December Goals

This time of month again. And shockingly enough, I got something done!

November Goals

1. Do the frigging REMEMBER notes, dang it. The italics mean I’m serious.

Apparently, the italics do mean I’m serious because I totally got them done, with plenty of time to spare. Sure took long enough!

2. If I finish the notes, then I can get back to work on my other WIP. I should also make notes of the other idea that’s rolling around in my head before I forget it.

I did go back to the other WIP, but now I’m having doubts about its viability. Maybe I took too long a break. Either way, I’m putting it aside.

3. Maybe try to get another apocalypse post up. Remember those?

Eh, kind of. It wasn’t a true apocalypse post (my idea well for those has seemed to have gone dry) but I tried.

December Goals

1. Do my color partition for REMEMBER and solve any issues in regards to pacing. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before as part of my editing routine. Maybe I’ll go into more detail later.

2. Do my sensory color partition for REMEMBER and solve any issues. Again, I should explain this sometime.

3. Christmas, yay!

Anyone else shocked it’s December already? And how are you recovering from NaNo?

More Like Blackout Friday

Just a small comic today. Honestly, I’m just glad that I don’t have anything to rant about.

Of course, this isn’t a very realistic view of me after Thanksgiving. I’d never leave any crumbs.

Thanks A Lot

Because it’s a holiday (at least in my country) and I’m probably going to spend Saturday ranting about today, here’s a special stick figure comic.

The holidays: when all the good desserts come out of hiding. By me.

Tips for Surviving Thanksgiving

Or Thanksgivingocalypse. Because one of my monthly goals is to do another apocalypse post, and honestly, spending time with my family sure seems like an apocalyptic scenario. So I made a list of all the things I could do that would actually make for a Thanksgiving. You know, if anyone would actually do them.

How to Avoid the Thanksgivingocalypse

1. No alcohol. This isn’t a judgment against anyone who drinks. I’ve seen people out there who can handle a glass of wine without turning into a total a$$hole. And except for my mom, none of those people are in my family.

2. Avoid dangerous topics. You know, like politics and religion and who has to do the dishes. They only turn into screaming matches with things getting broken and people getting hurt.

3. If someone tells you to do something, do the exact opposite. For example, if someone tells you to play a tired, not-funny-ever prank on someone else, don’t frigging do it.

4. I can’t believe I have to say this, but no pot. Apparently, it never occurred to some people that it’s not okay to do something illegal in someone else’s house without their permission and while there are children in the next room.

5. Don’t lie to people about who’s coming so they show up only to find out there’s someone they don’t want to spend time with. Then don’t shame them for it.

I don’t know, maybe it’s just my family that turns Thanksgiving—and all holidays—into a total nightmare. What are your tips for surviving the holidays? Or do you actually have fun? If so, I’d sure like to know what you’re doing right…

Scratch

How about some Adventures in the Life of a Cat Owner?

She’s the second cat I’ve had that does this. I don’t know what’s so difficult about it. You do a poop, then you bury it. Most cats have this down. Why don’t mine?

Language of Confusion: Thanks (But No Thanks)

Because a certain holiday is coming up for us Americans. You lucky Canadians already got it over with and everyone else doesn’t have to deal with Forced Family Interaction Day. How I envy you that.

Thank (the verb, not the noun with the s at the end) comes from the Old English þancian, and since the þ is pronounced th, that means the word is thancian. I’m not sure if that c was pronounced hard or soft, but since it comes from the Proto Germanic thankojan, it seems likely.

Now, the word can be traced all the way back to the Proto Indo European word tong, which means think or feel. And yes, that’s the origin word for think as well. In fact, think has a very similar origin. It comes from the Old English þencan and Proto Germanic thankjan, so think and thank have been only one letter off from each other for what? Five thousand years? As for why a word that means think evolved to mean gratitude, well, that’s a little less clear. It’s just known that by the eleventh century, a word related to þancian, þanc, which first meant thought and eventually started to mean good thoughts. From there, it went to gratitude, and that’s why we have thanks.

Looks like it’s a quick one today. I guess you owe me your thanks : ).

Sources

Online Etymology Dictionary

University of Texas at Austin Linguistic Research Center

University of Texas at San Antonio’s page on Proto Indo European language and culture

Tony Jebson’s page on the Origins of Old English

Briem.net

Computer Hints

I’m computer literate, although I’d hardly call myself an expert. Still, I’m the most tech savvy person in my family, meaning I’m the one everyone calls when something screws up. My life would be much, much simpler if they used some common sense rules.

1. Shut it down and restart it. It doesn’t matter what it is. Laptop, iPad, modem, whatever, it isn’t working right, just shut it down and restart it before calling me.

2. Whatever you download, make sure that you don’t agree to install anymore toolbars. They only make things slower. And you certainly don’t need fifty of them. Seriously, uncheck the box!

3. You don’t need that stupid Weatherbug app. There are a million pages online that tell you what the weather is like outside. Having the app does nothing but spawn popups and eat CPU.

4. If you’re wondering why your browser is so slow, it’s because you’re using Explorer. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, literally anything is better than Explorer. Jumping into the internet Tron-style and battling digital monsters to find the information yourself is faster than Explorer. Not to mention safer.

5. Any program that claims it will make your computer run faster is lying. Ditto anything that claims it’s a free antivirus software. If you want to avoid a virus, don’t click on links that are shortened or unrecognizable.

6. And don’t click on any links in emails, ever, even if it looks real (this one is a special shoutout to my sister, as my mom knows better).

7. It’s not full memory that makes your computer run slow, it’s the crap you download that’s full of malware.

8. Seriously. Just shut it off and turn it back on.

Now, if I could only get my family to pay attention to this list…