Rinelle Grey: Life Without Technology?

Life Without Technology?

Most of us are so used to the technology we use in our modern life that we don’t even think about it. A room is well lit at the flick of a switch, we can talk to anyone in the world immediately and see news as it happens around the globe, food is kept fresh in refridgerators or mass produced sealed packages, clothes are mass produced and available to buy in air conditioned shopping malls, and our waste products are either flushed down the drain or collected and carted away.

Most of us are dependent on this technology—we can’t imagine life without it. And the stories we read of life before it was developed doesn’t make it sound pleasant! Chamber pots, the long drop, trying to read by candlelight, or having to grow and prepare all our own food, none of them seem that appealing.
And yet, does it need to be this way? What would life be like now, without electricity for example? Would we be instantly transported back to life a hundred years ago?

I don’t believe so. While most of our current lifestyle is dependent on electricity, there is also a lot of research put into alternative technologies.

Composting toilets are an efficient, odour free method of dealing with waste that requires no electricity. We’ve learnt a lot about preserving food through safe canning or drying methods. And you can find plenty of plans for making solar ovens, that cook your food using only the sun’s heat. Pinterest is full of excellent tutorials on how you can sew your own clothes without complex patterns or huge sewing knowledge. Given time to prepare, and the information we have available now, living without electricity can be a lot more enjoyable than we imagine.


The characters in my novel, Reckless Rescue, had to learn to live without electricity and other modern conveniences when they had to flee their planet when it was destroyed by a meteor impact. Luckily they were able to print out many resources from their databases before they lost power. Being rather resourceful, they’ve managed to make life on their barren planet as pleasant as it can be. Except for the anysogen pollution, which means that most of the population is unable to reproduce.

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Thanks, Rinelle, for this glimpse into the world you created for your novel. This is right up my alley ~love stories of colonization and what life would be like in post-apoc0lyptia! Best of luck to you.

LAUGHING MY WAY THROUGH THE A TO Z CHALLENGE

For this A to Z challenge, which was my third, I had two ideas. Because I wasn’t sure which one to pick, I incorporated both into my theme. The one idea was what I called an “alliterative-styled alphabetical greeting”, which I posted at the beginning of each post. Some greetings were long, some were short. Some of them didn’t make any sense. Well, they weren’t really meant to. Some of these greetings turned out to be a string of mumbo-jumbo, incoherent rambling... Bottom line is – it was all about fun! And the posts were super-short! 

The other idea was my whacky definitions! For the whole month of April, I posted  a word –the meaning known to me -  BUT I also posted my own definition with accompanying nonsense. 

The participants were invited to have a go in the comments section. They were encouraged to also leave their own definition for the day's word. Have fun with it, too. If readers knew the real meaning then the request was -  make something up anyway!! The point was to take some time away from the everyday humdrum blogging schedule and S-T-R-E-T-C-H the imagination!

At the end of the project, I  posted a collection of my favourite comment definitions, for everyone to vote on. And it was soooooo difficult to choose. I started off with approximately 60 definitions, and then cut them down to 18 for the final reader votes.

Bloggers had to choose the best–most creative, fun, and/or ridiculous comment! The winner would get a gift equivalent to the letter. For example, if an E commenter won, then the gift would equal 5 units/items. If a J commenter won, then the gift would equal 10 units/items. The units/items remained a mystery until the 01 May.

By the way, the winning letter was S, which means that there were a total of 19 items/units in the prize that I eventually posted. For want of a more suitable explanation, I called my prize: A Hamper Filled With Oodles and Caboodles of South African Goodies!

As the challenge progressed. I began to respond to blogger definitions by posting my thoughts; or what I imagined the commenter was trying to say (that sounds crazy… I know) I certainly didn't plan to do so. During the challenge, time is soooo precious. You never have enough.  But I just couldn't resist. It was spontaneous and in the moment…. and sucked most of my time. But the interactivity was PRICELESS and I had a blast doing so, and wouldn't go back and change anything! This is the main reason why I didn't get around to many blogs (my minion duties also meant that I was responsible for checking in on a certain section of the A to Z list…)

I have never ever had so much fun, or laughed so hard, like I did during the month of April. I'm talking about ROTFL moments. Tons and tons and tons of ROTFL moments. I think I had the most fun during the challenge. And that's what consumed most of my time. As a result, I didn't get a chance to visit too many new bloggers. I just about managed to keep up with my regular blogging buddies. A positive note: I forged stronger connections with certain bloggers who I've known for a while, but never visited on a regular basis. I look forward to maintaining better contact with these bloggers. I did find a few brand new blogs, which I will be visiting on a regular basis as well...

Here are the “alliterative-styled alphabetical greetings” that I posted every day.

ATTENTION ALL: a hearty welcome to all you amazing and anxious A-post arrivals who are making an appearance at this humble abode today! All aboard? Away we go!

Blistering Barnacles! (I've always wanted to say that) *giggles* I was up bright and breezy on this B-Day to browse the writings of you bloody brilliant, busy-bee batch of brave bloggers. If the barrage of bombasticity begins to bore you, I'm begging you to bear with me… don't burst my bubble…
Anyway, stay busy… break a pencil… or something like that…

Crikey! It's C-Day! Come, come, come… join the cool conversation my creative counterparts! Are we not a crazy collection of clever creatures?
Caveat: continued commitment to this challenge will lead to a celebratory conclusion… so blog on! Have to cut the chit-chat due to chronometrical constraints. Cheers!

Dudes and Dudettes!
I declare: your daily dose of diligence, dished out to de-stress, and destined to destroy your dampened spirits and downheartedness…
D'oh to doomsayers who declare us to be dotty, self-deluded dimwits. Dare I say, don't disregard us daring and dazzling dreamers!
Dang! Duty demands I gotta dash!

Eureka! Happy E-Day to every energetic, ecstatic entrant! Endurance is essential in this epic challenge. Expose and eradicate expected emergencies quite easily! Enquire early… there's help everywhere! On with the entertaining episodes!

F-Day is upon us! Flabbergasted? Frazzled? Frantic? Fiddlesticks! You can do it! My fanatical friends and followers, forget about being finnicky and have fun! Feel free to be freaking foolish and follow the festivities. Some folk favour a dash of finesse and flair ! Flippin' heck is what I say folks!

Greetings! Gadzooks! It's G-Day! Did I hear gasping, gulping and gnashing of teeth? Get a grip, get a grip! Good grief got a gazillion blogs to get to! Grab some grub. Got to gobble and go! Goodbye!

Hurrah! It's H-Day. Hang in there! Have hope. Humour helps. Hostility hampers healthy progress. Ask for help. No heart attacks please. I have a hunch that hundreds of hearts are harbouring heaps of happiness which is heating up the blogosphere. Hasta la vista.

Are we irrational idiots, insisting on immersing ourselves, in-depth into this intense yet impossible and irksome challenge which is imaginative and innovative. It is definitely an industrious journey which is incredible, insightful, inspirational and indescribable...

Jumpin' Jehosophat! This joyous journey has produced some jewels and a certain je ne sai quoi. Jeepers Creepers! I'm just jabbering in a jolly jumble of words that mean jack! But I'm still jovial and jubilant on J-Day so join in the jollifications!

Kickstart your K-Day at your keyboard with a keen and knowledgeable, killer, knockout, kick-ass attitude. Kapow! Keep at it!

Listen A to Z labourers, leave out the lazy and lame attitude. Laugh out loud. Liaise with others lest you become lethargic and lackadaisacal… lose pace… lag behind by lengths… you are liable to be labelled loser…

Mama mia! The massive and mean A to Z machine marches merrily along on M-Day. It moves minute by minute with a mixture of mediocre and masterful minions and messengers. It's the mid-way mark! Mazel Tov!

Notification! N-Day is here, all you nervous and normal narrators and novelists! This is a noteworthy newsflash to nip and neutralize the negativity of the narrow-minded, non-supportive, nasty naysayers… who had the nerve to say:  never, no ways, it will come to naught and you are all nuts, numbskulls and  nincompoops and not likely to nail the challenge. The notorious A to Z nomads are still navigating new territories and discovering new neighbours!

Ooh-la-la! O-Day is on! Order! Order! Order, I say! All you open-minded, outstanding, outrageous, obliging bloggers and the obstinate, obnoxious oddballs too. If only we could continuosly overflow with optimism, omit negativity and operate in the original and organised way we did when the challenge began… Ooopsy Doopsy… I don't think that's gonna happen though… Need something to keep you going? Breathe deeply and ——- Om…. om… om… om… om… om...

Pssst… P-Day promises plenty of possibilities. All you puzzled plotters and pantsers, please practise patience yet playfulness with minimal panic, as you pledge to get those poems, paragraphs and pieces polished, then proceed to press publish. Is your P-post up? No? Get to it. Pronto! Procrastination prohibits progress!

Que sera sera… to this quirky, quintessential and questionable challenge...

Righty-o! Let's rock-'n-roll. But first… rapid revision required. Are you relieved, rattled, or revved up and ready to rendezvous on R-Day? It rushes in and raises the realisation that rest, relaxation, refreshment and rejuvenation are required to recover as the the raw and rattled nerves resist… reluctant and resenting the daily ritual. Reminder: responsible posting = roaring results. You'll reap the rewards.

Sheesh! S-Day settles slowly… Summoning all scribes who are still stressing, struggling silently… and those super savvy, high-spirited ones, smiling smugly as they sail smoothly into S-Day sharing stylish snippets, skilfull sentences and sparkling stories… show-offs! So, if you are stuck, then a speedy solution to strengthen, support and sustain spinning senses is sorely needed. Shazaam! Or spontaneous scribbles should save the day...

Ta-da! It's T-Day! Todays twisted thoughts are trapped in a tormented turmoil… a total tizz… tsk. tsk. tsk… thanks thus far for the tremendous tidbits, tall tales and tip-top theories that you've posted. Think positive! Triumph takes top place. Toodles!

U-Day is upon us! Are you up-to-date? Then utter uncontrollable ululations with urgency and uplifted spirits because only five units remain in this ultimate universal blogging challenge. This unique and unending journey is unravelling quickly. This is an unavoidable fact for all participants, whether unconcerned, uncertain or unruffled...

Viva! All you A to Z voyagers, or should I say valiant vagabonds who have wandered around in this vast sphere, visiting various versatile blogs. Blow your vuvuzelas! VOILA! V-Day is vanquished. Va-va-voom! Va-va-voom! Victory in view. Will your verdict be Veni Vidi Vici?

Welcome to all you wonderful wordsmiths who, at this stage, are also weary, washed-out, wrecked worrywarts and waffling along to the end of the challenge. Well done to all you whacky, wise-crack writers who are wavering and wringing your hands in wild wonder as you whoooooooosh warmheartedly across the blogoverse. Wow! Three days left. Whoopee! *whistles*

X marks the spot… that's all I can say. I have xero fancy words for this post… sorry...

Yakkety yak… yada yada yada… yesiree… yippee yippee yo, yippee yippee yay… that's all that's left to say!

Zippidee-doo-dah Zippidee-ay, My oh my what a wonderful day, End of the challenge, Nothing to say, Zippidee-doo-dah, Zippidee-day!   ZING-BA-DA-BING!!

AND THAT’S A WRAP!
(I would love to share some of the whacky definitions with you, but this post is already tooooooo long. Maybe another post?)

Challenge Participant Michelle from Writer-in-Transit

Bill Nichols: A Wandering Picture Taker

Please give a warm welcome to Bill Nichols, a fantastic photographer and historian who is here to share some of his work with us. Take it away, Bill!  

I feel honored to be here today writing this guest post, and by the time you read this, my blog Spuds Daily Photo will be just over six months old with over 6000 views!

When I said I'd be up for guesting, I never thought I'd get accepted as I am relatively new to blogging. I'm no writer, so I thought it better to tell you about my blogs.  (Tina here - we love new people!  Encouraging new bloggers is one of the big goals of The Challenge, and this blog.  We're not just for WRITERS, we're for BLOGGERS!)

I've been called an historian and photographer though I claim to be neither. "I'm an old fellow who likes to take photos and reads some history on places I visit."  That is the description on my profile, but as someone once said on a forum I visited,  "A Wandering Picture Taker" would describe me better.

So how did I get in to blogging?  I thought it would be another outlet for the photos I have taken.  I am  a member of Geograph where I go round the country taking photos of the areas I have been to. I did a few posts on there and thought, "This is not so hard!"

With the encouragement of other bloggers, I started off with Spuds Rural Explorations which tells about places I had been to and photos to back them up.  The first post was called Pillboxes along the Thames which was about all the defensive blockhouses (pillboxes) that remain along there mostly hidden from view.
I update the blog periodically with new reports.

This is a pillbox and was one of my favorites as it overhung the bank but during the summer of 2012 it went in the river. 

This picturesque looking boathouse near me is a defended building, the section on the left is one huge pillbox.






 

As a spin off from this, I started Forgotten Fairmile which is about the conversion of a mental hospital in the village where I live. I got permission to record the development and started to photograph it all. During this time, I got involved with a villager who was starting a village archive and was researching his family who worked Fairmile.  The outcome was we had an exhibition for the village which was well received, and just lately I did a talk on the subject to the residents of Fairmile. My parents worked there and it is dedicated to them.

This group photo includes my mother.

It would have been taken on this lawn.
The link is a video I made.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7WJFKC_mT0





I realized I had few followers and discovered Google + which did help. Then one day I came across Beneath thy feet, a blog on Taohophilia, or the study of gravestones. Since I visit a lot of churches and churchyards, this seemed second nature so, My Grave Place came about. I tend to do this weekly and join up with a few other bloggers on the same subject.

Last we come to my daily blog, Spuds Daily Photo which is hardly six months old. I post a photo from my collection each day with a short explanation and hopefully people will enjoy my offering and leave a message.

The A to Z challenge was a good outlet, though I did need some encouragement from Dana of the Daily Dose.  I did feel out of place with all the writers and so few photographers posting. Oh yes, I'm sorting out the theme for the next one at the moment.

There is one more blog which is on a different account. Cholsey new Pavilion where I have followed the building of the new village hall for the village where I live in. The blog will soon becoming to and end as the work is nearly complete, though I will leave the blog going for people to look at. I might add the main contractors who came from the north of England who followed the progress on it as well.

I hope you have enjoyed my little rendition here and will come and visit my blogs, and if you like any of them feel free to join.
I'm currently on my roadtrip and visiting all the blogs in the A to Z and am amazed at the amount of subjects people blog on but I am thoroughly enjoying myself.

Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful photos with us, and congrats on keeping so many blogs going!

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Dear Readers - we're still accepting guest posts from anyone who has participated in at least one A-Z Challenge.  Email me at tndowney at gmail dot com if you're interested.  We accept posts from all kinds of blogs, not just writing blogs!  We are a big family, and there's room for everyone!
~Tina