There must be something with new authors
and 2009; this is the 3rd novel I've read this year by a first-time author.
Although it was originally self-published on-line, David Moody's Hater,
found a publisher and, with that, should enjoy a lot of new interest. It
wasn't until the last few pages that I realized that this is the first
novel in a series. Finishing Hater, I can't wait for the next installment.
Set in an unnamed city in Britain, Danny
McCoyne works in the Parking Fine Processing office, a government job for
those workers on their way down. Husband and father, he watches his money
closely, as he doesn't have much to spare. After he gets home from a long,
tough day being shout at from upset people with parking fines or wanting
boots removed from their cars, he can't even relax in front of the television,
his kids are monopolizing it. But there are times where he and his wife
are able to escape from their modest flat. On one outing, they are at a
club enjoying one of Danny's favorite bands. However, mid-set, the lead
singer stops playing and simply stares out into the crowd. And then he
goes berserk-using his guitar as a weapon, he lashes out at his bandmates.
Danny and his wife escape the ensuing chaos and rioting patrons. Later,
the 24 hour news stations begin to show other seemingly acts of random,
vicious violence, eventually calling the instigators "Haters.".
These random acts are occurring all over the city, at such a rate that
the government tells people to stay indoors, create a "safe room,"
and to wait for further instructions. And then the military gets involved
and starts house to house searches.
Moody has written a book that is very
hard to put down. Interspersed with scenes of violence, shocking in it's
fury and randomness, Moody carefully introduces us to Danny McCoyne until
you really care about the character. You go with Danny to his job, experience
his home life, his interactions with his children, and witness his relationship
with his father-in-law. Then, when it appears that Haters are tearing society
apart, you hope that Danny is able to protect his family. Moody increases
the tension by investigating the mundane; if you are locked in your flat,
how do you provide for your family as your food stocks diminish? How do
you protect your family, especially if you don't know if one of them is
a Hater? How do you explain to your children the scenes of violence on
the television and out in your street? Suspenseful, disturbing, and utterly
enjoyable, Hater is world full of fear, mistrust, and madness. And
it is one of the best books I have read.
IBM Adds 200 Partners to LotusLive Cloud Services
Fri, Mar 19th 2010 6:10p Gregg Eldred It appears that IBM Lotus may be striking at Microsoft and its end-of-life for Essential Business Server with a recent press release announcing 200 partners who "plan to sell LotusLive."
IBM today announced more than 200 partners are planning to sell to their customers LotusLive cloud services. The news comes in just two months since the introduction of the LotusLive partner program as evidence of increasing migration to the cloud for collaboration capabilities.
. . . As part of today's ne [read] Keywords: collaboration
foundations
ibm
lotus
database
db2
microsoft
server
A Dumb Thing That Gets Me Emotional - Marine Corps Advertising
Mon, Mar 15th 2010 4:00p Gregg Eldred For the most part, a lot of advertising just flows over me without eliciting a response. However, when I see an ad for the Marine Corps, there is a response, usually a very emotional one. Sitting in a semi-darkened movie theatre this weekend with family, Number One Son sitting next to me, this ad appeared on the screen:
Green Zone isn't supposed to be a tear jerker, but it started out that way. *sigh* [read] Keywords: application
99
Selecting the Right Smartphone - Flowchart
Mon, Mar 15th 2010 11:50a Gregg Eldred After reading Guy Wakely's post concerning the selection of a new smartphone, I found this flowchart that may provide some assistance. Funny, but Palm is not represented. [read] Keywords:
152
ITWire: Big Lego Blackberry built
Sun, Mar 14th 2010 11:50a Gregg Eldred Lego artist/sculpter/genius Nathan Sawaya has created the ultimate in geek toys, a giant Lego RIM Blackberry Tour 9360 complete with working LCD screen. The 'artwork' stands at about 1.5 metres high and follows one of his previous projects, a similarly giant Lego iPhone. Clearly Sawaya has no particular loyalty to either.
More > The photo accompanying the article: [read] Keywords: blackberry
iphone
rim
IBM Whitepaper: Administering IBM Lotus Domino 8.5 servers for beginners
Thu, Mar 11th 2010 10:40p Gregg Eldred IBM Lotus has published a whitepaper on administering Domino 8.5. From the abstract:
This white paper provides a comprehensive overview of how to administer IBM Lotus® Domino®, explaining the fundamental components and terminology so that new administrators can feel familiar with the product. Specifically, we explain key features and functionalities such as the Notes.ini file, the Data Directory, IDs, server commands and documents, and server activities. Also included are discussions of [read] Keywords: admin
administration
domino
ibm
lotus
notes
server
Redbook: Best Practices for Building Web Applications for Domino 8.5.1
Tue, Mar 9th 2010 11:00p Gregg Eldred This IBM Redbooks wiki has the following objectives:
Provide guidance on Best Practices for Domino Web Development, with emphasis on the new XPages design element. This wiki introduces the key new features of XPages and discusses how and why these features are meaningful within the context of Domino Web Development.
Provide hands-on tutorials and sample code, which give you the opportunity to work with XPages and to understand the improvements in Domino 8.5 Web application development. As a fou [read] Keywords: domino
ibm
ldd
lotus
notes
xpages application
applications
development
wiki
139
The Husband Store
Tue, Mar 9th 2010 10:10p Gregg Eldred A store that sells new husbands has opened in New York City , where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates:
You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!
So, a woman goes to t [read] Keywords:
