Category: Columns

Home > Columns

Time: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

August 15, 2008 by in category Java Plots by marianne h donley tagged as

By Marianne H. Donley
I love clocks. I have wind up analogue clocks that chime every fifteen minutes, a KitKat Clock with red sequined eyes and a moving tail that acts like a pendulum, battery clocks that are boring but accurate, atomic clocks that know when to change to daylight-saving time without me telling them to do so, and, of course, digital clocks on the microwave, cable box and computer screen. With one or two exceptions they all report different times.
It starts in my bedroom where we have matching digital clocks on matching night stands. The old guy’s clock reads ten minutes faster than my clock. He sets it that way on purpose. Every morning when HIS clock says 6:30 and mine says 6:20 he shuts the alarm off BEFORE it rings. Then he goes back to sleep.
I poke him and say, “Time to get up.”
He says, “No, I can sleep for ten more minutes.”
I say, “Why do you set it early?”
He says, “So, I can sleep for ten more minutes.”
This makes no sense to me. He knows the clock is ten minutes fast. Why doesn’t he set the clock for the correct time and then set the alarm for ten minutes early? As much as I like math (and I really do–be careful I’ve been know to prove the square root of two is irrational with little provocation!) I don’t want to do arithmetic at 6:20 in the morning. In addition, he is legally blind without his contacts on, no joke. So he can’t even see the clock until he gets up and gets dressed. And, not to belabor the point, he turns the alarm off BEFORE it rings, so why does he even need to set the alarm?
Moving down to the family room we have the mantle clock, an eight-day, key wind, Westminster Chime, Seth Thomas, my sister, Rosemary, gave to me as an engagement/Christmas present. No matter how many times I set it or fiddle with the +/- lever in the back, it runs about two minutes slow. This doesn’t really bother me. The clock is thirty something and has survived my kids, my nieces and nephews, and now my grand kids trying to see how it works. I figure it’s entitled to be a little slow. This drives the old guy nuts. He complains about it nearly every day which is why I keep fiddling with it.

In the dinning room we have an eight-day, key wind, Westminster Chime that my brother, Michael, made for my son, David’s wedding. We hung the clock when David and his family moved in with us. It doesn’t work because someone (I’m not naming names, but it wasn’t me) set the time by moving the hands counterclockwise. We’ve taken the clock to a variety of clock repair guys who have told us a variety of tall tales as to why it doesn’t work, including one guy who said it needed to be cleaned to the tune of three hundred dollars and one who wanted to replace its expensive movement with a cheap battery operated one.
My KitKat Clock didn’t survive the move from California whole. One of the mover guys misplaced his tail (on purpose I suspect as I had to take the clock off the wall twice and hand it to the guy when he said everything was packed). I hung KitKat in the solarium anyway, and his red sequined eyes still move with the time. But without his tail, he doesn’t have quite the noble bearing he did before. He keeps pretty good time as long as he is perfectly balanced. Dust his pretty face and he’s likely to stop ticking completely until I get the level out. My five-year-old grandson would like the clock to completely disappear because KitKat has scary little eyes. When he visits, I think poor tailless KitKat will have to live in the basement for a while.Now here are two time related tasks for you.

Task One: Go look at an advertisement for clocks or watches. You can use a newspaper or even the Internet. What time is it in most of the ads? Do you have any idea why?Task Two: A Westminster Chime clock, chimes four times at quarter past the hour, eight times at half passed, twelve times at quarter to the hour and sixteen times at the hour PLUS one extra chime for each hour (so at 6 am the clock will chime twenty-two times). How many chimes will that be for this whole year? (I warned you about the math.)

6 0 Read more

RWA Forever!

August 6, 2008 by in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston, Writing Conferences tagged as , ,

Linda O. Johnston
www.LindaOJohnston.com
www.KillerHobbies.blogspot.com

I’d imagine I won’t be the only OCCer to blog on the Slice of Orange about how great the Romance Writers of America National Conference was last week! I, for one, had a wonderful time.

When I registered, the block of rooms in the conference hotel was already booked, so I found a hotel across the street. The Mosser Hotel room had charm but not a lot of space, but since I shared it with my husband things worked out just fine.

These days, most of what I do at an RWA conference involves networking and promotion, and I had a blast with both–not to mention all the parties I attended, including a couple at the OCC suite!

I also had fun making sure that my keychains, bookmarks and excerpts were available in the Goody Room as long as I was around. People must have liked them, since I always had to add more.

I admit I didn’t attend many workshops. I did go to the opening session of the PAN retreat and enjoyed the motivational speaker, and I also popped into some other workshops when I had time. That was one regret, since I know I missed some fine talks. And I also had to leave early, so I wasn’t around for the presentation of the Golden Heart and Rita awards.

I’m already making my plans to attend in Washington , D.C. , next year… and you?

2 0 Read more

A Fantasy Life

July 28, 2008 by in category A Fantasy Life by Janet Cornelow tagged as ,

By Janet Quinn Cornelow

Gideon is the hero in my Augeas story that is part of my Whiskey Shots Vol. 17. He is a warrior set against Dorjan in a battle to save the Ancient Ones from annihilation in “The Betrayer.” He is also a human in a world of magic and a member of the Lord’s Guard.

When an editor sends you the edits on a book, it is probably the least enjoyable part of writing. Usually, you have time to work on it and do a last check. However, when I found out on July 15 that Amber Quill wanted to release Betrayals on August 3 and could I get the edits back by July 25 if I got them by the 19th, what was I suppose to say, “No.”

I got the edits on the 19th, returned them on the 22nd and emailed back and forth on the 23rd to clear up the last few problems – except for the one both the editor and I missed. The galley arrived on the 24th with a request to have it back within three to five days. I am on day four with 109 pages to go.

Besides eyestrain from staring at the computer screen and working on the edits and galley around my other two jobs, life is wonderful. Isn’t this what being an author is all about?

And just to make the weekend more interesting, the neighbors decided we needed a new fence. It was a little rickety after twenty some years. When do the fence men arrive? Four o’clock on Saturday afternoon. Came back on Sunday. Of course, this means I am locked in with Chewbaca, my 75 pound dog. He is spending his time guarding me from the men who might sneak in and attack and barking ferociously at the men in his backyard. Unfortunately, Chewbaca does not understand the fine art of walking so he can potty. After all, he has a dog door and uses the backyard whenever it suits his purpose. I’m waiting for a very large accident since he hasn’t been “out” for 24 hours.

Art work by Jasmine Tanner – http://veildandy.deviantart.com

1 0 Read more

Writer on the Verge

July 18, 2008 by in category Writer on the Verge by Kate Carlisle tagged as , ,

Conference Overload

Wait. Conference Overload? It hasn’t even started yet! I haven’t even packed. How can I already be overloaded? I haven’t even shopped for the new pair of pants and two sweaters I’ll need. I haven’t been to the hairdresser! I’ll go tomorrow, finally, thank goodness, and I’ll get a manicure and pedicure while I’m there. And I’ll have to drop off the dry cleaning and pick up two prescriptions before I go to the hairdresser. No, there’s not enough time. I’ll have to get the prescriptions after the hairdresser. Hmm. Maybe I can get the prescriptions Monday night after work. Note to self: check hours.

I need more batteries for my camera. And I’d better take my tape recorder in case there are any emergency brainstorming sessions while I’m there.

Thank goodness I bought a new suitcase last week. I’ll need it. But I haven’t begun to pack yet. And I’ve still got to finish making cards for my blog group to hand out–a few thousand should cover it–and whoa! I need new earrings! One of my silver hoops broke.

Overload? Yeah! By the time I actually get to conference, it’ll be like a vacation compared to the weeks spent preparing to get there! One good thing is that for the first time in recent memory, I’m not signed up for an editor/agent appointment. That means I might actually be able to relax, see my friends, meet in the bar, sleep. Oh yeah, I need some sleep.

But not yet. Must make a list. Must not forget flat iron. And bling. Oh yeah, the earrings. Got to buy new earrings.

And don’t forget to pack my postcards. I ordered postcards to show everyone my new book cover. Wait. I talked about my book cover last month here on the blog but I didn’t get a chance to show it off. So here’s a sneak peek …

Isn’t it beautiful? I love it! (You can click on the cover to get a better look. You’ll want to see the cat up close. He looks very suspicious.)

Now I just need to find a place in my suitcase for three hundred postcards so I can show it off to everyone else in the world. Will three hundred be enough? I hope I don’t go over the baggage weight limit. Note to self: check airline baggage weight limit. Sigh.

Anyone else on conference overload? Anyone else excited about conference? Anyone panicking over editor/agent appointments? (Take some deep breaths. Try to remember they’re regular people like you and me. I know, easier said than done.)

Only one more week to go and we’ll be in San Francisco! Then I can finally get some sleep!

Kate Carlisle writes The Bibliophile Mysteries for NAL. Her first book, HOMICIDE IN HARDCOVER, comes out in February 2009.

10 0 Read more

The Write Way…(because there is no Right way)

July 17, 2008 by in category The Write Way by Maureen Child tagged as ,

Almost conference time! Amazing that it’s already rolled around again, but now that it has, the annual panic is setting in!
For those of us attending National, we’ve started the downhill slide into pre-conference madness.
There are the pages you didn’t get done, the dry-cleaning you still have to pick up, the packing you’re sure to start a week before you leave so you don’t forget anything and the plans you’re making to meet up with friends we see only once a year.
And in the middle of the hub-bub, there’s you know…..WORK. Conference, as much fun as it is, is also your annual chance to learn from the veterans. All of us can stand to learn a few things, not just the newbies among us. Agents, editors, multi published writers are all giving workshops and this is an opportunity not to be missed.
But do yourself a favor. Don’t try to make all of them. Go over the workshop schedule. Find a few every day that REALLY interest you and go to them. If you spend your whole conference racing from one spot to another, you won’t have time to appreciate any of it. You can by the CD’s of all the workshops and listen to them when you get home.
At National, make the most of meeting other writers, talking about your books, your plans, listening to someone else. If you’re meeting with an editor or an agent, don’t sweat the pitch, just describe your book BRIEFLY and listen carefully to what they tell you. Conference is our annual shot at reconnecting with the only people in the world who actually understand how we feel about writing. Relish it.
And make notes. I’m going to want to hear all about it at the August meeting………..
Maureen Child is the author of more than 100 romance novels and novellas and is at the moment, doing her mental packing….
8 0 Read more
«‹407408409410411412413›»

Copyright ©2017 A Slice of Orange. All Rights Reserved. ~PROUDLY POWERED BY WORDPRESS ~ CREATED BY ISHYOBOY.COM

>