S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 169
March 2, 2012
Reasons to Hide Under the Bed
The one and only time I willingly go to the e-reader kiosk at the bookstore to find out which model is best for gimps like me, there is no demo guy there, all the store clerks are too busy to help me and I mess up the demo model the minute I touch it.
I fill out my entire month's schedule on every calendar in the house with all the right names, appt. times and work schedules. As I'm patting myself on the back for being so uber-organized, I realize I neglected to first flip all the calendars from February to March.
I don't insist on doing the laundry for my kid because he wants to be more independent, and demonstrates this by washing and drying a load of his own clothes. Only he forgets to check the pockets like I do, which is why he also washes and dries an extra-large indelible black marker that he forgot he stuck in his work trousers.
I am so intent on finishing a piece with intricate, pain-in-the-ass hand-quilting that I refuse to move it or me from the sewing table until it's done. An hour later I finally knot the final thread, go to lift the piece and discover I have quilted it beautifully -- to the cover I forgot to take off the sewing table.
Have you got any reasons to hide under your bed this weekend? Let us know in comments.
I fill out my entire month's schedule on every calendar in the house with all the right names, appt. times and work schedules. As I'm patting myself on the back for being so uber-organized, I realize I neglected to first flip all the calendars from February to March.
I don't insist on doing the laundry for my kid because he wants to be more independent, and demonstrates this by washing and drying a load of his own clothes. Only he forgets to check the pockets like I do, which is why he also washes and dries an extra-large indelible black marker that he forgot he stuck in his work trousers.
I am so intent on finishing a piece with intricate, pain-in-the-ass hand-quilting that I refuse to move it or me from the sewing table until it's done. An hour later I finally knot the final thread, go to lift the piece and discover I have quilted it beautifully -- to the cover I forgot to take off the sewing table.
Have you got any reasons to hide under your bed this weekend? Let us know in comments.
March 1, 2012
Elsewhere, Juggling Universes
As part of my ongoing trek around NetPubLand this week I have an article up today in the March newsletter of the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror that offers some tips on how to manage writing multiple novel series.
For those of you who are visiting via the blog link from OWW, you might want to check out Part I and Part II of my virtual workshop on Quantum Writing.
Photo credit: David Hughes
Elsewhere En Masse
Today I am over at Silk and Shadows visiting author Jessa Slade and her pals, and talking about a 
February 29, 2012
Preserving Your Online Privacy
I know I'm hitting you with a lot of posts today but this is another heads-up I thought was important to share, especially as today is the last day you can do anything about it.
As of March 1st Google's privacy policy changes will allow it to officially compile, store and use information from your past, present and future online browsing, searches and other formerly private internet activities (they already have tons of stored data on you; this change allows them to use it for their own purposes.)
If you do not want Google to do this to you and your info, instructions on how to clear your Google Browser history and prevent Google from using it in the future can be found here at digitaljournal.com. I used these instructions and they worked fine for me.
As of March 1st Google's privacy policy changes will allow it to officially compile, store and use information from your past, present and future online browsing, searches and other formerly private internet activities (they already have tons of stored data on you; this change allows them to use it for their own purposes.)
If you do not want Google to do this to you and your info, instructions on how to clear your Google Browser history and prevent Google from using it in the future can be found here at digitaljournal.com. I used these instructions and they worked fine for me.
Nightborn Savings
I got a heads-up on a very decent deal this morning: B&N.com currently has the print edition of Nightborn listed for $3.99, and according to my reader they are shipping it now versus holding it until release week.I know, I know, I'm supposed to keep my mouth shut until it's officially March 6th. But honestly, if I can save you 50% on the cover price, I'd rather do that than beef up my numbers during release week. I don't know how long this price will last, so those interested in the savings should check it out soon.
February 28, 2012
Paperclip Pizazz
If you've ever worked in an office and/or been confined to a cubicle, you've probably made at least one paperclip chain, or you've bent those clips into different shapes. I'm guilty, too; I used to make butterflies out of mine.
It seems other people have been bored enough to experiment with paperclips, as lately I've spotted a number of new spins on the old reliable paperholder:
Numberclips are a set of ten page markers that look and function like paperclips but have number shapes from 0 to 9. I found this set at World Market for $5.99.
Silly Clipz are shaped wire clips sold in themed sets of six, and judging from the suggested use on the packaging are being marketed toward kids as clip-on decorations for their clothing and hat brims. I picked up the Zoo and Myth editions for $1.99 each at CVS.
You can get conversational with your paperclips with Talk Bubble, a tin of 25 caption balloon-shaped clips; $6.99 at World Market.
As to how well they work, Yours Truly broke out some from each package and field-tested them:
The Numberclips are just like straight-forward, large size paperclips; you do have to remember to put the number-shaped part on the front of your clipped items. If you're working on drafts, scenes, chapters or something else you need to keep in a certain work sequence these might be a painless way to mark the sets.
The Talk Bubble was actually a bit heavy with plastic-coated wire that looks about double the gauge of regular paperclips; probably best for clipping sets of sheets versus one page. When I saw these I thought they'd be great for flagging a specific note you need someone else to read.
The Silly Clipz were the hardest to figure out; the company that makes them included their logo as part of the clip which only adds to the layered confusion of wires; these are of a smaller gauge wire than regular paperclips and will likely bend out of shape pretty easily. I'm also wondering why they're marketing them to children as clothing accessories -- maybe hoping to cash in on the shaped rubber band craze of a few years ago? -- but they don't seem like something I'd give a younger child.
My biggest objection to all three brands is that they're are too pricey for ordinary, everyday use. That said, if you have a special project, don't use a huge amount of clips, recycle ruthlessly or are working on a limited project, the pricetag might be worth it to you.
It seems other people have been bored enough to experiment with paperclips, as lately I've spotted a number of new spins on the old reliable paperholder:
Numberclips are a set of ten page markers that look and function like paperclips but have number shapes from 0 to 9. I found this set at World Market for $5.99.
Silly Clipz are shaped wire clips sold in themed sets of six, and judging from the suggested use on the packaging are being marketed toward kids as clip-on decorations for their clothing and hat brims. I picked up the Zoo and Myth editions for $1.99 each at CVS.
You can get conversational with your paperclips with Talk Bubble, a tin of 25 caption balloon-shaped clips; $6.99 at World Market.
As to how well they work, Yours Truly broke out some from each package and field-tested them:
The Numberclips are just like straight-forward, large size paperclips; you do have to remember to put the number-shaped part on the front of your clipped items. If you're working on drafts, scenes, chapters or something else you need to keep in a certain work sequence these might be a painless way to mark the sets.
The Talk Bubble was actually a bit heavy with plastic-coated wire that looks about double the gauge of regular paperclips; probably best for clipping sets of sheets versus one page. When I saw these I thought they'd be great for flagging a specific note you need someone else to read.
The Silly Clipz were the hardest to figure out; the company that makes them included their logo as part of the clip which only adds to the layered confusion of wires; these are of a smaller gauge wire than regular paperclips and will likely bend out of shape pretty easily. I'm also wondering why they're marketing them to children as clothing accessories -- maybe hoping to cash in on the shaped rubber band craze of a few years ago? -- but they don't seem like something I'd give a younger child.
My biggest objection to all three brands is that they're are too pricey for ordinary, everyday use. That said, if you have a special project, don't use a huge amount of clips, recycle ruthlessly or are working on a limited project, the pricetag might be worth it to you.
February 27, 2012
Playing with Polyvore
Artist Sheree Burlington has an article in the Spring 2012 issue of Somerset Digital Studio magazine that practically called my name: Designing with Polyvore: Learning to color outside of the lines.
According the Sheree's article, Polyvore is a fashion shopping site that has been gradually inhabited by all sorts of artistic subcultures, thanks to their online editing tool that she and many others use to create collages using keywords to bring up online images.
At first I was a bit dubious -- I'm about as fashionable as the Amish, and shopping sites are usually very limited as to what they can offer the average writer -- but after glancing through the article and reading about how much Sheree had done with it I decided to go and see what I could do.
I was interested in building some character collages, so I familiarized myself with the easy to use, drag-and-drop editing tool, and within a few minutes I put together this collage using random images and a provided template (these are simply screenshots):
I also built this one:
I decided to forget about the templates and just start stacking images, which produced this:
And this:
I did only the most rudimentary keyword searches and simple resizing of the images I dragged and dropped into the editor; you tech-savvy writers out there will likely be able to do a lot more with it. The images are pulled from various sources on the internet (and links to the originals are provided with each image) so if you decide to play with Polyvore's editor I'd advise you employ it only for personal use to avoid copyright issues.
According the Sheree's article, Polyvore is a fashion shopping site that has been gradually inhabited by all sorts of artistic subcultures, thanks to their online editing tool that she and many others use to create collages using keywords to bring up online images.
At first I was a bit dubious -- I'm about as fashionable as the Amish, and shopping sites are usually very limited as to what they can offer the average writer -- but after glancing through the article and reading about how much Sheree had done with it I decided to go and see what I could do.
I was interested in building some character collages, so I familiarized myself with the easy to use, drag-and-drop editing tool, and within a few minutes I put together this collage using random images and a provided template (these are simply screenshots):
I also built this one:
I decided to forget about the templates and just start stacking images, which produced this:
And this:
I did only the most rudimentary keyword searches and simple resizing of the images I dragged and dropped into the editor; you tech-savvy writers out there will likely be able to do a lot more with it. The images are pulled from various sources on the internet (and links to the originals are provided with each image) so if you decide to play with Polyvore's editor I'd advise you employ it only for personal use to avoid copyright issues.
Elsewhere Again
Today I am over visiting and guest blogging at author Shiloh Walker's blog to talk about some stuff you don't know about me and her (she didn't know some of it, either.)
Stop if if you have a chance, join in the fun and you might win this adorable Ganz teddy bear, which is the softest plush wubbie I've ever found, along with an ARC of Nightborn and a real lavender sachet (handmade by yours truly.)
Stop if if you have a chance, join in the fun and you might win this adorable Ganz teddy bear, which is the softest plush wubbie I've ever found, along with an ARC of Nightborn and a real lavender sachet (handmade by yours truly.)
February 25, 2012
Han Would Be Proud
In this completely awesome video Francisco Prieto assembles a Lego replica of the Millenium Falcon from Star Wars and films it piece by piece:
Lego Millennium Falcon Stop Motion Assembly 3d from Francisco Prieto on Vimeo.
Hans Would Be Proud
In this completely awesome video Francisco Prieto assembles a Lego replica of the Millenium Falcon from Star Wars and films it piece by piece:
Lego Millennium Falcon Stop Motion Assembly 3d from Francisco Prieto on Vimeo.
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