what’s shaking?

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I woke up around 5 am this morning because the bed was shaking. At first I thought it was the cat, hiding under my bed all night, finally having enough and making a ruckus to wake me up and let him out. But no, no cat under the bed. He was crouched outside my door, probably rather freaked.
There was an earthquake along the southern Illinois-Indiana border, and we felt it all the way over here. I thought it might be, once I determined the bed-shaking was not the fault of the cat, but I wanted confirmation. Apparently my cognitive skills aren’t the best in the middle of the night, so my search for ‘earthquake st. louis’ didn’t immediately yield the right site. Finally found it, and lo, a big red square in the midwest! Very odd.
I’ve only ever felt one other earthquake, and it was much smaller. I was outside in my parents’ backyard, laying on the grass and staring up at the clouds, and I felt a tremor run beneath me. I didn’t realize what it was at first (you know, daydreaming, head in the clouds) until my mom asked me if I’d felt anything out there. The news had reported the quake.
I sincerely hope that I never get so used to the feeling that I know exactly what it feels like.
My neck is still hurting after waking up sore yesterday. I don’t know what I could have done, but it’s not cool. So to make myself feel better, and hopefully make you smile too, a lolcat:
humorous pictures
see more crazy cat pics
TGIF!

April Fools!

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Small Favor (The Dresden Files, Book 10)

When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.
–Erasmus

Happy April Fools’ Day! Hope you don’t get slapped by any fish. (In France, today is called Poisson d’Avril: April Fish. You’re supposed to stick paper fish on a person’s back and laugh at them all day, or give them a little chocolate fish. Those weird French.)
Also, as you see by the picture, Jim Butcher’s new Dresden Files book, Small Favor, comes out today. Normally, I would come in a little late to work, having run by Borders when it opens at 9. But the Borders I normally go to had an underground water main break at the end of February. 18 inches of water on the first floor (which is where the sci-fi/fantasy section is, sob), enough that it buckled the floorboards. So it’s been out of commission for a while, which is SO SAD. I’m having Borders withdrawal. Not all hope is lost, though. There is a Barnes and Noble nearby, and a Waldenbooks in the mall. However, I have a 40% off coupon for Borders/Waldenbooks, so I don’t want to go to B&N. But the Waldenbooks doesn’t open until 10. Woe. So I have to wait until after work to get the book. I guess I’ll deal. It’s just a book. *goes off and cries, especially since she forgot her lunch today*
Of course, once I finally get the book, that means that the afghan, which currently has ALL 64 FREAKING SQUARES crocheted and two whole sections sewn up, will have to wait. I will finally have a large project to show off! If Mike’s cat doesn’t claim it all as her own, of course…

Erin Go Braugh

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Happy St. Pat’s.
Being that it’s a Monday it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to do any actual partying, but I’ll lift my virtual green beer just the same.
And for your Irish edification: An A to Z of Irish Culture, courtesy of author John Scalzi, who is a funny guy and you should read his stuff anyway.

[Fiction] Friday #46

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[author-post-rating][author-post-rating][author-post-rating][author-post-rating][author-post-rating][author-post-rating][author-post-rating][author-post-rating]from here.
[Fiction] Friday Challenge for March 14, 2008:
Backstory: Tell about your characters feelings toward animals, and why she feels that way.


Aislinn is a character in my 2007 NaNo novel. She is the daughter of a king, and knew she was destined to give her life to the forest surrounding the castle since she was a young girl. She rides the forest often, loves her hunting horse, notices the little people and especially the groom in the stables. Since the world I set this novel in is your typical quasi-medieval sorta English countryside (it was supposed to be real England once, but I lost the time to do research), people know how to hunt. They use bows and spears, but I’d like to think that they do somewhat like the American Indians did: they thank their deity for the animal that gives up its life so that they might live. Aislinn has never had a pet, not unless you consider a horse a pet (and she doesn’t, not when her mare derives as much joy from running as she does), but there were always dogs racing around the great hall, scrounging for bones. She tolerates them but makes sure they don’t follow her to her rooms.
She has a soft spot for deer and rabbits.

snow angels

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…at least, that’s what I’d like to be doing right now, and not be at work. It’s too pretty of a snow to be inside. And then run inside to hot cocoa and other warm things to get rid of this sore throat. Damn winter and low humidity.
And bugger cars that need repairs. At least some of the repairs are covered by warranty (because of a nice serviceman, I suspect) but there are other things that need fixing that are required normal maintenance, so I just get to eat that. And it’s fun to know that somewhere along the way I lost an oil cap. Shows you how I didn’t look under the hood.
Eh. I didn’t need to drive today anyway, and excess money just means I buy books. I’ve still got a fair amount in savings, even though I won’t like losing the extra I was planning to put forward for Worldcon in August.
Gotta get cracking on that book, then.

the sky is falling?

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Yesterday I was assaulted by an idea for a SF story while I was processing samples. I couldn’t just leave the samples there to write the idea down, so I had to keep repeating the opening line to myself while I finished the set. It kept growing, too, so soon I had a paragraph to remember.
This is why I write things down, so I don’t have to remember them.
Anyway, SF is not my chosen genre. Yes, SF and fantasy get lumped together in one section (usually a small section; the library near work has less than one aisle of the two combined) but to me, they’re very different. I like science, yes, I like mechanical workings and how things are put together, but vast starscapes bore me sometimes. Not to look at, of course, but I wouldn’t want to see them for years on end. And yes, I’m aware that I sound like a contradiction.
So when I announced the idea assault (after a guy in the group mentioned something he had written that was out of character for him), the ceiling was examined for signs of collapse.
I know whose fault it was: I had to read a short story and crit it for the writing group, and it was futuristic SF with a human side. And I know what was at fault too: after snowing all morning, the sun burst out with a vengeance, shining off the mirror glass of the windows of the building across the construction site outside the lab. Ruminating on SF story+sunlight=story idea, I guess.
Counting this one, that’s four separate stories that I’ve got rattling around in my head since January (well, November, if you count the big still-needs-to-be-finished NaNo 2007 novel). Seems a lot to me. Probably isn’t to famous authors, but it makes me want to write. I want to know where these stories go. I want to know why the ideas made themselves known so forcefully, and I want to share them. When they’re finished, of course.
Oh yes. Happy half-birthday to me.

Renewal

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Gung hai fat choi! Welcome to the year of the Rat.

A Rat Year is a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. This is a good year to begin a new job, get married, launch a product or make a fresh start. Ventures begun now may not yield fast returns, but opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way for you to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly, and make the most of every opening you can find.

(from here.)
Here’s hoping it goes well for you.