Posts from — July 2005

Appalachia Alumni Association: SKB, R.I.P. Archives

V. sad that somebody would have a hissy fit over comments and now ther is one less blogger in Tennessee. I've always enjoyed Metro Pulse and just started reading SKB last year. I remember vaguely that there was a news story about him and Mr. Reynolds of Instapundit a few years back on Channel 10 in Knoxville.

Tis a shame, I say and SKB shall be missed.

Yeccchhhhh, somebody s*pammed my trackback pings with all sorts of mortgage offers and credit card offers. Reported as spam, then deleted. I should have done bans as well but they probably used zombie machines or IP masking.

I've been a bad blogger. Oh well. The Internet isn't very fun on dialup. I can't promise to be very regular but hopefully that will change by the end of the year. I have a bit of sad news and good news today.

First the good news, my grandmother got married again. It was very sweet, he thought h was getting a birthday party, instead my new grandfather got a wedding. The NBC channel had it on the news at 5.

The sad news is my dad's dog, Nelly, died. They went to the lake for a bit of swimming and she went for a bottle thyrown into the lake and didn't come back up. She was a 8 year old black Lab and was very sweet. I think she had a heart attack as she was rather portly due to arthritis. My dad and I buried her in the back yard. Dad is taking it very hard, since my stepmother and my sister left him in April and my stepmother filed for divorce in May.

GeekStreak – Hot Coffee

I agree with Jason. Parents should be the ones who decide what their children see, not depending on the government to decide for them. If your child wants to play GTA and in your opinion he (or she) is mature enough to understand that GTA is just a game, then by all means, let them play with it, otherwise teach your children that there are some things you don't want them to see and let their friends parents know in the nicest of terms that your child isn't allowed to play certain videogames or watch certain movies without your permission.

And the fuss about the minigame that was unlocked? I heard about it when the PS2 version was still in development and as was stated previously, it required a mod on the PC version to unlock it. So what is the fuss about it? I remember as well when people made nude skins for the DOA games and there are even mods and hacks for The Sims to get past the pixelated shower and othe parts. Are the parents going to after EA to bump the rating up? Please.

I'm saying this as a parent myself, that the government shouldn't be expected to raise your children for you in teaching them decency, morals and personal responsibility.

Edit-Aug 2, 2005
I should put a disclosure. My husband has all 3 PS2 GTA games and plays them all and will most likely buy GTA: Liberty City Stories for our PSP when it comes out this fall. There is nothing in the games that aren't already in the media that is equally easy to access, unlike the mod in question which requires you to dl the mod and apply it, whilst worse is easy to find.

I think ratings shouldn't be the easy way out of parenting your children and deciding what to watch, listen to or play depending on family beliefs and maturity levels.

USATODAY.com – Towns battle big companies to expand broadband

I'm rooting for the city. The cable and telephones companies think they got away with not opening their infrastructure to competitors, but technology and an effort by local government and citizens will change that.

Technorati Tags: broadband,

I posted just before I had to log off and go into town to get supper fixin’s a little bit of fiction. I’ve had to move since Ms. Feisty gave me the assignment so I hadn’t had much chance to get to it till yesterday when I did up a little sketch then when lo and be hold I had net access today, I hogged the computer for about 3 hours (not straight through, I had to get up and make tea and get the 4 year old entertained and the 4 leg baby to quit chewing on everything) and cranked out the story. 1096 words written from 2:00pm till 5:39PM when I posted the story. Let me know what y’all think of it.
Hopefully soon I can start back to blogging on a semi regular basis now. I’ve got lots to say.

My heart and thoughts go out to those affected by the bombings in London yesterday (Jul 7)

3:30 AM. Or at least I think it was 3:30, as I woke up in a black room. I wiped the cold sweat from my face and groped for my glasses. The dream was still vivid in my mind as I sat up in the bed and shook my head trying to shake off the last vestiges of my dream.

White branches clawed the black-red sky. Pale grayish clouds partly covered a sickly yellow moon. Black crags rose in the distance, straining towards the moon. Wandering through a maze of dark branches, with strange creatures illuminated by the moon and glowing eyes where the moon somehow dared not touch, I was hunting something or even somebody. Snatches of my quarry teased me along the twisting path with wails and a low keening sound kept me going forward.

I threw my now clammy covers aside as I got out of bed and shuffled to the door. As I reached for the door knob, I thought I heard a keening sound on the other side. I hesitated, straining to hear the sound again. I slowly open the door, wincing at the creaking noise the old oak door made on its hinges.

I fought my way through the increasingly thick undergrowth, keeping my quarry in sight at all times. It wore glowing white, lighting its path through the brush. I followed it into a clearing and stopped, stymied. I could see my quarry up ahead, almost taunting me with its nearness.

I made my way through the dark hallway with one hand brushing against the wall so I could find my way around this suddenly strange house that I found myself in. I tried to find the source of that sound that nagged at me. I wasn’t certain if it was the sound from my dream or not but I had to be certain.

I spun around in circles, trying to find a way out of the clearing. The glowing whiteness of my quarry taunted me every direction I looked. A white stag approached me with a serious look on its face and pointed his antlers towards a hidden opening, now obviously apparent to me. I followed his directions and giving him a pat in return.

I turned the corner into what my mind told me was my living room and groped blindly for a lamp. A click told me the power was out. I turned around and felt for the wall again, still seeking the sounds I heard. I made my way slowly down the hallway as the sound started up again.

The keening sound grew louder and louder as I tracked the figure dressed in white teasing me. I wended my way through the bushes, keeping them away from my face. The figure darted closer towards me then darted away giggling. All the while the keening sound was getting louder and louder.

I finally made it to the kitchen where I knew I had a flashlight so I could go outside where I had a feeling he sound was coming from. When I bought the house and the land it stood on, there was this old building about the size of a medium greenhouse. I was told it was where somebody was killed 40 years ago over a dispute about a cow. Silly thing to kill over a mere cow, I thought. I pawed through the drawers hunting for my flashlight so I wouldn’t step into any holes in the dark when I went out to investigate. Finally my hand closed around the flashlight and it clicked on, illuminating the kitchen, now comfortingly familiar in the glow of the flashlight.

I was so intent on my goal, I didn’t notice that the sky was lightening and things were getting greener as I made my way down a broadening path and increasing light from a pale white moon, until I tripped over a branch in the path and fell. I looked up from the ground and finally glanced up, and seeing that the landscape wasn’t as eerie as it was when I began the chase. As I clambered up ungracefully, a pixie fluttered across the path. I gasped as I looked around a verdant forest that was a virtual paradise.

I stepped out the door and went straight for the building down at the edge of the property near where the forest started. As I approached the building, the sound kept getting louder and louder the closer I got. My hand reached for the door knob and I slowly opened the door, making sure the door was between me and whoever might be in inside.

My quarry was inside a rickety old building, giving me glimpses through the windows and open door as I quickened my pace to catch up to the figure dressed in white. The sound changed in pitch and tone, turning into a soothing melody as I got closer and closer to the building. I slowed down as I got within 5 feet of the door and paused making sure that there was nobody else around. I put my right foot across the threshold and entered the house.

When no bullets or other objects came out of the door, I carefully edged around the open door so as to not startle anybody or anything that might be in there. I swept the flashlight around, noting that there was just some furniture sitting haphazardly around with dusty cloths scattered around. My right foot was the first part of me to enter the house and my flashlight-wielding arm was next, shedding light into the corners. As my body entered the room, the sound had changed, smoothing out into a simple melody. I felt a prickling down my back and I quickly turned and beheld a woman in white. She beckoned me closer and I obeyed.

“Come with me, mortal, for you have been chosen to be the Faery King. For only certain mortals can cross the barrier into Faery and you have been deemed the best mortal.”
With that a portal opened, and we both entered the glowing portal.

The figure, a woman, I could tell now on closer inspection smiled gently at me. “A dream walking mortal. One who can enter Faery through dreams and turn it into reality. A perfect King to preside over our festivities. You will wake soon and please remember your dream for it shall come true. Come find me and you shall know more.”

1098 words.