Job Hunting? Don't Get Scammed!

It may be tempting to go for amazing job offers, but beware for you may find more than you bargained for.

While applying to jobs on the all-powerful multipurpose site, CraigsList, I stumbled upon a job that was far too good to be true.

Nothing too out of the ordinary here, more or less what many legit listings provide on the site (trust me, I've seen tons), save for that amazing pay. I mean, who wouldn't pass up $22.89 an hour?! And with bare minimum requirements, it was sure to draw a lot of applicants.

I sent in my resume and got a reply the next day with a fairly strange message. Nothing that would throw up flags, especially for someone growing up in the internet age, but a little strange nonetheless...

My Creativity Conundrum

I've been having a bit of trouble posting as of late. Like you hadn't noticed.

Firstly, my sleep schedule is waaaaaay off the normal rotation. Seems living in a cave (my bedroom is underground and has no windows) allows for sleeping during daylight hours a little too easily. Case in point, yesterday I slept from 10am to 5pm.

As you may guess, sleeping during the day doesn't bode well for functioning during that time. It's a little hard to drive your sister somewhere when you're going through REM. So I've been attempting to get to sleep earlier so I can wake up earlier (waking up is the hardest part of my 'day').

Unfortunately, my brain has decided that lying in bed trying to go to sleep is the BEST time to start coming up with ideas. Of course, I can't guarantee they're great ideas—my brain is starting to 'shut down,' after all. But whether it's my subconscious coming to the forefront, my inhibition/critique center shutting down, or the universe conspiring against me, I don't tend to get a lot of my ideas posted.

Because I'm trying to go to sleep, and it sorta defeats the purpose if I get up and write out (or draw or whatever) what I think of. Again, perhaps that's a good thing since a tired brain isn't known to make the greatest decisions. Plus I've noticed that my language gets pretty convoluted when I'm tired—my internal thesaurus/dictionary is downright horrible.

But here's a few of my sleep-deprived ideas:

A review of House M.D. (and why I stopped watching)
A review of the movie Dragon Hunters (mostly focusing on character stories)
A list of Pokemon teams based on Disney movies (...)
Pottermore OC comics
This post...

So that's my conundrum. Should I get up and act upon my ideas, even if it means staying awake longer? Should I ignore my exhausted brain's ramblings completely? Or should I try sleeping pills in an attempt to recalibrate my schedule back to normalcy? Decisions, decisions...

And a bit more randomness to finish off:

Thank you McDonald's toys!
Just let the awesomeness soak in...
Too bad Disney owns Marvel instead of DC, eh?

Have a great weekend!

No Shortcuts

Ever since I joined Pottermore and was sorted into Hufflepuff, much to my initial surprise and disappointment, (I've since come to terms with my placement and embraced it) I've wanted to make a comic about it. I mean, what better premise than a girl who hates sunshine, plants, and yellow who is thrown into an environment filled with all three?

Unfortunately, I was not blessed with the artistic bug - at least not visually - and my sister, the artist of the family, is busy with her own projects, so mine fell by the wayside.

Until last week when I decided I'd give it a shot. Hence my absence...

I mapped out the first comic completely. So it was on the back of a library receipt, it didn't have to be perfect, right? Here's basically what the first panel looked like.

Then I took it to paper.

I figured I should be able to sketch out my comic then photograph/scan it in and do only minor tweaking. Thing is, I'm a little too much of a perfectionist and my 'minor tweaking' turned into completely re-tracing it. Which would be fine, if I had a tablet or something, but no, I just have a standard mouse.

So there I was, panel one completed, except for the text. It had only taken 8 hours.

Yeah, 8 hours.

UGH! At that rate, it was going to take forever. Might as well scrap it.

But then I thought, maybe I could streamline everything, just use the line and circle tools to cut out some of the steps. And then I'd be ahead of the next panel through the magic of copy/paste.

So I started over and came up with this.

Not very pretty. And the real kicker is that it took me just as long to do! And I'm still not happy with it.

Serves me right for looking for shortcuts and still expecting quality work.

Now I just have to decide if I'm still willing to put the effort in, or if I should scrap it and leave it scrapped. Why does XKCD make it look so easy?!

A Defense of Book Reviews

This is something I posted a little while ago on DeviantArt, and in light of recent developments decided it was something I should share here as well.

If you've never been to DeviantArt, here's a little background info for you. dA is a site whose primary goal is the sharing of art. When you upload a piece (a deviation), whether it be a photograph, drawing, or text piece, you are given a number of categories to list it under. Under the Literature category there are the following choices:

Literature

Characters & Settings

Contemporary
Historical
Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Poetry

Children's
Emotional
Family Life
General Poetry
Horror
Human Nature
Humor
Narrative
Nature
Philosophical
Romantic
Satire
Sociopolitical
Spiritual
Transgressive
Urban

Prose

Fiction

Children and Teen
Family Life
Fantasy
General Fiction
Horror
Humor
Mystery & Suspense
Philosophy & Perspectives
Romance
Science Fiction
Socio-political
Spiritual & Occult
Transgressive

Non-Fiction

Academic Essays
Articles & Interviews
Biography & Memoir
Editorial
Emotional
General Non-Fiction
Letters
Philosophical
Reviews & Guides

Scripts & Screenplays

Full-length Scripts
Monologues & Solioquies
One-Acts
Screenplays & Teleplays
Skits & Sketches

That's 46 different options just for Literature! I use the Literature->Prose->Non-Fiction->Reviews & Guides category for all my book reviews I post there (mirrors of the ones here).

Another thing to note about dA is that it has groups. Groups can be about practically anything. From Dutch Jewelry Artisans to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Fans to Any And All Poetry, there's pretty much a group for anything. And if there's not, it's super easy to make one. Groups are essentially for connecting members (deviants) with similar interests, collecting and displaying art/literature that appeals to that member pool. Some groups require membership in that group before submitting pieces, others allow any pieces from anyone so long as it fits the theme and abides by the rules.

And thus my story begins.

I've been a member of dA for about 5 years and I've never been much about groups. Sure, I run a LXG fan-group when I have some spare time, but as for my own work, I've never been much for exposing it.

That all changed when I started promoting our Smiling Moon Creations account. I realized if we were ever going to get any customers I'd need to start submitting our work wherever I could. We're in over 300 groups now...

But as for my own StormyWolf account, I still didn't do much in terms of promotion. Sure, I uploaded my reviews and linked them back here, but I don't think I ever got many clicks.

And then I read and reviewed Rusty Fischer's Vamplayers. Not only did I love the book, but I found out that it was being offered for FREE through the end of February. And as a book-blogger, I naturally wanted to spread the word to as many people as possible.

DeviantArt provided the perfect audience to get the word out. Between the vampire groups, the literature groups, and the review groups, I figured I could at least reach a couple interested people. So I joined and submitted my review to probably upwards of 30 groups.

A lot of groups turned it down. No big deal - I half-expected it from them. Keep in mind that a lot of literature groups don't accept non-fiction at all, and I don't have a problem with that. Sometimes groups' rules and guidelines aren't 100% clear, so I take a chance and join & submit my pieces anyway. If they're declined, I shrug it off and go along my merry way.

One rejection, however, rubbed me the wrong way.

I came across this particular group fairly late in the scheme of things. It was a literature-based group, and the group description said it would accept all prose, but not non-fiction, fanfiction or character guides. Okay, not a problem, on to the next group...

But wait! There's a Non-Fiction folder in their gallery. Probably a small change that they forgot to edit into the group description. So I thought I'd give them a try. I joined and submitted my review.

Some time later (the next day? I don't honestly remember) I receive a message in my inbox:

Group Admin: Please,submit works written by you,we do not really accept reviews.

Now, I wasn't completely certain what the message meant. Was I declined because they don't accept reviews? Or did they think that my review was copied from another person/source? I mean, I do link to this blog in each review, so perhaps they thought I was copying off another website?

On the off-chance that it was merely a miscommunication, I wanted to clarify that I had in fact written the review. At the same time I was a little insulted so I replied a bit tersely:

Me: So a non-fiction piece written by me isn't accepted? ...okay then.

Honestly, I didn't expect a reply. Oftentimes group admins are busy enough with reading through subscriptions that they only allow one communication per submission. But to my surprise, I got a response within the hour:

Group Admin: You did a review of a book,every person can do it and give a different aspect of a book and our group is not for promoting books,so,this group is about literature: poems,stories,visual poetry,etc...

Non fiction would be a story from real life,perhaps an anecdote in which you are plasming your own experience about something you lived.

Understandably (to any fellow reviewer) I was more than a little peeved, so I slammed back a reply:

Me: No clue what plasming is, but at least I know your narrow definition of non-fiction now.

No, seriously, wtf is plasming??? Anyway, after that I immediately unregistered from the group.

Well, this weighed on me for a few hours (the reply as a whole, not plasming). I mean, did book reviews really deserve such a brush-off? And what about the group description (or lack thereof)? I run a group and I know that as much as I don't approve of some of the art or lit I receive, I haven't made any guidelines or restrictions to the contrary, so I feel I'm obligated to receive those works. I know others don't share this opinion and use themselves as quality or appropriateness judges (honestly, I wanted to save myself the headache).

In the end, I figured the least I could do was address the rest of the group admins (all 26 of them) with my concerns. I sent the group a private note (only visible to the group admins) with the following:

Me: In response to the decline of my submission to the non-fiction folder...

For the record, yes, everyone can give their own opinion of a book, relating their experiences while reading it. But millions of people can also write about how they experienced 9/11, or what they're thinking about for 15 minutes. If what you're looking for is "Creative Non-Fiction," which is in fact a genre, then state that.

In fact, it would be most helpful to post that somewhere in the group rules, folder description or group description. Because right now, all you have concerning non-fiction is in the group description where it states, "We accept all genres of prose except fanfic, non-fiction, and character profiles." Obviously that's not true since you have a Non-Fiction folder.

In short, please don't insult me. I put just as much effort into what I do as anyone writing those non-fiction pieces that you have accepted in your gallery. And if you're rejecting it because of quality of the piece (which I doubt you've checked), then say that.

~StormyWolf
[followed by a transcript of my conversation above]

I received a reply in my inbox the next morning with (in my opinion) an even more flippant and insulting reply than I'd received previously:

Same Group Admin: Nobody insulted you,I gave you an explanation about why we declined your submission,non-fiction has nothing to do with reviewing books.

As I said,we accept literature,we don't need adding 'special names' to the non fiction in which we display or portray the experiences we have lived and we always check all what is submitted to any category,we decline all those works that simply lack quality as well.

Besides,why complaining if you left the group?
Note: I'm not sure whether the missing words were because of attitude or because English isn't her first language (as indicated on her profile page).

I was absolutely livid.

As much as getting into fights is kind of invigorating, I know that hurting and getting hurt doesn't give nearly as much satisfaction as reaching an agreement. It's not about being proven right (though that does feel great for a while) or wrong, it's about reaching a hard-fought state of common ground.

As such, I usually vent a lot, then delete most of what I write and go with a more tactful approach. I don't know if I achieved that in the following reply or not, but I believe I at least provided in a few important defenses for book reviews... This was my reply:

Me: Non-fiction is any written piece that is not fiction. This includes essays, opinion pieces, memoirs, biographies, historical accounts, etc., etc.. A review would be classified as an essay or an opinion piece. Rather than giving an opinion on religion, politics, or how my breakfast was prepared this morning, I gave my opinion on a book.

In other, yet similar, words, Non-Fiction is the over-arching category of all prose that does not fit under the category of Fiction. You/this group is obviously only accepting a small portion of Non-Fiction, of which the proper title is "Creative Non-Fiction" (Creative nonfiction (also known as literary or narrative nonfiction) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate fact, but is not primarily written in service to its craft.)

I'm merely pointing out that as your group lacks any visible definition (wrong or otherwise) of non-fiction, 'mistakes' or 'disagreements' such as mine are likely to happen again. Obviously I can't force you to take my reviews, but I can advise you toward preventing a repeat of this situation. I may not be submitting my work (non-fiction or otherwise) to this group, but that doesn't mean I can't take an interest in what my fellow writers may come across.

(In short, I agree with _________)

[I discovered before I posted the reply that another Group Admin had posted a reply of his own:

Group Admin 2: my personal opinion is that book reviews are, categorically, considered non-fictional prose, as are guides, essays, letters, position statements, etc. if we're going to preclude this specific type of prose, then we need to state that in our group rules.]

And for the record, I wasn't insulted that you declined my review. Your first response made it sound like you didn't think I wrote the piece, so I clarified that I had, it was my work, and it was non-fiction. Then you come back with a slight against book reviews as a whole. The "anyone can do it" line applies to EVERY form of literature, so why are reviews singled out?

Only reason I come up with is because they must inherently lack as much effort as other pieces. This could be the case if a book reviewer merely regurgitated the same drivel time and time again about every single book she read, but that would still come down to a quality issue. Since this was not sited in your reasons for declining, obviously quality was never investigated, such that it was a stigma against the sub-genre (yes, sub-genre of non-fiction) as a whole.

In your eyes, my work is inherently inferior to stream-of-consciousness or I-remember-when pieces. It's of no consequence that I put hours into researching (aka reading the book, possibly looking up additional information) my material. Or that I spend another few hours crafting my review so that it not only conveys my opinions in a tactful manner, even when I'm stating negative opinions, but so it also appeals to and engages my audience in a way that they are then compelled to act.

And this is different than any other piece of "literature" because...? Oh, because I'm recommending the reading of a specific book? I guess it would be more literary if I were telling them to support local animal shelters. Or take a stance on pro-life/pro-choice. Or telling them that poaching or terrorism or slavery or rape is bad. Yes, all those opinions are literary, but my reaction to the violence, desolation, and other horrors in The Hunger Games trilogy isn't because I have "review" in the title.

And I shouldn't be insulted because?

On some level, I'm still angry. It really is hard to separate yourself from a dispute when you've worked your butt off on one side of it for the past 2 years. I took hiatuses because I was overwhelmed by all the work I'd heaped on myself. I stressed myself out to the point where I didn't want to read at all. Was that all for nothing?

Sure, anyone can read a book. They might need a dictionary for some books, or cliff-notes for others, but the act of turning a page and absorbing information from the words on a page (or words being spoken from an audiobook) is accessible to anyone literate.

But a review isn't a simple, "This book was good!" or "I give it 4 out of 5 stars." A review's goal is to speak to its audience, connect with them, take them on a journey, and ultimately convince them to take a chance (or not) on a book.

Some audiences require critical literary analysis - what metaphors are used, how does the juxtaposition between the character and the setting work in this novel, did the author's divorce during the writing of this novel impact the outcome, etc.. Others might just need that star rating.

In my case, I try to appeal to an audience that reads Young Adult literature, so my tone is typically informal, my analysis focuses on the characters and key plot points, and I include what I think to be an appropriate age-range for each book based on language, violence and relationships/sex.

I write because it makes me happy. I'm not paid for it. I typically don't get much response from it. I've written a few fiction pieces, and even contemplated writing a novel once or twice. But writing reviews allows me to combine my two favorite hobbies: reading and writing. I don't know if I'll ever publish something of my own, but in the meantime, I can recommend the fantastic works that are already here. And that's why I review.

~~~

A couple days after I posted the above journal on dA, I got a reply from Group Admin 2 (the nice one):

Group Admin 2: That was about as well put as could be. FYI, I noted the group founder concerning this question of whether we accept this type of prose. I even suggested that we add a gallery just for this type of piece. I really like that you were able to define the group's slant as being towards "creative non-fiction". If nothing else, this exercise will help us better refine our galleries and define our audience. So, you have done us a service. And I would like to thank you.

~~~

And now, here it is almost a month later and I am ecstatic to announce that the group has recently re-named their "Prose - Non-Fiction" folder to "Prose - Creative Non-Fiction" AND added a "Prose - Essays and Reviews" folder to their gallery!

I haven't yet decided if I'll give them another chance, or if I'm going to resign myself to being happy for them and reviewers in general. What do you think?

Marching Into The Black

I know, I know - another week without posts. Don't worry, I'm still here, just had a week-long temp job (yay!) interfering with my reading (boo!). But I'm back on track and am excited to reveal some more reviews, an upcoming release, and a little of what else I've been up to lately.

On the e-reader front, I think I'm narrowing down my search. I've been introduced to the possibility of an inexpensive tablet, which I could then personalize with whatever reading apps I wanted. I'm still not sure about backlighted reading, so I'm kinda thinking about getting a Kindle Fire from Best Buy for their trial period. See if I use any of the apps, and am okay with the backlit screen, then downgrade if I have any issues. Then again, I may fall in love with it - who knows?

In case you've been living under a rock in the last few months, you've no doubt heard about the internet protection, anti-piracy acts being voted on by various and sundry governments. SOPA was struck down or at least deferred for a time, but that hasn't stopped other bills, like ACTA, from reaching other governments and in some cases actually getting approved.

Some artists/activists/internet users have had enough and have proposed a Black March:

So what are your thoughts? Are you for or against the ACTA-type bills; will you go on an entertainment strike; is this whole thing being blown out of proportion? Sound off in the comments below!

Something To Say

This is a personal post, not a book review. Just going over some things, explaining my current situation, and hopefully setting a tone for the future. If you'd rather stay out of the drama, I understand and assure you that my next review should be coming up later this week. Thank you.


If you're still reading this, I guess I'll just get down to it. I'm sorry for April and May's unannounced/unexplained hiatus. I had a bit of a physical, mental, emotional breakdown in March, and that was taken out on this blog. I'd rather not get into the gory details (and I'm sure no one wants to hear them), but I'll just say that I've started some new treatments that seem to be helping things along.

I'm still depressed. Not really earth-shattering news in this economy, but being jobless really wears you down. Firstly you're depressed because you can't support yourself (or pay back your debt). Then, trying to rectify the situation, you send out job applications only to get absolutely no response or an avalanche of NO's, which only serves to lower your self-esteem. It's gotten to the point that I'm terrified of getting an interview because I feel like the first thing they'll see is a depressed person. And being overly self-conscious and overweight to begin with hasn't helped either. There was a long period of time where I didn't even want to go outside because I was paranoid some future employer would see me and I'd be sabotaging myself.

I still have some of that anxiety, but there have been improvements.

For one thing, my mom (who had also been unemployed for a couple years) finally found a job last week. And while it's not the most ideal pay, the environment is great and she's really enjoyed the work.

Also keeping me busy has been our family's attempts to start up a crafting business. Mom sews, (sister) Kristi knits, and I run all the electronic aspects—taking pictures, photo-editing, website management, research, spreadsheets... I don't plan on inundating this blog with non-bookish stuff, but I might make a post about it once we've got things up and running. In the meantime, you can check out our products on Facebook or DeviantArt.

As far as reading and blogging goes, I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. So far I've only been focusing on reviews—partly clearing out the shelves, partly taking care of promises owed—and I don't know if or when I'll have the time or energy to go back to reading all the blogs I've subscribed to. I'd love to get back in the habit of reading everything you guys are posting, and passing along the great contests and giveaways, but right now I have other things on my plate.

So, for the moment I hope you'll be patient with me. I hope my reviews continue to engage or entertain you. And I hope you all know that I appreciate your continued patience and support. Thank you.

My Misadventures in NaNoWriMo

Week One didn't go so well for me. I spent the majority of Sunday and Monday in bed, then just felt drained for a couple days more. This gave me time to reflect on things...and I've decided I'm not going to follow through with NaNoWriMo.

I know what you're thinking,
"Don't give up!"
Or, as my region's liaison wrote,
"First, let's talk about if you're behind schedule. This is absolutely not a reason to give up! Why? Because even if you haven't written a single word, if you start today you will still hit 50K on the 30th if you write 2,083 words a day.
If you've already written some words you'll need even fewer every day to stay on track and win. I bet you'll find that your words-per-day to win are not as heavy a load as you were imagining."

Thing is, I have a few reasons why I'm dropping out:

1
Preparation
In a rookie move, I decided to start literally from scratch on day one. No outline, no notes, no research. Creatively speaking, I should be fine, unfortunately I am too much of a nitpicker (left brain analyst) to let things flow freely. Which leads me to...

2
Stress
Because I've not prepared things to my own standards, my analytical side has red sirens blaring, telling me there's no way I'm gonna get things done. And if the voices in my head say no...well, I can't really argue with them. There's also the guilt factor of...

3
Prior Responsibilities
One of which is my blog. Not that I have a problem with leaving off for a month (as evidenced in September), but I've received a number of books that I've agreed to review, and I feel horrible pushing them off for as long as I have already.
Also, I have a job search to be doing and other family obligations that I cannot push aside for an entire month. And that seems to be the case with the schedule my muse has decided to set...

4
Muse Time Disagreements
For some reason, my muse is MIA during the daylight. I mean, I know I'm a night owl, but she doesn't show up at dusk, or even midnight. No, she decides to show up when I'm trying to fall asleep (3-5 AM) and keep me awake for 2-3 extra hours. Okay, I grant you she is a bit of a demon in nature, and I really shouldn't expect anything less, but it's really bugging me. Don't get me wrong, if that's when she wants to show up, I'm fully willing to submit to her time constraints. Just not when I'm supposed to be alive during the daylight hours.


So, that's where I stand at the moment. My official NaNoWriMo journey is over until further notice. Who knows, I might try to add a bit to my 270 words (after I re-write it because I totally got her voice wrong) and see if I can get my muse to comply to my wishes (she seems to love talking when I'm half-asleep). But I'm not really expecting much.

In better news, I HAVE committed to writing this story.
(I know, a bit of conflicting information, right? Stay with me here.)
I've gone ahead and created my book's cover, as well as a (rough) tagline:

Most people think being fired is the end of the world.
For Kali, it's only the beginning...

I know, I could've/should've spent the time making this actually writing the story, but I needed something tangible, something I could see. Now I just need to fill the insides with equally amazing words!

I just need to get things in order first. To help me, I've enlisted the help of some (what else) books that I've acquired over the years:

I've read pieces and parts of the first two for classes, and the third looks simply amazing, even though I'm not specifically writing "Fantasy".

To help me out a bit more, I purchased this book earlier this year:

I'd originally planned on using it through NaNoWriMo, but I think I might benefit from its services better at a slower pace.

I'm sorry that this month's plan (or lack of a plan) didn't pan out, but I'm still very excited. Kali's story will be written (else I might not ever sleep again) and she'll be unleashed upon the masses.

If there are any other NaNoWriMo's reading this, or other people who would enjoy a bit of inspiration, here's an amazing song/vid I discovered last week. Best wishes!

There's Nothing Worse Than...

...having a problem you can't fix. That's right, this is another installment of Vicki's Technological Woes.

Remember my post about backing up things because my external hard drive died? And my plan was to purchase another external drive to back everything up on? Well, it's been forever (3 months) but I finally did it.

Or, my dad did it for me.

Tuesday I got an early birthday present: a 2TB (2 TRILLION byte) external hard drive with automatic backup software. It's black and shiny and quiet and not too big and I love it! Or...well, I would love it if I could get the darn thing to work.

I plugged it in Tuesday night into my USB hub and about 15 seconds later I get the Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD) and my computer restarts. I go ahead and let it boot up, wait as all my start-up programs get started...and the BSOD comes up again and restarts - all before I can see the name of the error.

Rinse and repeat two more times.

The last time, though, I FINALLY get a glance at the error name:

Bad Pool Header

Okay! Now I know what to look for! I unplug the hard drive, let everything boot up, open Firefox, pop up Google and get to searching.

A few of the sites tell me it's a problem with my Registry, which is essentially the go-to guide for how a computer runs, and that if I purchase a Registry Cleaner software, it'll fix my problem. Luckily, I already have a free program that cleans my Registry (CCleaner is awesome), so I go to it. I clean the registry, plug in the drive and...

Bad Pool Header

Okay... Well, when I ran my anti-virus diagnostics program, it said I had low memory...and sometimes when I leave my laptop on for long periods of time (remember, Windows XP), like a week, it gets the BSOD from lack of memory...

So on the next restart, I go into my laptop settings and enable the slow-start Memory Test, which pretty much slows everything down, but should ensure a safer start. I also figure I should connect the drive directly to my laptop, instead of through the hub.

IT WORKS!!!

The auto-run software installs, I get through a back-up of my laptop in about an hour, and I figure now's the time to back-up my old hard drive. I "safely remove" the new drive and plug it back into the USB hub...

Bad Pool Header

Okay...maybe it doesn't like receiving the new drive except at boot-up? The computer restarts (with the drive plugged into the hub) and crashes again. I unplug the drive, and head back to Google.

This time I find sources that say the Bad Pool Header is specifically a driver error. Drivers are the software that hardware requires to tell the computer how to use it. So, that installation CD that came with your printer? In addition to the programs it had you install, it also gave your computer its driver information, essentially telling it how to run the printer. Or any other hardware you might want to tack on (web cams, wireless components, disk drives, external hard drives).

My external hard drives are both plug-n-play—they have the driver information in an auto-play format, so as soon as they're plugged in, they install the driver info automatically. But...apparently something isn't gelling, and the computer isn't liking the hard drive's driver.

Most of the advice is to uninstall the problem driver(s) and then reinstall it, since the old version was probably corrupted. But...I've done that about 5 times now and the computer still crashes every time the new hard drive is plugged in.

Another solution I thought might work was plugging the hard drive directly into the laptop again. My USB hub is old and (probably) isn't USB 2.0 compatible, which is what the new hard drive requires. So I've booted it a few times with it hooked directly in...and still only get crashes.

By now, you're probably all thinking it's something faulty with the new hard drive. Except...it works on my sister's computer just fine. Plugged it in, denied installing the software, copied everything from my old external drive onto it (with 1.7TB freespace still available), still works great.

So now I've come down to the decision of resetting my laptop—wiping everything and starting over with the factory CDs, then re-installing all my programs and transferring all my documents over from the new hard drive. Quick and easy, right? Well, not quick, actually, since it'll take many hours and many restarts to get all the Windows Updates taken care of, then a few more to install my programs and printers and...

And what if it doesn't work? And all my documents are still stuck on my external hard drive?

This problem has haunted me every hour since Tuesday night. I seriously worked on it all day yesterday (one of the only perks about being unemployed) but with nothing to show for it. I just can't fix the problem. Sure, I can erase everything and start at the top, crossing my fingers and hoping it'll be okay, but I'll never know exactly what went wrong. I wouldn't have fixed it.

On the bright side, at least I'm getting all this frustration out before my birthday.

Some Hopping Tips

or
The Results of My First Blogger Hop

Blogs Visited:
262

New Blogs Followed:
200+

Total Blogs Now Following:
375

Comments on My Blog:
83

New Followers:
77

That's right, I visited, commented on, and followed every blog I could.
(Blogs that did not support Google-Followers, I passed on)

I made it my personal goal to visit every single one this weekend; even stayed up way past exhaustion last night to finish.

Today, I was rewarded with over 300 posts (from Sunday and Monday) in my Google-Reader, which I diligently skimmed and read. It took me (I'm guessing) over 3 hours.

I just got back from an hour-long massage-shower to release my headache and shoulder tension.

Do NOT Do What I Did.

Have you ever gone to an all-you-can-eat buffet, filled yourself to full, then gone back one more time for dessert? Or how about gotten a gym membership and spent two hours going full-speed/full-strength?

Do you remember how it felt the next day?

Yeah, that's about what I'm feeling right now.

So here are my tips on how to safely and successfully Blog Hop:

1. Set a Realistic Goal
Pick a number you're comfortable with following and stick to it. No one is judging you on how many blogs you visit. In fact, there's no (easy) way to keep track at all. The only judge you have is yourself, and I think they'll understand your reasoning.

2. Be Sure to Leave Comments
Remember what I said about 'no way to keep track'? Well, when you visit someone's blog, be sure to leave them a comment. It doesn't have to be super fancy or detailed, but there are a couple things it should include:

A Polite Greeting
As in any correspondence, this helps break the ice and establish a connection.
"Hi there!"
"Hey ho, how's it hangin?!"
 "Caught you through the Hop!"

 Some Positive Detail You Noticed About Their Blog/Post
 An added bonus to the ice-breaker, this gives the blog owner a reason to further their connection with you. It always makes people feel good to know their hard work is being seen/read.
"I loved [insert book title] too!"
"Your banner is really ugly."
"Wow, your story is really similar to mine!"

A Tactful Link to Your Own Blog
Always leave a link. This is about establishing connections. How are we supposed to do that if you say 'hi' and disappear? However, don't be forceful about it. Provide it as an opportunity, not an obligation.
"I also review SciFi in my blog, (link)"
"Go to my blog if you ever want to see your family again: (link)"
"Hope you can hop over my way too! (link)"
"I visited you, now you visit me! It's only fair. (link)"
"Care to venture into (The Wolf's Den)?"

Now, while it's best to make each and every entry unique, if you are dealing in mass there's nothing wrong with creating a template that you can copy and paste. Especially when it comes to links—you don't want to mistype your blog-page and accidentally send them somewhere else!

3. Be Smart About Following 
Don't Expect a Follow for a Follow. 
While it's nice to think the above is some sort of unwritten rule, this can't be farther from the truth. I've seen some blogs with over 1000 followers, and you can bet that that person isn't following 1000 blogs. Well, at least not actively. They might be 'a Follower', but that's not the same as 'Following'.
I'll expand on this more below.

Don't Try to Force Followers
Ever gone into a store and been besieged by salespeople? Or have you gotten solicitors at your door? Most often your immediate reaction is "I'm not interested, GO AWAY!" Trying to force people to follow you just makes them that much more eager to say 'no'.

Follow Your Interests
If you can't stand Romance, why follow someone who only reviews Romance? You'll never actually read their posts, and that just defeats the purpose of following in the first place! It's like someone handing out all their pamphlets only to discover they've all been thrown in the trashcan around the corner. Be honest about what you'll read.

And in the same respect, don't expect people to follow your blog if it doesn't interest them.

4. Organize Your Reader
If you're like me, and you may have overshot your bounds, be smart about how you read things. Don't spend hours trying to sort through things you may not want to read... I dumped ALL Book Blogs into ONE folder, so it took forever to sort through it all.

Set Up Genre Folders
That way you can hit certain blogs when you're in the mood, or save others for another time.

Set Up a Probationary List
If you did select too many blogs to follow, put some in a folder that you can browse at your leisure to see if you really do like their writing style. Give it a couple weeks. If you can't remember liking anything of theirs in that time, it's probably best that you un-follow them.

5. Review and Make New Goals
After it's all over take into account what you did and what results you got.
How many did you visit?
How many did you like?
How many will you follow?
What was your blog's visiting rate?
DID YOU HAVE FUN?!

As for me, I visited over 200 blogs and got around 80 visits.
I had a lot of fun, but I also overexerted myself.
Next time (yes, I will do this again) I probably won't visit (or follow) every single blog I find. I'll definitely be more selective in my genres, and I'll stop when I feel like stopping.

Big thanks to Crazy-for-Books for hosting this weekend's Hop.
I hope you all enjoyed your own hopping.

Until next time...

For Every Step Forward, Remember To Backup (at least) Twice

Okay, that title probably doesn't make much sense...unless you have a slightly geeky mind. That's right, once again I come to you with computer advice. And, of course, the best entertainment advice comes at the expense of others...mainly myself.

The Setup

• a laptop with Windows XP -- 5 years old
• 35 GB hard drive -- 4 years old
• a USB splitter (2 ports become 5) -- 5 years old
• a SimpleTech 160GB external hard drive -- 4 years old
• which holds:
• the majority of my Word Documents (including 116pg Senior Thesis)
• all my Excel, Powerpoint, and Adobe Documents
• all my Pictures
• all my Music

The Problem

Now, flash back to last Wednesday, the 19th.

There I was, listening to my music, surfing the net, goofing off, when I decide it's time to update my profile picture. I take the pic then unplug my printer to hook up my phone. I get the pic off alright, then start cropping it and resizing it. Once I finally get it how I want, I go to save...and I get an error message.

E:/ is not accessible.

The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

E:/ is my external hard drive, where I keep all my larger files--pictures included.

Now, as I have music playing, I'm thinking there must be a mistake. Maybe one of the USB ports has finally broken down. I close iTunes, unplug my hard drive from the splitter, as well as my phone cord, and try switching ports.

I think I should also take this time to interject that you should always select the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the bottom bar when disconnecting important hardware. I usually ignore it in regards to my printer, but it's always a good idea to use the tools available to you.

Once plugged in, the computer acknowledges that something is there, but when I go to access the drive, I once again get that pesky message:

E:/ is not accessible.

The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

Now I'm getting worried.

I rush back to my browser and start Googling my error message. I get some advice about reestablishing drivers, checking for driver updates, etc. I try it out...

E:/ is not accessible.

The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

Okay... Let's try "free file recovery"? I get a lot of links. Phew.

I download one and, lo and behold, it can read my E:/ drive! I tell it to start recovering my files...and it starts copying them onto my C:/ drive. Well...that's all well and good, I suppose, except for a couple things...

1. I have right around 100GB of files on E:/ and only 11GB open on C:/...
2. The free/demo version only copies files under 64KB in size... which doesn't include my aforementioned 116 page Senior Thesis

The full version costs $40. Well, that was a bust. To the recycle bin with you.

I think I downloaded 10 other programs that day:

• 4 were "Recover DELETED Files" only (mine aren't deleted, just inaccessible)
• 3 were "Demo" versions which let you see the files you wanted to save, but required you to purchase the product in order to save/copy them
• 2 were "Free Download" then "Purchase the Product Code" before you even got to use the product (usually around $40 or $50)
• 1 actually did what I wanted AND was free.

Luckily, that's all it takes! Well, for me, at least.

The Solution

TestDisk, Data Recovery is an Opensource software - which means that it gets all its coding from volunteer programmers, and all the coding is viewable. If you're a DIY-tech person, always look for Opensource programs.

Anyway, I'm not a tech-person, I just play one on TV my blog. If you're really interested in the specifics of the program, click that link up there and it'll take you through all the partition tables and Master Boot Records and that gobbledegook. If you're wanting my (possibly incorrect) spin on things, read on!

What TestDisk allowed me to do was go in through DOS mode and access the E:/ drive. There I was able to try repairing the Master File Table...but I don't think it worked. See, how I understand things is...

The hard drive works sorta like a tree.* There's a single point of origin, and then all the folders and files and such flow out from there. When the computer tries to access a specific file, it has to first check with the point of origin, in order to figure out what is there and how to get to it. Like a city map, or a library filing system.

Now, this One Point is known as the Master File Table. If something goes wrong with this MFT, if it somehow gets corrupted or deleted...well, then the computer can't access that drive anymore. All the information is still there, all the files and folders, the tree just isn't there to tell you where the roots are. Or the map got ink spilled all over it. Or the library system is down for extended maintenance.

*This may or may not only apply to NTFS file system. That's what I have, and that's what I know.

Now, if we're done with all these analogies, I'll get back to what I was able to do.

Though the 'repairing' of the MFT hasn't seemed to work, I was able to recover all my Adobe, Excel, Powerpoint, and Word Documents (including my Senior Thesis!!!) and save them on my C:/ drive. I also managed to fit all My Pictures in there (though, I really should start deleting some that are no longer relevant).

The Plan

Now, as for my 99GB of music sitting on there... There's nothing I can do at the moment. I don't have enough space to transfer everything onto my C:/ drive (I only have 10 GB still open). Even my sister's desktop only has 65GB open (Yeah...I definitely need to delete some of my music).

So, next step is to purchase another hard drive.

Okay, I know what you're thinking - WHAT? Pay out $65+ for ANOTHER hard drive that'll fail on you too?!

I'll answer that in the next section. In the meantime, can I please continue with my plan?


Next I'll purchase another hard drive, giving me the 35GB in my laptop, the 160GB that is having some issues, and a new one (probably 500GB, though I could go for 1000GB (1TB) for $10 more...but really, that's getting a bit ridiculous--I mean, why would I ever need that much space?! My video card isn't good enough for video games. Maybe some movies...nah.).


I'll use TestDisk to copy everything (music and all) to the new hard drive. Then, sure that everything is safe in two places, I'll reformat my current one, then copy everything back over to it, giving me 3 copies of all my important documents and 2 copies of my less important ones...

The Moral

BACKUP YOUR FILES!!!

Yes, the title finally makes sense! For every great document you create, be sure to make at least one, possibly two (or three or four) backups!

Whether this means having 2 or 3 hard drives handy, saving your documents in e-mail attachments, or paying for an online backup service, don't take technology for granted. I've been told multiple times that it's a miracle my computer is still running. Okay, not a miracle, per say, but it's certainly impressive. That my external hard drive ran into some problems is not a surprise. When you're dealing with tiny computer chips and information that relies on 011010101 being in the right place...well, a lot can go wrong.

I thought my little portable guy was my backup, but really I just used him as my main pack mule. And when that pack mule decided to get lost (lose his map), I thought I was bum outta luck. Thankfully, my problem isn't as serious. The mule got a sprained ankle, but after I unload him and give him some time to reboot (reformat), he'll be up and going again.

But, backing out of the metaphors again, what if I had dropped it down the toilet? Or dropped a bowling ball on it? Or had it stolen out of my bag at the airport? Those documents would be lost forever.

With two hard drives (well, 3 really), I'm reducing the chances of things being lost forever. I mean, unless you're dealing with Apollo 13, having a quadruple failure is less likely than, say, having a single failure (on that note, maybe it's best to stick with 12 instead of 13 backups? Or chip in that extra effort and go to 14).

So, again, if you have important documents, pictures, music, anything that is irreplaceable, send it to yourself in an e-mail. Save it to a few dozen zip drives. Copy it to a CD or two. Look in to getting a couple external hard drives. Cause you just don't know what could happen.

Security Breach!

ALERT! ALERT! ALL CREW MEMBERS TO BATTLE STATIONS! WE HAVE A UNIFORM PAPA CHARLIE! I REPEAT, AN UN-AUTHORIZED PASSWORD CHANGE HAS OCCURRED! REPORT TO BATTLE STATIONS FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS!

...Or, at least, that's what was happening in my head two days ago.

Honestly, I don't know what happened. I don't know if I was hacked. I don't know if two sites decided to simultaneously glitch. I don't know the logic or specifics of what went down. All I know is what I saw, and what I did to fix it.

I guess you could say this all started 3 (or-so) months ago, when Facebook first decided to be glitchy. Okay, I guess they were just being diligent, but it still ticked me off. I was trying to share a link to a page on my profile, and apparently Facebook had had reports from some(body/people) that the site was annoying and/or malicious, so it kicked me out and sent me an e-mail to reset my password:

Hey Vicki,

We have detected suspicious activity on your Facebook account and have reset your password as a security precaution. It is possible that malicious software was downloaded to your computer or that your password was stolen by a phishing website designed to look like Facebook. Please carefully follow the steps provided:

1. Run Anti-Virus Software: If your computer has been infected with a virus or with malware, you will need to run anti-virus software to remove these harmful programs and keep your information secure. [insert support links for Microsoft & Apple]

2. Reset Password: Be sure that you use a complex string of numbers, letters, and punctuation marks that is at least six characters in length.
To reset your password, follow the link below:
[insert link here]

3. Never Click Suspicious Links: It is possible that your friends could unwillingly send spam, viruses, or malware through Facebook if their accounts are infected. Do not click this material and do not run any .exe files on your computer without knowing what they are. Also, be sure to use the most current version of your browser as they contain important security warnings and protection features.

4. Log in at Facebook.com: Make sure that when you access the site, you always log in from a legitimate Facebook page with the facebook.com domain. If something looks or feels suspicious, go directly to www.facebook.com to log in.

5. Report Suspicious Activity: Please visit the following pages for further information about Facebook security and information on reporting material:
[more links]

Once you have performed all these steps, your account should once again be secure. Please be sure to visit the Facebook Help Center for further information regarding these security issues and let us know if you need assistance.

Thanks,
Facebook Security Team

Now, all those steps are good advice (which is why I copied the e-mail), but I was peeved nonetheless since it was ME trying to use my account and NOT someone else. Still, I went ahead, made a new password and gave up on sharing the link (it couldn't have been that important, since I don't remember what it was anyway).

Flash forward to April 21st (or 22nd - the panicking kinda warped my memory of precise time passage) 2010.

I'm on Firefox, with multiple tabs open, flitting back and forth between them. I click on Facebook's tab and find one of their in-screen pop-ups saying, "You must be logged in to see this page" (it was my profile page). I cock my head to the side quizzically, but do as I'm prompted and go to sign in again. I know that they've been doing some more updates recently, so don't think too much about some hiccup causing me to log out.

On the log-in screen I type in my password, no problem, and click submit. The page goes blank a moment, the loading symbol is in on the tab, but then the same page returns with a message in a pink box. Why pink? Was red too scary for them? Too gloom and doom for Facebook? Anyway, the message reads:

Please re-enter your password
The password you entered is incorrect. Please try again (make sure your caps lock is off).
Forgot your password? Request a new one. [<-link]

I try again, slower this time, making sure I hold the shift key for the correct letters and release it for the others.

And I try again.

And again.

And again.

By now I've started to grit my teeth because I know I JUST reset my password (a little while ago) and I don't feel like doing it again. But, with no other choice, finally I give in and click the Request A New One link.

It's fairly simple to request a new password, actually. Facebook simply sends you an e-mail (to the address[es] registered with your account) with an activation code, which you then copy and paste into the space provided. Then you type in your new password twice and are on your way. I click the confirmation button and then go to my e-mail tab.

Normally, I have it up and running, but my mom had just checked hers earlier, so I had yet to log in again.

So I go to the AOL/Netscape log-in screen and type in my username, at which point my Saved Password fills in, and then I click the Sign In button.

A small bit of red text appears above the sign-in: Invalid Username or Password. Please try again.

Now, I KNOW my password is correct, but I go ahead and type my username again, then manually enter my password.

The red message doesn't go away.

I try it again and again and again...again, but nothing changes.

I'm really starting to freak out now. Why would BOTH accounts suddenly seize up at the same time? That can't be coincidence, can it? I mean, this account is the only one registered with my Facebook (my school account closed 6 months after I graduated), so what better way to reset my password than to also hack this e-mail?

Wait...hack? Have I been hacked?!

I quickly follow the "Forgot your Password?" link for my e-mail, which takes me through AOL's steps for password resetting. Trickier than Facebook's (since they obviously don't want you to need to have multiple e-mails) their questions are actually personal. They ask for your birthday, your zip code, and then the answer to a security question which you picked (and answered) upon signing up. I went through everything quickly and easily and changed my password.

Then I went in and finished the process for changing my Facebook password. As an extra precaution, I also went through all my other e-mails (I have 4) and changed their passwords. All was well.

Or so I thought...

I come back the next day and find an e-mail in my inbox... "Facebook Password Reset Confirmation Code". And I'm kinda...O_o I didn't request another reset.

Lo and behold, I was logged out of Facebook again and my password didn't work. I went through the steps again and reset it (getting another confirmation code in my e-mail).

A few minutes...or an hour (again, my idea of time was not constant during this period) later, I was logged out of both Facebook AND E-mail.

Now, this is partly my own fault. I had assumed that the second time my password on Facebook had simply glitched out, and that I needed to reset it to what it used to be. DO NOT USED AN OLD PASSWORD OR A PREVIOUSLY HACKED/BROKEN PASSWORD ON ANY ACCOUNT. Seriously, even if you think it's a glitch, it's better safe than sorry.

It was around this time that I really started panicking. I filed a report to Facebook:

Security: Hacked account

My account has been compromised, but it has not been phished nor affected by the money scam.

My account has been hacked.

If you believe your account has been hacked and you can still access your login email address, you can secure your own account by resetting the password from this page: [link] , or by selecting the "Forgot your password?" link that appears above the on the login page. An email will be sent to you with steps for completing the process.

If your account has been hacked and the login email on your account has also been compromised or has been changed by the hacker, please send us information about the account so we can look into it further and hopefully restore access. Please click here [link] to submit your report.

OR

Login and Password: I can't log in to Facebook or access my account

I reset my password but it will not work the next time I log in.
If you are prompted to reset your password every time you log in, your problem may be related to your internet browser. Please follow these steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Follow these instructions [link] to clear your browser’s cache and cookies.
2. If you continue to experience problems, reset your password [link] and log in.
3. If you logout and confirm that you cannot log back in, please contact us [link].

Because my account hadn't been sending out spam, or participating in other malicious activity, I decided to follow the instructions for the second problem. I cleared my cache and cookies (even though I was 99% certain Firefox wasn't the problem) and tried again. Still no dice. So I contacted them and they replied quickly.

Well, I should say I contacted them, then went to reclaim my e-mail again. First I spent a little time Googling things like "what to do if e-mail is hacked" (fyi, apparently I'm the only one who still calls it e-mail instead of email) and "how to tell if account is hacked", only to get dreary news. Most sites gave condolences for having lost my account, 'but here's how to gain access for enough time to save your crucial e-mails.' Others (like Yahoo Answers) actually had people commenting about how they were experienced hackers (and then had replies asking for their services). *shudder*

With the help of a couple more cheery sites (My Email Account Was Hacked! How I Regained Control of It & Password Recovery Speeds [Chart]) I made a new password (1337-speak) AND changed my security question & answer.

Anyway, the Facebook e-mail was there, nice and succinct:

Hi,

Please reply to this email to verify that you are the owner of the account that you referenced in your Facebook support inquiry. This security step must be completed before Facebook can respond to your inquiry. We apologize for any inconvenience.

If this email address is not associated with your account, please reply to this email from an email address that is associated with your Facebook account, ensuring that this email is in your response (this may require you to copy and paste this text if your email client removes this email from your reply).

Please also note that if you have created an account, and you're having trouble logging in, please do not create another account using a different email address. Doing so may also increase the time needed to resolve the issue.

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

I replied with two short sentences:

I am the owner, though I'm also having issues with my e-mail at the moment. If you could please CC my other e-mail [link] I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

Oh, pardon me, three short sentences.

I decided to give Facebook one last try, and sent for the confirmation code once more, changing my password to something not even remotely similar to anything I've used before...

And haven't had a problem since.

I must say, after reading the horror story the first site described, my e-mail and Facebook intrusions were pretty tame. No sent messages, no deleting information, no adding contacts (or e-mails)... The only problem (or clue) I had was my passwords not working. And, even luckier for me, I don't keep other crucial information in my account, so other than links to websites I receive mail from, (that I know of) they didn't get anything from me.

I'm still on edge. Every time I mistype my new passwords, I bite my lip that my next attempt will work (and it does). I ran a (37 hour-long) virus-scan on my computer, which turned up nothing - always a good sign. I just hope this good fortune will last.

If anyone has any advice of things to look for, or how better to secure accounts, please leave a comment below.


...In lighter news, (if you hadn't noticed up at the top) I FINALLY finished Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! Most likely, I will give a review of the first 5 books together, then have a separate review of the most recent 6th installment by Eoin Colfer. Be on the lookout for that ;)

Hope you all stay safe until we next meet,

~Vicki