Forgive me for not posting the last couple of days. I have been helping friends move. They had to be out of their house by tonight, and they have enough stuff for two houses. Their new place is much bigger, but due to their shampooing the carpets the night before the move, most things couldn't be placed where they needed to go, to allow the carpet to dry. So the (way) over-sized garage is packed, the space under the deck is packed, the tiled areas (kitchen, breakfast nook), and the hardwood floor area (dining room) are jammed full of stuff.
We started Friday night, although they had already brought many things from a storage unit, so the garage already seemed fairly full. We hauled one load Friday night: my pick-up, his pick-up and 9-foot trailer, his dad's pick-up, and their car. Saturday we began about 10:00 AM or a little later. We took three loads of those same vehicles plus one other small pick-up. By 9:00 PM we had the beds set up, and I left. Today, after church, we took one load while waiting for help to move the two upright pianos. That finally came, and we moved them on the trailer but in two trips. The extra help then disappeared, and we took one more load of two pick-ups and car. They have one more load of stuff to take out, which they will probably take tomorrow. The landlord can charge them an extra day if he likes, but I doubt he will.
Consequently, I've had no time to blog this weekend, no time to read, not much time to keep up with the writing sites I monitor on the Internet, etc. Plenty of aches and pains to keep me company right now. But tomorrow will be a day of rest. I have a few easy chores to do around the house, then will see what I can do for my writing career. At least I'll post how I did on my August goals, and post some September goals.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Crashed...and likely Fried
I called the computer repair company today and got good news and bad news.
The good news is the hard drive is likely okay.
The bad news is the mother board has is likely about to die.
Which means either a new computer, something we haven't budgeted for, or reversion to the old computer I got from my company, probably manufactured in 1999.
So maybe it wasn't the trojan horses, viruses, and worms that killed it.
The good news is the hard drive is likely okay.
The bad news is the mother board has is likely about to die.
Which means either a new computer, something we haven't budgeted for, or reversion to the old computer I got from my company, probably manufactured in 1999.
So maybe it wasn't the trojan horses, viruses, and worms that killed it.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Learning to Wait
You'd think I'd know about waiting by now, that somewhere in my 56 plus years on this planet the understanding that waiting is sometimes a requirement of life would have sunk in.
I still find it difficult, however, especially as I seek publication. On July 2nd I mailed my Screwtape's Good Advice proposal to the editor who requested it. No word yet. On July 30th I e-mailed the proposal for In Front of Fifty Thousand Screaming People to the agent who requested it. No word yet.
Eight and four weeks are not long times for the publishing wheels to grind through the process, not by a long shot. It's still difficult to wait, especially when these were requested after a face-to-face interview. Is no news good news? If they were looked at right away and were not rejected out of hand, if the editor and agent are mulling it over and comparing to other proposals in hand or maybe discussing them in committee or with other agents, then no news is good news. If, on the other hand, the proposal sits in the slush pile, despite specifically being requested, then I suppose no news is good news too.
It's all in God's timing, and up to His will through His servants, the editor and the agent. I just wish I could put them so far out of my mind that I could work on other works-in-progress.
I still find it difficult, however, especially as I seek publication. On July 2nd I mailed my Screwtape's Good Advice proposal to the editor who requested it. No word yet. On July 30th I e-mailed the proposal for In Front of Fifty Thousand Screaming People to the agent who requested it. No word yet.
Eight and four weeks are not long times for the publishing wheels to grind through the process, not by a long shot. It's still difficult to wait, especially when these were requested after a face-to-face interview. Is no news good news? If they were looked at right away and were not rejected out of hand, if the editor and agent are mulling it over and comparing to other proposals in hand or maybe discussing them in committee or with other agents, then no news is good news. If, on the other hand, the proposal sits in the slush pile, despite specifically being requested, then I suppose no news is good news too.
It's all in God's timing, and up to His will through His servants, the editor and the agent. I just wish I could put them so far out of my mind that I could work on other works-in-progress.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Michelle says: It takes a family
Yes, that was the underlying message of Michelle Obama last night at the Democratic party's convention, to the delegates, staff, media, nation, and world: It takes a family to raise a child, and that family consisting of both a father and mother, and if it happens, cooperating siblings, all working on their own initiative, all dedicated to the task at hand, working diligently, loving totally.
I thought the tribute she paid to her dad was touching, how he worked at a "filtration plant"--by which I assume she means a water treatment plant, and how he continued to do so even after he was physically diminished by disease. He altered his routine, taking longer to get ready for work, so that he could continue to support his family, which he saw as his duty, so that his wife could be a stay-at-home mom. Michelle praised he mother for that, and seemed to feel having that mom at home was important to her upbringing.
The relationship between Michelle and her brother (didn't catch his name) also seemed important, based on their dovetailing testimonies. She influenced him to stay with coaching, and he influenced her to pursue public service as opposed to a Big Law partnership. Any parent would be proud to have such children, and feel that they had done something right in their raising.
Look at what was absent in Michelle's speech concerning the influences in her life: neighbors, neighborhood, extended family, government programs. She mentioned her neighborhood, the south side of Chicago, but did so in almost derogatory language. You got the sense that the neighborhood would have pulled her down if the family hadn't propelled her up. It appears, from Michelle's words, that the government had no influence at all, either positive or negative.
A last impression I got was the positive influence Michelle has on her husband and children. As stable and positive as her raising was, Barack's was turbulent: absent father, mother who seemed unstable, frequent moves, raised by a racist grandmother, experimentation with mind-altering drugs. Maybe Michelle helped her husband settle down and end the wild days of his youth. She is likely having that same influence on their daughters.
So, thank you Michelle, for that positive message, exactly what this nation needs to hear today, and echoing that of Bob Dole in 1996: To raise a child, it doesn't take a village; it takes a family.
By the way, Michelle, have you discussed this with Senator Clinton?
I thought the tribute she paid to her dad was touching, how he worked at a "filtration plant"--by which I assume she means a water treatment plant, and how he continued to do so even after he was physically diminished by disease. He altered his routine, taking longer to get ready for work, so that he could continue to support his family, which he saw as his duty, so that his wife could be a stay-at-home mom. Michelle praised he mother for that, and seemed to feel having that mom at home was important to her upbringing.
The relationship between Michelle and her brother (didn't catch his name) also seemed important, based on their dovetailing testimonies. She influenced him to stay with coaching, and he influenced her to pursue public service as opposed to a Big Law partnership. Any parent would be proud to have such children, and feel that they had done something right in their raising.
Look at what was absent in Michelle's speech concerning the influences in her life: neighbors, neighborhood, extended family, government programs. She mentioned her neighborhood, the south side of Chicago, but did so in almost derogatory language. You got the sense that the neighborhood would have pulled her down if the family hadn't propelled her up. It appears, from Michelle's words, that the government had no influence at all, either positive or negative.
A last impression I got was the positive influence Michelle has on her husband and children. As stable and positive as her raising was, Barack's was turbulent: absent father, mother who seemed unstable, frequent moves, raised by a racist grandmother, experimentation with mind-altering drugs. Maybe Michelle helped her husband settle down and end the wild days of his youth. She is likely having that same influence on their daughters.
So, thank you Michelle, for that positive message, exactly what this nation needs to hear today, and echoing that of Bob Dole in 1996: To raise a child, it doesn't take a village; it takes a family.
By the way, Michelle, have you discussed this with Senator Clinton?
Monday, August 25, 2008
Crashed
Yes, it finally happened to us. Our main computer, the one that is the server for our home network, crashed Friday night. On Thursday we had the virus/trojan horse problem, and on Friday the worst happened. A cousin was unable to help us via phone on Saturday morning, so I disconnected the offender and took it to the computer shop. After 3-4 day wait, we will see if anything is recoverable.
Actually, that computer is not loaded with data. Lynda does her stock trading from it, and has a few MS Word files she would like, but it's not as big a problem as it would be with my computer, which has all my writing. Most of it I have backed up, either on my assigned computer at work or on off-site sources. I really need to put it on my jump drive. Oh, yes, all our downloaded photos are on Lynda's computer, but we still have those on the camera cards, so nothing should be lost.
But I experienced another crash on Saturday, a physical problem. The day started well enough, after moving a few light boxes to my mother-in-law's new apartment on Friday, I expected no extra tiredness. And Saturday started well. We had a strong rain/wind storm while I was balancing the checkbook and paying bills. And I worked on tightening a small, antique table Lynda picked up at a sale. We then took that computer in and went to buy our weekly groceries, all of which went well. We were supposed to load up a table in my pick-up and deliver it to m-i-l, but after napping first, I woke up and hurt all over. Both my shoulders, my knees, my wrists, and most fingers were extremely painful. No way was I going to lift a table into a pick-up. So the evening was spent doing little but reading, early to bed.
Might this have been a reaction to extra eating I did during the last part of the week, following my annual physical on Tuesday. That was a good report, with all blood work in line except sugar, and more than a token weight loss for the first time in a long time. By the end of the week my weight was up--a short-term gain that will disappear with a few good days of eating. Was it a food allergy? Or maybe just a reaction to two weeks of very light eating during greater-than-normal physical activity? I wish I knew.
Sunday was much better. I took my normal day of rest, attending church and Sunday school, doing little physical labor, foregoing my normal Sunday afternoon walk, and devoting some time to writing. By the end of the day I felt good, and still feel good this morning. Very strange, that reaction.
Actually, that computer is not loaded with data. Lynda does her stock trading from it, and has a few MS Word files she would like, but it's not as big a problem as it would be with my computer, which has all my writing. Most of it I have backed up, either on my assigned computer at work or on off-site sources. I really need to put it on my jump drive. Oh, yes, all our downloaded photos are on Lynda's computer, but we still have those on the camera cards, so nothing should be lost.
But I experienced another crash on Saturday, a physical problem. The day started well enough, after moving a few light boxes to my mother-in-law's new apartment on Friday, I expected no extra tiredness. And Saturday started well. We had a strong rain/wind storm while I was balancing the checkbook and paying bills. And I worked on tightening a small, antique table Lynda picked up at a sale. We then took that computer in and went to buy our weekly groceries, all of which went well. We were supposed to load up a table in my pick-up and deliver it to m-i-l, but after napping first, I woke up and hurt all over. Both my shoulders, my knees, my wrists, and most fingers were extremely painful. No way was I going to lift a table into a pick-up. So the evening was spent doing little but reading, early to bed.
Might this have been a reaction to extra eating I did during the last part of the week, following my annual physical on Tuesday. That was a good report, with all blood work in line except sugar, and more than a token weight loss for the first time in a long time. By the end of the week my weight was up--a short-term gain that will disappear with a few good days of eating. Was it a food allergy? Or maybe just a reaction to two weeks of very light eating during greater-than-normal physical activity? I wish I knew.
Sunday was much better. I took my normal day of rest, attending church and Sunday school, doing little physical labor, foregoing my normal Sunday afternoon walk, and devoting some time to writing. By the end of the day I felt good, and still feel good this morning. Very strange, that reaction.
Friday, August 22, 2008
An evening partly usurped
Last evening I went to writers critique group, the Spavinaw Writers, who meet at the Gravette Public Library every other week. I shared my query letter and two samples articles for Documenting America. They all seemed to love the concept, and I received much good feedback on how to make it better. One other woman shared a chapter from her novel, but no one else had anything. We were the only two that had anything. We had two new writers attend, college age ladies, so we had a full table even with a couple of people missing.
Then, at home, I had to deal with viruses and other malware on my wife's computer. These "popped up" yesterday, causing her Internet Explorer and stock trading programs to either lock up or lose performance. She had run scans and isolated most of the critters, but then the instructions from our free security program of what to do next were not clear. Okay, so they are in the virus vault. Do we delete them, repair them? What happens if we do one thing--or the other? Do we need to repair the repairable, delete then restore the unrepairable, or just dump it? I went to my computer, began my own virus scan, then did some Internet searching for the particular malware she had on her machine. I determined they were pretty bad, but I didn't get all the answers I needed. I searched for and found a primer on computer malware, and began reading.
All this time I kept checking on the status of my scan. It had reached 54 minutes and isolated about 30 to 40 adware cookies or similar relatively innocuous yet unwanted files. I went to click on minimize, guess I had poor mouse control, and so clicked on close and accidentally ended the scan, not having acted on any of the results in progress. I was so upset I closed out of all open programs, went upstairs, read for twenty minutes, couldn't concentrate and so went to bed.
This computer malware is an awful thing. I guess we'll have to bite the bullet and go with a paid security program. It's a shame we must outlay our money to protect ourselves from evil.
Then, at home, I had to deal with viruses and other malware on my wife's computer. These "popped up" yesterday, causing her Internet Explorer and stock trading programs to either lock up or lose performance. She had run scans and isolated most of the critters, but then the instructions from our free security program of what to do next were not clear. Okay, so they are in the virus vault. Do we delete them, repair them? What happens if we do one thing--or the other? Do we need to repair the repairable, delete then restore the unrepairable, or just dump it? I went to my computer, began my own virus scan, then did some Internet searching for the particular malware she had on her machine. I determined they were pretty bad, but I didn't get all the answers I needed. I searched for and found a primer on computer malware, and began reading.
All this time I kept checking on the status of my scan. It had reached 54 minutes and isolated about 30 to 40 adware cookies or similar relatively innocuous yet unwanted files. I went to click on minimize, guess I had poor mouse control, and so clicked on close and accidentally ended the scan, not having acted on any of the results in progress. I was so upset I closed out of all open programs, went upstairs, read for twenty minutes, couldn't concentrate and so went to bed.
This computer malware is an awful thing. I guess we'll have to bite the bullet and go with a paid security program. It's a shame we must outlay our money to protect ourselves from evil.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Olympics (sigh)
For the first time ever for the summer Olympics, I'm not interested. What a change in me. I've been watching the Olympics since 1964, when they were in Tokyo, when Bob Hayes won the 100 meter dash to become the world's fastest man. The 1968 Olympics resulted in my two sharpest memories, good and bad: Bob Beamon setting a record in the long jump that stood for decades, and the raised fist protest on the medal stand by American 400 meter runners.
What is it now that drives my lack of interest? Oh, I've watched some. Saw the tape-delayed 100 and 200 meter records/wins for Usain Bolt of Jamaica, the US sweep in the men's 400 meter hurdles, some gymnastics, some swimming, some volleyball. But overall, if my wife hadn't turned on the TV, I probably wouldn't have bothered.
So again, what drives my lack of interest? Maybe it's just my competing interests. In past Olympiads I wasn't so into trying to be a writer. Now every minute I spend with eyes on the television puts me further behind on writing projects, with consequences down the road. Also, I have this small spike in genealogy interest happening right now, also taking me away from writing but also requiring a lot of concentration. It's hard to watch a balance beam routine when trying to type a family group sheet, or add proper citations to an "events in the life of" document. Then there's all the work of moving my mother-in-law from her house to an apartment. That has gone well, the move is mostly complete (though with boxes yet unpacked), and now remains the sale of excess items and of the house.
Two other things which are consuming time, either now or scheduled for the next 10 days, are trying to get healthier through better eating and much walking for exercise, and helping a best friend move by August 31st.
I think I just answered my question, though, in the last paragraph. It's time. I realize the Olympics come around only every four years (or every two years including the winter version), but it's a question of whether watching them is a good use of my time when I have so many other things I need to do. I keep plugging away at a little writing, a little genealogy, a little reading for pleasure, a lot of walking, and a lot of moving (with much, much more of that the next ten days).
The Olympics? How soon is the closing ceremony? I missed the opening one.
What is it now that drives my lack of interest? Oh, I've watched some. Saw the tape-delayed 100 and 200 meter records/wins for Usain Bolt of Jamaica, the US sweep in the men's 400 meter hurdles, some gymnastics, some swimming, some volleyball. But overall, if my wife hadn't turned on the TV, I probably wouldn't have bothered.
So again, what drives my lack of interest? Maybe it's just my competing interests. In past Olympiads I wasn't so into trying to be a writer. Now every minute I spend with eyes on the television puts me further behind on writing projects, with consequences down the road. Also, I have this small spike in genealogy interest happening right now, also taking me away from writing but also requiring a lot of concentration. It's hard to watch a balance beam routine when trying to type a family group sheet, or add proper citations to an "events in the life of" document. Then there's all the work of moving my mother-in-law from her house to an apartment. That has gone well, the move is mostly complete (though with boxes yet unpacked), and now remains the sale of excess items and of the house.
Two other things which are consuming time, either now or scheduled for the next 10 days, are trying to get healthier through better eating and much walking for exercise, and helping a best friend move by August 31st.
I think I just answered my question, though, in the last paragraph. It's time. I realize the Olympics come around only every four years (or every two years including the winter version), but it's a question of whether watching them is a good use of my time when I have so many other things I need to do. I keep plugging away at a little writing, a little genealogy, a little reading for pleasure, a lot of walking, and a lot of moving (with much, much more of that the next ten days).
The Olympics? How soon is the closing ceremony? I missed the opening one.
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