The Next Doctor

In case you missed it, the Internet exploded yesterday. I saw some stuff about the Whovian universe voting in a new pope, and that describes it pretty well.

The BBC had a stroke of genius in announcing it live, on TV, simulcast across the globe. My sister and I tuned in with much excitement and bouncing in our seats. Who would it be? Would they go young again, or older?

Older, it turns out. Peter Capaldi is the next Doctor, and we'll meet him in the Christmas episode when Matt Smith regenerates. I've only seen him in the Fires of Pompeii episode, and in Torchwood: Children of Earth. I go into it having no idea what his acting chops are like, so he's practically an unknown to me.

Which leads me to a whole 'nother thing. I'm American, and Doctor Who has never been huge here. Until the last four years. David Tennant (my first Doctor) brought the show to the US with smashing success, and Matt Smith took it to heights of popularity I don't think anyone expected. It was only for the last two seasons that BBC America showed it here on the same day it aired in the UK. Before that the only option was the channel formerly known as The SciFi Channel. And as all original Farscape fans know they're not exactly good at telling viewers when a show is going to air.

I'd never watched it before my dad bought a new TV for the living room and finally got a Netflix streaming account. The first six seasons were available for streaming, and we inhaled them. And I do mean inhaled. The first episode I watched all the way through was a Tennant episode. I'm not Rose's biggest fan, but her departure makes me bawl every time I watch it.

What's been interesting to watch online is all the people who are upset about the casting choice. There are a lot of young fans in the US, and I wouldn't exactly call them Whovians either. They're Tennant fans, or Smith fans, with no idea where all the show has been and no appreciation for it being the longest science fiction show in the history of history. It's a little saddening to see people upset about Capaldi being "too old", and "they should have brought Tennant back because nobody else can possibly be the Doctor".

Really? REALLY??? I want to shake some of these people and tell them to watch the Doctors Revisited specials on BBC America. Each Doctor is unique and brings something special and all his own to the character. Yes, Tennant is my first, but I like Troughton and Baker too. Matt used #2, Patrick Troughton, as his inspiration for his Doctor. Having now seen some of the Troughton episodes I totally see the similarities.

I can't quite believe I'm saying this, but I trust Moffat. I trust him to make the right casting decision and choose the right Doctor to take over in the direction the show is headed. We have no idea what's going to happen in the 50th special, except the Doctor is going to be facing part of whatever he's been running from since 1963.

Whovians: Trust Moffat. I know that's hard, but trust Moffat. Despite the fact that if he walked into a bar twith George R.R. Martin and Joss Whedon every character you've ever loved will die, trust him.

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Of new computers and Windows 8

Image courtesy of imagerymajestic
freedigitalphotos.net

Imagine my face in that picture. For the last three months. Because of my laptop. You see, it was old. Eight years old. Young to a human, dinosaur for a computer. It ran Windows 7 and we got along fine for two and a half years. I loved its massive hard drive, my desktop gadgets, the fact that it was free. Mostly because it was free, a hand-me-down from my mom.

But, being a dinosaur, it weighed a ton. As in more than eight pounds. That's a ton when you're kicked back on your bed writing. Needless to say I didn't do it much. It also ran SUPER hot and a cooling pad was a necessity.

It started acting up. Freezing, hanging up, not doing what I told it to do. The first time it took me TWO DOZEN clicks to get it to restart I told my dad I might need a computer soonish. He agreed, said he was thinking about upgrading his laptop and I could have his old one. Free computer, I can totally deal with it being bigger than I want.

Except things kept getting worse. And worse, and worse. Until I could only run two programs at a time. I'm a multitasker and a writer. Two programs doesn't work for me. I couldn't stream Pandora or Netflix. Oh the horror! But I couldn't afford a new computer. So I talked to my parents, they agreed to replace it for me, and I started researching. Decided I wanted an ultralight. Found one on NewEgg, researched it, asked questions. Was settled on it, in fact. The thought of Windows 8 didn't bug me, because I'm a geek, and I know my way around Windows. Mostly.

Then I decided to look around town and see what was here. Went to Best Buy first this past Friday, intending to work my way back home. Sitting on the display shelf was a sleek little HP. On clearance. For less then the one on NewEgg. With a better processor and real dual memory slots. I picked it up. Heaven! Weighed less than four pounds, same size as my dinosaur. A really sweet older gentleman employee came to see if I needed any help and we set off looking for the battery life. Never did find it.

But we kept chatting while we looked, I shared my woes. Asked how many of this model they had in stock. Just the one on display. But he'd take another $30 off if I bought it that day. So I did. I was beginning to fear I'd wake up some morning and find my dinosaur DOA.

Called my mom, said I'd be longer than planned because they had to wipe the demo stuff off of it. No biggie. I had a book in the car and needed some food. Came home. Handed it to my mom to see her jaw drop at how little it weighs. Texted the product card to my dad, and Saturday morning at work he researched my processor and geeked out over it being top of the line in this category.

Friday night and Saturday I set up, installed, copied files, and gushed about the awesomeness of my new computer. Showed it to EVERYBODY who's come in the house. I actually kind of like Windows 8. I don't find it heinous or The Worst Idea Ever. My Netflix is blazing fast. I can run Chrome now. I have a battery that'll last four hours if I'm not surfing the 'Net.

So what did I get? An HP Sleekbook 14. For under $300. With TWO USB 3.0 ports. I am one happy writer.

Isn't it awesome? His name is Zanzibar.

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Stay out of my bubble!

I'm an introvert. Every person in my life will tell you that. I'm perfectly happy to be left alone for hours on end, with no sound whatsoever except the hum of my laptop's cooling pad. As I'm writing this on Saturday afternoon this is the exact state I've been in for the last four hours. My social interaction today has consisted of asking my mom if both the cats are outside and telling her I found an SFR where Russia is the dominant culture, and a thirty second conversation with my brother before he left for work. He's an extrovert, by the way, could sell a lifetime supply of ice and reindeer meat to a Finnish reindeer herder.

We introverts tend to be a misunderstood lot. People think we're weird, there's "something wrong" with us because we're not friends with every person we meet and we don't talk all the time or have to be the center of attention. We don't like being interrupted when we're engrossed in something. For some of us the idea of talking to people we don't know is downright terrifying. We're not afraid of silence or being still or the dreaded (to extroverts anyway) "being alone".

A lot of people, all of them extroverts I'm sure, tell us there's something wrong with us. I'm also a homeschool graduate and never spent a single day in a public or private school classroom. I'm very comfortable with who I am and mostly immune to peer pressure. Homeschooling provides, in my opinion, the perfect atmosphere for introverts to thrive. We're not drowning in noise. We can go off to another part of the house and be alone while we do math so we can think. People aren't constantly trying to talk to us and get us to "open up". I thrived in a homeschool setting, whereas in a public school setting I would have withered up and never discovered my creative side.

Because of that, many homeschooled children are introverts who are always being accused of having no socialization skills. Nine times out of ten it's a bald-faced lie. There is NOTHING wrong with a kid who'd rather read than talk about nothing with people who think he's weird or rude or aloof or socially awkward.

I'm a homeschooled introvert. I don't lack social skills. I simply interact in a different way. If I have my head down in a book or a notebook or I'm staring into space, leave me the hell alone! If I want to talk to you I will. Don't try to chit-chat with me. You'll get nowhere real fast. This is actually etiquette rule #1 for dealing with introverts: Don't try to force us to be like you.

For some of us, extroverts are scary. I'm not one of them, and at writer's conferences I do a pretty good imitation of being an extrovert. But I pay for it when I get home with a week of being totally, mind-numbingly exhausted and I stay locked in my room, emerging only for food and the bathroom. And The Big Bang Theory, of course. But I also know when I'm at writer's conferences most of the other attendees are introverts too. It's easy to be a little more outgoing when we're surrounded by people who UNDERSTAND why you drift off into space, or huddle in a corner, and don't force their way into a most sacred bubble because you can't possibly be having a good time over there by yourself.

What sparked this whole rumination was Twitter and the link to an article in The Atlantic, called "Introverted Kids Need to Learn to Speak Up At School". It's a teacher ruminating on her interactions with the parents of introverts in regards to class participation grades. What ticked me off was this:

This is no problem for the extroverts, who live for the opportunity to talk about their ideas. However, I also teach introverts, who live in fear of being asked these sorts of questions

Hmm. For a teacher who said she's read "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking", she doesn't seem to have really grasped the difference between an introvert and someone with real, valid social anxiety. I don't know a single introvert who lives in fear of being asked questions. But quite a few of us live in fear of others' reactions to our answers, or being made fun of because we have a different view of something. Public school settings are one of the most hostile places in the world for a young introvert.

Yes, students need to participate in class. That's how many learn. But introverts tend to learn best by reading or seeing. Not by talking. Instead of a teacher focusing on the fear of an introvert student, the teacher AND PARENTS should be making every effort to help the introvert be comfortable in the exchange. Talking about an introvert being afraid of something will make the introvert afraid of said something.

Thankfully one of the stories linked to in this article is another about Caring For Your Introvert. I love this:

The worst of it is that extroverts have no idea of the torment they put us through. Sometimes, as we gasp for air amid the fog of their 98-percent-content-free talk, we wonder if extroverts even bother to listen to themselves. Still, we endure stoically, because the etiquette books—written, no doubt, by extroverts—regard declining to banter as rude and gaps in conversation as awkward. We can only dream that someday, when our condition is more widely understood, when perhaps an Introverts' Rights movement has blossomed and borne fruit, it will not be impolite to say "I'm an introvert. You are a wonderful person and I like you. But now please shush."

This is also pure genius, especially the third one:

How can I let the introvert in my life know that I support him and respect his choice? First, recognize that it's not a choice. It's not a lifestyle. It's an orientation.

Second, when you see an introvert lost in thought, don't say "What's the matter?" or "Are you all right?"

Third, don't say anything else, either.

To sum up I present the link to the best infographic I've seen in a long time.

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How to recharge this geek's creative batteries

Nerdgasm and geekgasm are fun words. Especially in a house full of geeks, or when watching one's nerdy brother play Killer Bunnies and the Journey to Jupiter for the first time. You get your supplies at Zumdish's Intergalactic Department Store, fyi. Major geek points if you know what that's from!

There aren't any nifty words for the opposite effect, though. Which I've been in for the last few weeks when I discovered Farscape was no longer on Netflix streaming. My brother has it all on DVD, but he's three hours away. Most inconvenient when the sudden need for Farscape hits.
The whole fam are recent converts to Fringe, which is free for streaming to Amazon Prime members. Yay! But I watch it with my sister so we don't get all mixed up like we did with Doctor Who and have to remember who's seen which episode and where we left off together.

She went to bed before me the other night, when we were watching Fringe, and I'm sitting there feeling the need to recharge the creative juices. But there's no Farscape on Netflix and last time I checked it on Amazon Prime it wasn't free. What the heck, I'll check again. Boom! Free for Amazon Prime members!!

One happy geek with creative juices recharged: Check.

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