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“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
– Frank Herbert, Dune

I’ve seen it over and over. A blank page is the most frightening thing to a writer. I extend that fear to any creative undertaking. Heck, I’d even extend it to software development. A screen, with nothing but a blinking cursor is pretty daunting.

I don’t think I’m a great storyteller, but maybe that’s because I’ve never tried it out. The more I think about how much I love to read, hear, or watch a story unfold, the more I think that perhaps the stories worth telling are only such simply because they’ve been told, and not held back.

That’s still poking me sometimes. I don’t believe I have very interesting stories to tell. Whether that’s true or not isn’t always up to me, but I’ve long thought that even the struggles I’ve been through don’t seem so bad when I look at the problems of the wider world. Although I do experience some pretty exciting events and have fun with friends, not much of it falls into the nostalgic reminiscing level, in my opinion.

Maybe I’m setting the bar too high for my own biographical standard. My life’s not that mundane, after all.

I’ll think some more, and be more mindful, just in case something I do think is interesting happens. It’s the time of year (Winter holidays) when interesting things do sometimes occur. I shall try being less afraid of sharing.

Original Photo Credit: Ania i Artur Nowaccy via Compfight cc

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What is service to me?
Source image: Dustin Lee on Unsplash

It could be a few things, such as that thing the guy does when you initially order cable for the first time. It could also be the thing you wait for when your car is broken and won’t go.

Perhaps it’s even all those things, combined, that the people who fight fires, take care of the ill, and fight battles overseas do to help make life better for the rest of us.

All of these things seem to be services to me. What do dictionaries say? Let’s see:

Service

noun

  1. an act of helpful activity; help; aid:
    to do someone a service.

[Source: Dictionary.com]

That also looks good, and pretty much all of the above, and more, fit that particular definition. It’s not the only one, and this is one word that is very versatile.

Inspired by a prompt at The One-Minute Writer

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Quote source.

Lots of things can be invaluable, but what’s invaluable to me? This is actually a tricky thing to figure out. Would it be something like my glasses, that help me to see without getting headaches from eye-strain?

Maybe.

Possibly, it could be something much larger, like the entirety of the internet. It’s a vast resource that often allows me to achieve feats of wizardry, as I pick up knowledge that would have been very fuzzy in accuracy back in the days before I had access to it. In those days, knowledge was primarily gained from ancient objects known as books, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias. Those were often bulky or far slower to find relevant information from. Back then, however, they were definitely invaluable, and their importance and continued existence and evolution are an important aspect of the internet.

A dictionary that pronounces words and has hyperlinks to synonyms and antonyms is super-awesome. That was an expensive way to go before the internet, which put it largely out of reach in any practical form for me.

That usefulness extends to my smart phone, an iPhone, and that also makes it an invaluable device to have. I literally have access to any part of the internet whenever I carry it and have cellular service or free wi-fi.

I do sometimes wonder when I encounter a person that actually struggles with finding information and yet, they also carry a similar device. Why don’t they try to use it to answer a question they have. Reliance on “group think” on the small scale (people actually present) can sometimes be error-prone, especially if nobody there has the relevant expertise or experience to properly field the question, so why not try getting the information from a larger, usually first-hand from those that deposit the information? Yes, sometimes bias creeps in, but, for the most part, for information that needs to be factual, with no room for opinions, there’s often no better source at hand than the internet.

I definitely don’t claim that sites like Wikipedia are perfect, but I do believe that sites like Dictionary.com, which pull from their traditional counterparts, can be very solid.

So, if you don’t look up information online first, or you still try to first memorize directions to a location without assistance, why is that so? Comment on that.

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 Well, well… It’s Thanksgiving again. I’ve yet to be away from home this time of year, so the routine begins again. Hopefully, I don’t read as ungrateful because, for me, being grateful has been something I’ve made a personal habit of fairly recently.

It’s been roughly a month since my morning routine has begun with more than exercising my phone’s multiple alarm clocks as I begrudgingly climbed out of sleep. For me, inspired by a post I came across somewhere that escapes me at the moment, I’ve made a direct effort to list out a few thinks I’m grateful for. I’ve done it almost every morning since mid-October. Today, I actually am sure that I’ve shared that task with many more people.

Just think about doing that if you haven’t been. If you think gratitude should be a daily thing, make it happen. Have a great day, even if you don’t celebrate anything today.

Thanks for reading.

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A moment from Pulp Fiction
A moment from Pulp Fiction

We’ve all had this happen, or will:

You’re out in the world, at some place, usually a social gathering or event, like a convention, or a concert; basically, any place you’ll see a lot of strangers. Suddenly, you see somebody that you recognize, or at least you think you do.

For me, I usually take a bit of time to wait and see if the person also recognizes me as well. If looks like they do as well, they a friendly “hey”, or “hey, [name]. How ya doing?” follows.

A few very, very rare times I’ve even spotted my own doppelgänger. Those moments make you get a little nervous because you wonder if that person also sees themselves in you. The former happens to me a lot more at conventions since I usually meet a few new people and add friends nearly every time and there’s a few cosplayers I say hi to when I get a chance to. The latter is super rare and its been a few years since it last happened to me.

Now, it’s your turn:

Let’s see what you think in the comments, or write a post of your own. I want to know if others get that thrill of recognition.

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Human tragedy is sad when it takes place in any location, especially when it is completely senseless and indiscriminate. Any similar act to this one deserves sympathy equally for the victims and their family and friends. This rant was not conceived out of lack of that, but due to the appearance of misdirected anger that often follows such an event.

The world is going nuts over yet another terror attack. This time, Paris was hit. Becoming the usual, the big media is helping to whip people into a frenzy of hateful attitudes.

You’ve got people saying things like “pray4paris”, or “pray4people”, and, on nearly every related post, others are saying “why not [country B, C, or a bunch of D’s]?” The problem with those is the classic assumption that those are intentionally being ignored by people who are actually awake.

I mean, has nobody been paying attention to the real refugee situation? I know I’m not the only one following stories like the Ghost Boat, am I?

That’s never the case, or hope would be lost.

For those feeling useless: you shouldn’t. There’s quite a bit that can be done, even to combat the ignorance and hate-fueled stuff out there. It doesn’t even take money to do so, and, as expected, organizations like the Red Cross has been in need and making calls. Other organizations, such as Doctors Without Borders could also use a hand in the war zones where, coincidentally, refugees are fleeing from, when they can.

Chances are, if you see this post, it’ll have been days or weeks after because, honestly, I thing some heads need to cool down a bit before they consider actual action, beyond knee-jerk reactions to a tragic situation. Bringing awareness is a good thing, but it’s never OK to trample on a fresh tragedy to bring attention to a slightly less fresh one, especially when their root causes are related.

I’ve ranted a bit, so it’s time to balance it with some relaxation and contemplation. Be good to one another. We’re all humans on a pale blue dot, after all.be-good

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For a change, and because I just received a culinary box from Quarterly, I’ll be trying this stuff that looks like oatmeal, called It was in the latest box, along with a Minnesota mug and pancake mix. Since it’s a bit chilly this morning, I’ll prepare it hot. Protein and fiber, I definitely could use both. 🙂

Had a weird dream, which is quickly fading. In it, I was hiding, for a reason I don’t know, from some group of people, who I think were a rock band that was using my own home for a rehearsal space, and were taking a break. I did eventually speak with one of them, but it was just before I woke up, so I can’t even remember what we said.

Also, I think I get the appeal of the ugly sweater tradition, although I don’t yet have one epic enough. I do, however, have a sweatshirt that wishes it was a sweater. Close enough, right?

Do you like weekends? Had any strange dreams lately? I’d like to know.

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found quote via Pablo

Another chilly morning in Southern California. I know my east coast friends hate us, but if I shiver any, I call it cold.

I’m pretty much hooked on WildStar. Had a moment last night where I actually lost track of time and got booted when scheduled maintenance began at midnight. I was actually sad that I had to stop before I was sleepy. 🙁

The life of an MMO gamer…

Read a post written a few years back by a friend I admire the made me glad that person is a friend and reinforced my admiration for the guy. Wish I could go visit soon, but life is throwing up the old roadblocks. I will make it happen before terribly long.

Your turn. How was your morning/afternoon/evening/night?

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Today’s an important day. The reconstruction of my mouth continues. Now that the teeth are in a better alignment, the cleanup of the gums, to help show off the teeth better, begins. I’ll also be fitting retainer gear to keep the teeth from moving back.

it’s time to eat a good breakfast. I’ll need something sustaining for the long day ahead.