wednes | Entries tagged with computer

Soooo...

The Horror Within is getting ready to launch. My cousin Rich is doing an awesome job of translating my many needs and wants into realities.

Stuff we'll have and do:
--Accounts for all regular contributors, plus blank accounts so that guest contributors and fiction submissions can all have proper bylines.
--Awesome graphics that H has been working his ass off on. (Don't worry, his actual ass is cute as ever)
--Normal stuff like FB like buttons, our Twitter feed, and cool widgets
--Soon everyone will have custom graphics for their regular content.
--Staff Emails
--A fully functioning Submission page, so we won't have to use submittable.
--The ability to do polls.
--Yoast SEO management.

There's probably more I'm forgetting. I'm awesome at forgetting.
I still need to find some fiction, reprints I think, to have ready for the first few weeks after launch. For the time being, we'll probably have new content a few times a week. Hoping though, that will become more frequent with time.

What we need:
--Regular interviewers to interview mostly writers and authors.
--Novelists who want to pimp their wares.
--Regular swag writer who can commit to 1-2 articles a month about horrific analog games, figures, apparel and other horror swag.
--People dying to advertise with us. :-)

In other news, I thought I was way more caught up with work than I actually am. Seems the calendar on my iPod is not syncing with my mac mini. Talk about first world problems that are a genuine pain in the ass...!

Getting more proactive about fiction writing and subbing. Added a subplot and roughly 1,000 words to my short story Raja, then subbed it to a paying market. I've always enjoyed that story a lot and look forward to finding it a good home.

Getting a free veggie spiraler so I can review it. Got some free massagers for review earlier in the week. No you filthy minded jackals, not THAT kind of massager. They're supposed to be for cellulite, but since I don't give a crap about cellulite, I'm just using them on my calves and thighs because it feels awesome. It's a nobbly roller thing, and pretty durable. Plus, I love getting free stuff. Because FREE stuff!

Color me: calm
I'm enjoying: Talking Heads: Moon Rocks
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/1095924.html

My new computer is awesome, but Mavericks is a little annoying. Plus I found out the hard way that we needed a new modem. I was not online for over a day (it was almost 2 days, but H fixed it). New modem will be here tomorrow, supposedly. But that's not what I wanted to post about today.

I was talking to someone on FB about why people chose not to identify as a feminist. I don't. I wouldn't deny being a feminist if someone asked me. But when I'm making an "About me" section somewhere, that's never something I claim to be.

To my mind, being a feminist means you believe in equality of opportunity and access for everyone, regardless of gender. But really, the last three words are superfluous. Equality of opportunity and access for everyone is a simple concept, and one that should be the default setting for all human beings. If you aren't doing that, if you believe some people don't deserve the opportunities and access that you have--that's what needs a label. That kind of malarky should be stated upfront to anyone who has to interact with you in any meaningful way.

But then...
Many outspoken feminists think it's their right and duty to police the language, humor, and perspective of anyone who doesn't see every issue exactly as they do. I have super strong feelings that context and intent should be part of every process by which we gauge the speech of others. But I hear a lot that if anyone's feelings are hurt, context and intent don't matter. I would hate to be mistaken for someone who longs to restrict the words of others, or who infers hate where none is intended. I don't think policing language is helpful or that it's a road to equality.

Discussing language is vital, and it's everyone's right to make people aware if their language is hurtful. People who do that should be respected, not mocked. At the same time, there's a difference between language that is hateful and hurtful, and language that is clumsy and careless. While both can hurt, only one is intentional. Accusing and ostracizing, judging and lecturing--that's not the way to have the kind of conversation that actually inspires change. If it's worth it to say something, that something should be educational, informative, and kind.

Of course people also have a responsibility not to abuse language, or to use language they know damn well is hurtful or offensive to someone within earshot. Save racism, sexism, homophobia, and every other bigotry until you're alone with your fellow bigots. Choosing to use words intended to demean, insult, minimize, or marginalize others makes you an asshole. Yes, you get freedom of speech, asshole. That's why I have the freedom to tell you what an asshole you are.

I love language, and it pisses me off that there are people who use it to hurt others. It pisses me off that people think attempts to control language will impact the hate that inspires it. Given all the amazing things words can do, it's a shame how some will insist on using them for destructive purposes.

Color me: dorky
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/992535.html

Operation New Computer continues.

I went from a 2008 macbook (not a Pro, the student one) to a mac mini with 8g of RAM and a 2.3 quad core processor. The terabyte drive has given me room to download Homicide: Life on the Street in its entirety. I also have a 24" monitor, up from a 13". So that's all very nice.

Was really bummed to see that Mavericks has done away with my beloved Spaces, and replaced it with some homely crap called Command Center. It sucks. H found me a Spaces emulator program that only costs $20. I'm loving the trial so I'll surely buy it after I get paid. My bank account is actually overdrawn right now. Why I'm being charged almost $20 a month in fees is beyond me. I guess the bank has a system where they charge you money for not having enough money in your account--just one more way banks are not really for poor people.

The extra stuff I needed for the computer was supposed to arrive today. After waiting up for over 6 hours for the UPS man, he showed up during the five freaking minutes I was in the bathroom. So...no dice. Hopefully he'll try again tomorrow, which the text they sent me says will happen. But tomorrow is Saturday, so I wouldn't be surprised if I had to wait all weekend now. Just some cables and the Time Machine drive, plus speakers and a camera since a mac mini is basically BYOeverything. I thought I wouldn't bother with a camera, and then immediately had to postpone a conference. Oops.

On another topic, does anybody really think it's a good idea for us to go back to Iraq? It sounds like this is just a ploy to keep up the illusion that we were there to help the Iraqi people. Does anyone actually believe that? I don't see how. Normally I don't give much credence to the idea that we should help "our own" people over those in another country. In this case though, I'd really like to see veteran's needs, welfare, unemployment benefits, schools, green energy, and job creation addressed before we engage in another goddamn multi-billion dollar war over nothing.
I know we talk a good game about soldiers fighting for our freedom. I can't seem to recall our freedom ever being in jeopardy, at least not in my lifetime.

In TMI news, I'm having the sort of cramps that could kill a small child. Time once more for my annual Nightmare Period. I can always tell it's coming because I want nothing but red meat and coca cola for several days straight. It's also the only time I'm likely to crack out on caffeine Of course, I can't drink regular coke anymore. I also don't keep chocolate around the house anymore. *sigh* These healthy shopping habits will be the death of me...

Color me: pained
I'm enjoying: Steppenwolf: Jupiter Child
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/992201.html

I didn't make it to mass at St Francis last week despite my best efforts. Snow and cabs thwarted me. This week, I shall time call! (for non-cab people, this means scheduling the cab the night before)

I decided to take it really easy on myself this holiday season. We're not having anyone over for New Years Eve, first of all. So that's a LOT of cooking I won't have to do. I'm also not baking anything, except for H's birthday. Even with very little family in the area, there seems to be such a glut of cookies, fudge, and other holiday sweets that giving them out starts to seem like a cumbersome imposition.
In contrast, my Wednes-made lip balms have been turning out well and are pretty popular. Most of them can be sent with cards in padded mailers (H always makes us an awesome card). And nobody has to lay any diet-shaming talk on me about how "naughty" they'll feel when they eat cookies--because unless you're a disturbed youngster, you don't eat lip balm.

Aside from H and my goddaughter, I'm also not buying many presents. I get a little splashy with birthday gifts, but Xmas is just too huge and spendy to be getting pressies for everyone. That said, I did buy my goddaughter a Furby. I got an awesome Black Friday (why you gotta bring race into it?!?) deal on it, and I know she really wanted it. Honestly, I wouldn't mind a play robot myself, but I'm certainly not spending that kind of money on a toy for me.

Computer is worse than ever. In addition to having a broken click-bar, I'm looking at 12+ minutes to open Photoshop, and sometimes 10 minutes just for MS Word. Bearing in mind that I have to run INDesign including conversions, it's very frustrating. If I leave it unplugged, it will shut down itself at 20% power and without a warning. Gah! Mostly, I want to replace this computer before it shuts down completely and I can't get my stuff off it. I only have so many tiny flash drives, and most of them will not hold the magazine archive. *sigh* The down side to working at home and online is that if anything happens to my computer, I'm pretty much boned.

In better news, you can now Subscribe to Under the Bed magazine at Amazon. B&N is still taking a stupid long time to get the new issues up, but you can buy single issues from them. The best place to get single issues though, is at the FicMag website.

Found out today that there's a short film adaptation of Abed which is a short story I first read in Skipp and Spector's Book(s) of the Dead which I was just talking about on Facebook as being particularly influential to me. This particular story is now sold singly, with the same publisher as me, in fact. I'll be receiving a review copy soon, so that's fly. ZZN is starting to get active again. I'm throwing up my thoughts on Walking Dead this weekend if I have time. Mostly though, I'll be editing stories for the Feb issue and laying out the Jan issue once H gets the graphics to me.

Color me: discontent
I'm enjoying: Charlie Manson: People Say I'm No Good
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/947834.html

It's coming right along. It would be finished now but I'm still waiting to get interview questions back from one of the artists. Laying it out has been a huge task, but I think I'm getting the hang of the program now. InDesign is actually a lot like Illustrator with multiple pages. So all those Stig & The Puppetman comics actually did more than display my inadequate drawing skills.

I was gonna avoid using Creative Commons art like old ads and stuff. But I decided to go for it, at least until we can afford to pay artists. The cover art turned out really nice. See:
Art by Michael Larson

The logo is vectored, but in this jpg it doesn't look like it.

I'm waiting for my new bundle of assignments for SEO work. They are late. I was thinking I'd go ahead and get started. Then I weighed that against how mad I'd be if I spend a whole day doing them and then didn't get paid because the client cancelled or wanted to wait or something. So I'm working on some other stuff instead. I need to figure out a schedule where I can get all my stuff done and still have time for my own fiction.
That's right...I still write fiction.

My computer situation is getting dire. In addition to it being really slow and the click bar not working (actually, I had to turn it off so it would stop clicking automatically), and it shutting down randomly, the battery is going as well.
I guess I'm gonna have to break down and buy a mac mini, but not until September since I'm presuming new models will come out to go along with Maverick.

Color me: restless
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/908510.html

It seems that my idiocy knows no bounds. I was all set to get up and do a ton of work yesterday, when disaster struck. I emptied my computer trash, knowing that there were a bunch of unedited screencaps from various TV reviews. The little box comes up telling me that it's now deleting...

Four thousand items?!?

What? Four thousand? Son of a--
I look at my desktop, and to my horror see that I have deleted the folder with all my pics, (including the pics I use online) Kindle backups (and thousands of books I downloaded) and about 75 gigs of movies and audio that were not in iTunes for one reason or another. Fuck fuckety fuck!

I manage to stay calm.
Facebookers helped me out with figuring out what to do next.
I ended up paying $90 to use a program called Disk Drill.
It showed me that it could recover most all of my files.
Yay, right?

But wait...
My spare disc drive (not big enough to run Time Machine) conked out in the middle of the recovery, so I didn't get everything back.
I also learned that when you recover files, none of them are named. So I have to eventually go through every single file by hand to figure out what the hell it is. Gah!

So, if anybody wants to buy me a present, I could use a TB drive.

Color me: moody
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/889920.html

Coming soon to wherever the hell you buy new reading materials.

Re recording of audiobook continues this week. I am reading 2 parts, though that won't be common knowledge even though I'm about it online. I'm supposed to hear the new narrator audition soon, so hopefully that will go well. The problem with casting that is that I don't know how to tell an actor how to give me what I want. I just know what sounds right, and what doesn't. As usual, the hard part is casting the Indian accents. It's too bad my favorite NP at the clinic isn't also a voice actress. Or maybe she is, I've never asked her.

My review of John Dies at the End is up. I review the movie, not the book. Do people actually read books anymore? ;-]

In worst things that could possibly happen news, my computer is on its last legs. This saddens me, since 100% of my money earning and roughly 80% of my interpersonal communication takes place via computer. Jojo broke the click bar and I don't know how to disable it. It clicks and/or stays clicked at random times even though I never touch it. No idea how I'm going to get another one, since H said it cannot possibly come out of the house budget. Why, oh why did I invest in those pajamas!?!?!?!

Color me: stressed
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/858333.html

New Yoga DVD is kicking my ass. Seriously, kicking it.
I can't even get through the first 25 minute segment. I are weak.
But soon...I shall be strong. *kicks guy into pit* THIS IS WEDNES!!!!

Had a delightful exchange on the Facebook with Marilyn Wann. I told her I had a shirt with her book cover on it, and she said I must be super badass. Duh. I told her I needed a shirt apprising people that Ms Wann thinks I'm badass. Ha!

Am working on my first article written entirely with Dragon Dictate. It's a cool program, until I take a short break and start singing along with the iTunes. There's a lot to like about Alcatraz. Sam Neill has long been a boon to horror and why do I give valuable time to people who don't care if I live or die. Yeah, it's silly. Still, DD knows a lot of great nerdy words. It understood that Daleks and Wookies do not go to Hogwarts. Ha again!

No new book reviews in some time. If you owe me a review, you better gets to writing it! Another great interview up at Zombie Zone News. I loved this guy's book and thought he was a great interview!

Alcatraz is pretty good so far. We're giving it a whirl. I'm not going to write a whole big thing here since I'm working on a thing for AC. Also looking into writing for Horror Web, as they are needing new writers and the contact guy seems nice.

The podcast is becoming a stressful pain in my ass. I will be very happy when I no longer have to fuck around with these. By which I mean that I hope I don't have to produce The Finster Effect myself. The cast is too friggin' huge anyway.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but both Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have been two of the most hated men in contemporary politics for years. Santorum has been a hateful bigot for at least a decade, and Gingrich has been saying shitty things about minorities and the poor since I was a teenager. So why is anyone taking these pricks seriously? How is that even possible?!? Thanks to Dan Savage (and yay for him, I say) we simply cannot have a president Santorum. We just can't. Gingrich has always been a complete bastard. Mark Maron used to talk about him back when he was crazy smokin' hot. Maron's still attractive in a goofy way, but I guess every man can't age as well as John Schneider. Seriously. John Schneider is hotter now than he was when I was a kid.
Or am I just saying that to get you to watch the Super Shark musical trailer???

Because that's just the kind of thing I'd do...and he's all the way at the end.
Still, it's a marvelous trailer. Just delightful.

Color me: determined
Inquiries will reach me @ home, hard at work
I'm enjoying: The Smiths
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/809278.html

Smack in the middle of a 5-day-job-day work-week. Now that I have all those hyphens out of my system, I'm actually getting a ton of stuff done. Short day for me, as it's my usual day off. 6-9 is just annoying enough to curb my productivity. Anywhoo... My plan to apply to at least one new freelance job every business day is moving forward full steam. I have ideas for a couple great new articles, and am right on schedule with all my regular marketing stuff. Yay for me!

Santorum. No. Just...stop it. All of you.

Been watching Doctor Who. Rewatched all the Eccleston eps and are 4 eps in to the Tennants. Sarah Jane...*sigh* David Tennant is so super attractive. He and James Purefoy need to Celebrity Deathmatch--the winner gets my undying affection. I know, right? ;-] I'm digging the hell out of Doctor Who. The writing is just so damn good. How many times do I say: Why can't they just get rid of one special effect and hire decent writers? That, my friends, is Doctor Who. Looks like it was made for $50 an episode, but it's so goddamn brilliant and moving that the visuals barely matter. Um...except The Doctor. They're all pretty hot.

Still waiting for my new yoga mat and blocks to arrive.
I shall become the yoga master. It's a new kind I'm trying. No more Iyengar...which really does seem to be designed for skinny people. Also waiting for the new headphones Girl-H ordered for me from Amazon. Should be here any day. I'm stoked.

Also, Dragon Dictate is awesome. Just plain awesome. Plus, it knows a bunch of nerd words. So far, Shatner, Nimoy, Jedi, Gandalf, Mordor, and Harryhousen. Seriously. I have programmed nothing yet and it knows all those words. I'm finding the speech recognition to be excellent, so long as I speak in my radio voice. I'm using a $30 Logitech mic and having great results.

I need a haircut. The thing about cool short haircuts is that they must be maintained. I wish I could just go to a barber. $15 and out the door. I really just need the back trimmed and cleaned up anyway. Hmmm...maybe I will try going to a barber. Or Greatclips. But I don't trust those bastards.

And finally, Rick Santorum's wife had a partial-birth abortion.
Does that mean he probably won't also come out of the closet before the election?
Because seriously, fuck him.

Color me: blank
Inquiries will reach me @ home, then work, then home
I'm enjoying: Danny, my coworker
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/808363.html

H and I watched the remake of Fright Night last night. It was damn entertaining, and I figure I'll probably buy it at some point. Clever writing, good cast, great Chris Sarandon cameo. I do enjoy when vampires are actually played for scares, rather than say, sparkly homoeroticism. Even the Anne Rice stuff doesn't really hold up now that I'm not an angst-ridden pre-emo teen.
You ever see those Tex Avery cartoons where the wolf is looking at the girl, howling and slapping the table--eyes bugging out across the room? That's how I felt about David Tennant in this movie. Fo Shiz.

Girl-H is back home to PA. She's not thrilled, and will probably be leaving the country again soon. I suspect that she's undergoing the same thing I went through after college--wherein the family has this "Oh, so you think you're better than us now?" attitude. Girl-H is as gentle and good-natured as my H, so she doesn't deserve that shit. I sincerely hope it's not also some crap about Grace wanting to shut out kids from her previous marriage(s). H and Girl-H don't have the same Dad, and Grace is not married to either of their Dad's currently. Odd for someone who had to walk out of my wedding for its terrible pagan leaning. But I digress...

Writer Resume is looking good. Applying for no less than three jobs I have a decent shot at. Am def making this a regular thing. The day-job is making it pretty clear than any bump in pay we get will be tiny and grudgingly given. To give some perspective, my understanding is that cost-of-living increase is roughly 3% a year. My raises have been 2% every-other year. So if I stay with the company for 10 years, I'll be making a dollar an hour more than when I started--only I'll be doing at least 3x as much work, with less training and shitty software. Every year they make it more and more clear that expertise, skill, etc, means basically nothing to them. Their newest crappy idea is that everybody should be able to take calls for every department. So yeah, I long for the day that I can give notice in the manner of that guy from Half Baked. ;-]

My USB mic came in today. It's a cheap one, meant to work with my newly received copy of Dragon Dictate, courtesy of my buddy in Battle Creek. *waves* I didn't really think it through, because it hadn't occurred to me that I won't be able to listen to music while I write if I'm using DD. Or maybe I could, but I'd have to wear headphones. I have to look into it. But anyway, my cheap mic is here.

Have a new Yoga setup on the way. A good mat, some blocks, and a new fat-chick doing Yoga DVD. Looking forward to getting into that. Girl-H also bought me some headphones that will be arriving soon. So I guess I'm just Little Miss Gettin' Stuff. heh.

Oral surgeon appt was a bust. $25 in cabs to find out that they don't call you when they're running 2+ hours behind. As I don't have all fucking day, I rescheduled for next week. Then I got home and remembered that I'm working on both my days off next week. So I guess I'll be rescheduling again.

Decided I enjoyed American Horror Story so much, I'm going to buy it when it comes out on DVD. I am so excited to have a series that really respects horror fans. Next season, new locale and an all-new cast. Please, AHS, don't let me down. And Walking Dead? Your ass is still skating on thin ice, your badass finale notwithstanding. Speaking of badass finales, how much did the last seconds of Dexter Season Six kick your ass? I know, right? Easily the best season finale since LOST went off the air (I'm thinking of S1 and S3 finales in particular).

Color me: busy
Inquiries will reach me @ home, hard at work
I'm enjoying: Candyman
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/807698.html

If I was an 8-year-old kid, this would be the best day ever.
If you're like half of Facebook, you may not realize that every year on 7/11. 7-11 gives away free slurpees. I honestly can't remember the last time I had a slurpee, but if it's still 90 fricken degrees outside when I leave work today, I just may have one today.

Perhaps you've heard that Permuted Press is doing a thing with Audible.com. Currently happening is ZombieFest. I offered to help them out with some publicity and the next thing I knew I had seven new author interviews to put up in the next 3 weeks. That's twice as many as I usually do. Plus I need to get The Finster Effect to beta readers by the end of the month. AND I was gonna do another podcast ep, although RAJA is doing great guns. Plus I'm contributing at Associated Content these days, and hoping to write something hilarious and clever enough for the good people at Cracked.com

Got a letter from Comcast that they're onto my occasional free downloading. More to the point, it said We know you downloaded Boardwalk Empire, and stop it. So if you do any free downloading, you might want to lay off anything that comes from HBO. Personally, I thought the illegal part was seeding. I guess not. Let's hope HBOGo continues to be a thing, because Boardwalk Empire is pretty dang good...you know, for those of us who still miss The Sopranos.
Yeah, I understand in theory why free downloading is wrong. I justify it because I pay for HBO, and because shut up, I'm poor. I also give tons of my own creative work away for free.

Doing a Thursday midnight show of Harry Potter 7.2 this week. Judging by the clips they've been showing on ABC Family (shut up), Nigel is doomed. That won't be quite as sadly horrific as having to watch Colin Creevy die. I don't think I'll ever get over that.

Color me: artistic
Inquiries will reach me @ ye olde daye-jobbe
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/792308.html

A couple people on my FB feed have been off on a tear about how multiculturalism is "ruining America." Far as I'm concerned, only Native Americans should be able to make that claim. However, if you're one of those assholes who brays on about how anybody from a country who produces terrorist is some kind of sympathizer--well, you can fuck right off if you're celebrating St Patrick's Day. Beside the basic point that America produces plenty of terrorists (when's the last time YOU formally denounced Ted Kaczynski, or Randall Terry? What does a "formal denouncement" even entail?) the idea that all people of a given religion, from a given country, or of a given color agree with each other on all things is patently ludicrous. And as always, if you're bitching because people aren't speaking English--you should be complaining about it in proper English.

In the past week, I've had to explain to people no less than 3 times that I am no longer entertaining any argument containing comparisons to Nazi's or Hitler. I'm saying it again, hopefully for what will be the last time. I hope everyone is listening.

Is there gun-control legislation happening that I don't know about? I'm hearing a lot of people talking about how "the left" wants to "take all our guns away." I have not heard anyone on either side advocating that ALL guns be taken away. Last I heard, there were states where it was perfectly fine to bring a gun into a church, a bar, or a Presidential appearance. Is this just the usual alarmist bullshit, or is something actually happening?

Did not get as much writing done over my long weekend as I wanted to. Most of the weekend was taken up trying to fix the computer, which I have now done. Can't believe it's already the middle of March. If I seem like I'm ignoring you, it's because I really am trying to spend less time online. Sadly, that time comes right out of catching up with you all.

Color me: bitchy
Inquiries will reach me @ work--all goddamn day
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/781650.html

After literally five straight days of irritated Apple calls, visits to the Genius Bar (tm), carbon copy cloning, and failed attempts to turn off File Vault--I have finally fixed my computer.
That's right, I now have access to all of my hard drive. Amazing.

I did it using a borrowed back-up drive, and the awesome power of my brain.
You kids know what that means...

Take THAT:

Now I have to make up for all that time I couldn't spend working on TFE.
Back to it, I go.

My kickass interview with Craig Spector is up Why you aren't already reading it is beyond me. I'm kind of bummed that no one has been commenting on it. Even if you think my interview sucks, and was completely unworthy of him--why not pop by and tell him so?

Color me: chipper
Inquiries will reach me @ home
I'm enjoying: Three Dog Night
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/781431.html

I have no idea how this happened, but my macbook somehow split its hard drive in half. Suddenly, it was telling me I only had 11GB of disk space left, when I knew damn well I had over 200. Frown. I asked around, tried a few things, no success. Frown again.

Yesterday it was my day off from ye old day job. I decided that come hell or high water, I was going to fix this issue myself.

2pm: called Applecare. Computer asked me what I wanted, said a rep would be with me soon. 32 minutes later, no rep. No hold music.

2:45pm: called Applestore Briarwood. Transfered me to Applecare, actually got rep in 5min.

4pm: concluded call with rep. Waiting for copying of files. Rep would not give me his extension, said reps don't have them. Made it a point to say he wasn't brushing me off. Sent Email with instructions on how to finish procedure.

8pm ish: Stuck following instructions. Windows don't look like what Email/forums say. Near tears. Haven't gotten any work done all day. Called Briarwood -----> Applecare again. New guy. Talked for 30 min or so. More copying. New guy gives me phone # and Ex, proving that first guy was lying when he said he didn't have an ex.

11:30pm: Copying finished. Still cannot proceed. Swearing ad nauseum. Shut down.

Today: Made appt at Apple Briarwood. Will be there at 7:40pm.

EDIT: 10:08pm Thursday: Home from Applestore. They were very helpful and not irritable at all. They complimented my macbook skin, and my awesome hat. Turns out, all I really need to do is delete some stuff off my hard drive, 10gb or so. Then I should have enough room to turn off File Vault, thus freeing up all that stupid space. Everything I went through yesterday was a complete waste of time.

What luck! I just got a survey from Applecare asking me about my experiences on the phone yesterday. *rubs hands together*

EDIT AGAIN: 11:34pm No dice. Going to tinker with it a bit, but looks like I might end up copying everything in the File Vault onto an external drive, then deleting it so I can turn off File Vault. Damn...what a pain in the ass!

Color me: angry
Inquiries will reach me @ darkest pit of non-computer hell
I'm enjoying: coworkers talking
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/781214.html

( If you're curious to know how our holiday was, this is where you can find that out. )

And then, this happened:

Back to work tomorrow for a 3-day week. Dropping down on the hours so I can get some real work done. Have to finish The Finster Effect by the end of summer, which means I'll be working my ass off on it. New podcast ep this week, and new ZZN article and ParaBlog article too. That's right, no more dicking around. Back to the REAL work! Apparently the main difference between being somewhat talented and actually being successful is a metric fuckton of hard work. My new desk setup is awesome, so I really have no excuse for not getting everything done that I need to do. Well--unless that new HDMI cable that lets me watch downloaded vids on my big TV counts as an "excuse." I'm hoping not...but there is an awful lot of Bugs Bunny here.

Color me: pleased
Inquiries will reach me @ home
I'm enjoying: Counting Crows
Crossposts: http://wednes.livejournal.com/774891.html

One of the finest films ever made, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was on TV yesterday. Apparently, it's the anniversary. ( I'm gonna discuss it at length, with mild spoilers, and within the context of my having mental illness myself. )

Back to work tomorrow, having accomplished everything I needed to this weekend. Need to spend more time with the zombie manuscript of course, but my new short story is pretty solid right now. (It's up for members of

wednes_writes if anyone wants to check it out.) Next podcast is ready to go and new Ladies of Villainy post went up yesterday. So that's all good. The busy season at my day-job basically starts tomorrow. We have a bunch of new people coming in, and call volume is about to explode. Sucky thing is, this summer was terrible and stressful, and I've been really busy so I feel like I didn't get much down time. We had a horrible sale and they released a badly handled coupon that didn't work on the website. Then we got the horrible new system that, in addition to being VERY slow and unintuitive, was rolled out terribly and is still buggy as hell. Couple that with nobody getting raises and bonuses being laughably small, I'm not really feeling the day-job these days.

In case I haven't mentioned, Inception was incredible. Not quite my fave Christopher Nolan film, but damn close. (I freakin' LOVE Following). I'm not going to discuss it at length, just go see it. I got a copy of The Prestige on DVD this week because I haven't been able to find my burned copy in months. It's well worth paying for anyway. Also picked up the remake of 'Salem's Lot for cheap (both movies delivered for $15) *Happy Dance*

And finally, my iPod wiped itself clean last week. It was horrible. No reason at all. It was plugged in and I restarted my computer. All gone. Called support--no help. I lost a zillion movies, audiobooks, LOST and other TV eps, and a bunch of stuff from iTunes that I actually paid for. They don't let you re download stuff for free anymore. Never been angry at Apple before, don't like how that feels.

Color me: accomplished
Inquiries will reach me @ United States, Michigan, Saline
I'm enjoying: 80's music

Off work today and tomorrow. Good thing, as I have tons of work to do. Haven't been able to stay up late and work these days. All but one day last week, I was tired and had to go to bed by 3am--even when I had the next day off work. Usually, I only go to bed early because I have to get up early the next day.

I want to go Detroit Zoo. Someone should take me.

Catching up on the JulNoWriMo today, and probably tomorrow. I'm only at about 5,000 words and should be at twice that as the first week is almost over. This is my last month with extra writing time, so I need to make it count. New ep of Kiss Me Like You Love Me podcast hits tomorrow. I still have to record the opening and mix the whole thing. As soon as my patty melt gets here, and I eat it, I'm going to get started. The book itself is coming right along. I seen to have very good luck when it comes to characters taking over and doing their thing. Colleagues decided they hate each other, compassionate people murder out of necessity, and the dog POV intro chapter turned out so wonderful and moving--it actually made me cry.

Scrubbed up my white macbook with a Mister Clean Magic Eraser. Awesome. Finally got my decals from Mac Styles. They were late, despite my paying extra for shipping so they'd get here last week. I sent them an Email and they refunded my TOTAL shipping, not just the extra charge. I thought that was swell of them, plus I love their products. I mixed them with a decal I got from this chick on etsy who has tons of great stuff. Apparently, she makes decals so she can stay home with her kid while her husband is deployed. Anyway, I think they look great:

New hair color should be here soon, bright black. It will be bluish at first, then fade to a deep black. I'm going to bleach some hair out and do some blue and pink Manic Panic. I've never done it before, but I'm stoked.

I've been using Puppy Training Pads on my bathroom floor because Pentelope likes to pee there. Hahaha! Success! Yes, she still pees there, but I don't have to mop 3-4 times a week. Yay.

Inquiries will reach me @ United States, Michigan, Milan
I'm enjoying: Law & Order

It's not that I really mind all this World Cup business. Like the Olympics, it's one of the few events that remind Americans that things happen outside of the United States. I know, right? Those little horns are cute. I had no idea any instrument could sound more annoying than a kazoo. You live, you learn, as they say.

First draft of the new book is coming along slowly. I've been stuck for over a day on the intro chapter from the POV of a dog. I even toyed with the idea of making it a cat instead, but I can't find a way to omit the dog and still have the narrative as varied as I want. I'll probably end up doing both, since there are gonna be plenty of characters in this little opus.

Working again. Agreed to pick up my 3rd Saturday this month. Amazing how bummed I am to be working so many Saturdays since most of the jobs I've had demanded I work EVERY Saturday, and plenty of holidays as well. We even get some bank holidays off here. Still...9-5 on a Saturday is like cutting your weekend in half. Plus it's been busy. Lots of calls but only so-so sales numbers. Thought I might have time to work on the manuscript, but as I'm leaving in 15 minutes, that seems unlikely. It's been stupidly busy for some reason.

Going to try to pop off the keys on my macbook so I can clean under them. The Internets say it's easy, so we shall see. I'm going to pop one off, clean under it then see if I can put it back. I'll start with one I don't use much, like the tilde. The combination of smoke and cat hair is slowly choking it to death, I think. I also need to buy the new protector cover for my laptop and for the inside as well. My wrist braces cause some unnecessary wear on either side of the track pad. I hate not having any money for stuff I want.

And finally, the location detector on LJ is wonky. I haven't left Ann Arbor in some time, but according to LJ I've been in Milan, Saline, Livonia, all over the place. I haven't though. And I really hope nobody who looks like me has robbed a bank in any of those places--although that could be a recipe for hilarity.

Color me: devious
Inquiries will reach me @ United States, Michigan, Livonia
I'm enjoying: people watching the futbol match

Previously on LOST...

Jack frantically searches for the Final Horcrux, while Miles tries in vain to determine who the last cylon is. Hurley and Dr Melfi stare at a picture of Bob Denver for two hours, then go out for Onion Rings. Clare and Charlie jump a great white shark on some waterskis while holding a baby between them at Joanie anc Chachi's wedding. Suddenly, Desmond calls someone brotha as he gives Ben Linus the ol' one two punch--that ends up being more of a 4-8-15-16-23-42 right in the kisser! Sawyer and Eko wake up in bed next to each other, and notice that Juliet has actually been in the shower all this time, and she used the last of the Dharma shampoo:

( I'll just cut this for spoilers then, shall I? )

Maybe it's the new meds, but I'm really comfortable with suspending my disbelief these days. I gotta snap out of it for the new book. You know what they say: The difference between fiction and real-life is that fiction has to make sense.

In kickass news, I was thinking about buying one of those Dharma decals you put on your macbook that have space for the Apple logo in the middle. Neat. But when I looked around for one online, I decided that this was way more amazing, and ordered it from a chick on Etsy:

I'm going to order this to go underneath it:

And there will be much rejoicing.

Stay tunes, kids. tonight I'll be posting chapters 3 and 4 of Kiss Me Like You Love Me: The Audiobook Podcast over at my website. You really should try to catch it. 'Tis a scary, scary thing.

Color me: happy
Inquiries will reach me @ United States, Michigan, Ann Arbor
I'm enjoying: The Police. Um...the band, not the actual police.

As this Friday is Boss's Day, I decided to celebrate the made-up, Hallmark holiday by taking up a collection and getting our boss a present. I genuinely like my boss, and would hang with him in real life except that my lifestyle isn't really well disposed to that sort of thing. I wouldn't want to put him in a position where he knows stuff he shouldn't know. ;-] Anyway, we got him Mario Kart for the Wii. It comes with a wheel controller attachment, plus we got an extra wheel so his wife can play too.

Contacted all the various businesses that are sending me stuff I need for the ball. The bookmarks tassles are shipping tomorrow at the latest. The company I ordered from sounds like it's one or two people and a whole lot of product. H is making my bookmarks, which will hopefully be done by this weekend, then I can put the tassles on as soon as they arrive. He's also making me a sign for the table. My books just got here. I will have the following books to sign and sell at the Vampire Ball:

A Stabbing for Sadie 20 copies
The Cat's Apprentice 7 copies
The Garden Anthology 7 copies

In computer news, my switch from Safari to FireFox was quick, painless, and effective. Not sure why I didn't do this the first time Safari started crashing on me.

I was going to write a whole sociopolitical post about how much I hate when people say that everything the government does with their tax money is on their dime. The whole "why should I have to help so-and-so with their such-and-such because I work hard and they don't" bullshit that people keep saying. But in doing some basic research about the US's ever widening disparity between haves and have-nots, I started feeling so mad I decided to stop researching and watch a Bugs Bunny cartoon instead. Yes, that speaks volumes about me and my commitment to my fellow man. But fuck it, I don't want to be depressed today.

Poetry continues to thwart me, but I shall not submit. My muse shall conquer the relentless demon endeavoring to prevent me from finding rhyme, theme, and meter. What little there is can be found at

wednes_writes.

And finally, if you're gonna be anywhere near Flint on October 24th, be sure to buy a ticket to The Vampire Ball.

Color me: productive
Inquiries will reach me @ United States, Michigan, Ann Arbor
I'm enjoying: Voltaire: They Know Me

Got my new cord from Apple this morning. Awesome right, seeing as how I ordered it yesterday afternoon. That Apple! They are great. Funny thing though, they didn't send the whole cord, just the boxy part that goes from the middle to the laptop. That's the part I needed, but still...I kind of expected to get all of it. Wild, right. So apparently only HALF the cord costs $72, not the whole thing. Plus they sent it in a box with the most convenient return label I've ever seen.

The camera cord I ordered did not work. I wrote back to the guy and he is sending me a new one ASAP. He doesn't even want the other one back. Nice for me. Eventually I'll get the insurance pics off the camera.

Speaking of things that don't work, it appears that the G peg on my violin is not fucked as I had suspected. It's actually okay and requires some finessing. I'm not usually one for the finesse, so it never occurred to me to do that. Anyway, my goal for the evening is to get this thing in tune, and record myself playing an open E, and maybe an A and post it to my violin blog tomorrow at work. BTW, the chick in my new violin icon is Vanessa Mae.

In re: LOST. Does anybody know if the season 5 finale had a different name in European markets? I've heard two people now calling it "The Accident" instead of "The Incident." Obviously, these words have vastly different connotations, so I'm just wondering if these people I'm encountering are simply morons (it's been known to happen) or if there's something else going on here.

Didn't make it to work today. Couldn't actually sit up under my own steam this morning. After nearly an hour of H pounding on my back with the Homedics thingy, I'm feeling marginally better.

If you can handle another of my animals are taking over the world posts, do take note of the fact that Large Lizards have taken over a public park in Thailand.

Here's a funny thing from the Facebook:

Get it? It's like the remake of Psycho poster.

Color me: hurty
Inquiries will reach me @ United States, Michigan, Ann Arbor
I'm enjoying: Weird Al: I'll Sue Ya!

New episode of LOST hits January 27, 2010.
It is entitled "LAX."
Oooooooooh, I am super stoked.

In violin news, I think the problem with tuning this violin is the humidity (or lack thereof) in my apartment. So I need to spend on some kind of humidifier. I still think the peg is bad because it shouldn't shrink that badly after just a few hours in my apartment. Of course, maybe I'm just saying that because I don't want to spend $30 on a case humidifier and a hygrometer. I guess I don't really know. But the fact that it's only one peg leads me to think the instrument bears some looking at. Some of the other pegs don't turn very smoothly, but I don't know if that's them or me.

Happened to find my 4th grade teacher on Facebook recently. She remembered me, which I guess is one of the good things about having a ridiculous name.

Remember a little while back when some jackass in Florida let his snake escape and it killed a little girl? Seems that he and the mother are being charged with manslaughter. I am glad to hear it. Not to be a bitch, but that girl would still be alive if they'd had the common fucking sense to latch the cage properly and maybe stack some books on top. My snake turned mean on me after we got the cats but he still never escaped. I was always really careful. I knew I couldn't live with myself if the snake every hurt one of my cats (or vice versa, but that wasn't very likely).

I was shocked and saddened to learn that a new power cord for my computer is $72. I don't have to pay for it, of course, thanks to the AppleCare. But jeez. And it's not like you can get by without one. Also, I got a new cord for H's camera, which I had lost. It doesn't work on my computer for some reason, it says it's drawing too much power and is going to "shut down the hub." Problem is, it was plugged in directly. It's a puzzlement, but I'm going to try a few things before I insist that they send me a new cord.

For some reason, my back has been hurting really, really bad lately. Not sure what that's all about, but I'm doing extra yoga to see if I can blast through it, so to speak.

Color me: pained
Inquiries will reach me @ United States, Michigan, Ann Arbor
I'm enjoying: FZ: Moving to Montana

Do I seriously have to download a separate Freeware thingy just to edit animated gifs? I'm sorry, but that is stupid. I have the Adobe Creative Suite for heaven's sake! There's no reason on this Earth I shouldn't be able to edit gifs with it, but everything I'm finding online tells me that because Imageready is no more, that I can create my own gifs but cannot edit existing ones. That is punk, pos, bunk, and well, completely unacceptable. Am I missing something here?

Kinda worried about my new editor just because she doesn't seem to know much about basic document management. H pointed out that there are plenty of brilliant people who don't know dick about computers. That H, he's so smart.
Anyway, the draft is "done" and handed over to the editor officially. I just realized today that I wanted my MC to be a connoisseur of something he has merely mentioned a lot. So that's a bummer. Not a huge deal, but it will probably bug me forever now.

Tosh.0 is much, much funnier than it should be. It makes me almost want to Tweet. Not quite, but almost.

Thinking about downloading Stubbs the Zombie for Xbox360. It's not very expensive and it's gotten some great reviews. H cautioned me about it because I'm impatient when learning new games and give up easily if they are too complicated. Plus I don't really play video games by myself except on the GBA. Dead Rising was much too hard for me. Those guys in the jeep are dicks. I played a lot of Wii Sports alone when we first got it, but now it's mostly something H and I do together. We got a trial of PinballFX I think it's called. It's not like video pinball, it's like REAL pinball with a flipper delay and stupidly slanted table. I'm going to play it in a bit, actually.

Tonight I'm making chicken alfredo pasta with mushrooms and red peppers. Man, it's going to be tasty even as it is making us die of cholesterol. We're big fans of comfort food around here. Then later we're going to watch Prince Caspian because I've never seen it. I bet it's gonna be about Jesus.

Not sure why, exactly, but this is the best thing I ever saw:

EDIT:
I'm sorry, THIS is now the best thing I ever saw...

Color me: happy
I'm enjoying: 'Til Tuesday

I'm gonna be honest here, I download a fair amount of music from The Limewire. Mostly, it's stuff I used to have on LP or cassette, that of course is not playable anymore without a time machine. So I get stuff here and there. I also get the odd book on tape, since I already own the books in question. I don't think it's that big a deal.( continuing to complain about iTunes )
I guess with that in mind...why would anyone pay for songs that give you all this trouble, when you can download trouble-free songs for nothing?
Also, why would a logic board mess up my authorizations in the first place?
~~And finally, if someone could Email me a mp3 or mp4 of Jonathan Coulton's Re: Your Brains, I would be eternally grateful.~~ Got it!!

As for me, I'm at work. As I was complaining earlier, I'm working four opens in a row this week. It is hellish. I get no time to write, no time to see H, and very little sleep. Plus we're super busy and every other customer is being really annoying. It's not even 11am yet and I'm totally taxed. I've been trying to finish this post since 8:50 this morning. Sheesh!

Color me: cranky
Inquiries will reach me @ 7th circle of hell
I'm enjoying: us, getting our asses kicked

My MacBook is back in my hot little hands. Woot and Woot a second time!!

Accidentally bought a bunch of truffles @ Godiva.
Didn't really mean to.
Couldn't be helped...

;-]

Color me: ecstatic
I'm enjoying: Richard Cheese

I know I say that a lot, but today is 4/20. Loosely translated to 420. Not sure the significance of 420? Think it's some kind of Pulp Fiction humor?
Well, wonder no more!!.

I'm at work, of course. I generally open on Mondays. And once again I had to do the voicemail, which is my most hated of all mails. We have free shipping right now, which I love. It's actually pretty fun when you get to surprise people with FREE shipping. They love it and I love it when people are delighted with my company. I tend to have pride in the places I work, even if my place of employ is a total shithole. Anyway, whenever we start free shipping, there's always a rash of people who "just ordered" who are angry that they didn't get free shipping as well. I think that's kind of silly, it's really a luck-of-the-draw thing sometimes. I tend to refund them anyway, as long as they are nice about it.

Got a call yesterday from my beloved Gary at the Apple Store. My computer is ready to get picked up. Despite the chinese water torture style rain we are having today, I'm going to go get it after work. Wheee!! I've been using H's 24" (I think it's an iMac) and it's just too whompin' huge. I feel like I have to lean way back just to see the whole screen. Although I did watch the new Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince trailer on it. It was pretty sweet.

Once I get my computer back, aside from writing like lightening on my serial killer, I'll be watching the season 5 Practice episodes that Michael Emerson won the Emmy for. Man...it's a spectacular bunch of eps.

Color me: working
Inquiries will reach me @ work

...or not.

Apple is not going to cover the repair of my headphone jack.
In fact, they can't even ballpark for me what it's going to cost.

I am so sad.

Color me: depressed
I'm enjoying: something tinny and quiet

So it's Easter, right?
I decided I would sleep in instead of getting up at 9am to to grocery shopping like I usually do.
Then I get up and get ready to go, only to find out that H wants to wait an hour because he's in the middle of some video game thing. Don't those things have pause buttons? Seriously...

We get to the store and it's very uncrowded. H keeps disappearing, which I hate.
We get all the way home only to find that H used the last of the dish soap and didn't put it on the list. End result, we will not be able to use our dishwasher for the next two weeks. In the grand scheme of things, that is not the end of the world. It is, however, a needless annoyance that could have been avoided by following the simplest rule: put shit on the grocery list when you use the last of it. C'mon!

The cable guy came out on Friday to fix the wall jack as it's been causing our picture to go all rainbowy. They told us they weren't going to charge us, then left us a bill for $150. I know, right? So now I've got to call about that and see what they hell they think they're doing. Damn Comcast!

To top it all off, I tripped over my speaker cord. It flung the entire computer on the floor and screwed up both my power cord (which is not supposed to happen) and my speaker cord, which is now ruined. Now I can't plug a speaker cord or headphones into the computer. The jack doesn't work anymore. So now I have to pull out my Applecare stuff and see if they cover it. I'm so damn angry at myself for doing something so careless with such an expensive and important machine.

The only "good" news I've gotten in days is that I have until July to finish my new novel. That is not a ton of time, but should be enough if I really start applying myself. With that in mind...off I go to write!

Oh, I also found out that the Pit Dernitz footage is almost certainly fake. Had me going, for sure.
Not sure what I'm talking about? Here it is:

Color me: angry
I'm enjoying: whatever it is, it's coming out of tiny speakers

I'm not feeling especially well today, but dragged myself into work anyway. I have a terrible schedule this week, three opens! Ick! Tonight though, I get to go home and watch the finale of BattleStar Galactica with H. It's gonna be so awesome--they have a lot of 'splainin to do!
Work is already a bummer. I had to take care of the weekend voicemails, which is my most hated of all mails. Plus no one checked it on Saturday so that means even more work for me. Some guy left a 10 minute message complaining about our website. What a maroon!

So I was talking to H about his computer. His set-up is pretty sweet. I said "Hey man, your set-up it sweet!"

"Set up?" He asks?

"Yeah, your computer and everything. There's no real word for that."

"No, but there should be." he says. And he's right.

How come we don't have any cool, slang expressions for someone's slick computer setup or laptop? I think we should think of some. Kids, I'm all ears!!

Color me: sick
I'm enjoying: work noise

I always stood up for you, Ben Linus.
Don't you make a fool of me.
I'm reserving judgment for now...but I'm very disturbed and disappointed.

In other news, Safari 4 Beta is pretty neat.

I'm also finally working on my "people being eaten" story.
Details may follow, or I may keep it to myself. ;-]

Color me: shocked
I'm enjoying: LOST

I just finished watching one of the movies H got me for Valentine's Day called Frontier(s). Man...it was brutal and insane. One of those "ultra violent" movies that some people refer to as "torture porn." I don't care for that title, and wouldn't even call it Gornography because the whole movie is compelling enough that you don't want to miss a second.

Samuel Le Bihan appears as a buff Nazi that you're really not supposed to find sexy. Whoops. That's the only major actor I know of in the film, though everybody's acting was perfectly serviceable. There was a TREMENDOUS amount of brutality, though only minimal on the suspense and building of fear. The lead chick was pretty good, and you as a viewer are utterly convinced of her fear, trauma, grief, and revulsion. The film itself pays homage to many great horror movies--which is kind of the same as saying they did a lot that's been done before. Still, I enjoyed this movie and am glad to have it in my collection.

As for me, I've been trying to be reasonably productive today. I helped a friend with her resume, cleaned the kitchen somewhat, put away some laundry, and did some editing. I think I'll need to rewrite a few chaps of the serial killer so that a certain character has a more dramatic death. I also got permission from the world's greatest podcaster to go ahead and do my own novel podcast. I was kind of holding off until I could talk to him about that. Now I think I'm going to go ahead and invest in an H2 recorder from work. H just mentioned though, that I should check with the Publisher Guy before I do it.

My Xbox360 is having trouble going online. I earned a bunch of gamer points over the weekend and nobody knows about it because it won't update. In brighter news, I sold my old computer and gave half the money to H.

Color me: determined
I'm enjoying: You're Pitiful: Weird Al

I don't even have a HD TV and I was damn impressed with the look and comedy of The Simpsons last night. In fact, the whole all-new lineup was hilarious and good. It's been a little while since we had all new eps of everything, so it was fun to have people over to watch. There was also a boston creme pie!

I skipped out on doing both Friday the 13th and Valentines Day posts. H and I are celebrating Val's day today. We were either going to see the new Jason movie, or trade gifts. Since I know H isn't really into slasher flicks, I opted for the presents. He always gets me the coolest stuff. I got him a Thor comic book hardcover that has the first 6 issues. With the new movie coming out, he should be pleased with that.

Rereading The Cat's Apprentice has been fun. I'm only about half way done and the lack of italics is driving me mad. Also, I still desperately need reviews for that book, both for Amazon and for my website. Authors are especially invited to review, and you might even be able to score a free copy if you promise to leave reviews for it all over the internets.

My big project for the last week is that I figured out how to make screensavers work as desktop wallpaper. Then I got a bunch of awesome new screensavers. The water one, and Electric Sheep being my faves. Hey mac users--what's your favorite screensaver?

Working an 8 hour day today. I don't usually work long shifts like that. Eight hours straight is a loooooong day on the phones. Hopefully sales will be good, even though Mondays are usually complaints and returns until at least noon or so. Anyway, when I work on Saturdays, it feels like my weekend is ten minutes long. I didn't even have time to shoot any zombies!! Fie!!!

Color me: awake
I'm enjoying: Rob Thomas

My new haircut:

As you can see it's quite short and layery. I like it very much.
My hair just gets all wavy like that naturally.
My stylist always does right by me.

H finally got his new computer. I'm quite glad for him as he has wanted an intel Mac for some time now. He got the iMac, which is damn nice and has a HUGE monitor. We have also decided to sell the G3 Pismo Powerbook if any of you are interested. It'd be a great computer for a student who doesn't need to do any serious graphic stuff. It has an airport card, I think 356MB of memory, a 20gig hard drive, and was running Tiger.

My kickass dot-com is coming right along. It's gonna have a blog that I'll be doing thru wordpress, which I need to learn how to use.

gusterize is doing an awesome job. I've seen a couple of pages and they look swell. Not exactly sure how long before we're up and running, but it'll be pretty soon. Of course I will keep everyone posted. www.wednesdayleefriday.com

Color me: ecstatic
I'm enjoying: Chicago on IFC

I was thinking I'd wear pajamas to work on Halloween and simply be "Pajama Party Wednes." The more I think on it though, the more I want to be something scary. But I wear a headset, so I can't wear my witch hat all day and I was a zombie last year. So what should I be this year, keeping in mind that I'm low on cash this season? What would be the best costume for me?

H and I watched The Rutles last night. I had no idea there was so much extra stuff on the DVD, since I had the crappy VHS. We were going to watch Fritz the Cat, but the guy who was to deliver it to us got sick. Mysterious illnesses abound this time of year, I hope I don't get sick since I can't afford to miss any work. I heart Eric Idle, I'm just saying...

Speaking of work, 'tis the season for asshats. I've got people yelling at me almost every hour around here. You'd think people wouldn't call a violin shop drunk, ranting and raving at strangers...but you'd be wrong. I'm only here until 4pm today, and I get pizza at the end of my shift. Yay!!

I finally figured out how to use "Spaces" on my computer.
It's awesome.
And I have Quicktime Pro now so I can start amassing trailers again.
But I maintain that the Watchmen trailer looks lame.

Finished watching Diary of the Dead. Was that ending supposed to be funny? Why was that kid still in the mummy outfit? How did the zombies get out of the pool? Why does Romero suck anymore? I don't get it.

Color me: working
I'm enjoying: silence, for some reason

There's no reason to yell at me because your credit card didn't process. It's really not my fault you have no idea how to manage your finances. There, I feel much better now, since I can't say that to a customer I'll just say it to you fine people.

Not having seen Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, last night's South Park was not as funny as it might have been otherwise. I still laughed heartily though.

I had planned to post a link to an article about voter registrations being purged in Michigan (among other states, 5 others I think). So if you recently registered to vote, there's a chance that you will not be able to. I can't find the article now, and I'm at work so I don't really have time to look for it.

Got some new movies for my iPod, including Diary of the Dead (which I still haven't seen. I'm told it's best if I don't pay for it) and Prince of Egypt. I've never pirated anything by Disney before, I didn't even know it was possible since Disney leads the world in security technologies for protecting their stuff.

I finally downloaded a bit torrent client. The downloads are painfully slow, but eventually I'll have some Bakshi cartoons for the iPod. I'm trying to get Wizards, and Fritz the Cat, neither of which I have seen in years.

Color me: apathetic
I'm enjoying: people working

Even though I still haven't gotten it through my head that summer is over, I'm delighted to notice that it is now October. Costumes and candy and honey crisp apples are soon to abound.

Early this morning I found a program called iSquint that converts avi files to mp4's. As such, I now have a wealth of movies for my iPod, including:

Misery
Psycho (1960)
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Halloween (2007)
American Psycho
South Park movie
Bedrooms and Hallways
Shaun of the Dead

So that's pretty cool. I figured the original Night of the Living Dead would be easier to find since it's public domain, but I haven't found it yet. I'm noticing my list is a bit on the remake side, but they are solid remakes, and black and white films are hard to come by on Limewire.

I had lunch with my Aunt Barb today. It was wonderful. We had a great meal at La Shish, and talked about tons of stuff. There was a lot about my family I didn't know since my own mom won't discuss anything unpleasant. My Aunt is really cool and it's been quite nice catching up with her, which I told her today. Of course she did not care about my weight or anything else trivial like that. I need not have worried, but then, I fret about plenty of things that don't really neccesitate all that worry.

I'm getting a new T-shirt with a big printy of JAWS on the front. I love it when I find awesome T's in my size. Hardly ever happens, but when it does, it is fucking sweet.

Haven't seen Katie Couric blast Palin? It'd be hilarious if it wasn't so damn scary:

Color me: content
I'm enjoying: Zappa: Valley Girl

I hope it's not painfully slow here at work today. I will be hella bored if it is.

I am still in great need of reviews for The Cat's Apprentice.
If you have read it PLEASE toddle off to Amazon and leave me a somewhat complimentary review.

What kind of software do I need to convert avi files into something I can play on an iPod?

Color me: anxious
I'm enjoying: people working

I honestly cannot understand how anyone could be an "undecided voter" at this point. How could a person seriously not know whether they favor a pair of right-wing religious extremist who long to continue the current regime, or a liberal intellectual bringing substantial change? I could understand (kinda) someone disagreeing with my stance on things...but being undecided? I just don't get it. I know a few people who support McCain, and while I can't stand to discuss it for fear of punching them in the face, I respect that they have the right to vote for who they want. Any undecided voters out there? I'd be very curious to know what's holding you up.

It seems to me, more in this election than past ones, that the Reds pretend to support things like stopping gay marriage and an anti-choice agenda so they can trick fundies into supporting things they would never support otherwise, like huge kickbacks for oil companies and rebuilding foreign countries before tending to our own. I don't wanna angry up my blood this early, but I wanted to say that.

Off to work this morning, I have a ton of work to do. It'll be a short week though since I'm going on a writers weekend to Clare, MI with

absinthofheart this Friday. Gonna work on my serial killer since I finished editing it over 2 days at work. Well, not finished really, but edited enough that I can get in there and continue writing. I've been in kind of a slump with this story, but I'll get it. It's too scary and good to not finish.

In computer news, this 2-finger scroll thing is awesome now that I'm getting used to it.

Lunch with my Aunt/Godmother on Wednesday. It's making a bit nervous, mostly because I've put on so much weight since she has seen me last. I don't think she will judge me over it, but she may worry. As a fat person, having loved ones "worry" about me is worse than having them judge me. I hate to think I'm making anyone worry about my health; it's too guilt-inducing.

Color me: busy
I'm enjoying: Beastie Boys: SureShot

I am now available for video conferencing, if any of you are so inclined. On AIM, I am WednesL.

This computer is awesome, the only thing about it that does not leave my old computer in the dust is the speakers, which are pretty much the same. Maybe they are a bit less tinny. Otherwise though, I'm computing with lightening speed, although I have to reset all my bookmarks for both browsers. Dang. I have to do my iTunes playlist again too, but even iTunes is super, super fast. I put over 8gigs of music on my iPod in less than an hour. I can't shut up about it, it's just so great.

I just need some software. All my Word docs are opening as text edit files, which is fine, but not ideal. I also need some Adobe stuff so's I can do some graphic design stuff. And my Dreamweaver went away, so I need that too. I never got around to buying Final Draft, maybe H will get it for my birthday...
Oh yeah, and I have Leopard, and iTunes 8 with the new visualizer, which rocks.
I can't get my old aquarium screensaver to work right. I may just download some flying toasters. I've always been a fan of those.

My new phone also came today. I'm waiting for it to charge so's I can see if the SIM card transferred all my digits for me. It's a damn nice phone (Sony Ericsson 7zsomething or other), I feel quite hooked up.

Just got home from the doctor. My BP was 120 over 80, which for me is wicked awesome.
I guess all that excersize I've been doing is *snerk* I can't even type that with a straight face. I have been walking up and down the stairs a lot at work, and doing my stretches. I feel like crap if I don't take time to stretch out thoroughly every single day. Oxygenation, you know.

Color me: cheerful
I'm enjoying: Squeeze: Tempted

My new computer is "out for delivery." So I should be getting it today.

SQUEEEEEEE!!

In other news, my new phone got delivered to the leasing office on the 17th. The leasing office didn't bother to tell us it was there until yesterday, the 22nd. Not sure what's up with that, but not happy.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles is growing on me. I didn't think it would. Couple that with the fact that H has got me watching Fringe as well...and I'm all Sci-Fi'd up. I'm just waiting for LOST and BattleStar Galaztica to come back, and I'll be set.

Color me: frustrated
I'm enjoying: people working

For whatever reason, The Cat's Apprentice is not available on Amazon yet. My publisher said something about LightningSource being slow right now or something. Not sure what the whole deal is, but if you're waiting to buy on Amazon, it should be ready in a few days. The book is at Borders website, and has temporarily disappeared over at Barnes and Noble. Anyway, the best place (for me) for you to order is still the publishers website.

www.stonegarden.net

Once I get my new computer (some time next week, I should think) I'm going to go through all the Dreamweaver tutorials again so I can build a slick website for myself. I'm told that Comcast has free web hosting for paying customers. Speaking of Comcast, have you heard that they will shut off people who are bandwidth hogs? That's right, if you download more than 250 gigs a month, they will send you a letter telling you to use less bandwidth. Then they will shut you off for a year if you don't stop. I only know because it happened to someone I know.
250 gigs a month...can you imagine?

The "new" Facebook sucks. I could hang out on MySpace if I wanted something that ugly and difficult to navigate. However, the guy I had a crush on in high school added me recently. He's gay now, but still a hottie.

My new phone still hasn't arrived. Drag.

This weekend is dinner with my brother and his wife. I'm making falafel and shish kafta, with rice and hommus. Should prove yummy and fun. We're going to play Wii pool.
Then October first is lunch at La Shish with my Aunt Barb. She is awesome.

There's a new meme going around where you take a pic of youself as is, and post it.
I'm going to do that once I get my new computer, it will have a camera.

And finally, if you're into spooky shit, do check out

darkdestination.
They added me recently; it's a good read.

Color me: good
Inquiries will reach me @ off to work
I'm enjoying: that movie, The Shadow

My first customer on the first day of the week was a total and complete asshat. People need to chill when accusing us of fraud and "cheating them" because they fucked up. It's very frustrating. Plus it's my turn to handle all the mail today, in addition to calling all the people who declined on thier monthly payments to us. Again, frustrating.

I'm finally wearing my new glasses after having some reasonable lenses put in. I honestly can't tell the difference between these and the fancy ones. Maybe they are a little heavier, but I have a strong nose, so I can handle it.

Ordering my new computer this week. I'm getting the smallest MacBook, upgraded to 2gig of memory. Should run like the wind. I'll be able to do tons of stuff I couldn't before, like watch YouTubes (I think I'm the only person on the internets who hasn't seen Tina Fey play Sarah Palin), Google Earth, and Celestia. Whoooooooo!

My new phone should be here soon. I don't know how to transfer the information from my old phone. I hope it's easy, H always used to do it for me. I'm far too lazy to put it all in by hand. ;-]

Next Sunday my brother and his wife are coming for dinner. I haven't seen Mark in over 8 years, and have never met his wife, though I have talked to her on Facebook.

Color me: aggravated
I'm enjoying: phones

Well, I'm back to work today, ready or not.
I'll have to say "not" because I'm still smack in the middle of a major depressive episode. Even my impending retail therapy is not cheering me up, which means this is the real deal.

Since I never found a suitable new doc, I have to consult my old doc and see if I can get Packard Clinic to prescribe my crazy pills for me. I can NOT go off my meds, no matter what.

JoJo just puked on the floor. It makes me laugh how he runs away from his own puke, like it's going to jump out and hurt him or something. I guess that's what he would do in the wild. Of course, in the wild he wouldn't be licking dirty dishes in the sink, thus making himself sick. He simply cannot handle any amount of people food, except yogurt. Pente doesn't like people food, so she only pukes when she has a hairball.

In other news, H is great, I'm getting a new computer and iPod soon, new glasses and a new phone. I have very little to complain about, and feel sort of guilty for having depression when my life is so nice.

The credit card system at Stonegarden is supposed to be back up today so all of you who were waiting can finally order your signed copy of The Cat's Apprentice.

Color me: depressed
I'm enjoying: Komeda: Happyment

I'm in the midst of a major depressive episode. It's taking a lot out of me, and I have to be back to work on Monday, ready or not. Fie!!! I hate being a nut job sometimes...

I picked out my new phone and will be ordering it this week.
Anybody have any experience with Sony pink phones? The reviews are pretty good, and sony seems like a trustworthy enough name, but who knows how they are for phones. A 2 megapixel camera sounds pretty good for a phone.

Today is my mom's birthday. I thought about calling, but why ruin her day?

I'm looking at new computers, and refurbished Apples. I could use some guidance about some things to make sure I get, and things to avoid. Is the Applecare really worth it? Do I need it if I get a new computer?
Why is the coolest MacBook the black one, and why is it so much more expensive than the ugly white ones?
I'm looking toward 2mb of ram, at least 80 gig hard drive, CD burner, and isight.
I need also to be able to build websites because I'm long overdue on having my own site.

Will I need to buy my software again, or can I transfer it from one computer to another? I have one of those casings to put a spare hard drive in, maybe I can use that? I don't want to have to buy office and photoshop and dreamweaver all over again. it's bad enough I have to buy Final Draft.

Color me: crazy
I'm enjoying: Simpsons on VHS

There were car accidents on the road both on my way to work and on my way home. Both times a wily cab driver kept us from getting involved. Even though I was late to work, I gotta give it up for the drivers at Yellow Cab. *raises glass to them*

I can't believe what a difficult time I'm having finding a stupid copy of Final Draft 6. I'd rather not get the new one (7) since I already have the old one installed. One would think older software would be cheap, but it seems like it's nowhere to be found. If I loaned you my disc, you damn well better return it to me before I give up and spend $140 bucks on it. For serious. I have it installed, but don't have the disc so I can't use it. Fie and Fie again!

In sad news, our Wii has stopped working. I presume that our many power outtages have taken out yet another major appliance. You may recall that H needed a new computer for the same reason. After a whole day of trouble shooting, the people at Nintendo said we should try our Wii power cord on another Wii, like we've got a spare lying around or something. I wish stuff would just work like it's supposed to. Fie!

An old friend from college stopped by my work to visit me today. It was pretty sweet.
William, if you're reading this, it was cool as hell to see you. Woot!

In better news, I found my discs with my music on them. So I don't have to start my music collection over again from scratch. That is pretty nice. In the end losing a hard drive made me lose about 50 songs and about 200 user pics. But those are pretty easy to come by. ;-] All my stories are backed up several different places so I didn't lose a one! Woot!

Has anyone seen

kissdbyagnome? I haven't seen her online in forever...

Color me: irritated
I'm enjoying: Food Network

Tomorrow I find out whether or not I've lost all of my mp3 music...about 11 gigs worth. I'm trying to keep hope alive but it's not looking very good. I have all my music saved n a succession of discs, but if you can believe this, I can't find them. They are all together in a case somewhere in this apartment. I think there's some kind of vortex in my apartment that eats discs. I can't find my Final Draft disc, which I totally need to work on, or even read, my killer zombie screenplay (that I will one day finish, for serious).

Does anybody out there have a Final Draft disc they can burn for me?!?

I got a haircut Friday night after work. I'm having a photo taken for my book cover (the back) so I need to have snappy hair. It'll be a black and white photo, taken my the same talented chap that photog'd at my wedding. My book is all edited. I'm just waiting for one more person to go over it. The editor took out a zillion words like "and" and "but" and "kind of" and "pretty" that I tend to use ad nauseum and then never edit out. The editor did a smashing job, so far as I can tell.

I was going to go to bed, but Harry Potter came on at midnight and I'm slowly getting sucked in.
Stupid ABC family or whatever they're called now...

Some lady in Ann Arbor got killed by walking in front of a train. I don't want to jinx myself or anything, but it seems like that would be sort of difficult to do...just walk in front of a moving train. You'd have to be basically deaf for one thing. Am I missing something here? How does this happen.

Anyway, I changed my mind. I'm going to bed.

You fit in with: Humanism 20% spiritual. 80% reason-oriented.
	Your ideals mostly resemble that of a Humanist. Although you do not have a lot of faith, you are devoted to making this world better, in the short time that you have to live.
Take This Quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Color me: wizardy
I'm enjoying: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Well, my computer is foiling me again...

A few weeks ago my external hard drive stopped working, I thought it might be the casing so I spent $40 on a new one. No dice. It still doesn't work, which most likely means I've lost ALL my music, save the almost 2 gigs on my iPod.

Today I woke up to find that my power cord is not working. So in about 30 some odd minutes, my computer will no longer be able to get power. Fie!

So if you don't see me around for a few days, that's why.

Color me: depressed
Inquiries will reach me @ on my way to a 11 hour work day
I'm enjoying: Treehouse Collection on tape

Going out of town this weekend to write. I don't really need to go out of town to write, but it's going to be fun since

absinthofheart is going to write too. Also, no kids. It is a rare thing indeed to go out of town with

absinthofheart and no kids. Not that I have anything against the kids. They are great, but not conducive to writing or doing many other grown-up things I enjoy. Anywhoo, I'll be back on Sunday, in time for cartoons.

I have all opening shifts next week. I hate having to be in by 9am. I suppose that's pretty normal for an office job, but I'd much rather sleep in and stay late. I tried to take a nap when I got home today, but I wasn't tired yet and it was too chilly to sleep in the bedroom. Work in general is not so bad. I'm getting the hang of it for the most part, and I'm not hating it much. Ask me again as we near closer to Xmas and the after Xmas rush of returns. I just hate how all the time I have to spend at work takes me away from writing and other things I'd like to be doing. Of course, I could be writing now but I'm doing this instead. I thought about doing the NoBloPoMo but didn't want to bug you all with lame posts when I have nothing of value to say. Although I'm doing a pretty good job of that right now. ;-]

It's damn cold outside.

I have what is either a bug bite or a hive on my neck. I hope I'm not getting hives, I hate them and don't feel like having any kind of full blown allergic reaction.

My grocery store has these new pomegranate juices that are just fabbo. I like the cranberry and the blueberry, both mixed with pomegranate juice. Mmmmm...
I've also found I like boursin cheese with potato chips. Mmmmm again.

H's computer is messed up. I don't know what's wrong with it, but he seems to think it's "broken." He even has a spare computer and thinks he messed that up too. I feel really bad for him since he uses his computer even more than I use mine. And I use mine a LOT. I imagine though that I'll see a bit more of him now that he can't play WoW.

Color me: chilly
I'm enjoying: L&O

Work is still going well. They are giving me one more day of training before I get set loose on violin consumers everywhere. I almost sold a cello today, but the whipped SOB had to confer with the wife. I kid of course, I think every couple should discuss household purchases, especially those in excess of a thousand dollars. Sheesh!
Not so into the idea of the Fender Mandolin now that I know that my discount is only 10%. That's the lowest employee discount I think I've ever had. Even Blockbuster did better. But these customers are light years away from the fuckwads and asshats at Blockbuster. All day I only had one rude guy. Know what I did? I transferred him to someone else. Ha! That's nice.

H and I picked up our wedding rings yesterday from ze mall. We were going to go to the Apple store, but there were crowds of people there, still swarming the iPhones. I don't think I'd buy one even if I could afford it, I'd be too ascared of losing it. Anywhoo, our rings look great and (finally) fit perfectly. I was a little bit bummed H didn't want to get them engraved. He just doesn't go in for schmaltzy stuff like that. Mine is loaded with diamonds and sapphires, it's sparkly and nice.

I've tried a few times to write vows for the wedding. Funnily enough, I have no words. I think I'll probably say something like that, because it's true. Language is simply inadequate to harness the depth and breadth of my feelings for H. If only there were available words to express that. ;-]

I only put up one new chapter over the weekend. I may try to write another one this week so I can get caught up by next weekend. Since no publishers know I'm writing this book, I can pretty much finish it whenever I want to.

Okay, dinnertime. We're having jambalaya. Mmmmmm...jambalaya...

OMG, I just told H what his F11 key does on his computer. He'd never used it before. I was all Don't you hate that when you accidentally hit F11 when you're trying to delete something? and he was all What? and so I explained it to him. Now he thinks it's really cool.

Color me: hungry
I'm enjoying: quietness

Dear Apple,

You are the greatest company in the world. You make the best computers and the best software for them.
I heart you so much.

My powerbook is really old and still does everything a good laptop should.
I don't really need to be watching YouTube anyway, it's a time burgular.

But Apple, why, oh why does a new battery cost $149?
Surely you know how much money that is.
If I had that kind of dough kicking around, I'd own an iPod by now wouldn't I?
And why can't they recondition LI batteries? That's no fair!

In conclusion, continue being so great, and send me a new battery.
I lost three pages yesterday when the cat stepped on the six-way plug.
It totally made me frown and I had to kill that girl all over again.

Much love,

--

wednes

PS, I look forward to your new store at Briarwood.
You rock!