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Very few events in life can't be put in perspective by a peanut butter sandwich.

Including the fact that either LJ has crashed or our work server suddenly doesn't like it, because I can't respond to comments or get my journal to load. Livejournal's timing has always sucked, but this feels like some kind of vendetta.

Just for documentation's sake, the official Author Blog Awards announcement not-on-twitter is here. Fun new blogs to read!

I've been pondering and I think it is apt that these awards reward the voters with prizes, rather than the bloggers -- the spirit of digital media, and social networking to support print media, is very much driven by a desire to connect to readers. Reader participation is vital to the whole process. It certainly is for me. And that is, if not the point, at least a happy side effect of widely-available, instantaneous mass communication -- forging a stronger bond with the people you tell your stories to, so that you can learn how to tell them better, and what kind to tell.

To be honest, I dashed off the last post and ran off to lunch expecting to have a lot more to say, but that pretty much covers my bases.

Meanwhile, the security audit at work goes on. Happily, one of our staff had flowers sent to her today and she's not in, so she told me to put them in water and I could keep them on my desk. Roses and crocuses do brighten the spreadsheet mire I'm slogging through.

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The Operations team is working on reports of "connection resets" and will have this issue resolved shortly. In the meantime, refreshing the page within your browser will eventually get you to the page. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Also, possibly in response to having read yer fic the other day? I dreamed last night that Jack Harkness and John Barrowman collaboratively wrote copperbadge fic. It was shaped like a horse. The fic was. IDEK. There was great internet controversy over the fact that the characters (by which I mean alphanumeric figures) which formed the border and lines of the horse were done in pencil and someone had traced over them in blue ink (all the other characters were in silver ink, again, IDEK), because Jack and John had not given permission for that alteration of his work, but the controversy was all fans being all OMGNO YOU CANNOT MESS WITH THEIR GREATNESS; they were all *shrug*, it's all good; what did you think of the smut?

I guess this means I dream about you, Sam. I promise I am not creepy.

LOL! That sounds like a fascinating dream. Very illuminated-manuscript. :D

You have my extreme sympathy.

Spreadsheets are the armpits of hell, especially the way I have to do them - by hand. Someone in my organisation has heard of them, thinks they are cool, but deeply distrusts all that 'digital malarkey'. So 600 rows, 12 columns, 8 calculations per row and I guess I'm lucky to be allowed to use arabic rather than roman numerals. That's what one gets for working in a museum.

Do you hide behind the flowers and pretend to be in a jungle? I would.

My cat used to do this. We used to find him sitting on the table with his head in a pot of mums.

...good god. You poor thing.

I'm having flashbacks to when I was the cataloguing assistant to the chair of the Classics department now. If anyone needs me, I'll be in my Protective Blanket of Fear, whimpering in Greek.

Gaaaaaah. *screams and runs*

I've never pretended the flowers were a jungle but now I am TOTALLY GOING TO.

And that is, if not the point, at least a happy side effect of widely-available, instantaneous mass communication -- forging a stronger bond with the people you tell your stories to, so that you can learn how to tell them better, and what kind to tell.

THIS. This exactly. This is why I am attempting what I'm attempting with Catchn.net (http://www.catchn.net) and why I follow your Extribulum adventures so avidly. I'm fascinated by the way that this possibility for interaction may shape storytelling - it's a throwback to the days of minstrelsy and oral culture, rather than dictating stories top-down, and I love that.

Also, LJ has been up and down for me all afternoon, too.

You're doing a great job, too! Keep up the good work :)

Someday, I'll grow up to be an extribulum pioneer, too!

*romps on your coattails*

Hell, you're working harder in it right now than I am. :D

That's just because you're actually writing. :-p

Clearly we both need eight more hours in the day. How do we make this happen?

When you find out, let me know. Also, while you're figuring it out, I could do with an 8 day week. The extra day? Preferably an addition to the week so The Child has an extra day at school.

I think that between my Logistical Improbability Field and your Office Ninjary, we might actually be able to pull it off. Right, I'll need two quarts of pink lemonade concentrate, a spanner, five Carter 650cfm carburetors, and an induction cooktop.

*cracks knuckles*

I'll bring the lubricant!

Good man!

Also, bring cheese. We may need it.

Huzzah! Huzzah! Best Unpublished Author Blog! We're so proud of you, Sam! I hope this publicity leads to more good things in your writing career!

Thank you! I hope so too, though I'm happy with my Cafe. *hugs everyone*

Good lord, I pictured everyone hugging you back at the same time. Talk about needing a body cast.

LOL! I am glad I have enhanced your jet-engine building experience!

Your big paragraph there -- I want to put that somewhere I'll see it all the time. Grats, btw!

Thank you!

Mmmm, peanut butter. XD

(Congratulations!)

Completely unrelated but can I just say- OMG HOUSE CENTIPEDE HOUSE CENTIPEDE, right there KILL IT!
I haven't seen one all year until you mentioned them.
COPPERBADGE! *fistshake*

AHAHAHAHAHA I BRING THE CURSE OF CENTIPEDES DOWN ON YOU ALL.

Missed you, Sammich. :P

PIEFLINGER *tackles, hugs, flings bread rolls*

As far as the spreadsheet mire goes, are you familiar with a program called Beyond Compare (http://www.scootersoftware.com/moreinfo.php?zz=screenshot&shot=DataCompare)? It's saved my sanity more than once.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure it would work with graphical PDFs :D Thank you though, I'm going to check this out for some of my other work...