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PET PEEVES
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1. Business locales that do not visibly display their store/unit number—whether commercial or industrial.

2.When Sellers/Vendors do not provide a conforming manufacturer's model number and pertinent information that usually would help in comparing item price and quality; particularly, too many models entering the market with similar designs.
 
3. Companies that drop a hidden icon on your computer and then load it with pop-ups. To minimize the problem, I have made changes in the settings of my various browsers to disallow third-party cookies.
 
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IDEAS
 
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1.THE EM DASH—The Single Double Dash - By Mirta Oliva

There are many articles on the internet listing the various methods to insert the Em Dash—all achieving the same results (Use a single double dash — instead of --); however, my favorite one is to highlight the Em Dash (— ) as it appears anywhere within the article in use or use the Symbol from MS Word: 1. Click next to the word you want to use the Em Dash; 2. Click on the INSERT Tab and then on Symbols; 3. Find the Em Dash in one of the squares and click on it. You should find the added symbol in the selected place in between two words (No spaces). In order to continue using it in the current work, highlight the Em Dash and "copy" it. Later on, if needed, just "paste" it where desired. Unless you subsequently "copy" something else, you can continue using the Em Dash symbol by right-clicking on the selected location and selecting "paste" from the drop down menu. If you lose it, or are not using MS Word, find it anywhere you detect it or by searching the internet for Em Dash and proceed as above (copy and paste).
In finished MS Word manuscripts where the double dash (--) had been used instead of the single double dash (—), click on FIND; Find what: (--); Replace with: Click after "with" to mark the click on Options; click on Special. On the resulting drop down menu, click on Em Dash and then on the box "Replace All." The latter will not change the single dashes used in certain compound words or in other uses.
To double-check if one single dash had been used instead of the double dash, click on Find and search for (-) or one single dash. The problem is that all single dashes used for different purposes will be highlighted and each applicable one will have to be changed to the single double Em Dash—boring and time consuming.
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EVERYTHING ELSE~A
1. NEWTON'S LAW OF GRAVITY -- 11/9/2017

We have been mislead over the years with the tired example of the fallen apple. Sure! But isn't it true that whatever falls off your hand takes an invisible curve and the darn thing ends in a place where the eyes cannot see it and the vacuum cannot reach? This proves Newton's apple theory wrong and  that there is such thing as sideways gravity, proven long ago by the Baseball Game's curve ball. Aha!

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2. SOAKING FRUITS OR VEGETABLES IN A SINK WITH WATER AND VINEGAR…?

(c) Mirta Oliva--Oil painting





No, I would not. Even if the sink had a mixture of water and vinegar, I would not soak my fruits or vegetables in it to kill any germs and possibly harmful insecticides.  Even though the good old vinegar may kill the germs, here is some "food for thought".

The sink--at least mine does--overflows when I am dumping too much stuff or just soapy water down the disposal unit. The drain is usually cleaned as suggested by the manufacturer or by trusted internet sites; however, no matter what is used, there are always food residues stuck in the innards of the disposal or--in its absence--the drain itself. What happens then? It overflows.

And they say that the countertops are full of germs... That is true depending on what is cleaned (poultry, fish, etc.) or placed on top of it.  I do not clean any meat products on top of mine; instead, I use a microwave-safe dish or tamper-resistant glass to clean uncooked meats, vegetables, etc. Nonetheless, in case of a spill, I disinfect the countertop after handling those meats or anything    else.
 
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3. FOOD FOR THOUGHT...

My First Rule of LOGIC
If it looks like a duck
And walks like a duck…
Accountants and Auditors
They use this rule
As one of their tools.
And it works!

Why doesn't everyone? Accountants and auditors use the above phrase as a first guide to follow-up on what logic is alerting them to. I have used it all the time. It works! LOGIC is a talent we all possess but most of the time is underutilized.
 
4. HOW TO PUBLISH YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO YOUR TABLET--For reading or editing.

If you would like to read and/or edit your manuscript on your tablet, you may be able to.  Both the Apple and Samsung tablets--and possibly all other brands--have an app to that effect. Since I prefer to make the changes directly to my laptop, I use the pad and laptop concurrently as follows:

a. Email the Microsoft Word (or other format) manuscript as an attachment to the default email address on your tablet. Allow a couple of  minutes for the email  to do its thing. When ready, click on the attachment and  the book manuscript appears in the respective app just as it would in any published e-book.
 
b. Changes can then be made directly on the pad or, as I prefer, on the original document to preserve my format. I use the FIND feature in MS Word to locate the word or sentence that needs correction.

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EVERYTHING ELSE~B
My Artwork and Writings; Websites, Quotes
 
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1. MY YOUTUBE PRESENTATION

Out of the blue I got the idea to create a PowerPoint slide presentation hoping that I could later on convert it to a YouTube video. I started it without guidelines, a pattern to follow or even looking for perfection, since it was only a trial version.  As the presentation progressed I kept adding more stuff about my books, cover pictures, websites, sample poems, etc. At that point, I realized that I should try publishing it on  YouTube to test if the conversion could be done.

When I finished my PP presentation, I saved it as SLIDE SHOW.  Having read  that it had to be saved as .png, I did that as well.  I searched the  internet as to how to convert it, got some ideas and went straight to  YouTube.  I was surprised when YouTube offered help in the conversion. Nice! I  allowed them to do the work and in a few seconds my short video (trial version) was published. Now I have to work on polishing it.  I had  allowed enough reading time not realizing that YT allows about forty seconds only (for free, no ads); hence, my video moves too fast. Although it can be stopped as needed, I need to shorten it to allow for longer stops between certain frames. Also, I want to adjust the ink tone on the links in particular and change the first page. At the time, a few years back, I added stock music to the video but it still needs contents revision (not ready for it as yet) plus timing corrections as noted above. All done at  no cost to me.
Mirta Oliva's YouTube link: http://tinyurl.com/omx8vcv.
 
WHEN SEARCHING THE INTERNET, PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE MIGHT BE A NAME SIMILAR TO MINE.  WHEN LOOKING FOR MY WORKS ON THE INTERNET, ANY REFERENCE TO "ARTIST, WRITER OR BOTH" WILL MOST LIKELY YIELD  A LINK TO MY WORKS OR WEBSITES.

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2. SUBLIME ADOPTION ~ A Tale of Love and Mendacity
(See excerpts further down)

The book and cover are currently being changed/edited for publishing in Kindle, Amazon, Barns and Nobel and other distribution channels. 11/9/2017

When ready, The Smashwords version will be revised as well to appear for distribution on major channels, i.e., Nook, Apple, Kobo, Sony, Diesel, etc.
 
BELOW ARE SOME EXCERPTS FROM THE NOVEL
 
a. "...You have opened my heart toward taking the first step even though I do not know what will happen after that. It seems to me that if you approve of my birth parents there must be something good about them…
 
"I already know Molly and I like her. I hope I can say the same thing about the professor. In the near future, I may be receptive to sharing with them that ‘special kind of love’ to which you have referred. I am not an expert with words, but it must be without demands, subordinate to a superior kind of love--but love nonetheless.”

b. "You may argue that I had no other real experience to compare their love with, but why would I need to compare my state of mind insofar as feeling loved when I have never felt the lack of it?"
 
c. "The actions preceding this visit paved the way for a new beginning marked by that wondrous feeling of FEELING WANTED, a phrase I am borrowing from you. While I had always felt the LOVE of my (adoptive) parents, they also proved that they WANTED me in their lives. Two different concepts independent in their values but, when put together, they elevate the meaning of the word ‘love’.”
 
d. "... But my sweetheart was there, eager as I was to share fleeting while unforgettable moments".
 
e. "...blurted out a new bombshell, quick enough as to keep me prisoner of her
sorrowful confession..."


f. "...a passionate kiss equal to no other, or so I eagerly believed..."
 
g. "Our love affair started somewhat platonic, which gave way to our needing more..."


h. (From the poem MAKE AMENDS) -  "Uncover the lies, relieve the hurt, be brave before it's too late; tell the truth ... let it be! Make amends! And you'll be FOREVER FREE!"

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3. MY PINTEREST SITE: ALL ABOUT PAINTING AND WRITING~(11/25/2012)
Still getting acquainted with this colorful and informative site.

4. www.olivaarteshow.com (Art Website)

5. www.sublimeadoption.com

WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE ABOVE CONSISTS OF THE ENTIRE BLOG, REVISED AS OF 11/09/2017.  BELOW ARE THE DATES OF ORIGINAL POSTS WITHOUT THE ORIGINAL MATERIAL WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED. AFTER A FINAL REVISION, NEW POSTS WILL BE ENTERED IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES AS SEEN ABOVE:
--PET PEEVES
--IDEAS
--EVERYTHING ELSE - A
--EVERYTHING ELSE - B - Artwork material (about painting and writing) and websites