This is an excellent video showing how the Mandalorian used LED panels to replace green screen. This allows exceptional color and reflective properties on the actors and props.
A New Way of Writing
I am writing this using Ulysses. The program has been around for a very long time but I’ve only just got around to trying it out. It is now a part of Setapp so I didn’t have to spend the money.
So far, I like the simplicity of it. I could write blog posts, stories, or whatever hits me and basically keep all of those things in the same place. The only exceptions to that would be Final Draft and Scrivener. Let’s face it, Final Draft is the standard for writing scripts. To me, Scrivener is the standard for writing short stories or novels.
This will probably be the perfect place to write all of those HDWGH stories. Of course, there are more of those on the way.
I’ll look forward to writing a detailed review in the days ahead.
Nudity in HDWGH Stories
I am often asked why my HDWGH (How Did We Get Here?) stories have so much nudity in them. Is it a direct reflection of my personality?
The short answer is no. Although I would consider myself a closet nudist which covers most people I believe, that isn’t the reason why I include a lot of nudity in my stories.
To me, the nudity is funny because of how other people in the United States view it. I watched a young woman change her top in Marseilles France in a McDonalds and nobody cared. Try doing that in the US. The United States has a weird view of nudity and it is always fun to exploit it.
I have a neighbor that has no problem letting her teenage daughter play violent video games where both sides are actively trying to kill each other but has a serious issue with her seeing nude people.
What is wrong with that? Everything.
You will continue to see stories involving nudity on my site and I will continue laughing every time I write them.
Bad Windows 10
Windows 10 is installing and rebooting without user consent for apps other than upgrades or security patches.
The apps take up no storage or other resources. Until now, though, installing Office web apps was optional. Windows isn’t asking for your permission, let alone informing you of what’s about to happen. Microsoft is potentially disrupting work or other important tasks to promote its online productivity suite.
I have Windows 10 in the form of a virtual machine that is made to behave because it resides in a computer sandbox. It is sad that I HAVE to do that.
Saving The Environment: Landfills
I’ve been actively working on this part of my life. If you think about it, we through a lot of shit away. That shit has to go somewhere. We have various methods of ways of doing this. Everything from throwing it in the ground, burning it, or if possible recycling it.
I read an article about a German law a while back that was outlawing certain type of plastics because the German government didn’t want to see it going into their landfills. Makes sense on the surface. This got me thinking about some of the things I’ve been doing. Using plastic forks and knives at work is a big one. Why? I have several sets of camping utensils that I barely use. So, I decided that from that moment on I was going to use the camping utensils instead of using plastic forks and knives and adding to the landfill problem.
That isn’t the only change. I also have been guilty of buying Kleenex tissues by the case. Again, I asked myself why I was doing that? This past weekend I bought a boatload of cheap bandanas. When I was a young boy my father always carried around a “hanky.” If you needed to blow your nose, you used the hanky. You can wash them and use them over and over again. Bandanas have tons of different uses including a makeshift face mask if you need one.
I’ve also stopped buying store bought water. We have a reverse osmosis system here at Castle Nerda so I can just fill up reusable bottles here at home. At the moment they are Smartwater bottles which are every campers dream. They are perfect for a lot of things and extremely durable. A little less ideal because they are still plastic and will need to be thrown away a lot sooner than I would have needed to throw away an aluminum container. I am working on it.
My ideals have changed in the last 20 years. I specifically remember not giving a shit about using disposable items if it meant that I didn’t need to do dishes. We grow and mature. Hopefully, I have grown enough to realize that I am not going to save the planet from anything but I can certainly be a lot kinder to it. Let’s face it, the earth can shrug us off it as though we were flies. Mother Earth doesn’t give a shit about what you care about or what you believe. The earth can explode beneath your feet at any time and no amount of tree hugging will save you. With that being said…
…that doesn’t mean you have to pee on her lawn.
Self Sabotage
In a First, New England Journal of Medicine Joins Never-Trumpers
By entering the political arena, The New England Journal of Medicine becomes something else and destroys its credibility in my opinion. Now, a supposedly scientific journal has political opinions? Why?
HDWGH – Story 14 – Can’t Park There
— From the How Did We Get Here Series —
Now: A modern SUV is upside down in the middle of a country road.
Before: Johnny Parks had some serious trouble on his hands. His mother just bought him a ferret and now he found himself chasing it through the house. The darn thing was fast! It wove under the dining room table into the kitchen and oh no! The cat door on the other side of the kitchen. Johnny ran as fast as he could but the ferret was faster. He didn’t even get a chance to name it yet. Before Johnny could get the door open he heard a loud screeching sound followed by a bump or two and then nothing. When he finally got the kitchen door open, the ferret was up on his hind legs looking at Johnny with a look of “what?” In the middle of the road, an SVU was still spinning on it’s roof. Little Johnny wondered over to the driver side door when the car stopped spinning and simply said, “You can’t park there mister.”
HDWGH – Story 13 – Fried Cat Anyone?
— From the How Did We Get Here Series —
Now: A cat lies smoldering on the kitchen floor with what looks like an electrical cord hanging out of its mouth. The cat was dead a few amps ago.
Before: The small mouse couldn’t find a way out of the impossible maze that was the Peterson’s first floor wall. It had been trying for what seemed like an eternity. The mouse started feeling a bit heavier as its small rear leg caught on a cable. It didn’t stop. It pushed forward. The Peterson’s house cat Felix caught the motion out of the corner of his eye. It was a mouse! The mouse was also dragging something. Felix leap into action. As his sizable canines began to clamp down on the “string” the live electrical line found a path to ground. Poor Felix became the electrical kitty cat resistor bursting into flames shortly thereafter. The mouse broke loose from the hinderance on its leg and moments later, found a way out of the Peterson’s home.
