Thursday Update

It's hot in Chicago - running a string of 90-degree days. My roof leak is fixed, but now begins the cleanup. I'm in a string of meetings this afternoon, and am heading downstate for the weekend, so posting may be light.

Word Count for Space Rescue
Complete (71,519) Goal (80,000)
100% complete
Since Last Post = 301 words

Things accomplished in fiction: Rewrote a new chapter, decided to add a chapter detailing J. R.'s escape. Otherwise, the second draft is done. It will probably land at 75,000 words - a bit short but long enough to try and sell this puppy.

Mid-day update

How do you know if all is right in the world? When the front-page article on the Chicago Tribune is about a black man using the "N-word" in public! /end rant/. Seriously - it's not just the Tribune, it was a lead item on several morning TV "news" shows.

In other TV news, I saw Admiral Mike Mullen giving a briefing on CNN wearing a "John Wayne" uniform. It's more technically referred to as a Service Dress Khaki, and it's in "wearability testing." For those of you not fans of the movie In Harm's Way (one of the best Navy movies ever), the Service Dress Khaki uniform is a tan coat over tan pants and long-sleeve shirt with a tie. One wears the same hard shoulderboards as rank insignia.

It's a sharp uniform. We didn't have it when I was in the service, instead wearing Service Dress Whites, which was an open-collar short sleeve shirt and white pants. Not nearly as practical, and for those of us with less-then-washboard stomachs, not as sharp.