Fiona L. Woods's Blog, page 178

No Post

I'm finishing my project too.

Panzer here.
No post today.
Mom has to finish a project.
Back tomorrow.

In London and New York, Author's Trade Groups Hail Amazon's Change on Self-Service Ebook Returns - Publishing Perspectives

 Panzer stopped in at the Publishing Perspectives site today. There our inquisitive kitty boy found a post about changes to Amazon's ebook returns policy.
  Why would you do this?
According to Poster Anderson's post, Amazon has made a significant change to the ebook self-service return policy. The current policy allows a reader to return an ebook for a refund even after reading it as long as the return is within 14 days of when it was purchased. Both the Society of Authors (UK) and the Authors Guild (US) have complained to Amazon about the policy and its impact on author royalties. The new return policy will not allow self-service returns if more than 10 percent of the ebook has been read. Amazon plans to have the new policy in place by year's end. The post contains more information about penalties for improper returns and quotes from the organizations executives and Amazon.
 Panzer says, "Humans will steal anything, including author royalties."
 Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.
 To read the post tootle over to Amazon's Ebook Returns

NASA Telescope Captures Epic Collision Between DART Probe and Asteroid Dimorphos - CNet

Panzer found a post at CNet by Jackson Ryan about NASA's DART probe which was launched in November of last year.  The DART probe was crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos as part of a NASA experiment. If the experiment is successful, Dimorphos will have been pushed slightly out of its orbit. NASA won't know until next year if it was successful.
  Nap time.
Then, if at some time in the future the Earth is threatened by a collision with a space rock/debris/errant asteroid, such a probe can be used to change the object's course.

Note: There is more than one post at the site about the DART probe.

To watch the video of the collision tootle over to NASA Probe

Spotify Opens Its US Audiobooks Offer: 300,000 Titles - Publishing Perspectives

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishing Perspectives site. There with a little digging in the posts he found one about Spotify. Earlier this year Panzer told you about Spotify getting into audiobooks through Findaway.
  I want to see how this works out.
According to Porter Anderson's post, audiobooks are now available through Spotify in the U.S. Spotify's new service isn't a subscription service but, instead, the audiobooks are available for sale individually to listeners. According to Spotify they have 300,000 audiobooks available.
 Panzer says, "Last year after Draft to Digital (D2D) acquired Smashwords, D2D sold Findaway (and Findaway's audiobooks catalog) to Spotify."
 Note: This is a long post. Bring a thermos of tea, a muffin and a brownie for today's reading selection.
 To read the post tootle over to Spotify audiobooksTo read Panzer's earlier post about the Findaway audiobooks acquisition tootle over to Spotify and Findaway

A Monday Panzerism

Panzer on hunting prowess:
I approach my quarry with stealth.I slink forward on silent paws.I sniff the wind quickly, measuring the strength and direction.
Moving with the sun at my back. I dive ruthlessly foward ...
I pounce ...  I am the world's greatest hunter.*
And ... Once again ...
The hunt is successful.
The food dish is mine.


*From Cat Wisdom for humans

A Jigsaw Puzzle for You

Here's a fun way to spend some of your weekend with Panzer.
It's a game with a jigsaw puzzle.   Hint: This is the finished puzzle.
To see what the finished puzzle looks like, click the small left hand square on the bottom ribbon under the puzzle pieces at the site. To make the finished puzzle disappear, click it again.
The site is free, but you will see ads at the bottom.
You don't need to have an account to do the puzzle.

This is an easy puzzle Mom made a while ago. Enjoy. To do the puzzle tootle over to Panzer hunting  

No Post

Here comes the weekend.

Panzer here.
No post today.

Free Sweet Romance Audio Books by Alexa Verde

If you're a lover of clean, sweet romance audio books,  Panzer found a site for you.
Just right for Fall listening.
Romance author Alexa Verde is uploading her full length audio books to her YouTube channel Author Alexa Verde.   Currently, there are six audio books uploaded. Listening is free for all of them.
 Panzer says, "The audio books are long. The lengths are from over four hours to over seven hours. Bring whatever you want to eat and drink while you listen to them."

To listen to the audio books tootle over to Alexa Verde Audio books

Florence Pan, Judge in DOJ vs. PRH Case, Confirmed to U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. - Publishers Weekly

Today Panzer made a quick trip to the Publishers Weekly site. There he found a post about the judge in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) case against Penguin Random House (PRH). The case to stop PRH from acquiring Simon and Schuster (S&S).
  Confused? Me too.
According to the post by John Maher, Judge Florence Pan has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a position on the U,S. Court of Appeals in D.C. Judge Pan will give her decision in the DOJ vs. PRH case in the fall. If either party in the case files an appeal, that appeal would go to the Court of Appeals in D.C. Since Judge Pan made the decision in the case, she would recuse herself from the appeals case.
 Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty thinks it's interesting to figure out how the court system works."
 Note: This is a long-short length post. Bring a glass of lemonade for today's reading selection. To read the post tootle over to 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Fun

 
 When Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere, he happened to find an interesting Artificial Intelligence (AI) site.
The AI software is called Craiyon. Using it you can create AI generated artwork like the cat above. Unfortunately, the site doesn't have instructions for using the AI to create the artwork, but it is free to use. Here's our instructions:
Put in your description in the top bar, click it and wait for it to generate your artwork. In one or two minutes it will generate several different thumbnails of your artwork. Click on each to enlarge. Decide which you like and click Screen Shot to download. You can pick as many as you like. You'll probably need to keep refining your instructions to get better results.

According to the Terms of Use the artwork you create is free for personal use. You can't use it for NFTs. If you use it for something you sell (t-shirts, etc.), the company gets a percentage of your sales. Be sure to read FAQ. Panzer says, "It really is fun to play with."

To create your own artwork tootle over to Craiyon