Bookies

The title has no real relevance to the post. I was just in a good enough mood to enjoy some wordplay. Today was the day I got into my first bookstore. Oh what an experience it was! I’ve been working towards this for a very long time. I can honestly say years.

This morning I made sure to get out of bed at the proper hour, dress warmly, then make the lengthy trip. Everything went swimmingly, except for the cursed Christmas music persisting over the radio. You could imagine how torturous it was for me, seeing as I was actually happy when Miley Cyrus took over.

Besides the crappy music, I entered a modest little place called Solstice Books in good spirits, and put my books on the front counter. The man knew who I was instantly, and offered his hand with a cheery smile. I had only communicated with him through E-mail, so this was a welcome change for us both. The interaction forced me to smile to myself, seeing the surprise in his eyes as he finally became aware of my young age. After some simple paper word, I shook his hand again and exited the building with a newly inspired confidence. Taking that confidence, I decided I wasn’t stopping there for today.

I returned to my vehicle and picked up an extra copy of each book, marching onward to a slightly larger bookstore. I had E-mailed this particular place about taking my book already, but hadn’t gotten a response after a three-week wait. As a very intelligent woman once said to me, it is hard to refuse someone to their face. Once inside, I asked around until I found the owner. I was surprised to find out she knew exactly who I was, and honestly hadn’t deleted my E-mail. She just had a great many things on her plate at the moment. Wouldn’t you know it, she was happy that I had showed up. Me coming in personally saved her much work on the computer. She offered potential ideas for sales, I chose one that suited me, and the two of us signed the paper word. I handed over the two books I held, browsed the store, then left with a ‘thank you’.

After picking up some more paper and grabbing something I think may just word for new cover material, I headed home. It was a very productive day, and I can’t deny some level of pride. I managed to signed agreements with two bookstores in a single day. Even if none of the books sell, I’ll still be content.

Long Time No Type

It has been a very long time since I last reported anything on behalf of Metcalfe Family Publishing. There has been a glaring and aggravating reason why. In short, nothing has been happening! I do recall mentioning a small problem I was having with SAMSUNG technology, as I usually am. The situation got tricky, then it got lengthy. I will see how well I could summarize this.

To start, know that each new toner cartridge comes with a chip, which for the longest time I was convinced didn’t do anything. This little assumption came from me being able to use a starter cartridge that has no chip at all. So that led me to believe that the problem was mechanical. There was something, I thought, inside each cartridge that was telling my printer it was empty. It wasn’t empty of course, because I was pumping it full of toner myself. Still my printer refused to work, constantly flashing ‘toner exhausted’ on its tiny view screen.

So, in this mindset, a licensed mechanic, a licensed electrician, and myself dedicated much of our time into taking a cartridge apart, learning its secrets, and putting it back together. The first day was probably the hardest physically. We must have taken that thing apart twenty times. It took so long. Every time we think we changed something, the contraption had to be re-assembled and tested in the printer. No luck on our first day. Sure enough, we tackled it again, and again, and again. It was starting to wear on my nerves. I had waited an eternity for my toner shipment to come in, and on the eave of being able to print again, I ran into the curse known as: toner exhaustion. After all these trifles, I finally caved. I needed a new cartridge, and a new chip. (Keep in mind, it was the chip I actually needed. I had plenty of working cartridges, and there was only $10 worth of toner in a new one. I have $300 worth sitting in a box behind me. I was paying $96 for a bloody chip!)

Anyway, I have come to the following conclusion about the system’s workings. Each chip is able to read how many pages have been printed with it. After one and a half refills, the chip stops the printer from using it. The printer has it’s own memory, that keeps track of how many pages have been printed using chipless cartridges, and only allows for the equivalent of one cartridge being refilled the same number of times with an unused chip. That means my printer will no longer accept chipless cartridges, because I’ve ‘used all the credit’ so to speak. This led me to an idea. If the printer was keeping track of all chipless cartridges, then all I needed to do was somehow reset my printers memory, then maybe it would accept chipless cartridges again! This turned out to be a disappointment. I looked through the manual, I opened up the printer and looked for the memory chip (too complicated to be messing with), I even called SAMSUNG worldwide, and talked to some young woman looking at the same guide as myself. Nothing worked. It is very hard for me to believe that SAMSUNG designers created this printer with ludicrous people like myself in mind. They managed to make it obsessor proof.

My attention was turned back to the cursed chips. My electrician and mechanic took a new working chip and an old crap chip. They took all kind of weird machines and testers to both chips, trying to find out why one worked, and the other refused. No dice. They read out exactly the same.

Though, after having sat in my office for hours, starring loathingly at my printer, trying to use mind power to somehow force it out my window and have it fall the three-story drop, I think I finally figured out how it was stopping me. I think I know how the printer somehow knows that the cartridge has been used, despite the fact the chips act no different. The answer was so simple…Magic. SAMSUNG has some elderly witch in a sweatshop somewhere, enchanting chip after chip as they pass by, ensuring that the efforts of any mere mortal couldn’t possibly crack the problem. That’s my running theory anyway.

My only remaining option is to find where I can get those chips for far less that $96. For now however, I am printing again, and will hopefully be in my first bookstore by Monday! Hell, I should put all my money into bushcraft lessons and start living in the forest early…why wait?