Still Being Random

Today, we lost a person who cared for our environment, who fought for our trees as best she could, who lived facing a lot of odds and who was loved by all who were close to her.

Inna lillah wa inna 'ilayhi raji'un

I finally got round to watching Twilight. Actually, I just started but I've been distracted so far by 1) a tummy ache, 2) Athena and 3) Athena's bath time. I will finish watching it eventually.

I uploaded all 2300+ photos from my camera into my computer which I will then back-up to the external hard disc. And then I will make copies on DVD. Of course I have to be careful because about 2000 photos are those of Athena. Is anyone surprised she reacts to a camera with a smile nowadays?

I'll be going to Bintulu this Monday and I'll be back on Tuesday. Can't stay long because I don't get leave from work unless for a good reason, Athena is coming with me and I think Shook has exams or is flying the rest of the week. And yes, I do so want to distract Shook further so he has to stay longer in that idiotically-run place. (And if you were not sure, that last sentence was dripping in acid)

I am seriously considering a slight change in my career options. I think I'll go for it, just to see if I can. If it works out, it's a new challenge to keep me occupied for another decade. If it doesn't, well I always have other plans in place.

I really need to get round to finish typing out my story. Seems like such a waste to plan something so well then drop it into oblivion. I always say I don't have time but the truth is, I spend so much time playing with Athena and catching up on things I've missed out with her while at work that I don't feel like doing much else.

I went and had my hair cut. It was a decision forced upon me by the combination of heat, the frustration of looking around for my hairband in the middle of the night and feeling bored of either tying my hair or clipping it up.

I accompanied my students to Swinburne for a debate recently. It was rather interesting. I'm not saying that just to be polite. Although I complained a lot about their time management earlier in the event, the experience it gave my students and the wonderful time they had as well as the new friends they made sort of made me forgive the organisers. They were also very helpful to my students. So despite everything, I don't mind bringing them back there next year.

And to finish off this post, my daughter is 7 months today and my best friend has been married a week today. Ain't life grand?

I am an odd person. (And before some smarty pants decides to crack a joke about it, hear me out first!)

I have had my eye on Amazon's Kindle 2 for awhile now. Over the weekend, I decided to seriosuly look into it and discovered that they are not available outside the US. So I began to look at other alternatives. I then remembered I have a PDA sitting around doing nothing so I decided to use it as my ebook reader. I'm looking into Mobipocket and it's very appealing.

However, I have discovered a reluctance within myself to purchase anything. It's not even expensive. The books I want range between $5.99 - $14.99. The cheapest is $2.99. All these are way, way cheaper than any book I can find here or online. Yet, I hesitate.

I know I love the feel of a physical book in my hands. And everyone looks more intellectual reading a book than reading a PDA. After all, I could be playing games on a PDA! And even an idiot looks smart reading a book.

Yet the upside of an ebook is that no matter how thick the book is, the PDA will never vary in weight and size. It's cheaper to purchase. And I only need to store it on my PC or the PDA. I don't need shelves anymore.

I did consider getting audiobooks. I tried it with Richard Marcinko once a long, long time ago. He writes about the Navy Seals. He created the Seal teams. Trust me, when he speaks, it's monotonous. I love his books but his reading could put me to sleep. And he did, halfway through my favourite of his books.

Then I recently tried Paul of Dune. I love the Dune series. I read an excerpt of Paul and I liked it despite it not being written by Frank Herbert himself but by his son. So I figured if I liked what was written surely I can tolerate when it's being read. And surely not everyone sounds like Richard Marcinko.

I was right on account of the reader not sounding like Marcinko. But I forgot my ADD tendencies. Audiobooks officially make me restless. I not only space out but I also fall asleep. I even tried listening to samples on Audible. Didn't work. I got bored within 10 seconds.

So, now that audiobooks are not an option, I'm looking into ebooks.

I need to think about this some more.

Could someone tell me if there are any copyright issues or even issues of any kind in regards to a story that has been published online e.g. on a blog?

I thought I once read somewhere that it can be difficult to get a story published once it has been posted online. I might be wrong but I really would like some clarification.

This question is the reason I stopped posting any stories I wrote. I am actually elbow-deep in two stories of different genres. I posted part of one online but I stopped after reading something about copyright issues somewhere. I just can't remember where now.

So I'm afraid to post anything. I'm worried that I might one day take up my father's offer to publish my stories and discover that I can't do so.