J.D. Moyer

science fiction author, beatmaker, against fascism

Author: J.D. Moyer Page 2 of 105

J.D. Moyer is a science fiction author and electronic music producer from Oakland, California.

My Chat with Claude

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On January 17

In Culture Rants/Shares, Tech

I’m pretty much a non-user of AI. I avoid it when I can, partially out of ethical objections (AI is being rolled out with all the care of a 1950s cigarette campaign, with zero caution or consideration of potential harm), and partially due to unreliability (AI generates responses based on statistical probability without any capacity for fact checking, and regularly makes incorrect statements with complete confidence). But I’m also writing about AI in my current work-in-progress novel, so I try to keep up with the meta.

For that reason, I downloaded Claude and asked it where Gary Gygax went wrong. Claude gave an impressive, in-depth response, summarizing where Gygax might have gone wrong in terms of business decisions, game design, and a resistance to changing values and norms among RPG players (less misogyny and racism). Then Claude asked for clarification–what was I getting at?

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What’s Your Wealth Cap?

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On January 14

In Culture Rants/Shares, Money/Personal Finance

Kids these days fantasize about becoming a billionaire instead of becoming a millionaire, because a million bucks doesn’t even buy you a whole house in many California neighborhoods. Not even the fancy neighborhoods, but just the kind-of-nice ones. Inflation and all.

Dr. Evil, pinkie on lower lip, demanding a ransom of one million dollars!

But a billion is still way too much for most people. Not in a moral sense, but in a “you couldn’t spend it on your own needs and wants if you tried” sense. Well maybe you could, if you’re really into luxury yachts or personally owning a spaceship. But most of us don’t even want those things.

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Obligation = Connection

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On January 12

In Metaprogramming, Relationships

The other day I was grinding through some family obligations, feeling resentful because I had a whole list of other things (mostly entertainment related) that I wasn’t getting to. This was my hard-earned vacation, dammit, and here I was driving back to the doctor’s office to retrieve a scarf, followed by walking a reluctant dog in the rain.

But then I remembered something I had learned but almost forgotten. Obligation is connection, as are most types of responsibility. We do things for other people because we love them and care about them. If we were totally free of obligations, we’d also be totally free of relationships. Alone and lonely.

My kid was very happy to see her scarf. My dog was happy to be inside, out of the rain, having peed.

Life is an endless grind of dishes, laundry, things breaking and getting lost, procuring and preparing food, paperwork, resource management, and complicated planning. But all that is true even if you’re alone. If we’re doing these things for and with other people (and sometimes having them done for us, the joy!) then we’re operating in a privileged space. One that we can choose to be grateful for.

Boundaries are another topic, not for this post. I don’t have any problem with setting boundaries and letting people deal with their own shit. The challenge for me, which I succeeded in that day (and will hopefully remember going forward), is remembering that obligations are the opposite of loneliness.

I Am Psyduck (Anxiety is Ridiculous)

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On January 5

In Mental Health, Metaprogramming

In the animated show Pokemon Concierge, Psyduck causes surrounding objects to levitate when experiencing anxiety. It’s a recurring gag in the show; Psyduck gets stressed about something, and various pots and pans, coconuts, and other items start to hover, inevitably crashing down and wreaking havoc.

Well, Kia recently realized that I’m Psyduck. I start to get stressed about some little thing (a late package, a missing spoon, a scheduling issue) and my anxiety begins to spiral. I become irritable and unreasonable. If I were in the least bit telekinetic, surrounding objects would definitely start to hover.

But it’s good to realize that I’m Psyduck. Yes, I’m sensitive and prone to disproportional bouts of anxiety. But, also like Psyduck, I can use various methods to calm myself. I can remember to take five milligrams of lithium orotate. I can chill the fuck out, and laugh about it.

Which Pokemon are you, psycho-emotionally?

2025 Recap (Spreadsheet Breakthrough)

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On January 2

In Getting Organized, Metaprogramming, Relationships

Looking back on 2025, the most significant thing I did was create a spreadsheet.

Sounds underwhelming, for sure. But this spreadsheet was unlike any other spreadsheet I’d ever created, and I’m someone that LOVES spreadsheets. I make lists, track fictional characters, outline plots, plan my life, etc–all with spreadsheets. And this was a sort of planning spreadsheet, in a way. But for me, a new approach.

On this particular spreadsheet, each row represented a month, while each column represented an important life category. Fiction writing, music production, home improvement, dates with my wife, activities with my kid, going out/visiting friends, health, etc. If I wanted to track it, I created a column. The 2025 spreadsheet had twelve columns in all.

I then filled out each cell with planned or desired activities and events, setting the text to bold if/when they actually occurred. Below the month rows, I filled out spaces beneath the columns with yet-to-be scheduled activities in each category.

For the first time, I could see a picture of the year in terms of my actualized values and priorities. I could see which categories were getting neglected, which ones might be a bit overcrowded.

And as a result, 2025 was the first year where I felt like my social life was “back”, fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. That felt good.

What Was Actually in the Spreadsheet?

The social activities were my peak experiences last year. Hosting a couple great parties, wine nights with the boys, starting a new D&D campaign, going out to some club nights and concerts, dates with Kia, dinner parties with friends, etc. I feel blessed with family and friendship.

But I also had some professional success. I started a new consulting company, JD Moyer Solutions LLC, and made bucketloads of money. Which is good because I live in the most expensive city in the world and pay for the most expensive private school (because nothing else worked). Mark Musselman and I released some electronic music which I think sounds extremely nice (Dream Wave, By My Side, check out our Bandcamp), I worked on a bunch of new Jondi & Spesh tracks, and I started my most ambitious novel yet (Saint Arcology, the San Francisco version, which precedes the Mumbai Saint Arcology, which will be Book 2).

But it’s the social stuff I’m most proud of, and remember most.

What were your 2025 highlights?

 

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