Wheels, Writing and Weekends

The word of the week is fecundity.

June 27 – IMAX... at home?

Who wouldn't want a home theatre?

Better question: who wouldn't want a home theatre made by none other than IMAX?

The question to ask yourself then is: how much would THAT cost? Answer: about $400K USD, and that's for a basic model.

The thing about home theatres is that they're all customized according to the whims of the person having them installed. Who also is paying for everything in the end, so it only makes sense that things are customized.

Yet a custom home theater couldn't get an IMAX experience, until now.

Personally, after taking a look at the IMAX Private Theatre site, I wonder if it's not smarter to ask oneself a different question:

Who wouldn't want a theatre as a home? You could spend about $400,000 or so to build an IMAX Home Theatre, with another $100,000 to add a house to it. All you really need would be a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom and a little bit of storage, with maybe some outside space when you emerge from your IMAX caved to look at the real world once in a while. With today's houses costing an average of half a million dollars anyway, it only seems reasonable, if you have the cash.

Too bad real life isn't like the movies in that regard.

June 28 –  Dark Crystal Anew!

Two and a half years ago, entered a contest: The Dark Crystal AuthorQuest.

While I didn't end up getting the top prize, I did make quite a few friends and placed favorably, being a Top 20 Editor's Pick out of the almost 500 entries - not too shabby at all, in my humble opinion.

The winner of the contest, Joseph M. Lee, went on to write the official prequel novel to The Dark Crystal, which was released today, I'm happy to say!

Can you spot me in the audience? Hint: I'm wearing a vest...

Shadows Of The Dark Crystal is the first of a planned four book series aimed at young adults by Jim Henson Ltd, which brings a smile to my face. Being able to read more about one of my favorite fantasy franchises all these decades later is wondrous, and as a bonus I am privileged to be able to communicate regularly with the author gifted with that honor.

It's been illuminating to be able to see a bit of the process from the inside, and to get some feedback on my own AuthorQuest submission from J.M. Lee. I understand now why my piece wasn't chosen by the Hensons: it wasn't as YA-friendly as J.M. Lee's was, going to a more detailed and darker place then they had envisioned for the revival of The Dark Crystal franchise.

I'm eager to get my hands on a copy of Shadows to read over the summer, so that I can see for myself in print what wonderful things my friend is done with the beloved world I remember from my childhood. You can read a lovely interview with him here, where he talks about the process of adjusting his writing to create a world that met with the approval of the Hensons - fascinating stuff!

Some days it's really good to be a writer!

June 29 – What Might I Make?

On the topic of writing: what do writers make, on average?

It's a harder question answer than you might think, as the publishing industry has changed almost unrecognizably over the last decade due to the dual rise of e-books and self-publishing.

It used to be that there is only one route to becoming a Real Author: write something Good and True, then submit it to one of the Big 5 publishing houses and hope that someone noticed how Good your book was. Then along comes a Contract( hopefully with favorable terms ) and with that just wait for the book sales numbers to start rolling in. With luck, your sales figures would mean that you could just keep writing and not have to worry about holding down a job any longer..

Nowadays, that's all been turned on its head.

There's a TON more data available in the last five years to everyone involved in making books than there ever has been before, and it's illuminating to see how much things have changed from the traditional publishing model.

For starters, independent authors can make as good( or quite often even better )a living writing and selling their own books - ebooks and print both. That's a stunning revelation, because if you sell your own books, then you don't have to worry about the convoluted accounting policies of publishers that may result in you getting only pennies per book that is sold: you are in control of how much money you make based on what you sell your books for and how you market them. In essence: you are your own best friend, because the harder you work to sell your books, the more you will make if you're smart about how you do it.

It's not all roses, however. According to various data sources, the vast majority of writers out there don't make enough money to live off of independent of any other sources of income. They may make enough to supplement their day jobs, but in effect they're working a second job by choosing to write, and that's only as good as the amount of time they can put into it while still being efficient in what they produce. Being too tired to write means that what comes out isn't good work.

Still, I'm quite hopeful: I have good work coming out of my writerly mind and I'm getting a better picture of what to do with it with every passing day as I do my research diligence on the business end of writing. It's scary, but I'm certainly not going to be going into this completely blind: it's great to see that there's so many options opening up and I can choose the best one for what my work represents.

It's an exciting time to be a writer!

June 30 – Driving Innovation

Can tires ever be cool?

Sure, I don't own a car, but being the in the scifi-writing business, I always appreciate new concepts and ideas about the future. Who doesn't like thinking about that sort of thing?

Goodyear has come up with an interesting concept called the Eagle-360, the tire unlike any other that you might have seen. For one thing, it's a sphere - have a look:

This tire was first conceptualized in the film I, Robot, giving the ground vehicles in it unprecedented mobility and control. I love the idea of magnetic levitation, as that also adds a controllable aspect to driving we've not seen as yet in vehicles. If cars in 10 years switched over to this system, I'd be sorely tempted to get one just for the fun factor alone.

Plus, it just looks really, really cool...

July 1 – Celebrate!

It's Canada Day again!

Every year on this day, I give quiet thanks for being lucky enough to have been born and raised in this amazing country. I'm grateful that I have had so many opportunities to experience other cultures and peoples existing together peacefully within the borders of Canada while celebrating their differences.

Canada is a delightful country, with all its distinctive regions. Below is a comedic look at how we all get along as Canadians in our own unique ways:

Today I spent my time in two places. First off, my lady and I attended a quiet celebration at one of her friends houses, as part of her poetry group. It was in a quiet suburb off the beaten path of the main roads of Victoria, and we spent a few delightful hours ensconced in a sunroom looking out at the perfect writers backyard: full of plants and overlooked by majestically tall trees of a ravine beyond.

In the evening, we traveled out to a friend's place in Sooke, to bask in the perfect outdoor temperatures of a backyard barbecue. It was nothing like last year's oven-like experience, as moisture-laden clouds drifted through the trees from the nearby ocean to mist the area with their cool kisses on the skin. Delightful! We had a great time catching up with all of our g33ky friends, and I ended up heading home with a box of some old Star Wars toys that my friend was clearing out of his storage area to make some room. How could I say no?

What better way to end the holiday then with Star Wars gifts, I ask you?

July 2 – Whew!

It was quite a busy day for me!

As was the weekend, I got quite a few things done around the house, as it is my wont to do. Working during the week as I must, my evenings are usually split between relaxation and writing, with not a lot of time to catch up on other things that need doing, like organizing, shopping or other general household tasks. Yesterday, I had someone come by the house to clean as I have for the last few months to do some cleaning, which freed me up to do my own tasks - well worth the minor cost and it gives them a boost to their own business as well.

It felt good to get things done.

In the evening, my lady and I attended a charity dinner at a local high school. A good friend of mine was the head chef in charge and made a magnificent showing, with perfectly-cooked roast beef, mashed potatoes and tons of Caesar salad. The evening's entertainment was also fun, with multiculural dancers and a choir singing. We stayed for about 3 hours total, but I had to leave as my headache was getting worse, despite earplugs lessening the din, which at times reached 89 dB - gymnasiums aren't exactly quiet spaces when packed with 400 people for dinner!

July 3 – Relax...

I didn't get up to much today, which was nice.

Having had a 4-day weekend with three very full days, it was nice to just spend the afternoon not doing too much of import. I ended up catching up on a few more episodes of the computer-animated Clone Wars TV series, which was recently made available on NetFlix.

Originally, I had little interest in watching the series when it first came out in 2008 as it seemed rather childish to me at the time. However, I went back for a look at it t earlier his year for a few episodes and realize that it had a depth of writing that wasn't apparent in the first two episodes I'd seen back in 2008.

Have a look at this clip and see for yourself. It's where Asajj Ventress, a Sith Assassin who has lost her way, falls in with a group of bounty hunters who include a familiar face. It's quite good, and I'm impressed that such a long original-material SW clip has stayed up on YouTube for over 3 months:

Other than that, it was a typical Sunday in that I started writing my blog around dinnertime and put the finishing touches on it well before 8 PM. I think that's going to be pretty standard for the next six months at least, as it allows me to wind down for a few hours afterwards and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Heck, I may even get up early to write at this rate!

I've had a lingering headache for the entire long weekend, which has been somewhat frustrating. The weather hasn't really changed, apart from some rain on Friday, so I've no real idea as to why I've had to pop a few headache tablets every day to keep it under control. Hopefully it's just the slightly higher air pressure - and a REALLY windy weekend - that's been holding steady and as of Sunday night. It's more of a headache-echo than a real headache, which is something I'm grateful for.

Filters, Fine Finds, Fun and Fools

The word of the week is execrable.

June 20 – VR Phones?

My VR headset arrived today!

Before you think I'm crazy, this isn't 'true' VR* virtual-reality costing thousands, but rather a headset designed to hold a smart phone in front of your eyes, like so:

This model even came with a remote!

By using a smart phone, one can get around( to some degree )the need for some rather expensive hardware to experience VR. Smart phones these days are powerful enough to provide a decent viewing experience and combined with the motion sensors they already possess, it's a relatively easy thing to do. And at a mere $25 for the headset( purchased after much research and good reviews ) it was time for me to get one.

Unfortunately, at the moment there's not a whole lot of good VR apps out there, and the ones that do exist don't always play nicely with different models of phones: there's no set 'standard' for this kind of VR yet, only approximations designed to work with as many models of phones as possible.

It's a distraction for me at this point, but I'm hoping that it will eventually turn into a tool I can use for my business. Being able to model parts in 3-D might come in handy, along with other tasks and I'm certainly open to discovering new things that I can do with this gear. So far, the experiment seemed to be working decently well: everything seems to run smoothly in terms of frame rate and that's key.

Hopefully the usefulness will come sooner rather than later.

June 21 –  Nose Smoke?

Smoke really bothers me, especially when I can't escape it.

Aside from the ever present stench in my building's hallway from my next-door neighbor, I run into cigarette smoke every single time I'm out walking in the city.

Every time.

It's a migraine trigger for me, unfortunately and so just as I do in my building's hallway, I've developed the habit of watching people for lit cigarettes and holding my breath as I pass them by. If at all possible, I go out of my way to avoid the clouds they exude, slowing down to let the things dissipate or even crossing the street if they're particularly voluminous in their noxious exhalations.

I won't get into the finer points of my personal rights versus theirs here; it's a free country and if they want to kill themselves slowly then that's their right. I just prefer that they don't share that mentality with me and others by exhaling.

You might ask: what if I could just filter out the smoke?

I've considered wearing masks that would do just that, but aside from looking ridiculous, they're not all that effective to wear long-term. They restrict breathing significantly by covering the nose and mouth and on top of that, most masks are expensive and need replacing regularly.

Then I discovered this product, which I'm considering getting:

The plugs are discrete, relatively inexpensive and I'd only have to wear them when I'm out walking around in relatively crowded areas, where people are puffing out fumes often enough to make it worthwhile. Nobody would know that I was wearing them and the best part is that I can continue to breathe normally through both my mouth and nose, simply closing my mouth to breathe through the filters whenever I pass through somebody's carelessly floating cloud of carcinogens.

Something to think about.

June 22 – Was I pwned?

Have you been hacked?

It's a good question to ask yourself every few months. With all the online accounts that people have nowadays, it's hard to know if you've been affected by one of the growing number of privacy breaches that keep happening.

A great resource( and free! )to have bookmarked is Haveibeenpwned.com, which is a reliable website dedicated to letting people know if there privacy has been breached and presenting the info in a simple, easy-to-use format.

Basically, you just enter your e-mail and see if it's associated with reported breaches: if you use that account anywhere that has been compromised, the site will tell you.

I was shocked to learn that two rather ancient websites that I frequented almost 10 years ago had been breached, when associated with one of my two main long-term e-mail addresses. Fortunately, the information on those sites was rather outdated and while I'm not happy that someone out there knows my birthdate, I don't think they're going to be able to do much with it, especially if it's bundled with millions of other much juicier datasets that people left hanging around. I tend not to put more than the bare minimum of information into any sites that I won't be using on a regular basis, which helps keep my private info private.

I think that's a good policy, especially given the prevalence and sophistication of hackers these days. 

June 23 – Tanks for the memories!

Nostalgia comes in many forms, and today a little bit of mine came in the mail.

One of the best memories of my childhood is getting a HISS tank for my 10th birthday. It was an 'enemy' vehicle, belonging to the evil Cobra organization that opposed G.I. Joe and it was as solid a toy as I've ever had the pleasure of playing with: I practically wore mine out, despite it being a solid chunk of heavy plastic.

Unfortunately, that was the reason that I ended up selling it off about 10 years ago as part of paring things down before my move to BC in 2007. Ever since then, I've regretted giving away that particular piece of my childhood, as I discovered to my chagrin that the darn things are fairly expensive on eBay if they're in good shape.

As luck would have it, after a few years of looking I managed to acquire one recently for the kingly sum of $25 CAN, which was a great find! As you can see, it's in great shape, with even the easily-scratched cockpit plastic looking like new:

Key to note is that the gun barrels are elevated: almost all the HISS tanks still out there lack this ability, as the tiny little tabs underneath wear out in no time with regular play. To find a HISS tank in such great shape like this is a real coup and my inner child is feeling most satisfied with holding it in my hands again.

It's like my 10th birthday all over again, though admittedly without any 32-year-old cake.

June 24 – Don't Sleep Outside

Waking up early sucks; being woken at 4 AM sucks even more.

I wasn't feeling great this evening and wanted to go to bed early, but I couldn't follow sleep until around midnight. Which is fine, as long as I got sleep in… and this being the weekend, that's exactly what I had in mind for tomorrow.

However, I was awoken at 4am by someone who decided to park on our street while leaving their car running... whose muffler had either fallen off or had more holes in it than a politician’s promise. The metal-drums-booming racket must've woken the entire local neighborhood and I heard the lady upstairs get up at the same time as I did.

Feeling rather annoyed and still being assaulted by the pulsing beat of the idiot’s vehicle, I slipped on some clothes and headed outside with the flashlight, with the vague half-asleep idea of appearing pissed off enough to make said idiot move on.

Just as I got outside, they did just that. Grrrr.

I headed around the corner of the rear parking lot to see if I can catch a glimpse of their retreating taillights and that's when I got a bit of a surprise:

There was someone slumped over on the grass by the road.

After an initial second's shock, I noticed that it was a young man. He was seated cross-legged on the grass somewhat neatly, wearing just a T-shirt in the cool air and with a knapsack beside him. A pair of white headphones were connected to a music player and I could clearly hear the music blasting into his ears from 10 feet away.

He was also pitched face forward onto the grass, which looked really uncomfortable unless he was some sort of yoga devotee. From what I can tell, he had sat down, turned on his music and then passed out face first into the grass: classic faceplant.

I decided against trying to wake him, as I could see he was breathing. Heading back inside without catching a glimpse of the vehicle that woken me, I dialed up the police and let them know about the likely-drunk young guy outside doing silent yoga in the cold. I stayed awake for almost another hour until I heard voices outside accompanied by bright lights and knew that the cops had him taken care of, so I managed to fall asleep at last.

The next morning I checked in with the police for an update on Mr. Yoga. It was exactly as I thought: the guy had had too much to drink, picked a 'safe' spot to pass out and did exactly that. Which wasn't all that smart, as anyone could have come by to cause him grief and spending four or five hours outside in the 11C weather probably wouldn't have done him much good on top of that.

So I had done the right thing. Amusingly, when I walked out there on Saturday, I spotted $6.00 in toonies nestled in the grass exactly where he had sat. Thus in a small way, my kindness was repaid... and that brought a smile to my face.

Still didn’t get me my lost sleep back – may karma find that Muffler Idiot soon!

June 25 – Space Empires!

It was Game Day today!

On the menu: a 4-player game of Eclipse, the best( in my opinion )space-empire boardgame out there right now. Myself, my lady, my friend Chris and his pal Greg all got together around 4 PM to have a go at playing a full game of Eclipse. With 9 'rounds' to go through, none of us had any idea if that would happen.

As it turns out, it was a ton of fun finding out!

What might still be revealed under the next hex?

As you can see from the picture above, the game board is set up using a random selection of hex tiles, each representing one 'sector' of space that players can control. Each player works out from their starting hex, gaining influence over nearby sectors and deciding the path of their empire's development. Part of the beauty of the game is that victory can be attained through various different strategies and not just a rush to see who can build the most powerful armies.

As you can see from this late-game shot, there's not a lot to each of the player’s territories and none of us had more than a half-dozen ships in our 'fleets' by the time the final round of the game arrived:

I'm the red player, my lady is green...

As it turned out, my lady and Chris tied for victory( in both Victory Points and even the Economic Supply areas )and had to duke it out in a furious space battle! Unfortunately, my lady lost to Chris' tech-heavy fleet... But it was fun to watch!

Showdown in space!

The best part was that we finished the game in around four hours, which exactly matched my prediction of games lasting about one hour per player involved. So for the next game that we have, we'll know how long to budget for to allow us to finish playing... and since we are all now rather familiar with the game mechanics, it should be even more exciting than today's epic game!

June 26 – That Sinking Feeling

Back to the pond today, and the weather was beautiful!

My lady and I breakfasted at the Beacon, where I was pleasantly surprised by this bounteous meal( I think their cooks are really shaping up well lately ):

I know, I know. I took a picture of my breakfast, but I had a was quite honestly surprised not only by how it looked but how good it was, so I figured it was worth sharing. Plus, dining on their spacious patio was nigh perfect under an awning in the morning breezes from the ocean. I appreciate the wonder of living where I do: fresh air, sunshine and bevvy of beautiful things to appreciate, all at hand…

Down at the boat pond by the sea, there were a fair number of model boaters out. My lady and I set up shop under the gentle boughs of a willow that overhangs the pond... and I could get the boat to power up. Checking the battery, I saw that I had all the connections correct and so I switched to the much smaller backup that I had used with my M41A nerf rifle the month before: it worked like a charm.

So while my lady happily drove our Haulin’ Trawler around the pond, I checked in with some of the other boaters to diagnose the battery. Quite quickly it was determined that the cell was completely dead, and the cause was entirely my fault: I had let it drop below critical charge levels and apparently LiPo( Lithium Polymer )batteries can't recover from that. So, $80.00 lesson learned... *sigh*

I do love my tech, but sometimes tech doesn’t return the feelings back…

But you learn your lessons and move on. After voting was done around noon, we hung out with a half-dozen of the modelers down at a very nice Moka House coffee shop at Fisherman's Wharf, talking shop and generally enjoying ourselves. They are a relaxed and fun bunch, very knowledgeable in their hobby, so my lady and I enjoyed ourselves quite a bit in their company. We were even joined by my friend Murray, who lives nearby and happened to run into us by pure coincidence.

My lady and I spent a few more hours out and about, exploring the downtown area on foot. We wandered into Cavity Curiousity Shop on Yates, where been before and was again impressed by the quality of the merchandise that proprietor Andy has curated. He has excellent taste: there's a fine selection of old-school science fiction and fantasy books mixed in with many other treasures of every imaginable media, though admittedly I don't have a use for most of them aside from pure nostalgia.

Incredibly, he also had not one but TWO working laserdisc players( both of them solid single-side-players )tucked away under a counter! I briefly spoke to him about perhaps getting a package deal for one with some laserdiscs he had in storage, for me to see in the near future - nice! Sometimes, it pays to ask...

Back home for the evening, I was feeling a little tired and didn't do much save prep the blog. I think I'm going to have to force myself to exercise a minimum of every other day on the stationary bike just to keep my energy levels up, as it seems I can't go more than three days without feeling tired of late.

More exercise is never bad for anyone, even in moderation.

I don't know what's with my oddly-low energy levels of late, but I'm glad to know that it's not anything do with anxiety, as that's been a real pain in the ass to overcome and keep on top of. There's lots to do this summer and I don't plan on spending much of it flaked out with flagging energy levels - at a bare minimum I have to get the next draft of my first book done, so have at it, Muse!

Rent, Reality and Retirement Review

The word of the week is opportune.

June 13 – Virtual Trek?

One more step towards holodecks...

Virtual Reality will be here later this year, in the form of VR headset systems from the likes of Occulus and Vive, to name a few companies. While the initial offerings won't be cheap, coming in at around $1000 Canadian just for the headset systems, it's the push that counts: companies want VR in people's hands ASAP.

Understandably, that's not cheap.

I'm hoping that by the end of next year, prices will come down enough so that I can consider getting in on the low end with my current computer setup. There was a recent announcement from AMD about their latest line of VR-ready graphic cards being offered for around $200 USD, which is an astonishingly low price point, so that gives me hope about where the VR entry market will be in 2017.

Because I want to play something like this in VR:

  

June 14 –  OnePlus3 = Nah

Do I need a new cell phone? Nope.

I love my OnePlus 1 phone, despite its flaws. Today, OnePlus released the 3rd model in the lineup, and I'm... rather meh about it. Sure, it's more powerful than my One, with twice the RAM( 6gb? Holy #$@! )but other than that... there's little reason for me to upgrade. Aside from the fact that my OPOrandomly resets a few times a day, every few weeks - comes with the territory, according to other owners. Since it's not an essential business tool for me, I've learned to live with it, as it only seems to happen when I'm using the touchscreen intensively.

Also, it tends to overheat, but I'm not going there: I have a $2.50 battery-powered fan from the dollar store I keep with me for hot summer days, and that's fine.

Right now, the OnePlus 3 is $519 CAN... plus tax, plus shipping, making it far less of a bargain than the $450 I paid in 2014 after USD conversation and shipping from the USA. Considering that a 'flagship' phone costs around $600-800 nowadays, I still think I got a heckuva deal back in 2014, with a phone that's still going strong.

That's the thing: unlike my old Samsung Galaxy S3, which bogged down trying to do all that I asked it within a year of my signing a 3-year contract with Telus in 2012, the OnePlus 1 does all tha I ask it to, fast-as-you-please... and while again the overheating is annoying, it's not anything I can't deal with on occasion.

So for the time being, I'll be sticking with my current phone for at least another year or two. By that point, something better will have come down the pipe and hopefully won't cost both an arm and a leg; I won't be signing any contracts for new phone ever again, that's for certain.

Like a growing number of phone buyers, I'm much happier with purchasing outright.

June 15 – Retire Laughing!

Why are we smarter about finances?

For conspiracy theorists, the answer is easy: it's much easier to stand charge of a population that's only educated enough to just get on with life rather than wonder about why they never have the right information when they need it.

I'm relating this to finances because little, if any, education is directed towards ensuring that high school graduates are prepared to tackle the many financial challenges they will face during our lifetimes. Those who find successful solutions to financial difficulties often do so through trial and error rather than facing them well armed with facts and figures hard-won by others who've already been there.

Which is why you owe it to yourself to have a look at this video, which tackles the thorny subject of retirement and how it can make one's head spin very easily. If you don't have a lot of time, skip along to about the 18-minute mark for the essentials, though it is worthwhile watching in its entirety just for the comedic value alone:

June 16 – Gunsanity

I just can't leave this topic alone. It's too important.

Why is the USA so in love with its guns, that 32,000 of its citizens die every year at the wrong end of what are often called 'tools' or 'sporting equipment' - it's an obsession that strikes me as a step shy of total insanity. It's one of the reasons that I don't want to travel to any major city in the states anymore; I don't feel anywhere close to safe from the possibility of random gun violence.

The recent horrific tragedy that took place in Orlando this month has brought the issue of gun control to the fore again, I hope that this time the anger doesn't fade, if only because the LGBTQ community was specifically targeted... and they are one of the most active political groups in the USA, one that Gets Things Done.

With all the media distractions that are constantly being fed to both US and Canadian citizens, it's easy to think that this latest violent outrage is simply going to, but somehow I don't think so: a critical mass may have been achieved, and while the loss of life is deplorable, it may have done some good. More people everywhere, not just in the USA, are questioning the need for weapons that can be easily obtained through loopholes, as well as the reasons behind those purchases - have a read here, where one man goes right to the source.

You can research for yourself the difference that gun control has made in Australia since 1996, or in other countries around the world - this article in particular illustrates perfectly how the rest the world sees the self-destructive tendencies of the USA"s obsession with being well-armed in the face of overwhelming statistics that show it only leads to death for thousands every year.

Make whatever arguments you want; my mind is made up by facts and unswayed by those who insist on hiding behind archaic laws or for interpretations of such.

Guns kill things; that's what they're designed for. You can temporize all that you want about the need for defensive weaponry in the home but until political will becomes reality, blood will continue to be on the hands of both the innocent and criminal alike until the average citizen simply says "Enough."

I wonder how big the next gun-violence tragedy will have to be?

June 17 – Ridiculous Rent

It's been really hard to find the another place to live in my city.

Life means life, I'm always keeping an eye out for a better location, if only to ensure I keep my hand on the pulse of the market locally and so not miss any deals that show up during particular points of the year.

Right now, Victoria is the third most expensive place to live in Canada, which is saying a lot, and St Catharines is sitting at 10th, at around $900 for a 1-bedroom.

At present, I pay *exactly* the average price... and haven't been able to find anything in good areas for less than $1400.00 for two bedroom units, so that's been a pain. I definitely want to find something away from the main road and with luck, a place that doesn't have giants for upstairs neighbors or is surrounded by chain smokers who like to linger on their balconies all morning and evening.

Buying the place is certainly out of the question for me, given the red-hot state of Victoria's current real estate market. As I mentioned recently, the average two-bedroom detached house price in Victoria has risen to around $750,000, which is so far out of my reach that it's funny: I probably will never be a homeowner here.

That's depressing.

However, there's always the dream of owning a Tiny Home, albeit one with room for books, boardgames and occasional guests, so there's that. For the moment, that dream needs to be kept alive so that I can have something to look forward to aside from decades of trying to find rental spaces that aren't surrounded by smokers were leadfoots or motorcycle enthusiasts -that headspace will quickly become crowded and untenable, if you'll forgive the pun.

But for now, it's price that will determine when I move.

June 18 – Want vs. Need

I'm not a collector, though I am a fan of many g33ky things.

It's difficult to see some really cool things that I'd like to possess, but don't have the budgetary wherewithal to even think about the attempts.

Yet, that very lack makes me think: why do I want such things?

Case in point: Soundwave from the old Transformers show. He's always been my favorite transformer, for many reasons, not the least of which is his cool, capable efficiency in what he does( and up the fact that he's working for the wrong side ).

Back in 2013, a Masterpiece version of Soundwave was released, for around $100 USD. It was quickly sold out everywhere within a month or two and since then the value of those pieces has steadily climbed to around $500 for a Mint-In-Box example - at that price, very few people can afford to pick one up now.

At the time, I couldn't justify spending $100 on a toy, despite its significance to myself... and here I am today, lamenting the fact that I didn't, but also acknowledging that I still don't need such a thing, which would just sit on a shelf to be admired on occasion and perhaps even played with if I wanted to reduce the value significantly - again, something that collectors everywhere must wrestle with.

The question is: will that keep happening?

Well I keep seeing the occasional collectible that really speaks to my creative or childlike side, but that I will pass up yet again because I won't justify the 'waste' of money to purchase what amounts to a useless hunk of plastic and metal? Despite the fact that there's the possibility of it rising in value over time?

I don't know. I guess I will just have to keep asking the question.

June 19 – Counting Up

I was feeling a little down today.

Little is the key word here: all the little things that have gone right lately ganged up in my brain and their joined voices were little hard to take.

But I've learned to ignore that chaotic chorus, albeit with difficulty sometimes.

Whenever life's little nagging voices dog you with 'What ifs?' and Nyah-Nyah-You're-Not-Doing-As-Well-As-You-Should-be's, just stick to this simple piece of advice and you'll do fine:

Which is exactly what I did. For example, the fact that I had two good-as-junk laserdisc players really frustrates me... but I tried. I lucked into not one but two of the exact model I wanted( Pioneer Elite CLD-79 )and the fact that neither one worked out is beside the point: I did my best, and neither failure was my fault.

My book's coming along steadily, with a good flow of ideas happening on a daily basis. Sure, some days the ideas are much sparser than others, but the fact that my subconscious is still working on them despite my many setbacks this year is a point of pride for me as a writer: I'm not blocked by anything other than circumstance.

Sure, my job could be better, but in terms of stress levels, it's pretty damn good - there's a lot I can take away from that, and my wonderful coworkers are daily bonus for which I'm grateful despite having lost several of them to new positions elsewhere this month. I'm hoping to do that myself soon enough; all it will take will be for someone to see my potential in one of the positions I've been applying for, for the last six months... I just have to be patient.

As for the rest, really only two things matter: my family's doing well, and my girlfriend loves me for who I am.

And: those little voices are gone; good riddance.

Speaking of counting my blessings: I had dinner with my parents and sister for Father's Day, at a lovely Vegan cafeteria called Green Cuisine downtown. I'm again utterly grateful that my immediate family is all doing well and are in Victoria. That we all get along and are so caring to one another... it's truly a blessing, however you want to count it - my Dad especially has been a pillar in my life and I look up to him in many ways still, despite my gain in height over the years.

Love you, Dad!

The sun came out today, and though I didn't get outside due to having a lot to do( and it being rather a chill, windy day! )it's great to just be in a place where it's BRIGHT so often. I'm adding that requirement to the list of Things To Look For When Renting, as I've no desire to live in a cave if at all possible - never have, never will. Even a Man Cave of mine would have windows...