Author Archives: sandstarsblog

About sandstarsblog

wild reader. writer in the wild. technologist at work. not necessarily in that order.

The Hard Lane

Posted on March 22, 2018 by sandstarsblog

the hard lane there are fast lanes that do not wait, we either get crushed, or get there sooner, or we can stand by to see the rush, and think of falling, and rising water.

Posted in poetry | Tagged cement, falling, fast lanes, hard lane, impulses, poem, rising, river, water | 4 Comments

A Companion Reader to Babel Rising: Augmented Eternity

Posted on March 16, 2018 by sandstarsblog

The fictional series, Babel Rising, written in the period 1998-1999, breathes of technologies that, at the turn of the century, were just about emerging. By now, in 2018, a lot of these technologies are almost ubiquitous already: large-screen video walls, Internet-enabled … Continue reading →

Posted in babel rising - a short story, essay, information technology, science & technology | Tagged AI, artificial intelligence, augmented eternity, augmented intelligence, cyberwarfare, fake news, fake persona, false identities, Google Glass, Internet, Internet of Things, IoT, Singularity, technology, Year Million | 8 Comments

last man standing

Posted on March 9, 2018 by sandstarsblog

last man standing under the moon this day each day the clock reminds my eyes are tired as if i do not know, the dark room unclasps me into the dusk to grapple with bleary visions of tomorrow, i am … Continue reading →

Posted in haiku, photography, poetry | Tagged 5-7-5, AMOLED, car, car parks, clock, drudgery, empery, gloom, iEye, last man standing, melancholy, moon, poetry, story, tides, trickles, uncompromising, wall | 6 Comments

Babel Rising: 5 – In the evening

Posted on March 2, 2018 by sandstarsblog

5 – In the evening In the evening, Salm fixed his room more tidy than usual, combed his hair longer in the mirror and was more particular with the choice of the pajama he put on, before he sat at … Continue reading →

Posted in babel rising - a short story, fiction writing, information technology, science & technology, short story | Tagged AI, artificial intelligence, babel rising, blob, bugs and bytes, communicator, conciliation, database, deep learning, existence, fake persona, fiction, hackers, handshaking, Internet of Things, James Coburn, life, movies, netabase, network, Oopps Factor, Qualia, trolls, UniForce, videocon, viral missiles | 7 Comments

Babel Rising: 4 – At 4:00 am

Posted on February 23, 2018 by sandstarsblog

4 – At 4:00 am At 4:00 am, Salm woke up with the ethereal feeling that the whole night sky was shining through the window. His tabletop, tilted 110o to face his bed, was glowing softly. It was strange that his … Continue reading →

Posted in babel rising - a short story, fiction writing, information technology, poetry, science & technology, short story | Tagged a cappella, agony, AI, artificial intelligence, babel rising, chat, communicator, computer, continent, dance of the sugar plum fairy, database, e-mail, information, Internet, Internet of Things, linguist, longing, music, pablo neruda, peacekeeping, poetry, tabletop, tchaikovsky, technology, time zone, tower of babel | 7 Comments

Babel Rising: 3 – There were days when

Posted on February 16, 2018 by sandstarsblog

3 – There were days when There were days when Salm felt that his father gave him the personal agent for a grand but mysterious purpose, maybe deeper than the purposes of those characters in that classic cult film, “Men … Continue reading →

Posted in babel rising - a short story, fiction writing, information technology, science & technology, short story | Tagged AI, anvil publishing, artificial intelligence, babel rising, coeli barry, e-mail, fiction, Internet of Things, literature, mountain biking, music, plagiarism, poetry, Qualia, sci-fi, search, software agent, tabletop, technology, the many ways of being muslim | 10 Comments

Babel Rising: 2 – Now that he was growing

Posted on February 11, 2018 by sandstarsblog

2 – Now that he was growing Now that he was growing into his own man, Salm needed to gravitate around other people, mostly his friends in high school, which was mainly why he did not relish being away from … Continue reading →

Posted in babel rising - a short story, fiction writing, information technology, science & technology, short story | Tagged AI, anvil publishing, artificial intelligence, babel rising, blob, coeli barry, computer, fiction, Internet, Internet of Things, language, literature, locate, Office Wall, Qualia, sci-fi, technology, the many ways of being muslim, TriNet, Uniweb, uniwebsity | 10 Comments

Babel Rising: 1 – In a time and place

Posted on February 9, 2018 by sandstarsblog

1 – In a time and place In a time and place whose technology was just a little bit more advanced than ours, there existed a schoolboy named Salm. The past year, on his 15th birthday, his father had given … Continue reading →

Posted in babel rising - a short story, fiction writing, information technology, science & technology, short story | Tagged AI, anvil publishing, artificial intelligence, babel rising, coeli barry, digital, fiction, information, integrator, Internet, music, Office Wall, reaching out, sci-fi, software agent, technology, the many ways of being muslim | 3 Comments

the edge of a continent. . . .

Posted on February 2, 2018 by sandstarsblog

At 4:00 am, Salm woke up with the ethereal feeling that the whole night sky was shining through the window. His tabletop, tilted 110o to face his bed, was glowing softly. It was strange that his favorite pillow was almost inaudibly … Continue reading →

Posted in babel rising - a short story, fiction writing, nature, photography, poetry, short story | Tagged a cappella, babel rising, blob, coeli barry, continent, dance of the sugar plum fairy, edge, etherreal, february, hiatus, Internet, Internet of Things, love story, tchaikovsky, the many ways of being muslim | 9 Comments

the unshining

Posted on January 27, 2018 by sandstarsblog

the unshining there were these smart crows who picked open the house locks, and watched late night shows. © said sadain, jr. 2018 Author’s Note: If you’ve seen that 1980 movie of Stanley Kubrick, The Shining, then you would already … Continue reading →