Altivo's Horse Tails

And snow it did

2009-12-05T03:46:29Z

But not until the wee hours of morning. I happen to have gotten up around 1:30 and there was still nothing, so I thought the prediction was a bust. By 3:00, though, we had a good inch on the ground. In the morning there was almost two inches on my car that had to be brushed off, though much of what hit the ground had melted. Now it's cold, and supposed to be colder, down to 15F or so tomorrow night.

The library was noisy and hyperactive. I think kids and adults both are getting worked up over the approaching holidays. Our actual circulation activity is declining, though. By the week between Christmas and New Year, it will be nearly dead.

Packages in the mail, included the first gift, three and a half pounds of pistachio nuts from mys sister. Eeep. They're good, but we son't be eating all those at once.

Tomorrow Gary and Rob have a Christmas music performance at a historical society event one county over. Time for me to do some shopping, I guess. Can't put it off any longer.

Anyone know what happened to the linuxpackages.net website? I haven't been there for a couple of months and it's gone. Well, still in DNS but not reachable. I wonder if it's behind the same breakdown that has cut off Furaffinity.

Snow!

2009-12-04T02:36:43Z

Apparently a lot of it just north of the state line at the moment, but just an occasional flake here. At midday today, though, it was coming down hard. I had to sweep off my windshield when I left work at 12:30.

Woodpeckers are busy. We put out suet for them, and it is already attracting hordes of them. The Red bellied and Hairy are the largest, but the Downy are the most numerous. We also have dozens of chickadees and finches right now, and plenty of white breasted nuthatches. One red breasted nuthatch has been around. I hope he stays, they are one of my favorite winter birds. Bluejays and mourning doves are about, and a few juncos. Normally we have a lot of juncos as soon as the snow arrives, but they've been scarce so far this year.

Thought about putting a blanket on Tess and turning her out this afternoon, but I didn't. She hasn't had a blanket on in years, and I'm not sure how she'll react to it. I think I'll wait until I'm not alone to try that.

Found a Forth interpreter that loads on my old Tandy word processor that I used for NaNo. It's quite tiny, only 6200 bytes, but claims to be a full ANSI standard implementation. Got it to run, but I know nothing about Forth other than that it's stack-oriented RPN like PostScript. Have to find an introductory book and see what it can do.

It's 28F and dropping outside. Guess I should go start the woodstove and curl up there with a book.

Just snickering about the "Great FA Outage"

2009-12-02T15:01:17Z

It's really hard to believe that so many people have nothing to do but sit around and complain because a web site is down.

For me, the interesting thing about this outage is that once again it proves the vulnerability of the internet as it exists today. High volume and long distance connections are supposed to be redundant now, not a single line from Washington DC to Sacramento or whatever like the way things were back in, lessee, 1858? There is supposed to be adaptive routing that automatically shifts traffic around a blockage. Things might slow down, but they shouldn't stop dead. Obviously, corporate profit of the backbone providers and phone companies comes before good design and preparedness.

Imagine if this outage were to affect some high volume commercial site right now, in the midst of the holiday shopping rush. Slamazon? WalWart? WorstBuy? There would be mushroom clouds over the corporate HQ of the providers in a matter of minutes. If it affected the federal government, the Homeland Insecurity team would be out there cordoning off half the country and making us all take off our shoes so they could be sure we weren't terrorists.

However, for those of us who live in rural America, it's just a day like any other day. Our internet connections are perpetually bad and there is NO broadband out here. So what's all the bitching about? Go read a book. Write a story. Draw a picture. Make love to someone. There's more to life than the internet.

Full Moon (Really)

2009-12-02T03:38:03Z

Well, tomorrow according to my calendar but it sure looks full tonight. We're supposed to get snow flurries tomorrow night so it may not be so visible. At the moment it's clear and brilliant.

FA is still down with no projected recovery date, but I will post those last excerpts there whenever it comes back.

Time for the spinner's newsletter now. And I find I got a blister on my left thumb from hitting the space bar the last few days of NaNo. I guess 5000 words a day takes its toll. Looking back at last year's incomplete NaNo project, I feel the need to go back and work on it as well. There were some good scenes in there that deserve to live. ;p

I'll let argos talk about the spinning and weaving that has come back to the surface yesterday and today.

Keep warm, everyone.

All That Glitters

2009-12-01T02:14:48Z

No, not the conclusion to the whole book by any means. However, these are the last two segments written yesterday, and you will find out how Francis gets out of the apparent scrape he was in, as well as a couple of fun twists (well, at least I think they're fun) in the story.

FurAffinity is still dead, so I am posting to FurRag only for now.

Part 1: Gibbous Moon Waning

Part 2: All That Glitters

*sits back, listening for groans of anguish from the readers*

Chasing Moonshadows

2009-11-30T18:45:41Z

OK, here's an excerpt as promised, but not about Francis. Hammel decides to get directly involved in the murder investigation, despite his lack of official status.

On FurRag (no login needed)

FurAffinity is offline this morning for some reason, but I'll post there whenever they come back.

The promised closure for Francis is still coming, but needs more editing than I can do between phone calls etc. at work.

Gibbous Moon Waning

2009-11-30T04:49:30Z

Made it. My word processor says 50,384 words as of 9:15 tonight. When I dumped it into the validator routine at NaNoWriMo.org, though, it came out as 52,293. Evidently they're pretty generous about what they consider to be a "word." Anyway, it was enough to "win" the NaNo this year. It was not, by far, enough to complete the novel. That will be going on for some time yet.

I will have some excerpts for you tomorrow sometime, to more or less wrap up Francis' part of the story so you have some closure. The entire exposition of the complex plot will have to wait until I've rewritten and done a lot of editing, but I do intend to post it somewhere briefly for comments.

Thanks for all the encouragement, everyone. Hoof-claps to corelog too, for finishing NaNo ~~on his first time out~~ on his second time out. I didn't make quota until my second attempt either.

(Oh, and in the midst of getting 5200+ words written today, I managed to prepare dinner for guests, including turkey tetrazzini, home made focaccia, broccoli with hollandaise sauce, and home made lemon meringue pie. In return for being fed, they nicely hauled away a pickup load full of sheep poop that they wanted for their garden. So there is more to life than writing still.)

And tomorrow I don't have to think about NaNo for a while.

And another 5000 words

2009-11-29T03:48:51Z

Getting there. Sorry, no excerpts today. I'm at the point where I'm splicing together segments that were written backward, from the ending scene, with the beginning of the same thread that was written forward from the opening. The splice is a bit rough, but it will work after careful editing. Today's stuff was all about Hammel and leads to the ultimate resolution of the modern day crime.

Tomorrow I'll return to Francis, and probably poor, misguided Jay Greyson. Should be able to post some of that. Jay has turned out to be as nice as he usually seems, oddly enough, though he did have an ulterior motive in all this. Enough said for the moment. There are other wolves you haven't seen yet, bad and good. One is very bad, others are opportunists, and many are good or have good intentions.

Word count to date: 44,835
Quota for today would be: 46,676

5200 words still needed to make the NaNo quota. Two days to do it in. Should be a doddle from here, except that I have to work on Monday. I'd rather not be struggling with the validation routine late on Monday night, so I'm going to try to finish up tomorrow. ;p

Right now, bed is calling, though.

Altivo and the 5500 word day

2009-11-28T05:56:19Z

Wow! Finally we're moving along.

New excerpts online, "Moonlight and Shadows" and "Howl Like You Mean It":

On FurAffinity (login required); or

On FurRag, pt.1 and
On FurRag, pt.2 (no login needed)

(FurRag couldn't handle the large post, it seemed, so it is broken into two parts.)

Word count to date: 39,811
Quota would be: 45,009

Back within striking distance!

So tired...

2009-11-27T04:40:23Z

This is the most exhausting holiday of the year, I think. And for that reason, far from my favorite. We did get everything done as we were supposed to do.

Except for my writing. I managed about 500 words in the car going, and another 700 tonight. Backsliding is no good. Four days left to squeeze out 16,000 words. Still trying, though.

Dreaming and Screaming

2009-11-26T04:07:32Z

Making progress. I'm not done writing for tonight yet, and the turkey's in the oven still so I have some more time. However, I'm pleased with the way things are shaping up, so here is another excerpt. Francis meets with his mentors, and then meets someone more sinister, in a dream as it seems... or not. This segment should appear before "Old Bones and New" in the final manuscript, and I think you'll see why.

On FurRag (no login needed); or

On FurAffinity (login required)

Words to date: 33.198

Target quota tonight: 41,675

How to Ride a Pony

2009-11-25T22:33:57Z

Stuck at work for another hour. Then a long weekend, hopefully, so I can finish the NaNo.

Meanwhile, here's an important lesson:

How to Ride a Pony

I'm not so sure about the crab blood, though.

Old Bones and New

2009-11-24T15:42:25Z

Another two chapter excerpt, returning to the main plot in the current timeline. Hammel continues his investigation into the triple killings back in 347 CY, only to arrive at the crime scene of another murder, in his current timeline.

On FurRag (no login); or

On FurAffinity (login required)

I recommend that you read the other three excerpts before reading this one, otherwise you will miss clues, just as Hammel is doing at the moment.

Words to date: 26,544
Target quota: 38,341

To be a wolf

2009-11-23T18:48:03Z

New excerpt, sampling the third subplot in ARROW: a College Tail. Francis is a raccoon but he wishes he had been born a wolf. When he writes about it and reads his work in his composition class, he is suddenly presented with an odd-sounding but apparently desirable opportunity.

On FurRag (no login needed), or

On FurAffinity (login required)

As with almost all my writing, these excerpts are "safe for work."

Writing, hay, and more writing

2009-11-23T04:19:17Z

Slow but steady progress. The loose ends are now visible rather than being just in my head. Had to make a timeline, using the Chatton calendar. Dates like 18 Bear 347 CY and 29 II Wolf 348 CY don't help, but I insist that they be correct.

Unloaded the last of the hay this afternoon. Some of it was pretty crappy, but it's more than enough so we're done until June I hope.

Moved a frozen turkey from the deep freeze to the refrigerator so it will hopefully thaw out by Wednesday evening when I want to cook it. They're predicting snow for Wednesday evening too. Glad we're closing the library early for the holiday.

Got two more segments written. At this rate, I'll still make the deadline.

NaNo progress

Current word count: 22,892
Today's quota: 36,674

Furmeet without the 'fest part

2009-11-22T04:03:13Z

Steed and Bear arrived Friday evening from MFF, and we went out for dinner and hung out. They stayed overnight and this morning we had breakfast (I made an apple-filled German pancake, with bacon and lots of coffee) and we played around with the horses and dogs and then took photos of Steed in his fursuit before they went back to the hotel to catch the parade and head home.

So I got a little bit of MFF without actually having to brave the madness.

Went grocery shopping, and observed that the price of gasoline is fluctuating wildly in town here. This week the observed prices have been:

Monday about 8 pm, $2.62
Tuesday afternoon, $2.63
Thursday about 8 pm, $2.75
Saturday 2:30 pm, $2.59
Saturday 4:00 pm, $2.57

This is all recorded at the exact same station. Meanwhile, up in Harvard, prices have been locked solid at $2.74 for a couple of weeks. Down in Dekalb on Thursday the price seemed to be $2.59 everywhere I looked, and it was similar to that in Indiana last Sunday. In Ohio I saw one station at $2.39, though, and several at $2.44.

Some NaNo progress, gaining ground but not fast enough.

Current word count: 19,878
Today's quota: 35,007

Fennec and Hammel meet for the first time

2009-11-20T15:48:06Z

For those who remember my 2007 NaNo novel, which appeared with the working title The Argosiad, here is an excerpt chapter from this year's book. The story is a mystery with a double timeline, in which current events seem to mimic a series of murders 120 years earlier. At this time, Fennec and Hammel are both students in Chatton, and in this chapter we see their first meeting. They were assigned a joint project in a public administration class.

On FurRag (no login needed) ; or
On FurAffinity (login required)

NaNo progress (I'm way behind, but may still be able to catch up)

Words to date: 17,965
Quota would be: 31,673

Well, that's over for now

2009-11-20T02:40:08Z

Gary's back home, but I didn't get him here until 8 pm. Those people sure run on some other dimension of time, or else they really are billing the insurance (and us) by the minute. He was supposed to have a stress test first thing in the morning, but they kept putting it off. Finally at noon they got around to it. Then he had to wait for the results to be "read" and wait some more to see the cardiologist, who wanted an ultrasound then. The final conclusion: acid reflux, which is what I've said he has but of course my diagnosis doesn't count. They prescribed Pepcid and also Xanax if he chooses to take it. He's so hypersensitive to medication that I'm afraid that will make him loopy, but OK.

Anyway, he's home safe, thanks to Epona and Baldur. I spent the whole day waiting for the call saying they were definitely going to discharge him so I could make the hour drive down there. Finally the call came at 4 pm. I got down to Dekalb a little after 5 pm. They finally let us out the hospital door at 6:08.

Did get some writing done today, but not enough. I'm averaging about 2000 words a day, which isn't going to make up for the early deficiencies in time. Need to get more than that out.

Last hay

2009-11-18T02:02:56Z

Finally. The last load of hay for the winter got here at 8:30 this morning, so I ended up late for work. In order for the truck and hay wagon to get into the arena, we have to fold up the portable panels that make up Tess's pen. In turn, that means she stays in her stall or goes out to the pasture until the pen can be reassembled. Since I had to go to work and we wouldn't be unloading immediately, she stayed in until the wagon was parked and then we reassembled and put her into the pen as usual. Didn't get to work until 9:45, an hour and change late, but at least the hay business is settled.

Making NaNo progress, but slowly. Keeping up with the daily quotas now but finding it hard to exceed them, which I must do in order to make up the 15K words or so that I'm lagging the pace. Still hope to succeed though. I have plenty of material, just some of it is harder to write than what I usually do. More editing is going to be needed to put all the scrambled parts (written out of order) together in the end.

My desk is back to normal, more or less. Network problems are not. It seems that sometime while I was gone, someone added enough data mass to the network file server that the overnight backup will no longer fit on one tape. Figuring out who and what on a Windows 2000 environment is not easy. Once again I'm reduced to pressuring people to get rid of old files instead of letting them sit forever.

In case anyone is still wondering, no MFF for me. Too big, much too expensive, it has outgrown my size tolerance I think, and I don't like Wheeling Illinois or the Westin at all. Snooty restaurants, inadequate parking, all contributed to my negative response last year. Not doing it again. Have fun if you're going, and be safe.

Now, back to the word processor for me.

Sigh, back to work

2009-11-17T05:19:20Z

Desk buried. Network stuff broken. Mailbox stuffed. The usual.

Stayed a little late, came home and took Gary out for dinner since he was feeling stressed too. Being a full time graduate student plus primary care for his mom is really too much pressure for him.

Went to get some groceries since I wasn't home to do that this weekend. Then got the minimal amount of writing done to keep from losing any more ground. I need more, though.

Hay supposed to come tomorrow, last load for the year and only half the size of the last. We'll have to be up really early for that.

Home safe

2009-11-16T03:11:21Z

Got home about 6:30, after taking our "Dog and Pony Show" to Ohio for the weekend and then on the way home, driving in the most horrendous, pushy traffic I ever remember on the tollways between here and Quickcasey's. It was as if this had been a holiday weekend, when it's still two weeks to the beginning of that madhouse. Thank goodness I have a GPS in the car now, or I'd still be lost out there somewhere like Charlie on the MTA.

It was a really nice visit with the best foxes I know, Aerofox and Loriana. We had fun eating too much and joking around and going to the hamfest in Fort Wayne on Saturday. I didn't quite pass my license upgrade exam, but I had only gotten half way through the study book so scoring 35 out of 50 correct isn't really that bad. I got a better study guide and lots of advice afterwards. Then we went to antique stores in Van Wert, which was also fun. I like looking at old junque. Aero got a set of key caps from an old upright typewriter. I bought an old Walter Foster "How to Draw Series" book on Cowboys and Horses. Casey and Loriana both got some model railroad cars. It was all a nice diversion.

Thanks to all three for the mini-vacation. *hugs*

Hamfested out

2009-11-15T00:04:54Z

Flunked the license upgrade exam by just one point. I'll get it next time.

Is this thing on?

2009-11-13T15:50:44Z

Off to the foxes' den in just a few minutes, I think. Checking to see
if my e-mail posting setup still works.

May be slow to respond to stuff until Sunday or so.

Stacking hay

2009-11-13T05:06:18Z

Another load of hay. One more needed to be good through spring until next season.

Writing stalled again by the sequence of events. Never got a chance to sit down for even an hour.

Tomorrow, an odyssey to Ohio to visit foxen. Not driving, maybe I can write on the road? Ha.

Progress at last

2009-11-12T03:14:40Z

Managed to stifle most of the distractions this afternoon.

Consequence: 3500 words, and quite possibly another thousand or so before bed.

Still writing backwards, from the end back toward the developments that unfold the mystery plots. So far it looks like it will work, at least for producing a draft. Why not? I know how it is supposed to end in this case. Quite precisely in fact. So there shouldn't be any harm in writing the end first, even if it is sort of like eating dessert before the main course. I hope.

Hay supposed to be arriving at 7 am tomorrow. Another distraction, alas.