Sunday, March 21, 2010

challenge!

I absolutely love Terry Pratchett. So when Pollyanna offered up a reading challenge based on pTerry, I was in ;) Go here for the entire challenge, I've taken out most of the quotes and things for brevity ;)

The Challenges in absolutely no particular order whatsoever:

1.”I aten’t dead.”
Read an autobiography or biography of someone who is still alive. Terry Pratchett book suggestion: “Witches Abroad” (when Granny’s sign reads: “I still aten’t dead.”)

2. Read a book about an animal, or with an animal as an important character or plot point. Terry Pratchett book suggestions: “Moving Pictures” (featuring many animals plus the Librarian [don't call him a monkey!]), “The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents”, “Pyramids” (learn why camels are so smug) This will likely be the newest Mrs. Murphy mystery, Cat of the Century

3. Read a book about something you’ve always wondered about. Terry Pratchett book suggestions: “Pyramids” (mathematics, philosophers, and what really happens to mummies), “Monstrous Regiment” (why military intelligence isn’t always an oxymoron)

4. Read a book with an anti-hero or anti-heroine. Terry Pratchett book suggestions: “Guards! Guards!”, “The Fifth Elephant” (you could make an argument for any of the books with Vimes in them). “The Last Continent”, or any of the books that include Rincewind. Reading Guards! Guards! right now

5. Read a book of poetry, or a book that contains poetry (the whole book doesn’t have to be poetry). Lyric poetry like “Le Petit Prince” definitely counts. So does Shakespeare. Terry Pratchett book suggestions: “The Wyrd Sisters”, “Maskerade”

6. Read a mythological book, or a book of myths, or a book about mythology. “The Hobbit” and the “Wrinkle in Time” series spring to mind. Terry Pratchett book suggestions: “Guards! Guards!”, “Witches Abroad” Just finished re-reading the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy.


7. Go to the library and wander into an aisle you do not usually frequent. Pick a book from the shelf and read it. One way to do this is to look in the new books section, and pick something from a category you don’t usually read.

Just don’t interfere with the nature of causality while you’re there.

Terry Pratchett book suggestions: “Good Omens”, “Nation”

8. Read a book about money. It can be factual or fanciful. It can involve someone making or losing millions, or it can be instructions on how to make your own millions, or how to manage the millions (or less than) that you already have. Terry Pratchett book suggestion: “Making Money” The Testiment. A John Grisham book about the "evils" of money.

9. Read a book about politics. Or political history, or political theory, or political satire, or a biography or autobiography of a political figure. Terry Pratchett book suggestion: “Thud!”

10. Read a book about a protagonist going through a mid-life (or later in life) upheaval. “King Lear” instead of “Hamlet”, if you will. “Under the Tuscan Sun” would count. Or read, not an author’s first book, but one written later in their life. Terry Pratchett book suggestion: “Unseen Academicals”. A Year in Provence. The husband says it's better than Under the Tuscan Sun ;)

11. Read a book about the truth – a non-fiction book, in fact. Alternatively, read a book about reporting on the news, or about something that was once believed true but has been proved not to be true. Terry Pratchett book suggestions: “The Truth”, “The Fifth Elephant” What the Dog Saw and other Adventures This book fits into this category in more ways than one.

12. Read a book about a strange new land, or a travel book – fact or fiction. Books about space and other planets, including science fiction and fantasy, count for this. Terry Pratchett book suggestions: “Witches Abroad” (featuring Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlic traveling), “Jingo” and “Thud” (featuring Vimes), “Interesting Times” and “The Last Continent” (both featuring Rincewind), “Pyramids” (not like Egypt at all). Bill Bryson. Not sure which I will grab yet ;) And just to add to it, I re-read "The Last Continent" too.

13. Read a book about sex, sexuality, and/or sexual politics. I think y’all can find one of these on your own. Terry Pratchett book suggestion: “Equal Rites” Just finished The Heretic Queen, and like many an Egyptian queen, Nefertari certainly knew how to use her sexuality to get what she wanted. Loved this book by the way, I'm absolutely fascinated by ancient Egypt and while it is fiction, it is based on real historical figures and things that happened during the reign of Ramesses the Great, though perhaps loosely based on their actual lives ;)

14. Read a book that most people would be embarrassed to read in public, because of the title, the content, or the cover art. And then read it in public. Don't make me do this again. I read all the Twilight books in public, that has to be enough....

15. Read a book about a strong female protagonist. Terry Pratchett book suggestions: “Sourcery”, “Equal Rites”, “Monstrous Regiment”, and any of the books about the witches. Again, The Heretic Queen falls right in here, and I am waiting on Nefertiti to come in at the library.

17. Read a book with an inanimate object as a character and/or an important part of the plot. Terry Pratchett book suggestions: “Sourcery”, or any of the books with the Luggage in them. Rincewind and I have a date, lol.

18. Read a book that teaches you something. Something that will not come in handy in your everyday life. Learn something completely impractical. Absolute Beginner's Origami. The kiddo loves origami, so I thought we'd go through this together.

19. Read something spiritual, mystical, mathematical, or amazing. Something that will remind you of how magic and unbelievable the universe and everything in it really is. Terry Pratchett book suggestions: “Small Gods”, “Good Omens”, “Wee Free Men”… really, any of his books…

20. Read a detective novel, a crime story, a mystery, or a thriller. Terry Pratchett book suggestions: “The Fifth Elephant”, “Thud!”. Ummm, too many to name, since I love mysteries. Reading Cook the Books right now, and have several more on hold at the library.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

It's home, lol

After messing with my old computer for days, T., our head tech, informed me that I wasn't allowed to bring my computers in anymore 'cause they always had something weird with them, lol. (My boss told me that's because I know enough about computers to fix the non-weird stuff *g*)

But anyhoo, it's fixed, it's now wearing Windows 7 (thanks T!) and we even managed to get WoW loaded on just in time for a weekly quest run with the alt guild so the hubby didn't have to be banished to the 9 year old's room with the "fairies and furry toys" as he describes it. ;)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Computer problems strike again!

Yesterday was one of those days. It was bad enough I had to work my first Saturday in two months which really confuzzled me all week long, lol. But then my electric tea kettle decided to die while I was making breakfast. So I booted up the older computer to do a search and see if I could find a reasonably priced one. Less than a minute after it booted it froze, so I shut it down and started it again. Or tried to.

I got a corrupted file error. We tried to fix it, but no joy. So I dragged it into work with me. They fixed that error but now the usb connections won't work, as in, no keyboard, no mouse. So then one of the guys said, "We think it's a virus." Ummm. No. And T. (Our head tech) backed me up. I use the exact same software they use, and I have a damned good anti-virus. Not to mention we are careful in our surfing habits.

But just to be on the safe side, they ran the scan and guess what? No virus! Still no explanation for the usb not working... I'm thinking it's time to reformat. Which means it's time to put 7 on .

The hardware checks out and that was the one thing that was keeping me from buying 7 for it. And now T. says he has an extra license he'll give me, woot!

In other techish news, I won something! Working at a place that sells and fixes computers, I belong to a program called Nortonzone, which gives me free anti-virus for spending 5 minutes learning about their products. Easy-peasy. Apparently they have drawings for free stuff. I won a $50 prepaid Amex card. Yay me! Lol.

For me.

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