The COG Zone

     I know a lot of my friends here use only Window Spaces for interacting with other people on the internet. That's cool. However, if you're looking for a place to share your Christian beliefs, debate theological issues, or just have a little fun, you're invited to join me and my friends at the Servant Chat forums. The URL is http://realservantchat.proboards54.com . Anyone can view the posts as a visitor, but if you'd like to participate by posting you have to sign up as a member. Right now we have a very small membership roster, but we hope to grow into a larger family and community. Check it out.

     I don't agree with everything presented by John Calvin, but I was reading an article in Christianity Today in which some of Calvin's writing is paraphrased by Knox Bruce-Beza. The following is paraphrased from The Institutes of the Christian Religion and other writings by John Calvin.

 

     The ascended Christ reigns over the church and all societies but in different ways. In truth, the only "Christian nation" is the body of Christ as it is dispersed throughout all peoples and in all times. Confusion on this point has resulted in far-reaching consequences.

     At the present time, we are under a two-fold government, so that we do not (as commonly happens) unwisely mingle these two, which have a completely different nature. Christ's spiritual kingdom and the civic jurisdiction are things completely distinct. For now Christ's visible rule is a kingdom of grace, advancing through the proclamation of the gospel: the preaching of the Word and the sacrements. In this kingdom, enemies of God are made heirs, strangers and aliens are bound together in a communion deeper than any social bond, and the gospel conquers the earth through the Word and the Spirit rather than through secular powers and cultural labors. Only when Christ returns will he reign in a kingdom of glory, as the realms of this age are made subservient to his will.

     These kingdoms are distinguished but should not be opposed. We are citizens of two cities: one temporary and the other eternal. In the one, we are made neighbors, in a society that can never be perfected, but in which we love and serve our fellows with our common gifts. In the other, we are made co-heirs with Christ in a communion of saints, sharing all heavenly blessings forever.

 

     I believe this relates exactly the way things are and should be. God reigns over the entire world even if most of the inhabitants don't believe in God. Even the United States isn't truely a Christian nation, instead it's a nation in which some of God's children reside. By reaching out to those who don't know God, we can lead them to the way of salvation. No one has ever been saved by the law, whether God's or man's, and they never will be. As Calvin says, "The gospel conquers the earth through the Word and the Spirit rather than through secular powers and cultural labors."  The attempt to change people's behaviors through laws will always fail. The only way to succeed in decreasing the crime and harm done to others is to teach people God's truths and show them that living by his will is the only way to improve society. We change people through love, not force.

     One of my favorite things to do with a little down time is to play detective / mystery games on my computer. I've already played all of the CSI games. Recently, I've enjoyed the Agatha Christie games. I finished "And Then There Were None" and "Murder on the Orient Express". Currently, I'm working my way through "Evil Under the Sun", although I hit a small snag in that one. It seems one area of the game doesn't work properly on some computers without what is known as a game patch. I'm still waiting to hear back from the company to find out where I need to go to download that and, hopefully, be able to finish the game.

     I've been asked why I play those games. The first answer I give is because they give me a chance to exercise my brain. I get to do that when I'm writing, but there are times it's nice to sit back and play through a mystery someone else has taken the time to create. There seem to always be some parts of the games that make no sense, at least to me, like when the character has to do something which in no way relates to solving the crime ... again, that's just my opinion. And then there are some games which present scantily clad women or contain a lot of cussing which really has nothing to do with the game at all. Those I can overlook as long as the game is interesting, challenging, and has a good plot following a logical course and a surprising final solution.

     I've seen a few games at the local stores which I'll probably get around to buying and playing. The ones in which the player gets to take on the role of Sherlock Holmes all look very interesting. There's also one called "Jack the Ripper" I'm almost sure I'll get because I researched that case for my second novel (which is now complete) and I just think it would be fun to "solve" that case. There are some places online selling some of the older games, but I haven't seen too many detective / mystery games other than the ones I've already played or the seemingly endless Nancy Drew series (of which I've played a few).

     I'm not sure how many of my friends and visitors play these types of computer games. If any of you have played any, please tell me which ones or make suggestions. I'm not looking for any of those hidden object games ... it makes no sense to me to go from place to place collecting useless objects and after fifteen or twenty rounds of that be told I solved the mystery. And free online games or downloads are out of the question. I picked up a "worm" at one of those sites and had to completely reload my computer. What I'm searching for are the games I can buy on CD or DVD to play on my PC. I can probably find some of the older games at Amazon so even those suggestions are appreciated.

     Hi everyone. I'm just taking enough time to let you know I propbably won't make it to anyone's spaces for a few days. I got a worm on my computer and had to redo the whole system. I'm in the process of getting all my programs and files back on my hard drive.

 

NT AUTHORITY / SYSTEM

     If you start getting a message that the service and app control has to restart your computer and does so in 60 seconds, you probably have the worm. Your computer will restart, but you'll probably have to go through that five or six times before it stays on for any period of time. There are several versions of the worm which causes this problem. The one on my system was Rustock.AN . Some virus scanners will find it and remove parts of it, but it will come back or just keep working anyway. If you know a computer geek, they can probably find all the bits and pieces and get it off your system. If you don't know anyone to fix it your only alternative is to do what I did. Save all your important stuff to disks or memory sticks and then do a complete system restore. The bad part is, you're starting from scratch and have to reinstall everything.

 

     I don't know where I got the stupid worm, but I did. I hope no one else does.

     I was visiting my friend Happy Flower and read her blog. There, she had some information and questions about things needed to submit to a publisher. To help both her and any other writers, I'm going to share what I've learned so far. Don't think I'm an expert. If I were, maybe a literary agent would already have my full manuscript in his/her hands.

     Before beginning the main points, I'd like to mention that most queries, summaries, etc ... the first time you send the information ... must be done so in the body of an email (if they accept the information via email) unless otherwise stated by the agent/publisher. When they do request information via attachments, most I've found require the documents be in Microsoft Word. If your manuscript is for a novel, make sure you have the entire novel written before submitting a query to an agent/publisher. From what I've read, they won't be very happy if they get excited about your project and then you tell them it's not finished yet.

     One thing I've seen at the sites of most publishers is the fact they won't accept either queries or any part of a manuscript directly from the writer. Most want to receive the information from a literary agent who's representing the writer. Either way, the information here applies. If you're submitting any information to a publisher or agent, make sure you're giving them what they request at their website. If you forget even one small thing, your query will most likely end up in the wastebasket.

     The query letter should be only one page, typed in a standard font at size 11 or 12 and be formatted like a business letter. Many good examples can be found by typing "Query letter" into a search engine. The first sentence should include the title, word count, and genre of your book. Next come two short paragraphs about the plot. This needs to grab the agent's attention and make him/her want to read more. Finally, include a short paragraph about you as the writer ... previous published works, conferences you attend, etc. Again, look at examples on the web.

     For novels, most agents/publishers ask for a summary, although some do want a book proposal. Have both ready. The hard part is summarizing your 80,000+ word novel in a short space. A typical summary is no more than two pages in a standard font at size 11 or 12. Each paragraph is separated by a double space and no indentations are needed at the beginning at the paragraph. Write a short paragraph about the action in each chapter of your book. If you find yourself going beyond two pages, perhaps you can summarize two or three chapters in one paragraph. To make it even more difficult, some agents/publishers may request the summary be only one page. I have both a one page and two page summary saved so I can send whichever is requested. As with the query letter, examples are available on the web.

     An agent/publisher may also request sample pages or chapters from your novel. If they ask for ten pages, they want the first ten pages of your manuscript. If they ask for one or more chapters, they want the first chapters in your book unless otherwise stated. Some may ask for the three chapters best describing the action in your novel. If you're adding these to the body of an email, the formatting will usually not remain as you had them saved so some re-formatting may be required (paragraphs indented, etc). From my experience, if in the body of an email, the agent/publisher is only reading for the content and not the actual manuscript formatting.

     Manuscript formatting is important when it comes to submitting any portion of the manuscript via an email attachment or through the postal service. The agent/publisher wants to make sure its in the format needed by editors. Manuscripts should have page numbers at the top of every page and the entire thing must be double spaced. Once again, use a standard font at size 11 or 12. Also, as mentioned, most editors/publishers seem to use Microsoft Word so it would be best to have that program and use it to type your manuscript. If you use other programs, such as Microsoft Works Wordprocessing the formatting gets messed up when viewed using Microsoft Word.

     One book I've found very helpful in explaining every step of the process is Putting Your Passion Into Print by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry.

     To start a search for a literary agent, go to http://www.aar-online.org (Association of Authors' Representatives). The list contains hundreds of agents. I started by visiting those who have websites. By doing so, you can read about the agents and find out what types of books in which their most interested. It doesn't do any good to send a query for a horror novel to an agent who hates horror novels or only represents works of non-fiction. You can also do an internet search for specific types of agents such as "agents for Christian fiction", "agents for sociology textbooks", etc.

     If anyone has any further questions, let me know. As I said, I'm not a professional and I'm still in search of the ever elusive agent. I have had a few nibbles, but no one has yet asked for my entire manuscript. The search continues.

I received an email today that looked important, but that I recogonized as a scam. The following is an email I sent to all my friends. I'm posting here for those who aren't in my address book.

 

If you got an email stating is was from MSN, Windows Live, or Hotmail and that your account would be closed if you don't fill out the form and send the information --- DON'T DO IT!!!! If you notice, there is no butterfly next to the senders name in your inbox list. This shows the email is NOT an official email from MSN or its affiliated networks. If you've already filled out the form be warned!!! You've just given someone your username and password and they now have full access to your account. My guess is they'll change the password and you won't be able to access your account. If they don't, they'll still be able to use your account to send people emails (including viruses), read you're personal information, and read any incoming emails which may contain personal information.
 
Again, DO NOT RESPOND TO THAT EMAIL!!!!

 

As an added explanation here at my blog. As far as I know, the only time Hotmail will close any account is for reported abuses or if your account sits idle for longer than about three months or so. They don't even warn you, they'll just do it. I've said it before and I'll say it again ... If you ever receive an email from any company or organization (including Hotmail) that wants you to verify you're information, go directly to the website (through your browser, not the URL provided in the email) and do the changes or additions once you're signed into your account.

     I received a message today from Rhonda so she could check up on me since I haven't posted anything or left any comments for a while. It's nice to know there are people out there who care enough about each other they do that from time to time. Rhonda sent the message, but I know my other friends have been wondering if I dropped off the face of the earth. Nope. I'm still here, but the past month or so has been full of work and other such things.

     The main thing I've been working on is all the paperwork and such associated with trying to buy a house. I know it will be worth all the hassle and aggrevation, but right now I'm not seeing the end. If you've ever bought a house, you know what I'm talking about. The owner is selling the house herself so, instead of dealing with a realtor, the main paperwork is being handled by a lawyer. A few trips to his office has finally gotten the sales agreement signed. I'll be seeing him later for other assorted paperwork. The bank needed copies of W-2s, pay stubs, and other things associated with income and debt. After getting those papers to the appropriate person, I had to go sign the loan origination papers, permission for the credit checks, etc, etc. Monday, the appraiser is coming out. Hopefully, after that, the paperwork can be processed and I'll find out soon if the loan has been approved.

     A question for previous home buyers. Why is it the bank, appraiser, and other people involved insist on doing things on their time and act as if you're causing problems when you refuse to take time off work? Oh well. I stood my ground and the appraiser is coming out on my schedule. The other thing driving me nuts is how they want me to do all the footwork and gather information which is a matter of public record (deeds, surveys, etc). Public record means, in today's world, they can get on the computer and get the information for themselves. Just why do they charge such high fees and expect someone else to do their work?

     I still haven't found an agent or publisher for my first book. I'm not going to give up. In the meantime, I'm within one chapter of having my second manuscript completed. I'll still have editing and proofreading to do, but I'll be close enough to finished to say its done. At this rate, I'll have an entire series of books written before the first one ever gets published. Even if the books never get published, I've had fun writing them and will have books I'll read many times.

     Hopefully, when things settle down a bit, I'll have more time to blog and check in on my friends. Until then, may God bless you.

     Some of you will notice the number of people in my network has decreased. I know some people are going to be upset that they no longer appear on that list. All I can say is I need to simplify my Space and one way to do that is to slim down the people in my network. The names of people listed at my profile aren't the only names I've deleted. There are many names I've deleted from my messenger and my email contact lists. I can't say whether or not I'll delete any more names. What I can say is I won't be adding any more names any time soon.

     So why am I doing this? I don't know about other people, but I'm now spending between 1 1/2 - 2 hours a day checking and reading emails, blogs, and messages posted at the message board I help moderate. By the time I do that, do whatever house chores need done, and eat supper there's not much time left for anything else. I need to cut back somewhere and, as much as I hate to cut out anything, the most sensible thing right now seems to be streamlining my Space. We'll have to wait to see what happens in the future.

     I just wanted to let my friends know that if you don't see me on here everyday it's because I'm busy checking out various banks about first mortgages, looking at the real estate sites, and weighing the pros and cons of buying a house vs a mobile home. One thing I've discovered is that even though I have a job that pays the bills, being single with one income will definitely limit my options for a future residence. I'll try to pop on for a little while everyday so I can keep updated on all the happenings around Spaces.