Two, and three.

[Beep] [Beep] [Beep] The blinking lights on the console did their nightly dance. Geof just ignored them. He already knew the ship's drive needed repairs and that the overall ship ammo was starting to run low. And that there were no known stars in any direction. Desperation makes a man enter warp without checking the math. Desperation makes a man stupid. So now he sat out in deep space like he had for the past 40 years of his life checking the ships systems and praying that the next warp would take him to a star with non-hostile life. He had been twenty three when the swarm hit his system. Twenty three when he scrambled to his ship with a crew of equally desperate fools. They had just grabbed any ship and his was the closest. A hundred and thirteen passengers and Geof . They went into deepsleep and had stayed there. He woke up every year for a day, did the math, picked a new star, uncloaked and warped to it. If there was nothing there he just recloaked , start...

For the past couple of weeks Damm and I have been faithfully spending an hour each day working on our respective summer projects-he on his writing and me on Spanish and history. I had previously mentioned wanting to create some sort of series that I’d work on throughout the summer. I did a bit of brainstorming and decided that I should write essays on bits of fun and fascinating history. Then I started thinking up topic ideas and realized that I didn’t have enough time to randomly pick subjects, research them, and then write entertainingly. So I decided to pick one area of focus. It came down to either Modern Russia or the Civil War Era, since these are the two history courses I’ll be taking in the fall. I chose the Civil War. And even then I have not narrowed my focus enough. The essays one could write on the American Civil War … the possibilities are endless. And so I’m in the process of redefining what I will write/research. I’m in the midst of gathering info for a...

"The monsters swarmed into the throne room, striking down the guards like they never were. His Majesty stood resolute, resplendent in his fury. He struck out, and the dragon fell. He lashed out and the wolf was thrown back. And then a simple page, trusted and cared for... the vile b------, struck from behind. A poisoned dagger deep into his neck. And his Majesty fell. And all was darkness." The bard glowingly recited the most shocking and famous story of the age, the death of King Manuel Theodren the fifth. It happened ten years ago at the height of the King's power. The assassins were never caught. The King's baron's created a council in light of the lack of a heir. And all of the world heard the story over and over again. Mothers told their children stories of the killers to make them obey. Fathers swore by their names. The Dragon, The Wolf, The Rats, The Page, The Firehawk , The Mage , The Snake, and The Fox. At least they got that part of the sto...

“ They just keep on coming. Nothing has stopped them. I watched my brothers struggle against them. I have foreseen my sister’s fall. I watched Fourth go mad. What he did… is unforgivable… madness cannot excuse all. They will come for me, even if I am last. I will not wait. I will not let them eat us one by one until we are no more. My children deserve better. I will meet them at their gates not mine. The maker, The God as my witness I will stand. His favor to me, I will prevail.” – said to the wind The Picovian Empire is not a new thing. It isn’t something that hadn’t happened before. Empires come and empires go in the world that is. But for the ten cities… the empire has been devastation. A new and horrible threat. The Forest which had so threatened the rest of the world could not make it past the Mountains of God’s Palm. The River refused passage to its west bank; referencing an ancient promise. And until the Picovians no one ever saw valu...

20,399 people have died in Mexico's war on drugs since 2006. 1777 people have died in Afghanistan due to the war there since 2001 At least 100,000 people have died in Iraq since 2003, as the site I linked only seemed to count civilians. But what shocked me was the mexican numbers.

The woman turned, blood still on her hands. "He refused the gift. He challenged the river. I have but granted him mercy." The rest of the train, erupted in angry shouting and surged towards her. Those that could get past the dying man on the floor snatched at her as she backed up towards the next compartment, but every grasping hand failed to reach her. She made it to the door and opened it, then bowing apologetically closed it in their faces while triggering a safety override that would lock it securely behind her. She turned, and bumped right into the train marshal. Surprised she jumped back but had no where to go. "Now, why don't you drop that knife and come quietly", he snarled, energy pistol aimed at her head. She laughed, a sparkling giggly laugh like a brook in spring. "Child of Earth, you have no idea of why and what I have done." With that she threw herself off the train. And instantly connected with a tree that had grown too close.....

We decided between the two of us that this summer we would make sure to spend at least a tiny bit of time continuing to work on things we want to improve. Wulfa wants to improve her Spanish and I want to improve my writing. So we allocated an hour a day(excepting Sunday's which are craziness) for each of us to be kid free and able to disappear into our room and work on the subject of our choice. There are some things I've learned from my time doing this. 1) Writing is a lot harder when you don't already have a story in your head. Forcing yourself to work past the "I-don't-want-to"'s is just as painful in writing as it is in exercising or studying. And just as rewarding the next time you do it. 2) There is no such thing as I'll just look at [x] for a minute. If you stop and read or web browse or play a game then you are giving up your entire allotment of time. Focus is key and sticking to it despite the distractions. 3) I don't have long term ...

I am thinking that watching the kids while Wulfa is at work is very very rewarding. I get a lot of stuff done cleaning wise and in general I think the kids and I have a lot of fun. I am thinking that in the pbp dnd game I'm playing right now I'm really really not liking one of the characters recently introduced. Which means I guess that he's rping the stuckupness pretty well? Yeah. Except my character is kinda over the top odd like Kruppe . So I'm trying to figure out how to express his dissatisfaction and anger about being looked down on. I'm thinking that it is rather amazing that Wulfa's my wife considering how talented and hard working she is and how much she pushes me to be better. I'm thinking that the smile and laugh of a 9 month old is delightful. I'm thinking that my daughter singing and dancing for me is also delightful. And thats about it. p.s. the picture is one of the things.