The SoapBoxers

What to expect from Google Chrome OS

Speed

Chrome OS is going to pretty much be a web browser that acts as an operating system. There will be added functionality to the traditional web browser such as a file system and hardware support that will help it function as a true operating system, but at it’s heart Chrome OS is going to be just a web browser.

This will allow Google Chrome to be lightning fast compared to other operating systems like Windows or Mac OS X because Chrome will not have to worry about much of the overhead that the other operating systems have to deal with. All of the applications on the system will be web based out in Google’s cloud and should not be processor intensive on the machine.

The majority of processing should take place in the cloud.

Security

With most if not all of the operating systems applications residing on the cloud along with the majority of the files, security becomes much easier for Google to maintain. They can insure that applications are constantly up to date and files are free of viruses by checking for them in the cloud itself. The downside here is that Google is going to insure all applications are up to date, you probably won’t have a choice of keeping an older version of a product you prefer instead of updating.

A New Computer

This operating system is a brand new take on what a computer should be, and for now if you want to run it you are most likely going to have to buy a system built to run this operating system. There are most likely going to be several system requirements for this operating system, the one I know of for sure is the requirement of a solid state drive for a hard drive. This isn’t really Google’s fault because you can’t expect them to write drivers for every bit of hardware imaginable to allow it to run on their operating system.

The good news is that Google is releasing Chrome OS to be open source, so if the operating system takes off the hardware producers can write the drivers themselves. You won’t be locked in to specific hardware as much as you are with Mac systems, but won’t have the same extent of freedom you do with Windows machines.

Several PC manufacturers have already begun developing hardware for Chrome OS, including HP, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Qualcomm, TI, and Intel. So I won’t be too worried about being price gouged on a new Chrome OS machine as there will be plenty of competition out there.

A Greater Dependency on the Internet

As you can imagine with an operating system that is built upon a web browser the Internet is going to be very important to any machine running it. The majority of applications and files used by the operating system will exist only on the Internet. This means if you don’t have an active Internet connection your machine will most likely be a brick. However, this already seems to be the case for most people. When I’m without Internet on my computer it seems the only thing I ever do is play solitaire or listen to music, things I’m sure you’ll be able to find ways to do on Google Chrome without the internet as well.

I also foresee Google partnering with one or more wireless carrier to allow users to be able to use a wireless data connection easily with Chrome OS to access files and applications on the cloud.

I even believe we’ll see wireless carrier branded machines running Chrome OS natively. Wireless data isn’t just for cell phones anymore.

Editor’s note: our friends at 40tech.com recently discussed their own experience with Google Chrome OS.

Editor’s second note: Did you skip The Soap Boxers last due to Thanksgiving? Obviously, many of you did – we missed you! We kept a full schedule – here is what you missed.

• Monday – Martin Kelly gives us the second installment of his NaNoWriMo writer’s diary.
• Tuesday – Johnny Goodman talks about bad coaching.
• Wednesday – Squeaky talks about his personal battle with the H1N1 virus.
• Thursday – The Crunchy Conservative talks about thing she is thankful for.
• Friday – FNN interviews a man who sets a turkey record and Kosmo introduces us to his 13 favorite writers.
• Saturday – Part one of the fiction story Friends for Dinner and a short rant about stupid people.
• Sunday – The disturbing conclusion to Friends for Dinner

This is the conclusion of the story that was started yesterday.  Please be warned – this story is a marked departure from yesterday and is intended for mature audiences only!

Note: this story was written before Thursday football games were played and do not reflect the outcome of the real games.

Erin gently shook Kevin to wake him.

“Kevin! It’s time to get started.”

Kevin hopped up from his easy chair and walked to the closet. He returned with ropes. He bound Tom’s hands and feet together while Erin secured Kate in a similar fashion.

Erin returned to the kitchen and pushed aside a fake wall, exposing two large hidden compartments. She pushed open the two large doors before joining Kevin back in the living room. Kevin had sliced off Tom’s clothing, leaving the man as naked as when he entered the world. As Kevin hefted Tom’s body and took the first few halting steps toward the kitchen, Erin grabbed the knife and cut Kate’s clothing so that it could also be easily removed. A minute later, Kevin returned, grabbed Kate’s still-slumbering form, and made another trip to the kitchen.

Kevin slid Kate onto the grate and closed the door, locking it into place. He hit the button to activate the wash cycle. Tom and Kate were bathed with pulses of water, cleansing their skin perfectly. Kevin hit the button to activate the next cycle.

Tom began to regain his consciousness a bit. He was certain that he was smelling a very strong scent of butter. Butter? Where was that smell coming from? Three seconds later, Tom felt his body be assaulted with streams of hot, liquid butter. What the hell? The wine was having a very strong effect on Tom, but he was slowly coming to the realization that something was very wrong. He realized that he was flat on his back, with his hands and feet tied together. He was trussed up like a pig! There was something in his mouth. He couldn’t place the flavor at first, but soon realized that it was an apple. He felt the room slowly start to heat up and came to the realization that he was being cooked alive!

Tom tried to scream, but was unable to dislodge the apple. He struggled against his bonds, but could make no progress. He was wedged tightly into the oven and had limited mobility. Before long, Tom had been overcome by the heat.

“Go watch the game,” said Erin, giving Kevin a kiss. “Things are under control in here. It will be several hours before supper is ready.”

Kevin plopped down in front of the TV just as the second half was beginning. The Packers had fallen behind 21-0 in the first half, but this was not to be a good day for Tom’s golden boy, Matthew Stafford. Stafford threw four interceptions in the second half, lost a fumble, and was sacked four times. Kevin laughed at the meltdown of the rookie quarterback. Tom really didn’t know shit about football.

After the Packers had win the first game of the day and the Cowboys had steamrolled to a win in the second game of the day, it was time for supper.

When Kevin got to the kitchen, Erin had his plate ready for him. A big helping of potatoes, corn, stuffing, and gravy, along with a big chunk of drumstick a la Tom. On her own plate, Erin had a smaller bit of Tom’s leg, as well as a bit of white meat from Kate.

“I always did think turkey was a bit overrated.”

We got our daughter’s picture taken with Santa yesterday.  (It’s actually a pretty good day to do this, because everyone else at the mall is busy pushing and shoving other shoppers).  We asked if “Merry Christmas” could be printed on the border.  The lady told us they couldn’t do that, because of “the law”.

I have friends who practice quite a variety of religions.  If some people want to say “Happy Holidays”, I really won’t take offense.  There is not, however, any law that forbids a private company from printing the phrase “Merry Christmas” (or, for that matter, “Happy Ramadan”) on a product.  If there was, the legal department at Hallmark would be very, very nervous, since they sell a lot of greeting cards that contain this phrase.

And to take the argument to the next level … note that these weren’t some sort of generic holiday photos.  They are photos with Santa Claus.  Santa is tied very firmly to Christmas.

Welcome to a special, holiday edition of Fiction Friday.  This is a two part story.  While today’s installment is pretty normal, many people are likely to find tomorrow’s conclusion disturbing.  You have been warned …

“Oh, Kate, you didn’t have to bring anything,” said Erin, as she gave her friend a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, it’s just a pumpkin pie. You and Kevin prepared the rest of the food – this is just a token of our appreciation.”

“Well, we definitely appreciate it,” chimed in Kevin. “Pumpkin pie is my favorite. Let me grab your coats. Dinner is ready to be served.”

Kevin hung up the coats while Kate and Tom followed Erin to the kitchen. The smell of turkey, stuffing, corn, and potatoes wafted through the air.

“Everything smells so good. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. What’s not a like about a national eating holiday?” laughed Tom.

Their hostess grabbed the carving knife. “What part of the turkey do you like, Tom?” she asked.

“I’m a leg man.” Tom held his plate out, and Erin slid a juicy drumstick onto it.

The four friends took their places around the table and began passing around bowls of food. Kevin took a large portion of mashed potatoes, topped the mound with stuffing and corn, and poured a river of gravy over the top. Tom grabbed two slices of Erin’s famous corn bread, and Kate served herself an extra large portion of the delicious cranberries. Erin herself appeared to play no favorite – she took equal portions of each dish – to the point of taking some of the white meat and some of the dark.

The foursome began their feast, and a pleasant silence enveloped the room, punctuated only by the sounds of chewing and an occasional burp. During the second helping, the eating began to slow a bit, and conversation resumed.

“Stafford’s going to light up the Packers,” proclaimed Tom, in between bites of turkey.

Kevin smiled politely. This was not the time to stoke and argument about the relative strengths of the Packers and Lions. Tom was a complete moron for believing that Detroit was on the same level with Green Bay. In the grand scheme of things, it really didn’t matter very much, though.

“He definitely had a good week against Cleveland. We’ll see if he can maintain that sort of momentum. Rookie quarterbacks can hit some bumps in the road.”

“This isn’t just any rookie,” exclaimed his friend. “This is Matthew effing Stafford, number one draft pick in the whole world.”

Erin interrupted Tom’s idol worship. “Does anyone have room for a slice of Kate’s pie?”

In spite of the large meal, everyone seemed to have just enough room for one slice of pumpkin pie. Tom loosened his belt a notch while Erin popped up from her chair. She returned to the table with the pumpkin pie, as well as a container of Cool Whip.

“Awesome,” said Tom. “There’s nothing better than pumpkin pie with Cool Whip.”

After everyone had finished their pie, Erin began to collect the dishes. Kate stood up the help her while the guys headed to the living room to watch football.

“It’s under control, Kate. I’ll handle the dishes. You can go watch the game.”

Kate put up a feeble protest before joined the men in front of the big screen TV. By the time that Kate had finished the dishes, all three were sound asleep, thanks to the turkey and wine.

TO BE CONTINUED …

In case you missed it, there was a FNN news story published earlier today.  FNN stands for Fake News Network …

Happy Black Friday.  We’re delaying Fiction Friday this week, but will have a special two-part story on Saturday and Sunday.  Today, however, we make a blatant attempt to get you to buy more stuff.

Yep, it’s your conscience telling you to read more often!  In the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, one thing that I am thankful for is the written works of my favorite authors.  How different my life would be without the pleasure of reading.  Winter is a great time to catch up on reading, since the weather sucks.

You’re looking for suggestions on some good books to read?  Well, you’ve come to the right place.  I’ll not only recommend some books to read, I’ll recommend a baker’s dozen of my favorite authors.  (Note: all of the links are Amazon affiliate links – which means I will get a small commission if you buy something.)

Yes, the authors are listed in order of preference.  You might noticed that there are no women on the list.  Fear not, I do not exclude female authors from my reading list.  Patricia Cornwell and Sue Grafton would probably be #14 and #15, but I had to stop somewhere.  There is a decent dropoff between this group of 13 and the next dozen authors that I follow, so I stopped at #13.

1. Lawrence Block – Lawrence Block is my hero. That’s really what it boils down to. From the moment I read his first book, he has ranked among my favorite authors. I particularly enjoy the comedic Burglar series and the hard boiled Scudder books. I profiled Block several months ago, so I won’t rehash the details.

2. Michael Crichton – Michael Crichton left us far too soon. Crichton is best known for Jurassic Park and the television show ER, but there are plenty of treasures amongst his works – Timeline, Sphere, Congo, Prey – the list goes on.

3. Jeffery Deaver – I was introduced to Jeffery Deaver by the movie The Bone Collector. You might not know this, by Deaver has an entire series of books related to Lincoln Rhyme (the character played by Denzel Washington).

4. Dan Brown – I have devoted quite a bit of digital ink to Dan Brown, reviewing The Lost Symbol, as well as his other works. Whether you like him or not, he tells an interesting tale.

5. John Sandford – There a local connection to John Sandford. Sandford is the pen name of Pulitzer prize winning writer John Camp, who hails from Cedar Rapids, Iowa originally. Sandford’s fictional detective Lucas Davenport works in various capacities for the Minneapolis police or the state of Minnesota over the course of the “Prey” novels. Davenport is well off financially because of a software company he owned, which is a cool twist. One of Davenport’s friends is Dell Capslock … whose name was taken off a computer keyboard.

6. William X. Kienzle – Kienzle is himself a former priest, and he writes about a priest (Father Koesler) who solves crimes. The books delve a bit into the inner workings of the church as well as some theology, but in a non-preaching way. As a Catholic myself, I find this background information interesting. Note: I’m linking to the search results for him instead of the main author page, because the author page is missing the vast majority of his books!

7. John Grisham – I’ve fallen toward the outer edge of the Grisham bandwagon in recent years, as he has started to write fewer legal thrillers and more books of other types. When he does publish a new lawyer book, I’m always first in line. The master hasn’t lost his touch; he simply decided to go some new directions.

8. Michael Connelly – I never really intended to become a big fan of Connelly. I’d just read the occasional book here and there. One day, I glanced at the list of his books and realized that i had really nearly 20 of his books! In addition to the Harry Bosch detective novels, Connelly is the author of Blood Work, which was turned into a Clint Eastwood film..

9. Nelson Demille – One of my favorite books of all time is The Lion’s Game. Most of DeMille’s books deal with international incidents and/or the military. In addition to The Lion’s Game, I strongly recommend Up Country, Charm School, and The General’s Daughter (which was turned into a movie starring John Travolta).

10. Douglas Preston and 11. Lincoln Child – it’s unusual enough to see a successful writing duo, much less one whose members also achieve success as solo authors. Together, they write books about FBI agent Pendergast. Among their solo efforts, I recommend Preston’s The Codex and Child’s Utopia.  The Codex reminds me a bit of Grisham’s The Testament.

12. Ed McBain – McBain is our lens into the inner workings of a police department –   in this case, the 87th precinct in New York City. Detective Steve Carella stars as the good guy in the series, but there are some negative cop characters, too – most notable, Fat Ollie Weeks from the neighboring 88th precinct.

13. John D. MacDonald – MacDonald’s hero, Travis McGee, takes his retirement in installments, rather than waiting until he is older. McGee lives on a houseboat (The Busted Flush, which he won in a poker game) and helps friends out of trouble every once in a while.

Brought to you by the Fake News Network.

POCATELLO (FNN)  An Idaho man recently broke a long standing record for turkey consumption.  Local welder Gerald Cooper ate turkey three times a day for 366 straight days – an incredible 1098 consecutive meals.  More incredibly, all of the turkey was prepared for Thanksgiving 2008!  FNN sent reporter Scoop Chevelle to Pocatello to get the scoop.

SCOOP:  Wow, Gerald.  Color me impressed.  What inspired you to do this?

COOP:  Well, Scoop, it really started by accident.  Wal-Mart had this great deal on turkeys, so I bought a bunch.  I planned a huge party for turkey day last year.  Hundreds of my closest friends and 600 pounds of turkey.  Unfortunately, I was a bit drunk when I sent the invitations.  In hindsight, the mailbox I put them into may have been a storm drain.  The end result is that nobody showed up.

SCOOP:  So you were left with 600 pounds of turkey and decided to eat all of it yourself?

COOP:  Yeah, that’s pretty much it.  Hey, I have a couple of big deep freezes, so I just tossed the leftovers into the iceboxes.  Really, it wasn’t bad for the first few months.  Obviously, Idaho has the best potatoes in the world – yeah, I see you Ireland.  Bring it ON!  The cranberries did get a bit gamey after the first week, though.

SCOOP:  How have you kept from getting sick of turkey every day?

COOP:  For the first six months, I just had plain old turkey sandwiches.  Then I began to mix it up a bit.  Turkey chili, turkey stroganoff, turkey energy shakes, turkey whiskey, turkey waffles, turkey tacos, turkey thermidor.

SCOOP:  Have you ever come close to missing a meal?

COOP:  Yes – May 18th was extremely close.  I was a bit hung over, and it was 11:30 by the time I realized that I hadn’t had my breakfast yet.  I snuck it in just under the wire.  Hey, as long as you’re done before noon, it counts as breakfast.

SCOOP:  How much turkey is left?

COOP:  Happily, none.  I had a handful of friends over last night, and we polished off the last 20 pounds.

SCOOP:  So, are you looking forward to Thanksgiving 2010?

COOP:  I think I’m having ham next year.

Seeing as my column will appear on this site on Thanksgiving, I thought it would only be appropriate to write about things that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for my children. Two wonderful, healthy boys who were not “ruined” by my decision to breastfeed, delay solids until 6 months, baby wear and vaccinate. (I know, a crazy combination!)

I am thankful for my parents. They raised me as a Democrat and showed me how to be compassionate. They also gave me common sense and ethics. Needless to say, I’m pretty sure that they voted Republican the last few elections.

I am thankful for my husband. A man who served in Iraq for nine months saving others lives (he’s a medic) so they may count their blessings this day. And yes, he saved Iraqi civilians as well as our soldiers.

I am thankful I still have the right to say “Merry Christmas”. I figured I’d better get that in before it’s taken away from me.

I am thankful that the Nobel Peace Prize has finally shown its true colors as a sham organization. This award actually used to hold some meaning when it was given to people who contributed to society for the better (Mother Teresa, Theodore Roosevelt, Jean Henri Dunant, Martin Luther King Jr, Norman Borlaug). Now it is given to people who give speeches and “hope” that things change (Barack Obama, United Nations, Jimmy Carter). Oh, and a little additional piece of information. In 1990, it was awarded to Mikhail Gorbachev for “helping to bring an end to the cold war”. Really? Cause I’m pretty sure Reagan could have nuked the heck out of the USSR if he wanted to. Where’s his peace prize? Maybe I could get one for letting someone in front of me on the freeway…but I guess that means I actually DID something to earn it. Oh well, back to scouring the “Cracker Jack” boxes. Maybe I’ll find one in there.

I am thankful that “manbearpig” I mean “Global Warming/Climate Change” has been exposed as the “greatest scandal in modern science”. Don’t believe me? Google it.

I am thankful that there is still a little common sense in the US Senate. Liebermann has said that he would not vote for a healthcare bill that has a public option. I guess that makes 40 people with common sense in the Senate (39 Republicans and Liebermann).

I am thankful that the “Obamaworship” has died down and that many Independents and Democrats are now regretting their vote. The grass isn’t always greener, is it?

I am thankful for 2010. This way we can give a nice retirement party to those who will vote for the healthcare bill.

I am thankful that 2012 is only 3 years away. I think Barack needs to spend a little more time in Chicago … as the FORMER President.

See, even if we don’t hold the House, Senate or Presidency, I sure have a lot to be thankful for.

What do you call H1N1 in your house? H1N1? Pig Flu? Swine Flu? Hini Flu (Doesn’t H1N1 look like HINI?) After the last couple of months, we’re referring to it as Hell.

Those of you that read my last article know that I have a family of four. I’m blessed to have Kimberly (my wife), two beautiful daughters and me. My daughters are six (Kiley) and four (Kayla). Kiley is a first grader and Kayla is in her 2nd year of preschool at our church.

Kiley was the first person in our home to experience the early signs of H1N1. She came home from school with the trademark H1N1 cough and then diarrhea. A day later, Kayla shared in the misery. After the first day, H1N1 really turns on its charm. The high fever started with numbers reaching up to 103.7 and body aches unrivaled by any flu before. I remember hearing Kiley crying so I went to see what was wrong with her only to find that she was crying in her sleep. This continued for nearly a week. Both girls suffered extreme exhaustion, headache, body aches, coughing, fever, diarrhea and extreme irritability. My wife picked up a very low grade fever (around 100-101) and a resilient cough.

The girls slowly improved and at around the 10 day mark they were good enough to go back to school. At this point we learned that Kiley’s class of 23 kids had only 8 children in class during part of her absence. I wondered why no classes were cancelled and the school continued as planned.

During this fiasco I remained symptom free and was starting to feel invincible to this “Pig Flu”. Could I possibly avoid this? I had watched my entire live in family suffer through it and I was feeling a little guilty. I wasn’t taking any chances though. I doubled my multivitamin intake and started taking Emergen-C three times each day. I was also very nervous because I had tickets for the Nebraska vs. Texas Tech football game which was in Lincoln. I had non-refundable hotel reservations and plans with some of my college buddies that (I thought) I couldn’t miss. My plans were to leave on Friday morning about 6:00 am.

Wednesday night I began to feel extremely fatigued, soon I had a headache and body aches started. I went to bed hoping I would continue to fight it. I woke up Thursday morning about 3:00 am freezing and burning up at the same time, my back felt like my wife had been punching me in the back all night and I couldn’t get comfortable in bed no matter how I laid. I spent all day Thursday sleeping and wrapped in blankets. My fever was above 103, I had chills, horrible body aches and I noticed that I felt short of breath just going up one flight of stairs.

I was taking Ibuprofen every four hours and Acetaminophen two hours after the Ibuprofen. Friday morning I woke up and my fever had broke. This is where I got stupid … very stupid. I called my buddy to see if he still wanted to drive to Lincoln. I told him my fever broke but that I had H1N1. We talked about the “24 hour fever free” rule, but being a sports fanatic, he was in anyway.

We drove to Lincoln, drank, ate and had as much fun as possible. Saturday my buddy came began to get symptoms of H1N1 and we both struggled through the football game. Sunday we drove home to our families as sick as ever. My fever came back and continued until Tuesday. I started feeling better then but stayed out of work that week so I didn’t give it to anyone else. The shortness of breath continued and 6 weeks later is still haunting me.

After being H1N1 free except for the shortness of breath for a few weeks, I came down with a terrible sinus infection and possibly bronchitis. I worked from home so I didn’t make anyone else sick. Then I went to see my doc a few days later. He didn’t think it was bronchitis but plenty of sinus infection to go around. My cough was horrible and shortness of breath was worse. I learned that after H1N1 hits you with the flu, it leaves your upper respiratory system in a weakened state. You’re very susceptible to colds, infections and pneumonia.

I’m now 5 days through a 10 day course of antibiotics and can’t wait to feel better. My cough is much better but I have a lot of improving to do. Kiley, my six year old went back to the pediatrician with a horrible cough and stuffy nose. She was diagnosed with Pneumonitis; I’ve been told that is essentially the beginning stages of pneumonia. 

I asked Kosmo if I could share my experience so that people would realize how rough this illness is. It isn’t a 24 hour flu and it isn’t necessarily over when the flu leaves. This is a horrible flu, especially for the kids. The body aches scare them to death and they are severe. The high fever wreaks havoc on their little bodies. For the parents, if you’re lucky enough to avoid it you’ll be saying, “I’m so sick of sick people.” (Quote taken from my wife Kimberly)

Please follow the CDC guidelines on prevention, be courteous and cough into a tissue or your elbow. Stay home if you’re sick or keep your kids home if they’re sick. This pandemic has forced me to change the way I think about illness. I don’t wish this on anyone and I feel bad that I didn’t adhere to the 24 hour fever free rule. This has changed my view on flu forever.

I don’t ask much, but if you haven’t already been sickened by H1N1 and you haven’t been vaccinated, just do it. You’ll thank yourself later.

Squeaky…

http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1FLU/

What a week of bad coaching moves in football, at least some perceived coaching moves. The one getting the most scrutiny on ESPN and all of the local talk shows was New England’s Head Coach Bill Bellicheck’s decision to go for it with a fourth and two from his own 28 yard line. Mind you the Patriots had a 6 point lead at the time. What is lost is that the guy on the other side of the ball you are punting too, Peyton Manning, has just led the Indianapolis Colts on two quick scoring drives. Manning seems to have figured it out, he is in a groove.

I don’t mind the coaches decision here although he has gotten roasted for it. If the Pats pick up the first down he looks like a genius and is heralded as a go for broke gunfighter coach with you know what made of steel. Ah, the fickle business of pleasing the masses.

In THE GAME between Yale and Harvard, there was even a worse decision. Yale decides to run a fake punt on fourth and twenty-two with a 3 point lead in the game. Yale was also the underdog in this match up. Fourth and cab fare???? Even if the fake works you have to pick up roughly a fourth of the field to get the first down. BOOOOOOO! Bad decision here that may have contributed to Yale losing the game.

The most inexcusable and worst thirty seconds of coaching I have ever witnessed took place in the LSU vs Ole Miss game. First of all they call horrible plays on second and third down and lose big yards, which take them out of potential game winning field goal range. Then the inexplicably fail to call time out and let 19 seconds run off the clock. The Tigers try a hail mary and pick up the first down and then have a measly one second left. Spiking the ball to kill the clock won’t work, not enough time. Nice job by Les throwing his QB under the bus telling him he wasn’t motioning him to spike it although television replays CLEARLY show he is motioning for this to happen from the sidelines. Where is your field goal unit read to run onto the field? Where is one of your assistants or players at while 19 seconds run off the clock and you just stand around, slowly letting it slip away, giving your team no opportunity to make a play at the end.

I am guessing LSU fans are almost as unhappy as Notre Dame fans right now, but for different reasons.

We pick up where we left off last week, as guest writer Martin Kelly continues in his quest to meet the NaNoWrioMo goal of 50,000 words in a single month!

11/13 – Chapter 15, my main character learned how to milk a cow.  Almost everything in this chapter came from listening to my father in law talk to my kids about growing up on a farm.  I was actually using the story to encourage them to go to college.  He escaped and didn’t want them to have to work that hard.  I am trying to be as faithful to the stories I have heard as possible.  On word count, I have passed 23k.  This is good, since I continue to re-edit earlier work, mostly with deletions.  I have found lots of spelling/typing errors and just can’t help myself, I have to fix them

11/14 – I’m at the half way point!!  More than 25,000 words.  Chapters 16 and 17, my main character is left alone in his house for the first time.  He snoops around.  Mostly he finds embarrassing things.  His wife has a lot of lingerie, some of it pretty slutty.  This is stuff he got for her before his ‘change’.  He also finds his box of adult videos.  He starts lifting weights to get back his strength.  Since he is only recently out of the hospital, he gets worn down and fall asleep at the end of chapter 16.

When he wakes up at the beginning of chapter 17, the weather has turned bad.  He has to move quickly to take care of the animals.  By the time he is done, his wife is home.  He is starting to do the little things to make her believe he has actually changed.  He is performing the farm chores, he is setting and clearing the table for every meal.  He hasn’t become a perfect husband, but he is trying and she is noticing.

11/15 – Chapter 18 Okay, this was the big sex scene.  I like the way it turned out.  Not too sophomoric and not to pornographic.  I gave enough details to leave no doubts as to what went on.  I tried to think about scenes from movies and books I have read and seen with out plagiarizing.  I tried to avoid anything that would reflect on my real life experiences, to avoid embarrassing my wife.  When I am done, I will make the whole novel available to Kosmo and the rest of the casually observing community.  You can judge my success or failure.

11/16 – Chapter 19, the morning after.  The main character and his wife are still in the glow of the previous evening.  They are preparing for a day at her parents house.  They have another romp before doing all the things that have to be done around a farm.  I have included a lot of homey details to make the characters more full.  This was a short chapter, but I am close to 30,000 words.  Being on travel has given me a lot of idle time to write.  No kids, chores or anything else to distract me.  I am on the west coast, so even the television shows that I watch are over early.  Hopefully I can keep this pace up.  If I do, I might hit 60,000 words before the end of November.  I am not really aiming for a specific word count, I want to get to a good ending point for the story.  I think I have come up with a good stopping point, now I just have to get there.

11/17 – Chapter 20 The main character spends the day with his in-laws.  I must be lonely for home, I spent a lot of time describing the food.  There is also another sex scene.  I may really have to tone this down before publication.  I avoided the intimate scenes for days, now three in a row.  Another short chapter, but I passed the 30,000 word count mark  I am still ahead of plan for NaNoWriMo.  I actually have a lot of time for writing when I get to the hotel each night.  Tonight I had dinner with several co-workers, so less time and fewer words.  The key is writing every night, even if it is stuff you will have to delete later.

What did you miss over the weekend?

• On Friday, we saw the short fiction story My Name is Dollar Bill
• Kosmo told us about Life in Iowa on Saturday
• Sunday featured Kosmo’s Ramblings