The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[NotWise]

G'morning (barely), Millie. Thanks, but I'll take a pass on that flavored coffee. Pass the bottle of Jameson, tho'.

Well, I think my lesson about story naming and description got its own lesson overnight. I discounted the possible influence of keywords. I'll ask a stupid question, since I don't do keyword searching on LitE: is it possible to use keyword searching on new stories only, and not get the whole site?

Tags or keywords?

Guess it doesn't make much difference. The search page lets you specify the time period regardless of what your searching for: One week, One month, Three Months, Six Months, One Year, any

 

[MillieDynamite]

@MrPixel, I share my coffee, I'll even give you a shot of Jameson. But never ever the last shot or the whole bottle.

 

[MrPixel]

Tags or keywords?

Guess it doesn't make much difference. The search page lets you specify the time period regardless of what your searching for: One week, One month, Three Months, Six Months, One Year, any

Thanks. Tags in this case. I "went" where I normally don't go, with a bit of an incest element to the story. Three scenes with plenty of discussion about it and an "almost" that wasn't consummated. So I tagged it, but it would have been found in a keyword search, anyway.

In so many words, it could have attracted interest I normally don't get, which is reflected in the higher number of reads than usual for the first day up, but also reflected in the score apparently by fans of that genre who were disappointed that Dad didn't do daughter after all. Not to mention a copious amount of discussion between two lawyer characters about how illegal it was and that even if they were both consenting, fully-competent adults, it would get hard time if caught.

 

[NotWise]

In so many words, it could have attracted interest I normally don't get, which is reflected in the higher number of reads than usual for the first day up, but also reflected in the score apparently by fans of that genre who were disappointed that Dad didn't do daughter after all. Not to mention a copious amount of discussion between two lawyer characters about how illegal it was and that even if they were both consenting, fully-competent adults, it would get hard time if caught.

"Incest" is one of the most popular tags used, but I wouldn't expect readers searching for that tag to jump on a story in Group Sex. If you used the tag and didn't actually go there, then readers who got to your story by searching for that tag would be unhappy with you.

OTOH, your story was in its first 24 hours. The vast majority of your views probably came from the New List or the category hub, not from searches, and readers wouldn't see the tags in either of those lists.

I don't think I've ever tagged an incest story with "incest." It's in I/T. It doesn't need the tag.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Dictionaries are not always my friend.

I was reading an editorial yesterday containing the word ‘immiseration’. I was pretty sure I knew what it meant but decided to check it online: immiseration meaning [Enter].

Google offered me Wictionary as one option and I clicked on that, resulting in the absolutely correct but annoyingly circular: immiseration. noun. The act of immiserating.

Really? Somewhat frustrated, I clicked on the hyperlinked immiserating.

And was given: immiseration. verb. Present participle of immiserate.

The weird sound waking you up last night? The one like an out-of-tune rock crusher? Yes, precious, that were me chewing on my elbows. I eventually clicked on immiserate and finally got my answer:

Immiseration /ĭ-mĭz′ə-rāt″/
1. transitive verb. To make miserable; impoverish.
2. verb. To impoverish or sink into misery.


Which is what I’d thought in the first place. I think next time I will stick with my present 650 word vocabulary.

 

[filthytrancendence]

Dictionaries are not always my friend.

I was reading an editorial yesterday containing the word ‘immiseration’. I was pretty sure I knew what it meant but decided to check it online: immiseration meaning [Enter].

Google offered me Wictionary as one option and I clicked on that, resulting in the absolutely correct but annoyingly circular: immiseration. noun. The act of immiserating.

Really? Somewhat frustrated, I clicked on the hyperlinked immiserating.

And was given: immiseration. verb. Present participle of immiserate.

The weird sound waking you up last night? The one like an out-of-tune rock crusher? Yes, precious, that were me chewing on my elbows. I eventually clicked on immiserate and finally got my answer:

Immiseration /ĭ-mĭz′ə-rāt″/
1. transitive verb. To make miserable; impoverish.
2. verb. To impoverish or sink into misery.


Which is what I’d thought in the first place. I think next time I will stick with my present 650 word vocabulary.

What it sounds like to me is that you experienced immiseration in the process of attempting to confirm your theory about the meaning of immiseration.

 

[NotWise]

What he said. You were immiserated. The internet wisely illustrated the definition for you, rather than simply listing its definition in readily forgotten text. Now you'll probably never forget.

 

[MrPixel]

Spell checkers immiserate me, too. For one, the spell checker in Firefox doesn't know immiserate. It and my dear friend Apple Pages don't know a lot of words.

I guess once a week I key a word I know is right, and they barf on it. Which sends me running to dictionary sites, some of which might not know the word, either. Last time I tried to use OED, it was behind a paywall. So much for the sharing of vast knowledge on the Internet.

...sigh...

 

[filthytrancendence]

Spell checkers immiserate me, too. For one, the spell checker in Firefox doesn't know immiserate. It and my dear friend Apple Pages don't know a lot of words.

I guess once a week I key a word I know is right, and they barf on it. Which sends me running to dictionary sites, some of which might not know the word, either. Last time I tried to use OED, it was behind a paywall. So much for the sharing of vast knowledge on the Internet.

...sigh...

It's probably the incurable contrarian in me, but I feel a sense of victory every time I find a word that Pages doesn't know.

However, one thing I really love about writing on a mac is how good the right click define option is basically everywhere in the UI. I use that basically any time I use a word I'm not 100% certain I'm using correctly just to make sure.

 

[dmallord]

And I thought I had bad shoulders. Can't play golf because they're so unstable. Never had a separation, only a lot of tendonitis and bursitis. Of us five kids, I'm the only one who hasn't had surgery to fix something.

Doesn't seem to bother my typing, however.

Yes, face shaved, and went out for lunch! Huzzah!

Face shaved? *Looking down at my beard touching my belt buckle*

What's a shave?

I tried my hand at scrambling some eggs at the table this morning, and that didn't go so well.

 

[MrPixel]

I tried my hand at scrambling some eggs at the table this morning, and that didn't go so well.

On account of your beard, D?

 

[dmallord]

The posts have started for the Mike Hammer Event. 'The Case of the Missing Minx' reads seem slow going. My noir story is scoring 4.25/16 votes over the course of a few days. Summer doldrums or vacations?

 

[dmallord]

On account of your beard, D?

Yes! I couldn't keep it out of the bowl. I'd hold it down with one hand but the minute I let go to hold the bowl again, it flipped up into the eggs. My caregiver just laughed at my efforts and suggested I try making the toast instead. The went better.

We talked about braiding it as we ate. Well, I'd have to look into that. I suppose with just the usual crew, nurses, and so on, it might not look too funny.

 

[iwatchus]

But if you let the beard go, maybe the birds will nest in it and it provides you the eggs

 

[Candy_Kane54]

I finally had an excuse to use the word winkle in my new story. I even used both meanings of the word labyrinthine in the same story a couple of years ago.

We're in for a stretch of sunny hot weather so I'll have to start watering again. It looks like I'll finally be able to go on vacation in a few days so I'll need someone to start the coffee while I'm absent ...

For now, there's a fresh pot of coffee and the teapot is ready. There are various pastries on the counter to nosh on.

I'll be over in the corner for now, working on my story. I'll still try to do some writing while I'm away, but no promises ...

 

[JGittes]

...
I don't think I've ever tagged an incest story with "incest." It's in I/T. It doesn't need the tag.

I know the FAQs advise against including the category as a tag. Still, if one conducts a general search outside of a specific category, they may miss stories of interest within that category. I may be misremembering that I've done searches of the general story database not confined to one category. If so, please disregard.

 

[MrPixel]

We're in for a stretch of sunny hot weather...

I wish that were so here. Supposedly we are to have no chance of rain until Friday, and then low-ish (30%) chance through Monday... which fits the pattern over the last several months of it never truly drying out. Climatology report says YTD rain is 10" - ~25% - above normal.

The pond in the backyard has become an overgrown swamp. You can't mow a swamp. I'm gritting my teeth in coming to the conclusion we'll have to hire a landscaper to trench that part of the yard for a drainage system.

I've been reviewing the chapters next in line for a story I stopped updating about a year ago in favor of the current series. So far, there's no good reason to not upload the next "book" of 12 chapters, which I will do en masse. I expect Laurel will dribble them out one chapter a day as before.

 

[TheRedLantern]

The weather report doesn't show any chance of rain, but shows a 100% chance of someone on my block screaming, shouting obscenities, and banging on a dumpster with a metal bar (FWIW, this particular guy's around a lot, and he's startling but totally harmless).

I'm seriously never moving out of this neighborhood. Totally insane stuff happens on a near hourly basis, 24 hours a day. If I ever need a really vivid, unusual character, I just walk around the block and write what's going on.

 

[NotWise]

I know the FAQs advise against including the category as a tag. Still, if one conducts a general search outside of a specific category, they may miss stories of interest within that category. I may be misremembering that I've done searches of the general story database not confined to one category. If so, please disregard.

For stories in I/T, I think most people tag stories with the relationship. Readers have preferences for specific relationships, and that's what they should search for. I/T is a trump ( not capitalized) category, so there aren't many incest stories outside the category. (Some in SF/F I'm aware of).

In other categories, it might make more sense to tag stories with the category.

 

[filthytrancendence]

I've been procrastinating mowing the lawn for a couple of days on account of my inability to wake up early lately and the heat. Which I'm sure everybody to the east of me will laugh derisively at, since we've had probably the mildest weather in the entire country (the hottest it's got this summer is like 95), but I'm a cold weather being, goddamnit. 90 feels like my skin is about to melt off. Give me -20 any day over that shit. If I lived at a lower elevation and/or closer to the equator I would just never go outside in the summer and that's all there is to it.

Anyways, it clouded up yesterday afternoon and I go out to look at it. It looked like it was going to threaten to rain for a while and then go away, and the wind and clouds made it 76 and breezy. Heaven. So I got out the mower and got to mowing, and sure as shit, not a drop of rain fell, and the very moment I put the thing back in the garage with the job finished, the clouds disappeared and it was back up to 90 in a half hour. Felt like I outsmarted the climate.

In any case, @Candy_Kane54, I'll put the coffee out while you're gone. Sounds like a good thing for me to commit to. Just DM me the dates and I'll make it happen.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Mum came up to see Donnie and me today. She brought with her a fresh apple pie that my father had made the night before, especially for me. I love Dad's apple pies. To be honest, I love his cooking. Mum's idea of cooking used to be heating stuff from cans. Over the past few years, she's learned to cook and does a remarkable job of it. I'm not sure my father's all thrilled with the change. Cooking wasn't a chore to him. But Mum has felt guilty for years that she isn't the traditional type of housewife. In that, she wasn't a good housekeeper, didn't really cook much, and wasn't bothered, at the time, that Pops and I did the housework, laundry, and cooking. So, once they moved into the new house, she made a real effort to do all those things. Honestly, she had always worked from home and contributed significantly (after the bankruptcy) to the family finances. If Pops were honest with her, which he won't, he'd love to be still doing the cooking.

Adoptive parents, what a concept, you take in an abused kid who lived on the streets and try to turn that person into a productive member of society. At least, that was their challenge. I'm not sure, but I believe Mum has been worried I didn't like her, love her, or think less of her than Dad. I don't, I love them pretty much the same. I try to express that, but I'm worried she doesn't believe it. Anyway, she just left, so I'm playing online for a few minutes before I try to write. Donnie is all dressed for preschool and waiting patiently with Cat. I'm drinking coffee and having my third piece of pie. I'll have to exercise a bit longer today, or the pie will find my ass and never leave.

 

[TheRedLantern]

Good: I got to spend 10 hours writing

Bad: It was emails to a pissed off client

Worse: They're mad because of decisions they made, and I had to state that very delicately (at least until they pay their invoice)

 

[NotWise]

Good: I got to spend 10 hours writing

Bad: It was emails to a pissed off client

Worse: They're mad because of decisions they made, and I had to state that very delicately (at least until they pay their invoice)

"You got what you ordered," is hard to swallow sometimes.

 

[TheRedLantern]

"You got what you ordered," is hard to swallow sometimes.

It sure can be.

Fortunately my story has a happy ending. I got on the phone with them and straightened everything out. Once I settled the analysts on my side down, everything's fine and I might be able to get a good night's sleep again.

I said "happy ending." Heh.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I finally had an excuse to use the word winkle in my new story.

I’m looking forward to seeing in which sense you have used it!