The view is good. The wind is low velocity and the wave action normal. We had two days of rain and managed to get about an inch and one-half. The only one out there is a jogger.
Last week’s photo.
Tag: thriller fiction
Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt “Ing”
Stream of Consciousness Saturday time again and this week the prompt is “ing.” On top of the prompt, we get extra points for using ing in the first and last word of the piece. You may think these points aren’t important. Well, let me tell you …..hmm. If you would like to know more about this craziness visit Lind’s site and read all about it. Also, there is quite a few clever writers all working hard for the points. http://lindaghill.com/2015/10/09/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-1015/ Here is my interpretation.
ING by John W. Howell © 2015
“Ing come over here.”
“Yes, boss. What is it?”
“I’ve noticed you have not been using your last name on all your project requisitions. Mind telling me why?”
“Well, boss I think my first name is distinctive and to add my last name would take away from that. Ing Schtingmeister does not roll off the tongue. I’m gaining a rep as the Mighty Ing.”
“I can appreciate that Ing, but company policy dictates a full signature on all project requisitions.”
“Since when has this rule been in effect.”
“I don’t know. Since the beginning of the company I guess.”
“I never heard of such a thing.”
“Well as your boss I’m asking you to comply since I don’t need auditing to come in here and give us some findings simply because your signature is not complete.”
“Is this a legal thing or company nit-picking?”
“No, it is a legal. Here let me quote the rule. All project signatures must be the full legal signature of the requisitioner. So you see you need to use your legal signature.”
“Terrific. No Problem. I changed my name a year ago.”
“Changed it? To what?”
“Ing.”
“Ing?”
“yup. Just Ing.”
“I’ll be darned. Ing?”
“Ing.”
“No more problems then Ing. Use Ing.”
“I was thinking of changing it again.”
“Again?”
“Yup. This time it will be Mighty Ing.”
“You know we may be talking about a firing Mighty Ing.”
“I’ll keep Ing.”
“Smart thing Ing.”
Friday John Ku – AKA TGIF
Friday is here and with it another week of reading writing and arith— No hold that. The only arithmetic I did this week was when I had to buy new stainless steel screws at the lumber yard. That’s a story for another day.
Well, that’s not fair to dangle that one out there is it? Okay here’s the story. I opened one of our outside doors facing the Gulf and one of the hinge plates came away from the wood. The screws that had been holding the plate in place rusted, and the screw heads simply fell off. When I inspected the rest of the doors I found all of them in a similar condition.
What I had to do was drill out the old screws and put wood back in the holes so the new screws would have something to hang on to. A total of eight doors needed to be fixed. Each door had three hinges and each hinge had eight screws. That’s a total of 8 doors x 3 x 8 = 192 screws. I had to have a Brinks Armored Car employee walk me to my car with the 192 screws made of gold…er stainless steel. The process took a while but now it will be my wife’s next husband who will have to deal with this problem again. Here is a photo of one of the hinges finished. I was too perplexed to take a before shot.
Which finally get’s us to this week’s JohnKu that talks about a stitch in time.
Prevention by John W. Howell © 2015
Temporary things,
By nature need nurturing. . .
For maximum use.
Thursday – A Little Personal
For those who wonder, I have a small update on the progress of my venture into the world of self-publishing. So far, notwithstanding the fact I have no hair, I think things are going well. I have been successful in setting up the print version of His Revenge, and the e-book is also ready to go. The imprint of His Revenge is my new publishing company Keewaydin Lane Books. Also not sure I made the right choice but I have signed up for KDP Select for Ninety days. It really means I have to stay with Kindle for the time being. I can go after the 90 days to the other e-book formats if not satisfied.
The only thing holding up publication is I’m waiting for a copy of the book so I can do a physical check on whether the real thing looks like its digital doppelgänger. It is due to be delivered tomorrow. Once confirmed then it is a ready-set-go situation. Before launch, I will be setting up all the various places to announce the book.
I have planned to launch on November 2nd and so far have a bunch of delightful folks who have volunteered plus some guest blog appearances. There have been more interested in helping, but I haven’t received an e-mail. If I don’t get the e-mail, then I suppose a reblog will work. Thank you all.
Wednesday Story Day – AKA Hump Day
Wednesday again and time to continue the story. Last week we came to understand that Alexis parents are more concerned with Ben’s intentions than with his desire to blow up a building. We also saw the familiar “dad said it was okay ” way children try to get their way. I don’t know about you, but I find these parents to be a little weird. Let’s go back and join the group.
“Would you like more pizza Mrs. Worthe?”
“No thank you, Ben. My limit is one and I have finished my piece. You go ahead though it doesn’t appear as if you have any limits.”
“Mom you are starting the Victoria nasty again.”
“Alexis. How many times have I asked you not to use my name with strangers.”
“Ben is not a stranger mom.”
“Well, he is not part of the family so we must consider him covered by the stranger rule.”
“Mom let’s just drop it okay?”
“If you have no respect for my feelings okay drop it.”
“Ben and I want to go to the plant and pick up some C4. You think tomorrow is okay?”
“I still want to talk to your father. Blowing up buildings is dangerous, and I’m not sure you two have the skills to do it safely.”
“Mrs. Worthe I can assure you I know what I’m doing. Believe me I would not want to hurt a hair on Alexis’ head.”
“That is easy for you to say, Benjamin. A mother has to be sure.”
“Mom Ben has done some demolitions, and he is excellent.”
“Alexis please do me the courtesy of allowing a discussion with your father. So that I can sleep at night knowing you are safe. If I don’t have the discussion, you can just get your C4 someplace else.”
“You know there is no other place that is safe.”
“Yes I do Alexis. So humor me.”
“Yes, mother.”
Tuesday – Anything Possible Kreative Kue #45 by Keith Channing
As you may know, I have become enamored by the talent of Keith Channing. He has a weekly prompt named Kreative Kue, which runs on Mondays. Here are the instructions from Keith for the prompt. “Using this photo as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; and either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithkreates@channing.fr before 6pm on Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). If you post it on your blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated.”
His advice. “Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries, with links to your blog or website, next Monday.” Here is the photo.
The Thing by John W. Howell © 2015
“Alright, I’m here now tell me what you did Ray.”
“Nothing. I just squeezed the trigger on this thing.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“Look at the street. There’s nobody around.”
“Whoa, you are right there’s no one here.”
“I just love it when you state the obvious.”
“So why did you call me?”
“To help me figure out how to get the people back.”
“What is that thing anyway?”
“I don’t know. I found it on the sidewalk over there.”
“Why did you pull the trigger?”
“I didn’t know it was a trigger. It looks more like a button to me. See?”
“Yeah, a red button. Don’t you know red buttons mean trouble.”
“Well, I do now for sure.”
“Any other dials or buttons on that thing?”
“Look there’s this green one.”
“There you go. The green one probably puts everything back. Go ahead push it.”
“Okay. I hope you’re right.”
“Man. Did you see that?”
“All the buildings are gone.”
“No kidding. I’m right here with you. Push the green again maybe it’s a cycle thing.”
“There.”
“Nice. The buildings are back.”
“I think I should push the red one again. It looks like red is for people and green for stuff. If I push the red again, I believe the people will come back.”
“Okay, but point that thing towards the buildings.”
“Here I go.”
“Nothing happened Ray. Where the hell are you? Oh, Ray if you can hear me don’t push the red again.”
Ten Things Not to do If You Don’t Normally Shop for Whatever You are Buying
This list was inspired by having to fill in on a few occasions when it was necessary for me to venture into places where I’ve never been. These examples are not necessarily places where you’ve never been they are just the places where you are not normally found buying things.
Ten Things Not to do If You Don’t Normally Shop for Whatever You are Buying.
10 If you don’t normally buy birthday cakes, do not take it upon yourself to alter the instructions you have been given. If you do, at best those colors that looked so good in the store clash with the birthday party decorations. At worst, that nickname you think is so cute was not to be shared with anyone outside the house and now 25 of your child’s friends have a brand new torture vehicle. (Don’t worry the name will eventually die out in twenty of thirty years.)
9 If you don’t normally buy tires, do not listen to the guy wanting to sell four of the $300 super slick Michelin. If you do, at best, you will now have 60,000 miles of wear guarantee. At worst, your car has about 30,000 more miles in it before it dies. (The tires sure look good as the tow truck pulls it away.)
8 If you don’t normally buy power tools, do not pick up the first thing on sale. If you do, at best the tool might be on sale for a reason. At worst, the money you saved on the tool will be more than offset by the cost of the repair contractor. (You were sure the saw would work long enough to finish the project weren’t you.)
7 If you don’t normally buy toys for Christmas, do not buy anything, not on the list. If you do, At best you may set the record for the most gifts bought for any Christmas. At worst, your preschool kids might be too young for the mini drone and Xbox games they find under the tree. (At least they will have fun with the boxes.)
6 If you don’t normally buy the vacation airline tickets, do not think those add-ons are a bargain. If you do, at best you will find you did not need that extra pillow or rancid can of nuts. At worst, you may find you may have the distinction of paying the most to go the shortest distance.(You must wonder why the airline keeps sending you letters asking when you will book your next trip.)
5 If you don’t normally buy appliances, do not go alone to buy anything in the appliance category. If you do, at best you may have to pay a restocking fee for its return. At worst, you will have something in your house that no one will use. (And it is right in the hallway where you run into it every night.)
4 If you don’t normally buy automobiles alone, do not say yes to that yellow sports convertible. If you do, at best you will be broadcasting a midlife crisis. At worst, you may find it too cramped for comfortable sleeping quarters. (And now the yard starts to look good.)
3 If you don’t normally buy clothing alone, don’t grab that suit simply because you saw it in an ad. If you do, at best the tailor just might be able to adjust some of the youthful features. At worst, you will be obvious in your choice of clothes that will not be age appropriate. (To the delight of co-workers and passers-by.)
2 If you don’t normally buy wine, do not make a selection based on either high or low price. If you do, at best you will pay more for a good wine than necessary. At worst, your low-priced selection might be good for bumper rust removal but not drinking. (Lucky you grabbing a bottle on your way to the boss’s house.)
1 If you don’t normally buy snacks for the football game, do not buy what you think will be good for the people watching football. At best, you will have a lot of untouched snacks. At worst, you may end up watching the game by yourself and your pet rabbit. (Of course it is not logical but that’s football.)
Sunday – Fifty-Two Views of the Gulf
I managed to get the spot in spite of the low-riding sun. Today’s shot shows there is a little wind and the temperature was in the low 70’s due to a front moving in overnight. We are supposed to have two days where the daytime highs are no more than the low 80s. Then it’s back to the usual high 80’s. The morning glories are there but don’t show up well. Have a great week.
Last week’s photo
Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt “Expect/Unexpected”
Stream of Consciousness Saturday again. This week’s prompt is “Expect/Unexpected.” Linda Hill lets us use the words any way we want. If you would like to learn more visit Linda’s site at http://lindaghill.com/2015/10/02/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-315/ Here is my interpretation.
Expect/Unexpected by John W. Howell © 2015
“Whaddayou expect? You scared me.”
“Your reaction was entirely unexpected.”
“Well, I would have expected you to be less of a fright.”
“I did not expect you to react that way.”
“My unexpected reaction was as a result of not expecting you to come out of nowhere.”
“I expected you would be frightened, but your response was unexpected.”
“Would you expect me not to defend myself?”
“No. I would expect you to defend yourself, but this red paint was unexpected.”
“I suspect I threw the first thing in my hand in reaction to your unexpected arrival.”
“I expect you to help me clean it off.”
“I didn’t expect you to jump me so you can clean it yourself.”
“Now that reaction is unexpected.”
“Wait. What are we talking about here? I expect you to apologise.”
“For what?”
“For making me waste a whole can of red paint. My arm hurts as well. I expect I’ve sprained something.”
Friday – JohnKu – AKA TGIF
It is Friday again and I have to say I’m glad it is here. This week was a buster. I finally got the book ready for paperback publishing. This next week I hope to get the e-version ready. On top of that I need to line up some guest posts and will be sending out requests. The regulars know I sent out a call for volunteers yesterday for a blog tour to support what looks like a November 2 launch for His Revenge. Keeping fingers crossed everything works. There are so many things that need doing. I guess anything worth doing requires a lot of effort. Today’s JohnKu talks to this point.
Effort by John W. Howell © 2015
Some work takes effort,
Other works appear easy. . .
Reward in effort.
