Ohio | Jennette Marie Powell

by Jennette, August 29, 2011

The other day, my husband, daughter and I rode our Harleys up to visit some friends in Columbus, and had the chance to partake in some tasty history there at Schmidt’s Sausage Haus. Located in historic German Village, Schmidt’s is a well-known foodie landmark, thanks in part to the Travel Channel’s Man vs. Food. This is what led us there as well.

We arrived at Schmidt’s around 2PM, hoping such an off time would result in an easy in. We had a half hour wait for our party of five, so we went and checked out Schmidt’s Fudge Shop, across the street, where an integrated paging system would alert us to our table being ready. Once we were seated a half hour later, to the minute, we learned that a half hour wait time at any time on a Saturday was short. Our server told us the typical Saturday wait time, even at 2pm, was two hours!

DH and I pose in the photo frame stand outside the restaurant

However, once we were seated, the wait time was almost nothing. My husband, daughter, and both our friends chose the Autobahn Buffet, which featured four types of sausage, sauerkraut, chicken, potato salad, and tons of choices for traditional salads. The latter was especially appreciated by one of our friends who, in a twist of irony, is vegan. She’d insisted it was no problem to go to Schmidt’s, when we asked, as she’d figured she could get a side salad then something at home later, if need be. No worries – she found plenty to fill up on in the salad bar! Schmidt’s also has Mountain Dew, which is always a plus for me. 🙂

To my surprise, my meal arrived just a few minutes after the others had loaded up their plates at the buffet. I had the Hoffbrau Schnitzel, which was pork tenderloin with mushroom gravy. Yum! But the best part was dessert – our group minus my vegan friend split two of Schmidt’s legendary half-pound cream puffs, which were featured in coconut that day – my favorite! There were four impending food comas afterward, which we managed to shake off by going bowling. Good weather, good ride, good time, good friends, good food. Can’t ask for a better Saturday!

There are a couple other restaurants in Columbus that have been featured on Man vs. Food, which is one of my family’s favorite shows, so we plan to visit those in the future. Dayton has yet to be featured on a show like this. Has your hometown had any local eateries featured on a national TV show, and if so, have you been there?

by Jennette, August 25, 2011

Note: I realize this won’t apply to most people, but then again, it might be applicable to more than one would think. So in case it might help someone who wouldn’t otherwise be aware, I’m sharing how I got Microsoft Office, legally, on the cheap.

After my diatribe about Microsoft Word a few weeks ago, I ended up buying it. As noted in that blog post, OpenOffice is a great alternative to Office, but not a perfect one. So when I got an email at work saying I could purchase Office for my own use at home, for $9.95, I checked it out right away.

Of course, skeptic that I am, I thought it sounded too good to be true. But the email was from an official U.S. Air Force channel, and the link went to microsoft.com, so I clicked.

The offer comes from the Microsoft Home Use Program, which the U.S. Air Force participates in. Many other government agencies do too, as well as many private companies. I had no idea this was available to me until I saw it in a newsletter I get at work. Best of all, it’s available to on-site contractors as well as government employees.

From what I understand based on the information at the Microsoft Home Use Program, it looks like any company that participates in Microsoft’s Software Assurance Program and chooses to participate, can. The link above goes to a U.S.-specific site, but they may have programs in place for other countries, too. Some companies that are eligible to participate choose not to, in many cases due to misinformation.

Of course, there are a lot of terms and conditions. The main one to note is that, if you leave your eligible job, you’re supposed to discontinue using the software. It doesn’t have to be used just for work purposes, and the only information you need to supply is your work email (for the eligible company/organization), and the basics like your address.

I figured for $10*, why not? As I work on formatting my book for print, I’m finding a lot of details easier to implement in Word than OpenOffice, like sections, for instance. For most other word processing, I still use OpenOffice, because I prefer its menu-based interface. But if you work for a large company or government organization, it might be worth checking with your IT department to see if they offer this program!

*The $9.95 price is for a download. You can get the product on CDs, but it’s an additional charge of around $12 or so.

by Jennette, August 22, 2011

History on the Hill

They’ve been busy adding new features, exhibits, and fun things to see at Dayton’s Carillon Historical Park these past couple of years. Just this past weekend, the park opened several new exhibits, including the Carousel of Innovation. Last summer, they opened the History on the Hill exhibit in the old carriage house, and created a series of trails and steps on the bluffs behind the building. History on the Hill begins here.

Overlooking the Great Miami River, the bluffs were created as part of glacial recession from the last ice age. The Dayton area sits on the terminal moraine, which is the farthest point south reached by glaciers during the last ice age. The exhibits inside the building provide some drawings and details about this, as well as more recent history. For example, the park site belonged to NCR (The National Cash Register Company) prior to the park’s construction, and the area near the bluffs was used as a target shooting range.

Remains of a building on the trail The trail winds up the hill and around the parking lot, close to South Dixie Drive. It then leads past the neighboring Calvary Cemetery, to a picnic shelter of sorts called an Andirondack hut. In the early 20th century, the bluffs also housed a sanitarium, where smallpox patients were quarantined. The remants of a floor here might have been part of this building, I’m not sure.

The trails are a neat little walk (I’m guessing the entire trail is maybe a mile, probably less). If you go, make sure you wear good shoes – there are several steep areas, and one of the staircases isn’t completed. For these reasons, the trails themselves aren’t suitable for people with mobility problems, although there is a ramp up to the building.

Near the end of the trail on the west side of the exhibit building is a long, corrugated, black plastic pipe of about 30 inches in diameter. It goes down a steep slope alongside one of the staircases for probably a couple dozen yards or so. The park map calls this the Glacial Adventure. It’s not suitable to slide down, so I’m not sure of the reasoning behind that name. There are also several areas of the trail that are obviously not yet complete, as they’re blocked off by caution tape.

Despite its not-quite-completeness in a few places, History on the Hill is a fun little diversion and is certainly worth a look next time you visit Carillon Park.

If you live in the Dayton area, have you check out History on the Hill yet? If not, do you have something similar in your area?

More at the My Town Monday blog

by Jennette, August 15, 2011

One of the fun things about writing (and reading) time travel stories is the whole fish-out-of-water aspect, especially when someone goes into the future. There is one scene in Time’s Enemy, my newly-released time-travel novel, where a character from the 1930s comes forward to modern times. When she asks for a drink and is handed a can of Mountain Dew, she’s understandably perplexed at what to do with it (and initially thinks it’s moonshine, LOL).

Anyone remember drinking beer or pop (“soda” for you non-Midwesterners) from a can like this? Younger folks might not, but in the sixties, seventies, and into the early eighties, this is what you got if you bought beer in a can, or got a Coke, Pepsi, etc. from a machine. Of course, I also remember pop in glass bottles – you know, where you bought a six pack at Kroger and paid a deposit of $.05 – .10 per bottle, which they returned when you took the bottles back to the store.

But back to the cans – before they were like this, they required a can opener, like is still used today to open larger cans of juice, although those are now mostly replaced by bottles. The can opener had a sharp point on it, and poked a triangle hole in the edge of the can. A second hole was needed to admit air.

Dayton inventor Ermal Fraze

The pull tab shown on the can to the right came about in the early sixties, after Dayton tool-and-die maker Ermal Fraze went on a picnic, and forgot to bring a can opener for the drinks. According to the stories, he ended up prying cans open on a car bumper (???), then went home and devised a can with a built-in opener – the pull tab.

The pull tab was eventually superceded by the now-familiar push-in top in the eighties, but it was the pull tab that helped push cans to edge out glass bottles in popularity as a beverage container. Fraze’s legacy lives on today in the form of full-top pull tabs that are still commonly used in canned snacks like peanuts. Dayton Reliable Tool (now DRT Mfg.), the machine shop he formed in the 1940s, is also still in business in Dayton today.

Do you know of any cool little details that we take for granted today, that originated in your hometown? Please share!

More at the My Town Monday blog

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage_can
http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/fraze.html
http://www.heartlandscience.org/manuf/poptop.htm

Photo of beer can via Wikipedia, public domain
Photo of Ermal Fraze via Heartlandscience.org

by Jennette, August 11, 2011

One unwanted gift. One great wrong. One chance to make things right…

When a freak accident leaves Tony Solomon with the ability to travel in time, he becomes an unwilling initiate in the Saturn Society, a secret society of time travelers. Wanted by the Society for a crime he hasn’t yet committed, he seeks help from Charlotte Henderson, the woman whose life he saved decades before he was born. Loyal to the Society, Charlotte faces a terrible choice-condemn the man she loves and to whom she owes her life, or deny her deepest convictions by helping him escape and risk sharing his sentence.

Time’s Enemy is available for Kindle, Nook, and a variety of ebook formats on Smashwords and other retailers. I’m also going to offer a discount coupon for Smashwords that will only be announced here, so check back soon, or better yet, subscribe!

Buy Time’s Enemy at Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords | All Romance eBooks

Print edition coming soon

On another note, Sheri McGathy’s short story “Promises” is now available in the Kindle Store as well! Many thanks to Sheri for letting me use her story as a guinea pig to learn Kindle formatting. If you enjoy epic fantasy and are looking for a quick read, give it a try! “Promises” is also available at Barnes & Noble and Smashwords, as well as iBookstore, Kobo, and other digital retailers.

by Jennette, August 8, 2011

The Dayton area has always been fortunate to have a fantastic library. For two centuries, the library has been a vital part of our community.

The very first officially-recognized public library in Ohio, Dayton’s first library was started in 1805, in the home of Benjamin Van Cleve. Back then, it was a pay service. The library moved several times and was even closed and all its books sold, on at least two occasion.

Photo of The old Dayton library The precursor to today’s Dayton Metro Library was built on the current library’s property in 1888. This building was also home to a museum, which included natural history and Native American artifacts. The museum later became the Dayton Museum of Natural History, and eventually was renamed the Booneshoft Museum of Discovery. The museum was moved into its own location in 1955, and the library continued to serve as such until it was demolished, and the current building built, in 1961.

Today the libaray continues to be a happening place, with 20 branches located throughout Montgomery County. It’s unusual to drive past the two branches near me and not see the parking lots nearly full. In addition to traditional books and periodicals, the library began carrying music on tape in the seventies, which eventually expanded to VHS videos and audiobooks on tape, then Music CDs, DVDs, and audiobooks on CDs. Dowloadable ebooks and audiobooks were added via Overdrive in the early 2000s – more on that in a future blog post. Programs for kids, teens and adults – on book-related subjects and otherwise – are popular.

Dayton Metro Library The library is once more outgrowing its downtown location, and has proposed an ambitious expansion plan in an effort to stay relevant and serve the community. Changes in technology – especially in book publishing – are creating a shift in how consumers patronize the library, and the usage of services has shifted to a lot more computer use, more online checkouts of e- and audiobooks, and more demand for meeting space, as opposed to shelf space for paper books. Studies have focused on cities like Fort Wayne, Indiana, where a new, expanded library has played a key role in revitalizing a stagnant downtown.

But the best part of the library remains the same – whatever book or written material you’re looking for, the library probably has it – and if they don’t, they have partnerships with a public libraries all over Ohio, and chances are, you’ll find it there. As has been the case for as long as I can remember, there’s no charge to have a book you’re looking for, transferred to your local branch if they don’t have a copy there. Loans for (and transfer of) materials from participating Ohio libraries are also free.

I got my first library card around age 6 or 7. Having lived in the area all my life, I’ve often taken the library for granted. But I’ve had friends who’ve moved out of the area to larger cities, who tell me their libraries don’t have near the selection Dayton’s library has.

What about you? Does your hometown have a great library? Do you use its service, or are you even aware of all your library offers? (I admit that if I were to try to list them, I’d probably miss a few.)

Historic photo via Dayton Metro Library www.daytonmetrolibrary.org
1960’s photo – unknown

by Jennette, August 1, 2011

Dayton, Ohio is no stranger to murder – just watch the news, and it seems there’s one almost every day. But a hundred years ago, murder was a novelty, and a trial for such, a spectacle people came to see from miles away. Yesterday afternoon, Dayton History reenacted such a case in the original Old Courthouse, that still stands at Third and Main today, giving us a chance to see what it might have been like, and even participate in the trial, over a hundred years later.

Dayton's Old Courthouse in the early 20th century

Upon entering the courthouse, Dayton History staffers gave the audience a sheet of the text of actual newspaper articles printed at the time. They were printed on yellow photocopy paper, which was amusing considering some of the yellow journalism within. 🙂

In September of 1896, 20-year-old Albert Frantz was accused of murdering Bessie Little, the 23-year-old woman he’d been seeing, whose body was found in the Stillwater River. There were a lot of suspicious circumstances leading up to the verdict of whether Miss Little had committed suicide, as was initially thought, or if she died by another’s hand. Witnesses described how Bessie was caught “in a compromising position” with Mr. Frantz in her parents’ barn, which led to him putting her up in a hotel soon after (there were few living options for single women in those days). It also came to light that she’d seen a doctor, and had been declared pregnant, and Mr. Frantz supposedly wanted to marry her, but was unable due to being underage – and his parents refused to give consent.

At the hotel, they found a letter from Bessie, addressed to Mr. Frantz’s parents, begging them to let their son marry her. But the most telling evidence was found on a newly-constructed bridge, that crossed the Stillwater into what was then a lightly-populated part of town: blood on the bridge itself, and a track mark from it that looked like a buggy had been driven through it.

Last weekend's reenactment

Mr. Frantz had been planning to take his sweetheart for a ride the last evening she was seen alive.

Other evidence was produced throughout the trial, which in reality, reconvened throughout the next three months. One item was the woman’s skull! It had been kept in a jar of alcohol at the police office, after her body had been exhumed from her resting place in the potter’s field in Woodland Cemetery, when her manner of death was first called into question. When the skull was brought in, the “bailiff” opened the courtroom’s windows, due to the undoubtedly-horrendous smell! The reason the skull was unearthed was probably the biggest factor in the ultimate determination of the court: Miss Little had been shot in the head through the ear, twice.

The prosecution and defense both presented their closing statements – both waxing rather melodramatic at times – then the jury (which were picked from the audience) went to deliberate. As in a modern, Ohio court proceeding, the jury was instructed to issue a guilty verdict only if the prosecution was able to “remove all reasonable doubt.” I was guessing they’d say “Not Guilty,” because despite the evidence, the state hadn’t removed all doubt. When they issued their verdict, the jury agreed, and the “judge” told the defendant he was free to leave.

The Dayton History staffers handed us another sheet of newspaper articles on the way out, containing the results of the trial: Guilty of First Degree Murder! It turns out that, after a series of failed appeals, Mr. Frantz became the fourth person in Ohio to die by electric chair, almost a year later.

Can you imagine that quick of an appeals process now? Or presenting the actual corpse as evidence in a trial? (Thank goodness for modern photography and videography!) And interestingly enough, do you think the modern-day jury was more compassionate, more discerning of the evidence, or maybe just more hard of hearing? (There was a lot of echo in the courtroom, and yes, it was hard to hear sometimes.) Anything fun like this reenactment in your home town? Please share!

Note: This program will be presented three times next weekend, August 5, 6, and 7 – Details at DaytonHistory.org.
Want to learn more about this case? Check out Spilt Blood, by Curt Dalton (one of the researchers for the reenactment)

More at the My Town Monday blog

Historic photo via Dayton History

by Jennette, July 28, 2011

I’m currently working on revising Time’s Fugitive, my second time travel romance, and sequel to my upcoming release, Time’s Enemy. Like Enemy, the first draft of this book was written a few years ago. What’s surprising is how many things in the world around us have changed since then – things that now need to be changed. For example, I have a scene where a character’s car breaks down, and the young driver and her passenger need to walk for help. Yes, they have cell phones – it wasn’t written that long ago – but what I now need to account for is the fact that many late-model cars (including the one they have) now come with some kind of navigation system, which also includes a way to call for help. This needs to be revised so that there’s a good reason they can’t just press the red button on the rearview mirror and get help from OnStar. Another book of mine features computer technology – including national security-sensitive software that goes missing. In the original book, written over ten years ago, the software was on a removable disk cartridge, like a Zip Disk. (Anyone remember those?) In a recent revision, this needed to be changed to be on a USB flash drive.

This reminded me of Stephen King’s The Stand – which I first read in the late 90’s, after it had been updated from the original version published in 1976. Definitely a book I enjoyed, despite a few details where not enough attention was given to updating. In the original version, characters drove across a post-apocalyptic U.S., preferably in the largest vehicles practical – in most cases, station wagons.

In the 90’s version, these characters were still taking station wagons.

Huh? In the 90’s I remember, there were a heck of a lot more minivans and SUVs than station wagons. Not to mention, a 4WD SUV would be much more practical than a station wagon, especially for driving off road. And cell phones? I don’t remember if they were mentioned – they might’ve been, and there was no power, hence no operable cell networks. But the characters used CB radios to communicate – which hit their heyday in the mid-70’s.

So think about those updates when you’re revising an old novel – I still enjoyed The Stand, but little details like this did take me out of the story, and remind me I was reading. So if the contemporary American heroine in the book you’re reading is in trouble and she’s not using her cell phone, you might flip to the copyright page, and see if you’re reading an old book. Otherwise, there’d better be a good reason that heroine can’t just call for help, or you might have an Update Fail on your hands.

Does it bother you to read books where the details are outdated? I’m willing to forgive it if it’s an old book, but otherwise, it might just be sloppy writing. What do you think?

by Jennette, July 25, 2011

A couple weeks ago, we discussed how we want to use our time… and how we actually do use that time. For those of us who work a full-time job, have a family, and have a writing “job” on the side, it can be especially challenging.

So how’s it going two weeks in? For me, it’s gone quite well… at least during the week. I’ve managed to get an hour of time working on my current book in revision each weeknight, just as I’d planned. In addition, I also got a workout in every night, something I haven’t done regularly for some time, so that’s significant.

The above is not to say my schedule never got disrupted, but that’s OK because I outlined it to allow for that.

For example: On Tuesday night, DH suggested going out to dinner. The Schedule allows for an hour for dinner, which includes spending time with and feeding the critters. It also allows an hour for chores. However, going out to dinner took two hours, as we met friends and had a couple beers too. So that night, something had to be sacrificed from the schedule: chore time. (Hint: any time something disrupts the schedule and something’s gotta go, chores wins, hands-down, unless there’s something there that can’t be put off, i.e. paperwork/bill paying when the bills are due within a few days.) On another day, I ended up doing unplanned mom-taxiing (and I think that was a day the paperwork couldn’t be put off), so writing business got left off. No problem there – I have it on the schedule every night, but honestly, there isn’t business stuff that needs to be done every night.

Where time management might continue to be a challenge is on the weekend. When we have Two Whole Days stretched out before us, it’s easy to put off whatever’s on the To-Do list, until next thing we know, it’s 10:30 PM Sunday night, and we haven’t written Monday’s blog yet <cough>. We also have the tendency to see that big block of time and fill it too full, without leaving any time for what the weekend’s supposed to be for: going somewhere, doing fun things with family and friends, or just relaxing – which are all sooo important, to avoid burnout.

So that’s my next challenge – get caught up on the stuff I didn’t get done this weekend, and figure out how to manage that time, so I don’t run into this next weekend.

Especially since I have some family fun planned.

What about you? Have you seen a difference since taking a harder look at how you spend your time? Any suggestions or insights to share?

Illustration via Microsoft Office Images

by Jennette, July 21, 2011

Last summer when I got a new computer, my 10-year-old CD of Microsoft Office 2000 finally bit the dust. The disk had become corrupted; the files would no longer copy from it to install.

So I investigated alternatives. I ruled out the new version of Office immediately: we have Office 2007 at work, and I hate it. Most people who, like me, have been using Office for many years hate it too, or at least did until they resigned themselves to its new interface. Come on, the “ribbon” takes up way too much screen space, even on a big monitor. And I have to re-learn where everything is? Just give me back my damn menus!

Oh, Office Ribbon - how do I hate thee?

Of course, there are older versions of Office for sale, unopened, on Ebay, some at great prices. But none were certified to run on Windows 7, which came with my new computer (and I’m quite happy with). Luckily, there’s also another alternative, for an even better price: OpenOffice. And it’s free – honest-to-goodness, legally, free. Just go to www.openoffice.org and download it.

It includes an alternative to each of the major components of Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Access. It also comes with a drawing program.

The only part I’ve used enough to really evaluate is Writer, the Word-alternative. I’ve dabbled a bit with the spreadsheet, and so far, it seems like a decent facsimile of Office 2000’s Excel.

Yay! Menus!

Which makes me happy, because I don’t need all the whiz-bang features Microsoft’s added to the later versions of Office. OpenOffice has most of them, but best of all, it has menus, not that silly ribbon interface.

Granted, not everything’s in the same place. For example, Word’s Track Changes feature is on the Revisions ribbon. In older versions, it was in the Tools menu. In OpenOffice, it’s in the Edit menu, and it’s simply called Changes. But if I have to hunt around for features, hey, I’d rather do it in a free program! (They do take donations, if you’re so inclined.)

I have run into a few problems with OpenOffice Writer, however. Most of these show up when I save a document in a format other than .doc (Microsoft Word 2003 and earlier) or .odf (OpenOffice’s native format). .rtf is the worst. I’ve seen it muck up line spacing, and change fonts – and the latter not consistently. It’s made the first letter of every paragraph – and only the first letter – a different font- sometimes even a Chinese character!

It also corrupted the .doc file of my manuscript for Time’s Enemy. I didn’t find this out until I sent it to my editor, and it crashed her system every time she tried to open it in Word. I thought this might have been due to the fact that she uses a Mac, but when I tried it on my daughter’s computer (which still has Word 2000 installed on it), that blew up, too.

Luckily I could still open it on my computer in OpenOffice, and copy the content, and re-save as an .odt file. I then opened it in Word at work, and resaved as a .docx file, which worked fine for my editor.

So is OpenOffice a true replacement for Microsoft Office? After a year, the jury’s still out. But hey, at least the price is right! Now all I have to do is find a newer version or replacement for Quickbooks, that will read my Quickbooks 2005 data…

Know of any accounting software I should check out? Or do you have a software WTF to share? Feel free to vent here – we feel your pain!

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