More fantastic nitpicking:
In the book, the asteroid strikes the Moon when it is in quarter phase (half full). This phase happens twice a month, once when the eastern half of the Moon is visible at sunset, and once when the western half of the Moon is visible at sunrise, i.e. when the Moon is on opposite sides of the Earth in its orbit. It is as physically impossible to see a quarter-phase Moon in BOTH the morning and evening of the SAME day as it is to see the Sun at noon and midnight. Yet on page 10, it says, “This morning ….I remember seeing the moon in the sunrise sky. It was a half moon, but it was clearly visible and I … thought about how tonight the meteor was going to hit it…”
Which brings me to the next error: meteor. Should we let the author and editor of this book off the hook because a lot of people mix up the use of meteor and meteoroid? I think not! Many people misuse terms in casual conversation, but if you are writing a book for publication, especially for young impressionable readers, you owe it to them to get it right. And an editor should question terms used by authors, especially if they are integral to the plot. If either of them had taken time to check Webster’s, they would have known that a meteor is “an atmospheric phenomena 2a: any of the small particles of matter in the solar system that are directly observable only by their incandescence from frictional heating on entry into the atmosphere, b: the streak of light produced by a meteor.” A meteoroid is the particle itself while in orbit around the Sun. Anything large enough to be seen without a telescope as described in the book is either an asteroid or comet. (In case you were wondering, a meteorite is that part of a meteoroid that makes it to the ground after it has been a meteor!)
Timelies all!
Have now gotten the official word on my niece from my brother, including her name. (It kinda makes me go "Really?", but I guess it goes with my nephews' names, in that all three
kids have first names that could be used by both boys and girls. Also, all three of the first names end in "n".)
I have five unread emails, all previewed.
Procedure complete. Work called right after it was done, while I was still hooked up to everything. Guilt is gone now.
I'm glad the guilt is gone, but how did the procedure go?
For entertainment: Get fake Tiger Woods sexts! [link] (Note: some of them are really dirty.)
Cashmere - glad it got there.
Chikat - well the cards were bought afterschool, but he yet again fooled a babysitter (a different one) by making a trip to his bedroom and dumping out his piggy bank and saying that is where he got the $. The crappy music thing is really just a radio with a few other features, he got that at the school bookfair thingy going on this week, he says someone bought it for him, which may be true, who knows anymore with him. Since I've now looked at it, I don't really care, it will break or run out of batteries soon.
The day is still so lovely here, I am really ready for this weather.
I do have some sympathy for the fooled babysitters, since I was totally snowed by a kid I was babysitting for one time, and ended up getting yelled at by his friend's mother when they took off on their bikes to go to a store the were Not Allowed to go to.
On the plus side, that kid is now an elected official!
Our weather is lovely again today. I would like to be hanging out there, but despite my intention to take the laptop out on the deck, all my work today seems to involve actual paper. Like hundreds of receipts. Which is probably not a good idea outside, what with the wind and all.
So, database people. How do you handle post-titles? Like Junior, or III? Especially if you have a first name field that stupidly has to contain two people's names. Like Sam & Jennifer. Except that Sam is a II and obviously, Jennifer is not.
Also do only guys have stuff like that? Do we just never name girls entirely after their mothers?
I get annoyed at my superbly heteronormative database on a regular basis. But it doesn't even do particularly well with married relationships. Let alone women with their own last name. Let alone gay couples.
