CV Rick

Saturday Meme - Pieces of Eight

This is from Sideon, although i didn't like the instructions:  Share eight possible reactions to the various possible and impossible circumstances.  That makes it sound like each question should have eight answers.  I'm just going to do an answer per question.  Enjoy.

1 - What would you do if you came into a lot of money?

That's the dream, right?  To become fabulously wealthy without having to do anything to get there. So if that happened by inheriting money from my poverty-stricken redneck family or winning the lottery or whatever: 

First I'd set up college funds so the kids could get any kind of education they desire.  Then I'd buy a nice, comfortable house here in the city, and then I'd pour a bit of money into my business to grow it to a proper size in order to hire a manager.  Then I'd write.  Those are my big dreams.

2 - What would you do if you were invited to a nude gathering/party/wedding, etc.?

I'd strip down of course.

3 - You dream of an disaster approaching in three days (tornado, hurricane, earthquake, meteor). What do you do, if anything?

I write it down and try to figure out if there's a story in it.  I don't believe it'll come true.

4 - You get to choose the Vice Presidential candidate for John McCain. Who do you choose to help him win or lose, and why?

I choose Mitt Romney because win or lose it brings more attention to Mormonism and helps me draw attention to my story, Alma the Lamanite.

5 - You are in a witness protection program. Who do you decide to be, where will you live, and what profession will you choose?

I own a bar in Anchorage, Alaska.  I'm Jan Svengarden and I've had a voice coach teach me to speak with a Swedish accent (which is uncomfortable when someone speaks to me in Swedish and I just nod my head). 

6 - You made reservations at a swanky restaurant. You are seated. The host screws up and brings someone famous that you happen to admire… to sit with you. Who’s the surprise company, and what’s your reaction?

Ian Stewart.  She sits him down and I introduce myself and we discuss various personalities in the field of mathematics and literature - and science fiction.  I try to get a better understanding of parallel universe theories from him. 

7 - Your senses merge and you see colors and visions when you listen to music, particularly choir ensembles or classical. What do you see when you hear your favorite piece?

So, I have synesthesia and weird visions.  I see the future and I see the keys that I need to form a new religious cult where I can convince my followers of all manner of ridiculous beliefs and have them perform amazing acts of self-sacrifice, all to my benefit.

8 - Describe how you are lucky.

I am lucky because I have been able to overcome every obstacle in my life thus far. I'm lucky because I'm pretty good at figuring things out, learning quickly.  I have a great family and my kids are good looking and above average.  Sugar is the most amazing woman who understands me better than I understand myself.  I have great friends and people who not only support me, but give me a kick in the ass when I get off track with respect to my goals.  I'm lucky that I can write things down and people come to read what I've written. 

 - rick, meme'ing

Saturday Meme - Kickass Meme

Since life and work have totally been kicking my ass this summer I thought I'd make a meme about other kick-ass things.

If you want to play along, just put together a list of things that you think kick ass and post it on your blog or in my blog's comments - - - then you get credit for playing!!

#1 KickAss thing:

The Dark Knight.  This one really kicked ass . . . no shit.  I went to the theater thinking that this was going to be another pretty good superhero movie and hoping that the whole genre was still on the upturn (after Iron Man and the generally good quality minus the third movie of Spiderman).  This movie went beyond the genre and beyond all my expectations.  It was forehead-sweat tense throughout the whole movie.  Heath Ledger put in a performance I couldn't have even nightmared.  He combined malevolent anarchy and sociopathy in the Joker to make him the one villain who could turn the Batman into his own worst enemy.  Christian Bale was turned into a bit player in a movie dominated by superior performances - Michael Caine, Aaron Ekhart, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman all stole scenes from our beknighted superhero. No one, however stole a scene from Ledger.  This movie was his from the opening prologue to the batman's final decision.  I thought talk of an Oscar nomination was hype . . . not so for he displayed a depth and extreme not even shown in Brokeback Mountain. 

  #2 KickAss thing:

Canoing.  I haven't really been out on the water in a while and I forgot how much I like it.  Here I live in a state with more shoreline than any other and I never go to the lakes . . . well that's going to change.  I'm going to buy a canoe.  Here in Minneapolis you can buy a permit and just leave your canoe locked up to public racks like bicycles.  I'm going to do that.  Alan, want to paddle around a bit when you visit?

#3 KickAss thing:

Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog.  Joss Whedon, creator of some of my favorite series has done it again with the Dr. Horrible show - a straight for the web 45 minute singing extravaganza starring Doogie Howser (Neil Patrick Harris).  I thought it inordinately clever and completely over-the-top and as a web-based form of entertainment, it was groundbreaking.  Oh, and Sugar bought me the t-shirt for my birthday and you've gotta love that.

#4 KickAss thing:

My house.  The jump from 1,000 sq feet to 2,000 sq feet has been incredible.  I have an office, the kids have full, real bedrooms.  I can cook in the kitchen without fighting for every inch of space.  The hardwood floors don't hold all the allergens in and I'm noticeably less sneezy this year.  The garage is an oasis of space where I can fit all the equipment I need for work with room left over for tools, bikes, and the rest of our recreational equipment.  A year here has been a year of freedom, space, and growth.  

#5 KickAss thing:

Sean Tevis.  This guy is running for the state legislature in Kansas.  He's web saavy and has a great platform concentrating on privacy, security and rights.  Check out his site, the intro comic in xkcd style is brilliant and I don't know about you, but the guy got a little contribution from the Ninja Writer.

Have a KickAss weekend.

 - rick

Saturday Meme - 50 Questions

I'm trying to get back into things here . . . good to start with a meme.  This one is from Wry Catcher.

1. What do you add to your coffee? I don't often drink coffee.  When I do it's a latte - vanilla - over ice.
2. What are you reading now?  Oh holy hell!  I need to update my list, write some reviews.  Up next on the listening list is Acacia by David Anthony Durham and I'm reading Brasyl by Ian McDonald.
3. Do you own a gun? Yes, more than one.
4. Are you registered to vote? Yes
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? I've solved that by not seeing doctors.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I rarely eat them, and when I do I make sure they weren't produced in any of the meat packing plants in which I've worked.
7. Favorite Christmas Song? It's all just background music, I don't have a favorite.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? EmergenC.
9. Can you do push ups? Yes
10. What was the name of your first boyfriend/girlfriend? Her name was Tipwan.  I asked her to "go with me" back in 8th grade.
11. What’s your favorite piece of jewelery? I have this cool silver clasp bracelet that Sugar bought for me.  I should take a photo of it.
12. Favorite hobby? Canoing.
13. Do you work with people who idolize you? I work with my little brother and my son.  Of course they don't idolize me.
14. Do you have ADD? No
15. What’s one trait that you hate about yourself? I'm inflexible.
16. What’s your Middle name? That's none of your business.
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. I wish I'd written the plot for Dexter.  Should I go to the lake today?  What should I make for breakfast?
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday. Yesterday was unusual, I bought a lot of stuff at a $400 trip to Costco.  A fan, new pillows, and chocolate chunk cookies.
19. Name 3 beverages you regularly drink. Mountain Dew Live Wire (the orange kind), Water, Beer (Newcastle)
20. Current worry right now? How's Large going to do this school year.  His problems with his mom are foremost in my mind.  I hope he can overcome such a difficult challenge.
21. What side do you dress to? Right to left I suppose.
22. Favorite place to be? Right here, at my desk.
23. How did you bring in the New Year? We have a ritual here - board games, cards, snacks, and pajamas.  It's my favorite.
24. Where would you like to go? Alaska again.  Actually I'd like to go along the coast - kayak, canoe, etc. 
25. Name three people who will complete this. I don't predict other people's behavior.
26. Whose answers do you want to read the most? These are kind of inane questions.  Answer if you want, I'll read them, but I don't have great anticipation for deep insights with these answers.
27. What color shirt are you wearing? Black.  It's a BTTD shirt.
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? How would I know?
29. Can you whistle? sure, but I can't do loud wolf whistles and I can't whistle in tune.
30. Favorite colors(s)? blue, green, black, grey
31. Could you be a pirate? Sure
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? I think about my writing in the shower, I don't sing.
33. Favorite girls name? What?  Want me to write it in the back of my social studies notebook and surround it with hearts?  Dumb question.
34. Favorite boy’s name? See above.
35. What’s in your pocket right now? Cell Phone.
36. Last thing that made you laugh? Large and I were joking and wrestling yesterday.
37. Best bed sheets as a child? Dallas Cowboy sheets my grandma bought me when I was nine.
38. Worst injury you’ve ever had? I have an ongoing knee problem - most of the cartilage has been worn away.  I can't jog or play basketball any longer because of it.  I guess that's not a single injury, but that's what you get.
39. Do you love where you live? Yes
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? Two.  Yeah, the kids have one now.
41. Who is your loudest friend? Mark.
42. How many dogs do you have? One, and he's a real dog.  Over 80 pounds, drools, obeys commands: perfect for me.
43. Does anyone have a crush on you? I highly doubt it.
44. What are the most fun things you ever did? Isn't that what this blog's all about?
45. What are your favorite books?  Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien; Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
46. What is your favorite candy? M&Ms, plain.
47. Favorite Team? Oklahoma Sooners
48. What songs do you want played at your funeral? I'll be dead you know.  I won't really care.  Just nothing with God in it - or heaven, or that'll make emotional people cry. Just play some early 80's brit like Depeche Mode or Madness. No one can cry at that.
49. What were you doing at 12 AM? Drinking a beer, surfing the net.
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Who the hell is calling me on a day off?

Okay, we're back on track.  I'll start working on tomorrow's post.

 - rick, meme'ing.

Saturday Meme - Goals

 I usually keep my goals to myself.  I'm so OCD that I don't need to share in order to achieve what I desire.  Today I'm going to share a bit of what I've got in mind in hopes that the rest of you do the same - no, not the same goals, but the sharing of where you intend to go. 

The first and most important criteria of my goals is that they are possible - they aren't pipedreams to get me going in the right direction and they aren't carrots on a stick that this ass can never quite reach.  I set goals that I know I can achieve and I modify them often so that I'm always moving forward.  If I would've set this goal eight years ago:

Quit my engineering job, start a business in an unrelated field in which I have no experience, build that business up to the point where I have employees, am making as much money as I used to, and am working less than half the time in both hours and days.  Start writing.  Finish a book and some short stories while learning the craft.

I'd have said that I was off my rocker.  But I did it this way, one at a time.

• Quit a job that was killing me mentally, physically, and emotionally.
• Take some time off to write and figure out where I wanted to go.
• Write some stories.
• Write a blog.
• See an opportunity for some good seasonal money and learn how to do it.
• Work with the idea of perfection and to getting personal referrals from clients.
• Hire my brother, both for his benefit and mine. 
• Turn my blog writing into a book.
• Hire my son through the summer, mainly for me.

So that's my method of goal setting.  I've never read a self-help book which explained to me the right way to set and achieve goals, so I'm probably doing it wrong.  C'est la vie.

Now to my current goals.

1.  Eat less food, but make better choices.
I don't know if I'll lose a lot of weight or if I'll look better, but those would be nice side effects.  What I do know is that I eat too much of foods that are bad for me.  I want to change that.

2. Hire two employess.
It's either that or turn away work.  I'll have to hire them and train them and develop a level of trust before I'm confident they'll do the job I want.  I'm meeting with an accountant on Monday to determine what the best direction is for restructuring my business and making this move.

3. Write 1500 words a day through my work season.  Write 3000 words a day this coming winter. 
Chances are that another book and some short stories will result.  I'm not being that specific, however.  The words are the important thing - the goal is one day at a time.

4. Take Sugar out on more dates.
We need to have more fun.  We've had too many hard years.

5.  Write a blog post every day. 
I made it over a full year.  I know I can do it.  This week I essentially took a breather while life and work overwhelmed me.  I'm back - you can come here every day.

What are your goals?

 - rick, trying to keep it simple.

Saturday Meme - Glad I'm Not Mormon

This is for all my ex-Mormon buddies out there and for those non-Mormons who've read my blog and realized that they grew up more sane and well-adjusted than any Mormon.

Why are you glad you're not Mormon:

1. Time.  This may not seem to be the ultimate reason.  I mean there's the indoctrination and the fear and the guilt and all the other religious trappings, but for me it's time.  I don't have to spend 4 days a week at the church building and another day visiting people I don't care about to make sure they're living the righteous life.  I don't have to dress in a white shirt and tie all the time and mingle with a bunch of other nitwits in the foyer waiting for yet another meeting to start.  I don't have to drive to the temple and drive other people to the temple and drive to a conference and drive to the stake welfare farm/office/warehouse.  I don't have to, and I'm glad.

2. Fear.  I'm not afraid of the end of the world and God's wrathful judgment.  I'm not afraid of Satan who lurks in every corner, inside every beverage machine, in the heart of every pretty woman, in the hands of every non-Mormon acquaintance waiting to tempt me into eternal misery.  I'm not afraid of the incursions of secular evil.  I'm not afraid of alcohol and caffeine. I'm not afraid that I won't see my family and friends in the afterlife - behind that veil - because they strayed from the path and I did not. 

3. Separation.  I'm glad that I'm not Mormon because I like being part of the world.  I love my education, that which is formal and that which is auto didactic.  I love being involved in politics, volunteering and donating.  I love having friends from different backgrounds and with differing attitudes.  I love my city and my life and exploring new activities with my son.  Mormons are encouraged to separate themselves from life and live in a cocoon of Mormon friends, Mormon experiences, and even Mormon field trips.   Education is never as valuable to a Mormon unless it came from a Mormon school. 

Saturday Meme – 5 Things I Like

I got this one from Success Warrior.  I'm not tagging anyone, but play if you want.

5 Favorite Words:

1.  It's not exactly a word, but a phrase.  Ever since I read the book Finn by Jon Clinch I've been saying, “I know it.” instead of “I know.” It's a speech affectation that the author used to great effect for Huckleberry Finn's father. 

2.  “Dude”  I call many people Dudes.

3.  “Hoppers.” I now call my kids Hoppers.  It's from The Wire which Rose encouraged me to watch and which I got totally hooked on.  Great show, great word.  My kids don't like it, though. 

4.  “Staccato.” I use it in many of my stories to describe choppy, quick sounds or actions.  My writer's group – all of them – chop it out of my submissions without fail. 

5.  “Fuck.” It's my curse word of choice.  I also like saying “Jesus Christ.” I think that's because it's fun to say something that means a lot to other people and means nothing to me.

5 of your favorite quotes -

1.  “Look at the Big Brain on Brad.”  It's from Pulp Fiction.  It's a great quote. Tim, who has a signed script from the movie, told me that Brad's name was Brett in the script.  Brad rolls through the quote much better.

2.  “Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand.”  Vonnegut, source of many great quotes.

3.  “Day at a time I suppose?”  This is from Omar, my favorite Wire character. The full exchange was while he was on the witness stand in a murder trial.

When asked his occupation he said, “I robs drug dealers.”

The State's attorney then said, “Mr. Little, how does a man rob drug dealers for eight or nine years and live to tell about it? “

And Omar Little responded, “Day at a time I suppose?”

4.  “Yes we can.”  need I say more?

5. “Personally, I think, uh... they don't really want to be involved in this war. You know, I mean... they sort of took away our freedom and gave it to the, to the gookers, you know. But they don't want it. They'd rather be alive than free, I guess. Poor dumb bastards.”  Eightball from Full Metal Jacket. 

Saturday Meme – What Every Man Should Be Able To Do.

I found a cpuple of these lists and I've compiled them here.  This is what it says a man should do.  Underlined are the ones I can do.  The rest show my inadequacy as a man.

Esquire Magazine – 75 Skills Every Man Should Master

1. Give advice that matters in one sentence.

2. Tell if someone is lying.

3. Take a photo.

4. Score a baseball game.

5. Name a book that matters.

6. Know at least one musical group as well as is possible.

7. Cook meat somewhere other than the grill.

8. Not monopolize the conversation.

9. Write a letter.

10. Buy a suit.

11. Swim three different strokes.

12. Show respect without being a suck-up.

13. Throw a punch.

14. Chop down a tree.

15. Calculate square footage.

 

Saturday Meme - Unread Books

From Kelly at Wyrdsmiths.  A list of the 106 (weird number to settle on) books most often listed as "unread" on librarything. The original instructions say italicize books started but not finished, bold books read, and bold and underline books read for school.

I'm adding two asterisks for books I have on my list to read - this year or next.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina **
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude **
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi : a novel **
The Name of the Rose **
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
The Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies
War and Peace **
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin **
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway

Saturday Meme - Guilty Pleasures

I got this one from Alan's blog. 

And like Alan, I don't really do guilt.  If I like something I do it and I don't really feel remorseful about it.  I don't live my life to please anyone else - I live my life to make myself satisfied and while I often derive pleasure from the happiness of others, I don't choose to associate with people who have unreasonable expectations of me.  Well, on to the list.

1. Eating Out.  Sugar and I were deciding what to eat last night and our only criteria was that it had to be within walking distance.  We narrowed the choices to Malaysian, Chinese, or Greek.  Neither of us felt like gourmet Vietnamese, Burgers, Thai, Mexican, German, or Sushi.  That's what's within walking distance - all nice restaurants and none of them large chains; they're independently owned.  I love living here. 

  2. Arguing on the Internet.  I really do like it and it's not stressful for me.  On the contrary, composing a witty response and going on a righteous tirade lubricates my creativity.  Sometimes I get into a good political argument and then I go write - it's all in good fun.  I suppose that makes me a bad person and I suppose I've made people feel bad about themselves - but I refer you to the fact that I don't do guilt.

3. Television.  I don't turn the television on unless there's something I intend to watch and then I turn the television off after that show is over (usually - sometimes I just leave it on for background noise).  What I watch are shows I consider great stories.  You know some of them - Battlestar Galactica, The Wire, The Shield, Rescue Me, Deadwood, Rome, etc.  Most of the time I buy, rent, or download the shows so that I don't have to watch commercials. 

4. Audiobooks -   I love working and listening to books.  Sometimes I can go through three or four unabridged books a week that way.  It's relaxing, entertaining, and makes my job the most interesting job I've ever had.  Just last week I listened to Spin by Robert Charles Wilson, The Collected Short Stories of M. Sommerset Maugham, Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, and half of Saturday by Ian McEwan.

5. Games.  I like playing Risk, Scrabble, and Scramble on Facebook (I know they have different, stupid names on Facebook but that's what they are).  It's fun to log on and take my turns and then wait another few hours or a day and do it again.  I like playing Killer Bunnies or Settlers of Catan with my friends and family.  I like playing cards when Sugar's mother comes to town.  I like getting together with my friends on Sunday nights and playing D&D, and now that I'm DM again and spent most of yesterday reading up on different monsters, it's going to be even more fun.

What about you?

- rick, guiltless

And like Alan, I don't really do guilt.  If I like something I do it and I don't really feel remorseful about it.  I don't live my life to please anyone else - I live my life to make myself satisfied and while I often derive pleasure from the happiness of others, I don't choose to associate with people who have unreasonable expectations of me.  Well, on to the list.

1. Eating Out.  Sugar and I were deciding what to eat last night and our only criteria was that it had to be within walking distance.  We narrowed the choices to Malaysian, Chinese, or Greek.  Neither of us felt like gourmet Vietnamese, Burgers, Thai, Mexican, German, or Sushi.  That's what's within walking distance - all nice restaurants and none of them large chains; they're independently owned.  I love living here. 

  2. Arguing on the Internet.  I really do like it and it's not stressful for me.  On the contrary, composing a witty response and going on a righteous tirade lubricates my creativity.  Sometimes I get into a good political argument and then I go write - it's all in good fun.  I suppose that makes me a bad person and I suppose I've made people feel bad about themselves - but I refer you to the fact that I don't do guilt.

3. Television.  I don't turn the television on unless there's something I intend to watch and then I turn the television off after that show is over (usually - sometimes I just leave it on for background noise).  What I watch are shows I consider great stories.  You know some of them - Battlestar Galactica, The Wire, The Shield, Rescue Me, Deadwood, Rome, etc.  Most of the time I buy, rent, or download the shows so that I don't have to watch commercials. 

4. Audiobooks -   I love working and listening to books.  Sometimes I can go through three or four unabridged books a week that way.  It's relaxing, entertaining, and makes my job the most interesting job I've ever had.  Just last week I listened to Spin by Robert Charles Wilson, The Collected Short Stories of M. Sommerset Maugham, Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, and half of Saturday by Ian McEwan.

5. Games.  I like playing Risk, Scrabble, and Scramble on Facebook (I know they have different, stupid names on Facebook but that's what they are).  It's fun to log on and take my turns and then wait another few hours or a day and do it again.  I like playing Killer Bunnies or Settlers of Catan with my friends and family.  I like playing cards when Sugar's mother comes to town.  I like getting together with my friends on Sunday nights and playing D&D, and now that I'm DM again and spent most of yesterday reading up on different monsters, it's going to be even more fun.

What about you?

- rick, guiltless

Saturday Meme - Things I Used to Think

Courtesy of Wry Catcher, today's meme is Things I Used to Think

- Nothing could be easier than sitting at home and writing a book

- That people were either good or bad and if they were bad, they knew it and were okay with it.  I used to think I was one of the good guys.

- That god cared about basketball and would help me play well if I asked him with more sincerity than my opponents.

- That education was only useful if it prepared you for a good job.

- That anything could be fixed merely by working harder.

- That justice was blind.

- That no matter what, I'd still be able to run faster than anyone around.

- That life balances out for everyone.

- That wealth was a sign of hard work and was nearly always deserved.

- That afternoon naps were a waste of time.

- That hot girls will eventually tire of assholes and choose the nice guys.

- That I was a nice guy.

- That my SAT scores mattered to someone in the real world.

- That everyone saw the world and people just like I did - therefore no one would be interested in my stories and observations.

- That people who were poor did something to deserve it.

- That America's foreign policy was about spreading opportunity and democracy.

- That we'd finally heard the last of Donnie and Marie.

Saturday Meme - Spring

I took this from Alan's blog.  It's my attempt to bring the season finally to my doorstep as I look out on a lawn covered in fresh, white snow.

1. Do you like the season of Spring? What does 'spring' mean where you live?

The Minneapolis - St. Paul Metro area has 28 urban lakes.  The chain of lakes - Cedar, Isles, Calhoun, and Harriet - is the cleanest of the urban lakes in the country.  When Spring appears, people walk, run, rollerblade and bike around the lakes.  Everyone's outside: the restaurants all have tables on the sidewalks, the parks are filled, and dogs get more walks than anywhere I've ever seen. 

It's a beautiful city in the Autumn. 

My work season gets into full swing about, right, now.  Well actually about last week.  And this snow is really annoying.  But normally I love my job .. .

Spring not so much.  I'm allergic to cut grass and wheat and pollen and trees.  When I swim in the lakes enough plant matter gets into my sinuses to make me miserable for a week. 

Even through all that, I'm really ready for winter to end. 

2. Do you have a favorite part of Spring? If so, what is it? Why?

Bikinis.  Mini skirts.  Hot pants (are they in again?).  Halter tops.  Well, you get the idea.

3. Do seasons in general mean much to you? Why/why not?

Right now my whole life revolves around the seasons.  I start work in the Spring and am busy all the way through the middle of summer.  Things slow down in August and I can take a bit of a break.  Autumn is my busiest season.  I work weeks without a break, trying to get all the jobs in before the snow hits.  As you all know however, the winter is my writing season.  Seasons are my life and I like it that way.

- rick, springing into Spring.

Saturday Meme - What's On Your Reading List?

My work season is gearing up.  Starting tomorrow - yes, Sunday - I don't have a day off until mid-May.  To that end I've been preparing my audiobooks for the work season.  That's quite a process for someone as OCD as I am.  The first thing I do is decide which of the hundreds of books I have in my library ought to be next on the list.  I narrow the list down until I have a range of genres, both fiction and non, that I think I'm going to enjoy.  Then I copy those into a folder and divide the book-length files - yes I have some single files that are over 40 hours long - into 30 minute segments with a program called mp3 Surgeon.  Then I apply a randomization algorithm to the directory so I'm not listening alphabetically or by size or whatever.  I do keep series together and in order, of course.  Once this is done, then I place an episode of This American Life between each audiobook to give myself a bit of variety during the day. 

Here are the books that are coming up next on my list, in the order that I'm going to hear them:

1.  On Writing by Stephen King. 

I've read this one in print a couple times and listening to it read by Stephen King is going to be wonderful I know.  It's part writing advice, part motivation, and mostly memoir about his life, career and even the terrible accident he survived.  A really great read.

Reader: Stephen King
Length:  7 hours 45 minutes

2. March to the Sea by David Weber and John Ringo.

This is the second book in the Empire of Man series.  I don't much like Weber and Ringo's politics and I surely don't like most of their rabid military sci-fi fans, but I have to admit they really know how to spin a gripping tale.  To me this is candy reading.  It's not very deep, it's fast paced, and it's filled with cliche characters and dialogue.  But I'm listening anyway, aren't I?

I listened to book one last year and as is my habit, if I like the first book I'll listen to the rest of the series in subsequent window washing seasons.

Reader: Stefan Rudnicki
Length: 19 hours 14 minutes

3. March to the Stars by David Weber and John Ringo.

This is book 3 of the Empire of Man series.  See the above description.

Reader: Stefan Rudnicki
Length: 17 hours 34 minutes

4. We Few by David Weber and John Ringo

This is book 4, the final book, of the Empire of Man series.  See the above description.

Reader: Stefan Rudnicki
Length: 16 hours 03 minutes

5. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke.

I decided to revisit this classic after Dr. Clarke's passing several weeks ago.  It just seemed right to do, and there are few stronger stories in the genre than this masterpiece.

Reader: Dick Hill
Length: 7 hours 20 minutes

Saturday Meme – Greatest Last Lines

I've talked about the First Lines of stories and how important they are, but what about the conclusion – the finale, which leaves you wanting more.  It can finish a book, making you smile and be contented or it can frustrate you with the desire for more.  It's the icing on the cake, especially of a great novel – or it's the hard-earned release from a bad story. 

Sometimes a great concluding line is beautiful, flowing, long and engaging:

Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave that room, for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors (or mirages) would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory of men at the precise moment when Aureliano Babilonia would finish deciphering the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth. –Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967; trans. Gregory Rabassa)

Sometimes it's short and to the point:

And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One! –Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843)

Here's one I love because it wraps up the intent of a book in which that intent gets cast aside so often that the reader forgets what the hell the writer was doing:

So in America when the sun goes down and I sit on the old broken-down river pier watching the long, long skies over New Jersey and sense all that raw land that rolls in one unbelievable huge bulge over to the West Coast, and all that road going, all the people dreaming in the immensity of it, and in Iowa I know by now the children must be crying in the land where they let the children cry, and tonight the stars’ll be out, and don’t you know that God is Pooh Bear? the evening star must be drooping and shedding her sparkler dims on the prairie, which is just before the coming of complete night that blesses the earth, darkens all rivers, cups the peaks and folds the final shore in, and nobody, nobody knows what’s going to happen to anybody besides the forlorn rags of growing old, I think of Dean Moriarty, I even think of Old Dean Moriarty the father we never found, I think of Dean Moriarty. –Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1957)

And here's on that contributed to the growing up of generations of children:

Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood; and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago; and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days. –Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)

But after the jump are my favorites.

Saturday Meme - Obsolete Skills

This meme has been going around the internet for a long time and I don't think any of the blogs I regularly read has done it, so I'm not going to give a credit link to anyone. 

It's obsolete skills – things you know how to do and do well that are worthless today.  Play along, I don't tag anyone.

• I know how to use a Library card catalogue and I know the Dewey decimal system.  We learned it in school and had tests on it.
• I know how to put two spaces after a period.  I still do it.  I can't stop and HTML eliminates it, but there I am spacing twice.
• I can read a sundial.  It's true.  When I found out that my most famous ancestor had turned a room of his house into an elaborate sundial (on the ceiling no less, lit by mirrors), I learned how to read them.  And you'd be amazed at what you can learn from a well-made sundial.
• I can use a slide rule.
• I can use carbon paper to make copies.
• I can count back change.  This one really annoys me.  It's a pet peeve.  It's not hard to take what was owed and count up to what was paid and not give the damned change back in a wad with the coins on top of the bills.
• I can crank a car window up or down.
• I know how to make a chain of pop-tops.  We made a whole bead-curtain of them in the Air Force to separate our barracks room. That was Bobby Joe Maccullum and I.
• I used to know Morse Code.
• I used to use a CB Radio.  My dad had one and when we went on our long car trips that was the entertainment.  Well, there was also the alphabet game.  But I used to CB a lot.  My handle?  I'll bet you would want to know that.
• I know how to use a Polaroid.  I know how to peel the developer layer off the photograph.  I know how to load the cartridge.  I used to have to do the in-processing photos for large transformers at a repair shop – all Polaroids.
• I know how to hitchhike.  That was when it was an accepted form of transportation for a guy on leave from the military.
• I know how to wind a clock.  I also know how to wind a watch.

 

Saturday Meme - Manly Answers to Manly Questions

This one's from Alan, via Mrs. Chili:

1. Boxers? Briefs? Boxer briefs? Thongs? Commando?

I don't do thongs - no butt floss for me.  The rest are open for discussion.

2. What’s your fussiest personal care routine?

I pull nose hairs while waiting at stop lights.  No, I'm not picking my nose, I'm pulling  nose hairs.  I don't want anyone climbing up my face using a rope of weaved nostril hairs.

3. Do you have a favorite tool? Power or manual?

Oh please.  Every man has a favorite tool.  We're men after all.  But I'll keep it non-anatomical.  I like my safety wire pliers.

4. Can you change your own oil? Do you?

I can and I don't.  It takes less time to have a garage do it and they can dispose of the oil properly.

5. What’s the “manliest” thing you do on a regular basis?

Burp.  Fart.  No, it's burp.  Wait, I'm better at farting.  Can I get back to you on this?

6. What’s something “manly” that you never learned how to do?

Wolf whistles or whatever they're called.  It's that thing where guys put their fingers in their mouth and whistle really loud - ear splitting.  All I get when I try it is saliva on my fingers.

7. Do you ever cry? If so, what’s your trigger?

Yes.  Retarded meme questions.

8. Do you have a chivalrous streak? How does it manifest itself?

Yes.  I open doors - car, business, etc.  Oh, and I get in fights.  Maybe that in itself isn't chivalrous, but sometimes the reasons for the fights are.

8. Do you have a chivalrous streak? How does it manifest itself?

Yes.  I open doors - car, business, etc.  Oh, and I get in fights.  Maybe that in itself isn't chivalrous, but sometimes the reasons for the fights are.

Saturday Meme - 5 Television Questions

Being sick all week got me thinking about television because it's been on and it's the only thing I didn't have to exert any effort over.  Sometimes, like now, television is the no-brainer noise machine in the background.  Sometimes it's quite the opposite.

Over the course of my lifetime I've heard nothing but bad about television.  I'm rejecting that - television is nothing more or less than any other tool in our lives.  Here's a meme to give each of you a chance to express your own feelings about television.

#1 - Name 3 bad things about television?

    - It encourages a sedentary lifestyle
    - The commercials and product placement injects consumerism directly into our lives.  It creates false wants, masking them as needs.
    - With so much mediocre programming, it encourages accepting "entertainment" that's of a lower value than life itself.

#2 - Why do you watch television, when you do?

    - For the same reason I read.  And for that matter the reason that I write.  For the stories.  Television, like the movies has an important place in our storytelling legacy.  From poetry to prose to stage to the short story to the novel back to the stage to the screen and finally to the small screen, stories are a part of us and will continue to be.  Stories are going to be told and I want to be available to experience them whether that's through attending a performance, playing a great video game or watching it on television.

#3 - Name three television dramas that you like.  What makes each unique.

    - Battlestar Galactica - This is really a classic science fiction novel brought to the screen, told in all a novel's complexity and told well.  It's dark and includes commentary on the human condition, law, technology and morality.  It's challenging in the way entertainment can succeed, by making us want to take a look at ourselves and see how we measure up.
    - Rescue Me - This is a show about a New York City Firehouse in post-9/11 America.  It's funny and sad and examines the mind of a man who lost half of himself in America's worst day.  He lost half of his friends, coworkers, and family, and the biggest question is whether he can keep living with the half that still remains.  It's also a classic novel format made better by being put on the small screen.
    - Deadwood - A Historical drama about the town that brought about the demise of Wild Bill.  The town was dangerous, on the edge of civilization, the product of the gold craze and the quintessential exploitation of all that's human by other humans.  In this story nobody is all good or all bad, but everyone is shaded by the quality of their own self-interest.  It's about what forms a community and how even the most horrible people have a bit of compassion somewhere tucked in with the greed and the cruelty.  The most amazing part of the show is that it's more fact than fiction.  Too bad the series was cancelled.

#4 - What's one of the worst things about television today?

    - Much of reality television is just an outgrowth of horrible daytime television, like Jerry Springer and a dozen "judge" shows.  It's people getting paid to reveal their darkest, nastiest, most ill-educated selves.  It's a parade of commonality, but the common element is juvenilism.  We're watching those among us who never grew up, never learned to control our emotions, never learned to wait till later to satisfy immediate urges.  The people paraded before us are those who fail basic civilization and that's who we exploit. 

#5 - What's one of the better things about television today?

    - Not all reality television is bad, believe it or not.  Some of it shows the reality of hard work and talent striving for the dream of success.  I'm thinking about things like project runway.  People on that show, and some others I'm sure, have the desire and the will and the dedication to hard work to succeed and the reality show isn't exploiting that, but instead is shining a light into a process that would happen whether we're there or not.  This gives them an opportunity to succeed in a field that they'd be striving to succeed in whether the television cameras showed it or not. 

Saturday Meme - Fours

 Four movies I've watched more than 4 times
        1. The Mummy  (Seriously, every time it's on Sugar watches it.  Brandon Fraser, you know.)
        2. Rear Window
        3. Enter the Dragon
        4. The Shawshank Redemption
Four Places I have lived
        1. Osan, Korea
        2. Madrid, Spain
        3. Spangdahlem, Germany
        4. Minot, North Dakota
Four T.V. shows that I watch
        1. LOST
        2. Rescue Me
        3. Battlestar Galactica
        4. Project Runway (yup, Sugar watches it and I sit right here with her.  I'm so ashamed) 
Four favorite pastime activities
        1. Reading
        2. Internet Surfing
        3. Tetris - 3D.  It's cool.
        4. Watching Movies 
Four places I have been taken To the local Jail (I'm adding that part myself to spice the question up)
        1. Bangkok, Thailand
        2. Seoul, Korea
        3. Blackfoot, Idaho
        4. Minneapolis, Minnesota
Four of my favorite foods
        1. Ice Cream
        2. Sushi
        3. Pancakes
        4. Chicken and Waffles (hat tip to Mabel for reminding me of that one)
Four places I would like to visit
        1. St. Petersburg
        2. Oslo
        3. Dublin
        4. Christchurch
 Things I am looking forward to in the coming year
        1. Finishing my book
        2. Working with my son
        3. A summer trip
        4. Being completely debt free

try it, you'll like it.  Oh, I got this meme from Cherise, who sent it to me via email.  I changed a couple things so it would make sense as a blog.

Saturday Meme - Attraction

Meme  of Attraction

Here's the challenge - - I've started this meme.  If you want to continue it, post it on your blog and add one question.  I'm interested to see what y'all come up with.

What do you find the most physically attractive about another person?

I love a woman's back.  Smooth skin forming graceful curves,  there is no form can that keep my attention like a beautiful back can.  I could touch it from neck to ass for hours.  I could stare at it longer.

When you talk to a lover, what's the topic?

For myself there isn't one in particular, but many.  I need to be able to discuss current events, politics, and travel.  I want someone who has read books and can interpret themes.  I want to be able to debate passionately, but most of all I love talking with someone who has her own opinions, her own conclusions.

What motivates your lover?

It's too easy to say love – besides love is comprised of so many smaller emotional elements.  Anger's pretty fun sometimes too – come on, admit it.  But I want my lover to be engaged with curiosity and independence.

What's your own best attribute?

This is one of those “when I want to” attributes.  When I want to, I can speak to people on nearly any topic and connect to them.  It's not a unique talent, but I'm pretty good at it.  I'm probably better at it through writing than in person. 

 

 

Saturday Meme - Unconnected Questions Meme

This one has been going around and I'm picking up on it - -  So, Wry Catcher, Cele, Sideon, and Todd, I'm on it.

Of course, I'm making changes as I feel like it.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? The first-born sons in my family generally carry on one name.  It's my middle name and it's my son's middle name and it's been in the family since the 1700's.  So, yeah I was named after the son of our most famous ancestor. 

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I don't know.  Years ago.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I print as a rule.  Block printing with mechanical pencils on graph paper.  Years as an engineer taught me to block print on blueprints quickly and efficiently.  Yes, I'm happy with it.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? I almost declared each of the last two questions to be too stupid to answer, but this one wins that honor.

5. HAVE YOU ANY CHILDREN? Yes.  Three great kids.  Too smart, too talented, too creative and at least one of them is too much like me.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yeah, why not.  I love talking politics and playing games.  I like hanging out with people who shares those interests . . . and I do.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? No, I'm serious all the time.  What do you think?

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yeah and a collection of tonsils from my victims in a jar under my bed.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Already did.  A few times.

Saturday Meme - Five x 5

brahnamin over @ juggling cats tagged me with a meme after
heather @ just a moment tagged him with it.

i've never seen him tag anyone with a meme before, so it surprised me.  but I understand why he did it.  these are interesting questions, important questions.  it's a meme worth doing.

5 Things I Want My Kids to Know:

failures and rejections are temporary

education is not a means to an end, it's an open path to all destinations

don't fight unless you have to, but if you have to, you pick the time, you pick the place, and you never let them throw the first punch (even in a metaphorical sense)

i raised you to be independent and free, don't enslave yourself in debt or addictions.

i love you (each one of you) more than i imagined i had the capacity to love

.5 things you want to tell your child when they grow up:

take your time, when you're in a hurry you miss things

i'm still here, and i'll help however i'm able

true friends are rare, but never settle for imitations

opportunities don't float by like passing doorways, they're built from the ground up

i told you so.

 

Saturday Meme - Ten Things I've Done You Probably Haven't

Got it from John Scalzi, who got it from himself.  Without further introduction - my list:

10. Hitchhiked to London, From Texas.

9.  Been thanked in the acknowledgments of a book whose subject matter I don't understand.

8.  Taught a robot to solve puzzles.

7.  Disarmed a cop.

6.  Wrote a speech, given by a Republican Congressman

5. Been tortured.

4.  Picked up body parts.

3.  Told an award-winning author to go ahead and commit suicide.

2.  Changed the tire on an F-16 while taking enemy fire.

1. Wrestled a midget.

I don't tag, but there's a few people over on my blogroll who could create some very entertaining lists.

Saturday Meme - About Me

The Enlightened Fairy tagged me and while I usually don't accept tags, I'm doing this one because my next meme - Ten Things I've Done that You Haven't Done won't be completed till next week.

Part the First - about me.
1. Name: Sometimes it's Rick.  I've been called a lot of things I'd rather not repeat.  Nicknames are interesting, however.  I was "Golden" or "Goldie" for a year back when I got a job as a mechanic and advanced to production manager of the whole place in 8 months . . . I was young and eager - the perfect "Golden Boy."  I don't think it was meant in a very flattering fashion.  I was Clutch for a while, right Axle?  Spud didn't catch on in basic because I really wasn't from Idaho and I didn't respond to the nickname.  Alan calls me PTE because he thinks I should henceforth be known as the Pop-Tart Engineer.  Problem with that is that Alan's nicknames always have an unexplainable tendency to stick.  My given middle name is a name that's been in my family for three hundred years, directly from our most famous ancestor. 

2. Birthday: July 19th, 1966.  This is a date shared by no one I particularly know and admire.  I did go to school once with a kid named Badman who shared that date.  I was the Mormon kid who couldn't even watch television at home, had to wear my cub scout uniform to school every Friday, and gasped when someone said "Damn."  He was smoking in fourth grade and talked Molly into standing on a desk and pulling down her underwear so the boys could see her "parts."  Badman called me his Birthday Buddy and then would slug me in the arm.

3. Where do you live: Minneapolis, Minnesota.  I came here in transition.  My ex-wife had threatened to move a dozen different places to keep me away from my son.  Finally she took a job in St. Louis but told me that she'd disappear with Large if I moved there when she did.  So, I looked for a job, found one in Minneapolis, took it and moved.  The attractive feature was that plane flights to St. Louis were only $69 at the time.  I figured I could go every other weekend at least. 

Then, after I moved, she turned down the job, stayed in Oklahoma City and told our five-year old son that I'd left him because I didn't want to be around him. 

It was a rough time.  I've been here ever since.

4. Right or Left handed: Very right-handed in everything except basketball.  I worked really hard on my left hand skills for the game for years and years.  I'm right-sided everywhere else, probably because I'm so left-brained.  I can't even see out of my left eye. 

5. Favorite color: I'm not filling out a sheet to accompany my centerfold photo am I?  Favorite Color?  Come on.  I don't like Orange - those bastards.

6. Favorite sport: To play - Basketball.  To watch - College Football.  Boomer Sooner!

7. Biggest Fear: Financial collapse.

8. Status:   Horny

9. Do you have a crush on someone? Want me to pass notes and whisper in class?  Sheesh.  Did you get this quiz from MySpace? 

Continue after the jump . . . you'll notice me phoning in the rest of the quiz.  I kind of got bored with it because I wasn't inspired by the questions.

Saturday Meme: 2007, A Look Back

I saw this at Cele's blog.  She got it from Wry Catcher. 

Rules are the same .  . do it or not, I don't "tag" people.

1)  What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
I had never written any memoir before.  I did that here on my blog.

2) Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any resolutions.  And I won't.

3) Did anyone close to you give birth?
Well, my sometimes business partner and his wife had a baby, but I haven't seen it.  I'm not a baby person.

4) Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5) What countries did you visit?
None.

6) What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
A book contract, some story sales, and more time to write.

7)  What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? 
September 19th - it was "Talk Like a Pirate Day" and my client that day thought I was a lunatic.

8)  What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting our finances under control and actually paying off some debt.

9)  What was your biggest failure?
Not writing enough and not meeting my writing goals.

My Top Books

Here's yet another book Meme from your favorite Obsessive reader.  If you want to play along, list your own favorites, or paste this to your blog and tell everyone that I'm as wrong as I can possibly be.

I added all my new books to my library this holiday season and in the process I took a look at my entire collection.  I set aside my favorites in groups.  Here they are:

Tied for Number One:

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Those four are the top books I've ever read.  I can't choose a favorite from among them.  They all have made me cry and over the years I've read each of them multiple times.  It's no coincidence that they're all bittersweet tragedies and the hero doesn't win in the end, because in the end there are no real winners in life.  Reading those four books taught me how to look at the human condition and what weaknesses in our society need to be repaired.

The Second Group of Favorites:

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
1984 by George Orwell

I read some great books, don't I?  I hear The Time Traveler's Wife is going to be made into a movie this coming year.  Prepare to be disappointed.  There's just no way they're going to be able to do justice to the beauty and brilliance of two people in love moving in different directions in time.  But, I'll see it anyway.  Niffenegger is also a wonderful artist.  Orwell scares me.  He was right about it all, that's what scares me.  And Heller's cynical wit, his ability to point out the absurdity of strict regulation, was so brilliant that they made an entire movie and television series (M*A*S*H) just trying to capture the mood of his greatest book.

More after the Jump 

Saturday Meme - What'd You Get For Christmas

Today's Meme is simple.  Tell us what you got for Christmas.  Play along if you want.

I got a new OU baseball cap. It's shiny and white and I'll wear it out, just like I did with the old ones.

I got a chair.  Not just any chair, I got a very comfortable office chair with full controls for position and arm movement.  It has great back support, which I really like.  I can throw away my horrible old office chair.  I've been using it for five years. I found that one on the side of the highway.

I got a $25 gift certificate to the movies.  Yay!  I love movies.

I got new Pajamas, really comfortable ones with a t-shirt style top.  They're black and white.  I'm wearing them right now.

I got a tool bag for the truck and in it is an LED Mag-light and a battery-free crank-up flashlight.  I love tools and flashlights.

I got a new wallet.  My old wallet was held together with a rubber band.  Seriously.  This one is a Swiss Army wallet.  Who knew they made such a thing.

I got a box of Candied Apples.  I don't eat candied apples.  Sugar took them to work.  People at her work seem to like candied apples.

I got a bag of M&Ms.  I like eating them while I write. 

I got a leatherman knock-off multi-tool.  I already have a real Leatherman.  I'll give this new one to Large.

I got to spend Christmas with my kids, Sugar, and her Mom.

I had a fine Christmas.

- rick, happy.

Saturday - The Visual Birthdate Meme

This is a meme that's been going around.  I first saw it on Sideon's Site. He got it from Sara Sue and she got it from Tethered Cow.  Then I saw it over at Cele's Site and at E.F's blog, but JulieAnn raised the bar by making this meme with accompanying haikus. 

Here is the meme...Go to Google Images and enter your birth date as six figures: ddmmyy (or mmddyy if you are an illogical American). Pick any five pictures from the first page of results only. Then post them somewhere we can see.

As I cannot leave a meme well enough alone, I'm going to do this one with an accompanying short work of fiction using the images as guide.  I don't know what it's going to be about . . . and neither do you.  This ought to be interesting:

There'd been no guests in and out of the motel all day.  Maggie was sure, she'd been watching it from across the street since sunrise.  She snugged her sweater around her shoulders tightly, a shield from the cold.  The flurries left a white sprinkling on the frozen ground, marking a contrast with the fake palm trees the city council had installed three years earlier; to attract tourists they'd claimed.  Maggie snorted at the thought.  Not a tourist all day, and she'd been watching. 

Maybe Debs had been mistaken, or maybe she'd just been pulling Maggie's chain.  That could be.  What would an international rock star, a punk icon, a pop god, be doing coming to Bane's Hollow?  What could he possibly do here?  There was no concert hall, no stadium, no recording studios, not even a decent drug dealer in town.  A tourist town, my ass, she thought.  She raised her cup from the holder and took a drink.  Her coffee was cold, just like her car.  She grimaced with the bitter taste of it and looked back across the street.  Still no activity.

Is it too much to ask for a little excitement around here? Maggie thought.  The chance to see Billy Idol on his pilgrimage to nowhere had kept her on this street all morning like a private eye on a fruitless stakeout.  She should have never believed Debs.  Maggie looked in her rear view mirror, then her side mirrors.  Nothing.  Pretending to take another drink of her coffee like a bluff in poker, a promise not to look, then she spun around in her seat and caught a glimpse of someone peeking around the corner of the Gulp and Drive, the local convenience store/gas station. 

Maggie turned the ignition key and the engine squealed in protest, but started with a roar.  Putting it in gear she whipped around on the street and drove to the gas station.  Pulling through the pumps she scanned the area for Debs, if that was who had been watching her.  Nothing.

She cruised on through and down the street.  The door to the flea market was closing.  Maggie double parked and ran in.  She went from stall to stall looking for her duplicitous nemesis. 

Sarge Speaks

I want to clear up a bit of confusion that you people, readers of Daddy's blog, have.  It's not that he's a liar, but he just doesn't remember details very well.  I remember details though.  He tells people that he rescued me from the shelter, but that's not the way I remember it.  That day there was a special event for all the puppies, but I was the star of the show.  There was a nice family from the suburbs with a yard and young kids and another with two other dogs and a pretty single lady who needed companionship.  They were all in line at my kennel trying to get my attention.  There was this nice elderly lady who needed my help getting around, to protect her from harm, and this young blonde boy who loved me so much he just wanted to hug me and kiss on me.  That kid drooled more than I do.  Like I said, I was the star. 

Whose choice was it really?  Daddy tells people that he came over and chose me, paid the fees, and took me home.  What really happened is that I stayed aloof from all those people because I was looking for a place where I would find the best home, where I would be the most comfortable.  Unfortunately no shepherds came looking for good herding dogs, and no dog handlers came looking for alpha males to control their dog packs.  But I did see Daddy and Sugar walking around looking for a pet, but there was something about these two that I could feel.  They didn't need a pet, they needed guidance.  Daddy was obviously in a bit of confusion.  I found out later that it was because Large, his boy wasn't with him most of the time, and he was making a big life change – going from a ton of work all over the place to working mostly from home.  He was going to be lonely and he was going to need someone to keep him on the straight and narrow.  In short, Sugar needed someone to help her take care of Daddy.  She couldn't do it all on her own.

Saturday Meme - Lifelines

This Meme comes our way courtesy of Alan the Success Warrior. 

If you were on a game show and could phone a friend for help, who would your lifelines be for sports, arts & music, literature, history and geography, and science?

Sports:   I really don't hang around with many sports-nuts anymore.  I just don't have time.  But there's a guy I worked with in Oklahoma, Mike Switzer.  If I had the option, I'd call him, he was like a walking sports encyclopedia complete with statistics calculator for a mind.
Arts & Music: When it comes to art and music, Sugar is the one I'd ask, hands down.
Literature: There's this guy in the Amazon discussion board, C McCallister.  I'd ask him.  He's also one of my Amazon profile friends.
History and Geography: That'd be Tim.  He's also a writer.  He rattles any historical events off like he'd just gotten through reading a book about it.  It was his undergraduate, then he went to law school.
Science: This one is a tie.  I'm fortunate enough to have two scientists as friends, Brian and John.

When you need someone with muscles to help you with a task, who's the first one you call.?

My brother, Jeremy.  No kidding, when you see him you'll wonder if we're really related.  His shoulders are as wide a door frame.  Now you know why I hired him to work with me.

Soon it's going to be my son, Large, upon whom I call.  He's getting bigger and stronger everyday. 

When you need some creative help with ideas for a project, who's the first person you call?

Sugar.  Not only is she beautiful and fashionable, but she's an artist and she gets paid very well in an advertising agency for creativity and bringing ideas into reality.

Following close behind is my daughter, Medium.  She's responsible for the title graphic on this blog and is creative, artistic, musical . . . oh, and talented.

When you have a moral dilemma and need advice, on whom do you rely the most?

There are two people I feel comfortable calling in moral situations.  Here in Minneapolis, I call John.  He's the most honest, trustworthy person I know.  He would've made a much better boy scout than I did .  .. except that he's gay and it's a totally homophobic organization.  In our group of friends, John is the one we always turn to when we want an objective opinion or ruling.  We always consider his as the final word.

I also call Alan.  He's got a unique ability to see right through all the bullshit to the core of the problem and restate simply.  Once he boils it down, the answer is much easier.

When you need to know the best way to get somewhere, which of your directionally-gifted friends do you call upon first?

Google Maps.

Saturday Meme

As many of you know, I listen to audiobooks while I work.  I listen to a lot of audiobooks, in fact.  When I have time I review the books I listen to, but this work season I've had no time for both this blog and the review blog.  So, I'm going to list each book I've listened to in the past few months and give you a brief impression.  This will do until I can write a true review.  You'll notice that I recommend most of the books on this list - that's because I put all my books in order of what I anticipated liking the most.  It's my work season, and I wanted to enjoy it.  Another thing you'll notice is that I listened to a lot of first books in series without the rest of the series.  When I structured my queue I started with a lot of firsts, with the understanding that if I liked them, I'd put the rest of the books in line for next year.  I didn't want to be stuck listening to a five book series and not enjoying it. 

Also, in between every two audiobooks I also listen to an episode of This American Life.  I'm not going to list all those. 

How is this a meme you might ask.  What I'm asking you to do is to list the books you've read in the same amount of time (four months) or year if you prefer.  Or just read this list, enjoy it, and leave a comment.  It's an ambitious meme, so here goes:

Title:  You Suck, A Love Story
Author:  Christopher Moore
Playing Time (hour:minute:second):  7:45:47

One Sentence Synopsis: Vampires in love and on the run.

Summary:  Moore writes clever, fast dialogue and weaves the most improbable plot twists into a manageable story that pokes fun at itself and at the reader.  I recommend it.  It was a nice break from more serious fare.

Recommend:  Yes

Title:  Strangers on a Train
Author:  Patricia Highsmith
Playing Time (hour:minute:second):  9:27:06

One Sentence Synopsis: Disgruntled strangers meet and agree to do each others morbid dirty work.

Summary:  It's a nicely written story and kept me interested, but the plot was somewhat forced.  I felt like the pieces were too carefully assembled without any randomness that would give it a real-to-life feel.

Recommend: I'm in the middle, between yes and no on this one.

Title:  Going After Cacciato
Author:  Tim O'Brien
Playing Time (hour:minute:second):  3:02:21

One Sentence Synopsis: A soldier decides to walk away from the war and toward Paris.

Summary:  This has the mood of soldiers wanting out of an unpopular war.  It doesn't take much to send them over the top, or over the wall for that matter.  It's an against-all-odds trek through a surreal landscape that every warrior takes in his daydreams.

Recommend:  Yes

Title:  Bliss
Author:  O.Z. Livaneli
Playing Time (hour:minute:second):  9:03:28

One Sentence Synopsis: The book is a question: should religious murders be tolerated?

Summary:  It's less a book than a novel-length lecture on morality.  Yes, I agree that women shouldn't be below men and shouldn't be murdered if they shame the family.  I even deny the concept of shame.  But I don't need to be beaten over the head with it.

Recommend:  No

many more after the jump

My Secret Identity Explained

I tell you people a lot about me and my past, more than I've told anyone before in real life or in letters.  But what I don't tell you is who I am now and what I do, and I'm going to tell you why.

In the mid-90's I was bearing an excruciating schedule.  Between full-time work, raising a son, and taking a full course load in grad school at the University of Oklahoma, I had all I could handle.  Sometimes late at night I needed some mind-numbing entertainment, so I'd log into my dial-up connection, route through the University server, and enter IRC, or Internet Relay Chat.  There I'd chat with all kinds of people about anything but school and work.  It was a good break.

One of my favorite topics then, as well as now, was politics.  And I'd discuss politics as it related to my own time in the military.  Unfortunately some people don't like disagreement and hate hearing the truth when it disputes their own beliefs.  I met one of these people online.  He was adamantly pro-military, pro-war, and anti-Clinton.  He refused to believe anything I told him about my military service or my personal experience.  My big mistake was not using a creative handle, instead preferring my real name.

I received a phone call.  It was my Company Commander.  I'd been a civilian for five years, and my commander was on the line.  "Do you know a man named Adam Monroy?" he asked.

"No, sir," I said.

"He claims to know you and he's spending a lot of time asking about you."

"Excuse me?"

Saturday Meme: Rereading Books

Costa, the fastest growing coffee shop chain in Britain released a survey showing the habits of readers.  77% of British readers enjoed a book so much that they reread it, and then the survey went on to list the 20 most ReRead books. 

This meme centers on that list.  The object:  For each of these books, tell us whether you've read it, enjoyed it, and whether you enjoyed it so much that you read it more than once.  At the end tell us which three books, on the list or not, that you've reread more than any others.

1.                   The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling -
I've read the first two, one time each.  Good?  Sure, but just not that good that I'd take the time to read them again. Hell, I haven't even taken the time to finish the series.

2.                   The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Yes, I've read it.  Five or six times.  It's the model for all quest fantasy stories, and it's still the best one of the lot.   

3.                   Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Tried to read it, but I couldn't get through it.  Maybe I'll put it on my audio list.

4.                   The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
I read it a couple of times, but it's a kids story - like a warm up for Tolkien while he figured out how to write the good one - LOTR.

5.                   Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
I read it once.  So-so.  I know you'll castigate me for that and tell me how wonderful it is and how moving and earth shattering and whatnot.  But guess what?  I have a penis.  Enough said.

6.                   1984 by George Orwell
Oh yeah.  I've read it six times I believe.  I think the Bush administration uses it as a Bible.  It's everything about controlling opinion and eliminating dissent.

Saturday Meme - 5 Reasons Why I Blog

This one went around a while back . . . and I liked it, but was adverse to forced tagging, so I didn't participate then.  Without further introduction,

5 Reasons Why I Blog

#1 - It's About The Writing. 
I developed some bad habits when it came to my writing.  For one I often fail to finish the stories that I start.  I won't finish them because they don't sound right or because I lose interest or because it's too hard.  In fact, toss a reason my way and I will use it shamelessly.  The thing about this blog is that I am finishing my stories.  I feel the deadline and I work to it well.  You people, the readers, have come to expect the stories to continue and the tension to ramp up and to click in and eventually find an ending.  Even though these stories are rough, with mistakes in grammar and spelling, I'm still getting them written, and completed.  It feels good and it keeps me in the habit of writing.  You just wait till winter and you'll see some output . . . I'm going to be a writing machine.

#2 - It's a Journal.
I have started several journals over the past decade and a half.  They've all started as letters to my son (you know him as Large).  I never kept up with them, but this blog is in many ways that letter that I was trying to write.  This is an open look into who I am, who I was, and how I changed from then to now.  I've saved it all to files and in the future if he's ever curious about what I've done and why, or even what I was thinking about, it's all right here for him to look through.  It's my goal for him to get to know who his father is outside of the parent role than most children get.  In a way this blog is dedicated to him.

#3 - I'm Trying to Develop a Reading Audience.
When I get a book published, I want to be able to show the publisher some statistics from this blog and be able to say, "I'm bringing guaranteed sales to the table."  The more readers I have online, the less of a risk it will be to publish my writing in book form.  It's not any easier than the traditional method of breaking in because in order to increase my readership online I'm going to have to produce interesting, engaging content that brings people back day after day.

#4 - Feedback.
I like the feedback.  I enjoy seeing what works and what doesn't, what styles and devices garner the most interest, the most comments.  It's more of a group endeavor than the solitary act of writing by myself for months on end and then mailing the manuscripts around and receiving impersonal form-letter rejections.  Here I know what was good and what wasn't and I know why.

#5 - Community.
By reading other people's blogs and having them read mine we're developing a community that's more personal than most real life acquaintances.  Let's face it, you people know more about me than almost anyone.  Even Sugar's learned new things about me from reading this blog.  It's a much different connection, one that hearkens back to the days of the personal, handwritten letter.

And that's why I blog.
Your turn
if you want.

Saturday Meme – Top Five Quits

I've always heard that quitters are weak, awful, horrible people.  Quitters never prosper, right?  But is that true?  I say it isn't.  This week I put some older episodes of This American Life on my mp3 player, in between the audiobooks, and this one came up.  It got me thinking about quitting and what I've quit in my life . . . and whether those quits were good or bad. 

The challenge?  List all the most memorable things you've quit and tell us a little about them.  I don't “Tag” people, so participation is voluntary.  Let's see what you've quit.

Piano Lessons:

My mother can play the piano.  Her whole family is musically inclined.  Uncle Don and Uncle Larry both play guitar, piano, drums, and other instruments and they've been in bands since they were kids.  They're still doing paying gigs in the Minot, North Dakota area every weekend.

My father can't play a car radio with any degree of competence.  No one in his huge family shows the slightest inkling of musical talent.  When it comes to music, this is the side of the family I take after.  That didn't deter my father from projecting his own vision of success on me, his oldest son. 

He imagined me on a Mormon mission in a South American jungle, cutting a clearing, building a chapel, baptizing hundreds of formerly naked natives, and then leaping to the organ and playing inspirational hymn after inspirational hymn.  In his vision, I don't know how the organ made the trek from civilization to the malaria-plagued viral soup clearing I was standing in.  Perhaps I carried it in on my back while hacking my own jungle path with machete in one hand, Book of Mormon in the other. 

Eight years I took piano lessons. Military base after military base, nearly a dozen different teachers, forced daily practice sessions.  For me it was just memorizing notes on a page and plunking them in the right order.  Oh, and hoping I held it down for the right amount of time.  I can still read music – if reading music means passing a quiz with questions like what note is this and what does this symbol mean.  And, if I have the sheet music in front of me I can play Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on a keyboard.

I hated every second of piano and there's no way I would've ever been competent at it.  It just wasn't possible.  I begged to quit for years and years.  I begged my piano teachers to let me quit.  I heard my mother and father argue about money.  Actually they were arguing about not having any money.  I offered to quit piano lessons because it was a luxury we couldn't afford.  Alas, they wouldn't listen. 

Finally I convinced Sister Erickson to talk to my parents.  We agreed that brutal honesty was best.  She told my mom that I had no talent, that there wasn't anything she could do to overcome my tone deafness, and that giving me lessons was about as beneficial as getting our cat to walk over the keys in the right order. 

It was my first major quit and such a relief. 

Saturday Meme - The Greatest

This one is from Cele.  It's all about the greatest of each thing.

The Fine Print:
Here are the rules: Copy the meme listed below to your blog and answer the 10 questions. At the end of the questions, add one more question of your making. Let's see where this goes! Enjoy!Oh, please note: These don't necessarily have to be the greatest of all time ever. It could be the greatest whatever at this moment in your life. What's great today, might not be tomorrow. I'm as interested in the present as I am in all time, if you will!****

In your opinion, this is the greatest...
1. Book
2. Song
3. Movie
4. T.V. Show
5. Place to live
6. Place to visit
7. Place to eat
8. Fruit/Vegetable
9. Chocolate
10. Quality I Possess

Saturday Meme - Thirteen Firsts

1. First day of school.
I got in trouble.  I don't remember kindergarten, I think I didn't even go, but in first grade the American school nearby was also a Catholic school.  Even though we weren't Catholic, I went.  I wasn't paying attention and wouldn't sit in my seat.  I kept getting up and walking around.  Finally, while I was looking at what was pinned on the bulletin board, Sister Whateverhernamewas pulled me over to my chair by my ear and told me that I'd have to stay after school.  It wasn't until I was told I had to stay there late that I cried.
2. First kiss.
She was blonde and really flirty.  I didn't know what the hell I was doing.  I think I was twelve years old.  She dared me to go into the dark closet and close the door.  Then she asked me what it was like.  Then she dared me to go into the closet with her and close the door.  Next thing I know she's kissing me.  I liked it. 
3. First date.
It was a secret date.  I had a part-time job as a whistle-blowing attendant at a roller skating rink.  I told my parents I had to work on Friday night, but I didn't.  I met this cute Asian girl from school at the rink and we couple skated to Foreigner.  Her name was Tipwan.  She kissed me and said she had fun.
4. First car.
My first car was a little red Dodge Colt.  It was tiny.  I didn't think it was cool enough, so a year later I bought a 1969 Pontiac Custom SS. That car was fast and loud.  It was two-tone:  Primer and rust.  I blew a rod on the interstate between Boise and Twin Falls, Idaho.  I sold it to the tow truck driver for fifty bucks and a ride back home.  I went back to driving the Colt.
5. First time---
believe it or not, as much a cliche as it sounds, she was a Mormon Bishop's daughter.  We did it in the back of a station wagon.  She had a condom, showed me how to use it and everything. 

Saturday Meme - Generations

This Meme is another from Brahnamin, the Cat Juggler.  The idea behind it, as described in the original is "describe things from your generation, your parents' generation, and your grandparents' generation." 

War

1. my generation believes that war is a video game or television sporting match.  you watch it when it's on, and you root on your side, or your buddies, but then you might have to go to the mall or get your butt waxed, then it's okay just to forget it.  it's not real, it doesn't cost anything, and your commitment only extends to supporting your team - for or against - with your tongue and lips.
2. my parent's generation was engaged in war.  when they were against it, they protested, draft dodged, and risked jail, or death (Kent State).  when they were for it, they were willing to volunteer, finance it, and accept the news each night with names and photos of the dead.
3. my grandparent's generation was directly involved in the war.  it wasn't a game to them, it wasn't lip service.  they lost family members, they lost fathers, sons, brothers.  they sacrificed money, took horrible jobs to support the war, and participated in levels from civil service drills and sharing the work to conservation and rationing.

Communication

1. my generation texts with a ferocity, expecting instantaneous communique, immediate response.  my generation wants everyone to know what they're doing every moment on twitter.  my generation can personalize a message to twenty closest friends through a quick, 'want to hook up' blurb. 
2. my parent's generation had cheap and easy long distance.  they could talk to anyone, anywhere, and make connection that would span distance.  my parents considered a two thousand mile drive a road trip - it was exciting to embark on interstate travel.  books were written about it, responsibility shirked, post-war freedom reigned. 
3. my grandparent's generation wrote letters.  they poured out what they felt into beautiful prose and then waited weeks for a response.  they had time to consider all the ramifications of their words and thus spoke more carefully, more cautiously.

Saturday Meme - Cat and Mouse

Brahmamin of Juggling Cats was interviewed by Red of drPepperIsGood4theSoul in a chain I call The Sisyphus Interviews. 

In turn, he asked if I wanted to be interviewed and I agreed.  In the process, however, he turned my level of the interview cascade into a Meme . . . a really good Meme. 

Since he calls his memes c a t & m o u s e, that's what I'm going to call this interview meme.  And, as you can tell, I'm keeping his formatting theme. 

1. give us the story behind the name of your blog.

I joined the online community, Tribe.net, back in 2003 because my gf was frustrated by some of the participants.  In political forums (argument rooms) there were some pro-war conservatives who'd continually berate the more liberal members, claiming that they didn't understand the military or the hazards of the world and couldn't, therefore, render any judgment on such topics.  The worst of these ignorant people is a pseudo-musician named Seth Swirsky, by the way.

I joined with the moniker, Combat Veteran, and proceeded to throw the conventions into the refuse heap.  Soon I shortened it to CV, added my real name, and CV Rick is born. 

Then, one day I found a new way to write.  At my computer, with a blindfold.  My son, Large, saw this and exclaimed, "You're a ninja writer, Dad."  Then he made fun of me for it, and hasn't stopped.  (Here's more Ninja Writing detail)

Saturday Meme - 49 Questions

From Cele and Sister Mary Lisa -

1. What time did you get up this morning?
6:30.  Well, that's what time I awoke this morning, but I'm writing this on a Tuesday so who knows what time I awoke on the day this posted . . . surely AFTER it posts.

2. How do you like your steak?
   Medium rare to rare.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Die Hard 4 - Live Free or Die Hard.  I saw it with Large the night before he left.  It was a great guy film - it made little sense, had a lot of explosions, and the good guy wins in the end.

4. What is your favorite TV show?
   Heroes.  It's a complete comic superhero story told on television - told better than any attempt in the past, including Greatest American Hero.

5. What did you have for breakfast?
Homemade Breakfast Burrito and Orange Juice.

6. What is your middle name?
   Theron

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Sushi.  But for a total cuisine, I'll take Cajun - - give me some Jambalaya, please.

Saturday Meme - 10 Jobs I Don't Want

This one is from Cele.  It's the ten jobs I don't want.  And by the way, the poster is from Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe.  It's one of the best real shows I've seen.

#1 Engineer.  I have been an engineer, I have worked around engineers, I have thought like engineers.  Let me tell you about being "white collar" and being treated like a piece of machinery.  Hundred hour weeks, night after night after night in hotels in awful places around the country.  They've quantified the engineer's work into manageable bites so carefully that companies know how many keystrokes on a computer a certain kind of calculation is supposed to take, how much time a drawing is allowed for completion, and exactly kind of results and answers are to be expected.  Combine that with outsourcing, engineering is one of the most under appreciated, automated rote task by task examples of drudgery on the planet.  Why would anyone ever go to college to become something that actually has decreasing job value and wages?  Forget it.

#2 Human Resources.  You can have it.  I don't like paperwork in the first place.  I'm not fond of people in the second.  And the last thing in this world I want to be responsible for is people's problems.  What kind of hell would that be?

#3 Any job that requires me to be in a cubicle.  I don't want to work on decorating my little slice of upholstered wall in order to give it unauthorized personality.  Been there, done that.  Want to know why I laugh so hard at The Office?  Because it's all factual . . . that show isn't a stretch in any direction. 

#4 Cop.  All respect to Alan, but I couldn't do it.  I don't want to exert any authority over people to obey the little things in life, like parking and traffic laws.  I can understand protecting people from violence and arrested those who commit violent crimes, but searching and cuffing a pot smoker?  No thank you.  It's just not the Protect and Serve occupation I'd imagine is needed.

six more after the jump

What Mythological Creature Am I?

I'm sorry about this, but the Story of the Vase is going to be delayed for one day because too many things came up this weekend for me to finish it.  Instead, I'm bringing you a survey that I took some time ago and am just now posting.  Please take it yourself and post your results in the comments. 

Thanks,

- rick, off schedule.

You scored as WereWolf, WereWolf:  Craving rare Meat, feeling caged, aggitated by being around people. Unable to control one's anger or temper. The person will give off symptoms of the shift. They will seem more hostile, blood thirsty, aggitated. They may even growl, bare their teeth or other animal like tendencies. In rare cases, some will physically change. Facial hair will grow thicker or darker, nails will become longer, canine's will seem longer. Embrace your wild side, for you are The Misunderstood WereWolf. WereWolf 67% Demon 58% Faerie 50% Mermaid 50% Angel 33% Dragon 25% What Mythological Creature are you? (Cool Pics!) created with QuizFarm.com

Saturday Meme - I Dare You

This is courtesy Juggling Cats.

name one thing you would not do for any amount of money

Take a job where I had to work in a cubicle.  There isn't enough money on earth to return to that.  (apologies to the cubicle warriors reading my blog.)

what is the most embarrassing dare you ever accepted?

I was once in the Boundary Waters and I was dared to skinny dip out to the rocky point near our campsite.  A bunch of other boy scouts around, I thought nothing of it and so out I swam. 

That's when I discovered that Bobby had been watching the lake with binoculars.  Timed perfectly, a group of women canoers were passing the point.  They started by laughing and then talking to me.  I had nothing to do but tread water butt naked and tell them about the water temperature.  (There was Shrinkage, I swear). 

spin the bottle / truth or dare - what was your raciest experience?

It was the "go to the closet and make out" variety of spin the bottle.  I ended up in the closet with Debby who played Bassoon in the school band.  I found out that she had a crush on me by the hand rubbing my crotch while we made out.  We ended up going out for a couple of months.

what was the most dangerous dare you ever accepted?

I tied myself to a canoe filled with rocks and went through some class 5 rapids.  Yes, yes, I did.  I wrote about it and you can read it here.  I didn't put the part about the Dare in that story, but the whole thing started with some of us boys sitting around in Priesthood Meeting (yes, we were Mormons and boys did hold what they call the Aaronic Priesthood).  Little R, who was the most adventurous of the older boys was telling about his canoe trip down those rapids and I said, "I could do that." and he uttered those devastating words, "I dare you."

did you ever refuse a dare that you later wished you hadn’t?

I've refused dares, but none that I regret.  Mostly just ones that would have been either lame or deadly.

are you the sort of person who just can’t turn down a dare?

Nope.  But I love people who are.

Saturday Meme - Google Photo

This is from the Cat Juggler, brahnamin. 

rules i am following -

• go to goooogle images
• type in your name
• post interesting image (with link) discovered during this search

Saturday Meme - 10 Weird Things

10 Weird Things

Cele tagged me with this one a while back. 

I'll jump right in . . .

One: I think in numbers.  A lot of people come up with lists or things to remember or think about that involve numbers, but I really do think in numerics.  I'll let my mind wander and strings of numbers – 17 92 12 148,000 – will just stroll through my mind.  Sometimes I say, “Wow” when a particular combination of numbers intrigues me.  Someone around will ask, “What?” and I'll make up something interesting that caught my attention rather than saying, “Numbers that begin and end in nine are cool to visualize.”

I rarely use a calculator for basic math functions.  I figure out gas mileage, sales tax (7.15%), and the cost of what's in my cart at the grocery store in my head.  I can also pretty well calculate the odds of a blackjack hand or a spin of the Roulette Wheel even though I almost never gamble.

Two:  In fourth grade I had a friend named Aaron who was the smartest kid in the whole school.  His dad was an officer so their house had an attached garage and that garage was completely empty – something I couldn't fathom because every square inch of space where we lived was filled with some kind of junk, boxes, or Food Storage.  Aaron and I went to the library and checked out every book we could find on mysteries – Loch Ness, Bigfoot, Bermuda Triangle, Aliens – and formed a club dedicated to solving all the world's mysteries.  We wrote out elaborate explanations for every one of them and then closed the club because there wasn't anything left to solve.

Saturday Meme - Six Words

Six Words about me.

Pomp issued the six-word challenge, and I accept.  I usually accept challenges because I'm confident I'll be able to meet them.  I suppose that makes me

ARROGANT

I grew up moving from place to place so often that being the new kid was just a part of life.  I had to be tough enough to gain the respect of the other boys and interesting enough to be accepted quickly.  Being shy I accomplished this acceptance by figuring out what the current amusement was and mastering it.  I've always been a quick study.  Saying, “I can do that.” and then doing it is arrogant.  Guilty as charged.

The real way I mastered so many things, from Juggling to Shortwave Broadcasting was that I am able to dissect a skill into manageable segments and then teach myself more quickly. It's a result of me being so

ANALYTICAL

Saturday Meme - 8 Random Facts

This one is from Graeme, he posted it on the 7th.

8 Random Facts:

#1 I'm afraid of snakes.  Once while I was moving sprinkler pipe (a terrible job seemingly exclusive to Southeast Idaho Potato Farms) a large rattler was coiled against the spigot and I didn't notice until we were face to face.  Another time while canoing in the Daniel Boone national forest in Kentucky a Moccasin dropped into my canoe from an overhanging tree branch and thrashed around a bit.  Finally while working in Phoenix I found an entire sidewinder nest under a piece of plywood in the desert.  I'll blog about those incidents in more detail someday, but suffice it to say, I'm afraid of snakes.

#2 I believe I have some negative electronic energy mojo.  I can't keep a desktop computer working - there's always something wrong with it, batteries last only half as long as they are supposed to in my gadgets, the real reason I don't own a camera is that every camera I've ever owned has become nonfunctional in just a few months.  Even my truck has random electrical bullshit problems that the mechanics can't seem to pin down. 

#3 I've only ever really had one nightmare that I can remember.  It's the same nightmare and it happens several times a year.  It's the exact same dream I've been having since I was 5 years old and it scares the piss out of me to this day.  I'll write it up completely someday, but it involves me as a little boy being chased by some lunatic on a motorcycle.

#4  While I don't believe in God or creationism, I do believe that there is a web of consciousness that we are all part of and that this subconscious or metaconscious field is the connections between people (and other sentient animals) explains a lot of sixth sense and paranormal mysteries.  When humans uncover this web, we'll begin to solve the problems of disease, discomfort and purpose that confounds our civilization.

A Literary Meme

I've seen this one going around the internet on occasion.  I don't know where I last saw it, so I can't give proper credit.

The rules are:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don’t you dare dig for that “cool” or “intellectual” book on your shelf.  Don't go to the other room to find that old textbook. I know you were thinking about it. Just pick up whatever is closest.

Here is mine…

“His novels are 'composed for him by an electronic brain called Charlie.'

Does Snow speak then as a scientist?  He says so, but there's no evidence of 'qualities that one might set to the credit of a scientific training. . . .' One the contrary, Snow lacks 'the advantage of an intellectual discipline of any kind.'”

This is from a book I recently finished by Anthony Arthur, entitled Literary Feuds: A Century of Celebrated Quarrels - From Mark Twain to Tom Wolfe.  It's a good book and that passage is from the C.P. Snow vs F.R. Leavis section which, unfortunately is the most uninteresting section in the book.

I don't tag people, but please, feel free.

Rick, literary

Saturday Meme - Tools

Where is your hammer and what did you last use it for?

It's in the toolbox of the truck.  There's actually four of them. There's a ball-peen hammer, a claw hammer, a rubber mallet and a small sledge.  The last one I used was the mallet and I used it to tap together the frame of one of my client's double-hung windows.

What is your everyday cutlery like?

I have one really nice large kitchen knife.  The rest (and there are at least twenty) of the knives are mismatched and crappy.  I love my regular knife, black-handled and sharp.  I wish I had the knife I used when I lived in Korea.  It was large like this one, but had a super-heavy handle with a flat handle end with crosshatching.  It was perfect for crushing garlic.

What are you using for a toothbrush?

A damned toothbrush, fool.  What is that question?  Success Warrior, whomever you got this meme from was not paying attention to their oral hygiene.

What are you using for a toothbrush?

A damned toothbrush, fool.  What is that question?  Success Warrior, whomever you got this meme from was not paying attention to their oral hygiene.

Saturday Meme

Give Me Five

What were you doing 10 years ago.
I was settling down to life in a new place, Minneapolis.  Due to some rather unfortunate events and a horrible relationship with my ex-wife, I'd conducted a job search out of Oklahoma and found an engineering company in Minneapolis that wanted me, would pay me 30% more than I was making, and would pay for my move and three months worth of housing while I settled here.  It was exciting, discovering a new city and searching for an apartment while being hurled into the middle of five emergency projects complete with site visits all over the country. 

I'm glad I moved here.  I'm glad I quit that job.

Five Snacks You Enjoy:
1.  Ice Cream
2. Chocolate Chip Cookies
3. Oreos
4. M&M's
5. Brownies without nuts

Five Songs That You Know All The Lyrics To:
1. When Doves Cry
2. Imagine
3. Personal Jesus
4. Back in Black
5. The Message

Saturday Meme

link 5 posts from your blog that you particularly enjoy or are proud of

 Life Without Big Government

Past Lives

The Flight

Tool Envy 

Religious Addiction
 

top 4 reads on your blogroll

Success Warrior

Sister Mary Lisa

Ravings of a Semi-Sane Madwoman

Angry Young Man

3 things your readers need to know about you if they are to have any hope understanding your blog

I'll tell you more here than I'd ever say in person.

I'm not a nice guy, I'm sincere and place honor above anything, but that doesn't make me nice.

I despise cowards.

2 things you refuse to blog about

Our Relationship

Your Feelings

your blog in a nutshell

This is the story behind the story of all the people I've known and things I've done in my unique life - across continents, through careers, and with the women I've loved (or lusted over).

sometimes sad,

sometimes funny,

and often unflattering to the author.

What is Success to Me

Success Warrior issued a challenge.  Each person to define success as they perceive it.  This is my attempt to meet that challenge.

What is Success? 

Everyone is going to define success differently and that definition is going to change as one's priorities change.  I'm going to define success through people I've known or know through a degree of separation.

I know of a woman who has defined success as power, fame, and influence.  To her there is no higher pinnacle of success than to be living in the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C.  To that end she's demanded her husband become president of the United States . . . she doesn't care about his character, his infidelities, or the deals he'll have to make to get there.  He's a Senator now, with lofty ambitions. Nothing less than President will do however.  For her that is success.

I know a man who has lived an interesting life.  He has children and grandchildren and loves nothing more than putting interesting debris together in beautiful patterns that he calls art.  He's not a wealthy man, nor particularly secure, but every day he can work on his art is a day of success in his life.