Quote by TomEccleston
Only just ventured into the forum to find I don't need to promote my story, Dark Image, because Mendalla already did it for me. Thank you!
Really enjoying the creativity in the stories on display. Some absolute crackers.
Yeah, I wanted to make sure this comp, and the stories, got as much attention as possible. The comp theme was, in case you haven't noticed, very near and dear to my heart. Horror and ghost stories are among my favorite things to read and write.
Quote by JamesPBear
PVR has a hard drive, but Mandella, how do you attach an external hard drive? And how do you record TV stuff on one?
My TV actually has a USB 2.0 port on it that I can plug a USB hard drive into with software to play files off of it. I don't think I can record on it, though. And my PVR is in a box in the basement now that I only watch streaming. I think it had a USB port for adding additional storage but I never used it.
Quote by henrietta_fielding
Talking of hard drives, I'm trying to extract one from my old laptop (with not much success so far).
Yeah, laptops are really variable as to how easy it is to get inside them. I have had to poke around in them in the past, mostly to do memory upgrades. Now I have staff for that. 😊
Our current desktop at home (which I picked because we standardized on it at work) is micro-case design that actually uses laptop parts and it is actually easier to maneuver in than most laptops even though it is probably smaller (certainly small than my 14" work laptop).
Nice to see you pop by. Hope all is well with you.
Good morning! Sunny here and getting warmer, even (not summer warm, but certainly warm compared to the past week). Not much happening here.
I've brewed a batch of fresh coffee. There's some orange pekoe (Red Rose) in the teapot and the kettle has hot water if you want something else from the tea cupboard or some hot chocolate
Quote by Mendalla
Got a dinette set to build but otherwise just a routine weekend.
Hot tip: When you order a cheap dinette set off Amazon, don't assume the instructions are correct. Both the table and chairs had me ready to hulk out until I abandoned the instructions and did things based on logic from the problems I was having.
Oh well, that's behind me now. Just listening to some music and vegging online.
I see the magic words "butterscotch marshmallow" up there. A couple those should go nice with my afternoon Buddha's Blend.
I think my TV is pretty good with external hard drives. Just plug it in and wheeeee. Haven't plugged my external into it in a while, though. Don't have many downloaded movies. It otherwise sucks as a Smart TV and I ended up getting a Chromecast anyhow. One of these days I shall give in and get a new one that's got better software and 4K resolution.
Nice weekend ahead here where I am. Sunny and low double digits (Celsius). Got a dinette set to build but otherwise just a routine weekend. Have an idea for the Golden Orchid Press comp mentioned in another thread so may take a swing at that.
Coffee is brewed and there's Cream of Earl Grey in the pot with lots of other delicious teas of all colours available. Hot chocolate, too, with a never-ending supply of mini marshmallows.
Quote by Ping
Katheryn Bigalow?
Bigelow is an interesting director and her career has had quite a trajectory. I'm a huge fan of Near Dark, the modern-day vampire western that was her debut. Bit of a B-movie feel to the plot but with main feature quality directing and acting. Not sure if she was involved with Cameron yet at that point, but Lance Henrikson and Bill Paxton, who had both been in Terminator and Aliens, were in it so the connection might have been there.
And just think, all that beauty because the sun has the hiccups. 😊 (Okay, that's not quite the scientific explanation, but it's not a bad image for it really).
Of course the real fun begins when we get a "belch". Read up on the Carrington Event and then apply that to our modern, heavily electrified world. Quebec had a chunk of their grid taken out by a flare once. (eighties?).
Quote by redwriter
Hi Everyone, Just back from a first drive since my cataract op last week. Driving okay, at least I can see ALL of the road now. But, by hell, the wind's turned chill today. Could I beg a good hot chocolate, please?
Good to hear you got fixed up. I am in an 8 month waiting list just to see an opthalmologist but have another option I am pursuing. Fortunately, it's only one eye and not too bad yet.
Lots of hot chocolate but go easy on the marshmallows or Sara might hunt you down.😨
Glad you and your boy got to see the aurora, Ping. I have not seen one in decades. Had a nice show at the cottage one summer when I was a teenager. Been too cloudy and we are a bit too far South for this latest event it seems.
I haven't been to the German side of the Alps. Just Switzerland and the Italian side. That looks lovely, though.
Quote by Welshdreamer42
I think it would be really interesting to submit a summer tale to this call, don’t you? 😉
Christmas ghost stories are a mood rather than specifically about Christmas. I am pretty sure some of M. R. James Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, which they cite as an example, are set at other times of the year (and, by the way, is possibly the best single author collection of ghost/horror stories ever published).
Quote by CuriousAnnie
Quote by Mendalla
Not just any ghost story, but a Christmas ghost story. I love this genre, stories told by the fire on a winter's night making you shiver from more than just the drafty windows. Might give it a whirl myself
But if its Christmas why would there be a winter's fire? Christmas is all about heat and humidity, July is the time for winter ghost stories 😇
Don't rub it in.🙄 We just got our first snow here. Just a dusting that will melt by noon, but a sign of things to come. Maybe if your country reopens by then, I should come spend Christmas with you.😈
But, yeah, I guess Christmas ghost stories are a Northern hemisphere thing.
Quote by CuriousAnnie
Himself decided to celebrate his first Halloween by sleeping through the night for the first time.
Mine was a Spring baby and his first time sleeping through was Mother's Day. But, yeah, as Ping and Verbs said, treasure these moments. Mine now lives 6 hours away with his partner and we mostly see them via .
Quote by Ping
Do the Braves’ fans still do the tomahawk chop?
Actually, there was a picture doing the rounds recently of Trump doing it at one of the games. But, hey, Trump...
Good evening. I no longer have candy stashes to raid. Fortunately, there always the Inspirations Cookie jars.😊
Quote by Violet_the_Verbose
Sixteen!! Sorry I didn't get to read it yet. Will try today.
I have been trying to watch the 1977 Count Dracula on Prime but it's 4:3 ratio and looks terrible on my screen. This version stars Louis Jourdan as Dracula and Frank Finlay as Van Helsing and was a favorite of mine when it first came out. Have not watched it in years. Fairly faithful to the novel but, as always with Dracula adaptations, has some odd changes, e.g. Lucy and Mina are sisters instead of best friends and it is suggested Lucy is into Jonathan and is jealous of Mina's relationship with him.
Time for coffee, tea, and whatever else will help with Halloween hangovers. Tea is Red Rose steeped extra strong and coffee is a caffeine rich dark roast.
SciShow is one of my fave YouTube channels and yesterday's video was about bears. Thought James might benefit from its wisdom.😉
Wow, usually the comp stays open until the next day. Must have ended at midnight today instead of end of today.
Quote by Ping
Is there another way to see a list of the comp stories?
Go to the home page, scroll down past the home page stories to Categories and there is a "Competitions" option. Click/tap that and Spooky Tales is first on the list.
