31 March 2011

no power

Wow, sitting in the dark at 6 AM with the power off and no Internet. I feel very unplugged. Although, I do have my iPhone sitting on the shelf next to me and I have already updated my Facebook status with the power outage, so how unplugged am I really. Then there is the matter that I am sitting here typing on a laptop with far more computational power than was used to land man on the moon.  I think I need to do a little more work on my unplugging, although in fairness, this was not a planned period of unplugging. I keep meaning to do one of those, just 24 hours worth, but life has not been cooperating with that.

I suppose given that all the power is out and I cannot really work as m project is on my desktop which is quietly cooling off in the dark corner, I could use this time to meditate. I have the guided meditation on my phone and I know where my ear buds are. It’s the perfect time to get it out of the way if I can get over the distraction that the power could come on at any second. Let’s give it a try.

Okay, I am back and feeling very… oh what is the word I looking for? Self-congratulatory that I took advantage of the power outage and made good use of the time. Okay, now I am ready for the power to come back on. I am waiting. Well I guess the universe has other plans for the time being. It’s still dark outside and honestly I am not sure exactly what time the sun comes up. I think I have awhile.

The cat seems undeterred in wandering around the house in the dark. It’s making the most interesting noises. If this was the end of a horror story instead of a blog entry, I would now end with “at least, I think that’s the cat...”

Okay, really, what part of lights action camera are you not getting?

So, after some more sitting in the dark our intrepid young hero decided to keep his momentums going even without power. Noticing that the sky was just beginning to lighten and one of his resolutions was to get more exercise he decided that a brisk walk was in order. By the time he returned, the power still wasn’t on. With web based training class approaching and no internet connection, our hero jumped into the shower, jumped into the car, and hightailed it to work. (With a brief diversion to Starbucks.)

27 March 2011

Quote of the Day

"Fortunately from the outside most people can’t tell rapid exploitation of a belatedly recognized opportunity from deep laid planning." Miles Vorkosigan via Lois McMaster Bujold (Komarr)

25 March 2011

thought for the day

"Aim high, you may still miss the target but at least you won't shoot your foot off" Eli Quinn via Miles Vorkosigan via Lois McMaster Bujold (Komarr)

24 March 2011

coffee song

where's the coffee
cause i need it hot and black
i got have my coffee
or i'm not coming back

i mean last night was nice
and all, i had a great time
you really are amazing and
i think you blew my mind

but morning is here now
and i gotta get to work
just tell me where you keep your beans
i'm not trying to be a jerk

sorry, i just can't get awake
and i just can't face the day
my brain's is on overload
i'm not sure what to say

it's cause i haven't had my coffee
and the wheels just won't turn
i gotta have my coffee
this truth you should learn

so brew me that coffee
make it hot and black
if you just brew me that coffee
you know i'll be back

cause life without coffee
isn't something i want to know
cause if i cann't have my coffee
damn it, i'd rather be alone

so you work in a coffee shop
sorry i was a jerk
i would like to make it up to you
maybe walk you to work?

22 March 2011

A Warning About eBooks (Discovery of Witches)

There is a danger in eBooks that no one warns you about. Yes, my nook has a little pages read and pages remain counter in the bottom right hand corner, but the more involved I am in a story the less I pay attention to it. This can be dangerous. This morning I was innocently reading a Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. It’s a very good book, well written, I got very involved in the story and was quite enjoying myself. In fact I was enjoying myself so much I had forgotten to pay attention to that page counter.


Suddenly I clicked the button to go to the next page and found I was at the end of the book. It’s like that moment of confusion when your car quits responding to your input and it takes you a second to make the connection that this means you are out of control. Then quite often there is a moment of pain while the laws of physics sort themselves out.

I mean I see why the story ended there and if I had seen it coming, I would have been okay with it. I would have put my mental seatbelts on. I mean it’s a perfectly reasonable place to break a longer story. I have no argument with the flow of the story and not much of a complaint that there wasn’t a bigger emotional payoff at the end of what I sincerely hope is volume one of a longer story. There is even something refreshing about a volume one that doesn’t have the simplistic episodic story arch of a television show.

But I feel there needs to be more awareness about the possible psychic injury that can be caused by carelessly reading eBooks and unexpectedly hitting the end. It’s not something that usually happens with bound books where the simple act of holding the book and turning the pages is telling your brain how much story is left in the volume you are holding. Actually this is why I despise long preview chapters in the back of books. To a less degree those have sometimes caught me unawares. But it’s been a long time since I have had a violent collision with an acknowledgements page as I did this morning.

I sincerely hope Ms. Harkness is hard at work writing the rest of the story. If the continuation of the story is as good as its beginning I will happily forgive her the throbbing pain currently behind my temple. In the meantime please read safely and keep an eye on the page counter.

A Discovery of Witches: A Novel*

*Amazon Associate Link

16 March 2011

nothing starts your day so right

Nothing starts your day right so much as having your beautiful Starbucks barista hand you your latte and say "with love from me to  you."