Category Archives: misc

A Historical Day

The United States of America has made me proud to have them as neighbours.  The last few years have been hard for them, a president no one believed in, a war no one wanted to participate in (Canada is in the same boat here, but in Afghanastan), and an economy that is falling apart around them,

Yesterday, the people of America showed that they have guts and intelligence.  They voted for not only the first black president, but also one that, I believe, will do the best he can for their country.

Well done.

(and, as I’ve been told, the date is way off on this system.  This was posted on November 5 at 7:14 AM.  I’ll fix the date)

Holidays are Done

Well, holidays are over, and my contract work is almost done, so no more extra long weeks.  Things should get back to normal.

My family and I spent the last week camping in our new pop-up trailer.  A treat for us, since we’ve been tent camping for so long.  And what a nice treat.  A propane fridge and stove (the stove I’ve always had), being able to sleep off the ground.  It’s just more… civil.  I’ve been a hard core camper, and for a while I had a van I converted myself, but a pop-up is just great.  This is the second full week I’ve had in the trailer.  A couple of weeks back, the boy and I went out alone (for a week), and it was just as relaxing.

I have a list of things to do, things that have been put off for quite awhile.  It’s time to get the list out and get to work on it.

A common Thread on blog updates?

It seems that late winter/early spring is a bad time for the blog. Last year at this time, I commented on how things were slowing down here. I wonder if it has anything to do with the ‘long winter blues’?

I do have excuses… of course. I mean, who doesn’t. The laptop fritzed out and I had to re-install the OS. Unfortunately, the install disc is so old that trying to upgrade from the install to something more recent turned into a fiasco. I ended up installing from scratch about 4 times before I figured out what I could and could not upgrade. That’s one of the pains of Gentoo/Sabayon. Oh well.

I’ve also received some contract work in the last month or so, and it took a chunk of time.

So, there ya go. Two pretty good excuses, and I didn’t have to think too hard about it!

I’ve pulled my Nano novel out of the drawer and started revisions on it. I’m keep track on a page by page basis. When my revisions are all typed in (I revise on paper), I’ll update my word count, and start revision 2.

Happy Chinese New Year

This year is the year of the Rat

The Rat year is a year of plenty, bringing opportunity and good prospects. It will be marked by speculation and fluctuations in the prices of commodities and the stock market; the world economy in general will boom. Business will be on the upswing, fortunes can be made and it will be an easy time to accumulate wealth. However, this is also the time to make long-term investment plans as the bonanza the year of the Rat brings will serve to see us through the bleak years that may follow. All ventures begun at this time will be successful if one prepares well. But do not take chances or unnecessary risks: the year of the Rat is still ruled by the cold of winter and the darkness of night. Those who speculate indiscriminately and overextend themselves will come to a sad reckoning.On the whole, this will be a happier year than most: free from explosive events and wars and with far less catastrophes than, say, the years of the Tiger or the Dragon.

Nonetheless, it will be spicy. It promises a lot of bickering, bargaining and petty arguments that will do little harm. A congenial time that will find most of us socializing and enjoying ourselves. [from http://www.theholidayspot.com/chinese_new_year/more_zodiacs/rat.htm]

'Tis the Season

I'd like to say, now that my 'Holiday Season' is over, that I hope everyone enjoyed the absolute best of the season.  And I wish only the best to you and yours in the New Year.

I laughed so hard…

This is not some of the stuff I usually have on my blog, but laughed so hard, I had to post about it.

Back on September 7th, I post a video from you tube.  Here it is again…

 

Well, today I saw a spoof on it.  Here it is.  Watch the one above first!

Holidays and Routines

As I've mentioned in other places in this blog, I really like routine.  I need routine for my daily chores and for my writing.  And nothing breaks up the routines I cultivate better than a holiday.

I drove out to Calgary to visit my bro, stayed there for three days and then drove a rather circuitous route back which took about 20 hours.  While I was there, I tried to maintain my writing schedule, but because of one thing (late nights) or another (food and booze), it didn't work out that well.  I had a blast!

When I got back home, I tried to get into the routine right away.  Unfortunately, a poor critique of a scene in my current novel (which, by the way, I knew was basically a badly timed info dump and needed re-writing) threw me into a bit of a slump.  Falling out of the routine coupled with forgetting 'It's okay to suck' really doesn't help the motivation.

Time to stop the wallowing and get back to work!

 

 

About a month ago, I decided to try my hand at NaNoWriMo.  I had an idea in the back of my head that I didn't want to work on until I finished Anshi, but the timing seemed right.  So, I may not blog at all in November, or I may blog obsessively.  I have no idea.  I spoke to Marnie about it, and she was okay with the idea… even when I told her the house would likely be very messy, and supper would consist of plain rice for 30 days.  Go me!  For those that want to monitor my progress, I'll keep a running counter in the sidebar. 

 

 

We had a visitor the last week or so, which is what enabled me to visit my brother.  Marnie's Mom came over from Saskatchewan for a very nice visit.  I tried to convince her to move in.  I even told her I'd build an entire self-contained suite in the basement for her use.  No go this time, but I think she's starting to weaken!