I hope no one is looking in my notebooks....

This is sort of a writer beware. It's just not about agents.

And our chemical plants and ports have no guards at all...

http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=2989614&nav=EQlpWjof

Creator Touts Replicas of Ancient Shoes

Some people have extremely good ideas...

Creator Touts Replicas of Ancient Shoes

Lined with hay and held together by a net of rough string, the leather shoes look bulky, itchy and downright uncomfortable. But if they were good enough for Oetzi, the 5,300-year-old man found in an alpine glacier in 1991, they're good enough for the modern foot, insists Petr Hlavacek, a Czech shoe expert who has created replicas, taken them out for a walk and pronounced them far better than most modern footwear.
( In a few years, this study may improve shoes for diabetics )

But he doesn't wear Oetzi shoes and doesn't expect them to catch on with the public. They're difficult to put on, and the hay needs regular replacement.

Then there's the problem that no shoe technologist can solve.

"Try going with these shoes to the train station," Hlavacek said. "The main problem is connected with fashion."

Associated Press writer Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.

This guy may be wrong about no demand for them...if Birkenstocks can find an audience, or Maartens, why not Oetzis?

New ideas....

I'd been mulling over something recently that W pointed out, gleaned from his blog reading--I'd examined the writer's ideas, and found them good, but his execution clumsy. What if it was done in a better fashion? It'd be a great book--a great series, even.

Then a friend I used to brainstorm with a lot came to me and said "We always identify trends, and then don't do anything with them. How about this?" And I said "Wedded to this?" And we were off.

She leaves the country in three weeks. I'd like a proposal and a sample chapter before then. Whether we can write together remains to be seen, but we can sure scheme together!

I'm praying both our energy and focus lasts--she has medical concerns, too. But together, I think we could write something incredible.