A New Writer's Group Appears.

Long ago in an Internet corner far away there was a Usenet group.  It died.  And yet it now lives again. There are serious signs of life over at the AFO forums.  A couple of the old school guys and a few new faces have already appeared.  There is a challenge with actual entries. 

It lives.

In other news, I head down to pick up the RV tomorrow.  Turns out they are only going to fix one of the five problems I sent it in for.  I will have to fix one of them myself and the others they say aren't problems.  I am not particularly satisfied with this answer and we may revisit this again.

Well, it is late and I still have to work on my challenge entry.  I can't win, since I set the challenge, but I still want to enter. 

6/12/12

Have to work tomorrow, so I tried to make today count.  Got up, got some computer stuff done and then took Michael to his Sea Life class.  He really loves it.  Sarah and I sat and watched Max play in a park with other kids while Michael was in his class.  Three hours.  It was good for us all I think.  Then back home for more computer stuff, then dinner, a small workout and the night time preparations. 

A good day.

I am putting too many irons in the fire.  I know it and yet I don't care.  I am interested in each of them and want to see how they pan out.  The latest thing is an addition to the Adventure Nickel website that has nothing to do with the website. 

I used to write short fiction with the possible aim of writing more or even making a living out of writing some day.  There was a Usenet group called Alt.Fiction.Original where a bunch of us wannabe writers got together and helped each other out.  A fairly popular author came out of the group and there were several others who easily could have had they been as persistent in the business side as they were in the writing side.  I went back there after an online conversation with a cousin who is writing.  It is a dead and desolate place where wing nuts post conspiracy theories and spammers reign.  Every 20 posts or so there is a  cry from someone who once gained benefit from the board.  "What happened?" 

I thought what the hell.  I have a website and bandwidth to spare.  So I went out, got some free forum software and installed a forum on the website.  I am actively recruiting writers to come and be a part of what could become again a lively and vibrant community.  There are a few key people in place that will make this an awesome community if people will only show up and contribute.  I figure I can make a go with 10 solid contributors.  We will see.  If not, then I will spend a lot of time writing short stories and critiquing them myself.  Should lead to a healthy schizophrenia. 

http://adventurenickel.com/AFO/phpBB3/

Hell, I'm proud from a technical standpoint.  I'm proud that I saw something and didn't just cry about it, but did something.  I'll probably feel silly about it someday, but oh well.  Just add it to the list.

So, if you know any budding writers, send them to the board.  You get what you give. 

6/11/12

Busy day today.  Got up early and dropped off Irv.  Drove back in time to meet the crew here after Michael's sea life school. 

Then some home time working on another computer project. Then some hot tub time.  THe hotel is worth it for the hot water alone.  In the RV we tend to be so conservative.  Don't take long showers.  Use water very sparingly, even though we are hooked up to city water it just becomes a habit.  Not here.  I am conservationist at heart, but I am only human.  Long hot showers.  Oh yeah. 

Some time in the hot tub too.  Life is good, if expensive.

6/10/12

Our lifestyle can be a lot of work.  Today we cleaned and packed up Irv and gathered our belongings.  It took two fully laden trips with both vehicles to get everything we needed to the hotel.  But, on the bright side, we doubled the square footage of our living space. 

IT is more expensive to get the RV fixed this way.  We could have easily just gone ahead and told Open Range that we couldn't take the RV in and they said if we couldn't it would be possible to get someone else to come out.  I am banking on the premise that the dealer will do better work and that they will be able to in large part because of a controlled environment in their shop with all their tools. 

Tomorrow I get up early to hook up Irv and drive to Ventura.  While I am doing that, Sarah will be taking the full crew to Avila beach.  Michael has a class at a Sea Life Center from noon to three and we can't leave the dog in the room.  I guess that means she gets to hang out on the dog beach with Satchel and Max.  Sounds relaxing, but I know it will be pretty busy.  Now, time to rest.  I will have to set an alarm for the morning for the first time since Arkansas.  Yuuuuck. 

6/9/12

On Monday we become homeless.  Yup, we are taking IRV in for some work and will be moving in to a hotel room.  On the plus side, the internet connection will probably be much better.  On the minus side, everything else.  Well, not totally.  There will be a pool and some workout facilities.  I will be closer to work.  Doesn't matter, things need to be done and this is the best way to do them. 

I had an interesting patient the other day.  He was a gentleman who was riding in the AIDS Lifecycle event.  This is an annual (I think) event where riders ride bicycles from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money and awareness for AIDS prevention.  It is a great event.  My patient was a rider in the event.  While talking to the patient and the patient's significant other (I never definitively established a relationship) we talked a bit about fundraising for a good cause. I mentioned the I will be doing the Tough Mudder next month and that I can use the event to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.  He told me a touch about his fundraising efforts for the AIDS lifecycle and it brought me to the conclusion that I am negligent in my duties as a fundraiser.  I am not running the event for the Wounded Warrior Project.  I am running for me.  I can, however, raise funds for them.  To that end, I wrote a little essay and posted it on Facebook trying to raise donations.  I will include it here. 

What did they give you?

They all volunteered at the least to give a few years of their life in defense of yours. All of them. And these are the young and healthy years. Time spent away from family, loved ones and the familiar comforts of home like hot water and fresh food. Many of them gave much more.

Some gave up their lives as they knew them. They gave arms and legs, sensations and the ability to walk. Love lives were lost forever before they were ever really started. Some gave up the ability to walk down a street without waiting for a garbage can to explode or a window to erupt in a blaze of gunfire. They gave up peace of mind so that many others could have it.

What can you give back?

The Wounded Warrior Project is an organization devoted to aiding those who have given so much. They provide services for wounded veterans and their families. Among their programs are the Combat Stress and Recovery Program, the Transition Training Academy, the Warrior to Work program and many other programs developed to support the returning veteran and their families.

On Sunday, July 8 I will be running in a Tough Mudder event in support of the Wounded Warrior Project. This is your opportunity to give back. Please remember, all donations go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project. I am not asking for money for me, but for them. For more information, please visit woundedwarriorproject.org To donate today, visit this link.

https://register.toughmudder.com/fundraising/donate.aspx?event=6819&fundraiser=r3943709

Please share this with your friends so they may have an opportunity to give back. Help our veterans today.

Thank you.

If this made you guilty enough to donate, thanks.  If it didn't, check out my facebook page, I am only getting started. 

6/6/12

Today I feel like hammered dollar sign octothorpe ampersand exclamation point. 

Subsequently didn't do much today.  So not much to write about.  But, I'm supposed to say something right? 

So...howya doin?  Read any good books lately?  How 'bout them Cowboys? 

Yup, got nothing.  Just wanted to spell out $#&! in long hand. 

6/5/12

Success.  Of a sort.

Today I woke up and felt even worse than yesterday.  Tough Mudder I thought.  The event doesn't care how I feel today.  Nope, not one little bit.  So I strapped on the shoes and took off running.  Yesterday we passed by a park where the Sarah and the kids went to play one day while I was at work.  I noted it and discovered it was a little over two miles from the house.  Hmmmm.

So that was today's goal.  Run to the park, exercise there and run home.  And I did it.  Ran to the park and there I did three rotations of 20 push ups, 5 pull ups and one minute planks.  Yaaayyyy.  Felt like crap, but did it.  I figure I need to train to the event and the mudder is running interspersed with exercise to that should be good training.  I need to do it more.  Satchel seemed to appreciate the rest while at the park too. 

Then home for lunch and more errands.  After dinner we went to play in the dunes.  It was too windy to do much, 30 mph with gusts to 50, but we played.  Now we may just sit down to a guilty pleasure of some TV and alcohol. 

I am thinking I might add a training portion to the website, but most of my internet presence is on hold til we get a new computer which is on hold til after we get IRV back from the shop.  Sigh.  So much to do.