S.K.S. Perry's Blog, page 21
October 27, 2011
What's good for the goose...
Dear Revenue Canada,
I expected to make $200K last year. Unfortunately I only made about $80K. That’s a net loss of…um…carry the 2…$120K. Obviously I won’t be paying any income tax this year. As a matter of fact, I’d like that $20K back that I’ve already paid you.
Thanks.
What? If it’s good enough for Big Business and the Banks, who am I to argue?
Seriously, my RRSPs that I invested with my bank in 2007 are actually worth $500 less than when I invested them. How is that possible? Oh, I know, the recession and all, but tell me this: How much money did the bank lose in that same amount of time? And don’t give me that, “Oh, we expected to make this much but only made this much crap,” either. I mean how much actual loss did they accrue? After all, they’re the same people responsible for investing my RRSP funds, they must have taken a loss, right.?
What? Record profits!
That doesn’t sound right.
I expected to make $200K last year. Unfortunately I only made about $80K. That’s a net loss of…um…carry the 2…$120K. Obviously I won’t be paying any income tax this year. As a matter of fact, I’d like that $20K back that I’ve already paid you.
Thanks.
What? If it’s good enough for Big Business and the Banks, who am I to argue?
Seriously, my RRSPs that I invested with my bank in 2007 are actually worth $500 less than when I invested them. How is that possible? Oh, I know, the recession and all, but tell me this: How much money did the bank lose in that same amount of time? And don’t give me that, “Oh, we expected to make this much but only made this much crap,” either. I mean how much actual loss did they accrue? After all, they’re the same people responsible for investing my RRSP funds, they must have taken a loss, right.?
What? Record profits!
That doesn’t sound right.
October 25, 2011
Big Brother's Grandpa is watching!
My interwebs connection at work is soooo slow. I swear every page I visit must be vetted in Ottawa first by some bespectacled senior citizen with puritan sensibilities who only gets out of the home to censor my sites before they can be downloaded to my computer. I half expect to see a pop-up saying, "All right, I'll let you look at blaster.com , and maybe even Hardcore Nerdity --with their three-breasted green Martian women you little deviant, but you stay off’n my lawn!"
October 24, 2011
Great, now I have to start looking over my shoulder again.
Do you ever worry that something you write will come back to haunt you? Oh, I don't mean piss off some reader or offend some special interest group—I figure that's a given. I mean get you into serious trouble.
For instance, today I cross-posted the following on Twitter/Facebook:
"There are no bad kids…well, except for the possessed, and maybe those pesky aliens masquerading as humans."
Suddenly I had this mental image of some Evil Alien Overload (henceforth known as EAO ©) perusing Facebook when it comes across my post, and shakes its tentacle in the air muttering, "How did he know? We must stop him!"—in subtitles of course.
The next thing you know I'm being hunted by intergalactic gollywoggles who try to disintegrate me with their laser grenades (and subsequently provide everyone just outside the lethal blast area with free corrective eye surgery) in a high speed car chase through the city of Barrie. Of course I have no trouble avoiding them seeing as they're still in child form and can't drive—well, all except for their Section Commander who has its learner's permits but still isn't allowed on the highway.
I figure I can take them, as long as they don't enlist those demon kids to help them.
For instance, today I cross-posted the following on Twitter/Facebook:
"There are no bad kids…well, except for the possessed, and maybe those pesky aliens masquerading as humans."
Suddenly I had this mental image of some Evil Alien Overload (henceforth known as EAO ©) perusing Facebook when it comes across my post, and shakes its tentacle in the air muttering, "How did he know? We must stop him!"—in subtitles of course.
The next thing you know I'm being hunted by intergalactic gollywoggles who try to disintegrate me with their laser grenades (and subsequently provide everyone just outside the lethal blast area with free corrective eye surgery) in a high speed car chase through the city of Barrie. Of course I have no trouble avoiding them seeing as they're still in child form and can't drive—well, all except for their Section Commander who has its learner's permits but still isn't allowed on the highway.
I figure I can take them, as long as they don't enlist those demon kids to help them.
October 23, 2011
If it's not Scottish, it's crap!
Someone tagged my novel, Darkside: Waking the Dead as Scottish! That's right, it is now officially a Scottish product. lol http://scottishbeau.com/products/Scottish.html
If it's not Scotts, it's crap!
Someone tagged my novel, Darkside: Waking the Dead as Scottish! That's right, it is now officially a Scottish product. lol http://scottishbeau.com/products/Scottish.html
October 21, 2011
Grumpy Rants
You damned kids and your YouTube. Nowadays, if you miss your favourite TV show or whatever, you just catch it later on YouTube, or download it. In my day if was different. If you didn't catch it the first time you were screwed.
"Hey, did you catch Robin Williams on the tonight show last night? He was hilarious!"
"No! I missed it."
"Ha! Sucks to be you."
"Hey, did you catch Robin Williams on the tonight show last night? He was hilarious!"
"No! I missed it."
"Ha! Sucks to be you."
October 20, 2011
Metamorfu...metamorphis...Changing!
Most people don't know who they are. I do. The problem is I'm not sure who I want to be.
Who I was worked fairly well for me in the past. While I can't say I lived the life I might have wanted to, I have to admit it was interesting. Unfortunately the older I get, the harder it is to be that person, and I'm definitely getting older. That means I have to be someone else.
I asked George Clooney if I could be him, but he said no.
Oddly enough, my dream hasn't changed. Apparently it never necessitated being who I was in the first place. All that physical ability was just a bonus. Heck, it may have even gotten in the way.
I could still be blissfully happy with a nice home on the water, living my life as a moderately successful author, and playing in the house band of the local bar one or two nights a week. Apparently you don't have to be superman to do that, or even George Clooney for that matter.
One thing I do know: I don't want to be that grumpy old man telling them kids to get off'n my lawn. I want to be that grumpy old man making them mow it.
Who I was worked fairly well for me in the past. While I can't say I lived the life I might have wanted to, I have to admit it was interesting. Unfortunately the older I get, the harder it is to be that person, and I'm definitely getting older. That means I have to be someone else.
I asked George Clooney if I could be him, but he said no.
Oddly enough, my dream hasn't changed. Apparently it never necessitated being who I was in the first place. All that physical ability was just a bonus. Heck, it may have even gotten in the way.
I could still be blissfully happy with a nice home on the water, living my life as a moderately successful author, and playing in the house band of the local bar one or two nights a week. Apparently you don't have to be superman to do that, or even George Clooney for that matter.
One thing I do know: I don't want to be that grumpy old man telling them kids to get off'n my lawn. I want to be that grumpy old man making them mow it.
October 19, 2011
Labels
For the record (and yes, someone did ask--apparently they read it on the White List) I still list myself as an aspiring science fiction and fantasy author because I don't think that self-publishing my work on Amazon counts.
October 18, 2011
Knuckling under.
I'm antsy. Everybody keeps telling me to let the manuscript stew for a while, but there are things I know need fixing. Sure there's other things I could be doing right now: I should read some of the books I haven't had a chance to read (because I feel guilty reading when I know I should be writing); or watch some of the movies I haven't seen yet; or build that doomsday device I've been…never mind. But all I want to do is fix my book and get it shiny enough that I won't be too embarrassed to let my friends read it.
As usual, it's not the book I wanted it to be—at 137K I still didn't have room to get into the religion like I'd planned, or the Songeis raiders, or regale you with my theory on how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop. That stuff can wait for the sequel, I guess.
But what's the point of passing it off to a beta reader when all they're going to do is point out a lot of stuff I already know? Shouldn't I fix it first, get it as shiny as I can, then pass it around?
The reason I'm asking this is because in the past I've had a habit ofscoffing at ignoring carefully considering your advice and then sticking to my guns anyway, and look how that's turned out.
So if you tell me to wait, I'll wait. But I won't like it. *pouts*
As usual, it's not the book I wanted it to be—at 137K I still didn't have room to get into the religion like I'd planned, or the Songeis raiders, or regale you with my theory on how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop. That stuff can wait for the sequel, I guess.
But what's the point of passing it off to a beta reader when all they're going to do is point out a lot of stuff I already know? Shouldn't I fix it first, get it as shiny as I can, then pass it around?
The reason I'm asking this is because in the past I've had a habit of
So if you tell me to wait, I'll wait. But I won't like it. *pouts*
October 17, 2011
Roll credits!
I finished the first draft of my Heroic Fantasy last night. Not suprisingly no one seems to care. Oh well, I'll let it sit for a couple of days and then start the edits. It currently logs in at aprox 137,000 words. Maybe I can convince a few suckers friends to beta read it for me. Oh, and it seriously needs a title. Hopefully I'll have it ready to begin the dreaded Query Letter/Agent search soon. I am really NOT looking forward to that.
I've already started my research for the 3rd Darkside novel. I'm actually looking forward to writing that one. Sort of. Kind of. Almost. In a way.
I've already started my research for the 3rd Darkside novel. I'm actually looking forward to writing that one. Sort of. Kind of. Almost. In a way.
