by Anura Guruge

Check out Amazon.com.

Click to ENLARGE. The ‘Walmart’ ‘Equate’ comparable.

I am still getting comments & messages that the Metamucil shortage still persists in some parts of the country. I am sorry about. We, in New Hampshire (at least around where I live in the central part) appear to be out of the woods. But, to be fair, I buy the ‘Walmart’ ‘Equate’ brand — & have done so for many, many years. Bought a 180-teaspoon bottle this Monday at Walmart — & YES, I noticed that I was taking the last one.

I checked Amazon. As you can see from the lead figure they are currently out of stock but expect to be able to ship starting November 17, 2020.

So, my recommendations:

1. Check online: Amazon, Walmart, Target etc.
   ….
2. Try the Walmart equivalent. I have been using it for years. In terms of the FIBER content it is identical to Metamucil. Yes, maybe the granularity is slightly different. But, it works — which is more than what I can say for the capsules. They do NOT work.
   …..
3. See if you can get it from another part of the country. Yes, if you really are DESPERATE let me know. I will see IF I can help you out. SMILE.

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by Anura Guruge

by Anura Guruge

This was a delivery — a Birthday present no less — to a rural, coastal Maine community.

It went out, from Amazon, from New Jersey, with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

It got to the Rockland, Maine, Post Office with USPS. Now it was within 30-miles of ‘home’.

The bloody USPS then gave it to UPS. Gave it to UPS.

Didn’t they SEE that it was going to a PO Box?

Didn’t UPS see that it was going to a PO Box.

Bloody stupid.

Already spoken to Amazon. Yes, they will PAY. SMILE. That is beyond doubt or debate.

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by Anura Guruge

by Anura Guruge

Click image to explore Amazon ‘Audible’.

Some of you may have already worked this out, but it has only SLOWLY dawned upon me. OK, to be fair, I ONLY started listening to Amazon ‘Audible’ books in September of this year. So, it has only been a few months (3 to be precise) though I have gone through, as you can see from top image, 13 quite ‘hefty’ books.

I had listened to books on CD & even tape in the past — but at least 15-years ago. Much has changed in those years. That, I appreciate, is one of the reasons I am so enamored with Audible. Today’s book are not just read — they are acted out. One of the books I listened to, “The Liar’s Girl“, had 3 people reading it to do the various voices. It is no longer a monotonous reading. They act out the reading. So, they kind of add LIFE to the book & characters.

It is no longer JUST the author, BUT now — with the Audible books — the person reading it! That person needs to get nearly as much credit — & they do!

It is also the case that WHERE I listen to my books is different. That adds to the allure. I only listen, through noise cancelling FULL HEADSETS while I am walking. So, very few distractions. It is even better than listening when you are driving. I can concentrate — & I do.

I have come to realize that some books are better listened to than they would be read! I think I get through listened books faster — mainly because I am a notoriously SLOW reader. Much of that is because I like to reread sentences & paragraphs. I love words, I love structure, I love writing. So, when I read, IF I come across good writing, I reread it for the pleasure.

That I am now thinking that some books are better listened to than read is a revelation to I. To I, that is profound. So, it is now not just content. It is presentation. Forget judging a book by its cover. It has become judging a book by how it is read aloud to you.

I am still formulating my thoughts. I am putting this out to get you to think. Get your thoughts. Think about it. Thanks.

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by Anura Guruge

by Anura Guruge

Started happening Friday night, i.e., December 11, 2020.

At one stage, around 8pm, we couldn’t even get 1Mbps on a WIRED PC — when we pay for the 1Gig service. Yes, we have the 1Gig service, & I am getting, when I am lucky, 2.5Mbps! That is insane.

What is worse is that I can’t get TDS to look into it.

It has been over 24-hours & they are NOT responding.

So, I am giving you a heads up.

You might want to check your download speed IF you have TDS. You will have Internet, BUT it could be very slow.

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by Anura Guruge

by Anura Guruge

Click to ENLARGE. I published the Kindle edition 2-days ago.

Just a heads up.

KDP is logjammed.

It is NOW taking 10-days or MORE for ‘Look Inside‘ to get activated. I know. I spoke with them in November about this. Yes, it used to take less than 24-hours. Not now.

Phone support is still available & they REALLY do try. But, what they can do ‘on-the-fly’ is limited. EVERYTHING has to be submitted, in batch mode, to the ‘Back Office’.

Publishing still works. I published the Kindle version of my ‘The Conclave’ book in hours. SMILE.

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Check Categories ‘Books’.

by Anura Guruge

by Anura Guruge

Click to access original post.

Click to ENLARGE.

A ‘Roku Ultra‘ I received yesterday. Yes, it was Sunday & you can see that the Amazon label, at the Top Right, says ‘Sunday Delivery’.

But, the most striking thing is that it came WITHOUT ANY PACKAGING. Not even in a padded envelope or plastic wrap.

Just the Roku box with the Amazon label stuck on it.

I think this is NOT acceptable. Amazon has gone from OVER PACKAGING to the other extreme.

I have some objections. Sometimes I want to see the BOX, e.g., say a LEGO set. I also would like SOME protection & privacy.

BUT, a good start. I know that Amazon will sort it out in a few months. They always do.

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by Anura Guruge

by Anura Guruge

My book covers may not be stellar, BUT I believe in the time worn adage that you should never judge a book by its cover. My books, as some of you know by now, are idiosyncratic — & I would NOT have it any other way. So, it would be crazy if I didn’t design the covers myself. Yes, of course, I have tried the ‘cover creators’ provided by KDP (& others). I find that they kind of force me into a straight-jacket. But, to be fair, they have given me inspiration & ideas.

I used to create my book covers using Word. SMILE. I had it all nailed down. I used a TABLE as the basis for the cover. That way I could set the height & width of each cell — one cell for the front cover, one for the back cover & another for the spine. It worked, & I successfully created over 25 covers that way.

Then it occurred to me, one fine day, that it might be even easier to create a cover using PowerPoint. There were TWO points in favor of this approach.

1. With PowerPoint you can specify a CUSTOM slide size (via the DESIGN tab) to the exact height x width dimensions you need (& in my case specifying that in inches). There are NO margins you have to contend with. So, once you get from KDP — via the HELP section — the cover dimensions (via a set of two TEMPLATES), you can just bang them in & BINGO you have a slide that is the right size. In the above example, for a 166-page, 10″ x 7″ book, the required dimensions, including the TRIM was 14.63″ x 10.25″. So, I created a slide EXACTLY to that size. No margins. You can see that above.
   …
2. PowerPoint’s built-in ‘Save As PDF’ works a treat. No messing about. You don’t have to specify any options or parameters. Just a straight ‘Save As PDF’. Within seconds you have a PDF to the EXACT dimensions you (& KDP) need. That is it.

Once you know how many pages are in your book, you can get a KDP cover template …

Click to ENLARGE. How to get the ‘cover templates’ from KDP Help.

The templates are downloaded as a .ZIP. No problem. Just click on the zip file & you will see two files inside. Just copy them & save them somewhere else. One of the files is a PDF. Check the PROPERTIES on this file to get the cover dimensions. That is what you use to set up your PowerPoint custom slide size. The other file is a PNG (i.e., image file).

Once you have created your PowerPoint slide INSERT the PNG file. It should fit the slide 100%. Exact size. You can now really use it as a template. Keep it as the BACKGROUND.

PNG template that you INSERT into PowerPoint. You can CREATE over it. Delete it towards the end or even just keep it in the background.

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Check Category ‘Books‘.

by Anura Guruge

by Anura Guruge

Just a hunch. But, I could be wrong. It doesn’t really matter to I. As some of you know I have BIG into AMZN for many, many year. That said, I do like splits. Why? Two reasons, both of which were amply demonstrated with Tesla’s split last year. These being:

1. News of the split will drive the price up. It shouldn’t, but it always does! So, that would be fun. Yes, the price will fall, but the run-up is exciting & some can profit majorly — though not I. I rarely sell any AMZN shares. I am in AMZN for the long-haul.
   ….
2. A 10-to-1 split will open up MORE opportunities for option trading. That is the BIG DRAW as far as I am concerned. You can ONLY trade options in 100-share blocks. With AMZN’s $3,000+ price amassing 100-shares is expensive –> $300,000! But, following a 10-to-1 split it would be 10 times easier. SMILE. You will only need $30,000. HUGE difference. I talked about this with TSLA. Yes, I benefited from this with TSLA. Think about it.

As the stock chart above shows there has NOT been a split of AMZN this millenia! It has been over 20-years. At $3,000+ the price is ripe for a split, & 10-to-1 sounds good to 1. Even a 5-to-1 will not be bad.

However, I think that Jeff Bezos’ departure in June is the real catalyst & motivation. Jeff has already wrought miracles in terms of both the company & AMZN stock price. But, a split prior to his departure will give the AMZN price another spike. That would still be under Jeff’s tenure. When history is written that spike will also be credited to him. So, rather than leave when AMZN was at (say) $3,250, it might go as high as $4,500 (pre-split). Will make Jeff’s legacy that much richer. Think about it. SMILE.

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by Anura Guruge

by Anura Guruge

All from Amazon.

Plantar Fasciitis is a new affliction over the last few months. Yes, kind of a pain. Recently I have tried using all the above aids & it has definitely helped — along with decent arch supports in my walking shoes.

Just wanted to share this with you in case you too were having issues. These aids are cheap enough. So worth trying. The secret, I have found, is to really lift up the arch.

Best of luck. Let me know how you fare.

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Search ‘braces‘.

by Anura Guruge

by Anura Guruge

Not of interest to I. I don’t like hardcover. Harder, because of their weight, to read — & the added cost, just for a hardcover, does not make sense. Yes, it has cachet, status — but I do not see the point.

From what I can deduce we had to use hardcovers because books were bound with stitching. There were actual book binders. My adoptive father’s younger brother was that — a book binder.

But, then with better glue we were able to have durable paperbacks that did not fall apart when being read.

I am cool with just sticking with paperbacks. But, as you can see from the above image there are those that do want hardcover. So, they will be pleased.

KDP also now offers ‘Vella‘ — serialized books. I need to look into that. I might be able to use that.

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by Anura Guruge