Please don't tell the Universe...

[dancinghorse]

...but I think (hope) (pray) I have the system up and working. It's still giving me fits with font sizes in Firefox--there's got to be a tickybox I'm not tickyboxing somewhere--and Thunderbird won't download gmail, which has to be another tickybox-y thing, but it booted this morning with all the drivers I've been using. That's a decent start.

DHL is coming tomorrow, allegedly, to pick up the broken hard drive and take the old puter in for its brain and keyboard transplants. In a couple of weeks, Mercury willing, I'll have a working backup with enough memory to handle the work I have to, plus a keyboard that works, which will take a lot of the tension out of these episodes.

Thanks to all who offered aid, comfort, sympathy, and suggestions. Most definitely avast will go on the old puter when it comes back, but the problem hasn't been McAfee--it's been a combination of gmail and Thunderbird, manifesting through McAfee's security warnings. I still don't have that working completely, but I can send mail. That's all that matters for now. Today is all about the horizontal. And, you know, the writing.

Just now, Spot was having hysterics in the yard. I looked out, and keed was teaching Oreo the Ways of Evil, showing him how to balance the mounting stool on the end of his nose. That is some stool; I bought it at K-Mart when keed was a baby, and he's 12 next month. It lives in the arena in all weather, in our Arizona sun, and it has a scratch or two on it and a small piece bitten out of an interior surface, but it has not changed or aged visibly in, oh, ten years. Amazing piece of equipment--one of those blah-colored molded plastic things you buy cheap, but whoever made it sure did make it to last.

It appears that the pipe repair has held--no further leakage since well guy tightened it on Friday. If he doesn't come to fill it in in a day or two, I'll do it myself.

And, I actually have some good book news. The Serpent and the Rose under nom de plume Kathleen Bryan will be out in March, and early reviews have been quite nice. PW liked it quite a bit. Normally cranky Kirkus gave it a star. It seems the audience for it is quite upscale: they're also buying books by G.G. Kay (whom I can't read, his prose is too far off key, but he's hugely popular) and C.S. Friedman (whom I like quite a lot). There will also be a feature in the Borders e-newsletter, which reminds me, I'd better get back to Publicity on that.

So maybe, you know, classic fantasy isn't dead after all?

Comments

[galeni.livejournal.com]

(soft hurrahs so as not to disturb the computer)

Congratulations on the star and reviews!

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Thenkyewkindly.

So far so good. Fixed the gmail problem. Only the Firefox font problem to go.

[raithen.livejournal.com]

see, I quite enjoy Kay's prose (and he seemed decent enough when he spoke to a Fantasy Class - undergrads all - at Waterloo. I was invited to sit in, and it was worthwhile.). But I have been told by others that I may be wrong in that assessment. Ah well. I've been wrong before! I still like it. :P.

and praise be the Gods Re: computers working. Don't suppose mercury has chosen to upchuck, in it's retrogade, any helpful mail from Canadaland?

[kashicat.livejournal.com]

I like Guy's books too, for the most part. But I've always felt he was very slightly more verbose than was necessary. (I remember reading Tigana -- the one book I really didn't like -- and thinking, "I could have written this in about half the words.")

But yes, he's very "decent," and really THINKS. Um...not implying that other fantasy writers don't think, of course. Um...I'll shut up now. :-)

[electricland.livejournal.com]

I froth at the mouth when I let myself think about Tigana, which I read some 15 years ago (shortly after reading Shoot the Women First, a non-fiction work about female terrorists, which may have influenced my perceptions). Quite liked Lions of Al-Rassan and, um, *checks* A Song for Arbonne. Couldn't get into Sailing to Sarantium. Might try the Fionavar Tapestry novels again one of these days. GGK is never going to be one of my must-read authors, though.

[raithen.livejournal.com]

Sailing was Meh to me. Tigana was Very Dark but I didn't hate it. Lions has been reread multiple times, as has Fionovar. Song was the first I read.

I am less "must read" now than I was 8 years ago. But I still enjoy, mostly. Ysabelle sounds to have an intriguing premise (ironically, Kay was interviewed on my drive home show yesterday....). And I think you and I have had this chat before ;).

[electricland.livejournal.com]

It is possible. ;)

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

If I'd got mail from you-ward, you'd be the first to know. It's lost. Really.

Lots of people love GGK's writing and think it's gorgeous. I'm hypersensitive to style, kind of like having perfect pitch in music, and it's just far enough off key to set my teeth on edge.

But hey, if his large audience likes this new series well enough to keep buying it, bring 'em on!

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

I wonder if any photos exist of the balancing act.

And very soft, quiet cheers re the magic box.

Not McAfee, hmmm. It certanly has been the culprit where I work.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

I've had no problems with McAfee. Since it came free with the system, I'm keeping it.

I have a photo somewhere, yes--on 35mm film, so it's a print.

[anisosynchronic.livejournal.com]

McAfee has a poor reputation, someone people claim it's a computer virus, even. Norton anti-virus hasn't got any better reputation. Trend Micro's PC-cillin or whatever it's call has a much better reputation, though I had a few issues with it (but Norton and McAfee are a lot worse.) I have the free edition of AVG on this machine, and sometime think about also downloading avast.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Yahoo!!!!

I wants to read it, I does.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

:)

[smoemeth.livejournal.com]

*quietly cheering*

I was wondering how long it would take before Keed started instructing Oreo in the Ways of Evil. (I'm unclear on just whose nose he was balancing the mounting block on, though ... ;)

[raithen.livejournal.com]

oh, the instructions have, I sense, been happening via osmosis for a while.... When I was there Oreo was driving Miss Tia ROUND THE BEND.... ;)

And *shhhh* we aren't telling, but Keed was Very Sweet to me the day I left. He even gave me a goodbye snuffle ;)

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Tia up and begged to go in with the girls a few days ago--she'd had enough. Oreo is moping, but keed has been winning him over.

[raithen.livejournal.com]

also, you should tell your sis to show you the cute photos I snapped of her and her ponies ;)

[hippoiathanatoi.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear that the computer is behaving a bit better. Its such a nightmare when something you're so dependant on decides to act up. I need to build a new system sometime this year, and just the need to reinstall everything is already making me cringe.

Great news on the upcoming book, too. :) If I was ordering from Amazon, I would have been one of those buyers making the 'customers who bought this also bought' list look like it does as Kay and Friedman are two other favourite authors of mine. Yay for classic fantasy. :)

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Having to reinstall everything twice was a bit over the top. I cleared a whole lot of stuff off the DVR while I waited.

Classic fantasy rules. I hope. ;>

Noms de Plume

[hoolieb.livejournal.com]

Thank dog I check your LiveJournal page semi-regularly, or I would have missed the Kathleen Bryan reference! There should be some sort of edict about favorite authors having to alert their loyal readers to new pen names. ;) Pre-ordered via Amazon, btw.

Loved the author blurb too: "...and fat white horses." LOL!

[maleyna.livejournal.com]

I must admit to being curious about how one goes about selecting a nom de plume. It seems to me that it would be fun getting to pick a name for yourself rather than sticking with the one your folks picked... :-)

[raithen.livejournal.com]

Judy hath written on this topic for her erstwhile Amazon Blog. You can find it here

http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3KZNEYMNQVM3A/ref=cm_blog_dp_pdp/102-5255967-4892930

[hoolieb.livejournal.com]

Ah, makes sense. Thanks for the link!

[maleyna.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link!

[electricland.livejournal.com]

Very much looking forward to The Serpent and the Rose -- and hurray for repairs that work and equipment that lasts!

[lynnesite.livejournal.com]

Good/book/news/hurrah.

I'm so sorry: Windows users are either masochists or enjoy puzzles of a technical nature, liking to get their hands dirty. Sympathy on your woes, but doesn't it get OLD?

[raithen.livejournal.com]

*snort*

you have a point, but at least I have Many Gazillions of Years experience, meself, with MS puzzles. With Mac/Apple products I am Way Lost.

[lynnesite.livejournal.com]

I had gazillions of years too. From 1984-1998, when I finally gave up supporting Windows for good. On the mac side, with a short tutorial (built in) you could just fly...and not worry about the hydraulics, landing gear, avionics, etc. ;-) If you have an iPod, the elegance and simplicity of its operation means you've already had your intro to the mac side.

To hop back into DHF-land, we're starting Hawkeye's weaning this weekend, because Ember is gonna visit DHF for another Pooklet's creation this spring! The happy lessee is an old friend. And #4's owner is happy to wait two more years for hers. 4 Perfect Pooklets is a damn good career for the Divine Miss Em.

[raithen.livejournal.com]

I don't have an ipod. I'm just not that musically inclined (and to be honest, the little I've seen of them have left me kind of ah, ok. Sure. It's not super intuitive for me ;). As for the IBooks etc, I am quite sure they are lovely and work well -- but for now my reality is that most of my clients need me in Microsoft, and so there I say. PLus, as you say, the puzzles are fun ;).

YAY for Em -- that is indeed a Great Career for the lady. Endurance Queen and Mother Extraordinaire. That's cool.

And Hawkeye can torment his sis while being weaned. THis will be good.

I have to confess, I've started looking at pedigrees for this spring.... ;).

[lynnesite.livejournal.com]

Oh, P. It was just an example. 5 minutes of the tiny manual for an iPod and you've mastered everything it can do. There's a reason why it's the favorite technogadget on the planet, because of the ease of use for windoze and mac users alike. But you didn't start using a computer knowing format a:/s either. hehe. MS Office has been cross-platform since 1997, Mac people have to remember on the older ones to name things dot-doc, etc., the newer ones suggest the extensions automatically. Unless you need Access, Macs don't have that. iBooks have been gone for a while. Mac Books, Mac Book Pro, iMac is in its 3rd form factor (just the screen to all appearances, ports on back), etc.

3 horses are more than enough for me, but I dolike having the babies. And having Miss Em off of my horsecare bill is wunderbar. The first part of weaning is using my 4th pen for Em. They can still have turnout together. Then Twix will spend a couple of weeks at the neighbor's with Hawkeye, easing the transition. It's funny he adores her, she him--and Uncle Q has no interest in the twerp other than a little play over the fence.

[raithen.livejournal.com]

:D. Um, ya, so I show my non-mac-knowing stripes ;).

And yes, I have no doubt I could learn. I don't listen to enough of anything to make an ipod worthwhile in the expense dept, though.

I hear you on the "enough horses" front -- but we can get farm status for income tax if we breed to sell, and lease situations are unlikely, sooo. Plus, BABIES!

Did I ever tell you about weaning Miss JJ? We did the increasing length of separation thing, then JJ was in the field, and Mom in the adjoining round pen.

Which we THOUGHT was working fine, though Mom noticed that Juno was drying up "unevenly" -- oh how DUMB we were! ;) Christmas morning, I looked out, and the two girls were lined up just so, and JJ's head was through the round pen pipes having a LONG drink ;).

We spent part of Christmas day putting wire mesh over the pipes ;).

[henglaar.livejournal.com]

I can empathize with the computer problems. I built myself a computer for video editing last year, finally got to use it for video this year, and at first, everything was wonky. The video STROBED when it was recorded, and the machine crashed often. A stack of updates later (note to self: update items one at a time, so you know which one did what), and the strobing problem was gone. Process of elimination eventually found the "update" that was causing the constant crashing: an optimizer from AMD itself for their dual-core processors. So, it's only been the last three weeks or so that our video production has been relatively trouble-free.

(If the face looks vaguely familiar despite the nose, it's because we met through Kit Townsend about a decade ago, although I haven't been out that way in more than five years.)

Good news on the books indeed. I look forward to trying to catch up on the last several years.