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3D Artists?
General | Posted 6 years agoI know folks so rarely check journals, but I'm hoping I can reach out and find someone this way.
I'm seeking a 3D artist (or artists) for a video game project I'm presently working on. I have some of the textures I would like to use (and access to the Quixel / Megascans library for more), a rough layout of the map I want to create, and one character design with more forthcoming (or text descriptions if you can work with those). Kind of want to achieve a "realistic" style on this as opposed to something more stylized, at least in terms of the map. Presently working within the Unreal Engine.
Anyone know anyone looking for this sort of work? Everything will be credited of course, and I do fully intend to pay for the work. Feel free to note me here, or reach out on any social media platform, chat program, etc.
I'm seeking a 3D artist (or artists) for a video game project I'm presently working on. I have some of the textures I would like to use (and access to the Quixel / Megascans library for more), a rough layout of the map I want to create, and one character design with more forthcoming (or text descriptions if you can work with those). Kind of want to achieve a "realistic" style on this as opposed to something more stylized, at least in terms of the map. Presently working within the Unreal Engine.
Anyone know anyone looking for this sort of work? Everything will be credited of course, and I do fully intend to pay for the work. Feel free to note me here, or reach out on any social media platform, chat program, etc.
Anyone Doing Commissions? ...Again
General | Posted 7 years agoIn a mood to get a commission or two, if anyone out there is looking for work and doesn't mind the absolute ridiculous. Anyone? Thoughts on artists who'd be good for something like these would be great, too.
This is my present list of commission ideas; while it is largely comprehensive, I wouldn't mind getting some relatively vanilla / pinup art as well. http://dragon.sex/commissions.txt
This is my present list of commission ideas; while it is largely comprehensive, I wouldn't mind getting some relatively vanilla / pinup art as well. http://dragon.sex/commissions.txt
Anyone doing commissions?
General | Posted 10 years agoJust a general question, really; I've been gathering several commission ideas, but by the time I think to look for artists, everyone's just closed up. So I thought I might just ask: Anyone know of anyone doing commissions at the moment?
The (very general) ideas can be found here: http://gradyowens.us/commissions.txt Naturally, they'd be more fleshed out when giving them to the artist.
The (very general) ideas can be found here: http://gradyowens.us/commissions.txt Naturally, they'd be more fleshed out when giving them to the artist.
Thoughts on Future Events
General | Posted 10 years agoSo! Was contemplating bringing a bunch of books with me to RainFurrest this year, setting up a sort of signing event mostly for fun. Contacted the con staff, who have stated they'd be more than willing to work with me to set up the event; however, for legal reasons, I cannot sell books there unless I have a table in the dealer room or Artist Alley, and unfortunately, these are all already spoken for. Now, the possibility does exist that, if someone were to be willing to share, I could set things up for sale in the dealer room, but admittedly that's kind of a slim chance. (Unless anyone reading this happens to have a dealer table and wouldn't mind sharing with an author~?)
That having been said, they are still willing to work with me to set up the event; I just can't do any selling there.
Now, I've also been looking at other potential outlets; I'm strongly considering setting up an Amazon Giveaway for the book, for example. I've also since been contacted by the press that published my book, as someone within the upper management actually read the book and apparently greatly enjoyed it, wishing to recommend it to publishers and investors, as well as to send it out for professional review. (As I still own all rights to the book, they had to ask my permission before going ahead and doing such. Naturally, I agreed.) Finally, I've also been looking at the very real possibility of setting up a book signing event here in southern New Mexico, possibly at either the local bookstore in Cloudcroft and/or the Hastings in Alamogordo (and naturally expanding to other potential venues if these go well).
But here's where I was ultimately going with this post: If I do end up holding a signing event or some such at RF this year, because I most likely would not be able to sell copies of the book at the venue, you'll have to bring your own copy in order for me to sign it. But! I am working towards more activities and events for which obtaining a paperback copy of my book will be at least somewhat easier. So keep an eye out! I'll certainly be advertising these events when/if they do come up. :3
That having been said, they are still willing to work with me to set up the event; I just can't do any selling there.
Now, I've also been looking at other potential outlets; I'm strongly considering setting up an Amazon Giveaway for the book, for example. I've also since been contacted by the press that published my book, as someone within the upper management actually read the book and apparently greatly enjoyed it, wishing to recommend it to publishers and investors, as well as to send it out for professional review. (As I still own all rights to the book, they had to ask my permission before going ahead and doing such. Naturally, I agreed.) Finally, I've also been looking at the very real possibility of setting up a book signing event here in southern New Mexico, possibly at either the local bookstore in Cloudcroft and/or the Hastings in Alamogordo (and naturally expanding to other potential venues if these go well).
But here's where I was ultimately going with this post: If I do end up holding a signing event or some such at RF this year, because I most likely would not be able to sell copies of the book at the venue, you'll have to bring your own copy in order for me to sign it. But! I am working towards more activities and events for which obtaining a paperback copy of my book will be at least somewhat easier. So keep an eye out! I'll certainly be advertising these events when/if they do come up. :3
Potential future story.
General | Posted 10 years agoHad a series of dreams last night that I'm thinking of making into a three-act story; not sure if it'll be a book, or a collection, or anything like that. I do know it's just about the most depressing thing my brain has ever come up with, and for that reason I'd really like to expand it and share it with the world.
The story revolves around a native man, in his late teens when the story begins. In my dream, I kept referring to him as Navajo, but honestly he's probably more Pueblo. He lives in a well-isolated adobe home by himself; the neighboring attached residences begin occupied, but as time goes on, he's the last person remaining. His parents both have died, but his mother's death hangs on him very heavily, a fact that becomes highly apparent during the second act.
The first act of the story, the young man is energetic and exuberant; he is able to communicate with local animals, and regularly helps them move past various squabbles. At one point, he helps a small dog and a swarm of bees resolve their differences, and the bees end up making the dog their king (alongside their actual queen). He is also an author, though living largely isolated from the rest of the world, his works are rarely ever read by others (and thus far, all Westerners who read his work are not terribly impressed by it). Towards the end of this first arc, the USA is only just starting to reach his neck of the woods, several members of the military, most specifically a man named Ron, meeting with him and ultimately deciding to set the land aside for potential use in the future.
In the second act, the man has since become the only individual living in this particular pueblo; everyone else has left, fleeing the encroachment of American influence. Being alone with himself, his writings, and his few animal friends, he becomes highly introspective, a fact that brings his dead mother back into the spotlight. He retreats into his home, intentionally isolating himself further from his friends and the rest of the world. A pair of American hikers/climbers happens upon the pueblo, and they manage to succeed in bringing him back out of his shell long enough to discuss his feelings. The wife in the pair explains to him the concept of "waiting for death", noting that his desire to meet his mother again did not need to conflict with his desire to continue to live on. They talk for quite some time on this fact, relieving the young man in the end. As they leave to continue their exploration, the young man begins making ritual items associated with death, happily preparing himself for when it will come while continuing to live his life.
In the third and final act, the protagonist is no longer a young man, though he is not terribly old either; he's probably about 35 or so, but certainly many, many years have passed with him in isolation. He is startled by the sound of an explosion, something he's never heard before; he rushes outside, where he sees the military man, Ron, he'd met all those years ago, along with several troops and even the President. They catch up rather pleasantly, during which they notice the damage the explosion did to the man's house; it already being in disrepair, several bricks were knocked loose and the building no longer appears to be habitable. The young man exclaims that he can fix it; he just needs beeswax, and just so happens to know the king of the local hive. He approaches the hive with Ron, explaining his need and how he wishes to meet with the king; however, the hive attacks the pair instead, driving them away. The man realizes his friend, the little dog, must have died, and he had no idea. This revelation pains him deeply; he begins to realize, to notice, that his other animal friends are all gone as well, that he is even more alone than he realized.
Ron and the President then escort the man to their nearby bombing range, the source of the explosion that damaged his home; the place has changed very dramatically since the man had been out that way, with most large plant life completely decimated, and many new plants he can't recognize growing all over the ground. In particular is a small valley, what used to be a lake but is now almost completely dry save for a highly-reeded pond at its deepest point. It is here that the man witnesses something very peculiar; Ron's hand is latched onto by a strange amorphous creature, something no one else seems to notice. The man calls this creature the "Ron Ron", as it begins to creep over his acquaintance's flesh, almost seeming to replace him.
As the company leaves for the time being, leaving the young man in isolation once more, Ron --- now completely overrun by the Ron Ron --- extends his hand to give the man a handshake; the man wants to refuse at first, but knowing it would be rude to his friend, he does accept the shake. The contact, as he feared, allowed a part of the strange creature to cling to his own flesh.
The man becomes afraid for his life, realizing he's nowhere near as ready for death as he had hoped he would be. The creature, however, seems fully intelligent and begins conversing with the man, discussing his fears and helping him get over them, even as it consumes him. It reveals to him that it is a new form of life, a new kind of parasite that came about as a result of the military experimentation on the surrounding land. With the last of his strength, the man leaves his pueblo, venturing out into the surrounding desert, where he eventually collapses and dies. Completely alone, the last human to leave the small pueblo, and the last of his friends from the first act to finally pass on.
The story revolves around a native man, in his late teens when the story begins. In my dream, I kept referring to him as Navajo, but honestly he's probably more Pueblo. He lives in a well-isolated adobe home by himself; the neighboring attached residences begin occupied, but as time goes on, he's the last person remaining. His parents both have died, but his mother's death hangs on him very heavily, a fact that becomes highly apparent during the second act.
The first act of the story, the young man is energetic and exuberant; he is able to communicate with local animals, and regularly helps them move past various squabbles. At one point, he helps a small dog and a swarm of bees resolve their differences, and the bees end up making the dog their king (alongside their actual queen). He is also an author, though living largely isolated from the rest of the world, his works are rarely ever read by others (and thus far, all Westerners who read his work are not terribly impressed by it). Towards the end of this first arc, the USA is only just starting to reach his neck of the woods, several members of the military, most specifically a man named Ron, meeting with him and ultimately deciding to set the land aside for potential use in the future.
In the second act, the man has since become the only individual living in this particular pueblo; everyone else has left, fleeing the encroachment of American influence. Being alone with himself, his writings, and his few animal friends, he becomes highly introspective, a fact that brings his dead mother back into the spotlight. He retreats into his home, intentionally isolating himself further from his friends and the rest of the world. A pair of American hikers/climbers happens upon the pueblo, and they manage to succeed in bringing him back out of his shell long enough to discuss his feelings. The wife in the pair explains to him the concept of "waiting for death", noting that his desire to meet his mother again did not need to conflict with his desire to continue to live on. They talk for quite some time on this fact, relieving the young man in the end. As they leave to continue their exploration, the young man begins making ritual items associated with death, happily preparing himself for when it will come while continuing to live his life.
In the third and final act, the protagonist is no longer a young man, though he is not terribly old either; he's probably about 35 or so, but certainly many, many years have passed with him in isolation. He is startled by the sound of an explosion, something he's never heard before; he rushes outside, where he sees the military man, Ron, he'd met all those years ago, along with several troops and even the President. They catch up rather pleasantly, during which they notice the damage the explosion did to the man's house; it already being in disrepair, several bricks were knocked loose and the building no longer appears to be habitable. The young man exclaims that he can fix it; he just needs beeswax, and just so happens to know the king of the local hive. He approaches the hive with Ron, explaining his need and how he wishes to meet with the king; however, the hive attacks the pair instead, driving them away. The man realizes his friend, the little dog, must have died, and he had no idea. This revelation pains him deeply; he begins to realize, to notice, that his other animal friends are all gone as well, that he is even more alone than he realized.
Ron and the President then escort the man to their nearby bombing range, the source of the explosion that damaged his home; the place has changed very dramatically since the man had been out that way, with most large plant life completely decimated, and many new plants he can't recognize growing all over the ground. In particular is a small valley, what used to be a lake but is now almost completely dry save for a highly-reeded pond at its deepest point. It is here that the man witnesses something very peculiar; Ron's hand is latched onto by a strange amorphous creature, something no one else seems to notice. The man calls this creature the "Ron Ron", as it begins to creep over his acquaintance's flesh, almost seeming to replace him.
As the company leaves for the time being, leaving the young man in isolation once more, Ron --- now completely overrun by the Ron Ron --- extends his hand to give the man a handshake; the man wants to refuse at first, but knowing it would be rude to his friend, he does accept the shake. The contact, as he feared, allowed a part of the strange creature to cling to his own flesh.
The man becomes afraid for his life, realizing he's nowhere near as ready for death as he had hoped he would be. The creature, however, seems fully intelligent and begins conversing with the man, discussing his fears and helping him get over them, even as it consumes him. It reveals to him that it is a new form of life, a new kind of parasite that came about as a result of the military experimentation on the surrounding land. With the last of his strength, the man leaves his pueblo, venturing out into the surrounding desert, where he eventually collapses and dies. Completely alone, the last human to leave the small pueblo, and the last of his friends from the first act to finally pass on.
(Hopefully) Final health update.
General | Posted 10 years agoTwo weeks ago, I went in for my first appointment with the cardiologist; he agreed with the diagnosis for the most part and prescribed an electrophysiology study, or EPS, the following week. That study was scheduled for this last Thursday, and was likely going to involve an ablation as well. Basically, an EPS is where they take a long catheter and, through an insertion point in the groin, snake a series of probes up the vena cava to the heart, where they then prod at various points on it to see how it reacts. An ablation is similar, but then they also snake up a small Tesla coil and burn portions of the heart to get rid of faulty nervous tissue causing any sort of loop or fibrillation.
Got to the hospital about half an hour before the scheduled time, but the appointment before mine was delayed significantly for an unknown reason; the hospital called me as I was leaving to see if I could make it there within the next ~15 minutes so they could perform my operation first, but as the drive there from my place is ~2.5 hours, there was no way. As a result, my own operation was delayed a grand total of six hours as we waited for the first patient's EPS to be completed. (There was a complication during the procedure, and as a result it took far longer than they'd anticipated.)
Now usually, for an EPS, they'll drug you, but only enough to numb you and maaaybe make you drowzy; they want you to be responsive so you can tell them if something they've done to the heart is either extremely painful or induces the problematic symptoms you'd been experiencing, to expedite the procedure. In my case, they opted to put me flat under. As a result, the ~seven hours of the operation were a mere blip to me. When I woke up, I was being wheeled back to my bay in the cardiology recovery wing, and they were giving the documentation of the procedure to my parents. (Someone had to be present to pick me up, and when my parents heard what needed to be done, they dropped everything and drove cross-country to be here.) It took me another hour to really become cognizant, at which point they informed me of what they'd found during the procedure and why my left arm was bound to my side.
The EPS turned up nothing in the way of induced tachycardia, the way the Holter monitor seemed to suggest; rather, they discovered that my left bundle branch block was serious enough to warrant a pacemaker. Because it was now after 10pm, my parents were sent back to my place, and I was rolled to a room in the hospital's inpatient wing for the night. They checked my vitals every four hours, and I was restricted from eating solid food until I was discharged the next day (and even the liquid diet was held off until roughly midnight) due to the anesthetics used during the procedure. At 5am, a woman came in to take an X-ray of my chest to make sure the pacemaker had been set properly and that the body's healing hadn't knocked it out of place; at 6, the doctor came in and gave me my directions on what I could and could not do for the next few weeks. There were many other tests performed to make sure my health was as good as it could be before I was finally discharged a little after noon.
My parents drove back down and picked me up; we had a light lunch in El Paso before trekking to Alamogordo for prescriptions (antibiotics and painkillers) and a few groceries. We'd also dropped my car off at the shop for an oil leak on the way to the hospital, which was repaired and ready to be picked up by the time we returned. I was still unfit to drive, so my dad drove it while my mom drove the rental car. When we got back, my parents dropped myself and my car off at my place, then drove up to where they were staying (another building on-site at the observatory I work at); after taking care of my cat and taking my pills, I walked over there with little issue. After dinner, I walked back home, where I promptly passed out.
Saturday, I was awoken by my cat standing, all four paws, directly on my pacemaker. The pain was indescribable. I suspect he noticed the lump in my chest and was planning on kneading it back down. Thankfully, my scream of anguish killed that plan.
Awake and about, and since my parents were in town, we all took the day and went into Cloudcroft for some good old-fashioned tourism. (I'd actually never been to Cloudcroft for that, but had been there many times for other things.) I did have to stop a few times, not to catch my breath (which is amazing, as Cloudcroft is ~9000 feet ABS and I did used to get winded walking around the observatory, being at 7200 feet), but because the hole in my groin was causing me mild discomfort. The painkillers were quite effective in that regard, and surprisingly have not caused excess drowsiness that I've noticed yet. I did pick up a copy of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables, both by Victor Hugo (and both books I'd been wanting to get my hands on for some time), from the local used book store, as well as a nice Mexican poncho from another shop. (I'd forgotten my coat, but also it was really nice. Looks to be made from a real rug!)
My parents left bright and early this morning; by the time I woke up, they were almost to Clovis, with plans to make it to Joplin by tonight. I've been recovering rather well, in spite of things. Now that my blood is being circulated more correctly, things feel warmer and colder than they used to. Also, wow do I bleed. But, at the same time, my skin is flush, and my body is starting to feel way better than it did even before the procedure. Still feeling exhausted upon waking, but I suspect that, too, will work itself out.
It's not all roses, of course; I mean, I do have a pacemaker in me. Every once in a while, I feel it jolt my chest (and sometimes it's a pretty serious jolt), and on occasion it causes me to hiccup. I also have to be careful in more situations now; going into stores, for example, I have to rush through the anti-theft security gates so the magnetic field doesn't disrupt the pacemaker. (Actually, one time I did try to linger, and I actually really felt it.) I can't keep my phone in a left breast pocket, and can't even hold it up to my left ear. Not allowed to go through metal detectors, either. (I even have a special card for airport and federal building use!) MRIs are, somehow, okay, but they're still fairly contraindicated unless it's a life-or-death situation. I also have to keep a very strict schedule with the cardiologist, to make sure the device is working properly and to make any changes to its programming that he might see fit. Still, all things considered, I'd rather be with it than without it.
Got to the hospital about half an hour before the scheduled time, but the appointment before mine was delayed significantly for an unknown reason; the hospital called me as I was leaving to see if I could make it there within the next ~15 minutes so they could perform my operation first, but as the drive there from my place is ~2.5 hours, there was no way. As a result, my own operation was delayed a grand total of six hours as we waited for the first patient's EPS to be completed. (There was a complication during the procedure, and as a result it took far longer than they'd anticipated.)
Now usually, for an EPS, they'll drug you, but only enough to numb you and maaaybe make you drowzy; they want you to be responsive so you can tell them if something they've done to the heart is either extremely painful or induces the problematic symptoms you'd been experiencing, to expedite the procedure. In my case, they opted to put me flat under. As a result, the ~seven hours of the operation were a mere blip to me. When I woke up, I was being wheeled back to my bay in the cardiology recovery wing, and they were giving the documentation of the procedure to my parents. (Someone had to be present to pick me up, and when my parents heard what needed to be done, they dropped everything and drove cross-country to be here.) It took me another hour to really become cognizant, at which point they informed me of what they'd found during the procedure and why my left arm was bound to my side.
The EPS turned up nothing in the way of induced tachycardia, the way the Holter monitor seemed to suggest; rather, they discovered that my left bundle branch block was serious enough to warrant a pacemaker. Because it was now after 10pm, my parents were sent back to my place, and I was rolled to a room in the hospital's inpatient wing for the night. They checked my vitals every four hours, and I was restricted from eating solid food until I was discharged the next day (and even the liquid diet was held off until roughly midnight) due to the anesthetics used during the procedure. At 5am, a woman came in to take an X-ray of my chest to make sure the pacemaker had been set properly and that the body's healing hadn't knocked it out of place; at 6, the doctor came in and gave me my directions on what I could and could not do for the next few weeks. There were many other tests performed to make sure my health was as good as it could be before I was finally discharged a little after noon.
My parents drove back down and picked me up; we had a light lunch in El Paso before trekking to Alamogordo for prescriptions (antibiotics and painkillers) and a few groceries. We'd also dropped my car off at the shop for an oil leak on the way to the hospital, which was repaired and ready to be picked up by the time we returned. I was still unfit to drive, so my dad drove it while my mom drove the rental car. When we got back, my parents dropped myself and my car off at my place, then drove up to where they were staying (another building on-site at the observatory I work at); after taking care of my cat and taking my pills, I walked over there with little issue. After dinner, I walked back home, where I promptly passed out.
Saturday, I was awoken by my cat standing, all four paws, directly on my pacemaker. The pain was indescribable. I suspect he noticed the lump in my chest and was planning on kneading it back down. Thankfully, my scream of anguish killed that plan.
Awake and about, and since my parents were in town, we all took the day and went into Cloudcroft for some good old-fashioned tourism. (I'd actually never been to Cloudcroft for that, but had been there many times for other things.) I did have to stop a few times, not to catch my breath (which is amazing, as Cloudcroft is ~9000 feet ABS and I did used to get winded walking around the observatory, being at 7200 feet), but because the hole in my groin was causing me mild discomfort. The painkillers were quite effective in that regard, and surprisingly have not caused excess drowsiness that I've noticed yet. I did pick up a copy of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables, both by Victor Hugo (and both books I'd been wanting to get my hands on for some time), from the local used book store, as well as a nice Mexican poncho from another shop. (I'd forgotten my coat, but also it was really nice. Looks to be made from a real rug!)
My parents left bright and early this morning; by the time I woke up, they were almost to Clovis, with plans to make it to Joplin by tonight. I've been recovering rather well, in spite of things. Now that my blood is being circulated more correctly, things feel warmer and colder than they used to. Also, wow do I bleed. But, at the same time, my skin is flush, and my body is starting to feel way better than it did even before the procedure. Still feeling exhausted upon waking, but I suspect that, too, will work itself out.
It's not all roses, of course; I mean, I do have a pacemaker in me. Every once in a while, I feel it jolt my chest (and sometimes it's a pretty serious jolt), and on occasion it causes me to hiccup. I also have to be careful in more situations now; going into stores, for example, I have to rush through the anti-theft security gates so the magnetic field doesn't disrupt the pacemaker. (Actually, one time I did try to linger, and I actually really felt it.) I can't keep my phone in a left breast pocket, and can't even hold it up to my left ear. Not allowed to go through metal detectors, either. (I even have a special card for airport and federal building use!) MRIs are, somehow, okay, but they're still fairly contraindicated unless it's a life-or-death situation. I also have to keep a very strict schedule with the cardiologist, to make sure the device is working properly and to make any changes to its programming that he might see fit. Still, all things considered, I'd rather be with it than without it.
Still yet further health update.
General | Posted 11 years agoI'm just going to keep going with that naming scheme until I drive it into the ground, or until we're 100% finished with it. Probably the latter. :V
So I was upset with my doctor last week; he had me schedule an appointment too early, then had no test results for which to have called me in, and finally told me to schedule my next appointment for three months away. It very much felt like he wasn't taking my case seriously.
Then, on Monday, his office finally got the test results from both an echocardiogram I'd taken the end of February, as well as the new Holter monitor results we got thanks to the Holter monitor company admitting their earlier mistake and allowing me another test with it without billing me. As soon has he saw the results, his office called me up and insisted I come in as soon as possible, even wanting me to come in that day. There was no way I could do that (I live about an hour's drive away from their office), and Tuesday and Wednesday both had full plans, but I was able to schedule for yesterday, Thursday.
I've now been recommended to a cardiologist in El Paso (and have a consultation appointment scheduled for early April). Both the echocardiogram and the Holter monitor results agree that I appear to have a bundle branch block, basically a blockage of the electrical signal that regulates my heart beat; additionally, the Holter monitor discovered a rather serious accelerated supraventricular tachyarrhythmia, likely as a direct result of the aforementioned block. Basically, my heart very suddenly jumps from a relatively average rate to ~120bpm; this causes intense feelings of anxiety, as well as a hindering muscular weakness (and possibly even brain damage) due to oxygen not moving properly. In more serious cases, such as my own, this can even lead to presyncope (feeling like you're going to faint) and syncope (actually fainting). These symptoms are exacerbated with stress of course, which explains why it was so bad when I was in Seattle; additionally, constant stress makes the underlying condition that much worse, meaning my time working at Walmart back in 2009 was literally killing me.
At the cardiologist, most likely I'll be subjected to testing of my cardiac electrophysiology, meaning I'll be put under (I hope) and the doctor will poke around inside my heart with a small electrical probe to determine the exact nature of my heart failure; with that information, he might be able to determine the cause and nature of the bundle branch block, and we might even be able to move towards a treatment plan.
On the very plus side, this 100% covers the symptoms I'd been experiencing and, with the frequency and severity they saw on the Holter monitor (I have the readouts, and every time I reported symptoms, the recorded impulses went absolutely nuts), this could very easily completely rule out the possibility of ALS. (I say "could" because it's not been "confirmed" yet, but it's pretty solid based on evidence.) It might even be treatable, depending on the underlying cause. We'll just have to see.
So I was upset with my doctor last week; he had me schedule an appointment too early, then had no test results for which to have called me in, and finally told me to schedule my next appointment for three months away. It very much felt like he wasn't taking my case seriously.
Then, on Monday, his office finally got the test results from both an echocardiogram I'd taken the end of February, as well as the new Holter monitor results we got thanks to the Holter monitor company admitting their earlier mistake and allowing me another test with it without billing me. As soon has he saw the results, his office called me up and insisted I come in as soon as possible, even wanting me to come in that day. There was no way I could do that (I live about an hour's drive away from their office), and Tuesday and Wednesday both had full plans, but I was able to schedule for yesterday, Thursday.
I've now been recommended to a cardiologist in El Paso (and have a consultation appointment scheduled for early April). Both the echocardiogram and the Holter monitor results agree that I appear to have a bundle branch block, basically a blockage of the electrical signal that regulates my heart beat; additionally, the Holter monitor discovered a rather serious accelerated supraventricular tachyarrhythmia, likely as a direct result of the aforementioned block. Basically, my heart very suddenly jumps from a relatively average rate to ~120bpm; this causes intense feelings of anxiety, as well as a hindering muscular weakness (and possibly even brain damage) due to oxygen not moving properly. In more serious cases, such as my own, this can even lead to presyncope (feeling like you're going to faint) and syncope (actually fainting). These symptoms are exacerbated with stress of course, which explains why it was so bad when I was in Seattle; additionally, constant stress makes the underlying condition that much worse, meaning my time working at Walmart back in 2009 was literally killing me.
At the cardiologist, most likely I'll be subjected to testing of my cardiac electrophysiology, meaning I'll be put under (I hope) and the doctor will poke around inside my heart with a small electrical probe to determine the exact nature of my heart failure; with that information, he might be able to determine the cause and nature of the bundle branch block, and we might even be able to move towards a treatment plan.
On the very plus side, this 100% covers the symptoms I'd been experiencing and, with the frequency and severity they saw on the Holter monitor (I have the readouts, and every time I reported symptoms, the recorded impulses went absolutely nuts), this could very easily completely rule out the possibility of ALS. (I say "could" because it's not been "confirmed" yet, but it's pretty solid based on evidence.) It might even be treatable, depending on the underlying cause. We'll just have to see.
Even further health update.
General | Posted 11 years agoSo it's been a little while since I've posted an update about my health; I finally have *some* news, though it's a mix of not-good not-bad.
Had a colonoscopy last week to check for the aforementioned suspected Crohn's disease; the GE could find no signs of such (though he is running a biopsy as well and I'll learn the results of that in two weeks), but he did find multiple diverticula, little "pockets" in the colon where stuff likes to collect, cause infections, irritate the tissue, sometimes puncture, etc. In other words, we've confirmed I *do* have a diverticular disease. (Diverticulosis when it's not infected, Diverticulitis when it is.)
This is a good thing because, as far as we can tell, it's almost certainly not Crohn's disease (or any other form of IBS), and we also ruled out any colorectal cancers.
This is a very, very bad thing because, in terms of the symptoms actually seriously affecting my health, we're right back at square one. Diverticular diseases, after discussion with many individuals on the subject, cannot cause an individual muscular weakness (as a matter of fact, diverticulas are thought to occur as a *result* of muscular weakness), fainting spells, dizziness, light-headed-ness, or heart murmurs, all of which I've been experiencing and have been confirmed by the doctor, in various tests, and confirmed to not be standard fare (epilepsy, anemia, diabetes, etc.) in many multitudes of tests.
Once the biopsy results are in, I schedule another meeting with my primary care physician to discuss where to go from here. The probability of ALS continues to grow.
Had a colonoscopy last week to check for the aforementioned suspected Crohn's disease; the GE could find no signs of such (though he is running a biopsy as well and I'll learn the results of that in two weeks), but he did find multiple diverticula, little "pockets" in the colon where stuff likes to collect, cause infections, irritate the tissue, sometimes puncture, etc. In other words, we've confirmed I *do* have a diverticular disease. (Diverticulosis when it's not infected, Diverticulitis when it is.)
This is a good thing because, as far as we can tell, it's almost certainly not Crohn's disease (or any other form of IBS), and we also ruled out any colorectal cancers.
This is a very, very bad thing because, in terms of the symptoms actually seriously affecting my health, we're right back at square one. Diverticular diseases, after discussion with many individuals on the subject, cannot cause an individual muscular weakness (as a matter of fact, diverticulas are thought to occur as a *result* of muscular weakness), fainting spells, dizziness, light-headed-ness, or heart murmurs, all of which I've been experiencing and have been confirmed by the doctor, in various tests, and confirmed to not be standard fare (epilepsy, anemia, diabetes, etc.) in many multitudes of tests.
Once the biopsy results are in, I schedule another meeting with my primary care physician to discuss where to go from here. The probability of ALS continues to grow.
Further health update.
General | Posted 11 years agoTest results were discussed with my internist last Wednesday; here's the gist of it:
EEG came back perfectly normal, save for my known exceptional speed in dropping to sleep; no epileptic signs detected. Heart monitor was noted by the technician to "look like [I] have a pacemaker", but dismissed by the studying neurologist as the results of not having been calibrated correctly. (No, I do not have a pacemaker. Yes, the results would look like the expected / noted-by-my-doctor arrhythmia.)
Abdominal imaging revealed absolutely nothing out of the ordinary; no inflamed appendix, no inflamed colon, no tumors, nothing.
ECG results noted as "normal"; however, the doctor considers them suspect due to a "mechanical-looking artifact" in the readings. Incidentally, very similar to the artifact in the EEG's heart monitor readings.
Stool samples returned completely normal; officially my issues therein are not "diarrhea" by the technical definition, as all contents were stool and contained no traces of bile or other "created" content.
Blood samples contained a potential flag for Crohn's disease (which does occasionally display ALS-like symptoms); recommendation to a Gastroenterologist in El Paso for further testing.
For those of you who don't know, because ALS is a very serious and very rare condition, testing almost always attempts differential diagnoses first; in other words, doctors look for other things that are more likely to cause similar symptoms, but are far less serious. The fact that all these tests came back normal is not, as one might otherwise expect, a good thing; it means the possibilities are being narrowed down, and that ALS is still very much in the running.
After the visit to the GE, I'll be having another appointment with my internist to discuss future plans. I'll also be taking home an "event monitor" when that happens; instead of the Holter/ECG, which records constantly, the event monitor will only record "events" as I see fit. In other words, whenever I'm feeling particularly weak, faint, or lost, I tell the unit to record what's going on with my body; while the Holter was on my person for three days, the event monitor will need to be on my person for at least a month. Unfortunately, my insurance will not cover another of the same test (and they're already basically at their limit for the year), so this is about the only way to get around their bullshit restrictions.
EEG came back perfectly normal, save for my known exceptional speed in dropping to sleep; no epileptic signs detected. Heart monitor was noted by the technician to "look like [I] have a pacemaker", but dismissed by the studying neurologist as the results of not having been calibrated correctly. (No, I do not have a pacemaker. Yes, the results would look like the expected / noted-by-my-doctor arrhythmia.)
Abdominal imaging revealed absolutely nothing out of the ordinary; no inflamed appendix, no inflamed colon, no tumors, nothing.
ECG results noted as "normal"; however, the doctor considers them suspect due to a "mechanical-looking artifact" in the readings. Incidentally, very similar to the artifact in the EEG's heart monitor readings.
Stool samples returned completely normal; officially my issues therein are not "diarrhea" by the technical definition, as all contents were stool and contained no traces of bile or other "created" content.
Blood samples contained a potential flag for Crohn's disease (which does occasionally display ALS-like symptoms); recommendation to a Gastroenterologist in El Paso for further testing.
For those of you who don't know, because ALS is a very serious and very rare condition, testing almost always attempts differential diagnoses first; in other words, doctors look for other things that are more likely to cause similar symptoms, but are far less serious. The fact that all these tests came back normal is not, as one might otherwise expect, a good thing; it means the possibilities are being narrowed down, and that ALS is still very much in the running.
After the visit to the GE, I'll be having another appointment with my internist to discuss future plans. I'll also be taking home an "event monitor" when that happens; instead of the Holter/ECG, which records constantly, the event monitor will only record "events" as I see fit. In other words, whenever I'm feeling particularly weak, faint, or lost, I tell the unit to record what's going on with my body; while the Holter was on my person for three days, the event monitor will need to be on my person for at least a month. Unfortunately, my insurance will not cover another of the same test (and they're already basically at their limit for the year), so this is about the only way to get around their bullshit restrictions.
Health Update.
General | Posted 11 years ago(This has been copy-pasted from a tumblr post I made a few days ago; I'm posting it here in case folks didn't see it cross-posted elsewhere.)
So I’m gonna have a difficult time typing this up, but that’s part of why I decided to do so now rather than later. It’s becoming difficult for me to really type properly, so I hope I can manage this much.
In my last post, I mentioned a few “discoveries” turned up in my genetics testing. I have seen a physician multiple times since then, but because of conditioning from a former friend, I’ve been too… nervous, I suppose, to bring the subjects up. My condition has worsened greatly in the last two months, and has worsened at an accelerated rate in the last three weeks; I’ve since changed physicians due to the first’s reaction to my describing my physical condition, and the second is being much more helpful. More on that later in this post.
On 24 September, I flew to Seattle for RainFurrest. This had the added benefit of putting me in the same area as my long-lost grandfather, who’d been divorced from my grandmother since before I was born and hadn’t associated with the family since. Swung by and visited him, stayed the night at a friend’s place, then went on to join the convention proper.
It was the evening of the 25th that I first started becoming concerned. I’d needed to void my bowels more than once that evening, and had large quantities of gas. I stopped off in one of the hotel’s public restrooms to pee before heading out with a friend for something, and… let’s just say, it was the beginning.
The next evening, my condition soured very, very rapidly. Food was moving through my system in under three hours, not nearly enough time to absorb any of it; to make matters worse, I was also swiftly becoming dehydrated as a result. After discussing things with multiple folks with basic medical training (which includes myself), I (shakily) walked up the road to the 7-11 and grabbed a large bottle of Gatorade and a package of Loperamide.
The next morning, I was feeling much, much better; friends who had been with me through the night mentioned that I was even *looking* noticeably better, which of course was encouraging. Had a large lunch (due largely to being so famished from the night before); everything seemed to be okay, until it happened again that night. I took the medication the moment the symptoms cropped up again, and, as before, it seemed to help considerably.
All of that being taken into consideration, the overall symptoms remained. The diarrhea never really properly stopped; my former physician prescribed dicyclomine in the hopes that it might help, but ultimately it actually exacerbated the condition.
Upon returning to southern New Mexico, my condition worsened. My physical strength was beginning to falter, and I was getting fatigued far, far more easily. With the Loperamide, food was staying in my system and being digested properly, but it felt like I wasn’t gaining the energy I would otherwise from it. (In spite of this, I was actually gaining weight.) Bringing these things up with my previous physician after three weeks of having diarrhea, he didn’t really pay much attention to the symptoms I was telling him about, requesting tests be done to find a potential cause for diabetes. (I do not have diabetes, and he proved this himself.)
About three weeks ago, I began having skeleto-muscular tremors. These were greatly exacerbated by any sort of exertion, but would often happen just in trying to move. Typing (as I mentioned at the beginning of this post) became a massive chore; walking was next to impossible without basically throwing my weight behind each step. Any heavy lifting was right out. I could barely even be in public, the strain on my body due to the stress of being around other people causing the tremors to worsen exponentially. I also began getting very dizzy and light-headed with no provocation. Language comprehension began to slide; it now takes me multiple tries listening to someone to really understand what they’re saying, and often I have difficulty verbalizing a proper response.
About two weeks ago, I began having fainting spells. (This hasn’t been confirmed; the doctor wants to rule out seizures first.) The first time I fainted, I fell out the bathroom door, slammed the back of my head on the kitchen counter, and caused my cat’s food bin to explode. That was really the moment when I decided I needed to change physicians, and when I determined this was a very serious thing.
New physician listened to me describe the overall situation; upon listening to my chest, he remarked: “Ohh, your heart sounds are not normal…”
I am presently hooked up to an electrocardiogram; tomorrow, I’ll either be returning it to determine any results, or possibly resetting it so we can get any results. Additionally, I’ll be hooked up to an EEG next Thursday to determine what, if anything, might be causing my “fainting” and other brain issues. We are presently working with the hypothesis that this may be the beginning stages of a developing ALS.
So I’m gonna have a difficult time typing this up, but that’s part of why I decided to do so now rather than later. It’s becoming difficult for me to really type properly, so I hope I can manage this much.
In my last post, I mentioned a few “discoveries” turned up in my genetics testing. I have seen a physician multiple times since then, but because of conditioning from a former friend, I’ve been too… nervous, I suppose, to bring the subjects up. My condition has worsened greatly in the last two months, and has worsened at an accelerated rate in the last three weeks; I’ve since changed physicians due to the first’s reaction to my describing my physical condition, and the second is being much more helpful. More on that later in this post.
On 24 September, I flew to Seattle for RainFurrest. This had the added benefit of putting me in the same area as my long-lost grandfather, who’d been divorced from my grandmother since before I was born and hadn’t associated with the family since. Swung by and visited him, stayed the night at a friend’s place, then went on to join the convention proper.
It was the evening of the 25th that I first started becoming concerned. I’d needed to void my bowels more than once that evening, and had large quantities of gas. I stopped off in one of the hotel’s public restrooms to pee before heading out with a friend for something, and… let’s just say, it was the beginning.
The next evening, my condition soured very, very rapidly. Food was moving through my system in under three hours, not nearly enough time to absorb any of it; to make matters worse, I was also swiftly becoming dehydrated as a result. After discussing things with multiple folks with basic medical training (which includes myself), I (shakily) walked up the road to the 7-11 and grabbed a large bottle of Gatorade and a package of Loperamide.
The next morning, I was feeling much, much better; friends who had been with me through the night mentioned that I was even *looking* noticeably better, which of course was encouraging. Had a large lunch (due largely to being so famished from the night before); everything seemed to be okay, until it happened again that night. I took the medication the moment the symptoms cropped up again, and, as before, it seemed to help considerably.
All of that being taken into consideration, the overall symptoms remained. The diarrhea never really properly stopped; my former physician prescribed dicyclomine in the hopes that it might help, but ultimately it actually exacerbated the condition.
Upon returning to southern New Mexico, my condition worsened. My physical strength was beginning to falter, and I was getting fatigued far, far more easily. With the Loperamide, food was staying in my system and being digested properly, but it felt like I wasn’t gaining the energy I would otherwise from it. (In spite of this, I was actually gaining weight.) Bringing these things up with my previous physician after three weeks of having diarrhea, he didn’t really pay much attention to the symptoms I was telling him about, requesting tests be done to find a potential cause for diabetes. (I do not have diabetes, and he proved this himself.)
About three weeks ago, I began having skeleto-muscular tremors. These were greatly exacerbated by any sort of exertion, but would often happen just in trying to move. Typing (as I mentioned at the beginning of this post) became a massive chore; walking was next to impossible without basically throwing my weight behind each step. Any heavy lifting was right out. I could barely even be in public, the strain on my body due to the stress of being around other people causing the tremors to worsen exponentially. I also began getting very dizzy and light-headed with no provocation. Language comprehension began to slide; it now takes me multiple tries listening to someone to really understand what they’re saying, and often I have difficulty verbalizing a proper response.
About two weeks ago, I began having fainting spells. (This hasn’t been confirmed; the doctor wants to rule out seizures first.) The first time I fainted, I fell out the bathroom door, slammed the back of my head on the kitchen counter, and caused my cat’s food bin to explode. That was really the moment when I decided I needed to change physicians, and when I determined this was a very serious thing.
New physician listened to me describe the overall situation; upon listening to my chest, he remarked: “Ohh, your heart sounds are not normal…”
I am presently hooked up to an electrocardiogram; tomorrow, I’ll either be returning it to determine any results, or possibly resetting it so we can get any results. Additionally, I’ll be hooked up to an EEG next Thursday to determine what, if anything, might be causing my “fainting” and other brain issues. We are presently working with the hypothesis that this may be the beginning stages of a developing ALS.
Update on things.
General | Posted 11 years agoSo, I've not been terribly active as of late, it would seem; why is this? What is going on in Baphi-land?
Long story short, work. Long story slightly longer, burning out.
Back in late October, my car broke down in El Paso on the way to the airport. Threw a rod and the engine blew up; this put my vehicular traversing abilities out of commission for over a month while I searched for an engine that would match a 1991 Daihatsu Rocky, of which only a little over 200 were ever sold, both 1991 and 1992, in the US. I did luck out, finding a working engine in a junkyard in Roswell, and after quite a bit of finagling with it, I think it's actually to the point of reliability now.
About two weeks after the car initially broke down, my co-worker and superior was hospitalized with cancer; they removed a tumor from his brain the size of a small lemon, and he's been half-paralyzed ever since. As a result, for about six weeks, I was the only employee at the observatory (naturally, my bosses were still here, but really we need a total of three nighttime people for successful operation); during that time, because there was no one else to take over, I stepped up to become the nighttime observatory supervisor and could not take a single night off. There wasn't any leeway to allow for such. (My boss had been working continuously without a day off even after we hired someone new, so he was in a worse situation.) This was during one of our largest growth periods since I was hired on, so we were busy pretty much non-stop; we installed a total of... I think it was four or five new telescope systems within a month, which is freaking massive.
Finally, about mid-December, we did hire someone else. I've been training him mostly, but he catches on quickly and clearly knows his way around a telescope. (He used to work for the Soviet satellite-watching military operations, so I'd hope he does!) At any rate, things have finally started to calm down around here as a result. We're still getting new clients left and right, but with another set of hands, it's much easier.
In addition to all of this, I've started taking classes again. Not with New Mexico Tech anymore; as much as I want to return to astrophysics, it likely won't be through them, at least not any time soon. No, I'm taking classes online; at present, I am enrolled and actively participating in a Cisco certification course, a class on teaching English as a second language (TESOL, or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), and App design. It's a lot, but it's stuff I'm interested in, and furthermore every ounce of it will help in the event I find myself out on my ass like I did in Socorro. (I don't anticipate that happening, but anymore I can't be too careful.)
Finally, I actually have been writing; just, for the most part, it's not been smut. :P I've been working on a number of novels; Fall, the sequel to Journey to Fire's Keep, is certainly top of my current priority list, but I've also been working on Next of Kin (a semi-modern contemporary fantasy adventure involving a dragon, an alien, a cyborg, and the CIA), A Chronicle of the Mysterious Events Surrounding the Third Holy War and the End of the World (a fully-modern contemporary fantasy story about... well, the Third Holy War and the End of the World, that will likely end up being my The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), and Beat Down, Derelict, and Left for Dead (a collection of three novellas illustrating the difficulties often hidden in living in America, especially by those who turn a blind eye to such things). Oh yes, and then there's the unnamed horror epic I'm also working on here and there, about a young man who starts to uncover the dark secrets behind a disavowed video game; in addition, there's the non-fiction piece I'm writing on how to properly take pictures of astronomical objects. So, yeah, writing plate is pretty full! But I do have *several* smut pieces in the works as well, including the next installments to Soiled, The Mushroomed Kingdom, Messy Boys, and even ScreenPets, as well as other completely new pieces. Oh yes, and I've been working on another new project y'all might be interested in: A kink-centric SCP-style thing; if you're curious, I can post a link. I've been mostly keeping this muscle flexed through Twitter, where I've been writing microstories and little lewd poems here and there. Username's BaphiBot there, if you're interested in that sort of thing.
So, yes, I'm still alive and working on things! Hopefully, I'll have some more genuine material to post here soon.
Long story short, work. Long story slightly longer, burning out.
Back in late October, my car broke down in El Paso on the way to the airport. Threw a rod and the engine blew up; this put my vehicular traversing abilities out of commission for over a month while I searched for an engine that would match a 1991 Daihatsu Rocky, of which only a little over 200 were ever sold, both 1991 and 1992, in the US. I did luck out, finding a working engine in a junkyard in Roswell, and after quite a bit of finagling with it, I think it's actually to the point of reliability now.
About two weeks after the car initially broke down, my co-worker and superior was hospitalized with cancer; they removed a tumor from his brain the size of a small lemon, and he's been half-paralyzed ever since. As a result, for about six weeks, I was the only employee at the observatory (naturally, my bosses were still here, but really we need a total of three nighttime people for successful operation); during that time, because there was no one else to take over, I stepped up to become the nighttime observatory supervisor and could not take a single night off. There wasn't any leeway to allow for such. (My boss had been working continuously without a day off even after we hired someone new, so he was in a worse situation.) This was during one of our largest growth periods since I was hired on, so we were busy pretty much non-stop; we installed a total of... I think it was four or five new telescope systems within a month, which is freaking massive.
Finally, about mid-December, we did hire someone else. I've been training him mostly, but he catches on quickly and clearly knows his way around a telescope. (He used to work for the Soviet satellite-watching military operations, so I'd hope he does!) At any rate, things have finally started to calm down around here as a result. We're still getting new clients left and right, but with another set of hands, it's much easier.
In addition to all of this, I've started taking classes again. Not with New Mexico Tech anymore; as much as I want to return to astrophysics, it likely won't be through them, at least not any time soon. No, I'm taking classes online; at present, I am enrolled and actively participating in a Cisco certification course, a class on teaching English as a second language (TESOL, or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), and App design. It's a lot, but it's stuff I'm interested in, and furthermore every ounce of it will help in the event I find myself out on my ass like I did in Socorro. (I don't anticipate that happening, but anymore I can't be too careful.)
Finally, I actually have been writing; just, for the most part, it's not been smut. :P I've been working on a number of novels; Fall, the sequel to Journey to Fire's Keep, is certainly top of my current priority list, but I've also been working on Next of Kin (a semi-modern contemporary fantasy adventure involving a dragon, an alien, a cyborg, and the CIA), A Chronicle of the Mysterious Events Surrounding the Third Holy War and the End of the World (a fully-modern contemporary fantasy story about... well, the Third Holy War and the End of the World, that will likely end up being my The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), and Beat Down, Derelict, and Left for Dead (a collection of three novellas illustrating the difficulties often hidden in living in America, especially by those who turn a blind eye to such things). Oh yes, and then there's the unnamed horror epic I'm also working on here and there, about a young man who starts to uncover the dark secrets behind a disavowed video game; in addition, there's the non-fiction piece I'm writing on how to properly take pictures of astronomical objects. So, yeah, writing plate is pretty full! But I do have *several* smut pieces in the works as well, including the next installments to Soiled, The Mushroomed Kingdom, Messy Boys, and even ScreenPets, as well as other completely new pieces. Oh yes, and I've been working on another new project y'all might be interested in: A kink-centric SCP-style thing; if you're curious, I can post a link. I've been mostly keeping this muscle flexed through Twitter, where I've been writing microstories and little lewd poems here and there. Username's BaphiBot there, if you're interested in that sort of thing.
So, yes, I'm still alive and working on things! Hopefully, I'll have some more genuine material to post here soon.
Proposal
General | Posted 12 years agoSo! Here's the deal.
My book, Journey to Fire's Keep, has been available since June 2010. In the time since, while I have been writing the sequel, the book has received exactly three reviews, only one of which is on Amazon. (If you haven't seen the review yet, please go check it out! http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Fires.....dp/B006BJWLD8/ All three reviews were largely positive, by the way; one reader enthusiastically awaits the next chapter, and of the other two, one was the above review, and the other is pretty similar to the above review.) This is problematic, largely because, while trying to motivate myself to write more, such a turnout is somewhat disappointing.
That's where I had my idea, and that's where you come in!
See, if you're following me here, you likely know that I also write furry erotica. You also might be aware that lately, my stories in that vein have involved a large / increasing number of characters.
This is my proposal: Leave a review of my book, Journey to Fire's Keep, on Amazon, and your character of choice will appear in an upcoming fap piece, also of your choice. :D
"But Baphi, not only have I never read your book, I don't own a copy!" Got you covered in one of three ways:
1. Buy it on Amazon! Use the link above for the Kindle ebook, or this one --- http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Fires.....dp/1453516719/ --- if you'd rather have it in paperback. Kindle is by far the easiest and quickest method.
2. Buy it from me directly! I still have a few copies in paperback for which I will charge Amazon's $15.59, plus shipping to your location. (If there is enough interest in this, I will order more copies, so don't be afraid to ask!) Alternately, I can also sell you a PDF for the same price as the Amazon Kindle version; just get in touch with me and we can work out the details. If you purchase the paperback from me, the copy will be signed, include a bookmark, and I will personalize a message if you'd like.
3. Find me next week! I will be in the Cincinnati area May 22 through the 28, and will be making a point to have a copy of the book on my person at all times. If you happen to spot me and mention wanting my book, I will give you a copy, in paperback, signed, at no charge. Once all those copies are gone though, that's it! If you don't know what I look like, check those Amazon links; my author page has a photo of myself.
Keep in mind if you haven't read this book yet: It is not even remotely furry, and contains no hint of sex aside from the characters having to have originated from somewhere. Later installments to this series will include more vulgar acts; however, these will not be explicitly described as they might be in the smut I regularly post on SF and IB. The story is high fantasy material, the "Swords and Sorcery" subgenre. If that sort of thing doesn't interest you, then you probably won't like this book all that much. Just sayin'.
RULES! Because where would we be without those?
1. The review must be honest. While I naturally appreciate ass-kissing, it will be painfully obvious to me if you're just saying something complementary without having read the book. I am far, far happier with a three-star review that goes into detail as to why it was given, than a five-star review along the lines of "Fantastic! Read it!" (Naturally though, if you feel it deserves a five-star review, I'm not going to turn it down! Just so long as you're honest.)
2. There is to be NO MENTION of this proposal in the review. Note me here, email me, message me, whatever, to let me know that the review was from you, and we can discuss details then; however, if you mention this in your review, your entry is null and void. This rule has everything to do with the fact that these reviews are very likely to be read by individuals close to me to whom I'd rather not broadcast the fact that I also write smut. :P
3. Once you've written the review and posted it to Amazon, let me know! Quickest way to do this is via email. I use Gmail with this same username. However, any means of communication is acceptable. :3
4. Once you're on the list, discussion of character, scenario, etc. will commence. I will require a character description (references are a plus!), what series in which you'd like the character to appear, and what sort of scenario the character should be in. I'm obviously not going to take any sort of "Mary-Sue" scenario; for example, if you want the character to appear in "Soiled", the character is not immune, the cure, or going to attack the other characters in any way with the intention of actually stopping things; however, they might be a reporter, a cop (who might attack other characters with the "intention" of stopping things, but without being successful), some random passerby, etc.
5. All genders welcome in any story setting, except in the one case of the "Messy Boy" series; due to the construction of that world, only male characters can be included there (though your character could have once been female, or something along those lines).
6. Orientation of sexual encounters is dependent on the story setting. While I have no problem writing straight, gay, bi, pan-, a-, etc. scenes (and will listen to whatever sort of scenario you might have in mind with open ears), some of these couplings would not fit certain story worlds. "Soiled" for example, your character could start with whatever orientation, but they will invariably become homosexual excepting intersex characters, which will again require discussion. "Messy Boy", again, you may have started with another orientation, but in the context of the story's time frame, your character will be gay. "The Mushroomed Kingdom" has multiple options, as do most other series. Please keep this in mind when thinking up how you want your character used.
7. If you can't come up with a scenario, choose what series you want the character in and I'll provide the context. If you don't have a preference on story series, let me know and I will gladly use your character wherever. :3
8. This is not limited to story series I've posted! There are quite a few stories I'm presently working on that have no relevant posted material, and could always put characters there. Scenes in a spa or an office environment; characters specifically who are Pokemon; or even just standalone incidents, all are potential possibilities in which your character could be used. If you're curious about a scene that wouldn't fit in what I've uploaded, ask! I may just have the perfect fit.
9. I am not imposing a time limit on this. If, in five years, you read the book, give it a review, and remember this proposal, please contact me and let me know! Same goes for future novels, in this series and others I'm presently writing. (One of which is at least mildly furry!)
10. While I am not imposing a time limit on posting a review, I do want to make the process first-come, first-served (first-come ;3 ). That having been said, while I will push myself to finish more smut in this manner as well, if you feel I've neglected your input, please let me know. Don't expect turnaround within a week; however, if a month's gone by and I've not said or posted anything, please give me a reminder. While I will be keeping a list, it's entirely possible I've forgotten or neglected you. It's also possible I'm working on another obligation. In any case, I will at least respond with an explanation, even if it's "Oh shit, sorry, I totally flaked."
There are a few individuals who are already on my list, from commissions and such; you should know who you are. :P
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
My book, Journey to Fire's Keep, has been available since June 2010. In the time since, while I have been writing the sequel, the book has received exactly three reviews, only one of which is on Amazon. (If you haven't seen the review yet, please go check it out! http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Fires.....dp/B006BJWLD8/ All three reviews were largely positive, by the way; one reader enthusiastically awaits the next chapter, and of the other two, one was the above review, and the other is pretty similar to the above review.) This is problematic, largely because, while trying to motivate myself to write more, such a turnout is somewhat disappointing.
That's where I had my idea, and that's where you come in!
See, if you're following me here, you likely know that I also write furry erotica. You also might be aware that lately, my stories in that vein have involved a large / increasing number of characters.
This is my proposal: Leave a review of my book, Journey to Fire's Keep, on Amazon, and your character of choice will appear in an upcoming fap piece, also of your choice. :D
"But Baphi, not only have I never read your book, I don't own a copy!" Got you covered in one of three ways:
1. Buy it on Amazon! Use the link above for the Kindle ebook, or this one --- http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Fires.....dp/1453516719/ --- if you'd rather have it in paperback. Kindle is by far the easiest and quickest method.
2. Buy it from me directly! I still have a few copies in paperback for which I will charge Amazon's $15.59, plus shipping to your location. (If there is enough interest in this, I will order more copies, so don't be afraid to ask!) Alternately, I can also sell you a PDF for the same price as the Amazon Kindle version; just get in touch with me and we can work out the details. If you purchase the paperback from me, the copy will be signed, include a bookmark, and I will personalize a message if you'd like.
3. Find me next week! I will be in the Cincinnati area May 22 through the 28, and will be making a point to have a copy of the book on my person at all times. If you happen to spot me and mention wanting my book, I will give you a copy, in paperback, signed, at no charge. Once all those copies are gone though, that's it! If you don't know what I look like, check those Amazon links; my author page has a photo of myself.
Keep in mind if you haven't read this book yet: It is not even remotely furry, and contains no hint of sex aside from the characters having to have originated from somewhere. Later installments to this series will include more vulgar acts; however, these will not be explicitly described as they might be in the smut I regularly post on SF and IB. The story is high fantasy material, the "Swords and Sorcery" subgenre. If that sort of thing doesn't interest you, then you probably won't like this book all that much. Just sayin'.
RULES! Because where would we be without those?
1. The review must be honest. While I naturally appreciate ass-kissing, it will be painfully obvious to me if you're just saying something complementary without having read the book. I am far, far happier with a three-star review that goes into detail as to why it was given, than a five-star review along the lines of "Fantastic! Read it!" (Naturally though, if you feel it deserves a five-star review, I'm not going to turn it down! Just so long as you're honest.)
2. There is to be NO MENTION of this proposal in the review. Note me here, email me, message me, whatever, to let me know that the review was from you, and we can discuss details then; however, if you mention this in your review, your entry is null and void. This rule has everything to do with the fact that these reviews are very likely to be read by individuals close to me to whom I'd rather not broadcast the fact that I also write smut. :P
3. Once you've written the review and posted it to Amazon, let me know! Quickest way to do this is via email. I use Gmail with this same username. However, any means of communication is acceptable. :3
4. Once you're on the list, discussion of character, scenario, etc. will commence. I will require a character description (references are a plus!), what series in which you'd like the character to appear, and what sort of scenario the character should be in. I'm obviously not going to take any sort of "Mary-Sue" scenario; for example, if you want the character to appear in "Soiled", the character is not immune, the cure, or going to attack the other characters in any way with the intention of actually stopping things; however, they might be a reporter, a cop (who might attack other characters with the "intention" of stopping things, but without being successful), some random passerby, etc.
5. All genders welcome in any story setting, except in the one case of the "Messy Boy" series; due to the construction of that world, only male characters can be included there (though your character could have once been female, or something along those lines).
6. Orientation of sexual encounters is dependent on the story setting. While I have no problem writing straight, gay, bi, pan-, a-, etc. scenes (and will listen to whatever sort of scenario you might have in mind with open ears), some of these couplings would not fit certain story worlds. "Soiled" for example, your character could start with whatever orientation, but they will invariably become homosexual excepting intersex characters, which will again require discussion. "Messy Boy", again, you may have started with another orientation, but in the context of the story's time frame, your character will be gay. "The Mushroomed Kingdom" has multiple options, as do most other series. Please keep this in mind when thinking up how you want your character used.
7. If you can't come up with a scenario, choose what series you want the character in and I'll provide the context. If you don't have a preference on story series, let me know and I will gladly use your character wherever. :3
8. This is not limited to story series I've posted! There are quite a few stories I'm presently working on that have no relevant posted material, and could always put characters there. Scenes in a spa or an office environment; characters specifically who are Pokemon; or even just standalone incidents, all are potential possibilities in which your character could be used. If you're curious about a scene that wouldn't fit in what I've uploaded, ask! I may just have the perfect fit.
9. I am not imposing a time limit on this. If, in five years, you read the book, give it a review, and remember this proposal, please contact me and let me know! Same goes for future novels, in this series and others I'm presently writing. (One of which is at least mildly furry!)
10. While I am not imposing a time limit on posting a review, I do want to make the process first-come, first-served (first-come ;3 ). That having been said, while I will push myself to finish more smut in this manner as well, if you feel I've neglected your input, please let me know. Don't expect turnaround within a week; however, if a month's gone by and I've not said or posted anything, please give me a reminder. While I will be keeping a list, it's entirely possible I've forgotten or neglected you. It's also possible I'm working on another obligation. In any case, I will at least respond with an explanation, even if it's "Oh shit, sorry, I totally flaked."
There are a few individuals who are already on my list, from commissions and such; you should know who you are. :P
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
FC2013 meme!
General | Posted 13 years ago(Stolen unabashedly from 
Inaki )
Where are you staying?
In the Hilton with a few other people. Basically the same arrangement I had last year, except in the other hotel. :V
Who will you be with?
Whoever wants to hang out! But I do tend to have a group of friends.
Who will you hang out with during the convention?
Umm... see previous question? :V
Are there any panels you might be attending?
I'm looking at attending a few, including the one I'm hosting on otherkin.
Will you be suiting?
Nope! Still don't have a fursuit. (Though I do finally have a working sewing machine!)
Do you do free art?
Umm... I can try! I've not done sketches in a long time.
Do you do trades?
See above!
Do you do badges?
See above!
Do you do commissions?
Now this is something I might do, but not for drawing. I'm a writer. :3
What is your gender?
Agendered, but I tend to have a penis anyway.
How tall are you?
Right about 5'11".
Are you taken? Are you looking for a 'mate'?
That's a complicated question, but the short version is: No to both.
Can I talk to you?
NO NOT ALLOWED Yes of course. :P
Can I touch you?
Mmmmmaybe. Certain people I know, absolutely! I'm not a very "huggy" person.
How can I find you?
I'll be the guy who looks like he smoked his way to San Jose. :V But seriously, I'm pretty recognizable in a crowd, even a crowd of furries. :P
Can I visit your room?
Umm... sure? But ultimately it's really up to my roommates, I think.
Can I buy you drinks?
I love drinks! Seriously, yes.
Can I give you stuff?
Err... okay?
Can I hug or snuggle with you?
I'm not a very "huggy" person. I don't tend to snuggle well, either. It's nothing personal; I just don't... like people enough to do that very well.
Are you nice?
I try to be! If you're nice to me or give me no reason to be otherwise, I'm nice.
How long are you going?
I'll be there the 16th around 1pm, leaving the 22nd.
Do you have an artist table?
Hell no!
Will you be going to parties?
Maybe! It's my hope to go to at least one.
Will you be performing?
I plan on doing so on karaoke night!
If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Throw shit at me. (No srsly, throw shit at me. If you call me by any name I should respond to and I don't recognize your voice, I'm 75% likely to ignore you. Force of habit.)
Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?
Depends! If I feel like it, I'll be out wandering the halls. I might be in the dealer room, or in a panel. I could also be out wandering the streets. It's a versatile con!
What/where will you be eating?
Again, depends! I like the Subway across the street from the Mariott; I also like the Pita Pit down the road. I'm hoping to have a sushi outing and an Indian food outing. There are many restaurants; chances are, I'll be eating at one of them!
Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?
Sure! It's better if you're tangentially associated with whatever group I'm with, though.
Can I look in your sketchbook?
You may, though I'm admittedly somewhat embarrassed of its contents. X3
Can I draw in your sketchbook?
If you want to, I suppose.
Can I take your picture?
I certainly don't mind, though why you'd want to is beyond me.
What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
Really, just to unwind and have fun with friends! And maybe make up with an old friend who I think will be there.
Inaki )Where are you staying?
In the Hilton with a few other people. Basically the same arrangement I had last year, except in the other hotel. :V
Who will you be with?
Whoever wants to hang out! But I do tend to have a group of friends.
Who will you hang out with during the convention?
Umm... see previous question? :V
Are there any panels you might be attending?
I'm looking at attending a few, including the one I'm hosting on otherkin.
Will you be suiting?
Nope! Still don't have a fursuit. (Though I do finally have a working sewing machine!)
Do you do free art?
Umm... I can try! I've not done sketches in a long time.
Do you do trades?
See above!
Do you do badges?
See above!
Do you do commissions?
Now this is something I might do, but not for drawing. I'm a writer. :3
What is your gender?
Agendered, but I tend to have a penis anyway.
How tall are you?
Right about 5'11".
Are you taken? Are you looking for a 'mate'?
That's a complicated question, but the short version is: No to both.
Can I talk to you?
NO NOT ALLOWED Yes of course. :P
Can I touch you?
Mmmmmaybe. Certain people I know, absolutely! I'm not a very "huggy" person.
How can I find you?
I'll be the guy who looks like he smoked his way to San Jose. :V But seriously, I'm pretty recognizable in a crowd, even a crowd of furries. :P
Can I visit your room?
Umm... sure? But ultimately it's really up to my roommates, I think.
Can I buy you drinks?
I love drinks! Seriously, yes.
Can I give you stuff?
Err... okay?
Can I hug or snuggle with you?
I'm not a very "huggy" person. I don't tend to snuggle well, either. It's nothing personal; I just don't... like people enough to do that very well.
Are you nice?
I try to be! If you're nice to me or give me no reason to be otherwise, I'm nice.
How long are you going?
I'll be there the 16th around 1pm, leaving the 22nd.
Do you have an artist table?
Hell no!
Will you be going to parties?
Maybe! It's my hope to go to at least one.
Will you be performing?
I plan on doing so on karaoke night!
If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Throw shit at me. (No srsly, throw shit at me. If you call me by any name I should respond to and I don't recognize your voice, I'm 75% likely to ignore you. Force of habit.)
Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?
Depends! If I feel like it, I'll be out wandering the halls. I might be in the dealer room, or in a panel. I could also be out wandering the streets. It's a versatile con!
What/where will you be eating?
Again, depends! I like the Subway across the street from the Mariott; I also like the Pita Pit down the road. I'm hoping to have a sushi outing and an Indian food outing. There are many restaurants; chances are, I'll be eating at one of them!
Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?
Sure! It's better if you're tangentially associated with whatever group I'm with, though.
Can I look in your sketchbook?
You may, though I'm admittedly somewhat embarrassed of its contents. X3
Can I draw in your sketchbook?
If you want to, I suppose.
Can I take your picture?
I certainly don't mind, though why you'd want to is beyond me.
What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
Really, just to unwind and have fun with friends! And maybe make up with an old friend who I think will be there.
Books on their way + more!
General | Posted 13 years agoSo for everyone who ordered a book from me, Amazon is presently processing the order and they should be on their way soon! Amazon anticipates they'll arrive by 12 January, so they'll be signed and personalized and all that jazz, then sent out as soon as possible from there.
NOW! Here's the thing. I went and ordered more than there were orders! Six more, to be precise.
So, the first six people to get in touch with me in ANY way (comments, notes, email) and say they definitively want one, those six will get them!
Of course, money being something of an issue, there are a few... stipulations.
1. I will send out an invoice for each of the six books. (If you mention you'll see me at FC or something, I'll remove potential shipping costs!) The total is the same as it was before: $15.59 USD + shipping, which will probably depend on where it's going. International shipping is always more expensive, though to Canada and Mexico isn't too much more. (For the record, if you live pretty much anywhere else in the world, the book is easily available from Amazon in your country! Check out your individual Amazon sites; it should be listed everywhere. :3 )
2. I will wait three days. If payment is not made within 72 hours of sending the invoice, I will nullify it and the next person in line will be given a chance. In other words, even if I've got six takers, let me know if you're interested! It's entirely possible you'll get a chance.
3. After FC (i.e. after 22 January), I will open up a new queue to end 31 January. So, if you don't get in this batch, don't fret! I'll keep it going for as long as there's interest. :3
Other than that, if you do end up at FC, I'm hosting a panel on otherkin on Friday night. So, come on by if that's something that interests you. :3
NOW! Here's the thing. I went and ordered more than there were orders! Six more, to be precise.
So, the first six people to get in touch with me in ANY way (comments, notes, email) and say they definitively want one, those six will get them!
Of course, money being something of an issue, there are a few... stipulations.
1. I will send out an invoice for each of the six books. (If you mention you'll see me at FC or something, I'll remove potential shipping costs!) The total is the same as it was before: $15.59 USD + shipping, which will probably depend on where it's going. International shipping is always more expensive, though to Canada and Mexico isn't too much more. (For the record, if you live pretty much anywhere else in the world, the book is easily available from Amazon in your country! Check out your individual Amazon sites; it should be listed everywhere. :3 )
2. I will wait three days. If payment is not made within 72 hours of sending the invoice, I will nullify it and the next person in line will be given a chance. In other words, even if I've got six takers, let me know if you're interested! It's entirely possible you'll get a chance.
3. After FC (i.e. after 22 January), I will open up a new queue to end 31 January. So, if you don't get in this batch, don't fret! I'll keep it going for as long as there's interest. :3
Other than that, if you do end up at FC, I'm hosting a panel on otherkin on Friday night. So, come on by if that's something that interests you. :3
Journey to Fire's Keep: New Year's Special
General | Posted 13 years agoSo Amazon is presently running Journey to Fire’s Keep, my first book, on sale for $15.59, plus shipping costs. Additionally, the book is eligible for free Super-Saver shipping on orders over $25. As such, I was struck with an idea, and I’m going to run with it.
From now until 11:59:59pm MST on January 1, 2013, if you write to me at baphijmm[at]gmail.com with the subject “Start my Journey” (so I know what it is and don’t immediately delete it), I will put you on a list and send your email address a PayPal invoice for $15.59 (plus shipping costs from here, when I figure that out). I would prefer payment of that invoice before the first of the new year, but I will probably let it slide for a few days, especially if you inform me of extenuating circumstances.
That $15.59 will buy you a copy of Journey to Fire’s Keep in paperback, signed by myself, and will include a bookmark of the book shipped to you from me. I will include whatever personal message you request with the signature, or I could personalize the bookmark if you’d like. Just let me know how you want it in your email, and I will do my best to fulfill your request!
Additionally, if you believe you will be seeing me within the month or so and thus would be able to obtain the book from me personally, let me know in the email as well, and I will waive the shipping fee. As a matter of fact, the reason I’m putting a deadline on this promotion is so I can place the order in time to potentially have copies with me when I travel to San Jose, California on the 16th of the month. I can’t guarantee I will, simply because I don’t have any control over the USPS, but this maximizes the chances!
So, in conclusion: Shoot me an email with the subject “Start my Journey”, detailing how exactly you would like to receive my book, Journey to Fire’s Keep. I will send you a PayPal invoice for the cost, and once January 1 comes and goes, I will place the order for the books!
If you’d like to learn more about the story before you buy, you can check out the book’s web presence at The Official Journey to Fire’s Keep site, or on my website here. Keep reading!
From now until 11:59:59pm MST on January 1, 2013, if you write to me at baphijmm[at]gmail.com with the subject “Start my Journey” (so I know what it is and don’t immediately delete it), I will put you on a list and send your email address a PayPal invoice for $15.59 (plus shipping costs from here, when I figure that out). I would prefer payment of that invoice before the first of the new year, but I will probably let it slide for a few days, especially if you inform me of extenuating circumstances.
That $15.59 will buy you a copy of Journey to Fire’s Keep in paperback, signed by myself, and will include a bookmark of the book shipped to you from me. I will include whatever personal message you request with the signature, or I could personalize the bookmark if you’d like. Just let me know how you want it in your email, and I will do my best to fulfill your request!
Additionally, if you believe you will be seeing me within the month or so and thus would be able to obtain the book from me personally, let me know in the email as well, and I will waive the shipping fee. As a matter of fact, the reason I’m putting a deadline on this promotion is so I can place the order in time to potentially have copies with me when I travel to San Jose, California on the 16th of the month. I can’t guarantee I will, simply because I don’t have any control over the USPS, but this maximizes the chances!
So, in conclusion: Shoot me an email with the subject “Start my Journey”, detailing how exactly you would like to receive my book, Journey to Fire’s Keep. I will send you a PayPal invoice for the cost, and once January 1 comes and goes, I will place the order for the books!
If you’d like to learn more about the story before you buy, you can check out the book’s web presence at The Official Journey to Fire’s Keep site, or on my website here. Keep reading!
Dragon Orgy Mega-mission!
General | Posted 13 years agoSo if you're looking at getting in on some huge orgy action and you happen to be a dragon of some persuasion (especially quadruped, cough cough ;3), 
Dresil has agreed to art out such a scenario!
Baralheia will be handling the funds; it's $20 per character. Dragons only, but seriously anthro, quad, it doesn't matter. :3
But Baphi, how do I get in on this hot dragon-on-dragon-on-dragon-on-dragon action? Simple! Go HERE, comment on that journal. That's really it! Baralheia will then get in touch with you on how to make the payment.
The comment MUST be posted by 15 Dec, and payment MUST be made by 17 Dec.
Let's see how many dragons we can get in one room for sexytimes!
Dresil has agreed to art out such a scenario!
Baralheia will be handling the funds; it's $20 per character. Dragons only, but seriously anthro, quad, it doesn't matter. :3But Baphi, how do I get in on this hot dragon-on-dragon-on-dragon-on-dragon action? Simple! Go HERE, comment on that journal. That's really it!
Baralheia will then get in touch with you on how to make the payment.The comment MUST be posted by 15 Dec, and payment MUST be made by 17 Dec.
Let's see how many dragons we can get in one room for sexytimes!
Kink / Fetish meme
General | Posted 13 years agoStolen shamelessly from 
Talash!
Simply comment with a kink/fetish and I'll reply with whether or not it's one of mine, and what I like or dislike about it.
Have fun, and feel free to be creative! ;>
Talash!Simply comment with a kink/fetish and I'll reply with whether or not it's one of mine, and what I like or dislike about it.
Have fun, and feel free to be creative! ;>
Who Are You? meme
General | Posted 13 years agoTaken from 
Airu
We've all seen what you can do, now lets see what makes you tick :) Answer the following questions (honestly!) and share with the world who you really are. Ready? Go!
1. We all know what we call you, what about the folks at home? Whats your name?
I generally go by my given name by everyone except my uncle, who calls me Otis.
2. How tall are you?
5'11"
3. Natural hair color? (if you can remember it)
It's actually blond, but it's kind of brown with how thick it is. Also it's graying.
3. What about eye color?
Usually grey.
4. What orientation are you?
Asexual, for all intents and purposes.
5. Are you single, taken, or undecided?
Single, kind of. It's complicated.
6. What do you do in your spare time?
Sleep, watch TV, and write. Occasionally, I'll play video games.
7. What's your job?
I work at an observatory as a telescope and computer repair technician.
8. What's one thing you like about yourself?
My singing voice. :3
9. Alright, now what about something you dislike about yourself?
Lack of self-respect.
10. What's some things your friends noticed about you when they first met you?
I have no idea. XD
Good! Hold on, yer coming up on some deeper questions now... ready?
11. Of what faith/religion are you(if any at all?)
Nyingma sect of Vajrayana Buddhism.
12. Do you drink?
Quite often. I actually have a bit of a problem.
13. Do you smoke?
No. Allergic to tobacco smoke, and marijuana doesn't affect me.
14. What are your fears?
I used to be deathly afraid of spiders, but right now I'd call it a strong respect. Otherwise, I guess I'm mostly afraid of... Actually, I'm not sure at this point. I've been through an awful lot.
15. What are your dreams/goals?
Far too many to list in a meme survey like this. XD A few off the top of my head: Start my own research company, get a scientific paper published, release an album, animate a short via traditional media techniques.
16 .Ever had any crushes/ex's in the past/present?
I had a light crush in elementary school, before I knew what they were. Since then, I have had one girlfriend, and she is an ex at this point.
Almost done!!! Time for some lighter topics now :D
17. Who's your best bud?
This is actually tough; most people I used to consider good friends, I've either grown apart from or had... recent unpleasantries.
18. Alright, you got the cravin' for munchies, what'cha reachin' for?
Right now, not much; my funds are pretty low, and I don't have a car, so I can't just run to the store (an hour drive away) every time I feel like eating something I don't presently possess.
19. Favorite drink?
Mountain Dew Throwback.
20. Favorite color?
Red. :3
21. If you had any super power, what would it be?
That's actually kinda difficult. I'm genuinely not sure.
22. Favorite movie?
Another difficult question! I actually don't tend to like much cinema. I'd probably say Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena if I had a gun pointed to my head and had to decide right the fuck now.
23. Least favorite food?
A toss-up between broccoli and spinach.
24. Quick! You have only one meal left before you die!!! What is it?
Sesame chicken over white rice, with egg drop soup.
25. What do you drive/wish you drove?
Before its transmission exploded, I drove a 1997 Oldsmobile 88. I'm hoping for pretty much anything with either 4WD or AWD right now, as I kind of live on a mountain.
Last 5 questions. You're in the homestretch, come on, you can make it! Lets see what gets under your skin.
26. Most disliked bug?
VERY difficult question; I tend to like most bugs. I guess mosquitoes, because yeah okay fuck those things.
27. Most hated pet peeves?
Grammatical fallacies. ("YOUR QUALIFIED" is written all over a bunch of cars in a used car lot in town and it pisses me right the fuck off.) Other than that, probably when people would rather talk about me behind my back than just tell me something I'm doing that bugs them or whatever.
28. Dislike in life?
A whole hell of a lot. My job is actually one of the few things I like about my life, contrary to apparently most everyone else.
29. Most annoying?
Bands that think screaming or talking like Dr. Claw is singing. Plenty of perfectly good songs have been ruined by this terrible trend. Also, people who have the same accent as the lead singer of Blink 182. I'm sorry, but they completely destroyed it and I just... it's like listening to nails on a chalkboard for me.
30. Most disliked TV show?
I generally don't watch much TV because I tend to dislike all of it. (Yes, even House, the new Doctor Who [Yes, all three of them], and MLP. :trollface: ) I really can't choose just one.
AiruWe've all seen what you can do, now lets see what makes you tick :) Answer the following questions (honestly!) and share with the world who you really are. Ready? Go!
1. We all know what we call you, what about the folks at home? Whats your name?
I generally go by my given name by everyone except my uncle, who calls me Otis.
2. How tall are you?
5'11"
3. Natural hair color? (if you can remember it)
It's actually blond, but it's kind of brown with how thick it is. Also it's graying.
3. What about eye color?
Usually grey.
4. What orientation are you?
Asexual, for all intents and purposes.
5. Are you single, taken, or undecided?
Single, kind of. It's complicated.
6. What do you do in your spare time?
Sleep, watch TV, and write. Occasionally, I'll play video games.
7. What's your job?
I work at an observatory as a telescope and computer repair technician.
8. What's one thing you like about yourself?
My singing voice. :3
9. Alright, now what about something you dislike about yourself?
Lack of self-respect.
10. What's some things your friends noticed about you when they first met you?
I have no idea. XD
Good! Hold on, yer coming up on some deeper questions now... ready?
11. Of what faith/religion are you(if any at all?)
Nyingma sect of Vajrayana Buddhism.
12. Do you drink?
Quite often. I actually have a bit of a problem.
13. Do you smoke?
No. Allergic to tobacco smoke, and marijuana doesn't affect me.
14. What are your fears?
I used to be deathly afraid of spiders, but right now I'd call it a strong respect. Otherwise, I guess I'm mostly afraid of... Actually, I'm not sure at this point. I've been through an awful lot.
15. What are your dreams/goals?
Far too many to list in a meme survey like this. XD A few off the top of my head: Start my own research company, get a scientific paper published, release an album, animate a short via traditional media techniques.
16 .Ever had any crushes/ex's in the past/present?
I had a light crush in elementary school, before I knew what they were. Since then, I have had one girlfriend, and she is an ex at this point.
Almost done!!! Time for some lighter topics now :D
17. Who's your best bud?
This is actually tough; most people I used to consider good friends, I've either grown apart from or had... recent unpleasantries.
18. Alright, you got the cravin' for munchies, what'cha reachin' for?
Right now, not much; my funds are pretty low, and I don't have a car, so I can't just run to the store (an hour drive away) every time I feel like eating something I don't presently possess.
19. Favorite drink?
Mountain Dew Throwback.
20. Favorite color?
Red. :3
21. If you had any super power, what would it be?
That's actually kinda difficult. I'm genuinely not sure.
22. Favorite movie?
Another difficult question! I actually don't tend to like much cinema. I'd probably say Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena if I had a gun pointed to my head and had to decide right the fuck now.
23. Least favorite food?
A toss-up between broccoli and spinach.
24. Quick! You have only one meal left before you die!!! What is it?
Sesame chicken over white rice, with egg drop soup.
25. What do you drive/wish you drove?
Before its transmission exploded, I drove a 1997 Oldsmobile 88. I'm hoping for pretty much anything with either 4WD or AWD right now, as I kind of live on a mountain.
Last 5 questions. You're in the homestretch, come on, you can make it! Lets see what gets under your skin.
26. Most disliked bug?
VERY difficult question; I tend to like most bugs. I guess mosquitoes, because yeah okay fuck those things.
27. Most hated pet peeves?
Grammatical fallacies. ("YOUR QUALIFIED" is written all over a bunch of cars in a used car lot in town and it pisses me right the fuck off.) Other than that, probably when people would rather talk about me behind my back than just tell me something I'm doing that bugs them or whatever.
28. Dislike in life?
A whole hell of a lot. My job is actually one of the few things I like about my life, contrary to apparently most everyone else.
29. Most annoying?
Bands that think screaming or talking like Dr. Claw is singing. Plenty of perfectly good songs have been ruined by this terrible trend. Also, people who have the same accent as the lead singer of Blink 182. I'm sorry, but they completely destroyed it and I just... it's like listening to nails on a chalkboard for me.
30. Most disliked TV show?
I generally don't watch much TV because I tend to dislike all of it. (Yes, even House, the new Doctor Who [Yes, all three of them], and MLP. :trollface: ) I really can't choose just one.
Further Confusion Update
General | Posted 14 years agoI'm going. :P Days have been taken off, tickets purchased, room arranged, and all is set. Car's still not running reliably, but my planned fix is planned for tomorrow, and if that doesn't work I've got a Plan B that's pretty-well guaranteed to get me to the airport. As such, I'll be seeing some of you there! In the meantime, have this survey.
Hotel:
The Marriott
Arrival/Departure:
Jan 11th - 17th
Staying in the main hotel:
Unsure.
Means of transportation:
Flying in from El Paso.
Sharing a room with:
Baphnedia 
Micksam7 and the guy in charge of the room itself. :P
Who do you hang out with:
Unsure!
Gender:
Male
Relationship Status:
None.
How old are you:
26
Are you an Artist:
Kind of. :P
Will you be taking commissions?
Probably not, unless I really like the idea and it's for a story.
How much?
Depends.
Will you do trades?
Probably not, but again, might if I really like the idea.
Are you a Fursuiter:
Not yet.
How many Fursuits are you going to bring/wear:
0
Which Characters:
Not applicable.
Any new suits or characters Debuting:
No.
Attending parties:
Probably! If I can find them.
Do you drink:
Yes, quite a bit if it's available.
Can I buy you a drink:
I wouldn't mind, if it were offered.
Are you attending any panels:
I'm looking at a few.
Stage or public performance:
Perhaps.
How do I identify my self to you:
Umm... say hello I guess?
Rules of engagement (physical Contact out of Suit):
Introduce yourself; I will probably be awkward.
Personality Type:
Reserved. I'm trying to break that habit.
How do I know if you're not looking to socialize (angry, busy or upset):
That's a good question. I'll probably just seem irritable.
Anything to add:
I'm not a very huggy person; I won't turn down hugs or physical contact or anything like that, but know that I probably won't reciprocate. I'm very bad about reacting to that sort of thing.
Hotel:
The Marriott
Arrival/Departure:
Jan 11th - 17th
Staying in the main hotel:
Unsure.
Means of transportation:
Flying in from El Paso.
Sharing a room with:
Baphnedia 
Micksam7 and the guy in charge of the room itself. :PWho do you hang out with:
Unsure!
Gender:
Male
Relationship Status:
None.
How old are you:
26
Are you an Artist:
Kind of. :P
Will you be taking commissions?
Probably not, unless I really like the idea and it's for a story.
How much?
Depends.
Will you do trades?
Probably not, but again, might if I really like the idea.
Are you a Fursuiter:
Not yet.
How many Fursuits are you going to bring/wear:
0
Which Characters:
Not applicable.
Any new suits or characters Debuting:
No.
Attending parties:
Probably! If I can find them.
Do you drink:
Yes, quite a bit if it's available.
Can I buy you a drink:
I wouldn't mind, if it were offered.
Are you attending any panels:
I'm looking at a few.
Stage or public performance:
Perhaps.
How do I identify my self to you:
Umm... say hello I guess?
Rules of engagement (physical Contact out of Suit):
Introduce yourself; I will probably be awkward.
Personality Type:
Reserved. I'm trying to break that habit.
How do I know if you're not looking to socialize (angry, busy or upset):
That's a good question. I'll probably just seem irritable.
Anything to add:
I'm not a very huggy person; I won't turn down hugs or physical contact or anything like that, but know that I probably won't reciprocate. I'm very bad about reacting to that sort of thing.
The days are getting longer again!
General | Posted 14 years agoThe peal of rain upon the rusted tin roof barely clinging to its last semblance of usefulness above reverberated in my head. My heart was still threatening to burst from my chest, my heaving breaths doing nothing to calm its fervor. Blinded by the torrents around me as I had run here, I had no idea where I was, my only clues from the rotting remains of the shed around me, no part of which would give up that secret.
The first notes of the Westminster Chimes rang in the distance.
Dorothy was still warm in my hands, but I knew she’d soon be cold and unresponsive. Already leaning against the unstable wall behind me, my own strength waning from exertion, I let her fall to the dirt floor, the sick wet thud only barely audible over the rain and the swiftly-increasing wail of sirens. The tears in my eyes overflowed down my cheeks, mixing with the probably acidic water already collected there as I collapsed to my knees.
The Westminster Chimes finished their toll; it was apparently ten o’clock.
Happy holidays. :3
The first notes of the Westminster Chimes rang in the distance.
Dorothy was still warm in my hands, but I knew she’d soon be cold and unresponsive. Already leaning against the unstable wall behind me, my own strength waning from exertion, I let her fall to the dirt floor, the sick wet thud only barely audible over the rain and the swiftly-increasing wail of sirens. The tears in my eyes overflowed down my cheeks, mixing with the probably acidic water already collected there as I collapsed to my knees.
The Westminster Chimes finished their toll; it was apparently ten o’clock.
Happy holidays. :3
So, remember what I said about making FC?
General | Posted 14 years agoYeah, that might not happen anymore.
Long story short, massive snowstorm over the weekend lasting all weekend, car ended up in a ditch, and now it doesn't reverse.
It could be a fluid issue; I've not gotten a chance to check just yet. It was nose-down at a greater-than 45-degree angle for an entire day, throughout constantly tens of degrees below zero Fahrenheit temperatures, so it could really be just an easy fix. Given my luck with this damned thing, however, I'll probably end up shelling out over $1000 for a "new" car.
Long story short, massive snowstorm over the weekend lasting all weekend, car ended up in a ditch, and now it doesn't reverse.
It could be a fluid issue; I've not gotten a chance to check just yet. It was nose-down at a greater-than 45-degree angle for an entire day, throughout constantly tens of degrees below zero Fahrenheit temperatures, so it could really be just an easy fix. Given my luck with this damned thing, however, I'll probably end up shelling out over $1000 for a "new" car.
Further Employment!
General | Posted 14 years agoSo, barely four months after getting my job in Cincinnati, I was offered an amazing possibility back in New Mexico. I accepted, and just four days ago began work as a telescope and computer tech at the New Mexico Skies observatory in the Lincoln National Forest.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be getting used to this new environment while finding a place to stay. I've already found possibilities, and it shouldn't be very long that I have to stay at the observatory.
I'll still be able to make FC; if anything, this has actually increased my chances of doing so.
Seeing as, in the short time I've been here, I've sort of revolutionized remote telescope control, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to keep this job for a little while. :P
Over the next few weeks, I'll be getting used to this new environment while finding a place to stay. I've already found possibilities, and it shouldn't be very long that I have to stay at the observatory.
I'll still be able to make FC; if anything, this has actually increased my chances of doing so.
Seeing as, in the short time I've been here, I've sort of revolutionized remote telescope control, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to keep this job for a little while. :P
Employment!
General | Posted 14 years agoIt only took me three months, but I've finally got a job in Cincinnati. It's kind of secret, but entirely awesome, basically doing analytical chemical research full-time. This means, on the plus side, that I'll likely be able to make it out to FC again this year (assuming, of course, I can take care of my personal debts before then, which I think I can), something I've been trying for since the last time I went back in 2009. On the down side, however, it means that pretty much all my time is dedicated to working, meaning my writing, fursuits, drawings, and even conversations will have to take a back seat for a little while. I'm working on things when I get the opportunity, but yeah, my personal at-home output has diminished drastically in the past week.
Things might finally be moving towards a better future though, so I'm quite happy with the way things have turned out so far.
Things might finally be moving towards a better future though, so I'm quite happy with the way things have turned out so far.
I've been writing!
General | Posted 14 years agoBut I'm not uploading my stories here. :P
Because the job search is taking far longer than anyone involved would like - it would seem that the Cincinnati job market is completely upside-down after the recession - I've been keeping my hands busy with some new erotica. However, as I stated in an earlier entry, I'm not uploading anything new to my FA account; I do not agree with their current terms or their administration. As such, you may find all five new stories - all written in the past week - up on SoFurry or InkBunny, under this same name.
Sorry for the inconvenience, but please do enjoy them regardless!
Because the job search is taking far longer than anyone involved would like - it would seem that the Cincinnati job market is completely upside-down after the recession - I've been keeping my hands busy with some new erotica. However, as I stated in an earlier entry, I'm not uploading anything new to my FA account; I do not agree with their current terms or their administration. As such, you may find all five new stories - all written in the past week - up on SoFurry or InkBunny, under this same name.
Sorry for the inconvenience, but please do enjoy them regardless!
For those of you who have been trying to contact me
General | Posted 15 years agoFor the last week and then some I've been in the process of relocating. Not to California as I'd hoped; rather, back to my parents' place in Cincinnati. Because of my lack of job, I could not afford to continue to live elsewhere. I'm still getting settled in, so I won't really be online all that often.
I will say, however, that I'm going to try starting up a project I've been wanting to do for a while - fursuits! I've made costumes professionally in the past, so I just wanted to give this a shot.
I am still writing off and on; however, from this computer I really can't upload anything to SoFurry or InkBunny. Additionally, I had to leave my scanner in Socorro, so I cannot scan any new drawings right now. Furthermore, I really need to replace my main computer; its CPU fan is on its last leg, and I'm not sure how much longer the hard drive, CPU, PSU, or motherboard will hold out.
I will say, however, that I'm going to try starting up a project I've been wanting to do for a while - fursuits! I've made costumes professionally in the past, so I just wanted to give this a shot.
I am still writing off and on; however, from this computer I really can't upload anything to SoFurry or InkBunny. Additionally, I had to leave my scanner in Socorro, so I cannot scan any new drawings right now. Furthermore, I really need to replace my main computer; its CPU fan is on its last leg, and I'm not sure how much longer the hard drive, CPU, PSU, or motherboard will hold out.
