There were a lot of weather warnings in the week that ended February and started March. I told you in my post from yesterday about the snow we had from February 26th to March 1st. But I didn't mention the red alert weather warning that was issued because "Storm Emma" was scheduled to hit some time on March 1st 2018, with warnings about not travelling unless you had no choice all over the news.
It was my Grandad's funeral on March 2nd.
It didn't happen sooner than that because my Uncle Patrick (the eldest of my Mam's siblings, and the one who was closest to Grandad) was away in Africa when Grandad died, and things had to be delayed until he could get home.
Anyway, I didn't go.
Not because of the weather though. I mean, I probably would have decided it was safer not to go with how the weather was anyhow, because it would have meant spending several hours on the 1st making a train journey across the South of England, from where I live in the South-East, to where a lot of the family lives - and my Grandad lived - in the South-West, and then hoping I could get back home again on the 3rd, after the storm had hopefully passed and finished causing any damage it was going to. But I'd already decided even before the first snowflake fell that I wouldn't be going to the funeral.
Funerals, in my opinion, are a chance for you to remember the person and say, "Goodbye."
Except, I feel like I already did that even before Uncle Patrick came home with what I posted on my blog.
Like I said in my post at the end of January, I wasn't close to Grandad. I didn't see a lot of him as a child, and saw him even less as an adult. I'm sad that he's gone, because he was my Grandad, and because death is always a sad thing. But I didn't feel I needed to be at his funeral.
Of course, then I felt guilty for being able to lay my Grandad to rest so easily, when I struggle with many memories of other things. I hate how my head works sometimes. I don't regret not going though. Like I said, I didn't feel I needed to be there. Even if part of me felt a bit guilty for feeling that way when it was my Grandad.
I actually wondered at one point if it would be rescheduled because of the weather. Do people do that with funerals? I actually don't know much about how these things work. Still, as I said, I wondered if it would be. It wasn't though, so a couple of people who had planned to be there ended up not managing to be, which is a shame.
As already mentioned, I'd have been staying home anyhow, because of the weather. Travelling so far would have been an ordeal for me without the added complication of snow and severe weather warnings. I wasn't really concerned about the storm itself as such. I'm not saying I didn't take it seriously: I kept an eye on weather reports for our area, and made sure we were fine for supplies for us and the furkids before it hit, etc. My main concern was in the fact that the UK tends to panic easily about weather warnings, and things get shut down at the slightest sign of severe weather, including long-distance transport options, bearing in mind that trains are unreliable in this country as it is. I didn't want to get stuck somewhere that wasn't my own home if this happened. Especially since I'd have had to go without Kelly, because he'd have had to stay home with Joshua, Mollie, Maizie, and Lilie.
I understand the concern. I really do. And, to be honest, I wouldn't think twice about them worrying so much if people were sensible about what they did. Most people rush out to empty the shelves of their nearest shops, which seems to be common all over the world in the event of severe storm warnings. Getting supplies is sensable. Unfortunately, people don't use sense when gathering said supplies. The shelves of canned and non-perishable items remain largely untouched, while supplies with short shelf lives - in particular things like milk - are brought in bulk, despite the fact they not only have short shelf lives to start with, but will last even less time if the power goes out and the fridge stops working. Buying extra milk and those kinds of things are logical if you're having extra guests visiting. For potential storm supplies... Not so much. If it was nuts, dried and canned fruit, or things like crisps (potato chips) and chocolate bars, that would make sense. If people were stocking up on extra bottled water or pop too, that would also make sense. The kinds of things people buy in their panic don't make sense. I think the whole country needs some tips on surviving storms, especially considering how many bad ones we've had in the past couple of years, because I think it's the lack of knowledge on what they should actually do - combined with the media offering no more advice than, "Stay indoors unless absolutely necessary" - that causes most of the UK to panic, make stupid choices when trying to prepare for a coming storm, and cause accidents in their attempts to do so. I heard several emergency vehicle sirens even before the bad weather actually hit. Most likely hurrying to deal with accidents caused by people who were rushing to do whatever they felt they should be doing before a storm. Accidents that may have been avoidable if people didn't panic so.
I'm not saying the UK is the only country that does it. It happens elsewhere too. I'm also not saying making sure people actually know what to do in the event of a storm will completely stop this kind of thing from happening. It won't. But I know the UK panics big time, and feel I can say this with confidence, having lived in a few different parts of the UK myself throughout my life, and witnessed it first hand. Storm survival tips wouldn't prevent it all, as I already said, but it might help. It may also reduce the number of deaths that actually occur during the storms. It may not. But wouldn't it be a good idea to try it and see? Wouldn't it be sensible to arm people with the knowledge they need to be safe in these situations? I know not everyone would listen to the advice. But if it saved even one life per storm, wouldn't it be worth it?
I know there's no way to completely avoid death from storms and other natural disasters. But I still think there are ways we could reduce the death tolls by being more prepared, and educating people better on how to be more prepared themselves. Not to mention, ways we could reduce the death tolls from manmade disasters. As I already said, I think it would be worthwhile putting in the time and effort required to educate the masses better... Even if it only saved some of the lives that might otherwise have been lost.
On a sort of related note...
While reading "Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery" at the end of last month, something occurred to me: mankind has hardly started to set foot in space, and we've already started littering up there.
While it's true that much of the space litter will be burned up during its time orbiting the Earth... At least, after a certain amount of time... That's not true of all of it. There are already satalites and things floating about up there, reminding me of scenes of rusted old washing machines and prams, left in gardens because nobody could be bothered to arrange for their proper disposal.
So, even as we praise the efforts of people like Trash Girl here on Earth, we're littering in not only our own backyards and streets, but also the galactic highways of space.
It's taken polution levels increasing a lot to make people start becoming aware that something needs to be done about littering here on Earth, and even then many people still don't care. What will it take to make people find an alternative to littering in space too? Considering how life-threateningly dangerous floating debris is in space, I hope a solution to this space littering is created before we have to find out!
Anyway... Returning to the topic of the storm...
I know Storm Emma caused chaos and damage in some areas: it was mentioned on the bits of news I caught. But in my immediate area it only seemed to be freezing temperatures that felt even colder than they were because of the strong gusts of icy wind. At least, I didn't hear of anything worse than that in my immediate area, despite predictions of gale force winds, more snow, etc. By the morning of March 2nd, the weather warning had changed to an amber alert, and - as I already said - we didn't actually get anything worse than a very cold and blustery day. Also, a lot of my snow was gone by the morning of March 2nd, and more disappeared throughout that day, with no more falling to replace it.
March 3rd was another day with temperatures below freezing, but still no more snow. That day started out with really thick fog though. But that had mostly cleared by mid morning. Since then it's been cold, but nothing interesting has happened weather wise. In other words, no more snow or storms.
Showing posts with label Random Questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Random Questions. Show all posts
Monday, March 12, 2018
Monday, July 24, 2017
Random Question: The #Wombles Meet #HarryPotter
Though sleep is never guaranteed for me (see yesterday's post) I fall asleep best with something to listen to while I drift off. But I don't like to use books that are on my Kindle for this purpose. Yes, I can either have text to speach enabled so it reads an eBook to me - which is how I have to read them anyhow - or listen to an audible audiobook, so I could use my Kindle for this purpose... And have done in the past. My preference, however, is to listen to an audio CD. This means I often find myself listening to ones I've already listened to, since I don't always have something new on CD to listen to. A few months ago I did though, and was listening to those new ones, one of which was a CD of Womble stories. Right now, however, I'm working my way through Harry Potter again.
This post will make most sense to those who are familiar with both the wombles and Harry Potter and his world, or at least one of those things. You should get the gist even without that knowledge, however.
So... A few weeks ago - well, it's a bit more than that now, but exactly when it was isn't important - when I was relistening to the start of the fourth Harry Potter book, and got to the part where portkeys are first mentioned to Harry, something occurred to me:
Portkeys are designed to automatically transport a witch or wizard somewhere if they can't - or would prefer not to - Apparate to their destination. In most cases with a prearranged time to activate and transport the witch or wizard to the destination in question. When left in previously arranged places for this purpose, they are intentionally objects that muggles would consider rubbish - like old boots, rusty cans, etc - so wouldn't pick up. A womble, on the other hand, would pick one up, since they pick up anything left lying around, whether it appears to be rubbish or not. That's the main point of a womble.
With that in mind...
What would happen if a womble picked up a portkey by mistake, and found itself transported to the destination in the place of the witch or wizard? What would the womble think? Also, how do you think the magical community would react to finding themselves dealing with what would most likely be a rather confused womble? Would they subject it to a memory modification charm like they would for a muggle? Or would the womble be allowed to remember its adventure?
This post will make most sense to those who are familiar with both the wombles and Harry Potter and his world, or at least one of those things. You should get the gist even without that knowledge, however.
So... A few weeks ago - well, it's a bit more than that now, but exactly when it was isn't important - when I was relistening to the start of the fourth Harry Potter book, and got to the part where portkeys are first mentioned to Harry, something occurred to me:
Portkeys are designed to automatically transport a witch or wizard somewhere if they can't - or would prefer not to - Apparate to their destination. In most cases with a prearranged time to activate and transport the witch or wizard to the destination in question. When left in previously arranged places for this purpose, they are intentionally objects that muggles would consider rubbish - like old boots, rusty cans, etc - so wouldn't pick up. A womble, on the other hand, would pick one up, since they pick up anything left lying around, whether it appears to be rubbish or not. That's the main point of a womble.
With that in mind...
What would happen if a womble picked up a portkey by mistake, and found itself transported to the destination in the place of the witch or wizard? What would the womble think? Also, how do you think the magical community would react to finding themselves dealing with what would most likely be a rather confused womble? Would they subject it to a memory modification charm like they would for a muggle? Or would the womble be allowed to remember its adventure?
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Random Question: Sleep
Every so often I get lucky and manage to have something resembling a sleep pattern going on. During that time I even usually sleep well. Then, all of a sudden, I find myself unable to sleep, the pattern disappears, and my hours become random. Sometimes this just means a shift in sleep times, other times this actually means me getting little to no sleep. It's kind of a little annoying. OK, it's very annoying. But I'm not surprised when it happens any more, because it's just how things are to me these days (and nights).
My reason for mentioning it today is that I was recently - during one of those nights when I couldn't sleep, despite having been up all day, and despite being tired so wanting to very badly - thinking about the longest I've gone without sleep. I know there have been a few times I've gone 72 hours without any sleep, but I'm pretty sure there haven't been any times longer than that - thankfully. Yeah... I probably don't need to tell you that I'm glad that one doesn't happen too often. Actually, it's been a few years since I've gone that long without sleep. But, let me tell you, when it does happen it's no fun, and not very good for my brain, which needs me to sleep sometimes so it can do the thing brains do with chemicals to keep them functioning. I can't remember the details of the thing brains do with chemicals - and don't feel like looking it up - but it's something to do with sleep being needed because a certain chemical is released during sleep that cleans up the mess of the brain from all the hard thinking it's had to do during waking hours, and how this process keeps the brain functioning.
I was going to add the word "normally" there, but several people insist that word doesn't apply to me in any shape or form, especially when it comes to the function of my brain. They might be right.
Anyway...
After spending some time considering how long I'd gone without sleep, I started to wonder about other people. As you do. Well, I do, because I'm nosy like that. So...
What's the longest you've ever been without sleep? Was it intentional?
My reason for mentioning it today is that I was recently - during one of those nights when I couldn't sleep, despite having been up all day, and despite being tired so wanting to very badly - thinking about the longest I've gone without sleep. I know there have been a few times I've gone 72 hours without any sleep, but I'm pretty sure there haven't been any times longer than that - thankfully. Yeah... I probably don't need to tell you that I'm glad that one doesn't happen too often. Actually, it's been a few years since I've gone that long without sleep. But, let me tell you, when it does happen it's no fun, and not very good for my brain, which needs me to sleep sometimes so it can do the thing brains do with chemicals to keep them functioning. I can't remember the details of the thing brains do with chemicals - and don't feel like looking it up - but it's something to do with sleep being needed because a certain chemical is released during sleep that cleans up the mess of the brain from all the hard thinking it's had to do during waking hours, and how this process keeps the brain functioning.
I was going to add the word "normally" there, but several people insist that word doesn't apply to me in any shape or form, especially when it comes to the function of my brain. They might be right.
Anyway...
After spending some time considering how long I'd gone without sleep, I started to wonder about other people. As you do. Well, I do, because I'm nosy like that. So...
What's the longest you've ever been without sleep? Was it intentional?
Monday, May 08, 2017
Counting #Sheep, Or #Dragons, Or Whatever
Counting sheep is a mental exercise used in some cultures as a means of putting oneself to sleep.
In most depictions of the activity, the practitioner envisions an endless series of identical white sheep jumping over a fence, while counting them as they do so. The idea, presumably, is to induce boredom while occupying the mind with something simple, repetitive, and rhythmic, all of which are known to help humans sleep.
Although the practice is largely a stereotype, and rarely used as a solution for insomnia, it has been so commonly referenced by cartoons, comic strips, and other mass media, that it has become deeply engrained into popular culture's notion of sleep. The term "counting sheep" has entered the English language as an idiomatic term for insomnia. Sheep themselves have become associated with sleep, or lack thereof.
The effectiveness of the method may depend upon the mental power required. An experiment conducted by researchers at Oxford University, though not involving livestock as the object of visualization, found that subjects who imagined "a beach or a waterfall" were forced to expend more mental energy, and fell asleep faster, than those asked to "simply distract from thoughts, worries and concerns."
~From Wikipedia
I'm sure you're all familiar with the term, and how counting sheep works. But I grabbed the above information for the benifit of anyone who isn't, since I've learned not to assume that all popular cultural references are as well-known in other countries as they are in the one I know them from, if you know what I mean.
Anyway...
I've not mentioned it much in recent months, but, as anyone who's been reading my blog for a long time will know, I often have trouble sleeping. I've tried all the tricks that are meant to help you sleep, and have found that the repetitive mental exercises like counting sheep actually do work sometimes. At least, if the cause of my insomnia that night is just too much going on in my head. It's sort of like how focus on your breathing helps you get started when it comes to meditation.
Except, one night back in January, the sheep started bleating at me as they jumped, and it was getting on my nerves.
So I tried counting other things, and ended up counting dragons.
Apparently it's true that it's the repetitive exercise rather than the sheep, since I tried other things too, with similar results; some nights it works wonderfully, other times it doesn't. There appeared to be no pattern as to which things I counted would or wouldn't work; as long as I could imagine identical ones jumping, flying, walking, or floating by - depending what was appropriate for the creature, or object, in question - it seemed to be fine.
So, I just thought I'd let you know, in case you don't like sheep, or your sheep start annoying you with their bleating too, that you can count whatever you like when trying to sleep... Sheep, dragons, or whatever. There's no guarantee it will work, of course, but at least you now know for sure that you aren't limited to counting sheep, so can add some variety in to your counting exercises.
Also, meditating, or doing something else potentially relaxing, shortly before you try to sleep, can often help if you have trouble sleeping too. Again, it's not guaranteed, but it's worth trying.
Actually, as you probably already know, when it comes to things that are meant to help you sleep, they all work sometimes, but aren't guaranteed. After all, if they worked every time, nobody would suffer from insomnia, would they?
Of course, the big question now is... What do sheep count to get to sleep?
Monday, October 31, 2016
#TV Talk and #Movie Mutterings - #Halloween 2016 (LBE And FD)
If you're here looking for my Halloween party post... Click here to go to it.
OK... So... It's Halloween... Do you have any plans? If so, I'd love to hear what they are.
Living several floors up in an area that doesn't get many trick-or-treaters anyway, I'm not expecting any neighbours' children to be knocking on my door - or, more accurately, ringing my buzzer - tonight. Around here, most of the people who celebrate Halloween go to parties or other events that they or their children's schools arrange, and it's rare to get more than a dozen or so trick-or-treaters come calling, even when you live at street level. I think the most we ever got was a little over two dozen one time a couple of years ago, but - as I said - that's pretty rare. It's sad really, but so many people won't even answer the door that most people don't feel it's worth it to take the kids out trick-or-treating, and even fewer bother with blocks of flats. Not that everyone even bothers with Halloween at all these days, which I happen to think is a real shame. But I also happen to think people are entitled to celebrate, or not celebrate, whatever they like, so I'm not going to judge them for it. It would be nice to have trick-or-treaters come calling though...
Well, regardless of what the neighbours are doing, I for one plan to celebrate it, so, my Halloween plans involve eating something with pumpkin in it for dinner, followed by some treats we have on hand (just because you need treats when celebrating Halloween) and watching movies. I might do some reading too, knowing me. Not big plans, perhaps, but it's something to do to celebrate the holiday, and it sounds fun to me.
Oh, and... If you're wondering... Yes. If any trick-or-treaters do actually come calling, I will share my treats with them. As much as I'd love to have the kids come calling, I'm willing to eat them all if no trick-or-treaters come calling though. *wink*
So, anyway... Kelly and I both picked a movie we've seen, and a movie we haven't, though I'm not sure if we'll get to all four today... Probably not. Anyway, my movies of choice are Hocus Pocus for the movie we've seen, and Goosebumps for the one we haven't seen. Kelly's picks are The Witches for the movie we've seen, and The Last Witch Hunter for the one we haven't seen. We obviously like the ones we picked that we've already seen, so I won't be mentioning them in next month's movie reviews post. But I'll tell you next month what we thought of the two new to us movies.
For now though, let's take a look at the new to me movies I've already watched, including those movies I would have posted about in September, but didn't due to not ending up doing one of these posts last month (if you're wondering, I didn't do the post last month because I'd planned to have it go up the morning we lost Jenks, and put it back as a draft post to make the post for that day about him instead, later rescheduling and adding to the planned September movies post to create this one). Not that there are very many new to me movies to review, even with it being two months worth... This post is only a kind of long one because I talk a lot. Haha! Seriously though, as I've mentioned a few times in the past, I spend more time reading than watching movies or TV shows.
Anyway, I'm sure you want me to get on with it, so...
As with the previous posts like this one, just click on the movie titles to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie in question; the movie title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.
OK...
Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015 movie):
I loved the first Hotel Transylvania movie, so was excited about watching the second. Luckily, I was not disappointed. The movie was fantastic! There were a few sweet scenes, but mostly the characters and their antics had me laughing out loud. I think this is one the entire family could enjoy - young and old alike. I have no hesitation at all in giving this movie the full five out of five stars.
A Warrior's Tail (2015 movie):
For the most part, this was a pretty good movie, with some really entertaining scenes. But I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I thought I was going to. Confused? Let me explain. Part of why I didn't enjoy the movie as much as I'd expected to was because it was often difficult to tell who was doing what, since there was no audio description, and it wasn't clear from the dialogue or sound effects. It wasn't just that though. The tone of the movie had me thinking for most of it that the people in the movie were a tribe from one of the old religeons where animals, nature, and magic users take the place of dieties for the most part, and any mention to any kind of actual diety refers to Mother Earth in some shape or form. At least, that's what I'd have said if you asked me about their beliefs. However, at one point... About two thirds of the way through, give or take... Two of the characters suddenly had this short conversation about whether God was eternal. I have no memory of God ever being mentioned before that, and know for a fact he wasn't mentioned after it. Now, don't get me wrong, people can believe whatever they want, be it in real life, in a book, or in a movie. But there needs to be consistancy in the beliefs, especially in the books and movies. With all the myths and legends, talking animals communicating easily with humans, magic users, curses, etc, mentioned in the rest of the movie, the conversation about God felt really out of place. Maybe I missed something earlier in the movie? I don't think so though, and Kelly had gotten the same feeling as me from the tone of the movie too, and was equally as confused by the sudden reference to God (though, I admit, he didn't watch the whole movie with me). But, anyway, since I mostly enjoyed what I could follow of the movie, and it wasn't entirely their fault I had no audio description, I'm giving this one four out of five stars.
The Martian (2015 movie):
I've read the book for this one, and really enjoyed it, so I was eager to see how well they did with the movie. Most of it was a pretty good representation of the book. I mean, they left a few bits out, and things weren't 100% as described in the book, but time limitations was probably the reason for the first of those things, and the inability to properly recreate the situations was probably the reason for the second. In all fairness, they couldn't really have someone go to Mars and completely recreate the experience; to my knowledge, no country currently has the ability to do something like that (and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to do it, even if they could). Anyway, back to the movie... The ending was the only issue I had with it. The ending of the book was dramatic enough, but they changed the ending in the movie to add a bit more action and excitement. Don't get me wrong, it was a really good alternative ending, and the same result was achieved in the longrun. But it was still an alternative ending, however you want to look at it. Still, I give this movie four out of five stars.
Victor Frankenstein (2015 movie):
I'm not familiar enough with the story of Frankenstein and his monster to know how well this works as a companion to the rest of what you may know about the man and his creation. I've read the book, but this is the first movie I've seen on it. From what I remember of the book, nothing was contradicted, so this seems a reasonable possible origin story from what I can tell, and is a pretty good movie. Not amazing, but worth a watch if you like that sort of thing, I think. I give this one four out of five stars.
Minions (2015 movie):
I haven't seen the movies where these little guys first made an appearance, but that doesn't matter, since this is a prequel anyway. So, what did I think of the movie? It was pretty cute, and quite funny. Kelly watched this one with me, and we were both laughing out loud for most of the movie. This is another movie the whole family can enjoy together, and I give it a well deserved five out of five stars.
Alice Through The Looking Glass (2016 movie):
I've seen both the animated and live action versions of "Alice In Wonderland" (in fact, I watched them again right before I watched this movie) and I've read the two books they're based on. When I learned there would be an "Alice Through The Looking Glass" movie, I wondered how they'd do it with how they ended the first live action movie, especially since the live action "Alice In Wonderland" felt a little like a blending of the two books. I was pleasantly surprised, however. They connected the movies to one another well, and then did an excellent job of combining some of the elements they hadn't yet used from the second book with some new material. I have no hesitation in giving this movie the full five out of five stars.
***
I'm trying to decide if I should be pleased or concerned that the rodent gang - the degus and chinchillas in particular - seem to absolutely love crime dramas like NCIS, CSI, Cold Case, etc. If they're being all grumpy and whiny, putting one of those shows on will make them calm down. We've even witnessed them staring intently at the TV during their crime shows.
What do you think? Should I be pleased, since those are pretty good shows, or should I be concerned?
***
I found out by doing this quiz thing on Pottermore that my Patronus is a Bassett Hound. Yeah... I can live with that. If you do the quiz thing, I'd love to know what yours would be. Oh, and, if you're wondering... I did the sorting too, and I'm in Ravenclaw, which is just fine with me. I have no objections to being a Ravenclaw with a puppy patronus.
Speaking of Harry Potter...
One of the Sky movie channels often plays the Harry Potter movies one after another, and then starts again when they're done. I've seen the movies dozens of times, but I still sometimes watch them again. Anyway, one day last week, I decided to lay on the sofa and watch some Harry Potter, since I'd turned the TV on just right to start from the first movie. Only a few minutes in to the movie, however, I fell asleep. I woke just as the second movie was starting. Kelly was already asleep before I fell asleep, and woke not long after I did. When he learned I'd been asleep, he asked me how long I slept for. My reply? "All of the first Harry Potter movie." You can tell how obsessed we are with Harry Potter by the fact he considered that a valid response, and knew roughly how long that meant. Haha!
Anyway... Happy Halloween!
OK... So... It's Halloween... Do you have any plans? If so, I'd love to hear what they are.
Living several floors up in an area that doesn't get many trick-or-treaters anyway, I'm not expecting any neighbours' children to be knocking on my door - or, more accurately, ringing my buzzer - tonight. Around here, most of the people who celebrate Halloween go to parties or other events that they or their children's schools arrange, and it's rare to get more than a dozen or so trick-or-treaters come calling, even when you live at street level. I think the most we ever got was a little over two dozen one time a couple of years ago, but - as I said - that's pretty rare. It's sad really, but so many people won't even answer the door that most people don't feel it's worth it to take the kids out trick-or-treating, and even fewer bother with blocks of flats. Not that everyone even bothers with Halloween at all these days, which I happen to think is a real shame. But I also happen to think people are entitled to celebrate, or not celebrate, whatever they like, so I'm not going to judge them for it. It would be nice to have trick-or-treaters come calling though...
Well, regardless of what the neighbours are doing, I for one plan to celebrate it, so, my Halloween plans involve eating something with pumpkin in it for dinner, followed by some treats we have on hand (just because you need treats when celebrating Halloween) and watching movies. I might do some reading too, knowing me. Not big plans, perhaps, but it's something to do to celebrate the holiday, and it sounds fun to me.
Oh, and... If you're wondering... Yes. If any trick-or-treaters do actually come calling, I will share my treats with them. As much as I'd love to have the kids come calling, I'm willing to eat them all if no trick-or-treaters come calling though. *wink*
So, anyway... Kelly and I both picked a movie we've seen, and a movie we haven't, though I'm not sure if we'll get to all four today... Probably not. Anyway, my movies of choice are Hocus Pocus for the movie we've seen, and Goosebumps for the one we haven't seen. Kelly's picks are The Witches for the movie we've seen, and The Last Witch Hunter for the one we haven't seen. We obviously like the ones we picked that we've already seen, so I won't be mentioning them in next month's movie reviews post. But I'll tell you next month what we thought of the two new to us movies.
For now though, let's take a look at the new to me movies I've already watched, including those movies I would have posted about in September, but didn't due to not ending up doing one of these posts last month (if you're wondering, I didn't do the post last month because I'd planned to have it go up the morning we lost Jenks, and put it back as a draft post to make the post for that day about him instead, later rescheduling and adding to the planned September movies post to create this one). Not that there are very many new to me movies to review, even with it being two months worth... This post is only a kind of long one because I talk a lot. Haha! Seriously though, as I've mentioned a few times in the past, I spend more time reading than watching movies or TV shows.
Anyway, I'm sure you want me to get on with it, so...
As with the previous posts like this one, just click on the movie titles to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie in question; the movie title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.
OK...
Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015 movie):
I loved the first Hotel Transylvania movie, so was excited about watching the second. Luckily, I was not disappointed. The movie was fantastic! There were a few sweet scenes, but mostly the characters and their antics had me laughing out loud. I think this is one the entire family could enjoy - young and old alike. I have no hesitation at all in giving this movie the full five out of five stars.
A Warrior's Tail (2015 movie):
For the most part, this was a pretty good movie, with some really entertaining scenes. But I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I thought I was going to. Confused? Let me explain. Part of why I didn't enjoy the movie as much as I'd expected to was because it was often difficult to tell who was doing what, since there was no audio description, and it wasn't clear from the dialogue or sound effects. It wasn't just that though. The tone of the movie had me thinking for most of it that the people in the movie were a tribe from one of the old religeons where animals, nature, and magic users take the place of dieties for the most part, and any mention to any kind of actual diety refers to Mother Earth in some shape or form. At least, that's what I'd have said if you asked me about their beliefs. However, at one point... About two thirds of the way through, give or take... Two of the characters suddenly had this short conversation about whether God was eternal. I have no memory of God ever being mentioned before that, and know for a fact he wasn't mentioned after it. Now, don't get me wrong, people can believe whatever they want, be it in real life, in a book, or in a movie. But there needs to be consistancy in the beliefs, especially in the books and movies. With all the myths and legends, talking animals communicating easily with humans, magic users, curses, etc, mentioned in the rest of the movie, the conversation about God felt really out of place. Maybe I missed something earlier in the movie? I don't think so though, and Kelly had gotten the same feeling as me from the tone of the movie too, and was equally as confused by the sudden reference to God (though, I admit, he didn't watch the whole movie with me). But, anyway, since I mostly enjoyed what I could follow of the movie, and it wasn't entirely their fault I had no audio description, I'm giving this one four out of five stars.
The Martian (2015 movie):
I've read the book for this one, and really enjoyed it, so I was eager to see how well they did with the movie. Most of it was a pretty good representation of the book. I mean, they left a few bits out, and things weren't 100% as described in the book, but time limitations was probably the reason for the first of those things, and the inability to properly recreate the situations was probably the reason for the second. In all fairness, they couldn't really have someone go to Mars and completely recreate the experience; to my knowledge, no country currently has the ability to do something like that (and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to do it, even if they could). Anyway, back to the movie... The ending was the only issue I had with it. The ending of the book was dramatic enough, but they changed the ending in the movie to add a bit more action and excitement. Don't get me wrong, it was a really good alternative ending, and the same result was achieved in the longrun. But it was still an alternative ending, however you want to look at it. Still, I give this movie four out of five stars.
Victor Frankenstein (2015 movie):
I'm not familiar enough with the story of Frankenstein and his monster to know how well this works as a companion to the rest of what you may know about the man and his creation. I've read the book, but this is the first movie I've seen on it. From what I remember of the book, nothing was contradicted, so this seems a reasonable possible origin story from what I can tell, and is a pretty good movie. Not amazing, but worth a watch if you like that sort of thing, I think. I give this one four out of five stars.
Minions (2015 movie):
I haven't seen the movies where these little guys first made an appearance, but that doesn't matter, since this is a prequel anyway. So, what did I think of the movie? It was pretty cute, and quite funny. Kelly watched this one with me, and we were both laughing out loud for most of the movie. This is another movie the whole family can enjoy together, and I give it a well deserved five out of five stars.
Alice Through The Looking Glass (2016 movie):
I've seen both the animated and live action versions of "Alice In Wonderland" (in fact, I watched them again right before I watched this movie) and I've read the two books they're based on. When I learned there would be an "Alice Through The Looking Glass" movie, I wondered how they'd do it with how they ended the first live action movie, especially since the live action "Alice In Wonderland" felt a little like a blending of the two books. I was pleasantly surprised, however. They connected the movies to one another well, and then did an excellent job of combining some of the elements they hadn't yet used from the second book with some new material. I have no hesitation in giving this movie the full five out of five stars.
***
I'm trying to decide if I should be pleased or concerned that the rodent gang - the degus and chinchillas in particular - seem to absolutely love crime dramas like NCIS, CSI, Cold Case, etc. If they're being all grumpy and whiny, putting one of those shows on will make them calm down. We've even witnessed them staring intently at the TV during their crime shows.
What do you think? Should I be pleased, since those are pretty good shows, or should I be concerned?
***
I found out by doing this quiz thing on Pottermore that my Patronus is a Bassett Hound. Yeah... I can live with that. If you do the quiz thing, I'd love to know what yours would be. Oh, and, if you're wondering... I did the sorting too, and I'm in Ravenclaw, which is just fine with me. I have no objections to being a Ravenclaw with a puppy patronus.
Speaking of Harry Potter...
One of the Sky movie channels often plays the Harry Potter movies one after another, and then starts again when they're done. I've seen the movies dozens of times, but I still sometimes watch them again. Anyway, one day last week, I decided to lay on the sofa and watch some Harry Potter, since I'd turned the TV on just right to start from the first movie. Only a few minutes in to the movie, however, I fell asleep. I woke just as the second movie was starting. Kelly was already asleep before I fell asleep, and woke not long after I did. When he learned I'd been asleep, he asked me how long I slept for. My reply? "All of the first Harry Potter movie." You can tell how obsessed we are with Harry Potter by the fact he considered that a valid response, and knew roughly how long that meant. Haha!
Anyway... Happy Halloween!
Sunday, October 09, 2016
Random Question: Of #Motorbikes And #Bees - Is it Just Me? It probably is!
Motorbike engines make different sounds, depending on various factors, which I think have to do with engine size and the type of bike, but don't quote me on that because I don't know much about that kind of thing.
Anyway, my question is: did you ever notice that some motorbikes, when heard from a distance, produce a droning sound very similar to that which would most likely be produced by a giant bee?
Or, is it just me? Am I alone in thinking this?
Judging by the reactions of my hubby, brother, and Dad, it's probably just me... Maybe I've finally lost it completely?
Anyway, my question is: did you ever notice that some motorbikes, when heard from a distance, produce a droning sound very similar to that which would most likely be produced by a giant bee?
Or, is it just me? Am I alone in thinking this?
Judging by the reactions of my hubby, brother, and Dad, it's probably just me... Maybe I've finally lost it completely?
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
#Writing Wednesday - March 23rd 2016
The paperback version of "Zeena And The Mermaid" (the third book in my "Zeena Dragon Fae" series) is now available from CreateSpace and Amazon, and will soon be available from Barnes & Noble too.
(Click on the book title for the CreateSpace link).
I plan to upload the files for "Rhubarb The Red-Nosed Rabbit" on the weekend (which is when the eBook version is officially released). So, all being well, that one won't be too long in becoming available in paperback too... As long as it goes through the review process without any trouble. Other than that, it's just those two we're having issues with the covers for, and one that I'm waiting for one of those before requesting the proof for, because I don't want to make book three of a series available in paperback before book two is available, if you know what I mean.
***
Writing a book of your own? Never underestimate the power of perseverance. It takes work to achieve your dream of being a published author, but it's achievable, so keep working on that book.
While you're working on it, here are some tips for writing clear dialogue, as well as some on how to subtly boost your dialogue's power with body language.
Also, remember that it's important to write about what you know, as well as who you know. However, as discussed in the post I just linked to, this doesn't actually mean that you can only write about things and people you know. In fact, in the case of the people, it's probably best not to. What it means is that you need to take the time to learn what you don't know before writing about a particular topic or type of person, otherwise your lack of knowledge will show, and it will spoil the reading experience for your readers.
While getting to know the character(s) in your story, you'll want to ask the question, "What's your motivation?" This will help you to get to know your character's reasons for doing what they do, in order to help you to make them more believable as people.
Plus, if your book is a science fiction one, and you're stuck for ideas for naming your planets, check out this planet name generator.
***
Do you want to publish your book yourself? If so, here are 12 things to consider before you start. Also, if you're going to self-publish, that means deciding which of the four main self-publishing platforms you're going to use. Personally, I use Smashwords for my eBooks, and they distribute to Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, Kobo, and a few others on my behalf. For my paperbacks, on the other hand, I use CreateSpace, who distribute to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and a few others on my behalf. Both platforms also make books available to be ordered by libraries too.
Of course, if you're going to be publishing your work, sooner or later you're going to want to try and sell copies of your book(s). That means you need to build up your author platform and interact with people. If you don't, you'll have nobody to try and sell your books to. Well, unless you're one of those lucky people with so many actual friends and family members lined up to buy your books - and actually doing so when you have them published - that you'll be selling piles of books without even trying. However, even then you may want to sell to other people. Besides, most people aren't that lucky, and need to work to get enough interest in their books to get sales. So, since that's the case, you'll probably want to check out these 11 tips for building a successful writer's platform.
Also... In case you don't know... It appears that, even if you're self-published and use a print on demand service, you need to send your books to The British Library (or your country's equivalent). If you're in the UK, here's how to do it.
***
Are you on Twitter? Also, are you suffering from Writers' block? If you answered yes to both of those, you may want to follow WritingPrompt.Com. They have an interesting variety of prompts they post... Some of them are bound to spark ideas. If you're not on Twitter, you can still check out their website.
Or, I suppose, if you're really struggling, you could try this online plot generator.
Speaking of story ideas... Will we ever run out of stories to tell? Have we done so already, and just don't realize it? Is a story apocolypse coming? Or, are we already in one now without knowing it? What are your thoughts on the matter?
(Click on the book title for the CreateSpace link).
I plan to upload the files for "Rhubarb The Red-Nosed Rabbit" on the weekend (which is when the eBook version is officially released). So, all being well, that one won't be too long in becoming available in paperback too... As long as it goes through the review process without any trouble. Other than that, it's just those two we're having issues with the covers for, and one that I'm waiting for one of those before requesting the proof for, because I don't want to make book three of a series available in paperback before book two is available, if you know what I mean.
***
Writing a book of your own? Never underestimate the power of perseverance. It takes work to achieve your dream of being a published author, but it's achievable, so keep working on that book.
While you're working on it, here are some tips for writing clear dialogue, as well as some on how to subtly boost your dialogue's power with body language.
Also, remember that it's important to write about what you know, as well as who you know. However, as discussed in the post I just linked to, this doesn't actually mean that you can only write about things and people you know. In fact, in the case of the people, it's probably best not to. What it means is that you need to take the time to learn what you don't know before writing about a particular topic or type of person, otherwise your lack of knowledge will show, and it will spoil the reading experience for your readers.
While getting to know the character(s) in your story, you'll want to ask the question, "What's your motivation?" This will help you to get to know your character's reasons for doing what they do, in order to help you to make them more believable as people.
Plus, if your book is a science fiction one, and you're stuck for ideas for naming your planets, check out this planet name generator.
***
Do you want to publish your book yourself? If so, here are 12 things to consider before you start. Also, if you're going to self-publish, that means deciding which of the four main self-publishing platforms you're going to use. Personally, I use Smashwords for my eBooks, and they distribute to Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, Kobo, and a few others on my behalf. For my paperbacks, on the other hand, I use CreateSpace, who distribute to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and a few others on my behalf. Both platforms also make books available to be ordered by libraries too.
Of course, if you're going to be publishing your work, sooner or later you're going to want to try and sell copies of your book(s). That means you need to build up your author platform and interact with people. If you don't, you'll have nobody to try and sell your books to. Well, unless you're one of those lucky people with so many actual friends and family members lined up to buy your books - and actually doing so when you have them published - that you'll be selling piles of books without even trying. However, even then you may want to sell to other people. Besides, most people aren't that lucky, and need to work to get enough interest in their books to get sales. So, since that's the case, you'll probably want to check out these 11 tips for building a successful writer's platform.
Also... In case you don't know... It appears that, even if you're self-published and use a print on demand service, you need to send your books to The British Library (or your country's equivalent). If you're in the UK, here's how to do it.
***
Are you on Twitter? Also, are you suffering from Writers' block? If you answered yes to both of those, you may want to follow WritingPrompt.Com. They have an interesting variety of prompts they post... Some of them are bound to spark ideas. If you're not on Twitter, you can still check out their website.
Or, I suppose, if you're really struggling, you could try this online plot generator.
Speaking of story ideas... Will we ever run out of stories to tell? Have we done so already, and just don't realize it? Is a story apocolypse coming? Or, are we already in one now without knowing it? What are your thoughts on the matter?
Friday, March 04, 2016
Furkid Friday: a question for readers
Hi humans, rodents, and anyone of any other species reading this.
This is the entire rodent gang here with a question for you all.
What do you want to hear more about in our posts?
For example: is there something about any - or all - of us you want to know more about? Or, would you like to hear our thoughts on a particular subject?
Please tell us below... You might just get to see a blog post answering your question in the near future.
Squeak soon,
Baggins, Bilbo, Jacob, Jasper, Jenks, Joshua, Skye, and Star
This is the entire rodent gang here with a question for you all.
What do you want to hear more about in our posts?
For example: is there something about any - or all - of us you want to know more about? Or, would you like to hear our thoughts on a particular subject?
Please tell us below... You might just get to see a blog post answering your question in the near future.
Squeak soon,
Baggins, Bilbo, Jacob, Jasper, Jenks, Joshua, Skye, and Star
Monday, January 11, 2016
Of dolls, resolutions, storms, and birthdays
I don't do new year's resolutions.
The first year I was allowed to stay up to see in the new year, my brother, Carl, told me about how people generally made new year's resolutions. I'd just turned nine at the time, and he'd just turned ten. After explaining what a new year's resolution was to me, he asked me if I was going to make one.
"I'm going to resolve to do better at doing what Mami and Dadi say, when they actually say to do it," I replied.
"That's silly," he said. "You're supposed to make important resolutions, like being more healthy and that kind of thing."
"If I can't make the one I want to make, I'm not making a resolution at all," I vowed.
So, here's a question for you: since I don't make newyear's resolutions, have I kept that resolution I made at the age of nine for more than 20 years? Or does the very fact I made it mean I broke it the moment I made it?
Either way, I haven't made one since.
Sure, I've had some goals I've set for things I want to achieve by a certain point in the year, or things I'd like to have happen that year. But not once have I made an actual resolution on new year's eve.
Other than my writing and reading goals - which I already told you about in other posts during this past week, so won't repeat here - I don't really have any goals for this year though.
How about you? Did you make a new year's resolution this year? Or, a list of life changes, or goals for the year?
We're nearly two weeks in to the year now, so... If you did... How are you doing so far? Have you kept to the resolution? are you managing to take the steps you need in order to make the life changes stick, or reach your goals for the year?
***
I finnished the doll I was making around Christmas. So, here she is:
I brought a little hand held sock loom to try and make some knitted socks for myself, but I couldn't work it. It was too tricky to do without being able to see what I was doing, and all I achieved was a lot of frustration and a tangled piece of wool. So, I decided that wasn't for me, and am going to use the wool I have in some other way.
***
The weather continues to be extremely stormy, but no more snow has shown up.
I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of snow, since I really do love snow. But at least the storms are great to listen to, and you should hear and see the ocean... It's been really rough!
In fact, here are a couple of photos of it, so you can at least see it. This wasn't one of the worst times either... Just an idea of an average view of the ocean in the past couple of months...
***
It was my Auntie Lizzie (Grandma's sister)'s birthday on January 6th, and my Nan (Dad's Mother)'s birthday on January 8th.
Nan certainly won't read this, though there's a small chance Auntie Lizzie might. But I'm going to say it to them both anyway... Happy belated birthday wishes to you, Auntie Lizzie, and Nan!
The first year I was allowed to stay up to see in the new year, my brother, Carl, told me about how people generally made new year's resolutions. I'd just turned nine at the time, and he'd just turned ten. After explaining what a new year's resolution was to me, he asked me if I was going to make one.
"I'm going to resolve to do better at doing what Mami and Dadi say, when they actually say to do it," I replied.
"That's silly," he said. "You're supposed to make important resolutions, like being more healthy and that kind of thing."
"If I can't make the one I want to make, I'm not making a resolution at all," I vowed.
So, here's a question for you: since I don't make newyear's resolutions, have I kept that resolution I made at the age of nine for more than 20 years? Or does the very fact I made it mean I broke it the moment I made it?
Either way, I haven't made one since.
Sure, I've had some goals I've set for things I want to achieve by a certain point in the year, or things I'd like to have happen that year. But not once have I made an actual resolution on new year's eve.
Other than my writing and reading goals - which I already told you about in other posts during this past week, so won't repeat here - I don't really have any goals for this year though.
How about you? Did you make a new year's resolution this year? Or, a list of life changes, or goals for the year?
We're nearly two weeks in to the year now, so... If you did... How are you doing so far? Have you kept to the resolution? are you managing to take the steps you need in order to make the life changes stick, or reach your goals for the year?
***
I finnished the doll I was making around Christmas. So, here she is:
I brought a little hand held sock loom to try and make some knitted socks for myself, but I couldn't work it. It was too tricky to do without being able to see what I was doing, and all I achieved was a lot of frustration and a tangled piece of wool. So, I decided that wasn't for me, and am going to use the wool I have in some other way.
***
The weather continues to be extremely stormy, but no more snow has shown up.
I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of snow, since I really do love snow. But at least the storms are great to listen to, and you should hear and see the ocean... It's been really rough!
In fact, here are a couple of photos of it, so you can at least see it. This wasn't one of the worst times either... Just an idea of an average view of the ocean in the past couple of months...
***
It was my Auntie Lizzie (Grandma's sister)'s birthday on January 6th, and my Nan (Dad's Mother)'s birthday on January 8th.
Nan certainly won't read this, though there's a small chance Auntie Lizzie might. But I'm going to say it to them both anyway... Happy belated birthday wishes to you, Auntie Lizzie, and Nan!
Monday, October 19, 2015
A-Z with me, part 3: O-U (LBE)
If you missed the first to, go here for A-G, and go here for H-N.
***
O is for outings.
I don't go on many outings, really, but I enjoy the ones I do go on. Perhaps I even enjoy them more for the fact they don't happen constantly?
When I say "outings" here, I'm not including trips to the local store.
We go out for breakfast when we can, and about once a month we go in to town to some of the places that sell things we can't get locally. But, other than that, we don't go out much.
I had a full day out at the end of September though.
Actually, I had a busy weekend in general, since my brother, Carl, Carl's girlfriend, Tory, my Dad, Dad's girlfriend, Cath, and my Nan (Dad's Mother) all came for a visit that weekend.
We got lucky with the weather. It had been really bad, but was quite nice that weekend; a little chillier than some would have liked, perhaps, but dry; perfect Autumn/Fall weather, I thought.
Anyway...
On the Friday evening, Carl and Tory helped us to start getting my iPhone all set up while we waited for the others to arrive, and then we all went and ate take-out down on the beach by moonlight. After that, they all went to the caravan they were staying at - since our second bedroom is a computer room, and couldn't sleep five adults even if it was set up as a guest room - and we came home.
On the Saturday we met up for breakfast at the cafe we took them to for breakfast when they visited last year, which they seem to like as much as we do. Then we all went to the aquarium - where we found Nemo - and had a bit of a walk around town (I have some photos, but I'll share those in another post, in a couple of weeks time, since this post will be long enough without them). I was getting really tired before they were done looking around town, and my leg was hurting, so - since Kelly and I go there regularly, which meant exploring town was more interesting to them - Kelly and I went home, ordered and ate dinner, and then took a nap.
On the Sunday we were all meant to go to Battle, but where the weather had been so wet, Kelly and I weren't eager to go. We can go quite easily any time, to be honest, which is why we were willing to let the poor conditions stop us from going. The others can't visit it so easily though, so decided to go anyway. They went there in the daytime, then most of them came to see us in the evening; Nan and Cath didn't, because they were exhausted from their day out. This is also when we said "goodbye" to Carl and Tory, since they had planned to go straight to the station on the Monday morning, since it was easier than them coming to us for just the few moments needed to say our goodbyes.
On the Monday we didn't see much of the three still in the area. They just came to say "goodbye" and for Dad to grab some stuff we were giving him; nothing special, really... Just some stuff we thought he'd like that we no longer wanted.
It was an exhausting weekend for me, but a good one!
I also had lunch out at a cafe near where we live this past Saturday (October 17th). It was with Kelly and Kevin. Kevin is a fellow blind author, who came for a visit for the afternoon, bringing his guide dog, Trigger, with him, of course.
***
P is for people.
The people in my life are all important to me; whether they're a small part of my life, or a large part of it. I don't always do a good job of keeping up with how everyone is doing, but my family and friends are always in my thoughts.
It was my brother's birthday on Friday (October 16th) and will be our niece's birthday in a little over a week (October 28th). So, belated happy birthday wishes to you, Carl, and happy early birthday wishes to you, Tamara!
Anyway... I appreciate every one of you; from my hubby, right down to those who only show up to read my posts from time to time, but never comment. Whether you be someone who once left me a review but never bothered with me afterwards, a follower I don't really know, someone I consider a good friend, or a family member, thank you for being you, and please remember that you matter.
***
Q is for quizzes.
As in, online quizzes.
I've eased off on this a bit recently, but I still love taking those online quizzes. I used to be addicted to them, and you can see many of the results of ones I took in the past on this very blog. These days I manage to control my addiction, and only take the odd online quiz. I don't know what it is about them... Most of them are for silly things... But they're very addictive, and I can't help myself sometimes.
My brother found an accessable quiz game for the iPhone, and I had him download it on to my iPhone while he was here. I haven't gotten as addicted to it as I was to the online quizzes though... At least, not yet!
***
R is for rats.
Spacifically my ratty girls, Skye and Star.
I'd wanted a pet rat for years and years, but Kelly always said "no" when I asked. Finally, almost a year ago, he gave in. Actually, he just came home one day announcing I could have rats. I didn't argue, or question his reasons at the time, though I found out later it was an attempt to cheer me up after we lost Kero a few months before.
Anyway, even Kelly admits that our girls are sweet little things, and very affectionate.
***
S is for scrabble.
I'm addicted to Scrabble!
It started because I wanted to get better at Scrabble so I could beat my brother, Carl, and grew in to an addiction. I have a Scrabble game on the computer, you see, and I have a nasty habit of playing it when I'm meant to be doing other things. Still, it has helped me with my spelling, and I did achieve my goal of managing to beat my brother at Scrabble, so it's not entirely a bad thing.
***
T is for TV shows.
My favourites being "The Big Bang Theory" and "CSI" among others. I'm also quite partial to cartoons... Call me a big kid for that one if you like. The other kinds of TV shows I really enjoy watching are nature shows, like the kinds you get on Discovery channel, or ones about animals, like the kind you get on Animal Planet.
I haven't been able to watch TV recently though, since there's a problem with the arial, and we haven't had a chance to do anything about getting it fixed. Besides, since we're in a place that allows it now, we're considering having more than just freeview again, so we can have more channels. We haven't decided for sure yet though.
***
U is for unanswered questions.
I'm always asking questions - sometimes just in my head, other times out loud - and seeking answers to them. I also enjoy solving riddles and brainteaser puzzles. Mostly though it's just finding the answers to random questions that happen to pop in to my head at any given time; which isn't as rare an occurance as you might think.
Anyway, this is a process made a lot easier with the internet being so easy to access... All the answers are out there somewhere; it just might take a bit to find them. It's fun looking though, and I love confusing the internet Gods with my random searches, so that they don't know what to recommend to me based on my browsing history.
Some of my random questions, and some of the random things I decided to look up, can be found among my old blog posts.
***
Come back next week for part 4, where I tell you about V-Z.
***
O is for outings.
I don't go on many outings, really, but I enjoy the ones I do go on. Perhaps I even enjoy them more for the fact they don't happen constantly?
When I say "outings" here, I'm not including trips to the local store.
We go out for breakfast when we can, and about once a month we go in to town to some of the places that sell things we can't get locally. But, other than that, we don't go out much.
I had a full day out at the end of September though.
Actually, I had a busy weekend in general, since my brother, Carl, Carl's girlfriend, Tory, my Dad, Dad's girlfriend, Cath, and my Nan (Dad's Mother) all came for a visit that weekend.
We got lucky with the weather. It had been really bad, but was quite nice that weekend; a little chillier than some would have liked, perhaps, but dry; perfect Autumn/Fall weather, I thought.
Anyway...
On the Friday evening, Carl and Tory helped us to start getting my iPhone all set up while we waited for the others to arrive, and then we all went and ate take-out down on the beach by moonlight. After that, they all went to the caravan they were staying at - since our second bedroom is a computer room, and couldn't sleep five adults even if it was set up as a guest room - and we came home.
On the Saturday we met up for breakfast at the cafe we took them to for breakfast when they visited last year, which they seem to like as much as we do. Then we all went to the aquarium - where we found Nemo - and had a bit of a walk around town (I have some photos, but I'll share those in another post, in a couple of weeks time, since this post will be long enough without them). I was getting really tired before they were done looking around town, and my leg was hurting, so - since Kelly and I go there regularly, which meant exploring town was more interesting to them - Kelly and I went home, ordered and ate dinner, and then took a nap.
On the Sunday we were all meant to go to Battle, but where the weather had been so wet, Kelly and I weren't eager to go. We can go quite easily any time, to be honest, which is why we were willing to let the poor conditions stop us from going. The others can't visit it so easily though, so decided to go anyway. They went there in the daytime, then most of them came to see us in the evening; Nan and Cath didn't, because they were exhausted from their day out. This is also when we said "goodbye" to Carl and Tory, since they had planned to go straight to the station on the Monday morning, since it was easier than them coming to us for just the few moments needed to say our goodbyes.
On the Monday we didn't see much of the three still in the area. They just came to say "goodbye" and for Dad to grab some stuff we were giving him; nothing special, really... Just some stuff we thought he'd like that we no longer wanted.
It was an exhausting weekend for me, but a good one!
I also had lunch out at a cafe near where we live this past Saturday (October 17th). It was with Kelly and Kevin. Kevin is a fellow blind author, who came for a visit for the afternoon, bringing his guide dog, Trigger, with him, of course.
***
P is for people.
The people in my life are all important to me; whether they're a small part of my life, or a large part of it. I don't always do a good job of keeping up with how everyone is doing, but my family and friends are always in my thoughts.
It was my brother's birthday on Friday (October 16th) and will be our niece's birthday in a little over a week (October 28th). So, belated happy birthday wishes to you, Carl, and happy early birthday wishes to you, Tamara!
Anyway... I appreciate every one of you; from my hubby, right down to those who only show up to read my posts from time to time, but never comment. Whether you be someone who once left me a review but never bothered with me afterwards, a follower I don't really know, someone I consider a good friend, or a family member, thank you for being you, and please remember that you matter.
***
Q is for quizzes.
As in, online quizzes.
I've eased off on this a bit recently, but I still love taking those online quizzes. I used to be addicted to them, and you can see many of the results of ones I took in the past on this very blog. These days I manage to control my addiction, and only take the odd online quiz. I don't know what it is about them... Most of them are for silly things... But they're very addictive, and I can't help myself sometimes.
My brother found an accessable quiz game for the iPhone, and I had him download it on to my iPhone while he was here. I haven't gotten as addicted to it as I was to the online quizzes though... At least, not yet!
***
R is for rats.
Spacifically my ratty girls, Skye and Star.
I'd wanted a pet rat for years and years, but Kelly always said "no" when I asked. Finally, almost a year ago, he gave in. Actually, he just came home one day announcing I could have rats. I didn't argue, or question his reasons at the time, though I found out later it was an attempt to cheer me up after we lost Kero a few months before.
Anyway, even Kelly admits that our girls are sweet little things, and very affectionate.
***
S is for scrabble.
I'm addicted to Scrabble!
It started because I wanted to get better at Scrabble so I could beat my brother, Carl, and grew in to an addiction. I have a Scrabble game on the computer, you see, and I have a nasty habit of playing it when I'm meant to be doing other things. Still, it has helped me with my spelling, and I did achieve my goal of managing to beat my brother at Scrabble, so it's not entirely a bad thing.
***
T is for TV shows.
My favourites being "The Big Bang Theory" and "CSI" among others. I'm also quite partial to cartoons... Call me a big kid for that one if you like. The other kinds of TV shows I really enjoy watching are nature shows, like the kinds you get on Discovery channel, or ones about animals, like the kind you get on Animal Planet.
I haven't been able to watch TV recently though, since there's a problem with the arial, and we haven't had a chance to do anything about getting it fixed. Besides, since we're in a place that allows it now, we're considering having more than just freeview again, so we can have more channels. We haven't decided for sure yet though.
***
U is for unanswered questions.
I'm always asking questions - sometimes just in my head, other times out loud - and seeking answers to them. I also enjoy solving riddles and brainteaser puzzles. Mostly though it's just finding the answers to random questions that happen to pop in to my head at any given time; which isn't as rare an occurance as you might think.
Anyway, this is a process made a lot easier with the internet being so easy to access... All the answers are out there somewhere; it just might take a bit to find them. It's fun looking though, and I love confusing the internet Gods with my random searches, so that they don't know what to recommend to me based on my browsing history.
Some of my random questions, and some of the random things I decided to look up, can be found among my old blog posts.
***
Come back next week for part 4, where I tell you about V-Z.
Wednesday, July 08, 2015
Wednesday's writing related ramblings - July 8th 2015
It's time for this year's Smashwords Summer/Winter sale, which they hold every July, and which I've enrolled a dozen of my books in this year; 6 are 75% off, and another 6 are 50% off.
If you missed the post I put up about it on Sunday, then go here for details of which books I've enrolled, how much they'll cost while they're on sale, and the coupon codes to use to get the sale price.
Please note that the sale only applies to the eBook versions of my books, and that the coupon codes are exclusively for use on Smashwords during July 2015.
Plenty of other authors also have their books on sale. Some are 25% off, some are 50% off, some are 75% off, and others are completely free. So, browse the books on sale and maybe you'll find a great deal on your next read!
***
Here’s an interesting article about “drive – the surprising truth about what motivates us”... What’s your answer to the question at the end? “What did you want to be when you were a child, and does it relate at all to what you are doing now? Can you see any connection between what you love doing now, and what your childhood aspirations were?” Seriously... I'm curious, so I'd love to get your answers to that question.
Sometimes we have to admit that there are things we are not good at, which we need to work on. Remember: though it can be difficult learning new things, it can also be fun sometimes. Plus, if it helps us to reach our dream, it's worth it, isn't it?
Speaking of learning things... Are you unsure what hooks, plants, and book-end closures are? Well, that article will give you a short explanation of each.
Do you publish your books exclusively on Amazon, and also publish extracts of your work on your blog? If so, you might want to be aware of what can happen if Amazon find out - apparently they don't like it.
Wondering if you're doing enough to be a successful author? Here are 50 questions to ask yourself about your author platform, which will help you to figure out what - if anything - you need to work harder on.
Also... Here are 100 questions to ask yourself before you write your novel, and some questions for beta readers.
OK, so your book is done, and you want some reviews... Understandably. Well, there are plenty of book bloggers out there who may be interested in doing one for you. Once you find a potential book blogger, here are a few little tips for increasing your chances of getting them to review your book.
And, finally, here's a website that boasts 7 strategies, and over 100 tools, to help self-published authors find readers and reviewers, which appears to be worth taking a look at.
If you missed the post I put up about it on Sunday, then go here for details of which books I've enrolled, how much they'll cost while they're on sale, and the coupon codes to use to get the sale price.
Please note that the sale only applies to the eBook versions of my books, and that the coupon codes are exclusively for use on Smashwords during July 2015.
Plenty of other authors also have their books on sale. Some are 25% off, some are 50% off, some are 75% off, and others are completely free. So, browse the books on sale and maybe you'll find a great deal on your next read!
***
Here’s an interesting article about “drive – the surprising truth about what motivates us”... What’s your answer to the question at the end? “What did you want to be when you were a child, and does it relate at all to what you are doing now? Can you see any connection between what you love doing now, and what your childhood aspirations were?” Seriously... I'm curious, so I'd love to get your answers to that question.
Sometimes we have to admit that there are things we are not good at, which we need to work on. Remember: though it can be difficult learning new things, it can also be fun sometimes. Plus, if it helps us to reach our dream, it's worth it, isn't it?
Speaking of learning things... Are you unsure what hooks, plants, and book-end closures are? Well, that article will give you a short explanation of each.
Do you publish your books exclusively on Amazon, and also publish extracts of your work on your blog? If so, you might want to be aware of what can happen if Amazon find out - apparently they don't like it.
Wondering if you're doing enough to be a successful author? Here are 50 questions to ask yourself about your author platform, which will help you to figure out what - if anything - you need to work harder on.
Also... Here are 100 questions to ask yourself before you write your novel, and some questions for beta readers.
OK, so your book is done, and you want some reviews... Understandably. Well, there are plenty of book bloggers out there who may be interested in doing one for you. Once you find a potential book blogger, here are a few little tips for increasing your chances of getting them to review your book.
And, finally, here's a website that boasts 7 strategies, and over 100 tools, to help self-published authors find readers and reviewers, which appears to be worth taking a look at.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Monday's random mutterings - March 30th 2015
#gnuterrypratchett
Terry Pratchett will live on in the clax, thanks to fans' programming code.
***
Works for me... And it's right up at the top of my list of favourite Roald Dahl books too! OK, so the rest are right behind it, fighting each other for the top spot. I mean, I have a lot of favourite books, and nearly all of Roald Dahl's are among them. But, if I absolutely had to pick one favourite Roald Dahl book, it would be "Matilda" for sure. Though "Matilda" would miss out on the top spot if I was forced to pick an all time favourite from any author, because "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett has that honour.
Anyway, both Matilda Wormwood and Sarah Crew made it on to the 25 of childhood literature's most beloved female characters - ranked by coolness list. As did Hermione Granger, and a few others who are in books I would list among my favourites.
***
The reading challenge for the first quarter of this year on one of the groups I'm on over on Goodreads was to read 6 to 12 books that have been on your to-read shelf for at least three months when you read them.
They don't usually put a maximum number on these, but they did this time. I can't help but wonder if it was because of my constantly reading so many more than required to complete the challenge? Funny thing is, this time I only just managed the 12, because I was reading so many books I heard about more recently. LOL!
Anyway, here are the books I read for this challenge:
1. A Horse Called September by Anne Digby ~ marked as to read on January 14th 2014; read on January 2nd 2015.
2. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH (Rats Of NIMH, #1) by Robert C. O'Brien ~ marked as to read on January 14th 2014; read on January 10th 2015.
3. Little Women (Little Women, #1) by Louisa May Alcott ~ marked as to read on December 29th 2012; read on January 16th 2015.
4. Little Men (Little Women, #2) by Louisa May Alcott ~ marked as to read on December 29th 2012; read on January 18th 2015.
5. Jo's Boys (Little Women, #3) by Louisa May Alcott ~ marked as to read on December 29th 2012; read on January 20th 2015.
6. The Great Ghost Rescue by Eva Ibbotson ~ marked as to read on January 4th 2013; read on January 24th 2015.
7. Bleak House by Charles Dickens ~ marked as to read on January 7th 2013; read on January 28th 2015.
8. Pathfinder #6—Rise of the Runelords Chapter 6: "Spires of Xin-Shalast" by Greg A. Vaughan & James L. Sutter ~ marked as to read on April 17th 2014; read on January 30th 2015.
9. Villainous Vic (Bogamus And Friends, #2) by Nathan A. Jones ~ marked as to read on March 14th 2014; read on February 18th 2015.
10. Victorian Short Stories: Stories Of Courtship by W.S. Gilbert, Anthony Trollope, Hubert Crackanthorpe, George Egerton & Israel Zangwill ~ marked as to read on January 12th 2013; read on February 19th 2015.
11. Darkness Devouring (The Cry Of Havoc, #2) by John Hennessy ~ marked as to read on January 11th 2013; read on March 13th 2015.
12. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe ~ marked as to read on January 12th 2013; read on March 20th 2015.
***
Saturday was Rita's birthday. So, a very happy belated birthday wish to you, Rita!
I did say happy birthday to Rita last week, so got it in early... I just forgot to mention it on my blog with all the excitement over the attempt at seeing the eclipse, and concerns about being a robot.
***
Here are a couple of photos taken by Kelly on March 13th of the mist rolling in over the ocean, as seen from our living room:
***
While listening to the ocean the other night before going to sleep, I wondered why the waves crashed against the shore.
Now, I know the tides are to do with the moon's gravitational pull, but what I wanted to know was why the waves exist like they do. Why doesn't the ocean just move one way or the other, depending on where the moon is? Also, since the orbits of the moon and the Earth stay basically the same, why do waves vary in size and shape? Because this doesn't just depend on the weather or moon phase; the waves can be different along different parts of the beach, and water is rougher or smoother in different parts of the ocean sometimes too. I knew it had something to do with science, but I wanted the details.
When I asked him, Kelly said he didn't know. Well, actually, he told me to "look it up later, now shut up and go to sleep." But I'm taking that as an "I don't know," because I'm pretty sure he'd have told me the answer if he knew it just to get me to stop wondering about it and go to sleep (translation: he'd have told me so I'd shut up and let him go to sleep).
So, I looked it up.
Basically, waves are created by the energies in the water reacting to one another, and to the energies around them. This means that there's a combination of factors at play, including the pull of the tide, the steepness of the particular spot along the shoreline (or the ocean floor, if far out to sea), the amount of space available for the water to distribute itself, and the energies of the elements.
I can't find the links I was looking at now; I didn't keep them, and don't feel like going looking for them at the moment. But if you want it in more detail, just type "why do waves crash against the shore?" in to your favourite search engine. You'll probably get a bunch of ocean sound clips among the results, which you can either skip while you keep looking for the articles, or take some time to listen to; it's entirely up to you.
***
Always remember... As someone said on Twitter recently...
"Never trust an atom; they make up everything."
Terry Pratchett will live on in the clax, thanks to fans' programming code.
***
| Which Roald Dahl book are you? |
Matilda  |
Facebook quizzes & Blog quizzes by  |
Works for me... And it's right up at the top of my list of favourite Roald Dahl books too! OK, so the rest are right behind it, fighting each other for the top spot. I mean, I have a lot of favourite books, and nearly all of Roald Dahl's are among them. But, if I absolutely had to pick one favourite Roald Dahl book, it would be "Matilda" for sure. Though "Matilda" would miss out on the top spot if I was forced to pick an all time favourite from any author, because "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett has that honour.
Anyway, both Matilda Wormwood and Sarah Crew made it on to the 25 of childhood literature's most beloved female characters - ranked by coolness list. As did Hermione Granger, and a few others who are in books I would list among my favourites.
***
The reading challenge for the first quarter of this year on one of the groups I'm on over on Goodreads was to read 6 to 12 books that have been on your to-read shelf for at least three months when you read them.
They don't usually put a maximum number on these, but they did this time. I can't help but wonder if it was because of my constantly reading so many more than required to complete the challenge? Funny thing is, this time I only just managed the 12, because I was reading so many books I heard about more recently. LOL!
Anyway, here are the books I read for this challenge:
1. A Horse Called September by Anne Digby ~ marked as to read on January 14th 2014; read on January 2nd 2015.
2. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH (Rats Of NIMH, #1) by Robert C. O'Brien ~ marked as to read on January 14th 2014; read on January 10th 2015.
3. Little Women (Little Women, #1) by Louisa May Alcott ~ marked as to read on December 29th 2012; read on January 16th 2015.
4. Little Men (Little Women, #2) by Louisa May Alcott ~ marked as to read on December 29th 2012; read on January 18th 2015.
5. Jo's Boys (Little Women, #3) by Louisa May Alcott ~ marked as to read on December 29th 2012; read on January 20th 2015.
6. The Great Ghost Rescue by Eva Ibbotson ~ marked as to read on January 4th 2013; read on January 24th 2015.
7. Bleak House by Charles Dickens ~ marked as to read on January 7th 2013; read on January 28th 2015.
8. Pathfinder #6—Rise of the Runelords Chapter 6: "Spires of Xin-Shalast" by Greg A. Vaughan & James L. Sutter ~ marked as to read on April 17th 2014; read on January 30th 2015.
9. Villainous Vic (Bogamus And Friends, #2) by Nathan A. Jones ~ marked as to read on March 14th 2014; read on February 18th 2015.
10. Victorian Short Stories: Stories Of Courtship by W.S. Gilbert, Anthony Trollope, Hubert Crackanthorpe, George Egerton & Israel Zangwill ~ marked as to read on January 12th 2013; read on February 19th 2015.
11. Darkness Devouring (The Cry Of Havoc, #2) by John Hennessy ~ marked as to read on January 11th 2013; read on March 13th 2015.
12. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe ~ marked as to read on January 12th 2013; read on March 20th 2015.
***
Saturday was Rita's birthday. So, a very happy belated birthday wish to you, Rita!
I did say happy birthday to Rita last week, so got it in early... I just forgot to mention it on my blog with all the excitement over the attempt at seeing the eclipse, and concerns about being a robot.
***
Here are a couple of photos taken by Kelly on March 13th of the mist rolling in over the ocean, as seen from our living room:
***
While listening to the ocean the other night before going to sleep, I wondered why the waves crashed against the shore.
Now, I know the tides are to do with the moon's gravitational pull, but what I wanted to know was why the waves exist like they do. Why doesn't the ocean just move one way or the other, depending on where the moon is? Also, since the orbits of the moon and the Earth stay basically the same, why do waves vary in size and shape? Because this doesn't just depend on the weather or moon phase; the waves can be different along different parts of the beach, and water is rougher or smoother in different parts of the ocean sometimes too. I knew it had something to do with science, but I wanted the details.
When I asked him, Kelly said he didn't know. Well, actually, he told me to "look it up later, now shut up and go to sleep." But I'm taking that as an "I don't know," because I'm pretty sure he'd have told me the answer if he knew it just to get me to stop wondering about it and go to sleep (translation: he'd have told me so I'd shut up and let him go to sleep).
So, I looked it up.
Basically, waves are created by the energies in the water reacting to one another, and to the energies around them. This means that there's a combination of factors at play, including the pull of the tide, the steepness of the particular spot along the shoreline (or the ocean floor, if far out to sea), the amount of space available for the water to distribute itself, and the energies of the elements.
I can't find the links I was looking at now; I didn't keep them, and don't feel like going looking for them at the moment. But if you want it in more detail, just type "why do waves crash against the shore?" in to your favourite search engine. You'll probably get a bunch of ocean sound clips among the results, which you can either skip while you keep looking for the articles, or take some time to listen to; it's entirely up to you.
***
Always remember... As someone said on Twitter recently...
"Never trust an atom; they make up everything."
Monday, February 09, 2015
Monday's random mutterings - February 9th 2015
They - whoever "they" are - say there's no such thing as a stupid question. But I disagree.
There is a stupid question, and that question is "can I ask you a question?"
"Why is it a stupid question?" I hear you ask.
Well, it's quite simple.
First of all, and most importantly, by asking that question you've answered it yourself; if you can ask whether or not you can ask me a question, then you've just proven - both to yourself, and to me - that you are, in fact, capable of asking a question. A process that could have been avoided by you simply asking the question you really want to ask in the first place.
Secondly, that question isn't an accurate vocalization of what you want to know. What you want to know is whether I'll answer a question if you ask me one. So, why not just ask "if I ask you a question, will you answer it?" I think that would make much more sense, as well as actually giving you an accurate answer to what you really want to know. Alternatively, just ask your question, and see if I answer it or not.
And that, my friends, is why I say that the stupidest question anyone can ask is "can I ask you a question?"
What do you think? Do you agree? Or do you think there's a question that's even more stupid?
***
So, apparently I'm not getting the replies to my comments from those of you who reply to comments on your blogs via e-mail.
I suspected as much, but it was confirmed for me this morning.
I know how to fix it with a standard Blogger account, but I've got a Gmail/Google account, which is set out differently.
Any idea how I fix it so I get the replies I'm supposed to be getting?
***
I spotted an article on Facebook the other day about how Iceland are to build the first temple to the Norse Gods in 1000 years, which I happen to think is really cool!
I would really love to visit it when it's finnished, though I doubt that will ever happen. I mean, I live only a few hours away from Stonehenge, and I still haven't visited that yet... Would love to, just haven't had the oppertunity.
Still, I can dream, can't I?
***
As you probably know, last Monday was Groundhog Day. It was also Imbolc, though you might not have known that, since I forgot to mention it in my post for last Monday, and not everyone has Facebook.
Anyway, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, and predicted six more weeks of Winter last week.
Good news for my chances of snow, but not such good news for those who appear to be getting my share of the snow as well as their own.
Actually, it did "try" to snow on Thursday. It was one of those short five minute snowfalls where you just have time to register that it's snowing, and then it stops, and if you weren't outside at just the right time, you'd never know it had happened. Luckily for me, I happened to be sticking my head out of the door to check for the "scattered snow showers" the radio said we were getting at the time, so I didn't miss it. I didn't miss the later attempt either, though that didn't last much longer, and was more like sleet than snow.
Though I really want snow, I have to admit that I do have a reason to be glad we haven't really had any to speak of.
You see, we're moving some time in the next couple of weeks.
Yes, really!
You may remember me mentioning back in November - if you were reading my blog at that time - about my landlord's death on Halloween? It doesn't really matter if you do or not, but... Well... Originally the property was to be kept by his nephews while they did some repair work on it, then sold later; once all the work on it was done, which would have taken a while, since there's quite a bit that needs doing up in the house part of the building, and a few things that need doing down in the basement apartment we live in too. They were happy for us to stay put while they did the work, so we didn't worry about it. Except they were forced in to a sale, so we were told we have to move out after all.
We'd have preferred not to have to deal with a move - especially this time of year - but what can you do? Sometimes these things can't be avoided.
So, yeah, we're moving very soon, and - despite my love of snow - we could probably do without it right about now, if I'm honest.
I'll give you the actual moving date closer, and warn you now that I could have a couple of days where I can't get online at all during the move. I'll schedule my blog posts ahead of time though, so at least you'll have those. Like I said, I'll give you the actual date of the move a bit closer, and tell you about the new place when we're in it.
But right now I have to go, because I have a lot to organize, and someone being sent by the estate agent to look at everything to see what needs repairing or replacing. I can hear him upstairs, and he'll be coming down here when he's done up there... Which could be any moment.
There is a stupid question, and that question is "can I ask you a question?"
"Why is it a stupid question?" I hear you ask.
Well, it's quite simple.
First of all, and most importantly, by asking that question you've answered it yourself; if you can ask whether or not you can ask me a question, then you've just proven - both to yourself, and to me - that you are, in fact, capable of asking a question. A process that could have been avoided by you simply asking the question you really want to ask in the first place.
Secondly, that question isn't an accurate vocalization of what you want to know. What you want to know is whether I'll answer a question if you ask me one. So, why not just ask "if I ask you a question, will you answer it?" I think that would make much more sense, as well as actually giving you an accurate answer to what you really want to know. Alternatively, just ask your question, and see if I answer it or not.
And that, my friends, is why I say that the stupidest question anyone can ask is "can I ask you a question?"
What do you think? Do you agree? Or do you think there's a question that's even more stupid?
***
So, apparently I'm not getting the replies to my comments from those of you who reply to comments on your blogs via e-mail.
I suspected as much, but it was confirmed for me this morning.
I know how to fix it with a standard Blogger account, but I've got a Gmail/Google account, which is set out differently.
Any idea how I fix it so I get the replies I'm supposed to be getting?
***
I spotted an article on Facebook the other day about how Iceland are to build the first temple to the Norse Gods in 1000 years, which I happen to think is really cool!
I would really love to visit it when it's finnished, though I doubt that will ever happen. I mean, I live only a few hours away from Stonehenge, and I still haven't visited that yet... Would love to, just haven't had the oppertunity.
Still, I can dream, can't I?
***
As you probably know, last Monday was Groundhog Day. It was also Imbolc, though you might not have known that, since I forgot to mention it in my post for last Monday, and not everyone has Facebook.
Anyway, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, and predicted six more weeks of Winter last week.
Good news for my chances of snow, but not such good news for those who appear to be getting my share of the snow as well as their own.
Actually, it did "try" to snow on Thursday. It was one of those short five minute snowfalls where you just have time to register that it's snowing, and then it stops, and if you weren't outside at just the right time, you'd never know it had happened. Luckily for me, I happened to be sticking my head out of the door to check for the "scattered snow showers" the radio said we were getting at the time, so I didn't miss it. I didn't miss the later attempt either, though that didn't last much longer, and was more like sleet than snow.
Though I really want snow, I have to admit that I do have a reason to be glad we haven't really had any to speak of.
You see, we're moving some time in the next couple of weeks.
Yes, really!
You may remember me mentioning back in November - if you were reading my blog at that time - about my landlord's death on Halloween? It doesn't really matter if you do or not, but... Well... Originally the property was to be kept by his nephews while they did some repair work on it, then sold later; once all the work on it was done, which would have taken a while, since there's quite a bit that needs doing up in the house part of the building, and a few things that need doing down in the basement apartment we live in too. They were happy for us to stay put while they did the work, so we didn't worry about it. Except they were forced in to a sale, so we were told we have to move out after all.
We'd have preferred not to have to deal with a move - especially this time of year - but what can you do? Sometimes these things can't be avoided.
So, yeah, we're moving very soon, and - despite my love of snow - we could probably do without it right about now, if I'm honest.
I'll give you the actual moving date closer, and warn you now that I could have a couple of days where I can't get online at all during the move. I'll schedule my blog posts ahead of time though, so at least you'll have those. Like I said, I'll give you the actual date of the move a bit closer, and tell you about the new place when we're in it.
But right now I have to go, because I have a lot to organize, and someone being sent by the estate agent to look at everything to see what needs repairing or replacing. I can hear him upstairs, and he'll be coming down here when he's done up there... Which could be any moment.
Monday, February 02, 2015
Monday's random mutterings - February 2nd 2015
It's Monday again, which means that another week has gone by without my promised snow. We've had some amazing storms, which are nice to listen to. But I really would love some snow. There's still time, I guess; it's only just February. But I'm not holding my breath. I mean, I do live near the Southern coast, after all.
Anyway, today's the day the groundhog will tell us if we get six more weeks of Winter weather or not. I wonder what he'll say this year?
***
My tooth still hurts, and I don't see that changing all that quickly, since it was only this past week (Wednesday, to be exact) that I got a letter confirming I was on a waiting list to get it sorted.
Seriously? It took them this long to send that out? They were taking so long I thought they were going to skip that part. Apparently not!
If just that letter took this long, how long will I have to wait to be seen?
This is seriously beyond stupid! It should not take this long to sort out a problem with a tooth. And this is when I'm supposed to have been listed as a priority... I'd hate to think how long it would be taking if I wasn't!
Anyway, some days I can keep the pain under control, but other days even the maximum amount of pain relief I can risk taking isn't enough. But I guess I'll just have to put up with it a while longer. *Sigh*
***
Did you see my post about Leyla Atke yesterday?
I read her book "Charm: An Amazing Story Of A Little Black Cat" on Thursday, and thought it was a beautiful and touching story. I don't believe in God, personally - as those who know me will know - but I do believe in reincarnation, and it was the mention of that, combined with it being about a cat, that made me want to read the book.
The book made me think of the furbabies I've lost; especially Chance and Kero, and I think it was responsible for the theme of Jacob's furkid Friday post.
I can't believe how much I miss my boys!
***
OK, before I end this post, here are some links for homeschooling parents, or curious people in general; just because they looked interesting to me.
If you're wondering, I was looking at them because I felt like reading some Native American and Celtic history, and some of these were among the links that came up when I searched. The others I found with other searches that reading the original sites inspired me to make.
You see, I like doing searches for whatever topic inspires me at the time. Partly because you can learn some interesting things that way, and partly because I love how it helps to confuse the internet gods when they're trying to figure out what adverts to throw at me. They'll never have me figured out if I search for the answers to all those random questions that pop in to my head! *grins evily*
Anyway... The links... Right... Here they are:
Earth Science Enterprise: http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/
National Geographic kids: http://www.ngkids.co.uk/
Native American facts for kids: http://www.native-languages.org/kids.htm
Primary homework help: http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/
The Iron Age Celts for kids: http://celts.mrdonn.org/index.html
***
Oh, and speaking of random questions I do searches for "because I can" sometimes...
Because of discussions about how the internet gods are trying to tell us what we like, I started thinking about technology taking over the world, and did a search where I asked the question "what would happen if computers took over the world?" (yes, I typed those exact words in to a search engine). Mostly this just resulted in sites full of discussions about whether technology will take over the world; people mostly think it won't happen any time soon, if that's any comfort to you.
But it also came up with this entertaining - and not exactly child friendly, just so you know - article about five animals that could take over the world if they wanted to, which led me to this article about five amazing true stories about the invention of the alphabet from the same site.
They aren't the politest of articles, though compared to most of what's out there these days they're perfectly polite, and the second has nothing to do with what I asked; it was just an article from the same site, which caught my attention when I went to read the animal one. But I decided to share them anyway. If nothing else you can laugh at the insanity of the guy who wrote them, and use going to look at them as a way to confuse the internet gods.
***
That's all I have to say for now.
Anyway, today's the day the groundhog will tell us if we get six more weeks of Winter weather or not. I wonder what he'll say this year?
***
My tooth still hurts, and I don't see that changing all that quickly, since it was only this past week (Wednesday, to be exact) that I got a letter confirming I was on a waiting list to get it sorted.
Seriously? It took them this long to send that out? They were taking so long I thought they were going to skip that part. Apparently not!
If just that letter took this long, how long will I have to wait to be seen?
This is seriously beyond stupid! It should not take this long to sort out a problem with a tooth. And this is when I'm supposed to have been listed as a priority... I'd hate to think how long it would be taking if I wasn't!
Anyway, some days I can keep the pain under control, but other days even the maximum amount of pain relief I can risk taking isn't enough. But I guess I'll just have to put up with it a while longer. *Sigh*
***
Did you see my post about Leyla Atke yesterday?
I read her book "Charm: An Amazing Story Of A Little Black Cat" on Thursday, and thought it was a beautiful and touching story. I don't believe in God, personally - as those who know me will know - but I do believe in reincarnation, and it was the mention of that, combined with it being about a cat, that made me want to read the book.
The book made me think of the furbabies I've lost; especially Chance and Kero, and I think it was responsible for the theme of Jacob's furkid Friday post.
I can't believe how much I miss my boys!
***
OK, before I end this post, here are some links for homeschooling parents, or curious people in general; just because they looked interesting to me.
If you're wondering, I was looking at them because I felt like reading some Native American and Celtic history, and some of these were among the links that came up when I searched. The others I found with other searches that reading the original sites inspired me to make.
You see, I like doing searches for whatever topic inspires me at the time. Partly because you can learn some interesting things that way, and partly because I love how it helps to confuse the internet gods when they're trying to figure out what adverts to throw at me. They'll never have me figured out if I search for the answers to all those random questions that pop in to my head! *grins evily*
Anyway... The links... Right... Here they are:
Earth Science Enterprise: http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/
National Geographic kids: http://www.ngkids.co.uk/
Native American facts for kids: http://www.native-languages.org/kids.htm
Primary homework help: http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/
The Iron Age Celts for kids: http://celts.mrdonn.org/index.html
***
Oh, and speaking of random questions I do searches for "because I can" sometimes...
Because of discussions about how the internet gods are trying to tell us what we like, I started thinking about technology taking over the world, and did a search where I asked the question "what would happen if computers took over the world?" (yes, I typed those exact words in to a search engine). Mostly this just resulted in sites full of discussions about whether technology will take over the world; people mostly think it won't happen any time soon, if that's any comfort to you.
But it also came up with this entertaining - and not exactly child friendly, just so you know - article about five animals that could take over the world if they wanted to, which led me to this article about five amazing true stories about the invention of the alphabet from the same site.
They aren't the politest of articles, though compared to most of what's out there these days they're perfectly polite, and the second has nothing to do with what I asked; it was just an article from the same site, which caught my attention when I went to read the animal one. But I decided to share them anyway. If nothing else you can laugh at the insanity of the guy who wrote them, and use going to look at them as a way to confuse the internet gods.
***
That's all I have to say for now.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Questions nobody asked me
I've done a lot of author interviews, and answered many questions. But, just because I can, here are a couple of questions I've seen asked in author interviews, or on "ask the author" threads, but don't remember being asked myself, and the answers I'd have given to them if someone had asked me:
1. How do you come up with your character names, and the titles for your books?
"When it comes to titles, some of my titles just come to me, others come after some serious thinking time. But all have one thing in common: they reference either an important event from the story, the main character, or both. For example, ‘Quest For The Purple Pumpkin’ refers to the fact that Polly goes on a quest to find the purple pumpkin, and ‘Vinnie The Vegetarian Zombie’ is a book about a vegetarian turned zombie named Vinnie.
When it comes to character names, mostly I pick them for their meanings, and search baby name sites for names that mean things that fit the type of characters, or look up words in other languages that have the meaning I'm looking for (that's how I got the name for Neige from 'Cubby And The Beanstalk'). Other times I pick them because they're the name of the pet I'm basing my story on (like with Kero from the 'Kero's World' series). They also sometimes pick themselves, and I only change them if they don’t feel right to me, or if my association with the name, or the meaning of the name, is all wrong for how I view the character. There have also been a few names I got by either randomly putting together syllables associated with names for those races in popular fiction (which is how I got the names for Arael and Derwyn from ‘Quest For The Purple Pumpkin’) or using the name generating option on the Hero Lab program for the Pathfinder roleplaying system, when I use it to help along my character creation process (which is how I got the names for Ardul and Rith from 'Snowball The Oddball Kobold'). However I pick the name though, I look for one I like, one that feels right for the character, and one that's not too difficult to pronounce."
2. If you could visit - or live in - any fantasy world, which one would you pick? Why?
"Narnia, because then I could be surrounded by talking animals, and meet Aslan the lion."
3. If you could have lunch with a fictional character, who would you pick? Why?
"I'd like to pick two: Aslan and Luna Lovegood. Aslan from the Narnia books, because he's a talking lion, and also very wise, so would quite likely have some interesting things to say. Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter books, because I like her unique way of looking at the world, and I think she would make lunch fun and entertaining."
1. How do you come up with your character names, and the titles for your books?
"When it comes to titles, some of my titles just come to me, others come after some serious thinking time. But all have one thing in common: they reference either an important event from the story, the main character, or both. For example, ‘Quest For The Purple Pumpkin’ refers to the fact that Polly goes on a quest to find the purple pumpkin, and ‘Vinnie The Vegetarian Zombie’ is a book about a vegetarian turned zombie named Vinnie.
When it comes to character names, mostly I pick them for their meanings, and search baby name sites for names that mean things that fit the type of characters, or look up words in other languages that have the meaning I'm looking for (that's how I got the name for Neige from 'Cubby And The Beanstalk'). Other times I pick them because they're the name of the pet I'm basing my story on (like with Kero from the 'Kero's World' series). They also sometimes pick themselves, and I only change them if they don’t feel right to me, or if my association with the name, or the meaning of the name, is all wrong for how I view the character. There have also been a few names I got by either randomly putting together syllables associated with names for those races in popular fiction (which is how I got the names for Arael and Derwyn from ‘Quest For The Purple Pumpkin’) or using the name generating option on the Hero Lab program for the Pathfinder roleplaying system, when I use it to help along my character creation process (which is how I got the names for Ardul and Rith from 'Snowball The Oddball Kobold'). However I pick the name though, I look for one I like, one that feels right for the character, and one that's not too difficult to pronounce."
2. If you could visit - or live in - any fantasy world, which one would you pick? Why?
"Narnia, because then I could be surrounded by talking animals, and meet Aslan the lion."
3. If you could have lunch with a fictional character, who would you pick? Why?
"I'd like to pick two: Aslan and Luna Lovegood. Aslan from the Narnia books, because he's a talking lion, and also very wise, so would quite likely have some interesting things to say. Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter books, because I like her unique way of looking at the world, and I think she would make lunch fun and entertaining."
Sunday, June 01, 2014
Random ramblings - June 1st 2014 (FD)
I asked this on Facebook yesterday, but thought I'd ask it on here too...
If your sleep schedule has you sleeping in the day, do you call the meal when you get up breakfast or dinner?
Some people on Facebook say it depends what you're eating, some say it depends what others you're eating with call it, others say it's breakfast either way, because it's after you break your fast for sleep. Kim Harrison, in her 'Hollows' series of books, uses that last one, referring to the meal between noon and roughly 2:00pm as lunch for humans and breakfast for inderlanders (witches, werewolves, living vampires, etc) because humans get up in the morning, but inderlanders have a sleep schedule where they get up usually between noon and 2:00pm (unless they're undead vampires, in which case they don't usually get up until sunset). Kim Harrison used this rule even when the lunch and breakfast in question was burger and fries from McDonalds.
But, what do you think?
***
Kero's scratching got really bad again, so we spoke to the vet. He's on pills again; the same ones he had last time. He started taking them yesterday, and has already calmed down a bit on the scratching.
***
The degus and gerbils have noticed each other properly now and are trying to make friends through the bars. Jacob actually keeps trying to jump out of the degu cage when we have the top open to feed them or whatever. Well, I say "trying" but he's managed it at least twice, and was grabbed while standing on top of the gerbil cage, right beside the door on the top of the cage, squeaking to be let in. He wasn't too happy when he was picked up and returned to the degu cage, LOL!
***
I'm done writing 'Jinx And The Faerie Dragons' and am currently working on editing. The plan is to publish it in a month, which gives me plenty of time to do the editing and get it set up to publish. It should also have plenty of time to get listed on Barnes And Noble for those people who usually grab it via that site.
***
The weather is beautiful today. It hasn't been every day this week, but it is today. It's nice and sunny and warm, but without being hot. Plus, there's a nice breeze coming up from the sea.
***
Hope you're enjoying your weekend, however you've been spending it.
If your sleep schedule has you sleeping in the day, do you call the meal when you get up breakfast or dinner?
Some people on Facebook say it depends what you're eating, some say it depends what others you're eating with call it, others say it's breakfast either way, because it's after you break your fast for sleep. Kim Harrison, in her 'Hollows' series of books, uses that last one, referring to the meal between noon and roughly 2:00pm as lunch for humans and breakfast for inderlanders (witches, werewolves, living vampires, etc) because humans get up in the morning, but inderlanders have a sleep schedule where they get up usually between noon and 2:00pm (unless they're undead vampires, in which case they don't usually get up until sunset). Kim Harrison used this rule even when the lunch and breakfast in question was burger and fries from McDonalds.
But, what do you think?
***
Kero's scratching got really bad again, so we spoke to the vet. He's on pills again; the same ones he had last time. He started taking them yesterday, and has already calmed down a bit on the scratching.
***
The degus and gerbils have noticed each other properly now and are trying to make friends through the bars. Jacob actually keeps trying to jump out of the degu cage when we have the top open to feed them or whatever. Well, I say "trying" but he's managed it at least twice, and was grabbed while standing on top of the gerbil cage, right beside the door on the top of the cage, squeaking to be let in. He wasn't too happy when he was picked up and returned to the degu cage, LOL!
***
I'm done writing 'Jinx And The Faerie Dragons' and am currently working on editing. The plan is to publish it in a month, which gives me plenty of time to do the editing and get it set up to publish. It should also have plenty of time to get listed on Barnes And Noble for those people who usually grab it via that site.
***
The weather is beautiful today. It hasn't been every day this week, but it is today. It's nice and sunny and warm, but without being hot. Plus, there's a nice breeze coming up from the sea.
***
Hope you're enjoying your weekend, however you've been spending it.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Random questions: zombie and vampire dietry requirements
Two random questions today...
If a vegetarian became a zombie, would the zombie's need for flesh over-power the previous instinct not to eat meat?
And...
Does it matter what blood type a vampire drinks like it matters what blood type a person is given during a blood transfusion?
If a vegetarian became a zombie, would the zombie's need for flesh over-power the previous instinct not to eat meat?
And...
Does it matter what blood type a vampire drinks like it matters what blood type a person is given during a blood transfusion?
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Q is for Questions
Questions, questions everywhere, but no answers to be found!
OK, so that last part isn't always true; quite often questions can be answered easily. But it sounded good.
Anyway, I ask a lot of questions, and personally think asking questions should be encouraged. After all, if you don't ask questions, you'll never learn the answers, will you?
So, just because I love questions - and because it just popped in to my head - I'm going to ask you one of those random questions I sometimes ask.
Did you read as a child? If so, do you remember what your favourite book was? If yes, what was it?
OK, so that last part isn't always true; quite often questions can be answered easily. But it sounded good.
Anyway, I ask a lot of questions, and personally think asking questions should be encouraged. After all, if you don't ask questions, you'll never learn the answers, will you?
So, just because I love questions - and because it just popped in to my head - I'm going to ask you one of those random questions I sometimes ask.
Did you read as a child? If so, do you remember what your favourite book was? If yes, what was it?
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Flower babies
In the story of Thumbelina, the woman who will become Thumbelina's Mother goes to see a witch, and the witch gives her the flower that Thumbelina comes from. She goes to see her because after years of trying for a child, she's had no luck.
So, I was just wondering...
Does anyone know where I can find that witch?
Also, do you know if she has bigger flowers? Maybe one of those really big sunflowers?
So, I was just wondering...
Does anyone know where I can find that witch?
Also, do you know if she has bigger flowers? Maybe one of those really big sunflowers?
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Random question: baby demons
A discussion from the other day lead me to ask a question, and since I received no answer, I decided to ask you. I do have a couple of theories, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.
So...
Where do baby demons come from?
So...
Where do baby demons come from?
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