Querulous Quest 6/13/09

One should live a well ordered life, but a little bit of chaos now and then keeps one alert.

DB - The Vagabond
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THE WEEKEND PUZZLE

Below is a list of 13 (your lucky number) 13 elements. Your mission is to tell me how many of them are phony names and which ones they are. Cheat if you have to, and then live with the shame.

5 guessers so far.

1 winner.

1. Americium
2. Californium
3. Canadium
4. Einsteinium
5. Europium
6. Hafnium
7. Lawrencium
8. Newtonium
9. Nobelium
10. Palladium
11. Roentgenium
12. Ruthenium
13. Seaborgium

Good luckium.
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This is a "woe is me" entry. Some people don't like to read about my problems. So, if you're one of those you can skip this part. "What? The Vagabond? Come on! He doesn't have any problems."

I have edited a few of my short stories and now they are ready for publication. I am almost finished editing my novel, "Brian and Christine" and it will soon be ready.

I read that some people I know are publishing their short stories here and there. And a couple have published novels.

I would surely like to do that myself, but to do that you have to submit a manuscript which means printing out the story, obviously. Doesn't it.

Yesterday I spent another 2 hours trying to get my printer to work. It worked a few times when it was first installed but hasn't printed anything now for a year. At one point yesterday it grabbed two sheets of paper and returned them blank. Most of the time it doesn't even do that. When I turn it on it clicks, clanks, rattles and thumps, then it stops and just blinks at me. I follow all the instructions and do what it says to do. Nothing. It scans just fine. It doesn't print. I can't afford to buy another one and this one is only a year old. Why doesn't it work?

Meantime I keep writing. The words, paragraphs, essays and stories keep piling up with nowhere to go. I want to publish my books, maybe do a collection of Vagabond Jottings and a collection of the "Best of Vagabond Journeys" with its mustard colored prose.

Never mind getting to first base, I can't even suit up and join the team if I can't print anything. It has caused me a lot of distress and discouragement. "For the want of a copy the book was lost."

DB
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I am unhappy.
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If you think being querulous doesn' have its value sometimes, consider this: someone just emailed me with a solution to my printer problem, something I would never think of, and now it's gaily printing out my stories. Thank you.