Going dark -- well, I suppose I should amend that to "darker" as I haven't been so regular on the posting end of things. But I have been reading and trying to comment more often on ya'll's blogs. Tomorrow we leave for our annual, or in this case, biannual, Disneyland trip. Yes, this will be our third trip in one year. What can I say. Son #1 and D-i-L want to go before she's big huge preggers. But we usually go in November anyway. We just happened to have also gone in Feb. of this year, after our early Nov. 08 trip. Yes this will be the grandson's 4th trip (I think -- I've lost count), and he's only 2 1/2. They're not expecting to go again for awhile now though, because of the baby coming in April. HAH! I say. My son can't stay away, especially when he knows we're going and we're buying annual passes, so I know we'll go again next year at least once and possibly twice. Son #2 is going with us too this time. He didn't go last year as he'd just broken up with his girlfriend of 5 years and the past Disneyland memories would have been too raw for him.

Oh, and did I mention that my second grandchild is another boy? ;0 No girls for this grandma. That's ok, I like my boys.

We went to see "Men Who Stare at Goats" yesterday.  I liked it and thought it was laugh-out-loud funny, especially in the beginning.  I will agree with a review I read that said the backstories were the really good and funny parts.  The present day sequences weren't as funny, but I see they almost had to put it in a story-telling mode, because you certainly couldn't tell it from the POV of one of the psi-warriors, cause that would just be too warped.  But anyway, I liked it, it was absurdist fare at its best.  And I love George Clooney.  I saw him on Oprah once a while back and he has just the type of humor that I like, very cutting and funny, and that's just his natural personality, you could tell.  So the Goat movie gets my personal stamp of approval. 

What is it about articulating thoughts, writing them down and then sharing them with others that releases the emotion?  It's like the thoughts were simmering around in my brain, stewing themselves in their own agony.  I think there might be a certain formula to the process, the stewing can't be under-done, although it can certainly be over-done until it festers into a rotting mess.  And perhaps every instance has it's own stewing time, it can't be opened until it matures into critical mass.  But if left for the right amount of time, simmering and stewing until the emotions are ripe and ready to be released, then the process is complete and the brain is free to think again. 

I feel like this since my last post of enthusiasm-less writing woes and no-goes.  And it didn't take but a day or so after my post for me to feel released.  Was it the process of stewing, release, and support?  One of these items, or all in combination?  I'm voting for the combo.

Anyway, I'm starting to feel invigorated again, although I do confess to a touch of embarrassment that it might seem as if I cried wolf in my whininess, because I got over it so soon.  But I think if I hadn't whined, I wouldn't have released.

Part of the process was also finally finishing a story that had taken far too long to write.  I wasn't letting myself work on any other stories until that one was done.  It's not done to my satisfaction, but it's subbed, and that's a relief, even though I know it's going to come home hanging its head in embarrassment for not being up to snuff.  I think I can spruce it up and give it a better ending and send it back out the door.

Now I'm working on lots of other orphaned stories and planning on a big sub party this month. 

Still haven't purchased the premiere, #1 Issue of Shock Totem (Curious Tales of the Macabre and Twisted)?  Well, don't despair!  Issue #1 is on sale through Halloween!  This is your chance to read stories by T L Morganfield, Jennifer Pelland, Mercedes M Yardley, Les Berkley, Don D'Ammassa, Pam L Wallace, David Niall Wilson, Brian Rappatta, Kurt Newton, K Allen Wood, Michelle Howarth and conversations with William Ollie, Alan Robert (Life of Agony, Spoiler NYC), and the legendary John Skipp.

From the mouth of Ken Wood himself:  A few times recently we've offered issue #1 at a 40% discount and it's done well. Usually we've only done the sale for a few hours, but we're extending it through Halloween this time (likely longer, too, perhaps through Sunday or Monday). It's an excellent deal ($3.59 per issue).

I've had such a nice day!  Well, after the grandbaby went home that is.  His terrible two's are about to get the best of me.  I'm trying to break him of being carried everywhere because he's getting too darn heavy, but he cries won't walk and then if I walk off he screams and begs me to come back so I wait and he'll make like he's getting up, come two steps, and when I hold out my hand for him, he runs away and throws himself on the ground screaming.  Repeat.  Over and over.  And not just with being carried.  Everything is a struggle right now.  But it will pass.  It's just not very fun.  

But after he left, I vacuumed and mopped and washed the bed linens and did more laundry.  Then Hubby and Son #2 went to the horse races and left me with the whole day to myself.  I went to the gym and grocery store and then came home and spent the rest of the day on the computer and finishing laundry.  I did a flash challenge, critted stories, watched last weeks episode of "Flash Forward" -- which I really like!  Anywone else?. 

I love relaxing at home by myself.  What a treat.  I feel all warm and fuzzy.  Oh wait, that's my eyesight getting fuzzy from too many hours at the computer.  Rough life, eh? 

Much to my surprise, (and at the risk of getting hate mail) I publicly announce I do not hate Windows Vista.  There are some annoying things about it, namely the User Account Control feature, but I have successfully turned that off.  I thought I'd turned off the having to "log on" after hibernation, but that's not working and I've been too lazy er, busy, to check into it some more.  I miss the handy dandy "move files -- copy files" menu feature in folder views, but drag and drop works just as well.  After the initial, "Where's all my stuff????", I find it's all there and some features I actually like.  I almost went for a mini netbook just to stick with XP, but realized they don't have a phone jack in them, which I need for travel (cause I'm too cheap to buy wifi, that's why!), so I went with a Vista laptop, and yes, I do plan to upgrade to 7 when it comes out, as from what I've read, it's supposed to "fix" some of the more annoying things about Vista, like the UAC.  I get a free upgrade until 1/31/10, so will wait until the deadline so hopefully some of the worst bugs that are sure to be there will have been addressed.  Only problem is the Spider Solitaire game is purty and oh so fun in Vista, with a handy dandy Undo that will let you go back all the way to the beginning to retry. 

Dame, a buddy from Liberty Hall, has a really cool flash story up at Flash Fiction Online.  You know, it's a flash, so it only takes a few minutes to read, and I guarantee you'll really like this one.  So drop on over to FFO and give "The Door" by Damon Shaw a read.  You won't be sorry!

Flash Fiction Online

First, two writing links.

The first is snurched from litagentguide

The MigWriters site has an amazing post breaking down the difference between the two children's categories of middle grade and young adult.  To define the two, they pull a lot of good info from a variety of different sources - editors, agents and writers alike.
It's just a big, fat post tackling tough questions about these categories.  If you're a kids reader, this is a post you want to read. Questions they address include the following:

•    How long is a MG vs YA book?
•    Who reads MG and YA books?
•    How old is the protagonist?
•    What are MG and YA books about?


Next, a post about procrastination (I could have my Masters or a Doctorate in this area!  I do consider myself a Professional) from damcphail .


And last, an "I knew it!" moment!   Doubt that Hitler really died in that bunker   Many years ago I read a mysetery/suspence/spy thriller on this very subject.  Hitler escaped to South America and had founded a whole new generation of Nazis.  Can't think of the name of it though.  Anyone remember?  It made a lot of sense and I always wondered if it was based on fact/gossip. 

Over and out.

A month ago, my Toshiba laptop died on me while I was on vacation, and I suffered through 5 days with no computer.  But I lived, and since I'd already bought a new Sony VAIO laptop, it wasn't a huge issue, except for FIVE DAYS WITH NO COMPUTER!  I'd been lazy, so hadn't done much writing, so no files were really lost, thanks to Dropbox.  This morning I decided to see if I could boot the Toshiba from disk.  Opened it up, and the same thing as before.  Like there's no power to the ON button.  I'm thinking something major with the power-something-or-other or motherboard.  Then for some reason I notice the little white button close to the lid.  When the lid closes, it depresses said button, and when the lid is opened, said button is released and VOILA, computer comes out of hibernation.  But the little white button is still rather depressed, even though the lid is open, so I pull it up with my fingers, and WHOOSH, up starts my laptop.  And it's been running ever since.  WHEW!  I'm happy, although I no longer need it.  And now I think about those FIVE DAYS WITH NO COMPUTER that did not have to be, if only I'd noticed that little white button before.  Good news is that I can now access my Quicken program again, which was the one thing I couldn't get to.  My progam is old and it apparently won't run on Vista.  OH duh!  Why don't I put it on the Dell?  HUH?  Cause I'm an idiot, that's why.  Task for tomorrow! 

So several issues/crises have resolved to happy issues.  Computer death?  Solved.  Youngest son's cancelled unemployement payments?  Soon to be resolved after he finally gained a telephone interview after 2-3 weeks of waiting.  And another issue with him that I'd rather not discuss came to the best possible conclusion.  Another issue with son #1 looks to be resolving successfully, but I don't want to jinx that one by talking about it yet.  And my grief over losing my longtime best friend?  Well, I haven't accepted it yet, but I'm no longer in total denial.  Still can't believe she's gone, but I guess I'll come to accept it, since I have to.  

Having a nice relaxing weekend and getting a lot of errands run, which also relieves stress.  And Son #2 wants me to go to the movies with him tomorrow.  It's always cool when a grown son doesn't mind hanging out with his old mom.  Or maybe he's just desperate to go to the movies and wants me to foot the bill.  ;-) 

So I've been gone.  There's been a lot going on IRL that have left me distracted and stressed and sad and depressed enough that I haven't wanted to say anything at all rather than look like a whiny old thing.  I don't even want to go into all the many crisises in my life right now.  Some have turned out to be okay, some are still on hold, and only one has really sent me into a tailspin.  As they say, life goes on -- because it must. 

I've only been writing my minimum 100 words a day.  No new stories written.  No new subs made.  I need to get myself in gear.  But first, I think I'll go play another game of Spider Solitaire.  Evil, evil game. 

When I read on Jim Van Pelt's - jimvanpelt - blog that he was offering AUP copies of his collection, "The Radio Magician and Other Stories", I was ecstatic that I happened along soon enough to score myself a copy.  I'd read the short story "The Radio Magician" in Realms of Fantasy's February 2009 issue, loved it, and knew I wanted to read more of Jim's stories.  I wasn't disappointed.  One thing I liked about this collection was the diversity of the nineteen stories.  None came in a one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter mold.  Most were Science Fiction, and while I personally prefer Fantasy stories, I find Jim's stories well to my liking.  I like SF stories that rely on "magical" happenings and events--a touch of fantasy, if you will. 

 

Nineteen stories that will keep you entertained and give the reader plenty to think about.  Most stories raise an ethical question of some kind, without offering answers or solutions.  The characters are thoughtfully developed, and I truly cared about each and every one of them, which I think speaks of the author's ability to make each one seem real.  It's a hard line to walk to keep a character sympathetic without coming across too heavy.  I highly recommend this collection.  Nineteen great stories that give a great diversity of reading experiences, all thoughtful and thought-provoking.  Rather than list each and every story, I think I'll just list some of my favorites.

 

"The Radio Magician" is why I wanted to read this collection in the first place.  I read this story in Realms of Fantasy, and it charmed me beyond measure.  It's a heart-warming story about a boy's fear for his own future and how he finds the bravery to move forward despite it.  I can't say enough good things about this story.  It sucked me in and kept me entranced and desperate for good things to come for our little hero.

 

"Where Did You Come From?  Where Did You Go?" - Olivia knew she was going to have a bad day, but she couldn't have imagined a substitute teacher who might or might no be certifiable.  Thought provoking story about choices and free will.  Would you destroy evil if it meant you also destroyed something good at the same time?  What would you choose?  No judgments were given here, just offering up possibilities.

 

"Different Worlds" - Jenny's dad is hurt.  Jenny, only 10 years old, tries to make it through alien-patrolled streets across town to the hospital with the help of her dog, Robbie.  A story of a little girl's courage and love; devotion between girl and dog; and a question of the ethics of keeping pets and our responsibility towards them.  I liked Jenny a lot.  This was a well done character study. 

 

"The Small Astral Object Genius" - Dustin has a PeekaBoo device.  Does it really vanish and travel to distant galaxies, taking pictures and searching for alien worlds?  Dustin's mom and dad peek in on him now and then, but they are distracted by their marriage woes and leave him on his own to listen to the silence in the house.  This story speaks to that little spark within each of us that wants to discover the next big thing, that wants to make the world--and our own lives--a better place.  Are we alone in the universe and in our own homes?

 

"Tiny Voices" - A story about new life and impending death, inanimate objects made to "live" with sentient chips.  Because they have a voice, does that mean they're alive?  And is a person without a voice dead? 

 

"Echoing" - Laird is trying to get home for Christmas, but his semitruck is lost in a snowstorm.  Commander Tremaine wakes from a long sleep to find his spaceship off course, hurtling through the stars.  Brianna is lost in a full house, closed into her father's study, a half bottle of pills already in her stomach, while the Christmas party goes on in the other room.  What if each one were connected somehow and could save the others? Hurtling through the stars, traveling across time and the universe, seeing glimpses of other lives, and how it all comes together in the end. 

 

"Ice Cream Man" - Keegan drives an ice cream truck through the shambles of neighborhoods, serving ice cream to adults who bring him scavenged goods in exchange for ammo for protection against the mutoid monsters.  Everyone wonders how Keegan can make ice cream without cows or electricity, and where he gets all the ammo.  This post apocalyptic story raises the question of who the real monsters are, and judging on appearances. 

 

"The Last Age Should Know Your Heart" - Marvell wakes from sleep mode with only six minutes to do what he can on the aging power grid before he has to power down again.  But he wants to see Three Andrea.  He recites poetry, long stored in his memory banks.  This was bittersweet, a tale about the end of the world, devices left in place and now without purpose.  Who would have thought even an aging work drone can have a heart?

 

I guess by now you're getting the impression that it's hard for me to pick a favorite.  I could have easily listed seven or more other stories.  I liked them all, and that's not just empty words to entice you into buying the book.  As I read through my comments on each story to pick which ones to post about, I realized that it was hard to leave any of them out.  But if I related the plot of each and every story here, you'd not have reason to run over to Amazon and purchase Jim's book.  And I wouldn't want to do that.  So I've resorted to just a small sampling and encourage you to see the rest for yourself.  You won't regret it. 

Please visit his website here:  James Van Pelt
Amazon listing here:  Radio Magician and Other Stories

Here's a short sampling of the rest of the stories.

"One Day" - Redmond wakes up from coldsleep to find his brother Grant's sleep pod empty and still warm.  So proceeds a cat and mouse chase, brothers at odds, but in the end, can they destroy each other?  Or have they already?

"Where and When" - Jake and Martin activate Brownson's time device and travel back in time--only to find themselves aboard the ill-fated zeppelin, the Hindenburg.  They escape with only seconds to spare.  In their next time jump, they find themselves on Martinique, two minutes before the volcano explodes.

"Lashwanda at the End" The planet Papaver is trying to kill the human explorers.  It's already stolen their  water. 

"The Light of a Thousand Suns" - A security mall cop notices a trailer out in the back lot with a few people lined up outside.  Was it there earlier?  What he discovers inside is disturbing, to say the least.  This story gave me a chill with its message.

"Of Late I Dreamed Of Venus" - Elizabeth plans to remake Venus into a new and improved Earth.  In trying to seek perfection and control, she finds nothing is ever perfect and only when one loses control can one find true beauty.

"One Day in the Middle of the Night" - A brother wakes from coldsleep to find his brother's sleep pod is empty, but still warm. so proceeds a cat and mouse chase, and  brothers at odds.

"The Inn at Mount Either" A inn at the hub of alternate realities, where long hallways can take you someplace else.  So what happens when one becomes lost somewhere else? 

"Sacrifice" Jermone and Cynda are chose for the ritual, but Cynda has doubts about the gods, and whether the old abandoned rusty buildings are truly the homes of the gods.

"The Boy Behind the Gate" A father searches for his kidnapped son in old abandoned mines.  Two stories, two times, collide here in a heartbreaking story.

"Origin of the Species" Romulus's father tells him everyone is descended from mythological creatures which explains a lot about why his dad disappears on full moons, and why Smells are particularly enticing to Romulus--especially Fay's.  This tale doesn't take the normal route, and is poignant and sweet.

"Saturn Ring Blues" Ring racing in a buglighter, Virgil wants Elinor, but she's focused on racing.  How far will he go trying to rescue her from a mishap?

"How Music Begins" A busload of high school band students is captured by aliens.  How they band (pun intended by me) together and keep order, even after so many years, this is a sweet tale and I really enjoyed this one.  It was another of my favorites

Driving home from the grocery story the other day, I saw a teen walking home from school, holding her cell phone before her.  She wasn't talking or texting, just watching it as she walked.  Maybe she was listening to music or waiting for a text.  But I've been noticing lately that whenever I see a teen these days, she (yes, mainly girls, now that I think of it) has a cell phone in hand or up to ear.  I've even seen a group of 3, all with their phones up to ear, talking to others and ignoring those they were with--I guess I shouldn't say ignoring, because I'm sure they were all going to compare phone calls, but it was rather strange anyway.

Got me to wondering how this new generation of youngsters will turn out, as far as their expectations and habits.  Being constantly connected to others, is that a good thing or a bad thing?  Do they ever spend time alone?  I mean, really alone, letting their imagination develop and go where it will?  I especially wonder how their reading habits will develop.  Will they have time to read actual books if they're spending all their time talking and facebooking and twittering and such?  I'm thinking not.  I hope I'm wrong. 

According to an article in the Washington Post, those video game addicts among us (No, I'm not looking at ME!) no longer have to make excuses for our -- I mean, YOUR -- time-wasting habit.  Turns out the mind-numbing effects of video games are actually good for stress reduction.  According to the researcher, "...depression and other disorders -- as well as everyday stress and worry -- involve systematic patterns of thought and self-doubt, and that games can distract people and put them in a different mental zone."

So there ya go.  Now, when family or friends gripe about the time you're wasting playing stupid games, tell them the doctor ordered you to play video games for stress relief. 

I'm been suffering from a near-fatal case of the blah's.  Haven't been keeping up with almost anything.  Have been reading my flist, and thank you very much for your posts that give me some invigorating brain food, but haven't felt up to posting or commenting.  No reason that I can think of.  Probably a combination of post Julynawrimo's 50k in a month, post-vacation, and losing my beloved Toshiba laptop.  The good news is that I had transferred all my files to the new Sony VAIO before Toshiba crashed, so nothing was lost except a few days lackluster 100 words per day that really won't be missed.  I haven't started a new story in ages, besides Liberty Hall flashes, which do count.  I've made no new subs, although several stories have come back unwanted and should be sent out the door again.  But today I'm feeling a little more energetic I think.  Only problem is I have a meeting this morning to re-do by-laws, which will be mind-numbingly boring.  What I need is a week of free time.  Even though I just had 10 days of it 2 weeks ago.  I guess I got spoiled.  And curses on Spider Solitaire.  Trust me, never--ever---try that game just to see what it's like.  It's horribly addicting.

Home from a relaxing 9 days at the coast.  Trying to catch up, but whew!

The Bad:  4 days into vacation, my beloved Toshiba laptop died.  Kapootie.  It was fine the night before, but when I opened the lid the next morning, instead of a blue light on the power button and the familiar warm up sound and screen, it's cold, dead.  It had left the building. 

The Good:  I had already bought a new laptop, a Sony VAIO and had transferred files before I left. 

The Yikes:  Didn't take the new laptop with me.  I debated back and forth.  The Toshiba had been running just fine, though, and I was having trouble registering MS Word program for some reason, I didn't have a second carrying case.  I'd only be using the new one for playing the newer version of Spider Solitaire.  I was still learning Vista.  But the big argument was with my luck, the Toshiba would die on me and then I'd be computer-less.  But that argument lost out.  It should have won and then I wouldn't have been computer-less for 5 days.  I almost paid my son to drive over and bring it to me, but then I decided it could be a test of character, to prove that I could get along without a computer.  And so I did.  Hand wrote my 100 words per day, but didn't do more than that.  Of course, I wasn't doing more than that anyway, so it really didn't matter.  I think I lost a revised copy of a file or two.  I run Dropbox, but I'd turned it off over there because I only use dial-up and it's too slow.  But since I wasn't writing much anyway, there really wasn't all that much to lose.  

So all in all, it was okay.  Got a lot of reading done.  But had another DOH moment!  I took a book I was about 1/3 of the way through and I was having trouble getting into the story and the characters, which I thought was highly unlike the writer.  I kept thinking I'd just been dropped into the story without any preamble and I was lost trying to keep the characters straight and figure out who they were and what the heck they were doing.  I got halfway through the book and finally realized I was reading book 2 of a 3 book series.  I have book 1, I'd just grabbed the wrong one.  DUH!  No wonder I was having trouble.  Now to go back and start at the *REAL* beginning. 

Friend Pimpage!!!!

Catherine J Gardner, or as she's knows on catephoenix reports:  My chapbook, The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon, is now available for purchase at Bucket 'O' Guts for $6 incl shipping & handling in the US (payable via paypal).

I love the title, and think it's so intriguing.  The chapbook is available for purchase at the Bucket 'O' Guts website.

For Fun Stuff, Cate is offering bookmarks and a contest to win prizes over at her blog.  So go, enjoy!  Cate's LJ Post  .

We're at the coast for a week.  Yay for vacation!  Except today we washed windows and mini blinds, so that didn't feel very vacation-y.  I haven't been posting much, I was busy trying to do the 50k in a month thing, and then I think I was burned out and just needed to chill for a while.  But I'm getting back into the groove, although just a tad overwhelmed with various crit responsibilities which I am far behind in.

We went for a long walk on the beach this morning.  It was low tide, and fairly early enough that not a lot of people had been walking yet in the wet sand.  I found myself following someone's footprints and becoming intrigued with the idea of tracking.  Someone was barefoot, and I noticed that the big toe, which was elongated and thinner at the tip, didn't press into the sand as deep as the smaller toes.  Which was contrary to what I would have thought.  I know nothing about tracking, but I imagine someone that was good at it could tell all sorts of things by following footprints.  Probably the size of the person, if they were running or walking, if they had a limp, how tall they were by the length between steps.  Plus I was surprised at how distinctive the prints were from each other.  I'd like to know more -- I don't know why, but it seems an interesting story idea, someone who hires out to be a tracker, someone who's an expert at it. 

July Stats:

Subs: 0
Rejections: 1
Stories at Market: 6
Publications:  2 -- Lorelei Signal and Shock Totem
Days writing at least 100 words per day:  369
Words Written:  52,422

Yes, I did Julnawrimo.  Yes I finished.  No am not anywhere close to having a story in those 50K of stilted words.  Yes, I probably have at least 20k that needs to be cut.  But I feel it was a worthwhile exercise in learning to write a set amount of words per day in a short amount of time.  I had a goal of 2k a day, which would have resulted in my being done with my 50k on July 25 or 26, since I didn't write 2k on July 4th.  But I was 6k short by that day.  And then I hit a real slump for another few days.  I'm glad I gave myself the extra room, because I ended up doing over 5k the last 2 days to finish.

Here are my pro's and con's in doing a Novel in a Month Challenge:

Pro:
You can end up with a very rough complete first draft if you stick to the basics.
Writing this fast will make it easier to remember what you've already written.
Good for plotting out the storyline
Good for character basics
It does help you realize what details need to be thought about beforehand (maps, town names, level of technology, do they have books and paper?  

Con:
Your writing will not improve from this exercise.
You will not end up with a "Book"
Not optimal for character development

My Writing Anniversary

One year ago, on July 28th, 2008, I embarked on an experimental writing journey.  I aimed to write at least 100 words a day, every single day, no matter how busy I was, no matter where I was, no matter if I had computer with me or if I had to write with the old-fashioned paper and pen.  I actually tried to start this journey on July 15th, but made four different stops and starts.

I had no big plans beyond trying to get out of my writing slumps in which I would not write for months sometimes.  In order to improve as a writer, I needed to learn to write through my fear and insecurity.  I wouldn't write some days because I felt the words were stumbly and awkward and I had nothing interesting or readable to write.  Writing every day taught me to get over that.  It taught me that it may only be my perception that my words stink.  It taught me that when my perception that the words stink is true, that it's okay, and revision is then my best friend.  It taught me that even if the words stink, at least I have the idea down in very rough form.  But most importantly of all, it taught me a habit.

Some days it took me an hour to crank out those hundred words.  Some days it took me all day to put off my writing until the last ten minutes before bedtime to crank out those hundred words. 

My comptetive edge kicked in very quickly after I had a few days under my belt.  I didn't have a long-range goal, which is probably a good thing.  I didn't plan to write for a year or two years or six months or even three months.  But after I started, I didn't want to break my streak.  I know that once I do, it will be very easy for me to backslide into putting it off and not doing any writing at all.  I'm really good at that avoidance thing.  So yes, I plan to keep going.  100 words a day is easy to do.  Really, ten minutes of your day.  How hard is that?

In one year, I wrote:  177,133 words.  That's 17 pennies in my jar.  

I'm in the process of restoring Windows from a recovery disk on my mother's laptop and I'm all kinds of nervous over it.  My tech skills are mediocre at best and I've never done this.  Nor am I sure I should be doing it.  I wouldn't do it at all, but the laptop has really never been used yet, so it's not like I'm going to lose any data.  I will have to re-do all the hours of windows upgrades however, but I can deal with that as long as the stupid thing works after this.  It was working fine, but when I installed a new 1 gig of RAM in addition to the 512 MB it had already, it refused to recognize both chips together.  I'm really disappointed in Toshiba's tech support.  The people answering are so obviously joe blow's off the street, reacting to whatever they see in a troubleshooting guide.  I got one dumbo who kept insisting that this laptop was only configurable up to 1 gig, when all the other techs and service people I'd talked to, plus the specs list, say it is 2 gig configurable, and they do not have to be in pairs.  I also got a guy who could not help me get the cover off the RAM memory slot, saying I had to take it into a repair facility.  All I needed to know was yes, it is okay to pry the cover off because it has these little tabs on the cover to keep it tight.  So the last gal said I should use the recovery disk if the laptop wasn't recognizing both chips.  I sure hope as hell she was right, otherwise I've screwed it up.  She then went on to tell me that she got the information off the Toshiba website.  It did not inspire me with confidence.

I've also decided to go ahead and make the switch to Vista and buy a new laptop.  I was going to go with a netbook, but then I realized they don't come with a plug for a telephone line for dial-up.  And when we go to the coast I need dialup.  And I don't want to spend the extra dollars on both a portable CD drive and a modem.  And since I've been playing around with my mother's laptop, I see Vista isn't really all that different.  (HAH!  hope I don't have to eat my words on that one)  And I've been told that Windows 7 is going to be like Vista anyway, so eventually, I'll have to learn it unless I go to a macbook or Google's new OS works out.  And if you buy a laptop now, free upgrades to 7 are available, although I'll have to check and make sure there's no time limit as I don't want the kinky untested experimental version.  

*sigh*

Why yes, I am trying to avoid writing as long as possible.  Why do you ask?