Tag Archives: general

A new software suite coming soon

So, in order to get my sweetie-wife the speed she needs for her own internet needs I have purchased a second computer. (A used iMac a little faster than my current system.) I’ll take this second computer as my own and this system I am now using will becomes hers in the bedroom. (Or vice versa I will really leave it up to her.)

Anyway along with this change I will be transition most of my writing from the software I use now, Pages, to MS Word. Le Sigh. Word, and MS in general are not things I an enamored with, however there are a number of really good reasons to make the switch.

Foremost, Word is very much an industry standard and it will make my life easier once I started selling. (yes, I am still expecting rather than hoping to sell consistently someday.)

Also Word has a number of features that Pages either lacks or has in a less well-defined version, such as the ability to merge files and Track Changes. I write my novels in chapter files, each and every chapter gets its own file and them I have to cut and paste together into a final assembly. Word would allow me to do it just by merging files.

rack Changes is something I am just learning how to utilize and I can see the real advantages to it for copy edits, particularly when someone else — such as the wonderful Sweetie-wife — has done those edits. With both os us using Word she can make the changes, I can use track Changes to see and approve or reject and so get a clean copy with less paper used.

Buut I will use more MS product. Oh well.

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Not the best of days

I awoke with a headache and it has been with me all day long. It’s skimmed the edge of migraine several times, but always stayed on the just painful side of it. I stayed at work the whole day and I will finish my edits on chapter 1 tonight but I will not get much more done.

I did find a movie that I added to my Nextflix instant queue, A genre film from 1965 starring John Saxon, and with Basil Rathbone and Dennis Hopper. Gods, with a cast like that how can I NOT check it out.

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Quick post

Well, today during my lunch hour I took some extra time and had an MRI of my brain performed at my doc’s orders. (He does not feel that there are any serious issues beyond the migraines, but we want to rule out any nasty surprises.)

I started today with a mild headache, after the MRI — yes Brad I know nMRI — I have a severe headache, so severe that even new blu-rays can’t distract me.

Want to experience an MRI without bothering with a pesky doctor? Easy!

First crawl into a discard carpet tube so you’re loaded like a torpedo ready for firing. Make sure your head is exposed, because it goes into an old steel bucket (and just like a real MRI — yeah yeah nMRI– don’t forget your hearing protection). Have someone bring over a tweeting bird that’s just starting a cocaine bender, ’cause for the duration of the event you need the incessant chirping to counterpoint the rest. Now, once your head is fully in the bucket, have your friend go at it with a power-sander to the outside of the bucket. Changing it up every few minutes with whack from a lead pipe and throw in a few alarm klaxons and you’ll have an idea what an MRI is like. Primo for headaches, let me tell you.

I’m off to bed.

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New Beds

So Ikea, that bastion of clean elegant style, delivered our new beds today. It was a very orderly and well handled process. we were giving a time frame to expect the delivery and then 10 minutes or so before the actually arrival we got a complimentary call alerting us that the truck was on its way.
The delivery men were prompt and friendly, hauling away our old queen sized mattress and box spring, leaving the new material, packed and ready for assembly, in our living-room.
As is the case with nearly everything from Ikea, assembly was easy and quick. For the beds it really was nothing more than adding the legs to the support boxes and presto instant beds.
The mattresses were more intriguing to me. They came tightly rolled-up and sealed in plastic. (‘She’s dead, wrapped in plastic.‘) Once the plastic was sliced the mattresses unrolled and inflated. They are shipped vacuumed sealed, an aspect I particularly liked given the current fear of bedbugs out in the world, and the air rushes in, audibly, plumping up the mattresses to the full depth, a process neither fast nor dramatic, but one that fascinating to watch.

My sweetie-wife has gone out now for new linens, leaving me to a raining Saturday afternoon.  I think Call Of Duty calls.

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Sunday Afternoon

Just a quick update on how my day has gone.

Actually in spite of the arthritis flare today has been a fairly nice day. My sweetie-wife and I went to Balboa Park and walked around for a couple of miles getting in much needed exercise for yours truly. On Sunday at Balboa park they have open houses for their international houses. These are organizations that promote their host countries. It’s really a celebration of culture and heritage. Each house will have flyers and foods from their culture and occasionally music and dancing.

The big impression I had this go around — like I said this happens every Sunday and it was not our first time there — was at the Ireland House. First they had live music and it was spunky and fun and I wanted it on a CD. Secondly I tried a new food, Colcannon. Damn, that was good! It’s a dish made from mashed potatoes. with other ingredients tossed in. It is definitely something I want more of.

Also in another section of the park the International Dance Association was hold a celebration with music and dancing all day long. We popped in long enough to see a bit of English Morris Dancing, but not much more. we did see a number of young people practicing and rehearsing for their performance on the bag pipes.

I recorded it for your amusement.

Continue reading →

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A very pleasant Saturday

So yesterday was another board and card gaming day, but this one got an earlier start as my friend Brad came over about noon so we could get in a game of Federation Commander. That game did not go very well for myself. I was rolling poorly and Brad was rolling hot. Still it was fun and I don’t think I made any bonehead mistakes as I had in the game previous.

Around 5:30 we got together for the regular B7C gaming session and that went alright. (Though I did not win any of the games I did come close in Showbiz Shuffle.)

After my sweetie-wife retired for the evening we sat and watched a blu-rau, The Wrath Of Khan. Not only was that a throughly enjoyable film to watch, all of use including Brian snapped with commented during the screening. It is so good to hear Brian’s voice getting clearer each week. After the movie it was sit around bullshitting for a little while and at one point something was said that set Brian off laughing. It was one of those laughing jags that is so difficult to stop. I really felt good hearing him laugh like that.

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Experimenting

I am now experimenting with having my blog posts cross posted to my lj and my facebook accounts. We’ll see how this goes.

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No blogging tonight

Sorry my dear friends but a flare up in my arthritis is going to prevent any belonging by your not so humble host tonight. (I do hope my ENbrel is not popping out.)

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Not much of a post tonight

I am suffering from a headache. Nasty enough to put me off my editing and posting tonight.

I was going to post a length essay on 2001: A Space Odyssey , but instead I will leave you with this challenge. IN that famous SF film, before thing start going wrong aboard Discovery, how many scenes can you find that have a dramatic nature and not a purely expository nature?

For a scene to have a dramatic nature it must posses a character, that character must have a goal, and there must be an obstruction to that goal. An Expository scene conveys information about the setting or character or plot that the viewer needs to understand the events of the film. (I would also posit that the expository scenes in 2001: A Space Odyssey do a particularly  poor job of exposition.)

Personally I cannot think of any scenes before we are on the Discovery that were not of a purely expository nature. Drama simple did not exist in that film until HAL went nuts.

**shudder**

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A decidedly unpleasant orbit

Today I suffered with a headache that orbited close to the event horizon of migraine status, only to sling-shot away at the last moment into dull low level pain before heading back in for another pass at the pain.

I got zero pages written as I could barely think much less create.

On the plus side my pal has been released from the hospital and is now back home recovering from his stroke. We’re all pulling for him.

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