Of things to come…

There are a few things I’ve been meaning to write about here in the blog for some time now.

Some are just little stories that I’ve been meaning to tell for a while. I have a bad habit of making a post that mentions that I’m going to a con, then when I get back I make a post saying something along the lines of: “Whoo! What a trip! I’ll give you all the details later.” But then I get busy and never seem to get around to it.

For example. My last signing was at a library in a little town where I went to high school, just outside of Madison. We got a surprisingly good turnout (about 30-40 people) and I stayed for about three hours, reading, chatting, and signing books.

Anyway, when I stopped to ask for questions, a little boy of about four or so raised his hand. I called on him, and he tells me that he likes the draccus. His parents had read him the book. Everyone smiles to themselves, and I tell him that I liked the draccus too. (In retrospect, I wish I would have asked him *why* he liked the draccus.)

I answer a few more questions, read another section, and the little boy raises his hand again. This time he tells me the secret to selling a lot of books. “You just write one,” he explained, making a gesture as if holding a pencil. “Then they make COPIES of it. Then they sell the COPIES.”

He was pretty proud of his idea, and, honestly, it was a pretty good one, so I guess he had every right to be proud.

Over the next month or so, I’ll try to get you the rest of these stories before they evaporate out of my flaky brain.

I also have a few… announcements to make. Some of them you’re going to probably be excited about, and some of them you’re probably not. Either way, both types will take some detailed writing up, and I just don’t have the time, energy, or mental wherewithal to do right now. It’s getting light outside and I should really be getting to sleep.

In closing, let me pass along a delightful time-waster: FREERICE.

I tend to average around 42 or 43, but I made it as high as 46 once. I was pretty proud of that.

Later everyone,

pat

This entry was posted in hodgelanyBy Pat24 Responses

24 Comments

  1. John F.
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 1:34 PM | Permalink

    Hah! Made it to 47! Had to take liberal advantage of the fact that the multiple-choice format allows for educated guesses to get there, though.

  2. Jim C. Hines
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 2:06 PM | Permalink

    I got to 46 as well. Posted that on my blog, and was promptly trounced by my friends. (Particularly the librarian friends. Librarians are scary smart!)

  3. Jen Fu
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 2:45 PM | Permalink

    I got up to 48 and am hovering around 45 or 46. Boo-ya.

  4. Amanda
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 2:50 PM | Permalink

    Oh man… I was at 42 when I realized I need to finish this paper for my class at 12.>.<

  5. Gehennaheretic
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 4:26 PM | Permalink

    I can’t break that 48 barrier! I get there frequently, but can’t get over that hump.Glad you enjoy the site!

  6. Brian Igelchen
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 5:30 PM | Permalink

    Wow! Unless you guys are cheating and using a dictionary that’s pretty good. :D

  7. Miriam
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 6:16 PM | Permalink

    FreeRice has finally given me a positive outcome for my habit of reading Victorian novels. I can put so many of the words into the context of a sentence.

  8. Jessica
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 6:18 PM | Permalink

    I am unreasonably proud of the fact that I once briefly made it to 50. It was over Thanksgiving weekend and my dad and I were into competitive FreeRice for several hours….I am generally quickly knocked back down to 44 or 45 though, and can almost never get over 48.Of course you have to make use of the multiple-guess format. Plus, it helps that the same words often come up; I actually learned some new words!

  9. notcreepygirl
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 6:36 PM | Permalink

    Also, if my own 4 year old boy is at all similar to the boy at the signing, I am pretty confident the answer to why he liked the draccus is because it is a big reptile, and on top of that, breathes fire, and makes loud noises. Difficult to top a loud, fire-breathing large reptile, in the mind of a 4 year old boy. Well, actually, it could fly too, I guess. And maybe eat other animals in a really scary and ferocious way. Or fight bad guys, that’s always a plus too. But anyway, hard to think of anything much cooler than a draccus.

  10. Mary J.
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 7:12 PM | Permalink

    New favorite word:<>frigorific<>!The weather is making it very frigorific in Indiana today…Thanks Pat! BTW, suck it up and just spill the bad news about the dates- we all know it’a coming. (We will still love you!)

  11. Chris Pierson
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 7:51 PM | Permalink

    50, suckas. But I’m a logophile.

  12. Tycho
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 8:49 PM | Permalink

    You people are crazy. I made it to 44 after ~15 minutes (and stayed around there for a while) and I thought that was good. I guess I have to play more. Or read more, actually.

  13. Gehennaheretic
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 9:31 PM | Permalink

    48 is some kind of barrier, I’m convinced. I’ll hit 49 out of sheer luck one of these days, though.

  14. Nick
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 9:34 PM | Permalink

    This is highly amusing. And its for a good cause. I think I made it to 45 last time, I’ll have to try harder…But really… announcements??? oh dear.

  15. CL
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 10:25 PM | Permalink

    36. I really should learn my greek and latin roots. *sigh*

  16. Steven Weyerts
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 10:36 PM | Permalink

    Oh my. It’s true then, isn’t it? Why, Pat? Why must this happen to me? I was so excited, too. Now my life is near its end. I can feel it coming. I feel like the old lady and the Dark Tower series.Heheh. I’m kidding, of course, but this is upsetting. If my suspicions are true, that is.

  17. Josie
    Posted December 6, 2007 at 11:06 PM | Permalink

    This feels like those tests they make you take in school to test your reading level. But it’s fun. Unfortunately, all of you top me out. I average around 38. On the bright side, there are now 1720 more grains of rice (and counting) going to the starving people around the world. :)

  18. Michael
    Posted December 7, 2007 at 4:35 AM | Permalink

    Dang! The highest Iv’e got is a 38. Im really hoping that these “announcements” are going to be like ” we were just kidding about the realease date…it’s coming out next week”!!! haha how awesome would that be.

  19. Michael
    Posted December 7, 2007 at 4:39 AM | Permalink

    Check that. 40!!

  20. cameron
    Posted December 7, 2007 at 7:23 AM | Permalink

    After wasting a good 15 minutes, I decided it would be better for everyone if I simply bagged up a ziplock of rice and sent it to those in need. I’m sending basmati.

  21. Kip
    Posted December 7, 2007 at 7:43 PM | Permalink

    54,I am awesome, revel in my glory.hovering around 48.LOL, I love these games.

  22. Luffarn
    Posted December 10, 2007 at 10:19 PM | Permalink

    I’m kind of proud of getting 44 when I dont have english as my first language…

  23. Anonymous
    Posted December 9, 2009 at 1:51 PM | Permalink

    55 on freerice for english vocab, and im 12

  24. .rauha
    Posted November 30, 2010 at 9:22 AM | Permalink

    I tend to hover around 36/37, but I made it to 40 once. Trying to break your record, Pat. I love competition. :)

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