yesterday we got our gas boiler serviced. today my shower was scalding hot. like absolutely roasting. so, i guess it was worthwhile getting it done.
also in the shower this morning, i was listening to phantom and i realised that it is a pretty high quality station. dublin recently got a new rock station and it is appalling. the djs are terrible. they seem totally immature. i listened to it a bit, but the poor production quality has made me realise how good phantom really is. yes, sometimes the music gets a bit too indie / pop-rock, but at least the djs act like respectable people. or they act like they respect their audience.
15 September 2010
14 September 2010
happy birthday davidnarby
davidnarby's birthday was last weekend. i made icecream cake - it was fantastic. i think everyone had a good day. dinner was lovely, dessert more so. there were balloons, and a ribbon around the computer.
here is a photo of the cake (mostly eaten):
i also made french toast for the first time on saturday. it was yummy, and simple. whisk an egg with sugar (or salt). coat the bread. fry. what could be more simple? i made it for penelope_stone on sunday, and again today for breakfast today (we ran out of cereal).
this afternoon i got around to making my own granola in the slow cooker. i think it may be burning slightly. not sure. i'll see when it's all done (in a few minutes).
i have a small tip, if anyone's interested. if an egg floats on the surface of water it is gone off. if it does not, you can still eat it. this morning, my eggs' best before date was 26 august. i floated them, they sank, i used them and they were fine.
in other news: i'm drafting my query letter at the moment. it is very hard. i kind of have what i want to say, but saying in a way that is concise and engaging is hard. draft 3 is off being read by people, so i'm kind of at a loose end at the moment. i find myself spending time on absolute write reading other people's queries. yea - it's hard trying to spend all day on one query letter.
ps - i am wearing a vest for the first time this autumn today.
here is a photo of the cake (mostly eaten):
i also made french toast for the first time on saturday. it was yummy, and simple. whisk an egg with sugar (or salt). coat the bread. fry. what could be more simple? i made it for penelope_stone on sunday, and again today for breakfast today (we ran out of cereal).
this afternoon i got around to making my own granola in the slow cooker. i think it may be burning slightly. not sure. i'll see when it's all done (in a few minutes).
i have a small tip, if anyone's interested. if an egg floats on the surface of water it is gone off. if it does not, you can still eat it. this morning, my eggs' best before date was 26 august. i floated them, they sank, i used them and they were fine.
in other news: i'm drafting my query letter at the moment. it is very hard. i kind of have what i want to say, but saying in a way that is concise and engaging is hard. draft 3 is off being read by people, so i'm kind of at a loose end at the moment. i find myself spending time on absolute write reading other people's queries. yea - it's hard trying to spend all day on one query letter.
ps - i am wearing a vest for the first time this autumn today.
08 September 2010
Printing
Oh my god, what is it with me and page numbers? Why can I never remember to put them in before I print? Draft 3 had just started printing and after the 4th sheet came out, i was like, "Gah - page numbers." I even have a table of contents and everything, with page numbers, but what use is it, if none of the pages are numbered.
I'm waiting for it to print while writing this and I just got the smell of hot paper and hot toner. Yum. There's probably something bad for you with this smell, but I love it. I love all smells associated with paper. Except some glossy paper, actually. Like glossy magazines - they smell awful.
I don't really have much else to say. I forgot to say that we were at Mark's wedding on Satuday. It was good. The little ceremony was amazing.
But what was kind of cool was that we were staying in a room over a pub. It was so fantasy-ish. Staying in the tavern. Renting rooms. Too good to sleep on the common room floor.
Then, the next morning we went for breakfast and the restaurant was in a big hall with unicorn and dragon sculptures on the walls. It was totally surreal.
I'm waiting for it to print while writing this and I just got the smell of hot paper and hot toner. Yum. There's probably something bad for you with this smell, but I love it. I love all smells associated with paper. Except some glossy paper, actually. Like glossy magazines - they smell awful.
I don't really have much else to say. I forgot to say that we were at Mark's wedding on Satuday. It was good. The little ceremony was amazing.
But what was kind of cool was that we were staying in a room over a pub. It was so fantasy-ish. Staying in the tavern. Renting rooms. Too good to sleep on the common room floor.
Then, the next morning we went for breakfast and the restaurant was in a big hall with unicorn and dragon sculptures on the walls. It was totally surreal.
07 September 2010
a5 paper
i have come to the conclusion that kitchen sinks were not designed with women in mind. this doesn't surprise me, because they were probably designed by a man. every time i wash the dishes my back starts hurting me and i have come to the conclusion it's because i'm forced to hold my arms (and therefore shoulders and back) at an angle that isn't suited to my height.
yea, that's all i wanted to say. i'm hanging out here letting my back chill out a bit before i go cutting paper.
i've spent the last few days looking for a5 printing paper. my book binder is a5 sized and i wanted the paper to align perfectly. but it turns out that no one stocks a5 printing paper and so i was forced to cut a4 in half. the reason i didn't want to do this is because i can never get a sharp enough knife (that stays sharp - paper has this magic ability to blunt knives, it's really annoying) and after i've cut 20 sheets or so, the edge starts getting ragged. this gets worse the more sheets i cut through. i have a knife sharpener beside me this time, but it's still hard to hold a straight line as you cut down through 200 sheets or whatever.
i guess the good thing about doing things this way is you get double the paper from one ream.
right so. back i go to cutting paper.
yea, that's all i wanted to say. i'm hanging out here letting my back chill out a bit before i go cutting paper.
i've spent the last few days looking for a5 printing paper. my book binder is a5 sized and i wanted the paper to align perfectly. but it turns out that no one stocks a5 printing paper and so i was forced to cut a4 in half. the reason i didn't want to do this is because i can never get a sharp enough knife (that stays sharp - paper has this magic ability to blunt knives, it's really annoying) and after i've cut 20 sheets or so, the edge starts getting ragged. this gets worse the more sheets i cut through. i have a knife sharpener beside me this time, but it's still hard to hold a straight line as you cut down through 200 sheets or whatever.
i guess the good thing about doing things this way is you get double the paper from one ream.
right so. back i go to cutting paper.
03 September 2010
Catching Flies
You know the way, in children's cartoons, they make a fly catcher out of a bit of stick and a cobweb? Right - keep that thought in mind.
I have a problem with little black flies on my plants. I think they may be gnat-flies, but their larvae are little round white things, not little wormy-looking things. So I’m not sure. Anyway, the flies have been annoying me over the last few days, especially. I think a bunch of them just hatched, because there are more than before. So today, I decided to do something about it.
I cut the top off a plastic cup to form a hoop, stuck a stick onto the end of it, brought it outside and swiped it through a cobweb (carefully). Voila, a perfect fly catcher. (You may now release that thought you've been holding, if you haven't done so already.)
The only problem is, it's not a perfect fly catcher. It catches flies, but they get away. They don't stick to the web. I don't know how spiders stay alive at all. Clearly, their webs are inefficient at trapping flies.
Anyway - I have a photo.
In other news: there are now two tomatoes, with possibly more on the way.
And: I have a strawberry plant. Putting it in the fridge for a month totally worked. It’s about 3mm tall at the moment :)
I have a problem with little black flies on my plants. I think they may be gnat-flies, but their larvae are little round white things, not little wormy-looking things. So I’m not sure. Anyway, the flies have been annoying me over the last few days, especially. I think a bunch of them just hatched, because there are more than before. So today, I decided to do something about it.
I cut the top off a plastic cup to form a hoop, stuck a stick onto the end of it, brought it outside and swiped it through a cobweb (carefully). Voila, a perfect fly catcher. (You may now release that thought you've been holding, if you haven't done so already.)
The only problem is, it's not a perfect fly catcher. It catches flies, but they get away. They don't stick to the web. I don't know how spiders stay alive at all. Clearly, their webs are inefficient at trapping flies.
Anyway - I have a photo.
In other news: there are now two tomatoes, with possibly more on the way.
And: I have a strawberry plant. Putting it in the fridge for a month totally worked. It’s about 3mm tall at the moment :)
02 September 2010
Addendum
I totally forgot to say: I made quinoa for dinner last night. I did it in the rice cooker with chorizo, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. I used chicken stock, Cajun spice and rice vinegar to flavour it. It was yummy. And to prove how good it was: I have a photo.
I also have a photo of the book binder in action.
Doesn't it look way better than the photo I posted a few days ago of the original? (The answer to that question is: yes.)
I also have a photo of the book binder in action.
Doesn't it look way better than the photo I posted a few days ago of the original? (The answer to that question is: yes.)
Book Binding
It seems drafts are not good only for books.
My book binder draft 1 didn't work out. The clamp bar was too small and the drill killed it. Book binder draft 2 is amazing, however. It’s 20 billion % better, in fact. It’s a nicer colour, it works, it looks cool. Woo! I spent the morning working on it. I kept two pieces from the original and sawed out new pieces from an old bit of shelf we had lying around.
Yea. Book binder cost €3.50 (the price of the carriage bolts and wing nuts - all the wood came from scrap). The glue was €4.50, and whatever paper costs, and printing costs, but it's definitely less than getting novel drafts professionally printed and bound. I haven't glued anything yet. I’m a bit scared about how that will turn out.
I’m not sure if I’m allowed tell the great wide public, but it looks as if me and lordkilljoy will be moving. More on that in the next few weeks. People who know what I’m talking about can't say anything in their comments (except lordkilljoy. If he says it's ok to mention it, then other people can talk about it).
Oh - I totally forgot to say: I finished draft 3. Well, I need to go back removing all the 'arounds' and 'backs' and sentences starting with 'and', but that doesn't count.
Yea. I think that's it.
My book binder draft 1 didn't work out. The clamp bar was too small and the drill killed it. Book binder draft 2 is amazing, however. It’s 20 billion % better, in fact. It’s a nicer colour, it works, it looks cool. Woo! I spent the morning working on it. I kept two pieces from the original and sawed out new pieces from an old bit of shelf we had lying around.
Yea. Book binder cost €3.50 (the price of the carriage bolts and wing nuts - all the wood came from scrap). The glue was €4.50, and whatever paper costs, and printing costs, but it's definitely less than getting novel drafts professionally printed and bound. I haven't glued anything yet. I’m a bit scared about how that will turn out.
I’m not sure if I’m allowed tell the great wide public, but it looks as if me and lordkilljoy will be moving. More on that in the next few weeks. People who know what I’m talking about can't say anything in their comments (except lordkilljoy. If he says it's ok to mention it, then other people can talk about it).
Oh - I totally forgot to say: I finished draft 3. Well, I need to go back removing all the 'arounds' and 'backs' and sentences starting with 'and', but that doesn't count.
Yea. I think that's it.
30 August 2010
DIY day
it's my birthday and i've gotten hardly any writing done. first thing this morning, i walked to the shop to cash the lotto tickets mammy and daddy had gotten me (i got €40). then i sat down for a bit of writing. then i looked up diy book binding. i found a very cool article:
http://www.persistenceunlimited.com/2006/03/fun-and-easy-how-to-guide-to-binding-your-own-paperback-books-at-homefast/
and then i spent the rest of the day making the 'jig.' That involved a trip to barrett's to buy gorilla glue. i was very surprised they had it. and now i'm thinking of going back to get wingnuts and carriage bolts. and possibly a bit of wood for the clamping bar. i couldn't be bothered sawing out two lengths. sawing with a pen-knife-tool thing is really hard.
yea... it's possibly a bit premature, considering i've not finished draft 3.1 yet, but i hope to have copies to the people of taleweavers on the weekend. it's no big deal if i don't get it done by this weekend, though. i'll be around the next weekend as well.
and because this is a day of procrastination: here are some photos i've taken of stuff over the last few weeks.
i made banana bread in the slow cooker (aka crockpot). it turned out yummy.
the book binding devise. half finished. i couldn't wait to paint it - perhaps i should have waited. anyway.
my tomato is taller than me.
the pepper a few weeks ago.
this is not zoomed in - this is them grown.
tomato flower.
http://www.persistenceunlimited.com/2006/03/fun-and-easy-how-to-guide-to-binding-your-own-paperback-books-at-homefast/
and then i spent the rest of the day making the 'jig.' That involved a trip to barrett's to buy gorilla glue. i was very surprised they had it. and now i'm thinking of going back to get wingnuts and carriage bolts. and possibly a bit of wood for the clamping bar. i couldn't be bothered sawing out two lengths. sawing with a pen-knife-tool thing is really hard.
yea... it's possibly a bit premature, considering i've not finished draft 3.1 yet, but i hope to have copies to the people of taleweavers on the weekend. it's no big deal if i don't get it done by this weekend, though. i'll be around the next weekend as well.
and because this is a day of procrastination: here are some photos i've taken of stuff over the last few weeks.
i made banana bread in the slow cooker (aka crockpot). it turned out yummy.
the book binding devise. half finished. i couldn't wait to paint it - perhaps i should have waited. anyway.
my tomato is taller than me.
the pepper a few weeks ago.
this is not zoomed in - this is them grown.
tomato flower.
27 August 2010
River Cottage
I watched the first two episodes of river cottage on 4 on demand last night. It made me want to run off to the country and buy a small farm. if i had a garden, i'd dig it up and plant beds with fruit and vegetables. i even have a little book on self-sufficiency, which tells you how to do all this stuff.
but for now, i have to be happy with my windowsill vegetable patch.
i think i just have to get rich and live 6 months in the commuter belt and 6 months on my mad farm. hmm. that wouldn't work. i'd have to hire someone to take care of the farm for the other 6 months.
:) anyway.
but for now, i have to be happy with my windowsill vegetable patch.
i think i just have to get rich and live 6 months in the commuter belt and 6 months on my mad farm. hmm. that wouldn't work. i'd have to hire someone to take care of the farm for the other 6 months.
:) anyway.
26 August 2010
i'm super excited for some reason
i just used the sewing machine to sew the button back on to my watch strap. before you get confused about a button on a watch strap - i made it myself out of shoelace and a snap button. i'm very proud of it :) the only problem is that the constant pulling open and closed wears out the thread quickly and i have to sew it back on again. but that will no longer be a problem, because it takes about two minutes for the machine to sew it back on :)
woo! i'm really happy now.
in planty news, the two peppers are about half the size of a full-grown, store-bought pepper. the tomato has reached the top of the window. it has loads of flowers which i'm hoping will turn into tomatoes. the goji is massive. it's almost as tall as the tomato. i had to tie its branches up because they were falling over.
my novel is going well. i'm on chapter 28 of draft 3.1 (which is the proofread of draft 3). chapters 25 to 28 are a little slow and i don't know how to spruce them up. but then penelope_stone tells me i need some down bits in the book. i guess it's tense, which i want i wanted. i want edge-of-your-seat for the whole book. woo! fantasy thriller! no. not really. it's not a fantasy thriller. i like to call it a fantasy adventure. lots of stuff happens.
i think that's all my news. :)
woo! i'm really happy now.
in planty news, the two peppers are about half the size of a full-grown, store-bought pepper. the tomato has reached the top of the window. it has loads of flowers which i'm hoping will turn into tomatoes. the goji is massive. it's almost as tall as the tomato. i had to tie its branches up because they were falling over.
my novel is going well. i'm on chapter 28 of draft 3.1 (which is the proofread of draft 3). chapters 25 to 28 are a little slow and i don't know how to spruce them up. but then penelope_stone tells me i need some down bits in the book. i guess it's tense, which i want i wanted. i want edge-of-your-seat for the whole book. woo! fantasy thriller! no. not really. it's not a fantasy thriller. i like to call it a fantasy adventure. lots of stuff happens.
i think that's all my news. :)
22 August 2010
D&D
Barry's game was on yesterday. It was a lot of fun (I can't type a lot any more without thinking of the alot: cute monster who has many variations). We played with a group of lads in America over Skype - the group Barry used play with. It worked out surprisingly well. It was a little hard to hear them at times, but the game went smoothly (enough). The issues we had were character issues, not gameplay issues. Don't put a magic hating barbarian in a group with seven caster-types. We had to violently subdue the barbarian. Even going so far as to kill him and raise him again. Hmmm, that could make an interesting form of torture.
We were playing 2nd ed. I absolutely do not know that system at all. I automatically went to roll initiative with a d20 and got laughed at. Oh well.
I don't have much other news. There was a giraffe in my dream last night. I don't think I've ever dreamed of a giraffe before. So odd.
We were playing 2nd ed. I absolutely do not know that system at all. I automatically went to roll initiative with a d20 and got laughed at. Oh well.
I don't have much other news. There was a giraffe in my dream last night. I don't think I've ever dreamed of a giraffe before. So odd.
20 August 2010
posting drought
i really have to start updating my livejournal more. i suppose i don't because most of my days are the same: get up, write, play games, read, sleep. i don't update when i'm writing because i'm writing, and too caught up in it to do much else. i turn my computer off in the evenings, so that's why i don't update then.
excuses, excuses.
i think my main problem is that posts about what i'm doing seem so self-centered, and boring.
like: i went for a cycle on saturday, which was brilliant, even if i am a little unfit (i got over that after about 10 minutes, though - went about 12km).
does anyone really want to read about this stuff?
it's kind of funny, because i update my site every week without fail - i have an alarm set to remind me. maybe it's because those posts are so informative and inspired. i just find writing here so... mundane.
i suppose i just have to wait for something interesting to happen.
excuses, excuses.
i think my main problem is that posts about what i'm doing seem so self-centered, and boring.
like: i went for a cycle on saturday, which was brilliant, even if i am a little unfit (i got over that after about 10 minutes, though - went about 12km).
does anyone really want to read about this stuff?
it's kind of funny, because i update my site every week without fail - i have an alarm set to remind me. maybe it's because those posts are so informative and inspired. i just find writing here so... mundane.
i suppose i just have to wait for something interesting to happen.
09 August 2010
weekend in cork
a post of points, because i don't feel like writing much.
i went down to cork for a school reunion, which i went to. people are 10 years older and have families. weird.
i bought a goji berry tree. woo - healthy berries. my tomato is huge and i think it has just sprouted the first shoots that will be fruit. i also think the pepper is about to produce fruit.
hmmm. it seems i didn't actually have that much to say.
i went down to cork for a school reunion, which i went to. people are 10 years older and have families. weird.
i bought a goji berry tree. woo - healthy berries. my tomato is huge and i think it has just sprouted the first shoots that will be fruit. i also think the pepper is about to produce fruit.
hmmm. it seems i didn't actually have that much to say.
30 July 2010
Pearls of Life
so, news, news, news. quite a lot happened since last night.
ok, ever the last few days i've been really apathetic. i spent most of yesterday morning staring at the wall. i am not kidding. i had my computer off and was just sitting, looking. and thinking a little.
since davidnarby's last post i've been having synchronisity things happen all over the place. first, will wheaton posted about how a computer crash gave him the opportunity to watch a humming bird out his window. it hit a nerve inside me, made me think, "this is right." then steve pavlina posted about living in the moment, seeing everyone in his world as an extension of himself. he wrote two (or three) posts about his new state of mind, and every one of them had to do with listening to what the world is telling him.
so i think, maybe, that's what i was doing yesterday. listening to the world. or more, i was listening to the fact that i wasn't inspired to do anything at all, and i wasn't fighting it. i went with the apathy.
anyway, whatever it was, it was amazing because of what happened today.
i've been having trouble coming up with a good ending for my novel, or maybe not a good ending, any ending at all. i scrapped the ending i had, based on bad feedback and my personal feeling that it wasn't good.
so last night, i had a dream. as i do most nights (actually my dreams for the last few nights have been all over the place, but when i wake i can only remember a few images). but last night i dreamt about zachery and someone called the mentor. i spoke with the mentor and when i woke up this morning, i had the inspiration i needed to write the new ending.
so i got up, all cheerful about my day's writing. and then i went into the room and the first thing i noticed was my pepper plant. it's better. it's leaves aren't wilted any more. it seems my plant first aid worked. i texted penelope_stone at 8:45 to share the good news. then i sat down and started writing.
between 9am and 2pm i wrote 2,500 words. and most of them are good words, i think. i'm almost finished. i just have one scene left to write (maybe two).
today has been a good day.
ps, the cherry tomato is almost as tall as the pepper, but it's not as big, yet.
pps livejournal's new tag select means i put way more tags on my posts. mad.
right - another synchronicty - i was inspired by a dream, and the chosen theme on phantom was dreams.
another cool thing, i randomly found jennifer jackon's blog, right here on Lj. it came up as a recommended on my google reader, but mentioned nothing about ms. jackson. i looked at it based on the coolness of the name alone (et in arcaedia, ego). as i was reading through it, a thought came to me: this could be jennifer jackon's blog. i clicked through to the user info and sure enough, it was. amazing. for anyone interested, she is arcaedia.
right i'm really going now.
ok, ever the last few days i've been really apathetic. i spent most of yesterday morning staring at the wall. i am not kidding. i had my computer off and was just sitting, looking. and thinking a little.
since davidnarby's last post i've been having synchronisity things happen all over the place. first, will wheaton posted about how a computer crash gave him the opportunity to watch a humming bird out his window. it hit a nerve inside me, made me think, "this is right." then steve pavlina posted about living in the moment, seeing everyone in his world as an extension of himself. he wrote two (or three) posts about his new state of mind, and every one of them had to do with listening to what the world is telling him.
so i think, maybe, that's what i was doing yesterday. listening to the world. or more, i was listening to the fact that i wasn't inspired to do anything at all, and i wasn't fighting it. i went with the apathy.
anyway, whatever it was, it was amazing because of what happened today.
i've been having trouble coming up with a good ending for my novel, or maybe not a good ending, any ending at all. i scrapped the ending i had, based on bad feedback and my personal feeling that it wasn't good.
so last night, i had a dream. as i do most nights (actually my dreams for the last few nights have been all over the place, but when i wake i can only remember a few images). but last night i dreamt about zachery and someone called the mentor. i spoke with the mentor and when i woke up this morning, i had the inspiration i needed to write the new ending.
so i got up, all cheerful about my day's writing. and then i went into the room and the first thing i noticed was my pepper plant. it's better. it's leaves aren't wilted any more. it seems my plant first aid worked. i texted penelope_stone at 8:45 to share the good news. then i sat down and started writing.
between 9am and 2pm i wrote 2,500 words. and most of them are good words, i think. i'm almost finished. i just have one scene left to write (maybe two).
today has been a good day.
ps, the cherry tomato is almost as tall as the pepper, but it's not as big, yet.
pps livejournal's new tag select means i put way more tags on my posts. mad.
right - another synchronicty - i was inspired by a dream, and the chosen theme on phantom was dreams.
another cool thing, i randomly found jennifer jackon's blog, right here on Lj. it came up as a recommended on my google reader, but mentioned nothing about ms. jackson. i looked at it based on the coolness of the name alone (et in arcaedia, ego). as i was reading through it, a thought came to me: this could be jennifer jackon's blog. i clicked through to the user info and sure enough, it was. amazing. for anyone interested, she is arcaedia.
right i'm really going now.
28 July 2010
it's time for the news
i just finished a full week of work (not novel work). amazing. today feels like saturday, except that i'm at my computer getting ready to write the third draft of the end of my novel. but first, an update (and then i'm going to go and update my website).
i think my big news is that i broke my pepper plant. :/ it happened during its transplant, i turned it upside down to get it out of the pot and when i righted it, it had snapped in two. i tied it back together with electrical tape... the leaves are all wilted, but the flowers are still blossoming. i have hopes that it will heal, but i don't know.
i successfully transplanted my tomato. its getting really big too. no sign of fruit, yet, though.
i put the strawberry in the fridge, in the hopes that it will start to grow.
i also planted jalapeño seeds in case my pepper does die.
so that's my plant-y news. in other news, i'm off to the zoo on saturday with liam, catherine and the boys. that should be fun. not related to that at all, we got a new phone.
ooh - i went to see inception on sunday. i want to go back and see it again, it was so good. i've been thinking about it since i saw it - scenes keep jumping into my head. i love when films do that.
it seems i have lost the ability to write varied sentences. most of the sentences in this post started with i. hmmm. oh well.
that is all.
(oh, yea - if anyone's interested, i'm playing forgotten sands at the moment. it's good, but i miss elika. forgotten sands feels very lonely.)
i think my big news is that i broke my pepper plant. :/ it happened during its transplant, i turned it upside down to get it out of the pot and when i righted it, it had snapped in two. i tied it back together with electrical tape... the leaves are all wilted, but the flowers are still blossoming. i have hopes that it will heal, but i don't know.
i successfully transplanted my tomato. its getting really big too. no sign of fruit, yet, though.
i put the strawberry in the fridge, in the hopes that it will start to grow.
i also planted jalapeño seeds in case my pepper does die.
so that's my plant-y news. in other news, i'm off to the zoo on saturday with liam, catherine and the boys. that should be fun. not related to that at all, we got a new phone.
ooh - i went to see inception on sunday. i want to go back and see it again, it was so good. i've been thinking about it since i saw it - scenes keep jumping into my head. i love when films do that.
it seems i have lost the ability to write varied sentences. most of the sentences in this post started with i. hmmm. oh well.
that is all.
(oh, yea - if anyone's interested, i'm playing forgotten sands at the moment. it's good, but i miss elika. forgotten sands feels very lonely.)
19 July 2010
my beef with bioware
yet another procrastination post. i'm rewriting the end of my novel, again. what is it with beginnings and endings with me? the whole middle is fine, but i'm not happy with chapter 1 or chapters 33 to 36. hhuuuuuum.
to plants:
the pepper grows about a centimetre a day. it's gotten huge - it's about 2 feet high now. my tomatoes are also growing madly, one of them is really getting big - it's about 12cm tall with 5 leaves. no sign of the strawberries yet. the sun vanished just after i planted them, so i expect they will be a while. the kale isn't doing so well since i thinned it. i have four plants left. one seems to be wilting. two are ok, but don't seem to be growing. the last one seems to be growing ok, but it's the smallest of the lot.
to games:
i finished jade empire. it was fun enough. i figured out a neat fighting style that meant the bad guys couldn't get a hit on me. i don't know what that games problem is, but it seemed horribly unbalanced. the regular enemies could be taken down in about 5 seconds; if they hit you it wasn't a problem - their couldn't do much damage. they were pretty easy to beat. the bosses, on the other hand, were impossible. two hits from a boss and my character was dead. and it took about 5 minutes to beat a boss (that's 60times longer than a regular guy - that seems a bit extreme to me). anyway, i did finish the game, but i won't be rushing back to play it any time soon.
i played through dr ned and got half way through general knoxx in borderlands before i started playing mass effect. it's a fun enough game. for some reason, it seems to lack something. like, i'm kind of just playing it to see what it will present me with. i don't really feel much for any of the characters (my girl is pretty looking - that's about it) and i don't care much for the story so far. in fact, i don't really know what the story is yet. and i'm about 6 hours in... maybe. so i'll stick with it to see where it goes. jade empire was kind of similar - really slow to start and then it got going towards the end. but they spent too long on set-up and by the time the story got going i hadn't fallen in love with the characters. and then it was too late - i was too worried about staying alive.
in fact, i had another gripe with jade empire. it was supposed to be an rpg, but only the first two chapters had quests and stuff. after that, it was all fighting. there weren't even any puzzles or stuff, it was just, 'go here and kill this guy, then kill that mob of assassins, then kill this boss, then kill this mob of ghosts, then kill...' yea - you get the point. yea - schizophrenic game.
so, i kind of hope the bioware guys learned thier lesson from jade empire, and mass effect is better, but so far i'm not seeing it.
penelope_stone is up for the week (or two). it's fun having her around. we're thinking of going to sheila's for dinner some night - we really need to tell sheila about this.
right - it's ten past ten, i really need to get down to writing.
to plants:
the pepper grows about a centimetre a day. it's gotten huge - it's about 2 feet high now. my tomatoes are also growing madly, one of them is really getting big - it's about 12cm tall with 5 leaves. no sign of the strawberries yet. the sun vanished just after i planted them, so i expect they will be a while. the kale isn't doing so well since i thinned it. i have four plants left. one seems to be wilting. two are ok, but don't seem to be growing. the last one seems to be growing ok, but it's the smallest of the lot.
to games:
i finished jade empire. it was fun enough. i figured out a neat fighting style that meant the bad guys couldn't get a hit on me. i don't know what that games problem is, but it seemed horribly unbalanced. the regular enemies could be taken down in about 5 seconds; if they hit you it wasn't a problem - their couldn't do much damage. they were pretty easy to beat. the bosses, on the other hand, were impossible. two hits from a boss and my character was dead. and it took about 5 minutes to beat a boss (that's 60times longer than a regular guy - that seems a bit extreme to me). anyway, i did finish the game, but i won't be rushing back to play it any time soon.
i played through dr ned and got half way through general knoxx in borderlands before i started playing mass effect. it's a fun enough game. for some reason, it seems to lack something. like, i'm kind of just playing it to see what it will present me with. i don't really feel much for any of the characters (my girl is pretty looking - that's about it) and i don't care much for the story so far. in fact, i don't really know what the story is yet. and i'm about 6 hours in... maybe. so i'll stick with it to see where it goes. jade empire was kind of similar - really slow to start and then it got going towards the end. but they spent too long on set-up and by the time the story got going i hadn't fallen in love with the characters. and then it was too late - i was too worried about staying alive.
in fact, i had another gripe with jade empire. it was supposed to be an rpg, but only the first two chapters had quests and stuff. after that, it was all fighting. there weren't even any puzzles or stuff, it was just, 'go here and kill this guy, then kill that mob of assassins, then kill this boss, then kill this mob of ghosts, then kill...' yea - you get the point. yea - schizophrenic game.
so, i kind of hope the bioware guys learned thier lesson from jade empire, and mass effect is better, but so far i'm not seeing it.
penelope_stone is up for the week (or two). it's fun having her around. we're thinking of going to sheila's for dinner some night - we really need to tell sheila about this.
right - it's ten past ten, i really need to get down to writing.
07 July 2010
tomatoes
tomatoes is the oddest word ever. the plural has an e while the singular doesn't. that confuses me.
anyway. one of the tomatoes has sprouted. it has two tiny leaves. some others are pushing their way up out of the soil. i planted five pots and only two have shown any signs of life. sure, i'll see how they do over the next few days.
my kale is doing excellently. i have a little kale carpet in the pot. i kind of wish it would stay like that forever. it looks really cute and soft. (like tiny green butterflies on stalks.) now i have to watch one or two plants take over and kill all the rest of them. boo.
the pepper is also growing.
that's all my plant-y news. now back to writing. the scene in the middle of the book - the one that has annoyed me since day one - is almost fixed. yeay. just a small realisation and off we go. i also now know how science works in my book. woo for making up science - it's almost as good as making up magic, except it's way harder, because you have to have some basis in reality. anyway - back to it.
(it's a little disturbing that i'm comfortable wearing a t-shirt at 23 degrees (and not a string top). i am going to freeze when winter comes. my skin doesn't even feel warm. if i was wearing a light hoodie, i'd be just as comfortable.)
edited to add pictures:
anyway. one of the tomatoes has sprouted. it has two tiny leaves. some others are pushing their way up out of the soil. i planted five pots and only two have shown any signs of life. sure, i'll see how they do over the next few days.
my kale is doing excellently. i have a little kale carpet in the pot. i kind of wish it would stay like that forever. it looks really cute and soft. (like tiny green butterflies on stalks.) now i have to watch one or two plants take over and kill all the rest of them. boo.
the pepper is also growing.
that's all my plant-y news. now back to writing. the scene in the middle of the book - the one that has annoyed me since day one - is almost fixed. yeay. just a small realisation and off we go. i also now know how science works in my book. woo for making up science - it's almost as good as making up magic, except it's way harder, because you have to have some basis in reality. anyway - back to it.
(it's a little disturbing that i'm comfortable wearing a t-shirt at 23 degrees (and not a string top). i am going to freeze when winter comes. my skin doesn't even feel warm. if i was wearing a light hoodie, i'd be just as comfortable.)
edited to add pictures:
06 July 2010
fairytales for adults
my birthday present from lordkilljoy arrived today. it's somewhat of a tradition for me to get birthday presents at the start of the summer. it was so that i'd have all summer to play with them, rather than getting birthday presents and then having to go back to school the next day. so i couldn't resist opening it and reading it.
and what was my present? i hear you ask: the adventures of the princess and mr whiffle; the thing beneath the bed by patrick rothfuss.
i read the whole book in about 15 minutes. the art is super-cute, the story is a little disturbing. You can read my review on goodreads: princess and mr whiffle review
that's all i wanted to say, really. my kale is growing. the shoots are about 1mm in diameter now, and about an inch high, with leaves that are about 5mm wide. they are cute, and there are billions of them. i think i'll let them fight it out amongst themselves for who gets to grow and who doesn't. i think i may have killed my cherry tomatoes. one of them has mould growing on it. that can't be good.
right so. bye then.
and what was my present? i hear you ask: the adventures of the princess and mr whiffle; the thing beneath the bed by patrick rothfuss.
i read the whole book in about 15 minutes. the art is super-cute, the story is a little disturbing. You can read my review on goodreads: princess and mr whiffle review
that's all i wanted to say, really. my kale is growing. the shoots are about 1mm in diameter now, and about an inch high, with leaves that are about 5mm wide. they are cute, and there are billions of them. i think i'll let them fight it out amongst themselves for who gets to grow and who doesn't. i think i may have killed my cherry tomatoes. one of them has mould growing on it. that can't be good.
right so. bye then.
02 July 2010
Plants (but no Zombies - they are alive)
Golly geepers, I'm learning stuff about plants. This is amazing. My pepper wilts in the afternoon, and I just learned this is because it can't draw enough water from the soil to keep up with what's evaporating from its leaves. If it recovers by late afternoon, it's fine, but if it doesn't that means it needs watering. My dude is recovering already (the sun's gone in). This is so cool. I never imagined plants were so reactive.
I just wrote the title of this post and it made me wonder what an undead plant would be like. I'll bet you could write a weird sort b-movie about it.
I just wrote the title of this post and it made me wonder what an undead plant would be like. I'll bet you could write a weird sort b-movie about it.
More Plants
I now have a whole little garden happening on my windowsill. The pepper plant is doing well and has been joined by scarlet kale and cherry tomatoes. The other two haven't grown yet, though. I only planted them yesterday. I keep looking at them though - in the hopes I’ll see a shoot. I think it might be another while yet before I see anything. They get direct sunlight from about half 12 to 5ish. I don't know if that's enough to warm the soil and let the seeds know to start growing. Sure, we'll just have to wait and see.
Bad news, though. I found a greenfly on the windowsill today. I just hope I killed it before it got to lay any eggs. I'd hate to have to throw all these plants outside. I cleared away the plant graveyard yesterday - threw them all in the bin.
I'm starting a new scene in my novel today - as in brand new. I got 500 words in before I got distracted with music. Oh well.
I'm playing Jade Empire at the moment and am quite enjoying it. I've wanted to play it for a long time, but never got around to it. And then lordkilljoy started a game of it on the xbox, and I thought it looked really clunky. So that put me off. But it's not clunky. Well - it is a little. The combat system does have it's annoyances, but as long as I toggle between targeting on and targeting off, it does ok.
I finished Borderlands on the PC. It is such a brilliant game. I may go back to it when I'm finished Jade Empire and do playthrough2. Or maybe lordkilljoy will want to play something on the PC by then.
I don't have much other news. I'm settling into my new work well enough. And still getting time to write, which is good.
Right, so. I'll go now.
Bad news, though. I found a greenfly on the windowsill today. I just hope I killed it before it got to lay any eggs. I'd hate to have to throw all these plants outside. I cleared away the plant graveyard yesterday - threw them all in the bin.
I'm starting a new scene in my novel today - as in brand new. I got 500 words in before I got distracted with music. Oh well.
I'm playing Jade Empire at the moment and am quite enjoying it. I've wanted to play it for a long time, but never got around to it. And then lordkilljoy started a game of it on the xbox, and I thought it looked really clunky. So that put me off. But it's not clunky. Well - it is a little. The combat system does have it's annoyances, but as long as I toggle between targeting on and targeting off, it does ok.
I finished Borderlands on the PC. It is such a brilliant game. I may go back to it when I'm finished Jade Empire and do playthrough2. Or maybe lordkilljoy will want to play something on the PC by then.
I don't have much other news. I'm settling into my new work well enough. And still getting time to write, which is good.
Right, so. I'll go now.
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