If you do not like my house then you can figure how hard working I am by eating my dust. A little brevity makes things go a touch smoother so here are a few pictures I found.
Finally for November….
Off we go…(soon)
So in getting ready for the upcoming month I had worked myself up. Not in just an anxiety, but the Pringles on my shoulder were just making me a little steamed at everything. Helping to get some aggression put away decided to play one of the games I reviewed and completely beat it in the span of a couple hours. I had fun with it for what it was it had 96 puzzles that took a lot of thought on patterns fitting only certain pieces in an exact area leaving no open spaces or overlaps. It is on Steam called Sigils of Elohim. You can look it up if you want. It is free on steam and if you play The Talos Chronicles then you may get some in game stuff out of it.
I want this to be my month after this challenge is finished coming up. When I put everything into something and fail it just drives me up a wall. Making sure I learn from it is one thing, but it still just takes up space when I put my mind focused on something without figuring it out or completing it.
That’s how I got my first book done. That is how I finished the Spartan Sprint. I feel like this time this challenge will not get the better of me. Yes, I have harped on this before, but that is just a perfect example of how it kinda wears on me Sometimes it does happen and you do your best while things just do not head your way, but trying and being unable to finish something due to a lack of skill just takes something out of me.
I thought about how I could get the most out of the challenge. Figured how I could best use my strengths and hide my weaknesses on this challenge, and after all the thought it is just time now to wait until the green light. I won’t be talking in groups so much because of it. The blog challenge I have been doing has been something of a warm up and test in one go because I have also had to look back on my previous pieces that will be finished and familiarize myself again with the workings. Good luck to everyone on it.
Nanowrimo – Title in progress
“Something to show that we are a lot deeper then we had thought.”
Nodding lightly I could see they did not want me to know. Which was aggravating I mean because I had gone out for these guys what could be so painful to look at where two guys one being shot before had finally broken down to tears. Taking a deep breath I decided to see what was on the computer myself going through the door with a purpose. I was mad as my steps echoed off the tiles before stomping away in to the break room. There may have been a slight temper tantrum being thrown however. for everything I just went through including illegal activities, I felt had the right to know.
Opening the door with a silent push the laptop was on the table and with a push of the key the scree was beginning to brighten…
Her tears still got pulled the anger of everything welling up inside her as she pushed away from the desk. She could not put so much of this or she would have to sell the book in the adult fiction section. Looking towards the clock she was halfway through the night with plenty more to get through. The files were a dry shock to everyone’s systems before showing them what they had to do. After all it was just the beginning of that week and now that they were gone she could barely put herself together. She was supposed to go to college figure out her life and live like everyone else. Opening the door to see no one still up she went back to her bed before laying across on it to pull a small shoe box pulling the top off. A collection of items littered the inside of the box in a random placement. Each item lead to something that she would take to remember the situations they represented.
A half dollar, half of an old school stage magician’s wand, an hourglass pendant, the clipping from a hospital bracelet wrapped around a small Johnny Walker blue box in particular drew her attention while everything else seemed to fade in to the background. Running over the old polished metal of the half dollar the late summer wind could still be felt if she held it close. Quickly draining an energy drink had begun to pull the blood back in her wrists the pressure of long hours writing beginning to take their toll. Hopping off the bed with can in hand the desk was soon cleaned and re set with another snack as she had unknowingly snacked her way to the bottom of the package during the last round of writing.
Their was a list with pictures attached to a set of files in a folder labeled “ Business Opportunities”each name was their own sub file filled with a combination of a two word files one marked intel the other marked mission. From those at the earliest file dates marked more then three years ago the pictures had barely shaken off the grainy aspects older cameras would have. The pictures though showed the fates of those they had already gotten to. Graphic bloody violence framed by a scene of what looked to be a battle that was waged before they eventually fell. Clicking on one file and another the small thumbnails of images rattled me as I made my way up the list. There had been almost no survivors up to the pair of names that seemed familiar. Jake Cozy the one above it named Paul Gordon with both files having some pictures from their time in the building it looked like the various steps of. Moving up there was still twenty to thirty files with no pictures leaving the argument open that both of them were top priority.
Nanowrimo 2015 Project excerpt
Chris Walker made up the last man on the graveyard crew and was also very paranoid of cities and big businesses claiming they were the embodiment of evil. No matter how odd he acted it seemed the attacks on a small holding company made his night throwing his hat in the ring even while on vacation.
To know that he felt enough to jump in made it much easier to do so and the entire night we had gotten a plan together. Walker would get in contact with as many people on the list that he could trying to inform people what was going on. Our jobs would be to break down the company one joint at a time first would be the finances, next would be to destroy the infrastructure in the computers and finally the last would be the most difficult, and that would be to find the building and rescue whomever they can before making the building essentially useless. Putting the last nail in the coffin would be to release the information through a series of proxies in full to sources before letting the chaos reign naturally.
“That sounds like a bit of a cop out, what if he escapes authorities?”
“Oh, he won’t. I can promise that”
With that the subject was dropped as the stakes seemed to rise as our eyes began on the next mission the small funding that came from sales to tech think tanks. Packages of rights, ideas and early models sold for hundreds of thousands sometimes millions which then goes back in to these accounts. Pointing to a series of rows on a spread sheet the second sheet showed the activity as they funneled the money for specific needs. Some tools were going to be made for us as Jake explained that we had some work and that we were going to push ourselves to get this done.
Paul and me were going to be working together while Jake was going to be on his own. Stealing the items would only take the money once so the plan was going to be a little more interesting with a some of the copies of the least disgusting pictures from the computer they were going to plant an email to the manager. All research otherwise points that this company has little idea how they are getting their packages put together. From there the next package should be offered according to the details organized from an email in the computer as well. There would not be much reason for them to continue working with them from those pictures, and if they brought it to the public attention the backlash would ostracize their business. The explanation made me feel less then hopeful about everyone else if such things would only stop business between them. It didn’t help that their would also be a key logger that would let them know of anything typed in to the computer. All in all everything was going to be easy or so we thought the three of us becoming our own little group as thick as thieves. Work went by as normal as dealing with those two guys could be eventually turning everything in to a way to pass the time. Both eventually getting bored after everything getting done turning in to a small semi safe game of truth or dare with no supremely stupid or sexual dares. The person was decided after a two liter bottle was finished after buying it to spin on the tile floor. I’m sure you guys don’t care so much about the full game of truth of dare so I will just go over the various rounds. We did ten rounds.
Paul asked me what I wanted to do with my life.
Paul asked Jake why he does not do the dishes.
Paul was asked not to use magic to control the bottle spins.
Jake asked Paul if he had used his magic to get a date from a girl.
Blushing lightly he pulled a wand out of his pocket before rolling his eyes and flicking it once to bring an actual bouquet. Handing the wand over to me the weight of the bouquet seemed to be secure in the top of the wand. I couldn’t guess the trick thinking it was the kind of magic that was just sleight of hand ,and it was definitely aggravating to him as after handing the wand back he snapped it in two before handing me the half with the bouquet.
“Remember, I can do actual magic.” Before turning the wand in to another bouquet. A couple more flicks turned it into a dagger and a pencil before turning it back into a full size wand.
I asked Paul how he knew he had magic powers. Supposedly he had learned from a book he had gotten from a garage sale coincidentally after following one of the pages he had been able to tap into it. From how it easy to seemed he was fine for other people to try it although no one had any interest leaving him alone. After the incident from the restaurant the options to teach it had been much shorter then he originally expected.
Jake was dared to make some music come out of his speakers. Which was nice to hear the village people while we continued in to the later rounds. Paul would dare Jake to grab him some chips for his little magic show. I asked if he could show me how to learn how to do magic like him which ended to him allowing me to borrow the book. If I could figure it out then there would be no problems for him to teach me how to handle it. There would be some time to get everything needed for the first spell including the potion that would need to be drank. From what he told me though everything was going to be edible although the excess mint was tough to swallow for him.
I told how many siblings I had to Jake
I asked Paul if he had any siblings, he had none.
Jake asked Paul if he was still trying to make the whiskey in his room.
They were weird to be sure especially with the things that they made in their free time. Making whiskey in their bedroom and magic books, but laughing at the end of it as we walked out of the store everything was still happy between us.
Fault Of Fact – Rough draft Excerpt
While the master sat he thought about the choice to be made. Itassis and himself had almost a storybook romance which would have brought humor in other times because both were very realistic learned people. Neither of them had really thought about love with both instead deciding to work on making their lands better for all. It was in that they had begun to bloom as a couple even spending a couple nights together in each others abode. His at the manor and hers at the main settlement. All of that were just memories as the happiness he was beginning to explore was taken away leaving only a cold ache where his heart would be.
Standing up the decision had been made. These people had hurt him enough that if he was not saddled with the family duties he would not have let it stand. Getting the attention of his wait staff with his action he had told Grast to being packing for a long excursion and to get the boat ready. Still in his grip he had only wished it to be true before beginning to talk while he began clearing his desk of the things he would want to bring. He would leave to go to her burial.
Hopefully, those on the other coast could forgive him for not protecting her. While walking out on everything was still difficult, it was no longer impossible. Being here to continue his duty would not be impossible knowing what the people took from him, the chance of help and the hope of peace snuffed
out left a void of despising loathing blackness where the mayor’s usually inexhaustible faith of the good was. Watching him stand all of the energy that usually defined him was nothing more then a smolder as if the fireplace had been uncared for while everyone slept, faintly casting embers upon his very soul.
“Sarah, do you know how long me and Itassis had been working on a solution for both sides? Do you know how long your lover just sent our whole land back because of negotiations and possible war?”
He ran in to her at full steam flying past Grast before sliding her up the wall. His teeth were clenched in rage while her hands were over his trying to break the seemingly iron grasp. Turning back the older man had to struggle just to try to break the grip.
“Young master, this is not what she would want. Please, Sarah did not know!!
“She’s DEAD!! SHE WILL NEVER KNOW WHAT I Want…”
Dropping his shoulders before turning around moments of her life mad themselves apparent in the stark moonlight. From the desk where both of them would work in to the night finding out ways to make everyone happy. The painting that caught her the first time they had met. The couch where they both shared their first kiss. He could remember how she smirked at his blush. All of it was gone now.
“Grast, I apologize. Go to the settlement, find her body and her belongings. Have it set on the boat. I am going to take her back home. Sarah, you will not be in my sight again. Just knowing what your husband did with the aid of the people in this village I cannot stand right now. Take the night off, now leave.”
The last words were a hiss while the young maid escaped from sight. Grast stood in the light of the doorway while looking at the young master. Silence seemed to stretch onward amazingly before his thoughts were finally verbalized.
“Are you coming back after the funeral?”
Walking by the eyes shown that he had not decided, as he walked down the hall it was clear that the pain had struck him deep. Hobbling to the nearest porters, he had to guess how many people would be needed versus how many were in any condition to ride. Taking the night air as he could it seemed like everything was careening toward a bad end.
“No. Grast I will not be returning. Turning to where Sarah stood he showed no emotion in the hazel of his eyes before continuing, I will not be known for the start of a massacre because of the idiocy of my people.
Negative To Positive
So it may have been a risk with yesterday’s content, but I use it to bring up something. From good old Webster in this case
Simple Definition of normal
- : usual or ordinary : not strange
- : mentally and physically healthy
2 a : according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, or principle b : conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern
- 3 : occurring naturally <normal immunity>
- 4 a : of, relating to, or characterized by average intelligence or development b : free from mental disorder :
My question is since it seems people have this incessant need to be normal, and to stick together at times on something because of the sake of normalcy. Before going any further I do not have any psychology background except getting my own mind to run semi smoothly. Normal for me though is one of those things that really when you think about it does not have a whole lot of usage in conversations nowadays.
Let me explain, for example from the pieces that have been gathered about the term what stands out to you because for me 2a and 4a seem to be at odds at least when I think about it like this. First of all no one has the pristine bill of mental health. There is small things and large things that are accounted for enough that no one is perfectly normal.
According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry the odds of preschoolers and school age children showing it is three to five percent. Here is the page if you want to give it a read.
Mind you this is not taking in to accounts environmental risk factors, genetic information, or personal context in relation to experiences. These things can definitely add to it and if you want read in more detail then below is an excerpt from a book called Reducing Risks for Mental Disorders: Frontiers for Preventative Intervention Research. The excerpt is called Risk and Protective Factors for the Onset of Mental Disorders.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236306/
It is an older source being written in 1994, but it brings up some fair points that not being so up to date on such research got me to think on these things. Now without going to a fancy seminar in my own right there is not a whole lot of work on exactly on average how common these things are with various numbers being thrown around. The Mental health association of Forsyth County claims that more then 60 million Americans may suffer from a mental illness in any given year. Putting that in perspective the last estimate from the United Nations puts us at 324 million while the census website back that number.
That means just taking those two numbers in to account that means we are looking just about One in every five and that makes it a little more sobering because some of those people will need therapy and should go out to get out while others think that nothing is wrong and that they can be productive, creative, and safe members of society using the differences in how there mind is wired to some benefit that may be harder for those without certain conditions. Try to find what works for you, if you need help go find it, and if you don’t need help be the best person that you can. That’s really what all this boils down to. Do not worry about being normal, and instead worry about what you can do to really make yourself the best you possible. That will take time. You will have to learn more about yourself.
I hope you all become the best you can be.
Good Days and Bad Days
I have good days, and I have bad days. The good days I do good work on my YouTube channel, and maybe do some writing and just see how I can do better on my non YouTube things like writing for example. Working on different stories or getting over a crippling set of sociopathic tendencies keeps it interesting. For those who do not have a grasp on the word then here is the meaning straight from Webster
sociopathic
adjective so·cio·path·ic \ˌsō-sē-ə-ˈpa-thik, ˌsō-sh(ē-)ə-\
Popularity: Bottom 40% of words
Definition of sociopathic
- : of, relating to, or characterized by asocial or antisocial behavior or exhibiting antisocial personality disorder
Ya, kinda weird for someone with a social account, but that is the funny thing because part of me believes there is good in the world and there is the right everyone has to be happy. On the other side of the coin some days I wake up have something happened and just know that if I spent the rest of my day in frustration banging my head against a desk or table, maybe tripped on something and smacked it through the dry wall then at least I could knock myself loopier then I am currently.
My old twitter locking down before being between my losing the email and the password and not being able to get to the old one just is something special that marks your day with that special kind of eye crossing frustration that makes you want to shake your cane at someone. For those without canes you may use your fist, a stick, or some form of high explosive whichever works best for you.
Ten Things I have Learned In Kitchens
Learning in kitchens on the west coast has allowed me to look at a world that despite the many shows on the subject still do not do a good job showing off some of the most interesting things in the cooking world.
- Cooks do not get paid well and often times the wait staff will be paid more because of the tips. A line cook will often get paid the same as the wait staff with some of the better places being only a dollar or two above.
- Waitstaff or the front of house is a love it or hate it relationship. Simply because many times those tips that the waiters say they need to survive well in some states that is the case in Oregon though it is normal to get paid a full minimum wage and then have your tips go on top of it leading to many waiters getting paid more then the sous chef.
- No, we do not spit or screw up the food. It is the very rare person who feels they need to do that and most kitchens will send them out on a group of pitchforks. The food is something you do not screw with if you want an easier life in the kitchen.
- The personalities are that varied, and despite all the hours being worked it is rare for someone to just be about food. Some people will be marksmen, others will be writers, others work on the care of poisonous plants. Calling them weird is one of the fastest ways to get a figurative backhand for your efforts.
- I have to this day not met a cook who cannot hold their booze. It is not a requirement, but you can bet if you have worked a few years in a kitchen then you most likely have some tolerance.
- Coming in just before closing especially after a busy night will have the curses of the families of those cooks sent against you in any form. Within a half hour to close they want people out so everyone can go home to try and sleep.
- If your waitperson says the kitchen screwed up and that is why it is taking so much time then they forget to put the order in. Nine times out of ten anytime the waitstaff asks for more time it is because front of house botched something or massive mechanical failure usually because front of house botched something.
- Saying the line “I went to culinary school.” as an evidence to skill will make everyone hate you. Do not say it. Shut up and do it the way they ask. After things have died down, as why it is done that way and most time you will find most above you a lot more welcome to explain.
- Saying the line “Bobby Flay did it.” as an excuse as to why you are doing something will get you the next opportunity to find the left handed spatulas. They are right next to the backup cans of steam.
- Never as a customer go back in the kitchen. If you are the pope then be ready to bow to who is running the kitchen at the time. No matter how many yelp reviews you have written going back there will get you often kicked out or at minimum made a fool.
It is nice to have learned so much over my years because it is another world in the kitchens, and something so strange is often just between a couple sets of doors and usually a bar. I may write more about it later, enjoy the list and have a good day.
No Man’s Skydive
No Man’s Skydive
What can be said about this example of business fireworks except it is just about time to get the marshmallows out because if this will be good for anything it will be to make a good s’more. Hype was the first poison in this little cocktail, and what a dose it was.
This game if it had come through on more of what they were aiming for would most likely one of the top ten selling PC games this year. Standing right now people who bought it are mad enough to just wipe the entire experience from their mind except a warning to be more careful next time. It had gone through a process of building itself up over multiple times before it was launched that took people a couple weeks to actually figure out what they got. Next ingredient in for this little cocktail was the action of the company behind it.
Hello Games should not have been going for so much. This was a project clearly outside of their normal set of games which was the entirety of the Joe Danger series, and they promised everything in this new project. Putting it simply they wanted their game to sell. If their game sells then obviously it is a sign of success, but you do not say things are in it that are then not in it at launch. Being looked at for misleading advertising by the Advertising Standards Authority does not help matters.
Some of the die hard super fans before this game came out added their own brand of vermouth and suffering. When you have death threats, poor attitude, rampant stupidity, coming from a fan base before something released then you either are going to get a lot more people in that group, or you are about to have a lot less fans. After the things some of these super fans did it reflected poorly on the project to some degree and to all gamers to another. That let down intensified any misgivings the game would have making it even harder for them to bear.
Taking all these things we already can see a situation that will have a polarizing result. It will fly or it will dive and the price point of the game just made sure of it. Value is something that more people are looking at and to have something like this going for retail at sixty dollars only ramped up the possibility. Sony backed that price point despite not a lot of evidence saying this would be a success to the degree it was pushed. They helped make this toxic cocktail turning one of the biggest deliveries of gaming this year in to one of the biggest disappointments and personally they should take a drink of that as well to sober them up.
Emergency Chocolate Protocol For PC Gaming
Emergency Chocolate Protocol For PC Gaming
The Christmas releases could be out or your loved one wants to get a good session on an important day that may or may not rhyme with “blanniversery”, and you don’t have enough to get through the day. We will make French hand-rolled Chocolate truffles. It is okay if you do not have a whole lot of equipment because the important part is as follows and it is to make the ganache.
8 oz of Dark Chocolate Chips
5 oz or 2/3 cup of Heavy Cream
A sauce pot, this will be for the cream.
A stove
A large plastic bowl able to handle hot cream and the freezer.
A spatula or a whisk
A small bowl
Plate for finishing
Fridge or freezer space for the bowl
First you want to put your pot on a burner at medium high heat before pouring your cream in the pot. While this is heating up place your chocolate in the bowl. If you wanted to add little flavorings you can add it to the cream now. We want the cream to get to a good simmer. You want to look at the cream see the small bubbles around the side of the pot and look in the center of the cream to notice that it is bubbling at the same speed.
Pour your cream of the chocolate. Fold the chocolate and the cream together while it is still hot. The heat of the cream will melt the chocolate. This can count as a workout when you do bigger batches. When it smooth in color and free of lumps then you are done. If you go slow enough there is still lumps in it, but the color is smooth then that is fine as well a little bit of hardened chocolate in a chocolate treat will not ruin anything.
What is in this bowl is called ganache, and it is about as well for coffee and ice cream as you think it would be. Let it cool and chill it for a two hours minimum. Freezer works as well if you find you have warm hands. While that chills we need to get to some toppings we can roll little chocolate balls in so that we do not make our keyboards a mess.
Chopped nuts, coconut, pulverized hard candies, dried and finely chopped fruit are all things you can consider. Classically it is done with cocoa powder so for the sake of explanation take a small bowl and fill it a third of the way with your item of choice. Pull the ganache after it has set before rolling to just bigger then a quarter. Drop your creations in the coating making sure they are completely coated before putting them on the plate.
Let the plate chill in the fridge until serving time. Works well as a snack when you wreck your opponent or need a snack after being stomped in game. Makes two dozen.
BigTAnderson in Portland 