Green is all there is to be

So sez Kermit, at least. Happy Earth Day.

Received notice this morning that Hotmail will no longer support Outlook Express as of June, which is how I read my e-mail on a couple of computers I use, so I upgraded to the new Windows Live Mail, which looks more or less like…Outlook Express. The installation imports everything from OE, including old mailboxes, contacts, newsgroups, e-mail accounts. The layout is a tad different, but there’s not much of a learning curve to get up and running. Apparently the change is because OE was never designed to handle mailboxes the size that Hotmail and other web-based e-mail providers now allow and it would be too difficult to change it. So far, so good.

I had my first experience with online piracy of one of my works. Some helpful individual had posted the complete text of From the Borderlands on the German filesharing site rapidshare. I looked up the site’s abuse policy, found their succinct instructions about how to report violations, sent them what they wanted and voila! This morning the files were no longer being shared. I didn’t receive a direct response to my complaint, but this will do. Unfortunately, the book had been online for the better part of a year before I noticed, so it’s a bit of barn door slamming.

On Thursday, from 1-4 pm, I will be one of the invited speakers at the mystery writers conference Myth or Truth: How Our Past Influences Our Writing at Tomball College in Northwest Houston. Guest speakers will explain how to write and publish mystery novels, with a book signing at the end of the program. Refreshments will be served. Admission is free. Location: Tomball College & Community Library, Meeting Room, L129 on the first floor. The following speakers will be in attendance: Bill Crider, John Foxjohn, Russ Hall, Ayn Hunt, William Manchee, Rosemary Poole-Carter, Jo Ann Power, Leann Sweeney, Bev Vincent, and Gayle Wigglesworth. For more information, contact Georgia C. Owens.

The Monday night comedies were hitting on all cylinders last night. The ending of HIMYM was a bit of a surprise. Maybe that explains why Ted always refers to Robin as “Aunt Robin” in the future scenes. I liked the bit with the Russian janitor on Big Bang Theory and whenever Charlie’s therapist is part of the show it goes up a notch.

Currently reading: The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff.