Be Careful What You Wish For

11/4/10

"Be careful what you wish for, you just may get it."

Hello all. I know I haven't written anything in a while. No particular reason, I just don't feel that my every thought is that engaging. However, with the events of the past few days I have managed to formulate a thought or two that I want to share.
I am a registered Democrat but have views that differ from the party line. I am only a Democrat because of the two choices I have, without throwing my vote away on a misguided principle, I find they are more closely aligned with my way of thinking. After this election I find myself even more in tune with that side of the fence. Not because of what they stand for but for because of how they are reacting.
Two years ago this country made me more proud to be an American than I have even been. With the election of President Obama we broke barriers that I thought would take years to overcome. I was excited and filled with anticipation at the possibilities. Then the other side raised its head and cried "Armageddon" "End of our country as we know it", "Its the start of Socialism, Marxism and every other 'ism," they could find.
And now the worm has turned. The Republicans won the House and displaced many Democratic offices. Since the election on Tuesday though, I have heard no cries of despair, no tearing of lapels or ripping out of hair from the left. I have not seen anyone putting up hateful, racist, signs or threatening violence.
On the news however, I do hear the Republicans and their red-headed step child, The Tea Party, crying out once again. "This election has sent a message to this country!" They are dancing in the streets, fist bumping and hugging, it is as though they have been stranded in an Arctic wasteland and rescue has just arrived. It is as though suddenly, overnight, the world has changed.
Well, here's some news for those newly elected officials on both sides of the fence; nothing has changed. You have not accomplished anything except get elected, and if memory serves me correctly a dead man managed to do that a few years back. If I were a newly elected member of Congress I would be pissing my pants, not glad-handing everyone I see. By winning the election you also win the right to bear responsibility for the woes of this nation. You have won the right to face the challenge of finding solutions to the problems that were created during the eight long years of George W Bush. You have won the right to stand in front of this nation and explain yourself when you fail. You all made some very loud and very bold proclamations about what was wrong with this country and how to fix it. You know how quickly public opinion can be swayed. Better take heed and do what you said you would do.
In my eyes, this election did not send a message to America, this election brought a message from America to you, Mr/Mrs Newly Elected Official. The message is clear, stop the crap, stop the in-fighting and back-stabbing, recognize that a victory only occurs when a problem is solved, not when you block your opponent from being successful. Your job is to solve the problems of this country, not to get elected next time around or to squash any legitimate attempt at a solution simply because it did not originate in your party.
This is my plea to the entire Congress and particularly The House of Representatives. You fought and you won. Congratulations. Now, go do your job. And to clarify, your job is not to enhance your parties political power, your job is to solve the problems of this country and you can only do that by working together, by encouraging new ideas and embracing the good ones, no matter where they originate. Your job is to see to it that EVERY one of your campaign promises is fulfilled.
For me, the '08 election was about two things. I wanted some kind of health care reform. I knew we wouldn't get everything that was needed with health care, but I wanted a foothold, I wanted a start at fixing this problem. I recently saw Jimmy Carter and he spoke about his health care reform attempt in the late '70's. I remembered when Bill Clinton took office, Hillary's main focus was health care reform. Over thirty years and NOTHING had been done because of the powerful lobby of the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry. President Obama promised a health care reform bill and he got one passed. Is it the best one, no? The bill was disemboweled on the floor and a watered down version was passed. But it was passed.
The second issue for me was the war. I wanted our men and women out of Iraq. I saw no reason for any America to die in that God-forsaken wasteland. President Obama has removed the troops.
If this new Congress can live up to that standard, we are all in for some very good years ahead. Even if you don't believe that the standard is very high, it is still a standard and if they can live up to it, we are in good shape. Only by working together and leaving our party affiliations at the door can we truthfully and successfully solve the issues we face.



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003K16TC

A Step Forward

I was laying in bed this morning contemplating getting up when the phone rang; the universe reaching out and making my decision for me, no doubt. To my surprise it was a woman from the Pacific Northwest Writer's Association calling to inform me that of the 1200 submissions that were made to their 2010 Literary Contest, my novel, Justice Rules, had made the cut. I was literally speechless. Trying to cut through the fog of waking and process this piece of information was too much for me. I ask her to repeat herself and she chuckled saying, "I know it's exciting news but I am not kidding. Your novel is in the finals."
It took me a few more seconds before I began to clue in. I had a distant memory of submitting my work to them but had long ago forgotten about it. I often will submit a screenplay to a contest or competition just because, well, one never knows, but I had completely forgotten about submitting the novel to PNWA. I am a member of this organization and attended their annual writer's conference in Seattle last year. The submission was made in February of this year. It was the first time I had received this type of reenforcement and I have to admit, it felt pretty damn good. Final winners will be announced at their conference in July. Naturally, my wife and I had planned a vacation without checking the dates of the conference so I will not be able to attend this year. I was told that is not a problem, you need not be present to win. I am hoping however, that this is the continuation of some type of momentum that began when I published the novel as an ebook two months ago. Here's hoping something monumental comes of this.


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003K16TCY
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12052

On Death and Dying

Years ago, when I was an actor, I performed in a play called The Shadow Box. The story is set in a cancer hospice and all of the patients are terminal. There are three stories that are told, an aging homosexual and his young lover, the middle-aged mother of three and her husband, and the elderly woman and her daughter. I played the young, gay lover. The play is based on the works of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, the pioneer in the field of dying. It was Kubler-Ross who identified the five stages of grief; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. During he course of rehearsal we actually had the opportunity to meet Ms. Kubler-Ross. My first impression was of a diminutive, frail, women with more inner strength than any other human I had ever met. She walked into the room and filled it with her presence. Ms. Kubler-Ross stood about five feet tall and could not have weighed one hundred pounds. As she spoke to us after watching our show she was mesmerizing and enlightening. I was twenty-two years old when I met her and we spent only thirty minutes talking yet all these years later I still remember it vividly.
Unfortunately, I am continually reminded of that visit. Yet again, the phone has rung and another death watch has begun. In the past several years I have lost friends and relatives to kidney cancer, colon cancer , lung cancer and now two to melanoma. (This doesn't count the obesity and the heroin OD). Since my friend Kerry Daveline passed away eight years ago from melanoma I have participated in many melanoma benefits. Matter of fact we, the friends of Kerry, host a celebrity golf tournament each year in Woodland Hills, CA to raise money for melanoma research. I am frustrated however at the progress. Thirteen years ago my friend Kerry was diagnosed with melanoma. The options given to him by the medical community were simple, chemo (inerferon) and radiation. He lived five years after that diagnosis and that was considered to be excellent. Three months ago another friend, also Carrie, was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. She has four to six weeks by doctor's estimations. When she was diagnosed she was given the same simple options. Chemo and radiation. Thirteen years had passed and there have been no appreciable advancements in melanoma detection or treatment. Outrageous!
The disease being what it is and our inability to figure it out notwithstanding, I am puzzled by the two different journeys of my two friends. Kerry had the opportunity to go through all five stages of grief and arrive at acceptance with time to spare. He traveled with his wife, emptied his bucket list and when he passed, other than still being pissed that he was going, left no regrets behind. Carrie has had that entire experience compressed into three months. Her bucket list, while not full, she is forty-five and has done much in her life, is far from empty. She has not had nor will she have the time needed to process through all five stages. She had no time to deny this curse before she was immersed in treatments. Her anger stage was short-lived as she got on a plane to Guatemala searching for the witch doctor to mix the lime with the coconut. (and why not? Nothing we could do for her here.) She knew that bargaining was useless for her so she has pretty much jumped to depression and is stuck there. Her acceptance will undoubtably come at the time of her passing. The difference between these two experiences boggles my mind. Which would I prefer, long, drawn out and painful with the chance to do and say everything that I need or short and painful with no chance to tie up lose ends? I don't know. With that in mind I say live every day as if it is your last, dance as though no one is watching, sing as if no one is listening and love everyone in you life each and every day. (If I missed any other bumper sticker philosophy that might apply, paste it here.)
At the end of the day, we have no control. Go where your life leads you and be happy. As a friend recently reminded, live well, it is the best revenge.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003K16TCY
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12052

I'll Be Watching You

As I was watching a TV show last night I noticed that much of the plot of this FBI drama revolved around modern day technology and the ability to track, listen and trace a person's whereabouts, preferences and likes through their cell phone usage. This particular FBI computer geek was able to find a perp by using the GPS in the phone to locate the suspect. After 9/11 and the Patriot act it became mandatory that all cell phones have a GPS for Homeland Security. We have to be able to locate the terrorists, you now. Now, even if a phone is not turned on, it can be located. And of course, every call you make, every text you take, they are watching you. Each time you use your cell phone you are creating a record of where you are and what you are doing. Every time you text a message it goes onto the big storage disk in the sky. Once it is written it is public knowledge. I wish I could make my daughter understand that.
I was born well before George Orwell's 1984. I remember the furor the concept of constantly being watched produced. I awaited the dreaded time when my every movement would be catalogued by a giant computer in the sky. 1984 came and went and no Big Brother, Orwell was well ahead of his time. It took until 2010. Finally the day has arrived and we have barely noticed. Our cell phones are not only a means of communication but it allows you to surf the web, text and light our way through a dark bedroom so as not to disturb our spouse. My sister recently posted on her Facebook status, "I am old enough to have lived half my life without a cell phone and now, when I misplace it, I feel as though I am missing an appendage." And the cell phone is so much more. It is a security badge to the restricted area of your life. It is the private key that opens the door and allows special, by invitation only, access. It can offer up an alibi should you ever need one or it can pinpoint you at any place at any moment in time. (Note to self, if I ever commit a crime, leave the cell phone at home connected to my sister's message center.)
I suppose I should be more concerned about this, after all, Big Brother is, in fact, watching. I suppose I should be concerned that my civil rights are being violated, that the constitution is being trampled, that the Patriot Act lives. But to be honest, I'm not. I don't do anything nearly covert enough to worry about who knows where I am. I am not planning any terrorist activity, at least any outside of a novel, that anyone needs to worry about. If someone out there in cyber-space has nothing better to do than track my movements I would have to worry about them. Join a gym, get a pet, go to dinner, life is more interesting than I am. Same reason I don't care if the bedroom drapes are closed all the way. I should mention that our bedroom looks out onto an empty field but if someone wanted to crawl back there and peep just to get a look at an old guy in his underwear, knock yourself out.
Yet this wonder of modern technology is not everything it is cracked up to be and Hollywood needs to present it in a more realistic manner. I spill a few drops of diet Pepsi on my cell phone and it shorts out. Jack Bauer on '24' takes the sim card from the stomach of a terrorist, wipes it on his pants and it still works. I mean, really?

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12052

SAG/AFTRA

In my other life, the one I live when I am not here, I am a member of three unions, Screen Actor's Guild , AFTRA and Actor's Equity Association. I have been in SAG and AEA for almost thirty years. I was finally forced to join AFTRA two years ago. I had resisted AFTRA for a number of reasons, the primary one being that I thought it was silly to have three unions for one job. For those of you that do not know the difference here it is. If you act or perform on stage, you belong to Actor's Equity. If you act or perform and it is recorded on film you must join SAG. If you act or perform and it is recorded on video tape or is live, you must join AFTRA. A foolish concept to begin with but it has been in place for almost a century.
Unions have their place. When a situation arises that people are making twenty-five cents an hour and dying of black lung disease something must be done. In the early stages of the film and television industry certain advantages were taken by the producing entities and thus the unions were formed to help protect the performers. Why it was determined that we needed three unions for the same job however, is beyond me. It is like working for General Motors and being in one union if you work on Chevys and another is you work on Pontiacs. In no other industry will you find a number of different unions representing people who do the same job.
Several years ago a proposal was put forth that the two TV and film unions, SAG and AFTRA, merge. It caused a heated debate and the union management's inability or unwillingness to adequately answer questions regarding health and welfare benefits along with a superior attitude held by the SAG upper management to not pollute their union with extra's and TV actors defeated this merger. Hence, all dual members went on paying two sets of dues. Fast forward to last fall. Without boring you with the details, AFTRA undercut SAG by a significant margin in a debate with producers for electronic media rights and residuals, meaning internet play essentially. Technology also developed rapidly and helped AFTRA grow to be a significant power. Five years ago, digital video did not exist in any real fashion, now it is becoming the preferred means of recording television and films. Being a 'video' format it falls under the AFTRA banner. AFTRA has the significantly weaker deal both in base compensation, residual payments and health and welfare and yet they are now the dominant union. Why? Because SAG was too damn full of itself to merge when they had the chance. By rejecting the merger SAG has essentially weakened itself to the point that I do not believe it will exist in five years. Producers will take the best deal they can get and the AFTRA contract is significantly cheaper for them. Meaning, the performers, the ones that these unions are supposed to protect, will make less money on set and less money in residual payments. So, while SAG maintained its purity, it lost its soul. It may not be twenty-five cents an hour and black lung disease but it is significantly less in the pockets of its members, the exact opposite of what they were supposed to do.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12052

Thoughts on NFL Drug Policy

A wonderful person for whom I hold great respect blogs everyday. I am amazed at her ability to talk. I admire that quality of being able to jot down your thoughts and make them interesting. Mostly I even bore myself. But, in an attempt to keep the flow going, I will ramble.
I am a huge NFL Fan. Recently there was a scandal in Houston as their rookie star linebacker, Brian Cushing, was suspended for the first four games of next season for violating the banned substance policy. This caused quite a bit of controversy as the young man had also won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award for 2009. Apparently there had been whispers around the league that Cushing was using anabolic steroids to enhance his performance. Consequently, all of talk radio and TV sports analysts jumped onto the steroid bandwagon. It was reveal three days later that while he had tested positive for a banned substance it was not steroids but a substance called HCG. HCG is produced naturally in the body in a number of different ways, most commonly from a tumor growth. HCG levels are also elevated after sexual activity. Additionally it is used as a masking agent to hide steroid use, hence its presence on the banned substance list.
The NFL Banned Substance policy is very strict and unforgiving. The basic premise is that each player is responsible for what goes into their body and if they are found with a banned substance they are subject to suspension. My issue with this is that all banned substances are treated equally. I believe that the substances should be categorized in a three tier system to avoid misunderstanding and false accusations, based on their effectiveness at creating an unfair advantage on the field. In my system a Class A offense would constitute proof of anabolic steroid or Humane Growth Hormone use thus creating an unfair advantage for an individual on the football field. A Class B offense would constitute the presence of a masking agent used to hide steroid use. Recognizing that the mere presence of a masking agent is not irrefutable proof of steroid use. A Class C offense would constitute the use of any other banned substance. The punishment for each offense would then be set to fit the crime. Class A offense would result in a one year suspension and loss of salary. A Class B offense would result in a four game suspension and a Class C offense would be a one game suspension and a fine.
By instituting this system fans, management and other players would be more fully informed about the specific infraction and not jump to conclusions about an individual case. At the same time a player would be seriously motivated to NOT use performance enhancing drugs as it could cost them millions of dollars. It would also avoid unnecessary controversy about the degree of the offense. Today, if a player is found with epedrine in his system is treated the same as a player with anabolic steroids in his system. The results on performance of each are vastly different and should be treated differently within the penal system of the NFL.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003K16TCY

"Will not accept electronic submissions"

As I was searching for a literary agent last year I found that an inordinate amount of agents will still not accept an electronic submission. In 2009, I found that to be odd. Frustrated with printing and shipping costs I quickly decided that if an agent will not accept modern technology then I was not interested in them representing me. I did find an agent and we do have an electronic relationship so I know that it can be done. The unwillingness to do so is what astounds me.
I certainly understand the volumes of material that is submitted each year and that the ease of electronic submission only encourages those who are not ready for submission, but to totally ignore the medium is silly. To me, it is the same mentality that originally rejected cell phones, then rejected e-mail and now will not text or read a book on a Kindle. Eventually, they all come around. Why not recognize the reality of our world and join us? Why fight it? It's just a book submission and it is a lot easier to hit delete than to recycle. If an author is convinced that they have written the next great American novel making them print it out and mail it will not be a deterrent, it will only use paper resources that should, by all right, be conserved.
I have run into a similar mentality with e-books. Many people I have spoken with will not use a Kindle or electronic reader. They enjoy the comfort of holding a book in their hands and turning the page. Okay, I get that. But to turn your nose up at the alternative with stubborn indignation is silly. I had a potential reviewer of my ebook tell me that he will never own a Kindle or anything like it. He went on to say that his greatest pleasure is to travel with" a few good books in his suitcase". The image of him lugging a 49.5 lb suitcase through an airport made me smile. I responded and hoped that one day he would be able to travel with hundreds of good books in his 1 lb Kindle. Technology has changed us and how we lived from 10 years ago to today, heck, from 6 months ago to today. Eventually, we all adjust and respond to the changes. The adage , "If it was good enough for my father, it's good enough for me." is as antiquated as the mentality behind it. Our fathers never conceived of the technology that we take for granted. More than likely that book was written in electronic form and by printing it onto a piece of paper it does not magically transform into a work of art. They are the same words that are now just filling a page of parchment. The ideas and emotions behind those words are unaltered. If a book is in electronic form it does not become less intriguing, less exciting or less moving.
So open up your minds and accept the inevitable. It's not evil, it's just a novel in a format that allows you to adjust the size of the font. How wonderful is that?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003K16TCY

debate or argument

Bill Maher told a joke the other night on Real Time. "Sarah Palin just got an iPad. She didn't find it all that absorbent." It made me laugh and I posted it as my Facebook status. Most people took it for what it was, a joke, and responded accordingly. One friend went off on me. This friend professes to be very conservative, I am not. He began to question everything from my sexuality to my patriotism. He wanted to know why us "liberals" were so afraid of Sarah Palin. He said, Maher would never say anything so derogatory about the President. Obviously, he does not watch the show. Everyone is fair game on that show and they take their shots.
As the discussion went on I realized something that supports a theory I have had for quite a while. I believe that we are a nation divided by common beliefs. I may have said that before in this forum but this circumstance illustrates it perfectly. As the thread continued, and it is continuing today, my friend expressed regret that we, as a nation, used to be able to discuss different sides of the issues without anger and contempt. He missed the days when you could discuss a political issue without rancor and accusations. This made me smile, I was under the impression that was what I was doing. When I pointed that out his attitude changed. He began offering his opinion and accepting the opinions of others. (By now there were a seven people involved in the discussion.) One friend said it perfectly in regard to the Sarah Palin joke, "Comedy is truth, that's why we laugh. We laugh at the acknowledgement that someone 'hit the nail on the head' truth-wise. Not saying that Sarah Palin actually used the iPad as a sanitary napkin but saying that she is not smart enough to know she should not do that. We laugh because the joke illustrates what we are all thinking based on opinions that have been formed from her actions and comments."
Come to find out, my friend, the conservative, is not a big Sarah fan. He doesn't believe that she has any real qualifications or character. Wow! He told me that his original point was about respect. I replied that to me respect is something that is earned not given. He agreed. Now his conversation shifted to believing that the entire congressional environment is twisted. He believes their focus is not about solving problems but about notching wins. It doesn't matter what a particular bill says, only that your party is the one to get it passed or defeated. Congressmen consider that a 'win'. He expressed his frustration at the two party system and how it has devolved into the Hatfields and McCoys. Wow, again. Exactly what I believe. A country divided by common beliefs. Cats and dogs sleeping together.
So how did the country get into this universal head lock? Why are people so intolerant of opposing opinion? My theory is talk radio, the devil incarnate. When someone with narrow beliefs, either conservative or liberal, can go to one place and hear their own narrow opinions spewed back at them it is not a good environment. When the opposing view point is never presented with any legitimacy or belittled and made fun of with no chance for rebuttal, how is it to be taken seriously? When congressional success becomes about liberal wins and conservative losses or vice versa, and not about solving problems and making the country better how will things ever improve?
I believe that, at the end of the day, I am very similar to most people in this country. Most people call me a liberal yet many of my beliefs do not necessarily line up that way. I am pro-life. I am anti-big business. I believe in the constitution but do not need a gun to present my views. I would never protest at a military funeral but I would never stop someone who needed to do that. I don't believe I need a gun for personal protection but would kill anyone who attempted to hurt my family. I believe in freedom of speech and religion even if you are showing off your ignorance at the top of your lungs or are not Christian. I do not find racial humor funny, even when black comics do it.
A country divided by common beliefs. I say we turn off the radio's and stop letting loud mouth talk show hosts tell us what we feel and begin talking to each other. I believe that we will soon find out that while we may not agree on everything, we will see eye to eye on most. After all, most issues in this world can be solved with a little common sense and talking to each other is the surest way to get there.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12052

Moving Sideways

It seems that I have hit a standstill. There has been no movement at all with my novel and unless I am constantly pushing it nothing happens. I have been talking with people who should know and I am getting very mixed messages. Some are telling me that I have to keep the message out there and sell sell sell. Others are telling me that I cannot afford to look desperate and I must mix with colleagues and affinity groups and let nature take its course. The facts tell me that unless I am continually out there, nothing happens.
I have pretty much exhausted my contacts on Facebook. I invited 435 people to become fans of my Justice Rules page and almost half of them have done so. I appreciate it. I post my link as often as I can but am afraid that I am becoming annoying so I will back off a bit. Facebook ads do not work. Twitter takes me nowhere. I am at a standstill and am searching for another means to get the word out. A friend has suggested other self published periodicals as a research tool and I am exploring that.
In the meantime I am working on my second novel. It was actually my first, my practice novel, but I am re-writing it and am fairly pleased to date. I hit a snag plot wise in the last week or so but as always happens, when I am having trouble writing something and I identify the reason, the block dissolves in an instant. I discovered the reason for the stall and am once again moving forward. It is called, The Siren's Song, and is more of a horror story ala Stephen King. King was my original mentor, unbeknownst to him of course, and it was his inspiration that got me to sit down and write to begin with. I hope to thank him one day.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12052

I was talking with a friend today and she was giving me some advise on marketing strategies. I mentioned that I often used a signature on my FaceBook postings that gave the web address of the location to buy my novel. She said that many people would be offended by that and block me. I have not found that to be the case. But it brought up an interesting question, if all is fair in love and war, is all fair in marketing as well? For example, I have joined several online book clubs under a pseudonym
in order to start conversations about my novel. Is that wrong? Its not like I am taking money from them or deceiving them in any way, except for my name, of course. If I can direct people toward discovering my book, I see no harm. It may not be the greatest novel ever written but it tells a good story and I have gotten very positive responses from those that have purchased it. Consequently, I see no harm in attempting to start a buzz about my work. There is so much competition out there that any advantage seems appropriate. I have also piggy backed onto celeb sites and book club sites and will post my web address whenever possible. My friend thought this was very rude. To me it is a public forum and if I can say something relevant to the topic and my signature pops up with the web address, I see no harm. I always see almost instant results on the dashboard page of the sales site. I also have a certain number of friends that have well over 1,000 friends on FB. I will periodically hit them with a "Shameless Plug" bomb. I tell them they have been hit with a "Shameless Plug" bomb and attach the web address. I have a relationship with these people and the permission to do this so it is not an issue. I have had no one, in the four weeks I have been doing this ever say anything about it. They have all been very supportive as a matter of fact. So I put it to you, is there morality in marketing in regards to using every means at your disposal to get the word out?

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12052

Computers and mothers

Anyone that is over 40 will tremble at the combination of these two words. Computers and mothers. My mother is a lovely woman who just turned 80. I just spent an hour and twenty five minutes talking her through a download. It started out simply enough. I wrote a novel. It is in ebook form and my mother wanted to buy it. I told her I would just send it to her but no, she's my mother and she wants to buy her son's book. So, I began the journey toward navigating her to the book site. She lives in Tampa Bay, I am in Spokane. She is on a PC. I am a Mac guy all they way. My sister was nice enough to buy the laptop for her so I had not say in the matter. Why anyone would give an 80 year old woman a PC seems to be cruel and inhuman but that's just my opinion.
So, I navigate her to the Smashwords site that contains my novel. Now, she has to open an account. She fills out the form and hits enter. After several unsuccessful attempts she realizes that under COUNTRY she has listed Angola. Once this is corrected the account opens. Then I have to explain that the site wants to confirm her email before she can continue. We leave Smashwords and navigate to her email where she is amazed that an email from smashwords is waiting for her. Once we have her confirmed we are back at Smashwords to buy the book. She adds it to her cart....finally, "What's a cart? Why do they call it that?" She fills out her CC info, three times. In order to talk her through this, I have to log in under another email account so that I can step through with her on my computer. I end up having to buy my own book. Eventually, she buys the book.
Now we have to download the book.
Of the many options that we have to download I figure that a pdf will be the easiest for her to use. So, we attempt to download the pdf. On my Mac it is a fifteen second action. On her PC the question mark icon appears next to the Acrobat icon. She does not have the program. Instead of trying to explain to her how to download Acrobat I go another route. I have her download the novel as a epub file and plan on getting her an ebook reader. The e-reader is a free download at barnesandnoble.com.
Fifteen minutes later we arrive at the B&R site. "Yes mom, Noble is spelled with one b." I get her to the ebook section and to the download page for the e-reader. She then downloads the e-reader and this is where this goes horribly bad. I have no idea how to navigate the download on the PC. Where does she put it, how does it work? I am lost.
I finally find it on her desktop, which she did not know she had, and we attempt to open it. The reader takes us back to B&R where it asks her to open an account. OMG!!! I want to kill myself.
At long last I realize that I cannot find the e-reader on her computer because we have no idea where she put it and she has no idea what a hard drive is. My sister will be on a conference call with us tonight as we once again take up the battle, that I can promise you.
After I finally say goodbye to my mom, I check my Smashbook account to find that in the interim I have sold 4 more books and have had 6 new sample downloads. I am excited for a moment, then it hits me. Who wants to bet that in this process my mother bought my book 4 times?
All of this for a $2.99 book that I could have just emailed her. No wait, I take that back. We would then be back to the same issue, downloading and saving it to her computer. Computers and mothers. Is there anything more frightening?

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12052

Today's rant is about the emotional climate of this country. It is my personal feeling that we are a nation divided by common beliefs. For example, whether you lean right or left, most people believe we need health care reform. Yet, no one can agree on how to go about achieving this goal. The fight began and soon it was not about health care reform or insurance reform, it was about which party would come up with the plan that gets passed. Get it passed and be on the team that passes it. That is all that is required for a win. If you were on the "losing" team you are now filled with righteous indignation that the President used his power and influence to unilaterally force this bill upon you when "no one" wanted it. It's not about the bill, the piece of legislation, its about it being forced upon you. My question to all of you who have been so morally offended by this president forcing health care on you, the last time a President unilaterally forced his will upon us we declared war on a country that had not attacked us. Tens of thousands of people died because of that decision. Where was the moral indignation then? A president forces us to war, disguised as a patriotic act, and no one was screaming to the heavens then. Is war patriotic and health care immoral?
We need to get our priorities straight. We are not two groups of people sharing the same space. We are a single country trying to live together in peace and harmony. Talk to each other. Learn the facts. Don't let screaming talk radio hosts tell you your opinion. Formulate it on your own and allow the facts to dictate your opinion to you, not the other way around.
To quote the great Dennis Miller, "This is just my opinion. I could be wrong."

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12052

Random thoughts

Starting my blog, I can write about anything and I promise that I will not write about nothing. It will contain my thoughts about current events, sports mostly NFL, reviews and other sundry details of an extraordinary life.

So to the point! I am a huge NFL fan. The NFL draft was just competed yesterday. It was a new format, round 1 was held Thursday night, rounds 2 & 3 on Friday and rounds 4 - 7 on Sat. If you were on the west coast however, you got jobbed. Thursday it started at 7pm EST to air in prime time. Well, I guess EST stands for Extra Special Treatment because for those of us in PST, Probably Screwed Tonight, the NFL draft, the high holy days of the NFL began at 4pm on a Thursday. So much for my annual Draft Day Party. So much for the tradition of sitting for hours upon end to delight in all that is NFL. To compound the problem they NFL came back the next day, Friday, with a 3PM start. Just in case we were able to get off work early enough on Thursday to actually watch some of it. The kicker however, came on Saturday with a 7AM start. 7AM! Saturday! This qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment to start the draft at 7am on a Saturday morning. Ridiculous. Letters were written, emails sent. They won't get away with this. There are people who live west of the Mississippi, you know.

I am sure that the commissioner will be on the phone with me shortly.

On the bright side, the San Diego Chargers had a great draft and I am thrilled with our picks.

Inkdyan