Hi there!

I have been revisiting the blurbs for my books and series because I have realized most would-be readers
nowadays don't have the ability to focus on a blurb longer than 300 words.

Since I suck at marketing, I would welcome constructive criticism. Destructive criticism is also welcome
because I eat popcorn to it.

WARNING SPAM AHEAD

# Blurb 1 for The Worth of Immortality:

"Witness the ascension of the Necromancer, a dark figure whose mysterious cult is spread across the
Universe by an incommensurable army of undead knights and technomagical nightmares.

A series of short stories by Richard Falken."

# Blurb 2 for The Worth of Immortality:

"The Worth of Immortality is a series of short stories. Each of them is a standalone tale, but when they
are put together, they draw a deep metaplot, which becomes clearer the more stories you read.

The series follow the steps of a man who finds himself above the cold embraze of death. His journey will
take you from the bronze age to the far future, as he survives the passage of time. The Necromancer will
see empires rise and fall, religions come and go, and mankind evolve into something entirely different.
Yet, for all his power, the question remains: will the Necromancer ever accomplish his goal and find
peace?

Ultimately, The Worth of Immortality is a cross-genre series. Some of the tales have a Sword and Sorcery
bent. Others mix Science-Fiction with Fantasy in an effort to portray the relationship between advanced
technology and dark magic. There are occasional drops of Noir and Horror thrown into the recipe too."

# Blurb 1 for Árelor's Universe:

"

Follow the steps of Captain Bérinen and his men, ordinary soldiers who must solve extraordinary
mysteries in order to prevent supernatural threats from laying waste to their Empire.

A series of books by Richard Falken
"

# Blurb 2 for Árelor's Universe:

"Árelor’s Universe is a series of Fantasy books. I’d go as far as to label it as High Fantasy, but
it is not typical High Fantasy. At its core, Árelor’s Universe tells the stories of ordinary soldiers
who are set to investigate larger than life mysteries, in order to prevent some supernatural threat from
laying waste to their Empire.

Betrayal. Magic. Despotic theocracies that rule with a fist of iron. Warriors who will die rather
than yield in dishonor. Secret societies which will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

It is a brutal world out there, but no matter how hard the forces of darkness fight, there is a
universal truth that can’t be denied.

The Lord of Revenge will ensure that justice prevails, no matter what must be sacrificed to do so.
"


--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Arelor!

** On Tuesday 06.04.21 - 18:12, Arelor wrote to All:

I have been revisiting the blurbs for my books and series..

Since I suck at marketing, I would welcome constructive criticism. Destructive criticism is also welcome because I eat popcorn to it.

I like the longer versions of both:

# Blurb 2 for The Worth of Immortality:
# Blurb 2 for Árelor's Universe:

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Tue Apr 06 2021 08:57 pm

Hello Arelor!

** On Tuesday 06.04.21 - 18:12, Arelor wrote to All:

I have been revisiting the blurbs for my books and series..

Since I suck at marketing, I would welcome constructive criticism. Destructive
criticism is also welcome because I eat popcorn to it.

I like the longer versions of both:

# Blurb 2 for The Worth of Immortality:
# Blurb 2 for Árelor's Universe:

Thanks for input!

On a side note, I am getting a bit impatient with the Samovar Magazine. They are
taking ages with High Tech Necromancy :-(

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Arelor!

On a side note, I am getting a bit impatient with the Samovar Magazine. They are taking ages with High Tech Necromancy :-(

Do they have a "covid" excuse?


--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Wed Apr 07 2021 09:05 pm

Hello Arelor!

On a side note, I am getting a bit impatient with the Samovar Magazine. They are taking ages with High Tech Necromancy :-(

Do they have a "covid" excuse?

As far as I am aware, they are brandishing no excuse so far. Which is better than telling people that COVID is making them read slower than usual, I suppose.

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Arelor!

** On Thursday 08.04.21 - 02:45, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

On a side note, I am getting a bit impatient with the
Samovar Magazine. They are taking ages with High Tech
Necromancy :-(

Do they have a "covid" excuse?

As far as I am aware, they are brandishing no excuse so far.
Which is better than telling people that COVID is making
them read slower than usual, I suppose.

That *is* too bad that they are dragging their heels so to
speak.

I can't say that I am any better in that regard. I have a couple
of modest stacks of special orders, but I don't feel the urgency
to call anyone and leave messages. Almost as soon as I set foot
into my shop, I am counting the hours until I can leave. There
is a harder 28-day lockdown imposed in the entire province that
I live in. The already restricted capacity had to be further
reduced to 25% of that. And of course, the government uses
sweeping terms when mentioning "essential" vs "non-essential"
..and most people assume that a book shop is among the non-
essential. :(

I've once again turned off the heat and the lights. I just give
a flashlight to anyone who comes by and needs to explore the
bookshelves that are the deepest and the darkest in the bowels
of my paper realm.

Meanwhile, I am using my Kobo a bit more often now. With the
assistance of Calibre, I can convert the content of a website or
a pdf suitable for reading on my ereader. I like that.

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Hello Arelor!

** On Wednesday 07.04.21 - 02:47, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

I like the longer versions of both:

# Blurb 2 for The Worth of Immortality:
# Blurb 2 for Árelor's Universe:

Thanks for input!

On a side note, I am getting a bit impatient with the
Samovar Magazine. They are taking ages with High Tech
Necromancy :-(

Call them and ask if they have an ETA on it. If they hesitate
to commit, call them again in a couple days, and again, and
again, until you get a date. Maybe they need to know that you
care.


--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Wed Apr 14 2021 09:45 pm

I've once again turned off the heat and the lights. I just give
a flashlight to anyone who comes by and needs to explore the
bookshelves that are the deepest and the darkest in the bowels
of my paper realm.

Man, that sucks.

I keep considering doing just that for my own store, specially since the actual business is online and doing deliveries and I get two visitors tops per day in the brick-n-mortar location. But the location is actually so small that the difference is 10 eur per month or so.

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Wed Apr 14 2021 09:48 pm

Hello Arelor!

** On Wednesday 07.04.21 - 02:47, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

I like the longer versions of both:

# Blurb 2 for The Worth of Immortality:
# Blurb 2 for γö£├╝relor's Universe:

Thanks for input!

On a side note, I am getting a bit impatient with the
Samovar Magazine. They are taking ages with High Tech
Necromancy :-(

Call them and ask if they have an ETA on it. If they hesitate
to commit, call them again in a couple days, and again, and
again, until you get a date. Maybe they need to know that you
care.

The economics of publishing don't work that way.

They have more than a hundred times the number of stories they want to publish available. The author that steps out of procedure gets kicked out of the selection process automatically. It is close to an industry standard at this point.

Hell I have heard editors put the messages of worried authors in bulleting boards in the office for everybody to mock them :-S

I have been corssing asshole publishers off my list, then low paying publishers, and the list of publishers you are left with is EXTREMELY short.

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Arelor!

** On Thursday 15.04.21 - 03:11, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

I've once again turned off the heat and the lights. I just
give a flashlight to anyone who comes by and needs to
explore..

I keep considering doing just that for my own store,
specially since the actual business is online and doing
deliveries and I get two visitors tops per day in the brick-
n-mortar location. But the location is actually so small
that the difference is 10 eur per month or so.

For me, it can be a $100/mo difference in lighting cost.

Last year in Mar I used 694kWh.
This year in Mar it is 549kWh
This year in Feb it was only 344kWh.

The April bill should be lower now with the lights and the
furnace motor off.

At this time of year, I can keep the front door open (and a rear
backroom door open to permit natural circulation) to let the
warmer air in - otherwise it feels a bit too cool trying to work
comfortably at 60F all day.


--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Thu Apr 15 2021 09:41 am

I've once again turned off the heat and the lights. I just
give a flashlight to anyone who comes by and needs to
explore..

I keep considering doing just that for my own store,
specially since the actual business is online and doing
deliveries and I get two visitors tops per day in the brick-
n-mortar location. But the location is actually so small
that the difference is 10 eur per month or so.

For me, it can be a $100/mo difference in lighting cost.

It must be a big place, then. Are you running one of these multi-floor shops?

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Arelor!

** On Thursday 15.04.21 - 15:43, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

For me, it can be a $100/mo difference in lighting cost.

It must be a big place, then. Are you running one of these
multi-floor shops?

I would say not. Just about 1200 sqft. Most of the lighting is
48" T8 fluorescent. A few small areas still have 24". The
bathroom has the older T12. I was going to experiment with
retro-fit LED versions, but the entry cost is a bit too much.

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Fri Apr 16 2021 09:02 am

Hello Arelor!

** On Thursday 15.04.21 - 15:43, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

For me, it can be a $100/mo difference in lighting cost.

It must be a big place, then. Are you running one of these
multi-floor shops?

I would say not. Just about 1200 sqft. Most of the lighting is
48" T8 fluorescent. A few small areas still have 24". The
bathroom has the older T12. I was going to experiment with
retro-fit LED versions, but the entry cost is a bit too much.

LEDs are a bit of a hit-and-miss thing. The clinic I work for has lots of them, and they fail before their supposed life expectancy is fullfiled more often than not. I haven't run the numbers but unless you use them much I an not sure they are cost-efficient (much less eco-efficient).

My industrial wiring teacher was in love with low pressure sodium lights, but those you can't have in a book store :-)

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Arelor!

** On Friday 16.04.21 - 13:27, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

LEDs are a bit of a hit-and-miss thing. The clinic I work
for has lots of them, and they fail before their supposed
life expectancy is fullfiled more often than not.

Are they the long tube ones that are intended to be a direct
retr-fit replacement for existing T8 fixtures?

I haven't run the numbers but unless you use them much I an
not sure they are cost-efficient (much less eco-efficient).

LED would definitely be le$$ to operate than the flourecents.

My industrial wiring teacher was in love with low pressure
sodium lights, but those you can't have in a book store :-)

I can imagine so.

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

has the older T12. I was going to experiment with retro-fit
LED versions, but the entry cost is a bit too much.

Now there's some odd logic... :) But I don't know what kinda price you have to pay in I'll get this wrong, the US, or just in case, Canada... ;) I don't recall finding LED lights overly expensive here. I still miss warmer incadescent light though.

Spec


*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
--- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
* Origin: Scrawled in haste at The Lower Planes (21:3/101)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Fri Apr 16 2021 05:36 pm

LEDs are a bit of a hit-and-miss thing. The clinic I work
for has lots of them, and they fail before their supposed
life expectancy is fullfiled more often than not.

Are they the long tube ones that are intended to be a direct
retr-fit replacement for existing T8 fixtures?

No, I am afraid they aren't. Most of the ones in service are downlight style.

They designed the installation specifically for downlight lights.

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Spectre to Ogg on Sat Apr 17 2021 08:19 am

has the older T12. I was going to experiment with retro-fit
LED versions, but the entry cost is a bit too much.

Now there's some odd logic... :) But I don't know what kinda price you have pay in I'll get this wrong, the US, or just in case, Canada... ;) I don't recall finding LED lights overly expensive here. I still miss warmer incadescent light though.

Spec

*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]

You can actually find warm LED lights. If LEDs have an advantage, is that they are easy to produce for any color temperature you need. Nowadays you can also find warm styled Hg lights for home too.


--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Spectre!

** On Saturday 17.04.21 - 08:19, Spectre wrote to Ogg:

has the older T12. I was going to experiment with
retro-fit LED versions, but the entry cost is a bit too
much.

Now there's some odd logic... :)

The retro-fit LEDs would be the same "fit" in the existing
fixtures, the same fittings, but sans transformer/ballast.

Another term for that is "conversion" or "ballast bypass".

But I don't know what kinda price you have to pay in I'll
get this wrong, the US, or just in case, Canada... ;) I
don't recall finding LED lights overly expensive here. I
still miss warmer incadescent light though.

The T8's come in a range of temperature ratings. Daylight is
best for the bookshop.

Found an 8' pair that could work:

ProLED T8 Linear Bypass Lamps are energy efficient, long lasting
replacements for traditional T8 and T12 fluorescent linear
lamps. Most reliable and efficient way to retrofit existing
Linear Fluorescent T8 and T12 luminaires with simple rewiring
necessary to remove the ballast. 50,000-hour life resulting in
lower maintenance costs over time.

Brightness: 5500 Lumen
Lifetime: 50,000 hours
Color temperature: 5000K, 82CRI daylight
Energy used 42-Watt (equivalent to a 75-Watt standard fluorescent light bulb)
Ideal for offices, warehouses, supermarkets, parking garages
Non-dimmable

$42 for a pair.

..but I'd really like to see them in example use to determine if
I'd be happy with those. My current T8's are 6500K, ie.
brighter.

The re-wiring to decomission the ballasts doesn't seem so hard.

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Hello Arelor!

** On Friday 16.04.21 - 18:33, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

Are they the long tube ones that are intended to be a direct
retr-fit replacement for existing T8 fixtures?

No, I am afraid they aren't. Most of the ones in service are
downlight style.

They designed the installation specifically for downlight
lights.

The lighting industry has produced "replacement" LED versions
that look like the traditional T8. Those would be the ones I
would use next. My space has about ten 8' 4-tube fixtures. No
point in ripping out the fixtures when all I would have to do is
just pop in the new LED tubes after some rewiring.

When I first rented the space, I spent about $1100 to convert
the T12's to T8's with new ballasts as well. No help from the
landlord. The ballasts on some of the fixtures had started to
leak and/or buzz incessantly. That was 7 years ago.

Recently, there are now a couple of fixtures that have dead
ballasts. I've removed the tube pairs for the failed ones. The
fixtures look like a mouth of pulled teeth, and the area below
is noticably dimmer.


--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

It must be a big place, then. Are you running one of these multi-floor shops?

OR maybe sodium phosphor lamps :)


*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
--- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
* Origin: Scrawled in haste at The Lower Planes (21:3/101)

You can actually find warm LED lights. If LEDs have an advantage,

Yeah... nah... you're right you can get all sorts of colour temps. However I'm yet to see one that gives you the warm glow of an incandescent. Somehow they're always a little NQR, maybe its the range of light waves it produces in comparison to an LED I dunno...

Spec


--- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
* Origin: (21:3/101)

Another term for that is "conversion" or "ballast bypass".

Always something isn't there... I s'pose the easiest would be to snarf one or two and have a test run in the back corner somewhere :)

Spec


--- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
* Origin: (21:3/101)

*** Quoting Spectre from a message to Arelor ***

Yeah... nah... you're right you can get all sorts of colour temps.
However I'm yet to see one that gives you the warm glow of an incandescent. Somehow they're always a little NQR, maybe its the
range of light waves it produces in comparison to an LED I dunno...

We bought some "warm" bulbs from Wal-Mart when we were switching them out in our house, but they were just terrible. The colour was ok but you could actually see the flicker in the LED. Moving your hand in front of your face produced a trippy almost strobe-like effect.

I think they lasted all of 10 minutes before we boxed them back up and returned them for something better. Ikea has surprisingly good & affordable LED bulbs.


Jay

... Thanks for explaining the word "many" to me, it means a lot

--- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
* Origin: Northern Realms | 289-424-5180 | bbs.nrbbs.net (21:3/110)

Hello Warpslide!

** On Saturday 17.04.21 - 07:26, Warpslide wrote to Spectre:

[Re: LEDs] However I'm yet to see one that gives you the
warm glow of an incandescent. Somehow they're always a
little NQR, maybe its the range of light waves it produces
in comparison to an LED I dunno...

We bought some "warm" bulbs from Wal-Mart when we were
switching them out in our house, but they were just
terrible. The colour was ok but you could actually see the
flicker in the LED. Moving your hand in front of your face
produced a trippy almost strobe-like effect.

I've noticed that the LED bulbs interfere with FM. I can't keep
my alarm/radio near the table lamp that uses an LED bulb.

I think they lasted all of 10 minutes before we boxed them
back up and returned them for something better. Ikea has
surprisingly good & affordable LED bulbs.

Glad you found something of better quality/spec. It reminds me
of the variance in quality of the twisty fluorescents. They
were promoted as the replacement "solution" for incandescents.
Those were rather expensive and NEVER lasted as long as a cheap
incandescent. I had a two twisties that literally burned out
emitting toxic smell that lingered in the house for days after
the burnout. I went straight back to incandescents right after
that.

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Hello Spectre!

** On Saturday 17.04.21 - 19:04, Spectre wrote to Ogg:

I s'pose the easiest would be to snarf one
or two and have a test run in the back corner somewhere :)

Nothing to snarf. If/when it comes down to it, when I *do*
decide to work on the currently broken fixtures, that will be
the last time I want to touch them. I don't want to waste time
"trying" one. It simply HAS to work when the conversion is to be
done.

I do however have a private bathroom (which women and children
always seem to need to access) that has a fixture with a T12 4-
foot pair. I could "try" that one first as my LED conversion
project. The ceiling is much lower than the 12-13ft ceilings in
the showroom. The problem with the traditional T12 fluorescents
in the bathroom is that the lights could get turned on and off
quite frequently throughout the day, and that is not good for
such a fixture and power usage. So, if that one were to have
the LED treatment, then I might gain the reduction in wasted
electric power each time that one is turned on and off.

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Hi there!

I have been revisiting the blurbs for my books and series because I have realized most would-be readers
nowadays don't have the ability to focus on a blurb longer than 300 words.

Since I suck at marketing, I would welcome constructive criticism. Destructive criticism is also welcome
because I eat popcorn to it.

WARNING SPAM AHEAD

# Blurb 1 for The Worth of Immortality:

"Witness the ascension of the Necromancer, a dark figure whose mysterious cult is spread across the
Universe by an incommensurable army of undead knights and technomagical nightmares.

A series of short stories by Richard Falken."

# Blurb 2 for The Worth of Immortality:

"The Worth of Immortality is a series of short stories. Each of them is a standalone tale, but when they
are put together, they draw a deep metaplot, which becomes clearer the more stories you read.

The series follow the steps of a man who finds himself above the cold embraze of death. His journey will
take you from the bronze age to the far future, as he survives the passage of time. The Necromancer will
see empires rise and fall, religions come and go, and mankind evolve into something entirely different.
Yet, for all his power, the question remains: will the Necromancer ever accomplish his goal and find
peace?

Ultimately, The Worth of Immortality is a cross-genre series. Some of the tales have a Sword and Sorcery
bent. Others mix Science-Fiction with Fantasy in an effort to portray the relationship between advanced
technology and dark magic. There are occasional drops of Noir and Horror thrown into the recipe too."

# Blurb 1 for Árelor's Universe:

"

Follow the steps of Captain Bérinen and his men, ordinary soldiers who must solve extraordinary
mysteries in order to prevent supernatural threats from laying waste to their Empire.

A series of books by Richard Falken
"

# Blurb 2 for Árelor's Universe:

"Árelor’s Universe is a series of Fantasy books. I’d go as far as to label it as High Fantasy, but
it is not typical High Fantasy. At its core, Árelor’s Universe tells the stories of ordinary soldiers
who are set to investigate larger than life mysteries, in order to prevent some supernatural threat from
laying waste to their Empire.

Betrayal. Magic. Despotic theocracies that rule with a fist of iron. Warriors who will die rather
than yield in dishonor. Secret societies which will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

It is a brutal world out there, but no matter how hard the forces of darkness fight, there is a
universal truth that can’t be denied.

The Lord of Revenge will ensure that justice prevails, no matter what must be sacrificed to do so.
"


--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Arelor!

** On Tuesday 06.04.21 - 18:12, Arelor wrote to All:

I have been revisiting the blurbs for my books and series..

Since I suck at marketing, I would welcome constructive criticism. Destructive criticism is also welcome because I eat popcorn to it.

I like the longer versions of both:

# Blurb 2 for The Worth of Immortality:
# Blurb 2 for Árelor's Universe:

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Tue Apr 06 2021 08:57 pm

Hello Arelor!

** On Tuesday 06.04.21 - 18:12, Arelor wrote to All:

I have been revisiting the blurbs for my books and series..

Since I suck at marketing, I would welcome constructive criticism. Destructive
criticism is also welcome because I eat popcorn to it.

I like the longer versions of both:

# Blurb 2 for The Worth of Immortality:
# Blurb 2 for Árelor's Universe:

Thanks for input!

On a side note, I am getting a bit impatient with the Samovar Magazine. They are
taking ages with High Tech Necromancy :-(

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Arelor!

On a side note, I am getting a bit impatient with the Samovar Magazine. They are taking ages with High Tech Necromancy :-(

Do they have a "covid" excuse?


--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Wed Apr 07 2021 09:05 pm

Hello Arelor!

On a side note, I am getting a bit impatient with the Samovar Magazine. They are taking ages with High Tech Necromancy :-(

Do they have a "covid" excuse?

As far as I am aware, they are brandishing no excuse so far. Which is better than telling people that COVID is making them read slower than usual, I suppose.

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Arelor!

** On Thursday 08.04.21 - 02:45, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

On a side note, I am getting a bit impatient with the
Samovar Magazine. They are taking ages with High Tech
Necromancy :-(

Do they have a "covid" excuse?

As far as I am aware, they are brandishing no excuse so far.
Which is better than telling people that COVID is making
them read slower than usual, I suppose.

That *is* too bad that they are dragging their heels so to
speak.

I can't say that I am any better in that regard. I have a couple
of modest stacks of special orders, but I don't feel the urgency
to call anyone and leave messages. Almost as soon as I set foot
into my shop, I am counting the hours until I can leave. There
is a harder 28-day lockdown imposed in the entire province that
I live in. The already restricted capacity had to be further
reduced to 25% of that. And of course, the government uses
sweeping terms when mentioning "essential" vs "non-essential"
..and most people assume that a book shop is among the non-
essential. :(

I've once again turned off the heat and the lights. I just give
a flashlight to anyone who comes by and needs to explore the
bookshelves that are the deepest and the darkest in the bowels
of my paper realm.

Meanwhile, I am using my Kobo a bit more often now. With the
assistance of Calibre, I can convert the content of a website or
a pdf suitable for reading on my ereader. I like that.

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Hello Arelor!

** On Wednesday 07.04.21 - 02:47, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

I like the longer versions of both:

# Blurb 2 for The Worth of Immortality:
# Blurb 2 for Árelor's Universe:

Thanks for input!

On a side note, I am getting a bit impatient with the
Samovar Magazine. They are taking ages with High Tech
Necromancy :-(

Call them and ask if they have an ETA on it. If they hesitate
to commit, call them again in a couple days, and again, and
again, until you get a date. Maybe they need to know that you
care.


--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Wed Apr 14 2021 09:45 pm

I've once again turned off the heat and the lights. I just give
a flashlight to anyone who comes by and needs to explore the
bookshelves that are the deepest and the darkest in the bowels
of my paper realm.

Man, that sucks.

I keep considering doing just that for my own store, specially since the actual business is online and doing deliveries and I get two visitors tops per day in the brick-n-mortar location. But the location is actually so small that the difference is 10 eur per month or so.

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
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Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Wed Apr 14 2021 09:48 pm

Hello Arelor!

** On Wednesday 07.04.21 - 02:47, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

I like the longer versions of both:

# Blurb 2 for The Worth of Immortality:
# Blurb 2 for γö£├╝relor's Universe:

Thanks for input!

On a side note, I am getting a bit impatient with the
Samovar Magazine. They are taking ages with High Tech
Necromancy :-(

Call them and ask if they have an ETA on it. If they hesitate
to commit, call them again in a couple days, and again, and
again, until you get a date. Maybe they need to know that you
care.

The economics of publishing don't work that way.

They have more than a hundred times the number of stories they want to publish available. The author that steps out of procedure gets kicked out of the selection process automatically. It is close to an industry standard at this point.

Hell I have heard editors put the messages of worried authors in bulleting boards in the office for everybody to mock them :-S

I have been corssing asshole publishers off my list, then low paying publishers, and the list of publishers you are left with is EXTREMELY short.

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Arelor!

** On Thursday 15.04.21 - 03:11, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

I've once again turned off the heat and the lights. I just
give a flashlight to anyone who comes by and needs to
explore..

I keep considering doing just that for my own store,
specially since the actual business is online and doing
deliveries and I get two visitors tops per day in the brick-
n-mortar location. But the location is actually so small
that the difference is 10 eur per month or so.

For me, it can be a $100/mo difference in lighting cost.

Last year in Mar I used 694kWh.
This year in Mar it is 549kWh
This year in Feb it was only 344kWh.

The April bill should be lower now with the lights and the
furnace motor off.

At this time of year, I can keep the front door open (and a rear
backroom door open to permit natural circulation) to let the
warmer air in - otherwise it feels a bit too cool trying to work
comfortably at 60F all day.


--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Thu Apr 15 2021 09:41 am

I've once again turned off the heat and the lights. I just
give a flashlight to anyone who comes by and needs to
explore..

I keep considering doing just that for my own store,
specially since the actual business is online and doing
deliveries and I get two visitors tops per day in the brick-
n-mortar location. But the location is actually so small
that the difference is 10 eur per month or so.

For me, it can be a $100/mo difference in lighting cost.

It must be a big place, then. Are you running one of these multi-floor shops?

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Arelor!

** On Thursday 15.04.21 - 15:43, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

For me, it can be a $100/mo difference in lighting cost.

It must be a big place, then. Are you running one of these
multi-floor shops?

I would say not. Just about 1200 sqft. Most of the lighting is
48" T8 fluorescent. A few small areas still have 24". The
bathroom has the older T12. I was going to experiment with
retro-fit LED versions, but the entry cost is a bit too much.

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Fri Apr 16 2021 09:02 am

Hello Arelor!

** On Thursday 15.04.21 - 15:43, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

For me, it can be a $100/mo difference in lighting cost.

It must be a big place, then. Are you running one of these
multi-floor shops?

I would say not. Just about 1200 sqft. Most of the lighting is
48" T8 fluorescent. A few small areas still have 24". The
bathroom has the older T12. I was going to experiment with
retro-fit LED versions, but the entry cost is a bit too much.

LEDs are a bit of a hit-and-miss thing. The clinic I work for has lots of them, and they fail before their supposed life expectancy is fullfiled more often than not. I haven't run the numbers but unless you use them much I an not sure they are cost-efficient (much less eco-efficient).

My industrial wiring teacher was in love with low pressure sodium lights, but those you can't have in a book store :-)

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Arelor!

** On Friday 16.04.21 - 13:27, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

LEDs are a bit of a hit-and-miss thing. The clinic I work
for has lots of them, and they fail before their supposed
life expectancy is fullfiled more often than not.

Are they the long tube ones that are intended to be a direct
retr-fit replacement for existing T8 fixtures?

I haven't run the numbers but unless you use them much I an
not sure they are cost-efficient (much less eco-efficient).

LED would definitely be le$$ to operate than the flourecents.

My industrial wiring teacher was in love with low pressure
sodium lights, but those you can't have in a book store :-)

I can imagine so.

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

has the older T12. I was going to experiment with retro-fit
LED versions, but the entry cost is a bit too much.

Now there's some odd logic... :) But I don't know what kinda price you have to pay in I'll get this wrong, the US, or just in case, Canada... ;) I don't recall finding LED lights overly expensive here. I still miss warmer incadescent light though.

Spec


*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
--- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
* Origin: Scrawled in haste at The Lower Planes (21:3/101)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Ogg to Arelor on Fri Apr 16 2021 05:36 pm

LEDs are a bit of a hit-and-miss thing. The clinic I work
for has lots of them, and they fail before their supposed
life expectancy is fullfiled more often than not.

Are they the long tube ones that are intended to be a direct
retr-fit replacement for existing T8 fixtures?

No, I am afraid they aren't. Most of the ones in service are downlight style.

They designed the installation specifically for downlight lights.

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Re: Book blurbs and other updates
By: Spectre to Ogg on Sat Apr 17 2021 08:19 am

has the older T12. I was going to experiment with retro-fit
LED versions, but the entry cost is a bit too much.

Now there's some odd logic... :) But I don't know what kinda price you have pay in I'll get this wrong, the US, or just in case, Canada... ;) I don't recall finding LED lights overly expensive here. I still miss warmer incadescent light though.

Spec

*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]

You can actually find warm LED lights. If LEDs have an advantage, is that they are easy to produce for any color temperature you need. Nowadays you can also find warm styled Hg lights for home too.


--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Hello Spectre!

** On Saturday 17.04.21 - 08:19, Spectre wrote to Ogg:

has the older T12. I was going to experiment with
retro-fit LED versions, but the entry cost is a bit too
much.

Now there's some odd logic... :)

The retro-fit LEDs would be the same "fit" in the existing
fixtures, the same fittings, but sans transformer/ballast.

Another term for that is "conversion" or "ballast bypass".

But I don't know what kinda price you have to pay in I'll
get this wrong, the US, or just in case, Canada... ;) I
don't recall finding LED lights overly expensive here. I
still miss warmer incadescent light though.

The T8's come in a range of temperature ratings. Daylight is
best for the bookshop.

Found an 8' pair that could work:

ProLED T8 Linear Bypass Lamps are energy efficient, long lasting
replacements for traditional T8 and T12 fluorescent linear
lamps. Most reliable and efficient way to retrofit existing
Linear Fluorescent T8 and T12 luminaires with simple rewiring
necessary to remove the ballast. 50,000-hour life resulting in
lower maintenance costs over time.

Brightness: 5500 Lumen
Lifetime: 50,000 hours
Color temperature: 5000K, 82CRI daylight
Energy used 42-Watt (equivalent to a 75-Watt standard fluorescent light bulb)
Ideal for offices, warehouses, supermarkets, parking garages
Non-dimmable

$42 for a pair.

..but I'd really like to see them in example use to determine if
I'd be happy with those. My current T8's are 6500K, ie.
brighter.

The re-wiring to decomission the ballasts doesn't seem so hard.

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Hello Arelor!

** On Friday 16.04.21 - 18:33, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

Are they the long tube ones that are intended to be a direct
retr-fit replacement for existing T8 fixtures?

No, I am afraid they aren't. Most of the ones in service are
downlight style.

They designed the installation specifically for downlight
lights.

The lighting industry has produced "replacement" LED versions
that look like the traditional T8. Those would be the ones I
would use next. My space has about ten 8' 4-tube fixtures. No
point in ripping out the fixtures when all I would have to do is
just pop in the new LED tubes after some rewiring.

When I first rented the space, I spent about $1100 to convert
the T12's to T8's with new ballasts as well. No help from the
landlord. The ballasts on some of the fixtures had started to
leak and/or buzz incessantly. That was 7 years ago.

Recently, there are now a couple of fixtures that have dead
ballasts. I've removed the tube pairs for the failed ones. The
fixtures look like a mouth of pulled teeth, and the area below
is noticably dimmer.


--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

It must be a big place, then. Are you running one of these multi-floor shops?

OR maybe sodium phosphor lamps :)


*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
--- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
* Origin: Scrawled in haste at The Lower Planes (21:3/101)

You can actually find warm LED lights. If LEDs have an advantage,

Yeah... nah... you're right you can get all sorts of colour temps. However I'm yet to see one that gives you the warm glow of an incandescent. Somehow they're always a little NQR, maybe its the range of light waves it produces in comparison to an LED I dunno...

Spec


--- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
* Origin: (21:3/101)

Another term for that is "conversion" or "ballast bypass".

Always something isn't there... I s'pose the easiest would be to snarf one or two and have a test run in the back corner somewhere :)

Spec


--- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
* Origin: (21:3/101)

*** Quoting Spectre from a message to Arelor ***

Yeah... nah... you're right you can get all sorts of colour temps.
However I'm yet to see one that gives you the warm glow of an incandescent. Somehow they're always a little NQR, maybe its the
range of light waves it produces in comparison to an LED I dunno...

We bought some "warm" bulbs from Wal-Mart when we were switching them out in our house, but they were just terrible. The colour was ok but you could actually see the flicker in the LED. Moving your hand in front of your face produced a trippy almost strobe-like effect.

I think they lasted all of 10 minutes before we boxed them back up and returned them for something better. Ikea has surprisingly good & affordable LED bulbs.


Jay

... Thanks for explaining the word "many" to me, it means a lot

--- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
* Origin: Northern Realms | 289-424-5180 | bbs.nrbbs.net (21:3/110)

Hello Warpslide!

** On Saturday 17.04.21 - 07:26, Warpslide wrote to Spectre:

[Re: LEDs] However I'm yet to see one that gives you the
warm glow of an incandescent. Somehow they're always a
little NQR, maybe its the range of light waves it produces
in comparison to an LED I dunno...

We bought some "warm" bulbs from Wal-Mart when we were
switching them out in our house, but they were just
terrible. The colour was ok but you could actually see the
flicker in the LED. Moving your hand in front of your face
produced a trippy almost strobe-like effect.

I've noticed that the LED bulbs interfere with FM. I can't keep
my alarm/radio near the table lamp that uses an LED bulb.

I think they lasted all of 10 minutes before we boxed them
back up and returned them for something better. Ikea has
surprisingly good & affordable LED bulbs.

Glad you found something of better quality/spec. It reminds me
of the variance in quality of the twisty fluorescents. They
were promoted as the replacement "solution" for incandescents.
Those were rather expensive and NEVER lasted as long as a cheap
incandescent. I had a two twisties that literally burned out
emitting toxic smell that lingered in the house for days after
the burnout. I went straight back to incandescents right after
that.

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Hello Spectre!

** On Saturday 17.04.21 - 19:04, Spectre wrote to Ogg:

I s'pose the easiest would be to snarf one
or two and have a test run in the back corner somewhere :)

Nothing to snarf. If/when it comes down to it, when I *do*
decide to work on the currently broken fixtures, that will be
the last time I want to touch them. I don't want to waste time
"trying" one. It simply HAS to work when the conversion is to be
done.

I do however have a private bathroom (which women and children
always seem to need to access) that has a fixture with a T12 4-
foot pair. I could "try" that one first as my LED conversion
project. The ceiling is much lower than the 12-13ft ceilings in
the showroom. The problem with the traditional T12 fluorescents
in the bathroom is that the lights could get turned on and off
quite frequently throughout the day, and that is not good for
such a fixture and power usage. So, if that one were to have
the LED treatment, then I might gain the reduction in wasted
electric power each time that one is turned on and off.

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)