Post Xmas fun

My wife and I are playing Minecraft together and this is one wall of our castle... and various screenshots around the place.

The back porch

pulling back just a bit might make it recognizable.

My godson named him with no help from me... honest

My wife added this to the throne room

New title

Amazon paid my royalties from Travelers Road, now I can buy two or three gallons of gas. I'm rich, I tell you. Seriously though, the whole reason for putting the book out there wasn't to make money, (okay, it was, but the odds of it making more than triple digits were long indeed.) The point was to get my name out there, and to a certain extent, it did. Not knowing anything about the writing industry, this was an exercise in learning the ropes. It also taught me about marketing.
To many aspiring writers who put their feet in the water, this would be discouraging, not me. This year I learned agents don't really know any more than you do. There is no big red button to push and a magic marketing machine springs to life. This is an organic process that grows with every book, each chapter. If words were snowflakes, then snowballs would be novels. Conditions have to be right for that snowball to be cohesive enough to roll down hill and become an avalanche.
With that in mind, I've finally come up with the title of Daniel and Charlotte's next adventure. Incidentally, that was the working title I used when saving my work. A picture forms in my mind of our two wild west detectives standing beside a phone booth, but I digress...
The title was going to be two words and would have some connection with the first book. The word 'Traveler' would refer to Daniel's journey, not only through time, but his wanderings through the desert and his current living arrangements.
The first adventure was basically land locked. In the second novel, the Brazos, Trinity and Colorado rivers figure into it, so I thought one of the words would be 'River', or have something to do with water. The trouble was, this amphibious adventure also held the paths between  the rivers, the trails alongside the banks. How to include them?
I narrowed it down to five or six choices. As circumstance would warrant, a second opinion helped me make the final choice. My good friend Mike Walters suggested the title of what would become Travelers Road.
Today my wife helped me pick from the finalists. The layers of suggestive context in the title appealed to my creative endeavor. Remember: The story is a growing narrative, I have the good fortune of chronicling these events. Flowing from my fingertips to the keyboard, the adventure unfolds.  The author doesn't say; 'go do this,' In this case, the tail wags the dog. I'm simply writing events down as they come.
The next book will be titled Crossing Paths. Not only is it suggestive of the friends and adversaries we meet, the descriptive nature alludes to the journey down the road of life as well.

Say what?

This is a great time to be alive. In the last couple of days I've read a several pages about a very interesting discovery. Since the Voyager and Galileo spacecrafts first photographed Jupiter's moon, Europa, scientists have wondered about liquid water underneath that icy moon. Sure, it's way too far away from the sun, but watch out, Jupiter's pull is nothing to sneeze about. Scientists have theorized the tidal forces under Europa's ice would be massive, but how to directly observe it? Using the Hubble telescope, they got lucky: Scientists observed liquid water erupting in the form of a geyser. Since we know Jupiter's moons are chock full of volcanic activity, the chance of finding life, even microbial life, skyrocketed. I would go so far as to say from possible to probable.
Right now there is debate about how thick the ice on Europa is, and that's just it: we really won't know until we get there. There is what scientists believe is a lake under the ice. 
Let's postulate on what we already know. Life does not require light to exist. Chemosynthesis, the process of obtaining nutrients from methane or hydrogen gas, is an established fact.
All the puzzle pieces are there. The only way we are going to be sure is by going out there.
The nonprofit Mars One already has 200,000 applicants for a proposed colonization of Mars. You read that right. They plan on putting an unmanned probe and satellite in geosynchronous orbit by 2018. This is all in preparation to send colonists on a one way ticket to the red planet. Oh, and they're going to make it a reality show. That's one reality show I'd watch. Take that, Jersey Shore. Wait... if they send that idiot, what's her name, Snookie? I'll still watch it. I might be on to something here. By sending morons out to colonize other planets, would we be raising the intellect level of Earth? Forget Costa Rica, Rush. We want to send you to Olympus Mons.

The checklist

All my Christmas shopping is done and the refrigerator is stocked with food the kids will eat (I hope). In a little while we're going to go out to our church for Christmas eve service.
We look for the positive things in our lives, so much so that we miss the chance to be grateful for what we have. Allow me to explain:
A few days ago, I was talking with a friend about the usual topics: the weather, bills, and what we can and cannot afford.
"Man, I wish I made as much as you," he said.
That made me pause. I don't think I make all that much to begin with. My paycheck is often spent within the first 48 hours of it appearing in the bank, but my friend only works part time, 16 hours a week. He's a fully trained chef, but works at Lowe's because it's a steady paycheck and they were hiring. Hmm... taking a lesser paying job not in your chosen vocation because you needed the cash. Where have I heard that before?
It was in that moment of clarity I realized my lot in life wasn't all that bad. Sure, we are all trying to better ourselves, but some of us have a longer and tougher climb up that hill.
Tonight I salute all those out there who are struggling with less, the single parent, the homeless.
I am truly fortunate to have a loving family and a roof over our heads. Like my friends, I will try to make things better for myself and my family. May good fortune find you all this year.
Merry Christmas everyone. 

A new twist on an old ditty

I wrote this about a year and a half ago before our 2012 gaming convention, Chimearacon. Don't ask what made me think of it, but I thought it could do with a re-post. Maybe it'll be worth a chuckle.

It's the night before the con, and all through the house,

No TV could be heard, we were all kinda doused.

The dog outside, and I on my laptop,was just settling in, for a last minute co-op.

The games were stored in the closet with care

in hope the ghost of Gygax would reappear.

Miniatures in cases, and books on the shelf,

I wondered where's that stupid little elf? 

Is the laundry all done? I asked my wife,

'Are you kidding?' she said. 'Not on your life.'

We get so rushed with last minute plans,

it's havoc when someone makes crazy demands.

But time will march, either fast or slow,

pretty soon it will be time to go.

As I get in my Dodge, I'll call out their names,

'On Jackson and Gygax, on Gandolf and Frodo, on Kirk and Spock, don't forget Mario andLuigi, you little dodo.

Daughters making signs and last minute plans,

'Will anyone dress up as the Doctor?' asks one of his fans.

As we scrubbed our pans and turned out the lights, I shouted, Good gaming for all, and to all a good fight. 

The power of family

In general, I ignore reality shows. Survivor, who cares? The Bachelor, I really don't care. I found Dog the Bounty Hunter interesting because there was a positive message and I got to see a different side of life. Don't get me started on Jersey Shore. Those people are a waste of oxygen.
So Duck Dynasty is about a Louisiana family who made a fortune with duck calls and hunting related items. Hmm... semi-interesting concept, let's sit down for an episode and see what it's about. I watched three episodes and couldn't fathom an excuse to watch another. Sorry, folks, I don't get it. Sure the Robertsons seemed nice and harmless, but that's as far as it went.
Then the Patriarch of the family says some pretty direct comments. 
My reaction? Who cares. For starters, the GLAAD people got offended. They live for this crap. If we all ignored it, this little shitstorm would never have happened. It's one old guy's opinion and he's entitled to it. Oh, look, the price of eggs hasn't changed.
One of my rules goes like this: My rights as a person end where yours begin.
So Phil Robertson doesn't understand gays. That's okay, he doesn't have to. In the same vein of I don't understand his show. I'm not required to like it, I have different tastes. That's what it boils down to. Of course the guy at A&E who suspended Phil just learned blood is thicker than water. Now the whole Robertson clan is not going to do the show without Phil. That puts A&E out of what appears to be a bit of money. Let's not even consider what the show did for the state tourism, that's gone away as well. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at that meeting.
"We just lost a top rated show and how much money?" I was betting an apology and a return to normal status for the show by the time I returned from work.
In my dream scenario, the guy who axed Phil should be given a choice: Voluntarily step down from his position as producer, apologize for suspending Phil and taking a lesser paying position as Phil's assistant. OR he can write an apology and get fired.
In reading the interview, I'm not seeing hatred or inflammatory speech, all I'm seeing is a redneck expressing his opinion. Consider the source people.
In the end, the Robertsons are going to stand by their family member, and that should be commended.
Their opinions and beliefs are exactly that- Theirs. It doesn't affect me one way or another.
He's not inciting people to riot. He's not feeding the wrong wolf.
He's just a man with a set of beliefs, let him be.
Oh, and that nameless producer at A&E? You're a spineless wimp. Grow a backbone.
 
 
 

An interview with God... no, really.

It seems God has over a million fans on Facebook. Funny, I thought he had more than that. Anyhoo, Alden Tan scored an interview with God. Is that cool or what?
Commercial space flights launching from NASA's launch sites? About damn time.
A man surprised his wife by giving her a dream wedding on their 10 year anniversary. It's a geek thing, you may not understand.
With Christmas right around the corner, we are getting into the final stages of baking season. My pie did so well during Thanksgiving, I'm going to have to double up for the Christmas parties. Thank you, Alton Brown.
I'm focusing on the good stuff right now. With all the stress and hectic pre-holiday last minute preparations, we need to take the time to unwind and remember the highlights of the past year. Let the petty bullshit stuff get tossed in the corner and forgotten. Choose to recall  all the good things that happened. I'll bet there's more good memories than you think.