Another week without color, alas, and even getting it this far on my stricken machine was something of a minor miracle.  I ran every test and diagnostic I could on this thing, and it just seems that everything is failing all at once.  And so, as it seems to me not to be worth fixing (as the cost to do so would put me well on the way to a brand new system) I simply am going to have to admit defeat and put this trusty old machine to bed.

But not for at least another week.  This one coming up is going to be a real doozy, I have to say.  And truth be told, working in black and white gave me a little time to do basically nothing this weekend, which was actually quite therapeutic, after dealing with a broken computer, discovering that the government has decided it can tax my wages differently when I work overtime, working said overtime to begin with, and all the other assorted tomfoolery associated with earning a living in the twenty-first century.

On this page, of course, we have a very human little moment that I am actually quite fond of.  I am not the kind of writer who makes his characters invincible, walking away from explosions like Antonio Banderas in… whatever flick that was.  This page is really indicative of Major Bronniford’s mental state: shock, disbelief, jumpiness – and blasted-out eardrums, too.  As someone posted last week: this was, after all, an atomic bomb.  So having her be the heroine, but still be hurt and vulnerable and, now, mentally fragile, the way anyone would be, seemed to me the more realistic thing, and really my heart goes out to poor Sarah here – she’s really been badly injured.

At any rate, this is where it is.  Thanks to you all for bearing with me through these troubles with the computer system.  Once again, I really think that the color would have made this page work the way I really wanted it to, but just getting it this far was a struggle, so I’m counting my blessings.

So until next week, folks, we’ll just limp along here, and I hope things don’t break on you as badly as they have on me!  Be well!