Hello and Welcome! Come on in where it is warm and dry! It is above freezing (barely) and raining out there. Yuck. But it is nice inside and I can get you a large mug of ultra-strong dark roast, a cuppa tea, some hot cocoa or other beverage. And where are we? Some may recognize the photo as being from New Hampshire.
So, it is 2020. Funny, I’m not the only one that thinks 2020 sounds like “the future”. Many other bloggers have stated it and I’ve seen several articles with headlines like “Welcome to the Future! But Where are the Flying Cars?” And walking out into the rain it is obvious that we still have weather….
I started the week on Cape Cod and drove up to NH on the first. There was a nasty snow/ice storm on Monday and into Tuesday, so my driveway was awful. After the three hour drive, I got out of my (stuck) car and shoveled ice for and hour and a half. Not as long as when I shoveled 26 inches of snow a few weeks ago, but I was using a different shovel and was chopping ice, so I got a super nasty blister. The joys of winter.
I returned to work on Thursday. Oh well, at least I have work… ;)
It has been a pretty slow week without a lot of excitement.
Thanks for stopping by! If you have a coffee share I’ll try to stop by your place and say “Hi!”. If you want to join, or see what the others are doing, you can go to the linkup here.
Trent's World (the Blog) 
2020 used to be the future at the turn of the millennium I could not even imagine I would have been alive then haha too bad tech has not gone in leaps and bounds as anticipated
To the future
~B
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I think it was in a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip where I read the statement “I don’t think humans can handle the technology they already have” ;) I know – as a kid 2020 seemed so remote that the possibility of me living in it seemed ridiculous. And now, here it is, the future.
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2020 sure sounds like the future to me… but like you said, when I was a child I figured flying cars would be in the future. Love the mug in the ice, but hearing about how much snow and ice you have had to endure. Happy New Year, and spring is on the way….
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I’m also waiting for the 20 hour work week – weren’t we always told that as computers did more of the hard work we would have more leisure time? We did have a snowier than usual December. Hopefully the entire winter isn’t like that… But then, the days are getting longer, even if spring still seems like a distant dream.
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Hi T – in the 80s – the song 1999 by Prince always made that year feel so far into the future – and 2020 was like the ultimate future –
The year of trips to Mars or as you said – hovering cars?? Ha.
And you did have a good attitude with the snow digging out (read your comment to Wilson) and I remember when I had to dig out in Buffalo – like when the snow plow would come by and leave crusty ice snow along the driveway so had to shovel to get out…0
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I think Omni magazine (did you ever read Omni?) had a contest that winners would spend New years Eve 1999 – 2000 on a space station. I don’t think it happened ;) And after the Moon, Mars should have been just around the corner ;) There was the TV show “Space 1999” about a large colony on the Moon, but a large nuclear blast launched the Moon into deep space… “The future” as seen from the past is so fun ;)
I don’ really mind shoveling too much. I will admit, though, that snow is one of the reasons I want to move to Cape Cod when I retire – they do get it, but it is not the problem it is in NH. or Buffalo…. (Growing up on the shore of Lake Erie, I know what Buffalo gets, particularly if there is a storm before the lake is frozen.)
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Yes – you know lake effect during winter …
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And never read Omni magazine (nkt that I recall) but that does sound fun to look back and see predictions – I would say smart phone tech and small
Cameras are outstanding but I am shocked that some things still stump humans! Like really? We don’t have the tech to put out fires (like in Cali and now Australia)
Guess it just depends where the powers to be decide to put the money and research efforts
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Unfortunately I think it will be a long time before we have the tech to put out those types of fires – the best you can do is drop water on them, make firebreaks, etc., which they do :( But yeah, overall, it is almost always like that – the big predictions don’t come true, but other things people never thought about do (Well, there were things sort of like cell phones in some sci-fi. I think it was Bradbury in the early 1950s that had people walking like zombies as they stared at their hand-held TV sets.)
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Bradbury and others had some realistic stuff! And think it Orwell’s big brother is upon us…
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Yes, but one thing about Big Brother today is it is often more the huge corporations than the government, they the Gov. does its share of spying on us…
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really good point
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And by the way – how is the Old Mill coming along?
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Some time in late October or early November I stopped working on it… I was a bit depressed about writing at the time. I’m thinking of starting it back up again (thanks for the little nudge with your review of the novellas). When I do dig it back out, would you have the time to do a quick beta-read?
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Hi T – I know exactly what you mean about “not being into writing” at certain times – and remember that even flowers need to be dormant –
and maybe you just had to recharge (with music, blogging, walks) and not writing –
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I tried to finish one of my WIPs before December ended – turns out – I picked the wrong project and could not finish by end of Dec – but I see if I would have picked this other project it would have been done.
oh well.
and sure, I would like to give it a skim – but this really is not my area at all and I might not have much helpful feedback. Also, I don’t do horror or scary… ??
But I know the honor it is to be asked.
and again, in my very humble opinion – take your time when digging it back out… you might be restoring something that allows you to write with more fervor – ya know?
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Thanks, Y. Yeah, this book might not be up your alley… Based on what someone else said (generically, not about my work), I pushed this story a little deeper into horror territory than it was before I did my second draft. When I finish the next draft I might put out a call on the blog for beta-readers.
In hindsight, part of the writing hiatus was recharging, but at the time it supposed to be a permanent thing – I even almost took my existing books off of Amazon. At some point I’ll jump back into it…
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Oh Trent – do not take your books off!
And watch the artist’s temperament that sometimes can rob joy.
I am not sure all of what you were feeling when you felt like plucking the books – but being an author does have moody seasons.
And not just saying this to fluff – but I was delightfully surprised with the adventures in Towards the light.
And as a mostly NON fiction reader….- I smiled a few times when I got back into the journey — it was also during December Christmas month where that gets on my nerves sometimes – the hype and all- so the adventure was nice.
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And yes – I will pass on any horror stuff – really not my thing —
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And side note – I learned a lesson with promoting my book with the “avian friends” promo –
It did not go well at all and it was because I just tossed the promo out there and did it right after Xmas – assuming it would be a good time – but not so much .
In contrast – the promo of lady by the river went well in spring because I paced it and had posts leading up to the five away.
Guess we live and learn.
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Yes, I am occasionally the moody artist ;) It usually doesn’t last long, thankfully. But climbing out of it is always harder than falling in…. Thanks, Y. We do live and learn. And I feel for those poor people who don’t do that learning part ;)
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Well I think every artist can vary in their moods – and vary in the moods they have with different arts they have talent in- ya know what I mean? So writing moods might vary from music project moods and drawing varies too-
As does blogging…
And side note – hope you do not get burned out with the weekly challenge…
I only briefly hosted the Friday food challenge but felt it was a lot of work and then had ups and downs with lots of participants and then very few – it wasn’t enjoyable at all….
So I pulled the plug…
And hope your weekly smile is enjoyable and not like the brief experience I had
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There are times I roll my eyes and say, “OK, this is the last week for the Smile,” but then there are times I read something someone has written and it makes it all worth it :) It is possible that I will try to hand it off later this year or take a break from it for a few months – it won’t be the first time…
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That is a good idea – and maybe do it in quarters – month off – three months on – month off- hmm
Or find someone or a few someone’s to tag team it with you…
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Good ideas. I’m not really sure yet, but I will most likely do something different in a few months. If you remember, I did have almost a year pause in there…
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I do remember and I was going to ask you how long it has been going this time – I could look it up – but has it been a year already? Think it has
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I restarted it October 18, 2018, so a little over a year.
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Might be time for a short pause (maybe a few months off) kind of like how shows ok TV have seasons off – ;)
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It’s getting close. Maybe I’ll be like the TV show and take the summer off… Maybe sooner.
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I think you should take three breaks with it -/
And speaking of that – I am easing into a blog pause right now – going to post today but hope to unplug a bit more this month…; 0)
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Possibly multiple breaks – we’ll see. I hope your bit of a break goes well :)
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Thanks – really good start to the year overall! Some little things are extra sweet –
And not really into taking a blog break but I am due and I know how it helps me in the long run. Similar to how if I miss yoga for five days (or something like that) and then go back with fervor or at least a little freshness
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So sorry that you have gotten tangled in the stormy weather, there. We have been quite fortunate in not having to go out in it. Last Sunday and Monday, the place where my husband does volunteer work did not open its doors, since there was a travel advisory/ban here and in the neighboring cities. The shoveling is wicked, esp. the ice chunks. I hope that next week goes better!
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For the most part I don’t mind shoveling snow, not even when there is more than two feet of it, like early December. The problem here is that we returned to two inches of ice, not snow. Because of that, I could not use a snow shovel, I had to use a flat ended steel shovel and chip the ice. But again, besides the nasty blister, it wasn’t that bad. There is no snow in the forecast, so hopefully it will be OK ;) Thanks. have a good week.
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Hi! Thanks for inviting me in. Have a good week!
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Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great week as well. I see you have a coffee share up, so I may stop by there in a few minutes :)
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We haven’t got much ice or snow storms yet. The weather channel said snow storm warning but unless something else is brewing for tonight I think it missed us.
Slow weeks without much excitement are nice every once in a while. Hope you have a great week.
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We have had three snows this year (the big one after Thanksgiving, a couple of inches before Christmas and then this ice storm) and might getting a little tonight, but I hope not. I won’t mind if we don’t get much more this year – the limited snow fall is one reason I like Cape Cod ;)
Quiet weeks are good. Have a wonderful week :)
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You’re probably tired of snow already. We got that big snow in November, but nothing much of anything down here since. Upper Michigan has been hammered a bunch, but we’ve managed to get missed, both to the south and the north, so far. I’m sure it won’t last.
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We had the one big snow and then two smaller snows after it. The big problem with this one is that it rained at the end and was frozen by the time I got home – if I had been there, it would have just been wet, heavy snow. I’m sure you will get your fair share of snow this winter, as will we….
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Okay, I can’t think of a way to put a positive spin on a 3 hr. drive followed by another hour of snow shoveling and a big old blister. That combination just stinks. But you’re safe and warm and are still in good spirits I sense. Okay, how about this, I’m glad your drive was safe and you were whole enough to do that shoveling.
Sorry, that’s the best I have for this situation. Have a great 2020 Trent.
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How about: After being cooped up in the car driving, it was great to get out and stretch, do a little exercise and have some time in the fresh air ;) I hope you are having a good weekend and that 2020 is good to you.
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I remember thinking that 2000 was the “future,” Trent. 2020 makes me feel old. Ha ha. Have a great weekend.
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I remember as a little kid being bummed because I would be an old man when the future arrived in the year 2000! Yep, I’d be too old to enjoy it or appreciate the space colonies and such….
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Exactly. Ha ha. Little did we know.
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Yep, wrong on all counts!
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Happy new year, Trent. Thanks for the coffee.
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Happy new year :)
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