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Serial Chill-Er
Nov. 18th, 2012 02:59 pmI've decided to re-serial post Chillin' Out on DeviantArt, and set it to some of the Creative Commons permissions.
Maybe this will goad me into finishing it.
Maybe this will goad me into finishing it.
Paper And/Or Plastic
Jul. 27th, 2012 10:07 pmThe catalog from AutomationDirect.com is The Letter Bomb. The actual paper portion is bigger than a phone directory for Manhattan, and it also comes with a digital duplicate on DVD.
So why did I request one? They carry electronics components. A lot of which would go into the F.L.I.G.H.T.S.I.M. build if I could swing it.
So why did I request one? They carry electronics components. A lot of which would go into the F.L.I.G.H.T.S.I.M. build if I could swing it.
It's Not A Bug, It's A Feature
May. 28th, 2012 08:21 pmI know I've been much quieter than normal lately. I guess I'm under a more covert, sublime form of depression as opposed to the usual demoralization. At this point, I'm of a mind that just letting it run its course, and not fighting it with self-medication, is the best of my few and far-between options.
I'm loathe to plunge into clearing out Mum's desk, even though it's been a month already. Is it understandable that I don't necessarily want to make that hole in my life that much bigger right away? I'll get it done...but I want to get it done right. I guess I said that before.
I took the battery pack out of Mum's 1999-vintage Rocket e-book reader; it hadn't held a charge for years and it's likely becoming a fire hazard. I'll have to see if it could function without the battery, and if the data is safe on it. If so, I'll replace the battery when I've got the money for one. (If not I'll probably salvage the screen for my flight simulation cockpit dashboard.)
Dad sold his Buick to my niece for $1 yesterday. He's got his Nissan truck now, so that may be his last motor vehicle. Depends on if he can still see well enough to drive after his eye surgery, which is still yet to be scheduled.
I was disappointed with the Indy 500 and the NASCAR race in Charlotte yesterday, even though the latter was the better of the two. Didn't get to see anything from Monaco, but I hear that the Red Bull team is being a bunch of sore winners.
I'm loathe to plunge into clearing out Mum's desk, even though it's been a month already. Is it understandable that I don't necessarily want to make that hole in my life that much bigger right away? I'll get it done...but I want to get it done right. I guess I said that before.
I took the battery pack out of Mum's 1999-vintage Rocket e-book reader; it hadn't held a charge for years and it's likely becoming a fire hazard. I'll have to see if it could function without the battery, and if the data is safe on it. If so, I'll replace the battery when I've got the money for one. (If not I'll probably salvage the screen for my flight simulation cockpit dashboard.)
Dad sold his Buick to my niece for $1 yesterday. He's got his Nissan truck now, so that may be his last motor vehicle. Depends on if he can still see well enough to drive after his eye surgery, which is still yet to be scheduled.
I was disappointed with the Indy 500 and the NASCAR race in Charlotte yesterday, even though the latter was the better of the two. Didn't get to see anything from Monaco, but I hear that the Red Bull team is being a bunch of sore winners.
Broke My Own Heart Tonight
May. 7th, 2012 09:54 pmI was wondering where Mum's Kobo e-reader was so this morning I got Dad to find it. It turned out that he had set it on his dresser without knowing what it was.
Tonight I finally figured out what I did wrong when it came to uploading Mum's books on it. Now they work.
It would have made her so proud and happy to see her own books on its screen. But she never got the chance.
I'm going to have a lot of times like this, I think.
Tonight I finally figured out what I did wrong when it came to uploading Mum's books on it. Now they work.
It would have made her so proud and happy to see her own books on its screen. But she never got the chance.
I'm going to have a lot of times like this, I think.
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Feed Your Techno-Paranoia
Feb. 23rd, 2012 01:05 pmThis Free E-Magazine is your source for the latest in Homeland Security technology and surveillance systems. If you do sign up for it, do so through a front company and DON'T mention that you got this information from ME.
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FreeWill Busts A Rhyme--And A Meter
Jan. 24th, 2012 11:22 pmSagittarius Horoscope for week of January 26, 2012
Poet Elizabeth Alexander says that in order to create a novel, a writer needs a lot of uninterrupted time alone. Poems, on the other hand, can be snared in the midst of the jumbled rhythms of everyday chaos -- between hurried appointments or while riding the subway or at the kitchen table waiting for the coffee to brew. Alexander says that inspiration can sprout like grass poking up out of the sidewalk cracks. Whether or not you're a writer, Sagittarius, I see your coming weeks as being more akin to snagging poems than cooking up a novel.
I do need to finish that novel tho'.
Poet Elizabeth Alexander says that in order to create a novel, a writer needs a lot of uninterrupted time alone. Poems, on the other hand, can be snared in the midst of the jumbled rhythms of everyday chaos -- between hurried appointments or while riding the subway or at the kitchen table waiting for the coffee to brew. Alexander says that inspiration can sprout like grass poking up out of the sidewalk cracks. Whether or not you're a writer, Sagittarius, I see your coming weeks as being more akin to snagging poems than cooking up a novel.
I do need to finish that novel tho'.
Extremely Little Is Happening
Aug. 15th, 2011 12:48 amLet's see:
*) I don't have a paying job and I'm broke.
*) I've gotta stick around Rather Manor to help Mum with her problems. We MAY have submitted one of her books to a publisher for a reprint tonight, but we won't know for a while whether the effort was successful.
*) I play too many games online. I wish I could get as excited about something that actually made me a living.
*) Since I don't have money, I don't have much in the way of reasons to travel, and of course, no point in travelling very far when I do.
*) My Internet situation, while more stable than it was, is still lacking in functionality. I haven't been able to upload certain kinds of data from this computer to the 'Net. Thus I may have to give up the Reviewer Corps, or (more likely) find a workaround of one kind or another.
*) I don't have a paying job and I'm broke.
*) I've gotta stick around Rather Manor to help Mum with her problems. We MAY have submitted one of her books to a publisher for a reprint tonight, but we won't know for a while whether the effort was successful.
*) I play too many games online. I wish I could get as excited about something that actually made me a living.
*) Since I don't have money, I don't have much in the way of reasons to travel, and of course, no point in travelling very far when I do.
*) My Internet situation, while more stable than it was, is still lacking in functionality. I haven't been able to upload certain kinds of data from this computer to the 'Net. Thus I may have to give up the Reviewer Corps, or (more likely) find a workaround of one kind or another.
Resumption Of The Doughnut Wars
Jun. 27th, 2011 11:47 pmMum finished her re-transcription of her last print-only novel, COME HOME TO LOVE (which may get a new title as Mum hates the old one), today.
I had scanned some old LJ entries of mine over the weekend and so had the idea of buying her some donuts to celebrate. Only, at the supermarket, I realized that with the money on hand I couldn't afford what they offered.
Knowing my folks, on the morrow they'll make their usual Tuesday run to the bakery thrift store and get the week's bread. Maybe they'll also pick up a bag of mini donuts too.
With habit comes predictability.
I had scanned some old LJ entries of mine over the weekend and so had the idea of buying her some donuts to celebrate. Only, at the supermarket, I realized that with the money on hand I couldn't afford what they offered.
Knowing my folks, on the morrow they'll make their usual Tuesday run to the bakery thrift store and get the week's bread. Maybe they'll also pick up a bag of mini donuts too.
With habit comes predictability.
Writer's Block: The long and short of it
Jun. 7th, 2011 03:52 pm[Error: unknown template qotd]
When I was in middle and high school during summer I used to attempt to read the Colliers and Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia sets, all the volumes, cover to cover. It was a habit thing. Granted, my memory isn't as great as I thought it was, or I probably would have retained a lot more information from them.
Short books? Do comics count? I have hundreds of those.
When I was in middle and high school during summer I used to attempt to read the Colliers and Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia sets, all the volumes, cover to cover. It was a habit thing. Granted, my memory isn't as great as I thought it was, or I probably would have retained a lot more information from them.
Short books? Do comics count? I have hundreds of those.
Enclosures
May. 5th, 2011 02:56 pm
Sample enclosures I received yesterday from TEKO, with standard-sized Poker cards for scale. The large white one is called a Domotek, and it's bigger than I expected it to be. The middle sized one is an Ovotek, and the last one is a TBT-B. I received another catalog along with the samples that is also inspiring me...they have an enclosure that I can mount my old laptop's screen into and use it for my flight sim project, or a tablet computer, or an e-book reader, or...
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I got my catalog from TEKO today (http://www.teko.it or http://tekoenclosures.com). They manufacture what are called enclosures for the electronics industries. Other people make gadgets; it's TEKO's job to wrap it up in a practical case that people can use. A lot of TEKO's cases are used in medical machinery, security alarm hardware, remote controls, scientific equipment, home/building thermostats, e-book reader units, smartphones and so on.
So why am I excited? My long-term flight sim dashboard project. I'm already seeing possibilities in console design and display integration.
So why am I excited? My long-term flight sim dashboard project. I'm already seeing possibilities in console design and display integration.
Writer's Block: Must Have Gadget
Dec. 22nd, 2010 02:21 pm[Error: unknown template qotd]
Right now I'm:
1) Getting Precious up to speed;
2) Trying to figure out why Mum's Kobo won't recognize the .PDF e-books I put on it;
3) Wondering how I'm going to hook up the VCR Livingston gave me to the dining room TV, and whether I can get the hardware for Precious so IT can receive and process video;
4) Trying to plan out the Flight Sim Dashboard project.
Right now I'm:
1) Getting Precious up to speed;
2) Trying to figure out why Mum's Kobo won't recognize the .PDF e-books I put on it;
3) Wondering how I'm going to hook up the VCR Livingston gave me to the dining room TV, and whether I can get the hardware for Precious so IT can receive and process video;
4) Trying to plan out the Flight Sim Dashboard project.
Show Me The Honor!
Nov. 25th, 2010 08:17 pmI just spent the last couple days reading the next-to-latest books from the Honorverse--Torch of Freedom (yesterday) and Mission of Honor (today). There's a new anthology either coming soon or out now--I forget which. I really should visit Amazon to see.
Writer's Block: My New Wallet
Jul. 15th, 2010 11:56 am[Error: unknown template qotd]
Sorry...you aren't speaking my language. If I want a portable information appliance, I want it to be a smart ANYTHING BUT A PHONE. The problem, of course, is that you don't so much pay for the hardware as for the services that make it a practical proposition. Add to that the rapid pace of obsolescence and economic uncertainties...it just doesn't make sense to me.
PS: Wait...you were saying "pay for WITH", not just "pay FOR". Well, since I shop so seldom and almost always pay cash, that function, while seductive, doesn't really make sense for me either.
Sorry...you aren't speaking my language. If I want a portable information appliance, I want it to be a smart ANYTHING BUT A PHONE. The problem, of course, is that you don't so much pay for the hardware as for the services that make it a practical proposition. Add to that the rapid pace of obsolescence and economic uncertainties...it just doesn't make sense to me.
PS: Wait...you were saying "pay for WITH", not just "pay FOR". Well, since I shop so seldom and almost always pay cash, that function, while seductive, doesn't really make sense for me either.
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Kobo Bobo Bobobo
Jun. 25th, 2010 06:47 pm
Mum with her new toy. So far the hardware is working okay, but the software that is supposed to work with her computer isn't. The hardcopy manual is too dumbed-down and there is no "driver disk" as such. Dunno what I'll do about the problem.
My shopping-without-actually-buying habit has driven me to add the Amazon.com "Universal Wishlist Link" to my broswer's Favorites. Which means I'll be adding a lot of weird stuff to my wishlists there.
The odds of actually getting any of it is likely very low, but I have to try anyway. A Box of THIS, a few of THOSE, a couple of THE OTHERS and it adds up.
The odds of actually getting any of it is likely very low, but I have to try anyway. A Box of THIS, a few of THOSE, a couple of THE OTHERS and it adds up.
Hello! Mr. Chips
Jun. 9th, 2010 03:15 pmOr "Tech Envy I Can Use".
Got a Father's Day circular from Radio Shack and saw the specs on a memory chip to fit my camera, for $25. SIXTEEN TIMES the memory I'm using now. Room for over 2700 pictures, or TWO HOURS of cheap-@$$ low-rez silent video.
I can dig it. Wonder if I can swing it someday.
* * *
Dad is over at our elderly lady neighbor's place, chatting and doing odd jobs for her and so on. When he finishes, he'll bring her beloved Chrysler Cordoba here overnight so he can take it to her mechanic tomorrow morning. Again, Dad jokes to me every so often that he'll lobby for her to leave the car to me in her will.
* * *
Mum is re-reading Black Tie Affair as prep for re-typing it for a re-issue. She got the rights back from Kensington and not only is it a slam-dunk for an e-book version, but a friend of hers who produces audio books wants it.
* * *
Inner Child got a huge helium balloon from the used-car branch of Ted Russell in Knoxville just as they were closing overnight. Dunno how big it really is as I had to deflate it down to 27" so it could fit through Moonshine's back door.
It's raining and Moonshine really needs a wash. Sometime this week, I promise.
Got a Father's Day circular from Radio Shack and saw the specs on a memory chip to fit my camera, for $25. SIXTEEN TIMES the memory I'm using now. Room for over 2700 pictures, or TWO HOURS of cheap-@$$ low-rez silent video.
I can dig it. Wonder if I can swing it someday.
* * *
Dad is over at our elderly lady neighbor's place, chatting and doing odd jobs for her and so on. When he finishes, he'll bring her beloved Chrysler Cordoba here overnight so he can take it to her mechanic tomorrow morning. Again, Dad jokes to me every so often that he'll lobby for her to leave the car to me in her will.
* * *
Mum is re-reading Black Tie Affair as prep for re-typing it for a re-issue. She got the rights back from Kensington and not only is it a slam-dunk for an e-book version, but a friend of hers who produces audio books wants it.
* * *
Inner Child got a huge helium balloon from the used-car branch of Ted Russell in Knoxville just as they were closing overnight. Dunno how big it really is as I had to deflate it down to 27" so it could fit through Moonshine's back door.
It's raining and Moonshine really needs a wash. Sometime this week, I promise.
