And ... I'm Back

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I transferred my domain to a new company and experienced an outage for a short time. It was not the
fault of the new company. After a few frustrating days of this website being down and researching potential problems, the new company asked me a question which led me to the answer. Apparently the previous company did something which, once the domain was transferred, the DNS was not being read.

I tried to contact the original company via phone, but the wait time was longer than the time I had available. Later, after work (meaning at 2AM), I was going to try again and discovered that they had a 24-hour online chat available, so I decided to do that, so I could attend to a couple of other things during the inevitable wait.

The wait. Yes. at 2AM I was #164 in the queue (no exaggeration) and the wait was estimated to be at least 58 minutes. At 2AM.

No.

I gave up, disconnected, and went to bed.

As happens from time to time, a potential solution came to me while I slept. Combined with the information from the new company - which I was able to contact via email (go figure! a tech company I can correspond with via email) - I remembered that there was a workaround on this website a few years ago when the original domain company made a change in their process.

Armed with the while-I-slept insight and the new company information, I found some articles online and I was able to repair this website and get it up and running.

So what does this have to do with writing? Well, authors are expected to have websites and this is the one I have right now. We often have to depend on others for hosting and domains and design and so on. But it can also be useful to have some basic knowledge to be able to do it ourselves. And enough knowledge to know when we can't and we need the help of people more knowledgeable.

It also has to do with selling books, because until today, this was the only place my book was available for sale. Unless we happened to be in the same place at the same time, and I happened to have some books with me (which I almost always do - just in case).

As of today, my book, Pickle Blanket Chronicles: A Flash Mixtape, is also available at Literary Kitchen online. Thank you to Ariel Gore and the Lit Kit Collective, my book can be purchased through that website, too.

Website up and running again? Check.
Book available for sale? Check.

Other current happenings:
- the POC interpreter performance interpreting workshop is going well. We had our last in-person all group meeting last week. I am currently working with two participants on one show and one participant on a different show. We will begin the process of the final project in a few weeks (a group of them will interpret "Crowns," with additional mentoring from an experienced POC performance interpreter and theatre person).
- I am in a Write Now workshop/collab with Lidia Yuknavitch and Domi Shoemaker; we are in the final week right now. This is a process created by Lidia this time around, called Narrative Palimpsest and I love it. It is a wonderful group of writers and we are creating new writing with this new process. I can't wait to see how they develop and grow.
- I am still editing the memoir. I believe I am nearing the end of the hand edits - then the giant task of getting all of that into the computer (along with the inevitable edits and rewrites which will result from that process).
- I am signed up as a participant in an author reading during the AWP conference, in an offsite event. I am nervous (always) and excited. I don't know what I will read, yet - but I have plenty of time to decide.
- and more. But that's enough for now.

Thank you for reading.

If you're curious what's happening in my performance interpreting world, here is one resource where I post upcoming shows and information related to those plays. I also sometimes post information for other interpreted or signed performances, as well: Performing Arts Interpreting Alliance Facebook page.

If you are looking for a new domain company, check out Porkbun!

Tale About a Keyboard

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Technology: one of the necessary "evils" of life (note the quote marks, which means I don't really think it's evil, okay, I mean, you know; a precedent has been set, right?). Today's journey through techlandia was this. I woke up and did my morning routine of check work email, check personal email, check text messages, go to the computer and check the overnightly news and FB posts about such news and things my friends are doing. Upon waking the computer, I was greeted with the 'need login verification blah blah blah" - yes, I know. I put in the password. Nothing. Thought I typed it wrong, did it again while sipping the dregs of yesterday's coffee. No response. Nothing. I tried to erase the password it thought it was and couldn't. To cut the story short - no response from keyboard, which was fine before I went to bed. Absolutely fine. And it's one of those ergonomic keyboards (love it!). Plugged it into different USB ports; nothing. Checked that another device and USB cord were working and plugged them into the original USB port for the keyboard. Fine; worked as it should; no problem. Found my backup ergonomic keyboard and plugged it in. No response. Tried different ports. No response. Retrieved the new-in-box-never-used keyboard (style I don't like, flat, narrower, shiver) - same thing. No response. Yes, I tried restart my computer. Voila - a message that there was a keyboard malfunction. Sigh. Searched online on a device. Told to restart computer and then press F2. Um, I can't, the keyboard doesn't respond. Another helpful person had replied with press F8 with restart - again, malfunctioning keyboard. Had to abandon the project for appointments and tonight a rehearsal. I had managed to get to the point before I left in the control panel where there was some potentially useful information. However, I couldn't start it -- I do know enough to not start a potentially hours long troubleshooting and repair event when I have to leave the house in 20 minutes. So I didn't. Off to appointments, dinner, rehearsal. Home ten hours later. Changed into comfy pants and a super soft t-shirt, made a greens & berries smoothie, filled up my water and I'm ready to attack the computer keyboard problem. Devices ready because I had a plan. Use devices to search internet for more potential issues. Email search results, URLs, etc so I could copy paste from email on my computer (luckily I was still logged in to my email account!) and, hopefully, resolve it quickly. Computer still showing no keyboarding device. I decided to try, one more time, to click the Microsoft "search for device" before proceeding with what was looking like it was going to be a very long night; the keyboard was not responding. This time, it took. Whatever it was, the problem is resolved. Whatever it was, leaving it alone, taking care of other responsibilities and knowing that this was low on my priority list, was the right thing to do. No reason. Nothing changed. Other than time and space for the computer and keyboard to think about what they had done and change their behavior. Sure, right. First world problem, I realize. Problem of privilege, I also realize. And, today, it was one thing I could do right, not related to politics or the state of the country, the world. One thing I can look at and know that I made the right decision this time. 

Challenge : N is for Nerd

N is for Nerd!

When I was growing up, being called a Nerd was not a good thing. It was a significant insult if someone called you that and it was to be avoided.

I tried really hard to not be a Nerd. But it was difficult. I was tall, especially for a girl. I had long red, very curly hair, which would make itself into ringlets by the end of the school day, no matter what I tried. I wore glasses - and calico cat's eye glasses at that. And had freckles.

I say "had" as if I didn't still have those things - but I do. When I was a teenager, I hated my red hair and I hated even more that it was so curly. I tried different ways to manage the curls, calm them, but nothing worked; or not for very long. And I will admit that I didn't hate them enough to spend a couple of hours every day trying to tame them. As I got older, I came to like my red hair and it became part of my identity. It's still curly; but is rarely long enough to go into ringlets.

Recently a client said something about "the interpreter with the perm" and I wanted to tell them, "no, it's natural, look, I have a picture I just got of myself as a child. See? Same hair." Of course I didn't say anything. I just smiled.

So. Nerd. I am one. Have been for a long time.

With being tall and glasses and red ringlets and freckles which I hoped would one day all grow together into a tan (they never did) - I was also good in school. I tried to do my best and that was pretty dang good *grin* - but I also tried to cover it up and not show other kids. That would be bragging, which would be bad, and I didn't want to be called a Nerd.

Once in a while I forgot I wasn't supposed to be too good at things and wrote a play, or took on the organizer role in a class project. Things like that. Things which kids would call me Nerd over; except not usually to my face because, after all, I was taller than many of them.

Now I embrace my Nerdhood. A while ago I was in a discussion about Nerds versus Geeks. Same? Or different? I think Geeks tend to be associated with technology, which Nerds can be. I might be wrong - but Geek seems to require technology by definition; another thing I might want to look up before I go too far.

I have friends who are Word Nerds - and I count myself among them. Then there are the Language or Linguistic Nerds - which are not exactly the same but closely related, and definitely some overlap. I have several of those friends as well. And I suppose by virtue of my work - both sign language interpreter and writer - it is almost a requirement; though not really. But I think maybe it should be.

And the Technology Nerds -- I'm making this one up right here. I think that Technology Nerds are the ones who have a good amount of experience with technology, aren't afraid of it, know more than just the basics - but they're not the coders and the game developers. They love the technology but it's definitely in the "I can do it and like it" rather than the "must have it and I'm the king of XQZ" category. The others are the Geeks - more skills and more drive to master it.

Oh, and in the Technology Nerds, I count my friend and I who are Nerds about our Blackberrys. Now, don't go telling me that Blackberry is a dying or dead breed. I don't think so and I sure hope not. A friend of mine and I are trying to find a date and time to go take test drives on the new Blackberry Z10 and Q10.  Okay, if you know anything about them, you know the Q10 isn't out here yet - the Z10, yes. But I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my physical keyboard. My point is that he and I are drooling over the new devices and want to get our hands on them. My provider contract is up pretty soon and I'll be eligible for an upgrade.

N is for Nerd. What's your Nerd quotient and category?
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Theater & Storytelling as Catalysts for Change

An email from Mike Daisey ....

Hello All,

I can't tell you how excited I am to send this email to you.

First, if you haven't heard, during this break in the run at the Public we spent a month collaborating with Ira Glass and THIS AMERICAN LIFE to adapt THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF STEVE JOBS for the radio.

It aired the weekend of January 6th in a special episode of THIS AMERICAN LIFE where the only story was our excerpt of the monologue adapted for the radio, followed by a discussion featuring TAL doing extensive fact checking, interviews with Chinese labor activists, and a debate between myself and Nicholas Kristoff.

You can listen to the show here:

http://tinyurl.com/8aypq8a

Apple was asked to be on the show or to respond in any way. They refused.

In its first week the episode was the most downloaded in THIS AMERICAN LIFE's history. The internet exploded, and the story went everywhere—I received over a thousand emails in just a few days; the response was overwhelming.

That same week news broke that hundreds of Foxconn workers had a stand-off that lasted two days, where they were all threatening mass suicide by throwing themselves off the roof of the plant over their working conditions.

http://tinyurl.com/7tbtoo8

This is at Foxconn, a company which Apple's own 2011 Supplier Responsibility Report said was completely up to code, and which Apple applauded for their efforts. This is the company about which Steve Jobs said the employees enjoyed a virtual paradise of movie theaters, swimming pools, and luxury.

A week after our show was broadcast, Apple made an abrupt announcement. After years of stonewalling and silence, they released the full list of their suppliers, and agreed to outside, independent monitoring of working conditions in the factories they use. It is not everything, but it is a small step down the right road.

http://tinyurl.com/6ojorxx

Many news outlets are crediting THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF STEVE JOBS for being a large factor in Apple's decision. I've received a number of emails from Apple employees who have told me they believe that hearing this story on THIS AMERICAN LIFE, a program many Apple employees listen to with their families and their children, created "a morale situation" that finally compelled Apple to begin to do the right thing.

I would like to thank everyone who has heard this story and then told it on to the next person. In theater we sometimes doubt that we can effect change—I think we all doubt it, sometimes. The truth is that telling stories, person to person, is the best way we have ever had of connecting to the human—and whatever this show may or may not have achieved, it has come out of the conversations happening night after night after night.

Thank you,

md

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SOPA & PIPA

There is a lot of other information out there on what is happening.

This particular link is Google's petition.

There are others. This is just the one that caught my attention today.

The other tagline I've seen which I like is

Keep the Internet Free

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NaNoWriMo Day Fourteen

This is simple and sad: my total word count? Same as yesterday: 20,060. Words written today = 0.

My time today was, again, devoted to grading student assignments. And to trying to get technology to work. My laptop is acting up and I couldn't get online. I think I know what the problem is but can't check it out until I get home.

I've given myself a thirty minute time limit after I get home to work on it and then I must go to bed. Working laptop or not.

I think a Zone Alarm update has hijacked my ability to connect to the internet. The problem is that in order to finish the update I must have internet access.

Blech.

So now I'm another 1,667 words behind. I'm still counting on this weekend to get caught up.

Especially if we can score a good deal on flights to the Bay Area.

#SheWriMo
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NaNoWriMo Day Seven

I'll start with the update: my total word count at the end of day 7 is 10,599. Which means that the number of words I wrote today was 627 (on the computer, so it's accurate). And that leaves only about 1,000 behind.

So far this NaNoWriMo is going like some other things in my life: a lesson in patience and letting go, taking things as they are. More technology trauma which started last night (on my go home, straight to bed after work plan night -- didn't happen, had to save my scheduler and my BBerry calendar -- grr). Which I resolved by staying up too late and then one of the devices took its final breath this morning and the other won't play nice, after all.

Technology. Love it/hate it!

Back to NaNoWriMo. The new section I started tonight is great. I really like it. It's flowing. If I had enough time I think I would easily get out at least 2,000 - 3,000. I hope that will happen tomorrow as I have a long period of writing blocked out between jobs. I hope.

In the new piece of the story - which may not go in exactly the order it is being written - one of my characters does become a postsecondary instructor. This will be fiction, so if anyone reads it, don't think this is about anyone you know. It is a montage of pieces and things straight from the depth of my imagination. I don't know if there will be more murders there or if it will be connected to the murder - well, somehow it will because the instructor character is one of the main four and she lives in the primary neighborhood.

The mysterious Juliette has not yet appeared. Though I do feel her presence very near and there is something in that sage green house and the end of the street beckoning her. She will be there shortly.

And Hank hasn't surfaced since his fall. Or was it a fall? Did someone knock him out on their escape from the house and why were they there?

What is the significance of the pink button?


photo from BargainBox.au

#SheWriMo

NaNoWriMo Day Six

Okay. Now it's happened. Which means I can let go of it and move on.

I did not write a single word today.

No, I don't really want to talk about it. But I will, just a bit. Because it is NaNoWriMo time and we get to write whole novels of at least 50k in 30 days and we get to look at our process and see how to break our own barriers and how to accomplish what seems kind of impossible. And we get to "process" how it's going, what's working or not working, tips and hints and tricks, share prompts, have word wars and such.

So - today I wrote nothing. One big fear of NaNoWriMo. Because that puts us behind by - oh, about 1,667 words. I'm lucky that my very full day yesterday had some down time and I scratched out bits here and there and did come out with a total for the day of about 2831. Which was all by hand. And which isn't in the computer yet.

So, lucky that I wrote out 2831 yesterday, which brought me to 9972 - which leaves me only about 34 words behind instead of 1,667. But I have no cushion now.

And it's okay. And I have a -0- day on my NaNoWriMo daily word count. And I survived.

See, yesterday was very long. I was very tired after the hour drive home. We had company - which was awesome, I love them, I hadn't seen them for a while, and I hung around with them until they left. Then I remembered a few work emails I had to do and soon - it was 2:30 in the morning and I was going to bed.

Okay. I still had the handwritten notes. I planned to sleep 8 or 9 hours (I'm still recovering from the  health situation a month ago -- doing so much better, but energy not fully restored and still get tired more than normal and winded a little more than normal - and need more sleep than I was getting; sigh) and then maybe swim for a bit and write new material on my NaNoNovel after that.

But I woke up with a swollen eyeball. No more details to share other than it was uncomfortable and a little scary and really, really frustrating. No way I could go in the pool with that (even if they let me slip in, the goggles would irritate it and I couldn't let it get exposed to the pool water -- and although I don't think it's an infection, I wouldn't run that risk for others). And I was still a little tired and cranky and there were student emails and a couple of work emails which needed a response. My partner brought me some coffee and Dave's Killer Bread toast with peanut butter and sliced Honey Crisp apple. We talked; I groused.

Then it was 1:35 and I had to get ready to get to work and put in a load of laundry and - get to work.

And more student emails.

And now it's nearly midnight of the sixth day of NaNoWriMo and I wrote nothing today. Except emails.

I suppose I could do some slight modifications on the emails and make them fit into the novel (change the names and the specifics so it's anonymous) and have one of my characters become a teacher. One of them doesn't have a profession yet and needs one - that could happen. I mean, I wrote the emails during NaNoWriMo. It could happen.

So maybe I'm not without words today. We'll see. Maybe. Just maybe.

But for now, I'm marking down a great big -0- for today. And an ending word count of 9972; again.

#SheWriMo
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NaNoWriMo: Day Two - An Early Drop In Production

I should reword my title: It's not an "early drop in production," it was a "score one for technology" day!

Yes, that's it. Blame the technology.

No, really. This is not a "dog ate my homework" scenario - this was real. After a technically traumatic start to the day yesterday with the Blackberry update erasing all of my emails and the accounts overnight and entering everything in triplicate into my phone, two hours (when I should have been sleeping) on the phone first with my provider then with Blackberry - I was looking forward to fleet fingers and dancing laptop keys. But not, my computer froze up so I was going to try to get a bit more in via my Blackberry. Then my Blackberry developed a new problem.

So - I did get a little bit done today - but not what I wanted. I expected my word bank to last a little longer than it did. But at least I had it, so I'm still on target!

I'll get ahead again. I will.

Ending day two with a total NaNoWordCount of

.....3426.....

The third major character has been introduced and she's a little grumpy today. But she did recount the warnings of the mustache sucking, menthol cough drop inhaling, acid coffee drinker who sold her the gun.

"me shooting my first gun" by deviantart


#SheWriMo
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The Last Of Borders' Stores To Close

Are brick and mortar bookstores dead?

It is undeniable that the book industry had changed. How we read books. How we write books. How we publish. How we sell - and who sells - books. Everything has changed. And people are exclaiming the end of the printed book.

Now, another bookstore has fallen, and some are proclaiming this is it - the end of a lifestyle. According to NPR,

Laura Bartell, a bankruptcy law professor at Wayne State University, told the Detroit Free Press, "The physical bookstore has become a thing of the past."

Is she right? Or is this merely another change?

Does the fall of the giant, national bookstores mean there is no need for bookstores at all? Or is this another restructuring and an opportunity for the readers and the writers to take back the bookstore - to make it what we want and need. Our vision - not the corporate vision.

Maybe.

Yesterday I read an article about an author who recently opened a bookstore. A writer friend described the opening, which included two authors' readings, and how this bookstore was a part of the community. Then today I read about Borders closing - which I think we all saw coming after the buyout deal failed last week.

My hope is that this is an opportunity for us to take back the books. To take back the bookstore. Don't get me wrong - I'm not starting an argument for or against electronic books and readers. I've heard pros and cons, I have my preferences; and I know some really valuable reasons why the e-book readers are a wonderful invention for some people.

I am saying - don't take away the printed book, the community and culture of writing and printing and reading. Don't force us to be any more dependent on technology than we already are. As long as there is something to write or draw on and something to write or draw with, we can have written communication - reminders, stories, something to pass on. After the batteries have died, we've dropped the device in the toilet, it's raining outside, the backlight burns out, we lose the signal while the book is being downloaded ... we still have oral stories. We have the dirt, sand, shale, chalk, pieces of cement. Leaves. Charcoal. Tree bark shed in wind storms. Natural chalk. Reeds.

One thing for sure - this is a time of change. The publishing industry has been changing drastically since about 2008 from what I've heard. Which has made some major changes for writers and readers. And change isn't all bad.

I try not to be one who falls for "the sky is falling" doom and gloom predictions. I have been, in the past - but have learned better. So - Borders has fallen; B&N and Amazon are still selling books online. Small bookstores have gone away; new ones are cropping up.

Maybe I'm lucky to live in the Land of Powell's Books - who have had a viable online presence for a number of years, in addition to the big downtown store and the smaller neighborhood and specialty bookstores. We've lost smaller bookstores and we still have a couple or a few long-time independents.

I don't (want to?) believe that bookstores are going away forever. But they sure are changing. There is more to bookstores than the chain giants. And Christi Craig's post about the writer's new bookstore in her home town was one inspiring story about how bookstores are not a thing of the past.
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Three days to submit poetry for iPhone app

Yesterday, Sage Cohen wrote:

Four more days to submit to "The Life Poetic iPoem Contest!"

There's still time to submit to "The Life Poetic iPoem Contest!" Your poem could appear on an iPhone app that features a poem a day for a year.

Enter to win a variety of prizes, with a total value of more than $400 -- plus the priceless delight of having your poetry shared far and wide.

Get all of the details here!

technology dependency

paper

laptop

pen

keyboard

It is now a couple days later. When I made these notes, I thought they would bring back a flash of light and inspiration because I had something to say.

That thought is gone, overwritten or replaced by something new.

Technology Dependency. I wish I could remember what I meant. But I made this note instead and now, because I typed it on the keyboard instead of writing it by hand - an act which is like writing it in my brain. Typing has never had the same effect for me.

Maybe the thought will return. One day. Or not.

Incongruity

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I'm walking along a dirt road in central Oregon. There is gray gravel strewn across the road to provide added traction, but most of it has has been pushed to the side by vehicles over time, so it sits in burms of gray and cinderblock red and sun faded white.

To my right there is a fence with vertical green metal rods, with a few inches of white painted on the top edges. Between them and wrapped around each one is barbed wire, twisted and warning. Intended to keep out only the larger livestock or wild animals, because the smaller ones can easily slither under, hop over or through, creep up or even burrow under. You can't really keep out the wildlife.

And just over the warning fence is a golf course. Among the early July yellow and brown desert grasses, the blue-gray sagebrush, and a few remaining native pines, there is a bright green grassy, knoll, a couple of mounds of pushed aside natural gray and weather beaten soil as hazards, and even more expansive patches of green. The green is dotted with hundreds of white balls, scattered like the wildflowers on the natural side of the road. An anomaly here in the desert as I walk.

And here am I thinking how outrageous this sight is. How ruinous of the landscape. Isn't anything sacred / where is the nature / what are we doing?!?

As I walk on this dirt road along side this golf course in the desert and post to my blog on my Blackberry.
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afternoon update

I was going to just post a quick temperature update, which is, by the way,

• 103 degrees at 3:20 pm
  

... and it usually reaches its peak somewhere between 5-7 pm. Sigh. (Home is showing a temperature of 73 degrees.)

Good news is that all teaching responsibilities are done. Had the final wrap-up meeting with students and took hundreds of pictures and I am not exaggerating. Final staff meeting and totaled students' scores. And I have 90% of my stuff packed up and ready to go (the other 10% I need to get through tonight).

I am taking a little break here from preparing to interpret the completion celebration tonight. The Dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences will be speaking briefly, a student presentation, a student speaker, and a nationally recognized researcher, interpreting instructor (and more) will be speaking, as well. So looking over what we have of their speeches, how to spell names, all the things we do to insure there is a smooth and accurate interpretation of the night's events.

So I popped online to check the temperature and post an update -- and noticed the picture of Portland was no longer showing the rain. I thought maybe the transfer process corrupted the file or there was a technical issue of some sort. I clicked on the picture to view the (larger) original and it looked different than it did this morning. I went back to my blog and, yes, indeed, the Loveland picture was also different than what I posted.

What's up? I thought.

Duh! I realized. I didn't download the picture and then paste it in. I put in a direct link to the webcam site, which updates the picture. Sometimes I amaze myself with the little things it I don't get right away. Just a funny little story I thought I'd share. So, who knows, maybe tomorrow my picture of rain in Portland will be sunny and warm and Loveland will be overcast and dark.