Aug. 15th, 2012

daveon: (Default)
As has been reported all over the place, Harry Harrison died today.  This hits me hard, The Stainless Steel Rat books were one of my SF 'gateway drugs' and Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers has a place in my heart even though it's outrageous pulp and knew it was.

I was lucky enough to meet Harry and talk to him for a small amount at Evolution the 1996 Eastercon.

The first words he said to me were while I was waiting at the bar, they were, "Outta my way fanboy scum, I need a drink."

I slide aside and he looked around, as if for the first time, and noticed the bar stools were basically saddles.  He slapped it and shouted to his friends, "Look!  The birthplace of 10,000 hemoroids!"

We did speak a little after that and he signed my copy of The Stainless Steel Rat.

Later, I remember him getting flustered on a Panel at the Dublin Octocon in 1998 where neither he nor Joe Haldeman really knew anything about the subject.  He started singing world war 2 songs, starting with a spirited rendition of "Hitler's only got one ball..."

Goodbye, and thanks for all the memories.
daveon: (Default)
We're still open for bugs on this.  Features are locked.

We didn't get Search into the build - the clock beat us and we wanted something of better quality than how buggy the search would be.

Dropbox:  https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12566352/Chicon7.apk

I'm just waiting on the ConCom about when we Release to Google Play.

FYI - there's a lot of spotty data in here...  that's coming direct from the event database and it's not been cleaned up.
daveon: (Default)
As expected, the performance on the iPhone beats the crap out of the Android version - at least my 4S verses a 2 year old single core Galaxy S.

On the whole I'm happy.  We worked on a lot of the database issues that plagued the Renovation app and this one works much better and faster and with the Database integrated into the app it works offline...  sadly this means that the app might get out of date if you don't have a data connection, but it's worth it.

Social media are better integrated and we'll have access to really interesting metrics on in-app habits.

We couldn't get Zoom working on the maps - everybody and their dog agreed that the code was correct it just wouldn't friggin' execute.

We also didn't get Search in... but now we've fixed cross linking between people and panels it's easier to find things that people are on that you want to attend.

Anyway - glad to have it done, looking forward to using it.
daveon: (Default)
... in other words we have just completed the iTunes submission process.

Good grief is really is weird.
daveon: (Default)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.viafo.chicon7

Chicon will make the official announcement in a bit.  iPhone version is probably a week out, depending on the test process.
daveon: (Default)
[WARNING: I am going to use intemperate language here to make a point.  If you don't like swearing I suggest you don't fucking read this]

[EDIT: people have asked if they can link to this...  I am been drinking, so sure... go ahead.]

I should be working.  Honestly, I have a mound of things to do the height of... well... ok, it's a virtual height but believe you me, it's a pretty damn big mound.  But I'm in a pissy mood.

Why?

Oh, well, let me explain.

While railing against some fuckwit earlier trying to explain the problem I had with Mitt Romney not paying much tax, and even less if he got his way, I was told that my problem was because I was jealous of him and as somebody who knew nothing about risking capital I was incapable of holding an opinion.

This comes back to that HUGE FUCKING MOUND OF WORK which, at 9:25pm at 30,000 feet flying to meetings in the Bay Area I'm still tackling.  I run a start up.  It's not a successful one yet.  But we're starting to make payroll, and we're covering costs and we've got customers which include household names.  I haven't taken a penny in Venture Capital.  I've paid for the whole damn thing myself with a piddling amount of investment which I've taken on as debt.  I don't come from money.  I went into this with the money I had saved, all of which has been exchanged for a relatively large amount of Credit Card debt.

SO DON'T FUCKING TELL ME ABOUT RISK YOU WANKER.

I didn't inherit a wad of cash from mum and dad.  Daddy didn't help me get started in the smart business of borrowing other peoples money to buy going concerns, restructure them, convert the debt you took to debt in the company and then break it up and sell it.  I have been working for almost 3 years to build a completely new type of backend software product in an API space in mobile that even 6 friggin' months ago didn't have a fecking name.

I have had to cut loose a long term friend this week because he's not fitting the business.  I have scrimped, saved, I have juggled bum cheques to make sure I pay people back.  I am starting to look at hiring.  In short, mother fucker, I am a god-damned Randian fucking superhero.

But I still don't mind paying fucking tax.

In my last year working in my old job, I paid something in the region of $50,000 in tax... probably a bit more.  Frankly, I was gobsmacked as a new immigrant to the US of A that it was only that much.  Because a year or so before we'd earned less and paid in the region of $110,000...  This should tell you two things.  Firstly, yes, we earned a LOT of money.  I won't apologise, I worked hard for it.  Secondly, when Mitt fucking Romney wants to set up a tax system so on an income of over $20,000,000 he'll pay about TWICE what I paid earning about 1% of that, then I get very very angry.

He is not creating jobs with that money.  Banks are not creating jobs.  Believe me, they're not lending jack shit to small start ups these days.  They are sitting on those piles of cash looking for creative ways to earn decent returns, and decent returns in 2012 don't involve investing in your local economy.

One of these fucktards said the other day that a rich person would spend more in restaurants and locally.  Bullshit.  A rich person can still only eat a certain number of meals a day, and a rich person eating a few nights a week at a nice restaurant doesn't do the local economy anything like as much good as thousands of people in jobs eating at nice but maybe cheaper restaurants every week.  A rich person's car isn't being made locally.  They are NOT vacationing in Atlantic Beach or Vegas.  And if they are, they're probably getting comp'd in the hope they might gamble.  

Economies work by circulating cash and people spending money.  And this trickle down bullshit has to stop.

Do you know what earning $250,000+ a year is like?  It's simple.  It's never looking at your bank statement.  It's never opening a payslip because you know it has a large number on it.  It's always having money spare at the end of the month, even after you've banked a chunk of cash in savings.  It's your bank manager coming out to say hi! and inviting you for a coffee and a chat about your checking account because the balance has been over $20,000 for 2 months and you could do more with your money.  It's deciding to go to Mexico for a week, flying first class and staying in a 6 star villa and paying for it out of your checking account.

You want the truth?  You can't handle the truth.

Those of you idiots defending Romney and the super rich are the envious ones.  On your $50,000 a year.  Sitting in your shitty apartment thinking about how much better it would be if the government stopped taking your money in taxes and if only the man would let you do what you want.  Dreaming of the day when you're making all that money and wanting to keep it.

You're probably not going to make that money.  10-20 years from now you'll be on medicare sorry, voucher-care and SS looking longingly at that $50,000 and drooling at the window of the Michelin starred restaurant that Mitt Romney is eating in.

Pay your fucking taxes.  Revel in living in a rich, modern, 21st century civilisation and stop wishing your life back to the 19th century.

----

Bloody hell.  Glad to have that off my chest.  Back to work now :)

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