Skype

I tried Skype for the first time Saturday evening.

Like all technological advancements with me, it had its bugs. I couldn't get the volume on the other person to work, and then she couldn't seem to get volume when I tried to talk.

Thus, it made for a memorable experience for all the wrong reasons. I trust that I'll slowly figure it out over time. Technology is a learning curve for me.

Where the Girls Are

I've been thinking a lot about gender in fiction lately. Part of it is because of my somewhat contentious but productive discussions about it with fellow fictioner A. J. O'Connell. Part of it is because novelist Jennifer Weiner discusses it a lot. And part of it is because another friend blogged about it.

So I went into the time machine back to the past two semesters, when I was fiction co-editor of Mason's Road. At MR we had a blind submission policy, so we didn't know the names or genders of the authors. That said, sometimes you read a story and you're pretty confident it was written by one gender or the other. So I figured it was worth it to count the stories I accepted over those two semesters to see if I was predisposed one way or the other.

During the two semester I edited, we accepted 11 stories for publication. Here's the breakdown:

Stories written by women: 8*
Stories written by men: 3

*We actually accepted 9 stories written by women, but we ultimately rescinded the offer to publish one because the author was uncooperative about edits we felt needed to be made.

Clearly this is a small statistical sampling. So it doesn't prove anything. And some would argue that it may prove I'm actually biased against men. All I can hope is that I don't rule anyone's fiction out because of their sex.

Feathersaurus rex

I'm conflicted about this: scientists are all abuzz about a new feathered tyrannosauroid dinosaur. It's estimated to be about 30 feet long, which would make it the most likely the largest feathered creature ever to exist.

I like that dinosaurs are more and more being associated with more advanced birds rather than more basal reptiles.

But, at the same time, feathers seem a little wussy on a bid, bad-ass dinosaur. Plus, the creature's scientific name, Yutyrannus, leaves a lot to be desired. Like a wannabe Tyrannosaurus name.

Certain things in life I can deal with being fuzzy or feathery. I'm not sure dinosaurs are one of them.

National League

Baseball can be pretty self-important. For years the National League has had two more teams than the American League (16-14). It was stated by The Powers That Be that it had to be that way because, with interleague play, if there were an even number of teams there always would have to be an interleague series going on.

This is so stupid. Who cares if there's an interleague series all the time. Why not? The NFL, which almost always does everything MLB screws up the right way, does that. Outside of the final weekend (when all NFL teams play division opponents to lessen the possibility of teams with nothing to play for mailing it in), the NFL schedules interconference matchups every week.

This stupidity will end next season. There's still plenty of time for baseball to get cold feet and change its mind, but in 2013 the Houston Astros will move to the American League West. It creates a natural rivalry with Texas. It allows interleague play all the time instead of in that silly two-week window they always have for it.

Nice job, baseball. A good way to start the 2012 festivies. Now don't screw everything else up.

The Case of the Missing Rent

I'm a creature of habit. When the mail comes, I usually sort it by tenant (there are 10 apartments in this old Victorian house, including my landlord's). I usually put the monthly rent on top of all the other mail my landlord accumulates.

I did this Sunday night. He doesn't pick up his mail every day. But last night I checked downstairs and the envelope I put the check in was gone.

Tuesday afternoon my cellphone rang. It was my landlord.

"It's the third of the month. You gonna drop by with the rent?"

I was confused.

"I dropped it downstairs along with all your other mail the other night. You didn't pick it up?"

"No, it's not here."

I went downstairs. I thought it might've slipped behind the table where I drop all the mail after I sort it. It wasn't there.

Well that just sucked. Now I had to write another rent check and hand it to my landlord. He, meanwhile, was panicking that one of the other tenants may have snatched it and deposited my rent check.

So I called my bank. Luckily, the missing check hasn't been presented anywhere. I put a stop payment on it. My landlord is reimbursing me for the stop payment.

I'm convinced the check is sitting on his countertop, wedged in between his cable bills and the weekly Shaw's flyer. He'll probably find it next week.

The Two-Interview Day

Having two interviews in one day presents a interesting dilemma. The interviews were three hours apart -- purposely set by me that way, so that there would be no dangers of overlapping.

But this also means there's a lag time. And this raises the question. Do I stay in my interview clothes? Or do I change into a T-shirt and shorts back at my place for an hour or so in between interviews?

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a casual guy and there was no way I'd be staying in my interview clothes.

We'll see if it has an effect on the end results.

Census Day

What better way to celebrate April Fools than by simultaneously having Census Day. Granted, there's no census this year, but every census year April 1 is officially Census Day, so why not celebrate it every year?

It's a great time to head over to Wild Willy's, former hangout of the Payroll Empire, reminisce about old times and catch up on new times.

I learned a lot, too. I learned from Rebecca that roller derby is the natural extension of yoga. I learned that Legos can predict the future. And I learned that listening to restaurant employees sing every time they get a tip is really annoying.

I can't wait for next April 1.