10-02-20

eBay Sales: vintage doll

Craft Projects completed: Shortened the sleeves on my Halloween shirt. I’m going to use the leftover fabric to make gauntlets.

#MilWody Update: 58,627 ( 2818 words/day to complete on time.)

I was listening to a podcast about St. Anthony’s Fire. It’s a horrifying disease that I only knew about partly. It was a medieval disease which [Trigger Warning for Intense Disease Discussion. If you are at all squeamish I’d skip this paragraph and the next.] in which the limbs felt as though they were on fire, then turned red, blistered, then turned black and fell off accompanied by stench and hallucinations. So lovely.

My brain was instantly believing that this was leprosy (limbs dropping off) or a form of the plague (Red and black pustules which bleed and decay along with fevers)  before the actual reality of it being ergot poisoning came up.

[Safe paragraph. Trigger Warning for discussion of LSD] Ergot, if you haven’t heard, and many haven’t, is a mold which grows on rye. It has been blamed for the Salem witch trials. (Mostly debunked. See Unobscured Podcast Season 1 for more information on the Salem Witch Trials.) And for an outbreak of violence in France/Prussia. I can’t talk to whether those are true stories even, and I’m not really going to address that here. I’m going to give a very brief discussion of Dr. Hoffman.

Dr. Albert Hoffman was working with lysergic acid in 1943. Now, the story I was told in college was that he got a little onto his hand and either rubbed his eye or touched his face. However it happened, he ended up having a 24 hour trip during which he actually managed to bicycle home. After recovering from his very intense and interesting adventure of tipping balls, he returned to the lab to eventually create LSD.  He also worked with other psychedelics like psilocybin and was the one to isolate the compound.

Thing is, this man was an incredible an incredible chemist with more than 100 articles and several books. I am looking forward to trying to read his work in actual German. It will be a challenge, but he has an entire book dedicated to LSD which I want to read. I can only hope to be as prolific or live to his advanced age. He was 102 when he died. Possibly because he was smart enough to commute with a bicycle for part of his career. Something I will probably never manage to do.

Well, that was a tiny overview and a happy memory of my History of Psychology professor. He was a proponent of empathogens and psychedelics use in counseling activities. Especially drug rehab and end-of-life work. I’ll talk about that more on another day, when I can see where the research is currently. In other words, maybe in a few years when I feel up to facing the actual reality of reading psych journals again.

Anway, Love, leaves, and laughter! G’night!

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10-01-2020

eBay Sales: String lights

Craft Projects Completed: 0 (no progress on the scarf either)

#MilWordy Update: 58,300 words (2811 words/day to complete on time)

WordPress has changed its interface for writing posts. Currently, I hate it. I hate that I no longer have the actual control over my html. I can’t find any way to actually edit in html. I can only use the on-screen editor. Taking away my control over how my words are presented without my consent really tweaks me off. I am not happy.

I’m trying. I haven’t given up on it. I’m still working through the formatting options. And the blocks which I can add. So far, not working for me. I dislike the amount of white on the page. I dislike that all of my tag options and my scheduling options are hidden. There’s not even been a tutorial on this pushed into my face. I chose to continue using the old format for posting until the bitter end because I did not appreciate the “upgrade” which again removed functionality.

At the very least — give me a “night option” so that I’m not squinting at this horrible white screen. Also, where has my word count gone? You know — the one which was always in the corner? I wanted that information easily findable. And where is my option to go back to the basic editor? Please?

I suppose that’s enough whining about this topic. But it’s totally thrown off my groove and it’s making me uncomfortable.

And in summary, I’m feeling contrary and this new interface is kludgy and uninspiring, so I’m not writing anymore on this site today.

Pumpkins, leaves, and laughter, darlings. It’s what will get us through this.

Wait! I finally found the classic editor! If only it were, you know EASY TO FIND AND USE. I shouldn’t have to add it as a block in order to  use the easier interface. Seriously. WordPress, I am going to have to explore my options.

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9-30-20

eBay Sales: lunchbox purse

Craft Projects Completed: 0

Dead Bulb Watch: Fixed today! Someone else put in the ticket though, so I’m considering it a win.

#MilWordy Update: 54,194 words (2,813 words/day to complete)

Spending the evening writing.

Work was, as big a pain as usual.

And, honestly, today was pretty much a filler section of a book and not worth discussing. On the other hand, I’m still here, still blogging, and still writing every day. I count that as good.

What did you get up to today?

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Books Read September 2020

Fiction

  • Too Many Curses – A. Lee Martinez

Non-Fiction

  • Radical Kindness – Angela C Santomero

Short Stories

  • What the #@&% Is That? – ed. John Joseph Adams & Douglas Cohen

Graphic Novels

  • The Embalmer Volume 4: Mitsukazu Mihara

Comics

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Books to Read September 2020

Suicide & Spirits – Troy Taylor

Camera Obscura – Lavie Tidhar

Ignore Everybody – Hugh MacLeod

Jar City – Arnaldu Indridason

The Knife of Never Letting Go – Patrick Ness

Creating a World without Poverty – Muhammad Yunus

City of Saints and Madmen – Jeff Vandermeer

A Spy in the House (The Agency, #1) –  Y.S. Lee

The Devil You Know – Mike Carey

The Circus in Winter – Cathy Day

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9-29-20

eBay sales: figurine, cross-stitch pattern

Bonanza sales: Camcorder tape

Craft Projects Completed: 0 (Yes, progress on the scarf)

Dead Bulb Watch: 22 Business Days (Although, someone actually mentioned putting in a ticket for it. But she’s like me and is refusing to do it herself this time.)

#MilWordy Update: 53,931 (2,807 words/day to complete on time)

Turned in my November short story for the GFP Patreon. Doing the last line-edits on my October short story. (Just a little out of order, but there’s reasons for setting it up this way. The November one has to do with Veterans and the October one is a horror story.) I’ll hopefully get the October turn-in done tomorrow. Or tonight, if I end up feeling ambitious.

eBay is slowing down, but I’m pretty sure that’s my fault. I haven’t been listing every day, which means that there’s very little new product for people to find. However, Bonanza sales are going up. (Not that that’s hard. I’ve only had a handful of Bonanza sales over the long-term.) Do any of you shop on Bonanza?

My eBay focus is on new products, Halloween products, or Christmas products. Hopefully, quick listing will lead to quick selling. There’a a whole host of items which take a lot more time to describe and list. (Patterns, magazines, dolls) Things with barcodes are easy to list. Vintage things, not so much.

I’ve been diving into some writing lectures lately and I don’t know if it’s helping, but at least it’s not hurting. I’ve got a notice set up for a virtual write-in for Wednesday and you should consider joining us. Porscha Simmons:

Should be fun.

I’m meeting a friend for dinner on Thursday. It’s been a long time since we really could do that, given the situation in Virginia. But I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to try to do a Discord-Write in with a friend on Thursday or Friday night. Basically, I’m trying to remember what it’s like to have a life again.

I’m in post-Basho blech when it comes to TV because the next Sumo tournament that they broadcast is in November. And November seems so far away. I think I’ll sign off and try to be productive tonight.

Pumpkins, Leaves, and Laughter, my Lovelies!

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9-28-2020

eBay Sales: magazine back issue

Craft Projects Completed: 0 (scarf progress continues)

Dead Bulb Watch: 21 Business Days — I am beginning to twitch. Can no one else see that the light is out? Is the light not out and my eyes are failing me? Am I going insane? Or are people really that incapable of just putting in a freaking ticket. Honestly, my money is on the fact that people are freaking lazy and incapable of putting in a ticket because I still regularly need to talk people through how to do such a thing. “How do we get a coffee maker?” REQUEST ONE. Put in a ticket. *deep breath* *deep breath* Let it go. (Song cue!)

#MilWordy Update: 53,664 — Finished another short story and sent it off for beta reading. At least some projects are getting finished, even if they aren’t *long* projects.

Okay, if MS Word doesn’t stop trying to open One Drive which I DO NOT USE, I will not be responsible for my cursing. So done with your shit MS Word. I have to batter you into a corner every time you update because you’re trying to override my systems. If I want your crappy grammar help, I’ll ask for it. If I want you to autocorrect to fancy quotes, I’ll tell you to do that. But I DON’T because this document is destined for the WEB and your FANCY QUOTES don’t TRANSLATE PROPERLY.

Walk away. Just walk away from the computer. That is all I can do tonight. Just walk away and let it stew in how wrong it is.

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Sunday Night Music: Way Down We Go

This band is from Iceland. I heard them on a track at work and really enjoyed it.

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September 27, 2020 · 9:41 pm

9-27-2020

eBay Sales: Lemax figure, vintage plush, blown glass pumpkin, pair of rag dolls

Craft Projects Completed: 0

To Do Lists completed: updated a website

Dead Bulb Watch: 20 Days (Paused until Monday)

#MilWordy Update: 50,318 words (need to do 2,801/day to complete on time)

Today was the final day of the Sumo Basho (Tournament). They’re 15 day long and we — as a family — watch the basho with dinner. The highlights are played on NHK TV. It’s fun and compressed into half an hour. And I really want to watch a series of mystery novels featuring a former sumo wrestler. I’ve got a list of titles, and the beginnings of a character sketch, but I feel the need to do a lot more of a deep dive into the actual sport before I go too far with it. So far my research has been stymied by not reading Japanese well. And I don’t know if relying on Google Translate is going to be my friend in this case. Still, it keeps popping up in the back of my head. And if I manage to get going on my writing and keep going at the rate of 3K per day, well, I’ll need those ideas sooner rather than later.

My next goal is to finish off a Christmas / Yule themed short story for Patreon, and then keep working on the Promises Universe novels. Maybe if I compress the time I’m working on them, I’ll get them completed more quickly.

I have some editing to do for the press, and I need to get the royalty payments out to our authors this week, so I should sign off from here and get some more administrative things done.

Hmmm… I need a new tag-line for fall. Love, Luck, and Lollipops is too summery. Let’s try Pumpkins, Leaves, and Laughter, my boos!

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9-26-2020

eBay Sales: None

Craft Projects Completed : 0 (some progress on the scarf though)

Dead Bulb Count: 20 Days (paused for weekend)

#MilWordy Update: 48,535 Words (need to do 2798/day to complete on time)

I’m getting prepared to go on a trip and my biggest decision right now is whether I should bring my external keyboard with me. I know that I want to be able to write quickly and I’m not sure if I’ll go back to writing on my laptop. LOL. I’ll be honest, I’ve written for more than a decade on my laptop, so there’s no real excuse. And there’s no real need either. Yeah, I think I’ve decided no. I don’t want to take too much with me. Need room to bring things home. *looks around innocently* There might be some shopping in my future. I’ve been setting aside cash in order to be able to do that.

I am trying my best to only buy one thing at JoAnn Fabrics tomorrow. I don’t know if the mirror I want is even going to be there, but it’s also supposed to be on sale, so I’m going to give it a shot. They have a really cool Art Deco Halloween line — I do think I’ve mentioned this before. I do like Art Deco and Art Nouveau. And I am an overstuffed Christmas and Halloween type. I think I’ve been doing respectably at letting go of Halloween items though. I’ve listed and sold several large pieces of Halloween stuff. And I’ll be honest, the Art Deco Halloween items are *not* going to be packed away. They’re going to be part of my main decor, so there’s a lot less guilt in that.

Ug, just realized that I need to clean out underneath the desk in my office. there’s a stack of books hiding down there under my “shred me” box. I’m trying to capture all of the books that I have hanging around and put them into the proper piles. I mean, it’s not like I have too many books to fit onto my bookshelves. No, of course not. There’s no reason that I’ve got stacks and stacks of books on my floor that I’ve not read yet. And there’s absolutely no reason that I shouldn’t keep getting ebooks and audiobooks too. I’ve got plenty of time to read these days. Right? You know, now that I’m back full-time as of October 1. *sighs* I don’t even get the last two days off that I might have gotten next week. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted. And I’ve been more at work than I’ve been home during this adventure.

My friends and I are actually going to try to gather — properly masked and more than six feet apart — in a parking lot. That’s going to be a lot different than the online meetings we’ve been having.

People at work have been trying to tell me that things will get back to normal at work soon. That’s sort of a “live in interesting times” curse, I think. I still won’t have a co-worker who can cover for me when I’m out for a week. I feel sort of badly that I’ve only half-trained the person who will be picking up the slack for me. I’m going to have to make sure she has the latest drawings. Oh, hell. I need to start that now because I’ve been nose deep in it for months now and she’ll only have a week or two to be ready to support it all. That’s a whole ‘nother layer of stuff to prep for my trip that I hadn’t thought about. Meeting minutes are easy enough. And the usual stuff we’ve done should be okay. But there’s a bunch of things we’ve been doing specifically because of current events that I don’t think I’ve been looping her in on. Well, that’s going to be a pain in her inbox when I get in on Monday.

Here’s hoping my inbox stays under control next week and I don’t end up back over 1000 before I leave for a week. I expect it will be awful when I come back to work, but that’s always the case. It’s still not enough to keep me from going. Proper social distancing, masks, disinfectants, etc. will be going with me on the trip, but that’s the new normal right? I have to wonder what people will actually write in the history books about this year. There’s been so much going on.

And now, the President is not agreeing to a peaceful transition of power, is trying to force a vote on a Supreme Court justice — when out of respect for the election last time (Scalia in 2016) that was held until the new president was in power — and there’s still no large-scale reform of police procedures or actual justice for imprisoned children. And I’ve been hearing rumors (can’t say if they’re true) that people are once again advocating for eugenics in the prison system and trying to enshrine such practices in law. And sadly the Supreme Court hasn’t struck down such laws as unconstitutional and the precedent was set in 1979 that states were allowed to do such things. The supreme disregard for human bodily autonomy just sets my teeth on edge and makes it impossible for me to actually write anything dystopian because I’m not sure it won’t be used as a blue-print by the Powers That Be to drive us further into the ground. Oh, the headache is just tremendous. Okay, for my own blood pressure, I’m stepping away from the politics. For now. But the list of actually nicely researched topics I want to study is getting longer. And I’m trying to figure out how to make that pay beyond putting things on this site and popping up a tip jar. (Which I realize I ought to do just in general for my own peace of mind. If I crib together a way to keep health care and make writing my primary method of making money, without having to work for Starbucks, I will do so. It’s the planning part of that which makes me twinge.)

This is a long enough block of text today. I will talk to you tomorrow. Also — hello future historians! It’s been really interesting around these parts. Hope you have fun sorting through the mass amounts of data. Well, actually, I hope that somehow the Internet Archive expands and survives and that you can still access all of these digital words. Or that someone thinks to make them into something which cannot be easily destroyed by hitting the delete key on a service, ala Geocities.

Love, luck, and lollipops, lovelies!

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