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Myr

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Blog Entries posted by Myr

  2. Myr

    Nest Protect

    By Myr,


    Gadgets
    One of the things I was interested in for protecting my mancave was a smoke detector that connected to the Smart Home.  Nest Protect is one that does.  It is tied into my Wink Home Automation system, in addition to having the Nest App itself.  If the smoke detector goes off, it triggers alerts to my phone as well as setting off the alarm in the house.  (since my mancave is in the barn, not in the house)
    This thing works well and doesn't suffer from issues the first generation of smart smoke detectors did.  (Like alarms you couldn't turn off if they triggered the wrong way).
    So, yeah, this is just one more tool in my home automation arsenal.
  3. Myr

    Tech Tuesday - Fancy Links

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    I created an announcement a few weeks ago asking people for topics they wanted to be covered here in more detail.  You can find it here:
    One of those requests was how to we make the fancy links, like I use in my post signature to link to my story.  It's really, really simple.  Just copy the link in the url address bar and then paste the link to a story on the site into an editor, and it'll auto format for you.  For example, I could paste a link to my Sci-Fi Anthology story, A Bad Day to Be WET:
    And it automatically formats.  The neat thing is, that this applies to topics, like the first example, stories, like the second and other things like the Gallery and Blog's linked below:
     
    If you are planning on updating your signature to link to a story, just remember you can only link one story that way.  Further rules can be found here:
     
    Some offsite links also auto-populate.  YouTube and Google Maps, for example:
     
     
    Hope this helps!  Leave a comment below.
  4. Myr
    Stalking Darkness is the conclusion of most of the threads set up in Luck in the Shadows.  It picks up where the last book left off.  Traitor's Moon moves in time a bit and covers the consequences of the first two books.  If you liked the first book, you'll definitely want to complete these two books.
     
    Both of these books are good and have a nice emotional connection to them.  (And the slow burn on the romance final pays off).  There are further books in this series, but I found my interest in them dropping a bit and I have not read the last two released books yet.  I'll post them on this blog when I go get to them.
     
  5. Myr

    Sprout by Dale Peck

    By Myr,


    Books
    I was going back through my list of books that I had bought over the years and this one sprang to mind.  I think it is the cover that got me to read it.  Teenager with greenhair just begs the question why.  
     
    This is definitely a layered story.  It has great character development and is interesting. I definitely found it worth the read.
  6. Myr

    Nest Learning Thermostat

    By Myr,


    Gadgets
    So, I installed a Nest at my mother's last May.  Let me tell you, this thing has been really good at lowering costs.  It has also solved so many of my tech problems with mom.  Now she just texts me and I can adjust her thermostat from my phone when I'm anywhere.   Since I have to do all of her technical support, this makes my life so much easier.   The funny thing is I have it tied into Alexa as well.  That means I can sit in my living room and adjust the temperature in her house just by telling Alexa to do it.
     
    Oh, if you go this route, power companies often have an energy saving rebate for getting a learning thermostat.  I know mom got back $75 in a rebate for that.
     
    I definitely like the Nest product.
  7. Myr

    Tech Tuesday - Activity and Activity Stream

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    When we upgraded to the new software, we picked up a very powerful tool called the Activity Stream.  The cool thing here is that it has not only built-in options, but you can create your own as well.  We'll start with the most important two, right up front.  
    First.  All Activity.  You can find it by going to the Activity option on the Main Menu and Selection the top option on the Sub-Menu, All Activity.

     
    This immediately shows you all the latest new content on the site.  You can view this in 2 different ways.  Expanded and Condensed.  The system remembers your preference.
    Expanded:

     
    Condensed:

    (You can see that for the forums, the Forum name is in the colored bubble, just like in Fluid View, which we highlighted here last week.  And you get a rare glimpse into the Site Moderator forum... We're discussing a blog Renee is posting tomorrow (Wed) on improving the quality of the tags, descriptions etc on Stories)
    There are icons next to the content to tell you what the content is:
    A forum comment, two story comments and a blog comment.  Story related items are little books.  Forum items are little chat bubbles.
     
    That covers All Activities, so the next important item is Activity Streams.  These are customizable.  The default Activity Stream is "Latest Stories"  You can set this to anything you like.
    You can find all the default stream under your name:
    (That little triangle is the Moderator Report function, for those that are curious)
     
    If you have changed your default stream, that'll be different.

    There is a LOT going on in the Activity Stream.  First, like the All Activity we covered first, you can view story updates as Condensed or Expanded. It works the same way.  The icons for content are the same, this time, since we are looking at only stories, they are all the story icon.  The big change here is there is now the large white "filter box". 
    The filter box is how you set options.  It has the following items:
    Show me - This sets what get's shown.  You can choose between Content (like a chapter) or Content and Comments/Reviews.  You can also filter items using tags.  If you type a tag in that box, it'll show you only things with that tag. Content Types.  This is how you pick what get's shown.  The Story Updates Activity Stream shown above, it shows you Stories and Story Chapters.  That means it shows new stories that are posted and new chapters are posted.  There is a blog post all it's own on just how you can play with that. Read Status - Default is everything.  you can set up a stream to show you only story updates you haven't read.  Important!  "Read" is forum software for "Clicked on".  It is like your notification pop up window. "read" is really loosely defined. Ownership - Default is everything.  I could have it show only things I've posted.  Or I can specify an author.  Example: Following - Default is everything.  You can choose to show updates for only stories you follow, for example. Time period - Default is Any, which also displays as Last 365 Days.  You can filter items during the last year.  It does seem pretty quirky on how successful that works. Sorting - Newest First is the default.  You can reverse that. If you make changes to an existing stream, it asks if you want to save.  If you say yes, it'll keep your stream settings and you can go back to it whenever you like.  There are also a ton of existing Activity Streams availible already.  You can use them or you can modify them.  Example, you can change the Latest Blog updates to Latest Blog Updates of just this blog. 

     
    I hope this helps everyone understand the power of the system just a bit more.  Let me know if you want to know more.
  8. Myr

    Spider-Man: Homecoming

    By Myr,


    Movies
    So I finally got around to watching this.  I shouldn't have waited so long.  Oh... mmmm.  Tom Holland.  What an adorable Spider-Man he makes.  What a great selling feature too, showing him in boxers.  More than once.  lol.
    Eye candy aside, both male and special effects, I also enjoyed the movie in general.  It's really good to see Micheal Keaton back to acting again.  He did a good job with a complex character.
     
    I'd definitely say this is worth having in your library.  The 4k version is also worth it if you've got the hardware to rock it.
  9. Myr

    Tech Tuesday - Fluid Forum View

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    So, when Forum 4.2 was released, they added a new feature called "Fluid View".  This is a whole new way of looking at the forums.  It basically lists all new topics based on when they were posted and gives you a color-based tag on which forum it belongs to.  The forum company is recommending now that new forums start with it.  This ties into me taking the time to colorize the forum icons awhile back.  You can check out the different options here:

    The Standard forum view is the button the left.  The Middle button is "Grid View" which is frankly pretty odd.  The Fluid view is the option on the right.  Give it a click and check out the options.  It really shows active posts a lot easier.
     
    When in the Fluid view, you get filter boxes on the left-hand side of the page.  This allows you to show topics only from selected forums.  If you don't select any, it shows you all topics from the forums you have access to.  Each topic has a color-coded tag indicating which forum it is from.

     
    As soon as you select a few forums, you'll show only the posts from those forums.  For example, Announcements and The Lounge:

     
    This view is an option if you're not a fan of scrolling through all our different forums looking for updates.  It might surface content easier and it more likely you'll see something.  Give it a try and let me know what you think. 
     
    Coming soon, I'll go over the Activity Streams as another way to view new content.
  10. Myr
    This week I want to bring up the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling.  All of her books seem to touch on one LBGTQ issue or another.  Nightrunner though stars the adorable, naive Alec. 
    From Amazon:
     
    I really enjoyed this book.  It is a slow burn on the Alec thing.  This is a pretty long series and I don't think I've even read the last two yet.  I think the first one is my favorite though.  If you like fantasy stories, this is absolutely one that is worth checking out.
     
  11. Myr

    Wonder Woman

    By Myr,


    Movies
    This is the best DC movie I've seen in awhile.  Probably the best since the Dark Knight.  It is way better than the Superman movie, and Batman V. Superman.  I also enjoyed Chris Pine in this movie.  Though, to be truthful, I seem to like the job Chris Pine does in all the movies I see him in.
     
    For the movie itself, it has a good solid plot.  It explains the picture from Batman Vs. Superman very well.  The movie has action and character.  It's good to see a kick-ass woman kicking ass because she's supposed to be versus some Hollywood virtue signaling deal.  They did a great job with this movie.
     
  12. Myr
    This week's Anthology Flashback brings back to the Summer of 2007 and for Endings and Beginnings.

    As always, we thank all these authors once again for participating so long ago.  If it is not too much trouble, would you be willing to write a review for these authors?  Even if some of them are no longer around, I'm sure other readers will appreciate the effort.  The authors are are still with us surely will.
  13. Myr

    Echo and Echo Dot

    By Myr,


    Gadgets
    So, I picked these up on sale over the Christmas season this year.  I've really gotten into the habit of using them.  I have Hue lights in my living room and in my mancave and it is so nice to say "Alexa, turn on the lights," when I have my hands full.  Or to turn them off.  Or, since they are Hue, change them to any color as the mood hits.  I'll do a separate post on Hue soon.
     
    I also get my weather now from Alexa, usually a couple times a day.  It's really handy.
     
    She can do other things as well, and is getting better all the time.
     
    As for the devices themselves... if you are planning on using them for streaming stuff like music or audio books, then I'd strongly recommend the Echo.  If you're just asking about weather or interacting with smart home devices, then the echo dot will do.  As it stands at the moment, I have an Echo Dot in my living room, an Echo in the Family room and an Echo Dot in the mancave.  I'm watching sales and I'll be deploying more Echos so most of the house is covered.
     
    Have any of you tried these yet?
  14. Myr

    Tech Tuesday - Quotes, Mentions and Etiquette

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    I thought I would talk this week about the use of quoting and mentions while you make posts and comments on the site.  There is a certain etiquette to this to keep topics flowing smoothly without making a nuisance of yourself.  So, first up, some definitions:
    Quoting is when you press the "Quote" button and it pulls in the entire comment Quote This is when you highlight a portion of text and a small "Quote This" box pops up that you then click.  It functions the same as Quoting, but only for the highlighted text. Mentions are when you type the "@" symbol followed by a name.  The system prompts you to create a mention @Myr Users are then alerted that someone mentioned them. (example of "Quote This")
     
    You shouldn't ever really use the first option unless the post you are quoting is short.  Most people have just read it and there is no reason to repeat the whole thing, especially if it is long.  That ends up being more irritating than helpful.  A great alternative is to highlight the small section you are referring to and using "Quote This" instead.  Now, I understand that this is harder to do on mobile devices as well as other circumstances, so a great alternative there is to use Mentions.   The system can get squirrelly if you use a lot of them in a row, but you usually shouldn't need such a thing.
     
    Just a note that is forum software bug more than anything, if you are using post dating feature, if you use a mention, the person will be alerted, even if the post/blog/whatever has not posted yet.  I think that is supposed to be patched, but I know from experience that it sends the notification as soon as you submit it, not when it posts.
     
    Of course, I have previously made a video on how to use mentions.  It is here on YouTube:
     
    Would you be willing to like and subscribe if you found the video helpful?  It lets me know whether or not making further videos is worthwhile.
  15. Myr
    Well, this movie is a bit different.  So, right up front, let me say that I liked this movie a lot more than the critiques.  Sci-fi and fantasy are definitely in my wheelhouse.  I also enjoying watching Dane DeHaan.  Kris Wu is also a nice in the eye-candy category too. 
     
    The movie's special effects are outstanding.  The plot, which those critiques complained about, requires you to pay attention.  Not Inception levels of attention, but not casual watching either.  I enjoyed the movie enough to watch again.  It's worth checking out if you like Sci-Fi, for certain.
     
  16. Myr

    Survival Handbooks and Writing

    By Myr,


    Writing
    For those of you that haven't figured it out by now, I'm a compulsive researcher in far too many ways.  I end up all too often with far more research than writing what I was supposed to write.  Having said that I picked up these two books a number of years ago to give a story I was working on more accurate flavor.  It didn't get posted, but it is in the backlog of things that I'm sure I'll polish up, complete and post some day.  Anyway, I found both of these books interesting and informative.  The SAS guide is more technical and the other guide is more hippy gone wild.  They both serve their purposes, especially if you're writing about a disaster-struck modern world.
     
  17. Myr

    Tech Tuesday - Tag, You're It!

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    This week is all about the tags.  Every part of the system uses them.  I bet most people kind of gloss over them if they notice them at all.  Buy why are tags important?  The honest truth is that the tags are there to help you group like material together.  For example, I tag all of these type of blogs posts with Tech Tuesday.  if you click on a tag, it pulls up the search engine and shows you everything that is tagged with that item:
    https://www.gayauthors.org/tags/tech tuesday/
     
    The same thing applies to stories.  Say you want to find all the stories tagged with Magic, well, just click on the tag on a story and you'll get your list:
    https://www.gayauthors.org/stories/browse/tag/magic/
     
    With Stories, you can also go to the "Genre and Tags" page and see the list of all the Genres and All the Tags.  Clicking on them will bring you to all the stories tagged accordingly.
    https://www.gayauthors.org/stories/browse/genre/
     
    Using tags is easy.  On every new topic, blog, gallery image, or story, or whatever content you're posting, be sure to place 1-3 of the most important keywords in the tag box.  The tags will self-format when you hit the comma.  So Tech Tuesday tags look like this:
    Please note here the item prefix.   In some places, you are allowed to add this prefix and it shows up on the subject line ahead of the subject.  This should be used sparingly as it is meant for emphasis.  Usage of the prefix  option does vary by by member group and which part of the site they are using.
     
    There are some pretty big search updates coming in the Forum 4.3.0 software that is entering beta test now at our forum vendor's site.  Using tags not only helps our system now with searching, it'll make it better in the future.
     
    Speaking of future, we will be patching the site soon with some bug fixes and part of that will be that we are going to start tracking readers' stats on a weekly basis.  Right now, when you look at a story, you see the total number of views over time.  But that could have been 10,000 views four years ago or last week.  There's no way to tell.  With the new system we are implementing, authors will be able to tell what of their material is trending and when.  Publicly, we plan on showing data on what people are reading by genre and by tags.  This update will just begin the recording of the raw data.  This way, when we get to the real update in a few months, we'll have a lot of data already on hand.  For those concerned with privacy, there is no personal data recorded at all.  For those wondering, why should I care?   This data will be used to understand our market.  Stories that get the most reads in a time frame will boost their tags and genres in popularity.  Writers who are looking for a challenge, can then write stories that fit what people are looking for... or do that and twist it back to what you're looking for by hooking them good and proper.  This ties back to tags.  Make sure the tags on your story are useful and actually describe the story.  Review your stories and make sure your tags make sense.
     
    We are also open to adding more tags that are currently not in the system if you make your case for them.
  18. Myr

    Tech Tuesday - Story Reviews

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    Writing reviews is hard.  That's the honest truth.  Writing the first review is even harder.  Humans are social creatures and tend to have a herd mentality.  Most people will wait for others to go first.  It is part of human nature.  However, writing those reviews is important for the same reason.  A lot of people don't like to go and read something unless it's been reviewed.  There are other factors people look to like number of views, number of likes, and number of follows when the reviews aren't there, but we've been trained by the billions of dollars marketing companies spend to look for those stars when we are considering something.  It's completely unconscious for so many of us.   Amazon has this down to an art form.  Every time you buy something, especially if there are not a LOT of reviews, you'll get a follow-up email asking you to review the item.  That's because people look for social proof that others like what they like.  There are entire psychology and marketing courses and books on just this subject alone.  It's mind-boggling, really.
     
    Our Stories system is set up so that people can comment on ongoing stories as well as each chapter.  When the story is marked as complete, people can leave a review.  You need to leave a 1 to 5 star rating with 1 being Oh God, Why Did I Read This? and 5 being WOW!  Where can I send you money? I have made a video where you can listen to my non-dulcet tones explain how to do this:
     
    If you watch the video, would you mind taking a moment and hitting like?  It would be much appreciated.  Also feel free to subscribe to our channel so you can see when I make these little videos.
     
    Important notes on reviews:
    The more spoiler-free stuff you are able to put in there, the better.  This is especially true the lower you rate the story.   If you really liked the story, "This is Great!" is a positive feel good for the author, certainly.  However, if you can tell the author why you thought it was great, then the author has a great target on what to give you more of.  Did you love the characters?  the plot?  the humor?  the twists? the big cliffhanger? (but don't spoil it!) If you didn't love the story, it's even more important to let the author know what's wrong.  It is imperative you do this constructively! "This Sucks!" is a complete waste of time for you to leave it and for the author to read it.  So DON'T do it.  Some examples approaching constructive feedback: I like the characters in this story, but the plot felt flat and empty. You can use the spoiler tag to give specific examples. I really loved the concept, but I struggled to read through the editing issues. I think the plot was well thought out, but the characters felt interchangeable and flat. Star Ratings to Me:
    Stars mean different things to different people.  1 is bad, 5 is best.  But what does that really mean?  This is my own scale of how I view them: 5 Stars - This story is one of the best.  A must read for me. 4 Stars - This story is great.  Well worth a read.  (this is my most common rating) 3 Stars - This story is good.  Decent story that may just be mismatched to my genre/mood/preferences. 2 Stars - Meh.  Not a horrible story, but it has issues. 1 Star - This story is a complete mismatch to my preferences or is horribly written or has one or more fatal flaws.  
    Older Stories
    Gay Authors has been going since fall of 2002.  We have a lot of stories, of course.  Some of our early members are no longer with us for one reason or another.  @DomLuka@dkstories@vlista20 @C Jamesto name a few.  They each have some great stories but have low counts in the system.  This is because they had their own hosted sites on Gay Authors and were not in the system when they were getting the most hits and actively posting.  We promote the older stories regularly, but they really need members that love the older stories to review, like, comment on them to bring them to the attention of others.  Hell, @Comicality is active and has a huge back number of stories that you can check out.  @Mark Arbour is another.  Read and Review!  Let everyone know why you like the story.  Reviews, comments, and likes are all fuel for authors.  In many cases, the only fuel. 
     
    So, will you--the reader--be willing to take just a few minutes of your time to let the author, who probably spent hours writing what you just read, know what you felt about their story?  Would you mind leaving that review in return for their hard work?
  19. Myr

    Headset

    By Myr,


    Gadgets
    There are many occasions where I find myself wanting a headset.  Almost always while I'm working on something.  This goes directly against the fact that I hate things on my head, especially things that touch my ears.  So I went trolling over at Best Buy to see if I could find something that felt good on my head while meeting the needs of a good sounding headset.  This thing does the job!  It has microfiber mesh around memory foam for the padding.  They sound great and the mic works as it should as well.  I now have two of these things.  One for at work and one for at home.
     
    The simulated Dolby 7.1 audio sounds great.  The mute button on the left ear works too.  Since this is USB, the whole thing is powered off the pc.  If you like flashing lights, this thing as a lot of them.  You can set the colors to whatever you want.  When you mute the mic, the mic lights up with a red light showing you that you are muted.
     
    I'm very pleased with this headset.
  20. Myr

    American Assassin

    By Myr,


    Movies
    I really enjoyed this movie.  It was good to see Micheal Keaton back in the game.  I'll admit that I also like staring at Dylan O'Brien.  I've heard really good things about the books as well.  There is a series of them.  This is one of those rare cases where I've seen the movie before reading the books.
     
    I think this might be a new pattern for me, actually.  By watching the movie before reading the book, I can enjoy the movie for what it is and then read the book and enjoy that too.  Far too often, I read the book first and then watch the movie and come out of it disappointed in some form because something is left out.  The only scene I liked in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix book wasn't in the movie.  (Peeves and McGonagall)
     
    So, anyway, I enjoyed the movie and I hope they make sequels
  21. Myr

    Tech Tuesday - Series Feature in Stories

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    This week's blog was triggered by the observation that some authors and members seem to be unaware of a built-in feature of our Stories system.  This is the Series function.  First, for the readers, you can find Series easiest by using the right-side menu on the main stories page. See below:

     
    If the Longest Series is not your thing, you can easily adjust it by selecting "Sort By" and choosing a different option:

     
    When you click on a Series Title, say "Gone From Daylight", the stories will be listed in Series order.  You'll recognize Series stories in the system because they'll have a Series # followed by Series Title after the Story Title.  For example, on the Gone From Daylight Series page, you can see the highlighted Series # and Series Title:

     
    That's all great for Readers, but how to Authors make a Story part of a Series?  Easy!  Edit the Story and right at the top of Step 1 is the Series Title and Series Number:

     
    We do ask that Authors not add the Series Title and Series number until there are at least two Stories in the Series posted in the system.
    Also note, that is a great way to tie related Anthology stories together.  Although in the case of Anthologies, the staff will have to edit the story for you. 
     
    I hope that helps everyone understand our Series function in Stories.
  22. Myr

    New Bed for the New Year

    By Myr,


    Gadgets
    As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, I like stuff.  I like gadgets and I like new technology.  I figured I'd start posting some of this as affiliate links.  If you are buying something off from Amazon here in the United States and you get to the Amazon site after you link from here, then we get a percentage of whatever you buy.  It's a pretty cool Affiliate arrangement.  So, I'm ordering this new memory foam mattress tonight along with accessories.  My current boxspring and mattress have seen better days and are contributing to my irritated back.  So, now is as good a time as any to make the leap.
     
    My coworker bought the queen size version of this mattress last year and both him and his wife love the thing.  I've got a few memory foam pillows that I really like, so this wasn't a hard sell for me.  So, here it goes. 
     
    Remember, the links above are affiliate links.  If you buy the stuff above, we get a cut.  If you click through to Amazon from the links above, we also get a percentage of everything you end up buying.  A great way to support the site is to click to Amazon from one of the links you see on the site.
     
    I'll make a follow-up post to let you know what I think of my new purchase.
  23. Myr

    The Hitman's Bodyguard

    By Myr,


    Movies
    I really enjoyed this movie. I got a few really good laughs out of it.  I'm a big fan of Samuel L. Jackson as long as he's acting and not yapping about politics.  He plays a really great BAMF.  (Bad Ass Mother F....).  This is true in most things he shows up in. 
     
    This movie has both action and comedy.  It is definitely adult targetted.  If you are into action romps with comedy, this fits well.  Ryan Reynolds does come across a bit as his Deadpool character at times.  That's not a bad thing. lol.
     
    Anyway, a good distraction for a couple hours.
  24. Myr
    So, I thought I'd start with one of the first published gay books I've ever read.  I have this in both paperback and Kindle.  This book is outstanding in that it creates a fantasy world that has a very unique magic system.  I've never really read anything that was similar.  The fact that it has a gay teenager as a lead character just rocks my world.  There is an age struggle basically between an immortal 20-something? 30-something?  and a teenager.  It works very well since, by the time anything happens, there is certainly no coercion or even ability to coerce in place.  
     
    I loved the book and have read a few times over the years.
     
    By the same measure, I can't stand the sequels.  The sequels to this book suck to such an extreme it is hard to believe the same author wrote them.  So, by all means, check out this book.  Skip the sequels at all costs.
     
  25. Myr

    Ten's Unit - They Really Work

    By Myr,


    Gadgets
    So, as I mentioned yesterday on the blog about the new bed I ordered, my back has been pestering me for the last week or so.  On the suggestions from several friends from work and here, I picked up a Tens unit.  Since I was so in need of relief, I picked it up at Walmart (ick) and paid a lot more than Amazon for the pleasure.  But let me tell you, that little thing really really helps with muscle issues!
    There are a lot of them out there and I'll be doing research on them.  For now, this little Omron unit has helped a LOT.
     
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