Ohhhhohohohohoho. AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA. NYARGHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA I just found out about former Blizzard President Mike Ybarra's post saying, essentially, "Boy, I wish I could give game developers an additional monetary tip for games I really loved". And hey, that's a really nice sentiment, if it came from a regular old game player. But Mike, you're the former President of one of the most money-making game companies in the world. It's awfully self-serving of you to say that, especially when it looks like the industry's learning that people hate the live service monetary model and want to go back to one-and-done payment schemes. Also, do you really think that any of those "tips" would make it into the hands of the developers who actually do all the work? Nope, they would just add to the coffers of the executives who have already laid off multiple tens of THOUSANDS of employees just to secure their own payouts. This statement is tone-deaf in an amazing way. To the games industry as a whole: which is it? Are games a product, like a vacuum cleaner? Then give me a defined, static price and I'll pay it gladly. Or are they a service, like electricity? Because then you can charge me for how much I actually play each month and I'll pay that gladly. But to charge an initial price -- which, by the way, has been raised for some titles over the standard $60 -- and then still want more money for dubious benefits that are typically not worth the player investment of time and energy, and THEN say "Ahem, a TIP would be nice" is outrageous. Why is it so difficult to understand that money should go to the people who actually DO the work? Without developers, there IS NO GAME. I'm so tired of executives making out like THIEVES on the backs of employees who just want to do good for a pastime and industry they love and get shafted for it, while their bosses float off on their golden parachutes without having the honor to even CONSIDER not taking a paycheck in order to possibly reinvest the millions they make into keeping their staff from the streets. It's a dark time for people who make things. It's a great time for people who tell other people what to do. Who's more valuable? It's pretty obvious. But will makers get to do what they love and give the world great things? At this time it looks like the answer is "No."

Still riding the unemployment train, the only locomotive that stops at no station. I'm in a position where I need to jump at every opportunity, regardless of any warning bells that might sound in my mind. For example: is it wise to apply to a company whose job description contains multiple grammatical and/or syntactical errors? On one hand, it certainly means that they need the skills of a good writer. On the other hand, would they recognize quality writing if I supplied it? Many job descriptions also think it's humanizing to provide cute copy. I recently read one that stated they had a "no jerk policy". 1) If I identify as a jerk, you've just lost me, and 2) Are there any companies who WANT jerks? Just once, I'd love to see a job description that reads "We want a writer who doesn't need to read a job description because they've been a professional long enough to already know what they'll be doing. Let's face it, marketing writing is the same, no matter who you do it for; only the company-specific details differ, and a good writer can learn those easily and quickly. We're looking for someone who wants to stay with us long enough to substantially contribute to our ongoing body of work, and in exchange we won't lay them off because that would waste all the time we spent inculcating in them our corporate culture and institutional knowledge, forcing us to start all over again with someone new. Don't waste our time and we won't waste yours." Companies, if you really want to stand out from your competitors, speak plainly and directly. And if you don't know how to write that kind of job description, well hey, it turns out that I'm available.

These days, as I peruse the job offerings on LinkedIn, I see a lot of descriptions including the words "diverse" and "diversity". And to be perfectly honest, that doesn't sway me. I'm looking for work. I'll work for any company who will hire me, because that's my strength as a writer; industry specifics aren't important to me. Hearing that a company is "inclusive" when it comes to hiring practice doesn't matter if they don't actually HIRE me. Sure, it's nice to know I'm working for a business that understands that personal value doesn't come from ethnicity. But if they end up passing on me, does that matter? To get even further into it: can I be sure my ethnicity WASN'T a factor? It's a black box, and it always will be. When I was in a position to hire people, I hired for potential and personality. Ethnicity didn't matter. If they were capable of learning on the job, that was valuable. But more than that was their ability to fit in with the culture of the team. But it was never about ethnicity. So sure, in your job description, do include how diversity-focused you are. Doesn't hurt. But how do you prove that it matters? And more importantly, how do you defend that position if you ultimately don't hire someone who really is "diverse"? My ethnic make-up is as varied as anyone's: I'm Spanish/Mexican/Filipino/Chinese/Irish/Cherokee. What does any of that add to my value as an employee? It's so complex I couldn't even tell you what it all means. Instead, look at my history and accomplishments. The diversity that's more important is the work I've done, which should tell you that I can write anything for anyone. At this point in history, shouldn't "diversity inclusive" be a given? Isn't it obvious that a person's value is not dependent on their ethnicity? If it's a given, does it need to be called out in your job description?

I just saw a post by someone trying to defend generative AI by comparing it to recording tools like a still image or video camera. Friends, they are not the same thing. Cameras capture reality. They capture moments you want to remember. AI does not. They also tried to compare generative AI to electronic instruments like synthesizers and electric guitars. The difference is that you can use a synthesizer to compose a piece of music that expresses your emotions. Generative AI must depend on an existing work to start with, and even then it doesn't express emotion. If at all successful, it merely continues the emotion that had already been captured by the original work. Worse, generative AI is not the work of an artist. It's the work of a machine trying vainly to piggyback on the work of others. It's not art. Art isn't slavishly doing what someone else already did. You're not thrilling me with "wow, we can make the Mona Lisa talk!" That's not emotionally affective, unless you want me to feel disgust. In my mind, the ONLY reason to develop generative AI is because you're too cheap to pay a real artist or actor for their craft. Because anything developed by AI lacks human nuance, the insight that can only come from a lived experience. Making long-since passed away actors perform for your amusement -- or at worst, for money -- is the work of a ghoul, desperately mining the value of someone else's work for their own gain without contributing anything of creative value to the continuum of art. I started to comment on the post, then I saw it had one Like and no comments. That's good enough.

I've been trying to teach my cat to speak. There's no real benefit to this, I simply have too much time and nothing else going on. It's been an interesting project, full of ups and downs. Me: Say 'daddy'. Cat: mmmrrawrawlllaaaa Me: Say 'kitty'. Cat: gralllawawaaaaawwlll Me: Say 'hello'. Cat: waaaawwwrrlllmmmmllll Me: Ugh, this is futile. Cat: Now, 'futile' I can say.

This past week I turned down two job offers because they weren't right for me, for two different reasons. My critical mind says this was a good idea, as I would have been neither good nor happy at these positions. But my emotional mind says those were my two -- my ONLY -- opportunities and I'll be unemployed forever. The way unemployment ties into one's self-worth is pernicious. It's difficult to maintain positivity in the face of the sheer vastness of the unknown. Are my applications being seen? Am I actually worth anything? Will I find something before my monetary reserve is depleted? I'm frequently frightened and depressed. But I don't want to leave this post up to dampen your day, so I'll end with more Harry Potter titles, because my stupid brain won't shut up: -- Harry Potter and the Digital De-Aging of Said Harry Potter -- Harry Potter and the Fallow Social Media Presence -- Harry Potter and the Stunted Man-Child -- Harry Potter and the Brazzers Network -- Harry Potter and the Problematic Author Oh No It's Too Late To Cancel Her, She Has ALL of Our Money -- Harry Potter and the Pubescent Secretions -- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Sore Sir Sauce -- Harry Potter and the Flying Blind on a Rocket Cycle -- Harry Potter and the Desperate Attempt at Relevancy -- Harry Potter and the Potentially Damaging Effects of Gastric Acid -- Harry Potter and the Forgotten Safe Word -- Harry Potter and the Wand-Strokers. Oh, uh... of Destiny -- Harry Potter and How Looking At Hermione Makes Him Feel Things -- Harry Potter and What He Thinks Is A Magical Beast But Really It's Just a Pangolin PLEASE HIRE ME

I've noticed that during those times I've been unemployed, my brain fills up with all manner of creative nonsense for which I have no outlet. Fortunately there's Twitter and LinkedIn. So herewith, some alternate titles for JK Rowling books that I'd love to see and/or write: -- Harry Potter and the Very British Twee Names For Things -- Harry Potter and the Industry That Churns Out Children Wizards Who Can Kill With A Single Word -- Harry Potter and the OSHA Violation -- Harry Potter and the Pending Litigation -- Harry Potter and the Poorly-Conceived Rules of This Mystical Universe -- Harry Potter and the Harpy Plotter and the Hairy Daughter and the Harried Slaughter and the Married Water and the -- Harry Potter and the Deferred Adulthood -- Harry Potter 2: Off the Ha-grid -- Harry Potter and the Weak Leads -- Harry Potter and the Sordid Hat -- Harry Potter and the Likeandsubscribethrope This is what happens in unemployment. Please someone hire me.

Unemployment has provided all manner of insights into my life's journey. Until this point I hadn't interacted with our cat in quite the same way, as previous posts display. To wit: I didn't realize to the exact extent what a motivating factor food is in our cat's day-to-day. Cat: mroww Me: Uh-uh, nope. I saw what you did. Cat: mewrrm? Me: Yeah, all over the floor. You didn't even try to hide it. Cat: rwwrrmmmrrrrrOWW Me: I'm not buying that. Dinner time is being pushed back. Cat: Well, crap. Her life is eating and sleeping, in ways previously not apparent to me. Recently we took a trip away from home to visit our son in college. We don't have an automatic feeder, so I had to apportion out the cat food for the days we'd be gone. *taking out the cat food to measure how much we need to leave while we're away *cat hears the bag rustling, comes running* Cat: EXTRA FOOD OMIGOSH YOU GUYS ARE THE GREATEST *I put the food away without giving any to cat* Cat: THIS IS A HOUSE OF PAIN, BEREFT OF LOVE Someone please hire me.

One of the problems with being unemployed is that your sleep schedule can be thrown off. After adhering to a regular cadence for years, the lack of externally-imposed boundaries can cause irregularities. However, these aberrations aren't improved by a cat's internal feeding clock. My cat at 5:30 AM: MMRRROWWROWWWW Me, blearily: Stop it! I was sleeping! Cat: Right, and now you're up. So you can feed me. Me, looking at the time: UGH IT'S TOO EARLY TO FEED YOU Cat: Oh, do you want to cry about it? I'm a registered comfort animal. The next morning, same time, same cat channel: Cat: It's time to feed me. Me, still half-asleep: No it isn't. Cat: Look, just trust me. You're not known for your ability to tell time. Me: Oh, and you are? Tell me what time it is right now. Cat: Who can tell at this hour? Someone please hire me.

An... EXCITING thing about working from home is witnessing my cat's daily habits. When the sun comes in strong through the window, she can be found exposing her undercarriage to the world. Me: Don't spread out like that, it's un-ladylike. Cat: Who're you, Tipper Gore? Leave me alone. Me: You just like the sun on your nethers, is that it? Cat: Don't say 'nethers' to me ever again. When I need a break from work, I like to play games with my cat, who is a natural for certain sounds. Me: Name a Chinese leader. Cat: Mao Me: Name a kind of Egyptian cat. Cat: Mau Me: Name an island in Hawaii. Cat: That would be Molokai