Thought Patterns

Here I go again.

This year it will be the Perpetually Researched Science Fiction that has been in various stages of research mode for several years. I am FINALLY getting it onto paper and out of my head and out of research mode.

Synopsis? Um, well, MC is a techno-nerd, MC2 is an earth-nerd. Sabatog kills the populations' power supply. In the process of trying to figure out a way to replace it, they discover the planet is alive. And sentient.

That's it in a nutshell. Sort of.

I need a new laptop. My old one, a 3 yr old Dell Inspiron 1100 (as in, can't get no basic-er) is on life support. The monitor is dead (I have it attached to an old CRT monster) and the keyboard is dying, if not dead (I use an external one). So the laptop is more of a desktop, but smaller and hotter (as in temperature, certainly not as in hot looking).

I have been shopping around for a while but got depressed at the prices. I learned a lesson with this one. I got a cheap one thinking I would use it for writing and maybe games. Nope. I used it constantly and Lorna took over the desktop. It became very important to me and not just my writing, but my life. So I know I can't get another el cheapo model but need to get a good CPU, better RAM, and better case so it doesn't get so hot. And that all adds up to big bucks that we don't have.

NaNoWriMo is coming up again. I was depressed because I wouldn't be able to meet others in the area for drinks and word wars. I decided to look into the price of PDAs and external keyboards for them. The price was more than I was hoping and never got around to looking for keyboard prices. All those bells and whistles for something I didn't think I would use, ya know?

Then I remembered the AlphaSmart Dana. I went to their website and took a look around. The price was more than our current wallets could afford but I was really interested in one. So, I girded my loins and went to eBay. I know, I know, the devil itself is eBay but I went anyway.

Found a bunch of Danas there, all less than $100. I did some research for reviews. Raves. Did more research on the software (they are based on Palm). Went back to the eBay search results. Contacted the seller with some questions. Several emails later, I hit the "Buy Now" button on one of them. Including shipping, it was $105. I ordered it Tuesday and it was here Thursday. And I am in love.

The Dana is part laptop, part PDA, part word processor. It has a wide screen and a full-sized keyboard. It has AlphaWord which saves in .doc format. It has 2 memory card slots for making backups but can also hot sync with the desktop using Palm software. The downside is if it completely is drained of battery, it loses anything you have added in. The good news is that the battery is rechargeable via the AC adapter or the USB cable, AlphaSmart sells them cheaply, and it can also run off AA batteries. How cool is that?

I like this machine. It is lightweight, can allegedly be dropped from 4' up and still work, is simple, and allows me to write anywhere I happen to be. With the flash memory, I just turn the machine off and when I turn it back on, it is exactly as I left it. Granted, if the battery dies before I hot sync or save to the SD card…. This is going to be good for me. No more lugging a 10lb computer, its bag, its power cord, the mouse. Just push the on button and go.

If it can survive November while I pound out 50,000 words during NaNoWriMo, it can survive almost anything.

Linkage:

Alphasmart - Dana
Brighthand Reviews the AlphaSmart Dana (several years old but still great)
NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month

Click the link below to see the photos and explanations.

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The GLBT Fantasy Fiction Resource has reviews, news, and interviews with GLBT writers of science fiction and fantasy as well as SF/F that have GLBT main characters.

The Lesbian Science Fiction website today. The site is geared toward science fiction only, not fantasy. They do reviews and information about this genre.

From there I visited the WisCon website. WisCon is "The World's Leading Feminist Science Fiction Convention" and is held in Madison, Wisconsin. It has been an annual even since 1977!

York Lesbian Arts Festival is held each year in York, England. This year's event happens this coming weekend. I have promised myself that when I publish my 3rd book, I will go there.

The Golden Crown Literary Society's annual Literary Conference will be held in Phoenix, Arizona at the Sheraton Wild Horse Resort July 31st - August 3rd.

Are you a reader who'd like to get to know authors better? Want to ask them questions, like, "WTF were you thinking when you….??" Want to tell them directly just how much you love, dislike, barely tolerate, absolutely hate a certain character or book?

Well, now you can! At least, the authors of Regal Crest Enterprises, that is.

Regal Crest authors have set up a forum where you can get the latest information, ask that burning question, make that comment (or two), and perhaps even get in on a new book from its inception!

The main site, http://www.rceauthors.com/, is still rather raw and is just a placeholder (More Info! Stay Tuned!) at the moment. The forum, http://www.rceauthors.com/forum/index.php however, is where the action already is taking place and where even more is planned.

Already there are ten authors ready and waiting, each with their little forum areas. There's a place to ask general questions, other places for genre specific questions/comments. As the site becomes more active and the moderators figure out what is needed, the forum will expand.

Some of the site can be viewed without registering. Because of the nature of the writing, lesbian fiction and non-fiction, some sections are only viewable to registered users. Registration is a little different in that the Admins must approve each person individually. This not only provides a safe space, but also will cut down on the spam.

My fave comic strip, For Better or For Worse, has a cool comic for today. One of the characters has sold his first novel and he has received the author copies.

Due to copyright issues I'd rather not have explained to me by Lynn Johnston's lawyers, I won't post the image here. Instead, I'll give the link:

For Better of For Worse comic strip for October 15, 2007

And I am ecstatic it was Dallas' Cowboys! WhooHoo!

So sorry, Kev, that the Cowboys couldn't keep up with the more professional team. The Patriots ran right over them throughout the entire game. Perhaps if the Cowboys employed more coaches and trainers than they do/did parole officers….

And what about Panthers hiring 43 yr old Testaverde? And then that same old geezer playing freakin' fantastic ball? We didn't get to see the game but from what I have heard and the clips I have seen, experience is worth every penny.

Then there was the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks. What a great game that one was, too. I wonder, though, just why the Seahawks didn't bother to show up for it.

And then there was the earlier game, the Tennessee Titans and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Awful game, really. Titan QB Vince Young got hurt running to the sidelines and Kerry Collins tried to keep the Titans in the game but, well, the Titan defense seemed to be a little confused. I dislike the Buccaneers almost as much as I enjoy disliking the Cowboys.

Back!

We had an absolute blast! But, like all vacations, I am glad to be home. It is exhausting for me to be so ON all the time.

I'm still going over the images. I filled one 1GB SD card and almost filled a second card with photos and mini-movies.

The Family:

Part of the "resort", the All Star Music: