I WRITE HIS, HOW ABOUT MINE?

Completly Oblivious

2006-04-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

Bethesda Softworks has finally got Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on the shelves. Needless to say, since Elder Scrolls III is the basis for Arvil Bren's Journal this is big news around me. My oldest son, who introduced me to the Elder Scrolls games in the first place, had a preorder copy which arrived the day it hit stores, and I built him a new machine specifically to play it. In return he bought me a copy, which I loaded into my almost current game machine. It is the totally immersive experience that is the claim to fame of the Eleder Scrolls, and I'd say neither of us is disappointed. But there are some key bits of information...

The PC version has a few bugs, and Bethesda is apparently working on a patch. This is not too surprising really. ESIII: Morrowind went through the same kind of growing pains, which I was happy to have missed out on. The patch will be available to download at some point, and some people might want to wait for it. The most aggravating bug to me is that the installshield seems to never quite close (has worked exactly once in a series of five reinstallations done for various reasons).

Next on my irritant list is the system requirements. The kid's a hard worker and pretty frugal about almost everything else, so for him to be able to spring $1700 for a machine geared to top the recommended specs in almost all areas was not a big surprise. His old one was a dinosaur. My game machine though is not that far out of date...really...no, really, it isn't! But, I was willing to go with the 'it's a cutting edge game so a little out of date is too much...we couldn't make it reverse compatible' explanation. Except I think the guys at Bethsoft should have been able to do it during the years we've been waiting, since a couple of 'garage developers' on the fan boards have gotten it done in the couple weeks since it was released. Okay, maybe they had beta copies, I dunno, but anyway.

So on my machine that doesn't meet the minimum processor speed, barely meets minimum memory, and has an 'unsupported' video card, oblivion runs like a bat outta hell, and looks quite a bit better than Morrowind does, though nothing like it looks on Scott's new machine. It's fun to play though, no doubt, and until my loyal readers come through with a vid card it will have to do.

Here's how it's done, for those who want to know:

This site belongs to the community minded guy who came up with the 'Oldblivion' loader. It loads reverse engineered 'shaders' that work with older vid cards that another guy developed, and automatically does all the patching to make them work. The shader package is bound into the zip file, so it's a one stop shop. You will note there are some cards listed as 'unsupported' (even here), and some listed as 'poorly supported' (which are unfortunately very common, but here's the good news) including mine. However, 'poorly supported' is actually due to the cards being technically capable of dealing with the new generation shaders. In fact my machine can run a good high visual quality slide show without using the Oldblivion patch, it's just too slow to be playable. So the trick is to change one switch in the ini file to force the shader selection into the patch. No big sweat. After that it was just a matter of getting settings that didn't overwork the slightly shaky system.

It takes a Superbowl

2006-02-11T12:41:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's been months since I posted anything. But I'm back. Mostly the 'politics free zone' was a mistake. Most things I have found humerous or rant-worthy the last few months have been political. Now I'm gonna rant about football, which is probably too close to politics anyway.

How can I rant about football? It's OVER. Dead and stinkin'. Well, there is the ProBowl. As I said, over, dead and stinkin'. Who cares about the ProBowl? I wish the football pundit media did, maybe they could stop yammering about the 'bad calls' in the Superbowl. They could talk about the ProBowl, or they could admit there's no football going on and turn the sports pages over to the annual NBA/NHL battle for column space...but NO...they are creating a bad call controversy like some sort of desperate cottage industry.

The Seattle media is of course taking the lead. They want to talk endlessly about the pass interference call on Darrell Jackson. The ball is going to Jackson's left. He launches himself that direction with both feet and his right hand on the defender and makes the catch. There wasn't a lot of contact with the defender, but that IS pass interference...'pushing off to get an advantage'. Outside of the most rabid Seattle fans I don't think anyone is denying that there was interference. The big argument seems to be 'it wasn't MUCH contact, so it COULD have been let go since Seattle scored on the play'? Why? So the media could be screaming on Pittsburg's behalf instead?

The Seattle fans might be better served asking Jackson why he persistently ran his go routes like there was extra credit for tight-roping the sideline. Had he not been out of bounds on all his subsequent potential touchdowns the pass interference call would have been a moot point.

Then there's the Rothlisberger touchdown call. A Seattle defender has been quoted saying 'he didn't score, we pushed him back'. The Seattle media has blathered that for a week. I think the guy who said it is correct, they pushed him back. When he is about a foot and a half off the ground the ball is excruciatingly close to the goal line, and by the time he reaches the ground it is not. Before they pushed him back did the ball reach the goal line? Seattle fans say no, of course. Pittsburg fans say yes, of course. Anyone else who isn't trying to stoke a controversy says 'geez that was close' and moves on. That was about all anyone could say from watching the replay, including the referee who reviewed the call.

Then there's the offensive lineman called for holding who doesn't even deny that he held on the play. He just says the defender was offsides, like that makes holding okay. The media types of course break out the old chestnut about 'there's holding on every play'. No one bothers to mention that since the guy felt justified about the holding because of his beliefs about the offsides he just dragged the guy down like a crocodile with a gazelle. They also don't talk about the line officials on both sides of the field watching for offsides and false starts. There may be holding every play going uncalled, but when's the last time you saw the two guys staring straight down the line miss a false start or an offsides?

To top things off we have Mike Holmgren stirring the pot. He blamed the bad calls on his way off the field at halftime, and no doubt he continued to do so after the game. Maybe if he had been thinking less about bad calls at halftime he might have done something about the atrocious display of clock management his team had just finished the half with and they wouldn't have done even worse with the clock at the end of the game. That would be a lot to ask of him though, we are talking about a coach who complained about the officiating EVERY time his team lost this season. Hell, he complained about the officiating when his team WON!

I think today I read my last football column for the season. I expect they will all just be reruns from now until the draft.

Can't Stand Prosperity

2005-09-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

This week I have actually gotten ahead on my writing. I used to always keep two or three days ahead on my serial fiction, just in case I had a day where something really got in the way. Unfortunately that got sidetracked before the rash of computer problems and laziness came along. Anyway, I'm finally getting back on an even keel...I thought.

Then I somehow managed to post tomorrow's entry this morning. Daft. Completely daft.

Advocates?

2005-09-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

Some friends of my girlfriend are in a battle with Best Buy over a defective television. She came home last night and asked me "What's that consumer advocate guy's name?" I did know one off the top of my head, oddly enough, so rather than a more generic search she went to the internet looking for David Horowitc.

I remember him having a segment on local news in LA called 'Fight Back' I think. You could write to him care of the station and he would go after the evil car dealer, insurance adjuster...whatever. He came off like a real do gooder. When I was a car salesman I was not impressed by some of his stuff with car dealers, since it often seemed like blackmail; 'you are definitely in the right, but once we splatter you over the airwaves that won't matter' type stuff.

I feel vindicated now. I hadn't seen Mr Do Gooder on the air in a long time, but he is apparently still active. If you have a consumer type problem he will resolve it, according to his website. As I well remember, he makes no distinction about whether or not you are in the right, he just trusts his market power to force the company to give in...for a minor fee. Of course if the target checks his website they will see that all they need to do is hold out through three letters...since that is all you get from him for your $175.

Another trip to the airport

2005-09-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

I've been comparing. Last week I went to LAX to pick up my mom. Dropping her off for her trip was easy, I didn't even have to park the car. Going to pick her up was typical. I seem to be cursed. When I meet a plane it is generally late.

It was made worse by really knowing her plane would be late. The weather that day had the biggest storm cell in the country looming over the midwest; a huge blot obstructing the path from Chicago to LA. But knowing that makes no difference when you are a couple hours from the airport.

So the logistics of the pick up trip are definitely worse than the drop off.

But today my girlfriend is coming back from a business trip to Dallas. This will be a great visit to the Burbank airport. Far better than taking her down there Monday.

I'm so proud of myself

2005-09-13T22:42:00.000-07:00

Blogger's spell checker has been on the fritz for three days. So far I've gotten no editorial comments on Arvil Bren: Trail of the Archmage. Three posts proofed mano a mano. And I didn't even throw this out there on Monday as a plea for mercy.

What I'm most proud of though is that I am getting back on track with the writing every day.

Trying to find humor

2005-09-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

I have this idea that what I write here should be funny. Maybe not every time, but at least frequently. I'm pretty good at keeping myself amused at the misadventures of my day to day life, so one would think I should be able to point out at least one thing that I laughed about today.

Unfortunately I recognize that a lot of my amusement arises from things that would fall into a lot of people's idea of 'sick humor', and in the wake of the hurricane that demands some discretion, even from me. Plus, I've promised to keep politics out of this blog, so the biggest jokes of the moment are out of bounds. You know who they are.

Catch up

2005-09-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

A week with no internet connection at my girlfriend's house left a mark. Given that my brother lives in Louisiana I can't call it a disaster, but perhaps last month I would have. I am finally getting sorted out. My brother, on the other hand, is out of contact...most likely due to lack of power and phones. He was far enough off the storm track to not get seriously damaged and I did hear from him with the last of his phone batteries, so I'm guessing all is well there.

Anyway, it's amazing how the things that get done on a daily basis with relative ease can fall behind and become huge projects. Yesterday I finally got Arvil Bren's Journal up and running. I got back on the net in time to meet my monthly Noon Spool deadline. Now I'm back here, settling back into my favorite digs. It's so nice to write without caring much if anyone reads it.

On the other hand there are a couple short stories rolling around in my head that I really want to write...I might have my own submission in Noon Spool next month.

Games Parallel Life

2005-08-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

Jack is being unruly. With my mom out of town we are spending our days at her house to provide company for her little dog. Her not yet housebroken little dog. Jack enjoys the scene over there because for some reason he has determined it is okay to bark there. He barks at the next door neighbor's voices, he has a running contest with the dog over the back wall, he yips at the little dog when they reach a certain point in their games. His bark is irrepressible over there. Somehow he has decided that that means he should bark here as well. There is a party going on down the street, so he does have some unusual stuff to comment on.

My escape from this messy reality was playing a game called Black and White. Amazing game. They cut right to the chase. You play a god. Not the God, just a god. And as a god there are two things you have going for you; worshipful villagers and a creature to do your bidding. Of course the creature starts out small, puny, and untrained, and most of the villagers seem inclined to be 'just chilling' whenever you click on them rather than accomplishing any of the mundane but necessary tasks to continue their own lives.

So I spent my day trying to train a barky dog, a pooping dog, and a virtual creature. On top of everything else the manual for the game recommends training the creature not to poop near the temple before he reaches a huge size, else the temple will become uninhabitable. At least Jack doesn't eat villagers every time my back is turned.

I Felt So Safe

2005-08-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

I went to Best Buy this morning. The never ending thirst for computer games, but that's another story. This is about physical security. Best Buy has a big investment in security. They pay a person to stand by the door and compare the receipt you are bringing from the check stand five feet away to the items in your bag. There is another person sitting right next to the door monitoring multiple security cameras. This outpost is skillfully placed so that you can't help but see it on your way into the store.

Clearly, shoplifting is being discouraged. I can't say I blame them. There are a lot of very small items in their store that carry very weighty price tags. The local mini-mart doesn't need that kind of precautions. If someone slips the occasional candy bar in their pocket it isn't a catastrophe. When a seven hundred dollar video card goes out the door in someone's sock that's a whole different thing.

But all of that is deterrent for shoplifters. Good for the store, but not what made me feel secure personally. In this modern age that takes something else. Like the line of ten inch diameter steel reinforced concrete posts in front of the entrance! I'm not sure if they are a theft deterrent or a defense against terrorist attack. Either way it was good to know that any carload of gun wielding maniacs that wanted to take over the Best Buy would have to park out in the lot like everyone else rather than crashing through the doors.

Car Pool or Driving Fool?

2005-08-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

The Antelope Valley freeway has car pool lanes. They are 'part time' lanes, meaning they are only limited to car pools during the busy hours. Last night I took my mom down to LAX (Los Angeles International Airport, for those not in the know about airport codes). Coming home I reached the section where the car pool lane is, and since it was well into off hours I was using it. When I got in it it was pretty much wide open, and even though I wasn't driving really fast I was going fast enough to appreciate the space.

At the very next access point I could see why I wanted to be in the car pool lane. The other two lanes were pretty well clogged. A guy in the left lane of the two was driving along at right about the speed limit. For anyone unfamiliar with California freeways, going the speed limit is not considered normal or courteous behavior, going the speed limit in the fast lane is downright rude. Anyway, I was fairly happy to be in the car pool lane and getting by the jam-up of people having to go around this guy on the right.

I was happy until at the last moment he swerved into the car pool lane! And with the mass of cars that had been stuck behind him still on my right I couldn't get out! So I followed this imbecile into the next 3 mile segment of the car pool lane. Anyone who knows me can well imagine the state of mind I was in after three miles of driving the speed limit on the freeway in the car pool lane at ten o'clock at night. Two lanes of traffic going by on the right, generally at speeds about twenty miles per hour faster than we were going did not improve my state of mind, nor did the ten cars backed up behind us in the car pool lane.

Can anyone explain to me what would make someone think that they needed to get further left when they were already being passed on the right by a multitude of cars? I wanted to ask the guy, but I was in a hurry to get home to my girlfriend, and she doesn't approve of me stopping people and asking them about their moronic behaviors anyway. She is afraid I would get in a fight.

Trivia By Technology

2005-08-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

My head is packed with useless information. It always has been. Comes from growing up watching game shows on TV I suppose. Early on it got ingrained in me that the key to success in life was knowing things like 'what does an elephant weigh?' off the top of your head. Because of that I am insatiable in looking up useless stuff, although I no longer have any space in memory for it.

Thankfully the internet came along about the time my brain overloaded. I might still be competetive on a game show, as long as I don't have to play against Wikipedia.

What The World Is Coming To

2005-08-18T23:22:00.000-07:00

I found this great article today. It's a very slightly tongue in cheek look at "10 ways that MMORPGs will change the future". The thing that caught my attention was this observation about MMORPGs; "The addiction rate appears to be about twice that of crack Cocaine." I knew that, and fearfully avoided them for a long time.

My experiences with MMORPGs goes back to the days before the internet, when they were known as MUDs. MUD stood for Multi User Dungeon, and 'virtual reality' was strictly the domain of dragon slaying sword and sorcery types. MMORPGs now include all kinds of venues, which is how I slipped. Blogshares is an MMORPG. I have no regrets.

What An Honor

2005-08-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

I've been comment spammed! For those who saw the extensive plea for you to check out some penny stock I hope you ignored it completely. For those who didn't you didn't miss anything. For anyone who is willing there is an active campaign to flood Blogger's administration with complaints about spam.

In the upper corner there you no doubt see the 'next blog' button. I used to enjoy surfing around once in a while with that. It is set up to favor blogs that have been updated relatively recently I think, at least I know that I got a lot of visitors when I changed templates, which meant a lot of reposting and other republishing. Unfortunately that means the spam blogs, which are 'updated' automatically with bot generated drivel around the useless link they are jamming down everyones throat.

The funny thing of course is that to the best of my knowledge no one pays any attention to these things, other than to be annoyed. It's a serious effort to generate traffic to blogs with great content, how do they think they are going to get anywhere with junk? I'm sure they get hits with their posts full of key words, but really, what's the point?

Half A Life Is Better Than None

2005-08-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

Well I finally loaded up Half-Life 2. Five disks worth, then it all has to be decrypted by VALVe's steam website. Copy protection reaches a new height I guess. I was thinking new low as the process dragged on and on, but there seems to be some good points. I think I can log on to my steam account and play on my other computer. Not sure about that, and probably won't ever do it, but it's something.

Half-Life is one of very few games that I actually played all the way through, so I was a sure bet for this game. Surprisingly I had it for weeks before I loaded it. Made up for lost time yesterday though...or I guess that should be lost made up time. Anyway, I played enough to know a few things.

The modern/futeristic setting was a good break from Morrowind.
Guns and grenades and blasting away at helicopters does get the blood pumping, and there's a long sequence driving an airboat that is fast, furious, and fun.

The graphics are superb, and it has a good memory.
Gotta love throwing chairs through windows and leaving bullet pocks in the walls all over. I came across a large ammo cache and couldn't resist writing my name with the sub-machine gun.

They are extremely proud of their physics engine, and with good reason.
Things bounce and fly and float very realistically, and like Half-Life climbing and jumping and stacking stuff up is just as vital as blasting away at the head crabs. The puzzles are at times agonizing. I fell, and spent a long time stacking stuff trying to climb back up, only to find that the path I had fallen off of arrived very shortly at a dead end. I told Jack that I had jumped down the first time and just climbed back up as an experiment, but he didn't seem to believe it.

All in all it looks like a great game so far. I can't say if I will play this one all the way through though. Playing it really shows the beauty of Morrowind. It's a fast and fabulous ride, but it is a straight line. You always know that you are going the 'right' way, since it is the only way you can go. It certainly doesn't have the immersive quality of Morrowind.

It's All Blogger's Fault

2005-08-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

Well, actually they did give a warning about their maintenance shutdown, and it did probably only last a couple of hours. I will try to avoid being responsible for the other twenty-two hours of Monday, most of which were spent playing Half-Life 2. But I did log on with intent to write and it was during the maintenance...really.

World's Coolest Dog

2005-08-12T01:35:00.000-07:00

It's late. I just wrote a long episode of Arvil Bren and it is well past time for bed. But I just had to say that Jack is the coolest dog in the world.

Magic

2005-08-10T23:07:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I wrote an episode of Arvil Bren's Journal that I thought was one of the best in a long time, possibly ever. It was late at night and not ideal conditions, but somehow things just gelled. I told my girlfriend about it with great enthusiasm, and we waited for the comments. Understand, Arvil Bren's Journal gets comments all the time. It has a lot more readers than this blog, and many of them are very vocal. And no one said a word.

Tonight I was writing, and she asked if there were any comments. She also asked if I had checked the counters lately. I had. No drop in the reader count. They just haven't been commenting for whatever reason. So here's the magic part. When I finished writing and posted tonight's episode I found a new comment, written by someone out in the world at about the same time we were talking. It starts by saying...

Pretty quiet on the comments as of late....

Connections. They might as well have been in the room with our conversation.

World's Best Wake Up Call

2005-08-09T05:25:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid I couldn't wait to get away. It took a long time to get over being mad at my parents for their choice of place to live. In the Navy I developed a viewpoint that all places were basically the same and ended up living here again when I got out. A few years later my point of view had forcibly changed. What a hell hole. No one is more surprised than me that when my parents needed somebody it was me who ended up back here.

But on this day there is nowhere on earth that I would rather be than in the Antelope Valley, waking up to those window rattling sonic booms. Welcome back.

New Skill

2005-08-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

I was chatting with my brother today and recognized that I have learned a new skill. Something that most people I suppose come by naturally, but which has eluded me for literally decades. I can put down a book!

Okay, I see more puzzled looks than leaps for joy meeting that particular claim, though those who know me well will certainly understand. The first time I ditched high school thirty years ago was the day after I discovered James Clavell. My normal practice of reading books in one sitting was not really prepared for Shogun. When my mom came to wake me up for school I had a few hundred pages left. When I should have been catching the bus I was down to a couple hundred so I called her at work and told her I missed it (true enough) and that I didn't feel too good anyway (also true, I was really tired). I finished it around ten and went to sleep.

As a responsible adult (okay, there are people who are banned from commenting on that, you know who you are) I learned when to not start a book...basically any time I would have to go to work before I had time to finish it. On my submarine I would alternate my between watch time; stand a watch, read a book, stand a watch, sleep. The seemingly obvious idea of reading half a book and getting some sleep between each watch was completely lost on me.

So today I suddenly realized that I'm in the third book of this pentology that I've been reading...forever I think. It's really good, but somehow I have managed to make reading in my hammock chair in the evening a near daily event, instead of a marathon. Good thing Jack isn't an old dog or I'd be trying to teach him a new trick. Apparently it is possible.

Cats Rule

2005-08-05T13:20:00.000-07:00

Sneakers has reached the point where she is no longer impressed by Jack the dog. She will make some effort to stay out of his way when they are moving around. She knows he can't see her and might just run her over accidentally. But once she gets settled in someplace and lets him know she is there she clearly expects him to go around her. Usually this leads to her taking a nap while Jack does the I-am-a-herding-dog-and-you-are-supposed-to-move dance. Since he has the persistence of an Australian Shepherd and she has the sleeping ability of a cat this can go on for some time.

Last night though the game reached a new level. Out of all the rooms, and a vast selection of floor space, Sneakers opted to sleep right in front of Jack's food bowl. He capered about the kitchen, where the usual dance is punctuated with the occassional slip on the wood floor, much to her amusement. Eventually though it was dinner time. When I picked up Jack's bowl I got a twitch of the ears from her majesty; when I came back and set it down I got the one eye slitted open 'how dare you' look. Jack tried desperately to find a place to stand so he could eat that didn't involve stepping on her.

Thinking that I am the head of this pack I took matters (literally) into my own hands, picked her up and took her to the bedroom. She complained bitterly all the way, then stalked off the bed in disdain. I suspect after three or four nights of being rousted at three AM to open the door for her I will be forgiven. At least I hope so.

Real Estate Deal of the Century

2005-08-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

I was driving by Air Force plant 42 today. Plant 42 is the Air Force's development flight test facility, or words to that effect, according to the local guide books. Lot's of impressive aircraft have graced the miles of runways that stretch down the center of the facilities. Many of those aircraft were built in the huge hangers of the 'sites' dotted along both sides. Sites that are leased to the big aerospace companies for that purpose; building space shuttles, or stealth planes, or whatever the plane of the day might turn out to be. Make that the plane of tomorrow.

Since the sites are leased out as part of the contracts to whoever is tasked with building stuff there, it was a real surprise to me when I saw a big sign that read:

FOR LEASE:
Site 9, 304 acres with 4 million square feet of improved property...

I might have missed on the numbers, but you get the idea. It was a sign just like you would see in front of a strip mall with a vacancy. I couldn't quite fathom it. Are they expecting the CEO of Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman to just drive by and see that? I can see him in his office now; "Bob, could you come in here a minute? I saw this really great deal on some big hangers and stuff. It's really too good to pass. Get down to R&D and see if there's something we could get in there and build. What? Well I was just driving down Avenue P out in Palmdale. You know, by that public golf course, the perfectly flat one without an inch of elevation change."

Riiiiight. People who lease giant airplane manufacturing plants find them by driving around looking at signs. I knew that.

Life Is Just Good

2005-08-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

It's getting sort of hard to write this.

I can't quite put my finger on anything in particular. I can look at various times in my life before and pick things out. Body surfing and snorkeling in Hawaii. Hockey games in Bakersfield. Triking in Idaho. Things that were so memorable and exciting. I've always had great friends, family, relationships.

I've also had accomplishments. Managing seminars for 200 participants. Being the Engineering Watch Supervisor on a submarine at battle stations. Top salesman awards. And I've worked with really amazing people.

Having all that going on made for great stories, often funny. Today I can't really think of much going on...but I am possessed by an amazing deep satisfaction.

Well At Least Something Was On Time

2005-08-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

Today is August first, due date for the second issue of Noon Spool. As you can see (if you follow that link...if you don't it is your loss) it did get published, with four more terrific stories. Real good news, I already have four stories for upcoming issues so that part of being editor in chief of Noon Spool is going to be a little less hectic in future.

Meanwhile, Arvil Bren's adventure in Morrowind reached a point where yet another site was really required, and of course I was resisting the whole set-up process. That too is complete, though I am running a day behind on the writing. The 'completion' of the first volume will allow me to pursue some ideas I've had, and others that readers have presented. Approaching Bethesda Softworks seems easier with something that is a whole piece, even if it leads clearly to a 'sequal in progress'. Cross your fingers.

I'm also hoping that some of my friends and family who were avoiding Arvil Bren as a serial can now look at it as something to just sit down and read without the 'day to day' aspect getting in their way.

Surfer Dude

2005-07-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

I sat outside the coffee shop tonight with my friend Greg. Last time I'll be seeing him for a while. He's just about ready to get back to Indiana, college; that end of life that is characterized by looking to the future. It's funny, but I feel like I see life from a very similar point of view. It was a strange surprise one night realizing that Greg is the same age as my oldest son.

Many years ago a very wise older couple told me that if you don't keep making friends with younger people you risk looking around one day and finding that all your friends are dead. Greg has been an excellent choice. He brought me a bone carving from Tonga, a stylized surfer currently hanging around my neck. As I sat on the patio at the coffee shop in my shorts, tee shirt, and flip flops it seemed a perfect fit. I think this little surfer dude will be with me for a long time. Greg, I'm assuming you will be too.

Jack The Clean Dog

2005-07-27T23:06:00.000-07:00

I felt bad. Jack and I have been at my girlfriend's house for a couple weeks, so he has been missing his daily car rides. He loves to ride in the car. He knew today as I gathered things up and shut off computers and fans that we were leaving. When I got his leash he was ecstatic.

He leaped into the car and curled up contentedly in his usual spot on the back seat and rode along merrily. When the car stopped and I opened the door he jumped out, nose high, sniffing for home. Then, joy of joys, he realized we weren't at home, but in a strange but familiar place with hundreds of fascinating smells!

He sniffed, and marked the low wall. He sniffed and marked bushes. He sniffed the wall by the door as I opened it, but before he could add his mark to what is surely hundreds of others he recognized that door. We didn't have my mom's little dog to drop off. That meant there was one reason ... and only one reason, for us to be at the groomers.

Tonight he is clean, and happy. I'm glad he is forgiving.

I May Not Be Funny, But I Know Him

2005-07-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

Today I read something really funny, and all there really is for me to do is pass it along.

Click here.

Is that hilarious or what? Who says these think tank types don't have a sense of humor.

I Do Windows

2005-07-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

Just not by choice. My mom's computer was severely buggered (and yes my british friends I know what that means to you) and I just couldn't see any course of action short of a reformat wipe. It took almost four minutes to respond to a ctrl-alt-del and the stuff that was running that should not have been wouldn't shut down. In fact it wouldn't allow the computer to shut down. Where this nasty piece of business came from I have no clue, but it has been dispatched now.

Overall I am rapidly becoming an advocate of pure online storage. Reformatting regularly just seems like the best defense.

Does this seem odd?

2005-07-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

The latest version of Grand Theft Auto has apparently gone too far. Someone found out that the enterprising player can unlock certain anime scenes that are, shall we say, indelicate. The outcry over this corruption of young minds has the best selling game being yanked off the shelves.

Personally, I can't say just how risque the scenes are. I usually only buy games after they have reached the discount shelf rerelease stage. In fact I just started playing the previous GTA game, Vice City. The animated hookers plying their trade in Vice City are, I suppose, not realistic enough to cause a stir, and they are all consistently upright. Well, unless they get run over, shot, or bludgeoned.

Running people over, shooting them, and bludgeoning them is, of course, the objective. No sex scenes, just good clean fun.

World Even Smaller

2005-07-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

I got a comment yesterday! Always exciting. This time more exciting because it is a voice from the long past; a friend from my Navy days. I have said that blogging is a great way to keep in touch, and I only wish it had been around twenty years ago, when Danny and I were shipmates. Through all the transfers it just seemed like the thing to do was make new friends rather than keep track of old ones. I regret that now, but I did find Dan and we exchanged some e-mails. Now he's starting a blog, and we know he will always be able to find me here. Maybe not the camaraderie we shared in the engine room of the slammin' Sam, but it's good to have old friends.

Old friends and new friends. My friend Greg is back from Tonga and I'll be seeing him this evening. He also is starting a blog, which eases the pending loss inherent in his return to the midwest.

Here's to the internet, and shrinking the world.
Cheers!

Small World

2005-07-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

I play Blogshares pretty much every day. At least a couple quick transactions. Okay, most days it's a lot of transactions, and they aren't always quick. Some valuable information comes from the dedicated IRC chat room, so I usually have it open while I am playing. Today I had an interesting conversation there.

Like all chatrooms and other online type things, in Blogshares I have a screen name; Passer. It's a screen name that goes back with me a long long way. Anyway, it doesn't immediately connect to me here or at Noon Spool, where I was suggesting they submit a story. Turns out they already knew about Noon Spool. I don't know if it was a surprise in the distant United Kingdom, but it certainly shocked me when this newly met Blogshares player said that the first blog they ever saw was Arvil Bren's Journal.

And The Winner Is...

2005-07-19T16:27:00.000-07:00

Arvil Bren's Journal.

In my e-mail this morning I got a very spiffy tag for Arvil Bren's Journal, identifying it as a winner of a 2005 Best Blogger Award. I am quite pleased with myself. I also got a link to a brand new serial fiction site called Human Rites, which I added to the list over there. --->

Lessons of Troy

2005-07-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

I was chatting with a bunch of friends about the movie Troy. Admittedly what brought up the topic in the first place was Brad Pitt's bare chest. We immediately steered for deeper waters. The girls in the conversation resisted briefly, but we got there.

The final point to ponder that I came away with as the lesson illustrated by Achilles is:

To be a great warrior one must be, at least temporarily, a sociopath...and society needs great warriors.

Tough problem.

Stealing a Laugh

2005-07-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

Today I really wanted the blog to be funny. Now I talk a good fight about how the difference between a writer and just someone who writes is that a true writer just writes when they need to. They don't 'wait to be inspired' or whatever they just write.

So this morning the shoe was on the other foot, which was clearly in my mouth. I caught myself saying 'well, I can't just be funny because I want to...' I'm not sure if that is right or not. Johnny Carson did, Jay Leno does, night in night out. There are numerous other examples too.

Anyway, I looked for something funny rolling around in my head all day and din't really find much. I did see this on a license plate frame though:

"THANK YOU OFFICER"

"JUST PUT IT ON MY TAB"

Now that I thought was funny.

Short Stories, Long Plan

2005-07-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

I never really announced it here. Obviously I was remiss, but that's beside the point. Over in the sidebar under 'Check These Out' is a link to Noon Spool. Noon Spool is my short story site; my foray into editing. The announcement that I didn't make was the publishing of the first issue on July 1st. Don't take my failure to announce it as meaning that I don't think it measured up. It has four stories from four authors and I think it was great.

So what brings it up today? I'm deeply embroiled in putting together the second issue, which is due out August 1st, as well as promoting the site. Publishing every month is going to generate a wealth of stories, and the structure of the site allows for a myriad of ways to sort through them for something you like. It seems like a good service to the readers, at least as long as I can keep coming up with quality stories from good writers. If anyone out there has a good writer in their pocket let me know.

I Need A Real Idea

2005-07-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

It has become clear to me that reality television is running out of ideas. The process is consistent, whether choosing a 'sole survivor', a mate, or an employee. Now there are reality shows to choose a restranteur and a rock star. Yesterday I heard the next thing would involve inventors.

What I need is to find a reality show that I could play. I don't want a restaurant, and it's too late to become the next lead singer for INXS, and I already have the only mate that I want. But I am the consumate player, there must be something out there on the reality fringe that would be a fit for me.

They pay these guys why?

2005-07-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

This morning as my girlfriend was getting ready for work the radio traffic wizard said something about a road closure. A road closure that could have been critical to her. Naturally, neither of us really heard it that well, though she heard it well enough to know that the road they said was closed did not go past the Lockheed hanger they said the closure was near.

So I called the radio station to get the details. Avenue M between 30th and 40th was the report I got, which was good. I returned the favor by pointing out that Lockheed's facilities are on Avenue P, and I noticed that they didn't mention Lockheed any more in their reports after that. Maybe they listened to me the first time.

They didn't listen the second time I called, after my girlfriend called and told me that she had taken a long detour to get to work as the closure was really between 40th and 50th. I let them know they were off (literally) by a mile, and since there is a major business at 40th and M it really makes a difference. They continued reporting the closure as 30th to 40th all morning though.

Even when they added this detail to the story: the cause of the closure was a collision at M and 50th. I guess they figured the wreckage flew over a mile and landed between 30th and 40th.

Good To Be Back

2005-07-11T18:10:00.000-07:00

Writing is hard work sometimes. I'm glad I took the break I did. I learned that it seems so nice to not be pushing the ideas and the pen...but that in fairly short order life gets crazy. I understand now the artist who just 'paints because they have to' or the musician. I've got one of those touchstone comments that I keep in my head...

Eric Clapton was auctioning off his guitars for a charity he was involved in. Someone asked if he was retiring, and he didn't really know. Then they said 'well, if you aren't what are you going to do about having sold all your guitars?'

He said that he wasn't selling them all. He kept the twenty or so that he plays every day.

Writing isn't engrained in me like that yet, but it is getting close.

Writer's Block

2005-07-06T22:17:00.000-07:00

Actually I'm just taking a week off. The internet access battle I've been in for the last two weeks and 30 weeks of daily posts just put 'vacation' into my head. Be back Monday.

Little Behind In These Parts

2005-07-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

We stopped on the way home yesterday for the triple play: gas, bathroom, food stop. In the desolation of Interstate Five through the central valley this turned out to be eating at McDonalds. Not my favorite, but out there there are two kinds of people; choosy and fed. Anyway, it was good for a laugh.

I was eating my salad and looking at my drink cup. Athlete, strange words in foriegn language, flags, and at the upper edge a 'proud marketing partner' logo from the Athen's olympics. As usual my mind filled with conversations...

Franchise holder: Well boy howdy, this campaign y'all came up with is purt' near a good thing, I tell you what!

Mickey D Promo Dep't flunky: I'm glad you like it sir. For the record, which campaign are you talking about? You know we have a new updated marketing campaign for our franchises on a frequent basis.

FH: Well, I'm talkin 'bout this here O-lympics campaign. The Athens one. Athens is back east somewheres, Georgia ain't it? Anywho, these cups with these players are great. Some o' them girls is right purty.

Flunky: Actually, uh, the Athens there was in Greece. And...sir the Olympics were actually last summer.

FH: They was? Well I'll be dad-burned! Are you sure 'bout that son?

Flunky: Uh, yes sir, quite sure.

FH: I dunno son, you might wanna check yer facts there. If they was last summer why would I still be usin these here cups? You tell me that one, mister city slicker.

Homeward Bound

2005-06-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

I like to think of myself as a good writer. I've got some comments on my serial fiction project that can really swell my ego. But sometimes there's someone else who has really said what I have to say, and said it as well as or better than I think I can, at least at the moment. Today that someone is Paul Simon.

But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.
Silently for me.

I'm on my way.

Sierra Foothills

2005-06-29T07:26:00.000-07:00

It is really beautiful here. The house on the hillside has a treehouse effect. Sitting on the deck I am surrounded by the tops of the downslope trees, and the sunset was glorious. Old family friends, mountain air, birds and squirrels. It's hard to think of my desert home fondly.

But I miss my sweetheart, and my dog, and my DSL connection.

On The Road Again

2005-06-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

It's a strange thing being a born and raised Californian. Especially since I have always been connected to people from other places, either by being in other places or because I've been a telecommunicating guy since before there was an internet. People from other places don't relate to driving the way Californians do.

I was talking to someone yesterday who is in St.Louis, and someone else who is moving to Missouri came up. Turns out they are moving to southern Missouri, which to someone in St.Louis seems to occur like a long way away. My California mind is saying 'come on, how big is Missouri?' Not because Californians have that 'big state' thing going like Texans have, but we drive. A third of the people in my town spend four hours in their car every day going to work and back. I grew up in this dead backwater because my parents loved it because it was 'close to everything'. Close meaning that with a few hours of driving there is city, beach, or mountains. To a kid that doesn't drive that doesn't mean much, but when you grow up with it you just come to think a certain way. It was not unusual for my family to look at the Sunday paper and say 'oh, that looks like a good movie' and drive seventy-five miles to see it on the spur of the moment.

So today I'm off to pick up my mom. My St.Louis friend would think it was a long trip no doubt. Heck, I'll be there in time for a late dinner.

Jealous of the Young

2005-06-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

I got an e-mail yesterday that made me very grateful for the times I live in. I only wish they had started sooner. It was from someone that I would have probably lost contact with completely in times past.

My mom is visiting some amazing friends. They've been friends since high school. Her friend has kept friends all over the country, through decades of the normal moves and changes that life brings. That amazes me. I can't seem to even keep track of an address book.

But this blog lets my friends know where I am, and gives them a way to get back in contact with me, and Yahoo keeps track of my address book for me now. I wonder if there's a way to get all the friends I've had and misplaced to find it.

For Anyone Who Is Paying Attention

2005-06-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that the blog crashed. More of a fender bender than a crash I suppose. I think something changed in the data feeds from Blogger. I hadn't done anything to my template in quite a while, and suddenly there was a glitch, so I'm blaming them. I skimmed through a bunch of Blogger blogs and every one that I found with the same template was having the same problem.

The template I had was unique in one major way among the out of the box templates at Blogger. I liked the unique feature. If you scroll down on this template to where the sidebar on the right ends you will find blank space underneath it. My old template expanded the main column into that space when it reached the bottom of the sidebar, and I liked that. Unfortunately something changed, and yesterday the post would not squeeze in beside the sidebar, it insisted on starting at the bottom of the sidebar...leaving a big blank space right here! Better a blank space below the sidebar than right in the middle of the post!

Anyway, I like this template, and the effort of putting all the links and stuff back in the sidebar was well spent. I learned some more bits and pieces of html coding, at least as applied to templates on Blogger. I put in a bigger ad block so those of you who are using Google's money to show your appreciation for good blogs have three choices instead of one. I made seperate bubbles for all the cool stuff I have over there, and I really got a refresher in how cool the stuff I have over there is. And last but not least I accepted that as long as the space under the sidebar is not going to fill with widened posts I should fill it with something so I'm going to start looking for more cool stuff I can permanently link over there. Keep an eye open!

Little Frazzled, Little Lazy

2005-06-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

I am so routine driven. If my routines get disrupted it is amazing the effort required to keep things happening. Even when the disruption to the routine is in a good direction. We had a memorial for my dad last weekend, and afterward some great friends of the family took my mom home with them for a vacation. So the morning routines at home are off until she gets back, which means I get to sleep in a little bit, get my girlfriend off to work before I go home, and otherwise spend the early morning in a different place and a different space.

And nothing seems to be getting done. All day. Fancy that.

That's craziness?

2005-06-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

I need to start watching the news I think. I usually subscribe to the theory that anything really important I will find out about, either through the headlines on my home page or from hearing it on the radio. But I have to counteract the dizzy dimwit on my girlfriend's radio station in the morning. I shut her off as soon as Laurie leaves for work, but it is hard to tell what kind of misinformation I'm hearing through my mostly closed ears.

Last night I caught a few minutes of entertainment news on television, mostly by accident. There was Tom Cruise getting squirted with water. Seemingly every morning I've been hearing how he 'went crazy' over this, so I paused to watch. The guy never lost his smile, and proceeded to ask the question with no answer; "why would you do that?" Since there is no good justifying answer he provided a likely one, the guy is a jerk. This is 'going crazy'? Tearing the guy's throat out and claiming that it was a reflex because you were just talking about the latest Batman movie in the limo and had the Joker's acid squirting flower on your mind...that's crazy, but technically might work as a legal defense. Pulling the kind of prank you might get away with with a close friend on a complete stranger...that's crazy, and the jerk should be expected to take whatever consequences fall out of it. Thinking the guy is a jerk and being willing to say so...that makes sense to me.

The Heat Is On

2005-06-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

The conversation in southern California has shifted from mudslides to brushfires. I don't know what it is about people that keeps us so powerfully focused on the disaster du jour but there certainly doesn't seem to be anything that can distract us, at least not for long.

I've lived in California for most of my life and;
Never met anyone who lost their house in a mudslide.
Never met anyone who lost their house in a brush fire.
Never met anyone who lost their house in an earthquake.

I'm not saying these things don't happen. I know they do. They are just all so unlikely. I'd rather talk about space aliens and the return of Elvis to Graceland. Slightly less likely? I suppose. A lot more interesting though, and when they are all so unlikely I think interesting should be the deciding factor.

Judgment Impaired

2005-06-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

This is for anyone who thinks drinking doesn't have such a bad effect on judgment that you ought not drive...though perhaps this guy was just stupid to start with.

I was getting ready to go to my girlfriend's house over the weekend, and she told me that there were some streets closed because of some sort of accidents. Not just one accident. Accidents. On two different approaches to her neighborhood. I made it okay, and didn't think much about it again until this morning when they were talking about it on the radio. One of the accidents was a hit and run collision, and the other was the end of the chase.

Don't get me wrong. I have a sports car that was originally built to go fast, and it has a racing motor with 40% more horsepower than the original. Under the right circumstances I might consider trying my luck if there was an abundance of choices of direction I could go before the cop got close enough to see where I went, but for the most part even I have to concede that the chase can only come to one conclusion when radio armed cops are on the case.

This time there was really no need to even test the guy for alcohol. I would pretty much assume you are drunk when you try to outrun the police in a twenty-eight foot motor home!

Has This Been A Week Or What?

2005-06-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

I am worn out. I wrote until two in the morning last night, and just finished another hour or two today. My main project, Arvil Bren's Journal, has been thrown a difficult turn by an array of complications with computers, locations, life, and the most dreaded and irresponsible of obstacles...games other than Morrowind.

My computer has ditched the network somehow, most likely due to the long cable that runs out from the house to my trailer. Fixing it seems like an obvious thing to do...but I don't need the network to play Halo. I can get net access in the house when my mom isn't using her computer and post the Morrowind Journal, but it's a lot easier with the game in the machine so I can look up names and places...which I don't need to do to play Blogshares.

If it sounds like my life is not too tough...

Good Thing I'm Not A Cat

2005-06-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

Curiousity would kill me for sure.

Last night I went to the Subway for sandwiches. My girlfriend wanted a 'B.M.T.' I asked what that was. Since she was ordering it I thought it was reasonable to think she would know. "It's Italian. They know what it is." Fundamentally, as long as you get the right sandwich I guess it doesn't matter what the letters stand for.

So I'm in line at the Subway, where I can read the ingredients on the menu board. I can't get 'bacon, mayonaisse, tomato' out of my head, but those aren't Italian and are not in the sandwich. Salami, pepperoni; the initials are not related to the sandwich in any way I can find. And they are a registered trademark. That much I get from the menu board.

When I get to the counter I have given not thought one to what I want on my sandwich, but now I have someone to ask. "I'll have a BMT on wheat, and something else on Monterey chedder. What's that stand for by the way?"

"What does what stand for?"

"BMT"

"It's Italian. I don't know." Clearly neither eating them nor selling them requires this piece of knowledge.

I was able to sleep last night, but first thing this morning I was on the internet. Biggest, meatiest, tastiest. How lame is that?

Glad I Didn't Say That

2005-06-13T10:21:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend said she was gonna do some laundry and asked if I wanted anything washed. I emptied my pockets and shucked off my jeans. I piled the stuff from my pockets pretty much right in front of her. It's still right here on the computer desk; pocket knife, cards, little cash, some change, a die, a gum wrapper. I tossed the pants into the laundry pile.

A while later I see her getting ready to take stuff to the washer. She's standing there going through my pockets. About ten clever things go through my head, but fortunately none fall out my mouth. Jeans. Watch pocket. Where I keep my house keys. Damn.

I Guess I'm Not That Bad

2005-06-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking that I might be too into games. Morrowind and Blogshares I play pretty much every day, at least some. Chess I play at least three or four times a week. Other games come and go. Morrowind and Blogshares do add something to my real life through my websites, but I still had to wonder.

But this morning I was getting batteries at Radio Shack and saw one of these.

Air cooled. I'm waiting for version 2.0. Hopefully it will have a built in chiller and an on demand iced tea delivery system.

Fortitude By Remote

2005-06-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was hectic, and I didn't get the Morrowind Journal posted until ten o'clock. Today is filling fast. It's funny how all of my best intentions would come to nothing, but the things that I promise to do get done as long as there is someone to hold me to them. In this case about 200 someones per day.

There's an old adage that says the difference between 'a writer' and 'someone who writes' is that someone who writes might be found waiting for inspiration or creativity to strike where a writer doesn't wait, a writer just writes. These blogs are transforming me from 'someone who writes' into a writer. Today it is a bit of a painful transition.

My How Times Have Changed

2005-06-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

I always used to wonder how there was so much free stuff on the internet. I figured it was like television. Advertising paid the freight, and the competition was to provide content that would bring viewers to the advertisers. I think that has to be how it worked in the good old days.

Not any more. I set out to send my sweetie a birthday e-card this morning. The days of free e-cards are apparently over. I recognized the names of the big guns in the industry. Same places I used to send free cards. I also used to at least glance at the ads on their sites. Their ads now are the really obtrusive hijack your browser type that no one in their right mind would click on. I would have to think that their advertising revenue is up, so why no more free cards?

Useful Skills Only

2005-06-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

I don't believe in teaching dogs tricks. Jack knows the basics, like sit and down and wait. His vocabulary includes important words like 'off', for when he is no longer welcome on some piece of furniture. He has also picked up some words that are important to him, like 'snackie' and 'dinner' and 'breakfast'.

Now he is learning a new command; 'close the door'. It isn't a trick, it's a social skill. We keep the bedroom door shut, but not latched. If it is latched Sneakers the cat will scratch the carpet when she wants in, and we don't want that. A few inches to accommodate a slim cat body is not a big deal, so we just let her open the door for herself.

Then there's Jack. He learned early on that the door might be there so he doesn't try to barrel on through. He knows the door can be opened from either side with his agile snout. He also likes the door wide open.

It took a while, but he now has me trained to place a line of snacks across the floor where he gets them one at a time as the door shuts. He expects me to do it every time he opens the door, but I'm holding out.

Serial Fiction

2005-06-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

I've got some new links so it's once again time to beat the serial fiction drum. Over in the sidebar there---> is a list of links to serial fiction sites.

Serial fiction is an on-going story. How often they update varies, but all the stories listed here get updated regularly. They offer a brief escape to an alternate reality that over time becomes a very detailed and interesting place, and a couple of the characters have become my friends...the kind of friends you look forward to seeing because they always seem to have gotten up to something interesting.

I've got a couple reasons to beat the drum today. One is the new links, obviously. The other is that I've been talking to other serial writers as well as my own readers, and the power of comments and dialog is really showing up clearly. So here's the thing. Joseph Stalin said "Every government is a democracy; the peasants can vote with their feet." Of course he promptly instituted border controls that took that away, but that's off my point. My point is that the internet is ultimately democratic. The sites we 'vote for' with encouraging comments, links to their site on our various pages, and clicks on their ads will thrive. Sites with no links, no comments, no ad revenue will eventually fall into neglect.

So make it YOUR internet. Exercise your power. Vote! I do. I use 'My Yahoo' as my browsers home page. My bookmarks show there. Those are links that promote the pagerank of the sites I prefer to visit. Every ISP gives you some sort of page you can do that with. I make comments. Even just 'great post' can let someone know the writing and editing they are putting in is appreciated. I use an extra click to get back to my home page. Before I click the little house I click an ad...a lot of times I even see something interesting that way.

My ad is right over there by the way. ---> I have lots of readers and get plenty of commentary, but dropping a few of Google's pennies in my pocket is always appreciated.

Pop Goes The Weasel

2005-06-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Or the internet computer, whichever.

I have two computers. One that I use for games and writing. To play games it has to be fast. To keep my writing in without a lot of concern it has to be stable. I get both those things by not connecting it to the internet. Once in a while I would hook it up to upload files to my backup server, but I kept it clear of all the constant pinging in the background messengers and such, and safe from viruses and worms. There is no firewall that can match unplugging the network cord for protection.

I said I have two computers, and talked about one. The other one I use for a paperweight. Up until yesterday it was my internet connection. E-mail, messengers and viruses mostly. Every month or so I would just reformat the drive and start over. It was about half a step above a dumb terminal. Now it is a dead terminal. Power failure, and when the power came back on, it didn't. Dead player.

I have a lot of spare parts, and I'm sure I can cobble it back together. Here's the real problem. I now know how great it is doing my surfing and blogging on my superfast game machine. I might have a permanent paperweight.

It Would Be So Easy...

2005-06-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

To hate women.

I stopped on my way home this morning to put gas in the car and air in a tire. Initially I went for air first, but seeing the fifty cents or free with gas sign I recognized gas first would be better. Backing away from the air machine involved backing across a driveway. Naturally in the midst of this someone turned in the driveway. Two cars needing to occupy the same space at the same time; me, the harmless simpleton who has nothing in particular going for me except the fact that my car was already there, and Miss oh-my-God doesn't he know I'm on my way to work.

So as soon as I'm back far enough to turn for the pumps she roars by in front of me, and I peacefully go about getting gas, thankful that looks can't really peel paint off a car. She glares and glowers in a variety of unattractive styles the whole time she is putting gas in her car.

The many wonderful women in my life are now saying 'you can't hate women in general just because one is like that'...and they are right, to a point. But the thing is society in America trains women to be like that. Boys know by the time they are fifteen, twenty at the oldest that running around giving people looks like that will get you in fights, and unless you by chance are the toughest guy in town (limited odds there) you will soon be giving those looks out your earhole. Girls know boys don't hit girls.

Looks like that are really meant to be knocked back from whence they came. I wonder if there is some peaceful way to get that across.

We do have lives

2005-06-01T07:54:00.000-07:00

Good ones.

Last night I joined the chatroom where the Blogshares brain trust hangs out. Keeping a creaky database with about a zillion interacting dimensions running seems like a full time job plus, and these guys are all volunteers. They do it for the love of the game, and as a service to the Blogshares community. I had a good first month, and stopped in to boast a little, and thank them a lot.

Thanks are often deflected, and last night was no exception. The comment was made 'well, we have time, we have no lives.' My answer is that everyone has a life, some people just make more unusual choices than others. The Blogshares community has a lot of levels, but at the core is a group that spans the globe in reality, but is tighter knit than a squad in a foxhole under fire. That's a reward few can find in their 'life'.

So this morning I was back there. A glitch in the Blogshares universe was in the way of my next doubling of fortunes and I was checking for a solution. The craziness of Blogshares had a chance to show through. I sold the 'most expensive chip ever'. T$ had just bought a chip after a blistering three day auction that made it the most expensive chip ever. Manhattan offered to pay him double what he paid to claim the honor, but he refused. So I sold Manhattan a chip for a dollar more than T$ paid for his. Opportunism reigns supreme in Blogshares. So does that kind of freewheeling camaraderie that is seldom found in 'real' life.

Unusual choice, but not a bad one.

It's Not The Thought That Counts

2005-05-31T08:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I thought about writing an acknowledgement of Memorial Day. I didn't. Over the three day weekend I know I thought of at least half a dozen things to write about. At least a couple of them, as I recall, promised to be hilarious. Clearly I am not writing about those. Mostly because all I remember is that they promised to be hilarious. What they actually were I have not a clue.

Shortly after I post this I'm sure at least one of them will occur to me and I will get a good laugh. I might remember it for posting tomorrow, or I might not...but I'll be sure to think about it.

Throwback To A Simpler Era

2005-05-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

This morning Jack was checking his doggie e-mail as usual. Doggie e-mail is of course read by smell, and Jack's mailbox is my girlfriend's front lawn. Anyway, I was standing around on the end of my leash, and just looking at stuff with that strange eye you get when you are waiting.

What struck me was the neat scallops that her gardener cuts around the sprinklers. I remember seeing those all the time when I was a kid, but they struck me strange because you never really see them any more. Cutting the grass really low around the sprinkler lets the water spray out without being blocked in. Otherwise you have to set the sprinklers way up high and risk chopping them with the lawnmower. Oh. Or else you get those newfangled pop up sprinkler heads!! The ones that have been around for twenty years or so. You can see examples of this fine technology right there in my girlfriend's front lawn. The way the grass is cut bald around them they are readily observable.

Cliffhanger

2005-05-26T07:31:00.000-07:00

I am so completely backwards.

I watched television last night, which is a change of pace for me. It was 'series finale night'. I have seen Alias a couple times before for some reason, and had never seen Lost. My girlfriend had gotten the thirty minute recap at work so Lost became sort of a workplace necessity. Anyway, I learned something.

They had a two hour show to 'wrap up all the loose ends'. I guess some major story lines did get concluded, and a guy who obviously opted not to renew for next season got thankfully blown up (I'd have swam back to civilization if I was stuck on an island with that guy), but pretty much the whole two hours I kept saying "I just want to see what's under the hatch...and the closing scene was the ladder under the hatch. Tune in next season to see what's down the ladder. I thought Laurie was going to die laughing.

So I write this serial fiction, the Journal of Arvil Bren. It's a journal that is written by the character, Arvil, every night before he goes to bed. Pretty much tune in tomorrow to see if Arvil wakes up. I learned something. I think Arvil's journal today will end with him sleeping fitfully on the edge of a cliff.

Projects

2005-05-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

I just don't think like that. Like what? Like whatever makes sense. I started a new project over the weekend. My girlfriend, who is smart as a whip but a far more conventional thinker than me cannot see why I would do such a thing. My answer is 'because my existing projects need work'. That makes even less sense. If the projects I have need work why would I start another one?

Because I don't quite know what to do for the ones I have.

If that makes sense to you please let me know. It makes perfect sense to me, but I'd like to see an explanation.

Big News From The Big City

2005-05-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

This is from the Associated Press. My brother in law clipped it from a paper in Chicago and sent it, probably because our sister lives in Ridgecrest.

RIDGECREST, Calif. - Linc and Helena Moore may have finally learned the answer to that age-old question: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Because the chicken doesn't know jaywalking is illegal.
Kern County Sheriff's Deputy J. Nicholson does know, however. The deputy issued a ticket on March 26 to one of the couple's chickens for impeding traffic on a road in Johannesburg, a rural mining community southeast of Ridgecrest. The Moores arrived in Superior Court on Friday to plead not guilty to their chicken's alleged transgression. A trial was scheduled for May 16.
Nicholson has declined to discuss the matter, but sheriff's Sgt. Francis Moore said chickens on the roadway have been a problem in the community of 50 residents. Officials didn't believe it could be resolved by simply issuing the couple a warning.
"Sometimes you have to let people talk to the judge," Moore said.
The chicken's owners say they believe they were cited because they were among several people who complained that sheriff's deputies haven't done enough to control off-road vehicle riders who damage roads and create dust and noise in their neighborhood. Sheriff's officials say that isn't so, adding they are doing what they can to keep off-roaders away from the area's homes.
"The chicken thing has nothing to do with the motorcycle thing," Moore said.

In a follow-up story not yet picked up by the national wires, picketing chickens marching in protest were ordered to clear the road by a Kern County Sheriff SWAT team fearing a bloody confrontation with local motorcycle enthusiasts. Ridgecrest's mayor, interviewed at his nearby dust ranch, reported that he has been in constant communication with Governor Schwartzenneger, who promised to either send in National Guard troops or terminate the chickens himself should violence break out.

So He Might Be A Little Spoiled

2005-05-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

Jack eats twice a day. Because of our routine he gets about half his meals at home and about half of them at my girlfriend's house. The obvious thing to do is get a second bag of dog food, but the usual thing to do was grab a couple meals worth of food in a little sack as we were leaving. Last week I ran out of little bags and containers for carrying dog food.

So, time to get dog food, but the supermarket doesn't have Eukanuba. After careful study of labels Iams looks like it will be just as good for him, and it seems to me a little variety should appeal to him. Guess not. After a couple days of watching him finish his dinner so he can start asking for breakfast it is clear. He doesn't really like it.

He does with half a cup of bullion poured over it though.

The Quick Tour

2005-05-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

I've made a few minor changes around here; dusted some corners and spruced some things up, added a few knick-knacks. Obviously the main blog body here just scrolls along, so the changes are all over there in the sidebar.

First off my 'counter' idea died a sorrowful death. Making a template change every day to keep it accurate just never really happened, so I axed it. I'm looking for a bit of free code that I can use to make that work, but for now it is a dead issue. Where the counter used to be is a link to my new blog, written with bloggers and want to be bloggers in mind. If you want to know about starting, maintaining, and marketing blogs it is full of useful stuff, and I'll be building a small blog directory there.

I also put in an ad. I've had ads on Arvil Bren's Journal for a long time but never put the coding in here before. There were not that many readers here, and most of them were reading Arvil Bren anyway so if they were willing to help me out by clicking ads they did it there. Now this site is up to a Google pagerank of three, and has a fair number of links and readers that are not Arvil Bren fans, so I added it. I think it is tasteful and unobtrusive, but I hope everyone can and will find it. It is a 'pay per click' system, so if you can't find it it does me no good. Google is really good about providing ads that relate to the content of the page so there should be interesting stuff over there.

At the bottom of the sidebar is a short list of links. In Blogology I talk about why it is a short list from a blogging and marketing perspective, but aside from those aspects I don't want links I don't really follow myself. I don't look at the inspirational quote every day, but it's always nice when I do. I deleted one of the serial fiction links. It was to a directory that wasn't just serials and I wasn't sure about the consistency of their maintenance. I added a link to Agent Rusty Bones, which is a serial about an undead guy who investigates paranormal stuff for the FBI. I think. I haven't had time to read it yet, but it was recommended by Madie, who writes Bear Tribe.Net. That I do read regularly. Anyone who finds or writes a serial of any kind let me know and I will add a link.

Anyway, it's the end of another week. I enjoy what I write and I hope you do too. See ya Monday!

On Monday I Said I Would Win

2005-05-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

Today I did. Of course I didn't win the cool concert tix, but I was on the radio and I did win. Dinner and a movie for me and Laurie; can't beat that with a stick.

I won on 'Lyrics of Mystery'. The line was "Out of my way, it's a busy day, and I've got things on my mind." I must confess, since I was sitting here getting ready to write I hit the search engine. I don't feel bad though since it didn't really work by itself. All those words are too common and I don't know how to do a phrase search. Fortunately I could hear the line in my head and recognized David Gilmore's voice. Add Pink Floyd to the search and the title fell right out.

I guess the coolest part is coming through on the 'I'm gonna win something' in such short order. Power of word.

If You Ever Want To Rob Me...

2005-05-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

...bring snacks for Jack.

The cleaners were at my mom's house yesterday. I let them in and went back to what I was doing. Since it was a warm day the sliding door was just screen, not glass, so Jack could hear them in there. Since he can't see and he couldn't get in to smell them he didn't know who they were and was giving them the full treatment; hair puffed up and the 'if I get to you I'm eating you' bark.

After taking him home three times only to find him back at the door, I talked the cleaners into a one minute break. They told him to sit and gave him snackies. He'll remember their voices forever now.

Spam Warrior

2005-05-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

How do I get myself into these things? Well, actually I know how I got myself into this. There was this banner ad that I just couldn't resist. You know the kind; hit the target and win a free whatever. Of course you have to subscribe to 'we will spam you into oblivion' to actually get the free whatever. But it was 'punch out George W Bush'; little boxing gloves and GW dodging back and forth. It was a moment of weakness.

Okay, I admit it. I've actually enjoyed the spam war that I got myself into. It's a challenge to unsubscribe faster than they can spread my address to other lists, and it's interesting to see where these things lead, and who is doing what. A couple of the battles have been particularly amusing.

I threatened Publisher's Clearing House. Their spam does not include an 'unsubscribe' link, which I honestly believe is required by law. I never got around to researching it, I just sent them an e-mail that said it is required by law and since they didn't have one if they didn't get me off their list in three days I would pursue legal action. I got a very nice e-mail back in about two hours saying that I had been removed from their list.

This morning's adventure is the PayPal warning scam. It's a very official looking notice from PayPal saying that my account has been frozen due to suspicious activity, with a link to reverify my information and get reactivated. I sent them my PayPal password. I'm not sure how far they will get with 'nice try you evil mother****er', but they are welcome to give it a shot. I actually haven't opened a Paypal account yet, so it was pretty easy for me to spot the hoax. I don't know what I'll pick for a password, but I know what it won't be. Meanwhile the e-mail has been forwarded to spoof@paypal.com. Their security people seem to take these things pretty seriously. Since the thing is full of links the perpetrators can't be impossible to track; though they can make it difficult. I hope jackbooted storm troopers are kicking their doors in as I write. Everyone check your bulk folders and forward your Paypal hoax e-mails. The more they have to work with the better chance the storm troopers find their target.

Trivial Pursuit

2005-05-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

I started listening to a different radio station. A while back my girlfriend introduced me to alternative rock, and I've been mostly listening to her station if I listen to the radio; specifically in the morning. The radio on is a key aspect for her in getting ready for work. Morning; that's the problem.

The morning DJ on the alt-rock station is beyond annoying. In my long life of radio listening she is quite the worst I have ever heard. So last week when I spent a couple days at my girlfriend's house I would change the station as soon as she went to work. Seems like all morning radio has a LOT of talk, but the local classic rock station is better than most.

And the talking the DJ does do is actually worth listening to. Classic rock trivia. I'm gonna win something.

To Cure What Ails Ya

2005-05-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

I think I might be driving my friends crazy. Yesterday I got a letter from a dear friend. She is going on a missionary trip in August and is confronting the financial aspects of it. I would be happy to support this adventure with a few bucks, but I know what I can give is the proverbial drop in the bucket, moneywise.

So I gave her my best advice. Of course it is the same advice I seem to give everybody for everything, which is why I think I might be driving people crazy. Looking for a girlfriend/boyfriend? Got too many friends and acquaintances to keep up with them all? Need money for a missionary trip to Africa? Want to build a residual income? Bored? Blind, crippled or crazy?

Start a blog!

But I Didn't Learn Anything

2005-05-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

I'm playing Blogshares. It's an on-line game and sort of run by the community of players. One thing players manage is assigning new blogs into catagories. On the profile page for the blog you click on a 'vote here' link and vote the blog into whatever catagories you think it fits. Your vote is then 'moderated'. I've recently been elevated into the lofty ranks of the moderators.

So this morning I click on 'moderate votes' and get my list of ten votes to check. They are presented anonymously so moderators don't just approve votes because they trust the voter. The first two votes are for the same blog, called Topless Blog. I click on the link to view the blog, but I have a pretty good idea where this is headed, considering that one of the catagories that got voted for was 'sex'. Sure enough, some enterprising blogger is posting the 'topless photo of the day'. It didn't take long to approve the vote for the 'sex' catagory.

I really wish I could ask the voter about their second vote. I disapproved it, but maybe they could argue their case. They voted for 'adult education'. Maybe they learned something?

Eating Bon-Bons On The Couch

2005-05-11T06:28:00.000-07:00

I spent the day at my girlfriends house yesterday. She's going through a huge stress gig at work this week. When she got home we had the 'how was your day, what did you do?' type conversations that couples everywhere probably have. I claimed to have spent the day eating bon-bons on the couch.

After some careful examination we realized something. Other than being the symbol of the lazy spouse, and obviously edible, I really had no idea what bon-bons actually are. Fortunately she was more knowledgable than I and managed to explain them to me. They do sound good. I might have to get some now.

Oooops

2005-05-10T07:31:00.000-07:00

Technology must be taking a lot of the fun out of being a teenager. My girlfriend got this phone call. When she answered the excited girl voice started immediately.

"You've won a thousand dollars!" it said.

"Wow. Really?" my girlfriend answered, apparently not with enough enthusiasm.

"Really!! A THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! Isn't that exciting!?" Inflation has also taken its toll on our youth. Perhaps a million would have been more effective.

This went a couple more rounds before my girlfriend lowered the boom. "Do you know your name and number show up on my caller ID?"

Silence. Crank calling will never be the same.

What A Hack

2005-05-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

I have a hard time calling this guy a hack. He has written some good books. Since then he has written some stinkers. Since then he has put his name on any piece of written material that fit the suspense genre and looked like it would sell; "Tom Clancy presents:" I thought it was sad, since one would think he has a mountain of money already. Now he has pissed me off.

I was roaming the bookstore the other day and saw the latest book by Larry Niven. Larry Niven doesn't have a franchise of Jack Ryan books made into movies, but if every 'comet hitting the Earth' book and movie ever made appropriately credited Lucifer's Hammer Niven would have a mountain of money to match Clancy's. I say 'ever made' instead of 'since Lucifer's Hammer' because I can't say there was any 'comet hitting the Earth' story before that. Name one Tom Clancy book that wasn't 'sort of like Robert Ludlum, Leon Uris, et al. Lucifer's Hammer was a masterpiece when I was in high school, which is incidentally long before Tom Clancy sold word one.

So yeah, I was pissed off to see that some punk at the publisher saw fit to put an endorsement from Tom Clancy on the cover of Larry Niven's latest book. No doubt this added a nice chunk to the Tom Clancy retirement fund, but I liken it to seeing "the writer of Arvil Bren's Journal says this is a great read" on the cover of Lord of the Rings.

Yet Another Game In My Life

2005-05-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

This time it's an on line game called BlogShares. I saw it on another blog that I was reading and thought it might be a way to promote my blogs. I don't know that it really is a way to promote my blogs, but it certainly promotes blogging. I have started yet another blog as a result. It's a blog I've been thinking about doing for a while anyway, meant mostly for those people in my life who talk about having a blog, think about having a blog, maybe even start a blog; but just don't seem to actually have a blog. It's called Blogology, and you can find it by clicking here. I've also revitalized my political blog, A Political Question, with a new question.

So once again I have a new game to play and have gone wild for the last few days. Unlike some games though this one can settle in as a manageable piece of the day rather than a play like mad win and abandoned thing.

Follow up on yesterday's entry:
Some of the kids were excited about 'getting published on the internet' so I got some poems from them. They are in the comments on yesterday's entry so that they will be in the archaive together. Go read them and leave some comments for the kids!!!

Gotta love those kids

2005-05-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

Today is Thursday. It's trash day. It's the last full work day of the week for my girlfriend. It keeps Wednesday from bumping straight into Friday. No doubt it is lady's night somewhere and dollar drink night somewhere else. But what Thursday means for me is my day to volunteer at the after school program.

Sometimes it is a task. I suppose anything that is scheduled ahead would seem that way in my mostly free form life. But summer is coming on fast and pretty soon my Thursdays will lose this. And I'm gonna miss the heck out of it. I'll miss the other volunteers for sure. But I am really gonna miss those kids.

I've Had Good Days and Bad Days...

2005-05-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

and going half mad days...as Jimmy would say.

My dad was so weak for so long that I think it is a blessing for him to finally be free of it all. The pain, which he has always been pretty stoic about, but even more the monotony that his declining health had made of his days. So it isn't in me to regret seeing the end. And there is certainly no way to say I'm surprised by it.

But it still is startling somehow, over and over throughout the day. I think because he was on the edge for so long it just came to feel like he always would be. And so much of my time was organized around that. The freed up time should be a good thing, and it actually is, but in odd moments it is just...strange...

You Never Get What You Don't Ask For

2005-05-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

I used to sell cars, and that was engrained in my day to day existence. Apparently I should not have forgotten it, even though it seems to not be true. I got way more than I asked for today.

Late last night I was prowling the net. I needed some quick information about the game that is Arvil Bren's environment. One of the great resources I use is Morrowind Summit, and I was on their page of walkthrough links when I noticed a link about 'having your walkthrough hosted here'. Arvil Bren's Journal isn't exactly a walkthrough in the usual sense, but a lot of my regular readers originally showed up from google searches they were doing looking for some sort of specific Morrowind tip. So I sent an e-mail. What the heck.

To my surprise I got a response in a matter of minutes. Arvil Bren's Journal is now linked on the walkthroughs page...and the fansites page...and it is today's news topic on the front page of one of the most heavily trafficked Morrowind sites on the web. Lookee here: http://www.rpgplanet.com/morrowind

So many topics...

2005-05-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

So little drive. Maybe I'm just overwhelmed by the wide spectrum of choices, or maybe too many of the choices are too complicated. Whatever the reason I don't know what to write, or what to write about.

My girlfriend's parents have been in town for a week. Their visit has had an impact on our relationship. To say that I have not been understanding about this is an understatement. At some point that will be processed enough to write about.

My father died this weekend. That too will be processed enough to write about at some point.

I made a new friend, got introduced to a new game, and hit a terrific milestone with my serial fiction project, but with the other stuff going on I don't feel like I have much zip to bring to those topics.

There's always my best crutch, I could write about Jack the beautiful blind dog...but I think I'll let that go today too. This shall pass and I will be back in force tomorrow, count on it.

Friday, three AM

2005-04-29T03:03:00.000-07:00

I'm posting before I go to bed. Not the 'funny blog'...I've had a rough day. What I thought was a rough day.

There's a thing called BlogExplosion. They are a 'traffic service'. This isn't news to a lot of you...they brought you here. For those who got here some other way, BE's engine sends people here and gives them a little counter at the top...if they stay 30 seconds they get 'credit', and the engine sends people to their site based on those credits.

I don't know if BlogExplosion generates any traffic of value or not. I can only look at myself, and a lot of times I'm just doing the thirty second shuffle. Things catch my eye and I'll stay longer, but mostly it's about moving on. Sometimes I think I'd like to go back and check out something at greater length or keep up with some particularly interesting blogger...but there's a catch...the address will show up as BE, not the site itself. So I added that 'save this link' line at the top for you BE surfers in case any of you want to come back.

I thought about posting some commentary about blogsurfing a few times, and I really should be doing BlogExplosion more justice because they are a great service. They do send complete strangers to my blog, and sometimes those people come back, comment, become known to me. There is also a great adventure in surfing on BE...clicking that number to go to the next blog and never knowing if it will be a comic strip, photoblog, product reviews, recipes, amusing scenes from someones real life, or mad political rants from any or all points of view. I could make a dozen funny posts about surfing blogs...but not tonight.

I can't add this link to my 'serial fiction' list, because I believe it's a true story. I can't recommend it in a humorous entry, because it is so far from funny. What I can say is that I had every intention of surfing a dozen blogs or so and going to bed...around midnight. Then I saw this. I read it all. I did a search to get the direct link. I marked it so I can read the rest as it is written. It is disturbing, and I've never recommended a blog before, but I recommend this: http://www.63days.com

My day was not so rough. None of them really ever has been.
PS...don't click that link if you are at work, or have something to do in the next few hours...just in case.

Jack and his girlfriend

2005-04-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

As a writer I sometimes refuse to accept the old expression "a picture is worth a thousand words", but in this case...

Sneakers on her tree

Jack under the tree

As you can see they have a very intense relationship.

So Many Games, So Little Time

2005-04-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

While my brother was out from Louisiana he introduced my mom to yet another game on Yahoo. I tried to ignore this. I've played the four that show up on Yahoo Messenger, and I know just how much time they can eat. But like the elephant in the living room, this Bejeweled just couldn't be ignored. It seemed like every time I walked into mom's computer room she was delightedly blowing things up.

Bejeweled is a puzzle game. You line up three similar jewels and they disappear. Line up four and three disappear and the fourth turns into a bomb. Line up five and four disappear, but the fifth turns into the highly desired blow up lots of stuff vortex. It is very simple to play, so it is really maddening when it says 'no more moves'. I know, since I broke down and started playing it. Of course.

To play through twenty levels takes almost two hours. When I did it twice in a row I felt like I could retire this one. The second time my computer crashed at level 24. Otherwise I might still be playing.

And Film Still Exists Because?

2005-04-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

I dropped off a roll of film for my girlfriend yesterday. I carried it in my pocket for two days and left it on my counter for three or four more first. Half of it is pictures of Sneakers the cat and Jack, taken recently. The first half I think she remembers, but I don't know what they are. That is how I remember getting film developed has always been. "Stand still, we need to finish this roll," seems to ring familiar.

It costs like twelve bucks to get these mysterious photos developed. I know some of them are no good. Jack and Sneakers close together for a photo are not the most stable composition elements. Basically we wanted one 'good one' to post on our family blog. I'll undoubtedly post one here too as a reward for those who slog through my rambling prose.

Twelve bucks. What does film cost anyway? I have no clue since I have never been much of a photo guy. Boxes of pictures that no one really looks at until you are dead just never made much sense to me. Of course when they have to be paid for just throwing them away would seem pretty hard I guess, so best left for the descendents to do.

But a picture is worth a thousand words, so they say. Buying film, getting it developed, stacks of irrelevant photos; that was the price for being able to say "This is Jack with Sneakers the cat. Aren't they cute?" We need a digital camera. How in the world do they still sell cameras that take film?

Discount?

2005-04-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

On my home page I have the listing for the nearest theater. I don't know if I really have a 'home page'. It's my Yahoo page with personalized content. Is that a home page? I digress. Whatever it is I have the theater listings. With dad in the convalescent hospital I don't have the constant work demand that I got accustommed to. With my girlfriend's parents in town I have time on my hands that I would normally get to spend with her. For the first time in a long time I actually looked at this movie listing.

There's lots of good stuff playing right now. I think I might go see something today in fact. But what really got my attention is the show times that are in parenthesis. At the bottom it says "() - discounted/bargain shows." Well everybody knows what that means I suppose; even me. But I was still surprised, and will definitely cruise over today during the afternoon to take advantage.

I just don't know how much of a discount I'll get. The theater right down the street, which is the one I have listings for since it is so close....it's the dollar movies.

Responsible Adults

2005-04-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

I don't usually comment on the news, mostly because I try not to pay any attention to it. This one caught my eye though. A twenty year old hopeful performer had her violin stolen. It was recovered by a good Samaritan who is of course being investigated by the police for their trouble. If the cops can't pin the original crime on him he is going to get a ten thousand dollar reward that was put up by the parents of the future star.

They put up a ten thousand dollar reward for the return of the violin because it is one of only thirty of its kind and worth approximately eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars! You may wonder how a twenty year old comes to be in possession of such an instrument. I certainly would. It was loaned to her by a collector. Loaned!

The collector's insurance specifically does not cover theft from a vehicle. He apparently didn't bother to tell her that. Maybe he assumed when he loaned her the irreplaceable instrument that she would have better sense than to leave it on the seat of her car.

Do I Pace Myself...

2005-04-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

...or am I just bone lazy?

I've been putting down weed barrier for the last two days. Two days, and I'd say the yard is about half done. Four courses of the cloth are down, and I think it will take three more, but the last one is really long. To lay this stuff down involves moving the bed of cinder rock out of the way with a rake, rolling the stuff out, then putting the rock back on top of it. I can do a strip in about an hour. So why only four in two days? Three or four hours rest in between strips is why.

So technically I could have done the job in one day of steady work, but I didn't. I did pretty much anything but work steadily. I would be sure about the bone lazy part, but I was still close to crippled from the effort, so instead I say it's a good thing I know how to pace myself. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it...but I won't fight about it. I'm too sore.

My Game Is An Embarrassment

2005-04-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

I have been considering myself a solid 1550 chess player. I slide down to 1500 sometimes, and I hit 1600 occasionally, but most of the time I'm within twenty points of 1550. 1550 is not an extraordinary rating, but it isn't just average either. Yesterday I decided I am going to get above 1600 and stay there.

I decided this after winning two games against 1600 plus players. Those games illuminated something so brightly that even I can't ignore it. In one of them I actually slipped with the mouse and made the wrong first move. In the other I didn't. It made no difference, my opening was abysmal. After ten moves I was in such an inferior position that I'm sure both my opponents wondered how I held my rating. They found out. In the midgame I fight like a cornered wolverine, and if I can reach the endgame somewhere close to even I am like a death machine.

I have a database with a thousand quick lessons in opening strategy. I did three or four, acknowledged its usefulness, and haven't opened it since. What a knothead.

On Vacation

2005-04-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

When I took on taking care of my parents some part of me looked at it as an escape. With a roof overhead and food on the plate I would be free of the constant hustling of running businesses or being a salesman, so I could really settle myself, do some soul searching, write a book. What I didn't consider is that life isn't really organized into weekdays and weekends. Health and personal needs take no breaks.

My dad is still in the hospital, but he is getting stronger every day. Friday there's a meeting for training in the even more extensive care he will need when he comes home. Chances are that leaving him to my mom, even for a day, is going to be a thing of the past.

So I've escaped for a few days to a resort in Palmdale. A couple days here is probably going to have to carry me through however long dad has left. I'm confident that it will. Even though the groundskeeper and the pool man are both me, the company is that good.

It's A Dog's Life

2005-04-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Jack is spoiled. He is spoiled in a way that I've never seen a dog spoiled. I did it. I admit it. I'm not even sorry about it. I wish everyone could spoil their dog this way.

Jack gets some treats to eat now and then, but he has to work for them by learning commands, so he isn't spoiled that way. Sometimes he gets a substitute for his dinner, like a bacon cheeseburger or meat loaf and bread, but it's a substitute not a bonus, and I make sure that the ratio of protein to filler is about the same as his dog food. So he isn't spoiled that way. Okay, right now some people are saying 'cheeseburger? that dog is spoiled', but really.

How Jack is spoiled is that he is always with me. I work from home. I write, he lays on the couch next to my chair. His designated couch and the only furniture he is allowed on by the way. I go take care of stuff at my folks house, he comes along. I go to my girlfriend's house, he comes along. I'm working on some way to get him declared a service animal so he can come to the store with me.

If I claim that being his seeing eye person keeps me from being a threat to society do you think he would qualify?

I Might Be Nocturnal

2005-04-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

At one time I had three cats. They were all from the same litter. They all could have passed for pure-bred cats, but obviously weren't since they would have passed for three different breeds. One is a perfect apple-head siamese, one is a classic orange tabby, and the third is a bombay black. The orange tabby made it a very strange mix indeed, since the red genes he obviously held in force did not show up at all in his brothers. Clearly sons of three different fathers and a mother cat who contributed nothing to their genetic mix. But what has them on my mind is their behavior.

Two of the three seldom touched the floor. They slept on top of the kitchen cabinets and traversed the living room by a series of leaps from couch back to chair to piano. Their brother prowled the lower regions, keeping his feet firmly on the ground. On the rare occassion when he got up on the kitchen cabinets it would take near starvation for him to make the jump down to the counter. I think in the common housecat there is a blend of ancient tree dwelling species with other creatures of the broad savanna, and my three boys came from widely divergent branches of that heritage.

People might be just as diverse a blend. I think I must be descended from some rare nocturnal stock.

Old Times

2005-04-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

I took my brother to the airport yesterday. Most people hate the drive to LAX, and someone that lives the better part of a hundred miles away might be expected to hate it more than most. I have an ace in the hole though. The best people I ever worked with work in an office building right down the street, and every time I have to go to the airport it gives me an excuse to visit them.

I didn't work there very long, and most of the actual individuals I worked with have either moved on or didn't actually frequent the office in the first place, but just the atmosphere there can recharge batteries. They sell great lives. Every day they fly into the face of disbelief, sometimes hostile disbelief, but they never fail to deliver. It is by far the hardest job I ever had, and I've had a lot.

Hats off to my friends at Landmark Education. I love you all, whether I ever had the pleasure of actually meeting you or not.

I Have This Theory

2005-04-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

I am pretty much a routine driven guy. I do what I do, and I like it, so I pretty well just keep on doing it. So once I got through the first couple weeks it wasn't really too hard for me to keep my blogs going. Until recently.

Two and a half weeks ago my dad went to the hospital. The place promptly flooded with family. Dad's illness is bad; having the clan gathered around is excellent; both are disruptive to my routine.

But the blogs tick along. Not always first thing in the morning as was my routine, but they have been maintained daily. My theory is that things are now getting settled back to normal. Cross your fingers for me.

Miracle on 47th Street

2005-04-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

So the other night my girlfriend and I found a bunch of water in her house. Not wanting to start tearing things up at one in the morning we went to bed considering the problem. I spent yesterday with my family...in the background considering the problem. I got here last night fully expecting that by now I would be up to my ears in water logged drywall, moldy carpet and the other detritus of disaster. Anyway, I pulled up the carpet and pad and we set up a fan to dry stuff out...especially the standing water on the slab. That was most important to me so I could trace any new water back to its source today.

As we went to bed to the accompaniment of the roaring fan we talked about what those sources might be. I was already feeling pretty good; drywall seemed pretty much unscathed, carpet soaked but no major moldering. Hose bib leaking in the wall and roof leak flowing down inside the chimney were my favored betting lines. The easiest thing to check though was the sprinklers; probability near zero, but really easy to check. I jokingly said 'first thing, we'll turn on the sprinklers, maybe one broke and by some weird twist it is shooting water straight into some gap in the siding.'

So the sprinkler is fixed using a spare part from the garage (cost = zero), carpet is almost dry and ready to put back down, and it's not even lunch time. Without the direct sprinkler blast for twenty minutes a day the minor roof leak on the down slope side of the chimney is hardly even worth fixing. Miracle made to order; can I call 'em or what?

A New Week

2005-04-11T09:06:00.000-07:00

...and no predetermined subject...boy am I in trouble...NOT! With a whole week of accumulated material I hardly know where to start. I guess last Friday's trip to the laundromat.

Yes I have a washer and dryer. Yes I could do laundry regularly. I could even throw stuff in with my girlfriend's laundry since she generally doesn't have real full loads. But I don't. I enjoy the laundromat too much. There's something monumental about doing all my laundry at once; makes it kind of like climbing Mount Everest. Besides, they seem to be full of people who think they don't want to be there, and that's always amusing.

One woman I met was wishing she was in Hawaii instead. I stood there and looked out the front of the place with her. Strip mall parking lot. Cars. Palm trees. Sky. I lived in Hawaii for three years. Near as I could make out if we had been instantaneously transported to a laundomat in Honolulu we would not have been able to tell the difference if not for the warrior on the license plates. I don't know if she appreciated me pointing that out. Now if I had had to slog my hundred pounds of laundry through the snow to get there I may have seen her point better. If I lived where it snowed I'd have to have fifty more pounds of clothes so I could make it through the entire winter without doing laundry.

Hello? I Know You're Out There!

2005-04-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

End of the week and a last thing about getting going with a blog. I'm gonna have to go back to thinking about what to write about from day to day. Ah well, it has been a nice vacation.

It is completely possible for me to delude myself into almost anything...sometimes. Telling myself 'hey, a whole bunch of people are reading my blog' could have been on the delusion list. But the first time I really didn't feel like writing, like all good delusions it would have instantly changed to suit my purpose...becoming 'heck, no one reads it anyway' and supporting taking a nap or whatever other project had just risen to high priority.
So here is how to avoid the delusion. It is a widespread tried and true solution, for lots of things besides blogs. Statistics. What a miserable word. Bleeeeech, as we would say in the comics. But in the wonderful world of the internet statistics takes on a whole new meaning....because someone else takes care of them! Gotta love that!

I use a service called 'statcounter'. It's free. Gives me the cool rolling counter gizmo down there at the bottom of the page (leave a message if you are reader number 1000 by the way). It also gives me a list of all sorts of top secret information about my readers. That includes you, since you are here. Things like what country you are from, so I can call myself an internationally acclaimed writer. Also what operating system you use, so I can watch for myself how the battle against big Bill is going. (For those that don't know, he won.) Anyway, statcounter is really easy to use. They give you code that you just paste into your template. There are lots of others out there I'm sure, and they are probably just as easy.

So there you have it. If one person starts a successful blog after reading this I will call it an unparalleled victory, even if they would have done it anyway. I'm not completely averse to delusion, after all.

Promotion

2005-04-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

Promotion? I didn't even know I had a job! Oh, not that kind of promotion...

Some people I suppose write their blogs the way people keep a diary. They just write for the sake of writing, and maybe don't even realize that anyone with the address can read what they post. Of course if they never give the address to anyone and keep it off the various scan lists they have little to worry about. In the bazillion words floating around the net their little secrets are probably pretty safe. So are mine, and they aren't meant to be secrets.

I don't write for the sake of writing, I write to be read! And there comes a moment where if I didn't know there were readers I'd probably not write. Okay, comes a lot of those moments. But in those moments I know I have readers, and that gets me through. So where did they come from? How did they find my words among the zillions? Not by accident, mostly.

Another advantage of the topical blog; whatever your interest you are not alone. I write serial fiction based in the world of a computer game. I searched out bulletin boards and forums related to the game and got on there and hawked my ass off. Then I did the same thing with fantasy/science fiction forums. Then I posted an author's note asking my readers to send the link to their friends. It looked like this:

Hey you readers, send this link to your friends: http://timsownthing.blogspot.com

Well...it was a little more diplomatic, but you get the idea...and by the way if that worked and you are here because someone sent you that link leave me a comment!

Bottom line....promote your blog, even if it's just telling your friends and family to read it as a way to make up for your bad habit of not answering your e-mail. Save up some readers for the rainy day where you really don't have it in you to write just for the sake of writing.

Contents and Packaging

2005-04-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

There's this thing called a template. It makes no difference at all. For this blog, it's the thing that keeps the sidebar over there---> instead of over <---there, which I suppose could be considered a useful function if you really care which side it is on. It also determines the colors of things, which is very important. What colors exactly isn't so important, but it's good to avoid things like white text on light grey background unless you're some sort of stealth blogger. The standard templates are good for that since they've been tested not just on your 32 bit super video card and 19 inch flat screen, but will be visible to Billy in Botswana. No offense meant to Billy or the rest of my Botswanan fans.

There's a button up at the top marked 'next blog'. You can use that to surf randomly through blogs on blogger. If you do you will see the same templates used by many people; sometimes heavily modified, sometimes so straight out of the box that the links section still says 'edit here'. Some of the best content will be on those straight from the box templates, and you will find some idiot savant blogs with extensive templates full of banner photos and animated text marching across the page...filled with weather reports apparently misspelled by a ten year old.

So pick a template from the ready supply and get going is my suggestion. For one thing you aren't stuck with your choice anyway, so there's no point really sweating over it. For another thing, if you have the content someone might come along and offer to dress up your packaging for you. Thanks Bravo.

Now What?

2005-04-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Okay...so the latest thing I've learned about blogging...shouldn't have said yesterday what I was gonna talk about today, since I really have no idea how to go about it. Ah, but I am going about it...so I need to erase this and start over....but then I wouldn't be going about it...so I don't need to erase this after all...wait...

Now that that bit of paradoxical inanity is out of the way I can actually get started, and start by really voiding out that whole thing. Saying yesterday what I was going to talk about this week actually does make things easier. The key difference between my first successful blog, Arvil Bren's Journal, and all the previous failures was that I knew every day what it was going to be about. I still had to write it, but I never had to wonder what to write about. Without the things I gained from that success this blog probably would have folded like so many others, because this one I do wonder every day what to write about.

So, first bit of advice to the hopeful new blogger: get your feet wet with a topical blog. Mine was serial fiction. My son with the tarantula collection could post a picture and biography of one of his pets every day for the next three months. My brother could analyze a chess game every day for the rest of forever. People with kids can usually post a stupid thing their kid just did on a daily basis, and many of them do. Pick something you can talk about every day...of interest to you. Don't worry about who else might be interested...whatever the topic there is always somebody on the net looking for it.