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[FJL]

BK - A small, very light FedEx package awaits you at your mail place (signed for at 9:18 am your time).

[Jeanne]

Yesterday was a glorious day here. Snow on the ground, but blue skies and bright sun. I was hoping for the same today. Instead, it's grey and damp, with some drizzle. Pooh!

I need to find a present for a friend--quickly, because it should have gone in the mail a week ago. I'm at a real loss as to what to buy her. I was so busy getting the work done on my house this year that I just haven't had much time to think about Christmas.

[Jeanne]

Happy Day Before to BK!

[Jeanne]

Sing,
have you used any of the other eReaders?

[DERBRUCER]

Lucky you, DR Ron Pulliam!  Wish I could say the same...

Don't wish too hard - the day of the Digital Librarian is neigh nigh!

der Brucer

[DERBRUCER]

This guy is on the guest list for DR Ron Pulliam's "green" office holiday function:

After what Edisaurus posted about Manilow:

Across the mesa you could see Barry Manilow's house, where he lives year-round. Every day at noon a private plane flies him to Vegas, and home at night after his shows.

we should send him to Palm Springs to picket.

Whatever "greening" Ron's office provides will be more than consumed in Barry's daily commute.

der Brucer

[DERBRUCER]

Jane,

To wish you a Happy Birthday I should post for you one of my famous pictures.

On second thought, your Birthday might be happier if I leave the screen blank

May Sherlock give you a kiss for each and every year!

der Brucer

[JMK]

A little holiday cheer, Samba Soleil style:

http://jeffreykauffman.net/greensleeves.mp3

You would not believe the cool device our bass player recorded this with--it's something called a Zoom, IIRC--it was about the size and shape of an I-Phone, had 2 condenser mics built in (though you can attach real mics), and it stores up to 6 hours of MP3 recordings.  Amazing.

[bk]

I have read the article, and it somehow made me a little sick to my stomach.  Especially the part about the continuing amateurization of the world, with authors writing their books online and asking their readers to comment and basically help shape the book.  This is akin to moviemaking, where screenplays are now written by committee, shaped by people who know virtually nothing except what they've read in some Screenwriting 101 books - writing books is one of the few creative areas left where no one can tell you what to do - you write the book you write.  Yes, a traditional publisher/editor can insist you remove 150 pages from your manuscript, and yes, that might be a good idea and then again it might hurt the book.  But, even then, that is a creative relationship between two people, not the author and hundreds of people.  I just don't like any of that sort of thing, frankly.  Happily, books won't be going anywhere soon, and anything that gets people to read is a good thing.

[bk]

BK - A small, very light FedEx package awaits you at your mail place (signed for at 9:18 am your time).

How very exciting!  I'll be going over there in a couple of hours.

[Ginny]

BK - I'm now reading the Letters to the Editor in the Dec. 10 issue of Newsweek and one says, "...there's still that driving pride of sole authorship and, yes, seeing the original on honest-to-God pages."

You're not alone.

[DERBRUCER]

Well, the HUGE rainstorm of last night produced 0 inches of rain, just some damp streets.  These weather people should be put out to pasture, but, no, they just continue to give misinformation and collect large salaries.

Actually, the LA basin received .5 inches of rain - a downpour that would have been welcomed in Atlanta. And some of your neighbors got damp:


Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Modjeska Canyon resident Gil Santos walks his dog, Negro, on his daily hike. Several residents had evacuated overnight ahead of the storm, which was less fierce than expected.

der Brucer

And I doubt that the weather people put out "misinformation", surely that qualified their prediction with a percent probability.

[JMK]

Actually, the LA basin received .5 inches of rain - a downpour that would have been welcomed in Atlanta. And some of your neighbors got damp:

Modjeska Canyon resident Gil Santos walks his dog, Negro

Heaven forfend--a dog named Negro.  In L.A.??  

[bk]

Yeah, the percent was 90%.  Put them out to pasture.  And my neighborhood didn't receive .5 inches of anything.  And, .5 inches is hardly a huge rainstorm, which was what was predicted.

[bk]

And how's this for something or other - I got an e-mail from the gal who'll be designing the set for The Brain - she sent me some of her designs to look at and she seems very creative.  And the address on her resume?  Why the same exact place that Der Brucer lives - Rehoboth Beach.

[bk]

Put them out to pasture.

[bk]

I gotta tell you.

[bk]

Blue skies smilin' at me - ninety percent huge rainstorm I don't see.

[Ron Pulliam]

We got lots of rain overnight here in Oakland.  It was a soaker.  And a good 'un!

[singdaw]

No, DR Jeanne, I have never used any previous e-reader device.

bk, DR Ginny was correct, the primary difference between Kindle and other e-readers is the connectivity.  Which kind of ties you to Amazon, for good and for ill.  Amazon at the moment appears to have the largest selection of e-books [90,000 titles and growing daily - but that is only a small percentage of Amazon's stock], but it only accepts a few other formats besides its own proprietary format.  Kindle books by and large cannot be viewed on other e-devices, and vice-versa.  You can manipulate books from the www.guttenberg.org project to work on Kindle.  But for now, the vast majority of books on Amazon - including yours - are not converted to the proprietary format, nor are much of the print books already in your collection - which is certainly a limitation.  You can, for a very nominal fee, have Amazon convert Word or .pdf docs to Kindle-ready "books."  The .pdfs would be more successful if they are simple text and nothing complicated.

You do not get covers.  There are no formats - it's just the text, so hardcover/softcover are indistinguishable - you're just getting the text of the book.  No download charge at all - it's built in to the cost of the reader device and the Kindle version of the book.  Most Kindle versions of the best-sellers are going for under $10.00.  Things in the public domain [that have been converted and are available] can go from .99 to a few dollars.

It certainly doesn't replace a print book, and it has its limitations, but it is very convenient for reading on the go, and for books you'd like to read but don't really care if you own a hard copy.

[DearReaderLaura]

It is very gray and getting windy here. Hopefully, some rain later today.

A half-inch would be a lot of rain at one time here in the desert. Our ground is so hard that it runs off and fills the washes.

[S. Woody White]

...The latter movie is unbelievably wonderful.  I LOVE "The Barefoot Contessa".

MOVIE?  How do you know Jeanne isn't referring to DVDs of episodes of the television cooking show with Ina Garten called The Barefoot Contessa?  (Named after her catering business.)






(Which was named after the movie.    )

[Ron Pulliam]

Anyone here remember "Our Gang" and Alfalfa?  Recall his riff on Bing Crosby's "Learn to Croon"?

Learn to croon.
If you want to win your heart's desire.
Sweet melodies of love inspire
Romance.
Just murmur boo boo-boo boo-boo boo boo boo
And when you do
She'll answer boo boo-boo boo-boo boo boo boo
And nestle closer to you.
Learn to croon
You'll eliminate each rival soon
If you're heading for a sunny honeymoon
Learn to croon.

That's a current e-worm rattling around my cranium!

[Ron Pulliam]

MOVIE?  How do you know Jeanne isn't referring to DVDs of episodes of the television cooking show with Ina Garten called The Barefoot Contessa?  (Named after her catering business.)


(Which was named after the movie.    )

I expect she would have corrected me had that been the case.  The movie was the likelier, to my mind, subject.  The cooking show would never have crossed my mind unless it had been specified as such.

It's truly non-consequential as an "issue."

[S. Woody White]

Heaven forfend--a dog named Negro.  In L.A.??  

Given that the owner's surname is Santos, my bet is the dog's name is pronounced NAY-grrrow.  (rrr trilled, of course.)

[S. Woody White]

Yeah, the percent was 90%.  Put them out to pasture.  And my neighborhood didn't receive .5 inches of anything.  And, .5 inches is hardly a huge rainstorm, which was what was predicted.

Be glad you didn't get a huge rainstorm.  After the brushfires you've had in your area lately, the threat of mudslides that heavy rains could create makes me very glad I'm in Delaware.

[S. Woody White]

And how's this for something or other - I got an e-mail from the gal who'll be designing the set for The Brain - she sent me some of her designs to look at and she seems very creative.  And the address on her resume?  Why the same exact place that Der Brucer lives - Rehoboth Beach.

Drop her a note about having friends in her area.  And that I can be found over at her local Super G.  (Only I use my legal name there - Stephen.)  She may already know who I am!

[S. Woody White]

...and it has its limitations, but it is very convenient for reading on the go...

I can see the headlines now:

NEW CAUSE OF CAR CRASHES - DRIVERS READING AT THE WHEEL!!!

[S. Woody White]

For a couple of years now, der B has groused and grumbled every time I've forgotten to turn on the hood over the stove while cooking.  I can't blame him - our smoke detectors are very sensitive, and equally loud.

But it was very satisfying to hear those smoke detectors start to blare when he was fixing himself a grilled cheese sandwich today.

Time to get ready for work.

[Ron Pulliam]

Drivers reading while talking on their cell phones, no doubt!