Kyle Michel Sullivan's Blog: https://www.myirishnovel.com/, page 167
November 14, 2017
In Hong Kong waitin' on a hotel room...
This was a long flight, but I finished my red pen of The Alice '65 and then watched Baywatch to distract myself...and it was horrible. It took 9 friggin' writers to come up with that ludicrous piece of shit? It wasn't even on the level of a high school musical. Its one redeeming quality was how pretty Zac Efron looks in trunks. He bears no resemblance to a human being, but as a mannequin, he's nice to look at.
To wipe it out of my head, I watched Fargo, again. It's a pretty bleak movie, but well done and funny in spots while amazingly brutal in others.
Right now I'm marking time in a Starbucks because it's only about 9:30 am and my room won't be ready till noon...and I'm zoning. I managed to nap on the plane but not enough to matter on a 15 hour flight in a tight aisle seat next to a woman who needed to tinkle once an hour.
It's warm and sultry in Hong Kong, as usual. And busy as hell. And prices have gone up, a bit.
Hell, I can't think; I'll post more later...
To wipe it out of my head, I watched Fargo, again. It's a pretty bleak movie, but well done and funny in spots while amazingly brutal in others.
Right now I'm marking time in a Starbucks because it's only about 9:30 am and my room won't be ready till noon...and I'm zoning. I managed to nap on the plane but not enough to matter on a 15 hour flight in a tight aisle seat next to a woman who needed to tinkle once an hour.
It's warm and sultry in Hong Kong, as usual. And busy as hell. And prices have gone up, a bit.
Hell, I can't think; I'll post more later...
November 13, 2017
In Toronto waitin' on a plane...
Pearson Airport is so much easier to deal with than JFK when it comes to international flights. Drive for 1.5 hours, park off-site in a reserved lot, breeze through security since I have a Nexus Card, and I'm at the gate in a very comfortable seat 3 hours prior to my flight. I've even got some Smart Water and access to Diet DP. It's like home.
In Hong Kong I usually drink Watson Water Green Cap and little cokes. But since I'm arriving at 6am, I doubt I'll be interested in those...except that'll be like 4pm in the States, so...who knows? There's a Mickey D's in the arrivals lobby; I may have a Big Mac before I snag a shower and head for my hotel on a super-fast, super cheap train.
In comparison to airports like these, those in the US are antiquated...practically 3rd world. It's an embarrassment, and I haven't even been to the serious airports around the world -- like Qatar or Seoul or Narita, one I would LOVE to go through...and which I'm being teased with.
We'll be working with the Tokyo Book Fair in March, something that used to be handled exclusively by Mr. Nitta of Yushodo Antiquarian Books in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, before he passed away. If we're going to be coming in on such a major fair, one or both of my bosses will be making that trip to lay the groundwork, which makes sense. They've dealt with international customs a lot more than I have, and may already have contacts in the country.
But oh, man...that would be fantastic. I'd love to see Tokyo on someone else's expense account.
Oh, well...this 15 hour flight will give me a chance to finish my last red-pen of The Alice '65. There may be a few rough edges to polish, once I have it input...but that'll be it. And it seems to be sticking at right around 65K in wordage...which I think is a good length for it. The story happens over the space of 72 hours and forces Adam away from his sheltered life back into the real world, so too much more would be...well, it would be wrong. But if all goes well, I should have an ebook available Thanksgiving weekend.
Meaning I would, technically, meet my deadline.
In Hong Kong I usually drink Watson Water Green Cap and little cokes. But since I'm arriving at 6am, I doubt I'll be interested in those...except that'll be like 4pm in the States, so...who knows? There's a Mickey D's in the arrivals lobby; I may have a Big Mac before I snag a shower and head for my hotel on a super-fast, super cheap train.
In comparison to airports like these, those in the US are antiquated...practically 3rd world. It's an embarrassment, and I haven't even been to the serious airports around the world -- like Qatar or Seoul or Narita, one I would LOVE to go through...and which I'm being teased with.
We'll be working with the Tokyo Book Fair in March, something that used to be handled exclusively by Mr. Nitta of Yushodo Antiquarian Books in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, before he passed away. If we're going to be coming in on such a major fair, one or both of my bosses will be making that trip to lay the groundwork, which makes sense. They've dealt with international customs a lot more than I have, and may already have contacts in the country.
But oh, man...that would be fantastic. I'd love to see Tokyo on someone else's expense account.
Oh, well...this 15 hour flight will give me a chance to finish my last red-pen of The Alice '65. There may be a few rough edges to polish, once I have it input...but that'll be it. And it seems to be sticking at right around 65K in wordage...which I think is a good length for it. The story happens over the space of 72 hours and forces Adam away from his sheltered life back into the real world, so too much more would be...well, it would be wrong. But if all goes well, I should have an ebook available Thanksgiving weekend.
Meaning I would, technically, meet my deadline.
November 12, 2017
Heading for Hong Kong, again...
Today was laundry and cleaning out the fridge and ironing and packing working on A65 as much as I could and I'm not done yet. Still much to do. I leave tomorrow night and have to go into to work to finish paperwork and pick up all the papers I need for the fair and I'm already beat. I may actually wind up sleeping on the plane, something I very rarely do.
Quick note -- Pronoun, the company I published the e-book of Bobby Carapisi through is shutting down so I'm about to have to put out a new edition of the book. I think I'll change the cover, a little.
And that makes this a short post. I've got a sink full of dishes to wash, still.
Quick note -- Pronoun, the company I published the e-book of Bobby Carapisi through is shutting down so I'm about to have to put out a new edition of the book. I think I'll change the cover, a little.
And that makes this a short post. I've got a sink full of dishes to wash, still.
November 11, 2017
Halfway done with the latest polish of A65
Busy day for errands -- dentist, shopping, getting a new battery for my car. The last one kept me in place for a few hours, but I had my printout of The Alice '65 with me so used that to work on it. I'm now at page 149 out of 302, meaning it's coming along. Tomorrow is laundry -- a LOT of laundry, so I may be there for hours, too, giving me more time to work on the story.
I'm also rereading The Elements of Style and catching myself in a couple of grammatical errors -- like getting cute with my sentence structure to the point of obscuring the point. I've also noticed a couple of my paragraphs don't work as well as they should, so I'm doing a bit of restructuring. Who knows? Maybe I'll get the book to where it's a fun read, after all.
I'm still nervous about how long it will take to work on P/S, considering the length of time it's taking me to complete a much less complicated novel...and much shorter. What I have of Place of Safety, right now, is over 120K in wordage, and it's nowhere near done, yet. I can see it being well over 200K words. My saving grace is, War & Peace is nearly 600K in length, and Catch 22 is about 175K, so I'm not totally out of the realm of sanity.
I'm still fighting to figure out a good cover for the hardback. I'm not thrilled with anything I've come up with, and Zan's artwork isn't right for the dust-jacket. Won't be able to do much about it till I get back from Hong Kong; maybe this break will give me a chance to come up with something decent.
One can hope.
I'm also rereading The Elements of Style and catching myself in a couple of grammatical errors -- like getting cute with my sentence structure to the point of obscuring the point. I've also noticed a couple of my paragraphs don't work as well as they should, so I'm doing a bit of restructuring. Who knows? Maybe I'll get the book to where it's a fun read, after all.
I'm still nervous about how long it will take to work on P/S, considering the length of time it's taking me to complete a much less complicated novel...and much shorter. What I have of Place of Safety, right now, is over 120K in wordage, and it's nowhere near done, yet. I can see it being well over 200K words. My saving grace is, War & Peace is nearly 600K in length, and Catch 22 is about 175K, so I'm not totally out of the realm of sanity.
I'm still fighting to figure out a good cover for the hardback. I'm not thrilled with anything I've come up with, and Zan's artwork isn't right for the dust-jacket. Won't be able to do much about it till I get back from Hong Kong; maybe this break will give me a chance to come up with something decent.
One can hope.
November 10, 2017
Headed home...
I'm writing this on my flight. Jet Blue initially delayed the flight 6 times, due to an incident in Orlando, then rather than have to put us up in a hotel brought in a new plane, so we left on time. And the WiFi is free on the flight, so...
Today was collecting the last archives that needed to be shipped, from a storage facility in NYC that we were led to believe was an office building, and which pretty much doubled in quantity. I didn't mind; the reusable container I had fit everything nicely and offered a lot of protection for the cartons.
But twice on this job I've skipped lunch. I don't like doing it because it sets me up for a headache, but this time while I was repacking the container at the warehouse, I was able to use about a dozen small candy canes to keep me from starving to death. And voila -- no headache.
I got to the airport early but since I wasn't checking a bag I was able to sail right into Terminal 5 and chow down on a decent cheeseburger and onion rings. Good for the soul if not your breath, but I had gum for that, not to mention toothpaste and my toothbrush available.
I did some more note-inputting for A65 and think it'll be pretty much ready to go once I've input them. I feel good about the wholeness of the story, and how different aspects of it connect. I like Adam's character arc, though I do think Casey's could use a bit more clarity. I've tried not to explain what she's doing but have Adam react, and while it adds to her mystery and beauty, it can seem a bit perfunctory, at times. Still...she works.
I'll be interested to hear how women react to her.
Today was collecting the last archives that needed to be shipped, from a storage facility in NYC that we were led to believe was an office building, and which pretty much doubled in quantity. I didn't mind; the reusable container I had fit everything nicely and offered a lot of protection for the cartons.
But twice on this job I've skipped lunch. I don't like doing it because it sets me up for a headache, but this time while I was repacking the container at the warehouse, I was able to use about a dozen small candy canes to keep me from starving to death. And voila -- no headache.
I got to the airport early but since I wasn't checking a bag I was able to sail right into Terminal 5 and chow down on a decent cheeseburger and onion rings. Good for the soul if not your breath, but I had gum for that, not to mention toothpaste and my toothbrush available.
I did some more note-inputting for A65 and think it'll be pretty much ready to go once I've input them. I feel good about the wholeness of the story, and how different aspects of it connect. I like Adam's character arc, though I do think Casey's could use a bit more clarity. I've tried not to explain what she's doing but have Adam react, and while it adds to her mystery and beauty, it can seem a bit perfunctory, at times. Still...she works.
I'll be interested to hear how women react to her.
November 9, 2017
Feeling so restless...
Dunno what it is, but my mood has gone from woo-hoo to edgy and almost pissy. Nothing satisfies me and yet I won't get up and do anything more than piddle around on the web. I could work on my new idea for A65's cover, but no. I could start going back over A65 to polish it up, since I brought my printout, but no. I could cast about trying to figure out what might interest me enough to cut the mood, but no.
Not sure what this means, but I don't want to do anything or deal with anyone, and tomorrow I have to deal with a foundation that's been shut down but that no one told us about when we agreed to go get the archives we need from it at a time that's ludicrous but wasn't asked for until yesterday.
I think I'm sick of people. I've actually have a pretty vile thought running in my head -- that Mother Nature is using man's stupidity about guns, in this country, to effectively bring about some population control. Weed out the fools who leave loaded guns around for kids to find and kill someone or themselves with. That way at least, their children won't have a chance to keep that particular gene of stupid going in the general population.
Maybe that's why there's an explosion of gay men and women around the world; Mama's doing what she can to slow down our headlong rush into catastrophe, and never mind it's driving demagogs and assholes into killing people who've done nothing to them. Hell, the greatest democracy in the history of the world invaded a country that had done nothing to it and tore it apart, killing up to and probably over a million people. Sets a perfect example.
That leads me to think maybe we should have another war. This time wipe out a couple hundred million people and make some the of the earth uninhabitable for centuries...if not eons. Then maybe people would catch on to how poorly we're using the planet and start acting like our world means something instead of just being there to use and abuse...but I don't hold that much hope for humanity.
I think some of this pissiness stems from being stupid enough to read some tweets from Czar Snowflake's supporters saying crap like they love him and he's the greatest president ever and there will be a coup of he's impeached and removed from office. And I started thinking, "Fine, motherfuckers, make this country a piece of shit and you wallow in it. Let's see how much you like it when you get sick and can't pay for medicine or surgery. And when your jobs keep going to other countries as businesses use tax credits to cut down on the burden of moving while you don't get to take a dime off your taxes for anything to make up for it."
I hate to tell you this, Mama, but if you want to save the planet, you're going to have to bring about a new version of the bubonic plague and wipe our civilization for a few centuries. Give the earth time to heal, then sterilize the dumbest men and women so they can't procreate. That should take care of 99% of the problem.
Too bad you didn't start that with Czar Snowflake decades ago...maybe even before he was born.
Not sure what this means, but I don't want to do anything or deal with anyone, and tomorrow I have to deal with a foundation that's been shut down but that no one told us about when we agreed to go get the archives we need from it at a time that's ludicrous but wasn't asked for until yesterday.
I think I'm sick of people. I've actually have a pretty vile thought running in my head -- that Mother Nature is using man's stupidity about guns, in this country, to effectively bring about some population control. Weed out the fools who leave loaded guns around for kids to find and kill someone or themselves with. That way at least, their children won't have a chance to keep that particular gene of stupid going in the general population.
Maybe that's why there's an explosion of gay men and women around the world; Mama's doing what she can to slow down our headlong rush into catastrophe, and never mind it's driving demagogs and assholes into killing people who've done nothing to them. Hell, the greatest democracy in the history of the world invaded a country that had done nothing to it and tore it apart, killing up to and probably over a million people. Sets a perfect example.
That leads me to think maybe we should have another war. This time wipe out a couple hundred million people and make some the of the earth uninhabitable for centuries...if not eons. Then maybe people would catch on to how poorly we're using the planet and start acting like our world means something instead of just being there to use and abuse...but I don't hold that much hope for humanity.
I think some of this pissiness stems from being stupid enough to read some tweets from Czar Snowflake's supporters saying crap like they love him and he's the greatest president ever and there will be a coup of he's impeached and removed from office. And I started thinking, "Fine, motherfuckers, make this country a piece of shit and you wallow in it. Let's see how much you like it when you get sick and can't pay for medicine or surgery. And when your jobs keep going to other countries as businesses use tax credits to cut down on the burden of moving while you don't get to take a dime off your taxes for anything to make up for it."
I hate to tell you this, Mama, but if you want to save the planet, you're going to have to bring about a new version of the bubonic plague and wipe our civilization for a few centuries. Give the earth time to heal, then sterilize the dumbest men and women so they can't procreate. That should take care of 99% of the problem.
Too bad you didn't start that with Czar Snowflake decades ago...maybe even before he was born.
November 8, 2017
Over the moon...
Oh, I am so beside myself, right now. Total fan-boy mode. I spent hours, today, handling the artifacts of a man whose meaning in history is without question. We're talking boxes and boxes of papers, awards and photographs of his. What's even better is, as I worked I listened in on the conversation between the archivists and donor's associate discussing plans and histories and details of his world...and I can't even think, I'm so lost in it all.
It kills me that I cannot name the guy, but there's still too much to finish and blabbing too soon would jeopardize the entire deal. I have to wait till everything's been carefully put away in its new home and an announcement is made about it. But I had to let out a little and hope that in a few months I can reveal his identity. And bounce off the walls, again.
What's especially great is hearing stories about how he dealt with moments where his creativity was at low ebb -- he'd basically garden, albeit on a larger scale than a flower patch. More like landscaping. Let his mind sort through the issues as he concentrated on more immediate tasks. And it turns out he was about as disorganized as I am. It wasn't till he brought on his assistant that his papers began to get into order.
This is one of the job's perks -- working with working writers and artists and scholars. I stay quiet and let them talk and learn more about life and how things work than I ever could on my own. Even dealing with an antiquarian library of books on British law from the 16th and 17th centuries makes me intensely happy. It can be back-breaking work and sometimes the people involved make things a lot more difficult than it needs to be...but it's like I'm helping keep history alive, in my own small way, and that makes up for a lot of turmoil.
I know my own writing will never achieve these heights, but it's still fun to see how the work of others has.
It kills me that I cannot name the guy, but there's still too much to finish and blabbing too soon would jeopardize the entire deal. I have to wait till everything's been carefully put away in its new home and an announcement is made about it. But I had to let out a little and hope that in a few months I can reveal his identity. And bounce off the walls, again.
What's especially great is hearing stories about how he dealt with moments where his creativity was at low ebb -- he'd basically garden, albeit on a larger scale than a flower patch. More like landscaping. Let his mind sort through the issues as he concentrated on more immediate tasks. And it turns out he was about as disorganized as I am. It wasn't till he brought on his assistant that his papers began to get into order.
This is one of the job's perks -- working with working writers and artists and scholars. I stay quiet and let them talk and learn more about life and how things work than I ever could on my own. Even dealing with an antiquarian library of books on British law from the 16th and 17th centuries makes me intensely happy. It can be back-breaking work and sometimes the people involved make things a lot more difficult than it needs to be...but it's like I'm helping keep history alive, in my own small way, and that makes up for a lot of turmoil.
I know my own writing will never achieve these heights, but it's still fun to see how the work of others has.
November 7, 2017
Had some ideas...
A couple of new possibilities came to me for A65's cover -- using the book as a background and having Adam peeking into it by opening the cameo image of Alice on the original cover as Casey watches him, amused. Another is him kneeling and peeking under the book as Casey leans over the top of it to watch him and Gertrude peeks around the book, behind him, curious.
Of course, I could do without Gertrude on the cover, I suppose. She doesn't appear until midway into the book...but she does turn out to be important. I think I'll work up some mocks to see if it would come together right. Of course, this would entail me finding images to use...unless I did them, myself. I did a quick search through Shutterstock but they haven't got anything useful, from what I can tell. I also checked a couple of other sites but nothing came close to the pose I'd want.
I'm in Roxbury, CT at the moment, prepping for that archival pickup, so I'm sort of working this in as I can. I'm in the middle of nowhere; had to drive 10 miles to find a restaurant and then had pork chops with some sauce on them that's made me ill. I didn't remember to ask if it has a chicken stock base...but I think it did. My reaction to anything chicken started right on schedule. I forgot that when you're out in the countryside, everything starts with that unless you go vegan.
It's funny how many foods have chicken in them -- be it stock or bits or "flavoring", even if they're pork or turkey or even beef meals. I had to stop eating a lot of foods I loved, like chicken-fried steak and turkey pot pie and enchiladas with mole unless it's made with a beef base. I can't eat potato leek soup unless it's totally vegan, and very little is in shops. I have to ask if a restaurant meal has chicken in it...and sometimes I get tired and forget to...like tonight.
It's tiresome and makes me whine...and that is all there is to that. now.
Of course, I could do without Gertrude on the cover, I suppose. She doesn't appear until midway into the book...but she does turn out to be important. I think I'll work up some mocks to see if it would come together right. Of course, this would entail me finding images to use...unless I did them, myself. I did a quick search through Shutterstock but they haven't got anything useful, from what I can tell. I also checked a couple of other sites but nothing came close to the pose I'd want.
I'm in Roxbury, CT at the moment, prepping for that archival pickup, so I'm sort of working this in as I can. I'm in the middle of nowhere; had to drive 10 miles to find a restaurant and then had pork chops with some sauce on them that's made me ill. I didn't remember to ask if it has a chicken stock base...but I think it did. My reaction to anything chicken started right on schedule. I forgot that when you're out in the countryside, everything starts with that unless you go vegan.
It's funny how many foods have chicken in them -- be it stock or bits or "flavoring", even if they're pork or turkey or even beef meals. I had to stop eating a lot of foods I loved, like chicken-fried steak and turkey pot pie and enchiladas with mole unless it's made with a beef base. I can't eat potato leek soup unless it's totally vegan, and very little is in shops. I have to ask if a restaurant meal has chicken in it...and sometimes I get tired and forget to...like tonight.
It's tiresome and makes me whine...and that is all there is to that. now.
November 6, 2017
Sudden trip to NYC
I'm driving down to Connecticut and NYC, tomorrow, and won't be back till late Friday. All very last minute rearranging and exciting, considering whose archives I'm handling. Nothing more may be said till all is completed, but WOW!!!
I finished inputting the corrections from my editor, for The Alice '65. Not a lot but some pretty surprising ones that I probably never would have seen. She also wanted me to change some things that are the British way of speaking, which I ain't gonna do, but also got me to see some parts were hard to grasp, the way I have them written. I know what's going on but that don't mean a reader will.
Of course, one thing leads to another and I've already got lots of changes to some sections. What makes me happy is, she got the bit where Adam gets stoned even though I never specifically say that's what happens; I just have him going along without realizing until it's pointed out to him.
I'm happier with the story and delineation of the characters. Each is their own person, finally. I think there are spots the action goes too quickly, like I'm skimming over it, but overall I feel good. That's probably not something I should ever think or say; when I do I wind up getting kicked in the gut by reality. But it's a nice feeling to have, for a change.
Now if I could just figure out the damn cover...
I finished inputting the corrections from my editor, for The Alice '65. Not a lot but some pretty surprising ones that I probably never would have seen. She also wanted me to change some things that are the British way of speaking, which I ain't gonna do, but also got me to see some parts were hard to grasp, the way I have them written. I know what's going on but that don't mean a reader will.
Of course, one thing leads to another and I've already got lots of changes to some sections. What makes me happy is, she got the bit where Adam gets stoned even though I never specifically say that's what happens; I just have him going along without realizing until it's pointed out to him.
I'm happier with the story and delineation of the characters. Each is their own person, finally. I think there are spots the action goes too quickly, like I'm skimming over it, but overall I feel good. That's probably not something I should ever think or say; when I do I wind up getting kicked in the gut by reality. But it's a nice feeling to have, for a change.
Now if I could just figure out the damn cover...
November 5, 2017
Inputting first corrections...
I got a corrected version of A65 back and have been going through it to see where my mistakes are...and so far not so many. The editor and I differ on a few aspects of my style, but she noted a few things that would help make the action clearer and found spots where I input the wrong word -- like "that" instead of "they". (I think in that instance I had "that they" and deleted the wrong word during a bout of editing.)
This is why I ask for input and extra eyes to check me. I need them and even they will not always find everything that needs correcting. And like I mentioned, sometimes they make suggestions that just do not work for my goals. But at least I have to think about them and verify I want to keep things as they are.
I worked up another version of the dust jacket art and it's closer...but still not right. And my buddy, Brad, pointed out an error in the artwork Zan did -- Casey's left arm has a right hand on it. Something was bugging me about it and the second he mentioned it, I could see it plain as day. Which spooked me, because I used to be able to notice things like that on my own.
I'm finding more and more I just don't see things until they're pointed out to me. Like notes I'm handed that have information on them that I don't notice until I ask the person about that info...and it gets pointed out to me. I don't know if this is an issue of age or just too damn much going on in my brain, but I'd like it to stop, already.
I'm hearing other people don't like the MacBook Pro's thin keyboard, and that makes me feel good. The damned thing drives me nuts. There is always at least one instance in each sentence I write where I will hit just enough of the key I'm aiming for and its neighbor to get both of them input into the word and have to go back to correct it. I could do that on my old MacBook, but nowhere near to this extent.
I also hate how difficult the new trackpad is. If I touch it wrong or click on it in the incorrect spot, suddenly I'm in another window or something's been highlighted and vanished and I have to Control-Z to get it back...if I notice it...or it's ignoring me. Like when I want to do a click-and-drag -- I have to click on a certain part of the image or file, because if I don't, it pops up a window asking if I want a definition, or it just opens the file.
I'm seriously thinking of taking the keyboard from my old Mac Mini and attaching it to my laptop, along with the mouse. Which would add 75% more weight to my rucksack, but at least I'd be back to normal...sort of.
So much for making my load lighter.
This is why I ask for input and extra eyes to check me. I need them and even they will not always find everything that needs correcting. And like I mentioned, sometimes they make suggestions that just do not work for my goals. But at least I have to think about them and verify I want to keep things as they are.
I worked up another version of the dust jacket art and it's closer...but still not right. And my buddy, Brad, pointed out an error in the artwork Zan did -- Casey's left arm has a right hand on it. Something was bugging me about it and the second he mentioned it, I could see it plain as day. Which spooked me, because I used to be able to notice things like that on my own.
I'm finding more and more I just don't see things until they're pointed out to me. Like notes I'm handed that have information on them that I don't notice until I ask the person about that info...and it gets pointed out to me. I don't know if this is an issue of age or just too damn much going on in my brain, but I'd like it to stop, already.
I'm hearing other people don't like the MacBook Pro's thin keyboard, and that makes me feel good. The damned thing drives me nuts. There is always at least one instance in each sentence I write where I will hit just enough of the key I'm aiming for and its neighbor to get both of them input into the word and have to go back to correct it. I could do that on my old MacBook, but nowhere near to this extent.
I also hate how difficult the new trackpad is. If I touch it wrong or click on it in the incorrect spot, suddenly I'm in another window or something's been highlighted and vanished and I have to Control-Z to get it back...if I notice it...or it's ignoring me. Like when I want to do a click-and-drag -- I have to click on a certain part of the image or file, because if I don't, it pops up a window asking if I want a definition, or it just opens the file.
I'm seriously thinking of taking the keyboard from my old Mac Mini and attaching it to my laptop, along with the mouse. Which would add 75% more weight to my rucksack, but at least I'd be back to normal...sort of.
So much for making my load lighter.
