Jelly purrs!!!

[avevale_intelligencer]

Yes, for those of you who have a vested interest in our cat Jellicle, this morning he emitted his first ever purr. Verified by the Countess and everything. So we think he's happy. Of course, then the said Countess took the clothespeg off the catflap not realising that he didn't know how to get through it, so he may have been locked out most of the day in the wet, but he seemed happy enough to come in when I opened the door, and I'm hopeful it won't be an isolated thing.

I've been back at work for nearly two weeks now, and the worst part is getting there and back. The pavements of Bath, in the wet, especially in the autumn when crushed leaves add slime to the mix, are almost optically smooth, very like the soles of my sandals. This imparts a deliberate, tentative quality to my gait and makes every step twice as much effort if I'm not going to go base over apex. Among my many phobiata is a horror of falling down, especially slipping and falling. So, high on the list of priorities when this move bears some fruit is a decent pair of trainers with some tread. Preferably before ice and slush get added to the equation.

Some of you may know that the Countess recently lost a nearly-completed story in a computer hit-the-wrong-three-keys incident. We've managed to rescue somewhere between half and two-thirds of it, but the last week or so's work seems to be gone forever. Jan's trying to rewrite, but the way she writes makes it incredibly difficult, and she never thinks the second version is as good as the first. Good and sympathetic thoughts to her if you can spare them, and kudos and thanks to the_magician, without whom we would have none of it.

Comments

Pain ! Ow !

[(Anonymous)]

I hate it when that happens. Especially when it's a floppy that'll work in one machine and not another.
Hope it all works out -- persevere (not that I ever do :: my life is littered with starts that never get anywhere)
Soren

[pbristow.livejournal.com]

[GENTLE ENCOURAGING HUG] to Jelly. Here's to many more purrs in future. =:o}

Ah yes, stupid pavement surfaces. Your part of the world seems to excel in them, as I recall... Guildford's cobbled high-street can be a lot of "fun" when it rains, too. Do you find yourself humming "slip sliding away" as you do the John Wayne thing?

*PHEW* on the recovery of the bulk of that story. Do you guys have any sort of backup gizmo? I seem to recall a zip drive on your machine... If a 2nd one is needed/being sought, be warned that going for a 2nd hand one may be a false economy: Zip drives have a limited life. Tales abound of the notorious "click of death", which my first one suffered after only 2 years. =:o{ That said, the more recent models (Zip 250 onward) my be less affected by this, I don't know. Worth researching before parting with any dosh.

I'd still recommend Zip drives over CD writers for convenience and day-to-day reliability, however. It's staggering that even with a bang up to date DVD writer & software, they *still* haven't got packet writing (aka UDF, aka "using it like a huge floppy disk") to work reliably... =>:o{

[aunty_marion]

Zip drives .... now there's an idea. I have two old Zip 100 parallel port drives going spare, only one with a UK power supply. They won't work with my shiny new WinXP computer, but I have no reason to suspect they wouldn't work with older OSs. But I'm delighted to hear that you got at least *most* of the story back, and I look forward to reading it (Hint: gmail it to me? I'll archive it/proofread it/gmail it back...!).

Hooray to Jelly on discovering an essential part of a cat's life! I anticipate listening to this myself sometime around Christmas/New Year.

[highstone.livejournal.com]

The prospect of slippery surfaces...hmmm...perhaps this is why I am an habitual wearer of Doc Marten Chelsea boots - seems to lower my centre of gravity *and* provide a 'new tyre' depth of tread on the sole.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

"Jelly purrs" -- could be a form of confectionary? "Get your Jelly Purrs here, only two nogles a dozen!"

*hugs* to the Countess, Jelly, and the rest of the menagerie (and hug yourself as well!)...

[little-cinnamon.livejournal.com]

Best of thoughts to the Countess -doesn't it really suck when that happens? When I was handing in my dissertation a couple of years ago, there was a bit that kept vanishing on the morning I had to hand in -I wrote and rewrote it at least 3 times under extreme pressure. It was Not Fun. But yay to magician for retrieving what he did! And multiple yays for Jelly-purrs! Virtual hugs to Jelly (the only kind I can handle without going all sneezy) and many, many hugs to you and the Countess.

Rewriting

[marklon.livejournal.com]

Many people think that a rewrite isn't as good but, having edited for a few people, I would say that they are typically better than the original. I think is it part of the syndrome where writing never looks as good in the morning... except that you get the morning feeling when rewriting it.

I often find that I will polish and polish a bit of writing until it seems very stale and forced to me - but others report that it is fresh and natural.

Just my opinion, as is prety much anything that I type :-)

Mark