The No News is No News Purgatory Thread, Volume 8

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Little1

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Bleg, no writing for me. Allergies are acting up and making me feel ... Bleg.
 

Haupe

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Good luck with the job- and computer-hunting, guys.

WD, have fun! Who are you going to see?

When it died, I couldn't afford another so I went to the dark side. Had an asus for 2 years before it died and then got this samsung which lasted all of ohhhh 3 MONTHS. :I
You don't want to know how I read "asus" in that constellation of words. ;)

Anyone here go through a PayPal account confirmation? Apparently I've reached my limits after 3 years of use. If I decide to go through the process, will it function as a debit card, then, taking money directly from my account? Or will it continue to bill my credit card? Anyone know?

The online protection against fraud is markedly better here in Canada for credit cards as compared to debit. I went to the bank yesterday for advice, and the gentleman advised against doing the confirmation, but there was a bit of a language barrier. Also, he was keen to upsell me on the bank's products, so I'm not sure I trust the quality of his info.
 

Maryn

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You can set up PayPal to do either. At one time I had it charging a credit card, then when BoA got all pissy on me, I changed it to debit my new checking account at another bank. As I recall, the only authentication they demanded when I made the change was knowing my password for PayPal and responding to an email they sent notifying me someone had tried to change my PayPal account.

I don't trust my memory on that 100%, but I do recall it being so simple even *I* could figure it out.

Maryn, not a tech person
 

K. Taylor

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The thing about getting longevity and performance out of any computer is 1) all the parts need to be of good quality and 2) the parts need to be balanced with each other. Especially important for a laptop manufacturer to not use components known for giving off a lot of heat since there isn't a lot of ventilation space in a laptop case. Just because they can shrink down a desktop part doesn't mean they should. :( The hottest components of a computer are the processor and video chip.

My little sister has gone through 4 Mac laptops, with 3 failures. The other time was a theft.

Granted, I don't use it every day, but I have no complaints with my HP netbook (10" Mini). It does what it was designed to do. I did a bunch of research on picking one before I bought. I've only left the house with it once. I really bought it just to be able to change rooms when others in the house are being too noisy. Do need to get around to expanding the RAM, though.
 

Haupe

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Thanks, Maryn. A writing friend tells me she's been able to keep her credit card as the source, but the language on the PayPal site makes it sounds like the opposite. Sigh. I'm getting automated responses to my emails. Don't they know I've been through their canned "get help" area and it's not obvious? ;)
 

Snappy

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Happy Saturday, purgies.

Yeah, I have a Brooklyn accent. It's not bad when I'm just talking for the most part. But, when I get angry...oh boy. It's awful.

Finished R&R and sent it off to agent. WOOT! So excited to have it done.
 

OL

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Hi all!

Just a quick fly-by -- I need to load up the car and drive to SF.

Love my Mac Air. I've had really good luck with Macs. Especially the old iBooks. the one I had finally died because the guy I gave it to dropped it on a freeway. Yeah.
 

Dragonstar

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I have an Asus gaming laptop and love it. Not that I use it often, but when I do I love it. Had a Toshiba before that I sold before I got the Asus. But I prefer to be on the pc, which is also built for gaming.
 

FruitTree

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Happy Saturday everyone!

I love everything today. I love that my hens are laying. I love my new WIP (it's not really new, it's just been on the shelf for six months while coping with R&R on a different ms - but I've never really been able to dive into it, so it counts as new). I love writing historical fantasy rather than straight-up historical. I love the two new songs I'm doing for voice lessons (Beau Soir and Nacht und Träume) even though I'm totally not doing them justice. And I love the ms I just started beta-ing.

Hope you all are having an equally happy day!
 

Haupe

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FruitTree, that's rather a startling expression of joy. Wonderful.

Guys, I'm putting together the next WU newsletter. If you have a cautionary tale about the publishing industry that's less than 500 words and would educate other authors, can you email me or message me? Would be kept absolutely confidential. Thanks!
 

mayqueen

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Snappy, congrats on getting the R&R in.
FruitTree, yay for the new WIP! What's your setting?
 

lwalker

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OL, I had an iBook! A lime one. I loved that thing. I gave it to my cousin years ago. No idea what happened to it. But it was a great computer. I have a MB Air now and love it, too. :)
 

Vespertilion

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Haupe, I use my credit card to pay through Paypal all the time, when I have no funds in the pp account (I don't have them hooked up to my main bank account, so they can't just take out funds they think a buyer is owed, just a small business acct.) I just change the source of funds to the credit card before finalizing the transaction. I don't know if you can set it draw from there automatically, but it only takes an extra click or two.
 

dystophil

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Another vote for MacBooks. I accidentally dropped mine when my bag strap broke in Germany and other than a tiny scratch on the back corner, it's just fine (it fell on asphalt). Also, love it when customer service notifies me that "hey, your hard drive may fail, so come in and get a new one installed for free". Never had any issues with my Mac, knock on wood.

And afternoon, Purgs!

My to-do list is intimidating me, so this is just a drive by hug'n hi. :LilLove:
 

Haupe

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Haupe, I use my credit card to pay through Paypal all the time, when I have no funds in the pp account (I don't have them hooked up to my main bank account, so they can't just take out funds they think a buyer is owed, just a small business acct.) I just change the source of funds to the credit card before finalizing the transaction. I don't know if you can set it draw from there automatically, but it only takes an extra click or two.
Thank you for the info, Clovia. I must have a particularly dense brain when it comes to banking language, or else they're making it hard on purpose, but it looks like I can get my credit card verified now, and then set the default payment to come from the Visa rather than the bank. Is that what you mean? That would make me more comfortable.

I've done the same thing by segregating PayPal to an account where it would do less damage if it got hit. I still don't like giving out that info, but what are you going to do?
 

mayqueen

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Apple computers of all kind are very nice. I love my iPhone, I want an iPad, and I'd go back to an Apple laptop if I could afford it. Problem is they are so expensive for this poor, broke grad student. I bought my iBook used off eBay two or three years ago and it still runs. The problem is its processor is so incredibly old that none of the software I need to use (even my internet browser) works with it. *sigh* But the laptop itself still runs just fine.

Question: what are all of your post-first-draft-pre-second-set-of-major-revision novel-writing strategies (besides letting it breathe and sending it off to beta readers). This is my third time around this rodeo and I really want to enhance my self-editing skills, for things like character arcs and plot development. My line-editing skills are pretty solid. I line-edit my fiction and non-fiction enough to feel pretty good about that. But I'd like to be able to be better at catching plot holes, slow pacing, and that kind of problem. Is that something you can train yourself to be good at, or is that a matter of having good, trustworthy critique buddies?

So far, the thing I've found the most helpful is getting a giant piece of paper and making a picture slash line-graph amalgamation of the plot. Even that, I don't know if it's terribly helpful.

Thanks in advance for all of your advice. : ) Y'all are great.

(PS Thanks everyone for the kind comments and reps about my shitty life stuff.)
 

Vespertilion

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I just manually select the card as the source every time I'm going to use it to buy something, Haupe, so I'm not sure about making automatical.
 

Amarie

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May, I go chapter by chapter to make sure each one contains all the elements of moving the plot forward and making sure the character arcs are moving along as well, and i want to get in some worldbuilding or sensory impressions too. At the end of each chapter I ask myself what is in this chapter that will make a reader want to read on? I really like to feel when I'm done editing a chapter that it has all the elements there.
 

MrsBrommers

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Snappy, 'grats on the R&R turn in!

I have very bad luck with laptops. My first one lasted three years before it decided to shoot blue sparks out of it that caused my arm to go numb all the way to my elbow when I was one chapter away from finishing an MS my agent was dying for. My second laptop had a sad ending by way of coffee mug, baby, and keyboard. Right now, I have a very inexpensive netbook. It has Windows 8, which I loathe. But it does the job.

Mayqueen, I think letting it rest helps. When I go back to read again, anytime my mind begins to wander away the story, I put in a comment that tells me I fell out of the story and why. So when I go back to revise, I know exactly what's going on.

Guys, you wouldn't believe my week. I had extreme bouts of vertigo on Monday and Tuesday because of weather changes. On Wednesday, I had to head over to Urgent Care to make sure I didn't have the flu. Turns out it's strep, which both of my boys had within the previous two weeks. Also on Wednesday, my seven-year-old woke up with a migraine and vertigo. Kept her home from school. Still Wednesday, we're eating lunch when the five-year-old tells me, "Mama, Little B has something in his eye." Holy shit. Goop everywhere. Pink eye. Call the pediatrician. Meds are called in. Whoo-hoo. Little B goes down for a nap and wakes up with his eyelids the size of a golf ball and the gunk that came out...*shudders* Take him to pediatrician. Not just pink eye but freakin' orbital cellulitis. Which is apparently very serious because of the infection's proximity to orbital nerves, auditory nerves, and brain. Pediatrician orders mega antibiotic to keep him out of the hospital and has me text her photos to determine if he needs to go to the ER. Whew, he makes it through the night, but Thursday morning, he goes back to pediatrician and seven-year-old comes along because she's still sick. Little B is improving, but my girl had a double ear infection and strep throat. Friday, my daughter's ear is killing her. Amid fears of a ruptured ear drum, back to the pediatrician (with Little B in tow). More meds. Friday night, my vertigo gets so bad that I fall on the steps and rack my arm pretty good on the railing. Big bruise. Lots of pain. Then Little B's good eye starts gooping and the whole process starts all over again....we are ready for Calgon to take us away now.
 

phoenix

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Mrs. Brommers, what is going on at your house? You have had an awful time of it. Hope everyone is healthy soon.


There's a lot of talented people here -- does anyone know anything about felting? My son has a beloved felt pig and the ears are falling off. They weren't sewn on, and I can't figure out how to stick them back on. Any ideas?

May, I find this very helpful: Revising advice.
 

kellion92

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(((Mrs. B)))

WTG, Snappy!

Phoenix, my daughter made a felted cat at a craft party a couple weeks ago -- very cool. I guess if you had a felting tool you could stick the ears on? Or I would just sew them -- Frankenpig.
 

Vespertilion

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Was it Mangatar?
 
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