“Internet.toLowerCase.” A developer learns the hard way that parsing HTML is no walk in the park. You can read it here.

I had a very startling experience at a church service recently.

A computer catches a human virus. You can read it here.

I meant to post at the end of January, but got delayed by, well, you’ll see.

A most curious way of creating date strings. You can read it here.

No, seriously, don’t.

On Sunday I completed the first draft for The Coral Gate. I really enjoyed writing it, despite the time it took to finish (81 days!). There were genuine moments of wonder, fear, and humor as I was writing.

There were also the occasional flubs.

It was bad enough that I decided to name one character Simon. After writing “…Simon said” for the twelfth time, I was about ready to murder Simon with that giant wasp I added to the story. (It makes sense in context.) His name makes sense, though – he’s not enough of a rock to be Peter, so he’s still Simon until he gets some character growth. And I can add “Simon said” as an in-joke in-story to make it work, if it comes to that.

On Schwarzenegger, ISO country codes, and a giant crazy corkboard. Read it here.

In September, the IT humor site The Daily WTF took applications for potential contributors. I submitted the following story, “King Tutankhamun,” to their editorial staff as part of my application. They enjoyed it. I’ll be contributing regularly to the site, starting around February 1st.

Here’s the original call for submissions, which includes the core WTF that inspired the story.

Steven’s legs wobbled as he leaned against the service counter at one of FruitTech’s premiere retail stores.  He glanced around the store, looking for his supervisor Brenda to relieve him for the union-mandated fifteen-minute break.  Just as he found her, he spotted an old man push open the glass doors, carrying a black trash bag under his arm.

“I have a warranty!” The old man shouted, anticipating what he thought would be his first question.  It wasn’t even Steven’s sixth.

People have asked me what I’m working on, and I have had no easy answer to give them. Unlike some writers, I never have just one plate spinning at any given time. So, I’ve decided to do a (probably) monthly write-up on what stories I’m working on. Also, consider this a response to the “Next Big Thing” meme going around. (Note: ~ designates a word count goal)

Or co-wrote, rather.

GSL Solutions, where I work as a web developer, just launched an interactive storybook about UXO (unexploded ordnance) safety. It was created in partnership with USA Environmental, Inc. and the South Atlantic District of the US Army Corps of Engineers. I was the developer and a co-writer, working with the founder (who developed the storyline) and designer to make the book fun to read.

Here’s the press release, with links to download the book from Apple Store or Google Play.