I’m Ba-a-a-ack
I can’t believe it’s been almost two months since I last posted on the blog. It happens; people get busy. Still, it’s not ideal as not posting has a negative impact on page rank and other SEO-related metrics. Plus, it makes people who wander by question whether I’m still around. Indeed, I am.
Taxes, FAFSA, ACA, XP-windows 8.1 transition, client work, and other various activities have kept me busy.
Obamacare
I happen to be one of the people for whom healthcare.gov never managed to work properly. Here it is, three days after the deadline that was extended past the deadline that was extended. I still can’t submit. The website won’t allow me. No explanation, just an error box. Phone support has the same problem. My application was elevated to a super-double-secret probation team who are supposed to phone me eventually. I’ve wasted (let me emphasize wasted) at the very minimum ten hours on this application beyond my first time entering all the data.
Fish
I returned from SAKE (Southwest Area Killifish Event) a few weeks ago with some new animals. A pair of king cobra patterned guppies, some Heterandria formosa to diversify the gene pool of the colony I already have, a pair of Aphysimion genus killis, and a batch of Pachypanchax playfairii eggs.
Also recently I acquired some Black Lace Pinoy angelfish, neon tetras, and a few other cichlids. The new fish rack is nearly done. Most of the tanks are populated, but I still need to hang the power strip off the floor and add a couple more 2-1/2 gallon tanks. I’ll post photos soon.
I finally hung some spawning mops inside several tanks. I have eggs and fry from both my Norman’s Lampeyes and the Daisy’s Ricefish.
A few weeks ago, I inherited a colony of Orchid Endler’s Livebearers. The colony was in distress, mostly female, and several emaciated. There were probably around 20 fish when they arrived here. I’ve since lost the weaker-looking emaciated fish, but the others are starting to look stronger. The best-looking female (in terms of health) now appears to be gravid. If I have fry in the tank eventually, I’ll be very pleased. It will give me my third strain of Endlers.
A Darkling Nine
This novel, which I had intended to finish editing by the end of February, is still in the editing stage. Now that a big pile of deadline-driven items like taxes and windows upgrade are finished, I’ll be focusing on that more in the next few weeks.
Technology
I recently decided, or rather my business decided, that I need a tablet computer to compliment the desktop and laptop computers I currently use. I got the Microsoft Surface 2, largely because it came with MS Office already installed. That means it doesn’t need to burn one of my Office 365 licenses. (I’m using two, the three teenagers are each using one. That’s it.) So far, I’ve been very happy with the choice.
As mentioned earlier, I also upgraded the operating system on the desktop from Windows XP service pack 3 to Windows 8.1. There were a few bumps but nothing too severe during transition. I need to get the machine fully capable for client work soon so that I can upgrade the laptop from 8.0 to 8.1.
I also finally made the call to my internet provider and we’ll be getting faster internet access for less money, so I’m looking forward to that.