As I just now pass 5,000 hours of time spent playing Neos VR I feel like I should do something with that but I don't know what XD. Might as well take note of some thoughts.
I'm certainly not going to stop any time soon. Just pausing to consider a few things about spending a huge chunk of my life in a VR fantasy world. I probably spent less than an hour of Neos *not* being in VR.
Neos gives me the tools to create literally anything, so naturally this become ways to play out statue fantasies. All of my time has been spent working on ASFR-related things or hanging out with ASFR fans.
As for time spent as a statue it's probably been 100 hours of that. Most of the time I'm the one doing the statue making. I still never tire of being petrified, and I hope I can spend a lot more time on decor duty.
But I'm not the only one whom will take the role of 'sculptor' to transform others. I don't really know any 'dominants' with it, but I've met many kinksters. I describe them as folks who aren't desiring a power role, but just like being in an environment where anything goes, and transformation can happen to anyone. My best days in Neos are being around folks like that. Some days I'll go camera crazy and be the "last man standing", and some days I'll end up being zapped and given some time to stew on my stony predicament.
Obviously spending this much time in virtual reality has had an impact on reality, but not in a way that I feel is all that bad.
In this day and age; despite all the marvels and wonders we have as people, I think most folks will say that life is stressful and disappointing in the day-to-day. We spend such a small chunk of our lives experiencing anything truly fulfilling, amazing, or immersive with our varied desires and goals. I find petrification to be the greatest concept imaginable, so I warrant spending as much time as I can doing what I love. Success in society doesn't bring me any closer to playing out these aspirations.
As for what I've done in Neos so far, I'm pretty proud of myself. I feel I'm at the point where there's nothing I couldn't make. It's just a matter of time and energy, really.
I wish the doors of Neos could be open to all, but identity is important to us, and it's difficult to prepare someone to be what they feel they need to be in order to enjoy it. I got to the point that I'm very happy with how I look and I don't need anything else, but introducing someone new to the game means spending a great deal of time aiding them in ways they can't help themselves. It's sadly unavoidable. I needed help at first to know how to customize myself, too.
But as it stands, the worst part of being in Neos is how much focus and effort goes into customization and presentation. I am reaching my limit for going through the motions of meeting someone, teaching them the controls, then spending hours helping them look good and have features. I have easily spent >1,000 hours working on others in ways I wish I didn't have to. I feel I've lost friends who became capable of customization, and were dragged down by others to spend all their free time pimping out avatars instead of playing and having fun.
But when everyone gets together and comes prepared, leaving their IRL troubles at the door, and gathers to enjoy some statue transformation fun, there's nothing like it. It's simply the greatest.
If you read this, thanks for reading.

If you get any messages from my account, ignore them for now. It might take a couple weeks before I can restore the account. I'm at Grey Backup#5599 for now instead while I await support tickets >.>

Only myself and one other employee work the overnight shift where we get equal shares of 10-12 hour shifts every night including holidays.

With the other worker going on vacation until January, all of their shifts opened up and pay overtime of 1.5x my pay.

Surely I would take a few, but why not all of them? The job itself is a test of patience with oneself, unpressured by anything but isolation. Two months of this to get a tremendous payout... a minor sacrifice in the grand scheme of things.

So I offered to do this, which was met with "Seriously?!". As of now my schedule is set in stone starting in two nights.

The good news part is that the day after I said I would do this, someone offered me to join them on a vacation to Las Vegas in January, right after my OT spree would end!
I find this fabulously ironic.

I haven't gone on a vacation in years, this should be fun!

Out of curiousity, would anyone else work every day for two months with extra pay in exchange for a trip to Vegas?

It's been a childhood dream of mine to write music for a game, and now the pieces are coming into place in making that a reality :)

Just talking to certain people you barely know might open a door for you years and years down the line.

It's neat to think back to how everything fell into place... but a stroke of luck came in my favor when a couple of game developers are opening a workplace down the street a few blocks. Literally. If I sat on a skateboard on my street, was pushed by gravity and didn't get hit by a car, I would eventually end up there, probably breaking the sound barrier in the process. Funny thing is we were introduced by the internet -- I didn't even know they were there x.x

I can't say much about the game, but I think there's no harm in saying it's planning to be a year and a half in production, and hoping to be released on Nintendo's virtual download store.

I'd like to share as much as I can whenever I know I'm able, and most of my musical efforts will be towards the game and a two man band ^_^

Thank you to everyone who helped push me to make more music :D

Without sharing my music on FA and getting gracious feedback, I would never have made the songs that were used to get their attention.

It just dawned on me... how stupid it is to think you might conquer a fear by totally immersing yourself in it.
Hey, here's a great idea to conquer your deathly fear of heights, take a ride in a fuggin air balloon captained by a record-breaker for highest flying! You'll snap out of it like amnesia.
Or end up traumatized.
It was an experience, I tell you what. But I was standing in an enlarged basket a half mile above the ground or whatever, thinking the basket was going to give out under me or I was going to be swept off.
And it's sheer silence.
The only thing you can hear is your heartbeat.
And then BASHOOM! an explosion of fire against a thin inflated bubble. You have no direction but wherever nature decides to put you. Thankfully it wasn't the highway.
This was 4 years ago, but the mere thought of it makes my hands sweaty. My keys are damp. Lesson? One step at a time.

I'm proud of myself :3 Haven't smoked in a year to the day! I replaced the cravings entirely so it wasn't long before I didn't want to smoke anymore.

A few things were in my favor.
One, I planned on smoking before I smoked. Came up with a plan, bought packs just to give smokes to people and ask them about smoking months before I ever tried one. So, I knew exactly what I was getting into, and I never hated smoking or myself for doing it.
Second, I decided that I would only quit when it felt totally right, and I would only quit once. I decided this at the start of my 3 years as a smoker.
Third, I live in Minnesota. It's like the aftermath of a blizzard outside right now, and it's colder than the 7th circle of hell. Smoking outside is not fun.
Fourth, I had a good 'felt right' moment. Kmart was closing and selling nicotine gum for loose change. It was my niece's birthday and the day after 'smoking day'. Kmart iQuit.

Why did I start smoking? To take a break from the computer. I got so glued to the damn thing that I needed to give my body a reason to drag itself away from the screen, and it worked wonders. I adopted a diet that got me exercising and losing weight :) I would feel the urge to smoke, and then the urge to exercise so I wouldn't want to smoke. Now I'm fat but I won't have lung cancer :P

Herbal Cigarettes: Crappy tasting, expensive, didn't fix crave.

Hookah Shisha: Worked for a month w/nicotine gum. Annoying to set up each time, waste of time/money for quick fixes.

Nicotine Gum: I don't know why this should work. Tastes stupid and makes me feel nautious, but I bought so damn much of it. Anyone want a year supply of it? I'll ship.

Electric Cigarettes: This is what did it, and I'm still smoking it regularly. I used a "performance" one that looks like a .50cal bullet, but it wore down and got gross to smoke.

I ended up buying a cheap $25 USB rechargable ecig from Super America and used that for 8 months and still do. I don't buy their cartridges, I crack open the one they gave me and put in nicotine liquid I buy online (it tastes like Christmas). I buy a new battery/cartridge occationally when it gets wore down. I spend about $50/3 months on the cig and liquid, I smoke it everywhere including at work and it completely satisfies me :3 I plan on smoking this for many years.
I suggest trying a disposable $9 one if you want to quit :) if you already did, then you'll probably fall in love right away.
If you want to keep smoking then please switch to 'pipe tobacco' and tubes. You will save a metric shit ton of money if you can look past the 'high class' taste of packs-of-cancer and the 15 seconds to make a tubed-cig. Watch a movie, make 200 for $15. Don't sell them to kids but you could.

It's exactly what you think it will be.

I played a great game called Lugaru: The Rabbit's Foot, which is essentially about a rabbit who knows Kung Fu and beats up other anthros. Dynamic fighting, rag doll physics, giant levels and great sound design made it a big favorite of mine. You can play it here http://www.wolfire.com/lugaru . Now, the same team that developed the first bunny-fighting game is making another. They provide weekly alpha demos, videos, constant updates, live chat. For an indie title that has no advertising budget, and is reliant on fans to spread the word, it's worth at least checking into :) http://www.wolfire.com/overgrowth

I considered buying it, but I'm glad I didn't. I rented it instead, like most of the games I play. For this, I am satisfied.
Some games are best played through once. There's times in a game that are fantastic, but upon replaying it loses its value. I had this problem with Uncharted 2. First time I played through it, it blew me away. Second time, I realized just how lacking the game was for depth. It was a movie I only wanted to see once. The 'special features' were barely worth a glance. By special features, I mean everything both outside the gameplay and variations to add to the original experience. I was basically just doing the exact same thing I did the first time, but on a higher difficulty so I had to shoot more.
I played Uncharted 3 before I looked at the review scores, which all seemed to give it a perfect score. I felt like the game wouldn't be getting good reviews. Primarily, because everything outside of timed button presses feels unpolished. You'll find yourself doing animation glitches, trying to take cover but accidently rolling into enemy fire, repeating the same melee sequences, and jumping in the wrong direction to your doom. The density of dialogue is good, but when you hear "oh crap" for the 100th time, it'll take you away from the gameplay.
The game lays out a straightforward plotline and playline. If you ever venture away from the beaten path, you either die or press triangle to pick up a 'treasure'. The challenge comes from quick reactions to dire situations. That's where the 'fantastic movie' part comes in. It's great for this, and no game can measure to the cool scripted action sequences.
For combat, you were a poor boy who was picked up off the streets and raised as a vigilante treasure hunter. Now, you kill thousands upon thousands of trained and armed forces with a t-shirt and dexterity. It goes far too over the top with the sheer number of enemies that run into your crosshairs. And run, they do. They'll be climbing and running around like noobs in their first TDM, and they run so fast that the default turning speed can't keep up with them. You'll shoot more missed rounds than hits.
I haven't tried multiplayer. UC1 was single player only. I find all the following games should be judged primarily on its single player. And without it's multiplayer, Uncharted 3 is far from perfect, but the cinematic action sequences remain unmatched.

It's been exactly 3 years, almost to the hour, that my mate Tim (Mizmus) moved from New York on a bus with just a few things to my little apartment in Minnesota. In those three years we've moved four times, gained and spent a great deal of money, gotten into bareknuckle fights and had our share of tears. Going from rich at our age to nearly homeless has taken a tremendous toll on the both of us but I can happily say we've pulled through and persisted to achieve a quaint peace in life with lots of love :3
Best wishes to all furry couples out there. For anyone who has yet to find someone to take a place in their heart or is well on their way, I reccomend having a lot of patience with each other and to ALWAYS help each other with anything - no questions. Be honest and faithful, keep arguments to a mere discussion, and anything can work out :3

So I didn't hear a word of this movie from furs anywhere...
Seriously?
I find this to be the perfect furry movie. It's a very 'alternative' film, narrowing it down to just about anything. What this does mean though is you should not have expectations when going to see it. Something about seeing a movie fresh from your mind for the sole purpose of curiosity makes it much more interesting.
The story is not completely unique but the world built to project it is. The world of the furries in the film is just about what any furry would want from a modernized furtopia. All animals are intelligent (except dogs and birds) and can speak and talk with the humans that live along-side them. They usually don't because the separation between them is the same as humans and animals today.
The cinematography is very broad to capture all that is happening in the scene in a single shot. There are close-ups that fill the screen when the characters are talking and not only does that inspire the mood of the dialogue, but also shows off some extremely talented face work with stop-motion and fur. All-in-all they capture the essence of the story perfectly.
The bad - Some of the humor is hit-or-miss. There are no references, it's all very original, but something that should be funny will not necessarily be shot in a funny way, so unless you have a friend next to you who 'gets it' you may not totally understand a lot of what the scenes are for. Some of the action scenes are just downright crappy in terms of the stop-motion work. Often characters seem to randomly dance and it all gives me face palms.
Perfect kids movie, and no doubt everyone who sees it - furry or not - will find something to love. Also there were THREE other people other than us seeing it on the night of it's showing. Give it your furspect!

I'll be arriving Thursday and staying til Monday in the main hotel this year. I hope I'll be able to meet with more people this year so if you'll be attending, let me know! I'll be crusing around with my buddy Dracon in our paired set of zentai suits most of the time, but will also, of course, be at the rubber furs' and spandex furs' parties with a vac bed and other toys. For more info on the rubber party visit the rubber-furs FA page. Travel safely!

I will continue to be offline until I find a home and internet which will hopefully occur by the end of the week. If not, pray my absence will be as swift as the bad news has been to my mate and I.
~regards

I'll be thar. Anyone going/know anyone going? If so, look for the shiny blue zentai. I'll also be giving away 100 CDs with all kinds of music I've made in the last 5 years, hoping to get some publicity. Ask me for one :3

Well we just arrived at the Best Western hotel last night in Ann Arbor, Michigan! It was a long, 10+ hour drive (with a dash of time zone confusion) to make for a boring trip, but we listened to 2sense the whole way so there was something to listen to. 2, the ranting gryphon, is a big deal in the show here so hopefully I can talk to him and see about some future performances perhaps on his show or in future conventions. I know he has a history of music composition and stuffs, since his emails don't get through I guess this will be a better opportunity.
So I'm not mah laptop here atm staring out over the convention floor from the window. It's the perfect setting for a furcon methinks, instead of long empty hallways like most conventions the main area is one large jungle gym of a space with all rooms the surrounding it. It is the first day and narly a fraction of the con has showed up. Opening ceremonies are in a few hours so we'll see the turn out. If anyone knows anybody here or you were here and read this later lemme know ;) wish me luck in the DDR and rock band competitions!