Risky Business

Amusement park accidents

After the accidents at the Texas Six Flags and Cedar Point I have to admit that I'm troubled.  Since I'm a roller coaster enthusiast and have frequented Cedar Point, it's worth noting that any time we go on any of these great, awesome rides, we are assuming some risk.  No matter how advanced safety technology becomes and how thorough of a safety check system, it's only a matter of time before something goes wrong.  Perhaps the odds are in the favor of safety, but we all know any one of else could go tumbling out of our seats.  Will it stop me from riding them?  Probably not.  The most dangerous thing about Cedar Point is simply driving there.

New Looks
I may be experimenting with different templates for this blog, so hopefully, no one gets confused.  Generally, I'm happy with the Plain Jane format, like I am with my coffee.  I am not a fan of coffee drinks or flavored coffee--I just like coffee-flavored coffee.  Black, fresh, & strong enough to keep the coffee tasting like hot water, and yet not so strong that I can't taste the subtle undertones of my cup of Joe.  However, perhaps in the case of Blogger, I'm missing out on easier to use formats.  

Parents' Nightmare
If you have children and you need child care, this story should serve as a warning.  Hopefully you live where day cares must be regulated.  The welfare of young children out-weigh the business needs of those who run these centers.  If you don't live where this is the case, I wish you and your children well.  Any state, such as in Arizona, that allows the exploitation of children by letting someone post pictures of them without parental consent and write libelous things against them makes me wonder--do you not love your children?  Toddlers and young children act aggressively because they haven't developed language skills yet and they are learning self-control.  Human beings are not born with these things.  Day care centers work with children for such a long period of time that they must work to develop these traits.   If we can't act to protect our young children from providers such as these, we are sunk as a nation.

Crappy Cat Picture

In response to Steve the Cat Drawing Guy, I posted this picture of two crappy cat drawings on Twitter.  

I doodled it, so it's very light and hard to see.  I submit as evidence of my impairment in drawing--it's just beyond me.  

While I'm at it, I lowered the price of the Kindle and Nook versions of the book by a dollar.  So, it's $2.99.  I might be selling books at the Kalamazoo County Fair at a flea market in their Expo Center.  Please, please, please!  I hope I don't drop an elephant ear on the books!  
 

Autism at Camp

What a difference not having my older son around makes!  He's at church camp until Saturday.  My younger boy spent fewer days because he wasn't old enough for a whole week.  Next year, he'll have finished third grade--the magic age of full-week-at-camp maturity.  

If my older child was home, I would be asked non-stop questions regarding the following:  garage door openers, iPhone 5's (and when I plan on getting it so I can use Siri), Windows Operating Systems (and current and past editions), fans of any kind, and old Viacom logos that had been flashed at the end of television shows before they became the giant conglomerate that they are now (he really likes these things and watches them repeatedly on YouTube).  He and his brother would argue as the younger one attempts to demand that he play with him.  Then there are the shows he must watch, or so he believes.  He scans our program guide as far advance as it will go so he will know if and when his favorite SpongeBob or Phineas and Ferb episodes will be on.  He memorizes this information.  Adherence to the tiniest routine in his day must be followed--or the world cannot go on.  At least his world.  Going to camp is such a deviant path off his strict daily schedule, I know it is a challenge for him.  Poor kid.

Wow.  It certainly is boring and relaxing without him.  I hope he's doing well at camp.  At least they have worked with him before--so they know what to do with him.  Since this is his third summer, he can just assimilate into the routine of the camp until the week is over.  The last two years I expected him to be a completely changed child, but he comes back just as autistic as when he left.

 

Always a surprise

No matter what I have initially planned for my writing, I end up going a totally different direction.  Then I wonder how my  characters get into these situations.  Who's in control here?  Obviously, it was all me, but I can get so engrossed with my characters that I sometimes lose track of reality.  It's like dreaming while awake, although not the same as daydreaming.  Maybe it's those days I spent as a teenager playing Dungeons & Dragons.  

Having a Masters in Social Work I know really that it's all a matter of my unconscious.  It can be therapeutic to write creatively or do anything creatively.  What a way to unlock hidden memories or feelings (which you can't really separate the two)--it bypasses the conscious state which is often resistant to dredging up painful memories.  To protect us, of course.  However, it's important to make sure you are able to handle the negative emotions, especially in relation to psychological trauma.  If you're a creative person or someone who uses creative arts to get in touch with something painful and suddenly you can't handle it emotionally--seek professional help!

See, I never thought I would be leaving therapeutic advice when I first started this blog post.  

A Close Encounter?

 Note:  at some future date, this blog will not just be about Jimmy Miller previews.  It’s my only published work, so for now it works. 

        

      When I was twelve, I went to bed one night, and in the morning I had a pair of marks on my left leg that I didn’t have before sleeping.  I had no memory of injuring the two areas in question.  Just above my knee I had a sudden scar that measured maybe one centimeter.  On the underside of my thigh a smaller one, perhaps two millimeters in diameter, was also present.  Ignoring these blemishes and believing they would fade away, I didn’t think about them that much.  A friend of mine had inquired about the scars later that day, and I was at a loss for an explanation.
         Thirty-two years passed and those same scars are just as visible today as they were when they first materialized.  My wife insisted that I get them examined by a doctor in the event it was something cancerous.  However, the physician reassured me the scars were benign.            
       On closer inspection the scar in close proximity to my knee shows a triangular discoloration under the skin.  There appears to be a foreign object imbedded there.  Now the other more diminutive scar is hexagonal.  How could something remain in my body without an infection or some kind of reaction from my immune system?  It is bizarre and quite intriguing.  In what manner did this item get into my leg?

Live on ebay

I've placed a copy of my book on eBay.  I started the auction at 99 cents.   Or it could bought for $10.00.  The auction lasts for 7 days.  I need a new laptop.  The zero key isn't working.  So, I will be looking at laptops on eBay.

By the Way

People can find me on Google+ and Facebook.  I have a personal and an author page.  The author page is where you can Like me and all that.  So...there's a variety of ways to connect.

When is your most creative time of day?  For me, it's in the morning right after a reasonable night's sleep and a few cups of coffee.  I can write at night, but my mind won't shut off when I try and sleep later on.  Then I don't sleep.  When I don't sleep enough, there goes a whole day without writing.  Bummer for me.