I write like I puke

I write like I puke.

The title says it all.

It was one of those epiphanies I had yesterday driving home that I don't write. I just puke up a bunch of words. They pour out of my system in a rush all mixed up and scatter all over. And, like vomiting, there are earthquake-like after-pukes that stem from the first one. Smaller, not as violent, but there's still an out rush of words, pouring out, scattering all over.

Well, I may have heaved my last this week. In looking over what I've written so far, I pleased with the story, but not the progress. It's like I've gotten the poison peanut out of my system, but I can't quite get rid of that queasy smell.

So in an attempt to make things flow better, I've decided to set aside the outpouring of words from my fingers and instead focus on organizing the story. A pre-planning of puke if you will. Like a teenage girl with an eating disorder, I need to focus on puking these words up everyday. I need goals I can achieve.

So my daily writing goal is going to be 3 pages.

And I've failed already. It's like the dry heaves. Nothing comes out no matter how hard I try.

So my new goal is to organize what I've already puked up. Which is like trying to re-assemble that slice of pizza after it's been in your stomach for a few hours. The pepperoni might be easy to spot, but the pizza sauce is going to be hard to pick out.

But in the end, I should have a decent outline. Something I should have done to start with according to nearly every doctor I've spoken to and read. Plan the puke first, then puke, then polish.

So I'm hoping to take a vomit vacation of sorts and get my ideas in a neat little outline.

Maybe then my daily hurl won't hurt so much.

Anyone want spaghetti?

* I take no responsibility for loss of appetite resulting in the reading of this post.

I'm a bad, bad boy-edited-

Today, my wife and I committed a crime.

Nothing too serious, especially considering we haven't been caught yet.

What was the crime? Well, let me start with last Tuesday to keep you occupied.

-edited-

-edited-So I stayed at home, wrote and edited in War Wagon, put Elizabeth's swing set together, and pulled some weeds. Not very productive, but the weather was great (in the 70s).

Which brings us to today's crime.

-edited-

I love my partner in crime. I really do.

Now I need to find something nice for her birthday.

PS - I didn't find a new car, but I'm looking at another one tomorrow morning. Two actually. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

And my toes for the second one.

Why aren't you at your post?

Yes, I copy.

And yes, I'm still here.

But tax season is kicking my butt again this year. Stress is neither a good friend nor a good enemy.

After a very long week last week, I had both days off this weekend. Which meant catching up on everything at home. In other words, my weekend wasn't long enough. I need a day off from my day off.

The good news is, most of the laundry is done. The dishes are done (for now). I got to see Bye, Bye Birdie at the Riverside. I'm still re-reading the last of the Seventh Sword series by Dave Duncan but eagerly awaiting a new book for a change. Maybe something Star Wars.

Elizabeth's birthday is coming up (she's already saying "I turn three in April" -- smarty pants) as is Yvonne's. We (the grandparents and in-laws) got her a swing set, which means I'll be putting that together.

I just watched Blood Diamond, Casino Royale, The Departed, and Children of Men online at work. And The Departed was the best. Casino Royale was a junk hand, Blood Diamond was decent but heavy on the blood and gore, Children of Men had a decent firefight scene but lacked a strong story, and The Departed had so many double and triple crosses I didn't know who was going to die next.

The list goes on.

And in the end, there's always something to add to the list.

So here's to crossing off more than you write down.

And that's why I'm not at my post.

PS - I'm looking for a good, used, Chevy Suburban. Leather interior. Captain's chairs in the middle row. Drop me a line with any leads in the local Fredericksburg area.

Bald Eagles

For those that don't know, I live in the Northern Neck of Virginia, specifically King George County. We are the home to several bald eagles, most reside in Caledon State Park.

I've seen them fairly close at the Denver Zoo, but never that close in the wild.

Until today.

I had just pulled out of the driveway and was no more than a mile from the house when cruising in the opposite direction, at about 20 feet above the road surface, was a huge bald eagle. The white head and tail was very distinct. After trying not to swerve and brake right off the road, I composed myself and continued driving to work.

I think I would have pooed my pants if I wasn't in a car. Those things are BIG!

Another War Wagon Update

It's been a while since I've updated everyone on my "top secret" story. Guess it's that time.

I wrote about 1,000 words today, not much, but I wasn't really feeling it. I'm approaching 15,000 words total (that's 36 pages mom) and I'm quickly finding that I have a lot more to write. I just need to find the time and motivation to get it on paper.

I've also been getting some very impressive help from Epheros. He's been kind enough to take the time to not only read some rough drafts of my story, but has taken it a step further and given great feedback around my content, writing style, and so many other things I didn't think about.

In other news...........

I seemed to have pulled something in my back. Usually my lower back hurts from time to time, depending on how I sleep (we have an insanely soft mattress that I hate). Well, somehow I did something to my shoulder/upper back. Painful enough that I've considered taking something for the pain, but bearable enough I only cringe in pain when I get into or out of the car.

In other news...........

I caught a pretty good show on TV (for a change). BBC America (BBCA) has a nifty show called Robin Hood. While I see Errol Flynn or Kevin Costner as the best Robin Hoods ever made (one old and one new), this is a pretty good show. Granted, I've only seen one episode so far, it's good enough that I want to watch more. Maybe I'll get the DVD (due out tomorrow).

And that's about it for now.

Boring lives lead to healthy imaginations.

Another Meme

Yes, thanks to Epheros I've another meme invading my brain. I saw the original over at Erik's Live Journal, but decided to skip it. Guess my luck ran out.

The "getting to know you" meme.

1. Can you cook?

2. What was your dream growing up?

3. What talent do you wish you had?

4. Favorite place?

5. Favorite vegetable?

6. What was the last book you read?

7. What zodiac sign are you?

8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?

9. Worst Habit?

10. Do we know each other outside of Livejournal?

11. What is your favorite sport?

12. Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?

13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?

14. Worst thing to ever happen to you?

15. Tell me one weird fact about you.

16. Do you have any pets?

17. Do you know how to do the Macarena?

18. What time is it where you are now?

19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary?

20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?

21. Would you be my partner in crime or my conscience?

22. What color eyes do you have?

23. Ever been arrested?

24. Bottle or Draft?

25. If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it?

26. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew?

27. What's your favorite bar to hang at?

28. Do you believe in ghosts?

29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?

30. Do you swear a lot?

31. Biggest pet peeve?

32. In one word, how would you describe yourself?

33. In one word, how would you describe me?

34. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

Now the ultimate test is to see how many people respond. My bet is 1, maybe 2.

YouTube Ganks User

Well, I'm not too terribly surprised, but I am disappointed. A particular user on YouTube (pillar93) had their account toasted due to their continual uploading of Jericho episodes. Full episodes. Copyrighted episodes. A big no-no.

But I don't see the big deal. CBS offers full episodes (for free) online and I'm grateful they do that.

But now I have nothing to watch at work.

Stupid streaming videos don't work, despite my being on a T1 line.

Oh well. You can read the back story here if you'd like.

Today's funny picture

Way too much chapstick. Waaaay too much.

Update

Couple of updates on a few things.

My uncle's house in Enterprise, AL appears to be intact. While he doesn't live there, he still knows quite a few people there. Sounds like everyone is okay, so that's a good thing.

Writing has taken a bit of a backseat. I've been mulling over the next steps in the plot and haven't had time to clearly "not-think" about it.

And I have the excuse of some newly scanned photos from an album my grandmother had that's been keeping me focused on family history. I like this one because she's wearing a pistol.

And, yet another excuse, I've been trying to get some videos online of Elizabeth (via Revver and YouTube). So cutting and laying tracks takes a bit of time.

And of course there's work. Which is why I'm here on a Saturday afternoon. But I did spend some time this morning helping my dad make waffles for the local home show. Might go back tomorrow to help him with lunch. We'll see.

Outside of that, I'm just about fully recovered from my sickness (a good 8 days after I got it). I'm off tomorrow, so, in the immortal words of Epheros, good night and good fight!

Almost forgot, my Mom had another cow (well, her cow had one). Now, before you click on the link, be warned, there are some very graphic photos (all natural, but not something I'd look at while eating a hamburger). Here's the link.

See? Told you it was graphic.

I'm back, sort of

After spending way too much time getting acquainted with the bathrooms in my house, I seem to have made progress in my recovery. I woke up sick Friday and spent the weekend in misery. Monday I came to work and suffered until I reached my breaking point. So half-way through my scheduled day, I went home. Tuesday I was already scheduled off since Yvonne was going to a conference in Richmond and I was baby-sitter duty. Made a side trip to the doctor, got a script for Sipro, and started dosing up. Took yesterday off to make sure I had recovered well enough to survive the trip to work, which brings us to today. I'm well enough to be at work, but still not operating at 100%.

In other news, my uncles have been working on scanning and identifying their mom's photo album. I'm hoping to get my first look at the DVD in the next few days.

In reading news, I picked up a couple of Star Wars books yesterday and the first book in S. M. Stirling's latest series (which is actually a continuation of the Island series he did earlier). I didn't enjoy his Conquistador as much as I expected, but I'm hoping this one will do better. And I'm re-reading Dave Duncan's Seventh Sword series (already finished book one and working on book two).

In writing news, well, there is no news. I've written part of the story beyond the events that started this whole ordeal. Yes, it's an ordeal now. And I'm completely lost with it and without it. I know, doesn't make sense, but I'm working on it. I haven't given up on it, which is probably the biggest deal to me at the moment. While I may turn out to be a Harper Lee of writing (as in I write just one book), I can only hope it will be as good as hers.

And to jinx thinks a bit, every time I've written, I've gotten sick. Not a track record I'd like to keep going. So, no progress has been made, but I'm not done. I will NOT let this thing beat me.

In various other news, I don't recall subscribing to this blog's feed, but this interesting post showed up while I was away. Work had a major shake up with 125 people getting a box (as in fired). But only about 20 at my location. Fortunately none in my department. March has started and I'm not sure I was finished with February yet. Elizabeth has a birthday coming up soon (she turns 3) and Yvonne has one a few days later (I won't discuss her age as she will be older than me for the next 6 months).

And that's about it. I've got some bills to pay before my lunch hour is over.

I hate being sick-edited-

And since I"m too weak to care much, I'll be making this a Cliff's Notes version (apologies for the graphic language).

-edited-
- I've uploaded some videos to YouTube. Just click here.
- My mom had a cow. No seriously, one of her cows had a baby calf.
- I finished reading Conquistador by S. M. Stirling. It was okay, but it was nowhere near as good as the Nantucket series he wrote.
- I think I just vomited a little bit.
- I've only eaten Saltines and a bag of Cheetos today. And I still feel like shitting my brains out.
- I finished listening to Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan.

That's it. I'm too pooped to do anymore.

This is a REAL viral video

I can NOT get this song out of my head. Props to Pillar93.

War Wagon Update - 2-22-2007

I now have written over 12,000 words (that's just shy of 30 pages).

I hit a serious snag this past couple of weeks. Partly due to being sick (hard to focus with no energy) and partly due to not knowing where the story was going next. Add to that the fact that I felt very good about the ending of my first batch of writing, I didn't want to muck it up by adding some half-brained thought.

So I let it rest. I carried it around in a folder, thinking I would have time to edit it at the local diner I frequent for breakfast. Well, other things interjected and I never got to that point.

This morning (last night actually) I had another one of those "epiphanies" for a story idea. If was only half formed until I began to think about it and try to fit it into my existing storyline.

The process I use to flesh out my story is a bit difficult to describe though. It's like staring at a bright light before going outside in the middle of the night. Your night vision is gone directly in front of you, but if you pay attention to your peripheral vision, you'll begin to see things. It's kind of like that. You intentionally try to NOT focus on what you want to see.

Anyway, it worked.

I was able to push past my physical and mental blocks and get more written. I jumped ahead in the chronology of the story, but I'm not sure if I'll go back to cover the few months (or years) I skipped over.

I also wrote some today during lunch at work. I know I pushed myself and the story a bit further than intended, but I felt I had to "make-up" for my lack of production in the past weeks.

So, I've moved along, made progress, and things are again looking good.

Now if I can only keep the ball rolling.

Do you lean forward or lean back?

I never knew the difference between the two until Nalts (of GooTube Conspiracy fame) pointed it out. You "lean forward" when you watch online video and "lean back" when you watch TV at home.

At my age, I grew up with "walking remote" and "real remote." I was the "walking remote" for many years. With only 5 channels, it didn't take long to chose a station, but, seeing as I was the low man on the totem pole, Dad made me change the channel.

Since then, technology has progressed to include LCD, plasma, 1080i, DVR, TiVo, YouTube, and Google Video. I could list more, but this post isn't about that.

This is about the savior that online video has become for me.

Here's an example of my viewing as a child:

Dad and I sit down to eat dinner at a 1950s era metal table. I sit with my back to the TV (a remote less tube with buttons on the side for a max of 20 stations), so I have to constantly turn to see what's going on. Dad decides what we watch, usually M*A*S*H or Three's Company, and when the channel needs changing, I'm the one to do it. By 8 pm, I'm in bed wishing I could stay up to watch more of V. Sometimes I'd come out for a drink and try to stay for the end of the show. It never worked well. If I missed an episode of Taxi or some other "cool" show, I was out of luck. VCRs weren't commonplace enough to tape something on one TV and watch something on another. Hell, TVs weren't commonplace to have more than one in a house.

Here's an example of my viewing as an adult:

My wife, child, and I sit down to eat dinner at a 1990s era wooden table. We all face the TV to watch our 20" LCD with built in analog and HD tuner. Changing the channel is so simple, the three-year old does it, but fortunately doesn't decide what we watch. It's usually M*A*S*H or MacGyver on DVD, or Friends if my wife picks. Movies are also in the mix. By 8 pm I'm finished with the dishes and the three-year old is in bed. If I miss an episode of a "cool" show like Heroes or CSI, I can set the VCR and satellite receiver to tape whatever I desire.

What will the future bring? I had thought for many years a TiVo or DVR would be added to our entertainment center. I'd even dreamt about adding some sort of wireless box that would allow us to watch the recorded shows on any TV in the house.

But thanks to NBC and CBS, that won't be needed. Instead, I watch shows I miss online, either at home or at work. With the proliferation of online video, I'm more often leaning forward to see what happens next in Vegas or Miami. This morning, I watched Jericho on the laptop (17" widescreen) that I was able to take where ever I wanted thanks to the wifi connection. The resolution is better than the VCR and I could move it with me. Tuesday I watched Heroes in much the same way.

My biggest disappointment so far? Two things. One, my connection at work is too slow to stream the video so I have to rely on YouTube (Jericho can be found here). Second, ABC doesn't let you watch earlier episodes of LOST. I'd like to see what the big deal is, but won't start in the middle of season 4 (or 3 or whatever it is).

Dreams of a boring day

I'm hoping to have a more usual, boring day today. yesterday was a tad too dramatic for my liking.

1 - Robert B. Payne came to check out the heat pump. Our last power bill was back to the high $400 it was before we got a new one installed two years ago. They came around 0800 and didn't leave until noon. Original diagnosis was there was no freon in the unit. Upon doing a leak check, he discovered a valve had seized closed, restricting the flow of freon, resulting in the lines to freeze, thus causing the defrost to kick in repeatedly. He had to drain the freon, cut out the bad valve, replace several "driers," the connecting lines, and refill the freon. The seized valve was over $800 retail but about $500 under our service contract. Added to the bill was his labor, the other parts he replaced and a case of filters. Final bill was about $850. Everything appears to be working correctly, didn't hear it run much last night, so I can only hope it's working the way it's supposed to.

2 - Mike Long (the guy that built our shed last year) gave an estimate of $4,400 for the shingle and trash removal on the house. About what I expected, so hopefully that will get done this year.

3 - Elizabeth was sick this weekend and again yesterday. Not sure if it's the chocolate shake she had from Carl's or a stomach bug. We've restricted her diet to plain food (crackers, jello, and bananas) for a bit. Will continue to monitor the situation and move from there.

So, I'm hoping for a slow day today. Jericho is on tonight, so I'm hoping to catch up with that tomorrow. And the napping I did this morning helped.

Another ultrasound today

Just a short note to say we took Elizabeth to the OB doc for another ultra-sound on the new baby. We were able to hear the heartbeat and everything sounded good. Elizabeth was a bit nervous when the doctor came in, but seemed to handle it pretty good when it was clear she wasn't the one getting a "check-up."

Elizabeth also knew it wouldn't roar like a lion or bark like a dog. Which means she's getting smarter by the day to know it should sound like a heartbeat. Little whipper-snapper better make good grades and get a good job so I can live in retirement somewhere warm.

Potential Tactical Situation Debriefed

So Saturday night I met up with Dad and Yvonne (and Elizabeth) for dinner. After dinner we headed over to Carl's for some ice-cream. Technically it's frozen custard, but it's damn good. So good, I stood outside in line in the freezing temperatures for a chocolate shake. So good, it's not the first time I've done that.

Anyway, before Carl's, I had to stop at the ATM to get some money. And as usual, I was carrying.

The unusual part was seconds before I got into my car, the lady in the car behind me, got out, and walked up to me. Now, I only got $40 out of the ATM. Not a lot, but it's a little unnerving to be approached by a stranger after getting money from the ATM. And it was dark.

As she got to within a few paces of me, I, for the first time ever, felt the need to put my hand on my gun. I didn't unsnap the strap or draw, but I felt uncomfortable enough to put my hand there.

Well, it turns out she just wanted to know if she could deposit "cash" into the machine. English was clearly not her first language and communication was difficult. And the fact that she's been to an ATM that didn't take cash for a deposit struck me as odd. She made it clear enough that she didn't want to deposit a check, just cash. Well, I saw no military stickers on her car (to get on a military base, something common of Credit Union members in our area seeing as this is a Naval Credit Union).

So during the discussion, if you could call it that, I continually looked around for approaching cars or pedestrians. There was a BBQ place next door that was open, but the front doors weren't quite situated well enough for there to be witnesses if things went south. Same goes for the nearby busy road, close, but not close enough for help.

In the end, she walked up to the ATM to see if it would take cash and I got into my car and drove to Carl's.

Now, what did I do right? I was prepared enough to not only carry, but to be wary enough of any situation. Women can mug you just as easily as men. Probably more so as they don't appear to be as threatening. I did a decent job of keeping my immediate area in mind during the conversation. While her lack of language skills did take some focus, I kept the eyes working the back of my head. I also kept an eye on her body language, even though nothing seemed odd.

What did I do wrong? I should have unsnapped my strap on my holster. A quick draw would have been out of the question if she had drawn a knife. Granted, she kept her hands in plain sight the whole time, but she would have gutted my like a dead fish if I couldn't move fast enough. I also left my car running. I did keep a wary eye on it, but I should have locked it like I normally do.

What will I do next time? Probably be more overt in putting my hand on my gun. And unsnap the strap since you can't shoot from the holster. I'll also try to keep enough cash on hand to stop at Carl's. That should prevent a last minute stop to the ATM.

Oh, and I got a chocolate shake and Yvonne got a hot fudge sundae made with strawberry ice cream.

War Wagon 2-16-2007 Update

So, I've been fighting a head cold for the past few days and haven't written much. Not much at all. I haven't even edited much more than changing the character names of a few people in the story.

So now I feel all yucky. Partly from the head cold, partly from not working on my story. I'm not where I had hoped to be, but there is some light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

First, we have a bit of a blockage in creativity. I still know where I want the story to end (geographically) I just need to get the characters to that point. Right now, they haven't traveled beyond their immediate area (they need to travel several hundred miles to get where I want them). My big stumbling point at the moment is how to get them there. I have some ideas, but nothing that seems to fit with the story.

And yesterday I made the mistake of reading the last few lines of what I have written. It felt like a great ending point, something I didn't expect, nor like. So now I'm thinking about ending the story there and filling in the rest with other things, mainly details (something I kind of skimmed over while writing).

I think I'll have to sit on this for a bit before I can decide what to do next.

Second, I got some feedback from Epheros. Well, "some" is a major understatement. I sent him 2 pages of material and he sends back 4 pages of notes. Umm. Wow. I didn't know what to do with that. I've read his comments a couple of times and I'm a bit taken aback by the simplicity and complexity of the comments.

Some of my flaws are simple to describe and (in theory) are easy to fix. Number one being my passive voice. "He was driving the car" versus "He drove the car." I did a bit of looking and I'll try to stick to the "SVO" method a bit more (SVO = Subject Verb Object).

And he had some detailed ideas that needed to be thought out. Where was this character going, why was there no emotion here, too much drivel there, etc. All points well made and well taken. Criticism I don't like much. Constructive criticism I like.

Anyway, enough of this, I need to get back to my editing before I loose my edge for the day. The Vicks VapoRub under my nose will last only so long.

War Wagon
Pages = 26 (includes title page)
Words = 9,536
Characters = 40,228 (not counting spaces)
Paragraphs = 364 (there's a lot of dialogue)

Updates all around-edited-

Weather - We had some nasty weather Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. We lost power around 0400 Wednesday and didn't get it back until 1500. And for an all-electric house, that means no water and no heat. We did fill the tub up the night before, so we could use the bathroom as needed (I always hated the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" line). Work was closed for both of us but I would have called in if we had opened. No sense me attempting to slide to work in a car. Some friends were nice enough to invite us over for hot showers and warm couches. The rest of the day was spent trying to get generators running to keep the food alive in the fridge.


Work - -edited-


War Wagon - Kind of at a stopping point for the moment on this one. Not that I'm giving up, but I'm trying to go back to edit things before I forget them. And I'm quickly learning that editing your own work is hard to do. I have images in my head but the words just don't come across the same. I think it's about time to call in some outside help (Epheros, expect an email). And the picture above will give you a hint of what the story is about.


Family History - Some family got together recently to go through some family photos to archive and identify them. I'm hoping to get some of these to include in future newsletters (I write a family history newsletter in case you didn't know).

Weathering the Storm-edited-

-edited-Yvonne called and said the roads were getting bad. Glad I did too. The road we live on was pretty scary to drive on.

The other storm that's brewing is the teacher in our county that was not only pushing a student in class, but caught on video doing it.

I don't know what's scarier, that I've not heard about it in the news yet or that I fear the reaction in the community. The teacher was white and the student black. I hate to even consider the issue of race, but I fear it may go in that direction.

Anyway, NCIS is on and I've got a date with a bowl of ice cream.

War Wagon Update

So I've been writing a little today (and some last night). I think I've moved beyond my character dilemma by, well, postponing their introduction. I'll leave their survival in the hands of future keystrokes. I'd like to keep her alive, but I don't know how to introduce her at the moment. So I've shelved her for the time being.

As to the rest of the plot, the two main characters have survived the first night after the attacks, and in a "Jerry Maguire"-like moment, the male had an epiphany and drafted plans for justice/survival. And I'm doing my best to build some sort of romantic relationship between the male and female, but, well, I'm not exactly a romantic type so it's a bit hard to think like that.

Anyway, enough of that. I'm nearly at 10,000 words (10% of my goal) and still haven't added as much detail as I'd like to what's already written. Only pounded out about 1,400 words today. not much, but I'm still working past the momentary character-block and a bit of "synergy" loss on my part. Guess my epiphany is fading itself.

But don't lose hope. I still know what I want to do and I plan on doing it.

Project: War Wagon

So I've officially given my latest addiction an official name, Project: War Wagon (kudos to Epheros for the formatting idea). While I doubt this will ever get published, I figure everyone has to start somewhere before they get to the top of the midden heap.

As to the details of the project, I'll be keeping those pretty close to the vest at the moment. Yes, I'd like to blab to everyone what I'm thinking, but I'm a bit superstitious about dooming myself too early (something I already fear I've done by even talking about it). Aside from my Monk-like OCD, I also don't want to reveal too much of the plot or story without changing names. Since I'm not overly creative, I've used names of real people as well as used their character traits. not something I'd suggest (except for biographies) but something I had to do to get things rolling.

So, the War Wagon is rolling (not to be confused with the John Wayne movie) and I'm hopefully aboard for the long haul.

Maybe I should stop blabbing here and get to writing.

But I can't. I'm at a crossroads in the story, and just can't decide. So I'm keeping the flow going by writing here about nothing.

Feel like you've wasted your time yet?

No? Want more?

Well, I think I'm done, sorry.

Besides, I need a break from the chair and cube. And another Diet Coke is calling my name.

And Epheros, you may be getting an email shortly about my plot dilemma. I think it's becoming more of a question of how to introduce than should they live or die.

Weekend Update

Couple of things to get off my chest before I burst.

First, some prayers have been answered. I'm not a religious person (I consider the Bible a work of fiction), but I've been known to pray on occasion. Generally when I'm in some sort of peril or stressful situation.

But the past 6 months or so I've taken some time aside from my day to pray. Nothing formal, nothing regular, just something I decided to do. Something I felt like I needed to do. I think I had reached a stressful point in life and needed some guidance. Well, none came, but I kept at. I haven't prayed as much recently, likely because my prayers weren't being answered.

Guess that defines my level of faith. It's as strong as my attention span is short.

Anyway, one particular prayer was answered in a rather unexpected way. So, I'm glad to report that good things do happen to good people.

Now if I could only feel good about praying for good things to happen to me......

Second, my writing is continuing. I've got a good 7,000+ words down on paper. According to this source, that's the size of a novelette. Wow. I'm impressed with myself. To help ground myself, I've set a goal of 100,000 words. Huge, I know, but it should keep me on an even keel. And besides, it's easier to take words out than put them in, right?

And to think I haven't even gotten to where I want to go with the story. And that's a little scary. Even scarier, I haven't filled in the gaps of the existing story (like descriptions of the setting, details on the plot, details on the characters, etc.).

Grammar and spelling is decent though, guess that's a good thing.

Finally, again related to my writing, I need some help. Yes, I need help already. I need to know what to do with a particular character. Keep them alive, or kill them. Sounds simple, but it's a question that needs to be answered. We'll call the character "Sixx."

You decide if she becomes "Deep Sixx."

Post a comment to let me know how you feel.

Can you get high from writing?

Yesterday morning, I woke up with the usual remnants of dreams floating in my head as I scratched my ass and headed to the shower. While I was soaping up, it started to dawn on my that, while these were the usual dream left-overs, I should do something with them.

As I was enduring my usual 45 minute commute, I realized that I REALLY should do something with these random thoughts that floated into and out of my head. And by the time I got to my desk, I was determined to write something down. Even if it were just an idea, or a sentence, or even an opening paragraph, I HAD to write something down.

So I sat down and wrote 2,016 words.

And I just finished writing 2,585 words over my lunch hour.

Granted, these are very rough drafts, no quotes for conversations, no italics for personal thoughts, no expounding on visual details. VERY rough drafts.

But it's a start. One the likes of which I've not seen in years. I once wrote a few pages of an idea and kept going until I got to a spot in the plot that I couldn't figure out what to do.

Well, now I think I can include that story in this new one. I just need to get there.

And the odd part is (or good part I guess) I think I can finish this story. I've had a bit of a "secrete twist" floating in my head for a year now and never had a good story to use it with. Well, now I do. I just need to finish the story.

But it keeps growing and changing as I write it. Could this be what "professional" writers experience? Is this a "writer's high?" I've experienced a "runner's high" before when I ran cross country in high school, and this is pretty close. I felt like I could keep on writing for another hour even though time wasn't really a factor. I wrote for an hour, but it only felt like 15 or 20 minutes.

Did I lose all perspective of reality when I was creating this story? Is this something else writers feel when they're in "the groove?"

Even now, as I'm writing this post, I feel like I could go on and on. But it's the fear that I may loose the reader or lose my flow or get interrupted by the phone or ....... blah blah blah.

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty stoked so far. I'll try to come in early tomorrow to get some more written. Between now and then, I'll need to decide where the plot is going. Generally speaking of course. Nothing is set in stone so far.

Sulu steps off the bridge to visit Earth

It appears the makers of Heroes have a sense of humor (and are Star Trek fans). Hiro's father, played by George Takei (aka Sulu), was on the show and apparently had quite the personalized license plate:

via FanTent.com

Les Stroud in Africa this week

Les is getting dropped via hot air balloon into South Africa. He shows some obvious concern over the lions in the area. Here's to hoping he'll make the 7 day trek safely!

More Heroes in Jericho

While I'm not much of a fan of gimmicks, I've fallen for the Heroes 360 and the Jericho Countdown.

I've fallen for the Heroes show big time, so it was no surprise when I found the Primatech Paper site. From there, I discovered their "hidden" screens, complete with logins and passwords. Inside you find "extra" information about some of the characters (see image below of Wireless). Nothing too terribly exciting, and nowhere near the intensity of the graphic novel.

Oh, if you want to skip ahead on the extra info on Primatech, just go here.

On the flip side of Heroes is Jericho. I was pretty much a hard-core NBC watcher until CSI arrived. Since then, I've been migrating to an almost exclusive CBS TV schedule.

And I've now brought Jericho into the fold. One of their "gimmicks" is the Countdown series of Webisodes. Again, nothing too exciting, but you get a bit of a scientific perspective on nuclear blasts and the resulting chaos. Added to this is the presumption that Hawkins is a hunted man. Of course you can't see him, but it's implied. Here's a collection of Countdown episodes available.

The big thing for me about Jericho, aside for it being a pretty decent show, is the availability to watch it on the web (that's lean-forward viewing). I was able to find all 11 episodes on YouTube (obviously a copyright violation, but I don't care) and the quality is so-so. But the CBS site has a great stream and good quality.

Oh, and check the profile of this guy for the full episodes on YouTube.

Sticking it to the man

Taken to a new level....

Important Heroes Message

Well, not really, but it said it was.

Important Message from Primatech Paper

Thank you for your interest in Primatech Paper and taking the time to complete our employee application.

As our company continues to grow, we are always on the lookout for sharp-minded people to help pave the way for the future.

Please retain this email for your records. A Primatech Paper representative will be contacting you in a few weeks with the next steps.

Important Heroes Message

Well, not really, but it said it was.

Important Message from Primatech Paper

Thank you for your interest in Primatech Paper and taking the time to complete our employee application.

As our company continues to grow, we are always on the lookout for sharp-minded people to help pave the way for the future.

Please retain this email for your records. A Primatech Paper representative will be contacting you in a few weeks with the next steps.

Survivorman scouts out Africa

Les Stroud has posted another blog entry giving us some details on his scouting mission to Africa (after which he stayed somewhere around here). He's looking for two locations for an episode a piece. Interesting that most documentaries are within fenced areas (to keep the animals in and poachers out). Never thought of Africa as having a lot of fences.

The encounter with the snake was a bit creepy. Not being a fan of snakes made it a bit hard to read, but I am glad everythign turned out well.

Here's hoping the episode goes well too.

Oh, side note, the Forums are now open on the Les Stroud site. Yeah!

Where are you Asha?

Asha Degree went missing February 14, 2000 from Shelby, North Carolina. Yvonne and I had the unfortunate chance of living in Shelby at the time. Very scary stuff when something like this happens so close to home.


(age 10, around the time of her disappearance)









Yvonne taught at the school Asha attended and one of her good friends was Asha’s teacher. She took it hard. Real hard. And I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Yvonne gets a call in the next 2 or 3 weeks from her friend.




(age 14, after age progression)









What really upsets me about this case are two particular things, the night she disappeared and the media.

The night she disappeared, there was a storm in the county. Some say she left the house because she was afraid, but that makes no sense to me. Her father last saw her in bed at 2:30 am. No big deal there. But the fact that a motorist saw her walking along the road at 4 am strikes me as disturbing. A ten year old girl, walking along the road, at 4 am. Would you not call the cops or stop yourself to see if she’s alright? She was alone and you didn’t think to say something? Does Fallston Road (aka Route 18) look like a place for a little girl to be walking alone? I’m not sure how these witnesses are sleeping these days, but I can only hope they’ve made peace with themselves and the Degree family.

The media is the other aspect of the case that disturbs me. We’ve progressed a lot since 2000 in our technology and in the reporting of missing children via Amber Alerts. But why does the media continue to focus on missing children that are white? Yes, Shelby is a rural area that some may think of as a little on the racist side. But in my experience, they didn’t really care what race you were. Whites and blacks got along just fine. The only prejudice I experienced was religious. If you weren’t a Baptist, they tended to look down on you. So I don’t see this story as being “forgotten” by the media of the area.

In fact, I remember the local paper (The Shelby Star) as covering the story quite frequently. But the national media never picked up on it much. What a shame that a white girl can go missing while on vacation at the beach in a foreign country and garners more attention that a little black girl walking down the road by herself.

I’ll end this public service announcement with a final link to the Asha Degree and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sites. Interesting that the later has a link to Heroes star Hayden Panettiere (the cheerleader) doing a promo for Teen Online Safety site 2SMRT4U.

Pledge on a Shower Curtain

So, three weeks ago, I was cleaning our bathroom before going to work (about the only perk to working the late shift) and I was dusting things here and there as there isn't much to dust in a bathroom.


Anyway, I made a discovery (S. C. Johnson, feel free to send me some free Pledge).


Pledge works as a great lubricant on the shower curtain rod.


We have a standard two-part curtain where the inner section is the waterproof vinyl and the outer section is the decorative curtain. These hang from the fancy brushed nickel hooks and slide on a basic curtain rod.


Well, the damn hooks always provide some resistance when opening or closing them. I think it's a combination of the intense humidity and the metal on plastic that causes some sort of increased friction.


Well, I decided the rod needed dusting and the curtain has been sliding like greased lightning since. I love it.


And the dork in me lost the argument. I was going to make a video of my discovery but decided not to. Sorry Dorky Me.

Major Heroes Post

So, watched Heroes this morning via old-school DVR (that's VHS). Combine that with a little research, I give you, the oddest Heroes post I've made to date.

1. The graphic novels - I keep harping about these things folks because they're good. Real good. The latest one (released today) continues with the story of the radiation guy (aka Exploding Man or Ted Sprague). We learn more about the hypo-gun (this causes the marks on the neck) and the potential of another group may be searching for the Heroes (meaning somebody besides the Horned Rim Glasses guy and his crew).

2. How many groups - We learn from yesterday's episode that there is at least two groups searching for the Heroes. Horned Rim Glasses (HRG) guy and his goons from the Agency Without Initials (AWI). Added to this group was Hiro's father (played by Mr. Sulu).

3. How many Heroes - We were introduced to Claude (the Invisible Man) and Meredith (Flaming Finger Lady) who is Claire's mother. And the previews for next week gave us a taste that Clarie's father might also have special powers.

4. Primatech Paper - Primatech (where HRG is employed) actually has a web site (operated by GE, the parent of NBC). Call the number and enter the code under the employment section. You'll get an email like this:

And they have another site. This will link you to several blogs, including Zach, Sylar, Svetlana, Nikki, Mohinder, Claude, Mr. Muggles, Isaac, Mr. Bennet, Claire, and Brody.

Yikes, quite a collection of stuff to digest there.

Enjoy!

Battlestar Galactica and Credit Reports

Sunday Night TV

What the frak is going on with BSG? Seriously. I've seen more action in the sack from the pilots than I've seen in space. Let's just take Baltar and Caprica Six and shove them in a room with the four lovers. Whoever comes out wins. There's a match-up worth watching.

By the Gods I didn't sign on to watch a love square (there are four of them), I signed on to watch a science fiction show with space battles and bad guys that look like us.

Gag.

And The Dresden Files isn't making my Sunday night viewing any better. A magical detective guy sounded neat at first, but after two episodes, yuck. Double yuck.

And 7th Heaven isn't helping either. I loved the show and grew up on it, but it's becoming a bit too much of a political platform lately. And none of the original crew is there (meaning the kids).

Credit Reports

I got my credit report from two of the three agencies today (for some reason TransUnion didn't like me). And things look quite good. I took a financial class today (free from work) and didn't exactly learn anything new, but got some motivation to do something about the monkey on my back called debt.

I've signed up for two more classes, so hopefully I'll get something more out of them besides the motivation.

Anyway, things are looking up. Heroes is on tonight! WOOT!!

My Psuedo-Family Crest

Here's my family crest. Or at least what I thought it was for one of my high school classes (circa 1993). The swords were likely because I liked swords and was heavy into reading R. A. Salvatore. The Mickey Mouse ears are completely foreign, no idea where they came from. The flags (Scotland, Norway, and Ireland) are obviously my heritage. The Star of David is ancestral as well, but nothing I observe. And the "Rich But Burnt" banner was the best I could come up with for my last name (Richard becomes RICH-CHARRED, like "charred from a fire").

Les Stroud in the Amazon

As I sit here at my cube on a Sunday afternoon, I wonder what life would be like if I had made different choices in life. Like, if I had learned that my some-time hero as a child (Richard Dean Anderson) bicycled across Canada as a teenager. Would I have done something similar to discover myself? Would I have taken an interest in the outdoors more and looked for a job in that arena?

Well, we can dwell in the past, but we must excel into the future.

On that note, the fans of Les Stroud can finally read about his latest adventure into the jungles of the Amazon where snakes are just as dangerous as the local tribes.

You can read more here about his trip, but I'll give you the highlights.

He's taking the following supplies:

• 3 feet of fishing line
• one can of soda
• one match
• fire "dust" [not exactly sure what this is]
• mosquito hat
• multi-tool
• dugout canoe
• blowgun*
• machete*
• spear*

*The last three items are included so he can "live like the tribesmen."

He's in Ecuador.

There are vampire bats that pee on him.

He leaves his camp on the night of the sixth day (early by his standards) because of a jaguar.

Thanks Les for doing what the rest of us are too afraid to do. And thanks for being intelligent about it too.

Not like that idiotic Man vs. Wild guy. Now there's proof that natural selection isn't working.

Yes, son, blacks can be racist-edited-

Today's paper had a rather disturbing article about the local NAACP President, Mozett Petway, confronting the Spotsylvania County leaders about the lack of basketball courts in the county's parks. Apparently of the seven parks in the county, only two have basketball courts.


That wasn't the disturbing part.


Petway said the black community favors basketball to most other sports and this failure to include more courts could be perceived as as an attempt to exclude blacks.


Um, can you say WHAT THE FUCK!?


Are you nuts?


Seriously, are you?


To think that a county or its leaders would purposely not add basketball courts in an attempt to exclude blacks from using the parks is insane. The easiest answer (and likely the only answer) the county didn't include the courts is because people like you didn't give them enough money to build them. If the basketball courts are that important to you, get some friends together at the NAACP, get donations, and build one. Or seven.


Mr. Petway, while I doubt you'll ever read this, I would seriously like to thank you for further proving that as I grow older, more militant, black-Americans like you are giving the rest of your race a bad name. It's because of people like you that I, as a white-American, face prejudice and racism in society.


Just look at the NAACP. You don't even need to look at the actions this group takes, just look at it's name. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. COLORED people. If I called you "colored," I'd likely be sued. With February approaching, we, as a nation, are about to celebrate Black History Month. When can we celebrate White History Month? -edited-


That would be racist.


Just as racist as all the others. If we want to live in an equal society, where race and gender do not matter, then we need to live life that way.


Don't cause a ruckass because there are too few basketball courts in the county. That's like saying there's not enough baseball fields for the Latinos. Or not enough Bocce courts for the Italians. Or enough go kart tracks for the rednecks. Or enough golf courses for the businessmen.


Mr. Petway, I sincerely hope that you retract your statement. It was clearly meant to be inflammatory. That's fine. But to make a racist comment and claim unfair treatment because of your race? Well, as Mr. Wu of Deadwood would say, you're nothing but a "cocksucka."


And one final note before I blow my top any further. Below are two athletes that share your last name, Mr. Petway. Yes, the first plays basketball, but isn't it odd that one actually played for the Negro League (that's baseball in case you didn't know).

I'm a Heroes junky

I love Heroes. I know, it's likely more a case of "teenage lust" than "adult love" but I enjoy it.

So for those that don't already know, Heroes has a graphic novel. Decently done, and available a day or so after the episode airs. Which means you can get a little extra info between episodes.

Anyway, the latest comic introduces Wireless and the Exploding Man. And I happened to stumble onto the Heroes Wiki, a great source for fans.

Not mine, but funny

I never dreamed slowly cruising on my motorcycle through a residential
neighborhood could be so incredibly dangerous! Little did I suspect.

I was on Brice Street - a very nice neighborhood with perfect lawns
and slow traffic. As I passed an oncoming car, a brown furry missile
shot out from under it and tumbled to a stop immediately in front of
me.

It was a squirrel, and must have been trying to run across the road
when it encountered the car. I really was not going very fast, but
there was no time to brake or avoid it -- it was that close. I hate to
run over animals, and I really hate it on a motorcycle, but a squirrel
should pose no danger to me.

I barely had time to brace for the impact. Animal lovers, never fear.
Squirrels, I discovered, can take care of themselves!
Inches before impact, the squirrel flipped to his feet. He was
standing on his hind legs and facing my oncoming Valkyrie with
steadfast resolve in his beady little eyes.

His mouth opened, and at the last possible second, he screamed and
leapt! I am pretty sure the scream was squirrel for, "Bonzai!" or
maybe,"Die you gravy-sucking, heathen scum!" The leap was nothing short of
spectacular...

He shot straight up, flew over my windshield, and impacted me squarely
in the chest. Instantly, he set upon me. If I did not know better, I
would have sworn he brought 20 of his little buddies along for the
attack.

Snarling, hissing, and tearing at my clothes, he was a frenzy of
activity. As I was dressed only in a light T-shirt, summer riding
gloves, and jeans this was a bit of a cause for concern. This furry
little tornado was doing some damage!

Picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in
jeans, a T-shirt, and leather gloves, puttering at maybe 25 mph down a
quiet residential street, and in the fight of his life with a
squirrel.

And losing...

I grabbed for him with my left hand. After a few misses, I finally
managed to snag his tail. With all my strength, I flung the evil
rodent off to the left of the bike, almost running into the right curb
as I recoiled from the throw. That should have done it. The matter
should have ended right there.

It really should have.

The squirrel could have sailed into one of the
pristinely kept yards and gone on about his business, and I could have
headed home. No one would have been the wiser. But this was no
ordinary squirrel. This was not even an ordinary angry squirrel.

This was an EVIL MUTANT ATTACK SQUIRREL OF DEATH!
Somehow he caught my gloved finger with one of his little hands and,
with the force of the throw, swung around and with a resounding thump
and an amazing impact, he landed squarely on my BACK and resumed his
rather antisocial and extremely distracting activities. He also
managed to take my left glove with him! The situation was not
improved. Not improved at all.

His attacks were continuing, and now I could not reach him. I was
startled, to say the least. The combination of the force of the throw,
only having one hand (the throttle hand) on the handlebars, and my
jerking back unfortunately put a healthy twist through my right hand
and into the throttle. A healthy twist on the throttle of a Valkyrie
can only have one result.

Torque.

This is what the Valkyrie is made for, and she is very, very good at
it. The engine roared and the front wheel left the pavement. The squirrel
screamed in anger. The Valkyrie screamed in ecstasy. I screamed in ..
well .. I just plain screamed.

Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in
jeans, a slightly squirrel-torn t-shirt, wearing only one leather
glove, and roaring at maybe 50 mph and rapidly accelerating down a
quiet residential street on one wheel, with a demonic squirrel of
death on his back.

The man and the squirrel are both screaming bloody murder. With the
sudden acceleration I was forced to put my other hand back on the
handlebars and try to get control of the bike.

This was leaving the mutant squirrel to his own devices, but I really
did not want to crash into somebody's tree, house, or parked car.
Also, I had not yet figured out how to release the throttle...my brain
was just simply overloaded. I did manage to mash the back brake, but
it had little effect against the massive power of the big cruiser.

About this time the squirrel decided that I was not paying sufficient
attention to this very serious battle (maybe he was an evil mutant
NAZI attack squirrel of death), and he came around my neck and got
INSIDE my full-face helmet with me.

As the faceplate closed part way, he began hissing in my face. I am
quite sure my screaming changed intensity. It had little effect on the
squirrel, however. The RPMs on the Dragon maxed out (since I was not
bothering with shifting at the moment), so her front end started to
drop.

Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in
jeans, a very raggedly torn T-shirt, wearing only one leather glove,
roaring at probably 80 mph, still on one wheel, with a large puffy
squirrel's tail sticking out of the mostly closed full-face helmet. By
now the screams are probably getting a little hoarse.

Finally I got the upper hand ... I managed to grab his tail again,
pulled him out of my helmet, and slung him to the left as hard as I
could. This time it worked ... sort-of.
Spectacularly sort-of ...so to speak.

Picture a new scene. You are a cop. You and your partner have pulled
off on a quiet residential street and parked with your windows down to
do some paperwork.

Suddenly a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in
jeans, a torn T-shirt flapping in the breeze, and wearing only one
leather glove, moving at probably 80 mph on one wheel, and screaming
bloody murder roars by, and with all his strength throws a
live squirrel grenade directly into your police car.

I heard screams.

They weren't mine...

I managed to get the big motorcycle under control and dropped the
front wheel to the ground. I then used maximum braking and skidded to
a stop in a cloud of tire smoke at the stop sign of a busy cross
street. I would have returned to 'fess up (and to get my glove back).
I really would have.

Really... Except for two things.

First, the cops did not seem interested or the slightest bit concerned
about me at the moment. When I looked back, the doors on both sides of
the patrol car were flung wide open. The cop from the passenger side
was on his back, doing a crab walk into somebody's front yard, quickly
moving away from the car. The cop who had been in the driver's seat
was standing in the street, aiming a riot shotgun at his own police
car. So, the cops were not interested in me. They often insist to "let the
professionals handle it" anyway.

That was one thing. The other?

Well, I could clearly see shredded and flying pieces of foam and
upholstery from the back seat. That is one dangerous squirrel. And now
he has a patrol car. A somewhat shredded patrol car
but it was all his.

I took a deep breath, turned on my turn-signal, made a gentle right
turn off of Brice Street, and sedately left the neighborhood. I
decided it was best to just buy myself a new pair of gloves. And a
whole lot of Band-Aids.

Potomac Elementary School, King George, VA

Can you tell I'm busy at work today?

Now that I've jinxed myself, I scanned this old photo from the days of yore. It's Ms. Francis' First Grade class at Potomac Elementary School in King George, VA. Time frame is October of 1982. From the surrounding landscape, I'd say this was taken behind the school (the furthest side from the front doors of the time) on one of the soccer fields. If I recall correctly, there was nothing out there but open field. The playground didn't come in until a few years later, and that would have been closer to the school from my best guess.

I've named as many people as I could, but they are garunteed names nor spellings. Old age tends to make you forget things that were vitally important years ago. Like who the guy is sitting in front of you in class.

Anyway, if anybody out there finds this and knows who these people are, please feel free to send me an email.

Front Row (l to r) Unknown, Unknown, Jeff Orsalack [confirmed, I know I spelled it wrong, but it's close]

Middle Row (l to r) Kara Farrington [I think], Unknown, Unknown, Sean Gates [confirmed], Neil Richard [that's me], Jason Nance (Bryant) [I think this is him, his last name changed at some point]

Back Row (l to r) Sarah Simpson [now Sarah Snow], Vicky Tannenbaum [I think, last name may be spelled wrong too], Unknown, Unknown, Lenny McLelland [later commited suicide, last name may be spelled wrong], Anita Davis [I think last name could be White], Unknown

Family history

Why is it that "genealogy" is so hard to spell? Why can't it be as easy as "family history?"

Anyway, I've been slowly scanning what I can since I discovered the copy machine at work will scan and email as PDF attachments AND I got a scanner on my desk to use for troubleshooting issues related to our software.

Makes it a heck of a lot easier to scan here than at home.

Anyway, I found a blast from the past for all you Lesters out there. The June 1980 Lester Olympics II.

Cinda (sorry, "cinda" - must be a bad day for capitalization too), I'll be sending you copies for you to distribute among the rest of the Lester clan. Mom, you'll get a copy too, shouldn't be too large.

Ultrasound pictures

Went back to the OB doc today with Yvonne. I skipped the "girly" part but went back for the second ultrasound. And since work was kind enough to supply me with a scanner, I've scanned the images in. The scanner didn't eat them, but didn't scan them straight, so the corners are nicked off do to cropping. Everything was fine, heartbeat looked good. We go back next month to hear the heartbeat and will take Elizabeth with us.

This was January 4th.

This was today.

Memes, are they for you?

So Epheros has thrown down a challenge that I've decided to accept. I'm not much of a fan of memes, but they do provide some interesting info about the person answering the questions. I just usually don't open up much.

So Epheros, challenge accepted.

1. Elaborate on your default icon: It's currently a self portrait that I photo-shopped with mustache and beard (a la Captain Morgan style). The photo was taken back when we lived in Shelby, NC.

2. What's your current relationship status? Married for 6 years. My level of happiness varies from day to day.

3. Ever have a near-death experience? Depends on how you define "near death." I've lifted a body in a body bag once, that was not fun. But the closest I've come to death (that I can remember) would be a tie between my bike accident as a kid (I blacked out) and the car accident I was in as a kid (again, I blacked out). Again, not fun.

4. Name an obvious quality you have: Organized to a near-Monk level.

5. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now? I'm currently removing the Umpa Lumpa song from my head by listening to Eminem.

6. Name a celebrity you would, in a fantastical hypothetical world, like to get to know. Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. I don't know much about them, but they do give a lot of their money away. Something I would do if I were rich.

7. Who will cut and paste this first? Probably nobody.

8. Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity? Yes, Neil Patrick Harris. Odd that we have the same first name.

9. Do you wear a watch? Yes, but on the wrong wrist. Most right-handed people wear their watch on their left wrist. I wear mine on my right.

10. Do you have anything pierced? Yes, mt left earlobe. I did a bit of a social experiment at work to see if anyone would notice. Surprisingly they did. Haven't worn an earring on a regular basis since college (circa 1995).

11. Do you have any tattoos? Yes. Two, one on each shoulder blade. Left side is the Rebel symbol, right side is the Imperial symbol. I'm considering another one.

13. Do you like to shop? I grew up as a mall-rat, so that's an obvious yes.

14. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? A soda from the machine at work. Although, I guess that was just a quarter, so maybe it doesn't count. Before that, lunch at McDonalds last Monday. 4 piece Happy Meal (for Elizabeth), 2 double cheeseburgers, 1 medium fry, and 1 small Coke. Total cost was $7.62.

15. What was the last thing you paid for with your credit card? Hang on, let me check, it was gas at Sheetz on Saturday. 12 gallons for $24.95.

16. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? My wife (Yvonne), this morning to find out if I was at the doctor's office yet. I was.

17. What is on your desktop background? Currently the two guys from Psych.

18. What is the background on your cell phone? Elizabeth from this summer. I should really update it.

19. What was the last movie you watched? Completely, would be Die Hard. Still haven't finished Click yet.

20. What was the last book you read? Currently reading Conquistador by S. M. Stirling. But the last one I finished was The Mystery Box by Gordon McAlpine.

Are you okay?

If you have to ask, then the answer is no.

Why, by the Light, do I put so much pressure on myself to do the right thing. I don't want to hurt her feelings, but I know if I talk about it, we'll end up arguing about it, which means nothing will be done about it. I'm feeling used and abused. Things were going great. Better than great. I should have known it would rear its ugly head and make itself known to the world again. By not talking about it, I can only hope it will go away, that things will work themselves out again. I really don't want to go back to where I was all that time ago. It sucked, it blew, it was a serious ratfuck. I can't help it that I have unnatural desires. I've done my best to ask God for forgiveness but he continues to test me. Maybe I should stop praying to him and pray to Jesus instead. I tried and it didn't' work. Maybe Buddha will answer my calls. The Wheel weave as the Wheel wills. And I can't get my little thread to move beyond an average person. In fact, I've decided that's my curse in life. Some people can be average and get along fine in the world. They make little ripples in the Weave but nothing major. Me, I'm not average, I'm terribly average. Which means this ratfuck of a life doesn't make so much as a ripple when a damn elephant sits on me. My little thread is nothing more than a speck of dust on the tiniest flea on some horses ass. I've also figured out that the time of the Devil is not midnight, or even 1 am (as the 13th hour). No it's 11:34 at night. Why? Because that's when all the crap from the day decides to hit you so damn hard you end up trying to cry yourself to sleep. And when that doesn't work, you end up going tot he living room to read for so damn long your eyes have no choice but to fall like leaden weights as soon as you hit the bed. Nightmares don't matter at 11:34, because when you turn it upside down, you get the word HELL. And that's what it is, Hell. The beauty is asleep and the beast is stirring. No wonder they cancelled that show. It never could have worked between them. Well, fuck the critics, I want this to work. I've put so much of my soul into this, it has to work. I'm not bloody giving up on this freak show just yet. It has to end happily ever after. Maybe I am like an onion with so damn many layers and a bit of an ogre like Shrek, but who the frak cares. I just want it. And I don't want to be used. Christ, will this ever end? Buddha, do you have any words of wisdom? What about the flaming Light? Blood and ashes, I'm sick of this crap. No I'm not okay, and no I don't want to talk about it. Leave me the fuck alone before I ball my eyes out like a little girl and get so damn pissed off I can't see straight. If you have any questions, go call somebody who cares.

Dreams-edited-

So last night I had a bizarre dream about three young women coming into the bathroom while I was using it. It was a public bathroom and I was in a stall (standing, not sitting) and they kept trying to push the door open. Then they decided to peak over the wall and say "Gross" before going to the mirror to put their make-up on.

I didn't care so much that they came into the bathroom. And I didn't even care that they peaked over the wall. But they kept pushing the door and that makes it hard to aim.

Anyway, Nel and Zevina and their friend were not on my friends list after that. And no, I don't know who Nel and Zevina are, but those were the names on their name tags.

In other news, we got some snow yesterday and ice last night. I wasn't too concerned about the snow, but the forecast for ice had me a bit worried. -edited-

-edited-By afternoon they had treated our road (with sand, not salt), but it was drivable enough to get some lunch at McDonald's. Yvonne promised Elizabeth lunch there since she (meaning Elizabeth) went poopy on the pottie.

And it was nice to stay home and get things done. We cleaned off the desk and I finally got it dusted and organized. And I got to clean the laundry room and Elizabeth's bathroom. Still need to clean the floors, but that shouldn't take too much.

Let's see, Epheros, you were looking to see when Dresdin Files were on. Right now (1600), tomorrow (Tuesday) at 2300, and Thursday at 1800. And some stories to critique? Check these two out. Introduction. Prologue.

Sweep The Leg Johnny!

Sharon Stone visits Edinboro University

Sharon Stone will be visiting her old college, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (EUP). Back in the 1970s, Stone attended school here before going on to a major acting career.

While attending school at EUP, there was a rumor floating around that she used to live in Rose Hall. I never put too much weight into it until I heard it from many different sources. Not exactly the biggest claim to fame for EUP, but it was about as close to celebrity as I could ever get.

Yes, we have Bruce Baumgartner, but to me, the biggest celebrity to come out of EUP was Mister Rogers. No, he never "officially" attended school there, but he spoke at my graduation ceremony. That was big. That was bigger than big, it was huge. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.

While Sharon Stone paying a visit to my alma mater is good news, the sad news in this article (after you read between the lines) is that President Pogue will be retiring this year. Bummer. He was always very nice and I felt like he took EUP in the right direction.

Thanks for the info Mom.

Fraking Heroes Texting Survivorman-edited-

I'm starting to feel like Epheros by blogging at night. Maybe I should make him read my stories to return the favor.....

-edited-

-edited-

Aside form that, a few non-related updates (pardon while my FTL drives warm up).

- BSG (that's Battle Star Galactica) begins anew this Sunday. For me as a viewer and fan, this will be the defining string of episodes. If serious progress is not made, I will be dropping this show from my Must Watch list.

- Heroes is due to start this Monday. And unlike BSG, they have a ways to go before I drop them.

- Conquistador finally got to an action sequence. Thankfully. Things were getting a bit slow there for a moment.

- You may have encountered a person in a public restroom before talking on their cell phone. Well, today I encountered something different. Text messaging. Personally, I like this better than an actual phone call because they won't be able to hear you flush. -edited-

-edited-

- I have yet to finish watching CSI from yesterday and I'm almost done with the Mythbusters Pirate special from Wednesday. Tonight is Psych, one of those shows that sneaks up on you. Subtle humor at its best.

-edited-

FTW baby!!

(Almost forgot, Les Stroud is due to release a new season of Survivorman soon. Stay tuned!)