Weather and E-books

    Hey, everyone. It's 35 degrees and snowing, here at the green retreat. I just came back from a walk in the woods. Our creek was overflowing its banks due to the heavy rain of the last 4 days. There was some sleet falling during my walk. Due to the temperature, the snow and sleet were melting, so the roads are fine.
    We have a wet-weather spring on the back of our place. In other words, it only flows when there has been a lot of rain. I was 'tickled' (Southern for happy) to see this spring was gurgling away, an abundant flow of clean, clear water. Funny how you don't appreciate water until you have to do without it. Then, all of a sudden, you understand that it is the source of life and truly a blessing from God.
     I was just looking around on the book stores. I'm talking about the on-line stores, like I-Books and Kindle. I am somewhat frustrated, as I've said before, with the high prices of e-books. They creep upward constantly. They are now up to an unbelievable $14.99 in many cases. I will not pay that anymore for a book which has used no paper, no ink, has not been shipped. I like the work of authors like John Locke. You can buy his books for 99 cents each and they are very good. You can buy the latest thriller from folks like James Lee Burke, whom I enjoy very much, for $10 or $12 or $14. Gee, is this a tough choice? All my own books are 99 cents. They are good reads, I feel. How long will it be before the book business changes completely to an app store type of economy where the norm for entertainment is 99 cents and the exalted prices go away forever? The truly large and exceptional games get away with $6.99 prices, sure, and we don't begrudge them that. The best authors should make $4, $5, $6 or $7 a book. But the greed of the publishers is about to bite them in the butt. The typical e-book is marked up to a price almost 100% out of reason. You will see an adjustment within 6 months, in my opinion. For a top notch e-book, from a famous author, the price should be no more than $6.99. Ever. That's the first day in the store. Whatever.
    Well, my rant is over and duty calls. I hope you have a pleasant day, in whatever far-flung place you reside. Thanks for reading the blog.
    I'm CE Wills.

Comments

Shadowgun: Crushing The Driller On Level 4

Hey, everyone. Let's talk about the game called Shadowgun, the I-Pad game with which I have a love-hate relationship. Most of you who made it past the evil Cyber Lobster are doubtless locked in a death struggle with the Driller at the end of level 4. At this point you have been in the cave for a long time. The Driller breaks through the rock wall and chases you through the tunnel as you try to shoot out the green lights which slows the Driller down. If you are slick enough to shoot out all the lights and emerge from the cave, a rolling door crashes on the Driller and crushes his aggravating carcass. I have tried and failed to beat the Driller at least 250 times. I hate the Driller to the heights and depths my soul can reach. I hate it like a plague. I hate it with intensity of feeling. I hate it like a rich man hates taxes. Excuse me, I got carried away. We had a big dinner here at the green retreat and my friend Trevor was ...

You're Aiming the Missile Where?

Hey, everyone, out there in game-land. The number 1 game on the friendly neighborhood app store is Call of Duty: Strike Team . No wonder, because it is a terrific game. The farther I play, the cooler it gets. But before I get to that, what are all these numbers indicating on my gun? Has to be some sort of ammo indicator for the clips, I guess. either that or some of my compadres has trouble doing his math homework. Whatever. Hey. Check out the picture of me hitching a ride on an enemy truck so that my team can infiltrate a missile silo. Do you like the face mask? I bought it at a store called Fashions by Bane. Ha, ha. (Batman Reference) On this mission, my team was assisted by a Russian Spetsnaz squad. How's that for detente, comrade? These Spetsnaz guys make everything fun. What I mean is this. We shoot bunches of enemies and get into the bowels of the silo. We get to the gantry where the missile is (Pictured above) and we see that the rad...

Shadowgun: Killing The Windbreaker

Hey, everyone. I thought it might be a good time for a bit of an update on the riveting game called Shadowgun. Consider this your spoiler alert and tune out if you want to. Once you get past the dreaded Driller, things get better but you are certainly not out of the woods. You will want to make sure you keep a full clip in your gun as you stroll through the realm of the evil and crazy Dr. Simon. But hey, you're John Slade, the Shadowgun, and wherever you set your foot is the place to which your authority extends. I love the way that some of the barriers disintegrate under the impact of bullets. I didn't learn this at my mother's knee but I darn sure know it now. I have learned that there are certain places it is good to plan on using the rocket launcher. Keep your stock of those filled. There are these transporter guys who are aggressive punks. The only way they respect you is if you kill them, so that's the way I roll. As...

CE Wills

Search This Blog