Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 136
April 15, 2014
Eagle Cam
I'm not a big bird person, but I keep getting addicted to these various bird cams around. A couple of years ago, it was Condor Cam at the San Diego zoo. This year, it's been an eagle cam.
It started out innocently enough. One of the guys I work with told me about the eagle cam at Berry College in Rome, GA. It wasn't too long after that when the eaglet was born. This nest didn't have the second egg hatch. There's a note next to the cam that it hadn't been viable. But watching this one little chick (known lovingly as B3) grow up has been so cool.
When he was first born, he was this little pale gray fuzzball. Then his down grew in a little darker and now, at 5 weeks old (I think), he (or she) is starting to get real feathers in.
It didn't take long before I was hearing about other eagle cams, including one in Minnesota run by the Department of Natural Resources that had three eaglets hatch at the end of March/beginning of April. (MN DNR Eagle Cam)
So of course, being Minnesota, it starts snowing on April third when the chicks are all still so little. Mama sat over her babies for 2 days, just enduring the wind, snow, and cold while she kept he eaglets warm.
They're adorable! I watched her feed all three who were centered in the only part of the next not covered with snow. The oval that mama kept warm with her body. I'm scared for the littlest of the eaglets. He's so tiny and his two siblings are bigger and grabbing the food. I'm also worried about his reaction to the cold. He was born just like a day or so before the snow started.
The thing, though, that touched me is how the mother just endured everything for her chicks. She probably would have been less cold if she could move around, but she didn't. She took care of her babies first.
It started out innocently enough. One of the guys I work with told me about the eagle cam at Berry College in Rome, GA. It wasn't too long after that when the eaglet was born. This nest didn't have the second egg hatch. There's a note next to the cam that it hadn't been viable. But watching this one little chick (known lovingly as B3) grow up has been so cool.
When he was first born, he was this little pale gray fuzzball. Then his down grew in a little darker and now, at 5 weeks old (I think), he (or she) is starting to get real feathers in.
It didn't take long before I was hearing about other eagle cams, including one in Minnesota run by the Department of Natural Resources that had three eaglets hatch at the end of March/beginning of April. (MN DNR Eagle Cam)
So of course, being Minnesota, it starts snowing on April third when the chicks are all still so little. Mama sat over her babies for 2 days, just enduring the wind, snow, and cold while she kept he eaglets warm.
They're adorable! I watched her feed all three who were centered in the only part of the next not covered with snow. The oval that mama kept warm with her body. I'm scared for the littlest of the eaglets. He's so tiny and his two siblings are bigger and grabbing the food. I'm also worried about his reaction to the cold. He was born just like a day or so before the snow started.
The thing, though, that touched me is how the mother just endured everything for her chicks. She probably would have been less cold if she could move around, but she didn't. She took care of her babies first.
April 13, 2014
Fake Photos That Went Viral
I've seen most of these.
April 10, 2014
Mini Epiphany
I blogged recently about how I was getting my story information backward for a series I was working on and how I had absolutely nothing for the second book in what I thought was a four book series.
Blogging about it didn't help shake anything loose, but a conversation I had with someone about something completely different did.
My mini epiphany? There weren't four books in the series, only three.
I know, duh, right? It was originally three stories, but when a shift happened in the storyline, I thought I had to do four, but I just never had anything but a blank spot for that hero. He also had no heroine and no story. But I thought I had to do both of the first hero's friends plus the character on the team that was talking to me already. That equaled four.
It was a huge relief to realize that I didn't have to do both buddies. That I could do the second one later once he actually started talking to me.
Of course, solving one problem leads to other issues. The big one being how to handle the over arc across three books rather than four. This is a better problem than having blank characters because I just never have blank characters. Usually it's the opposite. But that's another story.
Blogging about it didn't help shake anything loose, but a conversation I had with someone about something completely different did.
My mini epiphany? There weren't four books in the series, only three.
I know, duh, right? It was originally three stories, but when a shift happened in the storyline, I thought I had to do four, but I just never had anything but a blank spot for that hero. He also had no heroine and no story. But I thought I had to do both of the first hero's friends plus the character on the team that was talking to me already. That equaled four.
It was a huge relief to realize that I didn't have to do both buddies. That I could do the second one later once he actually started talking to me.
Of course, solving one problem leads to other issues. The big one being how to handle the over arc across three books rather than four. This is a better problem than having blank characters because I just never have blank characters. Usually it's the opposite. But that's another story.
April 8, 2014
Thermostat Wars
I usually don't drive to work. I'm in a van pool and usually leave the driving to someone else, but recently I needed to drive to work. It was 55 degrees and the sun wasn't up yet. My car--which is almost too automated--puts on the air conditioner. I turn it off.
My window starts to fog, so I turn on the defroster. It's blowing really cold. So cold that the window begins to ice where the vents are. I turn it off. The car immediately puts the AC back on.
No. I turn it off.
My window fogs up again. Repeat the scenario in paragraphs 2 and 3. Not just once. Repeat it about half a dozen times.
I have my car's thermostat set at 72 degrees, so I can't understand why it's blowing so cold. I go to adjust the climate control and see that it's set at 60. What??? I know I didn't do that. It's been a cold winter in Atlanta. I bump up the temperature to 80. Within a minute, it's too hot. I take it down a few degrees. Still too hot.
I dropped it to 72 degrees. Where I had it set to begin with. The defroster now runs at the right temperature to keep the window from fogging and without causing ice. The car is also a comfortable temperature for me.
Automation is awesome, but my car was winning the battle of the thermostat. I know I didn't like that.
My window starts to fog, so I turn on the defroster. It's blowing really cold. So cold that the window begins to ice where the vents are. I turn it off. The car immediately puts the AC back on.
No. I turn it off.
My window fogs up again. Repeat the scenario in paragraphs 2 and 3. Not just once. Repeat it about half a dozen times.
I have my car's thermostat set at 72 degrees, so I can't understand why it's blowing so cold. I go to adjust the climate control and see that it's set at 60. What??? I know I didn't do that. It's been a cold winter in Atlanta. I bump up the temperature to 80. Within a minute, it's too hot. I take it down a few degrees. Still too hot.
I dropped it to 72 degrees. Where I had it set to begin with. The defroster now runs at the right temperature to keep the window from fogging and without causing ice. The car is also a comfortable temperature for me.
Automation is awesome, but my car was winning the battle of the thermostat. I know I didn't like that.
April 6, 2014
Maps That Will Change Your View of the World
There are some really interesting maps here.
April 3, 2014
Games of Desire Blurb
I tried to write my own cover blurb for Games of Desire, but they're hard for me to write. Luckily, I have fabulous people at Harlequin who wrote the cover copy for me. I got to see it this week and it does a good job of describing the story. (This, BTW, is the sixth story (novella) set in my Blood Feud World.)
Buy Games of Desire at Amazon
Buy Games of Desire at Barnes & Noble
Buy Games of Desire at Apple
The union between a wizard and a demon is impossible. It's also undeniable.Now all I need is a cover. :-) I'll share that as soon as I can--I'm still waiting to see it myself.
Chloe has always been there to clean up after her little sister—a wizard who doesn't use her powers responsibly. But when she must search for her wayward sister after another prank gone terribly awry, Chloe finds a demon instead—a demon with taut muscles, irresistible dimples and eyes burning with desire. Ever the good girl, Chloe tries to ignore him, but the mere sight of this demon undoes her.
Marax is searching for Chloe's sister, too. Just like Chloe, he's driven by duty. And, just like Chloe, he can't resist the fiery attraction that burns between them.
When Chloe and Marax give in to one night of passion, they find themselves bound in ways they never could have imagined—and battling a demon more powerful than anything they imagined….
Buy Games of Desire at Amazon
Buy Games of Desire at Barnes & Noble
Buy Games of Desire at Apple
April 1, 2014
How'd I Miss This?
One of my favorite television shows is Air Disasters. I'm not sure why I like the show so much. Maybe it's because I'm fascinated by all things aviation. Last Saturday, I tuned in right at noon and saw a Northwest Airlines 747-400. I immediately went, huh?
The show was about an incident that happened in 2002. I worked for Northwest in 2002, heck, I worked in Technical Operations in 2002, and I had no memory of this incident.
To recap the show for you, in October 2002, NWA flight 85 from Detroit (DTW) to Tokyo, Japan (Narita Airport NRT) was midway across the Bering Sea when the lower rudder of the 747-400 aircraft went hard over left and was stuck there. The plane turned back to Anchorage, Alaska and made an emergency landing.
Thanks to the skill of the pilots, the plane landed safely and stayed on the runway. There were no injuries, no deaths, and no damage to the aircraft except for the lower rudder which started the whole incident.
Because I hadn't heard of Flight 85, I knew the plane would make it down safely because if it hadn't, there's no way I wouldn't know about it.
Air Disasters is kind of an interesting show, but somehow I think it's lacking in some accuracy. Like after the rudder goes hard over the plane is in clear trouble, they have the copilot just sitting there, waiting for instructions. I might never have worked in Flight Operations, but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't happen.
I also took note of what they used for the Northwest Airlines Cockpit Operating Manual and went, NOT! We had a copy of it in our department and I revised it whenever a change came out. It was thicker than shown and a three-ring binder, not a spiral bound book. Okay, so I forgave them for that. That's nitpicky stuff and there aren't that many people that would realize that.
The show also showed the Air Traffic Controller not allowing flight 85 to descent to 14000 feet over Cook Inlet. Maybe that did happen, but I had to wonder about it. My understanding was once a plane declares an emergency, ATC pretty much accommodates any request the pilots make. If someone knows for sure, please let me know.
Because the flight to Japan was so long, there were two sets of crew. During the show, they basically show the other two sitting around the cockpit until nearly the very end. Again, I'm not an expert on what goes on in the cockpit or Flight Ops, but I'm pretty sure everyone would be doing something even if it's simply monitoring a system.
Despite the issues I have with the show (and this episode is not the first time I've noticed things that bug me because they don't ring true), I still enjoy it and recommend it. It's on Smithsonian Channel on Saturday at Noon Eastern time.
The show was about an incident that happened in 2002. I worked for Northwest in 2002, heck, I worked in Technical Operations in 2002, and I had no memory of this incident.
To recap the show for you, in October 2002, NWA flight 85 from Detroit (DTW) to Tokyo, Japan (Narita Airport NRT) was midway across the Bering Sea when the lower rudder of the 747-400 aircraft went hard over left and was stuck there. The plane turned back to Anchorage, Alaska and made an emergency landing.
Thanks to the skill of the pilots, the plane landed safely and stayed on the runway. There were no injuries, no deaths, and no damage to the aircraft except for the lower rudder which started the whole incident.
Because I hadn't heard of Flight 85, I knew the plane would make it down safely because if it hadn't, there's no way I wouldn't know about it.
Air Disasters is kind of an interesting show, but somehow I think it's lacking in some accuracy. Like after the rudder goes hard over the plane is in clear trouble, they have the copilot just sitting there, waiting for instructions. I might never have worked in Flight Operations, but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't happen.
I also took note of what they used for the Northwest Airlines Cockpit Operating Manual and went, NOT! We had a copy of it in our department and I revised it whenever a change came out. It was thicker than shown and a three-ring binder, not a spiral bound book. Okay, so I forgave them for that. That's nitpicky stuff and there aren't that many people that would realize that.
The show also showed the Air Traffic Controller not allowing flight 85 to descent to 14000 feet over Cook Inlet. Maybe that did happen, but I had to wonder about it. My understanding was once a plane declares an emergency, ATC pretty much accommodates any request the pilots make. If someone knows for sure, please let me know.
Because the flight to Japan was so long, there were two sets of crew. During the show, they basically show the other two sitting around the cockpit until nearly the very end. Again, I'm not an expert on what goes on in the cockpit or Flight Ops, but I'm pretty sure everyone would be doing something even if it's simply monitoring a system.
Despite the issues I have with the show (and this episode is not the first time I've noticed things that bug me because they don't ring true), I still enjoy it and recommend it. It's on Smithsonian Channel on Saturday at Noon Eastern time.
March 30, 2014
March 27, 2014
Process Flow or WTF Is My Muse Doing Now?
One of the best pieces of writing advice I ever received was that process changes and that I shouldn't fight those changes, but go with them. And my process did change. The difference between how I wrote book 1 and book 4 are like night and day. This latest process change, though, has me scratching my head.
I have the hero and heroine from book 1 and their story pretty well set. Then the characters from book 4 shared their info. I have a bare bones kind of structure for their story.
Ideas can come from anywhere, but book 3 came to me from a license plate. Not a personalized one either. Although maybe came to me might be too strong. I had a heroine show up and kind of give me a vague impression of who she is and what she's doing. Her hero hasn't been that helpful and he's still an unknown shadow.
The second book, well, I have a kind of thought about that, but there are problems with the setup and I don't know if they can be overcome. I'll keep mulling.
I've never had a license plate trigger a story idea before and I've never gotten ideas for books within a series backward either. I might have nothing more than a rough idea of the hero and heroine, but they've always come in order. I'm trying to go with the flow here, but I'm finding this new process to be very frustrating.
It's like my muse has gone retrograde and I'm not enjoying it. I like things to come in order. I don't want to try to guess what the middle pieces are and how they'll fit in with the first and last stories.
And I have no choice because this is how the stories/series is coming to me. Seriously, muse? Seriously?
I have the hero and heroine from book 1 and their story pretty well set. Then the characters from book 4 shared their info. I have a bare bones kind of structure for their story.
Ideas can come from anywhere, but book 3 came to me from a license plate. Not a personalized one either. Although maybe came to me might be too strong. I had a heroine show up and kind of give me a vague impression of who she is and what she's doing. Her hero hasn't been that helpful and he's still an unknown shadow.
The second book, well, I have a kind of thought about that, but there are problems with the setup and I don't know if they can be overcome. I'll keep mulling.
I've never had a license plate trigger a story idea before and I've never gotten ideas for books within a series backward either. I might have nothing more than a rough idea of the hero and heroine, but they've always come in order. I'm trying to go with the flow here, but I'm finding this new process to be very frustrating.
It's like my muse has gone retrograde and I'm not enjoying it. I like things to come in order. I don't want to try to guess what the middle pieces are and how they'll fit in with the first and last stories.
And I have no choice because this is how the stories/series is coming to me. Seriously, muse? Seriously?
March 25, 2014
Flight 370: A Kind of Rant
As I'm writing this on Sunday evening, the plane is still missing. Searchers are checking the south Indian Ocean where satellites have found possible debris.
I've tried not to weigh in on what happened to Malaysia flight 370 because at this point no one knows anything other than the plane is missing. However, after listening to CNN and their experts cover this topic, I finally couldn't take it any longer.
I don't mind CNN's wall to wall coverage of the missing plane, although there are certainly other news items that are more critical such as the situation in the Ukraine. What is irritating me is some of the ridiculous theories that keep getting covered over and over. I know it's because they have next to nothing to talk about, but it's still annoying.
That shadow plane theory for example. This is the theory that the plane flew close enough to another jumbo jet to evade every country's radar as it traveled northward. All the pilots CNN have had on have said it's extremely difficult, and while it is possible, it's highly unlikely. The pilots have all pointed out that this is a wide-body jet and not a fighter plane. That hasn't stopped the anchors for an instant.
I'm also annoyed by this constant harping that the pilots must have had nefarious motives. We don't know this! So far there hasn't been a shred of evidence that this is the case, but that hasn't stopped anyone from smearing the reputations of these men.
Maybe they are guilty, but if the hardest piece of evidence they have is that the cockpit door is difficult to breach, it's not enough. Difficult is not impossible.
The other thing making me crazy is the expensive "fixes" some of the experts and the CNN anchors have proposed to make sure "this doesn't happen again." Right. So we're going to spend millions of dollars to fix something that a) hardly ever happens and b) we don't know what--exactly--should be changed.
I don't know anything either about what happened to the plane, but I believe that it crashed. I also believe that something catastrophic occurred on board that plane.
To draw a parallel, Air France flight 447 had something small happen--the pitot tubes had ice crystals build up and give them incorrect speed indications. The pilots on board that A330 made a series of errors that ended up bringing the plane down. My guess is something similar happened with flight 370.
Notice I said "guess." Notice that I didn't spend 2 weeks talking about this. Are you listening CNN?
I've tried not to weigh in on what happened to Malaysia flight 370 because at this point no one knows anything other than the plane is missing. However, after listening to CNN and their experts cover this topic, I finally couldn't take it any longer.
I don't mind CNN's wall to wall coverage of the missing plane, although there are certainly other news items that are more critical such as the situation in the Ukraine. What is irritating me is some of the ridiculous theories that keep getting covered over and over. I know it's because they have next to nothing to talk about, but it's still annoying.
That shadow plane theory for example. This is the theory that the plane flew close enough to another jumbo jet to evade every country's radar as it traveled northward. All the pilots CNN have had on have said it's extremely difficult, and while it is possible, it's highly unlikely. The pilots have all pointed out that this is a wide-body jet and not a fighter plane. That hasn't stopped the anchors for an instant.
I'm also annoyed by this constant harping that the pilots must have had nefarious motives. We don't know this! So far there hasn't been a shred of evidence that this is the case, but that hasn't stopped anyone from smearing the reputations of these men.
Maybe they are guilty, but if the hardest piece of evidence they have is that the cockpit door is difficult to breach, it's not enough. Difficult is not impossible.
The other thing making me crazy is the expensive "fixes" some of the experts and the CNN anchors have proposed to make sure "this doesn't happen again." Right. So we're going to spend millions of dollars to fix something that a) hardly ever happens and b) we don't know what--exactly--should be changed.
I don't know anything either about what happened to the plane, but I believe that it crashed. I also believe that something catastrophic occurred on board that plane.
To draw a parallel, Air France flight 447 had something small happen--the pitot tubes had ice crystals build up and give them incorrect speed indications. The pilots on board that A330 made a series of errors that ended up bringing the plane down. My guess is something similar happened with flight 370.
Notice I said "guess." Notice that I didn't spend 2 weeks talking about this. Are you listening CNN?
