Computer Woes

26 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

by Clare in Updates Tags: , , , , ,

I had hoped to get another book review up earlier this week, but unfortunately my PC decided it wasn’t going to cooperate. My system is an MSI laptop, and it is several years old. I returned home from a trip late on Sunday night and then when I had a chance to sit at my computer last night, there were problems.

First, the Wi-Fi didn’t work. And since my desk is in a room with no Ethernet cable, I usually run on the Wi-Fi. I tried to fix this, but then when I attempted to reinstall drivers, there were bigger problems.

Bear with me, as I’m not good at computer hardware/software issues, but something happened where the system would no longer boot and also couldn’t repair. Eventually my husband (the computer person) stepped in and was able to boot the computer from a USB drive and then reinstall Windows. Five hours later, he sort of had it running.

Today, many hours were spent installing stuff and continuing to troubleshoot. But in the end, I’m only sitting back down to survey the extent of the damage just now. I expect it is time to buy a new system, but this temporary solution will at least let me carry on in some capacity.

Hopefully by Friday I’ll have a review for Fairy Tale by Stephen King.

Upcoming Books to Read

23 Jul 2021 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Updates Tags: , , , , , ,

We’re a bit past the halfway point of the year and I thought I’d stop to look at what I’m reading and hoping to read in the near future. I’m a bit behind where I wanted to be in terms of simple numbers, and my to-be-read list for 2021 has not shrunk at all as I add more books all the time. But here is what I’m currently reading or is in my upcoming pile:

Books I’m currently reading: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, and The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett. (Paid links help to support this blog.)

Books I put down but need to pick back up: Bone by Jeff Smith, Spark Joy by Marie Kondo. I am at least 75% of the way through Bone, but it’s just so long!

Upcoming audiobooks: The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty, Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.

Other books I’m planning to read soon: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, Rocket Men by Robert Kurson, The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne, Magical Midlife Madness by K. F. Breene, Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett, and Return to Earth by Buzz Aldrin.

And there are so many others!

How are you doing on your reading goals for the year? What books are you excited to read soon? Let me know in the comments.

To read some of my book reviews, look here.

New Short Fiction Available!

28 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

by Clare in My Fiction, Updates, Writing Tags: ,

I’ve been a bit overwhelmed lately with work and have been neglecting my blog here, but I wanted to announce here that I have a new short fiction story out now.

My story is called I’m Not a Superhero and is included in the Tales From Vigilante City anthology from Bloat Games.

Vigilante City is the setting for the SURVIVE THIS!! Vigilante City RPG and these stories all fit in with that setting, full of superheroes and villains. Pick up a copy and let me know what you think.

You can get a pdf here.

Upcoming Events and Races

08 Nov 2017 Leave a comment

by Clare in Fencing, Running, Triathlon, Updates Tags: , , ,

So the triathlon season has come to an end for 2017, fencing has started up again for 2017-2018, and I’ve been planning the upcoming year for both.

Here’s what’s on my plate for anyone who’s interested:

December NAC: I will be fencing the Veteran Open and Vet-40 events in womens’ sabre in Portland, OR.

April NAC: I will be fencing in Richmond, VA. I’m sure I’ll enter the Veteran Open and Vet-40 women’s sabre events, but could also do the Division II event. I haven’t decided yet.

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May: I’m riding in the New York Gran Fondo. This is a 100-mile ride/race that starts on the George Washington Bridge. The route has a ton of climbing and I expect will be my first century ride.

July: This month is a doozy. I should be fencing in Summer Nationals in St. Louis, MO for whatever events I qualify for. Then later in the month, I have Ironman Lake Placid. This will be my first full distance triathlon, and I hope that the NY Gran Fondo will help to prepare me for the climbing on the Lake Placid course.

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St. Louis arch.

That’s it for now, although I expect to add some other local and regional fencing events when my schedule allows it (not easy right now). I’m debating whether I want to sign up for a 70.3 distance triathlon or a half marathon as training for Lake Placid, but I haven’t made a decision yet on these.

Resuming a Blog

07 Oct 2016 Leave a comment

by Clare in astronauts, Books, Fencing, Updates, Writing

Well, I’ve been away from the world of writing, reviewing, and blogging for some time, and I’m hoping to be able to return to that now. I had been spending most of my time over the last 2 years completing a process to become board certified as a Canine/Feline specialist. I took my exams this past week in San Antonio and I’ll find out whether I passed in about 45 days.

alamo

My last post here mentioned my application to NASA’s astronaut program. While I did make it as far as the highly-qualified group, I don’t know that I’m going to get an interview. It looks like the last few weeks of interviews are filling up, and no one from the astronaut office has called me (yet).

I have started participating in triathlons just in time to improve my cardio for my first year fencing in the Veteran’s age category. I have been looking forward to the Veteran’s age group for a long time, and my first national-level competition will be in Richmond in December, although I’m hoping to sneak in a local tournament before that. I plan to do more triathlons also, but not until the spring. Despite the rumors, I have no immediate plans to do anything near Ironman length!

As far as my fiction goes, the greatest problem I have right now is figuring out which project to pick up first. Should I revise the two short stories that I absolutely love, but no one has yet wanted to publish? Perhaps I should pick up an old rough draft and finish that (there is one in particular that keeps calling to me). Or do I plunge right back into a novel? And which one – space opera, epic fantasy, or alternate history?

Random updates:

Reading now: Contact by Carl Sagan

Writing now: just blog posts

Workout focus: running – I have a 10 mile race in 2 weeks

Eating: unhealthy as I’m traveling this week

A Quick Update

23 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

by Clare in Updates Tags: , , , ,

I’ve been rather inactive on updating this page, but I’ve had a lot going on lately. I should have a little more time now to catch up and to get back to posting here. In no particular order, here is what I’m going to be working on:

I should be back to posting some reviews for books, comics, and television shows.

I’m getting back to writing some fiction, so I may have an occasional update on that.

I’ll be back at fencing practice next week, preparing for competitions as the spring nears. I’m also training for my first triathlon, which will be easier when the weather warms up.

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Mars – Photo courtesy of NASA

Lastly, my main focus for the next few weeks is to work on submitting my application to NASA for the upcoming astronaut selection. The requirements to apply are straightforward, but the odds are very long. I may post an update on that process here if I hear anything more than the standard “thank you for applying, but no” postcard.

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