Lost: A Sense of Proportion

My dad walks inside: "Hey, guess what! I found a Griffin's jawbone!"

Me: *blink* "What?"

Dad: *shows me a partial jawbone of... something, missing most of the teeth*

Me: "Griffins have beaks. They don't have any teeth."

Eric: "Told you she wouldn't fall for it."

XD

My family's so crazy. And I love my dad for even thinking of that joke.

(NOTE: I feel like declaring right up front here that, while this post might be said to have something of a fishy theme, it has nothing whatsoever to do with April Fools day. While I'm most definitely not immune to amusement at a well-played prank - yes, even ones of which I'm a victim - and have quite enjoyed those which I've come across via the internet today, I'm not generally one to perpetrate such things myself. And I'm not really in the mood to think up anything today, anyway. So - no need to look deeper than the surface, wondering if there's a joke, here. ;) )


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Well, I've been snowed in for the last two days. Unfortunately, life has not been particularly kind of late, so rather than the couple of peaceful days to catch up on stuff that I might've expected, things have been rather crazy, culminating today in a marked increase in my recent computer woes, complete with virus (which I am still not entirely certain I have dealt with effectively). And I burnt my fingers while cooking. Heh.

So, instead of feeling sorry for myself, I have decided to post some cool stuff I've come across recently.

( Prank-free zone - just random neat stuff.  )

Gotta take a stretch break from editing, before my brain thoroughly ties itself into a knot. Or I get tired enough to start getting sloppy. :P

Perhaps it shouldn't surprise me anymore, but I am always startled when people attempt to use smiley faces in their articles. I am all for smiley faces. Obviously. Love them - in e-mails, IM, casual interaction. But in an article you're preparing for publication? Seriously? O.o

Also, the number of people who try to use multiple exclamation marks. *shakes head* I mean, I do know that many of these people are not professional writers, but... many of them are. Many of them have books published. Yep, books, plural. C'mon, they know this stuff... don't they?

It's also amusing when someone tries to make an excellent point... using an argument or example which is unfortunately less-than-effective in demonstrating that point. Especially when better examples are readily available. Such as the review of a book on real-life heroes from various wars in American history (sounds great!), in which the writer asks if you're tired of genetically modified heroes - and gives as example Batman and Superman, of all the superheroes. *mutters* ('kay, actually Batman's a normal human who just uses lots of cool gadgets and martial arts training. And Superman's an alien, who wasn't genetically modified, but was born that way and has the abilities he does due to the differences between our planet and Krypton, most particularly our sun. *sighs* Yeah. Okay. I let that one go. Decided she made her point effectively enough to be understood without me displaying my utterly geeky side. Still. Spiderman? X-Men, even? Though technically they're not genetically modified so much as evolved, actually. Fantastic Four? The Hulk? *flails* Research, people! *glances around sheepishly* Okay, I'm done. You can stop laughing now.)

So yes, I get a good laugh editing certain things. Not because I am mean, or think these people are idiots. I have a great deal of respect for them, and they have some wonderful stuff to say. And certainly not because I don't understand how typos and mistakes happen, or believe that they are necessarily a sign that people don't know better when they should. Really. I do understand, from personal experience. I have a great deal of mercy for such things, and I love doing my job.

It's just that certain mistakes have really very funny results. (Erm... you're gonna show love to your children by treating them to electroconvulsive therapy? Think you mean "etc." there, not "ECT".) And correcting other mistakes... kinda makes me want to cry. Because really, they should've been caught way before this point, especially considering several people should have gone over it. And especially when it's the same ones again and again and again and again. But I choose to be amused, and giggle instead. :)

And then I get distracted and accidentally write on my face with my red pen. Or tap the wrong end of a highlighter against my lips. The results of which are somewhat undignified.

There is a very good reason why, when I have been working, I like to check the mirror before I'm seen in public.

'kay, end of coffee Mountain Dew break. Still on track, getting lots done, and I refuse to be overwhelmed! *strikes triumphant, heroic pose*

...  when it's ten below zero outside, and yet somehow, in your confused little mind, the idea of putting on a coat just to go back and forth between parking lots and stores... doesn't seem worthwhile. So you just wear a sweater instead. And it turns out you're fine, actually. Also, when it warms aaaall the way up to negative one, and it actually does feel significantly warmer. Either that, or possibly I've just had enough time to become truly acclimated now?

Anywho - since we didn't make it to karate promotions last night, we had a private testing today. Not too bad, got two stripes... Our teacher says we really need to start sparring now, though. So. *gulps* I'm so totally gonna get beat up. *cringes*

And a police officer came to karate today. Not for class, but because I found his ID badge lying out in the snow, so we had to call and let him know where he could come get it. He was very relieved. LOL, yeah, not the kinda thing you want to lose, I'd imagine. *g* Ah, the great excitement and adventure in my life... Yes, I'm boring, I know. ;P

Started snowing like crazy again on our way home, and it's not showing any signs of letting up. Yays! *dances* We're gonna have a very white Christmas, it appears. ;D

Oh! And I started reading The Copyeditor's Handbook. Not very far into it yet, but already So. Very. Awesome. He! Reading books like this makes me so happy. *hugs it* So far the author seems to have both a whole lot of great down-to-earth common sense, and a fun sense of humor. And since the book comes very highly recommended, I have high hopes that it'll prove both useful and very interesting. *bouncy*

So, not a whole lot to say, just feeling like being random. :) Think I'm going to curl up with my electric blanket and do some more reading.

So... I'm back! Did ya miss me? *g* It's strange... On the one hand, it feels like we only just started out yesterday, but at the same time it feels like we've been gone months.

First, a brief summary:

States visited on the trip: 15

Countries: 2

Saw: So many beautiful places, I don't know how to begin to describe them. Even the bodies of water alone - the ocean, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan...

Books: Two short ones (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Writing Magic) completely read, and got a quite a way through two longer ones (Vulcan's Forge and God in the Dock). So, not very much, but it wasn't really a trip conducive to reading. All great books, though. :D Also listened to quite a number of books on tape - bit more on that in a minute. And bought a few books, too. Found a neat little out-of-print and used books store - it was in the process of being re-arranged, so the only section in any sort of real order was the Scifi section. Being the people of... eclectic tastes we are, Neffie and I bought several Star Trek books, The Iliad, and a neat old copy of The Merchant of Venice.

Writing: Finished the SGA story! *dances* It is the longest story I have ever written, by about... 11,500 words. *whistles* Coolness. o.o 33,700 words may not be that much ('specially next to certain prolific people I know) but, questions of quality aside, that is quite an accomplishment for me. :)

Art: Heh heh. Two finished pictures, and one rough sketch. But I actually got a ton accomplished. More on that in a bit.

Time had: Absolutely awesome. ;D

( More details and vacation-related ramblings. )

Man, there have been so many things over the last week or so that I've wanted to post about, and others' posts I've wanted to comment on.  There's been so much going on, however, that I haven't had the time to actually do so. Sorry for my scarce presence on the internets of late. I keep typing up part of a post, and then not having time to finish... So I guess this is gonna be a bit of a mixed collection of everything that's been going on.

Been working on the editing for TEACH a lot, of course. They weren't able to send me all the articles at the beginning, so I wound up getting a lot one at a time right toward the end. So kinda hectic, but manageable this time, since she didn't object to my extending the deadline a bit.
My grandma's also been here for the last week (well, step-grandma, technically, my grandpa re-married in his 70s), so when I haven't been editing I've pretty much been spending time with her.

During the latter half of June we're going to be going up to the cabin in Wisconsin that we've rented once or twice a year for the last 16 years. I'm already looking forward to it. :D Mmm, just far enough from civilization, no television, no internet, barely any radio, no cell phone service, and sometimes no telephone either. Not that we usually get any calls there even when it is working. Just lots of time for reading, and swimming, and reading, and fishing, and reading, and relaxing, and sleeping in... and did I mention lots of reading? I usually get about a book or two read a day while we're up there. It's my time for being very self-indulgent and paying no attention whatsoever to what I "should" really be focusing on or reading. *g* I wind up reading lots of books I enjoy, but wouldn't usually take the time for (e.g. I've brought a few Redwall books along the last couple years), and books I probably wouldn't bother with otherwise (Eregon last year, which I'd heard lots of "blah" about, but hey, it had dragons and there was so much hype I figured I might as well try it so I could at least have an opinion), and books I've been wanting to read for some time but wanted to have time to properly enjoy, instead of catching in snatches as I had a few minutes (last year - the last Legends of the Guardian Kings book).

So, along with looking forward to it, I'm starting to get together my list of books to bring, and figuring out what I should order from the library.

The list thus far:

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
God in the Dock - C.S. Lewis
The Secret of Chimneys - Agatha Christie ('cause my widdle bro's just starting to enjoy reading, and really really thinks I should read it ;)
Black Fire - Sonni Cooper (Star Trek - yays!)
Vulcan's Heart - Josepha Sherman and and Susan Schwartz (more Star Trek!)
Check out list of Redwall books and see if there's anything I haven't read
Probably a couple of editing/writing books, because yeah, it's my time for relaxation... but that's what I do for relaxation ;)

Hum, I think there were a couple others, but not thinking of them atm...

So, I was wondering... y'all got any other book recommendations? Mostly I'm looking for relatively light reading, fun stuff, but I certainly wouldn't mind adding some more thick/challenging reading as well. :)

I'm really not quite sure how the avatar I've used relates to this post. I just felt like using it. I'm feeling very random and hyper and exhausted. I believe as a result of a combination of too little sleep, too much caffeine, lots of mental work, and the relief of finally finishing a big project.

YES! At last, after two years of living in this house, we are finally done with furniture shopping! *collapses* We spent all day today shopping for furniture for our living room - not easy when you live in a triangular house, with a living room shaped like a baseball diamond, and no one can figure out exactly how you're supposed to furnish it. But it looks like we finally have everything picked out! All that remains is to make a final decision on the fabric, which, believe me, is definitely the easy part, especially since by now we already have a pretty good idea of what we're looking for. We just didn't have time to pick it out tonight, because by the time we'd reached a decision the stores were closed. Yeah, it's been a long day. By this point, when someone asked my opinion on something, my response tended to be, "If it means we can be done, I love it." ;P

And on a side note, it's so very wonderful to have a family that, while not quite so geeky over sci-fi and such as Nef and I, are willing to get into the spirit of things. We've been watching a bunch of Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis as a family, and it seems to come up quite often in conversations. For instance: while we were at one of the furniture stores, we were looking at a map of their locations across the country...

Nef, looking at the many orange triangles: "Wow, it looks like they're taking over the world or something."

Dad: "Yeah, it's like those maps of the Replicator invasion of the galaxy." Pause. "You know, everything kind of relates back to Stargate, doesn't it?"

Hehe... Now if only I could get him to see how great Star Trek: TOS is... That, I fear, is a lost cause. *sighs* He really doesn't do so well with poor special effects. Ah well, at least he does like the movies and some of the later series...