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<title>My RSS Feed</title><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/index.html</link><description>Author blog</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2010 R. Pompon</dc:rights><dc:date>2010-08-15T15:04:31-07:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:13:47 -0700</lastBuildDate><item><title>Not dead&#x2c; just vacationing</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Life</category><dc:date>2010-08-15T15:04:31-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/aaba5fe1ee76926fbc8c2095c53b11f6-38.html#unique-entry-id-38</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/aaba5fe1ee76926fbc8c2095c53b11f6-38.html#unique-entry-id-38</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Been a busy summer, much going on and I&rsquo;ve been working on a few other projects.    I apologize for not updating but we&rsquo;ll be back on track soon.  


My other projects include:


	&bull;	A new science fiction story


	&bull;	Presenting a paper at VB2010 


	&bull;	Preparing for a new family addition


	&bull;	Lots and lots of work projects


	&bull;	Enjoying summer with my daughter (who is now 3)
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Webcomics and my inspirations</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hugo House</category><category>comics</category><category>Literature</category><category>Art</category><dc:date>2010-05-25T14:48:18-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/4130110a4cc5b934d5d4f1524f05ab96-37.html#unique-entry-id-37</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/4130110a4cc5b934d5d4f1524f05ab96-37.html#unique-entry-id-37</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[ie=UTF8&tag=plane0ac-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0823099237"  target="_blank">The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?

...ie=UTF8&tag=plane0ac-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001TIPZ5W"  target="_blank">The Spirit</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?

...ie=UTF8&tag=plane0ac-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375714839"  target="_blank">Persepolis</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?...  ie=UTF8&tag=plane0ac-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1891830430"  target="_blank">Blankets</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?

...ie=UTF8&tag=plane0ac-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1401207529"  target="_blank">Batman: Year One</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?

...ie=UTF8&tag=plane0ac-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=055338385X"  target="_blank">mysteries</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?...  ie=UTF8&tag=plane0ac-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=193266470X"  target=&ldquo;_blank&rdquo;>Whiteout</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?...  ie=UTF8&tag=plane0ac-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1401226922"  target="_blank">Batwoman</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?

...ie=UTF8&tag=plane0ac-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1892597268"  target="_blank">Strangers In Paradise</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?

...ie=UTF8&tag=plane0ac-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1929998414"  target="_blank">Dumped</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>News and stuff</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hugo House</category><category>Speaking</category><category>Book One</category><category>Book two</category><category>Literature</category><dc:date>2010-05-09T09:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/106bc780cd930196211759c3a56b676d-36.html#unique-entry-id-36</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/106bc780cd930196211759c3a56b676d-36.html#unique-entry-id-36</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[First, I&rsquo;m putting my talk together for Hugo House&rsquo;s first writing conference, Finding Your Readers in the 21st Century.    I&rsquo;ll speaking on Saturday, May 22nd on &ldquo;Publishing on the Web&rdquo; with Rebecca Agiewich.   For those of you who don&rsquo;t know, Rebecca Agiewich had a fantastic blog called the Breakup Babe that she successfully turned into a novel.    I got to meet her the other week to plan our session and her tale was quite interesting.     Ironically, she was one of the bloggers I used to read back in 2002 when I was first creating the Heidi character.


...Second, I just re-drew the first scene of Heidi book one.     I got tired of my worst art being the first thing people saw when they were introduced to Heidi.    In time, I think I will slowly re-illustrate most of book one, polishing some of the words along the way.  ...  I manually redid the text instead of copying it from the originals, so at least one mistake was made.     As always, if you spot typos, drop me an email or a tweet and let me know.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Finding ada</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Women in tech</category><category>Art</category><dc:date>2010-03-24T00:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/c4a3613e266affe16617691b92c55fde-35.html#unique-entry-id-35</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/c4a3613e266affe16617691b92c55fde-35.html#unique-entry-id-35</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The odds are against our heroine, all her friends have walked away, her enemies have already beaten her down, and what she has sworn to defend has been lost.   And now she has to make a choice - accept things the way they are, that she needs to accept that she'll lose this one. ...  And it is in this moment that Heidi will make her vow to make a final stand for what she believe is right.   It's a little corny and standard pulp adventure stuff, but there are people, real people, I know who have done this. 

...Thirteen years ago at a Seattle financial institution, I was part of a team of network engineers that would in a few short years grow ten-fold in size. 

...Our leaders stuck to their guns, pushing for infrastructure building with an emphasis on security and stability despite the tremendous pressure for new gizmos and flashy toys. 

...Once the foundation was built and apps began to roll, they were herded out the door to be replaced by yes men (I mean that figuratively and literally). ...  Based on what I've seen in my career, sometimes an organization needs someone to take the unpopular stance


...And that person needs not only to be smart, knowledgeable and they need personal courage to stand up for their convictions.. 

...It's the spirit of those two women that inspired me as I drew on this sketch, which I call "Heidi defies the universe." ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>New site</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2010-02-15T12:00:37-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/4edd1cd66c5fa60e83c5823e4f3c5439-34.html#unique-entry-id-34</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/4edd1cd66c5fa60e83c5823e4f3c5439-34.html#unique-entry-id-34</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Yes, I have finally given the old site a bit of a facelift.    Thanks @senoraj, for the advice.    Any glitches or ugliness is my own fault.


Now back to drawing chapter 19.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Written</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hugo House</category><category>Write-o-rama</category><category>thanks</category><dc:date>2009-12-06T21:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/8a02f06c1ba3934f5f5f58192a893f63-33.html#unique-entry-id-33</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/8a02f06c1ba3934f5f5f58192a893f63-33.html#unique-entry-id-33</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Write-O-Rama was a literary and financial success.   We raised over $10K for a great cause.   My friends and family came through in the pledges and showed some fantastic support.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Pledged</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hugo House</category><category>thanks</category><category>Write-o-rama</category><dc:date>2009-11-25T21:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/b500ab4513a4dfce5f514dc5d5e638d4-32.html#unique-entry-id-32</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/b500ab4513a4dfce5f514dc5d5e638d4-32.html#unique-entry-id-32</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Alrighty.   So far I've been pledged $175.00 towards Write-o-Rama.


I'm hoping to see a lot more support coming soon.   If there ever was a way you could encourage me to keep writing and earn some good tax-deductible karma, this is it.


Please, please, please -Support Richard Hugo House by clicking here.   Just put PlanetHeidi in the designation field and fill out all the other necessary information.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Write-O-Rama Laureate</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hugo House</category><category>Write-o-rama</category><dc:date>2009-11-19T21:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/9acc825f4461e44afe1ef7e783865e3f-31.html#unique-entry-id-31</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/9acc825f4461e44afe1ef7e783865e3f-31.html#unique-entry-id-31</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I'm also once again participating in the Richard Hugo House Write-o-Rama.   If you remember, last year I raised money for a good cause and did the rough drawings of what would become Tr0jan.   This year, I've been honored by the House as a Write-O-Rama Laureate. 


The Richard Hugo House is center for writers and readers that offers classes, youth programs, literary events, original stage productions, writer residencies and scholarships to the disadvantaged. ...  It's a place of great love and support for those who love the written word, young and old.   If there was no Hugo House, there never would have been a Heidi Hoffman. 


In 2009, Hugo House served over 850 youth with creative writing classes and summer camps, and their scholarship fund awarded more than $13,000 to teen writers who would not have been able to attend their programs otherwise. ...  And the Zine Archive and Publishing Project (ZAPP), which is the largest collection of handmade and small press periodicals in the nation, reopened in a bigger space upstairs. 

...Your gift is tax deductible as allowed by law and there are also donor benefits. 


...As things progress, I'll share some tidbits about the Heidi story I'll be writing during Write-o-Rama. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Hiatus until spring 2010</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Life</category><category>Book two</category><dc:date>2009-11-01T21:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/dc5e793f47533e1c31948816a96a7fe9-30.html#unique-entry-id-30</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/dc5e793f47533e1c31948816a96a7fe9-30.html#unique-entry-id-30</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[With the end of Act Three, I'm going to give my drawing arm a break for a while.   There's been a lot going on in my life lately, including some health issues and a major household move, so I need a little respite from drawing 12 hours a week.   I can assure you, the whole story is written from start to finish.   It's the illustration and coloring that is so time-consuming. 


In any case, it doesn't mean that things will be totally dead here.   I plan to do a few Author's posts on the writerly process of creating Heidi and flesh out some of her inspirational material. 


Stay tuned.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Post toorcamp</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Speaking</category><category>Life</category><dc:date>2009-07-13T21:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/4e575bffd17fc1a89e66ef3d8a1e2498-29.html#unique-entry-id-29</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/4e575bffd17fc1a89e66ef3d8a1e2498-29.html#unique-entry-id-29</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Wow, I am wiped.   Last last weekend, Toorcamp.   Then pack it up and fly to Florida so this past weekend, we could do Disneyworld with a 2-year old.


Toorcamp dump here. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Toorcamp</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hackers</category><category>Speaking</category><dc:date>2009-06-28T21:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/4f4ce996da80593d1c7815f58cbdd4ab-28.html#unique-entry-id-28</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/4f4ce996da80593d1c7815f58cbdd4ab-28.html#unique-entry-id-28</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I'll be speaking at Toorcamp this coming week.   It's a technical talk on a very Heidi-like topic - booby-trapping your network. 


I know already I'll know already I'll see a few readers there.   I'll try to bring along some Heidi swag.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Tr0jan - a paper comic</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>tr0jan</category><dc:date>2009-04-26T21:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/3dceaa616534f7372d22235c237476dd-27.html#unique-entry-id-27</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/3dceaa616534f7372d22235c237476dd-27.html#unique-entry-id-27</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[As promised, the Heidi comic book is here    This is an new fully-illustrated Heidi short story.   It takes place several years after the current story line, which means this Heidi is even smarter, wiser, and more confident than the current girl we all know and love.   This book was designed from the ground up as a tangible comic book, with the proper layout and design work done to match a paper medium not a web client.   Like the web,it's full-color (which sadly drove up the price) and on high-quality paper.    If you ever wanted to show your support for the site, please consider purchasing it.   The small amount I make off each sale helps defray the hosting cost for planetheidi.   If you're looking to introduce others to Heidi, this is also a great way to do that as this story stands alone from the other Heidi adventures.   You'll find the story full of twisty little plot turns and interesting twists (beginning on page one).   As always, I had a lot of fun putting this comic together and I hope you enjoy it. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Finding Ada</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Women in tech</category><category>About Heidi</category><dc:date>2009-03-24T21:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/932d7ff226bbc730f960548b505a0bfb-26.html#unique-entry-id-26</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/932d7ff226bbc730f960548b505a0bfb-26.html#unique-entry-id-26</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Buried in the credits of Heidi book 1 (and also in the foreword to the paper version) is the following acknowledgement to the women who inspired Heidi. 

...I met GG back in the early 80's in my first computer science class as a freshman.   It was a weed out class, a tough large lecture class on algorithms where they threw you into the deep end.   With minimal instructions, we had to figure how to login and navigate a command-line system (MPE), find and learn a text editor (no up down cursor controls), and generally fight with the Pascal compiler. 

...To survive the class, I spent a few nights a week in the terminal room (open 24x7) tanning myself in the glow of a Vt100. 

...The first thing she showed me was the the other thing in the terminal room, the Plato system and it's online multiplayer gaming system. ...  She led me in some of my earlier explorations of Bitnet and taught me a lot about how systems worked and where they didn't (ahem). 

...She just wasn't my type (and I don't what that means either since I did date geek girls later in life) My attraction to her was entirely about a kindred geek spirit. 

...She got a terminal operator job at a large bank and one of her duties was running reports to chase down credit card fraud. 

...Though we never disagreed with each other directly, GG and I ended up on opposing sides of a particularly nasty schism that ended with the police getting involved in a hacking investigation (no arrests, they had no idea how to treat us back then). ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Worms</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hackers</category><category>Book two</category><dc:date>2009-02-01T21:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/7955df8fb8334ea4dd8fa075016e8003-25.html#unique-entry-id-25</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/7955df8fb8334ea4dd8fa075016e8003-25.html#unique-entry-id-25</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[And what a special chapter this one is.   In case you didn't read these notes before, maybe you didn't realize that I write out the entire story before drawing a single panel.   So when I put together the concept of the Cxor worm, it was way back in early 2004.   Strangely enough, I thought I had come up with a new kind of killer exploit that would be revolutionary and scary - an exploit that was delivered via image files. 

...Then I had to come up with a worm that was going to cripple the Internet... a massive bot-net.   The FBI would be baffled as to how to stop it and who to blame. ...  This story was written before Storm and certainly before Conficker.   At the time, over a million infected computers in a botnet was terrifying. 

...There's one more crazy concept I came up with for this worm, which you'll see play out in chapter 12.   But it too has already become reality since I wrote this. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Write-o-rama</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hugo House</category><category>Art</category><category>tr0jan</category><category>Write-o-rama</category><dc:date>2008-12-08T21:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/641ae2a6c75a575124e2a8c942340fd9-24.html#unique-entry-id-24</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/641ae2a6c75a575124e2a8c942340fd9-24.html#unique-entry-id-24</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Yes, Write-O-Rama is over and it was a blast. 


I got 20 pages of sketches done (sample below)


...It was an immense amount of fun to spend some time up at the Hugo House, visiting the classroom where Heidi was born.   I also spent an hour and took a fantastic little workshop with David Lasky which was a lotta fun. 


Thank you to those of you who donated to sponsor me in Write-O-Rama.   The House came within 90% of making our fundraising goal for the event.   Not bad considering the impending doom of the Financiapocalpyse.   Secret bonus: All Write-O-Rama donors will get FREE COPIES of the Tr0jan comic book when it comes out. (and it will be only offered in paper form). 


...Write-O-Rama was my special gift to myself.   So thanks again to all who helped it.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Origin story</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hugo House</category><category>Literature</category><category>About Heidi</category><dc:date>2008-11-25T21:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/6f2a43f23212309aa5c03ab73c7331d1-23.html#unique-entry-id-23</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/6f2a43f23212309aa5c03ab73c7331d1-23.html#unique-entry-id-23</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[As a writer, I was very interested in telling the story of the process of "hard boiling" the private detective.   It also gives me a chance to make Heidi more like us... emotional, careless, fallible and very human.   The current Heidi web-graphic novels chronicle Heidi's "origin story" and how she becomes the fully capable private eye that you've come to expect in detective fiction. ...  I've got a Heidi short that's been sitting in draft form that I've been dying to illustrate. 

...When I first conceived of Heidi as a web comic, I didn't want to take a comic strip and whap into a web page. ...  So, inspired by Scott McCloud's infinite canvas, the web comic layout goes down, taking a decent portion of the screen with no clutter. ...  It's also why I haven't released any of the web comic in graphic novel form. 

...To make it all the more interesting and inspiring to me, I will be returning to Heidi's birthplace to finish this story.   On December 6th, I'll be working on the story at the Richard Hugo House Write-O-Rama, a writing marathon to raise funding for the literary arts center. 


...If you check the Heidi timeline, you can see it's already been accounted for in the plan. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Desktop art</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Book two</category><category>Art</category><dc:date>2008-07-13T21:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/45296adb3f195f7ff5bf12356d1bfd26-22.html#unique-entry-id-22</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/45296adb3f195f7ff5bf12356d1bfd26-22.html#unique-entry-id-22</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[No update this week.   Busy with family and summer and stuff. 


But here's a splash screen from your desktop. 


 


For those of you who are curious... yes, this scene is in the current book.   Somewhere around Chapter 23.   And that's all I'm saying.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Word cloud of book two</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Art</category><category>Book two</category><dc:date>2008-06-27T21:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/db90c48b2fd6840e1377f35a87baca71-21.html#unique-entry-id-21</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/db90c48b2fd6840e1377f35a87baca71-21.html#unique-entry-id-21</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Book Two script in Word Cloud form: 


 


Made with Wordle 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Security blog</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hackers</category><dc:date>2008-05-07T21:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/4371a5ffe3abbbcd288b566e3f77971d-20.html#unique-entry-id-20</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/4371a5ffe3abbbcd288b566e3f77971d-20.html#unique-entry-id-20</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[To make sure I'm even further delayed in updating the comic and because I'm not spewing enough noise about security, I've started a security blog. 


Unless you're a security geek, you probably want to steer clear.   I plan to be voicing a lot of my true opinions, so maybe you want to steer clear anyway. 


Anyway, it's here: Assume Breach]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>In-jokes</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Book two</category><dc:date>2008-04-20T21:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/a92adde4e61548938fae7cd7a1843aaa-19.html#unique-entry-id-19</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/a92adde4e61548938fae7cd7a1843aaa-19.html#unique-entry-id-19</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[This chapter was an old school spree for me to write. 


To wit, Arduin + Cerebus the Aardvark = Ardvark realms. 


Bonus points if you can spot the Zork joke in there. 


If you don't get it, then you're not geeky enough.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Gary</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Book two</category><category>Life</category><category>Art</category><dc:date>2008-03-09T21:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/8d1489e7b6927d6fbbe57a2189c693d3-18.html#unique-entry-id-18</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/8d1489e7b6927d6fbbe57a2189c693d3-18.html#unique-entry-id-18</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I'd blogged a bit elsewhere, but I feel the need to write a little more.   D&D was a big part of my life early on as well.   I started way back in 1979 on the first edition, which I still have.   I quickly progressed to the addictive job of dungeon-mastering.   No doubt, those DM-skills are directly responsible for much of my writing hungers. ...  It's an alternate world and every book, Heidi faces a deadly new dungeon. 


And speaking of Heidi, here's an ironic preview from chapter 6.


Ironic because I wrote what is now called book 2 and chapter 6 a couple of years ago.   Yes, Heidi will be facing off against D&D players soon. ...  I didn't mean it that way, but it's inclusion is there because as all the news articles you're reading say, D&D and Internet geeks go hand and hand.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Still alive</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Life</category><dc:date>2007-12-06T21:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/a0168b04714cce366fef2224e741f323-17.html#unique-entry-id-17</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/a0168b04714cce366fef2224e741f323-17.html#unique-entry-id-17</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Sorry, all I can to keep the comic flowing.


...But with the baby (she just settled down for the night as I type this) and just hitting my six month mark at my new job... it's been a time of reflection. 


Last night I started reading Craig Thompson's Carnet de Voyage which I'm liking even more than Blankets. ...  So amazing that the artwork conveys the story far more than words or plot. ...  Yeah, I know I'm not much of artist.   I am consciously trading off quality for quantity, so I can blast out the story as fast as I can.   And yeah, it feels like an excuse to be a sloppy artist. 


...I've had some wonderful opportunities in the field, respect of enough of my peers, have fun doing it and most importantly at this stage of the game - earn enough money to support wife and child. 


...And the fun we're going to have with her in this adventure.   All of it inspired by things that have happened in my career. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Girl</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Life</category><dc:date>2007-08-11T21:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/5f57a51c437890198ab57213fb0a3cdc-16.html#unique-entry-id-16</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/5f57a51c437890198ab57213fb0a3cdc-16.html#unique-entry-id-16</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[August Elizabeth.


A girl.   Not a geek girl.   Yet.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Delayed</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Life</category><dc:date>2007-08-06T20:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/cff35ac98a2ff6c5e92a5507f73c1bb2-15.html#unique-entry-id-15</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/cff35ac98a2ff6c5e92a5507f73c1bb2-15.html#unique-entry-id-15</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Book two delayed, baby coming earlier.


All the illustrations are done for Chapter one of book two.   But our daughter decided she wanted to come about a month early.   So, expect a longer wait.   Please be patient, because she isn't going to be.   Of course, we'll be a bit tied up for a bit.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Still alive</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Life</category><category>Art</category><dc:date>2007-07-24T20:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/afb555a8c6f035e442ed108a1f64804e-14.html#unique-entry-id-14</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/afb555a8c6f035e442ed108a1f64804e-14.html#unique-entry-id-14</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Yeah, I'm still alive.   And I'm still drawing up the chapters for book two.


And real life is still keeping me on the run. 


In the meantime, here's a little pin-up for ya. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Where have I been</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Book two</category><category>Life</category><dc:date>2007-06-24T20:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/dbd59abf81324b9f2a1710e73b261f52-13.html#unique-entry-id-13</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/dbd59abf81324b9f2a1710e73b261f52-13.html#unique-entry-id-13</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The outline for book two is done. ...  So, I'm 30 to 40 hours away from finishing the first chapter. 


Y'know me, I want to make sure when I release, I do it in a way that doesn't leave you hanging. ...  So, I prefer to have things all organized and ready to go. ...  Especially since book two is a long, long, cliff-hanger of a story. 

...Two, my disabled father moved in with us until he gets settled in Seattle.   And three, my wife is 10 weeks away from giving birth to our first child. 


Before you ask, it's a girl and I wasn't allowed to name her Heidi. 


Anyway, I'm a little busy so it might be until early fall before you see book two. 


In the meantime, you can always encourage me to work faster by buying copies of book one. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Book One Novel available</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Book One</category><category>Novel</category><dc:date>2007-06-17T20:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/7375f9a70503925ffdf2874b05d179d3-12.html#unique-entry-id-12</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/7375f9a70503925ffdf2874b05d179d3-12.html#unique-entry-id-12</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The novel is available! 


It&rsquo;s full of additional scenes, extra exposition and more explanations.   If you loved the webcomic, then please show your support by purchasing the book.   It's under ten bucks and pretty high quality printing.   The real fun will be seeing the differences between the book and the web-comic.   And yeah, there are some differences. 


In the meantime, I'm back working on book 2.   Enjoy!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Does Heidi have a soundtrack?</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Book One</category><category>Hugo House</category><category>thanks</category><dc:date>2007-04-28T20:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/9f8ab9b633ff337239c9bcd7a959b6a7-11.html#unique-entry-id-11</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/9f8ab9b633ff337239c9bcd7a959b6a7-11.html#unique-entry-id-11</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[When I was writing Lex Talionis, I did it in the modern fashion.   That is, I took my laptop to coffee shops and wrote there.   To help find my muse, I had the iTunes cranked with what I called the "Heidi mix".   Featured prominently in that mix was The West Marginals, another group of artists spawned out of the Hugo House.   If you cross-reference carefully, you'll find one of the WM's is thanked specifically in the credits of Lex Talionis.   We worked together on the Surveillance Inquiry a few years back, where the first seeds of Heidi germinated. 


...Their melancholy tunes match perfectly with the latter half of the book.   I especially loved Well Fed as a theme to the Heidi-Peter relationship.   Burning Fuel works well for Heidi's flight to Victoria.   And Four Steps and Fall Down made me almost want to give Heidi a substance abuse problem.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The Novel</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Book One</category><dc:date>2007-04-21T20:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/c1c102a22d1ad4d7121f9fd9b81ccf88-10.html#unique-entry-id-10</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/c1c102a22d1ad4d7121f9fd9b81ccf88-10.html#unique-entry-id-10</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[So yeah, I'm enjoying a little break from drawing 8-12 hours every week. ...  My editors have been working furiously to clean up the manuscript for the novelisation of HGGD, Lex Talionis.   Expect it to be on sale within a month or so. ...  As the web comic was adapted from the novel, there will also be some slight differences in the stories.


In my copious free time (ha!), I'm putting the finishing touches on No One Knows You're a Dog. ...  I plan to begin the "second" adventure in the Heidi series.   (I say "second" because there is a Heidi prequel roughly laid out, which will appear as book four, SunDevil. ...  I plan to release new chapters sometime in mid-late summer. 


Thanks again to some of the other security geeks as well a certain Amazonian for plugging the site. ...  And no, I do not plan to ever have advertising on here. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Some background material.</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hackers</category><category>Book One</category><dc:date>2007-04-14T20:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/5446f15ceee69436f1ca6a3ed7ca6d60-9.html#unique-entry-id-9</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/5446f15ceee69436f1ca6a3ed7ca6d60-9.html#unique-entry-id-9</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Redid the info page, adding a new link to a cyber-crime section.   The cyber-crime page gives you some of the stories that have been made public that inspired this novel.   Warning - there are spoilers on that page.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Fans</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>fans</category><category>thanks</category><dc:date>2007-02-03T20:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/f3e623bcfdf2a672e524db0362f79241-8.html#unique-entry-id-8</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/f3e623bcfdf2a672e524db0362f79241-8.html#unique-entry-id-8</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Hey, feel free to poke me with an e-mail if you've got a question or want me to post here more. 


Thanks for being loyal readers and putting up with having to wait nearly an aching week between each updates.   I know a number of you prefer to wait until I've built up a nice block of episodes and catch up all at once. 

...If it's long, I might update in a week and change later. 

...I can see you in my web logs and the countries listed just blow my mind. ...  Of course, you can see part of our story takes place in your beautiful country. 

...BTW, if you've never noticed... when you're reading the comic, you can just click directly on the panel and you'll auto-advance to the next panel.   That way you don't need to use the scroll-bar or page down. ...  I thought I came up with a nice innovation for webcomic user-interface but people don't seem to realize it's there. 

...If you feel need to rant or scream or shout out from your country, well... author@planetheidi.com]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>A year of Heidi</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>fans</category><category>thanks</category><dc:date>2006-10-19T20:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/a4c580b28b3bedab65f169cfbc11f4e2-7.html#unique-entry-id-7</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/a4c580b28b3bedab65f169cfbc11f4e2-7.html#unique-entry-id-7</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It's been a full year since I got this story rolling.   Honestly, I thought I'd be finished with it by now, but I guess I draw slower than I originally thought.   The good news is the story is drawing towards its conclusion.   It's been quite a thrill watching the readership grow.   In my writing studio, I have a big cork board where I put things up relating to my writing projects.   I've taken down all the rejection letters for the novel manuscript and replaced them with some your email and reviews.   So keep them coming.


 


Thank you all again for spending the time to hear Heidi's story.   I promise you, the best is yet to come.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Shout outs</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Literature</category><category>comics</category><category>thanks</category><dc:date>2006-07-13T20:00:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/239c2c8d3f8e6e5d32ca31f3f3fcaa1b-6.html#unique-entry-id-6</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/239c2c8d3f8e6e5d32ca31f3f3fcaa1b-6.html#unique-entry-id-6</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It just so happened that today's scene includes a moment where Heidi has to surf the web, so I took the opportunity for a little shout out. 

...I hope you all enjoyed the double-postings during last chapter's Scavenger Hunt. ...  That said, I'm trying to pick up the pace in getting more updates out sooner.   I know as the book hits the third act, the suspense is ratched up (as my teacher taught me to do).   With this, I know the demand for more updates will also ratchet up.   Sorry, when I wrote the thing, it was intended to be a paper novel... y'know, a page-turner. 

...At some point as we near the end, I'm going to consider putting up the novel version of the story... probably self-published and available at a marginal cost. ...  If you think this might be of interest, shoot me an email and lemme know. 

...I hope it makes things easier to read while still retaining the overall "Heidi" look to her thoughts and words.   Font nerds will let you know the old font was Blambot's Chronicles of a Hero, and yeah, I loved the name. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Book 1 deleted scenes</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Book One</category><dc:date>2006-03-17T20:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/561422d06c524f7f08d29afcef80f2a1-5.html#unique-entry-id-5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/561422d06c524f7f08d29afcef80f2a1-5.html#unique-entry-id-5</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[As I have mentioned before, this webcomic is adapted from a novel.   In the process, I've had to condense and combine many scenes and chapters.   I've also dropped a few scenes that weren't absolutely essential to moving the plot or the characters forward.   One such scene that I decided to cut was a fun little sunday brunch moment between Heidi and Peter.   In novel form, this comes across as a nice quiet moment for a few pages that the reader can blaze thru and get back to the story.   In web comic form, it means you wait another week to get back to the action.   I couldn't do that to you.   But I do love this scene, so for those of you who care to read it, here it is:


Sunday breakfast (Chapter 4, Scene 4.5)]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Prison</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hugo House</category><category>Literature</category><category>Prison</category><dc:date>2006-02-17T20:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/237b082cd2bd8e8c178097ce07cdef34-4.html#unique-entry-id-4</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/237b082cd2bd8e8c178097ce07cdef34-4.html#unique-entry-id-4</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I went to prison as a visiting author.   It was pretty moving experience, so I was compelled to write an essay on the experience. 


Prison essay]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Botnet</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hackers</category><dc:date>2006-02-11T20:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/6ed55d53f0dcf550fd79e26a2cd5d977-3.html#unique-entry-id-3</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/6ed55d53f0dcf550fd79e26a2cd5d977-3.html#unique-entry-id-3</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It's a bit of a small news item but there's a good hacking story in the news here.   The best part of it to me were the players involved.   The victim, a hospital, could have had real casualties because of the hack.   The perpetrator wasn't after thrills but profit.   This is the new face of cybercrime.   Lives at risk for profit to be made. ...  There's going to be more.


Seattle Times: 3 accused of inducing ill effects on computers at local hospital 


As part of my day job, I was involved in this case and I'm glad it's finally drawing to a successful conclusion.   You'll get more of the inside story on the case in Heidi book 2 and book 3.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Author appearance</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Hugo House</category><category>Prison</category><category>Speaking</category><dc:date>2006-01-03T20:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/245873a22d7bba1691bc60e986b9a49a-2.html#unique-entry-id-2</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/245873a22d7bba1691bc60e986b9a49a-2.html#unique-entry-id-2</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[1/3/2006.


Author appearance!


Unfortunately, you have to kill someone to get in.   Literally.   I've been invited to teach a writing class at Monroe Correctional Complex as part of the Hugo House Prison program.   Ain't that a kick in the pants, Heidi in prison!   I'm sure new ideas will come out of this.   In any case, it's a rare opportunity for a web comic author to get and I'm jumping on it.   Gabe and Tycho, eat your heart out.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>I am the Network Guy</title><dc:creator>author@planetheidi.com</dc:creator><category>Women in tech</category><dc:date>2005-11-08T20:00:00-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/d7b153ddc43635e388028e5a0458c8ba-1.html#unique-entry-id-1</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.planetheidi.com/page2/files/d7b153ddc43635e388028e5a0458c8ba-1.html#unique-entry-id-1</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA["I am the Network Guy" was one of the suggested titles for this book, but I figured it would be too confusing.   I do love the title and that first scene from Heidi's story.   It's a shame that it's not entirely fiction.   When I sat down to write this story, I consulted with many of my female geek friends. ...  told me of a recent incident that became the basis for "I am the network guy".   Despite having worked around female computer scientists (and my fair share of lady hackers), I was a bit taken aback that such sexism still existed in the field. ...  That said, perhaps it's time for me to list a few relevant links:


...	&bull;	WITI is the premiere global organization helping tech-savvy women attain their professional goals.


...As the story progresses, I'll probably put in some commentary and more links to other questions and issues raised.   Feel free to drop me an e-mail and let me know how you feel. ]]></content:encoded></item></channel>
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