Retro TV weekend

The weather recently has been all over the place!  It's been hot and muggy, with yesterday being cold and windy with showers.  We can nearly experience 4 seasons in one day at the moment.

Being bored on the weekend, I decided to dig through the DVD shelves, determined to find something I haven't watched in years - and on the second shelf from the bottom I struck pay dirt!  Red Dwarf.  I bought these more than a few years ago and watched them religiously for ages, but as my tastes changed they gradually got pushed further and further down the shelves until they were sitting next to old boxed sets of CSI and ALIAS.

With only 6 or so episodes per season it doesn't take long to get through them all and to tell you the truth, I'd forgotten just how much I did like the show.  I know that they tried to style an American version, but that tanked (just like when they tried to remake Kath & Kim for US TV).  Favourite episodes include Nanarchy, Justice, Dimension Jump (starring Ace Rimmer. . . what a guy!), Quarrantine, Back to Reality, Legion and Epideme.  I've got to finish season 8 today, but am looking forward to seeing the episode 'Cassandra' again as it guest stars Geraldine McEwan who later went on to play Miss Marple when they remade the series.

I must track down a copy of Back to Earth, but am unsure as to whether or not I'll enjoy this as I've heard so many bad reviews.  Should I leave well enough alone?

Problem sorta kinda fixed

Got timed out at McDonalds on Saturday and luckily a draft of my entry was saved. . .

Okay, I'm at McDonalds again and I still couldn't view my blog.  'Operation Aborted' is not what you want to see everytime you go online.  So after finding a possible problem to my solution on google's blogger site I tried removing all my javascript code and voila! - it worked.  So now I am back to my plain old design until I can work out what the hell went wrong.
This means getting back my tower... again.  I picked it up yesterday after being assured that the modem was finally reinstalled and working only to turn the computer on this morning in anticipation of a day catching up on emails and other stuff (including my blog) only to find that it had dropped out again!  So I spent the morning on the phone to them and took it back in.  The tech I spoke to on the phone said it sounded like a faulty modem so hopefully I won't have to pay for any of the parts or labour.  I'd better not have to anyway.
Apart from that, I spent the week pouring over the books that arrived via snail mail.  It was great!  I don't start my new TAFE units until Monday, and thankfully I did really well on the last 2 units so I don't have to resubmit assignments - yippee!
I'll add my views on the titles when I get up and running again.  Fingers crossed for me.  You really don't realise how much you use the internet, or a blog, until you can't.

Still Waiting...

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and waiting.  It's now been over a week since I admitted my desktop for repairs.  This laptop is now officially driving me nuts!  I can't view my blog so you'll have to forgive me if the posts look crappy.  I'm still unsure as to why I can view some blogs on my laptop, but not others.  It's a mystery?

On a good note, on Tuesday I received 'River Marked' in the mail.  I'll review it once I get my desktop back and can actually preview what I'm doing.  As well as that, our local K-Mart and Big W have been selling discount books so I've been able to buy a handful of now OOP (out of print) Berkley Prime Crime books (or Cosy Mysteries if you prefer to call them that) that even our library - or Book Depository - have available... lucky me!

So fingers crossed that I get my faithful and trustworthy (when it feels like it) computer back today.  I'd really like to do some studying {I know, I know what you're thinking... but really, the sky isn't falling chicken little!}
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Posting blind

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Well, my desktop computer has chucked a major tanty and is in for repairs. . . stupid modem. . . so I'm left on the laptop trying to post my updates.  The only problem with this is that I actually can't view my blog on the laptop!  Weird, huh?  Yes, whenever I try to view my blog, it comes up with the pretty background and my header, but then nothing, nada, zip.  I can't see anything.  It appears to only be my blog as I've tried Karen E. Olson's blog, and others just to check.  What is going on?  Is it moi's computer, or the blog itself? . . . HELP!

So, if one of my entries appears a tad cock-eyed or not looking it's stellar best then blame it on my laptop for not letting me preview my entries.
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Twisted

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When one of her closest childhood friends disappears, former FBI

Special Agent Sloane Burbank takes the case – even though her ex-

lover Derek Parker is the agent in charge.

I’ve been waiting for 2 weeks for the postman to deliver this book to me. Andrea Kane is a favourite of mine. Her Scent of Danger was the first book I’d read by her and I found it to be a wonderful mystery. And to tell you the truth, I thought that this book would be written in the same style. I was both right and wrong in that regard. While the style was still in the same vein, this book was a more in-depth, drawn out affair delving into the turbulent world of FBI agents. Former FBI Special Agent Sloane Burbank is wonderful as the tortured heroine, struggling to get her life back together after suffering life threatening injuries in the line of duty. The breakdown of her relationship with Special Agent Derek Parker during this very emotional time has left her wary of forming relationships. That is until the call that sees her heading back into the line of fire as a case brings her back into the life of Derek.

Derek Parker is no knight in shining armour. An ex-Ranger he knows his faults, but doesn’t seem to see what happened between himself and Sloane as partly his fault. Her resignation from the agency was seen as a cowardly retreat to him. As the story evolves, and emotions rise to the surface, it is clear to readers that he loves this porcupine of a woman, but didn’t understand the depths of her trauma after her near death experience. Their love-hate relationship is wonderfully addictive to read.

The killer is suitably cunning and vicious. Ms. Kane gives you an insight into an unstable mind that is just chilling at times. When the killer was revealed I was truly shocked. I definitely wouldn’t have thought it was that person (no spoilers here :P), and even looking back there weren’t that many hints. If you figured it out before the reveal then bravo to you. Maybe I was having a slow day? Anyhow, the killers motives weren’t so out of left field that you were left scratching your head about why they did it. This time, the killer’s motives were heartbreakingly simple to divine once you know who it is.

For a mystery, cosy mystery, police procedural or thriller buff this would make a nice addition to their collection. There is a follow up book with Sloane and Derek, Drawn in Blood, that picks up six months after this book. It’s been getting mixed reviews, but I’ll be keeping my eyes out for it.

Rating: 4 / 5
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Shoot it! . . . Shoot it!

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As a self confessed book obsessive I was eagerly anticipating the next installment of the Anita Blake series... I should have borrowed my library's copy instead.

Although this is the 19th book in the series, it lacked the pace and storyline of the first books in the series. This book is full of the usual violence - after all, she is a vampire executioner, but the story was lacking and the characters seemed to be repeating the same mistakes over and over and over.... The sexual content of the last few books in the series has put alot of people off as the characters seem to be driven by what happens between the sheets. I want a good story where sex is part of it, not a story that revolves around how much sex they have.

What once had pride of place on my bookshelves is now pushed back behind my Mercedes Thompson, Guild Hunters, Merry Gentry and Kate Daniels books. With Hit List due out in only a few months, I'll be reserving a library copy so as not to make the same mistake again.

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Why don't they like us?

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This was the book that started it all off... I was trolling through author Karen E. Olson's blog this morning reading a post about getting copies of her OOP 'Annie Seymour Mysteries' series.  So I went on Amazon, tried to buy a copy and found out that I wasn't eligible....

WHY THE HECK NOT?

It seems truly bizaar that I can't download an copy of a book that's gone out of print.  Seriously, I can order books online from Amazon (US & UK), Book Depository, etc., but not electronic books.  It shouldn't be that much of an issue for people in other countries to download these items.  It's not like they don't charge us enough for it anyway!  Come on Amazon... Australian's read ebooks too.

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Bookshelf Envy

I don't think I need to say anything more :)
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Sleepless night... Miserable day

It's been such a miserable day, and its not even 10am yet.  Last night, the wind howled through the nearby bushland, and between the gusts hitting the house and the creaking branches... lets just say that I didn't get enough sleep.  Instead, I tried to read using the closest book I could find (which turned out to be Black Hills by Nora Roberts) and spent the next hour or so taxing my already exhausted brain.  So this morning I'm less than stellar.  Thankfully though, the rain has held off but it is so dark and dreary outside that I've had to turn on the lights in the room.  Finger's crossed that I'll be able to get some washing done today.


Unfortunately with all this rain comes boredom.  I spent last night rearranging my huge bookshelf (a converted queen-sized waterbed frame that's wide enough to double up books on each shelf) trying to find a book that I was going to buy from Book Depository.... but thought it looked a tad familiar.  So after pulling out over 150 books, there it was.  Right on the bottom of a stack, in the back of the shelf.  Cheeky little monkey it was. 



Only 3 of the 6 shelves!

So today I've started my next little project.  I'm going to catalogue all my books on the computer so that I can't double up on titles.  Wish me luck people, because the last time I took a stocktake of any description was a few years ago and then I had more than 600 titles... and that was before my paranormal and mystery-suspense phase.  I think I'm going to have to invest in a barcode reader or else my fingers just might drop off after I get through typing all the info.  Oh well, it's good practice for my library course now isn't it.... so my count at the moment is 56, and only the huge bookshelf, and 2 smaller bookcases to go {looks dazed and confused}. 

Thankfully the software program that I found (All My Books) lets me add items by ISBN and then searches Amazon (or Borders, etc.) for the books details.  This will save me hours and hours of typing, and probably my families sanity too :D  Just be aware that if you do searches in batches, and your on dial-up, it has a tendency to freeze.
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... the Order?

For those of you who haven't read any of the Kate Daniels series - hang your heads in shame people - the Order is a faction in the Katieverse that our reluctant heroine, Kate Daniels, used to work for.  I was actually checking to see if the Curran POV 3 was posted (it isn't), but found the "Kate Daniels Quiz 1" instead.  I think I got snookered.  I ended up belonging to the Order!  What the....?  I was at hoping for the Pack.  Although once I read the little blurb that went with it it kind of fitted me.  I'm just grateful I wasn't one of the People :)

If you want to see where you belong in the Katieverse, then hop on over to Ilona Andrews site, or follow the link below.

Order

You are a Knight of the Order of Merciful Aid. You're disciplined, competent, and organized. You serve a higher purpose and you tend to take a rational approach to most problems. Your mission is simply to protect mankind, even if it means protecting it from itself. You are lethal, honorable, and unfortunately, convinced that you are always right.

The Order of Merciful Aid offers exactly what it promises: merciful aid on the edge of the sword or by the burn of a bullet. Powerful and disciplined, the Order is a nation-wide organization, which consists of elite warriors and scholars.

More about the Order and other factions: http://kate.ilona-andrews.com/category/factions/

Which Faction do you belong to?

I mean seriously.... the Order?

Out and About

It's a beautiful day today, and for a change I thought that I'd just have breaky at McDonalds this morning and take total advantage of the free wi-fi.  I needed to do some final internet searching for my assignments and since dial-up is all we have access to at home (in a black zone for mobile phones and wireless) I made an executive decision to come into town.

Okay, it's totally overpriced these days, with an English Muffin at $1.50, and Hotcakes setting you back $3.45, but I don't mind treating myself occasionally.  Today the wi-fi is a little sluggish, but not too bad.  My only criticism about using a laptop at McDonalds is that there is a limited amount of booths - and all the school kids seem to be there first.  Luckily today I was able to snag my favourite booth, and there aren't too many teens around.  There have also been no screaming toddlers this morning which is a boon too.

So after I've finished my cuppa, I'll run a few errands and then take myself home.  Early in and early out suites me just fine.

PS - tried to view my blog here, but won't load all the posts.  Background looks good though :)

Seriously?

I just bought myself the smallest hair straightener I've ever seen.  A tiny VS MiniPro, perfect for travelling.  The only thing that amazed me was that on a huge sticker on the electrical cord was a tag I'd heard about, but never seen on any of my appliances.

Really... Seriously?   It really makes you wonder how many idiots did this to warrant a manufacturers warning doesn't it.

Can't win

Okay, about 2 minutes after I posted the last entry what happens?  I get a background image to actually load!  So it's not the one I really wanted, but for the moment it'll do.  I just can't understand why the one I want is the only one that doesn't seem to be working.  I'm just about to nick off to my other blog and try loading on a new background and see what happens.... whew, I'm back.  Turns out that apart from taking a god awful amount of time to load, it works just fine.  If I was a drinking person this would send me to the liquor cabinet, but I'm not so a cup of tea will have to suffice.  What a day.

Shabby where?



I've been trying all day to get the bloody background up and running again.  I love the Shabby Blogs backgrounds, but am having a devil of a time getting any of the codes to work at the moment.  Once the page loads I get a message that says "Done, but with some errors", and a little box up in the top left corner that looks like this...

The rest of the elements load perfectly.  Right background colour, correct text area... just the background image fails to upload.  GRRRRRR ... Beautiful Dreamer's image, the usual background pic on this blog, seems to be m.i.a.  Okay try once more - visit Shabby Blogs website, go to backgrounds, pick out ideal look, 'get code'.  Copy code and paste into blogs design area (click edit html/javascript gadget).  Paste into content area and save....

Results... NOTHING!

{totally fuming in front of monitor}

 

I'm truly hoping it's a problem on Photobuckets end cause this could drive me nuts pretty quickly.  I'll give it a few more tries and hopefully I'll have some background up ASAP.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

P.S - Aqua Butterfly, a beautiful lineart on a textured aqua background, is totally gone from their catalogue.  I think they've retired it!  Now I'll have to find something else appropriate for my other blog.  Darn it.

Surprise in Mail

I got a surprise in the mail yesterday... a business sized envelope from the US.  Really light, with no pages?  I didn't remember writing to any of the cousins there, but they only ever email anyway.

Turning over the envelope I carefully slit the edge and pulled out.... drumroll please....

A personalised and signed bookplate from Anne Bishop!

my name blurred :P

Woohoo!

I'd totally forgotten that I'd even emailed to her when she asked online if anyone wanted signed bookplates - duh!  I feel like an idiot :)  So now I have a signed bookplate.  I think I'm just going to stick it in my scrapbook album for the moment.  I'll think of someway to display it later.