Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 145
September 24, 2013
Adventures With Scorpions
I'd been told there were scorpions in the Atlanta area and that some people found them in their homes, but I'd never seen one. Until last week.
It was Saturday night. Late. I walked into my bedroom and saw something on the floor between my bed and the bathroom and I went to have a look. All it took was one glance to know it was a scorpion. They're very distinct looking with their claws and that stinging tail. Mine was about an inch and a half long. I'm assured that these are "small."
I grabbed some bug spray and let him have it. He didn't react. Was he already dead? But I kept spraying, and then he'd had enough. He started to amble away. With attitude.
Panicked at the thought of having him disappear somewhere in my bedroom, I stepped on him. Luckily, I had on my thick-soled Birkenstock sandals.
To pick him up, I took a sheet and a half of paper towel, folded it all up, donned a silicone oven mitt and tossed his carcass away. This incident shook me up so much that I stayed up till after 1am, until I was too exhausted to think about it anymore.
Monday at work, everyone assured me that it was some freak thing, that scorpions inside homes were rare. I decided they must be right and wrote it off as a fluke. Then Tuesday happened.
Last Tuesday, I got up for work and saw this great big spider next to the baseboard. This was only the second big spider I'd seen in my new house and the other one had been dead. I got the vacuum cleaner, sucked this one up, and went to get some coffee. All was well. Then.
Things deteriorated when I went to rinse my coffee cup before I started to get ready for work. There was a scorpion walking across my kitchen floor!
Lesson learned from the first one, I stepped on this one right away. His tail came up, ready to sting. ::shudder:: The crunch sounded good and I got the vacuum again and sucked his body up.
Since then, I've been sleeping with the light on. They're nocturnal creatures. As I'm writing this, I'm waiting for the pest control guy to come and check out my scorpion situation. You see, scorpions are unaffected by most pesticides. There are very specific scorpion poisons and I'm hoping the exterminator will lay down the ring of death around my house so that I never have one of those things inside again.
It was Saturday night. Late. I walked into my bedroom and saw something on the floor between my bed and the bathroom and I went to have a look. All it took was one glance to know it was a scorpion. They're very distinct looking with their claws and that stinging tail. Mine was about an inch and a half long. I'm assured that these are "small."
I grabbed some bug spray and let him have it. He didn't react. Was he already dead? But I kept spraying, and then he'd had enough. He started to amble away. With attitude.
Panicked at the thought of having him disappear somewhere in my bedroom, I stepped on him. Luckily, I had on my thick-soled Birkenstock sandals.
To pick him up, I took a sheet and a half of paper towel, folded it all up, donned a silicone oven mitt and tossed his carcass away. This incident shook me up so much that I stayed up till after 1am, until I was too exhausted to think about it anymore.
Monday at work, everyone assured me that it was some freak thing, that scorpions inside homes were rare. I decided they must be right and wrote it off as a fluke. Then Tuesday happened.
Last Tuesday, I got up for work and saw this great big spider next to the baseboard. This was only the second big spider I'd seen in my new house and the other one had been dead. I got the vacuum cleaner, sucked this one up, and went to get some coffee. All was well. Then.
Things deteriorated when I went to rinse my coffee cup before I started to get ready for work. There was a scorpion walking across my kitchen floor!
Lesson learned from the first one, I stepped on this one right away. His tail came up, ready to sting. ::shudder:: The crunch sounded good and I got the vacuum again and sucked his body up.
Since then, I've been sleeping with the light on. They're nocturnal creatures. As I'm writing this, I'm waiting for the pest control guy to come and check out my scorpion situation. You see, scorpions are unaffected by most pesticides. There are very specific scorpion poisons and I'm hoping the exterminator will lay down the ring of death around my house so that I never have one of those things inside again.
September 22, 2013
Bohemian Gravity
This video was done by a physics grad student and it's awesome.
September 19, 2013
Ravyn's Flight Now Available for Kindle
The wait is over! (Read that in that in the WWE announcer voice because that's how I'm hearing it. :-) We've all heard that guy advertising pay-per-view wrestling events, right?)
Finally, at long last, Ravyn's Flight and Eternal Nights are available in the Kindle store!
I'd hoped to have the books live at both Amazon and BN.com on the same day, but Kindle didn't like my file extension. If I would have received a message that said, hey, dummy, we don't take this format any longer I would have fixed it right away. Instead, all I got was a pair of emails telling me the books were live. They clearly were not. But it's all straightened out now.
So if you like to read in the Kindle format, you can now pick up my Jarved Nine books at Amazon now.
Ravyn's Flight
Eternal Nights
Finally, at long last, Ravyn's Flight and Eternal Nights are available in the Kindle store!
I'd hoped to have the books live at both Amazon and BN.com on the same day, but Kindle didn't like my file extension. If I would have received a message that said, hey, dummy, we don't take this format any longer I would have fixed it right away. Instead, all I got was a pair of emails telling me the books were live. They clearly were not. But it's all straightened out now.
So if you like to read in the Kindle format, you can now pick up my Jarved Nine books at Amazon now.
Ravyn's Flight
Eternal Nights
September 17, 2013
Ravyn's Flight At Barnes & Noble
I've received many, many requests to release Ravyn's Flight and Eternal Nights in ebook format and now it is! Barnes & Noble has both books available in their Nook Book section!
I uploaded for Kindle at the same time, however, as of Monday night (when I'm writing this post) the books haven't gone live yet. I'll probably do another post when it's available on Amazon.
Ravyn's Flight at BN.com
Eternal Nights at BN.com
Stay tuned for information on Kindle.
I uploaded for Kindle at the same time, however, as of Monday night (when I'm writing this post) the books haven't gone live yet. I'll probably do another post when it's available on Amazon.
Ravyn's Flight at BN.com
Eternal Nights at BN.com
Stay tuned for information on Kindle.
September 15, 2013
If Holy Grail Were Made Today
Someone took Monty Python and the Holy Grail and did a brand new trailer for it, one that makes it look like a summer blockbuster action movie. This is too much fun.
September 12, 2013
Many Ways to a Destination
I heard about this podcast about writing and thought I'd give it a shot. It was a group of writers talking about various topics, although most of it seemed to be craft related. I decided to download a trial episode and see if I liked it. And I did, so I downloaded all that was available.
Maybe my mistake was in listening to them one right after the other? But they were only a half an hour long and I'd run through all my episodes of Mysterious Universe. I started liking this writing podcast a little bit less with every episode I listened to. One of the writers started to get on my nerves with all the interruptions of others and all the talk about his/her books.
I started skipping around to the topics that interested me. And then I hit the episode that made me delete the entire podcast. They talked about ending a book, and all these self-avowed plotters insisted that the only way any writer could produce a good ending was to outline it before writing the book.
Excuse me?
First of all, if a writer ever says there's only one way to do something, run away. Fast. And ignore everything they say. There are as many ways to write as there are writers. There is no single right way to do anything.
Second, what about seat of the pants writers? Oh, they finally got around to mentioning them, but insisted that even organic writers would benefit from an outline of their book even if they don't write it until they're part way through the story.
I would suggest to these writers that they invite a seat of the pants writer to be part of their podcast since they're giving a very skewed view of writing. Believe it or not, there are plenty of "organic" writers who can produce good books with strong endings. Just because you can't conceive of it, doesn't mean it can't be done.
I've told this story before, but when I was a teenager and realized I wanted to be a writer, I went to the library and read all the books they had on the topic. Every single one insisted to be a real writer you had to plot out your story in advance on 3x5 cards.
Since I wanted to be a real, professional writer, I bought those 3x5 cards and tried to plot like they said. I couldn't do it. Not only couldn't I do it, but it made me hate writing.
Finally, I realized that I hated the index cards enough to quit writing all together rather than do them. That's when I tossed them in the drawer and said, "Maybe I'll never be a real writer, but at least I can have fun writing again."
Don't kill someone's dream by saying your way is the only way to be a real writer. It's not.
Maybe my mistake was in listening to them one right after the other? But they were only a half an hour long and I'd run through all my episodes of Mysterious Universe. I started liking this writing podcast a little bit less with every episode I listened to. One of the writers started to get on my nerves with all the interruptions of others and all the talk about his/her books.
I started skipping around to the topics that interested me. And then I hit the episode that made me delete the entire podcast. They talked about ending a book, and all these self-avowed plotters insisted that the only way any writer could produce a good ending was to outline it before writing the book.
Excuse me?
First of all, if a writer ever says there's only one way to do something, run away. Fast. And ignore everything they say. There are as many ways to write as there are writers. There is no single right way to do anything.
Second, what about seat of the pants writers? Oh, they finally got around to mentioning them, but insisted that even organic writers would benefit from an outline of their book even if they don't write it until they're part way through the story.
I would suggest to these writers that they invite a seat of the pants writer to be part of their podcast since they're giving a very skewed view of writing. Believe it or not, there are plenty of "organic" writers who can produce good books with strong endings. Just because you can't conceive of it, doesn't mean it can't be done.
I've told this story before, but when I was a teenager and realized I wanted to be a writer, I went to the library and read all the books they had on the topic. Every single one insisted to be a real writer you had to plot out your story in advance on 3x5 cards.
Since I wanted to be a real, professional writer, I bought those 3x5 cards and tried to plot like they said. I couldn't do it. Not only couldn't I do it, but it made me hate writing.
Finally, I realized that I hated the index cards enough to quit writing all together rather than do them. That's when I tossed them in the drawer and said, "Maybe I'll never be a real writer, but at least I can have fun writing again."
Don't kill someone's dream by saying your way is the only way to be a real writer. It's not.
September 10, 2013
Back to Blogger
As much as I hated to do it, I've taken the WordPress blog off my website and returned to Blogger--hosted at Blogspot. I apologize if this inconveniences anyone, but despite the reams of security I had around that blog, it was hacked again. This is like the fourth or fifth time now.
No one else I know seems to have this problem, but for me, it's been a constant battle. The last time, I nuked the entire blog and the database it was hooked to and started completely over with a number of different security programs that did different things. I even blocked the IP addresses of the person who was trying to hack in, changed my password to one that was 32 characters long with numbers, letters, and symbols, and changed the standard names WordPress gives to standard installation features.
Despite all this, on Friday when I did a quick check of my users, I found another name in there beside my own.
I threw in the towel.
I don't have the time or energy to keep up with the hackers anymore. So despite what this is going to do to my Google search results, I am keeping my blog off my site and returning to Blogger. It's not the optimal solution, but it's the best I can do.
No one else I know seems to have this problem, but for me, it's been a constant battle. The last time, I nuked the entire blog and the database it was hooked to and started completely over with a number of different security programs that did different things. I even blocked the IP addresses of the person who was trying to hack in, changed my password to one that was 32 characters long with numbers, letters, and symbols, and changed the standard names WordPress gives to standard installation features.
Despite all this, on Friday when I did a quick check of my users, I found another name in there beside my own.
I threw in the towel.
I don't have the time or energy to keep up with the hackers anymore. So despite what this is going to do to my Google search results, I am keeping my blog off my site and returning to Blogger. It's not the optimal solution, but it's the best I can do.
September 8, 2013
Humor In Advertising
This commercial is for the Nokia Windows phone and it takes a swing at the iPhone. I thought this was pretty funny.
September 5, 2013
January Release
I mentioned that I sold two more stories to Harlequin's Nocturne Cravings line. These are novella length erotic romance stories. Well, I have a release date for the first one--January 2014.
No one has asked me to come up with a new title yet, so I'm assuming that it will be released as Phoenix Burning. This story has a hero who is a vampire enforcer for the Los Angeles clan lord and a heroine who's experiencing a lot of change in her life. And yes, I'm being deliberately vague until I see what the cover copy looks like.
I spent Tuesday night doing the Art Fact Sheet for Phoenix. It was actually kind of difficult since I work from pictures when I write and the form is filled with drop downs for hair color, hair style, hair length, etc.
There were also questions about the theme of the story, the theme for the characters inside the story, and other things that I hadn't really thought about. I think that was a good exercise--to think about those things--and I might try thinking about this earlier.
Some of the pull downs were very difficult, though, because they're geared for all of Harlequin, not only Nocturnes and so questions like the hero's age tripped me up. He's like 600 years old, but since they were asking for the cover, I went with what his age appears to be. Also, vampire enforcer wasn't an option on the drop down list.
Now I wait. I'm always excited to see the covers and you know I'll share here as soon as I can.
No one has asked me to come up with a new title yet, so I'm assuming that it will be released as Phoenix Burning. This story has a hero who is a vampire enforcer for the Los Angeles clan lord and a heroine who's experiencing a lot of change in her life. And yes, I'm being deliberately vague until I see what the cover copy looks like.
I spent Tuesday night doing the Art Fact Sheet for Phoenix. It was actually kind of difficult since I work from pictures when I write and the form is filled with drop downs for hair color, hair style, hair length, etc.
There were also questions about the theme of the story, the theme for the characters inside the story, and other things that I hadn't really thought about. I think that was a good exercise--to think about those things--and I might try thinking about this earlier.
Some of the pull downs were very difficult, though, because they're geared for all of Harlequin, not only Nocturnes and so questions like the hero's age tripped me up. He's like 600 years old, but since they were asking for the cover, I went with what his age appears to be. Also, vampire enforcer wasn't an option on the drop down list.
Now I wait. I'm always excited to see the covers and you know I'll share here as soon as I can.
September 3, 2013
"Stop LOLing Everything"
I talked about some of the commercials I don't like, but I haven't mentioned a campaign that I do enjoy. The latest Barbasol ads have been a lot of fun.
The first ad I saw pictured a World War II soldier in the middle of battle, talking through time to his great grand son. Some of the great lines are: "Listen hashtag" and "Stop LOLing everything."
The tag line for the campaign is also clever, IMO. "Shave like a man." As an example, in the WW2 ad, the great grandfather says: "If you're not going to fight like a man, at least shave like one."
The second ad wasn't quite as strong, but the third one redeemed itself. This time it's set in the 1920s and features a baseball player. This time the player talks about pitching 17 innings while the current day guy needed a nap after watching a game.
While there's a lot to like in these ads, I think the main part that resonates is that old "I used to walk up hill to school both ways in the dark with snow up to my waist." You know, the old generation had it so much tougher than the current day.
This, BTW, is also being used in the AT&T commercials where the slightly older kids are talking about how hard they had it and how much easier their younger siblings have it now. I think this is a very effective campaign, too.
Back to the Barbasol, though. The other part that's clever is how the writers take current day things, like Twitter or channel surfing and use it as contrast. These ads are entertaining and amusing and they have me looking forward to the next in the series.
The first ad I saw pictured a World War II soldier in the middle of battle, talking through time to his great grand son. Some of the great lines are: "Listen hashtag" and "Stop LOLing everything."
The tag line for the campaign is also clever, IMO. "Shave like a man." As an example, in the WW2 ad, the great grandfather says: "If you're not going to fight like a man, at least shave like one."
The second ad wasn't quite as strong, but the third one redeemed itself. This time it's set in the 1920s and features a baseball player. This time the player talks about pitching 17 innings while the current day guy needed a nap after watching a game.
While there's a lot to like in these ads, I think the main part that resonates is that old "I used to walk up hill to school both ways in the dark with snow up to my waist." You know, the old generation had it so much tougher than the current day.
This, BTW, is also being used in the AT&T commercials where the slightly older kids are talking about how hard they had it and how much easier their younger siblings have it now. I think this is a very effective campaign, too.
Back to the Barbasol, though. The other part that's clever is how the writers take current day things, like Twitter or channel surfing and use it as contrast. These ads are entertaining and amusing and they have me looking forward to the next in the series.
