Crissy Moss

2010-05-30T14:55:00.001-07:00

It is said that any habit you wish to build need only start with 28 days. Day one: I wrote "The Ring" today, about a thief, a ring, and the problems it causes.

2010-05-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

Oil Spill 5-3

Since coming to the Seattle area I've been listening to Kiro FM a lot. They have some interesting takes on the world developments.

This morning I was listening to Ross talk about the oil spill, and especially a past adviser of President Bush who said "Tragedies like this (Katrina, oil spill, coal mine accident) are what make people wonder where the government is." (paraphrased)

Now, Ross had the view that government should put in more regulations, like extra safety equipment, and I can't say that I disagree with that, however I do have another take on this.

Accidents happen.

Mother Nature happens.

You can't regulate everything. You can't predetermine every little thing that might happen out there. It's life, it's messy and things happen.

After those accidents and tragedies happen of course we need to pick up the pieces and move on. I do not, however, think that it is the government’s sole responsibility to do this. Yes, we as a society pay taxes to our government so that they can take care of national emergencies, but I still say it is not their SOLE responsibility.

We, as citizens not only of the USA but of the planet have an obligation to take care of things like safety, and regulations. Why are we putting so much money into governments to regulate things when we as citizens should be doing it ourselves?

We hear so much about big government, big brother, and higher and higher taxes. The fact of the matter is that as long as we, as citizens, expect the government to bail us out whenever some tragedy happens, and they seem to happen on a fairly regular basis, then government needs funding to do that, and laws to uphold it.

If we use our own common sense and, like during 9-11 and other past events, open our hearts, our pocket books, and even our homes then the government doesn't have to take quite so big an impact because we are doing what we are meant to do, and that is looking out for our fellow man and being responsible as individuals instead of just expecting the government to handle it.

2010-05-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

Anonymity 5-2

Have you watched "We Live In Public"? It is an interesting documentary of Josh Harris, a man you've probably never heard of and yet much of your internet life has been in some fashion touched by him. The founder of Jupiter and Pseudo before broadband, much of our overly connected internet was inspired by his creations.

He was a visionary, and he was extremely eccentric.

And he has been branded by what he created. As we all are or soon will be.

Let me explain.

Josh Harris was eccentric. He created an art exhibit or experiment, however you want to look at it, in which a group of people lived in a hotel of cubes and were constantly under surveillance by their fellow men and women for the entirety of the experiment. No doors on the lavatory, a clear plastic shower, no doors on their beds. Everyone lived, ate, had sex, and used the toilet in public.
He showed us what is happening, for surly we do almost everything in public already. We twitter our daily ideas and inspirations. We blog about the family cat. We are on youtube, face book and myspace for others to watch, laugh at, comment on, and in general see. Our lives are open books.

And we are being judged, just as he became judged, every day of our lives.

People have been fired over their face book pictures and comments.

People have been fired over other people posting pictures of them on their own face books, so even if you don't post the embarrassing picture of yourself in the lampshade drunk off your ass on champagne in the carrabeen with your girlfriend while your wife sits at home... who is to say someone else wont?

We live in public.

It is a stressful thing because living in public means you must always be at work. Always live as though someone is watching. Always do things in such a way that, should someone see it, or post it, or blog it you won't be ashamed of what they might say.

Or, you take the other road, and simply stop caring. It doesn't matter, after all, they will eventually see anyway so you may as well just live as yourself and to hell with the consequences.

Thus it was in Josh Harrison’s experiment. After a while people forgot about the cameras and just allowed themselves to be themselves, no inhibitions, complete freedom.

Now Josh Harrison, who had been a multi millionaire, the creator and inspiration for a computer age, can't get a job in the industry he helped to create. Why?

His past is on facebook, myspace, youtube, and a movie of the week. Who wants to be associated with that?

What have you facebooked lately?

2010-01-24T23:30:00.000-08:00

Warcraft

I've been on a Warcraft kick lately. Fun, enjoyable, addicting...

For me that isn't too bad. I tend to take Warcraft in short bursts. Play for three months or so, then give it up and go play another game for a while. It works for me.

Right now the fact that my friend, who I'm staying with at the time, also has Warcraft, and we are playing it on two computers in the same room, leveling our Horde taurens together (my first attempt of a Horde member, I've been strictly Alliance till now) makes it even more fun.

He stole some gold while I was out of the room getting ice cream today. Used it to buy spells. But then, I would have given it to him anyway so I can't complain... Too much.

2009-12-22T16:35:00.000-08:00

Dogs the Big Polluters

I find this quote interesting: "Our animals give us so much that I don't feel like a polluter at all.

"I think the love we have for our animals and what they contribute to our lives outweighs the environmental considerations."

It's from an article talking about the carbon footprint of pets. Since they eat meat, and processed foods, a medium sized dog produces twice the average carbon footprint of an SUV.

I find that quote interesting because that's exactly what someone in an SUV says: it gives me joy. They say its not a good enough excuse until it's their pet in question not someone else's vehicle.

Here is the thing: everything eats, including our machines which eat up electricity and fuel. Everything produces some amount of a carbon footprint and the only way to get it down to zero is to die.

The carbon footprint isn't the best way to measure things, rather it is one means to gauge how things are equating. And it isn't the pets so much as the over population of pets (especially those in shelters) and the inefficient way their food is produced. Change those two things and perhaps the carbon foot print would be less because my little cat isn't going to eat any less.

2009-12-13T18:36:00.001-08:00

The growing number of dating sites is truly a reflection of the way our society has limited human contact.

2009-12-12T16:54:00.000-08:00

Seattle Thus Far

It's been very cold here, but beautiful weather. Can't complain. What I've noticed about Seattle:
Everyone is incredibly nice.
Everyone warns you about the rain, but they don't have a huge problom with it, so why would I.
The road system, while congested at times, really isn't as bad as they let on (and I have an hour commute to work)

Oh, and I am really enjoying my job so far. I haven't gotten into it that much since its at the closing of one store and opening of the other, but thus far it's been good. The owner, Elena, is very nice and helpful, if slightly frazled over all she has to accomplish in the next month but it's understandable. I couldn't ask for a better start in a better place.

2009-12-01T18:38:00.001-08:00

Games are not going toward photo realism, except in race games. But then if we wanted photo realism we'd just go outside.

2009-11-26T01:20:00.001-08:00

I have six short days of work, them three to pack and i'm off to seattle for my new life. Its scary and wonderful. A whole new life is awaiting me!

2009-10-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

Runescape

I've been eating up free time in Seattle with a little Runescape again. It's been a while, and while the game is decidedly easy to play, it is fun in its own little way. There are just so many different skills and abilities to master, not just hack and slash like many other RPGs, that you can get a sense of accomplishment in just a couple hours of play.

As for Seattle... I really just don't want to leave. It's beautiful here. I'm enjoying it immensely, even driving through the traffic. I wish I knew when I'd be able to come back.

2009-10-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

Seattle

I'm in Seattle today. It was a long drive, with lots of traffic. Salem was the worst with construction and several back ups, and it ended up taking an hour to get through this one city.

Everyone said the traffic in Seattle proper was awful. Well, down town I'd have to agree. If I plan to spend much time there (which I do) I will end up forgoing the car and using the bus service. However, the rest of Seattle, Bellevue, etc. etc. seemed perfectly fine to drive in. (This coming from a person who learned to drive in ND, where there is absolutely no traffic)

As for the job searching... I have one job which seems to fit what I want in a job. If it can fit my needs for paying bills... well that's the question isn't it. They make fantastic chocolates though, and the people are nice. We'll have to see what happens.

I still want to be in Seattle by December. Wish I could be here now! I really don't want to go back to CA.

2009-06-16T13:52:00.001-07:00

If global warming will make extreme weather that means the population will prolly be cut down. Less need for industry and a halt to global warming. Equaling out. Not that I'm for it, just saying... Sometimes nature has to take its course because eventually everything works out.

2009-06-06T21:21:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday to me!

2009-06-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

Updates

I've updated My Bibliography over on Authors Den to show some of my best work, and delete dead links.

I've started submitting Letters of Introduction (loi) to a few markets. (Hey, I'm here. Look at me *Waves Wildly*)

I also added a new gameboard to Etsy. Alice in wonderland. Always loved that story.

2009-05-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Back to Writing

It's about time.
I've been working, off and on, on a couple of projects. "Curse of the Mermaid", (paranormal romance novel), and a few non-fiction pieces.

I published Top Five Tearjerkers: Movies that Make You Cry over on AC.

I'm also working on getting "Scarecrow" published. It's a horror/paranormal sort of story, and flash fiction, so placing it will be a little more difficult, but worth it.

School is out for the summer, and I've yet to decide if I will be returning for next semester. I do need to take three classes, but with work it's been difficult, and if I am going to devote more time to writing I may not have time.

I say give myself the summer to do the writing, and if I start to get some sales I'll hold off on the college for another year, until I can cut back on the "real" job.

2008-08-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

So I tried something new for my Etsy. Some book marks with my artwork on them... They are kinda cute, and I like using them myself. They are a perfect size, and thickness. Don't bend the spines on my books or anything. Plus they stand up to repeated use a lot better since they are laminated.

Haven't sold anything on Etsy in a long time... but I at least had fun making them.

2008-07-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

New Zombie Movie?

I'm a big fan of zombie movies, especially Resident Evil, and Shawn of the Dead... so wasn't it a fun surprise to meet not one, but 3 people who had just finished filming a zombie flick nearby.

The first one came into the Chevron and mentioned how hot it was. I asked if he was on vacation, and he said "No, actually we just got finished filming a zombie movie. Ya, I got to be a zombie and was killed three times."

Apparently he was working in the background, but they ran out of extras so they slapped some makeup and zombie bits on him, and killed him a few times.

The other two came in later. She had an ID from New York, and I'd never seen one before. They bend, which I thought was interesting. So I asked them if they were on vacation, and they mentioned working on a film as well.

"Oh, the zombie movie?" I asked.

They were a little surprised that I'd already heard about it.

I'll have to keep a look out for new zombie movies. I have no idea what it was called, though the first guy did say it was a major production, not just a fan film. I can think of several nearby places that would make interesting filming locals too.

2008-07-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

Saw this at the truck stop the other night...

2008-07-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

Evil Children

Evil children seem to be a running thing in many movies. Children of the corn, and Resident Evil come to mind.

I always loved this scene from Barbarella... Not only evil children, but dolls too. Makes me understand why some people HATE dolls.

2008-07-18T16:13:00.000-07:00

So Tiered

Grave yard shift is rough on a person. I'm not sure why, but I've been getting even less sleep then usual. I suppose it doesn't help that this morning, instead of going home and crawling into bed, I met an old friend for star bucks....

Ah well, I'll survive... somehow.

2008-07-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

My Favorite Food

As suggested by Monika Dubska

My favorite food? Well... I love food. Chinese, mexican, seafood...

I think my absolute favorite has got to be the Sea Food Borrito from Paradiso's I had back in North Dakota. That was simply amazing, with this wonderful white sauce, and filled with all sorts of sea food bits like shrimp and crab. Loved it. Never had anything quite as good since.

And it was HUGE! I usually ended up eating half that day, and taking it home to eat the rest the next day. Well worth the trip.

2008-07-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

Map

To give a better picture of me in relation to the flames... Heres a map.

Somethings made them a lot worse tonight. Ash is now falling from the sky.

2008-07-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

Sunlight Gone

The wind shifted last night.

Here's the stats: I live in Corning California, just north west of Chico, just south of Redding. There are fires in Chico and Redding, and some to the west as well.

Last night, when the wind shifted, one of the fires blew up bigger, and deposited a layer of ash in Chico and the surounding area. Today the sun was barely visable, and the light from it was yellow all day.

On top of it all it's HOT here. Humidity is a little higher then usual. At least my air conditioner is working again...

We had thought they had many of the fires contained because the sky was blue and we could go outside and breath for a few days... then this happened.

I have been seeing a lot of fire fighters at the station. There just isn't enough of them. Hopefuly the fires will burn themselves out soon...

2008-07-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

Skewing the Results

Put up a funny comic, like this:

Now watch as the search results jump from 2, to over 16,000 when I searched.

Most of the results are from people like me... blogging about it of course.

2008-06-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

Flash Element TD2

This little flash game simple in design, but gets progressively harder. It has all the earmarks of a great strategy. You have to manage your resources, place your towers in strategic locations, upgrade, and fight the hordes of creatures bent on taking your elements.

My tip: don't forget to visit the store after every battle and replace your elements.

2008-06-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

Web Mem

Or Internet Memories I guess you'd call them.

It's a time line with all sorts of interesting firsts, and viral videos, like the Hamster Dance, and the very first South Park episode ever created.

It has links, pop ups, YouTube vids... completely interactive and very interesting read. I've spent hours here seeing things I missed, and remembering things I use to love... like Badger Badger

2008-06-25T23:48:00.000-07:00

Post Secret

I've read through post secret on occasion. It's marvelous and inspirational.

This one prompted me to blog about it.

It just made me stop, and stare for a moment. I can think of two people who I'd like to forget all the wonderful things they did for me, that way I won't forget what they did to hurt me, and I won't be tempted to let them close enough to do it again.

2008-06-25T23:46:00.001-07:00

This is what I'm living through right now... Itchy eyes, scratchy throat, and sore lungs...

2008-06-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

Haze Over CA

This is the view from my window today... the sun as seen through a thick layer of clouds.

It was a blood red disk on the horrizon when I drove to work. I only hope some of the fires are under control soon.

2008-06-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

The View Out My Window

Outside the window of the gas station I work at there are often semi trucks, or RV's. Sometimes they have interesting things on them... like this one with a race car painted on the side of it.

One day I saw two giant shoes... not painted, but sculptures, sitting on a flat bed outside our window. That was interesting.

Lately we can't see far because of the new fires in Butte. I hope the smoke clears soon.

2008-06-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

Etsy Time

I wanted to do a blog about a different person on etsy every week, but I had such a response to my question on Etsy forums that I am doing something better... A list of every blog someone posted in my thread, up to this moment, and a comment about it.

Heather Future is very funny. She lives WAAAAAAAAYYYY up north in the cold Yukon, so much interesting stuff.
Brain Fizz has some really cute plushies, and some interesting stuff about her life (like a huge fish tank she bought).
Elephantine has a good sense of humor.
Tea and Honey Bread and The Buzz are from the same person. The buzz is an artist blog. She's got some beautiful art. Tea and Honey is a little more personal.
So much yarn, so little time is really a cute blog with stuff about her work, her life, and the spam she gets and laughs at.
Jewelicide's blog focuses on her hand made gemstone jewelry.
Artmixter and Artmixter's Emporium are both from the same etsian, one about their process and one about etsy stuff.
Unique Nurses is an Etsian, but her blog is mostly about super natural stuff. Crop circles at the moment. I always found crop circles to be fasinating.
Artisanne blogs about other Etsians
Country Line Studio has a lot about her work, and also about her charity ACEO's that she sells.
Wolf Design is from a woman who's moved to the Netherlands from Sweden. She has a lot about jewelry, etsy, and of course Sweden and the Netherlands.
Bagladee s all about her love of sewing hand bags, and she uses some beautiful fabrics.
Lost River Rags and Candles focuses a lot on etsy shops and friends.
Sam McLean Designs has pictures of her items, and stories from her family. I can't believe the beautiful felt food items she makes. They are just awesome.

I hope I didn't miss anyone...

2008-06-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

Anime

I'm a big fan of anime. There are quite a few of them I like, including Eureka Seven, Bleach, Inuyasha, and Full Metal Alchemist.

Unfortunately, with my job and everything else I don't have time to watch them. But I found a solution. Anime DS has anime that you can watch streaming, or download. True, it's all in the original Japanese, but I enjoy the subtitles.

On broadband it's perfect. I watched 25 episodes of Naruto strait and finally got to see most of the story line. On wi-fi it's almost as good. For every show I watch I have to let it download for a while before I watch it, so I can only watch one or two a day. I don't think that I'd try it on dial up.

All the movies are good quality flash based, and play full screen. If you don't mind reading subtitles its perfect.

2008-06-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

California Fires

The Paradise fire is near Chico. That’s to the east. To the west is Paskenta, and another fire.

Needless to say, the valley here is filled with smoke. That means itchy water eyes, scratchy throat, and achy body for me. My allergies are working over time...

Thankfully they have it mostly contained and more clean up then anything right now, so hopefully everything will be back to "normal" soon.

2008-06-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

Summer is Here

Time for swimming, ice cream, and BBQ dinners...

As you can see, my kids have the whole simming part under wraps. I think they are crazy, that pool was only 76 degrees that day.

But the lake was beautiful, and very warm. Can't wait to go back there.

Everyone have a safe and wonderful summer.

2008-06-02T16:32:00.001-07:00

Consignment

I've found another great blog and some good information. This time it is about Consignment and Wholesale of crafted items, how to sell them and such. Love the idea. And from another Etsy member too.

Now just to get myself a large supply of SOMETHING to sell to someone else.

2008-06-02T16:20:00.001-07:00

I could make that

I have looked at many a craft item and thought "I could do that"... trouble is usually I won't because I don't have time, materiels, or the temarity to do it myself.

It's slightly annoying when people say it, but then there are those who try to ask you how you did it so they can go home and do it themselves instead of buying your goods.

I like one persons answer to that: "Well, that's part of being able to do it yourself. You have to do the research."

If you can do it yourself, by all means do it. Go take the classes, gather the info, research and practice till your hearts content. Don't ask us to do it for you. Sounds good to me.

2008-05-30T00:03:00.000-07:00

D&D Online

I was part of a D&D group for a little while, and we had some very good games. Then our group fell apart... People grow up, move away, marriages split...

In the Real Life Comics forum they suggested playing D&D online,

Fantasy Grounds is a downloadable program that lets you play online. It has maps, inventories, dice rolls and everything. Quite an interesting little interface... Only draw back being you have to pay for it to get the full program, but it might be worth it.

RPOL and Open RPG are more forum based D&D games. I'm not sure how they work, but it is worth looking into.

It's also rumored that the new 4th Edition D&D from Wizards of the Coast is suppose to come with a CD that allows for online play.

2008-05-27T21:56:00.000-07:00

Sexy Garb

In Warcraft part of the fun is dressing in sexy armor pieces. I just got some great armor, but it's even nicer because the stuff is just really great to look at too.

2008-05-26T13:20:00.001-07:00

Flash Fun

A little site called Vector Park has some interesting interactive flash fun... working along the lines of hidden puzzles where you find differant elements that lead to new items. Some are more complex that others, but all of them are a lot of fun.

For just game goodness try Orisinal. They have some very good game mini's with beautiful art work.

2008-05-23T08:55:00.001-07:00

Etsy

I think I'm going to start taking a blog a week and bragging about someone on Etsy. After all, I have my own shop, so it only seems fair.

Today I want to brag about BittyMoose, not so much because of her shop, though she has some great stuff in there, but because of her Radio Show that is online and features artists, crafters, and musicians that are independent...

I liked some of the music, others I didn’t care for that much, but there was a lot of talking with her guests I found interesting and funny at times.

I met BittyMoose in a forum on Etsy called "Negative Comments Only" which ends up a bunch of chatting with one another, and also some great feedback on your shop to help you get it moving in the right direction.

She talked about her radio show there, and of course I had to go listen. I'm impressed someone has taken the time to do this. I wouldn't know the first thing about producing a radio pod cast, but I'm glad she did.

2008-05-21T21:20:00.001-07:00

Golden Compass

I've watched a few of the new films out that are more family friendly, like "The Last Mimsy", "Bridge to Terabithia" and "The Seekers"... they are marvelous in several respects.

Not only do they have great stories behind them, good plots, great dialog and usually great actors to play in them, but the special effects are just beautiful to look at. Amazing.

The Golden Compass is just another to add to a long list of simply beautiful films. However, this one has a slightly dark touch to it. With children who loose their souls, and polar bears fighting to the death among a few examples. Still, it has a very hopeful element nestled in the arms of one little girl and her compass.

Highly recommended.

2008-05-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

Mini Flash

30 Second Bunny Shows are quick, and usually funny... at least if you know the film.

Thankfuly most of the films they show are well known, like Snakes on a Plane, or Star Wars. The Brokeback Mountain one... well enough said...

2008-05-12T21:25:00.001-07:00

Art and Mortality

When browsing through Deviant Art I found This Piece and it struck me as both beautiful and whispering of ones own mortality.

The piece depicts a girl with a tiara and a knife, blood dripping down her wrist. The artist writes "Am I still your little princess now?"

Sometimes we can do some terrible things in our lives, physically and emotionally. Sometimes we can truly hurt those around us, especially those we love, and who love us.

But what got to me wasn't how we could hurt others, but how we can hurt ourselves. There she is, beautiful and decked in a tiara, with her own pain in her hands... She is inflicting her hurt on herself.

Knowing what we do about ourselves, knowing what we do to our own self, what fears and pain we harbor within us... it's a wonder two people in this world ever can truly connect. To find someone who will love you, make you their princess, even when you inflict your pain on yourself... now that is a true miracle.

2008-04-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

Having Fun

I've been spending a lot of time at Rolling Hills Casino.
In all honesty I don't care for gambling. I prefer my money to be in my pocket, or spent on something real and tangible I can keep.

But the casino has a band every Saturday, and a bar and restaurant. It's the busiest place in Corning, so the best place for people watching... even if many of those people are just slumped in a chair in front of a slot machine mindlessly pushing buttons.

The first band I saw was "The Originals" which played mainly oldies. I enjoyed them. I knew almost all the songs, they were all upbeat, and fun to dance too. The second one wasn't as good, but still good. I keep hearing about one called "Northern Heat" which is suppose to be awesome... I'm waiting for them to show up. No idea if I'll be able to go, I might have to work depending on who is scheduled.

They also have comedy night, and a really great magic act on occasion.

The restaurant is good. I recommend the Potato Skins, especially early in the morning. The bar and all the waitresses are great.

I don’t recommend gambling unless you have money you don’t mind leaving without, but if you want atmosphere and good music. And stop by Rolling Hills Chevron and say hi to us girls. We could always use a friendly face and a good conversation.

2008-04-26T11:08:00.000-07:00

Having Fun

For the last couple weekends I've been going with my friends to Rolling Hills Casino.
In all honesty I don't care for gambling. I prefer my money to be in my pocket, or spent on something real and tangable I can keep.

But the casino has a band every saterday, and a bar and resteraunt. It's the busyiest place in Corning, so the best place for people watching... even if many of those people are just slumped in a chair in front of a slot machine minlessly pushing buttons.

The first band I saw was "The Originals" which played mainly oldies. I enjoyed them. I knew almost all the songs, they were all upbeat, and fun to dance too. The second one wasn't as good, but still good. I keep hearing about one called "Northern Heat" which is suppose to be awesome... I'm waiting for them to show up. No idea if I'll be able to go, I might have to work depending on who is scedualed.

The resteraunt is good. I recomend the Potato Skins, especialy early in the morning. The bar and all the waitresses are great.

2008-04-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

Headsets

My husband is on the road with his new transport business, so in order to talk and still drive with some small amount of safty he bought a headset for his cell.

I suppose it's safer to drive with both hands on the wheel. Better to talk then text for sure. However, the sound quality of the headset is terrible. I wish it would filter out more of the background noise. If it's a head set the mic is right next to the mouth and it doesn't need to pick up everything in the cab, just the persons voice mear inches away.

I have the same problom with other friends who drive semi-trucks. Not much I can do about it though, if I want to talk to them I have to deal with the poor quality of their mic.

2008-04-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

Having a grand old time

Dancing out at the casino. I'm not much for casinos, but the band was good, and we had a couple drinks, so that much was fun. Forget the slot machines, dancing with my baby is all I need.

2008-04-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

Grid 16

Grid 16 is a collectionof 16 really fast games that test your skills and logic.

It reminds me of reviews I saw of wii sports with lots of mini games with differant stratagies for each. Play it a couple times and see how you improve. It's quite interesting how they rate your skills.

2008-04-04T17:02:00.001-07:00

Helium

I am trying out Helium. It allows publishers to buy articles from individual writers on topics they choose, and writers to write for variouse publishers, as well as publish their own stuff and get some payments...

I don't know how good it is just yet, but it looks interesting. MY Helium is here.

2008-03-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

WoW Game Card

I always like the game cards for the 360, and how you can show your skills on forums. Imagin my joy when I found this:

on a forum... So this is my highest char, and I have all my alts posted at the bottom of my blog. I will update periodicly.

2008-03-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Orginization and Determination

Orginization, for me, takes two parts.
First there is getting the words together. Most of it is in files on my PC but some has been hand writen on scraps of paper sat in piles for me to transcribe later. Adding to the complication is the fact that some of these hand writen pages aren't completely ledgable, have maps and diagrams, and other things like that.

Second is time. I never seem to have time. Before, in my more prolific years, my husband worked at night so while the kids slept and he was gone I wrote for hours. I also played a lot of EQ, and PS2, but thats besides the point.

Now I work nights and my husband has been working less then 30 hours a week for the last year, and quit his job this last month to cash in all his benifits. When i wake there are the kids, and my husband. Theres dishes and laundry plus the expectation of another night of work.

And that is where "Determination" comes in. The only way I will ever get that book ready to send to an agent or publisher is by sheer determination because i dont have time and my orginization is questionable. So I just have to bully through and do it.

2008-03-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Xkcd

Sometimes they have some very funny comics on this one... all with stick figures.
Click to view the fuel comic.

2008-03-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

Blog Log is suppose to allow people to bookmark my blog, and come back, as well as let me see who's visited, and visit them as well. So enjoy.

Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification

2008-03-23T00:20:00.000-07:00

Sluggy, Ctl+alt+del, Real Life

I’ve read a few web comics in the day, and I like quite a few of them. But there are only so many hours in the day to devote to web comics. I keep up on three of them.

Sluggy is one of the first. I found it a couple years ago and liked it so much that I went back to the very beginning and began reading from the start so I would understand everything going on. It’s a very unusual comic. With one web geek, one mad scientist, a demon possessed witch, a girl that turns into a camel, a transforming alien, and a psychotic bunny… There is no telling where the story line will go, but it’s always funny.

Ctl+alt+del is a gaming comic. It is all about two gamers and their obsession, plus some funny anecdotes about their home life. The general storyline is interspersed with one shot comics about different games, from Warcraft to command and conquer.

Real Life is… well it’s about “real life”, if real life involves teleporters, space stations and mech machines. Well, sometimes. Most of the comic really is about real life sort of situations. Going to the movies, playing games, getting married, dating… interspersed with the slightly more then realistic items. All the characters are taken from Greg Dean’s real life, including his new wife, their move to TX, and his entry in to culinary school. I love the forums for this comic as well. The cartoonist and his wife and friends all participate too so you can get to know them, even join them on their online gaming forays at times.

I guess I have a thing for gaming comics.

2008-03-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

Writing what now?

I've been working on the novel quite a bit, editing it and adding the last few bits. I'm also writing an article for a prospective e-zine that pays well. I'll give more details on that once writen and submitted.

The only other thing I'm working on at the moment are some magnets to add to my etsy account. I'll be posting them soon.

2008-03-18T23:21:00.000-07:00

I am Legend

What do you do when you cause a problem? You fix it don’t you? Especially when that problem has affected the entire world.

At least I would hope I would be the type of person that would do that.

I was kind of surprised by “I am Legend”, mainly because Will Smith does a very creditable job of portraying a man on the brink of utter madness.

Also, while this is also about a man alone like “Cast Away” it is far more interesting. There is more to the character development, and he isn’t completely alone. He has a dog with him.

The CGI and other special effects are well done, and flow well with story and setting, and sound and music worked well, being unobtrusive in the background. In fact “I am Legend” makes judicial use of silences.

I have to say my favorite part of the whole thing was watching Will Smith driving through an abandoned city with grass coming up through pavement and billboards in times square peeling and falling apart. It truly is a testament to the impermanence of man. Especially modern man made items. The Parthenon and Coliseum will stand for thousands of years but a modern skyscraper would start falling apart in under 100 if it were not for heat and air conditioning…. It’s just the way our building materials work.

Of course they had the city falling apart in only 3 years. I would think it would take a little longer.

Watch the movie. You’ll like it.

2008-03-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

Sleep Deprivation

It is amazing how much and what you will think about when you have 8 hours to work alone in a dark gas station.

I suppose I have the occasional customer wander through, and different regulars. I also have a lot of cleaning to do, though I have tried to do as little as I can some nights.

But in all those hours there really isn’t a lot to occupy your mind, so your thoughts tend to wander… to gas prices, and how much I don’t want Hillary to become president. Or what I might have for dinner tomorrow. Last night my stray thoughts even lingered over the idea of being a sex therapist.

Have you seen Sue Johnson (I think that’s her name) on TV late at night? She talks about sex, safety and sometimes morality, with people who call in and the best way of doing things. Plus gives advice on relationships… That would be an interesting job. I always find it amazing that there is this cute little old lady with her hands on a dildo whipping it around and showing a TV audience how to insert said dildo into a condom.

2008-03-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

Camara

We went out to a local creek and took some beautiful pictures of the poppies, and other flowers. I even uploaded some to my deviant art...

2008-03-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

Women for Hire

While looking for information on home based businesses I found one of the more informative sights on the internet, especially designed for women, but helpful for men as well.

Women for Hire is an information site dedicated to helping women be successful in their careers. They give advice on advancement, info on career expos, forums, networking, videos and so much more.

The information I was looking for at the time was about home based businesses and their information is the best I've seen. They have a great article on avoiding scams, then show several types of at home businesses and give some different websites to contact for more information.

But the jobs they list are unlike any I have seen anywhere else. I have seen envelope stuffers, and craft assemblers on several sites and newspapers. The list on Women for Hire include virtual assistants and "gray googlers".

It's quite interesting, and I recommend it to everyone.

2008-03-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

Photo Meme

Browsing around I found Life stories of a girl and her neuroses and saw her meme, so thought I'd do one...

- Go to Flickr.
- Type your answer into the "search" box.
- Pick an image from the first page.
- Copy and paste answer into blog.

Your name:	My relationship status:

My favorite color:	My celebrity crush:

I am listening to:	My favorite Disney princess:

My favorite adult beverage:	My dream vacation:

When I grow up I want to be:

2008-03-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. ~E.L. Doctorow

It's quite true. Writing is a form of neuroses. We MUST write. The words must be emited from us in some form. And when we get writers block we will do nearly anything to get that neuroses back.

My characters speak to me, tell me where they want to go and what they want to do. I may find a road block in their way, or discover someone else lurking around the corner that wants to stop them, or help them, but by large they find me.

My hands may hurt and cramp from typing so much, but I must write. When I can't write I am depressed and misserable. It is my schizophrenia, my OCD, my neuroses, and I love it and I hate it... but it must be.

More writing quotes

2008-03-14T20:50:00.000-07:00

etsy

I've updated my etsy with new pictures, and a few new listings.

Actually, this is all because I got a new camara. The FinePix s700 from fugi film...

We have a DXG digital video camara that worked alright, but we wanted something that took better pictures, and could take them in low light which the DXG did not.

Thus the FinePix. It cost $200, but was well worth it. I love the macro setting. It takes beautiful pictures of sunrises and sets, and I am finally able to take proper pictures of my etsy items.. the jewlery and other items.

2008-03-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

Sleep Deprivation

Working grave yard at the local Chevron station has given me a few opportunities, the biggest one being that I have the chance to interact with many people and learn to disregard any lingering shyness I may have had.

It also gives me the opportunity to work nights 5 days a week for 8 hours a night on little to no sleep. Funny though, the other day I was up for more then 24 hours and I felt more awake then I do now. I slept alright yesterday, and yet as my shift came to a close this morning it seemed my whole body went into shut down mode.

I will be happy to finally crawl between the sheets and catch a few Z’s… now that the children are out of the house…. Eight hours uninterrupted… I hope.

2008-03-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

Life, the Universe, and Dolphins

Why not? Douglas Adams did it. (If you don't get it maybe you should read "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy".

Anyway, I have been editing my novel for the last week. I've actually gotten quite a bit done and it's already making a lot more sense. I have added in the chapters that deal with the "bad guy", who really isn't bad. He's just been abused and miss treated for so long, and has too much power, that when others get in the way of his own ideas to put things right... well people start disappearing.

I've also changed quite a bit to do with one of the semi main characters, gave him a new background… or rather a more complete one that made a lot more sense.

In any event, the story is coming along nicely and I think I will start working on “The Mermaids Curse” at the same time I am editing this one. Then I will have two on the way to sending to an editor by the end of the month… Mermaid will just take a little longer.

2008-03-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

Blogging, Gas, and Writing

I’ve flirted with blogging on and off, and have had some successes, some irritations, and mainly many indifferent experiences.

To me a blog is a place to remember things. Like the quiz fad I went through and saved test results with pretty pictures stating I was a gold dragon, or a right brained individual, or a dreamer.

It is also a place to vent frustrations, especially those shared by others. Right now the biggest frustration in many lives has to be the price of gas going up without appearing to stop.

I work in a small truck stop. We have many regular customers, and they often talk about the gas prices and the damper it is putting on their livelihood. More and more of them are looking at retirement as a better option.

On the other hand my husband has changed jobs.

After working for Wal-Mart DC as a forklift driver for seven years it has become quite apparent that that particular DC is not doing well. They have cut back hours for everyone in the factory, and his checks have gotten smaller and smaller.

Until then…

So, a few months ago my husband bought a year old Dodge 3500. He has since set it up for pulling campers, quit his job, and cashed in every cent from profit sharing and shares in order to finance this new venture.

Gas prices make me nervous.

As for me, I work full time at Rolling Hills Chevron, a little truck stop next to a fair sized casino.

And I’m writing, yet again. I took a three year hiatus when life got so overwhelming that I had no time nor desire to write. Now life has settled down and my passion is starting to resurface.

So look for writing related content. I will share progress, submissions, and rejections as well as the occasional joy.

Last June I had to get a job to supplement our income, which required leaving our children home alone for several hours a day. While they are “old enough” for the law, they aren’t quite “old enough” for my own piece of mind, but feeding them and taking care of house hold bills has to come before my own feelings.

2007-12-21T22:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas Card

I created my own christmas card this year... I sketched then inked three figures... A reindeer, a sleigh, and santa running. My idea was to have the sligh taking off and Santa chasing it.

I'll have to post it before christmas.

2007-11-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

Newness

Everything is new this month. New home, new job, new truck, new games and new blogger to go along with it.
In order:
• A small house, but it’s mine.
• A cashier at Rolling Hills Chevron in Corning.
• A dodge 3500, white with custom bumpers and only one year old.
• World of warcraft, which I LOVE!

I need to simplify some of the things I do online. I have several blogs, I use none, so I thought I should make one really good one and direct all the others here. Trouble is I have friends on some of the others... but some of those friends are never online anyway.

Ah well, you can't beat how great it is to customize Blogger... Way better then all the others, and always has been.

2007-02-21T15:28:00.000-08:00

Brand new articles

2006-12-07T01:01:00.000-08:00

Zazzle

More items avalible, just take a look.

2006-09-26T23:13:00.001-07:00

The Creative Etsy Kick

I found Etsy, which was very nice.
I posted some stuff, which was very fun.
I sold something, which inspired me.
I created.... something I haven't done in a long time.

I bought a thing of sculpy (polymer clay) and I learned to make frogs. I did a few of them.

The sculpy is white:

After putting it all together and bakeing it I paint it:

I've done a couple frogs sitting on rocks. This was the first on a flatter surface. I've also worked on some key chains and other things. I'll have to show them later.

To see some other things check out my etsy site

2006-02-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

New Toys

OkCupid lets you make a profile, take tests, share them, im people and a whole lot of other things. It's fun.

2005-07-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

Drawn

Drawn is actually a blog. It is a blog dedicated to visual media including illustrations like the fantastic Cheval Noir and animation's like Moongirl.

The nice part about Drawn is that you can get it as a live feed on your Yahoo page. Plus every article is accompanied by a brilliantly colorful picture and a nice, professional write up. You can also search through the archives by category which is incredibly useful.

2005-07-22T01:21:00.000-07:00

Good Online Cartoons/Flash/Vids

I chose each of these because they have a good story and good graphics.
Star Wars: Revelations which is the BEST Star Wars fan film I have ever seen. The special effects are awesome. It's also available streaming on some sites, but why stream when you can download?
Rockfish which is one of the BEST CGI vids I've found on the web.
Hello, best animation.
Kuku
Holiday Romance, and check out the other two films linked in the discription.
Moongirl: Act 1
How the Jones' 23rd fish Narrowly Escaped Death
Balance
Paper Wars
Pencilmation
Pong: The Movie
Ruo Bo, one of the better stick fighting scenes.
Attack of the Returning Phantom Filmmaker's New Empire
Andy's Episode
8 Minutes
Dangle, just admit it, you'd pull it too.
Batman: Dead End
Greyson which is a trailor for a movie that may never be, but should be.
The Longbow Hunter: Part I
Out There
Fast Times at Hero High, kind of mature.
Welcome Back Mr. Fox, this one is hilariouse!
Duel, two wizards duel. Good animation.
Making Fiends which was kind of silly at first, but I really started to look forward to new episodes later. 18 episodes and counting.

Games
Tetris
Bumper Ball which I think would be best with two people playing since the computer is pretty good at it.
Batman: The Cobblebot Caper
Sonic and Mario
Stick RPG which has a few things to do, like make money and go up in a career and get in bar fights, but I didn't play very long to open up all the options.
Way of the Exploding Stick
Znax
Poom
Flipbook where you can make your own flash or watch other peoples.
Busy Burger
Microlife
Play God
Grow
Alien Wack A Mole

Funky Japanese Flash Take Offs:
These are Japanese songs that someone has taken and created flash for that is... well odd to say the least but I like them.
Numa
Yatta

2005-07-20T00:38:00.000-07:00

State of Affairs

I have added accounts at Typekey and a job search enchine with a resume in the last few hours... Type key looks to be kind of interesting. Honestly, it would be nice to have one log in for most of my websites (those that do not involve money, or identity theft) but I don't see it happening any time soon. It would make it too easy (/sarcasum).

2005-06-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

What a thing to research

So now they know what a womans orgasm does to her brain... and that it's differant then when she fakes it. Duh. I could have told you that.

Yep... when a woman is faking it she is either not really in the mood, or with someone who just isn't doing it right. Rarely it's because her body isn't doing what she wants it to do.

But when a woman has an earth shattering orgasm her body is filled with waves of pleasure that course through her body and she can think of absolutly nothing else... she can't control what she is doing, saying, thinking or how she is moving... she just goes with the waves of pleasure...

2004-12-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

So what have they got?

Why China is Better then Canada is an interesting article about ten little things in China that are better then Canada... and the USA for that matter. One of my favorites are the built in buttons for tables at the restrant... You press the button when you want service instead of trying to flag down a waiter, or worse: having him ask you "can i get you something" in the middle of your mouth full.

2004-11-30T10:48:00.000-08:00

Things you always wanted to know

The meaning, and origin of the term "sweats like a pig":
From what I have been able to gather the origin of the expression ‘sweat like a pig,’ meaning to sweat profusely, is unknown. Since pigs don’t have sweat glands, which would provide cooling by evaporation, they have to wallow in puddles and mud to cool off. For an appropriate simile ‘sweat like a horse’ might be more accurate. Speculation is that the idea that pigs sweat profusely could have derived from the fact that they smell, with the assumed cause being ‘sweat.’ The only information in any respectable sources that I could find was that the expression, along with ‘sweat like a bull’ (and bulls do sweat), dates from the late 19th century (Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang). In Palmatier’s ‘Speaking of Animals – A Dictionary of Animals Metaphors,” it is suggested that the ‘like a pig’ may have evolved from the model of the older expression ‘bleed like a stuck pig’ (17th century) – but that sounds a bit weak. Some other ‘pig sweating’ expressions according to Palmatier are ‘pig sweat’ meaning beer (however, he may be one of the few people in the world that has heard of that one) and ‘sweat hog’ (1970s and still in use) meaning 1) a difficult student singled out for special attention (the expression may have been coined in the TV series ‘Welcome Back Kotter’) 2) an unattractive female 3) a promiscuous female.

2004-10-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

Ah, the Futility of it all, and NaNoWriMo

Nanowrimo is coming! It's been almost a year and it will soon be time to tie myself to my keyboard and pound out page after page of text.

In preperation I am trying to write bits and pieces here and there to get myself in the mood.

2004-08-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

update

my power is out

dragged my PC over to my nieces so i can get online now and then

submitted a new article to Visions (the magazine that published some articles and poems already)

finally sent in my book to windstorm

and that's the news.

2004-08-17T23:48:00.000-07:00

Bunnie Movies

This site gives you reinactments of movies in 30 seconds. They have Exorsist, The Shining, Titanic, Aliens, and the new one: Jaws.

They are kind of cute, funny, and I think make a little more sence if you've actually watched the movie... but interesting if you haven't.

2004-08-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

Real Life Comics

On of my favorite web comics is Real Life by Greg Dean. It's got a lot of computer jargon, a lot of gaming and anime refrences, so it goes right up my alley.

The first year of Real Life just came out as a book. I'd love to get it. It's actually cheeper through Amazon then directly from Dean's site, which is weird. However, I am better Dean sees a lot more of the money if you buy it from his site then from Amazon. Either way, it's there and he asures everyone it will soon be in the mail for those who pre-ordered it.

2004-08-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

Blogging Away

There is all sorts of blogging information out there, a lot of it is very interesting. For example, Top Blogs, Most populare blog links, Blogging news, and other blogging resources. Keep an eye out for other interesting weblog sites, comunities, and search engines... they are cropping up more and more. You might check amazon.com for a few books on them as well.

2004-07-30T02:10:00.000-07:00

A Little Game

Adventure Quest is a little flash game RPG. You create a charactor, go around killing little creatures, and uping your stats and armor. They add new story lines every now and then. It's a free game, for the most part. If you want to access certain areas you have to pay... But it's fun even if you don't pay for the extras.

2004-07-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

Snowflakes anyone?

3D snowflake maker, it lets you create interesting shapes and then animates them into beautiful rotating snowflakes. It's actually quite interesting, and hypnotic.

2004-06-25T00:44:00.000-07:00

What do you do if the internet fails?
A funny little article of the things you should do when the internet is done... number one is of course "Panic".

2004-06-24T00:07:00.000-07:00

BIAW

What is a BIAW you ask? Well I am glad you did.

A BIAW is a book in a week. Partisipants literaly try to write a book within a weeks time. Or, such as in my case, they try to finish an already existing work in progress. It amounts to a bunch of writers pounding on keyboards around the world, cheering each other on as they go. A mini NaNoWriMo if you will.

If you'd like to check out my progress, or see what all the hype is about, feel free to check out this page. My name, Crissy Gottberg, is down near the bottom.

2004-06-19T00:28:00.000-07:00

I'm a Cheat

I'm going to blog about a blog today. I have a good reason. #!-user-bin-girl is one of my favorite websites. I go there at least once a week, sometimes every day if Zannah is updating frequently.

Why?

Well the answer is very simple actually. She finds some very interesting things. I keep trying to figure out how she finds them all, though in truth they do have some similarities. Such as the news articles seem to come from the same sources, so perhaps she checks them frequently. Most of the games are flash, and she has a love for penguins.... Sometimes the items are emailed to her.

Anyway, she has some great games, news items, and some strange things as well, thus my love for her sight. She was even inducted into the Yahoo! Internet Life top sites a while back.

2004-06-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

New Movies

I've seen many MANY commercials for new movies that came out in the past, or are soon to be coming out.

I know I've missed a lot of the ones I wanted to watch, but I have no idea what they were, or how to find them. The video store I go to only has so many.

I did find this list on one sight of soon to come out movies.

I do know I want to see "The Terminal" and "Stepford Wives". I am still waiting to see "Paycheck". I finally got to see "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" and I loved it. A bit long, but good.

I'll have to keep looking...

Breast Fed vrs Bottle Fed

It's sad when money wins over health issues, but that's life in these United States it seems. I just watched a segment on 20/20 (yes I watch that show) where they spoke about an ad campaign that they were trying to get on the airwaves. It featured pregnant women doing dangerous things before their child was born. Then it says "You wouldn't risk hurting your child before they are born, why start after? Breast feed for the first 6 months."

But they have watered the commercials down, taken out all the references to higher risks of diabetes and other things when a baby is not breast fed, and similar actions. It's really sad... The formula companies really want that money. They KNOW that their formula isn't as good for babies as breast milk for the simple fact that the immunities are not in there, but still they push the formula. Mothers need to be educated more, and free samples of formula need to be banned in hospitals.

2004-05-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

Bunnie Piece Theater

The Shining, in 30 seconds.... and re-enacted by bunnies. Also, check out the Exorsist one... Quite entertaining.

2004-05-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

Some good, and interesting things I've come across

First, this article is a really good look at porn and it's effects. Well writen, with some good examples and lots of info. It talks about what happens when restraints are and are not on pornography, and other things, as well as the lies behind it. It does have some grammer errors, but otherwise is a fantastic read.
One quote: “Twenty-nine percent of boys rated pornography over parents, teachers, books, school, and peers, as their source for the most useful information about sex. And what do they learn? Forty-three percent of boys and sixteen percent of girls think it is okay or are not sure if it is ok for a boy to hold down a girl and force her to have sex if she sexually excites him.” (www.talkintrash.com/playboy)

Crissy's Status
Bendaini's LJ
Bendaini's User Info
Ides of Truth

2004-05-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

Google is Expanding

Google just went public. That means soon you will be able to buy their shares. This is a good thing, in my opinion, and if done right can very possibly go places. Dot com's may have had a problem in the past, but Google has taken things slower, built themselves up, and done a great job of giving great information.

Speaking of jobs, Google on the moon?

Seriously, Google has made great improvements to their site. They added Froogle not so long ago, and if you haven't checked through it you really should. It is one of the best and fastest ways to check prices for any item. Apparently Froogle has now gone wireless too. Just use http://wml.froogle.com/ on your cell phone and you're there.

Plus, I just learned about some new things Google can do with numbers from Usr/Bin/Geek.
1. Put in an area code and Google will give you a map of the area it covers. example

2. Put in a UPC code and Google will tell you what that item is, and other info about it.Example

3. Put in a flight (for example, USAir 50) and Google will give you a direct link to that flight's status information. example

4. Put in a VIN number from your car and Google will give you all info it has on that particular car, make model and such. Example

5. Put in a tracking number for a package in the USPS and Google will take you directly to the shipping info.

6. Google will look up and give you information on patent numbers. You just have to put "patent" before the number. example

7. Google will also tell you about FCC equipment ID's. example

And if that isn't enough, you might try this. News Map which is a site that gives you the days news in easy to decode colorful bands (using Googles news feed). It's a lot more interesting then using Googels regular news feed, though it takes a little getting use to. Just hold the mouse over the band and a pop up will give you headlines and the first sentence.

And just to be sure, here are some older features Google added that you might not be aware of.

1. Google has a built in calculator. Just type the equation into the search bar and watch it work. It will also convert measurements for you. Example 1 Example 2 More info on that.

2. Google News Alerts will send you emails every day about things you want to know about.

3. Google has a synonyms search so add "~" before your word and it will search for the word, and it's synonyms. More info on that.

4. Google now has an Advanced news search feature which it didn't have before.

5. Google Zeitgeist checks the trends in searches. It pretty interesting to see who is searching for what and how much.

6. I have always used Dictinary.com for defining words and looking for spellings, but Google now has the ability to define words for you.

7. You can put an address in the search bar and it will give you a map to that address. example

2004-05-04T23:03:00.000-07:00

Free stuff and oddities

A friend asked me if I ever saw a l33t bible, so I went searching, and low and behold but what did I find? A l33t bible. Oddest thing, and it's still being translated, but gamers need to have their stuff same as everyone else. I mean, if they can make an ebonics bible then surely they can make one in leet.

Then, while searching, I happened upon a IRC bible which is someone who wrote the passages as if it were an MIRC chat with all the people coming and going in differant rooms and saying such things as they might say. It was rather funny, but got the stories through pretty well. My only objection was the use of some few swear words, other then that it was just fun to look at. The whole "so and so begat so and so" was made TONS more interesting by their version...

I've also been trying to find ways to get cupons and other things, but I'm not having a whole lot of luck. I did find one site, Christian Freebies, which has a lot of interesting things (not just christian stuff either). I ordered a few, but I haven't figured it all out just yet.

2004-04-23T23:17:00.000-07:00

Songs to be Strange to

I know, I'm weird, but this song is just SOOOOO cool, I love it :)

Go ahead, download it, enjoy it. It's odd but nifty. Reminds me of the big bands.

And just check out some of the other songs on the sight. There are some nifty ones there.

And whats more there is this weird sight called songs to Wear Pants to... I have been downloading tons of songs from it, their so strange and odd. Some of them are really funny. And you can ask him to write songs for you about odd stuff. He even sells longer songs on ebay. It's rather interesting, and he's quite creative. Check out the R <3's> song. It's one of the funnier ones, mostly cause of what "he" says near the end.

2004-03-26T23:57:00.000-08:00

Babble fish is so much fun....

und es ist, also interessierend, um Sie zu verwenden wissen Sie nie, was jemand sagen konnte. (translate from german)

2004-03-24T00:43:00.000-08:00

Writing Woes?

I've been writing for much of my life, stories that have been stuffed in boxes and drawers, or languished in the back of my head waiting for a day I could actually get something published.

To be sure, I have managed to publish a few articles here and there and even done some micro payments with some comics and such, but for the most part I haven't had anything major published.

However, today I read an article about "The Midlist Author" that some kind soul from my writing group dined to show me. In it Ms. Doe tells of her trials and her tribulations within the writing industry. She even gives facts and figures of how much she sold, how much she made, and so forth and so on.

It seemed her biggest mistake was taking a $150k advance on a book that only sold 10k. That is, for those who don't know figures of book sells and can't estimate, a very bad lose for the publisher. They, naturally, declined to publish her next book. Thus it started a cycle of her expecting a large advance, and them wanting to take as little risk as possible.

Charlies Diary does an excellent job of breaking it down and saying exactly how it went wrong and where. Suffice it to say that a NORMAL midlist book advance, especially for a first sell, runs around $15k, not $150k.

In fact I could live off of $150k for at least 5 years....

TONS of people have been discussing this article. In fact it even lead Scalzi to write a rather entertaining article which contains his advice to writers. It's really funny, and pretty truthful, so enjoy reading it.

My thoughts on the matter? Simply this: Writing is what we do, it is not who we are. We should write because it is what we love, not to make a living. We shouldn't obsess over numbers. We should be practical, and seek out information in any area we can so that we don't make "stupid" mistakes. And above all else we should remember that there are a lot of things far more important then writing.

2004-03-16T00:05:00.000-08:00

What's REALLY Behind the Camera?

Do you know why people do porn? What gets them there? What keeps them there? Do you care? If you are even remotly curiouse about what goes on behind the scenes read this article.

2004-03-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

Be still my crying heart

This guy is for real... The Family is real, and the whole thing is freaky.

As quoted from the guy who is to take over "the family":

He walked to the National Geographic map of the world mounted on the wall. “You guys know about Genghis Khan?” he asked. “Genghis was a man with a vision. He conquered”—David stood on the couch under the map, tracing, with his hand, half the northern hemisphere—“nearly everything. He devastated nearly everything. His enemies? He beheaded them.” David swiped a finger across his throat. “Dop, dop, dop, dop.”

David explained that when Genghis entered a defeated city he would call in the local headman and have him stuffed into a crate. Over the crate would be spread a tablecloth, and on the tablecloth would be spread a wonderful meal. “And then, while the man suffocated, Genghis ate, and he didn't even hear the man's screams.” David still stood on the couch, a finger in the air. “Do you know what that means?” He was thinking of Christ's parable of the wineskins. “You can't pour new into old,” David said, returning to his chair. “We elect our leaders. Jesus elects his.”

He reached over and squeezed the arm of a brother. “Isn't that great?” David said. “That's the way everything in life happens. If you're a person known to be around Jesus, you can go and do anything. And that's who you guys are. When you leave here, you're not only going to know the value of Jesus, you're going to know the people who rule the world. It's about vision. 'Get your vision straight, then relate.' Talk to the people who rule the world, and help them obey. Obey Him. If I obey Him myself, I help others do the same. You know why? Because I become a warning. We become a warning. We warn everybody that the future king is coming. Not just of this country or that, but of the world.” Then he pointed at the map, toward the Khan's vast, reclaimable empire.
-------------------------------------
In a document entitled “Our Common Agreement as a Core Group,” members of the Family are instructed to form a “core group,” or a “cell,” which is defined as “a publicly invisible but privately identifiable group of companions.” A document called “Thoughts on a Core Group” explains that “Communists use cells as their basic structure. The mafia operates like this, and the basic unit of the Marine Corps is the four man squad. Hitler, Lenin, and many others understood the power of a small core of people.”

This whole thing is just freaky. I feel horrible about it. One good thing, they don't encorage themselves to be called "christian" mainly because they think it limits themselves. Well gee, I wouldn't want them to call themselves christian either. That is not what Jesus taught!

2004-03-06T14:16:00.000-08:00

Publishing Online

There has been a rash of sights that let you publish your own work. red paper, lulu and iUniverse to name a few. I just wish I knew a good way to utilize them.

2004-02-24T08:41:00.000-08:00

Maybe this is why my kids are so skinny....

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/8028342.htm

I don't let my kids watch a lot of TV, what they do watch is usually on PBS which doesn't have comerciels. I've been rather sick of TV promoting sex, and violence for a while, now maybe mothers like me will have a little bit more authority when we say these things.

TV is bad for you! Most people know that to a point. It is far worse for your kids, so really pay attention to what they are watching, between the shows too....

2004-01-23T16:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, I admit it. I am completely and entirely jelouse. I have been writing and writing, trying to get published for YEARS and then I read this little article on someone elses blog on how they got their book about blogging of all things PUBLISHED and it is now selling. So yes, I am completely enveouse, and I need to take a chill pill...