2004-06-15 - 2:52 p.m.

My last three entries on LiveJournal.com, just so you won't think I vanished off the planet:

Comp's back in the shop... And what am I reading lately?

Okay... the comp is back in the shop and they're supposed to figure out why it's still acting loopy... One of the techs there had had some annoying experiences with Juno, so he had an idea of what might be wrong with it. At first we thought it might have something to do with bad access numbers, but there seems to be more to it...

But, I know you all have had it up to the eyes hearing about my comp woes. So, I'll write about the books I'm reading from the library:

* "The Nanny Diaries" by two female authors whose names I can't think of right now. Inspired by the combined memories of two ladies who worked as au pairs during college, working in New York looking after rich folks' kids. It's hilarious and heart-breaking at the same time: heart-breaking because these people don't or won't take the time to get to know their kids and have a real relationship, hilarious because it effectively pulls the rug out from under the feet of people with more money than any human logically should have, and because it shows that, even if their parents own half the planet, kids will still be refreshingly endearing and annoying, the way they're supposed to be.

* "Timeline" by Michael Chrichton. I'm not really a fan of Michael Chrichton because he tends to write science fiction where the science is well-mapped out and the theories are plausible, but the fiction suffers. But there again, I just saw the movie and I couldn't help wondering which was better. So far, I'd say they're both equally good in their own ways.

* "Eragon" by Christopher Paolini. The fantasy first novel by a nineteen-year old homeschooler, in which a young man bonds with a dragon who hatched from an egg he found while hunting. I can't decide if it's a good novel, or good for a first novel. The author clearly knows his Tolkien (some of the names are phonetically similar to the names of a few LOTR characters), but he has some interesting concepts, like the kind of telepathic communication the dragon uses.

And an update on some writing projects. I'm taking a break after I finished writing MtD, but there are a few things I'm tinkering with:

MatrixFans.Net is having a monthly writing contest: write an essay about one of several selected "Matrix"-related topics and Stephen Faller, a philosophy professor who really cracked the Matrix code, will send each month's winner a copy of "Beyond the Revolution", his new book which effectively explicates and explains the "Matrix" series. One of this month's topics is "Analyze a character", so I'm starting to write an essay on who else but the Merovingian. Other people will be writing essays on Neo/Trinity/Smith/Morpheus/Niobe, maybe Persephone, but I doubt anyone will waste keystrokes on the Merv. Except me. I guess that enhances my chances of winning, at least for originality!

Monday, June 14th, 2004

3:49 pm Misery Hath no Respite

[Typed at Middlesex Community College's Computer Lab]

I'm at the point of killing the guy who "fixed" my computer. The bugs are gone, the OS is fine, but now the damn thing won't connect to the Internet. The modem dials out, the Juno software (reloaded with a little help from Mark on Friday night) loads. But... the pages will not. I keep getting "Cannot Find Server" messages on Every. Single. Page. I. Try. To. Access. The email was working, but now it isn't. I called up the repair place I'd brought it to, in the hope of getting it straightened out, but of course the wretch who buggered my 'Net connection wasn't there. The secretary who finally answered the phone told me she'd find someone who could help me out and have them call me back right away. They never called back. I'm not paying them anything this time, since they crapped up my 'Net connection the last time.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, June 7th, 2004

4:56 pm Status Report: The Second Reload

[Written/typed at the Tewksbury Public Library.]

Well, my computer is in the shop being reloaded, so I'm one step closer to getting back online. Only trouble is, for some odd reason, the repair shop didn't have USB plugs on the keyboard/mouse they use to repair stuff, so the computer geek who's fixing my comp. called me this afternoon and asked if I could drop them off sometime today... so, I took the bus to the other side of town to drop off the keyboard/mouse, and I walked back to the library to check my email, which I have not checked in two and a half almost three days and I'm really getting itchy. My mother is convinced this means I'm addicted to the Internet, but I told her it's like needing to do laundry but you can't because the washing machine is broken. Granted, I may spend about three to four hours online late in the evening, around midnight when it's just me and the computer geeks, but it's not like I can't survive without it and I start having withdrawal symptoms.

I've been keeping myself busy: I finished writing "Motion to Deactivate" [YAAAAAAYYYY!!!!], and I'm working on the last two chapters of "Under the Gun". I've been jotting down some more crazy stuff to share with the "A.I." fanfiction group. I'll have a whole lot of stuff to type up when the comp is fixed! It's starting to pile up on the pagestand on my desk, next to the monitor.

I called Mark last night to let him know what was going on and to see if he'd help me reload the Juno software once I get the comp back, which I hope will be tomorrow night. There was supposed to be an "A.I." RPG chat session tomorrow night, but it's been post-poned until I can get the comp fixed...

Till then, I'm hangin' in there...

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