Eggs benedict was very nummy. (When I was a kid, I thought Dirk Benedict's nickname should be 'eggs.')

I am still the only customer here. I was just about to write that I needed more coffee, but the waitress just brought me some more. Life is good.

All you need is some computer program that notices any pauses in conversation, assumes they're waiting for a response from you, and plays a recording of you saying, "I agree."

That could be dangerous in the case of pauses after, "I think sarameg should take on this time-consuming, frustrating new project/clean out the wasp nests under the eves/take an unpaid leave of absence." Or even more problematic, "You all are wankers! Has any company ever had such useless, moronic management?"

Quiche with cheese and artichoke hearts:

I think there's a Buffista working for USAID. At a conference session yesterday, a USAID rep. said, "These figures show that, beyond the participating members, we have a number of non-participating people on the site. We call them "lurkers". And a number of them have sent emails supporting our project." (From my spotty memory, but I think it's pretty close to verbatim.)

That could be dangerous in the case of pauses after, "I think sarameg should take on this time-consuming, frustrating new project/clean out the wasp nests under the eves/take an unpaid leave of absence." Or even more problematic, "You all are wankers! Has any company ever had such useless, moronic management?"

Well, that's the risk associated with cutting-edge software. See, this program would learn from its mistakes. But how can it learn if sarameg never tries it?

From The Onion: Oh, No! It's Making Well-Reasoned Arguments Backed With Facts! Run!

mac could get cereal by himself, he won't. Just as he will not just get dressed and turn on the tv. I have told him many many times. you can always turn the tv on in the morning, once you are dressed.

now we are off to karate. more importantly, I get coffee on the way.

summer dress day - one of the old vintage ones. also wearing slides - Yay! also also, hair in pigtails.

I love pigtails!

Also WRT making breakfast: Frances is quite able to make a bowl of cereal for herself and her brother. She's more likely to try to feed herself later in the day, which is fine when she goes for something healthy, but I often find her rummaging around for cheese puffs or cookies. Isaac's self serve choice is usually fruit.

You guys had to go and have the writing discussion after I'd passed out from exhaustion?

When they say rewriting, do they mean a fan rewrote it the way they thought it should be?

Yep. They think it's very kind to show the writer how they would have written the story. So no, no flattery there.

As far as "bumpin' uglies" I actually used that in the current WIP and it totally fits the character who said it. Then again, the current WIP isn't a romance.

The thing about romance as a genre with its set of constraints, is that those are loosening and shifting all the time. Things that would have been unheard of even ten years ago are rapidly becoming far more common. The one place you'll find the "rules" as such being enforced is within the parameters of the various Harlequin books. Each imprint has its own set of rules in terms of the characters and the situations and the level of sexuality that may be done within a prescribed word count. And to do those well isn't easy. But outside of a Harlequin category novel, the sky's rapidly becoming the limit, in a lot of ways.

But as Amy said, you have to know which rules you're breaking before you go all Thor on them. And even then, there's no guarantee. For example, write a book about the spouses of cancer patients who fall into an intense love affair and no matter how romantic it is, it's not a romance, period.

Write a book about a woman whose husband has been in a coma for twelve years who falls into a love affair with the former pro baseball player next door-- that's okay. Infuriating, but okay.

Mac is developing a habit of freezing when nervous or afraid. Not sure how to break that, it is so frustrating.

At home he is even starting nervous laughter.

It would be so bad if he wasn't so quick to be nervous and/or afraid.

Bo Obama is going to be in a comic book.

Poor Mac. And poor msbelle. Maybe it's something that will improve over time as he gets less nervous/afraid and more trusting.