Dune - October 04, 2007

I started reading the Dune series a few years back. I found the first book difficult to read, but eventually got into the story. The story started getting strange with the last two books - Heretics and Chapterhouse, and then Frank Herbert died, and the story seemed unfinished. Then came the Dune movies & the prequels. I actually enjoyed both movies. The first one was well acted, but lacked the special effects. There were scenes added that I didn't remember from the book, and the conclusion seemed rushed. The Sci-fi miniseries - Dune & Children of Dune were both excellent, though I didn't much like their portrayal of Paul, - he came off like a spoiled brat. Back to the prequels. I was taken aback by how many people said they hated the prequels. Mostly, they compared the writing styles of Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson and Frank Herbert, and didn't like them. For me, I was delighted to return to the story, and I quickly adapted to the new writing style. Now come the sequels. Brian Herbert purportedly found his father's lost notes for the conclusion of the story hidden in a safe deposit box. Finally, we get the ending.

Original Dune Series by Frank Herbert
Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
God Emperor of Dune
Heretics of Dune
Chapterhouse Dune

Prequels by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson
House Atreides
House Harkonnen
House Corrino

Pre-prequels
Butlerian Jihad
Machine Crusade
Battle of Corrin

Sequels
Hunters of Dune
Sandworms of Dune

mp3 players, Podcasts, CD-RWs - July 31, 2007

I have an mp3 player - not a real iPod, but a cheap Wal-mart imitation. I mostly use it when I'm exercising on the Gazelle. It takes regular batteries, but does not recharge, and it seems like every time I go to use it, I have to replace the battery - disappointing. I'd like to get a real iPod, with the car accessory like my daughter has.

I subscribe to a couple of podcasts radio programs but I found that I didn't get to listen to them often - can't use any streaming audio at work and not much time at home. I wanted to make CD-RWs, but found they did not play on my car CD player. Making a regular CD-R seems like such a waste - though I could listen to it again, the discussions are out of date.

Yesterday, I found a car adapter for my regular cheap mp3 player. I think I paid almost as much for the adapter as for the mp3 player - LOL. I also told my DH that I want a real iPod.


The adapter was supposed to make the mp3 player work through my car radio - like a tiny transmitter using one of 8 pre-set channels.

Reviews not posting - July 09, 2007

I had written 2 recent reviews, and they show up in My Local, but they are not showing up on my blog.

Philippi Lodge Philippi, WV July 04, 2007 I would stay again
Overall:	Probably half our family stayed here during this year's family reunion. The rooms were very clean and well kept, and the staff was friendly. I especially appreciated the high-speed internet service. This is a small motel, with two floors but no elevator. If we had known, we would have asked for a first floor for mom. The restaurant was a picture perfect small-town diner. Last stay here: July 2007

Philippi Inn Enterprise Philippi, WV July 04, 2007 Simple Pleasures

Overall:

I've known about this little restaurant on Route 250, just outside of Philippi since the 1980s when I lived in the area. I never took the opportunity to stop there until this summer, when several of my family stayed at the Philippi Lodge for the family reunion. It is a picture perfect small town diner. I ate breakfast there every morning during my stay. On my next visit to WV, I will try the lunch or dinner menu. Visit date: July 2007

Family Reunion 2007

Another family reunion in WV has come and gone. All of my brothers & sisters were there except Bill, who was elsewhere and Rick, who was there in our memories. There were 9 of us including the step & adopted ones. I think about 35 people were there all together - lots of kids & grandkids. My father & step-mom are getting older, and both have health problems. My step-sister tried to organize things, just to find out when each of us were planning to arrive & leave, where we would be staying, and what food we would bring. Some stayed right at Dad's -they had extra bedrooms, one nephew pitched a tent, and the rest of us stayed at a nearby motel (see reviews). I was going to make angel food cake, but my brother-in-law requested the cream cheese pie. This time, I used fat-free cream cheese, fat-free sour cream and fat-free cool whip. It loses texture with the fat-free ingredients, so I dumped in a package of fat-free/sugar-free pudding mix. There was a lot of food. I had a good time. I made sure to get to Curves to exercise, and went to 2 meetings. I think I enjoy the reunions much more now that they're back in WV. I lived there myself for several years, and there are lots of places I like to go visit. This time, I especially enjoyed going to Elkins, and visiting the campus of Davis & Elkins College with my mom. We had planned to dine at Graceland Inn, one of the mansions on the campus that has been renovated, but they were closed. Either Elkins has changed a lot, or I never really explored the town, because most of it seemed so unfamiliar to me.

Entry for June 09, 2007 - Google docs

A lot of things are blocked now at my workplace. They run a monitoring program called "Websense". I can get to some independent message boards & blogs, but all the major ones are blocked. Though I can read & post on Yahoo groups via e-mail, mostly I just read. A few things that were accessible at first are now blocked (xProdigy), and a few things that were blocked at first are now accessible (religion websites). I don't spend much time on the message boards anymore. Most web storage is blocked (photo storage), but I can use Google documents. Google docs is a pretty cool feature.