The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[NotWise]

I'll be over in the corner working on my story and pounding my head against the keyboard in frustration. I love witty dialog but am not very good at writing it so I am constantly rewriting lines and losing track of the story line ...

As near as I can tell, that's how witty dialog gets written.

 

[MrPixel]

Ah, dreams... nightmares... nightmares that wake you up.

I think (???) I mentioned up-thread that I was having vivid nightmare problems that I diagnosed were attributable to a trivial change I made in my medication schedule - taking fexofenadine (Allegra) with my evening pills versus morning. It seemed preposterous until I started surfing authoritative meds info sites like WebMD and Mayo Clinic. Discovered in the less-reported side effects were night terrors/nightmares in 2.5% of the study population. So I wasn't crazy... unless I took the med at night.

As usual, I reeducated myself on antihistamines in general, already knowing that 1st-gen versions like diphenhydramine (Benadryl) had unpleasant side effects in older men (can't pee!). The pharmacology described how antihistamines have brain and muscle effects, some more than others. Benadryl is well-known for causing drowsiness (brain effects) and reduced soft muscle control (the pee thing).

This studying gave me much more respect for my youngest sister, who persued and was awarded a PharmD late in life.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

You make it sound like us pantsers are the basis of a great conspiracy to overthrow order in the universe.

Your membership card and secret decoder ring will be arriving very soon.

 

[NotWise]

Your membership card and secret decoder ring will be arriving very soon.

By email?

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I have decided to bill this one client based on the number of ALL CAPS WORDS and EXCLAMATION POINTS in their RAGING 6AM EMAILS!!!1!

Long story short, how does it work to buy a private island?

Like the old line about a recipe for rabbit stewm which starts, "First off, find a rabbit."

There are indeed islands for sale around the world. I suspect that those with sufficient coin to buy one already 'know somebody who knows somebody', but here's a sample: https://www.privateislandsonline.com/

 

[TheRedLantern]

There are indeed islands for sale around the world. I suspect that those with sufficient coin to buy one already 'know somebody who knows somebody',

I randomly checked a few and they're surprisingly affordable, in the $1 million - $2 million range. By "affordable" I mean "cost comparable to an apartment in the city," not "it's time to call my private island guy."

 

[MrPixel]

Yeah, but... "private island" usually means you're gonna be off-grid for everything, and that's going to be expensive unless you're willing to lead a far more Spartan existence than indicated by your being online on a regular basis.

It also means, practically speaking, that you'll have to own a boat for running to the grocery store. And everybody knows that a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money.

 

[TheRedLantern]

I was planning to save money by making a zipline to the mainland and writing my sarcastic shitposts on paper and mailing them to Laurel.

 

[NotWise]

Yeah, but... "private island" usually means you're gonna be off-grid for everything, and that's going to be expensive unless you're willing to lead a far more Spartan existence than indicated by your being online on a regular basis.

It also means, practically speaking, that you'll have to own a boat for running to the grocery store. And everybody knows that a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money.

I've had friends who lived off-grid. It takes work, but it's probably easier now than it was. Your cellphone is your internet connection. Wind generators are better. Solar panels are less expensive. Storage batteries have improved.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Plus, if they're inviting large swaths of the AH to come live on their island, I've heard enough talk of enough different basic knowledge that I think the island might be semi self sufficient.

 

[iwatchus]

Plus, if they're inviting large swaths of the AH to come live on their island, I've heard enough talk of enough different basic knowledge that I think the island might be semi self sufficient.

internet knowledgeable is not necessarily survivor knowledgeable. I do not want some taking out my gallbladder who read about in an article

 

[MrPixel]

I've had friends who lived off-grid. It takes work, but it's probably easier now than it was. Your cellphone is your internet connection. Wind generators are better. Solar panels are less expensive. Storage batteries have improved.

Oh, that part's easy. I've seriously researched for off-grid in town. Disconnected the gas service at our studio "campus", so we're already all-electric, and was talking to a solar rep last Saturday. Insolation (total sunlight for those not in-the-know) is too poor here in winter for electric heat, even with heat pumps.

The big challenge with island living is water/sanitary. Too small of an island and the water table will have a salt water intrusion problem and the perc tests will not be acceptable for septic tank and field.

 

[NuclearFairy]

internet knowledgeable is not necessarily survivor knowledgeable. I do not want some taking out my gallbladder who read about in an article

Ah, no I was more talking about all the gardeners we seem to have, along with those who know how to pickle and bake from scratch. Then those who know more'n a bit about sewing. Then there are the people that've talked about their day jobs which could all go towards keeping houses maintained and computers running. Sure some people have talked basic first aid, which'll keep you alive until the boat can get you to the hospital.

 

[MrPixel]

Yes, there are practical ways to do it. F'rinstance, on-shore services like post office/UPS drops are common in coastal areas where there are island communities. Any boat will probably not be a loaf-along cabin cruiser, it'll need to be something relatively fast and can handle choppy seas.

Not like I haven't given the idea any thought or anything like that. Biggest thing in the way was the bank not willing to write a mortgage for an island.

 

[NotWise]

Oh, that part's easy. I've seriously researched for off-grid in town. Disconnected the gas service at our studio "campus", so we're already all-electric, and was talking to a solar rep last Saturday. Insolation (total sunlight for those not in-the-know) is too poor here in winter for electric heat, even with heat pumps.

The big challenge with island living is water/sanitary. Too small of an island and the water table will have a salt water intrusion problem and the perc tests will not be acceptable for septic tank and field.

Propane for gas, if you want. Cisterns for water and alternate waste disposal systems. On a private island you don't have to worry about zoning and permitting.

The island can also be in a lake, rather than at sea. There are private islands in Lake Nicaragua, for instance. Your private island is the top of an active volcano, but what the heck.

 

[MrPixel]

Propane for gas, if you want. Cisterns for water and alternate waste disposal systems. On a private island you don't have to worry about zoning and permitting.

The island can also be in a lake, rather than at sea. There are private islands in Lake Nicaragua, for instance. Your private island is the top of an active volcano, but what the heck.

The old adage applies, "Anything is possible given enough time and money."

Lake in a caldera? Just dip your cup overboard for tea water.

 

[NotWise]

The old adage applies, "Anything is possible given enough time and money."

Lake in a caldera? Just dip your cup overboard for tea water.

Some friends of mine once vacationed in an off-grid resort in the jungles on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. They had all the amenities, but there were limitations.

 

[GrantBricksly]

Ok...it's been a few days now since I finished Chapter 7... It's time to buckle down and start writing Chapter 8....

Chapter 6 went live this morning... Chapter 7 goes live tomorrow.
and @iwatchus I think I may have changed my mind...I think I may have decided to adjust my chapter goals after all. My outline for chapters 8-10 have chapter 10 ending with a pretty decent stopping point. An "end of this story, beginning of the next" kind of moment if you will. So I think I may "end the book" in a sense, with Chapter 10. And split the originally planned book into 3-4 books instead. As it is, chapter 10 will have me approaching 100-110k words. I think that's a decent sized book already. And if I keep going at that pace, all the way through potentially 40 chapters, then we are talking about between 400-450k which seems a bit much for one book.

 

[NotWise]

I DM'd Laurel and Manu with a concern about TxRad's avatar. Also Ogg's, SamScribble's and Handly_Page's. Don't know if I'll qualify for a reply.

 

[Omenainen]

I DM'd Laurel and Manu with a concern about TxRad's avatar. Also Ogg's, SamScribble's and Handly_Page's. Don't know if I'll qualify for a reply.

Wait, did something happen to HP?

 

[Cindy027]

Last night I dreamed on was stuck to top of an elevator, but the elevator went sideways to other places. I woke up breathing heavily when I realized that it took me to Philadephia. No idea why being trapped on top of an elevator, holding on for dear life as it zoomed somewhere else, and being in an unfamiliar place didn't wake me up, but finding out that it was Philly had me bolt upright in terror.

I have the same type of dreams. I am in the elevator but it goes up and then it goes sideways across the city way below, always at night and it moves really fast.

 

[NotWise]

Wait, did something happen to HP?

We don't know. His health was slipping and he's been out of touch for a long time now.

 

[NotWise]

Laurel got back to me, and I sent her TxRad's, Handly_Page's, Oggbashan's and SamScribble's. She said she'll upload them to their accounts. So far their avatars are still showing.

 

[Omenainen]

Laurel got back to me, and I sent her TxRad's, Handly_Page's, Oggbashan's and SamScribble's. She said she'll upload them to their accounts. So far their avatars are still showing.

This was good thinking on your part and very nicely done. Thank you.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I want my eye back, but only here. If I have to make it the same as the publication side, I'll be sad.