Stupid is as stupid does

So, I read advice columns... a lot of them. I find it interesting to hear about other people's problems and how to handle them, it's that whole character development thing that I like to weave into my writing. I saw this one today from Ann Landers (I'm guessing it was a reprint :) )

Dear Ann Landers: I always wondered how a pedestrian could be hit by a car in a crosswalk. I know now. I cannot count the number of times I've seen pedestrians step blindly into an intersection crosswalk when the light turns to "Walk." Do they stop to see if oncoming traffic notices them? No, they do not. They just figure the driver will see them and hit the brakes. They march directly into the street, assuming that because they have the right of way, the cars will stop.

What they do not know is that the driver in an oncoming car just got fired, had a fight with his wife or is trying to find the lighted cigarette he just dropped. The pedestrian may have the right of way, but being right isn't enough when you're laid up in the hospital or, worse yet, in the cemetery.

Wake up, you idiots. Your life is your responsibility, and if you value it, you will not assume that all drivers are sober, considerate and interested in keeping you alive. -- A.H. in Sacramento, Calif.

Dear A.H.: Thank you for all the readers you may have saved today. Your message is clear: Don't assume a driver sees you or that he is competent, sober and alert. The one who isn't could cost you your life.

Now, the sentiment is great... pedestrian or not, pay attention to the road, but in a way the writer of this letter is still blaming the driver... and, seriously, pedestrians need to be cognizant of the world around them, as well as the rules of the road... without blaming the person behind the wheel.

Sure, it's all well and good to say, well, pedestrians have the right of way. But when it comes down to a fight between a two-ton blob of metal and a 150-pound person, guess who's gonna win?

There was one incident that I'll never forget that drove this home for me. Now, I live in Canada. We get snow. We get a lot of snow. This isn't unusual for us and I find it hilarious that people are actually surprised when it comes. One particularly blizzardy afternoon, I was driving with some friends. Now, I was being overly cautious because the snow was still falling and the roads were very, very slippery. My eyes were glued to the road (scanning around for people, other cars, etc.) Both hands were on the wheel at 10 and 2. And my foot was hovering between both gas pedals. (i.e., give it enough gas to move the car, but keep your foot near the brakes in case of slipping or kids running out onto the street)

I was about 10 feet from a cross walk when a woman marched up, pressed the button and, without stopping, stepped into the street directly in front of my car. I slammed on the brake and skidded into her, missing her literally by --> <-- that much. What did she do? She stopped at the sound of my squealing brakes (and my blaring horn), didn't even look at me, and then kept going, completely oblivious how close she came to getting run over.

Now, I'd seen her approach the crosswalk, but knew that if I tried to stop (even though I was going less than 25 km/h) I'd skid and hit her, and considering how close I was to the walk, common sense (snow or no snow) would tell a pedestrian to wait until the car almost in the crosswalk had passed before stepping out onto the street. I would have passed in less than 10 seconds, and I'm pretty sure that extra ten seconds wouldn't have made any difference in her life.

Now, I was paying attention this time. If I hadn't been, if I'd been fiddling with the radio, or laughing with my best friends, or even checking out my best friend's hubby in the rear view mirror (hey, he's cute and he used to make faces at me while I drove :) ), that woman would be dead. And even though she acted completely recklessly, it would have been legally my fault, because my car crossed a crosswalk while the light was on.

There's a very important group of words in the laws of the road that a lot of people on the road (both in and out of cars) tend to ignore and I think it's the cause of a lot of the accidents we see today.

Those words... "When It Is Safe To Do So."

Just because you put on your signal or press the button on a crosswalk doesn't mean that the whole entire world around you is going to be able to instantly stop to let you do what you want. Great, you've signalled that you want to do something. Now wait until it's safe for you to do it...

What *should* happen, is that people will see your signal, and will act accordingly, stop for a crosswalk, let you change lanes, whatever. But, because so many people are acting like "well, I put my signal on, I'm going to do what I want right now, whether there's someone in my way or not", people are going out of their way to prevent them from doing it. (Like the people who speed up to keep you from changing lanes in front of them on the highway.)

It's called common sense and courtesy. Let's use it. Then it really might be Safe to Do So.

Happy Blogiversary!

Happy Blogiversary,
Happy Blogiversary.
Happy Blogiversary,
HAAAAAAAAAppy Blogiversary.
Happy, happy, happy, happy,
Happy Blogiversary
Happy, happy, happy, happy,
Happy Blogiversary...

dontcha just love the Flintstones? *grin*

Yup, today's my one year blogiversary.

So, where was I a year ago? I was working at Sprawl-Mart, making the 130 km round trip across the city, and unhappy as all heck. Getting regular migraines, colds and all round feeling crappy. And more often than not, I was driving across the city to sit at my desk and do.... nothing. The day I started this blog was two or three days after I got access to the internet at my desk (yeah, try being a copywriter and do research without access to any kind of research material...). And I thought it was something I could do to keep myself occupied during those long hours of thumb twiddling.

And now here I am a year later.. working three-and-a-half jobs from the comfort of my living room. Still waiting for Mr. Pink to propose. Still not any closer to being published, but at least significantly happier with my life.

And I'm finding I like this. I like writing several times a week (tho, yes, not that much lately, I admit. *grin*). I like knowing people are out there who are interested enough to pay me a visit once in a while (thanks for coming! :) )

So here's to another year together. Let's make it a good one! :)

Why pre-ordering from Amazon is never a good idea.

So, here's the thing. I'm a big fan of Alison Kent's stuff. And that was even before she sent me a pile of author copies of some of her books just cuz I asked for them. *grin*

So, when she sent out a call for people to get the word out, blog-wise, about her new book that just launched, Deep Breath, I was all over the idea. Waaaaayyyyy back in March, I ordered the book from Amazon, so I'd have it in time for this whole marketing campaign.

Well, guess what... I'm still waiting for it.
Yup. See this:



That's my order from Amazon. It says I won't be seeing the books I ordered for another month and a half. Look at that! Ordered March 19, 2006.

Now, when I first started ordering from Amazon, and there were a couple of books that ship immediately and one that would take a while, someone would look at the order and think... hey! let's send the books that are ready so we're not leaving our poor customer in the lurch. Yeah, now? not so much. I should have learned the last time, when I ordered my little sister's b-day present and one book didn't come for six months (despite the "expected ship in 1 week!" promise.)

Grrrrr.

So if you like hot, sexy, steamy, romance, go check out Alison's Book Deep Breath. And if you don't, uhhh, why not? Hot, sexy, steamy romance is fun! :)

And go visit Alison's blog. Tell her I said hi. And if you've read Deep Breath, don't tell me how it ends! *grin*

So what do I do with it?

Ok, hurting the environment is bad. We all know this.

We've all heard the promotions to reduce, reuse, recycle. What we haven't heard is how hard it is to do it.

So, you may recall that I've been slowly trying to clean sweep my house. Well, we have a ton of electronic equipment that I don't particularly want to just dump in a, well, dump or a landfill.

Included are:

20" tv with remote - no green. you can have all the other colors, just not that one.
56K modem card
computer case with stuff in it (not sure exactly what)
2 broken VCRs
2 broken cable boxes

The thing is? I have been all over the 'net, and I can't figure out what to do with this stuff.

I want to be environmentally friendly, I really do, but if it's gonna cost me more than I paid for this stuff in the first place to recycle it, well, not so much.

Cuz it really would be easier to walk it outside and just leave it for the garbage truck that's coming tomorrow.

Anyone have any ideas? I really want to get this crap out of my house.

Satisfy Our Naughtier Side

Satisfy Our Naughtier Side Writing Contest

Give us your kick-ass heroines, your drool-worthy heroes, and your well-crafted stories that keep us coming back for more.

We're looking for a few good stories that are hot enough to melt silver. BDSM, anal, same-sex, group sex, we're not fussy. If it can turn us on and still make us sigh at your happily ever after (or happily for now), it's exactly what we want.

So how do you enter? First, check out our submission guidelines for Molten Silver. While we will look at books between 20,000 to 50,000 words, we'd prefer they be over 50,000. If you think you have what we need, send us the first three chapters and a synopsis of your book to mscontest@liquidsilverbooks.com by June 1, 2006.

This is a contest, right? So, you know there will be prizes!
First prize: $100
Second prize: $75
Third prize: $50

And the ultimate grand prize…our standard one-year publishing contract. Whether you win a prize or not, if you have what we need, you will be considered for publication by Liquid Silver Books. Still not enough? Well, we'll sweeten the pot a little more… if you win one of our top three prizes and accept a contract with Liquid Silver Books, we will double your prize!

This contest is open to any unpublished or published authors who do not already have a contract with Liquid Silver Books. If you are already published with us and have a suitable story for our Molten Silver line, please contact Raven directly.

Want to see your name in lights? Or at least on screen? Then get writing!

Pink and Mr. Pink Watch the Junos

So, I'm not really big on award shows, but there's nothing really on tv tonight, so we put on the Junos.... the Canadian version of the Grammys.

This year, they've brought Pammie Anderson and her little friends to host. MC-ing is Chris Sheppard, who Mr. Pink remembers from his dj-ing days and has spent the past hour regaling me with Chris was and probably still is on some serious drugs and it's the only way he's getting through this program stories. Oh, and apparently he's really bald. :)

So, I'm gonna do a bit of a live blogging thing and post some of our comments.

Oooh, Rex Goudie has been getting elocution lessons. On Canadian Idol last year his Newfie accent was super thick. Tonight we can actually understand him.

Ummm... can someone please get Kalan Porter a Big Mac. Or five? Holy shit boy is non-existent. I met him about a year ago and he was skinny, but now he's just bone. Ick. Mr. Pink hopes he never goes to jail. Mr. Pink's rude. :)


Heh, Pammie just made fun of Ron Sexsmith... He's got this look on his face, like, uh... what'd she say? I was staring at her boobs.


Can someone please tell me why a Brit, Chris Martin from Coldplay, is presenting the Canadian lifetime achievement award to Brian Adams?


Huh. Mr. Pink's cousin is in Great Big Sea, and is the one who didn't show up tonight. The thing is, the one who is there and isn't related to Mr. Pink looks just like his cousin. Hmmmmm.... wonder what Uncle Kev hasn't been telling us?


Wow! Michael Buble is kinda hot. He's cleaning up tonight... best Artist and best Single so far. Is it just me or does he totally look like Michael Deluise? Mr. Pink's waiting for Buble to show up on Stargate SG-1, which is his absolute favourite show. And is pretty much run by Deluises. Still I was pretty much unaware of the talent that is the Buble. Must change that. He's good.


Simple Plan won fan favourite. They had some good songs in the beginning, but then then they got all whiny... waah, dad why don't you love me, waaah, my life sucks, waaaah.


Broken Social Scene won Best Alternative Band. Their performance was totally off key. I've never heard of them before.


Only in Canada, eh? The winners are coming up to accept their rewards with beer in their hands. *grin*


Wow. so not liking this performance by the Black Eyed Peas.


I love Jann Arden, she's hilarious. But I totally can't stand her music...


OH! Another Buble win! Best Album. And he totally said No Fuckin Way! when he won. Awesome.


All right, I watched for Hedley, but uh, Jacob Hoggard is very, uh, pose-y when he performs...


And after all that, it wasn't even Chris Sheppard after all. It was Buck 65. Ba-ha on Mr. Pink. :)

Well.. that was the Junos. Now you know how obnoxious Mr. Pink and I are :)