So this morning, before work, I went online to check stuff like weather (I’ve never seen a winter this windy, and I spent four winters in Iowa) and whether the school had been closed for The Daughter (it had) and check e-mail. When I closed out AOL, it did that AOL thing it likes to do sometimes where it downloads its own new features (what these are, I have no idea) and requires you to restart your computer. So I clicked “Restart”, and headed for the bathroom to do my teeth and whatnot.
While I was in the bathroom, the power went out for a minute and then came back on. When I came out, I discovered that the restart had failed, and that a file with the ominous-sounding name “Config” had been corrupted. I can only surmise that the computer was trying to do something when the power failure to the apartment interrupted it before it was done, and it wasn’t able to recover itself once the power came back on.
So I’ve just completed the arduous task of running PC Recovery, which restores the computer to its “Out of the box” state. Which is fine, since I’m now up and running again, but it’s literally the “Out of the box” state. As in, everything I had on the hard drive is gone.
Now, this isn’t too disastrous, really; most of the important stuff, minus maybe a month’s worth of photos, was still available via my laptop and my USB flash drives, and even some of the photos I can grab again off Flickr. The music can all be recovered too, I suppose, although that will take some doing. But all of my bookmarks from Firefox are gone, including a giant folder I had of blogs that I hadn’t yet come round to blogrolling. This has happened before, and I’ve in the past been able to find some of those blogs again by memory, but for the most part, I expect that many of them will never be visited by me again, and that’s a shame, since there were some good ones there.
Oh well, nothing lasts forever…but really, hiccups like this are why I’m deeply suspicious of our society’s apparent decision that physical media are Teh Suck. (I’m sure there’s some way I could have saved some of the stuff on the hard drive — maybe there still is, and I’m all ears, folks — but I never have to undergo serious technical work for an entire afternoon to recover the music on a CD. I’m just sayin’.)
And the weather? Yeah. The wind this winter is making me batty.
I’ve just joined Digg and added a Digg button to every post — it’s in the footer there, with the permalink and the other stuff. I’ve been on Digg for all of an hour or so, so I don’t really know what to do with it yet. But anyhow, there it is. Digg away!
To whomever came to this blog via this search, I really hope you found what you were looking for, ’cause if you didn’t, I think I may have to reconsider the whole darn thing!
I have exhaustively culled through my archives of the last twelve months to select these: the Best Posts to appear on Byzantium’s Shores this year. There may be fewer than in years past, since I’ve allowed my posting frequency to slide some this year.
Before I get to that, a couple of things: first, I expect my posting frequency to drop even more in 2008. I’m planning to make some other things in my life more of a priority, which will result in making this blog less of a priority. Not that I plan on disappearing for weeks on end, but my posting will likely top out at a couple of times a week. Second, thanks to all of my readers. My traffic here receded a bit in 2007, most likely owing to my drop in posting activity, and I don’t expect any different in 2008; after nearly six years of blogging, I suspect that I have the audience here that I’m ever likely to have. And thank God for that. So, to all loyal readers, your humble overalls-clad hippie of a narrator thanks you!
It’s that time of year again, when I engage in a bit of navel-gazing. I do this questionnaire at the end of each year, so here’s the 2007 version. If a fairly negative tone is detected running though this post, that’s to be expected, because for me, 2007 was, as years go, a steaming bowl of cat poo, and I’m just as happy to see the damned smelly year come to an end.
Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I kept them all, yay! I resolved to not jump out of airplanes without a parachute, to not paddle a leaky kayak through shark-infested waters, to not invade a landlocked Asian country without securing permission of its neighbors to use their airspace, and to not enter into any secret alliances with Sith Lords or Eddorians. All of these resolutions I kept, and I shall be applying my newfound resolve to the coming year.
In 2008 I shall rein back on the scope of my resolutions. I plan to read more, listen to more music, see more movies. What I want to do is take the AFI’s “Top 100 Movies Ever” list and see as many of the ones on that list that I haven’t seen. I’ll track my progress in this blog.
My big resolutions are twofold. First is to write more, with more fiction to come, as well as making a new attempt at launching a freelance-writing career. Second is to live healthier. The generosity of my parents has made it possible for my family and I to join the local Y this year, and I’m greatly looking forward to using that facility (which is about two miles down the road) to get in better shape than I am now. I actually started trending in this direction in 2007, doing lots of walking during the summer and fall and learning to eat healthier. I’ve doubled the number of vegetables I like to eat (there are four veggies on my menu now, yay!), and I’ve discovered that good bread dipped in extra virgin olive oil has flavor that puts bread-and-butter to shame.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yeah, she did.
Also, a number of valued friends at work had babies this year, actually.
Yeah. About two hours after she was born. This is what I’m talking about, folks: 2007 was supposed to be the good year.
What countries did you visit?
Provence (by way of Guy Gavriel Kay), various worlds (by way of the crew of Serenity), Barsoom (by way of Edgar Rice Burroughs), and the various countries of my own mind.
What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Peace of mind and heart.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Keeping my head above water, most of the time; grabbing the life preserver when it was thrown to me. (This is metaphor.)
As for non-metaphorical stuff, probably my biggest accomplishment — maybe my only accomplishment — was winning the Buffalo News short story contest. I’ve earlier today made the text of the story available on the blog here, since to my knowledge it’s gone from the News website. Read it, it’s short.
What was your biggest failure?
Ignoring the writing on the map that read, “Here there be monsters.” (Still metaphor.)
Back to non-metaphors: The Promised King? Still unfinished. 2008, here we come.
What was the best thing you bought?
Well, Guy Gavriel Kay’s latest novel Ysabel; my copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: The Complete Recordings; my reference Bible (TNIV); and leaving them all in the dust, my Dell Inspiron 1520 laptop.
Whose behavior merited celebration?
The Daughter, who has had Big Sisterhood taken from her three times now, who has seen two “best friends next door” move away in one year, and who has had to stand by while her parents weathered storms.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
As always, the Republicans in Congress and the media who refuse to report on their shenanigans, as well as all the enabling right-wingers who still cling to the absurd notion that Iraq either is or can be a “victory”, that global warming is either something that doesn’t exist or if it does exist is caused by the sun so we can all just trundle merrily along doing whatever we want, and that revenues go up when you cut taxes. I’m also annoyed by the candidates for that party’s Presidential nomination, every single one of them.
Then there were the New York State government people of all persuasions. New Governor Spitzer promised that everything would change on Day One, but he appears to have found a loophole in not exactly saying when Day One is. Then there’s just the entire “More spending, more power for us” attitude in Albany; talk about fiddling while Rome burns. Nero had nothing on these guys.
On a less political note, Major League Baseball has finally lost me completely, even if the Pirates somehow do manage to field a decent team.
Where did most of your money go?
Increasingly, gas and food. Funny how those prices go up and up and up while the paychecks don’t. But that’s OK, because rich people get richer, so the economy’s just fine and I should just shut up and smile while they pocket their tax cuts.
What did you get really excited about?
The new GGK novel; my new laptop.
What song will always remind you of 2007?
“Yo Ho Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life For Me” (we’ve been on a Pirates of the Caribbean kick lately). “People Get Ready”, by Curtis Mayfield. “I’m Alright”, by Jo Dee Messina (not a country fan, but I love this song). “Scythr Song”, by Dougie Maclean. And “The Village Lanterne”, by Blackmore’s Night. This is too bad, really, because those are really good songs, and they deserve better than to be associated in my head with the 365 Days of Crap on a Stick that was 2007.
Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
Huh. I’m gonna have to think about that one a bit.
Thinner or fatter?
Thinner, but not by a whole lot yet. That’s still to come.
Richer or poorer?
Poorer, but not horribly. Yet. I’m just loving getting less than half a tank of gas in my car for twenty bucks and paying twice for milk that I paid a year ago, and then coming home and reading articles about the approaching recession that still hasn’t arrived.
Worrying about stuff I can’t control, and controlling the stuff I wasn’t worried about.
How will you be spending Christmas?
Well, Christmas is past, as always. I spent it with my family. Opening gifts, eating food, reading and writing, visiting Little Quinn’s grave.
Did you fall in love in 2007?
As always, I fall in love on a daily basis. (I’ve been giving that answer every year for this question.)
How many one-night stands?
Eight, and they were on the same night. Wow, I was tired for days after that. (No, this isn’t true. Yeesh. But as if I would answer that question!)
What was your favorite TV program?
Scrubs (now in its final season), The Amazing Race (I love you Mirna!), American Idol (of the final two this year the right person won, but it was the wrong final two in the first place), Firefly. (No one said it had to a be a show that aired this year.)
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate’s a pretty useless emotion. That’s why I keep all of my hatred focused upon professional football personnel from the Boston, MA area. Oh, and on the Dutch. I hate the Dutch!
(And while I don’t “hate” any of them, I find the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination laughable, without exception. Wow, what a bunch of wankers.)
What was the best book you read?
Off the top of my head, Ysabel by GGK and The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross. But when I do my “Best posts of 2007” post later on, I’ll probably discover a number of other books worthy of mention here.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
Years ago, I listened to the symphonies of Jean Sibelius and didn’t like them much at all, so aside from Finlandia, I’ve not much bothered with Sibelius since then. Until, that is, a few weeks ago, when I dusted off a CD of his Fifth Symphony (Leonard Bernstein, VPO), and found myself captivated by the musical imagery.
What did you want and get?
The laptop, obviously. At work, I also got a new 18-volt cordless drill. I acquired more books and music and movie.
What did you want and not get?
Healthy Child Number Two. When one finds one’s dead children outnumbering their living children, one looks to the Guy Upstairs and asks, “Hey, just how essential is my suffering to this ‘plan’ of yours, anyway?”
What were your favorite films of this year?
I tend to be very lax in seeing movies in their year of release, given how expensive movie-going has become. This year I saw only two movies, and I liked The Simpsons Movie more than I liked Spiderman 3. Ironically, this was clinched by the appearance of Spiderpig.
What did you do on your birthday?
It wasn’t exactly on my birthday, but The Wife and I took an overnight jaunt to the Fingerlakes Region and Ithaca, NY.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Same as always: Bob Vila abducted by deadheads. Changing one’s “fashion concept” on a yearly basis strikes me as terribly silly, as does heeding the fashion advice of people who, in my eyes, look staggeringly silly or downright corpselike.
What kept you sane?
I’m not convinced that I did, in fact, remain sane in 2007, but I’ll stick with my stock answer: The Daughter.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Jenna Fischer, Sela Ward, Miss Teen South Carolina. (She had a point, folks: most US Americans actually don’t have maps.)
What political issue stirred you the most?
Global warming. (After I clicked a link in a blog and found myself reading Orson Scott Card’s essay in which he responds to Al Gore’s winning the Nobel Peace Prize by calling Gore “pond scum”, I banished Card forever from my bookshelves. I’ll just have to live as good a literary life as I can without ever having read Ender’s Game. Somehow I think I’ll survive.)
Who did you miss?
Bill Clinton. But hey, 2008 may bring the next best thing!
Who was the best new person you met?
You. No, not you. I knew you already. You. Yeah, you.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
Re-using the ones from last year: The Internet is made of people. Rush more, blitz less. Don’t punt when you’re trailing or when you’re in your opponent’s territory. Democracy works, at least sometimes. Not all tears are an evil. Cool-whip is a miracle substance. So is ice cream. Use your library; limiting your reading to only those books you can afford to buy is madness. OpenOffice is a quality program. From pizza to quiche to apple to coconut cream, pie is the greatest of foods. We’re not meant to be alone. No object fits in your hand so perfectly as your wife’s hand, and no object fits so perfectly on your shoulder as your child’s head. Keep smiling, because you never know what life will throw in your face next!
Don’t shed a tear for me I stand alone This path of destiny Is all my own Once in the hands of fate There is no choice An echo on the wind You’ll hear my voice…
Some choose to fall behind Some choose to lead Some choose a golden path Laden with greed But it’s the noble heart That makes you strong And in that heart, I’m with you all along…
*The olde village lanterne Is calling me onward Leading wherever I roam The olde village lanterne A light in the dark Bringing me closer to home…
So when you think of me Do so with pride Honor and bravery Ruled by my side And in your memory I will remain I will forever be within the flame…
Now at the journey’s end We’ve traveled far And all we have to show Are battle scars But in the love we shared We will transcend And in that love, our journey never ends…
So there we have it: 2007. Raise to it a glass, then kick it in the ass!
Just a quickie post to let you know that I have not been abducted by aliens or conscripted by the Earth Defense Fleet to combat the invading Saturnian Slime Devils. Things are just highly hectic this week. I will post more during the weekend, hopefully. (We also had a hiccup in our DSL service today, which I’m hoping has passed completely.)
Just a quick note that the next couple of weeks will see a reduced frequency of new material on this blog, as the Gods of Hectic have decided to make me their plaything this year. Wow, have things gotten hectic. They’ve become so hectic that I just used the past participle of “got”. You know it’s hectic at Casa Jaquandor when that happens!
I’m not going on any kind of full hiatus or anything, because the blog still represents an island of sanity for me. (And there’s a statement about my life, I guess — I hang out in Blogistan for my daily dose of sanity.) But if two or even three days pass without anything new here, don’t be alarmed.
Hey folks! I hope you’re all having a fine weekend. And for those of you who were out early shopping yesterday morning, What on Earth is wrong with you??!!
Anyhow, this blog will be on kinda-sorta-hiatus for an undetermined time, due to an annoying change in circumstances — specifically, our DSL connection has decided to go on something of a vacation. Thus we have no Interweb at Casa Jaquandor. Oh noes!
Of course, I will be doing everything humanly within my power to fix this problem, because not having Interweb is like not having…oh I don’t know, coffee? Milk? Toilet paper? But obviously, until the Interweb is restored at Casa Jaquandor, posting here will be pretty much nonexistent.
I will be writing posts and saving them to disk and flash-drive so that when I am back online, content will flow again. I will be able to check my e-mail during my breaks while I am at The Store, so I won’t be completely incognito. There are, however, a number of folks out there to whom I owe longer responses on some e-mails and comments left on old posts here; I hope you folks (who likely know who you are!) won’t mind waiting for those responses.
Meantime, be excellent to one another! We’ll be back as soon as we can.
UPDATE 11-25-07: Well, the problem appears to be fixed for now. I say “for now” because I’m not totally sure it’s fixed, but after I last night put some recommendations I got from an Earthlink rep into place, our connection has been a lot more solid, only going off for a couple of minutes at a time, here and there, and it hasn’t gone out at all in several hours as of this writing. Here’s hoping.
(For the tech-heads out there, I’d feared that our DSL modem had conked out, and thus we’d be offline until I could get a new one. However, the Earthlink guy suggested removing the DSL filter between the modem and the wall-jack and just plugging the modem into the phone jack directly, and that seems to be working just fine. So instead of having both the phone and the DSL connection plugged into the same jack and using a filter to split the signal — and leaving our other phone jack unoccupied — I have the phone plugged into one, using a filter, and the DSL directly into another. I’ve also moved the modem the recommended distance from anything else that’s electrical, although I never took that action in the first place, so I’m not sure if that has anything to do with it, but hey, why not.)
As for the blog, I’ll remain quiet until tomorrow afternoon. The Burst of Weirdness will return next week. I’ll also skip a week on Sentential Links, so that won’t be running tomorrow afternoon either. Unidentified Earth will return to its Thursday schedule. And so on. (All this is, of course, contingent on our Interweb working right from here on out.)
There’s a widget going around Blogistan that tests your blog’s readability level. So I plugged my own URL in to see, and here’s what happened:
Ummmm…what?
Not that there’s anything wrong with this, mind you — Lloyd Alexander wrote at an elementary school level a lot of time, and it served him rather well — but I wouldn’t mind having some notion of methodology here.
Yup, it’s coming up, folks: the official Holiday season social gathering of navel-gazing keyboard pounders known as a Christmas Bloggercon! The date is December 8, the place (since no one’s strenuously argued for another) is Buffalo Sports Garden, and the time? I’m guessing around 7:00, unless anyone thinks it should be later, around the 8:00 range. Bloggers, commenters, lurkers, and families thereof are welcome to attend. Given that this is a basic sports bar joint, I’m guessing that it’s simply a “show up and see what’s going on” type of thing. The Sabres do play that night, at San Jose, so it’s a late game; we won’t be battling a crowd on that basis.
For those who have never come to any kind of blogging get-together, well, I’ve only been to two of ’em myself, but my experience is that we don’t actually blog while we’re there. Because that would be, you know, lame. And we’re not lame in Buffalo, are we?
UPDATE: Well, it seems that Jennifer can’t make the 8th, so if everyone involved wants to move the meetup to the 9th, I’m fine with that. (I’m also perfectly fine with a change in venue; it’s not like I had my heart set on that sports bar or anything, having just tossed that out there and not heard any suggestions otherwise!)
UPDATE II: OK, all this damned waffling on my part isn’t helping the cause at all, is it? So I’ll be at the afore-mentioned location at the time also afore-mentioned, on the 8th, as originally planned. Sorry for all the cock-ups on this thing, and if anyone wants to show up just to tell me how bad I am at event planning, well, I’ll plead guilty as charged! And I hope to catch everyone else at another blogger event in the future.
