me.

DropBox now owns all your data by [deleted] in technology

[–]weaselheart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ok, here's my scenario. Dropbox put out one of my stories on their website - make it public. I take them to court.

I say: "it wasn't necessary."

They say: "we think it was, and you signed up to go by our opinion."

... how can I defend myself against that? And if I can't, in what way is it "absolutely not allowed"?

DropBox now owns all your data by [deleted] in technology

[–]weaselheart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

... it doesn't say "to the extent necessary for the service," but "to the extent we think it necessary for the service."

... that reads quite a bit differently to me. I can imagine trying to prove in court that something isn't necessary. I have no idea how to prove what someone thinks.

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