Last week I mentioned my first cousin who was in a nursing home after having a couple of strokes. It turned out he was doing rehab and was within a few weeks of being released. Unfortunately, a nurse got mad about something and started cussing him out. He got upset and started cussing back at her. His blood pressure spiked and caused a stroke that sent him to the hospital where he had another stroke, a light heart attack and more strokes. Etc, etc. I was finally able to go see him yesterday afternoon. During the drive there, he had more problems. By the time I got there, he was unconscious and expected to die by midnight or this morning. He's still alive at the moment, but the last treatment they can do is not working.
If I had a car, I'd have gone to see him last week, when things were looking good. Maybe the nurses would have noticed a visitor from out of town and treated him better. That's been known to happen.
I had another first cousin on that side of the family who died in 2009 of medical malpractice after a surgeon made a mistake that ended up being fatal. Our uncle died a week after that. I imagine the stress played a role.
My dad needed heart surgery in 2007, but the insurance company refused to pay until the last minute, since it would cost them about $250,000. This is standard practice in the US. A lot of people die before the surgery. It saves insurance companies an amazing amount of money that way. Because of the delay, another problem that led to his death wasn't diagnosed by any of his doctors until it was too late, and even then, they didn't know exactly what he had. He completely recovered from the heart surgery, but by 2013 there was no time to figure out a treatment for the other problem. It's almost like that side of the family is cursed.
If you're a European reader, you might get the impression that the American medical system is bloodthirsty and pure crap. Not all the time. Not for everyone. It $$$ depends $$$ on $$$ certain $$$ factors.
So, my other first cousin on the other side of the family has had a few chemo treatments. I don't know all the details of the situation, but it doesn't sound good. The daughter whose wedding she went to in Europe before doing chemo flew in to see her.
I haven't made quite as much progress on the book, but I'm still seeing decent progress. I still think before June 21st is realistic. I haven't done anything on the YA book. I'd like to think I can get that out in June. It's basically done. I just need to go in and do the final polishing and fix anything I haven't noticed before now.
Friday, May 27, 2016
Friday, May 20, 2016
Prayer Time
I have a couple of prayer requests for the praying people who read the blog. Pretty much all of you, right? :)
One of my first cousins on my mom's side found out she has cancer. I heard about it a few weeks ago. I may have mentioned it on here. She was in for a checkup in the fall, and it was excellent. A few months later the cancer was everywhere. Her plan was to go to Europe for a daughter's wedding then begin chemo afterward. She should have started that by now.
A first cousin on my dad's side had two strokes. He's been in a nursing home five weeks. I just found out this week. You know how people say they're always the last to know? I literally was almost the last to know. Nobody thought to call me. I'd like to visit him, but I'm having a hard time making that fit the budget and circumstances. I'm not sure how it's going to work out. I need a car. The news was a punch in the gut.
They're both older than I am, but that's a topic I already have a video planned for. It'll be in the one on foreshadowing. I'll give a small preview. My dad had me when he was a little older than when people normally have children. His dad had him when he was older than people have children. At this point most of the family I knew on my dad's side when I was growing up have died of old age. The cousin who had the strokes is about ten years younger than my dad would be had he lived. Not including the descendants, you could almost count the family reunion on one hand. That's kind of depressing, so let's move on to book stuff.
I got no videos made this week, although I did work on the studio a little bit. The lighting is mostly in place. I may need to set up a light or two for the green screen. I had to buy a small carpet to put under the chair. The chair's on painted concrete. When I would sit down in it, it would slide. The first carpet was three inches(7.62cm) too narrow. I had to take it back, another delay. I got nothing at all done on the YA book.
But these are both kind of good news, since I spent the time I would've spent on those working on book 2, which still doesn't have a title. It's not going easily, but it's going a lot faster than it was. I'm liking the progress I'm seeing.
Having a concrete deadline is helping a lot. I want to start the SF YouTube series around the 23rd of June at the earliest. It'll be after the 21st but probably not the 22nd. The software I need comes out the 21st, and I'll need to download it and learn enough to get started. I want the book 2 rough draft done before the 21st.
Something else I could use prayer for, besides needing a car, is my internet speed. In 2009 my electric company got a $33.5 million government grant to put in a 1Gbps fiber optic network. People within a mile of the trunk were supposed to be hooked into it first with everyone else being added later. I live less than a mile from the trunk. I never got hooked up to it. After a very long delay, the electric company sent me a letter last year saying it would cost me $25,000 if I wanted to be hooked up. Plus the cost of the service afterward and any incidental fees.
My ISP received a $175 million dollar government grant to upgrade everyone's network speed. They didn't do it either.
I have a 1.5Gbps internet connection with no way to upgrade it. Upload speed for the HD videos I want to make is around 256Kbps. The local congressman has been harassing my ISP in the paper, but nothing real has been done yet, at least not where I live.
One of my first cousins on my mom's side found out she has cancer. I heard about it a few weeks ago. I may have mentioned it on here. She was in for a checkup in the fall, and it was excellent. A few months later the cancer was everywhere. Her plan was to go to Europe for a daughter's wedding then begin chemo afterward. She should have started that by now.
A first cousin on my dad's side had two strokes. He's been in a nursing home five weeks. I just found out this week. You know how people say they're always the last to know? I literally was almost the last to know. Nobody thought to call me. I'd like to visit him, but I'm having a hard time making that fit the budget and circumstances. I'm not sure how it's going to work out. I need a car. The news was a punch in the gut.
They're both older than I am, but that's a topic I already have a video planned for. It'll be in the one on foreshadowing. I'll give a small preview. My dad had me when he was a little older than when people normally have children. His dad had him when he was older than people have children. At this point most of the family I knew on my dad's side when I was growing up have died of old age. The cousin who had the strokes is about ten years younger than my dad would be had he lived. Not including the descendants, you could almost count the family reunion on one hand. That's kind of depressing, so let's move on to book stuff.
I got no videos made this week, although I did work on the studio a little bit. The lighting is mostly in place. I may need to set up a light or two for the green screen. I had to buy a small carpet to put under the chair. The chair's on painted concrete. When I would sit down in it, it would slide. The first carpet was three inches(7.62cm) too narrow. I had to take it back, another delay. I got nothing at all done on the YA book.
But these are both kind of good news, since I spent the time I would've spent on those working on book 2, which still doesn't have a title. It's not going easily, but it's going a lot faster than it was. I'm liking the progress I'm seeing.
Having a concrete deadline is helping a lot. I want to start the SF YouTube series around the 23rd of June at the earliest. It'll be after the 21st but probably not the 22nd. The software I need comes out the 21st, and I'll need to download it and learn enough to get started. I want the book 2 rough draft done before the 21st.
Something else I could use prayer for, besides needing a car, is my internet speed. In 2009 my electric company got a $33.5 million government grant to put in a 1Gbps fiber optic network. People within a mile of the trunk were supposed to be hooked into it first with everyone else being added later. I live less than a mile from the trunk. I never got hooked up to it. After a very long delay, the electric company sent me a letter last year saying it would cost me $25,000 if I wanted to be hooked up. Plus the cost of the service afterward and any incidental fees.
My ISP received a $175 million dollar government grant to upgrade everyone's network speed. They didn't do it either.
I have a 1.5Gbps internet connection with no way to upgrade it. Upload speed for the HD videos I want to make is around 256Kbps. The local congressman has been harassing my ISP in the paper, but nothing real has been done yet, at least not where I live.
Friday, May 13, 2016
Blood Moons and Shmitah Fail
I was going to do a particular blog last year then forgot it the week it was planned. If you guessed the Hitler vs Steve Jobs one, that's not it. I need to look up some verses for that one. And I have to be sensitive in my approach to such a controversial and emotion-evoking figure as Jobs.
Last year two things were on the calendar, the shmitah and the blood moons. The shmitah was the one I forgot. Because nothing happened. Nothing happened with the blood moons either, although one of the claims for them is something could happen the year after the last pair. Whatever.
I saw an interview a while back with Mark Hitchcock about the blood moons during all the hype. He said nothing was going to happen. I made a mental note of that. He was right. Looking him up for this blog, I found he put out a book in 2014 about the blood moons debunking them. I haven't read it, but I might look at it one day. It's well-reviewed.
Jonathan Cahn or Jonathan Con? He totally blew it with his shmitah prophecy. Personally, I think he was sincere in his beliefs, just sincerely wrong. The day of the shmitah I forgot it was supposed to happen and didn't think of it until later in the week. I ran to YouTube to see if I could find a Jonathan Cahn Video. I found one right away. This is kind of sad. He said that just because nothing happened didn't mean he was wrong. That's when I quit watching. There's a time to stick by your beliefs, and there's a time to admit you're wrong. I haven't listened to a thing he's said since that video. Someone on Facebook posted a couple of articles about him lately. I didn't look at them, but they're what reminded me to do this blog. :) I couldn't help but wonder if that person still believes.
I knew the blood moons and shmitah were going to flop when I saw how big they were in the secular media. Satan distorts the truth. He didn't distort the message on those. It was amazing how clearly they were presented. When I saw that, I knew it would end up making Christians look like nuts.
Another thing that didn't make sense to me was the prophecy the stock market would crash on the day of the shmitah. I looked it up ahead of time, of course. That day was a Sunday. The markets are closed on Sundays. If it happened on Friday or Monday, that wouldn't have been the shmitah. It never seemed to fit.
Book Stuff
Things are going a lot faster on book 2, which still has no title. Last week I mentioned I needed a timeline. I have a legal pad of information for every book. I found a timeline in the back of the one for book 2, but it was a simple one listing only the major plot points. Aha, I was on the right track at some point but got misdirected. Life hasn't been fun lately. Everything seems to get in the way.
I got the green screen put up this week. Unfortunately, as I was adjusting the height of the support poles, one side of it slipped down hard and tipped the stand over. The pole fell forward onto one of the light stand and broke the light bulb. I think I've mentioned before that one of the bulbs blew right out of the box but I was making do with two. This left me with one left. I had to order more. The good news is that they were supposed to arrive next week, but they arrived today.
This is roughly the setup for the writing videos. I would sit in the chair as the literary critic character and expound on "literature". (That thing in the corner is a duster in case someone wonders.) The lights have umbrellas that go in front of them. I just haven't gotten it all set up yet. It would be one light for each side and possibly another above or in front of me. It depends on how it looks on camera. I didn't get the chair moved until late last night. There would be two more lights behind the chair to evenly light the green screen.
For videos for the Messenger channel, I'd use the same setup with different clothing. For yet other videos, I'd probably stand up.
If things go well, I'm going to try to make some videos Sunday. It's going to take some experimentation to figure out the light height, etc.
Last year two things were on the calendar, the shmitah and the blood moons. The shmitah was the one I forgot. Because nothing happened. Nothing happened with the blood moons either, although one of the claims for them is something could happen the year after the last pair. Whatever.
I saw an interview a while back with Mark Hitchcock about the blood moons during all the hype. He said nothing was going to happen. I made a mental note of that. He was right. Looking him up for this blog, I found he put out a book in 2014 about the blood moons debunking them. I haven't read it, but I might look at it one day. It's well-reviewed.
Jonathan Cahn or Jonathan Con? He totally blew it with his shmitah prophecy. Personally, I think he was sincere in his beliefs, just sincerely wrong. The day of the shmitah I forgot it was supposed to happen and didn't think of it until later in the week. I ran to YouTube to see if I could find a Jonathan Cahn Video. I found one right away. This is kind of sad. He said that just because nothing happened didn't mean he was wrong. That's when I quit watching. There's a time to stick by your beliefs, and there's a time to admit you're wrong. I haven't listened to a thing he's said since that video. Someone on Facebook posted a couple of articles about him lately. I didn't look at them, but they're what reminded me to do this blog. :) I couldn't help but wonder if that person still believes.
I knew the blood moons and shmitah were going to flop when I saw how big they were in the secular media. Satan distorts the truth. He didn't distort the message on those. It was amazing how clearly they were presented. When I saw that, I knew it would end up making Christians look like nuts.
Another thing that didn't make sense to me was the prophecy the stock market would crash on the day of the shmitah. I looked it up ahead of time, of course. That day was a Sunday. The markets are closed on Sundays. If it happened on Friday or Monday, that wouldn't have been the shmitah. It never seemed to fit.
Book Stuff
Things are going a lot faster on book 2, which still has no title. Last week I mentioned I needed a timeline. I have a legal pad of information for every book. I found a timeline in the back of the one for book 2, but it was a simple one listing only the major plot points. Aha, I was on the right track at some point but got misdirected. Life hasn't been fun lately. Everything seems to get in the way.
I got the green screen put up this week. Unfortunately, as I was adjusting the height of the support poles, one side of it slipped down hard and tipped the stand over. The pole fell forward onto one of the light stand and broke the light bulb. I think I've mentioned before that one of the bulbs blew right out of the box but I was making do with two. This left me with one left. I had to order more. The good news is that they were supposed to arrive next week, but they arrived today.
Studio One
This is roughly the setup for the writing videos. I would sit in the chair as the literary critic character and expound on "literature". (That thing in the corner is a duster in case someone wonders.) The lights have umbrellas that go in front of them. I just haven't gotten it all set up yet. It would be one light for each side and possibly another above or in front of me. It depends on how it looks on camera. I didn't get the chair moved until late last night. There would be two more lights behind the chair to evenly light the green screen.
For videos for the Messenger channel, I'd use the same setup with different clothing. For yet other videos, I'd probably stand up.
If things go well, I'm going to try to make some videos Sunday. It's going to take some experimentation to figure out the light height, etc.
Friday, May 6, 2016
Oh, A Timeline
I lost a lot of time this week trying to fix a water leak. I didn't have fun with that. It doesn't seem to be what one would think of as a leak. It's more like condensation building up on this one pipe followed by dripping. I put this thing on part of it. I'm not sure it's completely fixed. I have a few of these. What I had to do was take out part of a ceiling, wrap what I could reach of the pipe and put the sheetrock panel up. I'm still not quite finished with sealing the edges or painting. I may have to take more of the ceiling out to reach the rest of the pipe. This is in the same basement that I had to take that wall down in. Apparently, I'm going to have to do that to another wall in a different room to make sure the wall is sealed. :( But not today.
I skipped the YA book in favor of working on the next B'vellah War book. It's been a hard road on that one, but I think I have a breakthrough.
Starting shortly after June 21st, I want to begin a 16 to 20-week science fiction series on YouTube. My That Don't Work channel is supposed to be about finding a bad moment in an otherwise good book and showing writers how to avoid that mistake themselves. The SF series would follow the 3-act formula but be more of a hands-on teaching demonstration. The general idea is that there would be parallel sets of videos. One would be the show. The other would be for writers and go into detail explaining what exactly is going on under the hood in the show. It would go step by step through the 3-act formula, although I may not follow it religiously.
The show is about a surveyor on a colony ship that finds itself in another galaxy and, the crew suspects, another universe. The colony ship's faster-than-light(FTL) drive would have been broken during the voyage and require repairs. The surveyor would be one of a dozen sent out to look for the resources necessary to repair the ship. The story would unfold from that point.
I've been thinking about the concept and writing down a few notes for June. It's more like television than a book. So, I've had to think about the story in different ways than I would a book. I'm not to the point of having an outline, but in preparation for that I decided to make a partial timeline yesterday while I was out and had a few minutes. Aha! That's what I need for the next B'vellah War book. I already have an outline, but I've still been struggling with it even aside from all the stuff that keeps happening like the wall and the ceiling, etc. I think I need to focus on the subplots to really flesh out the story and make it all work.
A timeline is a visual tool to give me a different overlook of the story than I have with just an outline. There's a 3+ year gap between books one and two. A risky move, but the Calliope novella will cover some of the gap, if I can ever get to it. :) Joe and Ceinwen have three kids. Etan and Kayley have two. Toddlers. They don't do much, mostly toddle. Sydeke has adult children who need to be doing things. Marion and Genia have a child. Princes Drem and Kane are in the story. Lots of characters. Lots of kids. What's High Priest Artis doing? Messenger Harvey has to be in there. Quincy, who got cut from book 1, might be in there. What I need is a timeline for my outline.
I think it's going to start going a lot faster if things like the leak would stop hindering the process.
I skipped the YA book in favor of working on the next B'vellah War book. It's been a hard road on that one, but I think I have a breakthrough.
Starting shortly after June 21st, I want to begin a 16 to 20-week science fiction series on YouTube. My That Don't Work channel is supposed to be about finding a bad moment in an otherwise good book and showing writers how to avoid that mistake themselves. The SF series would follow the 3-act formula but be more of a hands-on teaching demonstration. The general idea is that there would be parallel sets of videos. One would be the show. The other would be for writers and go into detail explaining what exactly is going on under the hood in the show. It would go step by step through the 3-act formula, although I may not follow it religiously.
The show is about a surveyor on a colony ship that finds itself in another galaxy and, the crew suspects, another universe. The colony ship's faster-than-light(FTL) drive would have been broken during the voyage and require repairs. The surveyor would be one of a dozen sent out to look for the resources necessary to repair the ship. The story would unfold from that point.
I've been thinking about the concept and writing down a few notes for June. It's more like television than a book. So, I've had to think about the story in different ways than I would a book. I'm not to the point of having an outline, but in preparation for that I decided to make a partial timeline yesterday while I was out and had a few minutes. Aha! That's what I need for the next B'vellah War book. I already have an outline, but I've still been struggling with it even aside from all the stuff that keeps happening like the wall and the ceiling, etc. I think I need to focus on the subplots to really flesh out the story and make it all work.
A timeline is a visual tool to give me a different overlook of the story than I have with just an outline. There's a 3+ year gap between books one and two. A risky move, but the Calliope novella will cover some of the gap, if I can ever get to it. :) Joe and Ceinwen have three kids. Etan and Kayley have two. Toddlers. They don't do much, mostly toddle. Sydeke has adult children who need to be doing things. Marion and Genia have a child. Princes Drem and Kane are in the story. Lots of characters. Lots of kids. What's High Priest Artis doing? Messenger Harvey has to be in there. Quincy, who got cut from book 1, might be in there. What I need is a timeline for my outline.
I think it's going to start going a lot faster if things like the leak would stop hindering the process.
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