Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion
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Alicja wrote: "Terri wrote: "So frustrating. I downloaded the new Windows 8.1 yesterday (I was running Windows 8). It lost all the wireless drivers and I had to get Acer to give us the new drivers to make the wi..."
8 crashed my computer once so far. And I have only had the new laptop with 8 on it for a couple months. All the latest technology.
Of course neither Acer nor Windows accept ownership of the crash. Windows palmed me off to Acer. Acer palmed me off to a software place and they told me to do a factory reset.
I was not a happy customer.
Now these issues I am having with pop3 and internet were the problems I was having in the lead up to the Win 8 crash of the other month. I suspect it is going to happen all over again.
Everything was working fine before the 8.1 update.
And why is it so hard to include a Win 7 Start button in 8 or 8.1? I hate the side bar. Which brings all the settings etc up. It always pops up and gets in my way.
Bryn wrote: "How can a search function possibly be so useless? I type in James C. Scott, click author, and I get Romeo & Juliet, followed by Little Women, Huck Finn, Macbeth and Treasure Island. I'm trying to f..."It is a gripe I have to. I also don't like that if you have one letter wrong in the GR search you get no results.
It should refine their parameters to allow at least one wrong letter in the request.
Bryn wrote: "How can a search function possibly be so useless? I type in James C. Scott, click author, and I get Romeo & Juliet, followed by Little Women, Huck Finn, Macbeth and Treasure Island. I'm trying to f..."Bryn, Try it this way: it's a librarian trick: put "Scott, James C." and see what you come up with.
Or, if you know the name of the book, put in Scott and one or more nouns in the title if you know it. GR has given us a lousy keyword search. I agree with you!
I don't believe the meteoroligists who say it's only 0C where I live. The moment we leave positive digital digits it's too friggin' cold out. If this is the result of global warming, then I say it's a failed project. ;D
It's been way colder this year than usual--32 F in the daytime and 20 F at night. I've had to break out my winter underwear. Snow that stuck on the ground until the sun took most of it away--day before yesterday and yesterday [Tues. & Wed.] With our 90's most of last summer, I don't think global warming's a failed project. :)
I think the correct term is now 'climate change'. Thus not only addressing the global warming but the change is all seasons. :)
Well, whatever is the correct term... :)I've heard the Earth's axis has tilted a bit differently, so that's partly bringing on climate change.
Jane wrote: "I've heard the Earth's axis has tilted a bit differently, so that's partly bringing on climate change."Yes, with the earthquake that hit Japan a few years back it shifted at more degrees that is usual in a year. While my last comment was tongue-in-cheek, this shifting of the axis I do believe is in large part why the sudden extreme shifts in odd areas. Over and above what was originally predicted with the climate change/global warming etc.
The boffins said not to worry too much, but I think that was simply because they really didn't have answers at the time.
Jane wrote: "It's been way colder this year than usual--32 F in the daytime and 20 F at night. I've had to break out my winter underwear. Snow that stuck on the ground until the sun took most of it away--day ..."Lucky! It has been hotter than usual here and I am wishing for a day when I may be able to wear a long sleeve shirt.
I think that the weather change includes more extreme weather instead of just a general warming.
The climate has been changing for millennium. When the Romans left Britain, there were vineyards in Scotland. Try that today!It's part and parcel of living on this planet. I think what really annoys me is the arrogance of the scientists claiming human pollution is responsible. *snorts* And here was me thinking it was farting cows.
Margaret wrote: "The climate has been changing for millennium. When the Romans left Britain, there were vineyards in Scotland. Try that today!It's part and parcel of living on this planet. I think what really ..."
Hear, hear!!
Margaret wrote: "And here was me thinking it was farting cows. "Poor Terri being blamed for the world's problems.... ;)
Darcy wrote: "Margaret wrote: "And here was me thinking it was farting cows. "Poor Terri being blamed for the world's problems.... ;)"
Buawahahahahahahahahahaha
Margaret wrote: "The climate has been changing for millennium. When the Romans left Britain, there were vineyards in Scotland. Try that today!It's part and parcel of living on this planet. I think what really ..."
I so agree.
You know what I hate?When you are in a small room and the dog farts, then gets up and leaves the room. Leaving you alone with his special gift.
This just happened. Had to share. :\
Nothing like starting to settle down a little before going to bed and watching a nature show narrated by James Earl Jones. I could listen to him all day.
Great voice. I always feel that way about Attenborough. I find his doco narration de-stresses my brain instantly.
I'm not getting all my email notifications when people post in group. has anyone else had this problem the last four or five days?
Terri wrote: "I'm not getting all my email notifications when people post in group. has anyone else had this problem the last four or five days?"
Mine's been sporadic. I get some notifications, but not others.
I only got 3 notifications to my email yesterday so didn't log on as I thought I would catch up with those posts today, and then I got another 3 this morning. This time I log on to find that there have been heaps of new posts that I missed from yesterday.
haha. Some days I feel I am permanently logged on. Not that it is a chore to be so, only that the company is stimulating. :)
I finally turned off my air-conditioning today! It felt so great to be able to open my windows and slide my porch door open and not melt into a puddle of sweaty goo. I am so, so, so happy today!!
Terri wrote: "Tis the season for turning them on over here in Queensland, Australia. :)"Then I pass it on to you. I don't want to have to turn it on again until at least March. Although, a few years ago I went swimming in an unheated pool on a particularly hot New Year's Eve right around midnight.
Never been to Australia, how hot does it get?
Alicja wrote: "Terri wrote: "Tis the season for turning them on over here in Queensland, Australia. :)"Then I pass it on to you. I don't want to have to turn it on again until at least March. Although, a few ye..."
VERY.
Alicja wrote: "Then I pass it on to you. I don't want to have to turn it on again until at least March. Although, a few ye..."
Where I live. In summer it can go up to 45 degrees celcius over a number of days.
Terri wrote: "Alicja wrote: "Then I pass it on to you. I don't want to have to turn it on again until at least March. Although, a few ye..."
Where I live. In summer it can go up to 45 degrees celcius over a n..."
Ouch!
Our temperature here is deceptive. Our summers average in the mid 90s°F, so in the mid 30°C. But we have a thing called the heat index that we pay more attention to than the actual temp. It measures how hot the weather really feels, considering both temperature and humidity. For instance, a temperature of 90°F (32.2°C) along with 60 % humidity pushes the apparent temperature to a 100°F (37.8°C). It feels like swimming in the air, the thickness of the air is terrible. Our average humidity ranges from 50% in the winter to 90%s in Jul/Aug. It is when the humidity falls, like today it broke, that it actually starts to feel human down (should I say up instead?) here.
Where in the US are you, Alicja?We get the humidity here too. We are in a sub tropical area, so super humid. The last few days there have been bad hail storms and the humidity has been high.
Quite nice at the moment...even though I can hear the storm alarm going off on my weather station. ;)
(weather station is just a small personal one that hangs on the kitchen wall and reads temps, humidity, pressure, etc.. it flashes for rain, then has a beeping alarm that goes off if it detects storms)
Terri wrote: "Where in the US are you, Alicja?We get the humidity here too. We are in a sub tropical area, so super humid. The last few days there have been bad hail storms and the humidity has been high.
Qui..."
Sub-tropical South Florida. We get stormy, humid summers come with tropical storms/depressions, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Winters are awesome though, temps go down to the 60s/70s (or lower for a week or two if we are lucky) and we get virtually no rain. When I lived in central Florida, we would get hail like crazy. In the 7 years I lived there, my windshield cracked from hail 3 times to a point I had to replace it.
Mark wrote: "Hope our US mid west members are safe and sound, looked bad on the news."Yes, I hope they are safe. Tornadoes suck. At least with Hurricanes you have a few days advance warning, a tornado plops down, devastates an area, and then its gone. Hope all are safe!
Alicja wrote: "I finally turned off my air-conditioning today! It felt so great to be able to open my windows and slide my porch door open and not melt into a puddle of sweaty goo. I am so, so, so happy today!!"We had 4 inches of snow Saturday. My procrastination caught up with me again. I had intended to get the Christmas lights up on the house - but there is absolutely no way I'm getting up on the roof with that much snow.
On a more pleasant note - I just love taking my walks during a snow storm - provided the wind is not blowing and it wasn't.
Sat here at work and feeling like I want to go home and some proper 'work'....writing that is!Still, got to pay the bills until the royalties come flooding in!!!
Peter wrote: "Sat here at work and feeling like I want to go home and some proper 'work'....writing that is!Still, got to pay the bills until the royalties come flooding in!!!"
Don't give up!
Alicja wrote: "Terri wrote: "Where in the US are you, Alicja?We get the humidity here too. We are in a sub tropical area, so super humid. The last few days there have been bad hail storms and the humidity has ..."
I am in North central Florida, near Gainesville. It was the end of Oct. before I turned off the A/C. I love it when NOTHING is on but there have been a few days that got down in the forties and upper 30's which meant heat.
Anne wrote: "Alicja wrote: "Terri wrote: "Where in the US are you, Alicja?We get the humidity here too. We are in a sub tropical area, so super humid. The last few days there have been bad hail storms and th..."
I went camping one year in December at Manatee Springs State Park, which is in that area. It had been a hot December until the weekend we drove up there to camp. Ended up below 32°F (0°C) the three nights we were there. But it was in the 60s during the day. And then of course the day we left it got back up to 50s at night.
So, I am trying to find a book I read a long time ago and I was wondering if anyone has read it and would recognize my description. I didn't know about putting my question in the 'Looking for a book about' folder, as it's all rather vague. I read it more than 10 years ago.(view spoiler)
Amanda wrote: "So, I am trying to find a book I read a long time ago and I was wondering if anyone has read it and would recognize my description..."I sure do know that one. It's Island of Ghosts.
Well-remembered, by the way, all that detail. I read it recently.
Strange-but I checked and that book is on my TBR list, Amanda. so I checked our library and it is there so I ordered it. I love horses.
Bryn wrote: "I sure do know that one. It's Island of Ghosts.Well-remembered, by the way, all that detail. I read it recently. "
Thank you so much! I wanted to reread it soon because I remembered it so well. Everything but the title. I think that was the first true historical fiction I've read.
Anne wrote: "Strange-but I checked and that book is on my TBR list, Amanda. so I checked our library and it is there so I ordered it. I love horses."I hope I didn't spoil the book for you! I tried to give enough info that someone would recognize it, but I didn't think about the fact that people who haven't read the book may run across some spoilers.
There are a lot of great horse scenes.
Bryn wrote: "Amanda wrote: "So, I am trying to find a book I read a long time ago and I was wondering if anyone has read it and would recognize my description..."I sure do know that one. It's [book:Island of ..."
Snap! I was about to say iit was Island of Ghosts. :D
It's a testament to the story that everyone agrees what books is being described, in this age if similarities :)
@Darcy -- this age of similarities, too true, but that book was a bit different. Smile. I hope Amanda enjoys it just as much. I found it in this group.
That`s what I mean, that it must be different because there is no debate about which book it is. I find it refreshing. :)
Books with great horse presence: Range of Ghosts (historical fantasy), Sand Daughter (indeterminate -- I'm still reading it). RoG with the most individual horses I've met in fiction.
Books mentioned in this topic
The Berry Pickers (other topics)Fortune's Child (other topics)
Hild (other topics)
Sharpe's Command (other topics)
Edenglassie (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Amanda Peters (other topics)Nicola Griffith (other topics)
Bernard Cornwell (other topics)
Bernard Cornwell (other topics)
Allan Hands (other topics)
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I downloaded the new Windows 8.1 yesterday (I was running Windows 8). It lost all the wireless drivers and I had to get Acer to give us the new drivers to make the wireless work.
..."
I just hate Windows 8. It has crashed my computer a few times (and the update didn't help) plus it won't run some of my older games (grrr). They keep revamping things that users generally like and the more complex they make it, the easier it is for it to be buggy. Especially if they completely rework something, like Windows has been doing the last few years, instead of just focusing on improvement.