Does it ever bother you that we spend at least half our time sleeping? Look at all that time, just doing nothing. If we didn't need sleep we could be out planting, watering, travelling, planning more adventures to take, discoveries to make and so on.

No doubt you can think of a thousand things you've been procrastinating on. I'm sure I could, given enough time, paper and really bad penmanship.

Sleep isn't a bad thing. They say its good for you. Some nights, sitting in front of this very computer, I fall asleep while I'm writing. I know what you're thinking - "So that's why she writes like that!"

All this writing about sleep is having an undesired effect on me. I think I'm going to bed, before 2:00 AM tonight. Just a little change to what has become the routine.

Don't let the bed bugs bite, hopefully you wash your sheets often enough that bugs aren't really an issue.

How well do you know the grammar rules? Some people seem to think breaking the rules of grammar and punctuation is a way to rebel against society, rules and so on and so forth. Some, I guess, think they are being trendy and keeping up with the modern Internet ideas. Personally, I think it just makes their writing look careless and messy.

As a reader I strongly feel anyone not putting some care into their writing is not someone I will invest my time in. It's not my way of being a snob. It's just that, if you have something to say, chances are you want to say it well and make sure its understood. I can accept bad grammar in a personal rant, something written more for yourself than public consumption. Or, if you are writing to a whole group of people who have made the same grammar and punctuation choices, as a rule. For the rest of us, that whole communication process: from your mind, onto that blank page and into their mind, has a few rules to make it all run smoothly and work better.

In the end, I just say why not? Why not use grammar and punctuation? It's been around awhile, outlasted many generations of rebels, eccentrics and writers in general. Unless you come up with something that works better why change something that obviously works. A style of writing that has lasted through the ages and will likely still be here for generations to come. Not everything we write is going to stand the test of time, there is just too much of it and not enough eager readers. Whatever does last, will have to stand up to the accepted standards. Personal rants full of grammar and punctuation errors might not be taken as seriously as writing carefully crafted for both content and context.

If modern medicine keeps working on the cure for aging we might all still be here to see what future generations write about, using that same old fashioned grammar.

Note: I don't claim to have perfect grammar, punctuation or spelling. But I do run it by Lotus Word. I still have the final say, the last word and the best chance to leave in some of my bad writing examples.

Allergies: nature's favourite way of making us appreciate our noses.

So, thinking of my nose today, wishing it would just give me a break. Here are my thoughts about the sense of smell.

It doesn't stink. I've read that people actually have clearer memories of smells from their childhood than they do for sights or sounds. Isn't that kind of odd? But, I believe it. I can remember smells of those old oil based paints we used for paint by numbers. The way the apple pies smelled when they first came out of the oven. The weird smell of my brother's head and hair when he just finished playing soccer. Rotting yet earthy smells from the pond in back of the farm house we lived in when I was in grade one. That odd special smell that I only (ever in my life), smelled in my Grandparents house. The smell that will forever be the Grandma and Grandpa's house smell. It even has it's own colour, a shade of green.

I could sit here and think of a hundred more old smells. Things I wouldn't remember at all if not for the odd time I catch the same smell, in a completely different place. Walking down a street I catch a whiff of something that reminds me of a troll-like doll my Mom got for me in the 70's. Without the smell I would never remember, or even think about, that doll.

Another thing I appreciate about the sense of smell is how it makes things taste. Have you ever eaten something you couldn't stand the smell of? Experimental soup flavourings come to mind first, for me. Even if it tastes like a slice of heaven, the smell will make it almost impossible to eat. Your nose knows.

Well, that's about it for this newsletter brought to you by the letter N and that zit on the tip of your nose. Why do noses seem to get the worst of the zit situation?

This was originally posted to HubPages. However, they unpublished it (and several other posts) because it was too adult.

I Write Adult Non-Fiction and Erotica

I've written erotica and non-fiction adult content too. It's not as dramatic as people want to think. The worst reaction I had was from my Mother and a sister when they found out. But, once I showed them what I was writing they mellowed out about it.

I've written erotica and sold it too. I also write non-fiction for adult sites. It's an interesting market. I get ideas and experience which work well for me when I'm writing in other markets, venues and genres too.

There is a big difference in writing erotica versus plain, pure pornography. One of the differences is that porn sells a lot easier then gets passed around online without any credit to the original author. Erotica writing is better in the long run, even for making money, because anyone who wants to hire you based on what you have written, can actually find you. …more

My sister helped me, gave my resume a look over and some suggestions. She is the big business typhoon in the family. She really does know her stuff. Anyway, she was not impressed with my website. True, the front page does look amateurish, especially the layout. But what she especially thought I should get rid of is my Witchery stuff. Likely she is right, only a few people really understand all of that. Most have no clue and many would think I was crazy, gothic or a danger to society - maybe all three. So, I am thinking of making it invisible, just like my adult pages. I bet you didn't even know about those. I've only made one link to them and its not anywhere on my own domain.

So Witchcraft might have to do the same. Its not like I've been posting new content there anyway. I did want to, planned to, all that stuff but its never happened. The traffic it used to get has died off too, so its not likely anyone but me would miss it.

Magazines, Magazines, Magazines!

In the short time since I moved, is it a week already? I have bought over a dozen magazines. One book too: The Canadian Writer's Market. There is a story about that book now. The latest edition came out just 2 days after I bought the old one at Chapters. I noticed it was in need of an update at the time but I bought it thinking it would be of some use, since websites were included for most of the listings. But, when I went back to Chapters a couple of days later I noticed the new edition sitting on the shelves. It hadn't even been on their website yet. So, on Sunday I took the old edition back to Chapters and asked to exchange it. No problem, so now I have the latest edition.

Are you bored enough?

I had an idea this weekend too. Well, one of many. Anyway, I thought I would look at writing a bi-monthly/ monthly newsletter or blog or something column-like called "Tripping Around Ontario". Of course it will have to wait until I have that car. But, when my last name is Tripp and I enjoy travelling and I am a writer, isn't that just a combination too good to ignore? In the end, why not? So, if I can figure out how to pull it together and what to do with it once the string has been pulled... I think its a good idea.

the Spitfire Grill

When people ask what my favourite movies, music and books are I never have a ready answer. I just don't seem to keep names and titles in mind. But, The Spitfire Grill is one of my very favourite movies. It was on TV tonight. Even though its now almost 3:AM I'm glad I watched it. Likely I won't stay up and online to put out my BackWash newsletters now but thats how it goes. Maybe I will get them done sometime tomorrow, more likely tomorrow evening again. For now, I'm checking email and getting to bed.