The Lighter Side of Technology

Let’s discuss the lighter side of Technology. In other words, how about some jokes about the things that make our lives easier?

1) If a Smart Phone is so smart, how come I have to be the one to press the buttons?

2) Why is it okay to say that a Vacuum Cleaner sucks, but not to say that….you can fill in the blanks there….

3) If Time Machines are supposed to allow you to manipulate Time, why does it always seem that the traveler gets there too late?

4) If nuclear reactions smash atoms, what happens to the pieces left over?

5) In Star Trek, how come when Scotty’s working on the engines, you never see spare parts laying around? The man has the cleanest work area I’ve ever seen.

6) In movies, computers seem to be the easiest things to hack, yet when I mistype my Windows Password, my computer won’t let me in for squat?

7) Flying Cars: Never seen one without a Tornado present.

8) Debit Cards should be renamed Spend-It Cards. It just makes more sense.

9) Televisions used to be nicknamed Boob Tubes. Nuff said.

10) Far too many people say they need Space, yet none is ever an Astronaut.

I know I come off fairly serious with these articles and I hope this one shows that I’m more than the sum of my quips. Have a great day. 🙂

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Crowdfunding as Technology

Crowdfunding projects appears to be a popular and upcoming thing these days. People are going to sites like Indiegogo, GoFundMe, and similar sites to raise money for everything from writing projects, social causes, and a plethora of other reasons.

I see this phenomena as a direct result of the growth of Technology and its impact on our lives. I have an Indiegogo campaign currently underway to gather starting funds to get my Parallax Series off the ground by funding a professional editor and cover designer. You can see my campaign at Parallax Series Editor and Cover Designer. However, this article is not about asking for contributions so please put your wallets away, Thanks.

I find this outgrowth of Technology fascinating because, for the first time, creative people can actually go online and raise funds directly from those who would consume them. I can’t recall any other time in recent history when there was such an outlet unless you count The Renaissance Period and God only knows what those people had to do to get a patron.

It’s a testament to human resilience when someone can take a system designed for information exchange and mold it into a platform to support creative endeavors. If I were a hat person, I would tip my hat with respect at such innovative spirit and versatility of mind. Bravo, Guys and Gals.

How I Use Technology in My Stories

Unless you’re living in the backwoods as part of some antisocial backwoods Chicken Little Cult, you have to admit that Technology is a dominant feature in all our lives. We use it to wake us up, get us to sleep, entertain, education, feed, and so many other ways that one could write a book….

Ahem, anyway, this particular article is about Technology’s place in Fiction and how I specifically use it in my stories. This is an opinion based article and while I may utilize facts to support my assertions, they in no way should be construed as the only way to think about it.

Technology is a broad range of machines and devices designed and built to perform particular tasks. They can be mechanical, analog, digital, virtual, etc, but they all share that common function to make our lives and jobs easier. Even a simple fork, knife, and spoon represents Technology to a degree. Let’s face it, eating soup with your fingers isn’t as enjoyable as with utensils. 😉

In Fiction, Technology serves a purpose in helping to define a story’s particular time and place. If you were writing a story setting during the Industrial Revolution, you could possibly include items like a steam engine, waterwheels, hand-cranked drills, weaving looms, and other such items. They provide that little pinch of salt that helps flavor your story. A more futuristic story could include digital computers, virtual reality, lasers (Industrial, Pew Pew, and other types), and other electronic systems.

I love Technology, but it’s not the end all be all of a story. I write SciFi/Adventure, usually set in the near to distant future and populated with all kinds of blinky beepy toys. However, I don’t make a big deal about their usage. After all, who makes a big deal about nuking a burrito in their microwave or logging on to the Internet in the 21st Century? Short answer, they don’t because we consider all of that part of our daily lives, much as a farmer in the 1800s wouldn’t make a big deal about hooking up a horse-drawn plow to go till their fields or a factory worker in the 1940s using their rivet guns.

In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, I despise Technobabble. It serves no purpose other than to make the character saying it look smart and if done incorrectly or without restraint, will confuse the reader and ultimately turn them off. I’m not saying don’t do it. I’m saying that I ACTIVELY try not to engage in that kind of wordplay. If you can’t explain it in simple terms, it’s probably best not to do it in the first place. However (and there’s always a However), if you have two characters that are engineers or scientists, it’s perfectly okay to have them use jargon that is particular to their occupations so long as you provide enough context that the reader can follow what the heck they are talking about.

Technology is tools and should be used like any other device in a story, to advance the plot or add insight to a character. Thanks for your time. 🙂

Announcement: #TechTalkFriday

It’s Tech Talk Friday and so, in keeping with yesterday’s motif, all posts from this point on discuss some aspect of technology, both fictional and real. I may even throw in a post or two concerning today’s technology. Enjoy. 🙂

A Little More About Me

Many who know me personally wouldn’t describe me as particularly modest. Private, yes, but modest, no.

A great way to start an article, right? Well, before I jump into another deep article about writing related topics (and my books), why don’t I give you a chance to get to know the writer behind the fiction.

Of course, you can always read my bio at wwcassjr.com, which is a pretty standard one that I put together for the general public. But what does it all mean and how does it qualify me to write SciFi/Adventure?

I’ve been a storyteller most of my life because I’ve been a reader most of my life. I grew up reading works by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Issac Asimov, and a large number of the great fiction writers of the 20th Century. They were my teachers, my companions, and my inspirations for the works that I would later create.

I also read up on tons of nonfiction subjects concerning History, Politics, Science, basically a wide range of topics that tripped my trigger at any given moment.

Do I consider myself qualified to write what I write? Absolutely, because to be a writer is to open new worlds with the keys of my imagination and hold the doors open for anyone who wants to visit. I love to write and I love to share my writing with those wish to visit those places that aren’t accessible in our regular lives. I train and practice my craft every day and strive to create the best stories I can.

I don’t consider being a Writer as the end result of experience and training. Being a Writer to me is to draw on the Past in order to speculate on the Future. It doesn’t matter to me whether I make money at it or not because compensation isn’t the point of why I do what I do. I would write no matter what.

I also like chicken, bacon, long walks on the beach, and soulful moments contemplating the mysteries of the Cosmos while perfecting ways to explore the intricacies of existence and making things explode in Space. I think I have the last one figured out…yay Physics…hehe.

Anyway, have a great weekend (got the day right, finally) and Happy Reading. 🙂