Odd reasons for writer's block
John Ringo
another.
"My name is John and...gulp... I'm a writer..."
"HI JOHN!"
"I've tried to stop, but the compulsion just takes me and I can't
resist. The thing is, there are days when I'm cranking along, you know
how it is, the words are just flowing and then they...stop. Usually at
3PM. For years I thought it was "afternoon tireds." Or maybe
carbohydrate coma from the cheeseburger and fries. But then I
discovered... I CAN'T WRITE WHEN I'M HOT!"
Seriously. It's strange but true. I write best when I'm cold. Most of
my major output is done in winter, outside, with temperatures ranging
from 42 degrees down to about 24 (at which point, no matter what I do,
my fingers start shaking so much I can't type legibly. Brain is still
going, fingers are shot.)
I have even started to analyze it. The big reason is my head gets hot.
Sometimes, when I'm out in the cold, I'll feel myself start to slow
down and I'll take off my toque (ski cap, whatever) to cool the old
noggin down.
Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
John
James Nicoll
John Ringo <jring...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>"I've tried to stop, but the compulsion just takes me and I can't
>resist. The thing is, there are days when I'm cranking along, you know
>how it is, the words are just flowing and then they...stop. Usually at
>3PM. For years I thought it was "afternoon tireds." Or maybe
>carbohydrate coma from the cheeseburger and fries. But then I
>discovered... I CAN'T WRITE WHEN I'M HOT!"
One phrase: Walk-in Freezer. Make very sure that you damage the
seal so that air can get in and out and that it can be opened from the
inside.
--
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/
http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
John Ringo
emptied out it might work.
:-)
John
Michelle Bottorff
> Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
Everytime I run into tobacco smoke or perfume. The body is for some
reason highly stressed and the brain just shuts down all non vital
functions. Higher math and creative writing ability are the first to
go.
I don't usually call it writer's block, though. I always thought
writer's block meant that your writing was blocked, not that your brain
had been turned off.
--
Michelle Bottorff -> Chelle B. -> Shelby
L. Shelby, Writer http://homepage.mac.com/mbottorff/Writing/
http://homepage.mac.com/mbottorff/Writing/rasfcFAQ.html
Livejournal http://www.livejournal.com/users/lavenderbard/
Joann Zimmerman
jring...@gmail.com says...
> Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
Sonic stuff--music too loud, somebody else's extremely tense and very
personal private conversation less than five feet away ...
I write in coffeehouses because I like the sense of things going on
around me while not involving me. When they start encroaching, the zen
writing state just closes down.
--
"I never understood people who don't have bookshelves."
--George Plimpton
Joann Zimmerman jz...@bellereti.com
Joann Zimmerman
says...
> I don't usually call it writer's block, though. I always thought
> writer's block meant that your writing was blocked, not that your brain
> had been turned off.
It's an interesting usage, perhaps with precedent. Andy Offutt, in one
of the _Dangerous Visions_ fore/afterwords, described a really bad case
of writer's block. The kicker was that it lasted all of 45 minutes.
Zara Baxter
wrote:
<snip>
>"I've tried to stop, but the compulsion just takes me and I can't
>resist. The thing is, there are days when I'm cranking along, you know
>how it is, the words are just flowing and then they...stop. Usually at
>3PM. For years I thought it was "afternoon tireds." Or maybe
>carbohydrate coma from the cheeseburger and fries. But then I
>discovered... I CAN'T WRITE WHEN I'M HOT!"
<snip>
>Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
Well, I can't write if my study is messy, but that one seems pretty
standard.
Putting things of similar sizes in piles fools my writer-brain into
thinking the study is tidy.
Zara
S. Palmer
> Seriously thought about it. Still am. If I can ever get the basement
> emptied out it might work.
I do my writing in the basement, and it is definitely nice that things
are cooler down here lately. However, I find I really want to be able to
look up and be able to see outside, see trees and grass and rampaging
puppies and the like, so from that angle the basement is tough. It got
better when I set upmu desk so that my back is against the wall and I
face into the room, and put a 55 gallon fishtank on the wall across from
me. I've got angelfish which sorta drift along, and some severums which
move a lot more than your average community fish, so there's always
activity over there.
So yeah, lack of visual stimuli in the mid- to far-distance range
greatly hampers my writing. However, in a practical sense, the greatest
detriment to getting much done, even when I'm on a roll, is not being
able to really start until my daughter is in bed and the dogs walked,
and then knowing I can only work for a few hours because I have to get
up at the crack of dawn to go to work. )-:
-Suzanne
Bill Swears
>
> Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
>
>
>
> John
>
Hi John,
1. I seem to have several. I can't really concentrate on technical
issues then write creatively in the same setting. So, when I was on
active duty, I found I could either study my tech manuals or write in
the evening, but not both. What I did during the workday at the Air
Station didn't seem to influence my creative output at home though.
2. Sometimes when I sit down to write, I can't start. I'll be thinking
about my characters, but it just seems impossible to begin any kind of
linear storytelling. Too many things trying to come out at once, I
think. I resolve that with a junkfile. I open said junkfile and start
typing anything that comes to mind. Within a few minutes my thoughts
settle out, and I can get back to storytelling.
3. I'm waiting for my submitted first volume to be considered. Even
though I know objectively it will be months before I get a response, I
find myself checking e-mail, and this news group, several times a day,
as if that will help. Writing on the second volume has slowed to a
trickle of my normal pace. I don't think this one is odd, though. Other
writers talk about it. I don't feel so much blocked as I feel I'm
wading through treacle. (Treacled? v: having treacle poured in one's path.)
4. In some ways, I feel like my characters are telling me a story.
Somewhere in the middle of the afternoon, no matter how well things have
gone that day, I just stop writing new stuff. Sometimes it's like, "I'm
done, I feel comfortable now." Other times, I feel actively
disappointed, like somebody cut off an interesting discussion in the
middle. Either way, I keep worrying at the action, and I've still got
energy to edit existing work, but the flow of new material stops like
somebody flipped a switch. I guess, like *I* flipped a switch.
I don't know. I think 1,2 and 4 are *odd* enough, or at least distinctly
mine enough, to qualify.
Bill
--
Bill Swears
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Ben Franklin, 1755 "Historical Review of Pennsylvania"
To think that was once a right wing comment. In the land of Homeland
Security it seems.. Suspiciously left-wing.
Julia Jones
Zimmerman <jz...@bellereti.com> writes
>In article <1121107479.7...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
>jring...@gmail.com says...
>
>> Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
>
>Sonic stuff--music too loud, somebody else's extremely tense and very
>personal private conversation less than five feet away ...
Me too. An outside rhythm interferes with the rhythm *I'm* trying to
write. It varies as to how much of an interference, but if I'm using a
cadence other than my normal one, I'm a lot less tolerant of music or
conversation happening within earshot.
--
Julia Jones
"We are English of Borg. Your language will be assimilated."
Marilee J. Layman
Nicoll) wrote:
>In article <1121107479.7...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
>John Ringo <jring...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>"I've tried to stop, but the compulsion just takes me and I can't
>>resist. The thing is, there are days when I'm cranking along, you know
>>how it is, the words are just flowing and then they...stop. Usually at
>>3PM. For years I thought it was "afternoon tireds." Or maybe
>>carbohydrate coma from the cheeseburger and fries. But then I
>>discovered... I CAN'T WRITE WHEN I'M HOT!"
>
> One phrase: Walk-in Freezer. Make very sure that you damage the
>seal so that air can get in and out and that it can be opened from the
>inside.
Before I got HRT, I used to stick my head in the freezer every 15
minutes or so. Saved $2/month on electricity when I started the
pills.
--
Marilee J. Layman
Marilee J. Layman
Bottorff) wrote:
>John Ringo <jring...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
>
>Everytime I run into tobacco smoke or perfume. The body is for some
>reason highly stressed and the brain just shuts down all non vital
>functions. Higher math and creative writing ability are the first to
>go.
Not writer's block, but I gag when I smell spearmint (peppermint is
okay). I had my annual health assessment today, and as I walked from
the reception area into the halls, I had to rest against the wall and
fight down gags. Took me a minute to figure out which person was
chewing mint gum and then since she was the receptionist, I just moved
away.
--
Marilee J. Layman
David Friedman
jdni...@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
> In article <1121107479.7...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
> John Ringo <jring...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >"I've tried to stop, but the compulsion just takes me and I can't
> >resist. The thing is, there are days when I'm cranking along, you know
> >how it is, the words are just flowing and then they...stop. Usually at
> >3PM. For years I thought it was "afternoon tireds." Or maybe
> >carbohydrate coma from the cheeseburger and fries. But then I
> >discovered... I CAN'T WRITE WHEN I'M HOT!"
>
> One phrase: Walk-in Freezer. Make very sure that you damage the
> seal so that air can get in and out and that it can be opened from the
> inside.
Are you suggesting that Ringo is a troll?
--
Remove NOPSAM to email
www.daviddfriedman.com
lclough
> In article <1121107479.7...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
> John Ringo <jring...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>"I've tried to stop, but the compulsion just takes me and I can't
>>resist. The thing is, there are days when I'm cranking along, you know
>>how it is, the words are just flowing and then they...stop. Usually at
>>3PM. For years I thought it was "afternoon tireds." Or maybe
>>carbohydrate coma from the cheeseburger and fries. But then I
>>discovered... I CAN'T WRITE WHEN I'M HOT!"
>
>
> One phrase: Walk-in Freezer. Make very sure that you damage the
> seal so that air can get in and out and that it can be opened from the
> inside.
>
Tch. This is dangerous and expensive, and not energy efficient.
(Also, is it just that you have to be cold -while you are
writing-, or do you have to be cold all the time?) Why not hire
a good HVAC contractor, and get an oversized central air
conditioning system installed in your house? It would not be
very difficult to over-buy, so that the system is just a tad too
powerful for your square footage. Then you turn that sucker on
full blast, and watch the ice form on the insides of your
windowpanes.
Brenda
--
---------
Brenda W. Clough
http://www.sff.net/people/Brenda/
Recent short fiction: PARADOX, Autumn 2003
http://home.nyc.rr.com/paradoxmag//index.html
Upcoming short fiction in FIRST HEROES (TOR, May '04)
http://members.aol.com/wenamun/firstheroes.html
Charlie Stross
as <jring...@gmail.com> declared:
> Well, the "How Do You Write" topic went well, so I thought I'd start
> another.
>
> "My name is John and...gulp... I'm a writer..."
>
> "HI JOHN!"
>
> "I've tried to stop, but the compulsion just takes me and I can't
> resist. The thing is, there are days when I'm cranking along, you know
> how it is, the words are just flowing and then they...stop. Usually at
> 3PM. For years I thought it was "afternoon tireds." Or maybe
> carbohydrate coma from the cheeseburger and fries. But then I
> discovered... I CAN'T WRITE WHEN I'M HOT!"
Me too. No, seriously. We're having a heat wave here in
Scotland right now, where -- as you can imagine -- air
conditioning is an exotic luxury (unlike double-glazing and
central heating). And my productivity vanishes if the
temperature in my study goes over about 17 degrees celsius.
Luckily the flat I live in is about 120 years old, has
10-foot ceilings and two foot thick stone walls, and is
always about five degrees colder than ambient (except in
winter when it works the other way round) ... but after a
few scorching days the weather overcomes its thermal inertia
and I end up working effectively only after 11pm, when the
sun's below the horizon.
-- Charlie
R. L.
wrote:
>In message <MPG.1d3c9fdeb...@news.individual.net>, Joann
>Zimmerman <jz...@bellereti.com> writes
>>In article <1121107479.7...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
>>jring...@gmail.com says...
>>
>>> Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
Welcome, Ringo!
>>Sonic stuff--music too loud, somebody else's extremely tense and very
>>personal private conversation less than five feet away ...
>
>Me too. An outside rhythm interferes with the rhythm *I'm* trying to
>write. It varies as to how much of an interference, but if I'm using a
>cadence other than my normal one, I'm a lot less tolerant of music or
>conversation happening within earshot.
Me too. Rhythm/intonation is one of the first things I get. Sometimes if
I'm writing well when a noise starts, I automatically tune it out and don't
notice it till I take a break. But if the noise is going first, then I
can't get into the writing state, usually.
R.L.
sharkey
>
> Me too. No, seriously. We're having a heat wave here in
> Scotland right now
Ah, you zany Brits. Mid twenties?
-----sharks
Elizabeth
<news:1121107479.7...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>:
> Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
Sometimes I get too distracted, usually by all the household chores that
have to get done, and then I have to either force myself to focus or go to
the library or coffee shop.
And if I'm too hot I can't do anything at all except melt.
--
Elizabeth. elizabeth ta smallinfinity tod ten
http://scriniary.smallinfinity.net
http://www.livejournal.com/users/pollyc/
Julian Flood
"lclough"
> This is dangerous and expensive, and not energy efficient.
> full blast, and watch the ice form on the insides of your
> windowpanes.
Hmmm.
Move.
JF
Dan Goodman
C, not F.
--
Dan Goodman
Journal http://www.livejournal.com/users/dsgood/
Clutterers Anonymous unofficial community
http://www.livejournal.com/community/clutterers_anon/
Decluttering http://decluttering.blogspot.com
Predictions and Politics http://dsgood.blogspot.com
All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies.
John Arbuthnot (1667-1735), Scottish writer, physician.
David Langford
regarding John Ringo's plaint I CAN'T WRITE WHEN I'M HOT!:
>Why not hire
>a good HVAC contractor, and get an oversized central air
>conditioning system installed in your house? It would not be
>very difficult to over-buy, so that the system is just a tad too
>powerful for your square footage. Then you turn that sucker on
>full blast, and watch the ice form on the insides of your
>windowpanes.
Yes, I have great difficulty in writing when I'm hot (for fairly puny
British values of "hot", too), but couldn't face the expense and upheaval
of that solution! There's a "portable"[1] air conditioner in my office that
does the job until the outside temperature gets too high. Then comes the
steady Langford retreat to cooler parts of the house, until in extremis I
end up in the cellar with a laptop and WLAN connection, cursing the three
flights of stairs now separating me from all sorts of suddenly needed
reference books....
Dave
[1] In the early-portable-computer sense of "You may, if lucky, be able to
get this upstairs without lasting injury."
--
David Langford | http://ansible.co.uk/
Latest book: =Different Kinds of Darkness= (collection, Cosmos, 2004)
David Langford
wrote:
>In article <1gzjmx3.11ujk4n9n0m2oN%mbot...@mac.com>, mbot...@mac.com
>says...
>
>> I don't usually call it writer's block, though. I always thought
>> writer's block meant that your writing was blocked, not that your brain
>> had been turned off.
>
>It's an interesting usage, perhaps with precedent. Andy Offutt, in one
>of the _Dangerous Visions_ fore/afterwords, described a really bad case
>of writer's block. The kicker was that it lasted all of 45 minutes.
Robert Silverberg was asked if he ever suffered from block, and admitted
that he did: "It was the worst ten minutes of my life."
Dave
Charlie Stross
High twenties, pushing close to thirty. Low forties in some
parts of England.
(Not many "global warming is a KKKKOMMUNIST KKKKKONSPIRACY!"
loons left in *this* country.)
-- Charlie
sharkey
> sharkey wrote:
>
> > Sayeth Charlie Stross <cha...@antipope.org>:
> > >
> > > Me too. No, seriously. We're having a heat wave here in
> > > Scotland right now
> >
> > Ah, you zany Brits. Mid twenties?
>
> C, not F.
Ummm, yes. Sorry, zany Farenheit-using non-Brit folks.
-----sharks
Mark Atwood
>
> High twenties, pushing close to thirty. Low forties in some
> parts of England.
My heart bleeds.
I've been in Atlanta in the summer and I've been in Phoenix in the summer.
--
Mark Atwood When you do things right, people won't be sure
m...@mark.atwood.name you've done anything at all.
http://mark.atwood.name/ http://www.livejournal.com/users/fallenpegasus
J. F. Cornwall
> Charlie Stross <cha...@antipope.org> writes:
>
>>High twenties, pushing close to thirty. Low forties in some
>>parts of England.
>
>
> My heart bleeds.
>
> I've been in Atlanta in the summer and I've been in Phoenix in the summer.
>
deal with 116 (F) and dry vs 95 (degr F *AND* humidity...)
Jim
joy beeson
A wet linen hat.
A turban with ice cubes in.
A small, quiet fan directed at your chair.
When I was at Purdue, some of the students studied with
their feet in a tub of ice water. (Another trick I learned
that summer was to stop at every drinking fountain I passed
and run cold water over my forearms.)
Joy Beeson
--
http://home.earthlink.net/~joybeeson/ -- needlework
http://home.earthlink.net/~dbeeson594/ROUGHSEW/ROUGH.HTM
http://home.earthlink.net/~beeson_n3f/ -- Writers' Exchange
joy beeson at earthlink dot net
James Nicoll
>James Nicoll wrote:
>
>> In article <1121107479.7...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
>> John Ringo <jring...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>"I've tried to stop, but the compulsion just takes me and I can't
>>>resist. The thing is, there are days when I'm cranking along, you know
>>>how it is, the words are just flowing and then they...stop. Usually at
>>>3PM. For years I thought it was "afternoon tireds." Or maybe
>>>carbohydrate coma from the cheeseburger and fries. But then I
>>>discovered... I CAN'T WRITE WHEN I'M HOT!"
>>
>>
>> One phrase: Walk-in Freezer. Make very sure that you damage the
>> seal so that air can get in and out and that it can be opened from the
>> inside.
>>
>
>
>Tch. This is dangerous and expensive, and not energy efficient.
The very best kind of solution, although it could use more
explosions.
> (Also, is it just that you have to be cold -while you are
>writing-, or do you have to be cold all the time?) Why not hire
>a good HVAC contractor, and get an oversized central air
>conditioning system installed in your house?
That wouldn't work in my home or at least it would be
expensive to install: I have radiators (or as I call them "cat
toasters") rather than forced air.
Mind you, if I did install central a/c , I could also install
oversized HEPA filters.
--
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/
http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
Brian M. Scott
<JCor...@cox.net> wrote in rec.arts.sf.composition:
[...]
> Given a choice between the 2, give me Phoenix! I would rather
> deal with 116 (F) and dry vs 95 (degr F *AND* humidity...)
They're both pretty nice.
Brian
Graham Woodland
Cheers,
--
Gray
http://www.quilpole.demon.co.uk
"She does not get eaten by the sharks at this time."
- William Goldman, _The Princess Bride_.
James Nicoll
Graham Woodland <gr...@quilpole.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>Charlie Stross wrote
>>Stoned koala bears drooled eucalyptus spittle in awe
>>as <sha...@zoic.org> declared:
>>
>>> Sayeth Charlie Stross <cha...@antipope.org>:
>>>>
>>>> Me too. No, seriously. We're having a heat wave here in
>>>> Scotland right now
>>>
>>> Ah, you zany Brits. Mid twenties?
>>
>>High twenties, pushing close to thirty. Low forties in some
>>parts of England.
>>
>>(Not many "global warming is a KKKKOMMUNIST KKKKKONSPIRACY!"
>>loons left in *this* country.)
>>
>KKK Kommunists? Now I've heard everything!
>
WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE
FOR A WHITE SOUTH AFRICA
[slogan from the 1922 Rand Rebellion, I believe]
Jacey Bedford
<sha...@zoic.org> writes
Jacey
--
Jacey Bedford
jacey at artisan hyphen harmony dot com
Jacey Bedford
<cha...@antipope.org> writes
I'm in Birdsedge, West Yorkshire, 1,000 feet up on the edge of the
Pennines and I'm TOO HOT. The house has 2 ft thick stone walls which
helps to slow down the heat build up (the northerly rooms are still
cooler than the southerly ones) but once the heat builds up it takes
bloody ages to dissipate. Our bedroom is south facing and it's
horrendous in there so I don't even wake feeling refreshed in the
morning. I'd move into the spare room but we've got visitors.
And yes... my brain just shuts down completely.
Thinking about getting a portable air conditioner/cooler but not sure
which to get. The ones that you have to put ice into sound like a pain
in the bum, but are probably better for the environment.
Any Brits got advice?
We're heading for the USA and Canada in August - Artisan's last North
American tour before the group splits in November - and I KNOW it's
going to be horrendous there. We can hide in air-conditioned places most
of the time but we're dinging at 4 festivals and those stages get HOT
(and then they switch on the stage lights).
I have a video of us singing on the mainstage at the Philadelphia Folk
Festival about 7 years ago and I'm redder then the Writers' & Artists'
Yearbook. They put us on for an afternoon slot and as we walked on to
the stage they gave each one of us a towel. We thought that was a little
excessive until we started to sing. Any makeup I was wearing just ran
off my face and I felt as though I was turning into a little grease spot
on the stage.
Denni
joy beeson wrote:
> A wet linen hat.
>
That's a great idea! I plan to do some writing in Thailand this winter,
while backpacking (you <i>know</i> that is the only way!) and had
wondered whether to bring a hat...
David Friedman
jdni...@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
Nobody has mentioned Pratchett's solution to the problem of people who
think better when their brains are cool.
David Friedman
jdni...@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
> In article <UiEBLCA2...@quilpole.demon.co.uk>,
> Graham Woodland <gr...@quilpole.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> >Charlie Stross wrote
> >>Stoned koala bears drooled eucalyptus spittle in awe
> >>as <sha...@zoic.org> declared:
> >>
> >>> Sayeth Charlie Stross <cha...@antipope.org>:
> >>>>
> >>>> Me too. No, seriously. We're having a heat wave here in
> >>>> Scotland right now
> >>>
> >>> Ah, you zany Brits. Mid twenties?
> >>
> >>High twenties, pushing close to thirty. Low forties in some
> >>parts of England.
> >>
> >>(Not many "global warming is a KKKKOMMUNIST KKKKKONSPIRACY!"
> >>loons left in *this* country.)
> >>
> >KKK Kommunists? Now I've heard everything!
> >
>
> WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE
> FOR A WHITE SOUTH AFRICA
>
> [slogan from the 1922 Rand Rebellion, I believe]
For an American example, consider the Workingmen's Party of California,
apparently an offshoot of the IWW--and a major supporter of anti-Chinese
legislation.
David Friedman
Jacey Bedford <look...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> Thinking about getting a portable air conditioner/cooler but not sure
> which to get. The ones that you have to put ice into sound like a pain
> in the bum, but are probably better for the environment.
>
I'm not sure why--presumably the ice is manufactured using electricity.
Does it cool down at night? If it does, the obvious solution, especially
for well insulated houses with a lot of thermal mass, is to open the
windows at night to cool down the house, close them in the morning. But
I expect you are already doing that.
Jim
Phoenix is nice. Atlanta is "ugh!"... :-) I live in Omaha, and it can
get pretty disgusting here in the summer also. My favorite time of year
is winter, when we can get those nice invigorating stretches of subzero
(F) temps. Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, refreshing!
Jim
Julian Flood
"Jacey Bedford" wrote
> I'm redder then the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook.
And today's J Flood Memorial On Topic Award goes to.... Jacey
Bedford!
JF
20 deg here. 29 out there. The joys of a mud hut. If it gets any
warmer I might start getting a bit of writing done. Three shorts
queueing up in the fabulator.
Jim
> In message <4rhbq2-...@antipope.org>, Charlie Stross
> <cha...@antipope.org> writes
> >Stoned koala bears drooled eucalyptus spittle in awe
> >as <jring...@gmail.com> declared:
>
> (snip)
> We're heading for the USA and Canada in August - Artisan's last North
> American tour before the group splits in November - and I KNOW it's
> going to be horrendous there. We can hide in air-conditioned places most
> of the time but we're dinging at 4 festivals and those stages get HOT
> (and then they switch on the stage lights).
>
> I have a video of us singing on the mainstage at the Philadelphia Folk
> Festival about 7 years ago and I'm redder then the Writers' & Artists'
> Yearbook. They put us on for an afternoon slot and as we walked on to
> the stage they gave each one of us a towel. We thought that was a little
> excessive until we started to sing. Any makeup I was wearing just ran
> off my face and I felt as though I was turning into a little grease spot
> on the stage.
>
Water-absorbing gels and evaporative cooling:
http://www.lone-wolf.org/thermotie/cool.html (one of numerous hits on
googling "+neck +cooler +gel"). These things are cheap and seem to work
fairly well, especially if you can periodically dunk them in cold water to
get them re-chilled. Evaporative coolers you wear around your neck. There
are also little bitty baterry powered fans with misting bottles you can wear
around your neck, sold for beach/pool useage.
These things work OK for some folks, not so well for others. Worth a try
though :-)
Jim
Joann Zimmerman
dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com says...
> Nobody has mentioned Pratchett's solution to the problem of people who
> think better when their brains are cool.
Not having been a sufficient Pratchett fan to have read enough to have
seen this ... ?
(Goes to kitchen. Our little digital wireless indoor/outdoor says 96F
out. 35/36C. Bleah, but it's been hotter over the last week. And will
probably get so later this afternoon.)
--
"I never understood people who don't have bookshelves."
--George Plimpton
Joann Zimmerman jz...@bellereti.com
Joann Zimmerman
> Phoenix is nice. Atlanta is "ugh!"... :-) I live in Omaha, and it can
> get pretty disgusting here in the summer also. My favorite time of year
> is winter, when we can get those nice invigorating stretches of subzero
> (F) temps. Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, refreshing!
The time I was in Phoenix airport in May 1981, back when they made you
ride from terminal to terminal in little open-air buses, I damn near
died. The heat is *searing*.
Jim Campbell
at dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com wrote on 12/7/05 6:31 pm:
> Nobody has mentioned Pratchett's solution to the problem of people who
> think better when their brains are cool.
If that's a reference to baldness (I admit to not knowing the Pratchett
attribution) is that not half-inched from James Branch Cabell?
Cheers
Jim
Mark Atwood
> In article <42D4052F...@cox.net>, JCor...@cox.net says...
>
> > Phoenix is nice. Atlanta is "ugh!"... :-) I live in Omaha, and it can
> > get pretty disgusting here in the summer also. My favorite time of year
> > is winter, when we can get those nice invigorating stretches of subzero
> > (F) temps. Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, refreshing!
>
> The time I was in Phoenix airport in May 1981, back when they made you
> ride from terminal to terminal in little open-air buses, I damn near
> died. The heat is *searing*.
Maybe this is one reason why USian are less concerned about climate
change? Our weather *already* sucks.
Julia Jones
Friedman <dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> writes
>
>Nobody has mentioned Pratchett's solution to the problem of people who
>think better when their brains are cool.
Have you been hooked yet, or are you just repeating information acquired
second-hand from the younger generation? :-)
--
Jules Jones
Just out from Loose Id: Spindrift
Richard finds the truth in legend, when he finds a silkie bereft of
his skin and in need of a home...
http://www.loose-id.com/detail.aspx?ID=190
David Friedman
Julia Jones <julia...@gmail.com> wrote:
> In message <ddfr-A4BC9A.1...@news.isp.giganews.com>, David
> Friedman <dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> writes
> >
> >Nobody has mentioned Pratchett's solution to the problem of people who
> >think better when their brains are cool.
>
> Have you been hooked yet, or are you just repeating information acquired
> second-hand from the younger generation? :-)
As I mentioned at some previous point, I have read and enjoyed some of
the later Discworld books, including that one. I haven't revised my
opinion of _Colour of Magic_, however.
I was disappointed that nobody picked up on my earlier troll reference,
however.
David Friedman
Joann Zimmerman <jz...@bellereti.com> wrote:
> In article <ddfr-A4BC9A.1...@news.isp.giganews.com>,
> dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com says...
>
> > Nobody has mentioned Pratchett's solution to the problem of people who
> > think better when their brains are cool.
>
> Not having been a sufficient Pratchett fan to have read enough to have
> seen this ... ?
Basically a refrigerated cap. Trolls are made of silicon, and their
brains work better and better the colder they get. Slow and stupid at
room temperature, geniuses at temperatures below freezing.
Brian M. Scott
wrote in <news:42D4052F...@cox.net> in
rec.arts.sf.composition:
> "Brian M. Scott" wrote:
>> On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 08:14:46 -0500, "J. F. Cornwall"
>> <JCor...@cox.net> wrote in rec.arts.sf.composition:
>> [...]
>>> Given a choice between the 2, give me Phoenix! I would rather
>>> deal with 116 (F) and dry vs 95 (degr F *AND* humidity...)
>> They're both pretty nice.
> Phoenix is nice. Atlanta is "ugh!"... :-)
I don't entirely disagree, though not because of the summer
weather! I remember a hilly 15K race near here for which
the temperature and humidity were both at least 90 (ºF & %,
resp.) at the start; I think I had my best ever placing at
that race that year.
[...]
Brian
Julia Jones
>In article <O+DOwfIG...@jajones.demon.co.uk>,
> Julia Jones <julia...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> In message <ddfr-A4BC9A.1...@news.isp.giganews.com>, David
>> Friedman <dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> writes
>> >
>> >Nobody has mentioned Pratchett's solution to the problem of people who
>> >think better when their brains are cool.
>>
>> Have you been hooked yet, or are you just repeating information acquired
>> second-hand from the younger generation? :-)
>
>As I mentioned at some previous point, I have read and enjoyed some of
>the later Discworld books, including that one. I haven't revised my
>opinion of _Colour of Magic_, however.
I knew you'd read one or two of the later books, but wasn't sure if
you'd carried on with the series.
_Colour of Magic_ is the first of the Discworld books, and the least
satisfying in my view. It's also pretty atypical. It's worth reading to
see where it all started, but popular opinion on afp seems to be to
start new readers on either the third or fourth book or one of the
starter books for one of the sub-series (e.g. _Guards, Guards!_ for
those who enjoy police procedurals), with an executive summary of the
previous ones if necessary.
>I was disappointed that nobody picked up on my earlier troll reference,
>however.
I *noticed* it, if that makes you feel better. :-)
--
Julia Jones
"We are English of Borg. Your language will be assimilated."
R. L. Divergins
<dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> wrote:
>In article <SmuIGSMR...@artifact.demon.co.uk>,
> Jacey Bedford <look...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Thinking about getting a portable air conditioner/cooler but not sure
>> which to get.
Unless your area is humid, a portable 'evaporative air conditioner' (aka
'swamp cooler') can be nice. The only electricity it uses besides fan is a
little pump to keep the water recirculating through the pads. Actually I
think I've heard of some where you fill a reservoir on top every couple of
hours instead of a pump.
>>The ones that you have to put ice into sound like a pain
>> in the bum, but are probably better for the environment.
>>
>
>I'm not sure why--presumably the ice is manufactured using electricity.
>
>Does it cool down at night? If it does, the obvious solution, especially
>for well insulated houses with a lot of thermal mass, is to open the
>windows at night to cool down the house, close them in the morning. But
>I expect you are already doing that.
Lots of good ideas like that in old l970s 'alternate energy' sources.
Search for THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS ?
My favorite is to put a lawn sprinkler on the roof. Evaporation does a bit
of cooling. Putting some porous pads up there would help more, I expect.
Old rugs? Thatches?
In the US they also sell c.$20 'mist hoses' or some such, sidewalk cafes
use them around awnings. If those are outside the windows of a house, the
air coming in is very cool and nice.
None of these require electricity other than whatever produces your normal
water hose water pressure.
R.L.
Lucy Kemnitzer
have said:
>James Nicoll wrote:
>
>> In article <1121107479.7...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
>> John Ringo <jring...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>"I've tried to stop, but the compulsion just takes me and I can't
>>>resist. The thing is, there are days when I'm cranking along, you know
>>>how it is, the words are just flowing and then they...stop. Usually at
>>>3PM. For years I thought it was "afternoon tireds." Or maybe
>>>carbohydrate coma from the cheeseburger and fries. But then I
>>>discovered... I CAN'T WRITE WHEN I'M HOT!"
>>
>>
>> One phrase: Walk-in Freezer. Make very sure that you damage the
>> seal so that air can get in and out and that it can be opened from the
>> inside.
>>
>
>
>Tch. This is dangerous and expensive, and not energy efficient.
> (Also, is it just that you have to be cold -while you are
>writing-, or do you have to be cold all the time?) Why not hire
>a good HVAC contractor, and get an oversized central air
>conditioning system installed in your house? It would not be
>very difficult to over-buy, so that the system is just a tad too
>powerful for your square footage. Then you turn that sucker on
>full blast, and watch the ice form on the insides of your
>windowpanes.
Hmm. I used to spend summers in the Valley with no air conditioning.
I think if I were to live there now, I'd still use no air
conditioning. It's hard to tell, because being heat tolerant for a
few very hot days a year is a different issue from being heat tolerant
for several months a year.
Of course, _here_ you don't need air conditioning ever, even in our
worst heat waves: all that sea breeze and high fog help a lot.
Lucy Kemnitzer, still
http://www.baymoon.com/~ritaxis
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ritaxis
Marilee J. Layman
wrote:
>Well, the "How Do You Write" topic went well, so I thought I'd start
>another.
>
>"My name is John and...gulp... I'm a writer..."
>
>"HI JOHN!"
>
>"I've tried to stop, but the compulsion just takes me and I can't
>resist. The thing is, there are days when I'm cranking along, you know
>how it is, the words are just flowing and then they...stop. Usually at
>3PM. For years I thought it was "afternoon tireds." Or maybe
>carbohydrate coma from the cheeseburger and fries. But then I
>discovered... I CAN'T WRITE WHEN I'M HOT!"
You can buy special hats that have fans in them.
Here you can get a clip-on solar-powered fan for a hat:
http://www.realgoods.com/shop/shop1.cfm/dp/107/ts/1090323
--
Marilee J. Layman
Cavemel
Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
Uh, no. You're just weird.
Kidding.
Seriously, I do think something happens in the heat. I'd love to see
my city's car accident stats sorted by temp. My observation could be
skewed, but it sure seems like people make far more driving mistakes as
it gets hotter and the general tolerance for such mistakes drops
proportionally. Of course, we're talking extreme heat here. 116 (F)
so far. That's around 46 (C) for you whiners over the ocean. :-)
Still, you have a valid observation.
With regard to writing, I'll tell you what makes me homicidal. I'm
writing along, my characters are talking to me, the wind is rustling
through the trees as my bad guy sneaks around a corner and then...
"Mom, do you know where my toothbrush is?"
I stay strong, stay focused, keep writing, thunder cracks and the rain
starts, my silence has warned the first intruder away and I just start
to flow again when...
"Honey, have you seen Cricket's toothbrush?"
I swear sometimes I could just choke them both!
Melonie
sharkey
>
> High twenties, pushing close to thirty. Low forties in some
> parts of England.
Just teasing. Low 40s in England is worrying ...
-----sharks
Pat Bowne
"David Friedman" <dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> wrote
>
> For an American example, consider the Workingmen's Party of California,
> apparently an offshoot of the IWW--and a major supporter of anti-Chinese
> legislation.
>
'It Didn't Happen Here' posits the tension between 'nativist' labor groups
and immigrant-dominated communist groups as a major reason that the US
didn't have an effective socialist movement. Apparently workers' parties
here were often anti-immigrant. Communists, however, were not so much so, at
least according to this source.
Pat
Pat Bowne
"J. F. Cornwall" <JCor...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:vlPAe.113951$yV4.105189@okepread03...
> Mark Atwood wrote:
>> Charlie Stross <cha...@antipope.org> writes:
>>
>>>High twenties, pushing close to thirty. Low forties in some
>>>parts of England.
>>
>>
>>
>> I've been in Atlanta in the summer and I've been in Phoenix in the
>> summer.
>>
> Indeed. Given a choice between the 2, give me Phoenix! I would rather
When I was in Phoenix, they were air-conditioning the outdoors with
water-misting apparati. This in the middle of a tremendous drought.
They also explained to us that at a certain temperature the airport would
close because planes would get stuck in the runway surface. I don't know if
this was a tall tale or not.
Pat
Pat Bowne
"Mark Atwood" <m...@mark.atwood.name> wrote
>
> Maybe this is one reason why USian are less concerned about climate
> change? Our weather *already* sucks.
>
issues comes from having too much hostile landscape. I spent some time in
Texas last winter and after the first 6 hours of driving through brush
country, you just don't think there is a big need to preserve every acre of
it.
Pat
Pat Bowne
"Jim" <JCor...@cox.net> wrote
>>
>
> Water-absorbing gels and evaporative cooling:
> http://www.lone-wolf.org/thermotie/cool.html (one of numerous hits on
> googling "+neck +cooler +gel"). These things are cheap and seem to work
> fairly well, especially if you can periodically dunk them in cold water to
> get them re-chilled. Evaporative coolers you wear around your neck.
> There
> are also little bitty baterry powered fans with misting bottles you can
> wear
> around your neck, sold for beach/pool useage.
>
> These things work OK for some folks, not so well for others. Worth a try
> though :-)
I use one of those blue gel packs they sell for putting on sprained ankles.
I always have a few in the freezer; if the day is too hot, just pull one out
and pop it into a sleeve you can tie around neck or feet.
At home, though not in concerts, the best solution is the old, cheap bathing
suit and hose technique. Nothing feels better than sitting in the back yard
after having spritzed oneself with cold hose water. And if it's too hot at
night, sleep on an air mattress and baste yourself periodically with a
spritzer bottle (also good for chasing the cats away when they begin to lick
the water off your feet).
Pat (low-tech)
Alma Hromic Deckert
wrote:
I don't know about THAT but I do know that they will not ship live
animals if the temperature is above a certain limit - once airborne,
they are in the hold of the plane and things get dealt with, but until
they do get airborne the temperature in the belly of an airplane can
get to a point where it can kill a dog or a cat. So I'm quite willing
to believe the melting tarmac story.
A.
David Friedman
"Pat Bowne" <pbo...@execpc.com> wrote:
Did it distinguish between attitudes towards European and towards
Chinese immigrants?
Pat Bowne
"David Friedman" <dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> wrote in message
news:ddfr-6235D7.1...@news.isp.giganews.com...
Not that I remember. The examples it gave of communist parties, however,
were dominated by European immigrants. It's been many years since I read it.
Pat
sharkey
>
> I was disappointed that nobody picked up on my earlier troll reference,
> however.
I thought you were just trolling.
(PS: this post is really just a weak excuse to say conga-rats re:
Harald)
-----sharks
Cally Soukup
I remember a summer (1988, I believe) when it got to 105 Fahrenheit a
few times (maybe twice officially; more than that unofficially). I'm
almost positive I remember that some flights were cancelled because the
air was hot enough that it was not dense enough for a fully loaded with
fuel and passengers airplane to take off safely.
--
"I disapprove of what you have to say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it." -- Beatrice Hall
Cally Soukup sou...@pobox.com
Lucy Kemnitzer
The Workingmen's Party of California was not an offshoot of the IWW.
It was founded earlier than the IWW. The IWW was most salient in the
Midwest and the Northwest (and whatever Utah and Colorado are).
The Workingmen's Party of California was a spectacular example in a
long horrible history of racism in California. Those guys engaged in
lynching, arson, knifing, and beating Chinese -- and Anglos who hired
them. California has a lot of this going on in its history. The best
source for reading about it is that book I've been touting since
March, _Beasts of the Field._ -- which is about every kind of
agricultural labor and labor allied to agriculture from earliest
SPanich occupation to 1913.
Lucy Kemnitzer
The correct answer to that is "sometimes." You could find any
combination of attitudes somewhere in the workers' movements. The
prevailing communist one, though, is at least lip service to including
everybody, with racism towards none. Which is why Hoover was able to
claim that the Civil Rights movement was dominated by communists --
there really were a lot of them there, since it was something they
believed in, both morally and strategically.
David Friedman
use...@greenknight.org.uk.invalid (Catja Pafort) wrote:
> John Ringo wrote:
>
>
> > Seriously. It's strange but true. I write best when I'm cold. Most of
> > my major output is done in winter, outside, with temperatures ranging
> > from 42 degrees down to about 24 (at which point, no matter what I do,
> > my fingers start shaking so much I can't type legibly. Brain is still
> > going, fingers are shot.)
> >
> > I have even started to analyze it. The big reason is my head gets hot.
> > Sometimes, when I'm out in the cold, I'll feel myself start to slow
> > down and I'll take off my toque (ski cap, whatever) to cool the old
> > noggin down.
>
>
> I *so* hope that Pterry is reading this.
>
> There's a solution in, I think, Men at Arms: a helmet to keep your head
> cool.
> You're a troll, and I claim my five pounds.
Too late--I identified him as such a day or so back, on the same
evidence.
My five pounds.
David Friedman
Lucy Kemnitzer <rit...@cruzio.com> wrote:
> The Workingmen's Party of California was not an offshoot of the IWW.
> It was founded earlier than the IWW. The IWW was most salient in the
> Midwest and the Northwest (and whatever Utah and Colorado are).
I was going by an article about Chinese exclusion--I don't know what its
sources were. Googling around I find:
"The Workingmen's Party of the United States, a socialist party which
had absorbed the remnants of the US section of Karl Marx's International
Workingmen's Association (a.k.a. the 1st International) after its
collapse in 1876"
"Unemployed San Franciscans and their allies in 1877 formed a new
political party that would represent their views. A fiery young Irish
American named Denis Kearney emerged as the leader of the Workingmen's
Party of California."
The IWW page implies that it was founded in 1905, which supports your
comment. Probably the author I read (or I in remembering the article)
was confusing the IWW with the International Workingmen's Association.
On the other hand, since Karl Marx seems to have been a central figure
in the IWA, the case for describing it as communist may be stronger than
for the IWW.
Of which my late uncle was at one point a member, incidentally. But he
claimed he only joined for the benefits. It occurs to me that he might
have known some of your relatives, having been associated with
labor/left wing activities in his early years.
And on the third hand, "absorbed remnants of" doesn't equate to "was
identical to."
Bill Swears
>
> And, perhaps most oddly... I can't write when I have time to write. Last
> summer I lived with my boyfriend and was unemployed, nothing to do all
> day but write, and my story progress was barely measurable; in the fall,
> when I moved back home and was back in the farmwork grind and stealing
> time to write largely by not eating meals, I not only got more writing
> done but had inspiration coming out my ears, to the point where I
> started carrying a voice recorder during chores.* This is not an
> isolated pattern; it happens all the time. The most annoying bit
> involved a three-hour exam, an absolutely blinding inspiration - one of
> those perfect scenes that enter your brain so very rarely - and a blank
> sheet of paper which someone unfortunately expected me to fill with feed
> ration calculations.
>
>
Dear Kat,
When I was writing in addition to my career, I had a similar reaction
to free time. Then work got overwhelming and the stolen time started
coming our of my very limited family time, and I sadly gave up the
writing to support the family. I still found that vacations were not
the right time to write. But, like you, *until* the career got to the
point where I was spending measurably 86 hours a week in the Air
Station, I also found that my writing increased and improved when I was
busy.
I left service last year, and writing is very much back in my life.
The novel I worked on for more than ten years, that had 36,000 words
when I retired, wrote itself in a few months. What's the difference?
I've decided I want to make a living as a writer. Now, much of the time
I devoted to the military aviation career gets diverted to writing. If
I'm not writing I'm wasting my time. I'm not putting food on the table.
This perspective, that I must write to be productive, is working even
though I've made a grand total of $25.00 and a magazine subscription in
my entire writing career.
What I'm suggesting is that when you were with your boyfriend you were
emotionally on vacation. You might find writing more productive if you
have time, and a reason to write. A specific novel or story idea might
be enough, but having 25,000 words of publishable material by the end of
the month might also work for you. Anything that gives you a strong
internal ticking sound by which to measure your output.
Bill
--
Bill Swears
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Ben Franklin, 1755 "Historical Review of Pennsylvania"
To think that was once a right wing comment. In the land of Homeland
Security it seems.. Suspiciously left-wing.
David Friedman
Lucy Kemnitzer <rit...@cruzio.com> wrote:
> >Not that I remember. The examples it gave of communist parties, however,
> >were dominated by European immigrants. It's been many years since I read it.
>
>
> The correct answer to that is "sometimes." You could find any
> combination of attitudes somewhere in the workers' movements. The
> prevailing communist one, though, is at least lip service to including
> everybody, with racism towards none.
I was thinking about a century or so earlier--19th century California,
at the point when oriental exclusion was a major issue. I don't know if
the Workingman's party would have called itself "communist," but it
seems to have had some connection with the First International, although
it isn't clear how much.
My impression of 19th century racial politics in California is that the
Chinese tended to be supported by the capitalists, who wanted to employ
them for building railroads and such, and opposed by the organized
workers, who regarded them as undesirable competiion.
Justice Stephen Field, best remembered for creating the legal doctrines
that led to the Lochner decision, was an opponent of anti-chinese laws
back when he was a California judge.
Denni
>
> I remember a summer (1988, I believe) when it got to 105 Fahrenheit a
> few times (maybe twice officially; more than that unofficially). I'm
> almost positive I remember that some flights were cancelled because the
> air was hot enough that it was not dense enough for a fully loaded with
> fuel and passengers airplane to take off safely.
>
Yemen...
Catja Pafort
> Sayeth Charlie Stross <cha...@antipope.org>:
> >
> > Me too. No, seriously. We're having a heat wave here in
> > Scotland right now
>
> Ah, you zany Brits. Mid twenties?
My van said 37, but I'm not certain how well calibrated that thermometer
is. It's usually a couple of degrees _under_ outside temp, but in this
case, I think it felt it had poetic license. Very low thirties, I would
have guessed, aka 'nice'.
Catja
(giving the old hat a good airing. Mostly it's used to keep off the
rain)
Julian Flood
"Lucy Kemnitzer" wrote
> Of course, _here_ you don't need air conditioning ever, even in our
> worst heat waves: all that sea breeze and high fog help a lot.
My feet are cold. 29 is the forecast today . Such a cold night, I
nearly had a hot water bottle. Mud hut. You know it makes sense.
JF
The trees just outside the back door help.
Catja Pafort
> Seriously. It's strange but true. I write best when I'm cold. Most of
> my major output is done in winter, outside, with temperatures ranging
> from 42 degrees down to about 24 (at which point, no matter what I do,
> my fingers start shaking so much I can't type legibly. Brain is still
> going, fingers are shot.)
>
> I have even started to analyze it. The big reason is my head gets hot.
> Sometimes, when I'm out in the cold, I'll feel myself start to slow
> down and I'll take off my toque (ski cap, whatever) to cool the old
> noggin down.
I *so* hope that Pterry is reading this.
There's a solution in, I think, Men at Arms: a helmet to keep your head
cool.
You're a troll, and I claim my five pounds.
<EG>
Catja
Catja Pafort
And now I have an overlay of a mental picture of Detritus with one
showing Calvin and his beanie.
It does not bear even *thinking* about.
Catja
(I would have said I function just fine in the heat, but I've shunted
another car this morning, so maybe not. Everyone was fine, any damage
will be sorted by insurance, but it bugs me.)
Julian Flood
"Denni" <denni_...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote
The thrust of a jet engine is adversely affected by high air
temperatures -- it goes down very markedly. The brakes of an a/c have
only a certain amount of braking capacity. When an a/c aborts on the
runway (decides not to take-off, slams on brakes, tries to stop) then
the amount of runway left is important. Too little runway means that
the limited braking efficiency is overwhelmed and the thing runs off
the end.
There is a safe stop speed and a safe take-off speed. It really really
helps if the former is higher than the latter. If not, and anything
goes wrong, you are in for trouble.
When the runway is covered with very hot air then you can offload
weight and fly with fewer passengers and less fuel. If that is not an
option you can go for it anyway and hope for the best. Or you can wait
until it cools down. The B52s in Florida used to use the Inshallah
system, lifting off at 95% of the runway length*, but they had eight
engines. "Fire in number eight!" "Well, doggone! Are we airborne yet?"
"Only another five minutes." "OK. Continue the takeoff. Anyone got a
sandwich?"
Inshallah is a perfectly good option, but probably not for BA.
HTH
JF
*we used to be up at two thousand feet by the end of the runway.
joy beeson
<pbo...@execpc.com> wrote:
> They also explained to us that at a certain temperature the airport would
> close because planes would get stuck in the runway surface. I don't know if
> this was a tall tale or not.
I recall leaving bicycle tracks in a stretch of sub-standard
blacktop one scorching-hot day.
Makes it really, really hard to pedal.
Joy Beeson
--
http://home.earthlink.net/~joybeeson/ -- needlework
http://home.earthlink.net/~dbeeson594/ROUGHSEW/ROUGH.HTM
http://home.earthlink.net/~beeson_n3f/ -- Writers' Exchange
joy beeson at earthlink dot net
K. Feete
"John Ringo" <jring...@gmail.com> wrote:
> "I've tried to stop, but the compulsion just takes me and I can't
> resist. The thing is, there are days when I'm cranking along, you know
> how it is, the words are just flowing and then they...stop. Usually at
> 3PM. For years I thought it was "afternoon tireds." Or maybe
> carbohydrate coma from the cheeseburger and fries. But then I
> discovered... I CAN'T WRITE WHEN I'M HOT!"
>
> Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
I can't write when I'm cold, but that's a different problem - I have
poor circulation, which means that, particularly if I've been working
outdoors, my hands get so cold that I can't manage the fine motor
control of typing. Very annoying.
I can't write at night. I suspect this comes largely from a lifetime of
doing heavy labor; after a day's farmwork I'm a puddle of braindead
muscle soreness looking for bed and a good book. It's habitual now, and
I still find myself at my energy peak in the morning and capable of
little but entertainment-seeking at night, even though I'm not working.
Notable mainly because of the reversal: most of the people I know,
particularly those who write, are coffee-seeking zombies in the morning
and annoyingly chipper at 11 pm.
And, perhaps most oddly... I can't write when I have time to write. Last
summer I lived with my boyfriend and was unemployed, nothing to do all
day but write, and my story progress was barely measurable; in the fall,
when I moved back home and was back in the farmwork grind and stealing
time to write largely by not eating meals, I not only got more writing
done but had inspiration coming out my ears, to the point where I
started carrying a voice recorder during chores.* This is not an
isolated pattern; it happens all the time. The most annoying bit
involved a three-hour exam, an absolutely blinding inspiration - one of
those perfect scenes that enter your brain so very rarely - and a blank
sheet of paper which someone unfortunately expected me to fill with feed
ration calculations.
So much for ever quitting the day job so I'll have more time to write.
Most of my other reasons for not writing can be summed up with "oooh,
lookit the dusty kitty!"
Kat Feete
* I kept the recorder in the handy little pocket created by my sports
bras because that was where it picked my voice up best. This resulted in
my family going out of their way to visit wherever I was working just so
they could say "Are you talking to your boobs *again*?"
--
"Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love,
and then for a few close friends, and then for money."
- Moliere
David Dyer-Bennet
> In article <isFAe.40099$ZN6.22791@trnddc02>, lclough <clo...@erols.com> wrote:
>> (Also, is it just that you have to be cold -while you are
>>writing-, or do you have to be cold all the time?) Why not hire
>>a good HVAC contractor, and get an oversized central air
>>conditioning system installed in your house?
>
> That wouldn't work in my home or at least it would be
> expensive to install: I have radiators (or as I call them "cat
> toasters") rather than forced air.
They can do quite a lot of cooling with vents in most rooms on the top
floor and a couple of rooms on the main floor by working through the
attic and coming down through closets. Doesn't need as many vents as
a complete conversion to forced-air would require, and ceiling vents
are better for air conditioning anyway.
> Mind you, if I did install central a/c , I could also install
> oversized HEPA filters.
Yes, you probably could do that at the same time. Though beware of
non-standard size filters, always.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, <mailto:dd...@dd-b.net>, <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/>
RKBA: <http://noguns-nomoney.com/> <http://www.dd-b.net/carry/>
Pics: <http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/> <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/>
Dragaera/Steven Brust: <http://dragaera.info/>
Zeborah
> What I'm suggesting is that when you were with your boyfriend you were
> emotionally on vacation. You might find writing more productive if you
> have time, and a reason to write. A specific novel or story idea might
> be enough, but having 25,000 words of publishable material by the end of
> the month might also work for you. Anything that gives you a strong
> internal ticking sound by which to measure your output.
If though, like for me, the problem is one of procrastination -- i.e.,
when one is meant to be studying one thinks, "I don't want to study, I
want to, to, to-- Ooh, story, I'll do that!" but when one is meant to be
writing one thinks, "I don't want to write, I want to, to, to-- Ooh,
dishes! I'll go wash those."
If this is the problem, then what you need is a deadline on project X,
so you can make lots of progress on project _Y_. Still takes some time
to train the brain, though.
Zeborah
--
(No facts were harmed in the making of this post.)
http://www.geocities.com/zeborahnz/
Dan Goodman
Yes, there would. Because the rules would be different there. _Even
if, on paper, they were exactly the same_.
Chicago is less likely to have severe weather than the Twin Cities.
But O'Hare is closed because of bad weather more often than
Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport is.
And when snow in Washington DC is bad enough that Federal offices there
close, Federal employees in the Twin Cities are likely to snicker.
--
Dan Goodman
Journal http://www.livejournal.com/users/dsgood/
Clutterers Anonymous unofficial community
http://www.livejournal.com/community/clutterers_anon/
Decluttering http://decluttering.blogspot.com
Predictions and Politics http://dsgood.blogspot.com
All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies.
John Arbuthnot (1667-1735), Scottish writer, physician.
Lucy Kemnitzer
seems to have said:
>Denni wrote:
>
>> > I remember a summer (1988, I believe) when it got to 105 Fahrenheit
>> > a few times (maybe twice officially; more than that unofficially).
>> > I'm almost positive I remember that some flights were cancelled
>> > because the air was hot enough that it was not dense enough for a
>> > fully loaded with fuel and passengers airplane to take off safely.
>> >
>> If that were true there would be no daytime flights from countries
>> like Yemen...
>
>Yes, there would. Because the rules would be different there. _Even
>if, on paper, they were exactly the same_.
>
>Chicago is less likely to have severe weather than the Twin Cities.
>But O'Hare is closed because of bad weather more often than
>Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport is.
>
>And when snow in Washington DC is bad enough that Federal offices there
>close, Federal employees in the Twin Cities are likely to snicker.
It's all in what you're set up for. If we got an inch of snow, that
stuck and didn't melt right away, it would be incredibly dangerous.
As it is, the first good rains are dangerous, too, because it's been
almost six months since the last rain.
Or drought -- when I was in Hawaii they were talking about a drought
-- they'd only gotten 40 inches, which is a high year for us. When we
had a drought, we had 15 inches, which is normal for some places.
Dan Goodman
> It's all in what you're set up for. If we got an inch of snow, that
> stuck and didn't melt right away, it would be incredibly dangerous.
> As it is, the first good rains are dangerous, too, because it's been
> almost six months since the last rain.
>
> Or drought -- when I was in Hawaii they were talking about a drought
> -- they'd only gotten 40 inches, which is a high year for us. When we
> had a drought, we had 15 inches, which is normal for some places.
When I moved to Minneapolis, I'd spent most of the previous ten years
in the LA area. That summer, there was a drought; and TV news showed
pictures of drought-stricken areas.
Even though I grew up in a similar climate, I'm afraid I laughed a few
times.
Dorothy J Heydt
Dan Goodman <dsg...@iphouse.com> wrote:
>Lucy Kemnitzer wrote:
>
>> It's all in what you're set up for. If we got an inch of snow, that
>> stuck and didn't melt right away, it would be incredibly dangerous.
>> As it is, the first good rains are dangerous, too, because it's been
>> almost six months since the last rain.
>>
>> Or drought -- when I was in Hawaii they were talking about a drought
>> -- they'd only gotten 40 inches, which is a high year for us. When we
>> had a drought, we had 15 inches, which is normal for some places.
>
>When I moved to Minneapolis, I'd spent most of the previous ten years
>in the LA area. That summer, there was a drought; and TV news showed
>pictures of drought-stricken areas.
>
>Even though I grew up in a similar climate, I'm afraid I laughed a few
>times.
Well, but in the Midwest if it doesn't rain for two weeks, that's
a drought. In California it habitually doesn't rain from about
May to about November, and we drink out of wells or from rivers
running off the melting snowcap. If we don't get enough
rain/snow between November and May, and this goes on for four or
five years, then *that*'s a drought and we run water pipelines
from the East Bay to Marin County across the Richmond/San Rafael
Bridge.
Dorothy J. Heydt
Albany, California
djh...@kithrup.com
David Dyer-Bennet
> Denni wrote:
>
>> > I remember a summer (1988, I believe) when it got to 105 Fahrenheit
>> > a few times (maybe twice officially; more than that unofficially).
>> > I'm almost positive I remember that some flights were cancelled
>> > because the air was hot enough that it was not dense enough for a
>> > fully loaded with fuel and passengers airplane to take off safely.
>> >
>> If that were true there would be no daytime flights from countries
>> like Yemen...
>
> Yes, there would. Because the rules would be different there. _Even
> if, on paper, they were exactly the same_.
Nope. We could call the story "The Hot Equations", I suppose.
Density altitude is *extremely* real and relevant to flight planning.
Airports in Yemen could be built with unusually long runways, and they
could make sure there were no obstructions for a LONG way off the ends
of them, and then they could reasonably use somewhat different
rules than the default US rules. But you can't *ignore* density
altitude issues, it will kill you.
> Chicago is less likely to have severe weather than the Twin Cities.
> But O'Hare is closed because of bad weather more often than
> Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport is.
>
> And when snow in Washington DC is bad enough that Federal offices there
> close, Federal employees in the Twin Cities are likely to snicker.
Which, unlike density altitude issues, have little or nothing to do
with physics.
SAMK
> On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 17:16:17 -0500, "Pat Bowne" <pbo...@execpc.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>>news:vlPAe.113951$yV4.105189@okepread03...
>>
>>>Mark Atwood wrote:
>>>
>>>>Charlie Stross <cha...@antipope.org> writes:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>High twenties, pushing close to thirty. Low forties in some
>>>>>parts of England.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>My heart bleeds.
>>>>
>>>>I've been in Atlanta in the summer and I've been in Phoenix in the
>>>>summer.
>>>>
>>>
>>>Indeed. Given a choice between the 2, give me Phoenix! I would rather
>>>deal with 116 (F) and dry vs 95 (degr F *AND* humidity...)
>>
>>When I was in Phoenix, they were air-conditioning the outdoors with
>>water-misting apparati. This in the middle of a tremendous drought.
>>
>>close because planes would get stuck in the runway surface. I don't know if
>>this was a tall tale or not.
>
>
> animals if the temperature is above a certain limit - once airborne,
> they are in the hold of the plane and things get dealt with, but until
> they do get airborne the temperature in the belly of an airplane can
> get to a point where it can kill a dog or a cat. So I'm quite willing
> to believe the melting tarmac story.
>
Most airlines will no longer ship dogs or cats during daylight hours
during certain portions of the year. My puppy came from California in
August. On an overnight flight. Poor baby still has nightmares.
SAMK
Katie Evans
>
> Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
/delurk/
Pregnancy. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't seem to even think about
my stories while was pregnant, even on days when I was feeling fine
(though there weren't that many of those). My son is now 6 months old,
and I just started writing again about a month ago (but I've been able
to at least think about my stories again since he was born -- I was
just too tired and overwhelmed to actually get writing done). I kept
telling my husband the lack of progress was because all my creative
juices were otherwise engaged.
Katie
P.S. I tried to post this a day or so ago using post.usenet.com
(because I'm currently on a readng-only newsserver) but I haven't seen
it show up. If it did and this is a repost, I apologize.
Irina Rempt
> John Ringo wrote:
>>
>> Anybody else got weird reasons that their writing just...stops?
>
> Pregnancy.
Yes, absolutely.
> I kept
> telling my husband the lack of progress was because all my creative
> juices were otherwise engaged.
With me, it lasted until they were well and truly in school; obviously,
someone else was taking care of most of the creative juices from then on.
After that, it became better and better; now they're actually of some use
for plot noodling.
Irina
--
Vesta veran, terna puran, farenin. http://www.valdyas.org/irina/
Beghinnen can ick, volherden will' ick, volbringhen sal ick.
http://www.valdyas.org/foundobjects/index.cgi Latest: 05-Jul-2005
Nicola Browne
news:42d6427d$0$32646$e4fe...@news.xs4all.nl
> > With me, it lasted until they were well and truly in school; obviously,
> someone else was taking care of most of the creative juices from then on.
> After that, it became better and better; now they're actually of some use
> for plot noodling.
>
I think I did write some short children's books when I was pregnant.
I can't honestly remember when I wrote them, though the publication
dates suggest I must have been pregnant at some point in the process.
It is not at all true that child birth affects your memory either : )
Nicky
--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG
K. Feete
zeb...@gmail.com (Zeborah) wrote:
I think this is more my problem. Good ol' procrastination. When I have
other things to do, I want to write.
It's also the deadline thing. When I think, "I should write," and have
the comforting thought that, hey, I've got all day to do that, I end up
piddling away more time. But when I think, "I should write," and I have
exactly an hour before I have to go back to my real job, I get a lot
more done.
It may also be a physical activity thing. I loose a lot of energy when
I'm not actively, physically working, though it took me a while to
realize this (worked on a farm all my life, including through most of
university. Physical activity was never at what you'd call a premium.)
It's one of the reasons I hesitate to get any of the jobs my English
major qualifies me for; I'm not sure a desk job will work for me.
Crossing my fingers that I'll get beyond this someday... though probably
not until I have some money return on the writing thing.
Kat Feete
Alma Hromic Deckert
wrote:
>Katie Evans wrote:
>> I kept
>> telling my husband the lack of progress was because all my creative
>> juices were otherwise engaged.
>
>With me, it lasted until they were well and truly in school;...
Sorry, but right now I'm trying very hard to get my mind around the
idea of a school for creative juices... <g>
A.
John Ringo
them mildly uncomfortable but not as uncomfortable as the ambient
noise.
I write in coffeeshops, too. And in a cigar bar and Hooters*. These
days, rarely at home.
John
*Because: a. I can smoke inside in Tennessee, b. the girls bring me tea
whenever the level gets low or it waters down, c. when I look up at a
"what NEXT?" moment, there's a pretty lady in view, I get a slight
endorphin rush and it kicks me back into writer mode...
To each his or her own.
:-)
John Ringo
two written in about a month during the winter, I jokingly suggested
that Jim should just fly me down to South Island for the six months of
northern summer...
:-)
John
John Ringo
trolls. But, yes, it appears my brains are made of silicon.
Suggestions from Barflies have included not just a cooling cap but a
water cooled AC system that pumps through a hat. I cannot imagine it
being functional.
Currently, I just try to stay in AC where I can also smoke.
John
John Ringo
Your condition sounds suspiciously like mine, especially the afternoon
thing. (Also the "just can't start writing" thing.)
Next time you just...stop in the afternoon, pay attention to whether
your head is hot.
John
John Ringo
AC is a necessity, not a luxury.
John
John Ringo
'better for the environment.'
X calories of ice production, y calories of transportation to where you
get your ice, z calories spent keeping said ice ice until you buy
it...uhmmm...r calories of transportation over and back to where said
ice is.
Versus x+s variable energy in refrigeration to get the same caloric
change in your home.
Total energy cost for the first equation is probably three times that
of simple cooling.
People who worry about the "environment" rarely consider all the energy
factors.
John
Save the Environment! Go Nuclear!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_bed_reactor
John Ringo
with very low humidity and some breeze.
This is rare in a southeastern summer...
John
Joann Zimmerman
jring...@gmail.com says...
> Get a set of those sound cancelling headphones and play music. I find
> them mildly uncomfortable but not as uncomfortable as the ambient
> noise.
I have sound cancelling headphones, and have used them in cube
situations. They're the cheap ones, though, and so it helps if the music
is cranked. If that happens, alas, well, it's the too-loud noises thing
all over again. And no sound at all from the room at large undoes the
random "things-going-on-around-me" ambience.
>
> I write in coffeeshops, too. And in a cigar bar and Hooters*. These
> days, rarely at home.
>
>
>
>
> John
> *Because: a. I can smoke inside in Tennessee, b. the girls bring me tea
> whenever the level gets low or it waters down, c. when I look up at a
> "what NEXT?" moment, there's a pretty lady in view, I get a slight
> endorphin rush and it kicks me back into writer mode...
>
> To each his or her own.
> :-)
Better your sinuses than mine. My study was the TV room for the last
owner, and it sometimes seems like there's still the ghost of Marlboros
past. At least the closet now smells like an old bookshop ...
At least you've explained some of the gonzo-ness of your "what-next"
moments! I *was* wondering, after _Into The Looking Glass_, just what
the process might be.
--
"I never understood people who don't have bookshelves."
--George Plimpton
Joann Zimmerman jz...@bellereti.com
Joann Zimmerman
jring...@gmail.com says...
> Tried it. Only reduces temps by a few degrees farenheit and works best
> with very low humidity and some breeze.
>
> This is rare in a southeastern summer...
John, just for the sake of everyone else's sanity, could you pretty
please stuff a few attributions/context up above your replies? Like I
just did? I assume you're talking about the mister but I'd have to go
look up the whole thread in Google to make sure.
Molto grazie.
John Ringo
:-)