Call me Rys—sounds like Reese. My name is David McCusker, but I prefer Rys. At gmail, username ythorn was already taken, so I took username whythorn instead. I might respond to your email, if you say something interesting about BSD-licensed code a ythorn.com. Note thorn is just a brand name I chose a few years ago, meaning code I wrote.

All thorn library technical programming material is moving to ythorn.com. But I plan to use an entirely new format, and most of my old content will not survive the transition. For new content at the new site I'll write in the same boring style I use at work.

In March 2008 I started writing a long story entitled Briar Pig, but I stopped writing more of it over a year ago. Why did I stop? Because it was really fun, and I worried it would interfere with more useful behavior, like programming. Once my story got under way, I found it ran in the background of my mind as a simulation, just like programming does. Since it consumed mental bandwidth, I stopped to review whether it had value.

I still don't know. The story simulation is now down to a trickle, but it remains entertaining. I might resume writing fiction here. Perhaps this site will do nothing but publish fiction, instead of programming content I moved over to ythorn.com.

As Briar Pig got longer, I wondered whether this meant I was writing a novel, because it wasn't my intent. Maybe length is all you need for a novel, in which case I can't avoid it. A constraint to make sense when read in linear order from start to finish might also apply.

Anyway, after I'm done reformatting, fiction will remain. Adding more looks in the cards. I may dabble in short stories about the same characters. For example, a stranger named Wil might appear someplace just in time to avert some disaster.