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Wrapping up a three-week vacation this morning. I had a blast being off. I went out of town for a couple of days, but was mostly just here. I read more than twenty books---I think work's been holding me back. I wrote most of a short story and even finished revising it Monday---and I have a pretty good idea what idea I'm going to start with on my next story. I accomplished a few tasks around the house, but mostly I just goofed off. Makes retirement something to look forward to.
About the only blotch on things was my health. I'd share details of my experiences, but, as I've always said, one never knows how scatological humor will go over. I'm not looking forward to spending that much time in the bathroom when I retire...
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The last day of my vacation, after I posted the above, my microwave oven konked out. At first I thought maybe a fuse...then maybe the outlet went bad...but, no, both were fine. My brother the electrician was near at hand and checked things out too.
So it was on to a new microwave. Happened at the worst possible time---would'a been a snap if it happened at the beginning of my vacation.
I generally prefer a microwave with a grilling element. I thought I'd have to search around, maybe order online. But I walked into the store where I bought my last one---WalMart---and, to my surprise, they had one. Cost less than my last one, under a hundred dollars.
So I bought that and took the old one down. Now, I thought I'd kept it clean, but oh! the thing was just covered in grease. (Note to myself: lift up this new one every so often and clean under it.) I wrapped it up in a plastic lawn-and-leaf bag, to keep ants away when I stored it temporarily in the garage.
"Temporary" meaning I intended to put it out in the garbage---but, as a lot of you know, garbage pickup services usually want you to call up and make special arrangements for dumping your appliances. I'd get around to it when I got around to it.
Yesterday, Monday, my father reminded me I should put the microwave out on the curb---you see, we also have people who scavenge the neighborhood looking for things they think they can use. They usually come through on Monday, regular garbage coming Tuesday. (My father reminded me of that a couple days ago, but I forgot till he reminded me again.)
So I stopped by my house, out on the way to other things, and dug the busted microwave out and got the bag off (a messy, greasy job in itself), and put it out on the curb. This was about 11:45 am. Long about 3:30 pm, I had occasion to look out---and, sho'nuff, it was gone.
(The new one works fine, too.)
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posted
Well, the fireworks stand fairies have been at it again.
Don't know how it is in your state, but fireworks can be sold only for only a few days each year and only for charities. Except, evidently, for some packages of fireworks. So every year close to the Fourth these booths appear. I mean I don't see anyone delivering them and usually don't see anyone putting them together. Some years piles of booth sections appear and a day to a week later the booth is set up. No one is seen delivering the sections and no one is seen putting them together. This year the booths appeared already set up.
I should add that two years ago I did see a flatbed truck loaded with the piles of sections and last year a truck unloading some, and a couple of times the last few years I have seen people tightening bolts on the booths. Even though come to think of it I haven't seen anyone actually lifting the sections and lining them up.
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posted
At the beginning of the week I called the mechanic who works on our cars. My pick-up needs lube and oil change, possibly the shock needs replacing.
Anyway I told him it needed a tune-up, corrected myself and went on. Too late I thought maybe that was a Fordian slip.
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Remember, a couple of months and a page back, when we were bitching about Analog taking a long time to reject manuscripts? Mine was out two hundred and fifty-seven days that time.
Well, with my last finished work, I decided to try Analog again, to see if there was any improvment. This time it took fifty-three days to reject it.
Much better---execpt for the rejection part.
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F & SF rejected the same story in seven days flat---but were nice about it in a way I'd rather not draw attention to. Also, from the slip, it would seem they read the story and picked up on the details of it---and that's the first time in about fifteen years that I've been sure I've gotten that kind of attention with a story.
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posted
That's about right for them. F&SF seems to have three levels of form rejections. The second and third sound like they may have read it all the way through, especially the third one.
But if they picked up details from it, that sounds like a personal comment.
If so good going. It may not be far from being bought.
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posted
It's said that Anthony Boucher, the original editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, once rejected a story with a note so kind about the story that the writer sent the story back with a note of his own that said, "Then why the devil don't you publish it?" This note wasn't in that league, but I appreciate the effort.
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Had a miserable three days of computer problems. Saturday, after I finished an online session, something erased all my (AOL) Favorite Places links. (I'd been moving some stuff around, but I've done that before without that happening.)
I tried looking for a couple of things that I thought might help, but without luck. Being rather busy in the time frame between then and now kept me from doing what I just did---I went to my old computer, dug out the length of cable I used to use to link to my broadband, linked it up, went online, got the Favorite Places list from about a year and a third ago, copied that onto a floppy disk (yes, I still have them), then plugged that drive into my new computer and copied it into my current (AOL) program.
Over the next few days I'll be painstakingly updating and looking for links for what I've accumulated / started following in the last year or so. I'll also put a copy somewhere in my current files once I've got a few updates.
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I've managed to rebuild my Favorite Places, but am wondering whether or not I've missed one or two or several in my online comics section. I'll wonder about that till I think of them and try to locate. A couple of obscure links are gone altogether, I think...
Meanwhile, I saved a copy of it all to my documents file once I completed my work. (Now I've got to acquire a new something-or-other to save my documents again, not wanting to erase what's already on the other thumb drives or whatever they're called that I've got lying around.)
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posted
Just thought I would say here--just saw my favorite still together band for the first time. They have been together for ten years. Two others were with them, but most of the concert went to the group. Great concert--they played their latest and many of their older hits. I had forgotten a couple of them.
I had to rush after work and sacrifice my writing for the evening but still I'm glad I went.
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Re: the abovementioned problems with my Favorite Places list. I thought I had it worked out, with everything recovered. But Sunday, for some reason beyond my understanding, the list somehow flipped itself---dividing at about the halfway point, and putting the last half first and the first half last.
Everything's still there---it's just a damned awkward thing, and, no, I have no idea how it happened. Did I touch something, or did it do it on its own, and if the latter, why?
I was a-gonna save the list October First, but with it in this state I don't know. I can untangle it but it would be kind of tedious work...
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posted
Addendum to the above: it does look like some websites dropped out in the middle of the list (the beginnings and ends now.) I'll just have to replace it with the last copy, now...
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posted
After more gyrations in this...this morning all my Favorite Places disappeared again. I uploaded from the last one I saved---yesterday---and am still left wondering what's going on.
Ah, well. I'll be out of town for a few days and won't have to worry about it till I get back.
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I see they do have Captain American costumes for adults this year.
No, Dray Prescott outfit though. I would have to make one myself.
Anyway, still no place to wear them. Or is there--Hmm, a charity is have a Masquerade for a fund raiser. Don't know how much it costs nor if there is a style of costume they want. But I almost want to go.
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posted
I had two more thoughts on potential Costumes.
One is an angel outfit. The only problem would be the wings--as I see them--would be heavy after a while even if made out of super light material, and they might end up smacking someone if I wore them to a party.
Second is an outfit the King of Cats wore to a party. To get an idea of that outfit you would have to read the first ten pages or so of "Winter Long" by Seanan McGuire and where would I find brown leather pants like those. I could of course dye my hair to have the tabby look. Pointed ears would be easy too.
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posted
Here's a link to something you might find interesting. An online forum-convention. "Our forum for our CygCon Free Online SFF and Writing Convention"
There are discussions dealing with robots, steampunk, fantasy, nanotech, your favorite writer.
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Going over this page, I see I was complaining about microwave shopping. Then it was microwaves...now it's my dishwasher. Last week it started not washing properly; Saturday it won't run at all.
So yesterday I went and bought a new one---different brand; I was never that fond of this one's design---and now I'm waiting for someone to deliver and install it.
A household is just one thing going wrong after another---and this is nothing compared to the repiping job I had to do last year.
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posted
Just in this last week, two of my pre-set-button radio stations started running all-Christmas music all the time. One last Friday, one sometime over the weekend. Now, one of 'em did it last year...but the other is the former "oldies" station, though it changed to "The River" and now runs less and less of what I like---at least when it's running straight songs.
Either way, it's too damned early to start, so far before Thanksgiving. And, besides, there's not much imagination in the versions they choose. For every song worth hearing, you have to wade through endless versions by Mannheimer Steamroll or Bubbly Michael or whoever.
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Fun fact:Did you know that if you put pure cayenne pepper under your tongue it could stop a heart attack instantly? I use Dr. Christopher's.
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Update: Christmas music has started spilling over into other stations, but now it's post-Thanksgiving and more appropriate. I look forward to hearing old favorites among the carols.
But the two abovementioned stations do endlessly repeat assorted versions of the same songs. You hear "Frosty the Snowman," say, by Gene Autry, by Burl Ives, by Jimmy Durante, and by Willie Nelson. (In some ways I don't mind---it's often the only time I hear most of these guys sing anything on the radio anymore.)
I wouldn't mind hearing a few more versions of familiar songs---say, the Fab Four Christmas set, or the Ventures Christmas album. But I can do that on my own. (I hope to obtain a CD of the Phil Spector Christmas album during the seaon, or, if not that, to download it from iTunes if available.)
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"But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, / 'Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!'"
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posted
While I am here I decided to add this-something I had been thinking of posting for a month.
On the way to taking my daughter to her grandfather's then to work, I noticed that someone had done donuts in a not so busy intersection during the night. Three times--someone at work thought it might have been a group playing follow the leader in cars. Anyway; one of them left some tire behind. I don't mean the black marks, I mean chunks of tire. Three pieces at least.
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We had a guy do donuts on the road outside the plant when he retired. I won't---I need those tires.
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posted
I'm claiming the first Dancing Statues of Liberty sighting of 2015; this morning, January 9th, two of them, same location. I was half-expecting them last week, but they didn't show.
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Guys (usually) who cross-dress (when they're guys) and stand outside in the USA from January to April 15th---living ads for Liberty Tax Services, who usually have an office nearby.
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quote:Originally posted by Robert Nowall: I'm claiming the first Dancing Statues of Liberty sighting of 2015; this morning, January 9th, two of them, same location. I was half-expecting them last week, but they didn't show.
Awww, I completely forgot to post about my first sighting--might have been the same day as yours.
But mine was only one.
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posted
You know, those Dancing Statues had their grey-matter scooped out and replaced by Cheeze Whiz. The result is an army, slowly growing year after year. Who controls the Dancing Statues of Liberty?
Be very afraid, people. Be very afraid.
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Sometimes I see those sign-twirling folks out of the corner of my eye and imagine them as some circus version of a color guard, twirling machine guns.
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There are lots of 'em around---there are quite a few spinning "Buy Gold" signs---but the Statues of Liberty seem to be the only single species out there in my area.
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we have quite a few of the Gold signs but a few others too. Pizza, cell phones.
But today the statures were more active with their signs. And I may not be remembering right but the signs seem different and maybe larger. Oh so do the crowns.
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posted
Maybe your area has new outfits, but mine look like the same old robes and crowns. The guys doing it are different. One guy from last year was pretty lively, livelier than the ones I've seen so far. Maybe he got a better gig...
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