I subscribe to Machine Man and recommend you do too.


http://io9.com/5336026/max-barry-jams-in-public-creates-a-new-publishing-model-slices-your-legs-off

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Max Barry's Jennifer Government was one of the most original and entertaining dystopian novels of the past decade, and now Barry is helping to reinvent publishing. Or at least, his bold experiment, Machine Man, seems to have paid off.

Barry has been posting chunks of his novel Machine Man online since March, although he hasn't followed the same model that Tim Pratt and Catherynne M. Valente recently adopted. That is to say, he's not just posting daily or weekly updates and including a "tip jar" so you can donate. Rather, he's got a free feed that only covers the first 43 pages of his novel, and you have to pay $6.95 to get the rest. Either way, you get a page sent to you every day, either via email or RSS. (Until it runs out, in the case of the free feed.) There's also some stuff about a custom feed, which is a bit confusing.

Judging from the pages posted on Barry's site, Machine Man is a fast-paced, chaotic story about a guy who experiments with cybernetics — the book starts with the main character's leg being severed, and goes on from there. Here's a typically weird passage from page 38:

My legs stopped at a busy intersection somewhere south of downtown. I didn't know where, exactly. All I knew was they had been running for ten minutes and I had been hanging on, begging them not to kill me. Like all my legs, the Contours had been subjected to some pretty rigorous quality assurance in the lab, but some things you couldn't simulate. One of those things, apparently, was that mortal terror interfered with the legs' ability to interpret mental instructions. At least, I hope that's what it was. The alternative was that they were wilful.

Anyway, the experiment seems to have paid off, handsomely: Publisher's Marketplace says Barry sold Machine Man to Vintage Books. If the FAQ on Barry's site is anything to go by, the final book product will be a bit more polished than the updates he's been sending out every day — he talks about possibly having to backtrack and dig himself out of some literary hole he's gotten into, and says the process of writing a novel and posting it online in real time is much like a band jamming in public, versus hearing their polished studio recordings. Either way, we can't wait to read the finished manuscript.

I'm not going to make any rash promises, just so we're all clear on that, but it occurred to me [again] that I could make some more effort over here, and that tales from my upcoming overseas trip might be just the thing to fill this empty journal. So you never know - you may well be hearing from me a bit more over the next few weeks. However, it's just as likely at this stage that you'll not hear a peep out of me for six months, but my intentions are good. Never let it be said that my intentions aren't good. And my intentions don’t pave the way to Hell. They tend to just hang out at home with the cat.

Motorcylists to park for free in Sydney

PhD students living below poverty line

Posted Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:01am AEST
Updated Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:34pm AEST 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/30/2231306.htm

New figures show the income support rate for PhD students in Australia has, for the first time, fallen below the poverty line.

It is forcing students to drop out of university or neglect their research so they can take on part-time jobs.

A leading academic group is worried this will have an impact on the whole economy.

With study after study saying the same thing, life as a university student is getting a reputation for being one of destitution.

It is hard enough for 19- or 20-year-olds but what about those who go on to further degrees?

Daniel Bond, 24, is doing a PhD in computer science at the University of Western Australia and his main source of income is a standard university scholarship.

"A lot of the people you went through uni with are earning three or four times what you are," he said.

"You also sort of want to have a bit more of a normal life - start saving, and not the low-budget student life that you might have had as an undergrad."

 Scholarships

 The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) has analysed the data since the early 1990s.

The Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) collaborated with CAPA and found the standard PhD scholarship has fallen from about half of average earnings to about a third.

The scholarship is now worth about $20,000 which means this year it has fallen below the official Henderson poverty line.

CHASS president Stuart Cunningham says it is having an obvious effect.

"That is causing a number of PhD students to rethink the prospects of being able to study, complete a PhD," he said.

It is also having an impact on students who choose to stay.

 Sacrifices

 The president of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA), Nigel Palmer, says many people are sacrificing the quality of their work just to survive.

"The conditions of the award mean that they can only work for eight hours a week, which often means they do casual teaching," he said.

"Balancing research and teaching work together is very difficult and it inevitably comes at a cost in them completing their research."

He says the first and easiest way to address the concerns of students is to increase the standard scholarship, or APA, by about 30 per cent.

He is also recommending the scholarships cover a longer period and that more be made available for international students.

Professor Cunningham says if these measures are not taken up, it will have an effect on the whole economy, because these students are needed to fill skills shortages.

"Between a fifth and a third of the Australian academic work force is expected to retire in the next five to 10 years," he said.

"The baby boomers are basically falling off the twigs, so we're going to need a very, very major renewal of the academic work force."

The proposed changes have been presented to the Federal Government for consideration.

This feature has been adapted from a story aired on AM on April 30.

Surry Hills Festival 2008
Saturday 12 April
@ Prince Alfred Park 
(nr Central Station, on the corner of Chalmers and Cleveland)

Come!!! 
(and you might see me there, jiggling my collection bucket for a good cause)

This free festival is produced by the Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre as a major fundraiser for the Centre’s community services. You’re invited to make a gold coin donation on festival day towards this great cause. The festival is strictly no BYO and no glass on the grass.

This shot taught me that night-time photography is hard!  This laneway is in, of all places, Crow's Nest. R and I ventured back to Over the Bridge Land to feast on the delicious pasta and gelato at Bravo Trattoria last Friday night, and we walked past There and Back Again Lane. The appeal rendered by the name is not borne out by the location, sadly (it promises so much) - the lane itself is utilitarian, unattractive and without any semblance of a spirit of place

14 February 2008

Virgin Money

GPO Box 18,

Sydney 2001

Dear Sir/Madam

[Full Name]

Credit Card Account Number: xxxx
Default fees charged to the above account

This is my second letter to you regarding this matter – the first dated 17 January 2008. I would appreciate a prompt response.

I have been charged a default fee in relation to my credit card account with Virgin Money.  The total amount of the default fee charged to my account on 15 January 2008 is $30.

The default fee is an Overlimit Fee.

These fees are excessive and I therefore write to make a formal complaint about the charging of these fees.  I ask that you repay the entire amount of these fees to my account in resolution of my complaint.

My complaint and request for repayment is based on the following grounds.

First, the fees are out of all proportion and unconscionable in comparison with the loss suffered by you in processing my defaults.  The fee you charged me was $30 and I do not believe that your costs in dealing with my default were even close to this amount.  However, I am willing to consider any evidence you can provide me to the contrary.

Secondly, there is a clear difference in bargaining power between Virgin Money and me as an individual consumer. As you would be aware, I had no opportunity to negotiate the terms of my account contract with you and, in any case, would have no ability to change any of the terms imposing fees and charges.  In these circumstances, it would be unconscionable for you to enforce the fees.

Given the above, the default fees you have charged to my account are ‘penalties’, in accordance with the well-established legal principle set out in cases such as Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd and O’Dea v Allstates Leasing System (WA) Pty Ltd.  This makes them void, meaning they could not be enforced against me in court.  As they are void and unenforceable, they should not have been charged to my account and should be repaid.

Further, it is also possible that by enforcing the terms of my account contract imposing these excessive fees on my account, Virgin Money is engaging in unconscionable conduct within the meaning of section 51AB of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), particularly because of my lack of bargaining power relative to you and the fact that the terms imposing these fees are not reasonably necessary for the protection of your legitimate interests.

Accordingly, please refund the total amount of these fees to my account, being $30.

I look forward to receiving your response within 21 days of the date of this letter.  If I do not hear from you, I may take further action to recover the amount of these fees without further notice to you.

Yours sincerely