Weblog 38
October 16, 2006~ 9:00pm
Oops! Forgot all about starting this thing on a Sunday. It's been a grueling week, copying out and archiving 1400 poems from my 'Orphan Poets' board before I shut it down. Everyday for 7 straight days when I wasn't at work or with family-- that's what I was doing. Tiring-- but luckily I'm the kind of goofy shitass who loves repetitive things- so it wasn't nearly as odious as it would seem to some. Haven't heard from my buddy who was displaced by having the board close. But I see he's gone back to an old haunt and I hope he doesn't think too badly of me, but it was simply time to get off the boards altogether. My own included.
Today at work it seemed like I typed my fool heart out entering charges, but they all seemed to be complicated, pissy little things and at the end of the day there was much effort for what seemed like very little progress. Overcast too. (Hey, God--- why not just keep on heaping it?) lol... Oh yes, and since what I've set out to do at this point is to take all those archived poems and make them into a few books- I visited Lulu- the print-on-demand website that was the means to get out my initial book two years ago.
First of all, I was appalled at how greedy and commercial that site has become! There is no longer the option of a 'basic ISBN' service (which had cost me a very reasonable 36 bucks or so two years ago) --and that enabled the barcode marking by which all books are identified uniquely, and therefore able to be ordered from any bookseller.
The service NOW has one option. What used to be the 'expanded' package --for 99.00. That allows them to procure the ISBN and print the barcode on each book-- and give a plug or two at Amazon- o joy!) Oh yes....they do offer another 'do-it-yourself' download for using an 'iffy' program to print your own barcode. LOL!! (Their instructions about this are full of cautions about how risky it is.) Why bother?
With their changes of policy, the tone of the entire site is much more forbidding and unbending. The advice the answers their experts give to queries in the forum are a helluva lot more curt and brusque than I remember. (I mean-- that place was absolute 'tops' in terms of customer service and flexibility. They went out of their way, above and beyond, to satisfy and help their clients.)
Well.........I guess that's the difference between a business that's new and growing, and one that thinks it rules the genre' now (which I believe it does- for now.) And there's all sorts of 'junk' slapped on their site: BLOGS, ferchrissakes-- chat rooms, commercialization of everything that isn't nailed down, in what appears to be an irritating transparent attempt to be the 'coolest of the cool' sites out there anywhere. What happened to my Lulu from 2 short years ago?
It's vanished. Entirely. So I've decided, no goddamned ISBN! (I believe what few volumes I've sold- 17 altogether- have been purchased through the Lulu site anyway- not Barnes and Frickin' Noble, so the hell with it.)
A big old 'PTUI!' on Lulu now. And once ventures become full of themselves and confident of their own superior marketshare, there is no customer service to speak of--one poor lady voiced in one of their forums that she didn't know what to do-- she couldn't afford to publish with the new 'policies'. Her answer: "THERE IS NO MORE BASIC SERVICE."
Period. That would have never happened two short years ago. Lulu........here you go, assholes.....
There! All nice and modern and hip and 'cartoonish' for ya'! Thumbs as far down as possible. Your sad decline in the last two years has rattled this former user- (oh I'll still use them- for whatever I can, but I will buy no extras, and right now there is no hungry newcomer like their own enterprise on the horizon.) But they'd better watch their backs and not get too comfortable. I'm sure they'll be comin'...and I'll be the first one to hop aboard a new place offering the same sort of book creation online from PDF files.
Aghhhh....the topper for today was trying to use the little Easy PDF program I bought for 25 bucks 2 years ago when I needed to create the PDF file to be made into a printable Lulu book- I couldn't get it to change font sizes! It took me one frustrating hour of looking at 'Printer not compatible' before I realized I had uninstalled my printer because I never used it- (it took up too much computer juice for nuthin' and the damn cats were always walking on it and setting it off!) Had to dig out the disc, reinstall, then bring up my 'Foxit' PDF program- (I got rid of all ADOBE crap on my computer. ) It's a system hog. Loads TONS of stuff you don't need, captures information from your hard drive like any old spyware- and god help us, probably for marketers too- and it takes FOREVER to render anything. That's because of all the shit it loads.)
Trouble is, my Easy PDF needed to be configured to the 'virtual printer' in Foxit- NOT Adobe.
(That realization took another hour.....)---so it's been one LOOOOOOONG day. No poems uploaded into PDF yet, but I have the cover and a title. lol.....Hey! that's sumpthin' anyway. But I'm tired as sin now. Gonna gnaw on a sandwich and go to bed. (And once again, "LULU.......UP YOURS!"
October 17, 2006~ 4:30pm
Just back in from bringing my car back from the shop. Stayed home today and took it in to get some problems taken care of before the bad weather- (stuttering, tire losing air, no headlights [been using the highbeams]no right back turn signal, needed the oil consumption looked at, needed an oil change, etc). They thought the tune up was unnecessary- they'd replaced the plugs and did one a year ago, but they cleaned the fuel injectors instead. They 'tried 'to change the headlamps but broke a bolt off inside the casing and would go no farther-("take it back to the dealer's your best bet." Bullshit. The damn things were rusty that's all. That's why I couldn't do it myself. I even bought my OWN damn bulbs that'll fit. I'll spray on WD40 for a few days and maybe have the guys at work drill out that broken bolt and change them for me.) Oh, they 'offered' to have me come back and let them take a whack at it- "might cost about 200.00 with labor- depends on what we run into." Ridiculous! So I ended up getting an oil change, new filter and a new right front tire (the left front had blown when a maniac forced me into the curb when I was driving home from work in May.) So now I have two nice new balanced tires, new oil and filter-- and they did replace the rear turn signal. Came to a hundred and thirty seven bucks.
I noticed last night that about a month of links to my archived weblog weren't working. LOL!! I had no idea, so I fixed them. I hate when I do dumb stuff like that and never check when I make changes to a page. Anyone trying to read back a bit, I'm sorry for the frustration. Oh well, gonna work on the new poetry book now....settle in for the evening. Babysitting and visiting my daughter and grandkiddos tomorrow night. More spookable atmosphere with the coming of Halloween- more of Bill regaling me with stories of Rescue Heros. Now that evening sounds like fun. Today was sort of like 'lost time'...but at least I got some car stuff taken care of. Winter is right around the corner-- and being 16 miles from work on nasty highway makes me want to prepare as best I can.
October 19, 2006~ 7:15am
I was right. Last evening was a boatload of fun with the kiddoes. Pizza night, background 'spooky' noises (which little Bill both LOVES and fears....lol..."What's THAT???" Is that a werewolf? Gramma, Gramma....GRAMMA...IS THAT A WEREWOLF OR A REAL ONE?" Kay sat on my lap for four entire library books, laughing in all the appropriate places (I don't know how she does that at 1 yr., 2 mos old.) All three of us especially liked both "Pumpkin Moon" and "One Witch". Gees, I love children's books. The greatest joy of raising my children was in choosing books and reading to them, and now, thank God, that continues with this next generation.
I was ill-prepared for the reading session though, and left my good glasses at home. What I had in my purse was a pair of magnifying readers I keep for an emergency (like a quick peek at the menu when I can't see it without stretching it out at arm's length. It has one arm is broken off, to boot.) Bill laughed at the crooked way they perched on my nose; held on with just one arm grabbing the back of my right ear.
I went out into the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee and when I came back into the living room there sat Bill-- my glasses perched even more crooked on his face-- 'reading' aloud to himself on the couch. LOL!! And when I got out my little cellphone to call my mother so she could talk to the kids, Bill gabbed away to her like he loved to dish gossip all the time with an 86 year old woman. I heard him tell her, "She's just sitting here on the couch. Having a RELAX." Kids. Wonderful for what ails ya'.
***
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Oops! Forgot all about starting this thing on a Sunday. It's been a grueling week, copying out and archiving 1400 poems from my 'Orphan Poets' board before I shut it down. Everyday for 7 straight days when I wasn't at work or with family-- that's what I was doing. Tiring-- but luckily I'm the kind of goofy shitass who loves repetitive things- so it wasn't nearly as odious as it would seem to some. Haven't heard from my buddy who was displaced by having the board close. But I see he's gone back to an old haunt and I hope he doesn't think too badly of me, but it was simply time to get off the boards altogether. My own included.
Today at work it seemed like I typed my fool heart out entering charges, but they all seemed to be complicated, pissy little things and at the end of the day there was much effort for what seemed like very little progress. Overcast too. (Hey, God--- why not just keep on heaping it?) lol... Oh yes, and since what I've set out to do at this point is to take all those archived poems and make them into a few books- I visited Lulu- the print-on-demand website that was the means to get out my initial book two years ago.
First of all, I was appalled at how greedy and commercial that site has become! There is no longer the option of a 'basic ISBN' service (which had cost me a very reasonable 36 bucks or so two years ago) --and that enabled the barcode marking by which all books are identified uniquely, and therefore able to be ordered from any bookseller.
The service NOW has one option. What used to be the 'expanded' package --for 99.00. That allows them to procure the ISBN and print the barcode on each book-- and give a plug or two at Amazon- o joy!) Oh yes....they do offer another 'do-it-yourself' download for using an 'iffy' program to print your own barcode. LOL!! (Their instructions about this are full of cautions about how risky it is.) Why bother?
With their changes of policy, the tone of the entire site is much more forbidding and unbending. The advice the answers their experts give to queries in the forum are a helluva lot more curt and brusque than I remember. (I mean-- that place was absolute 'tops' in terms of customer service and flexibility. They went out of their way, above and beyond, to satisfy and help their clients.)
Well.........I guess that's the difference between a business that's new and growing, and one that thinks it rules the genre' now (which I believe it does- for now.) And there's all sorts of 'junk' slapped on their site: BLOGS, ferchrissakes-- chat rooms, commercialization of everything that isn't nailed down, in what appears to be an irritating transparent attempt to be the 'coolest of the cool' sites out there anywhere. What happened to my Lulu from 2 short years ago?
It's vanished. Entirely. So I've decided, no goddamned ISBN! (I believe what few volumes I've sold- 17 altogether- have been purchased through the Lulu site anyway- not Barnes and Frickin' Noble, so the hell with it.)
A big old 'PTUI!' on Lulu now. And once ventures become full of themselves and confident of their own superior marketshare, there is no customer service to speak of--one poor lady voiced in one of their forums that she didn't know what to do-- she couldn't afford to publish with the new 'policies'. Her answer: "THERE IS NO MORE BASIC SERVICE."
Period. That would have never happened two short years ago. Lulu........here you go, assholes.....
There! All nice and modern and hip and 'cartoonish' for ya'! Thumbs as far down as possible. Your sad decline in the last two years has rattled this former user- (oh I'll still use them- for whatever I can, but I will buy no extras, and right now there is no hungry newcomer like their own enterprise on the horizon.) But they'd better watch their backs and not get too comfortable. I'm sure they'll be comin'...and I'll be the first one to hop aboard a new place offering the same sort of book creation online from PDF files.
Aghhhh....the topper for today was trying to use the little Easy PDF program I bought for 25 bucks 2 years ago when I needed to create the PDF file to be made into a printable Lulu book- I couldn't get it to change font sizes! It took me one frustrating hour of looking at 'Printer not compatible' before I realized I had uninstalled my printer because I never used it- (it took up too much computer juice for nuthin' and the damn cats were always walking on it and setting it off!) Had to dig out the disc, reinstall, then bring up my 'Foxit' PDF program- (I got rid of all ADOBE crap on my computer. ) It's a system hog. Loads TONS of stuff you don't need, captures information from your hard drive like any old spyware- and god help us, probably for marketers too- and it takes FOREVER to render anything. That's because of all the shit it loads.)
Trouble is, my Easy PDF needed to be configured to the 'virtual printer' in Foxit- NOT Adobe.
(That realization took another hour.....)---so it's been one LOOOOOOONG day. No poems uploaded into PDF yet, but I have the cover and a title. lol.....Hey! that's sumpthin' anyway. But I'm tired as sin now. Gonna gnaw on a sandwich and go to bed. (And once again, "LULU.......UP YOURS!"
October 17, 2006~ 4:30pm
Just back in from bringing my car back from the shop. Stayed home today and took it in to get some problems taken care of before the bad weather- (stuttering, tire losing air, no headlights [been using the highbeams]no right back turn signal, needed the oil consumption looked at, needed an oil change, etc). They thought the tune up was unnecessary- they'd replaced the plugs and did one a year ago, but they cleaned the fuel injectors instead. They 'tried 'to change the headlamps but broke a bolt off inside the casing and would go no farther-("take it back to the dealer's your best bet." Bullshit. The damn things were rusty that's all. That's why I couldn't do it myself. I even bought my OWN damn bulbs that'll fit. I'll spray on WD40 for a few days and maybe have the guys at work drill out that broken bolt and change them for me.) Oh, they 'offered' to have me come back and let them take a whack at it- "might cost about 200.00 with labor- depends on what we run into." Ridiculous! So I ended up getting an oil change, new filter and a new right front tire (the left front had blown when a maniac forced me into the curb when I was driving home from work in May.) So now I have two nice new balanced tires, new oil and filter-- and they did replace the rear turn signal. Came to a hundred and thirty seven bucks.
I noticed last night that about a month of links to my archived weblog weren't working. LOL!! I had no idea, so I fixed them. I hate when I do dumb stuff like that and never check when I make changes to a page. Anyone trying to read back a bit, I'm sorry for the frustration. Oh well, gonna work on the new poetry book now....settle in for the evening. Babysitting and visiting my daughter and grandkiddos tomorrow night. More spookable atmosphere with the coming of Halloween- more of Bill regaling me with stories of Rescue Heros. Now that evening sounds like fun. Today was sort of like 'lost time'...but at least I got some car stuff taken care of. Winter is right around the corner-- and being 16 miles from work on nasty highway makes me want to prepare as best I can.
October 19, 2006~ 7:15am
I was right. Last evening was a boatload of fun with the kiddoes. Pizza night, background 'spooky' noises (which little Bill both LOVES and fears....lol..."What's THAT???" Is that a werewolf? Gramma, Gramma....GRAMMA...IS THAT A WEREWOLF OR A REAL ONE?" Kay sat on my lap for four entire library books, laughing in all the appropriate places (I don't know how she does that at 1 yr., 2 mos old.) All three of us especially liked both "Pumpkin Moon" and "One Witch". Gees, I love children's books. The greatest joy of raising my children was in choosing books and reading to them, and now, thank God, that continues with this next generation.
I was ill-prepared for the reading session though, and left my good glasses at home. What I had in my purse was a pair of magnifying readers I keep for an emergency (like a quick peek at the menu when I can't see it without stretching it out at arm's length. It has one arm is broken off, to boot.) Bill laughed at the crooked way they perched on my nose; held on with just one arm grabbing the back of my right ear.
I went out into the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee and when I came back into the living room there sat Bill-- my glasses perched even more crooked on his face-- 'reading' aloud to himself on the couch. LOL!! And when I got out my little cellphone to call my mother so she could talk to the kids, Bill gabbed away to her like he loved to dish gossip all the time with an 86 year old woman. I heard him tell her, "She's just sitting here on the couch. Having a RELAX." Kids. Wonderful for what ails ya'.
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