My tweets

• Thu, 12:14: Freecell, Minesweeper et al now have Xbox achievements. Now you really can have MCSE (Minesweeper Clearer Solitaire Expert) certification!
• Thu, 13:29: RT @mbrit: I'm seeing soooo many questions about Win8 RTM that's answered in @sbisson and @marypcbuk's book. http://t.co/HrP6Pbjc. £7 on ...
• Thu, 13:34: In Windows 8 there are device icons for @Sonos. Now I can tell our S5 and my Zoneplayers apart.
• Thu, 14:56: Desktop now running Windows 8 RTM. Never seen so many tiles stacked on top of one another...
• Thu, 15:04: So Ecuador decides that rape is a political crime? Way to go. Assange`s cowardice corrupting nations now.
• Thu, 15:10: RT @DrPizza: So now you can be given asylum simply to evade being questioned for sex offences. What the fuck.
• Thu, 15:11: RT @jamesdoleman: Police attempt to lure #Assange from Ecuadorian Embassy by leaving bag of top secret documents in a bin outside.
• Thu, 15:21: So when is the Windows Phone version of Xbox solitaire out?
• Thu, 15:27: Recent Rereads: The Puppet Masters. Classic Heinlein bodysnatcher thriller is a tale of its Red-under-the-beds time, Socialist brain slugs!
• Thu, 15:36: Recent Rereads: Footfall. Pournelle and Niven write a paean to Reagan's Star Wars and orbital weapons. Communist space elephant invasion!

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What Lies Beneath

“Such tiny things,” she marveled, watching the Aztec warriors fight for glory and sugar water. “And they tell you the future?”

The one-time haruspex nodded, leaning back in his chair to take in the late summer sun. The hummingbirds skimmed the garden, chittering angrily as they rode the waves of exit strategies and valuations. “See that feeder?” He pointed across the garden. “That’s their Google eigenvector, a copy of that strange attractor in Mountain View. It looks like the boys are courting number fifty six.” He looked down at his iPhone, sliding a finger through a database. “She’s channelling a video processing company. Unless I see number thirty three near there, I don’t think it’ll be working out.”

“So not a place for my money.” She frowned as she watched the bird dart away from the bright glass abstraction.

He laughed, “You’re the angel, my dear. You bring the capital and carry the risk. If not Google, then there’s Redmond. But I haven’t seen that raptor around here for a while.”

Her long wings glinted in the bright light of a Silicon Valley summer, white pinions reaching down to the cool tiles around the swimming pool. Designer shades, designer suit, and a truly heavenly face. Google’s “Do no evil” had been her suggestion, the rivalry with Facebook a reflection of the still raging heavenly civil wars.

“And you’re the Wizard.”

“Still growing into the job. I didn’t really want it, but needs must when the…” He paused. “A figure of speech.”

“Of course,” she smiled, and the Californian sun shone just a little bit more brightly.

(Hmm. I think I may have finally restarted the stalled second Silicon Valley Magic story. I'm rather liking the idea of a literal angel investor. Oh, and the rest of the story? It's the true history of the Pulgas Water Temple and the anger of the Hetch Hetchey naiads.)