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OK, can any knowledgable computer-type person tell me why floppy disks decide they're not formatted? It's the second time this has happened to me and it's driving me up the wall. I'll have a disk that I'll use to carry files between say, laptop and desktop computer; or desktop and uni computers and it will work happily and well and then suddenly decides it's not formatted. I know the info on the disk is stuffed, but is there a way to avoid it in the future?
Also, is there anyone else who could rave at me about memory sticks? Do they have non-formatting tendencies/any unique problems? And what's the difference between those that cost $100 and those that start at around $35 at Officeworks? :)
To a different topic entirely: blabbing blurbs (called such simply because I was feeling clever :)). Backstory, first. Yesterday I was at the library doing shelving. I happened upon a book that attracted me first by its title (The Art of Arrow Cutting) and then by the author, Stephen Dedman. It's a hardcover, smallish, and the blurb is on the inside flaps of the cover. The blurb is actually very well crafted, caught my attention etc, but it continues on to the back flap. Now, basic premise of the book (and I'm doing a bit of a disservice here, but hey) is character X meets character Y and Weird Shit starts happening. That's essentially what the front flap says.
(Finally gets to the point) The purpose of this rant is to say that hardcover blurbs should fit on one flap. In my experience, blurbs that go onto the back flap tend to become plot recitals, or they give too much away too early. Like this one -- back flap reveals that character Y dies. Now, I'm 60 or so pages into the novel and it's great, I recommend it to people. But character Y isn't dead yet, and 60 pages is almost a quarter of the way through the book. It's a detail that I didn't need to know and I feel spoiled.
So, question out there to those in the know -- how much control does an author actually have over the blurb?
Also, is there anyone else who could rave at me about memory sticks? Do they have non-formatting tendencies/any unique problems? And what's the difference between those that cost $100 and those that start at around $35 at Officeworks? :)
To a different topic entirely: blabbing blurbs (called such simply because I was feeling clever :)). Backstory, first. Yesterday I was at the library doing shelving. I happened upon a book that attracted me first by its title (The Art of Arrow Cutting) and then by the author, Stephen Dedman. It's a hardcover, smallish, and the blurb is on the inside flaps of the cover. The blurb is actually very well crafted, caught my attention etc, but it continues on to the back flap. Now, basic premise of the book (and I'm doing a bit of a disservice here, but hey) is character X meets character Y and Weird Shit starts happening. That's essentially what the front flap says.
(Finally gets to the point) The purpose of this rant is to say that hardcover blurbs should fit on one flap. In my experience, blurbs that go onto the back flap tend to become plot recitals, or they give too much away too early. Like this one -- back flap reveals that character Y dies. Now, I'm 60 or so pages into the novel and it's great, I recommend it to people. But character Y isn't dead yet, and 60 pages is almost a quarter of the way through the book. It's a detail that I didn't need to know and I feel spoiled.
So, question out there to those in the know -- how much control does an author actually have over the blurb?
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From:
no subject
It really depends. Why don't you ask Stephen himself:
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What are the odds?
From:
Gynaezine
From:
no subject
Works for me. But then I use an iMac ...