Jibber Jabber - Q1 - 29

Slow day for posts. My guess would be a lot of people focusing on finalizing their Q3 entries maybe? Of course, probably a more likely explanation is that there is just no news to really discuss. More waiting, here we come...

That was my guess, too. I *almost* posted that Tina and Martin were awfully quiet, but Tina just posted a response. Martin's been gone a while...

Between the new job and Mom's hospital stay, I don't get a lot of time to post. Plus I was way behind on crits I promised people here, and I decided to bear down and get those done before the very end of Q3 submissions!

Now that those are done, there's a story I was meaning to write last weekend before my brother's cardiac incidents. I want to write that one this weekend. One small benefit to all of these hospital visits: they're research. This story is set in a hospital.

Slow day for posts. My guess would be a lot of people focusing on finalizing their Q3 entries maybe? Of course, probably a more likely explanation is that there is just no news to really discuss. More waiting, here we come...

That was my guess, too. I *almost* posted that Tina and Martin were awfully quiet, but Tina just posted a response. Martin's been gone a while...

Between the new job and Mom's hospital stay, I don't get a lot of time to post. Plus I was way behind on crits I promised people here, and I decided to bear down and get those done before the very end of Q3 submissions!

Now that those are done, there's a story I was meaning to write last weekend before my brother's cardiac incidents. I want to write that one this weekend. One small benefit to all of these hospital visits: they're research. This story is set in a hospital.

I hope your brother is doing better, Martin.

And good luck with the new story!

I hope your brother is doing better, Martin.

Thanks, Jeanette. He's now my Bionic Brother, with a shiny new defibrillator implanted. The doctors have released him with essentially no restrictions. His problems were all due to his heart rate jumping sky high, then stopping. No blockage at all. So with the defibrillator, they feel it's under control.

I hope your brother is doing better, Martin.

Thanks, Jeanette. He's now my Bionic Brother, with a shiny new defibrillator implanted. The doctors have released him with essentially no restrictions. His problems were all due to his heart rate jumping sky high, then stopping. No blockage at all. So with the defibrillator, they feel it's under control.

That's good news. Yay! Science to the rescue!

I hope your brother is doing better, Martin.

Thanks, Jeanette. He's now my Bionic Brother, with a shiny new defibrillator implanted. The doctors have released him with essentially no restrictions. His problems were all due to his heart rate jumping sky high, then stopping. No blockage at all. So with the defibrillator, they feel it's under control.

That's good to hear. =) (Just got that "bionic" sound as I imagine him jumping over a really high wall.)

Glad to hear everything's under control, Martin. It's hard when loved ones are in the hospital.

Still waiting..............
Preston Dennett
(HM x 2)

Anyone else get post-submission jitters and attacks of self-doubt?

I do. All the time. It usually goes away after a few days while writing on a new project.

Same here. Just nice to know I'm not alone. =)

Found this quote and I'm framing it: "The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize." -Robert Hughes

So...embrace the doubt, then. <img src="

Whilst trawling the net, in search of WoTF something, I'm not exactly what, I found this as a comment in a blog.

It's just a reminder that it all starts somewhere. Especially for those who didn't achieve the result they expected this quarter.

Brad R. Torgersen says:
February 13, 2008 at 12:55 am

Joni just called me and said I made an ‘honorable mention’ for WOTF. I am assuming it’s 1st quarter? A remarkably unexpected call, and I am not quite sure what an Honorable Mention means, other than it might perk up a few heads if I put it into a cover letter on my future submissions. Can any of you more experienced and published folk comment on the ‘Honorable Mention’? Obviously not as exciting as an actual semi-finalist win, but this is certainly the gosh darn biggest official praise I have ever gotten for any of my writing!

He didn't even know what a HM was.

My, how quickly they grow up.

Steve
(I'm so proud of our Brad)

Whilst trawling the net, in search of WoTF something, I'm not exactly what, I found this as a comment in a blog.

It's just a reminder that it all starts somewhere. Especially for those who didn't achieve the result they expected this quarter.

Brad R. Torgersen says:
February 13, 2008 at 12:55 am

Joni just called me and said I made an ‘honorable mention’ for WOTF. I am assuming it’s 1st quarter? A remarkably unexpected call, and I am not quite sure what an Honorable Mention means, other than it might perk up a few heads if I put it into a cover letter on my future submissions. Can any of you more experienced and published folk comment on the ‘Honorable Mention’? Obviously not as exciting as an actual semi-finalist win, but this is certainly the gosh darn biggest official praise I have ever gotten for any of my writing!

He didn't even know what a HM was.

My, how quickly they grow up.

Steve
(I'm so proud of our Brad)

I would say how adorable he was; but I suspect Chief Warrant Officer Torgersen could snap me like a twig.

I'm also amazed Joni made a phone call for an HM.

Maybe he's always been special!

Steve

The rankings have changed over the years - didn't HM once mean the equivalent of current standing of SF?

The rankings have changed over the years - didn't HM once mean the equivalent of current standing of SF?

My understanding is that Finalists and Semi-Finalists have always existed. Certainly well before the time period here.

At one point, they also had quarter-finalists - which was then changed to HM. A quarter-finalist was too easy to confuse with a finalist (for the quarter)....

Steve

Blast from the past. I remember going though old posts when I first came on here, looking for nuggets of advice. I remember Jordan and Brad asked the best questions.

Blast from the past. I remember going though old posts when I first came on here, looking for nuggets of advice. I remember Jordan and Brad asked the best questions.

Hmmm... And now they've won... Interesting...

Blast from the past. I remember going though old posts when I first came on here, looking for nuggets of advice. I remember Jordan and Brad asked the best questions.

Hmmm... And now they've won... Interesting...

Yep, there are officially no dumb questions on this board. Even the ones that have to be answered over and over.

Blast from the past. I remember going though old posts when I first came on here, looking for nuggets of advice. I remember Jordan and Brad asked the best questions.

Hmmm... And now they've won... Interesting...

Yep, there are officially no dumb questions on this board. Even the ones that have to be answered over and over.

....

(Please note: More seriously, as a reference librarian, I thoroughly agree with the sentiment that there is no such thing as a stupid question. It's far worse not to ask, and never know.)

(Please note: More seriously, as a reference librarian, I thoroughly agree with the sentiment that there is no such thing as a stupid question. It's far worse not to ask, and never know.)

A Marine I know once told me of a time a squad mate made the sergeant rescind the no-dumb-questions rule. They were being briefed for a long run at boot camp, out to some marker and back. The squad mate piped up and asked, "Sergeant, is the turn-around point of the run also the half-way point?" After that, the sergeant changed the rule to "There are no dumb questions -- except that one."

A Marine I know once told me of a time a squad mate made the sergeant rescind the no-dumb-questions rule. They were being briefed for a long run at boot camp, out to some marker and back. The squad mate piped up and asked, "Sergeant, is the turn-around point of the run also the half-way point?" After that, the sergeant changed the rule to "There are no dumb questions -- except that one."

A Marine I know once told me of a time a squad mate made the sergeant rescind the no-dumb-questions rule. They were being briefed for a long run at boot camp, out to some marker and back. The squad mate piped up and asked, "Sergeant, is the turn-around point of the run also the half-way point?" After that, the sergeant changed the rule to "There are no dumb questions -- except that one."

I think some people may find the phrase "there are no dumb questions" to be a challenge to them... one they are determined to overcome. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: "Nothing is foolproof to the sufficiently talented fool."

I used to work as a tour guide on Mackinac Island. We were regularly asked the following:

1) Is the island surrounded on all sides by water?
2) What time does the bridge swing over to pick up the tourists? (Of note: the bridge in question is the Mighty Mac, a suspension bridge on par with the Golden Gate.)

I also used to work in a state park on the coast north of Los Angeles. To wit:

1) *pointing at the islands visible just off the coast* Is that Hawaii?
2) *holding leaves in their hands* Is this poison oak? (it was)
3) Is the beach close to the ocean?

But the best one is this. There was a sign on my booth that listed the admission prices.

Automobiles - $6
Senior Citizens - $5
Dogs - $1

So this guy drives up and pays me $6. He stares at the sign a good long time. Finally he asks, "So dogs are a dollar?"

I tell him yes. There aren't any dogs in his car, so I think maybe he has dogs at home and didn't know they were allowed. He drives off into the park.

Ten minutes later, he walks up to my booth from the other side with a dollar in his hand. And he says - I kid you not - "I'd like to rent a dog."

What I wanted to say: "Mister, I'm fresh outta dogs today, so I'll make you a little deal. I got this grandma from Schenectady out the back. She's lookin' kinda lonely, so I'll give her to ya for the dog rate."

Great story, Kary.

I won't share too many dumb library questions, but my favourite stereotypical question from undergraduate students is:

"I'm writing a paper on [topic]."

(A close second: "Where are your fiction novels?")

2) What time does the bridge swing over to pick up the tourists? (Of note: the bridge in question is the Mighty Mac, a suspension bridge on par with the Golden Gate.)

On par with? Ha! 26,372 feet total length, vs. the Golden Gate's mere 8,981 feet. Yes, Golden Gate has a longer center span; but honestly, the one time I drove over it, it was over too fast to even trigger my gephyrophobia. Literally, I hardly noticed it. Whereas the Mackinac? With those long approaches, it takes FOREVER to cross. I don't know if I could do it any more. (Strangely, my gephyrophobia only kicks in when I'm driving. On foot, I'm fine. As a passenger, I'm OK. But as a driver, I'm convinced the car will take control away and drive off the bridge. One of my recurring nightmares is driving across a bridge with no end to be seen; and at some point I look out, and the bridge has disappeared. I and the car are stranded on the one piece of solid ground in a massive sea in all directions. Lucifer's Hammer gave me the heebie jeebies because almost exactly that scene happens at one point.)

gephyrophobia

It has a name? I'm not alone?!

Oh my freakin' lord! Another person with fear of driving over bridges. I know I'm not the only one, but my fear gets pretty intense. I think I almost passed out once on the Bay Bridge. I'm so glad I don't live near any bridges I have to cross over regularly.

ETA: My fear goes one step further. I do have a fear when walking over them. I can't stand to be near the edge of a long way down. I get a little shaky as a passenger too, not as bad when I drive. My grandma sums up the fear nicely: that you'll go crazy and jump off, or that one of your children will and you'll feel compelled to jump in after them. Just thinking about it give me the heebie jeebies.

Now I'm off to go read a funny book or watch a chick flick movie to get the images out of my mind, so I don't have a nightmare...

I can't say I like bridges either, but that's because they usually have water underneath . Don't tell the alligator but I actually have Aquaphobia. I don't mind aeroplanes except when they're flying over the sea.

We used to have a holiday home in Spain, and the nearest airport was Malaga. Unfortunately, the runway for that particular airport ends on the Mediterranean. So, when we're coming into land, I'll be peering out the window muttering that the sea looks "terribly close" and "where in the name of all that's holy is the runway!" And when we've just taken off, and the sea seems to be a few feet below, I'll be praying for the engines not to stall.

I don't mind boats that much, as long as I'm on deck with a lifejacket nearby. But we also tried going by boat, across the Bay of Biscay. And that involves an overnight trip.

Then, one fatefull day, the ship nearly sank. We had just left port and I was reading alone in our cabin when the room started to roll. At first it was a gentle rocking motion from side to side, but it gradually became more violent-- things were tumbling about the cabin. The bunk bed ladder crashed into the mirror, and by this time my eyes were out on stalks. I managed to get out into the hall, although by that time it was rocking less violently.
Needless to say we didn't sink, but there was apparently a huge amount of damage to the ship, plus one or two injuries.
So not long after that I stopped going to Spain every year.

Can't say that I had a fear of bridges or water, but my mom slightly instilled a fear of flying. About 6 years ago I was taking my annual dance trip, which happened to be Los Angeles, and I was going alone that year. My mom kept telling me she didn't have 'a good feeling' about the trip, and that translated into 'what's going to happen to the plane???'

I'm slowly getting over it, but flying hasn't been quite the same fun experience since.

*cues up Roy Orbison's Only the Lonely* (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmN7dsheE8)

Ok, by my count, six of us have yet to hear anything.

4 LAMPS
Gwasch
Isto
Kary
Preston

1 Hold Pile
Michael B.

1 NNiNN
David K

Did I miss anybody?

*cues up Roy Orbison's Only the Lonely* (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmN7dsheE8)

Ok, by my count, six of us have yet to hear anything.

4 LAMPS
Gwasch
Isto
Kary
Preston

1 Hold Pile
Michael B.

1 NNiNN
David K

Did I miss anybody?

Only Bobwriter.