Editorial – June 2026 : To Plan Or Not To Plan Or Somewhere In Between.
Hello everyone
To be able to plan is part of life. I mean, you have to anticipate some basic problems, select a solution and it permeates through life. It makes for better organisational skills even if you didn’t have many before. If you have them in the first place, then its just added to your life. Solutions are divided between short and long term. They might not always be the best ones but for any long-term problems, can always be re-examined and testing the consequences. It gives some flexibility to solutions. It would be rare if you could go through life without some kind of planning even if you don’t recognise it as such. We all learn from bad solutions.
Everyone has to have some organisational skill or you wouldn’t have a meal. It might not be a good meal but you might be able to learn what you don’t like. This broadens out to taste and choice and why some of us like Science Fiction and others don’t. The geniuses are the ones who can multi-function choice across all fronts. Even so, the art is in having better solutions for old or any problems.
I’m less sure in the belief that people don’t have any planning abilities than them believing they don’t. Something I learnt doing laboratory work was by organising my time on each job, I actually had more free time by just being efficient. Applying things like this is largely experimental. If one way, doesn’t work, try a different way. Occasionally, test out the method in case there is a better way. Oddly, you don’t loaded with other tasks when the objective is to get a set number of tasks done properly each day. It just shows a certain element of organisational ability. As I’ve commented before, my earlier belief that most people are creative was wrong because there’s an innate skill that I thought everyone had. You don’t need it with organisational ability but when combined with creativity, it gives a different edge when it looks at different choices. That really is what organising your time is all about.
Every good decision enforces your ability to make good decisions. It doesn’t mean you can’t make bad decisions but you learn not to make so many of them. It’s one thing anyone can improve upon.
I catalogue my various collections. A lot of the time to avoid duplication. It can still happen from time to time but not nearly as bad as it could get if I hadn’t. The same with reviews but then it tends to become essential when there are over 11,000, and 3000 of them are mine. It doesn’t mean I know everyone in the list but I do have an idea what I’ve read or watched with a little trigger, even with my kind of memory. Building up some organisation of anything requires maybe a lot of work initially but then just a matter of keeping up. If you have a favourite collection, then it’s a matter of love.
That doesn’t mean I can’t be flexible in all of this. There are levels of obsession where I don’t need to go. I mean you can’t catalogue your entire life. That would be obsessional and tracking down all the events in your life means you’re going to miss something. Do you really need to know how many times your heart has beat or how many meals you’ve eaten? If you think you’re that obsessive, try to work out any average day and then realise it’s thrown when you’re sick or on holiday. Then it becomes approximation.
There are other benefits. It looks good on your CV and something to talk about in the interview but being careful not to look too confrontational or sounding like you’re better than them and more like just looking at the possibilities. Think about your own job. How many of you were taught what to do by someone else on your first day so you essentially copied them for a long while or forever before doing it more efficiently.
People like routine, only disturbed when they change job or have a holiday and even with the latter might want the same annually or have a similar pattern. Nothing hurts to have a better routine that works for you.
Take today for instance. Waiting for the last minute to see if the world is going to be here and then wondering want to fill this editorial with. The world is still here…just, so I thought I’d give you something to think over instead. A tad heavy thinking doesn’t always need a lot of words, just a matter of thinking. Being organised is just putting a few ideas down and take it from there and a little detail in how my head works all rolled into one.
Thank you, take care, good night and a little organisation.
Geoff Willmetts
editor: www.SFCrowsnest.info
A Zen thought: Just because you have power doesn’t mean you have to exercise it.
What Qualities Does A Geek Have: It’s all in the planning.
The Reveal: You’re only act old if you feel old.
Computer Observation: It’s a pain in the whatsit when your anti-virus icon vanishes off the Internet Explorer top line. I mean, is the anti-virus on or off, let alone still working? How do you know. An uninstall/re-install doesn’t resolve it. Whether this applies to other than Norton, you’ll have to find out but go to the top line ‘…’, select and go to extensions and if the Password Manager button isn’t green, mouse it to that position and things are back to normal.
Observation: More about ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. Why would HAL leave the pods facing inward than outward ready to leave the Discovery? All right, so HAL can turn the pod while either Poole or Bowman suit up or get down to the pod bay but it does seem a bit unnecessary or why was pod 2 facing the other way before it got down there? Of course, there’s a bigger problem of sucking out the air before the pod bay doors can be opened. Either astronaut wouldn’t have a chance in an emergency, as if that would happen.
Observation: If you’re curious to see actor Peter Dyneley use his Jeff Tracy voice, then you need to see the black and white episode ‘The Banco Artists’ from ‘The Saint’ TV series. So many of the voice artists from the Anderson shows appeared there.
Observation: Now here’s an interesting question. If Lockheed’s Skunkworks had experimental aircraft that resembled UAPs/UFOs, why didn’t they capitalise on it? Afterall, the USSR/Russia have their own UFO stories long before the A-2s flew over their borders. More of the same with have easily been dismissed.
Observation: What’s the difference between a worrier and a warrior? More flight than fight.
Feeling Stressd: Situation normal these days.
Submissions:-
If you think having free books to review isn’t enough, how about reading them months ahead of everyone? I mean real months. Beats a time machine and the world is still here.
I did think that having a lot of text about submitting material to SFCrowsnest would attract those with a compulsion to read and understand things the geek way. The main problem with the Internet is that it tends to encourage less reading, so time to take a different approach. The original notes will be left on July2009 editorial although the links aren’t likely to work.
With your cover email, tell me something about yourself so I don’t work in a vacuum. The boss in the tower, also called Stephen Hunt, describes me as a ‘Dutch Uncle’ in that I’m good with advice and can explain when I see something that is wrong. Egos should be left at the door as I’m only interested in your talent and how to improve it.
Reviews:-
I always have a clarion call for new reviewers and if you have the yen to learn, you’ll quickly get the ropes if you’re never done it before but you must show me a sample, especially if you can follow my guidelines. We can usually get paper-based books in the UK but if you live abroad, then you might have to stick with ebooks. If you’ve picked a book we haven’t reviewed, then it stands a better chance of being used so use the SFC search engine to see first but I need to see how you would write for us.
The obvious qualification is a desire to read regularly and like to tell others about the book without giving away too many spoilers. The benefit is access to free books for the price of a review.
I want to give you the opportunity to get things right so look up the Review Guidelines link: https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/so-you-want-to-write-reviews-for-sfcrowsnest-what-you-need-to-know-by-geoff-willmetts/
Fiction:-
Although we can’t pay for submissions, what we do make up for is exposure. Only the Sci-Fi Channel gets more hits than us so it’s worthwhile getting us on your writer’s CV. Please avoid samplings from book’s you might be writing or have had in print elsewhere as I do check. New original work is best and whether I accept or reject, you will be told of any problems I see so you look your best and a grammar check that is equal to the pro-world. Even the boss finds me scarily accurate.
Flash or One-Page Fiction:-
Speaks for itself. The shortest fiction possible is also the toughest to write as no word must be wasted.
Link here for details: https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/one-page-stories-or-flash-fiction-submissions-instructions-by-gf-willmetts/
Short Stories:-
The definition of a short story is anything up to 30 pages and then it becomes a novella. Bear in mind you want other people to read it on-line, stay somewhere between 5-20 pages. At least digitally, you don’t have to go double-line as HTML will do that automatically but think about being concise. If you want to send an attachment with these, then ask first and send as a TXT file as it removes most tetchy virus codes.
Look up the Short Stories Link by linking here: https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/so-you-really-want-to-write-an-sf-story-an-update-by-gf-willmetts/
Finally:-
The worse problem I see any samples is poor grammar. Although I don’t want you to think I seek perfection, the less work I have to do, the easier it is to focus on other problems you might have. It will also serve you in good stead if you ever approach paper-based publishers because they will send back any bad grammar samples because it’s not worth their time.
Good grammar is the tool of any writer. Don’t just depend on what you remember doing at school. There are plenty of decent grammar books out there, so remind yourself of the rules. If you think there are far too many to remember, get the major ones right before moving to the next so it becomes second nature.
This link, www.sfcrowsnest.info/the-guide-to-better-grammar-from-the-harrowed-hand-of-gf-willmetts/ will show you the common problems.
To submit, use our email address by joining the spaces as shown here: letters @ SFcrowsnest.info and use the subject matter as to what you’re submitting.
If you have any pastimes that can be used to pass the time in captivity, let me know and we’ll see if it can be turned into an article.
Comments directly to reviews should still work as before.
Good luck
Geoff
