(no subject)

[ealgylden]

I've just spent over five incredibly frustrating hours trying to get my computer to work, and it's still only barely cooperating. It's lucky that I don't have anything sufficiently heavy at hand, or I probably would no long have a computer at all. I'm so filled with techno-hate right now. I've been marinating some chicken in rum, lime and chilis for dinner tonight, and at this point I keep thinking "heck with the chicken, gimme that rum!" I will catch up with all my comments, emails and reading everyone's snappy posts, but it'll likely be slow going.

Remember writing on paper? I miss paper.


Book meme, nicked from zortified-

Book(s) I just finished reading:

Good Omens (reread #2079)
Black Orchids- Rex Stout
Prisoner's Base- Rex Stout
The Eyes of the Killer Robot- John Bellairs
Nowheresville- Mark Rickett (that's a graphic novel, actually)

Book(s) I am currently in the midst of reading:

Might As Well Be Dead- Rex Stout
Amphigorey and Amphigorey Too- Edward Gorey (childhood faves of mine)
Classical Turkish Cooking- Ayla Algar
The Blue Sword- Robin McKinley
Hen Frigates: Wives of Merchant Captains Under Sail- Joan Druett

Books waiting patiently to be read next:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (baaaa)
Raising Demons- Shirley Jackson
The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt- John Bellairs
Maigret and the Nahour Case- Georges Simenon
The Music of the Spheres- Elizabeth Redfern

I always have a bunch of books going at once (obviously), and in the summer I tend to do a lot of rereading (and I read a lot of kids' books as well). 95% of those books I've already read. But they get me through the summer heat, which not my friend.

And this seemed apropos considering the meme. Nicked from declineandfall and kathlaw:



You will be smothered under a rug. You're a little
anti-social, and may want to start gaining new
social skills by making prank phone calls.


What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?
brought to you by Quizilla

Alright, time to play catch up. Stupid computer.

Comments

Books and silicon

[kathlaw.livejournal.com]

Utmost sympathies on the computer. Fortunately, mine's been in a good mood lately, but I'm sure to talk to him a lot or else he acts up. (He's named Sleipnir II, the 8-gigged steed, for the size of his hard drive. His predecessor, Sleipnir I had eight megs of RAM, hence the start of the Norse name.)

Are you reading BLUE SWORD for the first time? Lucky gal! I sometimes envy those discovering books that are my own favorites, for the first time. All the joy of discovery and then re-reading that I know well. THE HERO AND THE CROWN which is written after but is a prequel, is also wonderful, but there's just something special about Blue Sword. I think of the opening each time I have orange juice and play with my flatware.

Re: Books and silicon

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

That's a very clever name for your computer. Mine's usually Gozer, or things more profane. It's pure evil. Argh!

Are you reading BLUE SWORD for the first time?

Alas, no. It's an old favorite of mine- I've read the covers off two copies and am working on my third. I sometimes wish I could read it again for the first time, but it's just so comfortable now. I love The Hero and the Crown too, but you're right, there's something special about The Blue Sword.

Re: Books and silicon

[kathlaw.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Most people look at me like I'm speaking ... well, ancient Norse, when I tell them my computer's name. :-)

What's scary was when my car developed the same quirk my computer has -- if I don't say hello when I first sit down at my desk, it sometimes doesn't boot. It hangs on Windows. Talked to techs, and I should just wait, which never works. So I have to rest my hand on the CPU, apologize, say good morning (or whatever time of day it is), and cold boot. Then it works. Well, sometimes my car won't start if I take it for granted too. It's a recent problem, but amuses me. Mostly.

This naming of things is a double-edged sword. At least I named the computer for a male horse, so no PMS to deal with. :-)

Sympathies on Gozer. Just remember, if your computer asks you if you're a god, say yes. :-)

Though I know Robin McKinley now lives in England, I can't help wondering if she ever lived here in the Southwest, given her description of the desert. It's one of the very many reasons I love that book. And re-read it every year or two.

Re: Books and silicon

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

Ah but see, that's my field (partially anyway), so it makes perfect sense to me to have a Norse name for a computer (even if he is a horse. Better that than a giant, really).

The having-to-speaking-politely-to-a-machine-before-it-works thing? Scary as heck. I've watched a lot of scifi. I know what that means. Ahhhhhh, the human race is doooooomed!!! ;)

Re: Books and silicon

[kathlaw.livejournal.com]

Cool! on it being your field. I specialized in English Lit of the early English novel (and Shakespeare, of course) variety, but have always been an eclectic reader of mythology.

The having-to-speaking-politely-to-a-machine-before-it-works thing? Scary as heck.

I know. And when it spread to my car, which admittedly also has chips in it, being a 1999 model, it makes me wonder if Terminator 3 is far behind. :-)