Éric

Éric has had an eclectic career which ranges from casino dealer to canal boat captain to radio station DJ. Since 2009, he’s worked as a desktop publisher for the federal government. During his off time, he works as a freelance typesetter for various Canadian-based authors and publishers, roasts gourmet flavoured coffee, runs several pen-and-paper role-playing games, writes, and helps run JenEric-Designs.ca (Home of the TravellingTARDIS.com).

He lives in Ottawa, Ontario with his author wife, daughter, and son.

Diversity in Writing

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My brother, who is a great guy, has always loved performing and after our mother died he started taking classes and seriously throwing himself into acting. It was roughly the same time I started writing seriously.

Authenticity

When he talks about the craft of acting he often brings up “truth” or “honesty” in reference to a performance. It got on my nerves until I understood that he was talking about authenticity or making a character feel like a real person. (My English teacher would say three dimensional.) It’s a concept that brought his acting from talented but hammy to truly good. He’s been getting better with every project by always keep that idea in his mind.

Writing and Authenticity

In writing it’s just as important to make your characters authentic and relatable. As a writer (I’ve written 5 books, fifty plus short stories, and over 200 blog posts. I’ll call myself that and if this guy has a problem with that I’ll gladly challenge him to a write off.) Sorry… As a writer, I concentrate as much as I can on characters. My favourite scenes are usually domestic ones, how someone eats, cleans etc. tells me more about a character than all the clever quips in the world. (I like those too though)

The problem with being authentic is trying to understand and represent characters that are completely different than me. Let’s face it, I’m a 30 year old white, middle class, male, who rates a 2 on the Kinsey scale. I am what 90% of books, movies, and television portray as the norm.

This makes me worry that I’m not being authentic in my writing. If I’m not the best case is that that characters come off as unbelievable, at worst they come off as sad stereotypes. I don’t want to misrepresent my characters or my (eventual) readers.

Why Does Diversity Matter

I’ve heard the old saying of, “Write What You Know” it is a platitude handed down from the gods of writing years ago. It’s also wrong. It’s an attitude that says only aged, world weary, grizzled writers should write.

So why do I want to write about characters who don’t resemble me? Why is it important? It just is. As a kid I had hundreds and thousands of characters that looked and thought like me, that I could relate too. I want that level of relatability for everyone. I want a world where you can pick up a book and see a character that you fully understand and a whole bunch that teach you that as humans we are all fundamentally the same.

Learning about other sexes, cultures, religions, nationalities, sexualities, sexual preferences, and disabilities helps make them more understandable and breaks the “Us vs Them” mentality.

It’s also more interesting.

Conclusion

I haven’t lived as a Polynesian girl with anorexia, or a transgendered boy raised by a conservative family but I have written about them.

In Parasomnia, (AKA the book that is taking me way too long to edit) I tried my best to be authentic and to make each character feel real. I hope I succeeded but I’ll only know by finding beta readers who can call me out on anything that is wrong or stereotypical.

 

What’s your opinion on diversity in books?

Éric

Coffee RAGE!

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If you live in Canada or the US and you watch network television, you’ve probably seen this commercial or similar ones.

Why this makes me angry

I like coffee. I drink it with sugar and cream and that’s ok.

It makes me angry when someone believes that there is only one right way to do anything, especially when it involves food or drink.

I just want to grab them by the judgmental collar and yell. ARGGG!

The theory behind the commercial isn’t new, it’s playing on the feeling that coffee is no longer pure. It’s the same sort of sentiment you see in #Gamergate, #womanruinsciencefiction and #fakegeekgirl. It’s a feeling that you aren’t special anymore because other people like something.

It’s the stupidest reaction but common. Just because you can buy a Latte, Cappuccino, Espresso, etc; doesn’t mean you’re black coffee tastes any worse.

Coffee beans are an ingredient. Are you going to go yell at the French for making croissants because the only bread flour should be used for is white bread? No. If we can use an ingredient in a new way, that’s great, variety is awesome.

“We went back to the source.” I highly doubt they went to Ethiopia and asked the original farmers how they have their coffee.

Have some coffee knowledge:

Click on the image for the rest of the 15 Coffee facts at theOatmeal.com
Click on the image for the rest of the 15 Coffee facts at theOatmeal.com

Advertising Failure?

Now if you’ve tasted Nabob coffee you have your own opinions on it. On average I find it’s a step above battery acid. But that’s not important apparently.

In advertising, brand, name, and recognition are what you’re selling.

All this commercial does is reinforce the belief that brewed coffee is the best kind of coffee. Not that Nabob coffee is the best. The commercial is obviously trying to say that you should brew their coffee instead of buying a 5 dollar Starbucks drink. I think this is a mistake. I think they’re selling fear of change.

This commercial makes me so angry I rant at the TV every time I see it. My wife could probably repeat word for word my rage rants. But I had to spend fifteen minutes searching for the commercial because I couldn’t remember the brand. To me that’s failure.

Sure it’s memorable but only the content not the brand.

Is this really worth a 500+ word rant?

YES!

This commercial is a sign of what is currently most wrong with western society. Fear of change.

We live in a paradoxical time where new and amazing technology is being developed faster than we can keep up, but we are paralyzed in fear of that same technology. Technology and media is redefining our everyday lives in amazing and beautiful ways. We have instant access to the complete collection of human knowledge and we can communicate with each other instantly from anywhere, heck we can control a robot that’s on another fracking planet.

It’s time to stop being upset and sad that things aren’t the way they were. It’s one thing for an 80 year old to talk at length about the good old times but I’ve been hearing more and more 20 year olds decrying the death of society and how things were better in the past. (Yes I’m looking at you Pluto deniers.)

Things change… Get over it!

Nostalgia is a nice place to visit but don’t live there.

 

What’s your favourite nostalgic memory of “The Good Old days”?

Eric

The Ridiculous Adventures of Felix Felicis – Part Five

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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

“Mister Felicis. Did you think getting rid of the scar on your face would be enough to fool me?” It must have been a rhetorical question because the oversized gangster continued to mumble at them, “I am greatly disappointed in the manner you chose to repay our friendship.”

“I’m not sure wh…” Felix tried to say but the other man cut him off.

“I don’t want to hear your honeyed excuses. Give me the diamond and I’ll spare your little girlfriend’s life.”

Again Felix was going to try and defend himself, but Miss Eris put her hand on his shoulder.

“I am sorry for the inconvenience we will cause you in the past sir. Was there something special about this diamond?” Miss Eris sounded calm and logical, something that soothed Felix’s frayed nerves. That was as long as he didn’t pay any attention to what she was saying.

It had been a bad birthday for Felix and he felt almost ready to give up. His apartment had been blown up, his family harassed by dinosaurs and a cyborg ape, and now he was lost in time being interrogated by mobsters. At least it couldn’t get any worse he thought.

“You have strained my patience and I believe it’s time to make an example of you,” The large man waved a sausage fingered hand and the goons pointed their guns menacingly.

“Wait, Wait,” Felix was about ready to give in and ask them to shoot him when he had an idea. “What does this diamond look like?”

Miss Eris and the mob boss looked at him as if he’d gone completely insane.

“It was the size of my fist and left to me from my grandmother. Perfect in every way,” The man replied.

“Your grandmother was perfect?” Felix asked incredulously.

“No, the diamond, you fool,” the man gestured to the goons and said, “shoot them already.”

Miss Eris grabbed his hand as the men opened fire and he felt a hot flash of pain on his face.

Once again the world went fuzzy and changed views quickly. He put his hand up to his face and it was bleeding a little. “They shot me. I’ve been shot.”

“It appears that way.” Miss Eris pulled a tissue from her pocket and dabbed at the wound. She pulled a little piece of paper and rubbed it on his face. It stung but stopped the pain. “This explains the scar.”

Someone cleared their throat. They were standing in the middle of a field between two armies. The armies were dressed in leather armour, one side held a banner of a dragon and the other of a snake. Standing beside them with weapons draw were two men who could be father and son.

The two men started yelling at them angrily in a language he didn’t recognize. “What are they saying?” he asked Miss Eris.

“I think they’re speaking Welsh,” she replied.

“and?” he asked

“I don’t speak Welsh.”

“Don’t you have a universal translator? Or something.” The two men were looking angry and had turned to point their rather nasty looking swords at them.

“Maybe we should leave.” he suggested.

“I think that might be prudent.”

Again the world went blurry, his stomach turned, and they were somewhere else.

“Ah you have arrived,” said a man with an Italian accent. His long white beard and intelligent eyes were instantly recognizable.

“Leonardo da Vinci?” Exclaimed Felix.

“Yes it is me. Do you have the diamond?” da Vinci wasn’t wearing traditional clothing, instead he wore what looked like a flight suit.

The floor shook and Felix took a few extra minutes to savour the confusion that had become his life before he accepted that they were no longer on earth but in some sort of space craft.

“No,” Felix said lamely.

Putting his hand on a button on the consol, da Vinci said, “Al, they’ve arrived but they don’t have the diamond. We need more time. Tell Tesla to stop showboating and start taking this seriously we need more time.” Turning to them he said, “I’m kinda busy right now. How about you go get that diamond and we can save humanity from the Sauren threat?”

Miss Eris grabbed his hand again and they shifted in time and space leaving behind da Vinci to continue the space dogfight.

Read Part 6

The Haunted Walk – A Review

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A little over a month ago I won a facebook contest that got be two tickets to The Haunted Walk Ottawa. My wife and I had the chance to go with some friends this past weekend. Other than the free tickets, I have no association the Haunted walk.

I made the mistake of assuming that my friends would want the 8pm tour and when I found out they wanted the 8:45 I’d already booked the 8. I thought it might be a hassle to fix the tickets but a quick call and they fixed my mistake. No trouble at all.

“Haunted Walks Inc. was founded in 1995, and offers a variety of unique historical walking tours in Kingston, Ottawa and Toronto, Ontario. We are best known for our evening tours of local ghost stories and darker history. These tours take place when the lights are low and the atmosphere is just right for a good ghost story.  You may recognize our Tour Guides who wear cloaks and carry a lantern as they lead their groups through the quiet city streets.” The Haunted Walk Website

We got there fifteen minutes early and it was a beautiful night. Cool but not cold, the smell of fall all around us. It couldn’t have been nicer weather if we’d been in a movie. We waited until the tour guides called us. The area was crowded due to it being the weekend, the events of last Wednesday, and Poutinefest on sparks. Other than the smokers, the wait wasn’t bad.

There were two tours leaving at the same time. We took the Classic tour which went down to the locks and the Bytown museum.

The guide, Paul I believe, was a perfect combination of wry humour and informative. It shows that the tour has worked on their stories, they are good ghost stories, the kind you’d read under the covers with your flashlight. The guide was friendly, professional, and appropriate at all times. The stories weren’t gory and were mixed between sad, scary, touching, interesting, and just fun. The tour would definitely be appropriate for children who like ghost stories.

At one point a breeze (or Ghost) slammed a door while he was speaking and scared everyone. It was one of those perfect moments for a haunted tour.

Overall I loved it and would do it again. I would however caution that it is a walking tour and lasts around 90 minutes. It’s mostly standing and walking which can be problematic for anyone with injuries or chronic back problems.

I highly recommend going and I plan on checking out their Time Travel themed tours that restart after the Halloween season.

Éric

The Ottawa Shooting

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Captain_Canuck_by_rodolforever

Yesterday I was one of the quarter million people working in downtown Ottawa who were put in lockdown after the shooting. I wasn’t in danger, I saw nothing, and all my news came from internal emails and social media.

I’ve made Ottawa my home for the past twelve years and I’ve always felt safe. Even when I lived in the less savory areas, I still felt safe. Yesterday for the first time in twelve years that feeling of safety was shattered.

The thoughts that passed through my mind were so stereotypical it almost hurt. “But this is Canada?” or “How could this happen here?”

Being in a situation like this made me think of, and appreciate, the writing of John Windhelm. You’ve most likely read one of his books in high school. He was a science fiction author who worked for the Ministry of Information during the Second World War. In a lot of his books he deals with disasters and the way he does that is by giving snippets of information from news sources or from word of mouth. Never explaining anything as the narrator. The style makes the reader feel the same way as the characters, unsure and wanting more information. He does is so wonderfully that I felt that I could be in one of his novels yesterday.

Everyone has coping mechanisms for trauma. When I was in early high school, my brother and I played catch and I tried to be fancy and jump for a ball. The ball bounced off my glove and hit me in the face. My K9 tooth pierced the inside of my lip and boy did it bleed.

On the way to the hospital he made jokes. It wasn’t mean but his way of dealing with the situation. I needed five stiches in my lip and still have the scar today.

My brother is someone you want to be around in an emergency, he’s a smartass but he’s calm and always seems to know what to do.

I have three ways of dealing with emergencies, when there are other people around. The first is to help, the second is to joke, and the third is to cook. When I say help, I mean I’ll help you whether you want it or not.

When I’m alone I like to write, and yesterday I couldn’t. All I kept thinking was, “If I could write the perfect sentence, I could make everything better.” There’s no such sentence, not for those who lost someone, and not for those who can’t help but see Ottawa differently.

The theme of this morning seems to bet Ottawa Strong, or Don’t change Canada. It’s a lovely sentiment but it’s just that a sentiment. The truth is that Ottawa has changed, these events have proved that Ottawa isn’t immune to these kinds of attacks.

If I can climb on my soapbox for a little I’d like to address my fellow Canadians. What happened was a tragedy and an affront to what we, as Canadians, hold dear. It is not however a license to judge, persecute, or attack anyone based on their race, religion, or skin colour. Don’t let this tragedy provoke hate.

Thank you,

Éric

Intelligence?

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Hello my Imaginary Friends,

I’ve been watching Scorpion, it’s a fun procedural show. The storylines feel pulled from bad pulp novels but the characters are lovable and interesting. But it has me thinking about Intelligence.

TV Genius

It seems one of the new trends in movies and TV is the stereotype “Genius” (Warning Link goes to TV Tropes). Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a new trend but it seems to have gotten new traction the past few years.

There seems to be two major types of “Geniuses” on TV the charming superbrain who is based off of Sherlock Holmes and the broken super-intellect.

Almost all the brainy detective types on TV are based off of Sherlock Holmes. Monk, Mentalist, Forever, Elementary, etc…

Most of the super-intellects that are broken are in cast centred shows. They vary from the mildly socially awkward but smoking hot Felicity from Arrow, to the broken and unable to function without help of Steve Urkle.

Does television have it right? Does a higher IQ mean you have to give up other parts of you mind? No!

Superiority

The characters of Big Bang Theory are just more interesting to watch for television audiences than a true genius.

Not only are they more interesting, they are more comforting. They always have something the audience can feel they are better at, even if it’s just seeing their own limitations. The audience thinks, I might not be able to understand string theory but they feel superior because they can comfort a friend.

Deus Ex Genius

In a story, it’s easy to believe that the character can determine the chemical composition of slime with their science kit in their parent’s basement, easy as long as the character is smart.

A weak writing plot is to have your super genius work like the hand of god to fix anything. If you’re going to do this make sure you build up that your character has been studying the area of science that you’ll be using. Just because someone is smart doesn’t mean they know how to do surgery.

The Lies of Intelligence

The Secret

Let me tell you a secret…

Intelligence is as hard to define as Talent and they are both destructive.

The general idea of genius or intelligence is that you have it or you don’t. That is total Poodoo. If you work, study, and dedicate yourself to something you will become an expert in that field. Intelligence isn’t something you’re born with any more than being able to drive a car or lift a hundred pounds.

I’ve had teachers tell me it was ok that I was getting 50-60 per cent on tests because I just wasn’t that smart. That’s the greatest excuse to give up. It’s also a total lie. I’ve taken IQ tests and I’m firmly in the “Above Average” category. But those tests check for logic and problem solving skills. Those are skills, learned skills.

Emotion

Robots are smart, logical, and have no emotions. So are certain Vulcans. It’s just another lie. Intelligence doesn’t depend on how little emotion you show. It’s not an either or situation. Both can exist in the same person. Some of the smartest people have been highly emotional.

Einstein said, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”

 

Who’s your favourite fictional Genius?

Éric

This Guy Sat Down to write a Deep Philosophical Post. What Happened Next was Shocking!

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Hello,

I’m feeling Clickbait-y today. (Insert Evil Laugh here.) That makes me think I should record my own evil laugh for these moments…

I wanted to talk about voting, harassment, or the horrible things happening with #GamerGate. But to be completely honest I don’t think I can add anything to the discussion. Here are my basic opinions:

  • Voting Good, Vote gorram you!
  • Harassment is BAD. Stop it!
  • No seriously, STOP IT! There is never any reason to threaten someone’s life. Never

So since I’m not feeling up to being deep, here’s a basic update.

Coffee

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You may know that I love coffee. It’s something that I’ve gone from appreciating to truly enjoying.

If you follow me on Facebook,(or read my post about Can-Con) you might know that I’m trying to create my own flavoured coffee.

So far it’s worked swimmingly. I purchased a $15 hot air popcorn popper and experimented with how long and how much to roast in it. It worked amazingly. The coffee came out as a Full City+ or Medium-Well roast. It’s the perfect roast, in my mind, since it’s mellow and a little sweet.

I used Sumatra mostly and really like the flavour or the roasted beans.

Talking about flavours, I bought some flavour oils and flavoured the beans at different times in their cooling. I’ve tasted of the 5 batches. The 2 day cooled and the 1 hour cooled. Unfortunately despite smelling like the flavours, the taste didn’t penetrate the bean (sounds dirty.)

I’ve set up 3 others at ½ hour, 10 minutes, and right out of the machine. My worry is that I might need to combine the flavouring with some sort of bonding agent that will force it into the bean. Frankly I have no idea how to do that.

Oh well. I’ll let you know more once I’ve taste tested more coffee. It’s a hard life isn’t it?

Writing Editing

Just a quick word on how the writing and editing is going. Slowly.

Ok a few more words. I’ve been trying to edit Parasomnia but having issues with attention span and distractions. I’m still hoping to have it done and in the hands of my first beta reader / The Weditor by early November.

Once that’s done, I’ll start a quick re-edit of A Study in Aether and then I’ll find some fresh beta-readers for more help with the editing. I’d like to resubmit this by Christmas.

And finally when I’m done with all this editing, I’ll start writing Welcome to Everdome! The fraking story has been running through my head and it’s driving me nuts. I’m looking forward to actually writing it.

What’s your favourite type of coffee, or tea?

Would you like to be a Beta Reader for either of the books?

Let me know in the comments.

Éric

Demonic Duck and Writer’s Block

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Hello my Imaginary friends,

For a long time I thought I was an extrovert. I assumed that since I liked talking and loved meeting new people that I must be an extrovert. I was wrong. Extroverts are re-charged by social interaction and can start to feel sad if they don’t get any.

I’m definitely an introvert, my way of recovering and re-charging my batteries, involve solo time reading, watching TV, or writing. If I’m really drained I’ll bake. Not good for my waistline but great for my tastebuds.

Let’s just say after can-con and a really busy week at work, I’m considering making bread, maybe cookies this weekend. Thankfully I have tomorrow off.

What’s with the Blog Title?

Glad you asked.

You know all those motivational pictures that have, “You should be writing!” on them? Well I need one that says “You should be Editing!” But I keep getting distracted or blocked. Can-Con and the advice panel helped but it’s really just hard to get the motivation to edit.

The picture bellow is by Dan Shive who writes an extremely entertaining comic called El Goonish Shive. It’s a gender-swapping / urban fantasy / geek comic with lots of laughs and a long term story that rocks.

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I should be Editing…

What’s been distracting you lately?

Éric

Can-Con 2014 and Beyond

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Hello,

So I went to Can-Con this weekend and it was wonderful. Kate Heartfield described it as feeling like a family reunion. That is the perfect description of Can-Con.

I’d rather not write a play by play of everything I saw but I’ll give you some highlights.

Panels

One of the things I love most about Can-Con are the Panels. They are informative and entertaining.

There are three kinds of panels at Can-Con; Educational, Presentational, and Entertainment.

When I really care about something or know a lot about something I can be a little bit of a loudmouth. This means that I have less fun in educational panels were I know the subject matter really well. It makes me want to add information, interrupt the panelists and generally be rude. Thankfully my area of knowledge in writing is relatively small, for now, and limited.

This makes me seek out panels that are of interest to me but I know nothing about. It also forces me to learn more and hopefully apply it to my own writing.

The standout educational panels for me this year were on Romance, and Advice to Aspiring Authors.

The Romance panel had Marie Bilodeau as moderator, Linda Poitevin, Coreene Callahan, Leslie Brown, and . I’m not sure what others got out of the panel but as someone who worries about adding romance to his novels, it was insightful. I think Jen would have loved this panel.

I did however get a few tricks to ramp up the romance or tension. The most important is to really get into the characters thoughts and emotions. Also it’s important to consider why your characters are interested in the romance.

The Advice to Aspiring Authors had a superstar lineup. Julie Czerneda was the moderator and on the panel was Jay Odjick, Erik Buchanan, Mike Rimar, and as a surprise panelist there was Charles de Lint.

This panel was amazing, great honest and straightforward answers on the craft of writing. I was mildly intimidated by the impressive panel but managed to ask a few questions. Mostly dealing with editing.

I’ve had the overwhelming feeling that I was doing it wrong. I was treating editing like if I was Beta-reading someone else work and turns out that’s ok.

Some great pieces of advice were to always push through the 2/3 mark blues and makes sure to finish. Never throw out or give up on a manuscript, you’ve written it and now it’s someone else’s turn to look at it. If you get rid of it you’re not even giving it a chance.

Another piece of advice that shocked me in its simplicity was to stop your day of writing mid-sentence or mid-idea. That way you know what you’re going to write tomorrow. Everyone I’ve told has looked at me like it was the most obvious idea ever but I had never thought of it. I will now make sure to implement it and avoid the morning blocks that have slowed me down so often.

I could go on and on about the awesome panels. There was one presentation that hit me as particularly awesome. Jay Odjick, the media guest of honour, present the premier of Kagagi an awesome new Canadian superhero cartoon. My biggest complaint about it was that it was too short, I can’t wait to sit down and binge-watch the show.

Seriously go check it out.

People

The genre writing community in Ottawa is way bigger than I ever expected but it’s still small. Any group that is that supportive gets to know each other really well and tend to act and react like family.

This intimidated the crap out of me last year and gave me a few sleepless nights last week. When it comes to social interactions I’m a little bit of a pessimist. I basically assume no one knows who I am and if they do they don’t really like me.

The people of Can-Con aren’t like that; they are warm, friendly, and awesome. I was surprised multiple times that people who I respect and look up too remembered me. I even had the chance to talk to Julie Czerneda, one of my favourite authors, before one of her panels.

There is something surreal meeting authors whom I studied during my university English classes. Can-Con has given me the chance to meet three of them. I’m amazed that I’ve had my writing questions answered by Robert J. Sawyer, Julie Czerneda, and Charles de Lint.

Darn life rocks!

Business

There are several things I learned and discussed with people during Can-Con. This lead to a large boost to my ego. There are four announcements I hope to make in the next six months. Two are so tentative it’s not worth mentioning yet and a third isn’t mine to announce.

The fourth I’m free to say, JenEric Designs will be selling at Ottawa PopExpo. For Geek Market, I designed some buttons and they sold well enough that I will be doubling our variety for PopExpo. Future designs will include Torchwood, Supernatural, SuperWhoLock, Hydra, and Stargate Atlantis.

I’m also going to be experimenting with creating Custom Roasted Geek Coffee. If it works I plan on having several flavours to sell at the event.

Happy Tuesday! Unless you’re reading this on another day, in which case, Happy [Somethign]day.

Eric