As Dean Winchester would say...

[rabid1st]

"Son of a bitch!"

I managed to get my new computer out of its packing foam. The foam was INSIDE the computer. And I managed to set it up and go through the Windows 7 access and activation and install all of my components and get it to talk to all of the external hardware. Then, I started installing the essential software...Adobe Flash Player and Google Chrome and Adobe Reader and VLC media player and Virus Protection and Malware Protection and Firewalls.

And I fought, fought, fought with Windows 7 as I attempted to figure out what all of the new names for things mean and why it won't just let me see MY COMPUTER and why for some ridiculous reason 64-Bit doesn't recognize Adobe products. I mean, REALLY?

So, after all that, before I started on Instant Messengers and Vidding Software and Writing Software installs, I thought I would take a moment to enjoy some music videos. And that's when I noticed that I only have one harddrive. Yes, I should have noticed that when I unpacked the thing, but it was my first time ever looking inside a computer and I was mainly thinking about making sure everything was attached and what I had ordered--that is, the BRANDS, I had ordered. I did get 2TB of harddrive space, but it is all on the C: drive. There should be a D: drive, too.

So, the computer has to be stripped of all my personal settings and repacked for return shipping and I'm going to be without a computer for another month or however long it takes them to fix this situation. I mean, I suppose they could just send me another hard drive and call it even, but they probably won't do that.

"Son of a bitch!"

Meanwhile...here is a meme which I gakked from ramblinsuze to keep you all entertained while I'm gone.

I was raised on SciFi. When other kids were reading the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew in fourth grade, I was reading Howard and Heinlein and Asimov and Burroughs. Let me tell you, the original Conan can give you some serious nightmares when you are 12 years old. It's no wonder I turned out like this. But I gave up most scifi when they started doing alternative histories and virtual worlds, which was just after I started working full time after college.

Bold for read it
Italics for partially read
Underline for planning to read it
Strike-through for never ever reading
Question Marks for NEVER HEARD OF IT
Plain Text for Undecided.


1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien I just couldn't stand these books. Gave up half-way through the Two Towers. Still don't regret it.
2. The Hitchhiker,s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman ????
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan - I gave up after book one. It looked like something that would drag on forever to me. Was sooo right about that!
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
22. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
23. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
24. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King - I have looked at it a few times. Can't say I will read it.
25. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
26. The Stand, by Stephen King One of my favorite books, even though it is very poorly written and edited.
27. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson ???? - But I am intrigued by this title and will look it up.
28. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury Not as good as I expected them to be. Why isn't there a "I regret reading this!" choice. I could have put it on Dune and Lord of the Rings.
29. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
31. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
32. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings ???? I need to look closer at this one.
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman - I like me some Gaiman. But he is largely after my time reading SciFi, so I need to catch up on him sometime.
49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons ???? - I have some vague idea about this one, but no real recall.
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett Suze hasn't read Pratchett. Any of you who haven't read Pratchett, get to it. Man is a genius. However, I wouldn't start with this one.
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God's Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy The Stand gets the literary treatment and editting it was looking for...and fewer characters I understand. But still, when there is no Mad Max, why bother?
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb Let's just replace this entry with The Farseer Trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer and call it read.
70. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger I will just watch the Moffat version over and over again, thanks.
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore What the HELL is this guy doing on a best of list, anyway? This is why I gave up SciFi reading...THIS!
74. Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson ????
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde Didn't care for these, sorry Kes!
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks Finally, something that looks interesting to me.
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart And why not THIS whole series when you have all of Jordan on this thing. Jordan and Salvatore?
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis



Have fun. But feel very bad that this list didn't include Edgar Rice Burroughs or Robert J. Sawyer. Read Hominids or Factoring God or the Farseer Trilogy. And read some Pratchett. Start with The Wyrd Sisters, I think, if you like some Shakespeare. I should be around for the next couple of days as I won't hear back from them until Monday.

Comments

[maniacalshen.livejournal.com]

Hehe. That sounds like a cracked out version of On a Pale Horse.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Yes! And there's a great book, too! I love On A Pale Horse! Though I didn't love all of the Incarnations books.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

You know...I say that about On A Pale Horse, but I read that book when I was 15 or so. I think I should probably reread it and see if I still love it.

It is interesting though, because I can really enjoy a book that isn't written in particularly good prose. I find interesting ideas more valuable than line by line good writing, I suppose. Though, I know that Anthony often tested me with his airheaded female characters always being sexpots. He rarely had a strong female lead in his books, even those about women like With A Tangled Skein.

[maniacalshen.livejournal.com]

I read OaPH at about 16, but it's been on my mind a lot lately, what with Torchwood: Miracle Day.

Anthony is a dirty old man. That's just something I realized and accepted forever ago; I sometimes read a book of his and have to slap my forehead or shake my head, "Oh, Anthony, people born in 1934 are weird."

In other news, reading The Color of her Panties at school was fun. I think I made a book cover out of loose leaf...