Once Before...

So Much to Do...

glasswalker@comcast.net — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:01:59 GMT

So little time. Never enough time. You'd think I'd have plenty of it. Apparently, I get sidetracked easily.

I went from trying to set up this blog as my primary, but then couldn't get the CSS to work properly. Same thing in different locations.

I've got the urge to do something creative, but I really lack the energy at this point.

So, all in all, I'll just keep it simple.

I hope all of you have been enjoying your holiday season. I'm hoping to get my ass in gear and start off 2010 better than any of the last decade.

More writing. More photography. More design. More cowbell!

We'll see what happens.

Peace to all.

._._.

God Syndrome, or Trying too Hard to Be a Good DM

glasswalker@comcast.net — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:55:09 GMT

As some of you are probably aware, I've decided to be a participant in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) event this year. Things have been going smoothly since I began on the first, unfortunately, I've run headlong into a brick wall that I'm very familiar with.

For those of you not entirely familiar with me, the DM mentioned in the title of this little bit does not, in fact, stand for my name, but the abbreviation for Dungeon Master. Don't know what a Dungeon Master is? It's the person that makes up and runs the game of Dungeons and Dragons that your parents told you to stay away from when you were a kid.

I've played Dungeons and Dragons since I was about ten years old. The majority of my time with D&D, I ran the show. I was the Dungeon Master, the fact that the guy making up the stories bore the same initials as I, was not lost on me. In fact, I met some great friends, and enjoyed many wonderful times due to my initials being, jokingly, mistaken for the DM of D&D.

As the DM, I would make up stories and adventures for my friends to play through. Over the years, I began to create my own little world where these stories would take place. Sure I ran games that took place in the commercially produced game worlds, The Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Krynn, and even Athas. However, for me, the the most exciting part of being a DM was the fact that I was God. At least of my creation.

In a fantasy creation, it's very easy to wing things as you go along. To the north are the highest mountains in the world. To the south is a tree as big as the state of Texas. The further east you go, the colder it gets. There's a desert to the west that has pink sand. Broad general statements that I could go into detail on as needed.

This detail was normally added by the actions, thoughts, or ideas of the others playing the game.

"You're in a swamp, sludging through a particularly tree-y area when you hear a strange howl coming from a distance off to the right."

"Crap! Did you guys hear that? Sounded like a graythim to me."

:thinks: A what? What the heck is a graythim? How does he know about them?

"Ahem. Um... Actually, Robert, that's exactly what it sounds like."

"Okay, guys, we need to get to dryer ground and fast! These things may not be able to hear, but they've can feel us moving in the water."

And so the graythim was born. I had no idea what it was until it was needed, and then it was there. It may not have been fully realized at first, but the seed had been given to me by someone else.

So, in the time between our gaming sessions, I would try to flesh out the area of the world that they were in. I've spent many hours creating calendars laying out nothing but weather patterns, and actual weather events for every day, for where they were. I knew how much snow would fall between noon and nightfall. How cold it would be for the person taking second watch.

In a fantasy game, it's easy to paint things in very large strokes and fill in the details as you go on. The players don't know what's there. They may have a general idea, but I was the one that knew, for the most part, what's was going on.

So how does this relate to NaNoWriMo? Well, the story I'm writing is fiction (possibly dark fantasy, or dark fiction, I really don't know the proper genre name). However, even though it's fiction, it takes place in some very real locations. Locations that while I may not personally know, I need to have an idea of what they are, how they look, who's there, and what do they know. Even if I have two cops busting into an apartment, I need to know where that apartment is.

If I had a policeman radio Dispatch to send a bus to 124 Bloomingdale Pike, apartment 4, I need to know what those apartments look like. I need to know that they are the Country Gardens apartments, and not the Twin City View apartments. I need to know that they are split-level apartments, with a brick exterior for the first level and a white exterior for the second, and a green awning out front of the breezeway. (And if you're curious... have a look.)

I really need to know if cops in this area even refer to ambulances as 'buses', or if I've been watching too much television. Who's got the seniority, a Lieutenant or a Detective? Would they even be called out to the same location as a team?

These things are my bane. Especially considering the novel I'm working on now. One of the primary directives in writing is

"Write what you know."

It carries just as much weight in writing as

"Draw what you see."

does in art, or

"Black blacks and white whites!"

in photography (thank you, Mr. Howell.)

But it's just a work of fiction, I can hear you say. Just make it up like you do the other stuff. Well, that may be true, and that's more than likely how I should do things, but since the devil's in the details, I feel that I need to know my details. I need to know everything about which I write. Okay, maybe not everything, but quite a bit. The more truth surrounding a lie (a fiction in this case), the easier it is to believe.

So why is this a problem? Just drive around a bit. Go to the areas that you're writing about and take a look see. Is that so hard? In a word, 'yes'.

The novel appears to be covering an span of at the very least over 200 years. In reality, it's a far more daunting figure than that. I really should know the basics of what has happened in a hundred mile radius of where I sit over the past billion years. Yes, billion with a 'B'. The Appalachian Mountains are the oldest mountains in the world. It may not matter to you to know that at one point, just a little past Boone, North Carolina there was a beach (and yes, I'm generalizing here) that lead to an ocean. It may not matter to you that probably about just before the Cumberland Plateau now stand was an inland sea.

It matters to me. I have characters that would know this information. It would be one thing if it were just a bunch of paleogeologists discussing these things in the present day. However, I've got critters in my book that have personal memories of these days. They know what the Appalachians looked like when they were first formed. If I'm writing a scene where a character is recalling some distant event, I want it to ring true enough that it feels real. I want it to ring true enough that if someone who studies such things wouldn't laugh outright at my description of such things.

So, here I am, the second day dealing with my old foe, the Details. I find myself reading up on the paleogeological history of this area. Looking to see exactly where the confluence of Roan Creek and Elk River is. Trying to figure out what life was like in this area around 1820.

Normally, I would be fine with this. A couple days of doing hard research normally sparks something back up in me that allows me to let go the reigns a little and get back to what I really should be doing; writing.

If I'm not careful, the average of 1,336 words a day that I need to write will fall by the wayside, and I'll start worrying about catching up. Start stressing out that I haven't broke the 10,000 word mark yet. Thinking that I'm going to fall so far behind, that the goal of 50,000 words by the end of the month becomes more of a dream than a possibility.

So, I really don't know what to do at this point. I feel like I'm coming down with a cold. I feel like I'm sleeping too long. I feel like I'm stuck. Stuck again. Digging through terrabytes of information looking for what color a certain fern was back in the day. I need to get moving again. I need to get back to writing.

If you've got any thoughts on how to best this personal demon, I'll gladly listen. All I can think to do is really the simplest thing. It's what I'm best at. It may not turn out like I thought, but then most stories never do, as they have a habit of writing themselves.

I'm going to go back to writing.

._._.

This is Pretty Cool

glasswalker@comcast.net — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:43:52 GMT

I may try to find a way to put this on Facebook or MySpace. For now, it will be just here.

._._.

Samhain 2009

glasswalker@comcast.net — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:21:59 GMT

I keep forgetting to post the few pictures I've got from this year's bonfire. All in all it was a good time. Unfortunately, the rain delayed the lighting of the fire until around 2AM/1AM.

I went as a Victorian Ghost Hunter. Yeah, it looks very similar to my costume last year, but honestly, I didn't know what I was going to be until I put it on.

The best part (in my opinion) was creating a 'working' Ectoplasmic Manifestation and Fluctuation Detector (EMF Detector for short). An old brass wall lamp forms the majority of the device, parts of a brass desk lamp, a bulb and partial reflector from a flashlight, as well as its switch, and viola! The leather pouch was made by my father many, many years ago, possibly even before I was born. It was used to conceal the 6-volt battery powering the device.

NaNoWriMo Update 02

glasswalker@comcast.net — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:58:39 GMT

Well, even though I only barely got the recommended daily dosage of words, it was much harder today than last night. The entire thing doesn't feel right, at least it's something, though. Resisting the urge to go back and edit, but that's for later.

I'm going to put what I've got now up for your reading pleasure. If you've got any thoughts, please don't hesitate to chime in, please.

Today's Total Goal: 3,333 words
Today's Actual: 3,481 words

._._.

Rearranging and NaNoWriMo

glasswalker@comcast.net — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:57:04 GMT

It's been forever since I put anything up here. Only just having the desire to write anything at all come back to me.

I've decided to move the majority of my fiction work over to a new blog. It's going to be just fiction, no journaling, or anything like that. If you're interested, fell free to check it out: Beginnings & Endings. (I don't know why the formatting has been removed on the most recent entry. I'll have to correct that soon.) Currently, the only things posted are things you've probably seen here at some point in time. That will change soon enough, though.

I'm also participating in National Novel Writing Month (I really hope that link works.) It seems a bit daunting right now, I mean 50,000 words sounds like quite a bit. I'd encourage anyone who likes to write to try it out.

The (possibly 13th) Annual Martin Samhain Bonfire went better than expected. It rained in the morning for quite a bit. Then it stopped for a while to let the trick-or-treaters make their runs. Then the rain came back with a vengeance. We had hoped to have an early start to the fire, but the weather didn't cooperate until around 2AM.

I didn't really know for sure what my costume was going to be until I actually put it on. I think I finally decided that I was a Victorian Ghost Hunter. I even built my own (somewhat) working Ectoplasmic Manifestation & Fluctuation Detector, out of a couple of vintage-y lamps. It looks pretty cool, and the fact that I built it in about three hours, and it worked (meaning the light I rigged up in it actually lit up and was hooked to a switch) was really cool.

I'll get some pictures up as soon as I can. I didn't take any pictures of the fire this year, or any photos on Hallowe'en at all for that manner. I hope that Tuckey got some good shots, though. At one point the fire was taller than a two story building. Awesome!

I did put up some photos from Devil's Night/Day over on Facebook, and I'll get them up to Deviant Art tomorrow, hopefully.

So, I guess that's it for now. Hope everyone's doing well.

Oh, also, about the fiction and NaNoWriMo, I'm not going to be posting any of it over on the WordPress blog, but you should be able to see parts of it here as it develops. Still wondering who these people are. I've only met one of them before. Going to be interesting to see how this goes.

._._.

Revolutions Around the Sun

glasswalker@comcast.net — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:16:23 GMT

So, as of a quarter of an hour ago, I've been alive for 30 and some even years now. This has been causing a bit of emotional distress.

It used to be that I would anxiously look forward to the event. A cake made by my mother specifically for me. Lots of presents. A party. A get together of friends. Mass consumption of alcohol. Joviality all around. Just for me.

Unfortunately, the year finds me not in an emergency room (that's fortunate, but hear me out). Only some slight physical problems that really need to be taken cared of later on this/tomorrow morning.

Normally, being the consummate Virgo that I am, I would make lists of things that I would like for my birthday. Something that I now consider to be a very selfish act. Lists, upon lists, upon lists. Being a huge Star Wars fan, items of that nature would tend to inevitably end up on the list. However, since most others don't share the same level of fandom about Star Wars, I would make the lists more and more detailed. How much an item cost. Where to find said item. Finally coming to a point where I would tell Ma and Tuckey that if you get me something Star Wars I'd be happy.

Oddly enough, after saying this, I would end up getting two of the same thing. Or even get something for my birthday, and then the same item at Christmas. So, while yes, the thought counts much more than the item, part of me would always become frustrated with it.

While I still create lists (like I said, I'm a Virgo... Virgoans love lists), it would get to a point where I felt like it was getting out of control. I'd say right now there are over 500 items on my wishlist at Amazon.com. I figured the more that was on the list, the easier it would be to get something from the list. This ended up being not always the case.

Over the past few years, it seems as if I would also start having my episodic gut problems, just before, during and for a little after my birthday. There's part of me that seems to want to tie the timing of my attacks with the changing of the seasons. Since my birthday tends to fall on the first day of Fall, that counts as seasonal change.

So to combat this, the physical problems, as well as being disappointed over the gifts that I received (another frustratingly childish and selfish behavior), I've changed my outlook on the whole thing this year. I don't think that I will have birthdays any more.

The fact that I have to get something myself for my birthday to feel good about having a birthday... Well, that just feels wrong, too.

Times have been tough this year. I knew a couple of months back that I wouldn't be getting anything for my birthday. I've convinced myself that this is no big deal. I can't even think of a meal that I would want for my birthday. Yes, a steak, medium-rare, with an oven baked potato sounds wonderful, my current level of depression has convinced me that I don't care if there's a special meal or not. That if no one comes over, I don't care (it is on a Tuesday, after all). If I get nothing more than cards, I don't care. I just don't care what happens tomorrow.

I love the Fall. It's my favorite season, and always has been. Hence, it was always nice to have my birthday tied to my favorite month. In many years past, there would always be a hurricane off the coast that would bring rain to the region. As far as I can remember there's been rain on my birthday more times than not. I love a good day-long drizzle, so this was always a good thing.

So here it is, the day before the big day, and I'm getting pumped with questions about what I want to do tomorrow. What I want to eat. If we wanted to try to have a party (the dwindling supply of local friends tends to make for a poor party compared to parties of the past.

Unfortunately, it hasn't worked. Even though I keep saying I don't want anything, or that I don't care what happens tomorrow, I do. I'd really like to have an enjoyable day. I'd love to get a ton of friends over (okay, at this point, pounds of friends will do). I'd love to have a stack of wrapped gifts to tear into with delight. I'd love to have a cookout with some incredibly good cuts of beef. I'd really like to be able to drink. To do anything I wanted to simply because it's my birthday.

I just don't see it happening. This leads me to doing everything I can to not think about my birthday. To stop thinking of what made the great birthdays of the past so great. Stopped thinking of getting a lot of gifts from my Amazon wishlist. To stop thinking that I could eat a wonderful meal and not have my stomach revolt on me and ruin the day altogether.

So here's hoping for a good day tomorrow. Not a good birthday, just a good day.

And as far as birthday wishes go... Yup, you guessed it. I wish for something that's not going to happen. That's not being pessimistic, it's simply being realistic about it.

I'd really love to have someone special in my life for my birthday. A girlfriend. A soulmate, someone that is not related to me want to help me have a good day. Especially after five and a half years of being alone now... That just really sucks. Especially when the last two relationships I've had ended badly. At least I learned my lesson about dating married women. Especially women who claim that their husbands, physically or emotionally or even both abuse them.

In closing, I'd like to say... I don't know what to say. It's just not a good time in my life right now. I'm tired of being alone. I do enjoy throwing good birthday parties that are close to me. Making a Darth Vader cake for a girlfriend who loved Star Wars and had never really had any birthday parties to speak of.

But as the saying goes, there comes a time to put away childish things. Apparently, I feel that what I want is childish, and I need to grow up. Get over it and move on. If you stop celebrating your birthday, then all those bad things that tend to happen around it shouldn't happen because you're not having a birthday. Besides, it normally people that have had too many birthdays are the ones that end up getting sick, dieing, growing older and loosing touch with reality.

Maybe no birthday is a good thing, even if I don't fully believe it at this point. I'm sure I'll come around.

._._.

Power Scraper Anyone?

glasswalker@comcast.net — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:40:51 GMT

Right then. My brother is helping a family friend out while she's out of town. He's been doing yard work, putting together a swing, etc. Well, the past couple of night's he's been working on removing the floor in her kitchen.

I'm not sure that I have the details exactly right, but I think what he's removing is vinyl on top of something else which is then on the subfloor. At any rate he's basically been using a ripper bar and a hammer to get the stuff up.

I was tasked to look on DIY, HGTV, etc., etc. for a possible easy way to complete this process. All that I was able to locate was the use of a power scraper. Apparently, you can rent them by the hour if needed. However, I have no idea how much that would cost, nor how long it would take him to complete the task.

However, after looking at some power scrapers inspiration struck. Kinda'. What if we made our own power scraper? My original thought was to use the power sander that we have. It's not a belt sander, but it about the size of one. Two hands are needed to operate it, and the surface that does the sanding moves in a roughly side to side motion. (Actually, it could be more of an ellipse, but the basic back and forth motion is there.)

A quick Google image search showed about three main varieties of these critters. The smallest option being something resembling a reciprecating saw, but with a chisel-like head instead of a saw blade. We've got a reciprecating saw, but honestly, I don't think it would have enough power on it, nor enough stability if we jury-rigged something to it.

However, in my opinion, the sander is a better option. It should have the power needed, and the way it's designed should allow for better stability. The question is now what to put on it, and how to secure it without permanently ruining the sander from its intended purpose.

I'm thinking of something along the lines of a chisel and some zip ties (zip strips, whatever you want to call them). Attaching the chisel to the side of the sander's head instead of on the bottom of that flat surface. There's got to be a better way to secure something like that, though.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

._._.

Introducing Wordles™ - Now with Director's Commentary!

glasswalker@comcast.net — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:00:26 GMT

I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned it here before, but my journal is becoming more akin to an artist's sketch book. Normally, at least it's normal for me, when sketching, I don't know what the final outcome will be. Sure, I've normally got a general idea in mind of what I'm wanting, but usually there will be details that are spawned full-formed from something else in the sketch. Sometimes, the finished sketch won't really resemble anything like where I was heading in the first place.

There's something about the smell of burning flesh. It reminds me of pork. It starts off almost sweet, but that undercurrent of just sheer wrongness. That's what sticks with you.

I don't care how many times you smell it, you never get used to it. It sticks in the back of your throat. You end up tasting it for days.

Such is the price of salvation, though. I still find it odd that Fire; purifying, cleansing flame, is something that figures so prominently in the imagery of Hell.

Kaleb absently wiped his hands on his thighs, as if to wipe the grime from them; seemingly unaware that the gloves were smearing the soot even harder into his vestments. The black did a good job of hiding the stains of the past two weeks.

Business, as it were, was booming. Three aberrants in just ten days. He hadn't seen such a concentration since Baton Rogue. Now those were trying times.

* * *

The Director's Commentary
These little snippets of writing are a lot like that (sketching). Most of the time I won't even know where I'm going until I look up and realize I've pulled out of the driveway, left the neighborhood, and am cruising down the highway.

It's not always obvious to the reader that this may have happened. If I'm lucky, the reader has faith that I knew where I was going all along. If I'm unlucky, hopefully the reader has, at the very least, enjoyed the scenery.

Something like that happened with this sketch (I really need to come up with a better word for these. Wordles? Sketcheas?), and I found it intriguing to watch it happen. It was almost like I was in the passenger seat trying to look ahead to see where the road was going.

So we have a Director's Commentary, if you will. For some reason, I wanted to write about the smell of burning flesh. Probably from going to the porch the other night and smelling someone burning trash nearby that had plastic in it. Never really liked the smell of burning plastic. I think there was a half heard line from an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation that involved the smell of burning flesh as well. That's what got the motor running. (For the record, I personally have no idea what burning flesh actually smells like.)

So we've got someone commenting on burning flesh. Why is there burning flesh? Well, there's probably someone being burned. First thought turns to burning a witch at the stake. Okay, so we've got witches being burned, what if this guy is someone in the Spanish Inquisition? (Another thought as I'm prepping this, what if it's a she instead of a he?)

Okay, an Inquisitor in "ye olde days" of Europe. Do you really want to do historical fiction? Especially in an area you're not quite familiar with (was it 1077 or 1113 that Pope Innocent started all that mess)? What if it's not during the Inquisition?

It's now modern day, okay, no problem, but let's keep the religious aspect of it. So he's a priest, a Questioner (can't use that one), and Inquisitor, what the hell is he? Forget the name. Key in on the religious aspects through his dress. A modified priest outfit? Hmm...

Key it to modern times through the use of a known location. New Orleans makes logical sense. Why does it make logical sense? All the vampires, voodoo, and other supernatural shenanigans that normally take place down there in all good literature. Don't want to be that cliché, so don't use New Orleans. What's the capital of Louisiana? Where did we go on that trip? Baton Rouge. That's right. Hell, you can change it to wherever you need, but the general idea has been set.

But it's not going to be in the real world, it it? Nope, the real world doesn't burn witches anymore, and vampires, voodoo and supernatural shenanigans don't exist in the real world either, right? Um, right.

What if we place it in Nakiel? Well, that's all fine and dandy, but that's normally a fantasy setting. True, but why not let it grow? What if all the fantasy stuff is actually history? I mean really, really old history. Older than mythology. But it did grow up. It became a world very similar to our own, but with some noticeable differences.

I've already done that to some extent with other wordles that I've done in the past. All the modern stuff that I've done always had a faint whiff of somewhere other than here. It makes sense. So, we're looking at the Fourth Age of Nakiel.

And that's what happens when I'm writing. I never know where I'm going until I get there. For some reason, I found the evolution of this wordle more entertaining than normal. At least it got the creative juices flowing a bit more than normal.

I hope you enjoyed this entertaining look behind the scenes of how a non-story grows into something else; normally another non-story.

._._.

Need Help with a Recipe - Bangers and Mash

glasswalker@comcast.net — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:38:19 GMT

Thirteen days since I've written anything here. Hmm... Hard to believe.

I'm looking for help here (there might be a general update later on, nothing new). I'm looking for a good, traditional, authentic recipe for bangers and mash. I'm about convinced that I'm just going to end up creating my own dish in the end.

I've never been to a British pub, but from my research, that seems to be one place to consistently find bangers and mash. In its own way, it's like British comfort food, or at least so it would seem.

For those that don't know, and are still interested, bangers and mash is a dish comprised of sausages, onions, gravy and mashed potatoes. Sounds simple, and it really should be simple, however, just like meatloaf, everyone's mother made it differently (or as in my case, not at all).

Here's what I've got in mind for ingredients.

sausage (I've got regular smoked beef sausage this time, however, I've made it with Italian sausage, as well as a hickory smoked pork sausage. Breakfast sausage is right out.)

onion (Cut into rings. I've used only yellow at this point.)

apples (Cored and chunked. I've not tried it with apples just yet.)

apple juice/cider (To replace the whole apples, and used to help form the gravy.)

brown gravy mix (The cheap, easy way out.)

a spot of brown mustard

a dash of oregano

maybe some Worcestershire sauce

maybe some garlic

maybe some red wine

mashed potatoes (I've made it both with instant and real)

The gist of it, as far as I can tell is that you cook your sausages first in a skillet. Once they're nice and brown and slightly crispy, remove from heat, and add the onions to the skillet. Here's where things start to get vague.

The onions are cooked until done. You would also add the apples here if you were using them. I would think that the garlic would go here as well. Depending on how you want to make your gravy, things can go quite a number of ways. You could add some flour and make a roux with the onions. Add the wine to do a bit of deglazing and scrape the fond off the bottom.

Once that cooks down, add the mustard and the Worcestershire. Heat through and serve. Mashed potatoes form the base, the sausage in the middle and the onions and gravy over all.

So, if anyone has actually had this before, or even better had them in Britain, please let me know. I like what I've made in the past, but I'd really like to try the real deal. Granted, from what I can tell, I'm not going to be able to get the real deal since we don't have a local butcher shop that makes sausage (as far as I know), and the Brits have many different types of sausage that make the little breakfast links we have here pale in comparison.

I think I can see why I've not written in thirteen days. I'm babbling. Coherent, decent writing, this is not. Even when I'm just asking for a recipe. Oh well.

Thanks!
._._.

You'll Never Guess Where I Came Back From...

glasswalker@comcast.net — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:14:30 GMT

Well after a week or so of multiple daily attacks, and then thinking I was out of the woods when I didn't have any yesterday, I ended up having to ask Tuckey to take me to the ER. (Thank you again, Tuckey!)

Three X-ray films, a piss test and three or four attempts to draw blood, I was informed that I had... wait for it... another UTI. Yeah for me!

Luckily I got an IM shot of Phenergan and 2mg of Dilaudid. Apparently, in this new section of the ER (which the nurse called the band-aid station), they are not allowed to give IVs. Bizzare. Throw in the fact that the hospital is having to crack down again on med seekers, I consider myself lucky to get what I did.

So, the pain is almost completely gone. I've got a script for Luvonox (I'm pretty sure that's what it is). They originally wanted to give me a script for Cipro, but given my past interactions with it, I asked for anything else. Luckily I remembered that I've had Luvonox in an IV when admitted to the hospital in the past.

So, tomorrow I go to pick up the script. I'm going to call the pain clinic as well to see about getting another script for Dilaudid tablets since the ones I was given during and ER trip last year actually have helped me keep the attacks managable.

I need to do some more research on UTIs, but this is seeming utterly ridiculous. Three UTIs in less than five months? That's excessive even for a woman, isn't it?

Well, I need to wrap this up, because I'm sure I'm babbling.

Hopefully this will be the last time for a while.

:crosses fingers & knocks on wood:
._._.

A Nice Video on G4

glasswalker@comcast.net — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:59:46 GMT

</a>One of the things that I love about our cable company, Comcast, is the plethora of channels they offer. That is, to the customers that have digital cable. We never had G4, but it is one of the channels that I wish we did have access to (along with the History Channel which they moved over to digital only last year).

If you've ever wondered 'What exactly is Steampunk?', well, here's an answer for you. Yes, once again, I'm linking over to Mr. von Slatt's site, but since he's in the video that was shown on G4, credit given and all.

It's a nice seven minute long video about Steampunk culture, and what it is. So, without further ado, here's G4 Underground on Steampunk.

._._.

Obama's Stimulus Check

glasswalker@comcast.net — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:35:11 GMT

Well, I got a letter today from the Department of Social Security. Ends up that even though I'm on Disability, I'll be getting a one time payment of $250 from the government. That's $250 more than I got under Bush's reign.

So the question is, if this is a check to help stimulate the economy, what would be the best use of it? Hiding it under the mattress wouldn't help anyone (and would be kinda' hard since I'm not getting a physical check), and would do the least amount of good.

The first thing that came to mind was use it all at garage sales. The government wouldn't be getting any of it through taxes. It would be going directly into the local economy. Even if I picked up a Sony Walkman that was made in China, the money would still be right here in the area.

I keep thinking that I've heard this same idea before, or something similar. Some way to keep the stimulus money local, and let it do what's it's supposed to do.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this? Other thoughts or ideas (local flea market, farmer's market, etc.)? Please feel free to share.

._._.

Plugging for Mr. von Slatt

glasswalker@comcast.net — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:32:08 GMT

I've mentioned Mr. von Slatt's Steampunk Workshop here in the past. I've also passed along information from the good Doctor Steel. To have them both together? Shiny!

So, without further ado, and a simple click of your pointing device, I shall whisk you away to an intriguing post from the æther-tubes.

Dr. Steel speaks truth.

._._.

Werewolf Movie

glasswalker@comcast.net — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 22:36:21 GMT

If I were to ever make a Werewolf Movie I would have to include elements of parkour. There's no way around it. Now, first off, when I'm saying Werewolf Movie, I'm not talking The Wolfman or Wolf or even The Howling (the first movie to show a Garou in its Crinos form). I'm talking about something similar to, or even based off the mythos of the game Werewolf: The Apocalypse.

The Underworld movies came very close to it. So much in fact, that White Wolf Games tried to place an injunction against showing the first movie. While Underworld got a lot right, it wasn't a Werewolf Movie.

To follow my line of thought on this, at least why I'm thinking of Garou (that's what they called the werewolves in the game) and parkour in the same breath, you would see this...

There was a post on an Xbox 360 site about a first-person parkour video in the style of the video game, Mirror's Edge. Which got me looking into other parkour videos. Which led me to the one below (or maybe it was another one), but seeing multiple parkour runners leap over their urban landscape, something just stuck in my head. I don't care what form they're in (human or man-wolf form) this is how Garou would move. There's some incredible shots below. See if you see it the same way I do.

._._.

You Too Can Win!

glasswalker@comcast.net — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:00:41 GMT

For those of you that have an Xbox Live account, you're well aware of the contests that they're continuously running. Since it's so easy to enter them (normally involves just downloading a Gamer Pic), I've entered all of them that I see. Just like all the other sweepstakes and all that that I've entered over the years, I never expected to see anything from them.

Well, it's turning out to be my lucky year. First there was the $50 Amazon.com gift card from Marlboro. Then today I get a package in a plain manila mailing bag. There's a printed note on a strip of paper wrapped around a 12 month plus 1 month Xbox Live Gold membership. From what I can tell from the note, and the little that I remember, it's a prize from the "The Spirit - Download and Win Sweepstakes".

So that's another $50 prize that I've won from a random contest this year. I'm excited to see what's going to come next. Who knows, it could be (in that announcer guy from The Price Is Right voice) A Brand New Caaaaar! But then, I really like my car, so I may have to give that one away. ;^)

._._.

Calling All Botanists - Solved!

glasswalker@comcast.net — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:57:44 GMT

A couple of years back, Ma had us plant some plants in the front bed other than just impatiens. A hydrangea, a fern, and what she thought at the time was a bleeding heart. During the past two years, when watering, neither the hydrangea nor the bleeding heart bloomed. No worries, it takes time for them to get to a point where they'll bloom annually.

Well, this Spring, the bleeding heart put on its first blossom. The only problem was that there was only one blossom and it was growing in the wrong direction (up instead of down). Well, when I went to check the mail today, I was pleasantly surprised to find a fully formed and open flower. The problem? It's not a bleeding heart. We have no idea what it actually is.

So if anyone recognizes it, please let me know. The leaves are very distinctive, and are all tri-lobal. You can see a bit of them in the picture below. Thanks for any help!

._._.

ETA: Finally found what this plant is. It's a tree peony. If Ma hadn't just said the name off the top of her head, I'd probably still be looking for it.

Oh Yeah, I Forgot About This

glasswalker@comcast.net — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:17:46 GMT

I ordered some doohickeys yesterday, so hopefully, you'll be seeing more of these.

I hooked the laptop up to the LCD monitor the other day, and used the Wacom Bamboo tablet that I picked up from Circuit City before they closed (50% off, hells yeah!). It was nice to work like this again. Even though I wasn't using two monitors simultaneously, it was cool to have Photoshop on its own screen.

The aforementioned doohickeys will allow me to have the laptop hooked up to the monitor, as well as running an RGB component connection from the 360 to it. All I'll have to do is simply make one menu change on the monitor from analog to digital and I can switch back and forth.

I'm not terribly happy with the 'painting', but it's a start. And besides, I've never been that good with water colors. :^)

._._.

Still a Work in Progress

glasswalker@comcast.net — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:40:42 GMT

Rising Beltane - Moon Day 22

I've not touched the Steampunk Clock project in a while now. I've been feeling rather bleh here lately. (Also the chair is very uncomfortable after about ten minutes.) Some ideas are slowly gathering steam, though.

I've found a new source of materials to draw from, but honestly, I don't know how it's going to affect the style of the project. From my closet I've pulled out a serial printer cable (could be too big for the size of the clock, but we'll see), a processor with cooling fan attached, a complete (but burnt out) motherboard, and a 3.5" floppy drive.

The floppy drive is giving me some ideas, since it's more mechanical in nature than the motherboard. There's also a nice little green LED in it. I'm wanting movement in the clock, more than just the hands of the clock moving. So, there are parts of the floppy drive that could be cannibalized and still kept moving. The fan moves, and I know it only needs a 9v battery. I don't know what a 9v would do for the mounting ring of the floppy, though.

I've got a feeling that I'll be getting back to work on it very soon. Look for more updates.
._._.

Trying to Get the Habit

glasswalker@comcast.net — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 14:33:57 GMT

Saturday, March 28, 2009 – 0948

Passing Ostara, Moon Day 02

It would appear as if forces are conspiring against me in regards to writing. As soon as I tried to open Word to begin, at least 35 windows all opened up. I had to reboot the machine.

I’m running off of less sleep than normal again, but that’s okay. I’ve missed having a quiet house to myself. I went to bed around 0500, and woke around 0800. While I still feel the vestiges of sleep, it’s still nice to be up this early. What better way to celebrated than getting back on the ol’ writing horse.

Prior to everything blowing up, I had been working on creating Pagan holidays and timeframes in Outlook. I wonder how hard it would be to create a Gadget for that (hence the Passing Ostara above).

Random Nakiel Notes:

Saáblings are given their True Name on their 33rd birthday. This is much like a mitzvah. Also, a tattoo appears on them. Normally, it’s easy to conceal, sometimes, however, it can be found in plain view. This tattoo is a sigil of their Name. Much disinformation has been spread about this topic.

I would like to take a look at some of the major military conflicts throughout history and create an animated version showing progression of forces, etc.

I ran across an older sketch. The item in question appeared to be two Hurnblades attached at the hilts making it a double-ended weapon. There were also notes hinting at a subsector of the Iesak Jedai known only as “The Teeth of the Iesak.”

Another sketch idea was that the Silver Falcons have the image of a swooping falcon on their helmets (wings outspread and feet extended as if going in for a kill). This morphed into possible functionality of the wings on the helmet, where that each wing is a blade and the talon makes up the hilt. I definitely like this idea better than the Falcons wearing a simple head scarf or bandana.

A recurring thought I’ve had about my work on Nakiel recently has been creating character sketches. Nothing too detailed at first, but they should definitely evolve. This comes from watching too much of the CSI shows, as well as Battlestar Galactica. We know that Grissom likes bugs, Warrick used to have a gambling problem, Saul Tigh lost his eye for refusing to cooperate with the Cylon occupation of New Caprica, and he also *SPOILER* (Highlight to read) poisoned his wife after finding out that she had been a Cylon sympathizer. *END SPOILER*

In another sketch, I’ve drawn either a Warlocke, or an Iesak Jedai. The main change and one that I really do like is that the hood on the person is made from leather. There can be patches on it of differing color and the color of the hood need not always match the cloak. However, the color (if indeed we go this route) of the hood would always show which branch the Warlocke follows (white, gray or black).
The hood assembly is removable while not being attached to the cloak. It is almost like a tent, or some kind of shelter where the frame for it is made of branches on the inside of the hood. The sketch looks rather well; however, it’s currently a little difficult for me to convey what it looks like. Hopefully there will be a scan soon.

Speaking of dress, a thought just came to mind of residents of Matæ should have on their person at all times a set of goggles. Something along the line of the mask that the Tusken Raiders wear, or the Ashlanders of Morrowind.

Since the primary population of Matæ are humanoid (namely orcs, goblins, etc.) there could be some distinction between the races in the eyewear that they create. Also, it would make more sense that those from Matæ would have either breathing apparatuses or a cloth across the nose and mouth. This would remove such an idea from the Iesak Jedi or the Cloakes as they’ve sometimes been portrayed in the past.

Okay, while it’s not been exactly thirty minutes, it has been over a page long. I’m giving it a rest for now. Here’s hoping that tomorrow will follow in the same footsteps.
._._. – 1012

Calling All Electronic Hobyists!

glasswalker@comcast.net — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:50:13 GMT

I've been pondering what to do with the whole Steampunk Clock project. Looking for inspiration, I wandered through Mr. Von Slatt's wonderful site. As browsing habits are with me, I ended up at an interesting looking site from one Adafruit Industries.

While looking there, I found a really intriguing looking device, a 'MintyBoost' kit. Basically, the kit provides you with a PCB, capacitor, resistors, and other shiny parts that I have no idea how they work. You put the kit together, and you've got a nifty little iPod charging pack (or any item that takes a charge from plugging it into a USB port.

Now the Altoids gum tin does not come with the MintyBoost kit (nor the batteries, but big whoop). The kit gives you everything you need to make one, though.

I have never used a real soldering gun for any purpose other than play. I have a solder gun and solder that's part of a computer care kit from Radio Shack. I know Pa's soldering iron is around here somewhere. Then there's the 'Cold Heat' device that I got for a Christmas present.

Now I've been warned away from the Cold Heat device. Especially after farting around with it a minute ago. Either the batteries are pretty low, or it's a piece of crap all the way around. I tried to put a bead of solder on one of the large metal braces from the Goodwill clock with it, and I could never get the solder to melt at all! I could get an arc going, the whole LED lighting up saying that the Cold Heat was working, but it wouldn't generate enough heat at all.

I guess the question is this; after looking at the MintyBoost kit, would you think this would be an easy project for someone with no soldering or electronics experience? After reading through the instructions for the device, it really does look simple enough. But if you've got electronics experience, I would really love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

P.S. - The Altoids gum tin is totally etchable... Just have to have the right chemicals.

._._.

Doing the New Pen Dance

glasswalker@comcast.net — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:12:35 GMT

Here's an odd one for you. When we were going out for groceries the other day, I pulled a pen from Ma's calendar to make some quick notes. It was an awesome pen. Nice grip, fine point, and the nib grabs the paper just so.

I asked her if she remembered where she picked up, and of course, she had no idea (don't blame her one bit on that one). So, I consigned myself to just trying to keep my eyes open to see if I could find something similar.

So, when I was out the other day (not the same other day as above, follow me here) grabbing some groceries and looking for a new trash can for my area, I decided to hit the Dollar General Store. I really didn't feel like going into Wally World to look for the can, so I figured I'd find a cheap one at the Dollar General.

Not only did I find a trash can, some cheap bags for it, a three drawer unit for separating gears, cogs and what-nots for the still in progress Steampunk Clock, and what I had hoped would be the same type of pen that I was looking for.

I opened the pack today, and lo-and-behold, it's the same pen. So, for those of you who like to draw, write, or simply enjoy a nice pen, I would like to present to you the Pilot G2. Give it a try, you might like it!

._._.

Bees In Spring

glasswalker@comcast.net — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:32:18 GMT

Pretty white blossoms
Weeping cherry grows tall
Abundance of bees

._._.

Update - And I'm Going to Be Wet-Wired (Surgery Involved)

glasswalker@comcast.net — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:18:47 GMT

So, I'm sick again. Less than three hours from getting home from an appointment at the pain clinic, and it's starting all over again. I've had maybe three hours of sleep together in a row. Same as before... I'll probably be at the ER in a day or two. Fun, fun.

However, at said appointment at the pain clinic, I was told what the next step toward treatment is going to be. I just hope that they get it approved and scheduled fast, especially since I'm having attacks now.

Neurostimulation Therapy. That's the big word for what they're going to do.

I'll get an epidural inserted into my spine. Then they'll take two wires and run them through the needle into my spine (well, whatever the space is called between the actual spine and the nerve bundle that runs down it). Thread them up my spine until they get to the spot that makes my 'tummy tingle' (I really HATE doctors that talk to you like you don't know shit, I really do), so I have to be awake during this procedure.

Once they've found the correct location, then a series of three electrodes will be inserted under the skin at this location. I'm assuming that the current has to jump from one electrode on the left to one on the right to induce the shock. All of this will be hooked up to a pack a little larger than a pager. Then I get to go home.

Then the hard part. We pray like hell that I have another attack. During the attack, I use the electrical stimulation to hopefully shock my gut back to normal. If it works to keep the attacks under control, and they're 100% convinced that it's working for this, then they will remove the temporary device, and insert a permanent one.

Here's the kicker. If after it's inserted, and we leave it in for two weeks or so, if I don't have an attack, we won't know if it's a viable option for treating this. It may work perfectly, but if I don't have an attack for it to be tested on we won't know.

If this doesn't work... They have no idea what the next step is. So, wish me luck (no, I don't know when they're going to schedule the procedure).

The bizarre thing? I remember having a conversation back when I was working IT in Greeneville. We were talking about getting 'wet-wired', basically, having something electronic plugged in to your body (I think we were talking about the Matrix is how it came up), and I was the only one of the group that would want it done. Granted, the biggest argument against it was, 'Think about how many times a day you have to reboot your computer. Do you want to have to continually reboot yourself?'

So, now it's happening. At least for a few weeks anyway.

._._.

Omnia Illa Et Ante Fiebant

glasswalker@comcast.net — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:28:07 GMT

(Does anyone know the rules of capitalization for Latin?)

So, another odd thing has happened today. I'm sure there's a simple explanation for it, but I haven't done the digging yet.

As I was in bed this morning/early afternoon, I was listening to the local NPR station (I originally had thought that listening to the news at six in the morning would help me get up sooner, but no luck so far), and had made it to Car Talk, completely missing The Splendid Table (is that the name?), and that's when it happened.

So far, I knew that only one clock had been adjusted for DST. I had hoped that my alarm clock in my bedroom would automatically fix itself (it does synch up with an atomic clock somewhere), so at this point, I was unsure of the actual time. As I'm dozing in and out of sleep, I don't really recognize any of what I'm hearing on this episode of Car Talk. After Guenn decides that my side is the perfect place to perch, I'm fully awake and aware of what's going on.

One caller rolls by and I don't recognize the scenario. Another caller and the same thing. However, near the end of the show, a caller by the name of Leah makes an appearance. The hosts sounded overjoyed to hear from her, and referenced an earlier call she had made some months ago. I'm still not recognizing the call, but something in the back of my head reminds me that it would be cool if so-and-so called in again. I don't remember the details of so-and-so, but there have been a few times that I've heard a previous caller call back and explain how things had gone since their initial call.

About half-way through the call, Leah mentions something about the East Coast Mentality versus the West Coast Mentality. Where that on the East Coast (at least up north where all the good schools are at) we're steeped in tradition of 100 plus years, whereas on the West Coast, they're much more open to new ideas.

Stunned, I listened more to the conversation. All the way down to her father calling the local (to Boston) bartenders surly, I had heard this before.

I know that they will replay episodes of shows like this, and I've heard my fair share of them. Granted, they will normally mention at the beginning and during any breaks in the show that it is a repeat. No mention was made of such programming. Granted, it still could have been a repeat, I just find it odd that none of the other callers rang a bell.

So, at some point today, when we've all already lost an hour of our lives (at least until the Fall), I will look to see if today's show was actually a repeat. You never know, though, maybe I had already heard it on March 8^th, 2008, and dreamembered it earlier on.

Thought I would share and at least leave myself a note to remind me that I will have already passed this way a week ago.

._._.

Omnia illa et ante fiebant
Omnia illa et rursus fient