ASJA PACIFIC NORTHWEST NEWSLETTER
For ASJA members in
Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon and Washington
May 2024
https://asjapnw.org
In This Issue
From the Prez, Writing Rhythms, M. Carolyn Miller, ASJA PNW President
Mug Shot, Rosemary Keevil
A Writer’s Liquid Inspiration
Avoid Being Scammed, Bruce Miller
Member News and Announcements
Join us for our May meeting!
M. Carolyn Miller is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: ASJA PNW
Time: May 15, 2024 01:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Every month on the Third Wednesday
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87898612924
Meeting ID: 878 9861 2924
This newsletter publishes the first day of each month and welcomes article submissions and photos. Please email the ASJA PNW Newsletter Editor, Maxine Cass, at maxinecass@gmail.com
From the President
by M. Carolyn Miller
ASJA PNW Chapter President
Writing Rhythms
I suspect most writers have a time, place and treats that are ideal for their writing practice. Mine begins early, with a large cup of espresso (three shots), tempered with nut milk and Stevia®. (See my early morning ritual tools below.)
Then, I write, or design, or do some creative dreaming.
I have learned, thanks to a PT’s guidance, to get up every 30 minutes to give my body a break. I do this for 1.5 hours, or a bit more if I’m really involved in something. I then take an hour’s break to do yoga and eat breakfast. Then, I’m back at it for another 1.5 hours.
It wasn’t until last fall at a writer’s retreat that I learned there was a formal name for my writing practice’s rhythm. It’s called the “Pomodoro Technique.”
“Pomodoro” is an Italian tomato; an Italian university student invented the technique when he couldn’t focus and so purchased a tomato-shaped kitchen timer to help him work in 10-minute increments. His productivity soared and the technique was born.
The pomodoro technique posits that you can be more productive if you break down your task into four, 25-minute increments, followed by a five-minute break. After those four working sessions, you then take a longer break of 15-30 minutes. You repeat that process for as long as you want.
I set my timer but for 30 minutes instead of 25, and when it goes off, I am immediately irritated that it is pulling me away from my work. But I sigh, get up to turn it off, and head to the kitchen to put away some dishes or change a wash load. And then I’m back at it. I do this both in the early morning, mid-day and in the afternoon. The number of sessions varies, dictated by my personal needs.
You can read more about the Pomodoro Technique here. Touted as a time management tool, it comes with rules I don’t necessarily follow, but I like the concept. More so, I like the validation of my own writing rhythm, shaped by need and intuition.
M. Carolyn Miller, MA, spent her career designing narrative- and game-based learning. Today, she consults and writes about narrative in our lives and world, the inextricable link between the two, and the critical role of self-awareness in transforming both. www.cultureshape.com
by Rosemary Keevil
Mug Shot
It’s a Royal Albert China tea mug, not to be mistaken for a measly little teacup (like the kind my mother used to have displayed with matching saucers in an old dining room buffet cabinet).
I need a mug that can hold a hefty, ten ounces of strong Yorkshire Gold Orange Pekoe tea. My sacred mug is white and intricately designed with feminine royal blue squares, pink flowers and shiny gold accents.
I have to admit I have more than one of these Royal Albert tea mugs. I have three and all are exactly the same, complete with faded gold detailing where my thumb has held the handle countless times.
The mugs are stored in a special place in the cupboard (a regular kitchen cabinet, not an old dining room buffet cabinet). They are hidden far from the pedestrian mugs strewn about our pedestrian mug shelf, where you can find clever slogans such as, “Be nice to me, I have diarrhea.”
The most productive time of the day for me to write is early in the morning, around 4:00 a.m. I absolutely need that Royal Albert China mug of strong Yorkshire Gold Orange Pekoe tea to jump start my day and my creativity.
I am very possessive of said Royal Albert mug. If I notice a houseguest drinking from one of my mugs I get all bristly inside but do my darndest to keep up my signature gracious front while I choke down my tea.
Rosemary Keevil is a freelance journalist and the author of The Art of Losing It: A Memoir of Grief and Addiction. She has been a TV news reporter, a current affairs radio show host, and managing editor of a professional women’s magazine. Rosemary lives in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.
A Writer’s Liquid Inspiration
Sharon Elaine Thompson:
My working mug filled each morning with jasmine green tea for a kick start.
I wind down at night with a book and lavender camomile tea.
Joanna Nesbit:
This is my favorite mug for size, clean lines and simplicity. Lots of coffee and a clear mind to start the day.
Fred Gebhart:
Maxine Cass:
Strong black tea in the morning with bright flowers to start the day.
Randy Stapilus:
Partly, it’s been my currently most-used; runner up is an Edgar Allen Poe cup.
Backstory is that I got both of them while traveling around the country with Linda, back in the late 90s, and both cups were gotten in Virginia, near where I grew up. Lots of memories about travel and exploration tend to pop up around them.
Bruce Miller:
WriterInfo is my Twitter/X handle and matches my animated GIF.
by Bruce Miller
Avoid Being Scammed
In the spring of 2024, a couple near Lincoln, Nebraska was told their computer was infected along with other claims, including accusations of child pornography. Ultimately, the couple bought about $115,000 worth of gold bars to resolve what they thought was some sort of government investigation. They put the gold bars into a box as instructed. Then, as instructed, they handed the box full of gold to a man driving a pickup truck who came to their house.
Successful scams like this encourage scammers. Scammers, however, can be thwarted by computer users who know the warning signals.
Here are some of the warning signs for pop-up windows and emails.
Pop-up windows
If a window pops up and tells you that your computer is infected or that your anti-virus program has expired, be skeptical. First determine if the name matches anything you’ve actually purchased or subscribed to. If a well-known name of a product is used, call the company direct – don’t call the number in the pop-up window. If the message does seem to be bogus, then your computer is probably already infected with malware (MALicious softWARE designed to infiltrate computers, networks, and devices). Check to see where any buttons lead to. If the destination URL looks like gibberish, don’t click on the button.
Various parts of an email can provide warning signs of a scam.
Fancy font in an email’s subject line.
Look at this example that arrived in my inbox:
Note the subtle font difference in the SiriusXM. Nearly all legitimate emails will not use fancy fonts in emails. Additionally, nearly all legitimate businesses will not insert little graphics into the subject line.
I also knew this was a scam because my SiriusXM service – which I do happen to have – uses a non-Yahoo email address.
Non-sensical email address in the FROM field
Some scammers will actually use a real email address using the company’s domain name in the FROM field. But, if the email shows a domain name not associated with the company mentioned in the email, that is a red flag. Also, if the email address in the FROM field is from somename@gmail.com, most likely it is a scam.
Buttons with suspicious links
If the email contains a link or button to click on, hover the mouse pointer over it to see the URL the link wants to take you to. If the link does not contain the domain name of the company in question, don’t click on it.
In the SiriusXM email a big RENEW SUBSCRIPTION NOW button was in the email.
The destination domain name in the hyperlink URL is doffersted.store, not SiriusXM.com. This is a big warning sign.
Scrutinize every suspicious email. Keep yourself safe.
Seattle resident Bruce Miller is continually amazed — and saddened — at how people fall victim to scammers.
Member News and Announcements
Rosemary Keevil wrote “Five Generations of the Lewis Family at Camp Wabun” for the Winter 2024 issue of the Tegamami Times (Northern Ontario, Canada).
M. Carolyn Miller refreshed her website, https://www.cultureshape.com/ based on suggestions made by our chapter’s March speaker, Greg Bennick.
The AP (Associated Press) Stylebook on May 29 will begin using the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and has revised gender references, reports Poynter.
Minda Zetlin uses an ergonomic computer mouse product that she recommends, the Contour RollerMouse, though she notes it isn’t cheap.
Michelle Rafter and Minda Zetlin recommend ASJA member Estelle Erasmus’ book, Writing that Gets Noticed. Discuss the book during the ASJA Book Club on May 31 at 10 am PDT. Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqc-urrTgsGdOC-XFSKolcCTZpxDmguX_4
Joanna Nesbit recommends ASJA member Melanie Padgett Powers’ podcast, “Deliberate Freelancer.”
Joanna Nesbit (joannanesbit@comcast.net) is seeking ideas and contacts for future ASJA PNW meeting speakers.
Michelle Rafter announces that the National ASJA Conferences include a virtual conference, September 24-26, 2024, and an in-person conference next year, February 24-26. She welcomes session topic ideas covering Journalism, Content, and Non-Fiction Books for either conference. Client Connections will immediately follow the virtual conference and within the February conference.
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NEWSLETTER PRODUCED BY
EDITOR: Maxine Cass
PROOFREADERS: Catherine Kolonko
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE: Bruce Miller
*All stories are copyright by their respective writers.
*All photographs and illustrations are copyright by their creative makers.
*All rights are reserved to each of them for their own material.