Lovely-sunny day. Still chilly, but overall, nice. I see that they're getting a wicked hard Nor'easter on the East Coast. Something for'em to whine about, no doubt. Snow more! I'd be great it they had another Nor'easter in time for Easter, then it could be the Easter Nor'easter.
I made toasted cheese for dinner. Nom!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monique, Monique...
Oooh, Monique gets booted from ANTM! This week's episode had Blondes v. Brunettes, and I think the brunettes shot a better group shot, and I think Monique got axed unfairly, just because she was average in the judging, versus being actually bad -- she was beautiful, but never took either exceptionally good or bad photographs. Her "Heathers" attitude will be missed, of course, and her departure has to be a big boon to Alexandria. Brittani did wonderfully again, but the previews make it appear that she may have a bit of a meltdown next episode.
 |
| Sorry to see Monique go. Well, not completely sorry.... |
Mercurial
First picture of Mercury sent from the Mercury Messenger. Look at all of those craters! The big one at the top center is 50 miles across!
You Know What?
Sunny today. Still chilly, however. But the daylight keeps going. I've been relatively unproductive the past day or so. Just trying to get my feet under me, doing research.
Broke the 10,000 mark on hits on this blog yesterday. Not much of a milestone, in Net terms, but I usually axe blogs by around the 6000th hit mark, decided to keep this one going for fun.
I was thinking about Japan and their nuclear disaster woes. If you look at Japan's plate tectonics, it's scary to think how many nuclear plants they have over there. It's a geological powderkeg. I mean, just look at it...
They're going to have to do more than simply "earthquakeproof" buildings; going forward, the entire infrastructure of Japan is going to have to be adapted to the geological reality of that country.
Meanwhile, we're in our third war. Lordy. All we need is for North Korea to go after South Korea and we can have four. There was, certainly, a humanitarian crisis going on, there, but oil has surely greased the skids on our involvement, there. Thankfully, the "rational" Republicans are in charge in the House, which'll mean more dependence on fossil fuels, less conservation, ignoring climate science data, less oversight and regulation of the energy industry, running away from any alternative energy sources -- stupid is as stupid does. As ever, they're keen to bring 19th century solutions to 21st century problems, then they wonder why their notions don't work, or make the country ultimately weaker. *golf applause* I just wish Obama would show some backbone and stick it to them, rather than trying to work a "bipartisan" solution (in other words, caving to Republican intransigence).
Broke the 10,000 mark on hits on this blog yesterday. Not much of a milestone, in Net terms, but I usually axe blogs by around the 6000th hit mark, decided to keep this one going for fun.
I was thinking about Japan and their nuclear disaster woes. If you look at Japan's plate tectonics, it's scary to think how many nuclear plants they have over there. It's a geological powderkeg. I mean, just look at it...
They're going to have to do more than simply "earthquakeproof" buildings; going forward, the entire infrastructure of Japan is going to have to be adapted to the geological reality of that country.
Meanwhile, we're in our third war. Lordy. All we need is for North Korea to go after South Korea and we can have four. There was, certainly, a humanitarian crisis going on, there, but oil has surely greased the skids on our involvement, there. Thankfully, the "rational" Republicans are in charge in the House, which'll mean more dependence on fossil fuels, less conservation, ignoring climate science data, less oversight and regulation of the energy industry, running away from any alternative energy sources -- stupid is as stupid does. As ever, they're keen to bring 19th century solutions to 21st century problems, then they wonder why their notions don't work, or make the country ultimately weaker. *golf applause* I just wish Obama would show some backbone and stick it to them, rather than trying to work a "bipartisan" solution (in other words, caving to Republican intransigence).
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sucker Punched?
Monday, March 28, 2011
Brrrr
Another chilly morning (28 degrees at the moment), although, as ever, the abode is warm. The cold just makes it harder to get outside.
This March really flew by; March often seems like such a long month, but this one went by pretty speedily.
This March really flew by; March often seems like such a long month, but this one went by pretty speedily.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Bacon Boys
Cooking some thick-cut bacon for the boys this morning. They love that.
They're hard at work creating their own marble run. I love when they play peacefully together. B1 is going to love physics. I sneak in concepts and ideas about it now and then. He already had an intuitive grasp of much of it.
It's sunny and lovely today, although cold, again.
10,000 words.
They're hard at work creating their own marble run. I love when they play peacefully together. B1 is going to love physics. I sneak in concepts and ideas about it now and then. He already had an intuitive grasp of much of it.
It's sunny and lovely today, although cold, again.
10,000 words.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Howling
The wind keeps howling. I should be asleep, but I'm not ready to sleep, yet.
Exene dropped the boys off earlier today, as she apparently had a hair appointment. I was fine with that, since I always enjoy more time with the boys, and they always have a good time.
B1 and I were talking about reentry vehicles, comparing the classic American conical reentry vehicles to the Soviet-era Vostok spherical ones -- B1 astutely conjectured why the Soviets used spheres, and I explained to him the different approaches of the respective space programs. He loves that stuff. We watched "The Right Stuff" in the wake of that conversation, which is an enjoyable movie, hearkening to a truly bygone age in our society. Amazing, really -- once the space shuttles are grounded, that'll be it for our space program -- in the wake of the endless budget crunch debates, the lopsided tax policy, I can't imagine any programs being funded in the near future, barring some serious shift in national priorities. Like they say in the movie: "No bucks, no Buck Rogers." I remember reading "The Right Stuff," man, I must've been a teenager. It was so long ago. A good book. Tom Wolfe is a good writer, or was one, anyway. Manages a narrative agility bound to a journalistic style.
I'm working on the new SF book; again, momentarily shelved the "contemporary" story just because I wanted to dive right into the SF book sequel while everything was still fresh in my head.
I don't really like talking about my writing; I'm truly the type to write more, and talk about writing less. Plenty of blowhards like to talk about writing, how they could do it if they had the time, or that they have great ideas for stories, but the real truth of it is that they never get around to writing them, because it's hard work, entirely thankless. As I've told someone in the past, it's not called "great idea-having;" it's called "writing." A great idea for a story is not a story.
The same goes with any creative endeavor -- everybody thinks they can do it, but most of them can't. And of the few who actually do it, fewer still are any good at it, and of those few, even fewer are truly great. I think I'm a good writer, but I don't think I'm a great one. Time will tell, if I can ever get those necessary breaks to make it happen. I certainly don't cut myself any slack with my work; I'm easily my toughest critic, and always will be. I trust that instinct. I try to do my best, for what that's worth.
Exene dropped the boys off earlier today, as she apparently had a hair appointment. I was fine with that, since I always enjoy more time with the boys, and they always have a good time.
B1 and I were talking about reentry vehicles, comparing the classic American conical reentry vehicles to the Soviet-era Vostok spherical ones -- B1 astutely conjectured why the Soviets used spheres, and I explained to him the different approaches of the respective space programs. He loves that stuff. We watched "The Right Stuff" in the wake of that conversation, which is an enjoyable movie, hearkening to a truly bygone age in our society. Amazing, really -- once the space shuttles are grounded, that'll be it for our space program -- in the wake of the endless budget crunch debates, the lopsided tax policy, I can't imagine any programs being funded in the near future, barring some serious shift in national priorities. Like they say in the movie: "No bucks, no Buck Rogers." I remember reading "The Right Stuff," man, I must've been a teenager. It was so long ago. A good book. Tom Wolfe is a good writer, or was one, anyway. Manages a narrative agility bound to a journalistic style.
I'm working on the new SF book; again, momentarily shelved the "contemporary" story just because I wanted to dive right into the SF book sequel while everything was still fresh in my head.
I don't really like talking about my writing; I'm truly the type to write more, and talk about writing less. Plenty of blowhards like to talk about writing, how they could do it if they had the time, or that they have great ideas for stories, but the real truth of it is that they never get around to writing them, because it's hard work, entirely thankless. As I've told someone in the past, it's not called "great idea-having;" it's called "writing." A great idea for a story is not a story.
The same goes with any creative endeavor -- everybody thinks they can do it, but most of them can't. And of the few who actually do it, fewer still are any good at it, and of those few, even fewer are truly great. I think I'm a good writer, but I don't think I'm a great one. Time will tell, if I can ever get those necessary breaks to make it happen. I certainly don't cut myself any slack with my work; I'm easily my toughest critic, and always will be. I trust that instinct. I try to do my best, for what that's worth.
Cold
Frickin' cold this morning -- 27 degrees. Yowza! Lots of wind.
Good writing weather, though, so I'm not complaining. And it's sunny, so it's at least pretty. And the radiators are on, so it's actually warm in here. Amazing to think that March is nearly over.
7100 words.
Good writing weather, though, so I'm not complaining. And it's sunny, so it's at least pretty. And the radiators are on, so it's actually warm in here. Amazing to think that March is nearly over.
7100 words.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Then again...
 |
| Cracks me up that somebody did this as an oil painting. |
I decided that I might as well write the sequel for the SF book I just finished, while the universe, ideas, and characters are still fresh in my head. I started work on it this morning.
4168 words.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Rainy Daze
It's been rainy/stormy the past few days, but that particularly unpleasant cold rain, the early spring rain that half-wishes it were still snow.
I started the new book this morning, cranked out 2000 words on it. This one'll be "contemporary" ("real world"), a kind of black comedy/satirical piece. Nothing even remotely genre about it, unless satire qualifies as a genre, and in today's waning literary market, lord knows how the publishing doyennes would classify it. This'll be the first contemporary kind of piece I've done in years. I think the last one I've done was back in 2005, so it's kind of funny to revisit it.
I started the new book this morning, cranked out 2000 words on it. This one'll be "contemporary" ("real world"), a kind of black comedy/satirical piece. Nothing even remotely genre about it, unless satire qualifies as a genre, and in today's waning literary market, lord knows how the publishing doyennes would classify it. This'll be the first contemporary kind of piece I've done in years. I think the last one I've done was back in 2005, so it's kind of funny to revisit it.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Done.
Alright, I'm done with the second draft of the SF novel. It's at 71,000 words. Now I'm going to read through it again, do a synopsis for it, and decide if it's where I want it to be. I think it's there, but it always takes another few read-throughs to know for sure. That's always the "eat your broccoli" part of writing. But I'm three days short of a month in the length of time I spent writing this one, which is a speed record for me. I've never written anything quite this quickly, which is funny, because the story never felt rushed to me -- if anything, quite the opposite. Despite the rising action in the narrative, the story feels expansive and well-paced. I don't think anybody'd guess that I wrote it in under a month.
Once I get this one fully finalized and queried to agents, gee, what'll I do next? Hmmm, oh, I know: write another book. Baha! That's what I always laugh about: the "reward" for writing is more writing.
Howling winds today, and it's getting colder. Now that spring is officially here, it feels like we're going to get some more wintery bluster.
Once I get this one fully finalized and queried to agents, gee, what'll I do next? Hmmm, oh, I know: write another book. Baha! That's what I always laugh about: the "reward" for writing is more writing.
Howling winds today, and it's getting colder. Now that spring is officially here, it feels like we're going to get some more wintery bluster.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Manic Monday?
I witnessed not one, but two acts of assholery today, at opposite ends of the economic spectrum:
1. Had a guy begging bus fare off me two times (I passed him going one way, and he asked me for bus fare; I told him I had nothing). Then, on my way back, I saw him again, waiting at the bus stop, and he asked me again if I had bus fare for him, wanting $2 for the bus. I again said I had nothing for him, and, as it happened, the bus was approaching, whereupon I stopped and watched the guy take out his bus card and board the bus without difficulty. Asshole.
2. While ordering a sandwich, I saw this shitbird with a Bluetooth come in (the guy had that on his ear, and a cell phone in the other hand, leather jacket, pointy cowboy boots, shades. Haggard face that called to mind Nick Nolte in his geriatric bender days). He strolls in, supposedly talking on the phone, and then uses the restroom at the shop (which has a clear sign indicating restrooms are for paying customers only). Then he gets out of the can, again with his cell phone on, mutters how he decided he's not going to get something after all, holding either his real and/or pretend phone conversation on his phone, and when the store owner said "Sir? Sir?!" the guy does the universal "On the phone right now, can't talk" finger in the air sign, then walks out the door without a backward glance. He then crosses the street and hops into his Mercedes coupe, drives off. The owner of the store, an Indian guy, and I, exchanged looks and commented on the assholery of the guy. Asshole.
Must be the close proximity to the supermoon or something, bringing out the assholery in spades today.
1. Had a guy begging bus fare off me two times (I passed him going one way, and he asked me for bus fare; I told him I had nothing). Then, on my way back, I saw him again, waiting at the bus stop, and he asked me again if I had bus fare for him, wanting $2 for the bus. I again said I had nothing for him, and, as it happened, the bus was approaching, whereupon I stopped and watched the guy take out his bus card and board the bus without difficulty. Asshole.
2. While ordering a sandwich, I saw this shitbird with a Bluetooth come in (the guy had that on his ear, and a cell phone in the other hand, leather jacket, pointy cowboy boots, shades. Haggard face that called to mind Nick Nolte in his geriatric bender days). He strolls in, supposedly talking on the phone, and then uses the restroom at the shop (which has a clear sign indicating restrooms are for paying customers only). Then he gets out of the can, again with his cell phone on, mutters how he decided he's not going to get something after all, holding either his real and/or pretend phone conversation on his phone, and when the store owner said "Sir? Sir?!" the guy does the universal "On the phone right now, can't talk" finger in the air sign, then walks out the door without a backward glance. He then crosses the street and hops into his Mercedes coupe, drives off. The owner of the store, an Indian guy, and I, exchanged looks and commented on the assholery of the guy. Asshole.
Must be the close proximity to the supermoon or something, bringing out the assholery in spades today.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Moonshine
Man, the supermoon was a bust over here -- I didn't see squat last night, thanks to overcast skies. Sucks. B1 was all excited to see it, but there was nothing to see.
Speaking of exciting to see, I'd watched "Casino Royale" again, after a long time not seeing it, and recalled that Caterina Murino is frickin' hot in her small role as Solange, Bond's expendable girl (since there always seems to be an expendable babe in a Bond movie in the first act)...
Virgo sun, Libra moon, so she's more than likely batshit crazy, but she's sure one fine lookin' babe.
70,000 words.
Speaking of exciting to see, I'd watched "Casino Royale" again, after a long time not seeing it, and recalled that Caterina Murino is frickin' hot in her small role as Solange, Bond's expendable girl (since there always seems to be an expendable babe in a Bond movie in the first act)...
 |
| Caterina MMMMurino. |
 |
| Caterina Murino. |
70,000 words.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Sunny Delight
Sunny day, lovely stuff. Cold today, but the sunlight makes it alright. Nothing fancy to report at the moment. Just writing.
I am looking forward to seeing the "supermoon" tonight. Hopefully it'll be a clear night.
67,000 words.
I am looking forward to seeing the "supermoon" tonight. Hopefully it'll be a clear night.
67,000 words.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Winter's End
Went to pick up some groceries, and saw this exuberant Airedale Terrier with some gals who were talking by the bike rack. I'm not a fan of terriers, frankly, but this dog was very friendly, and really wanted to be petted, so I said hi to it and petted it. Although I never owned a dog, I love dogs, and we always get along. The dog was still there when I got out of the grocery store, and its own was saying "Oh, he likes you; you want to ride on his bike?" The dog's tail was wagging a mile a minute. Cute doggy, for a terrier, anyway.
I'm going to finish up the SF novel this weekend. Should be about 20,000 more words to write for it, which I ought to be able to do in around 10-20 hours, depending how quickly I write. Then I'll read through it a third time and query it to agents. This one'll beat all previous speed records for me, but the quality is there -- I think it's one of my best. This story was just one that flowed smoothly from concept to execution for me. And best of all, there's a sequel locked into it -- I mean, it's complete unto itself, but it begs for a sequel. Three of the books I've written would accommodate sequels, including this one. I don't ever plan for that (or even want it), but a couple of them just lend themselves to it, this one most of all.
I'm going to finish up the SF novel this weekend. Should be about 20,000 more words to write for it, which I ought to be able to do in around 10-20 hours, depending how quickly I write. Then I'll read through it a third time and query it to agents. This one'll beat all previous speed records for me, but the quality is there -- I think it's one of my best. This story was just one that flowed smoothly from concept to execution for me. And best of all, there's a sequel locked into it -- I mean, it's complete unto itself, but it begs for a sequel. Three of the books I've written would accommodate sequels, including this one. I don't ever plan for that (or even want it), but a couple of them just lend themselves to it, this one most of all.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Laundryman
Took care of the laundry today, with B2 as my wingman. Today's shaping up to be even nicer than yesterday, tempwise, although it's overcast, so that takes away some of the loveliness, although it's still so nice and mild. Just a tease, really, I'm sure.
I've got a bunch of stuff to do today.
60,000 words.
I've got a bunch of stuff to do today.
60,000 words.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Springing
Beautiful day; the first truly beautiful day of the year: mild and sunny, just lovely. The city is waking up, as ever, and lots of people are out and about. I love when the city revives from its wintery hibernation. Everything's fun and possible and joyful.
I sent out another tightly-targeted query to a literary agent. Fingers crossed, as ever.
I have the boys for the next couple of days, and with the good weather, am looking forward to getting them to the playground for some quality runaround time. It's kinda funny -- in early spring, on the good days, the parents with boys are always the first ones at the playgrounds. Gotta wear out the lil' scamps! B1 and B2'll love that -- instead of pounding on each other, they can be running around in circles and what-not on the playground. I'm a firm believer in unstructured time for kids -- not one of those hyperscheduling types. One of the joys of childhood is being able to enjoy that kind of free time. I think a lot of the hoverparents who overschedule their kids are seeing them up for breakdowns in adulthood, as you get these people who've never known a real transition from childhood to adulthood, and are just accustomed to constantly living "on the clock." Sucks.
My boys understand about chores and getting stuff done, but I always try to give them room to breathe and just play as they like.
57,000 words.
I sent out another tightly-targeted query to a literary agent. Fingers crossed, as ever.
I have the boys for the next couple of days, and with the good weather, am looking forward to getting them to the playground for some quality runaround time. It's kinda funny -- in early spring, on the good days, the parents with boys are always the first ones at the playgrounds. Gotta wear out the lil' scamps! B1 and B2'll love that -- instead of pounding on each other, they can be running around in circles and what-not on the playground. I'm a firm believer in unstructured time for kids -- not one of those hyperscheduling types. One of the joys of childhood is being able to enjoy that kind of free time. I think a lot of the hoverparents who overschedule their kids are seeing them up for breakdowns in adulthood, as you get these people who've never known a real transition from childhood to adulthood, and are just accustomed to constantly living "on the clock." Sucks.
My boys understand about chores and getting stuff done, but I always try to give them room to breathe and just play as they like.
57,000 words.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Madness
Looks like March Madness has begun -- in this case, nothing basketball-related, but, rather, the time in Chicago when landlords aren't required to have their heat on (or at least are permitted to radically curtail it). It's always in March, which, in Chicago, is always a cold-ass month. It's the time when one has to have plenty of blankets on hand, and flannel jammies, because otherwise you're gonna freeze! Sometimes the weather'll be bad enough that landlords have to turn the heat back on, but routinely cold weather won't deter them from scaling it back. *SHIVER*
The ONION came out swinging this week (below). Bahah!
Dead Teenager Mainly Remembered for Great Handjobs
I love the ONION's horoscopes (the Scorpio one had me laugh out loud, among others)...
54,000 words.
The ONION came out swinging this week (below). Bahah!
Dead Teenager Mainly Remembered for Great Handjobs
I love the ONION's horoscopes (the Scorpio one had me laugh out loud, among others)...
- Aries You're starting to think about settling down, finding a nice little place, starting a family, maybe eventually even getting some clothes.
- Taurus Don't worry: There's absolutely nothing wrong with your goals, as long as you realize they're unrealistic and you can never actually achieve them.
- Gemini Rescue personnel will stretch the English language, the human voice, and the average person's constitution to unprecedented limits while trying to describe the horrible sounds you'll make next week.
- Cancer This is a good month to take long trips, as long as you travel in a slow, ground-based vehicle without all that much fuel in it.
- Leo The habit is certainly awkward for your friends and family members, but this would actually be a bad time to discontinue your practice of carrying a battle-ax to church.
- Virgo The constellation Virgo has seen you gazing at her in silent supplication, and she has this message for you: Her eyes are up here.
- Libra You'll be astounded to learn this week that, in certain less-than-legitimate circumstances, monkeys do come in barrels, but they are no fun whatsoever.
- Scorpio You've succeeded in breeding pandas in captivity, but the hard part will be getting them to breed with each other.
- Sagittarius You always wanted to die peacefully at home in your sleep, but look at it this way: You'll be at home, all right, and the flames will spread so fast you'll only be awake for a few seconds.
- Capricorn You're spending less time considering your future these days, which, all things considered, is only appropriate.
- Aquarius Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. Push your grandmother in front of a bus this week.
- Pisces Time and space are both illusions, making it even more frustrating that you're always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
54,000 words.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Yeahhh...
Couldn't help but notice this part of the NYT's travel slide show, touting the easy snorkeling in Jamaica...
Sadly, I couldn't snag the photograph, so I had to snap a picture of it with my camera, but this is a pretty good shot. Of course, this makes me wonder if this is a stock photo shot -- having worked in a stock photography library in antiquity, I can imagine somebody choosing the shots, and saying "Two bunsalicious babes in bikinis snorkeling in a tropical wonderland? Definitely have to go with that one. Print it."
Not that I'm complaining, mind you....
Sadly, I couldn't snag the photograph, so I had to snap a picture of it with my camera, but this is a pretty good shot. Of course, this makes me wonder if this is a stock photo shot -- having worked in a stock photography library in antiquity, I can imagine somebody choosing the shots, and saying "Two bunsalicious babes in bikinis snorkeling in a tropical wonderland? Definitely have to go with that one. Print it."
Not that I'm complaining, mind you....
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Mansun, "Take It Easy, Chicken"
I always liked Mansun, back in the day. Not as much as some of the other big Britpop bands, but their "Dream of the Grey Lantern" was a solid album, still holds up nicely. This is one of my favorites from that one...
51,000 words.
51,000 words.
Poor Japan
Poor Japan, getting hammered by an 8.9-level earthquake and the accompanying tsunamis and massive fires, and now having one of its nuclear reactors explode (and it looks like several others are critically damaged).
The winds are howling over here, around 27 mph. That's going to nail the St. Patrick's Day Parade today, I'm sure. That blows.
The winds are howling over here, around 27 mph. That's going to nail the St. Patrick's Day Parade today, I'm sure. That blows.
Friday, March 11, 2011
The Descendents, "Ride the Wild"
It's been awhile since I posted any music, hasn't it? This is my favorite song by The Descendents....
Triggered
Saw an altercation this morning between "Trigger" the pit bull and somebody else's smaller dog. Two pet owners -- one fat woman with her little dog, and a sleekly-built co-ed from DePaul with Trigger. I only saw it right as it happened, heard the little dog yelp and saw its owner throw herself on the dog (first I thought she fell over and worried about the dog being squished, but I realized that the woman had done the proverbial "fall on the grenade" move to protect her dog from the pit bull). As I walked by, the co-ed was scolding Trigger for snapping at the much-tinier dog -- of course, with a name like "Trigger" (equine pop cultural associations aside), the pit bull's likely in a bad position as an ambassador of peace and love. I walked out of range before I could hear how the owners resolved things -- the fat woman was just dusting herself off while the younger woman was just admonishing her dog.
Sunny and cold today, but beautiful sunlight.
Found $.50 this morning. I'm RICH!
Sunny and cold today, but beautiful sunlight.
Found $.50 this morning. I'm RICH!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Sure.
I thought I'd tweak the blog a bit, since the old layout was looking so very, I dunno, 2005. Hah! Time to polish it up a bit. Not like the content'll improve, particularly, but at least it'll look a bit snappier than before.
Snow more?
I keep hearing rumblings that we might get more snow, although I've seen no sign of it, except that the winds are kicking up again, and when that happens over here, it usually means there's some kind of front coming through, and a weather change is afoot. We'll see.
I saw that Daylight Savings is this Sunday. Urgh. "Spring Forward" is my least-favorite of time changes. I dread that. I can't remember if the Bush-era changes to that are still in effect, or if it went back to the old schedule. Knowing Obama's penchant for staying the course with Bush-era screwups, it's probably still the same revised schedule. Either way, I repeat: Urgh.
47,000 words.
I saw that Daylight Savings is this Sunday. Urgh. "Spring Forward" is my least-favorite of time changes. I dread that. I can't remember if the Bush-era changes to that are still in effect, or if it went back to the old schedule. Knowing Obama's penchant for staying the course with Bush-era screwups, it's probably still the same revised schedule. Either way, I repeat: Urgh.
47,000 words.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Ass Wednesday
Whoops, I mean ASH Wednesday.
Got the taxes done last night. Woo hoo!
Today was drizzly and overcast all day. Kinda yuckish day.
Worked on the next draft of the SF book, among everything else.
B2 has been increasingly enjoying painting, which is cute -- I set up some painting time for him each day, along with reading and writing time. He's quite precocious, which is fun to watch; he really doesn't miss a beat.
I keep meaning to get that old printer out of storage, get it up and running. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. The fun never ends!
Got the taxes done last night. Woo hoo!
Today was drizzly and overcast all day. Kinda yuckish day.
Worked on the next draft of the SF book, among everything else.
B2 has been increasingly enjoying painting, which is cute -- I set up some painting time for him each day, along with reading and writing time. He's quite precocious, which is fun to watch; he really doesn't miss a beat.
I keep meaning to get that old printer out of storage, get it up and running. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. The fun never ends!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Fat Tuesday!
Happy Pączki Day, people! Fat Tuesday is usually Polishified here in Chicago as Pączki Day, which required an obligatory run to wait in line to snag some yummies...
They're really basically like aggravated doughnuts, but the stuffing on them is particularly good, since they only make them once a year. The powdered sugar ones are the cheese-stuffed ones, which are exceptionally good. B2 ate almost an entire cheese one, which surprised me. There are all sorts -- chocolate custard-filled, custar-filled, plum, apricot, parisian lemon, strawberry, raspberry, apple-cinnamon, and many others.
I don't believe in God, but I do believe in Pączkis. Mmmm hmmm!
45,000 words.
They're really basically like aggravated doughnuts, but the stuffing on them is particularly good, since they only make them once a year. The powdered sugar ones are the cheese-stuffed ones, which are exceptionally good. B2 ate almost an entire cheese one, which surprised me. There are all sorts -- chocolate custard-filled, custar-filled, plum, apricot, parisian lemon, strawberry, raspberry, apple-cinnamon, and many others.
I don't believe in God, but I do believe in Pączkis. Mmmm hmmm!
45,000 words.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Splashdown
I got to the end of the first draft at 43,000 words. Definitively the end. Since this is short of what I intended for the overall length of the book, what it means is that I'll go back to the front and read through it and add more on the front end to get to the word count I want for the piece. This is a natural process, anyway--invariably on rewrite, sections are added and expanded (or eliminated). But the ending I got to just works so fluidly in the story, I had to go with it. I'm thinking I'll need about 55,000 more words written, which shouldn't be a problem.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Putting the "Yo!" in "Yeoman"
One of my all-time favorite 60s STAR TREK babes, Yeoman Tonia Barrows, played by Emily Banks (sadly, only for one episode, "Shore Leave")...
41,000 words.
41,000 words.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Flurried
It's flurrying outside. It was raining yesterday. Alright, then. I'm sure we're going to get another proper snow. It just seems likely to me.
Found $.50 on a quick jaunt to the grocery store for some things for the boys I forgot to get the other day. I'm rich! Woo hoo!
Okay, so this weekend, I'll buckle down and get the taxes done. I will. I just put it off this week because it sucks to do it. But I'll be a trooper and get it done.
33,000 words (so far. More to come)
Found $.50 on a quick jaunt to the grocery store for some things for the boys I forgot to get the other day. I'm rich! Woo hoo!
Okay, so this weekend, I'll buckle down and get the taxes done. I will. I just put it off this week because it sucks to do it. But I'll be a trooper and get it done.
33,000 words (so far. More to come)
Friday, March 4, 2011
No, I don't
I don't have insomnia tonight; rather, I dozed off earlier this evening, watching a movie, and that temporarily woke me up a bit.
It still sounds like it's raining. It's one of those desultory rains that really would rather be snow, but the temperature is not quite accommodating, so it's just raining on and on and on. That bugs me a little bit; I love storms, but ongoing rainfalls are boring. Hits me kind of the same way that endlessly howling wins irk me.
But it's a good thing; all of that rain'll rinse off the sidewalks and get the city looking pretty again, get us out from under the winter blech. I'm still amazed that spring is so close at hand.
31,000 words.
It still sounds like it's raining. It's one of those desultory rains that really would rather be snow, but the temperature is not quite accommodating, so it's just raining on and on and on. That bugs me a little bit; I love storms, but ongoing rainfalls are boring. Hits me kind of the same way that endlessly howling wins irk me.
But it's a good thing; all of that rain'll rinse off the sidewalks and get the city looking pretty again, get us out from under the winter blech. I'm still amazed that spring is so close at hand.
31,000 words.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Marching On
March always feels like such a long month, although I'm not complaining, after the eyeblink that was February. Historically, Chicago doesn't have much of a spring or fall -- just a long winter and a short summer, but as climate change continues, spring is a bit more apparent than it used to be. All the same, one can't rule out the crazy snowstorm in May, even if it's less common than it used to be. Usually, Chicago warms up in April, then gets cold again in May. I remember a number of years ago, a weeklong stretch in April when it reach 80 degrees, before the obligatory May chill kicked back in.
I saw something on the news the other day that Cincinnati had lost one-quarter of its manufacturing jobs in the past decade. That's pretty striking, although Ohio as a whole has been hemorrhaging jobs for the past 20 years. What never gets really discussed is that the state's fortunes declined precisely at the time that the Republicans assumed dominance of the statewide politics. Coingate was surely just representative of a larger trend, but it's odd to me that Republicans claim to offer solutions to Ohio's woes by ultimately doing more of the same, and expecting different results. The recent union-busting law is red meat for red staters, but isn't going to improve Ohio's economic situation; rather, it's just another case of kicking people in the teeth because they're able to. Aside from a policy of zero taxation of the wealthy, no social services or infrastructure spending, and giving corporations absolute free rein in the state, what "plan" does the Right have for Ohio? The race to the bottom is a race nobody wants to win. And even hacking the country's infrastructure to the bone will still not make us competitive with Third World nations. Even the most destitute of Ohio workers is going to look like a Rolls Royce to a Bangladeshi worker, and companies able to play Ohio workers against Third World workers are going to win at the expense of those Ohio workers. It's a losing strategy for the proverbial little guy, which is why Ohio's continued to bleed jobs. It's a problem because that same ideology is in play across the country, and the Democrats remain cowed by it. I'd like Obama to get fired up and push another infrastructure-building plan, something far more aggressive than his last effort, and have the Republicans strenuously argue against it. Far better than sitting on their hands and letting the loonies run the asylum. You know why the Republicans haven't been jumping at the chance to run against Obama? It's because they have no good ideas -- there's only so long you can say "No taxes on the wealthy, no estate taxes, no social services, no health care spending, no cuts in defense spending" before people start saying "Umm, WHAT do you offer me, exactly? How am I better off with you in charge?" Whoever runs against Obama next year is toast. Maybe Obama will (characteristically) just coast, knowing this. But he should be bold, rather than pandering to Republican delusions.
Oh, and this is an amusing corroboration of the above:
Republicans Stampeding Toward the Cliff
28,000 words.
I saw something on the news the other day that Cincinnati had lost one-quarter of its manufacturing jobs in the past decade. That's pretty striking, although Ohio as a whole has been hemorrhaging jobs for the past 20 years. What never gets really discussed is that the state's fortunes declined precisely at the time that the Republicans assumed dominance of the statewide politics. Coingate was surely just representative of a larger trend, but it's odd to me that Republicans claim to offer solutions to Ohio's woes by ultimately doing more of the same, and expecting different results. The recent union-busting law is red meat for red staters, but isn't going to improve Ohio's economic situation; rather, it's just another case of kicking people in the teeth because they're able to. Aside from a policy of zero taxation of the wealthy, no social services or infrastructure spending, and giving corporations absolute free rein in the state, what "plan" does the Right have for Ohio? The race to the bottom is a race nobody wants to win. And even hacking the country's infrastructure to the bone will still not make us competitive with Third World nations. Even the most destitute of Ohio workers is going to look like a Rolls Royce to a Bangladeshi worker, and companies able to play Ohio workers against Third World workers are going to win at the expense of those Ohio workers. It's a losing strategy for the proverbial little guy, which is why Ohio's continued to bleed jobs. It's a problem because that same ideology is in play across the country, and the Democrats remain cowed by it. I'd like Obama to get fired up and push another infrastructure-building plan, something far more aggressive than his last effort, and have the Republicans strenuously argue against it. Far better than sitting on their hands and letting the loonies run the asylum. You know why the Republicans haven't been jumping at the chance to run against Obama? It's because they have no good ideas -- there's only so long you can say "No taxes on the wealthy, no estate taxes, no social services, no health care spending, no cuts in defense spending" before people start saying "Umm, WHAT do you offer me, exactly? How am I better off with you in charge?" Whoever runs against Obama next year is toast. Maybe Obama will (characteristically) just coast, knowing this. But he should be bold, rather than pandering to Republican delusions.
Oh, and this is an amusing corroboration of the above:
Republicans Stampeding Toward the Cliff
28,000 words.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The Sheening, cont'd
This amused me -- Charlie Sheen quotes as "New Yorker" cartoon captions. How meta!
Sunshine Storytime
25,000 words and counting. I'm slowing down a little as the story gets more involved and complicated, but am keeping to at least 2,000 words a day on it. I'd like to hit the upper end of the word counts, but I have the boys for the next couple of days, and that usually confines my writing time to the morning, before the boys wake up, which'll mean around 2-4,000 words a day for the next couple of days.
I'm noticing the changing light conditions more this year than in previous years. I can see Spring approaching, even though it's still cold and blustery. The character of the light has definitely changed. I don't get affected by light levels like some folks do; I stay my cheery self in fair weather and foul, generally, but I have noticed the light getting stronger, and have enjoyed that.
Still need to do my taxes; I need to get them done and sent out before the government shutdown that's probably inevitably going to occur. Sheesh.
And in other news...
Shopping Cart Handles are Dirtier Than Public Restrooms
Ack!
I'm noticing the changing light conditions more this year than in previous years. I can see Spring approaching, even though it's still cold and blustery. The character of the light has definitely changed. I don't get affected by light levels like some folks do; I stay my cheery self in fair weather and foul, generally, but I have noticed the light getting stronger, and have enjoyed that.
Still need to do my taxes; I need to get them done and sent out before the government shutdown that's probably inevitably going to occur. Sheesh.
And in other news...
Shopping Cart Handles are Dirtier Than Public Restrooms
Ack!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
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