[18:48] * KK has joined #deryni_destinations
[18:48] <DeryniBot> Samuel welcomes KK to the chat with a bottle of
mead.
[18:48] <Mistyck> hiyas Katherine
[18:48] <the_Bee> HI kk!
[18:48] <RainbowDragon> Greetings, KK!
[18:48] <Festil> Hi KK!
[18:49] <KK> Hi, guys.
[18:49] <Shiral> Hi KK
[18:49] <Samuel> Hi KK
[18:49] <Mistyck> how are you?
[18:49] * Kelos_al-Hazar has joined #deryni_destinations
[18:49] <DeryniBot> Kelos_al-Hazar enters the chat as RainbowDragon
passes around a plate of cheese.
[18:49] <RainbowDragon> how have your last couple weeks been?
[18:49] <the_Bee> HI KELOS
[18:49] <Bynw> Hiyas KK!
[18:50] <KK> Sorry I missed last week, but we were out of town on a
Morgan rally. Cars, not Alaric.in both instance
[18:50] <Mistyck> hi Kelos
[18:50] <Mistyck> lol Katherine
[18:50] <Shiral> Awww, Alaric must have been disappointed
[18:50] * ambush has joined #deryni_destinations
[18:50] <DeryniBot> Samuel welcomes ambush to the chat with a bottle
of mead.
[18:50] <Mistyck> hiyas Ambush
[18:50] <the_Bee> to me morgans are horses
[18:50] * ambush strolls in and waves to peoples
[18:50] <Festil> heyas ambush
[18:50] <Mistyck> or rum :)
[18:50] <Shiral> Hi Ambush
[18:50] <ambush> hey hey, and KK
[18:50] <ambush> :)
[18:50] <the_Bee> spiced rum. hi ambush
[18:51] * Festil sighs.
[18:51] <KK> Well, they're also sports cars, and we were in
Shepherdstown, WVA for the annual branch gathering of the DC club.
Great fun, though it was VERY hot.
[18:51] <ambush> i prefer vodka, myself
[18:51] <Festil> why is rum always gone...?
[18:51] <Mistyck> cool Katherine
[18:51] <ambush> lol festil
[18:51] <Shiral> Getting acclimated after Ireland is problematical
[18:51] <Mistyck> hehe
[18:51] <ambush> how're the mules, KK?
[18:51] <the_Bee> KK, question: do you pronounce it HALdane or
halDANE?
[18:51] <Mistyck> especially since the East Coast has been going
through a heat wave recently
[18:52] <KK> Yep, but thank goodness we came in March, so we were able
to get used to it gradually. I understand that Staunton was as hot as
WVA last weekend, but it's been lovely yesterday and today.
[18:52] <KK> HALdane.
[18:52] <the_Bee> ah
[18:52] <KK> Mules?
[18:52] <ambush> the animules
[18:52] <ambush> :)
[18:52] <Shiral> Your 40 mule team, of course
[18:53] <Shiral> Even though you didn't know you had one
[18:53] <KK> Ah, ani-mules, aka critters. They're just fine--and
we've found a house-sitter, who wil look after them for a fraction
what the vet boarding has been charging. And she's a a vet tech.
[18:53] <Mistyck> cool
[18:53] <the_Bee> cool!
[18:53] <ambush> coolness
[18:53] <ambush> how are they adjusting?
[18:54] <Shiral> Excellent news on the pet sitter front
[18:55] <Shiral> How goes the unpacking?
[18:55] <KK> Nicholas has undergone a total personality transformation
in his new environment, now that he's top cat. Goes outside,
occasionally swats the younger cats. He's sociable to people, even.
[18:55] <Mistyck> lol...that's neat
[18:55] <KK> Still mining for floor in my office, but it's getting
better.
[18:55] <the_Bee> wasn't he before?
[18:55] <Shiral> Nicholas is blooming!
[18:56] <KK> Nope he was shy, and very flighty around too many people.
[18:56] <Mistyck> he must like VA :D
[18:56] <KK> I think they all like VA. They love their back garden.
[18:56] <Mistyck> :-)
[18:56] <Shiral> He and I got to be good friends, though. He helped me
pack on my last night in Ireland
[18:56] <the_Bee> neatly cultivated, or jungle-wild?
[18:57] <KK> Neatly cultivated, and getting better all the time. We
moved a bunch of BIIIIG boxwoods farther down the garden and put some
tiny ones in their places, and that has totally opened up the near end
of the garden. We're on about 2 acres.
[18:58] <Mistyck> KK, I've been following advice you gave some of us
years ago: Although instead of an hour a day, I've been trying to do
500 words a day at least.
[18:58] <Mistyck> and it's really helped when work hasn't totally
interfered
[18:58] <KK> Excellent. Before you know it, you'll have a book. :-)
[18:58] <Mistyck> I have nearly 27,000 words right now, most of them
since May
[18:59] <Mistyck> of course, it took me 4 years of dilly dallying to
get around to it, but, I'm working on it now
[18:59] <KK> Very good. Of course, then comes the editing and
expanding--but it's much easier once you have something on the screen
to play with. Thank God for computers!
[18:59] <Mistyck> yep!
[18:59] * Bynw agrees computers are your friend :-)
[18:59] <Kelos_al-Hazar> Heh. Well, wish my standalone book would get
rolling. Sadly, it seems to be lagging, and I'm not sure why.
[19:00] <Shiral> When I start editing, I print out the chapter, then
read it aloud to myself and make my corrections
[19:00] <Shiral> THEN I go back to the computer
[19:00] <Mistyck> it's so much easier nowadays.
[19:00] <KK> Bynw needs to tell me or find out how to repair a
scripting error in Outlook Express. I can't print out e-mails right
now.
[19:00] * Kelos_al-Hazar uses TextAloudMP3 for the audio, but it does
assist in proofing.
[19:00] <KK> Shiral, that's a good technique. I do something similar
myself.
[19:01] <Mistyck> yes it is a very good technique
[19:01] <KK> Bynw needs to tell me....
[19:01] <Shiral> My ears are much stricter with me than my eyes =o)
[19:01] <Shiral> And my printouts are always awash in sparkly red ink
[19:01] <KK> Reading aloud helps to keep sentences from getting too
long, too.
[19:01] <Mistyck> I'm doing the write the stuff, read over it for
continuity and IGNORE EVERYTHING WRITTEN PREVIOUSLY for now. That
apparently was my big stumbling block
[19:01] <KK> Yep, there comes a time when one MUST print out and hand-
edit.
[19:01] <Mistyck> yep
[19:02] <Shiral> But I agree, computers are a writer's friend.
Expexcially fr LOUsny Typxxist lik me!
[19:02] <Mistyck> I have a really polished first two chapters
though :D
[19:02] <Kelos_al-Hazar> Finding a printer that will cooperate is my
problem. LOL
[19:02] <Mistyck> and I have a group of writer friends who push me
now, so that really helps too
[19:03] <Kelos_al-Hazar> Speaking of printers, is a color laser worth
the added cost?
[19:03] <Mistyck> have all your boxes been put away yet Katherine?
[19:04] <Mistyck> Kelos, I bought an all in one for $80 (color)
[19:04] <Mistyck> it's a Lexmark
[19:04] <KK> I'm down to my color printer/scanner, which is ok for
short bits, but Dell ink cartridges are expensive. I need to get a
new laser printer to replace the one I left in Ireland, which was an
HP4L, wonderful workhorse about 10 years old and still going strong,
but it wouldn't have worked here. Anne McCaffrey inherited it for a
spare.
[19:05] <Samuel> if you buy a color printer make sure you get one that
has seperate bins/bottles/cartrages for each color.
[19:05] <Mistyck> yep
[19:05] <Mistyck> mine has that and it really helps
[19:05] <Kelos_al-Hazar> Most assuredly I will. Looking hard at the
Xerox Phaser series printers.
[19:05] <KK> For what I do, I don't think color laser is worth the
cost--but then, when most of one's printing is manuscripts, one
doesn't need color. Still, it's nice to have color for some stuff--
and inkjets are so inexpensive now.
[19:06] <Shiral> That's why I've put off getting a new printer
[19:06] <Mistyck> Katherine: if you check Sam's/Walmart, etc, they
may have cheaper cartridges that would fit your Dell
[19:06] <Kelos_al-Hazar> The ink "expires", though. (Sneaky of the
manufacturers. Chip that times out, forces you to buy new ink.)
[19:06] <KK> I found that having 2 printers worked well for me. The
laser b&w was the default; and if I wanted color, I had that option.
[19:06] <Shiral> Even though I have to e-mail myself documents to
print off my deskttop,as my printer won't work on my laptop
[19:07] <Kelos_al-Hazar> Shiral: You don't have it set up as a
networked printer? ::blinks::
[19:07] <KK> As for color cartridges, I see that my local Staples (may
they be blessed!) do carry Dell cartridges--which I had thought were
only available on line--or at least that was the case in Ireland.
[19:07] <Shiral> That's a time saver
[19:08] <Shiral> But "Things are different in Ireland." =o)
[19:08] <Mistyck> hehe
[19:08] <KK> Yep. And this Staples has an excellent array of "stuff"
at good prices.
[19:08] <Kelos_al-Hazar> Right now, my Epson Stylus Color 640 won't
print black and won't let me change the black cartridge.
[19:08] * ambush puts out a really big pot of jambalaya, with his own
blend of spices
[19:08] <Shiral> When I go to an office supply store, I find myself
walking out with stuff I didn't know I needed. =o)
[19:08] <KK> That seems odd. Why won't it let you change the black
cartridge?
[19:08] <Mistyck> jambalaya! Yumm!!!!
[19:09] * Mistyck had red beans and rice for dinner
[19:10] <Kelos_al-Hazar> KK: Haven't the foggiest. Nearly broke my
hand trying to change it out once. About to toss the thing and get
one that works, though no known inkjet can stand up to 1343 pages at
one go..
[19:10] <ambush> this has a ton of black pepper, more cayenne pepper
than is probably healthy, and a tiny, tiny amount of salt
[19:10] * Festil wonders if any RPG events have been scheduled for the
con
[19:10] <Mistyck> which con Festil? Darkover?
[19:10] <KK> Yep, office supply junkie. Me, too. I've discovered how
much of a junkie as I've unpacked office supply stuff that I'd stashed
in various places. Other than printer paper and printer cartridges, I
doubt I'm going to have to buy supplies for the rest of my life!
[19:11] <the_Bee> Derynicon?
[19:11] * Shiral feels her tongue sweel at the thought of Ambush's
Jambalaya
[19:11] * Kelos_al-Hazar may be able to make Darkover 2007 and
definitely can Darkover 2008 . . . but the reason sucks.
[19:11] <Mistyck> I bet I'd love it Ambush
[19:11] <Samuel> A DeryniCon is in the planning stages. Go to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DeryniCon
for more information'
[19:11] <Mistyck> coolness!
[19:11] <Festil> Yeah, DeryniCon. If not, I'd definitely run a DAG one-
shot.
[19:11] <Shiral> Well good! Then when you're on a roll, you won't have
to stop writing to go buy stuff!
[19:11] <KK> Kelos, ask at your local office supply store that sells
the things.
[19:12] <Festil> I constantly prowl the Yahoo group, too
[19:12] <KK> Thanks, Sam. I'd gotten your e-mail just before I came
on line, and will ask Frank to put me on the list. You guys have been
busy, it seems!
[19:12] * the_Bee wants any easy button
[19:13] <ambush> guaranteed tastey, or the money that you didnt pay
anyway back!
[19:13] <KK> Incidentally, early note: Scott and I will be at
Dragoncon in 2008, and at Libertycon in Chattanooga, TN two weekends
from now.
[19:13] <the_Bee> how many different kinds of meat in your jambalaya,
Ambush?
[19:13] <Shiral> When IS dragoncon?
[19:14] <Bynw> memorial day weekend
[19:14] <Bynw> like always
[19:14] <KK> Labor Day weekend, I believe.
[19:14] <Bynw> er labor day
[19:14] <the_Bee> do they have real dragons?
[19:14] <RainbowDragon> DragonCon sounds like a cool convention
[19:14] <Shiral> Ah
[19:14] <Bynw> whichever one is in september
[19:14] <Bynw> it is
[19:14] <Bynw> KK, maybe you can get to the Abby this year
[19:14] <Bynw> er next year
[19:14] <KK> They're more oriented toward media and gaming than most
cons. Went a few years ago, and liked it very much. It's held in
Atlanta.
[19:14] <the_Bee> Abby?
[19:15] <ambush> dragon con is.....different
[19:15] <Mistyck> hey, I may be able to make that next Sept
[19:15] <the_Bee> ??
[19:15] <KK> Actually, it must be July 4th weekend, because I went
right from there to my mom's, and her birthday is July 4th.
[19:15] <ambush> it is the single largest convention that is purely
sci-fi in the country
[19:15] <Mistyck> I'll be on terminal leave :-)
[19:15] <Shiral> Westercon was on July 4th weekend...
[19:15] <KK> Terminal leave? You retiring?
[19:15] <Mistyck> yep...next Sept
[19:15] * Festil is actually hosting a massive party at DragonCon 07
with some friends
[19:16] <KK> Somebody google it and get the dates.
[19:16] <Festil> Everyone's invited, just let me know if you're
attending so I can give you the applicable details
[19:16] <Kelos_al-Hazar> RD: I've been there (Dragon*Con) once. It
was super crowded and went nonstop (on 11 tracks) for 4 days.
[19:16] <Mistyck> Labor Day weekend
[19:16] <KK> It must move around on its dates.
[19:16] <Mistyck> it says "annually held"
[19:17] <Mistyck> http://www.dragoncon.org/
[19:17] <Shiral> The Easter of Conventions
[19:17] <the_Bee> well, Labor Day is a moveable feast.
[19:18] <Shiral> Well, not really, it's always the first weekend in
September
[19:18] <KK> Hmmmm. But it was July 4th weekend the year I went,
because I pasted a bow on my forehead when I showed up at my mother's,
since my visit was her surprise birthday present that year. Ah, well.
[19:18] <KK> July 4th is also the traditional Westercon weekend.
[19:18] <Mistyck> I'll be on leave from mid August till the end of
Sept, my official retirement date is 1 Oct 08
[19:18] <the_Bee> but not always the same date. not as moveable as
Easter, though
[19:18] <Shiral> Westercon
[19:18] <Shiral> '98 was the first time I met you in person
[19:18] <Shiral> No, true Bee
[19:18] <KK> Terminal leaves are a great way to transition, because
you keep getting paychecks. :-)
[19:19] <Mistyck> yep
[19:19] <Mistyck> and hopefully I have a job lined up by then
[19:19] <Mistyck> I'll also get transition time starting in late July
[19:19] <Mistyck> lots of briefings and stuff to go to, 15 days for
job hunting, etc
[19:20] <the_Bee> retiring from Air Natonal guard?
[19:20] <Mistyck> yep Bee
[19:20] <KK> It all sounds great. But Scott is making hungry noises,
and talking about bowls of clam chowder at the Red Lobster, so I have
to sign off now.
[19:20] <Mistyck> have fun Katherine
[19:20] <Shiral> Awwww!
[19:20] <the_Bee> enjoy your meal, KK
[19:20] <Festil> take care!
[19:20] <Mistyck> thanks for stopping by
[19:20] <Shiral> We'll have to start feeding Scott early!
[19:20] * Kelos_al-Hazar waves at KK, wishing her bon appetit...
[19:20] <KK> But I will be here next week--and NOT the following week,
since I'll be at Libertycon. I hope to attend many more cons each
years, now that we're back Statesice.
[19:21] <KK> Stateside.
[19:21] <RainbowDragon> thanks for stopping by, KK!
[19:21] <Shiral> See ya, KK
[19:21] <Mistyck> sounds good KK
[19:21] <Samuel> See you soon KK
[19:21] <KK> You guys take care. Maybe by next week I'll be able to
report Floor Sighted in my office, LOL.
[19:21] <Bynw> post your con schedule to rhemuthcastle.com
[19:21] <Shiral> We know it MUST be under there, somewhere!
[19:21] * KK steps onto her Portal, waves goodnight, and disappears in
a shower of green sparkles.
[19:22] * KK Quit
|
