Nearly two weeks ago, I left sunny, warm California laden down with a heavy coat, knit scarves and an umbrella for a fall color cruise along the Eastern seaboard. We hit some cold, rainy weather and some exciting high seas, but few signs of autumn\u2014at least where the trees are concerned. We had a wonderful time, nonetheless. I\u2019m grateful for the experience, the time away to refresh and family and business to come home to. I\u2019m not happy about returning to some kinks in my Internet service, however.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know how things are with your Internet service this week, but I\u2019m experiencing problems. At this moment, I have no service. Earlier, I was unable to print emails when I used Internet Explorer. And the Internet service on shipboard was really expensive, slow and unreliable. <\/p>\n
Isn\u2019t it a pain when we are suddenly unable to depend on something we\u2019ve become conditioned to rely on to such a degree? It is especially annoying and frustrating when it is so strongly connected to our businesses and our lives.<\/p>\n
I am hoping that, by the time I complete this blog entry in Word, I will be able to post it. <\/p>\n
When your Internet system fails or falters, do you adopt new practices so as to avoid so much dependency on the system? Or do you at least consider changing the way you do things related to email and Internet research? It would be hard to go back to the way we used to do things, wouldn\u2019t it? Our servers have a pretty strong hold on us. They offered us the world (via the Internet). They sold us on the idea of email communication. They hooked all of us and now we can\u2019t function well without their services.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know about you, but I feel pretty much crippled when I don\u2019t have access to reliable Internet. Much of my business, research and communication is done via the Internet and using email. When the system is down or unavailable, I find myself automatically clicking on it to send an email, to look for one I\u2019m expecting, to post a blog, to add something to the SPAWN site, to check on facts, etc. It\u2019s like when your power goes out. You automatically click on a switch, momentarily think about ironing\/blow drying your hair\/turning on the TV, etc.<\/p>\n
If you are an author or a freelance writer who does a lot of research, you probably use the Internet frequently. Having it unavailable when you are on a deadline or when you are on a roll with your story or nonfiction manuscript, is immensely frustrating. So what do you do when your server goes down? Can you easily shift direction? Do you have other projects lined up? Do you take care of other tasks\u2014editing your manuscript, filing, cleaning, etc.? How flexible are you in such situations?<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s hope that I can post this blog for you today and that there are no problems in the future with the system in any way. <\/p>\n
Now is a good time for you to present your requests. Do you have questions I can answer via this blog? Are there subjects you\u2019d like me to revisit or to pursue through the blog? Email your requests: PLFry620@yahoo.com. Or leave a comment. I will be here (as long as I can access the Internet) until late November when I head out to speak at the Cat Writers Association Conference in New York.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nearly two weeks ago, I left sunny, warm California laden down with a heavy coat, knit scarves and an umbrella for a fall color cruise along the Eastern seaboard. We hit some cold, rainy weather and some exciting high seas, but few signs of autumn\u2014at least where the trees are concerned. We had a wonderful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t