Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The Woe's of Writting
I was curious to see how often my stories get rejected and so I looked at all my rejection letters and emails compared to accepted and here are the stats:
26 rejections
2 accepted
(I also have 9 pending).
Ugh. I enjoy it, but it would be nice to receive a few more accepted letters.
If you count the 2 books I've written I have 3 more rejections, also.
But I keep writing.
*I should also add that I almost never write stories on paper like the above image, but rather enjoy its aesthetic value.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Lindsey Robinson-Karr
I've never really known death and so I've never understood how it felt to lose someone. There have been some relatives that have passed and there was always some kind of distant sadness, but I had not really known them. I wish I had.
Today, I found out that one of my friends through Junior High and High School passed away. Lindsey Robinson-Karr passed because of a brain tumor that she had been bravely fighting for so long. She had had them before, and I remember visiting her when I was younger. Sitting and talking with her for some time about simple things. It somehow, back in grade school didn't seem quite real. I never took it seriously because she was always so happy.
It's hard to know how to react. I haven't spoken to her in almost eight years. I can't really claim to know who she now is, what she has done, who she was friends with or even what she loved to do. I know she loved her husband and life and family and that is enough to remember her as the same amazing person I knew growing up.
To be honest I don't know what to write, other then that. I could give the details of the cancer that plagued her, but I can't help but feeling that such a story would be cheapened by my telling. I was not there and in the back of my mind, in reading the updates, progression and digression, I still had the same sense that it wasn't real. That she was strong and that this would soon be over. Perhaps it is because of my ignorance and inexperience in dealing with death. All I needs say is this:
She was a wonderful person who loved life even in the middle of all of her hardships. She made others smile easily and often. She was important to her family and friends and she will be missed by even those like me, who once knew her and could never forget her kindness and love of life. The lives she has touched are many. More than I think anyone could imagine. I am grateful to be one of those lives.
Living Through Laughter.
Please, help her family and donate to help with their expenses. You can go here, and simply donate $2.
Today, I found out that one of my friends through Junior High and High School passed away. Lindsey Robinson-Karr passed because of a brain tumor that she had been bravely fighting for so long. She had had them before, and I remember visiting her when I was younger. Sitting and talking with her for some time about simple things. It somehow, back in grade school didn't seem quite real. I never took it seriously because she was always so happy.
It's hard to know how to react. I haven't spoken to her in almost eight years. I can't really claim to know who she now is, what she has done, who she was friends with or even what she loved to do. I know she loved her husband and life and family and that is enough to remember her as the same amazing person I knew growing up.
To be honest I don't know what to write, other then that. I could give the details of the cancer that plagued her, but I can't help but feeling that such a story would be cheapened by my telling. I was not there and in the back of my mind, in reading the updates, progression and digression, I still had the same sense that it wasn't real. That she was strong and that this would soon be over. Perhaps it is because of my ignorance and inexperience in dealing with death. All I needs say is this:
She was a wonderful person who loved life even in the middle of all of her hardships. She made others smile easily and often. She was important to her family and friends and she will be missed by even those like me, who once knew her and could never forget her kindness and love of life. The lives she has touched are many. More than I think anyone could imagine. I am grateful to be one of those lives.
Living Through Laughter.Please, help her family and donate to help with their expenses. You can go here, and simply donate $2.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
10 tanks = $58,400,000
I've wondered where all of our countries money has gone and found some interesting facts.
There are places our military are stationed in Iraq where 1 gallon of gas costs about $400 to ship there. Now, most tanks guzzle gas at the rate of 4 gallons per mile. That means it is costing us, as a country, $1600 to get a tank from point A to point B, being a mile apart. An average tank holds about 25 gallons of gas. That's $40,000 dollars to travel 25 miles!! This is one tank!! Sure, not all places cost this much, so lets to the bare minimum: 1 Tank in a place that they need to ship the gas that travels... 10 miles a day. That seems extremely conservative. That means, in one year the cost to let this one single tank run costs: $5,840,000.
Almost 6 million dollars to run 1 single tank!! Keeping our stats extremely conservative we'll say that there are a total of 10 tanks in these areas with high gas shipping prices. That means to keep these tanks running for one year it costs $58,400,000.
There are places our military are stationed in Iraq where 1 gallon of gas costs about $400 to ship there. Now, most tanks guzzle gas at the rate of 4 gallons per mile. That means it is costing us, as a country, $1600 to get a tank from point A to point B, being a mile apart. An average tank holds about 25 gallons of gas. That's $40,000 dollars to travel 25 miles!! This is one tank!! Sure, not all places cost this much, so lets to the bare minimum: 1 Tank in a place that they need to ship the gas that travels... 10 miles a day. That seems extremely conservative. That means, in one year the cost to let this one single tank run costs: $5,840,000.
Almost 6 million dollars to run 1 single tank!! Keeping our stats extremely conservative we'll say that there are a total of 10 tanks in these areas with high gas shipping prices. That means to keep these tanks running for one year it costs $58,400,000.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Ugh
Today is me waking up at 4am to bike to work and finding out I have a flat tire.
Today is my iPod's batteries being dead and having to listen to the people around me at work.
Today is not being able to log into my computer at work.
And it's only 6:18 am.
Today is my iPod's batteries being dead and having to listen to the people around me at work.
Today is not being able to log into my computer at work.
And it's only 6:18 am.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Biking Stats
Sorry for all of the posts about biking, but it is a recent obsession. I've been biking for a few reasons. Mostly exercise, but also some moral sense of needing to do something to help the environment. (I am aware the effect me not driving a car has is basically 0). Anyway, I thought I would put down some of my stats as far as how car I bike and weight loss, etc.
Miles biked in the last month: ~380
Average miles per day: 18
Calories burned per week: 4500-5000
Weight loss: ~7lbs
Also, I've been (roughly) counting calories. Not so much counting as averaging-ish. I want to lose weight and get to about 160. I've been learning a lot about healthy living and am loving it. Lesa and I have been doing a great job with our garden and eating healthy. We set some goals for our eating habits and have been able to stick with them really well. Here's the calorie chart I've been some-what following:
Monday: 1719
Tuesday: 1480
Wednesday: 2063
Thursday: 1719
Friday: 1547
Saturday: 1891
Sunday: 1719
I lose between 4000-5000 of those a week. That's 1000 cal def. So I should lose between 1-3lbs a week doing this. Once I hit 160lbs. I'll probably increase my cal intake a bit to try to even it out a bit.
It's funny. 3 years ago I didn't care about eating healthy at all. But I think it is important to be able to live healthy and self sustaining as much as possible, as well as stay active. Biking does this for me. Today, (because of a crazy storm last night and early this morning) I did not bike to work. I feel . . . guilty about it. Sure, there was absolutely no way I could have biked this morning, but it is sunny now. And that means I could have biked home. It's definitely an obsession. The winter will be hard. I'll be biking the 5ish miles to school everyday, which will help, and will probably start biking on Saturdays to keep the 90-100 miles per week up. But driving to work will suck. But, knowing myself, biking at 4am in January doesn't sound pleasant at all.
But for now. I'm happy biking.
Miles biked in the last month: ~380
Average miles per day: 18
Calories burned per week: 4500-5000
Weight loss: ~7lbs
Also, I've been (roughly) counting calories. Not so much counting as averaging-ish. I want to lose weight and get to about 160. I've been learning a lot about healthy living and am loving it. Lesa and I have been doing a great job with our garden and eating healthy. We set some goals for our eating habits and have been able to stick with them really well. Here's the calorie chart I've been some-what following:
Monday: 1719
Tuesday: 1480
Wednesday: 2063
Thursday: 1719
Friday: 1547
Saturday: 1891
Sunday: 1719
I lose between 4000-5000 of those a week. That's 1000 cal def. So I should lose between 1-3lbs a week doing this. Once I hit 160lbs. I'll probably increase my cal intake a bit to try to even it out a bit.
It's funny. 3 years ago I didn't care about eating healthy at all. But I think it is important to be able to live healthy and self sustaining as much as possible, as well as stay active. Biking does this for me. Today, (because of a crazy storm last night and early this morning) I did not bike to work. I feel . . . guilty about it. Sure, there was absolutely no way I could have biked this morning, but it is sunny now. And that means I could have biked home. It's definitely an obsession. The winter will be hard. I'll be biking the 5ish miles to school everyday, which will help, and will probably start biking on Saturdays to keep the 90-100 miles per week up. But driving to work will suck. But, knowing myself, biking at 4am in January doesn't sound pleasant at all.
But for now. I'm happy biking.
Simple Meeting
In your machine, you fly
and breath
and you call it life
Like God you see through
the use of legs.
Trust is
letting me pay for you
letting me look into your bag
allowing me, or another approach
when your hands can't
understand your brain.
And like a God who knows
pain and suffering
like I have
like you have
I close your bad on your chair
walk back behind the counter
and make you a meal.
and breath
and you call it life
Like God you see through
the use of legs.
Trust is
letting me pay for you
letting me look into your bag
allowing me, or another approach
when your hands can't
understand your brain.
And like a God who knows
pain and suffering
like I have
like you have
I close your bad on your chair
walk back behind the counter
and make you a meal.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Only Few Moments
I will not pretend
that i take my time writing
because I don't
I listen to the poet who
said it took weeks to write a poem
but I
I write in moments, in feeling
As fleeting as dandelion seeds.
There is no time between words
Only empty space meant for breaths
and I leave the spaces
for thought, for contemplation
for meaning.
that i take my time writing
because I don't
I listen to the poet who
said it took weeks to write a poem
but I
I write in moments, in feeling
As fleeting as dandelion seeds.
There is no time between words
Only empty space meant for breaths
and I leave the spaces
for thought, for contemplation
for meaning.
Global Warming and Cold Morning
I woke up this morning, got on my bike and started biking to work at 4:15am. It was colder than normal and my first thought was, "Oh great, today a bunch of people are going to say 'So much for global warming'". Sure enough, 1 hr and 45 min. into my shift the guy behind me starts complaining about how cold it was. I listened... waiting for it, and after about 2 minutes I heard it. "Whatever, green-house effect. So much for global warming."
I shook my head and wrote this blog.
(For more I've written on global warming go here).
I shook my head and wrote this blog.
(For more I've written on global warming go here).
Friday, August 5, 2011
Harry Potter Fever
I can't help it. I have Harry Potter fever.
Any of you who have been reading, or looking at my blog may notice that in the last 3 weeks I've read the first 3 books and am into the 4th now. It's great! Re-reading these back to back has made me fall even more in love with these amazing books. They are so well thought out and written. The early story hints towards so much more that will come books later. I am amazed at the consistency of them. Something I did not notice reading them as each came out, years apart.
I would recommend these books to anyone who really wants a great read or a great book to reread. They are easily some of the best books I've ever read!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Pledge for Biking
I Just signed the pledge. I love biking and would love to see more biker friendly roads. I do what I can to be safe and courteous to the cars on the road, but there are still some scary places I have to bike.
Guitar
It finally happened.
I use to play the guitar constantly. But sense having kids have dropped it, but something happened during my wife's family reunion, when I played "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron & Wine. I wanted to pick it up again. I find I enjoy learning other peoples songs more than writing my own, but still. . .I am excited to start learning songs again.
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