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Crazy old ape
Quote by gillianleeza
My computer has a version of Windows that is so old I am embarrassed to say it here. Luckily my oldest son remotely fixed my issues.
I assume your son has already pointed that only 8.1 and 10 are still in extended support and therefore getting security patches. But, yeah, there's still a lot of older stuff out there. I have an old laptop that we only keep because our new boxes don't have CD/DVD drives and sometimes we find old discs we want to rip. I did manage to get 10 running on it but it is probably about as old a box as can take 10 (came with 7).
Good morning. Seems like a nice day is looming here. Putting the kettle on and getting the coffee brewing.
Crazy old ape
Quote by Molly
I'm watching Lovecraft Country on HBO Max and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It has some really strong actors in it.
I was already eyeing the book on my library's Overdrive when the series was announced. Might stiill read it at some point but doubt I'll see the show. HBO is weird in Canada because HBO Canada is actually part of the Bell Canada group so HBO Max is largely replaced by Bell's own Crave streaming service. Whereas Amazon Prime and Netflix still have their own operations in Canada.
Crazy old ape
After a bit of a break, finally finished Russian Doll on Netflix. Gets a bit darker in the late game and also more confusing. Still a pretty good show, though. Natasha Lyonne and Charlie Barnett are excellent in the lead roles (Lyonne got Emmy nominations as both star and co-writer) and the supporting cast is pretty strong, too. Still not sure how they are going to get a second series out of it, though. They did seem (it's hard to tell since the ending is a bit weird) to wrap things up.
Oh, and supporting player Jeremy Bobb gets the award "Most Likely To Play Jack Nicholson In a Biopic". I mean, seriously, had this been made in the seventies, I would have thought it was Jack playing the part.
Oh, and supporting player Jeremy Bobb gets the award "Most Likely To Play Jack Nicholson In a Biopic". I mean, seriously, had this been made in the seventies, I would have thought it was Jack playing the part.
Crazy old ape
Quote by Molly
Verity: We’ll Be Home By Christmas
Survivor: The Little Survivor
AnnaMayZing: Over The Top
KatarinaTechgoddess: I'm Still alive
CuriousAnnie: Broken Banns
Dang, that's a pretty good lineup of writers so far. And verbal is coming soon, as am I now (yes, I think a version I wrote the other night will fly, just needs some judicious editing and maybe a bit more prose).
Crazy old ape
Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
I’ve got a couple of bottles of Moscato and a buncha glasses. Who’s in?
I honestly didn’t know if I was going to be able to make my story over 1000 words and then my fingers kept typing ans boom 1492 words!
Start pouring. It's a weekend.dTxAukESyC1skXm0
Length isn't a problem for me. The part of the story that is written is well past 1001 words (thinking 1700 or so without actually checking). It's actually making the narrative work.
Crazy old ape
Quote by Survivor
my MacBook.
I knew there was something weird about you, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
(To be fair, though, if I was going to switch away from Windows, I would probably be headed into the even weirder parallel universe known as Linux)
Good luck with the Internet crap, verbal. Since I do IT for a living, I absolutely hate having to troubleshoot my own stuff. Too much like work.4tmTpkfkAVgaS26H
Good evening. Another week grinds to an ending.
Crazy old ape
Coffee and kettle are on. Got some Sunday Tea in the pot. Still muggy, but not too hot, here with showers later in the day (actually, it's starting to cloud over already).
Might try a new story today. Might also take another effort at ending the existing one. We shall see.
On that new computer, Gil, unless you are really desperate, might want to wait until models preloaded with Windows 11 ship. Anything you buy now will be upgradeable, just that upgrades tend to be a pain. Of course, if you live in the weird parallel universe that is Apple, then ignore all this.
Might try a new story today. Might also take another effort at ending the existing one. We shall see.
On that new computer, Gil, unless you are really desperate, might want to wait until models preloaded with Windows 11 ship. Anything you buy now will be upgradeable, just that upgrades tend to be a pain. Of course, if you live in the weird parallel universe that is Apple, then ignore all this.
(I'm only half-joking) Crazy old ape
Someday, Ping, he will make you regret the education you are giving him. And it will happen when you least expect it.
Now praying the showers hold off until after dinner. Mrs. M wants to BBQ and I'd rather not get my evening shower while cooking.
I think I am going to just let my comp entry lie for a while, then try it again on the weekend. Writing in the evening may be part of the problem. I am a morning person through and through.
Green tea time.
Now praying the showers hold off until after dinner. Mrs. M wants to BBQ and I'd rather not get my evening shower while cooking.
I think I am going to just let my comp entry lie for a while, then try it again on the weekend. Writing in the evening may be part of the problem. I am a morning person through and through.
Green tea time.
Crazy old ape
Would you believe I am considering starting over with a new story one week before the end. Unlike SpaceX, I just can't seem to stick the landing on this one to save my soul.
Working out on the deck today, but it is pretty muggy so might retreat indoors. Plus the risk of showers starts to rise mid-afternoon when I am stuck in meetings.
Putting the kettle on and making a pot of my Irish Breakfast tea. Yes, it is well past breakfast but it's a nice black tea and I need some caffeine.
Working out on the deck today, but it is pretty muggy so might retreat indoors. Plus the risk of showers starts to rise mid-afternoon when I am stuck in meetings.
Putting the kettle on and making a pot of my Irish Breakfast tea. Yes, it is well past breakfast but it's a nice black tea and I need some caffeine.
Crazy old ape
I am stuck on the ending. I think I need to roll back to where I stopped the first draft (which was bit too abrupt of an ending) and try a totally new direction. This is frustrating. I have this vague idea of how this should go but none of my attempts to actually write it are sticking. It's pretty good right up until the point where I need to put the ending, then it starts flailing madly.
Anyhow, good day all (probably not morning for most of us anymore). Kettle is on for an afternoon teatime.
Anyhow, good day all (probably not morning for most of us anymore). Kettle is on for an afternoon teatime.
Crazy old ape
*Grabs a ball and a bat* Not a fan of the sport, but I'll take cookies in any shape.
Good evening. Muggy here today and lots of rain, with more possibly still on the way.
Comp entry is stalled a bit. Struggling with the ending. I know how to end it plot-wise, just putting it in words in a way that flows naturally is proving to be a challenge.
Good evening. Muggy here today and lots of rain, with more possibly still on the way.
Comp entry is stalled a bit. Struggling with the ending. I know how to end it plot-wise, just putting it in words in a way that flows naturally is proving to be a challenge.
Crazy old ape
Quote by AnnaMayZing
I think that the organisers must be a little disappointed in the current level of interest.
An outsider looking to see whether he/she should join us and enter would probably think, " Why bother?"
There are currently enough to take the prize money but not even enough for seven honourable mentions.
Also, the new CEO is probably wondering whether he has done the right thing by keeping the site open.
Come on, guys. he has done his bit, shouldn't we now do ours?
Some of us can't just crack off a story in no time. I work fulltime and have household stuff to deal with. Writing is a "when time allows" thing. I have a comp story basically done but the ending isn't working so it will end up being fairly close to the line once I get it sorted. Which is unusual, but not unheard of, for me in comps.
And I have heard buzz about a couple other stories in progress, just not from people who are regularly hanging out here so we have not heard from them. Among those who are regulars, verbal sounds like he is going to be in, just last minute.
So I am expecting that we could see a wave of last minute entries. Since we don't have the "10 votes to make the short list" rule like certain other sites, I don't think people don't feel as under the gun to get their stories in early.
All that said, if that does not happen, then I might agree with you. Last summer's Word Bank comp had 16 entries. Even allowing for the longer lengths in this one (that comp had a 500 word limit, so many of us had our entries done fairly quickly), meaning it will take some of us more time to write our entries, I would disappointed to see less than 10 here.
Might I suggest that cheerleading and promoting the comp, rather than chiding, is probably more likely to get a response. I have started a thread on the sister site and posted about the comp on social media and my own site.
Crazy old ape
Quote by Survivor
The whole report is really very good. Nothing to worry about. No new therapies were indicated.
Good news all round. Glad to hear it.
Quote by verbal
Poppy Z Brite (it's a real name) is excellent at this particular sub-genre.
Yep, though she has tended to come and go, not as productive as some of her peers.
Quote by Ping
Any pineapple juice in this joint? If so, a tall glass over ice would be nice. Please and thank you.
Check the fridge by the breakfast bar. I think every type of fruit juice known to humankind is in there.
Crazy old ape
Quote by verbal
So today I begin to write a horror fairytale, which I don't think is even a genre.
Some of Tanith Lee's stuff kind of went there. And Gaiman at times. Charles de Lint got pretty dark at times. And a few others. I'm not sure it has ever been named as a genre, but it certainly exists though a lot of it tends to get tagged as "urban fantasy" rather than "horror".
Crazy old ape
Hope the news all good, Larry. We'll keep some coffee hot for you when you get back. And same day CT results? Damn, that's slick. I get my blood results (except for ones requiring more time to process) same or next day but never radiology stuff.
Kind of grey and icky here. Only a small chance of showers but it is still wet from yesterday and with the cloud cover, things aren't drying out very quickly.
Been doing a bit of promo for the comp. Posted a thread on Lush (it's allowed, clum and I did it for the SS comps last year) and tweeted about it. Others might consider doing the same. A comp is a way to attract some new blood as well as rile up the base.
Kind of grey and icky here. Only a small chance of showers but it is still wet from yesterday and with the cloud cover, things aren't drying out very quickly.
Been doing a bit of promo for the comp. Posted a thread on Lush (it's allowed, clum and I did it for the SS comps last year) and tweeted about it. Others might consider doing the same. A comp is a way to attract some new blood as well as rile up the base.
Crazy old ape
Quote by verbal
I have totally by accident turned grilling fish into something that is easy and foolproof. I've always been scared to grill fish because it's so hard, but we bought a screen mat that you lay over the grill. Get a good piece of salmon, season lightly, oil the fish, oil the mat, oil everything, get the grill HOT and then cook, with cover down, skin side down. 8 minutes, flip, 2 minutes, and eat! Foolproof and really good. Crispy on the outside, flaky on the inside! Just like me.
Dad used to cook fresh-caught lake trout (which are freshwater cousins of salmon) on the BBQ at the cottage. Yummy, indeed. Forget what he put them on. I think it was something with foil.
Apparently the local Italians went nuts down on Richmond Row (local entertainment district) last night. I was downtown one year when that happened. Forget now which tournament that was. Not fun for those not celebrating. Noisy and ties up traffic something fierce.
Coffee is on and I have got some Sunday Tea brewing in the teapot (Ceylonese black with French vanilla).
Crazy old ape
Quote by AnnaMayZing
The highly irritating sounds of fans cheering or shouting at someone's distant house whilst England play Italy in the Euros.
Funny, I thought we had left Europe...
I hate football so much!!
Apparently not as far as the Euro Cup is concerned, eh. Funny thing is, we sometimes go through the same thing here. Not regular Canadians like me. They'd rather make a fuss over hockey or American football. But a lot of the European and Latin American immigrant communities still go nuts during major footie events like the Euro and the World Cup.
Right now, I'm just hearing music in my head. For some reason I have trouble shutting down earworms anymore. Current one is
Crazy old ape
Quote by rolandlytle
I watched Richard Branson go into space with five others. I should have chosen billionaire as a career path after high school to make it into space.
You know, Sir Richard has lots to both take credit and answer for, but I am a bit meh on this. Fact is, he just put up the cash. Burt Rutan and other engineers are the real stars of that show. Musk at least has an engineering background and I can almost believe him sitting in on the discussions whereas my sense with Branson and Bezos is that they show up when the work is done to reap the credit. And, frankly, if I was heading for space today, Soyuz would be my first choice. Thing has been flying for nearly fifty years and its only recent incident ended happily when the launch abort system saved the crew. Not the prettiest or most comfortable spacecraft, but it works and works well. Crew Dragon riding a Falcon 9 would probably be second.
Quote by Ping
Surprising to some, but not to those of us who played, squash was rated as the most physically taxing sport.
I suspect that applies to racquet sports in general. One person covering a fair bit of turf with no backup requires a lot of motion and energy. Watch world-class badminton or ping pong sometime. Even a long match between top-ranked tennis players.
Good evening. Got some shopping and cleaning out of the way. Not much else to do. Grey and shower-y here so biking and walking are off the menu. Might do a ride on my stationary bike later.
Oo, still some coffee cake left. * takes a piece and puts the kettle on *
Crazy old ape
Quote by verbal
20 days to get a comp entry in, right? Sigh. I promise to read all of them, but not before I get an idea - I almost slole Larry's by accident!
I thought we were down to 2 weeks or so. Will check.
EDIT: Announcement says July 23 so 13 days left. I actually thought it was 2 weeks from Monday for some reason, but it is actually 2 weeks yesterday.