KK Chat - July 15, 2007

[RainbowDragon]

[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 instances
[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 will 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
[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 tall 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
[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 oof 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, necause you keep getting paychecks.  :-)
[19:19] <Mistyck> yep
[19:19] <KK> because
[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 Stateside.
[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