the seek therapy satellite

just like J voorhees, Im back again

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:41:00 GMT

well aint this special.

blew my pooter up back in feb and was til today getting back online. bought this unit several weeks ago, and I never let my monthly payment to earthlink lapse, but I guess I just wasnt in any kind of hurry to hook back up. and in all that time (and over 1,200 mails), I got one [1] that was what Id call important. the rest were book alerts, bank bounces, and viagra. makes me wonder if the 22 bucks a month for connection is worth it. makes me wonder if the 250 I spent on this unit coulda been spent more wisely--even tho the 19" flatscreen monitor is a beautiful thing. seriously beautiful.

if it wasnt for playing chess with my son, Im sure I woulda reverted back to the stoneage and quit pootering altogether.

and speaking of son, he moved outta newyork and went to georgia. he and family're living in a berg called valdosta. sounds spanish to me. he says its hot. I gotta agree. he also says that (compared to NY anyway) the rain is like someone dumping drums of water everywhere. I kinda giggle. I guess NY doesnt get the massive storme like georgia...or ahia for that matter.

so anyway, thats that. gonna grab my greg iles book (YAY!) and retire for the night. ya'all take care now, y'hear?

Reamde

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:42:00 GMT

not a typo, thats the title of a neal stephson book Im almost finished with. long-ass motherfucker, too, with 1044 pages. all good stuff. its one of those 'got everything' kinda stories; russian mobsters, terrorists, likable but faulted heroes, a huge computer game (something like world of warcraft [or whatever its called]) thats a central pivot of the plot, and acres and acres of different places all over the planet. funny, I usually dont dig stuff from outside the US [familiarity in location, Im guessing] but I did feel right at home in china, tiawan, canada and all the other places this book went.

I recommend Reamde to those of you who like a good action/suspense story. the dude is a very good writer and the plot is highly attractive.

speaking of long things (no, not my dick) just finished 11/33/63, stephen king's latest. what a great great book. this one is most positivly 'way up there' in king's work. I cant say his best (cuz I think I say that everytime he releases a novel) but I can say that this one is in the top 5 out of all that he's written, imho. I shouldnt have to give any kind of outline because if you have any eyes, youve prolly already read about its plot.

highly recommended.

furthering the long thing thang, watched lord of the ring this past week.

ummmm...twice. thats 18 hours of frodo, samwise, treebeard, and viggo mortensen spread out over 4 (or maybe 5) days. and I could do it again; theres so much information to keep in mind. I did a search for the 1978 version (I recall seeing it in a junky theater when I was but a wee child) and found it along with a '78 version of the hobbit--both of which I quickly ordered from the local library.

while searching for the '78 flick, I came across plenty of really cool info about peter jackson and other LOTR stuff that instead of mentioning here will simply direct your bad self to wikipidia. its all there and its pretty much all cool.

on the opposing end of long stuff, I got owen king's book we're all in this together, a novella and a few shorts. I startred the novella and lost it on it. was ...well, for lack of a better word, boring to the extert of tears. prior to it going back to the library Ill take a gander at some of the shorts. as you all know, I adore S king's work. and some of you know, I give way high praise to joe hill's 2 novels and several shorts. so far, I am unable to go 3 for 3. I cannot say (yet): like father, like son's'.

hmmm, what else. selling the mineral rights to my land. sometime next year, Ill be somewhat wealthy. 18 acres at a bit over 5 grand per, less taxes, and Ill have the ability to buy any damn book I want. the house will be paid for. there'll be a slightly used* chevy s-10 in the driveway, a kickass pooter, and a lot less blood/sweat/tears paying the electric bill. theres a shitload of people who own land 'round here that have signed on and ther're pretty much rolling in cash, and they signed on way too early, back when the offer on the table was under 4 g's an acre. I let my sister handle this and she's doing a great job.

as of today:
my truck is running wonderfully. it starts just by looking at the key (okay, maybe not that easy) and the muffler is mostly silent after the ungodly amount of juryrigging I did.
work is lean, been raining and we currently have no inside work. wont be an issue soon...YAY!
a rare occurance, I beat my son Shaun in an online chess game (only because he'd been way busy and didnt make a move in the alloted time, lost by forfeiture).
started thinking about the christmas holiday and the decorations that go along with it. I need to remove a chair to make room for a tree but therers nowhere at all for a huge cozy puffy chair. my bedroom is floor to ceiling with boxes and hampers and stuff so thats not an option and the livingroom is basically maxed furniture-wise. maybe I could use a short tree and sit in in the chair? hmmmmm

k, nuff boring shit from ahia. not gonna do a look-over for spelling and/or lapse of thought cuz the pizza is done...go read a fucking book why dont ya

where do the parking light fits?

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 07:48:00 GMT

been a while since Ive journaled, or blogged, or whatever its called. but I feel its time.

why?

dunno, got really nothing more to say than what I said last time[s]: read a book, shingled a roof, made a chess move with Shaun, repeat ad infinitum.

the only difference, though, is my transportation. Im driving my dear momma's gas sucking van because my truck died. it sat in the driveway while I had people (read: non-mechanics) attempt repairs. so when I finally took it (towed it, matter of fact) to the shop the mechanic took one look and said, "Oh God, why did you let other people touch it? now its gonna be twice as hard (read: twice as expensive) to fix because the well-meaning but idjit-minded people have moved wires and bent fuel lines and damaged tank straps and ruined etc & broke etc & just plain fucked-up etc.

of course the answer is simple. what if they'd have fixed it and all I woulda hadda pay was a 12-pack of busch.

see?

now, alas, Im looking at a $170+ charge.

the thing is, Ill save that in gas the first week I return mom's van (slightly exaggerated...very slightly.)

oh, by the way, I read a book and made a chess move.

new perry story attacks the world/with translation

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:23:00 GMT

aint wrote a single fucking complete story in a long fucking time.

I have not written any new dark fiction in a few years

gots myself a freakin email* cuz Im grttin an old story about fish published soon

today, I recieved an email** with a proof copy of a new print book entitled The Walrus Tales (subject to change) which contains my story Of Gods and Pinnipeds. written very tongue in cheek, it's a genre crossing story guaranteed to make you laugh in amusement and shudder in repulsion simultaneously.

I'm happier than a pig in shit

I am very thrilled to be published once again. additionally, the fact that this is print (a solid book one can hold in one's hands) doubles, maybe quadruples my elation.

but--always a fucking but--cant open the fucker cuz this pooter is a clinking clunking clanking hunk'o shit.

oddly enough, I cannot puruse my proofer's copy; glitches both major and minor prevent the attachment from opening.

pisses me right the fuck off cuz I aint got the fucking program and prolly cant d/l it without fucking this thing up worse that it already is

even realizing this is an inanimate object, I have some deep-seated ill feelings towards my computer tonight. I fear the tower is running out of steam

so when I find out what the fuck is going on, Ill git my people to call your people; we'll do lunch---gigglesnort

Ill keep you posted.:)

mildly semi-unimportantish news from pipecreek

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 09:39:00 GMT

I still find it hard to believe that I let King's dark tower books go unread all those years because of a dry spot in the 4th book--wizard & glass, that longish and somewhat boring flashback. but once I got past that I shit myself cuz of how good it is. and yes Im reading the series again. 'bout 3/4 through #5 wolves/calla and digging the living shit outta it. and yay to whats coming next year: another DT book called the wind through the keyhole, something like that. its between books 4 and 5 (aptly referred to as book 4.5; is there no end to the genius?), covering the time 'tween when the gunslingers leave the glass castle and get the the calla. sounds all good to me, being a tower junkie and all.

heres an oddity. I really dont care for john connolly's books cuz he mixes crime drama with supernatural stuff--I just cant get behind a cop who sees things from other planes. but I recently read two stories by richard montanari that has a detective with slight supernatural powers--can touch objects and read thoughts from previous 'touchers--and it worked great for me. same damn thing, two different writers; one is great, one isnt. they both are talented scribes putting out a mix of two genres that I enjoy but only one makes it work. hmmmmmmmmmm.

getting into some good old bob lee swagger, too. he's a hick sniper, can shoot a man in the head from a mile away but has a hard time talking--or being understood, rather. and he says 'aint' all the time so he's cool.

waiting on joe hill to write another book. his two full-length books so far [Horns and Heart-Shaped Box] are very readable, but he sure aint prolific like his daddy. he has several short stories, but most of em were not all that good--which is prolly mostly me, Im not into short stuff all that much anymore.

two authors I get confused are jonathan kellerman and jeffery deaver. I read a kinda crappy book by one of those guys and since stayed away from both. but I should check harder cuz I bet somewhere theres some good shit. cripes, tween the two they got like 40 books. be a lot of good reading time there if & when I find out whats what

rain day today, gonna fuck around here doin some chores, then bitch about the crappy paycheck friday. aint it always like that?

a joke, a few books, and fiberglass

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 10:02:00 GMT

A Real Woman

A real woman is a man's best friend. She will never stand him up and never let him down.

She will reassure him when he feels insecure and comfort him after a bad day.

She will inspire him to do things he never thought he could do; to live without fear and forget regret.

She will enable him to express his deepest emotions and give in to his most intimate desires.

She will make sure he always feels as though he's the most handsome man in the room

and will enable him to be the most confident, sexy,
seductive and invincible.

No wait...

Sorry.
I'm thinking of whiskey.
It's whiskey that does all that shit.
Never mind.

[special thanks to RF for sending me this stanza and causing my smile muscles to activate]

oh wait, heres another. a woman goes into the doctors. she tells him: "I was golfing and got stung by a bee between the first and second hole." the doc says, "sounds like your stance is too wide."

gigglesnort

okay, now down to business.

The Radleys was a pretty okayish book. everywhere I look people are extolling its virtues; Im not going quite that far. my view: its okay leaning towards good--a different take on a tired [way fucking tired] subject.

currently checking out Damage by john lescroart.seems pretty decent but man, going up against grisham and connally is a huge deal. those two guys got me spoiled as far as courtroom drama goes; everyone else Ive found draws a distant third or lower. still, Ill finish this one and unless he fucks the ending Ill read the other one I get here.

got a couple of tess garrison's books, but I almost gotta be in a mood for her stuff. sometimes she can stray into the romantic aspect too much for my taste. if they're due back to the library before I get to them, then no biggie.

been pulling fiberglass splinters out of my grubby paws. the tub we installed yesterday was full of them--was like handling a fucking six foot porcupine. when we carried it into the bathroom I wore gloves, but we had to jiggle it in place and thats where I got the pound and a half of fiberglass. fucking shit hurts, man. I got (Im pretty sure) all of it out of my hands. theres one by my thumb thats making me wonder, though.

sheesh, a journal entry about splinters? I must be out of my gourd today...better shut down before I go in to the big Q-tip in the ear session earlier. Im sure thats newsworthy

a book by any other name is still a book

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 04:31:00 GMT

just past the halfway point of The Radley's and Im gonna say--even before I get to the ending--it aint too bad. somewhere, someone said this book is a vampire book for people who dont want to read a vampire book. I cant agree 100%, but at least there isnt the crazy romantic angles [re twilight], nor is it a rework of blade or christopher lee's version. it really is a bit of a different take on the genre. some bloody/gory stuff but mostly plot/character driven.

funny, the last 3 or 4 books Ive read have come from england. a couple of crime dramas which took me a bit to translate. my eyes kinda tripped over stuff like my tyres hit the kurb and all the other different spellings/usage, and the slang actually stopped me flat a few times. read two different writers and both of them, their favorite word is 'wee.' the wee lad, the wee bit left in the pint, the wee this/that/da'other.

the radley's book doesnt go as far with the dialect for some reason. either an editor americanized it or matt haig is a crossbreed. Ive yet to see 'wee' in this book.

next up: the Jack series by f. paul wilson. looks to be roughly a half-billion books in this series.

lets see, aside from the 3 books by the 2 brits, robert crais' the sentry, and others I cant remember right this moment I have restarted king's dark tower stuff. cripes, I find so much new stuff every time. this will be my 3rd reading. I have the final 3 to go this time around. Ill space 'em out between whatever other stuff Im reading.

####################################

working again after a slow december and a totally crappy january. money in my pocket is a strange thing but Ill get used to it real fast. doesnt last long anyway, a load of firewood weekly, propane (I think gold is almost as precious), and an inflated 'lectric bill (light bill for my british fans), money just comes & goes.

at least it does come, and thats about all you can hope for, wouldnt you say?

bitch/moan/groan

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 19:39:00 GMT

come the fuck on, springtime; hurry yer lillywhite ass up and knock this cold bullshit out the way....please!

after just two days of above freezing temps, Im thrilled to the marrow about warmness. cripes, ya know its bad when ya walk outside at 7 in the morning into 29 degree and it feels great.

ahhhhhhh, to sit on the front porch with a ciggy, puzzlebook, and a cool drink. wont be long, though. its already mid-feb. prolly gonna have to put up with some nasty storms, high winds, and whatever cold is left in this season.

and man it was a rough one, wasnt it? Ive burned everything that even looked like wood, went through $800 of propane, and jacked the electric bill by 30/40 bucks a month heating this place; I am damn sure ready to leave the doors open, my shirt off, and the thermostat down.

I believe I mentioned we worked in the cold in dec & jan hanging siding. then a 3 week work-stoppage in jan (felt good cept for the bills piling-up at my feet---fuck it, I burned 'em). now we're doing a bathroom, followed by another bathroom, followed by several roof jobs and siding jobs and two big garages we gotta build this summer. last year damn near put me back on my feet; this year oughta do it. I want a four-wheeler (mostly for collecting wintertime wood from the hill 'round back--and some funzies. come on now, I like funzies) and a better truck and other stuff. with some careful money planning, I can get this stuff.

just get my ass out of this nasty winter....Im tired of it

book

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:31:00 GMT

been reading the david j schow books. funny, he started out horror and now is into gory crimedrama--both genres faves of mine.

so anyway, got crypt orchids from the library (a bunch of shorts--mostly damn fine reading although Im more inclined towards long work) and as I peered the front pages I saw: This signed edition is limited to 500 numbered copies, of which this is copy 405.

below that is a hand-written scribble.

I want this book. Ill go to the library and ask about it maybe tomorrow or saturday. if they'll sell it to me, Ill finally have an autographed book in my collection.

cool, huh...

wink wink nudge nudge

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 23:50:00 GMT

happy new year!

make that all-important resolution yet?

plan on keeping it past this first week?

funny, start a new year by taking away something near and dear to yourself...seems silly.

I plan on shedding some weight--if I do, YAY!...if I dont, then Ill still be fat. cant break it down any further than that, I reckon...

izz a'ginnin'ta look allot li' kissmass

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 13:09:00 GMT

merry christmas to ya'all. and sheesh what a cold one. good thing I got tons of heat. we've been working outside all week siding a house and I'll tell ya what--it is one cold fucker out there. aint too bad the first couple of hours but as the day goes on and the sun moves farther away, it gets nasty. we usually quit earlier cuz its simply too cold to do a good job. its hard to wrap aluminum around a door or window frame when your hands are shaking, and gloves just dont work for that cuz of the tiny nails it takes. so I nail a bit, put my gloves on and smoke a ciggy, then have at it again. works for me.

thing is, I really like what I do; all my complaining is not as heartfelt as I make it sound. Id rather be shivering hanging siding than any other kind of work.

for example: Id be a lousy telemarketer cuz Im too fuckin set in my ways and if somebody gave me a hard row to hoe (like I do when on the receiving end of those calls) then Im afraid Id get fired for telling them to take a long walk on a short pier and slamming down the phone.

I wouldnt be any good in a coalmine (if there were any jobs in that market) cuz I dont like being underground for 8 hours.

counter sales? been there done that. sold hardware for 9 years, sold flooring for 2 or 3 at Lowes. and I just can barely deal with the public. Im a fuckin clerk, not a fucking mind reader--I do no know what your living room will look like with a lighter-grained wood contrasting against your persian rugs. I cannot tell you whether the 2 1/4" or the 3 3/4 base trim would look better behind the fridge. Im wearing green plaid pants and a yellow and orange striped shirt; one sock is gray and the other is white with a hole in the heel and you want my opinion on what fucking throw rug would look good in your entryway? what a fucking joke you are! go hire a yoga teacher to beautify your house cuz it sure as hell aint me gonna make it happen, ya fuckin mook. go home.

and the biggie--theres no timeclock* to punch in this line of work and to me, thats worth a zillion bucks. I dont know exactly why, but having a timeclock is like being in prison. I come and go [within reason] as I please and if I gotta do something before work, it aint no big deal. or leave early, same thing. I just hate clocks when it comes to working.

sheesh, was just gonna say happy xmas and ended up yakkng all over the place. go figger.

guess I better go warsh my skankass and get ready for tonight. we McGee's do all of (or most of, I guess) the gift opening on christmas eve, then laze about all day tomorrow and play with our new toys and eat and watch TV (not me, I dont do TV) and whatever.
by the looks of the forecast, I think I would rather be working cuz tomorrow looks to be the warmest day outta the following 4 or 5. but oh well...Ill just sleep in and then drink coffee and read and play with my fire downstairs. I might clean the chimbly, its a wee bit sluggish. I aint been on the roove yet this year, and Im pretty sure I didnt do it late last season. prolly got a full year of soot to be removed. now that my boss' garage burned down, Im kinda more careful. I totally revamped the exhaust this week, plus rerouted the main trunkline and basically refurbished everything I could from the inside. now all I gotta do is go up-top and drop a rope attached to a length of chain and beat the crap offa the inside. takes about 15 minutes. but I do not go on any roove solo. I want someone here in case I fall, and my cohort in crime doesnt usually get here til after dark.

maybe tomorrow, while the temp is slightly higher and Im not alone, Ill crawl up there and do my thing (which besides the rope-work also includes me yelling: "top of the world, momma!"...sounds like a plan, eh?

again: Happy Holidays to everybody...

*according to wordweb, time clock is two words whereas timecard is one. who makes up these fucking crazy rules anyways?

none

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 21:04:00 GMT

almost wrote a journal entry tonight, but after opening this page, I find I have nothing to say.

go figger.

:)

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:58:00 GMT

cripes, its almost halloween. where in the fuck did summer go? last time I checked it was hot and sticky. now, look at it. fucking brown and orange leaves on the trees. its late fall and how I missed the seasonal alteration I aint sure. I have an inkling of an idea...was rooving all summer and I somehow didnt see the changing colors (pretty 'round these-here parts, btw) nor did I really realize the significance of wearing a hoodie and/or sweatshirts.

hmmmm....funny

fact is, Im still rooving. finished one yesterday, start one monday. so I got'st me a three-day-weekend, can I get a witness?!

anyway, halloween is coming. some people dress funny and go away from home to search out like-dressed folks, some people have anniversaries, some people simply stay where they're most comfortable and ignore it.

I think I fall into group number three. the only reason Im not 100% sure is cuz I just might shave off half my 'stach and go have a beer somewhere. not certain for sure, just an idea, idle thought, a maybe-I-might thang.

all of the above banter seems pointless on reread, so Ill quit there. no need being pointless to excess, eh?

david schow--- years ago I snagged a paperback of short stories called Seeing Red, written by this guy. was some good stuff in there. so I saw his name beside some more recent stuff and gave it a try. Internecine, a 2010 release, is rather hard to describe. I liked it, dont get me wrong, but the way the book hit me as beeing good was not like the usual 'good book' feeling when closing the last page. I think when I finished the book, there was a good day and a half (maybe two) until I decided I liked it. the writing is okay--sometimes so fast I hadda reread some paragraphs to be sure I got it all; the story was good--nothiong that really aint been done before; and 49 hours after shutting the book, I decided I like it. a kinda 'sink-in' book, I guess.

reading an '03 release called Bullets of Rain. so far (roughly 120 pgs or so), I like it. but Im wondering... will this book be better "after" a few days?

odd, and as pointless as the first half of this entry.

christ, Im rusty. usta riff off journal entries right and left, now Im stumbling on the keys, and worse, stumbling in thought. I wanted to really let you know what a schow book would be like were you to read it, and all I got down on cyber paper is, ummm, let it set--like chili. better the next day.

sheesh, all this undirected banter from a self-addmitted idle chit-chat hater.

well, anyway, happy halloween, happy anni, or happy stay-at-home on the 31st.

freecell

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 19:52:00 GMT

I won 72 games in a row in FreeCell. although that number is easy to manipulate, I did it fair and square. only one game could change that. if I was having trouble with a game, I'd come back to it the next day. once, the pooter shut down when the power flickered and I had a troubled game going. it shitcanned the game and didnt count it. I prolly would have won, but then again...

this streak came a few months ago, and I cannot recreate it. I can hit 25 or 30 in a row, then comes a game that slams me hard. I just hit that hard game after 27 wins this week.

I honestly believe theres no such thing as an non-winnable game. some day, Ill figger out how to win all of them and write a book.

k?

still cannot crack the writer's block I've had for a few years. maybe once a month--prolly more like every 3-I try something. 100 words, 1,000 words, whatever, and I totally loose it. what I write sucks so bad I wouldnt show it to a blind dog. I shut off Word and wait for the bug to bite again. funny, when I look at it months later, it aint all that awful...no reason for nelson demille or peter straub to be worried, but somewhat passable

not that I have to write anything. I wont die from lack of spelling, wont go into cardiac arrest from sentence withdraw. I just remember the thrill I used to feel as I made something out of nothing, the creating, the editing, the submitting, and the orgasmic feel of being published. its like whatever fever I had, that part of me that thrived in bringing people and situations to the page was never there at all. I know a lot of the rules, I know what some people like to read about, I know a lot about how to express an idea and make it understandable to most other people. I just dont know how to keep going after the first, second, fifth paragraph.

I used to make a story like such: have a raw idea. write a sentence that has nothing (or very little) to do with said idea, write til I get back to main idea. seemed to work kinda well. I mean, I was published several times, have cashed several checks [ranging from $5 to $50], and received comments all over the scale: good/bad/indifferent.

I "used" to be able. so why is it now I cannot do that? why cant I come home and sit down and write about something I'd seen earlier in the day that caused a spark? I mean, that part still exists--I see stuff all day that I know could be structured into something of a story. thats aint the problem. and like I said above, starting a story isnt too hard for me, writing a sentence doesnt kill me or strike me blind. its always that damn place in a story where it switches gears and is 'posta take off, have the reader hooked and blam, we're rolling now. thats where I stop, cant get past.

so why is it now I cannot do that?
sometimes that question bothers me. like now.

I remember during the highride when I was some sort of moderator at heavyglow or one of those places and Id post a prompt and for the life of me couldnt understand why people couldnt write a 100 word story.

I guess now I know.

shit, thats all...my two fingers hurt from all this self-searching. gonna resume my harlan coben book.
if youve read this, thanks for your time

:)

snows coming soon :(

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 12:01:00 GMT

I wake up. drink coffee. go to work--which this year has been roofs, roofs, & roofs. come home and relax a bit. eat. read a book. go to sleep

this is every day, is it any wonder I have nothing to blog about? I mean, how many entries would you wanna read about shingles? or what my personal taste in books are? or what I ate for dinner....

but, I do have a good book for grisham loving fans. a dude named alan m. dershowitz wrote a book called the advocate's devil. its his first fiction book (after 4 or 5 non-fiction true crime novels) and it is really worth a looksee. it is courtroom/lawyer stuff, so if ya dig that stuff, check this book out.

thats it. I aint telling ya about my nap[s]...seems overkill to do so.

happy early bd to st, btw.