oooo, pillows.

[lagilman]

enters, falls over onto comfy chair, is limp like sleepy kitten with teh exhaustion. Oy. How could I do so much today and still have so much to do tomorrow?
At least I won't have to do any cooking -- there is chili and roasted chicken in the fridge, enought to last through the end of the year. Yay for planning ahead! Yay for tupperware!


Follow-up:

Apropos the earlier discussion about year-end word counts, I think that part of the reason I don't participate is that in any given year I have what I call "evolutionary work." Stories that start and go nowhere because I'm not ready to write them yet, dead ends or scenes that are hacked out of books, random bits and thoughts of chatacter development, proposals and outlines that are sidelined as paying work comes on-line.... they're not active words, in terms of produced material...should they be counted? Why/why not? And what about revisions? I just rewrote an entire chapter -- do I only count the final words, or both versions, backing out the deleted words?

Too damn much like work, all that.
---------------
Movies/TV:

I have been watching many movies today, as I worked. Silly military and pseudo-military movies like Red Dawn and Force Ten from Navaronne still hold up surprisingly well. And not just because Ford was teh munchy when he was younger, although that don't hurt a bit. It's all about pacing, and the shameless emotional gut-pull. I prefer F10 [even aside from Ford] because it as actual almost-decent dialogue, too. Plus, funny.

Also watched Scarmouche (the 1952 Stewart Granger version) and was quite enchanted, in an "isn't it quaint" sort of way.

Am hoping to get out this weekend to see The Golden Compass, simply so I can decide for myself how it works. I suspect, with the book fresh in my head, it will not compare, but will be very pretty. Very pretty, sometimes, is enough.

And Letterman's production company has come to a side-deal with the WGA, allowing his staff writers to return to work in January [and, I am informed, Colin Ferguson, whose show is also owned and produced by Worldwide Pants]. I personlly prefer Leno, but I will be watching Letterman so's not to be supporting scabs/crossing picket lines. Besides, I have my doubts about Jay's ability to write his own material....
-------------
Random Amusement:

Damn that Neil Gaiman, he has kilt me ded with the following comment:

"I found myself trying to imagine a blood-spattered Sweeney Todd singing "The Laughing Gnome" as he waited for customers, and was unable to explain to anyone else why this was funny.)"

I am now ded with the giggles. It's pitiful, it is. Jes' pitiful.
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Random Annoyance:

The adapter brick of my laptop has started giving off disturbing high-pitched humming noises, and refusing to carry a charge. I suspect it is, for some reason, overheating. There has been a run of sub-par power adapters with the last few generations of Dells, and I am Not Pleased. It may be time for me to change my long-held loyalty. Anyone have any recomendations for a solid workhorse laptop?
----------------------

And, in closing:

I am currently being cuddled by kittens, who have been most disturbed by the activity around Ch. Felidae, and need to sleep on mom to restore their equilibrium. Nice to know what my purpose in the universe is...

Comments

[smoemeth.livejournal.com]

That comment of Neil's fractured me, too.

Re Dell's wonky power bricks -- we have at least a half-dozen lying around our apartment. At any given time, only 2 or 3 are working. It's never the same 2 or 3. It's gotten so that I always travel with a spare, since I never know when the one I've been using will decide to go on vacation for a while. *sigh*

[lagilman]

Turns out this one was only 4 months old. They are sending me a replacement (after I went through two service techs one who said "I can't help you without all your supporting documents including the shipping papers that came with it" and the second who did a back search on my billing address and phone number and was able to help me out relatively quickly. Sometimes you have to keep dialing until you find someone with A Clue... Of course because of NYE, I won't get the new brick until Wednesday. Urrrgh.

I am annoyed, but at least I was smart enough to send my current working materials to offsite storage and can pick it up today via the desktop. The monitor on this thing is lovely and the keyboard's not bad, but I miss all my shortcuts and updated setups...

[neadods.livejournal.com]

My Averatec has been a good laptop.

[wyldemusick.livejournal.com]

I've been very fond of my Toshiba Satellite, which is getting on in years. I've had to replace both the hard drive and the CD-RW/DVD combo drive along the way, but both saw a lot of use and wear and tear, so it's hardly a surprise. The main complaint is the damn power brick -- I'm on my third so far, and the replacements were damn'd expensive (I've since found a much cheaper source for power bricks.) Right now the machine serves mainly as a video player and back up communications deck, but that's only because I haven't stuffed it with my various chosen writing tools.

[lagilman]

Mmm, doesn't sound like much of an improvement - I've actually been quite pleased with the actual laptop -- daily hard use and it's still ticking along. It's the adapters they don't seem to be able to manage. You'd think some kid-whiz somewhere would have found a solution, but no...

[barbara-ferrenz.livejournal.com]

The Dell desktops are workhorses but the laptops seem to poop out. I replaced the cord on one for over heating (for $75) but it died shortly thereafter anyway. We have three dead ones here and I currently have no laptop. I'd be interested in suggestions.

I watched Red Dawn this week. It might be maudlin and manipulative but it gets me every time.

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

Definitely the Powerbook by MAC or the iBook by MAC. I have an iBook, but I lusted after the Powerbook and decided for a back up computer it was too expensive. However, a translator friend bought one and is VERy happy with it.

[lagilman]

Sorry, I used to be a Mac girl (back in the 80's)and went away from it because the Dark Side of the Force suited my needs better.

Also, Mac? Too damn chipper for me, starting with the old "oh woes!" face it used to make when they crashed. Annoying as hell. I deep-sixed Mr. Paperclip too, yes.

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I hear you on the automatons. I hates them with a passion. But I just have disinstalled them.

[allaboutm-e.livejournal.com]

We watched "The Dirty Dozen" the other night, and thought about following it with F10, but ended up playing my new "Grand Canyon Adventure" board game instead. So no HF munchy for moi -- although we did just rewatch IJ3 in preparation for IJ4 this summer...

[eeknight.livejournal.com]

Ford may be cute, but it looked like he was on ludes for most of that movie. But it had Robert Shaw, who's always watchable. And Bond girl Barbara Bach.