{"id":52095,"date":"2021-04-01T06:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T10:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/?p=52095"},"modified":"2021-04-01T07:10:47","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T11:10:47","slug":"mess-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/?p=52095","title":{"rendered":"Mess Effect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, it is April first. I normally change the background or color scheme of the site, but I didn’t think of it in time this year. Still, I wouldn’t want to send you out on the internet today without your usual April 1st warning: Careful what you read. It’s probably even more untrue than usual.<\/em><\/p>\n

So… it feels like we’re short on content these days, doesn’t it? I’m still finishing up my book. My wife has started a new job. We’ve been busy shopping for a replacement car and getting rid of the husk of the old. These various things have eaten into the hours I normally spend doing MY ACTUAL JOB. Where does the time go?<\/p>\n

Also, maybe I’ve squeezed in a few minutes of Factorio here and there. You know. In those occasional moments when I should be sleeping, exercising, or working. That kind of thing. I found a few mods that really tickle my fancy, so I’ve spent a few hours having that thoroughly tickled.<\/p>\n

The book now has a cover. Check it out:
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\"Commander<\/p>\n

I paid someone to do it on Fiverr<\/a>, and I’m really happy with the result.<\/p>\n

Obviously I’ve had to give the book a proper title. “Mass Effect Retrospective” works as a series of blog posts, but it’s kinda lame as a book title. I realize the current title is a Very Obvious pun, but what can you do?<\/p>\n

Most of the work is now done. I’m just proofing at this point. Instead of thinking of proofing as a job that gets “done”, I’m starting to think of it in terms of half-life. Each read-through of the book seems to uncover half of the remaining mistakes. (Or if you prefer, half as many as the previous read-through.) You never really reach the point where the book is mistake-free, you just proof it until the projected number of undiscovered mistakes is low enough to live with. I think we’re almost there.<\/p>\n

Some random comments \/ observations:<\/p>\n