Plus, Make That Minus One

News recently cam out that Google will soon be discontinuing its social media platform, Google +.  I never really got into the platform, as it was my first foray into social media.  It was 2016, and I finally got my own email account.  Technically, I was using one set up for my store, but I didn't think twice about using it for my own.  One of the benefits I had was being on Google +.  I barely realized it was there.  Since I didn't own a computer at the time, I only checked ion on the site about once a week or so, at most.  Sure, I set up some collections, but I didn't really know what I was doing.  It wasn't until I joined Facebook, that I tried out what was available on Google +.  I tried looking up some people I know on it, but I came up blank.  I just knew some of them had to have a Gmail account as well, but they apparently didn't try to explore the site.  Even after I got a computer, I still found myself forgetting about checking in on Google +.  It was just another app connected to my email.  To be honest, I barely checked out any of the other apps in the Google family either.  I only started checking out and posting on YouTube in the past two months.  Now, Google will be phasing out its service.  It could be it part to a data hacking incident, but no one could be quite sure about all the reasons.  When I first realized the potential for social media, a few months after I was with Google, I tried to find resources to help me and my business get a leg up on social media.  Unfortunately, there wasn't much out there.  What little there was, I found to be just out-of-date for my best uses.  I am still on other social media, as well as my store for as long as it exists, but who can tell how much longer some of these things will last.  I was just starting to get more out of something, I now I won't be able to.

As the Wheel Turns

I recently caught an article about how a certain online streaming service, which I refuse to name for various reasons, is thinking about adapting one of my favorite high fantasy book series. That series is Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time."  For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, Jordan's series is set in a world that was devastated by an unbelievable war and its fallout.  Now, hundreds, if not thousands of years later, the enemy is returning to finish the job.  Three young men from a small village are the subject to a prophecy that will save the world, or possibly destroy it if things go wrong.  Together, with a very large cast of supporting characters, they will try to save the world.  Jordan was only able to finish the first eleven books of the series, plus a prequel and other background information, before he died.  His widow and publisher chose Brandon Sanderson to finish the final book of the series, based on notes and some scenes he had written before he died.  That final book was so large, that it wound up being split into three books.  For comparison, think of it as a PG-13 version of Game of Thrones, with that show being a hard R or M.  There would be much less sex and nudity.  There's only three or four scenes in the entire series, and all of it is consensual.  There's is  a lot of warfare and death, but most of it is not too violent.  There is a lot more magic, as most of the main cast and the antagonists can use a from it.  There are creatures that 'look' like dragons, but they are called something else.  There are over two dozen main cast members, some of whom don't even appear until halfway through the series. Many of the villains show up in multiple guises, as the main enemy can reincarnate its soldiers on occasion.  I had been thinking that this would make a great show, although it would have to last at least ten years to get through all of the material.  The actual plot takes place a little over two years worth of actual time, although I might be misremembering it.  It has been a few years since I have read any of the books.  While Game of Thrones reduced the number of lead characters,  I don't see how anyone could easily do so here.  There's just too many of them, many whose importance isn't revealed for a two or more books in.  There's also the fact that a race of giants (around nine feet or so) and sentient wolves (at least in a dream realm) both have major parts to play.  I hope they do the series the justice it deserves, but I fear it might be too much of a job to take on.

i like cumming(s)

One of my favorite writers is E. E. Cummings.  Yes, I know he preferred to write his name without capitalization or periods, at times, but spell check gets all antsy if I don't follow the rules.  Just getting the title the way I wanted it took three tries.  Anyway, I first got introduced to Cummings in grade school.  After all this time, I can't really remember which of his poems I read first, only that I liked some of the things I saw.  He was known for being somewhat unconventional in his grammar.  He also had a playfulness that sparked of immaturity.  I would learn, much later, about some of his more risqué works.  I won't go into that part of his work here.  Let's just say in goes into territory beyond the normal parameters of this blog.  Some of his works could become what is now called 'snarky,' but his points were brought out perfectly.  He also wrote plays, including one called Santa Claus.  He also wrote some autobiographical works, the most famous one based on his times during World War I.  I am bringing all of this up because he is the subject of my thesis paper for one of my classes.  A first draft of it is due this weekend.  I have been trying to find out enough to start the paper, but I have hit some snags.  The primary one being I need mostly recent works to cite in my report, but I can't seem to find that much.  Most of the books I have found are way outside the time limit.  I will be doing internet searches next, but I don't have many ideas about where to look, at least for information I can trust.  A few last things.  Let me apologize for the title/permalink.  I can get playful and snarky myself.  Also, I was too busy yesterday to start the next chapter installment of my book, so look for a new one next week.  Until then, bye!😀

Finding the Time for It All

I recently got the newest issue of Games World of Puzzles magazine.  While I have read the articles and started on the puzzles, I have yet to try and solve the contest, even though it is one of my favorite types.  My schoolwork is just taking up way more time than I thought it would.  During my undergraduate days, I don't remember having this much of a problem in scheduling my time so.  On the other hand, graduate school level work is supposed to be at least a little harder.  In my defense, I only took four classes my last semester.  Two of them were studio art classes, so they had almost no homework.  A third class was a low level core requirement; it also had little extra work.  Even my fourth class was an overview of modern short stories.  Not that much work there either.  This semester has me reading thirteen novels (eight by Herman Melville, and all but one is maritime) and various shorter works of fiction, poetry, and essay.  Let's not forget online discussions, which I am totally unfamiliar with.  Anyway, here's the lowdown on the contest.  It is another Coded Crisscross puzzle.  The puzzle is a grid of interlocking words, but not to the degree of a crossword.  Each letter is replaced by a number.  The object of the contest is to determine what the thirteen words are, and then send in what they have in common.  The thirteen words are an entire set belonging to one category, which has no other members.  I usually start solving it by writing down the clues in a separate list so I can try many different possibilities out without damaging the magazine.  I then do a frequency chart, counting out many of each number there are.  The most frequent one are usually the most used letter, namely 'E', 'T', and 'A'.  The next step is for me to try out some of these letters in the clue words and see if any patterns emerge.  I have yet to perform this next step.  It would only take me an hour or two, at most if I am lucky, to do this.  I have yet to start, because I just don't feel that I have the time, with all the other non-school related work I'm also doing.  This is one reason why these posts are so much shorter lately.  Anyway, I hope to find the time soon.

You CAN See Me Now

Well, I went and did it.  I started a YouTube channel.  I probably shouldn't have, but I did.  So far, I have only posted one video, but it just takes so long to do so.  The wi-fi last the store is so bad at times, that it can take over half-an-hour to upload one short video.  At home, it takes about half as long.  This is a huge difference for me.  I hate having to waste time just waiting for something to upload.  I wanted to do this weeks ago, but this time lag prevented me from doing it until this week.  I don't have anything personalized yet, but for some reason, I was allowed to cross post it across social media.  I am not sure how that worked out, but it has made some things easier.  I will  now try to include the link on the store's again.  It is a bunch of randomly generated characters that don't mean anything.  Still, it is mine.  It will take a few more days to upload the rest of the videos, but things will go much faster now that the process is cleared.  The link is here https://youtu.be/RRraYThRjqU .  I am kind of scared to do this, but I feel the need to expand my web presence.  One last thing, I noticed that the URL is for Belgium.  I have no idea why they chose to have the program registered here, beyond the obvious nature of the extension.  That's all for now.  Check out more next week.

Random Thoughts from a Long Weekend

I actually did quite a few things over the recent three day weekend, especially after leaving work on Saturday.  I watch a stream of a Dave Matthews Band concert Saturday night.  Unfortunately, it was on the west coast, so it wasn't scheduled to start until 11:00 pm, and it started about twenty minutes late.  Anyway, it was just about the first live concert I saw.  Too bad the first two songs weren't favorites.  They were the only ones I got to hear before I went to bed.  Not to sleep, as a light got turned on outside, before I went to sleep.  I don't think I actually fell asleep until about the time the one song I would have actually wanted to hear was performed as the last song in the encore.  On Sunday, I did work for all of my classes, including my first big project.  Along the way, I took a few breaks, watching PGA and NASCAR.  I also played a few games on the computer.  Predominately Candy Crush Saga.  I think I may have finally won the weekend event.  I was in second place or so the last two weekends.  I was actually leading by more than 2,000 points with less than eleven hours to go.  I don't know how I did, yet, but I expect results soon if I won.  On Monday morning, I finally took an online practice GRE test.  I really should have done this sooner, especially since I need to take the actual one in the next month or two.  I did better than the minimum needed for one of my target schools, but not as good as I did on the physical tests that came with the study guide.  It was my first time with an online test.  I did a few other minor things over the weekend:  a quick workout session, a few puzzles, more homework.  I just hope I summited my projects correctly. I think I turned it in correctly, but I still have some doubts about how it was sent.  As a final thought, I recent commercial took aim at the original debut of Crystal Pepsi back in the 90s.  I must say this, it is my second favorite soda of all time.  I used to drink it by the carton, even after the recipe was tweeted. I was overjoyed went Pepsi brought it back for limited runs a few years ago.  Although I don't drink soda as much as I used to, I still love this unique flavor.  Not really citrus, but not really Pepsi either.  As to my favorite soft drink of all time, it has to be cherry-vanilla Dr. Pepper.  While the product is supposedly still being made, I haven't seen it in any store in a 200 mile radius Inver five years.  The only time I have had it is as a fountain drink at Dairy Queen, and that might not be the actual flavor.  If I could just find it again, but I know it should be out there somewhere.

Well, This Is Socially Awkward

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to an event, but I ultimately chose not to.  I had the money.  I could have found parking.  I just didn't go, mostly because I didn't know what to dunce there.  I said to myself that I was too busy, which I kind of was, but I still could have found enough time to attend for a short time.  The thing is, I have never been allowed to go anywhere.  When I was growing up, I was all but forbidden to go anywhere by myself.  That is the main reason why I liked school so much.  It was just about the only place I was allowed to by myself.  My mom didn't like going anywhere, like the movies or a concert, especially if we had to drive a long distance or pay too much money.  I was pretty much stuck at home, doing nothing.  I was hoping college would change that, but it didn't.  I had the misfortune of staying at home for college, with a 4:00 pm curfew.  Even if there had been something I would have liked to see, I wouldn't have been able to go.  I even had to miss a mandatory class assignment, because I wasn't able to go to the school.  I might have been able to do something over the years, but without anyone telling me what to do, I was too afraid to go it alone.  One of my biggest wishes during those lonely four years after college (technically it still is) was for someone to remember me and take me away somewhere, showing me just how to be more sociable.  Now, I constantly regret never learning how to go out on my own.  I have never been anywhere, and I am too scared that I won't fit in, even if I tried.  It is one of the main reasons why I wanted to go back to college.  School is one of the few places where I know I can fit in.  Sure, it would be with people who were mostly half my age or so, but I would fit.  (The only other place where I feel totally in control is shopping, by the way.). Unfortunately, online classes just don't have the right social interaction that I am craving.  I shouldn't have caved in to my mother's demands again.  I should have trusted my instincts and enrolled in some undergrad classes instead, even if it would mean moving to the school.  Now, I worry about messing up my plans because I am not easily fitting in for online material.  The stupid thing is that I am not shy.  I still have dreams of acting or performing in other ways.  I just don't know how to act with others.  It has been a hard time without having very close friends for almost thirty years.