An Insupportable Light

I just got the hard copy of "An Insupportable Light," and it looks great. The cover's really nice, lined up perfectly, and the internal text and artwork look lovely.

I just proofed and uploaded it. This is the final revision. Now I can go scan the newest Desert Peach and Stinz stories for AFTERDEAD 1.3

Open Office works beautifully with Lulu.com.

Techno-hicks Forever

Since I started traveling, I picked up shrimp for a hippy commune, stayed at the commune (so many good ideas!), hiked around Marrowstone Island, helped the woman who runs the downtown Ghost Tour in Seattle to string pendulum beads and got invited on the tour, got the files off the crashed computer (she'll recycle it) from a specialist who lives in Renton, and is worth the drive, and picked up planned electronics (including a solar panel to go with the big battery and inverter we already have, and small but powerful backups for the laptops -- one of which got the dump from the dead computer).

And found the most yummy soap on the planet.... the shop is in the Westlake Mall in Seattle, and while I was horsing around waiting for a meeting (for which I hope great things), I walked by the door and the delicious odors reached out and grabbed me by the nose. I bought the shampoo pucks because customers were raving, one puck for me, one for Roberta.

The stuff WORKS -- and it has no toxins and lasts forever. No more sodium laurel sulphate for US.

Fun With Lulu

Any time you see me put the word "fun" in a title it means Shoals Ahead.

Had some problems uploading the Stinz novel: damaged files. Weirdly enough Lulu's site upload works a lot faster than using the ftp site, at least from the PC.

Sigh. Yes, I have more than one computer, now. We gradually work the old rickety ones out, while loading new things into the new ones, with new formats and hardware. I feel like I'm dealing with the Hitchhiker clones. So far, the laptops are named Black Beauty and White Nite. I've had to revive Butthead for finding old files, because Black Tower kinda died one day when the cat stepped on the power switch.

I've put a notation on the Little Store page, but at least you'll know where to find the novel when the !$$#!! thing finally behaves.

Oh, and I've finally finished enough pages for another small AFTERDEAD. I may be using MagCloud for a short run (Oh, boy! Another brick wall around the industry I can leave a Donna-shaped hole in! Which is how a colleague says you know which way things will go, because I'm limping and talking to myself) but it will be up on Lulu. I hate using Booksurge because they kinda sorta don't know who they are any more, but it's the only way to put up all the color.

Since I started processing the revised Stinz and scanning and cleaning all the files for the Desert Peach collection, I've hardly done any drawing. If I can just get the Stinz done next winter then I'll have the major work out of the way and available for good and can get back to some artwork. If I still know how.... ;P

Off To See The Wizard

Which is what I call it when I head out on the semi-annual trip to The Emerald City, ie Seattle.
I need to get more photos for article I'm flogging, on how to get from Seattle to here and back for less than $20.00. I took the actual ride, but now I need some better photos, and ironically, I need to go by my own vehicle to stop and pick up clear photos.

Also required: photos to monitor the "Scenic" Byway on Highway 112, promoted by the logging industry to show them thar environmen'lists how Working Forests -- well -- work. The Axman industry kind of shot themselves in the foot -- in a good way. The DNR still poisons the hell out of the ground to kill off the undergrowth in some of the areas (I plan to get the photos of the grass that is growing where the wild food plants should be), but on the Byway they're starting to leave it alone. Salal and salmon-berry look a lot better than raw stumps by themselves, and a lot sooner. The Axmen up here whine that they HAVE to clearcut because of the "jungle conditions." I grew UP in this stuff -- I once chased a runaway horse in my church clo's -- and only total sissies would call THIS a jungle. These white folks jes' lazy (a word my Immigrant Song people slings around real generous about cullud folks what won't work all day for half price). It's gonna be fun if the people up here stop using the Cancer Walk money for "research" and turn it into a class-action suit against the logging industry. They'll find out just how much money is in this business, and how much of it they've NOT been getting (my family was in the pulp industry; this is what happens when you let one of us get all edimicated).*

Anyway, I hope to (in order): (a) get Dan's birthday present dry-cleaned (b) visit a homesteading operation (and deliver them shrimp) (c) watch the Port Orchard fireworks with a beer in my hand (d) meet with a possible manager/agent (e) see if I can get the info off my sick computer (f) help a colleague use her domain-name and work a new camera (g) visit a friend's farm (h) pick up major supplies on the road back. When you live in the country you USE a trip.

Now if I only had a balloon.

(I'll be working on two customer stories, one featuring Udo and the Peach and the other Sgt. Kirschen from Stinz. I love me MacBook. And wifi.)

*My apologies to Eubonics. I learned my languages of irony and rage in the barracks, trying to learn to dance with the black girls. I drop into a bad imitation any time I spot general hypocrisy. They used me as a bad example: "Gull, you dance like Colbert here!" (My nee' name). If you'd ever seen me trying to do the Push-n-Pull or the Uncle Willie in hospital scrubs, you'd know what they meant.

And people ask me where I get these ideas....I should have had a video camera all my life.