Safely home from L.A. Most of the schedule went smoothly, although a few of the meetings were kind of.... discouraging. My department needs to do a better job of communicating with our client in ways that make sense to them. It became glaringly obvious that what we've been doing to help educate them about the wacky world of the Internet hasn't really been working.

So we'll try, try again until we get it right.

Also - 88F is too hot in January.

Also - Time zones suck.

Books: Rewriting a conversation - first version, the two conversants didn't know each other. Second version, the conversants have known each other for years. When I sat down to get to work on it, I discovered this will require a lot more work than just changing a few key phrases.

Alas I must away to sunny California, where the temps are expected to be in the 70s and there will be no snow to shovel. The downside is, of course, that I must work while I am there - can't just sit around on the beach all day. But what is it I'll be working at? Why, I'll be having meetings with famous Hollywood producers.

Doesn't my day-job sound glamorous sometimes?

Sadly I'm not looking forward to it as much as I should as I am a bit ill. Also, I'll be discussing other people's projects while I'm there. Not in any way my own.

But Sarah, enjoy taking care of my house while I'm away.

Books: Progress.... slow progress... I'm nearly up to chapter 30 on the rewrite, though. Most of this week I won't have a chance to write anyway.

As I've been planning my latest business trip for my day job, I am becoming more and more of a believer in the concept of having a secretary or assistant do all the planning for you. Fortunately, most of the reservations people I've talked to have been pretty good. Chatty even. Let's just hope the reservations hold up. I've always got that little fear in the back of my mind when I travel. Too many computer glitches and human error.

At least I've got my corporate credit card with me when I go. Muahahahaha. Amex almost always makes things better.

Books: I'm a sci-fi writer, right? I'm guessing cruddy bars are pretty much the same all over the universe.

Cold, cold weather on the plains tonight. Makes me think of Norse gods and nature spirits.

Books: My readers are now beginning to tell me the bad habits I have in my writing style. One of them can't stand passive voice in any form. The other gets sick of me connecting two sentences together with "and." Now I'm all self-conscious about it and stuff.

One of the random things I'm trying to learn about is logic. This half-hearted study of mine brought me this zen moment for the day:

Law of Contradiction -- A thing cannot both be and not be in the same place, at the same time, in the same respects.

Law of Identity -- A thing is what it is and is not something else.

Law of excluded middle -- Either a thing is what it is, or it is something else.

Books: Yes, I'm still writing the blasted novel. I had a bit of a fright about length, but I think I'm over it. (I can't even write a short novel. Bleagh.) Hopefully as the action moves along a bit, the chapters will get (legitimately) shorter.

Now here's a blog I like.

Watch out. It's macishly geeky at the moment, but the guy makes good use of his digital camera.
Peeve Farm

My brother has a gorgeous photo in a photo contest from Kodak. If he wins, he gets a new camera (and I might be able to buy his old one for a good price). So you should all go vote for it - once a day until Feb 9th.

It's really a lovely and dramatic sunset, I promise. So click here to see it and to vote.

I've been doing conspiracy theory research today. Some interesting "facts" I've uncovered are that Tesla (yeah, that Tesla) spoke with aliens late in his career, and that Jung (yes, that Jung) was a Nazi.

I love conspiracy theory spin. In fact, Tesla discovered radio signals from pulsars (long before science knew what pulsar was) and Jung may have had racist tendancies, but always said Hitler was an evil, evil man.

For more information, let me point you to this article about Area 51. Very helpful.

Must.... Start.... Posting... Again....