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Today's newspaper's 'Guess the Definition' quiz was the word pseudandry, meaning the use of a male pseudonym by a female writer. Having recently sampled a story by an author with a female pseudonym, despite obviously being male, I was curious as to the antonym. Thank you, Merrian-Webster, for supplying me with pseudogyny. I've learnt something today.
AJ
This is my on-going list of authors whose recent works I've enjoyed and believe to be AI-free.
Antiproton
aroslav
Asa Strong
dotB
Duncan7 (StoryRoom)
Fick Suck
Flavorfulcorpse
Harry Carton
Ivy Veritas
Lumpy
Michael Loucks
Prince von Vlox
QM
Tedbiker
The Outsider (StoryRoom)
Note: This list is in an embryonic state and only contains the names of authors whose stories I've read in the past month or so. It represents my own personal opinion, which is worth exactly what you paid for it. And yes, there are plenty of very fine non-AI authors whose names are currently missing.
I've created a tiny list, 'Spiderful', of stories I've read and enjoyed that contain significant arachnid characters. Suggestions for further additions are welcome, excluding Spiderman fanfic. It's already got a thumbs down, presumably from the only person to access it other than myself.
My kitchen window spider, Rachel, is sulking at the moment. I thought we had an arrangement - he gets protection from the elements provided he steers clear of objects on the windowsill. He once tried to link his web to one of my plastic-bottle terraria, but I carefully detached the thread and he seemed to learn from the experience. I've even saved his life twice from cannibalistic intruders. Then this morning I found he'd gone all Vladimir Putin. After I showed him who's boss, most of his web is still intact but it's a very odd shape.
Can spiders actually learn? I've seem claims from Tarantula owners that they taught their animals to do tricks.
ETA1 - Thanks for the recommendations. I've added three more stories to the list.
ETA2 - Rachel has stopped sulking but he hasn't tried to fully repair his web - it has a hemispherical top half but a flat-bottomed bottom half.
AJ
Google thwarted me on another technical term. I tried in vain to get it to give me examples of 'cross product' outside the field of vector algebra. SOL's search facility found one usage, in Ryan Sylander's 'Shutter Release'. Unfortunately the preview didn't actually contain the term 'cross product' itself, so wasn't immediately obvious in what context it was used.
ETA a Google site search found it more precisely. It's in Chapter 59:
"Indeed, I was taken back to a vision center that was far away from here, where the cross-product of blindness and talent had led to unbelievable work, but also had delivered incapacitating panic..."
I remember the term from business data mining, but I think it appears in statistical analysis too.
Teacher: "What's a cross product?"
Jimmy: "Angry Birds."
AJ
Needing a word to help describe an effect, I remembered the word 'steric' from my school chemistry days. I tried asking Google if the word was used in contexts other than chemistry but I seem to have the Essex girl version of Google AI. Then I tried SOL's search and found
"That's hard to keep apart. They call you hook nose for a few years, and you'll start seeing it their way. Besides, it tends to get in the way."
"You mean when you're kissing? Steric inhibition?"
in his story Nosy Witch.
That's good enough for me: how can anyone argue with an authority like Argon!
Q: Why is 'steric' laughing or crying uncontrollably?
A: Because it's in hysterics.
AJ
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