Super Secret Series, Special Lamps and Space Opera

The word of the week is gruntled.

Note: The alternative title for this week's blog was Reading, Racing and Right At All Costs

May 15 – Space Opera Week!

Wow, talk about great timing!

Tor.com has declared this week is Space Opera Week, and will be posting articles each day of this week related to my favorite sci-fi genre - w00t!

The reason I say it's perfect timing is that my own sci-fi trilogy is a space opera, which if you don't know is defined incredibly well as follows:

If you want to know what I love to write, here you go!

Long story short, I love the possibilities that space Opera offers a writer!

One of the best space opera short stories I've read in years is Damage by David D. Levine, which is made available this week Tor.com. I loved everything about it and highly recommend that you read posthaste!

May 16 – Nope and Nope

Well, that stinks... today I received notice that my latest government job application was unsuccessful:

Translation: we gave it to someone else

There are three things I that really sucked about this turndown:

1) It was for a senior-level '18' position, which pays about 25% more per year than my current position, which would've been fantastic for my paychecks and getting out sooner from under the burdens I've been carrying for years.

2) It was for a communications position requiring an English degree: perfect for me!

3) I didn't even make the eligibility list, which means that if for any reason be winning applicant wasn't able to fill the position( ie. they've already accepted another, better position )then I could be considered again without having to reapply.

So in other words: no, we don't want you, and we also don't feel that you qualify even as a backup... which hurts. I was quite upset today for hours at work my office this morning, before I shrugged my shoulders and just got on with things again. I also took a few minutes to visit 7 of the best Mood-Boosting Sites you can look at... I liked more than half, which are solid.

Now, that being said, I was recently encouraged recently to apply all over the place for all sorts of positions, even ones that I don't feel that I would qualify for, which was odd advice but I'm taking it to heart. Having applied for over a dozen positions this year with zero success, I'm also soliciting feedback from the people running each of the job listings, to get a better handle on why I haven't been able to forward with any of them.

I just have to keep trying, and learn to get better more quickly at the process.

May 17 – City Crowding

Victoria's become the place to be in BC, apparently:

So that's why there's never any parking spots open downtown...

According the article that the above snippet was taken from, Victoria's literally bursting at the seams with over 5000 new residents moving into the city in the last year alone. It's no wonder that the rents have skyrocketed and the vacancy rate dropped to almost nothing, not to mention the dozens of major building projects underway.

On the other hand, it's a great time to be living here, in terms of a vibrant and active city, meaning more jobs for everyone and a healthy economy.

I just wish it didn't cost so bloody much to enjoy all that by living hereabouts; at this rate, our prices will all too soon be in the area of Vancouver and Toronto, which means nobody wins...

May 18 – NEW DARK CRYSTAL SERIES!

Some much better news came in today:

What's really unbelievable is that nobody, anywhere, knew anything about this until the news broke today, which is an incredible feat of secrecy in this day and age. It's so damn exciting to see a partnership between Netflix and The Jim Henson Company, given the high quality of series content that Netflix has been producing in the last year or two, like A Series Of Unfortunate Events and Sense8.

I'm also really stoked that my friend JM Lee is going to be a staff writer and consultant on the series, since he's writing the current Shadows Of The Dark Crystal series for The Jim Henson Company. I'm confident that with his involvement, the show will stay true to its roots of the original film and give us something that the fans can truly savor.

The only problem is, we'll probably have to wait until late 2018 or 2019 to see it!

May 19 – Right At All Costs?

I had a hard conversation tonight, and it made me angry.

Immediately afterwards, I sat down and wrote a long post that encapsulated what I was feeling... and didn't hold back any punches. It's as true reaction as I've had in years to anything that I've been told, and what's really eye-opening is that it only encompasses a small part of my thought processes on the subjects of identity, choice, purposeful blindness, ignorance and self-determination, to name a few things

Now, a few days later, I've mellowed somewhat and copied-out that post here, if you want to read it. It's a rare thing for me to get that angry that quickly, and I recognize that's oftentimes a sign that people are resisting hearing the truth, especially if they're being told repeatedly not think about it...

The truth is out there...

Anyway, I am feeling better now about what was said in conversation after speaking to a few people about it. I don't feel that my entire world is based on false premises that I've lived for the last 20 years, I certainly don't feel the need to upset my applecart right this instant to 'move forward' with the things that are holding me back as was told to me. Now is a critical juncture in my life: finishing my book must take priority over all else, even job improvement, as I'm so close to finishing the final draft of my first book.

Nothing else can take priority over that, for the next month, at least.

May 20 – Race Time!

All right, yesterday was a bit of a bummer, so how about a race?

With Hot Wheels cars, no less?

Better yet, how about a race between KITT of Knight Rider, The Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo, the A-Team van, The Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters and the Delorean from Back to the Future? And to top it off, it has a kickin' 80's-esque soundtrack, killer camera work, creative story pacing and a finish you can't predict!

Why aren't you watching it already???




May 21 – Read To Relax

As I've mentioned before, I'm regularly falling asleep around 10 PM at night and waking up reliably around 6 AM. What that means however, is that I have to avoid any sort of bright lights after about 8 PM as they disrupt my ability to get to sleep, so until recently reading before bed isn't really an option for me unless I'm using the Kindle app on my phone or tablet.

However, I managed to pick up an adjustable-spectrum LED light from Amazon a few months ago on super sale that's changed all that. Because it has a dimmable Colour Temperature (2700K ~ 6500K )it can meet different needs( like working, reading, studying, or relaxing )and the LED light panel emits a soft, even glow that doesn't flicker( and is utterly silent )so it's much easier on the eyes over the long-term.

Probably the best lamp I've ever owned, period!

The adjustable brightness means that I can dial down the light output to exactly the right level for use before bed without eyestrain, and the adjustable color temperature turns it into the warm glow of an incandescent bulb, rather than the harsh biorhythm-disrupting daylight color of a normal fluorescent - so great! I can also adjust things in the morning so that if I want to read or work, the light spectrum is that of daylight, which will really come in handy during the winter months next year. As a final bonus, the 8-watt lamp uses hardly energy at all, so I can leave it on for as long as I need to read or work. It's even light enough to pack with me, and it folds up flat. 

This lamp is so great, and I strongly recommend it!

Sure beats the old metal gooseneck lamp with a 60-watt bulb that I had in high school that I'd always burn my hand on trying to move around when I was tired. I still have it, and even though I've replaced the bulb with a 2700K CFL, I was still finding myself aiming it away or fiddling with the distance to get it correct... but now that I have the Holan LED lamp, it's like night and day.

I'll leave you with that one.

The weather here's taking a turn for the better: it's been sunny for most of the weekend, and the temperatures are creeping up into the high teens finally. I'm hopeful that soon I'll be able to get out more without a heavy jacket( no body fat = cool weather sensitive! )and thus become more active with some outdoor bike-riding and longer walks, though my right Pectineus tendon's been complaining a bit about my 10K steps a day activities - I'm easing back on that, and what I carry to work each day, to ensure I'm still making progress.

Anniversaries, Applications and Awesome Movies

The word of the week is ambivalent.

May 8 – Feelings

I'm feeling less stressed at work, in many ways, but frustrated some other times.

Mainly because I feel like I'm going nowhere - which is sadly true.

Here I am, having spent decades working for a living, to end up... opening mail and sealing envelopes. Um. It's a bit hard for me to take, in terms of my 'worth' as an employee, to have come to this, as well as see my paycheques vanish each month for no gain: no home, no substantive savings, nada. At least I'm off the phones.

Yet, this is for the best thing for me, right now.

Mindless work gives me the headspace I need to finish editing my novel, and perhaps even finish off the second half of the second novel by summer's end, if I'm persistent. Listening to epic music all day long, not being bothered by anyone or looked-in-on constantly, not being beholden to another’s schedule minutes: all great.

A year ago, I wrote this:

Thus, for the last year, I've applied for 1-2 jobs every month, targeted towards IT, communications and writing-heavy positions which I feel I qualify for, based on my skills and experience. Yet to date, I've had no responses - nothing, just a black hole I'm tossing my carefully-crafted applications into in the hope of... something?

No more.

Any applications I'm making for the rest of 2017 will be vetted in advance through several friends in GVT, who have excellent eyes for spotting what will make it through the system filters and what won't. Obviously, despite my efforts, what I'm doing isn't working, and so it's time for change( ha! )in my tactics.

I need to move up, and this move on; it's past time that I do so, as my current position can't do anything more for me to get me ahead.

May 9 – Dreadnoks

Well, this brightened my weeek!

After last weekend's toy show, wandering around looking at all of the items for sale, I was all abuzz with nostalgia. So naturally I looked up a few things online, one thing led to another and I ran across something, which I used to own.

But I ran across it in real life!!! Behold, the Cobra Dreadnoks and their Thunder Machine:

Original toy an figures in bottom right for comparison

What a wonderful thing to see one of my favorite G.I.Joe vehicles brought to life, by people who obviously are even bigger fans than I am, to go to such effort - it's cosplay taken to the next level, and you can see the dedication of the group in the pictures. This one is my fave:

Not accurate: she should have pegs in her feet to ride the sideboard!

You can even check out photos from the build log of the real-life Thunder Machine here, which is amazing! It's truly incredible to see how the dedication of a few fans can create something special and memorable for others.

May 10 – Lockitron V1.0!

It seems just a little patience was in order...

After browsing through the Lockitron Forums last week and posting a few questions, my pleas were heard... and by none other than a founder of the company, @Cameron! He had looked into my issues with the original Lockitron as I posted, and manually assigned the device to my account - that did it!

This looks a lot better than the pictures I tried to take, but serves the same.

After hooking up the device to my front door this eve( see above )I activated the app on my phone: the lock whirred and opened! I had a huge grin on my face as I cycled it a few times just for fun to see it working on command.

Glorious!

While there's still some tweaking to do to get things working exactly as I'd like( such as the door locking and unlocking automatically as I arrived or leave )just getting it communicating with my phone is enough for now. I'll have a little more time to play around with it in June, once I get my novel's edits finished.

The important thing is: it's here, it works, and I'm a happy g33k today!

May 11 – 5 Years already?

It's hard to believe, but I've spent half of my 10 years in BC in my current apartment.

Considering that this is the 5th place I've lived in here in BC, that's impressive, especially as it's the best place I've lived. It's right intown, walkable to downtown, cool in the summer, warm in the winter, not-too-crazy people upstairs( anymore... )and the good-things-list goes on. Even with the few foibles( road noise / motorcycles 20 ft from the window, 5am early-risers upstairs aren't quiet, limited space )it's an amazing place, especially for the price: 2-bedroom apartments anywhere in Victoria are going for $1400-1600 / month right now, if you can even find them. Since we're not paying even close to that, we're OK here, thanks-very-much!

Who wouldn't want a secret-lair apartment?

Having lived outside town( in 2 difference places )I can say it's far better to be in Victoria, and amazing to be within a 15-minute stroll of downtown / my workplace combined. Driving into town all the time to do things / see people was always a pain, especially in the winter, as snow tended to stick around outside Victoria's city limits - bleh. Sure, Langford had its perks, but leaving at 6am to avoid traffic to get to your job in Victoria for 9am wasn't one of them.

May 12 – Guardians Of The Galaxy 2!!!

Ohboy, ohboy - tonight's the night!

My lady and I, along with a few friends from work, went to see the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie tonight at the restored Capital 6 theaters and man, it was a comfortable experience( except that I had a little bit too much liquid to drink before and didn't want to leave because I would have missed 5 minutes of the film )with powered reclining seats - sweet!

No spoilers here, just let me say: it was a great film!

That said, I didn't love it as much as the first film, which really came out of left field and blew me away with its fantastic characters, well-paced action and world-building. Not to mention its sense of humour, stunning CGI and the obvious love that everyone involved in making the film had poured into it.

The sequel naturally further developed the characters( Peter Quill / Starlord especially )and explored the theme of family, which I'm also doing in my own space opera novel series... so the film really resonated for me there. The CGI was great, the action well-paced... and the writer in me again overlooked the minor plot problems in favour of the sheer joyous spectacle that was present on-screen.

Are you KIDDING me?????

Interesting trivia: since the release of the first film, the valuation of the very first Sony Walkman, the TPS-L2, has skyrocketed to unbelievable prices. While it was a fairly uncommon piece for years since its release in 1979, you could still get one as of 2013 for around $100 USD, or more if it was in perfect working order. However, as you can see from the image above, that's changed radically, all because the TPS-L2 is the walkman worn by Peter Quill in GOTG1 and 2 - that's it.

So if you have one hanging around in your basement, cash it in now...!

May 13 – Lucky Anniversary

Speaking of great movies...

The Fifth Element turns 20 this month, which boggles my brain; has it been that long?

When I first saw it, TFE blew me away: it was a visual experience like no other, perfectly executed... and perfectly ridiculous. Much like how the original Star Wars was a film that broke away from all the scifi films before it, TFE went for a future that was gaudy, bright and( most importantly )alive - and it made you aware of it from the word go!

Multi-pass!

I love TFE, enough to own it on about 5 different formats. I enjoy watching it at least once a year( more often than Star Wars - the original trilogy, actually )and it's always a fresh joy to me: the energy of the film rewards nothing less of the viewer.

This year, there's more than a few retrospectives because of the 20th anniversary, and I was pleased to find this one( from the respectable Tor.com )that dives in-depth into the reasons for TFE's lasting appeal. It touched on some excellent points, some of which I hadn't considered, and made my love of the film all the stronger since I can see how even more... elements... of the film were so well-crafted.

Now to just find the time to watch it again this summer... with my lady, who's also a fan!

May 14 – Two Years and Mumm

Today was a double celebration!

First, a breakfast with my lady, celebrating two years together! A milestone worthy of fireworks, large gatherings and parades... but as she doesn't go in for that, we just enjoyed our time together on a patio under the clearing skies. She also got me a great, heavy gift( below; I think mine to her was pretty good too ):

This thing must weigh 10 lbs - whoa! So amazing that it looks like Jupiter!

After that, we popped over to a cafe by the sea for some boardgames, which was most pleasant thanks to the balmy beach breezes coming through the open windows.

That really does sum up how I feel: so lucky!

I'm a lucky man to have been this lady's chosen guy for two years, I tell you... :-)

In the early afternoon, I met my sister and parents at Nourish to celebrate Mother's Day. I'd reserved seating over a week ago, requesting our favourite table at the back in the bay window, which was perfect as the sun was shining in - yes! We spent a fun few hours relaxing in each other's company and enjoying the delicious food - my wheat pancakes with whipped cream and bee pollen( !!! )were stellar, and the Black Forest bacon was incredible:

That.... bacon...

Yes indeed... I'm a lucky guy, to have such amazing people in my life. I hold onto that when weird things happen( like both the toilet and the PC backing up today, with my UPS crapping out yesterday... )to remind myself that some things are transient... and others blessedly not-so-much.

Indeed.

It's good to be here, and it's going to get better, the harder I work for the rest of 2017.

Even the blog went wonky today: I had to redo it from scratch at the end, took me another 45 minutes - bleh! So, all for now: I've a draft to finish editing!

Boat Battles, Boyhood and Being Busy

The word of the week is auspicious.

May 1 – Living Long

If you were immortal, how long would you survive?

It's interesting question, one that many people don't consider when discussing immortality and its ramifications. The gist is: if people were unable to die by natural means( disease, old age, etc. )but only by accident, how long would the average person live?

According to results of the simulation in the chart above, the average person would survive 8 1/2 thousand years! Of course, that's a simplified model, which only accounts for fatalities deriving from fire, auto accidents were firearms and not the complete gamut of ways one can depart this level of existence. You can find more information about the full simulation that was run here.

Still, it's an interesting thought exercise. I just finished watching The Last Witchhunter this week( it took me a while to watch in pieces every day )which stars Vin Diesel as an immortal witch-hunting warrior who apparently hasn't learned a whole heck of a lot in his many centuries of life. That always bothers me, as you'd think that someone who has all eternity might transcend their mortality( at least mentally )given enough time to learn about the universe... and themselves.

Something to think about.

May 2 – Happiness

Are you happy?

For many years, I asked myself the same question fairly regularly, and got different answers every time: sort of, kinda, not today and the most common: no.

Things have changed in the last few years, I'm happy to say( see what I did there? )and for the better. While I'm still having my rough spots, I am better able now to recognize how and why they're occurring... and so be able to do something about them before things get too out of hand.

If you're having trouble maintaining your Happy, here's a little list to help:

There's a far more detailed, larger image about how the state of happiness here, which I highly recommend viewing.

For me, helping others and finding my Flow when writing are the things that most quickly bring me back to balance, at least when my girlfriend's not around; her presence always brings a smile to my face and peace to my troubles immediately.

May 3 – Not Happiness

I had to make a hard decision this week: I'm going to be returning my new phone, even though I love almost everything about it and the price was more than fair.

Sadly, it's been rebooting randomly and the charger's gone wonky...

It's pretty, fast, cheap... and somewhat buggy.

While I think I've managed to remedy the reboot issue by turning off some 'deep sleep' features, there's not much I can do about the charger... And that also raises the issue of quality control levels: what else will go wrong in the next little while?

As I was thinking that troubling thought this week, I also came across this post, which suggests that the phone's low price is due to the fact that manufacturer 'dumped' it instead of releasing it officially due to hardware problems:

Add this to Things I Hadn't Considered...

Fortunately, I received a positive response from BangGood today, that they would provide me with a full refund as well as the cost of shipping the phone back to them. This is unusual, as most China-based online sellers will not reimburse shipping costs, which is often a dealbreaker for folks in North America wanting to return items when in assured sending costs run around $60-75 USD.

So, I'm returning the phone, and going back to my wonky OnePlus One for now. Seeing as I'm not using the phone as a phone on a daily basis, sitting at my desk, it's not as huge issue as it would be if I was constantly on the move, so that's a plus. However, I'm just going to grit my teeth and wait until some of the newer phones to market later in the year and see what I can pick up around Christmas or in the new year, depending on when market prices start to adjust themselves.

I tried, and I'd be foolish not to take a full refund offer for something that could fail sooner rather than later, leaving me with useless hardware and a $260 hole in my wallet.

May 4 – Love Living Locally!

Happy May The Fourth! How I wish today was an official holiday...

All the same, living in this city, especially at this time of year when the grass is green, the plants are all blooming and the weather is hinting at full-blown Nice Outside, is just like being on holiday all year.

The video below gives you an idea of why this is so wonderful to live in: on top of the wonderful weather almost year-round, it's just beautiful everywhere you look:




May 5 – Freedom

I do love my days off, like today, which I can spend however I wish!

Part of that's of course is writing this month, but today I also put in a little time getting my model PT-109 torpedo boat ready for this weekend.

Well, at least it floats...

I've been having some trouble with the props / propulsion system: the battery as I have are not powerful enough, causing the props to stutter at various speeds, and I think I might've reattached a prop backwards after greasing it last time.

Thankfully, the president of the local model boat club is very generous, and invited me over to his place this afternoon for some maintenance work on the boat. His basement was a magnificent treasure trove of modeling magnificence, containing dozens of boats and hundreds of different train cars, as well as all the supporting paraphernalia that comes from decades of working in both hobbies.

We managed to get my boat running smoothly by testing it with more powerful batteries, which I happen to have on order but haven't arrived yet. We also third out which prop was reversed and fixed it, so I should be ready now for this weekend, when the local Victoria model boat society is holding their annual Battle Of The Atlantic Memorial event - it should be a whole lot of fun!

May 6 – Sidney Complete

My lady and I went to Sidney this morning. We were there for the third and final session of Ben Coles' writing seminars, with today's being entitled 'Do Authors Need Professional Help?' which I appreciated on several levels. It was another two hours of excellent information, which again validated my own research into the modern book business in many ways, telling me that I have a good grasp of how things work. It also told me that my aim should be to be traditionally published, with a major company and most likely through an agent to protect my work from being undersold initially, as can happen with writers who don't know how to get a good deal from a publisher.

As we were still fairly full from the huge breakfast we had at The Roost, we headed back into Victoria and spent the afternoon on a patio at Bubby's Kitchen enjoying the gorgeous sunshine: beer and chocolate cake made it perfect.

I spent part of the evening trying again to get the crowdfunded Lockitron that arrived this week to work. That's right: I decided not to wait another 6-8 months for the other 2 parts( Internet Bridge and lock keyway )to arrive, but rather went in search of( and amazingly found! )an original Lockitron for a mere $75 on eBay - yay!

So far, I've managed to get it talking to my home network, but it just doesn't want to speak to the Lockitron app on my phone( either of them )which will enable it to actually perform various functions. I'll keep working on it though; it's better to keep trying now and then instead of just staring at the newer version sitting on my shelf.

May 7 – Toys and Naval Battles!

The 19th Annual Ultimate Toy Fair was happening today at a local arena!

My lady and I purchased inexpensive earlybird tickets so we could get in the doors as soon as it opened at 8 AM, to beat the inevitable crowds:

Though I wasn't expecting to do more than a bit of nostalgic looking, within only a few minutes, I managed to spot something worth getting - well, 2 somethings:

A VAMP( missing steering wheel )and a complete Whirlind!

We both had a nice time wandering around the aisles, pointing things out to each other and reliving fond childhood memories kindled by the sight of plastic toys in various states of disrepair. It was the perfect size show, as we had finished thoroughly checking everything out by the time 9 AM arrived in the crowds started to get unnavigable, so we headed out, as we were due elsewhere:

The Harrison Yacht Pond, and the annual Battle Of The Atlantic!

It was a perfect day to be out at the pond: sunny and slightly cool, but with no wind to ruffle the surface of the water, which was shining like clear glass. It made for incredible pictures, like these:

Just some of the great pictures that today's weather allowed...

We spent several hours enjoying ourselves, though I wasn't able to get my boat out immediately as someone else was using the same radio channel; ironic, since we were the only two people with old-style controllers. Once I did get my boat in the water, I unfortunately discover that one of the screws clamping down the starboard prop shaft was stripped, and so the boat stuttered through the water as the propeller received little to no power. It was rather disappointing, but it's something I can probably fix for next to nothing, but it will cost me time.

To top the day off, after a nice lunch at The Bent Mast in James Bay, my girlfriend and I played a new boardgame acquisition: the now-rare Thunder Road! I actually own a copy, but the pieces are lost somewhere in my storage tubs, so I was thrilled to find a copy for sale locally for 1/4 of what they're going for on eBay, if you can find them, plus shipping - score!

I *love* this game... 

It's a quick game, where the object is simple: just have the last surviving vehicle on the road, which spans two long boards. Each player gets three vehicles of different strength, plus an attack chopper, with both combat and will been resolved by the role of six-sided dice. Whenever any vehicle reaches the edge of the second board, any vehicles remaining on the first board are removed, and then the road is 'extended' by placing the first board in front of the second, and so on until the game is resolved. We managed to play three games in about half an hour, and each one was different depending on our luck and strategies. It was just as enjoyable as I remember and I'm sure we will play it regularly.

I'm doing better every week these days, eating full meals and walking an average of 10K steps a day, without more than the occasional twinge in my left foot or right leg. I'm still quite weak when it comes to my core muscles however, as I've noticed with their intermittent soreness day-to-day depending on how I set / for how long, but that's something I can manage and will likely go away once I'm back to exercising as well as swimming regularly. Here's to a healthy rest of the year!