I’m Back (Again)

I apologize for not being able to post a blog yesterday, but I’m back again. Last night I spent two hours trying to log onto Go Daddy to post a blog, and I kept getting an error message saying that there was a problem on their end that was blocking communication. I finally gave up and went to bed.

I’m still trying to move to another web host, but there’s a problem. I had a couple of different people helping me set up my websites on Go Daddy years ago, and there is a password that seems to have gone missing that is required to facilitate the move to a different host. I have been trying to reset that password with no success, and when I’ve contacted Go Daddy, they requested all kinds of security information to be sure I am not trying to do some kind of hostile takeover of my own website and blog. They keep telling me that the things they request and which I sent them are still not sufficient. I guess my next step is to just have my credit card not automatically pay the annual fee when it comes due next month. Maybe that will get their attention.

Meanwhile, I have been busy writing and I’m three-fourths of the way through my next Big Lake book. With any luck at all I should have it finished in the next week, and then it will begin the final editing and proofreading stages.

I’m still getting used to Dragon Professional 15 dictation software. One thing I know is that I need a new microphone. I have been using a headset microphone recommended by Nuance for the last couple of years, and it is falling apart on me. I also still get quite a few errors when narrating. In talking to people in an online Dragon support group, they have all recommended going to a better headset or a standalone microphone. I have received a lot of recommendations for different ones, but unfortunately, none of them are actually available. With Covid doing its thing, it seems like a lot of electronics are on backorder.

However, I did order a Blue Yeti Nano standalone microphone, which will be here in a few days. I will give it a try and see what happens. Both John Huggins, who produced the Living the RV dream podcast for years with his wife Kathy, and Jim Guld from Geeks on Tour have recommended Zoom microphones, which also have a recorder built into them. They are a bit expensive, but my accountant tells me that since we have not done any traveling this year, I need to spend some money before the end of the year anyhow. So I may order one of those, too. They are also on backorder, but Amazon said they should have them around the 27th of this month.

Terry took her latest weaving project off the loom. It is a table runner and trivet for our daughter Tiffany. Terry twisted the fringes,  washed and pressed it, and now it just needs to be packaged to be ready to send to its new home. I absolutely love this color combination and the pattern.

As if that wasn’t enough, for dinner she made shrimp scampi linguini with Parmesan Reggiano cheese sprinkled over it.

A cold front has come through the southeast, bring our temperatures down into the low to mid-70s, which is very nice. It’s going to be breezy all this week, but we’ve still had the doors and windows open to let all that wonderful fresh air in. We are getting into the best time of the year to be on the central Florida coast.

It’s Thursday, so it’s time for a new Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of Free Ride, the thirteenth book in my pal Ben Rehder’s popular Blanco County mystery series. To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening.

Thought For The Day – A positive attitude may not solve all of your problems, but it annoys enough people to make it worthwhile.