Thought Patterns

Instead of write:

- clean fish tanks, inside and out.
- make fish and snail food (which really is odoriferous)
- sort through "to be filed" stack and put in order (but don't actually file 'cause that's something you can do later, see)
- surf the 'Net looking for the answer to a question you've not asked yet (very Zen, I think)
- rearrange decorations in 56g tank just for giggles
- stare out the window toward the bird feeder and pretend you are deep in thought when, in reality, you're wondering just where the heck did all those Cardinals come from and could they get any redder without exploding?
- look around on desk for some obscure USB adapter that you put away somewhere "safe" and haven't seen since. not that you need the adapter…
- read through the scads of posts from the High Performance Software Defined Radio e-list. The technical talk makes little sense but to read it feels as if you are doing something with the brain.
- spend time putting this post together, including all the linkages.

it can happen to anyone.

I said that in a post recently (yesterday?) about Dreamhost having a big billing problem.

My cable company (who also has my internet and telephone) apparently had its own boo-boo. Not sure if my rarely used Charter address is one of them.

Cable Co. Empties 14,000 E-Mail Accounts
Jan 24, 2:28 PM (ET)

By JIM SALTER

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Charter Communications officials believe a software error during routine maintenance caused the company to delete the contents of 14,000 customer e-mail accounts.

There is no way to retrieve the messages, photos and other attachments that were erased from inboxes and archive folders across the country on Monday, said Anita Lamont, a spokeswoman for the suburban St. Louis-based company.

"We really are sincerely sorry for having had this happen and do apologize to all those folks who were affected by the error," Lamont said Thursday when the company announced the gaff.

Charter, one of the nation's largest cable TV operators, also provides telephone and high-speed Internet service. It has applied a $50 credit to the bill of each customer whose account was affected by the mistake, Lamont said.

Charter gives each new Internet user a free e-mail account, but some customers opt to use other accounts instead. So every three months the company deletes inactive accounts, Lamont said.

"During this maintenance we erroneously deleted active accounts along with the others," Lamont said. "It's never happened before. They are taking steps to make sure it never happens again."

Charter provides service in 29 states, and Lamont said the affected customers were scattered around the country. All told, the company has about 2.6 million high-speed Internet subscribers.

Computer experts advise backing up all important e-mail.

—

On the Net:

.http://www.charter.com

(source)

Okay, I'm tired of me dragging my ass.

I am setting a deadline. Not a "try" deadline, but a "gotta" deadline.

Butch Girls and Stereotypes WILL be finished and edited by April 2nd. Of this year.

No word count goal. Just get 'er done goal. No reward, either. Just. Get. It. Done. Dammit.

Oops. My host had some issues and is still working on the problem. Seems the site is up now, at least.

This is after the billing problem earlier. It was quite the mess but it seems they have it fixed.

I love my host, though. It would take a lot for me to leave. Some people get their panties in a wad over things like this but, hey, it will happen no matter where ya go.

The last installment is up!

Part 5 - Renee Bess' site
Part 4 - Andi M's site
Part 3 - Jane Vollbrecht's site
Part 2 - right here!
Part 1 - Sandra Barret's site

So, what did ya'll think of this Blog Tour thing?

Messenger sent back an excellent photo of Mercury already.

link to much much much larger (1024×1024px) version

I first saw the image in a Wired News article. It had a link to the news release page for the spacecraft. Oh, and it was on today's APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day).

Personally, I think it is awesome. Perhaps we can exploit other planets just before we officially kill our own. Yeah, sarcasm is today's theme.

At any rate, here's linkage:

Messenger home page | image gallery | news center
NASA's Messenger site
Astronomy Picture of the Day | Messenger and Mercury (1/16/08) - this has a bunch o' links in it

Read or write lesbian fiction?

There's places you can go for help to meet others with the same affliction habit literary needs.

Golden Crown Literary Society is a literary and educational organization for the study, discussion, enjoyment, and enhancement of lesbian literature.

Lesbian Fiction Forum is an online bulletin board/forum for readers and writers of lesbian fiction.

I know there are more. My brain just froze up. These two, however, will fit most, if not all, of your needs. I'll leave it up to you to admit you heard about them from me.