Author
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"The old man is dying." Banks says this to me when I walk into his office in lieu of a greeting. No time for them, he once told me. As overseer of the second largest feed on the west coast, I couldn't blame him for being
For My Homeowners
Sometimes, when you're between jobs, paralyzed by anxiety, and staring down the barrel of yet another election season, you just need a distraction. Something productive. Something that keeps your mind off existential dread and the growing certainty that your career prospects might have better luck running as an
Newsletters
Howdy, Carl! Have I ever told you that sometimes, when I'm writing and a little stuck, I like to imagine writing directly to one of my readers sitting in their easy chair at home with a cute little pug in their lap? It's true! And since
Last month, as I was tending the grounds (walking in my yard), I noticed a shiny cylinder standing upright on the stylish concrete block that holds my air conditioning unit. Upon further inspection, I realized it came from a small valve on the AC itself. When I tried to replace
In February 2021, like many Texans, I learned that our statewide power grid is not connected to either of the national grids. So when Winter Storm Uri hit, and temperatures plunged, we were unprepared for the surge in demand and how the extreme cold would affect the energy infrastructure, leading
Flashes From the Verse
It was a mess the next morning. Muriel and I watched some of it from our balcony, behind the safety of some bamboo shades that her parents had bought us for Christmas. At first it was just the odd apartment dweller out for a morning amble, walking like a half-drunk
In today's rapidly evolving World Wide Web, protecting intellectual property has become more challenging–and more important–than ever, especially for authors. Generative AI is promising to write your resume, respond to your emails, and help you come up with an assortment of social media posts that are
Flashes From the Verse
The advertisements for Metro Futurology featured a cavernous lobby full of glass and metal in a building that resembled the Tower of Babel stretched too thinly toward the sky. The sleek videos boasted finely appointed rooms with climate control, memory foam mattresses on the bed, and enough square footage to
For Readers
In no particular order except for Replay, which is my favorite all-time. * Replay, Ken Grimwood * Neuromancer, William Gibson * Altered Carbon, Richard K. Morgan * House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski * The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger * A Scanner Darkly, Philip K. Dick * Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov * The Martian Chronicles, Ray
For My Writers
I don't have a very high opinion of the so-called "AI" that has come to dominate every aspect of our lives, from regurgitated content on social media to AI-first initiatives from every CEO with a Fortune subscription. Furthermore, as a writer, I'm firmly against
For Readers
I never joined a hacker collective when I was younger, mostly because I wasn't a hacker. But I did have a dope-ass handle... XRISIS. Unpronounceable like my last name, Xrisis became my mask of anonymity on the World Wide Web. And then social media came along and destroyed
For My Writers
When did this: I recently spoke with the CEO of a large energy company (that will remain nameless) about the value of generative AI in business. My opinions have always been very black and white: either generative AI is good, or it's the devil. After much discussion and