rlfj: Blog

I have a problem that some of my readers might be able to assist with. Two weeks ago, my trusty laptop died on me, the keyboard failed. I immediately ran out and bought a new computer and managed to transfer all my files from the old computer to the new. Unfortunately, while my old laptop ran Windows 7, my new laptop runs Windows 10. Why is that important? I have a game called Civilization II that was developed for Windows 95. It didn't run on Windows 7, but Microsoft had a patch that ran a Windows 98 emulator on Windows 7. It opened a window on 7 that ran 98, and you could full-screen the window and copy or run programs inside the 98 window. Unfortunately, they no longer provide that support for Windows 10.

Anybody out there know of an emulator that will work on Windows 10? Maybe somebody else has had this problem? Let me know. Thanks!

So far, people seem to like the story. Many thanks to all who have purchased it. My wife appreciates it. As Kelly told the Grim Reaper, and my wife tells me, "Just remember, you earn it, I spend it." It's basically a direct line, Bookapy to PayPal to my checking account to my wife. I don't even have a checkbook!

For those curious, I wanted to try some different things with this story. First, the hero isn't a classic hero like Carl Buckman or the Grim Reaper. Not every reader likes this, but you can't say I didn't warn you. Second, I am not doing this in a strict sequence. I wanted to bounce around. So far, it seems to be working.

The number two in a sheriff's department usually goes by one of two terms, Undersheriff or Chief Deputy. There was a question on this. The Sheriff is an elected official. On an amusing note, when the police are making public statements or announcements, it is usually given to a senior officer, lieutenant or captain, maybe higher depending on the size of the department, acting as the press liaison. When a sheriff's department has to make a (good) announcement, it is always the sheriff, so his face is out in front of the voters!

I've had reports of a few tiny typos. I am fixing them, and at the end of the story I will upload a fixed version to bookapy and the other sites. If anybody who bought the story wants a corrected version, we can take care of it at that time. We'll figure something out.

On a totally different note, my son and his wife gave us a booze-of-the-month club membership for three months. They give you the ingredients for three fancy drinks each month, and you must buy the appropriate booze. This month was rum. Everything seems so much nicer when you have four ounces of rum inside you. Next month is gin. Should be interesting!

The first chapter seems to have been well received. I am curious what people will think about the second chapter and what it portends for the future.

I received a couple of interesting comments that I thought I would pass along. First, one reader commented that longhorns are in Montana. In 1866 a fellow named Nelson Story drove 1,000 longhorns from Texas up the Bozeman Trail to Montana, to feed gold miners. This made Story, already a rich man, fantastically wealthy. He was just the start. As could be expected, more than a few got loose and populated the area and neighboring states. However, these were cattle that were imported, so to speak. The original range of the longhorn is Texas, Oklahoma, and northern Mexico. (Longhorns were also imported, sort of, brought by the conquistadores from Spain and Portugal, and then evolved.) Fascinating things I learn doing this, and I sure don't mind finding this stuff out. Let's call this one a draw.

Second, a reader pointed out that a printer could fit into the trunk or passenger seat of a Honda Civic, so they didn't need to take Jake's pickup truck. Maybe. Not in my trunk, which is loaded with all sorts of crap. And if the printer box is in the front passenger seat of the Civic, where is Jake sitting? In the back? Or maybe Janice is smart and accepts Jake's offer of free transport and carrying services. I don't think I am rewriting this one.

In any case, many thanks to those who have written so many positive comments. I hope you enjoy the rest of it!

Special thanks to my many helpers and editors. I'm not an assassin. I needed some technical info and my online editors kindly stepped in. I have to thank jjmcdonald7911, N12614, Old Rotorhead, grynslvr2, and pdkrause - I could never have done this without their assistance. As always, any fuckups are mine, not theirs.

It's time for a new story. As I mentioned before, this one will be considerably different than my others. The hero isn't all that heroic.

"Do you really think James Bond was born James Bond? Or was he actually born Joey Numbnuts and then changed it after he became Double-Oh-Seven? How do you get to be James Bond? Where do you start? And how do you leave? How does James Bond retire? What happens when he runs out of spies to catch? Does he go back to being Joey Numbnuts?"

As always, I plan to publish a chapter every Tuesday and Friday. I hope you like it. There's not a lot of hot and heavy sex in this one, so if that's what you are looking for, sorry. I'll turn on voting halfway through the story.

Good news for my loyal readers. The new story is finished. Now I simply need to go through the editing process. I have had a huge amount of help from my technical and editing team of jjmcdonald7911, N12614, Old Rotorhead, grynslvr2, and pdkrause. I couldn't do this without their assistance. Right now I am in the final stages, which basically consists of reading the story over and over, looking for typos, technical errors, bad grammar, and continuity errors. I should be able to begin posting the first week of January. At that time, I would expect to post on my normal schedule, a chapter every Tuesday and Friday.