Yee Can Do It

McDonald's Beat Down: UPDATE! Victim Speaks!

2011-04-26T00:21:00.000-07:00

The Baltimore Sun is continuing it's coverage of the assault of a transgender woman at a Baltimore McDonald's last week. The Smoking Gun has also updated some information on the attackers in this case. More after the break!

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Pajamas Media » PJM Exclusive: Video from Syria’s ‘Great Friday Uprising’ (Content Warning, Continually Updated)

2011-04-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

Pajamas Media is posting some heavy videos and updating them regularly about fighting going on in Syria.

Pajamas Media » PJM Exclusive: Video from Syria’s ‘Great Friday Uprising’ (Content Warning, Continually Updated)

McDonald's Beat Down

2011-04-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

Okay I could have sworn I posted this here but I must have just commented on Facebook. So for those who haven't seen it, here's the horrible video of woman getting beat up by two other's while everyone just watches (and films) the entire thing!

Well there's more news and updates about this after the break!

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Jersey-Texan Mich-Mash: Why So Silent, Mainstream Media?!

2011-04-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

I think a simple "Yeah what she said" is in order here. Trigs crew struck hard and fast at these morons. So fast that it was pretty much over and done with by the time I found out about it because it all happened on my weekend! (Tuesday/Wednesday)

Jersey-Texan Mich-Mash: Why So Silent, Mainstream Media?!: "I am in awe how a few dedicated people can work together for the greater good and get so much accomplished within a short time period. ..."

AT&T buys T-Mobile just because of iPhone (Sort of)

2011-04-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

Who didn't see this coming? Anyone? Bueller?

Seriously, AT&T buying T-Mobile only makes sense. Since iPhone users have been complaining for YEARS that AT&T's coverage sucks. So here's hoping T-mobile's capacity being merged into the AT&T network helps them. I for one have my iPhone on Verizon.

The "X" Series. The greatest games you've never played

2011-04-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

The "X" series has been around since 1999 and far too many gamers have probably never heard of it. Egosoft has been making games for quite some time, and while they are by no way "mainstream" they are still great games in their own right.

The X series is an epic single player space opera game. Sure there's a story line, but the majority of the game is basically the player making their way in a large glaxay any way they want. Everything a big sci-fi gamer wants in a game is here. Fighter combat, big ships, galactic trade, epic political powers, and even powerful alien species. This game has it all, except for one thing: Multiplayer. I hope Egosoft shows at E3 so I can ask them all sorts of questions about this great game!

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A Game of Thrones Episode 1: MUST SEE!

2011-04-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

Ned Stark on the Iron Throne

Now when Geoff and Junior first told me HBO was doing the first book in George R R Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series I was happy to hear it. At the same time I was worried about how any show could live up to such a complicated book as A Game of Thrones. In fact I'm still not sure George has even figured out where to go with it after his horrible "half book" a Feast of Crows.

Yet, like the novel series, HBO has done a great job starting the saga with this pilot episode. Here's the trailer:

How do you found a new country?

2011-04-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

So I'm kicking around ideas for a story I'm working on (Yes I'm writing again) and I had this thought: "How does a country form?"

I can think of a few ways: Conquest, International Fiat, Revolution. Basically someone takes over something and calls it theirs. The UN or other body "declairs" an area a country or a treaty says an area is a country. Or the area is taken over from within.

Are these the only ways?

For instance if a group of people went out into international waters and created an island could they declare themselves an independent country? Will a private group be able to go into orbit of fly to the moon and declare themselves independent of the Earth's nations?

Honestly I'm not sure but I have a feeling if said country could defend themselves or had some sort of international leverage say a desired technology or commodity they could do it. Especially if they're "just" a station or a small island. Any ideas? Suggestions on where I should look?

Your Australian Word of the day: Paddlepop!

2011-04-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

What's a "Paddlepop?" Or more specifically a "Paddlepop Stick?" My wife dropped this word on me today and I knew right away what it was. Here's how she put it:

"yeah i think we'll have to buy one of those container thingies that you put a paddlepop stick in and it freezes and voila !! iceblock!!"

Which brings up the alternate word: "Iceblock." Answers after the break.

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What my Daughter Sings

2011-04-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

2 years of Bella 0-1-2

So Bella has fully jumped into "I have favorite things" time. Specifically I'm talking about her favorite Disney movies. I think all kids who are brought up with Disney movies eventually has a favorte that they'll watch over and over and over and over and over ad nausium.

For her it is Tangled. Followed by all three of the Tinkerbell Movies. Personally I don't think this is a bad thing, I mean come on it makes her happy right?

But is it okay for her to watch those same movies over and over again every day?

A cold day in Madison

2011-04-16T15:09:00.000-07:00


Damn that looks cold!

Are we sure it's not 2012 yet? How about spring at least?

So my Twitter account was all abuzz about Sarah Palin and Andrew Breitbart showing up in Madison to speak to the local Tea Partiers up there. The Right Scoop and Gateway Pundit both have full write-ups on the speech, and I have to say the Tweets from those watching the live feeds were a hoot. That said what does it all mean?

It means it was a cold day in Madison!

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An Odd Double Standard

2011-04-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

Roger’s Rules » Why It’s OK for the U.S. Govt. to Burn Bibles But Condemn Burning the Koran

Yep, you read that right. Seems some folks sent the soldiers in the field some Bibles, but they were instead burned. Because:

the U.S. government determined that the presence of Bibles in this “devoutly Muslim country” might inflame the natives.

Okay does that sound like we're belittling the locals over there by calling them natives that are easily inflamed by the presence of books? Now Roger goes on to explain how our soldiers are ordered to handle Koran's and such but I'm just going to point out this simple fact:

It doesn't matter.

Seriously it doesn't matter if every soldier over there is carrying a Bible, that's not going to piss them off any more than the fact that we're there already has! Those that don't like us and want to kill folks are going to hate us and continue to try and kill folks with our without bibles, so why burn them? Seriously there isn't any scoring of "brownie points" with these guys they want us dead with or without our bibles. Last time I checked a suicide bomb, an IED, an airplane, or an RPG doesn't check to see if there are Christians or Jews in range. It just blows up and kills/maims everything in it's path.

So can we stop the PC bull sh*t and just fight the bloody war or get the hell out? Honestly...

Battlefield 3!!!!

2011-04-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

OH! MY! GOODNESS! Hell yeah I want to play this game.

Okay now that my fan boy has spoken let me say that I'm an old school Battlefield player who is very much looking forward to 3. Especially since they seem to be returning to where they belong, and that's the PC. Don't get me wrong, the consoles are great for generating revenue, but I have yet to have as great a FPS experience as I have on PC's. (MAG came close to Battlefield since it had some vehicles but just barely. At least it had the numbers!)

The biggest complaint that I have heard and will whole heartedly echo is, "where is the multiplayer videos?" Seriously the primary Battlefield player is a multiplayer person. Single player FPS's have always been other games, Battlefield has always been about a great multiplayer experience. With Battlefield Bad Company (Which I've never played) they did try to focus on a good single player story but from all accounts it wasn't that great. Still it's good to see them working on single player and making it look that awesome, but what I need to see before I put down my money is the multiplayer, as it will be what I keep playing in the long haul.

The Joy of Discovery

2011-04-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

File this one under "Fatherhood" or "Games" then again why not just under my normal nerdyness? Regardless of where you file this post, the this is a simple post of discovery. In this case, the discovery of a new webcomic.

Briar Hollow

Briar Hollow is a "coming of age" story, or as I prefer to call it, "a school story." Currently at about 56 pages, Briar Hollow is just a fun read of a nerdy girl returning to college after a semester off. She seems to be trying to get past the "nerd" look and move on with her life, but as all of us who are nerds know, it is hard to leave the life. In a sense it is denying a part of who you are, and while this story has been told thousands of times it still resonates because so many of us go through a point in our lives of "rediscovery" or trying to change who we are.

I look forward to seeing how this comic grows as it ages and I will probably do a more "complete" review in the future but for now give it a shot and let me know what you think. Personally I like the art on top of the story as it was the art that made me look at it thanks to PvP's Scott Kurtz's tweet about Briar Hollow.

Free to Play or Pay to Win?

2011-04-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

So as a Gaming/Politics/Father blog I figured I'd get started on one of the big topics in online gaming, the Free to Play model. As a father my gaming time is limited, as is my gaming budget, especially when compared to pre-fatherhood. (Let alone single life!) So the idea of playing a game for free is always appealing, then again when I hear that this revenue model is known by its detractors as the "Pay to Win" model it makes me cautious and curious all at once. I have recently been playing two different games that use the F2P model: Battlefield Play4Free and World of Tanks.

First up, Battlefield Play4Free:

The idea is quite simple, lets play Battlefield 2 or Bad Company for free! But is it really free? Let's dig deeper:

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Tablet users don't need computers!

2011-04-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

Not really, but you could see that headline coming out of those who only read headlines or skim survey data. Google Analytics has done a survey recently on tablet owners (which means iPad owners mostly) and in their post they put up these interesting numbers.

•68% of tablet users spend at least 1 hour a day on their tablet

•77% of respondents report that their desktop/laptop usage decreased after they started using a tablet

•82% of respondents said they primarily use their tablet at home

•More than 1 in 3 respondents uses their tablet more than they watch TV

See pretty pictures even!

Now of course as with everything there are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

Anomaly: Warzone

2011-04-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

It's a video game post weekend it seems. :)
The game is called Anomaly: Warzone Earth. I saw this game on Steam and read the description of "a Tower Defense Game in reverse," and thought, "That could be cool. It could also stink."

Then I find out the Giant Bomb guys did a quick look of it and I have to say I'm interested. I tried to get the Demo downloaded before work but the button wasn't working in Steam. I'll try again when I get home from work.

UPDATE: So I've gone to their website and noticed something nice for all of my fellow iPhone/iPad users. Seems the game IS planned to come out on those platforms.

Unfortunately no word on an Android port for you droid users. Sorry.

Space Marine

2011-04-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

Well first off from Giant Bomb:

Yeah, it looks pretty cool. Relic has done a great job with the Dawn of War Games and ever since Homeworld I've respected their work. In Dawn of War they made the gritty, dark, and deadly Warhammer 40k Universe come to life and in a way that made me okay with an RTS game. At the time I remember talking to Junior and saying that it'd be great if we could go down to ground level and watch the fighting because they did such a great job with the fighting animations. With Dawn of War 2 they did zoom in the camera more giving us some great shots but that still wasn't enough.

Now there's Space Marine.

I am a known Space Marine hater (Real men don't wear Power Armor!) but I love 40k and being able to mow down hordes of Orcs sound just plain fun. Right now it seems like Dynasty Warriors meets Warhammer 40k and if it's nothing more than that I'd be happy, but I know Relic won't leave it as something as derrivative as that.

So stay tuned as I keep an eye on this killer game coming in August!

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night!

2011-04-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

So what do you guys think? I'm a big Green Lantern fan, and I love the idea of a Green Lantern movie, just not so sure I'm sold yet on the actual movie.

Works and Days » Libya: The Genesis of a Bad Idea

2011-03-31T13:42:00.000-07:00

Victor Davis Hanson talks Obama's Libya speech: Works and Days » Libya: The Genesis of a Bad Idea

No Blood for Oil?

2011-03-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Remember those sayings?

"Peace" No more blood for Oil (or red dots for black dots)

Good old Zombie from Zombietime continues to go into the heart of San Fransisco protests to document what really goes on at those things. I'm glad most don't know what Zombie looks like, poor bugger I shudder to think what might happen to him/her otherwise. What's funny is this picture isn't from the "Evil Bush" era, but from March 20th, 2010. At least the anti-war folks are consistent, even if the media coverage of them isn't.

Works and Days » President Obama’s Ten Libyan Paradoxes

2011-03-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

Victor Davis Hanson is always worth a read, here's his latest on Obama and the Libya situation.
Works and Days » President Obama’s Ten Libyan Paradoxes

Radiation and you!

2011-03-27T13:29:00.000-07:00

So I was reading a wonderful article over at Pajamas Media about radiation and how badly normal people understand it, especially how it's reported. (I count myself as normal when it comes to this article. There was a lot of details that I didn't know!) Now I think a lot of folks eyes will start to glaze over when reading that huge block of text, but luckily someone made a preaty picture explaining it all.

The picture is quite large so I won't put the whole thing here, but I will link to it so you can read all the little details. Lets just point this out, the blue are REALLY small doses of radiation, all of them combined equal three of the green squares. The green squares are kinda "average" doses that we measure regularly including 3 Mile Island and Fukushima doses. Combine ALL those greens (i.e. moving up a factor of measurement) and you end up with only a few of those browns. Those large groups of brown are very bad levels of radiation, death levels. Combine ALL of those browns and you get a fraction of what happened immediately after the Chernobyl explosion, though not what's still there. (That's in the green section)

So yeah, we're getting lots of hype and hysteria, but not so much now. Notice how the media just does a drive by about every bad event?

Spilling The Beans: WoW - Never again

2011-03-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

My wife Spills the beans on why she left WoW:

Spilling The Beans: WoW - Never again: "I started playing World of Warcraft in 2006 after being introduced to it by my husband. We played it together because it was something we co..."

It's an Instagram!

2011-03-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah!

Okay, so I have an iPhone, and before it I thought cell phone cameras were just "convenient" and nothing more. I have to say thanks to apps I'm having a lot more fun with cameras in general than I have in a long time. Sure, the iPhone isn't going to win any prizes with how great a camera it is, but is "good enough" to do some really nice things with. Plus with app support you can make some fun shots like the ones I'm using now.

The app is called Instagram and I wholeheartedly recommended it to anyone with an iPhone! ESPECIALLY those from an older era of the Instamatic and Polaroid pictures.

What do you think of when you hear the word "Soldier?"

2011-03-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

I think it's a fair question, and one the recent movie "Battle: Los Angeles" brought to my mind. More specifically a lot has been said about the difference in opinion on the movie from left leaning folks like Ebert's to the more conservative minded folks like John Nolte over at Big Hollywood. Even the guys over at Screened seemed to deadpan the film quite a bit. Now I'm not saying the movie is the greatest thing since Saving Private Ryan or anything but I do think it's interesting to note the differences of opinions between left and right on how the soldiers in Battle: Los Angeles are "portrayed."

You can easily spot the opinion of the reviewer when they down play the other soldiers in the movie as being "cliches" or "soulless" or if they point out how "they reflect how our soldiers really are." About the only thing I've seen in common is how most everyone agrees Aaron Eckhart did an excellent job as Staff Sergeant Nantz. After seeing the movie I have to agree he does a great job of portraying a sergeant as I always think of them, strong, determined, and mindful of those under his care. Much like the gunny I know:

Gunny, as most of us on crew call him, is a former Gunnery Sergeant in the US Marines, and as most Marines (active and retired) that I know, he still has that "Marine air" about him. From his speech patterns to his manners he is/was/and always will be a Marine. When I hear the word "Soldier" I think of people like Gunny.

DYLAN DOG: Dead of Night Official Trailer

2011-03-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

Okay call me a sucker for supernatural films with a comedy hook. I'm a huge fan of Bruce Campbell so you can see why this trailer looks fun for me. :)

Bella at Scandia stairs

2011-03-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

My lovely daughter being herself. :)

Casey is back.

2011-03-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

He's got a story to tell. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet so I'll just post the video and a link to The Blaze's story on it. From the snippes describing it, the kid sounds like he went through hell, and a body slam is the least the bullies deserved!

AUDIBLE?! Lina's voice changed!

2011-03-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me, I'm a long time anime fan. I've been a fan since back in the VHS days when the "Sub vs Dub" wars raged on. Back then they were a major discussion point because you had to buy a separate tape for the Subbed or Dubbed version of a show, and even worse the subbed tended to cost more. ($25 vs. $20 if I recall correctly.) During the height of the war I came up with a simple rule: "Whatever you heard the show in first, was the way you should always watch the show." Which is how I ended up watching Neon Genesis dubbed all the way through, yet Orange Road was Subbed all the way.

One of the shows I used to watch that fell into the Dubbed category was Slayers.

Slayers was a simple, comedy/fantasy show featuring Lina Inverse as the crazy overpowered sorceress and her sidekick Gourry Gabriev the idiot swordsman with a magical weapon of immense power. I ended up taking a lot of ideas from the Slayers universe and incorporating them into my role playing. (The Merge came from it directly) Slayers, Slayers: Next, and Slayers: Try plus all sorts of OAV's were bought and watched. Even after the switch to DVD's (which mooted the Sub vs Dub debate as both were on the disc) I still watched the dubbed. Yes, even with the changing of voice actresses for Amelia I hung through and enjoyed it.

Then in ended....

Obama Nation: On the Job

2011-03-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

Obama Nation: On the Job

Finals are over, so it's Friday time!

2011-03-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

Well my finals are done with YAY! So I've started catching up with some of the internet trends and I found this from Zombie over at Pajamas Media:

Okay so it's a silly kids song, but isn't that the point? The "YAY the week is over" kind of video? Seems there's a bit more to this silly video, or at least the discussion surrounding it.

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Spilling The Beans: Really?

2011-03-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

Spilling The Beans: Really?: "I just read this story from back home Bullying at school and i have to got say how disgusted i am that this is still happening in schoo..."

Dashboard Camera captures Tsunami Impact

2011-03-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

What's REALLY scary about this video is someone is driving this car when it happens! Luckily he seems to have gotten away. A helpful YouTube commenter summed up video with these notes:

Notes in 500 char:
Takes place Chiba Prefecture, Asahi City
0:40 Tsunami much bigger threat than the earthquake.
0:50 Showing damage to houses & roads, etc.
1:24 Showing how far water came up on house.
2:17 Driver describing feelings. Started to panic. Waves around 2m high
2:26 Afraid if leave car get sucked away by waves, waited.
2:37 Driver waited waves recede then ran away from car. Escaped to high elevation.
2:43 Driver mentally fatigued. Was terrorizing. Hasn't calmed down yet. Very scary.

A Victim no More, "Casey the Punisher"

2011-03-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

So I'm a bit late in actually commenting on the "Cassey the Punisher" video because some of the story was still developing. That and I tend to go "radio silent" on my weekends.

That said start off here to check out the video:

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Spilled Beans: Coming to America

2011-03-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

Spilled Beans: Coming to America: "Sounds just like that Eddie Murphy movie right? ha! if only i had his money though .... So in 2006 I met my husband through daz3d/artzone ..."

Why America?

2011-03-17T13:28:00.000-07:00

Roger Kimbal over at Pajamas media asks a fairly simple question today, "Where are the Americans?" While his article is a pretty scathing indictment of the Obama administration it brings up a different one to me, "Why America?"

My lovely wife isn't from the good old USA, she's an Aussie. Even more than that, she also spent her teen years in South America in the country of Uruguay. So needless to say she's not an "America First" kind of person. In fact every time she hears a character or politician praising America or calling it "the greatest nation on Earth" it really irks her. I understand completely and she does bring up a good point as well, "What makes America so great?"

So "why America" and "what makes America so great" are two big questions I want to touch on today.

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No Nukes? Really?

2011-03-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

Japan's Crisis Sparks review of European nuclear projects.

Really? Now don't get me wrong nuclear events are big deals but do we always stop production of new products when really old versions fail? I mean this is like stopping productions on new Cadillacs because a 1967 (the year Fukushima was built) Cadillac killed it's passengers after hitting a train, going 100 miles an hour, in the rain.

What is it about Nuclear power, or nuclear anything that makes people go guano crazy every time it is brought up? It has been 44 years since Fukushima was built, it was hit not only by an earthquake several times (I believe 7 times) more powerful than it was designed to withstand, and on top of that was hit by a tsunami shortly afterwards. So after all that how many workers at the plant died? How many nuclear blasts have their been? How many new Hiroshima's have there been?

Well hearing the reactions of some you'd have thought both plants had blown sky high and the entire island of Japan was glowing green right now with Godzilla rising from the surf to terrorize the survivors.

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A little perspective

2011-03-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from the local job fair out in Hesperia, CA. Let me start off by saying it was a total joke. Now I don't have much experience with job fairs so for those of you who have please forgive me if I seem hard on them. See this "job fair" was nothing more than a bunch of tables for a few companies, several schools, and one government agency set-up to hand out flyers directing everyone to their websites. Seriously? I've BEEN to most of the job websites out there, I have a college job placement system sending me job openings daily, so what the heck was the job fair for? Those who don't have computers? (Hence defeating the idea of going to their websites.)

Add to that the sheer lack of actual openings even from those who attended, the poor showing of businesses advertising, and running into former coworkers who have been out of work for the last two years really brings home how hard the job market is right now. 9% unemployment sounds bad, 20% underemployment with those who have "stopped looking for work" sounds worse, seeing it in person just puts it all into perspective.

Another striking perspective I just heard? Japan vs. the National Debt.
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Meteorological Musings: Nuclear Power in Perspective

2011-03-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

Meteorological Musings: Nuclear Power in Perspective: "There is no question that the events in Japan are ongoing and serious. That said, I believe a lot of people are being misled by much of the ..."

I'm not worried about Japan's reactor either.

2011-03-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

This post is in reaction to this one that was tweeted by Tested's Will Smith. (http://www.tested.com/)

The original post is here:
http://morgsatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/why-i-am-not-worried-about-japans-nuclear-reactors/

While it's not the best written (Build instead of Built kept popping up to bother me) I think it does a fair job of explaining some of the factors of the current situation in Japan. Does the author know all of the details? Hell no! But the general premises and physics of a nuclear power plant are sound.

To me the funniest part of the blog were the comments. While I didn't read it until after comments had been shut down, I find it hilarious how afraid people are of nuclear power. For instance:

"Nuclear energy is not 100% safe and the risks it takes if something goes terrible wrong are not worth it in my opinion…"

Seriously? Nuclear has a terrible reputation due to the 60's and Chernobyl. It's like sharks, thanks to Jaws everyone is terrified they'll be eaten by sharks, yet more people are killed by cars than sharks yearly, yet we don't fear cars like we do sharks. (It'd be funny getting to work if we did!)
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Coming back online!

2011-03-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

Well I have to say that this thing was an EPIC FAIL the first time around. Mainly because I forgot it existed. No worries, time to try this again, though this time with a purpose!

What's that you ask? Well I shall be chronicling my life as a Gamer Dad for one, but mostly this site shall be my blog in relation to a new/old project my wife and I have been cooking up. While I've done two webcomics now, neither one really flew very far in large part due to the whole "Making of a comic" thing. So THIS time I'm going to focus on what I know, and that's writing. So while I'm writing a full story my wife will be illustrating it.

Yep, she's going to do what she does best, set-piece pictures. So instead of fighting with the, surprisingly difficult task of doing "action stills" for simple things like having a conversation, she'll be able to focus on creating images that capture the mood, event, or character discussed.

I haven't set an update schedule or even a length, but there will definitely be more than 1 picture a chapter. Of that you can be sure. Probably along the lines of 1 picture per 500 words or so but that's just a guesstimate.

The ultimate goal? I'll be honest times are tough and one way to make a little extra bit of money is with Google Adsense. Does that mean I'll be making three sites designed just around making Ad income? No, it just means I'm trying to earn gas money and creating content that drives readership can do that so be it! So what does this mean for you the reader? Just this, that I shall have to create rich, timely, and regularly updated content to earn an income. So that means you'll get more stuff more often, and who doesn't want that?

So you'll be seeing this site change and adapt as I figure things out. Just remember if Yee can do it, so can you!

Happy Birthday Bella!

2008-12-10T17:08:00.000-08:00

We are happy to announce the birth of our first child Isabella Elizabeth!