Look! There is a thing!

 

A helpful (?) illustrated article on how to administer a pill to a cat. Those of you who have, or have had, cats will recognize this procedure. Those who have never had cats may be forewarned. Regardless, enjoy the chuckles.

 

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So, I'm working my way through Old Guard fic on AO3 -- last page to first, so I can tell where I stopped reading/saving stories. I'm on the fifth-from-last page, which means I've checked out -- at least read the summaries for -- over 100 stories. (If I really like one story, I'll click on that author's page and see if they have more.)

In that 100+ stories, I've seen 3 or 4 "band" stories -- either 'team is a band' AU, or they use that as a cover. Now, I know band AUs are a thing through many fandoms, as well as coffeeshop AUs, high school AUs, college AUs...   No big deal; sometimes they attract me, sometimes not. But this seems a rather high percentage for so early in the fandom. I vaguely wondered why, but set it aside. The fandom hive-mind is often mysterious and unknowable.

But I just watched The Old Guard Official Trailer, which includes some lines that were cut from the final version. One of those cut lines is Nile saying,

And army of five? Shit, let’s start a band.


*snort*   *chortle*   *big grin*

Okay, now I see why the idea sprang up so quickly. I'm sure it would have eventually -- it's a fandom trope, after all -- just not so fast. But it makes me wonder... were TPTB trying to encourage fanfic? Not that they could stop it, but it seems a little odd.


Thus ends the current Old Guard update, which seems to be turning into a semi-regular thing. No idea when it'll start to fade -- I'm still finding things I missed in the movie, and editing my transcript. I'm not quite as obsessive an obsessed thing as I was three weeks ago (maybe like, 80%), but it's still going strong. <shrug> But it's still fun, so that's okay.

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Okay. I'm now retired... and busier than ever, LOL! I keep thinking I should post... but I've said that before. So, starting now -- one day at a time.

Of course, although I'm busy, it's not exciting. Watching the swallows skim through the air, or finally making a realio-trulio pond (to the excitement and satisfaction of the neighbor's ducks) is not of earth-shattering interest.

But today, I'm pointing you toward sources for e-books.

1. BookBub   When you sign up, it asks you your preferred reading genres, From Action/Adventure to Women's Fiction, including fiction and non-fiction (science, parenting, etc.), and age-related stories (children or teen/young adult). Then you get a daily email with a list of selections from the genres you've chosen, all with discounted prices -- from $0.00 to $2.99. Below each blurb are links to the book on the sites where they're discounted -- Amazon, B&N, Apple, Google, Kobo. These deals usually (though not always) are in effect for 2 or 3 days. But if it's a really good deal -- well-known author at a ridiculously low price (eg. Ellery Queen for $1.99), grab it quickly; it'll only last the day. Assuming you want it, of course.

2. Early Bird Books   When you sign up, you don't select preferred genres; you just get an email (or 2) every day. (I often get one early in the morning, then another -- with an extended list of books -- a few hours later.) There will be 30 - 40 books on the list, in a variety of genres, with prices from $0.99 to $2.99. Like BookBub, each advertised book is shown with links to each site where it can be purchased. Note that these deals are 1 day only; prices expire at "midnight", but I don't know what time zone. I assume USA Eastern. However, I am seeing titles recycle; if you can't afford a book you want this time, it may show up again in 6 - 8 weeks.

Occasionally, like today, (about 2 or 3 times a month) Early Bird sends an email with links to various genres; each link brings up a selection of 25 - 30 books. I'm putting the links here -- you can check them out today if you're interested; it might be a good overview of what you'll get if you sign up. I haven't tried accessing these links daily, because I haven't thought of it, but since they'll be here, I'll give it a try tomorrow and see if they remain valid.

Murder & Mayhem

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Romance

Literary & Historical Fiction

History & Biography

True Crime & Horror

Cooking, Crafting, and Lifestyle


Edited to add: bluewolf458 reminded me of two other resources. Both offer books no longer in public domain, so you won't find anything new. But you may be able to grab some classics, and/or childhood memories.

Gutenberg Press   and   Faded Page.


So there you go. Happy reading!
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When I went to picspamyou_2009 to post my latest bird pictures, j_amanda thought it looked like an osprey. I was doubtful; osprey are water birds, and we have very little fish-bearing water around here. Both Lovington and Hobbs have small man-made lakes that are stocked with fish but, other than that, the nearest river is 90 miles away. However, when I checked the osprey entry at eNature, I found that [a] the head markings do resemble the picture I took, and [b] osprey breed as far inland as New Mexico. Who'd-a thunk it?

Then I had a little free time, and I've never really searched the eNature site, so I started playing around. By clicking on "Local Nature" and inputting my zip code, the site will bring up a list of plants/animals that I might find in my area.

Notice the qualifier "might". The map area they show takes in a large part of the state, clear up into the northern areas where there are actual mountains and water. Animals that live there aren't likely to also live in the flat, dry, dusty corner where I live.

For instance, Dad occasionally sees pheasants around his place; I'm pretty sure it's the ring-necked pheasant. (That's the right size and shape, anyway.) I see lots of scaled quail. But Dad doesn't get the quail, and I don't get the pheasants, although our terrain is very similar, and we're only 120 miles apart.

So, just because it's on 'the list' of possibilities doesn't mean I've actually seen it around, or am likely to. OTOH, having a shorter list of 'possibles' will let me identify an unknown more easily. So, just for easy reference for me - and satisfying your curiosity if you're interested - here are the species that I might see... if I'm very, very lucky.


There are 140 species of birds.

Or 55 species of mammals... only 55?

Or 61 species of reptiles and amphibians.

Or 91 species of butterfly.

Or 736 species of wildflowers, to which I really call 'foul'! They have the entire state marked, and I know conditions will preclude certain species from certain areas.

Or 225 species of trees, with the same caveat: the whole state is selected. Also... trees, more than anything, can be out of their 'normal' area because people think 'this' looks pretty and plant it in yards or parks. I wonder which are native, and which are introduced.

But... oh, well. It's a place to start, and a little glimpse of where I live.

And I'm all puffed; the preview showed I got every single link and HTML right the first time. Wheeeee!
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I was looking for a picture of a mallard duckling to illustrate my newest story. (Still writing, increasing estimate to 4,000 words.)

Anyway, I found a darling picture in this lot -- but the rest of the pictures are absolutely breath-takingly beautiful, so I wanted to share. Very image-heavy, not dial-up friendly... but you might start the download while you read a good story in another window, or something. It's worth the wait.
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