The Sword and Laser discussion

Looks like another new podcast has made itself available!

http://swordandlaser.com/home/2013/2/...

Once again Rob has beaten Becca!! :P

Veronica wrote: "Once again Rob has beaten Becca!! :P"

Because once again Becca was passed out on the couch when the episode went up last night....

I'll get you next time, Rob!

I didn't know this was a competition. Lol.

Nice book discussion this time and thanks for mentioning my thread. I think Tom is right in the clash of the kind of Pavlovian conditioning (including myself here) men get now on those matters vs a more . . . naturally ( word choice?) occurring situation. I think the setting in Ancient China did not have much to do with it, though. Perhaps women are less a target for that kind of message (hot, black coffee aside), thus the reaction. Just a thought that I do not know is true or not.

Rob wrote: "I didn't know this was a competition. Lol."

Yes it is - and you are the reigning OCD champion.

Nathan wrote: "Nice book discussion this time and thanks for mentioning my thread. I think Tom is right in the clash of the kind of Pavlovian conditioning (including myself here) men get now on those matters vs a..."

Looking through the thread in question, it seems to me that the gender breakdown is pretty even on both sides. For me, my opinion isn't informed by HR seminars but by reading feminist SF blogs which go on at great length about issues of sexism and misogyny in the genre.

David Sven wrote: "Rob wrote: "I didn't know this was a competition. Lol."

Yes it is - and you are the reigning OCD champion."

It's in my RSS feed but not on the forums. How can I concentrate on work until I remedy that?

O.o

Great show. And the increased book discussion works for me. And i agree with Tom about the Dune Mini series. It was ok but surely someone can do it properly one day.

Loved the new show! Loved the bonus book talk!

Loved this show! Book talk was smart and funny and plenty of the extra stuff that makes this awesome! Thanks V and T!!

As a Chicago-based sword and laser fan, I highly recommend you make a trip out! By March the weather is tolerable...

Personally the Philip K Dick book I would suggest is Ubik, which is my favorite.

Rather than Lord Foul's Bane for a book, I'm suggesting Stephen R. Donaldson's two book series Mordant's Need, comprised of The Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through. There is even a small amount of laser in it.

Really enjoyed the show this week. I agree with what Veronica said about Number Ten Ox - I never really connected with him and I had trouble getting onto the story. Glad there was a lot of book discussion.

Re: the "slight flaw" in master Li Kao. I think it's just an ironic statement since there's obviously more than just a "slight" flaw in his character, since T&V could rattle off all those things he does including theft, murder, etc.

I did not read the book but I wonder if this "slight flaw" phenomena in the book have anything to do with the "hamartia" or "tragic flaw" concept in Aristotelian Greek tragedy?

I am listening to the podcast right now, and only have one complaint: Veronica's sound level is too low; If I adjust it so her voice comes out "loud and clear", then Tom blasts my eardrums into my brain. I've noticed this on a couple of the podcasts; am I the only one to notice this?

I really enjoy listening, but there's a Tom's voice-shaped hole in my brain. :P

Robert of Dale wrote: "I really enjoy listening, but there's a Tom's voice-shaped hole in my brain."

That. Is. The. BEST. KIND!

Robert of Dale wrote: "I am listening to the podcast right now, and only have one complaint: Veronica's sound level is too low; If I adjust it so her voice comes out "loud and clear", then Tom blasts my eardrums into my ..."

I didn't notice an issue with sound level.

And I even heard Veronica's laundry timer when she asked Tom if he had heard it. bbbbuuuuuuzzzzzz.

Edit: that wasn't supposed to sound creepy. I was just using that as an example of how well I could hear everything. Awkward Internet Micah strikes again.

Micah wrote: "And I even heard Veronica's laundry timer when she asked Tom if he had heard it. bbbbuuuuuuzzzzzz.."

You could say you heard a "Buzz Out Loud" ;-)

Tassie Dave wrote: "Micah wrote: "And I even heard Veronica's laundry timer when she asked Tom if he had heard it. bbbbuuuuuuzzzzzz.."

You could say you heard a "Buzz Out Loud" ;-)"

I do believe you are correct sir!

@Robert of Dale: I had that same issue. I was listening at work and I didn't want it too loud to annoy my coworkers so I missed some of what Veronica said.

Really enjoyed the extended book chat in the podcast.

Alex wrote: "On another note, I only realized after a long time of listening that it's "bare your sword" and not "bury your sword.""

Haha! That's funny, because I had also been mishearing. I thought it was 'barrier sword' until I read the notes this week. The real title makes more sense.

For a long time, I thought the song 'Renegades of Funk' was 'Random Case of Funk'

I was able to stream the episode, even on crappy hotel wifi. I thought this show's book discussion was great, harkened back to the pre-video show days. :) (the hotel wifi also has allowed me to sorta stream some of those, I'm woefully behind...but each takes about 20 minutes to load/buffer, bleh)

I always wonder about those threads like the "Ping" one. I stayed out of it, but it quite often seems to me that it's the guys who feel almost "protective" and think the worst of the author's intentions...it's quite often guys who seem to want to explore more female authors. I 100% agree with Veronica's interpretation of the Ping scene. The entire book was light and I interpreted Ping's words as playful.

I loved the book. I appreciated the light tone. From what I've read so far of March's book, it's much more serious, very different from Bridge of Birds. So far it's also following my general rule of thumb about Hugo award winners...

terpkristin wrote: "So far it's also following my general rule of thumb about Hugo award winners...

Which is?

Paul wrote: "terpkristin wrote: "So far it's also following my general rule of thumb about Hugo award winners...

Which is?"

They're usually books that I can't figure out why they won awards. I'm 50 pages in (through 6 chapters or so in Book 1)and have fallen asleep 3 times while reading. The writing feels awkward, like words are missing, and none of the characters has made enough of an impression that I could even remember their names. This is a book that speaks my language as it were and I am finding it tedious both in print and audio. But I usually give books 100 pages, so I'm trying to keep an open mind. Problem is, I look at the book and find something--anything--better to do, like work email on a Sunday evening...

uh-oh I was afraid of that. I've read the first chapter which was a big old stodgy slice of future history. I had hoped that it got better after that. I'll keep going. I usually give books 100 pages too.

Dara wrote: "@Robert of Dale: I had that same issue. I was listening at work and I didn't want it too loud to annoy my coworkers so I missed some of what Veronica said."

I had the issue, too. I was listening to it in my car and kept having to adjust the volume depending on the speaker. After realizing this wasn't safe, I stopped listening and hope to get back to it later.

I wonder if the difference in sound levels correlates to where you get the show from. I listened to the show on the latest iOS podcast app, so downloaded rather than streamed.

Terpkristin: I think the Ping discussion comes of men erring on the side of caution in their daily lives, or possibly as a reaction to the people they interact with being generally sexist.

I downloaded it from their website link (no idea what's hosting the file), I don't recall and sound level issues.

Robert of Dale wrote: ... I listened to the show on the latest iOS podcast app, so downloaded rather than streamed."

As did I. I just listened to it on the S&L website and it's much better.

At this point, I'll blame the iOS podcast app and iTunes, and keep counting the days until I can get a droid.

Ha! Phone model preferences aside, I doubt very seriously that apple has anything to do with this; itunes merely stores a link to someone else's server where the mp3 (or whatever file format) is actually served from. Also, I don't think they have a "make Veronica too quiet" filter on anything that's played via their podcasting app. The fault likely still lies with the files used for podcast downloads versus the one used for streaming, if those files are different.

Robert of Dale wrote: "I am listening to the podcast right now, and only have one complaint: Veronica's sound level is too low; If I adjust it so her voice comes out "loud and clear", then Tom blasts my eardrums into my ..."

I forgot to Levelate this episode, so that's why.

Veronica wrote: "I forgot to Levelate this episode, so that's why."

I totally read that as Levitate.

Rob wrote: "Veronica wrote: "I forgot to Levelate this episode, so that's why."

I totally read that as Levitate."

Me too. Ha! Is "Levelate" a tool, or is it more like "Proofreaditating" a comment before posting, which is something I often fail to do?

By the way, I do love the podcast titles, especially this one.

http://www.conversationsnetwork.org/l...

Doug wrote: "Dara wrote: "@Robert of Dale: I had that same issue. I was listening at work and I didn't want it too loud to annoy my coworkers so I missed some of what Veronica said."

I had the issue, too. I w..."

Ah I see. I use Downcast.

I assumed Veronica and Tom had a bank of compressors...

Obviously it wasn't only for my benefit, but I really appreciated Veronica taking time to explain why she had difficulty getting into the book. I was afraid my asking about it last time was too awkwardly worded.

The bonus book talk was some of my favorite podcasting you two have done yet! I could go for entire shows like that segment, even though I love the Quick Burns. Your passion for storytelling and the different things you two react to are just great.