Friday, November 30, 2018

I Find it Sad...

People have a problem with romance
I love romance. It’s why I write it. Those happy endings make me feel good. Even good beginnings do, like watching someone propose. But when did being romantic in public become intolerable?

A man wants to sing and propose to his significant other on a cruise, in the main dining room, during elegant night. The person he asked, asked for opinions from cruise-goers (this was all via Facebook, by the way).

I couldn’t believe how many people were against this. That it would “ruin” their dinner. Really? I was just flabbergasted at the responses.

The more I’m on Facebook, the more ugly people I encounter. It’s horrible! Why can’t people be nice? It’s a freakin’ cruise; you’re supposed to have FUN. A few minutes away from your meal (which usually isn’t the case—the wait staff entertains diners between dinner & dessert so this request isn’t that much different) can’t be THAT bad. It’s like no one wants to share in someone else’s joy anymore. Sheesh!

Maybe I’m just becoming an old grumpy person. But this really irritated me. And made me sad.

And I was going to end the post with this, until I came across…

People trust websites more than faxes
Bowker, the company that issues ISBNs, got hacked during May through October of this year (yes, during—it wasn’t discovered until October). Lots of people’s credit cards and other personal info were obtained illegally and Bowker shut their website down to stop the hack.

I guess their website is back up now but you can’t purchase the ISBNs from their site until they get the issue resolved. Instead, you have to fax the order in.

It was kind of funny (in a sad way) how so many authors do not TRUST faxes. It wasn’t all that long ago where it was the ONLY way to send in orders. Well, that and MAIL it in. And you know what? I don’t remember people getting hacked all that much back then. Probably because it was HARDER to do. But hey, but what do I know?

Bowker does say that if you don’t want to include your credit card info on the fax order, just to write “call me” and they’ll call you for it.

Hmmm… it wasn’t all that long ago people didn’t trust their phones to give out that information, either.

Apparently I am on a roll, because I also came across…

People trust “the cloud” more than their own disc drives
Software companies who promise you that you can get your documents wherever you are, on whatever device you want, appeal to a lot of people (not me). What’s funny is that these people are SURPRISED when their documents go missing.

I mean, one little hiccup from the software company can cause anything to happen. To depend on them to keep your documents safe at all times is unrealistic.

Yes, I e-mail my manuscripts to myself, which in essence is in “the cloud.” But it’s not the ONLY place I store them. I’ve lost e-mails before, I’ll lose them again I’m sure. Because I don’t trust OTHERS to keep what’s important to ME safe.

Am I old school? Hardly. If I were, I’d PRINT OUT my manuscript every night (or worse, use a—gasp—typewriter). I’m not that bad. I only print it out when I’m finished. Haha!

I don’t like using software that can ONLY be accessed via the Internet when I want to use it (and I won’t use it for my manuscripts). I lose the Internet more often than I like.

Thanks for letting me rant today. Sometimes you just get hit with a bunch of crazy stuff and you want to share.

So… Do you hate public romance? Distrust faxes? Love “the cloud”? Why?

Happy Friday!

Stacy

4 comments:

JeffO said...

They shouldn't have asked.

You see videos of that kind of stuff all the time, and the overwhelming response is cheering. I say, just do it. Regarding the rest of it--I don't do cloud, either. Give me my stuff. Let me keep my stuff. It's mine. Once you store it on the cloud, it's kind of 'theirs,' and it's not hard to imagine a day when you can put anything you want on the cloud for free, but it will cost you to access it.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Jeff - The Rep should have told the man to just contact the Matre'd and let the ship decide. But I also think the Rep was curious what other people thought. He got an eyeful. So did I. It wasn't pretty. AS for "the cloud": yeah, I can see needing to PAY to gain access to your own work happening eventually. Of course, they already charge you if you need more room.

Jennette Marie Powell said...

Those people who have a problem with the cruise ship proposer are the grumpy old farts, not you. I can't imagine being bothered by something like this. And that's also why I hate FaceBook.

Faxes - people still use those? If I need more ISBNs, I guess it's mail or call for me. Not because I don't trust faxes, but because I don't have one, so it's a PITA.

Anyone who's had a hard drive fail probably trusts the cloud more, because their files are stored on not just one drive, but redundantly across many. Even the Dept. of Defense is moving toward cloud storage. But I'm 100% with you on software or files accessible only when online. I just use the cloud as a backup, because it's automated which means I'll DO it.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Jennette - As I posted this, I found out that Bowker is now taking orders on line again. Perfect timing, huh? Hahaha!