The solstice is coming

Very special one too. For on the 21 the we celebrate the winter solstice, but also at 1:30 est in the morning on tuesday we can observe a full lunar eclipse beginning.

Totality begins at around 2:30 am est.

It's supposedly the first time the two things have occured on the same day since 1638.

we'll be exactly between the sun and the moon, when we are between the end of one year and the start of another, and between fall and the coldest part of the winter. Between the time of shortening daylight and lengthening daylight.

The moon will go from full to waneing, to 'dark', to waxing to full all in the same day where some folk celebrate the oak king overcoming the holly king.

It also marks the day when the sun and thus the length of days make their returns.

There are a lot of betweens coming, and once we cross those threshhold it marks changeing from one to the other for a lot of things.

I'm going to be quite busy on this night.

Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack

All things Jack

I've been distracting myself from my procrastination (I told you I was a master of procrastination, don't try this at home) by trying to come up with some interesting costume/clothing combinations.

Partially inspired by watching Mom and Dad save the world. Emperor Tod has some great outfits.

Anyway I thought it might be fun to do up something that has all the parts of the outfit include the name Jack.

The first part to set this off was stumbling across something called a Jack of plates. It's essentially an internally armored doublet. The padded version doesn't require sewing steel armor segments into the lining.

That lead me to remembering a type of trouser that's picked up a nickname of steeplejacks (they are based on the concept of the Japanese Tobi pants).

Then there are hobnail Jackboots.

It took me a bit of time to realise that a lumberjack hat would do alright if properly worked in.

But I'm still debating the use of the crackerjack navy dress uniform top. I was rather hoping for something white but the blue is the one called crackerjack. and I'm not sure I like the tar flap around the neck, leastwise not for the look in this outfit.

I never actually expected it to look as good as I forsee this looking, the componants come from disparate cultures and times but with careful planning seem to come together nicely.

Thoughts are welcome, as well as other things with Jack in the name. Jack knife, blackjack, jackdaw, jack rabbit, jack-o-lantern...

take care of yourselves,
roving jack

rethinking thoughts already thought

I have my ideas for my nano stories, then I have the ideas that I started doing which differ from the original, and now I have rethought some of those.

I like one, but have expanded it and given it more to work with. Then another is being stubbornly as bizarre as possible in order to be creepy weird, but it's impedeing the ability to get started. something like finding the start of a mobious strip.

I dropped the original idea for another story in favor of another idea which I have since dropped, in favor of a newer idea.

And the setting of another got in the way of the story flavor and thus has to be rethought.

So what I'm looking down at is a completely differant arrangment of materials than previously thought.

Ehhh, go with it.

Take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

I am ...

Procrastinating.

Yes I am engaging in my one true superpower. I should be writing my nano novels now but for some reason the actual getting started hurdle is in my way. I think my muses are just nervous and suffering a bit from ADD.

Why put off til tomorrow what you can put off til next week?

I'm gonna hafta start some time, I guess. I'll procrastinate later.

Take care of yourselves,

Roving Jack

Halloween, check, other stuff.... um

Yeah yeah I'm working on it.

Halloween costume was kinda fun. I wish I'd bothered to go out for the Samhaim event on Monday, not strictly a costume event but I liked doing so last year. This year though I just felt like it would be more just being social and having fun in the costume.

And as cold as it sounds I need to use my time on other things. I can be social in other ways and planty of fun was had with me dressed up as Jesus.

I visited family, went grocery shopping, and got gas for the car. I got chuckles at all three. I even handed out candy to a very few kids in my costume. By the way, there was this cute as could be 4year dragon tricker treetin with daddy. That alone was worth it.

Now it's over with and time to focus on Nanowrimo, and end of the year projects for my master list.

And there is likely to be a host of other things hitting me this nano too but I shall prevail.

I'll be posting mostly about what I'm doing the next few weeks, and timing might be a bit erratic and bordering on the incoherrant (I'm playing with four ideas this year).

Tale care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

Getting it together

Halloween is coming up, and I've got to pull the costume idea i have together.

I'm not just doing that however. I'm making a list and checking it way more than twice.

But I'm optemistic and enthusiastic.

Though I'm not sure I'm ready for Nanowrimo.

Got lot's to do in the last steps of the year, but it promises to be an interesting years end no matter what. I've done a lot of things this year and am looking to finish off a lot more.

Ever onward

take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

Some things to think about

I'm wondering if my avoidance of e-bay due to past experiances is unduely cutting off a wider sale market for some of my creations.

I beginning to see that etsy stores are a bit more like the local leauge craft outlets rather than a wider cast sale potential.

I'm thinking that sales of some of my items on e-bay might be easier to do. But that makes me think about something else.

Am I to do these sale on my existing personal account that I havn't touched in years for the most part, or do I start a new account Roving Jack, as I am sure you may be aware my mama didn't name me Roving and Jack isn't our family name.

Also I'm thinking about biting the bullet and investing in some materials I need to do a project that really appeals to me, actually it would be several recurring potentially saleable projects, despite the fact that I'm just barely out of the struggles so recently. And still dealing with the paperwork and beurocracies.

And I'm thinking about a few pet story ideas for Nanowrimo.org

I've got something like seven stories in various states of formed ideas, and I'm fairly certain I cannot get them all done in November.

I'm thinking that I might Start with a short idea and get it done as fast as possible, something like complete the story (likely less than 50,000 word in length) by thursday that first week. Then do a weekend 50,000 novel like I did last nano. Then finish up and lost word count during the week, and then another 50,000 the next weekend. If that fails to be likely I will just pound away and see if I can get through the two in the month. Failing that Finishing one will still be victory enough for me.

I've also been thinking of something of a cook book, a really unconventional cook book... d'oh make that two unconventional cook books, thank you muses.

Lot's to think about,

Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

stupid holiday

it certainly isn't holy, other than being a holy pain in the rump. Okay so the real problem is more of a matter that I didn't know it was a holiday until I'd done all the house work and some sorting and organising of things I reserve for trash day just because it makes cleaning the mess easier... only there is no trash pick up as I discovered when I went to take the trash out at this unkindly hour.

No recycling either, nor is the slow and less than effectual roofing repair guy likely to be finished blocking my parking, nor filling our rubbish bins with his materials.

Oh and the government offices I need to talk to about some stuff is closed as is the town hall where I need to go to file forms for the yard sale that should have been done two months ago but the other parties didn't have time to get it taken care of, and then just as I began to force the issue of getting it done (I started my prep when we said we would do it... in august) before it's too late, they both back out.

Why thank you, that's so helpful. Especially because if you had just admitted this earlier I could have done it in August like the original plan.

Not to self, any plan that requires working out details with more than one other person, is a bad plan. I have yet to find anybody capable of doing these things in a way that doesn't involve me fudging my schedual around for weeks trying to accomidate things that folks ultimately back out of anyway.

So you know what, I'm'a gonna do myself.

Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

Okay so...

okay so I've not really managed to master this just back in at full speed thing. I feel like I'm fighting myself on some of it.

The I did start the Human Braille-Ts line on cafe press, much to my own personal amusement.

I'm beginning to create things again, and I just need to get back into regularly drawing my web comics.

The starting of the pattern is the hardest part but I think once I get going I'll be able to do it right.

I'm also studying. Sounds strange that while I'm not in school of takeing any courses I study, but I enjoy learning and discovering how much I can learn.

I should probably sit down and give serious thought to my novel for Nanowrimo this year too.

But first sleep is needed.

Take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

What a rotten day

Lost hours of work to a computer glitch either on my end or on the other end.

Floundered without useful net acces trying to get it all worked out. Ended up just starting over.

It was cold and dreary, and I was awakened by construction being done on the roof next to my window.

Dealt with my ailments a bit in the morning when they are at their worst.

ran out of food and thus had to go get more... and wrenched my foot in the process.

Got back and went to put out the recycling walking around in shoes that nearly slurped from the wet... and the entire box of items spilled across the hard wood floor with a clatter and clink while my housemate is trying to sleep... four feet away just on the other side of the door.

I'm optimistic though, that I seem to be getting myself back into a functional state of things. setting a good course for action.

I've set down a schedual to follow for myself to persue my goals as if I am my employer and this is my part time job. If I'm going to make a go at living my life like this, I'm going to need to treat it like something one does for a living.

Then I have to also consider my prospects for new avenues of employment. And or education.

It seems like a lot but really it's rather exciting to get myself up and running again, or hobbling at a decent gait anyway... stupid gout.

I'll be posting tomorrow on rovingjack.com with more on where I will be updating and when.

Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

I'm moving back into my life

Seems like a long time since I was living my life by my terms, but I'm back at it.

Maybe it's that crackle of autumn in the air, or just a matter of things running their proper course but it's getting underway again.

I sat down and made my plans. It help me immensely to look at my list and being able to say... is that all that's not such a big deal now that it's not all scattered and having to be chased down to be done.

Also of late I've been using puzzle and games for filler while I get myself organised on the Goober comics. And I rather like the idea of doing more of that. I might do activity book style weekends and regular comic weekdays for a while.

speaking of which I should update that before bed.

I'll be updating Rovingjack.com tomorrow with some important info, and the rest of the week is going to see a lot of new stuff.

Take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

where am I in all of this again

So I've got live journal for spiritual musings of a sort.

I've got etsy for listing up my creations for sale

I've got deviant art to show off things I make.

I've got face book for personal networking and one for networking my role as Roving Jack Jaggard.

I've got rovingjack.com for home base to it all, and doorway into the world of me.

I go to the forums at brass goggles.

I've got my two web comics on drunk duck.

I'm trying to remember what the heck I'm supposed to be doing with this blog.

I'm thinking this is likely to drift into the direction of simply dealing with 'my life and all that entails'. rovingjack.com is likely where I will be posting my master lists and my progress on such and letting people know where to go for sales and more specific stuff.

So this is likely to contain the stuff that's too abstract for facebook status, but too 'this is what's going on' to be part of the official roving jack site.

does that make sense?

I'm going to have to organise this stuff this week and try and get on a real schedual of updating everything and working on projects again. I let it all get derailed and it's not working out. Gotta get this crap worked out.

Take care of yourselves.
Roving jack.

More clutter

It's a clumbsy ineligant mechanism, but I think I could come up with a few uses for it.

*click*

Wanna buy the pretty things so I can take them apart and make nifty stuff with the peices.

*click*

I'm intolerant of intolerance, paradooxically funny but not. Next time less vocally so might be better.

*click*

mmmm opening credits of Watchmen. Is good.

*click*

just how much copper do I have to patina to get enough for a pigment, jeesh. That reminds me... herbs.

*click*

This ladies and gentlemen is what my mind does over the course of fifteen seconds (not mins you fool, that would be a nice casual thought pace), it's a bit of a wonder that I get anything done, or can function at all.

The secrets are: write some of it down to declutter, do some of it quickly to get it off the list, and alchemy (find it's connections to other ideas and transmute it using other ideas).


But for now we must sleep, and apply ourselves to bringing directed and focused action to bare on the recent backlouge in me noggin. til then...

Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

random mind clutter

Don't tell me it doesn't smell like bubble gum, you think it smells like cherry and vinilla ... guess what two of the ingrediants in making a bubble gum flavor are.

*click*

Dude spent $1000 on add ons for a free game, I could make you a real bloody sword for that price you fool.

*click*

$565 FOR AN AMBULANCE RIDE, it's just down the street. Next time I'm dieing I'll call a cab.

*click*

I'm spread a bit thin these days with too much to tend to and not enough time/space to do it in. I need something to warp the fabric of time space... a flux capacitor would do nicely.

*click*

where is that clicking comeing from dang it.

*click*

Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

ps. *click*

Back on track

You ever have one of those months where ... well everything just gets bungled.

Well I've just had one of those. And as obnoxious as it seems, I think it's given me new drive to not get waylaid like that.

It's my Life dang it. Time to own it again.

Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

It's been a while

This flu/cold type thing is really kicking my butt. I've Been sick for more then 10 days, and in the last two used 4.5 rolls of toilet paper to blow my nose goodness knows how many times.

and theres plenty more where that came from. I think my entire food supply is being turned into gobs of....


AAAAnyway.

I'm tired so I'll leave you WitH #2

I'm playing Kingdoms of Camelot with a roudy bunch of nutters. The goal is to build kigdoms up with ore, stone, wood and food. You build differant structures to build a thriving community and use resources you grow and harvest yourself to build higher. You can build armies and attack others for their resources or just for competitions sake.

All kinds of fun. So I'm working away at building up a good city, and a warning comes in, that my scouts have spotted an incoming attack. I give orders and the city comes to life preparing for combat. The excitement of the first battle comes over the troops. The city defenses are set in place and the wait begins.

And we wait, and wait, and wait. A half an our later the indications are in that they are almost upon us.

Then they are there. 15 Militia men stumble into the outskirts of my city and fall into spiked pit traps to die.

I could imagine the cry from a lowly city guard on my walls "What in the Heck was that? Fifteen drunks from an hour away? Seriously?"

It was rather anticlimactic, but sort of funny too.

Take care of yourselves
Roving Jack

A WitH moment

I am a big fan of unconventional thinking, and I feel proud when I make people stop and wonder.

It is very similar to what the Mythbuster talk about when they discuss having a moment where they ask themselve what they doing.

Usually there is a reason, and usually it's a very unconventional way of approaching a creative project. Not always, sometimes its just a brain fart gone loopy.

So I've decided to designate these moments: WitH = What in the Heck.

So to give a good example I leave you WitH #1

I microwaved a doggy chew bone in some water and will let it sit for a few days.

Take care of yourselves.
Rovingjack

fine but I don't have to like it

I met a few people at the convention and did a bit of networking, and gathered some ideas and suggestions.

One person suggested facebook. Sigh, I really am not that into it; but...

Well the argument was made that facebook is essencially the way people find other people these days. A book is in the works by one person from the con, that is a collection of stories, all written by authors found on facebook. An artist was hired for a illustration job on facebook.

If I am to be found and connect with folks Iit may well be a big part of getting my name out there.

I'm not looking for fame but I need customers and clients if I'm to make a go at any kind of creative freelance or commisioned works.

Plus how else will I know about Gilgamesh giving bacon blessings.

Take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack.

A few days left

There are only a few days left before the Convention (connecticon.org) and guess what I'm doing.

No Not finishing up projects.

No not getting much needed rest.

No not finishing prep for my panels.

I'm procrastinating.
Yay for me being consistent.

actually it has more to do with me being tired, hot and just needing to not be doing something for a bit.

Well nothing that is but feeling guilty that I should be doing something.

Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack

Ugh!

my sleeping patterns are all messed up and justnot seeming to get any better.

I get a decent number of hours some nights and wake up exhausted, and then some days I be awakened after four hours of sleep and not be able to fall asleep again.

I'm pushing to get several of my projeects done, but I'm not working that hard.

What's really tripping me up is there are a few things that I need to do during the day but waking up at 5-9pm really doesn't help me do them. Nor does falling asleep between 7am and 10 am.

I've really got to be up and taking care of stuff early tomorrow so no matter what I will have to force myself to get up and move around.

I don't know if it's the heat or what, but I've got to fix this.

Take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

Now I've done it.

I finished preparing the etsy shop for future sales. It is under rovingjack. The Title of the store is Jacks Roving Fancy, I thought it had a nice ring to it.

Revisited my cafepress store and am considering doing something with that again.

I finished the founding of my website. I am the proud owner of:
www.rovingjack.com

I submitted my biz cards for printing. They should be here within 14days.

Secured hotel stuff.

Blog entries, webcomic, and tracked down the delay in a delivery that is sort of holding me up on projects.

All the while trying to work around a very painful foot. That one is really tripping me up (no that's not a double entendre). I sort of feel trapped and a little frustrated. There are things I need to do right now and it's really not a good time to be unable to use one of my feet.

Of course that by no means suggests that while being in this house with some of the supplies I need, that I did all the things I could and didn't waste time and procrastinate.

I'm debateing wether to go to bed or wait up for the post office, to try and square away the delivery hold up.

Take care of yourselves,
Roving jack

indecision

Sorry couldn't decide how to spell that.

Anyway, I've been tossing some things back and forth in my head and trying to decide on the best options for me

One is wether I want the annoyance of a facebook page. I mean I have enough stuff to juggle these days, and the last thing I need is the online equivilant of wearing a sandwhich board saying I like casual contacts with people I'm indiferrant to and am here so that everybody who has ever met me can tell me what they are eating and stalk me at the same time.

I'm more of the 'post something off the top of my head, without editing, and that's your tip off that I ain't dead' kind of person.

And like I said, I've got plenty of things already spread all about the net, like I need one more.

That's part of another thing I'm tossing back and forth (and yes I know that I used the word thing again, it's imprescise and devaluing of the IDEA that I am attempting to communicate), A cetral location for all things Roving Jack. I'll be making that deciscion in the next few days, as well as some cards to hand out at the Conand elsewhere (waiting on setting up the webpage first, so the address can be on the card).

I'm also wondering if I'm bringing enough of certain items to the con, simply because I have lots of items I've made but only small batches of each. I'd hate to run out of something that I could have made more of and people would have bought more of.

I shall procrastinate more on facebook starting, I will suck it up and figure that I'd rather sell everything and give cards to my site so that I can get customers there, than to add more to my to do list and rush/bungle it.

Now I just have to decide about the website options available to me.

Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

terror of the Gravin Empire

Tis my second entry into the weta raygun shootout contest.

I'll be...

I'll be posting updates to people of the clear waters again this saturday, and hopefully be doing updates every saturday from now on.

I've been posting regularly to the Goober nice to meep you comic for a pretty much the whole time it's been running.

I need to get back into writing them, as my year long buffer is running out on them.

and I keep promising the I will post a new web comic and I intend to. So by way of commiting to it I will tell you that it's to be called: The workshop of Cobble and Bodge.

It will occasionally have stories and such but mostly it's just my muses. Basically the idea as it exist right now is... Introduce them, have them share the ideas and art that really has no other place to be expressed and then move along.

So occassionally it will be photos of some creation, or a sketch, or a joke ect.

At first it sounds like it would be rarely updated but ... as will be explained in the intro comic, my muses are not subtle or spareing. It will be sort of a visual blog of ideas and creativity with commentary and appearances of my muses, who are using the Psuedonims of Cobble and Bodge.

So while I tend to my lists of goals and responsabilities, know that I shall return with something to share in the near future.

Take care of yourselves,
Roving jack.

pictures... maybe

This is Mr. Jellyfish Esq. I think his mustache needs to be cleaned up a bit and many seem to support the suggestion of giving him a monocle.

He's made with wool knit into the shape and then a mustache stitched through the front and un wound and combed out before it's all felted together. Then the little bowler cap was felted out of more wool. It was mainly an experiment on felting, but also inspired by another Deviant Art posters crochetted jellyfish. I think Jelly fish are cute and needed more plush versions of them in the world and clearly they need a spokes model.

the other creation is ...
Dyskord he is felted into coomponents; hands, feet, body, head, arms and legs, and horns. I custom made the eyes after finding that there where no buttons that would do the job so I made them from sculpey.

He's kind of cute, but I already have ideas on how to improve on him, and I learned a few things in the process of making him.

I'll be beack in a few days.
Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

Okay I did something

I created a truely impressive wonder. Okay maybe a slight exaggeration.

I've been fiddling around with wool yarns and making some giggle worthy things.

I'll be posting pictures of one in the next day on my deviant art page and if I can do it here I will.

Then I'm going to see about finishing up another creation to show off before wednsday.

I've managed to do those two projects while watching TV, which I usually don't do much of. But I've wayched a fair amount lately.

Some of which was the latter two thirds of the movie 300.

I' was not happy with it.

In this case rather than a rant on the topic, I will simply state that the history and mythology behind the actual events was far more powerful and impressive.

Anyway, that aside, I'm going to maybe see about sneaking over to Mums place for mothers day. and then getting back her to work on projects.

Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

A master list revisit.

1) advice column
2) keep up with my web comics
3) add another web comic for my muses
4) make more jewelry and then list it on etsy
5) write up some book proposals for non fiction.
6) see about being a tutor or life coach
7) tend to my growing number of blogs
8) create several new props
9) create some hats
10) Make a clock
11) make runcible items
12) make prototypes of games and play test them
13) Artist alley at Connecticon
14) Penmanship
15) carve gourds
16) signlanguage study
17) metal working
18) altered book
19) learn to play an instrument
20) make hand made paper
21) make paper dolls and items for them
22) fabricate a few other items (lamps, spice racks, journals, ect) for experimentation and possable sales.
23) glamour bomb
24) edit some more of my past writing
25) finish some of my writings
26) Nano 2010
27) script frenzy 2010
28) make five maps at least this year
29) get something printed in a magazine or a newspaper
30) network more
31) learn how to better sell myself and not sell myself short.
32) finish some bussiness cards
33) Loom knit something
34) make some toys
35) look into having a vending machine
36) make working locks.
37) talk to locksmiths about maybe apprenticing.
38) make a terrarium
39) Utile Toga
40) Soaps, perfume, or other fragrance items in the twelve styles I came up with.
41) plant some seeds and try my hand at growing something from seed again.
42) retry realestate reasearch and querries.
43) lamp work glass now that I figured out how to do it with what I have and where I am.
44) make buttons
45) a fake newspaper with elaborate world and regular releases.

The rule is I do five goals and I can add five goals, the last five were added after I completed five.

Then I did five more. and thus it's time to add five more.

I know I'll add

46) Talk to 3 clock repair shops about employment.
47) Produce another 3D model using blender, for the competition.
( http://www.raygunshootout.com/submission/108 )

I'll think on more. and I'm at twelve now done so by the time I add my other three I may have another five to add.

This way I can't ever finish the list but I manage to get many intresting things done during a year. Heck we are still under half a year in and I've got twelve done.

That's not counting my monthly list which for aprils was fourty one items long and I did thirty of them.

One of which was my script frenzy. Started on Wedns night after 10pm and finished on friday night just before midnight est. Now to edit and then storyboard it for future making of the graphic novel.

I'll try and be better at tending my various blogs and comics in the coming days.

Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack

something silly

Today I became aware of a new offical policy at the kitchen where I work. It's nothing important really but it's one of those things that is tweaking me out just a bit.

Okay, we have three differant sized bowls to use.
large
medium
small
in those colors respectively.

While it's a minor annoyance that fourty eight percent of these bussiness and education majors invariably ask for a small bowl and upon seeing me pick up a small say "No, not that one. A Yellow bowl." ( three bowls designated large medium and small when offered to you, even gesture at each in turn, and you cannot figure out that the median size, the one in the middle, would be medium ). That really baffles me but the new bit really trips me up.


small has officially been and is now listed on the website and menu as and orange bowl. orange? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I'd say it's more of a salmon, or coral color, I'd accept the designation of pink or red even but orange?

It doesn't sound like much until you are standing there and somebody asks you for an orange bowl and you look down and see
large
medium
small

my brain sends back the reply: "Syntax error, no orange bowl found. resubmit request within the parameters assigned."

If the silly wags try to call blue
white
orange
I'm going to go silly crazy.

Sometimes it's nice to have the problems in my life be simple stupid stuff.

take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

I'm so excited

For some time I've been seeing somebody who is a very important part of my life, and though we've had our rocky periods, we are really good for each other. I've grown by leaps and bounds because of this relationship and I just can't keep it to myself anymore.

So I'm announcing to the world that I'm engaged to be married to the most wonderful person in the world. His name is ... April fools.

Yeah sorta lame, and fairly predictable, but I'm smiling and laughing right now.

Any I have some things of interest to post about but I should wait until this day is over so people will not have to guess if I'm being serious or not... well any more than usual that is.

Take care of youselves,
Roving Jack

Sometimes I dispare...

I tell you I'm truely saddened by some people.

I was talking today with some of my favorite people, the sole reason I really stay at the place I work, and learned that some of the student body have taken to using the suggestion board outside the kitchens as a sort of bathroom wall. Where they can anonymously hurl insults at people of good character, charming demeanor and skilled works.

I heard that Mikey, the man who gets things done, the power behind the chef, and a pleasant individual all around (he laughs at me and considers me crazy and weird, that should indicate he knows how things are and such) was a target of insults and requested disciplinary action. Mainly it appears because somebody didn't feel that any restrictions or procedures should be applied to them and that they were entitled to anything they please.

But more shockingly somebody wrote something nasty about Julz. About Julz? About Julz attitude no less. That's absurd to a level unheard of. I've worked with Julz for five years now, and she is the type of person who I know I will never find something to compare to.

She is her own archtype if you will. There are the kindly grandmother and the dependable old soldier, the downtrodden man who would give you the shirt off his back, and the nervous and shy nerd and there is the Julz. Unflappable, warm chuckling, happy greeting, dependable short little italian woman. The (Person of authority) could swear on (something sacred to the above person) that she was rude and short tempered and it would only mean I would never trust the (said persons) words from then on.

Meanwhile we have witnessed incidents of students who specifically ask for their food to be specially wrapped. Then go off to a corner where they can stuff it into their pockets or bags and go through the registers to buy 'just a milk' and when asked if that's it, unblinkingly smile and say 'yeah I'm not really very hungry today.' before going over to another part of the cafe, to sit in comfy lounge chairs pull out their stolen goods and eat it with their freinds while watching a free Large screen TV playing an athletics game.

Then to top it off, they all rave and praise one worker, who is pushing fifty; lives with his mother after the divorce and talks about his young son TO all the college girls he oggles and flirts with. What's more he's been to court on at least one DUI and recently is facing charges in a shooting. (he even creeps out most of the ladies who work there)

Not to mention some of the sorely dissappointing behaiviour of some other people these days. I mean yeah sure, be human, make mistakes, have differing opinions and such, but at the end of the day lets try to people of moral and social grace, with respect for each other and the rights of everybody to be civil and to live their lives.

Those that demand, and feel entitled and do petty things against others simply because they do not like them are bullies and fools. And they seem to be more common than ever.

and thus my current dispare.

Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack

I'm not sure, but I think I'm ready.

I've got a rough thought on an old manga script to work with and a second script idea.

I'm going lighter this year than past years because I've got so much else on my plate right now. Just the two one hundred page scripts.

I've had the older idea for some years but it's really not much more than a setting and a few characters thus far, I've not worked out what the conflict and cause of the story is yet.

The other one is a new idea that's mostly fully formed I just have to hash out the details on what the bad guys (aka obstacles) look like and what type of script it is. I really like the idea of a movie, but it would be nearly impossable to do well, and graphic novel has it's own pros and cons.

One of the hardest parts of the story is that there really isn't much room for dialouge. It's almost entirely conflict and struggle and heroic devotion of characters to help each other survive and get to safety. But it's important to the basic premise that there be a major misunderstanding about who they are and what exactly happened in the beginning of the story.

This means that anything that would clarify the truth, any dialouge must be incomplete or broken before it ruins the story.

I really need to formalise the details in the next few days. I've also got to work on a few other tasks before months end. Then take a lighter load with goals for April While I square some stuff away.

May and June are working hard in prepping for Connecticon. Then the con, and a bit of fun before buckling down to try and make the budget for the summer work out and figure out which work I will focus on for my income for the rest of the year and beyond.

A lot to do, better get to it.
Take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

Hope

I may have resolved the issue and banished the cursed waters. and it only took a few mins once I knew there was a problem and how to go about fixing it. Now we wait to see if the patient survives. the water damage to the seat was rather extensive. but with luck it should dry out and be okay.

The good news is the cars not been this clean in years.

I think I will make a conscious effort to keep it that way. Hopefully we are on our way to getting a few other things resolved as well. So I can get back to my life.

I should go through my notes for my scripts coming up this month.

I should also file my taxes, replace my cars air filter and maybe the pcv but maybe I can have that done with the oil change that is overdue. Then I've got to plan to change my tires. and inspect and reg for june, pay the mailbox for june, and that will give me the end of the costs for most everything I can think of.

If I take care of some of it now it means it's not a hit all at once. The better to plan for Connecticon.

Hoping your life is your own. Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

cursed waters

there is a pond I know, that follows wherever I go.
it's stagnant and brackish...

And it's behind my drivers seat.

Apparently my sunroof has four corner drains... and one isn't working right.

Their designed to clog and when they do they backflow into the car. Brilliant, why didn't I think of that.

So for the past several days I've been trying to get moisture out of my car, and the leather wrapped ponge that is my bac seat, get rid of the pond in my car and dry things out. It feels like a loosing battle. but I've got some tips online on how I might be able to solve the problem.

here is hoping.

Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack

I swear...

Some people are really kind of sad. I wish I could not care about other people but it's not that easy.

When my buddy Eddie has things fall apart on him and criminals running through his life, I would love to stand back and keep out of harms way and then pretend like nothing happened. It would certainly have prevented problems in the past.

When other people have nervous breakdowns and can't seem to function on their own I should just wash my hands of them and worry only about me. It would save me a lot of trouble.

But the real truth of it is I was raised better than that. I was raised to a standard that tells me that even though my genetic mother was a drug addict and my Genetic father is paranoid and controling, with deep delusions, even those two people deserve respectful treatment.

If I can help them without risk to anybody else I will.

But it's more than that, it something that loosely corresponds to the ancient code of hospitality, something partly from how I was raised and partly from my faith. A rule that sort of states that you treat all people as honored guests and place their importance above selfinterest.

But even more than that I grew on stories of Knights. Where the good people serve a cause and fight for right. They champion others and sacrifice of themselves. They hold themselves to a code of honor... at least in the stories.

I like to try and carry many of these qualities in a world where most of them are long forgotten.

Some see that as making me a pushover, or nieve, some have I'm too sensative and just need to not worry about anyone but myself.

I pity those people, their lives are going to be sad, shallow and self serving existances that never satisfy them. They will never know freindships to the fullest extent of their grace, and they will never discover family of any kind other then documented or blood relation without any connection within.

I'm glad to help when I can, and I'm as good as my word.

I don't feel ashamed of that, and the word might have a lot less strife and sorrow if we could all do that much for each other. You might knock me down for these ideas but I'll get up again, nothing will keep me down for long. (I get Knocked down, but I get up again, aint nothing gonna keep me down- Tubthumping by chumbawamba)

Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

Holy...

I pride myself on having a mind that can come up with some truely bizarre ideas. I think thoughts and dream dreams that hurt other peoples heads sometimes for the shear starngeness. I appreciate absurdities as if they were fine art.

But I have just had a day that has me chuckling, shaking my head, sitting in awed silence, and occasionally blurting out things like "What the F...", "How?", "Seriously?".

No newspaper reporter would believe the story, and twilightzone editors would scratch their heads unable to do anything with it.

It's the sort of thing that if it were in print you'd turn the page upside down because you are certain the right way just doesn't make sense.

I just... I...

Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

It's always something

always some little thing nibbling away at the purse strings. I just can't seem to pull ahead on this sort of thing sometimes.

Though I cannot imagine how much harder it must be for other people, who have one, single avenue they follow for their opportunities. Sure there may be less in the way of material costs and start up, but it's like the table I had at the con.

If I focussed on one project or idea, I would have gotten much less interest than I did with my myriad display of rovings.

sort of like ravings but less potentially dangerous.

holy crow is it still the tenth,I think I was at work earlier this wake cycle. It feels like that was several days ago.
And I still have much to do this weekend.

We'll see what I can get done in the next two days and where that gets me.

Take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

strange thought for today

It starts something like this:

the landlord and the house mate just seem to be the type of people that feed into each others negative traits. partly due to being so differant, and partly from being so alike.

snarky comment: maybe they should go on a blind date.

muses pick it up and run with the idea, tinker and work away in a matter of second before returning the ideas as:

a service that gets you an archnemesis. I mean anybody who is anybody has an archnemesis right? and wouldn't it be super if you had a sort of penpal who would curse your infernal meddling and plot to be a general thorn in your side, perhaps they prevent your plan to take over the world, or hide you trousers while you change in the locker room. You know the really mean stuff.

Or maybe you have to stop their evil plans.

this does amuse me greatly.

take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

It would seem

it would seem my muses are making themselves obvious lately. Despite the dragging heels on the web comics.

The seem to snatch up some of the most random topics and run around screaming with them in excitement.

Among todays topics are alien news papers, houses the size of camping tents, how to make permanant magnets, corn dollies from things other then corn husks, and a real fun one...

Steampunking Irish travelers wagons and a setting for such wagons, their owners and the items they must have in the wagons.

It seems so perfect. The ultimate DIY types of people being gypsies and Travelers, used to referto them as tinkers, and some go by the celtic word for craftsmen. Chuck in a healthy dose of the traveling Carnie images and freak show preformer, with a touch of mystcism and fortune tellers. It ripe man. My mind is being painted from the inside with images of traveler wagons with riveted metal plates and rusty pipes, chugging along. Mith tinkerers in them dressed in colorful clothes with influances from all over the world which they travel.

Illustrations and props and stories abound for such ideas. and it comes from a simple question of wether or not anybody else has ideas for non-anglocentric steampunk ideas.

Yeah when my muses decide they wanna play, they wanna play!

take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack

knitting and such

I've been knitting a gift for my neice, and it got a theme.
She's a Harry Potter Fan. So it's a red and yellow Griffendor colours scarf.
I've also got a nother gift started for her, that sort of classifies as making an altered book, though to get the desired effect it's almost like making a whole new book to be honest.

Part of the fun I'm having is playing around with making props, and part of the fun is researching the setting and such. It is a wonderfully detailed and well thought out universe.

I keep thinking of the trip to see the movie props exhibit we all took, and how I could make almost all the props there with relative ease. But I also keep thinking that I could make something etter and depending on the item, being able to do things like imbed a real feather inside a growning peice of tree and later harvest it to make a wand. Why I would do it is beyond me, but I could.

Also on my mind about the setting is the question my neice faced, about what house would a person be selected for by the sorting hat. The easy answer for her was Griffindor. But Somehown I feel that I would definately be inclined toward Ravenclaw. Funnily enough while researching data I learned that the ravenclaw colours are bronze and blue. I'm quite fond of blue, and bronze is a wonderful metal, especially to a fellow who is also fond of steampunk.

Throw in the fact that one of my favorite supporting characters from the books was the cooky Luna Lovegood and I was reminded that she too was a ravenclaw, it seems a good match.

so what house would you be and why?

I really should get some sleep now.
Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

It still counts

I'm still up and thus in my book it's still the right day.

Alright so I ran some errands and did some stuff around the house, then read a novel and a short story.

I really should spend some time tending to my comics in the next day, But after this I've got to top off my other blog and then get some rest. I've got to maybe get an errand or two done when I get up and then knit and work a bit on my comics and a few projects.

I think I'm getting back into the swing of things again, and strangely enough the easiest way to tell that is by other people. If one of my projects has a factor that depends on other people, when I'm back in the mode it seems like it takes forever to get results from others. Three days without a reply is like weeks.

There is a lot going on right now though so it's all a bit of a confused jumble and it may be a while before I can get stuff sorted and squares away in some way.

I've gotta go for now, Take care of yourselves.
Rovingjack

getting going on my projects

a lot to do tomorrow... or is that today?

This evening I did some research on nontransative sequences, flexagons, A certain boy wizard of whom my neice is a fan and a few other things of little consequence to others.

They are facinating though. I'll post again sometime after noon.

Take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

what about this

I've noticed a bit lately that it seems at first like there are somethings that are similar to what I'm looking for in order to do certain projects but never what I actually need... then out of nowhere I stumble across a solution that would allow me to have more control over exactly what I intended

I love it when a plan comes together.

Take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

Clarifying

The idea of an altered book is to use the structure of a written text to make a sort of scrap book, as artfully as possible.

Penmanship is to really work on my handwriting and even start refining my calligraphy a bit.

And Glamour bombing is doing something sneaky, artistic and unexpected to inspire the feeling that makes people believe in magic. But they are meant to be about the art and not the artist. They bring smile and warm feelings and touch on the kid in all of us that wants to clap when somebody asks you to clap if you believe in fairies. They are often times things of mystery or whimsey that without an artist atributed to the are taken as something other than the creation of a person.

It's sort of hard to explain but easy to recognise when you see it.

It comes from the idea that Glamour, as in magical influance is spread via something that explodes with magic and spreads it far and wide.

Thats for now, I'm tired and just need to tidy some things up before bed. I had a rough day.

Take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

New master list

a bit belatedly here is my list of things to try and do for the year.

Doing half of them would be decent, I imagine more things will come up during the year. But for now I've had to set a rule that no new projects can be added until five of these are marked off.

Brace yourselves.
1) advice column
2) keep up with my web comics
3) add another web comic for my muses
4) make more jewelry and then list it on etsy
5) write up some book proposals for non fiction.
6) see about being a tutor or life coach (had a potential client fall through recently)
7) tend to my growing number of blogs
8) create several new props
9) create some hats
10) Make a clock
11) make runcible items
12) make prototypes of games and play test them
13) Artist alley at Connecticon
14) Penmanship
15) carve gourds
16) signlanguage study
17) metal working
18) altered book
19) learn to play an instrument
20) make hand made paper
21) make paper dolls and items for them
22) fabricate a few other items (lamps, spice racks, journals, ect) for experimentation and possable sales.
23) glamour bomb
24) edit some more of my past writing
25) finish some of my writings
26) Nano 2010
27) script frenzy 2010
28) make five maps at least this year
29) get something printed in a magazine or a newspaper
30) network more
31) learn how to better sell myself and not sell myself short.
32) finish some bussiness cards
33) Loom knit something
34) make some toys
35) look into having a vending machine
36) make working locks.
37) talk to locksmiths about maybe apprenticing.
38) make a terrarium
39) Utile Toga
40) Soaps, perfume, or other fragrance items in the twelve styles I came up with.

Yeah that aught to keep me out of trouble... sorta.

Take care of your selves.
Roving Jack

3.5+1.5=4=new bussiness math

I come in at quarter to four pm. I change into a spare uniform because you have failed to supply one as stated you would. I find a spare locker to keep my things in while working because you have not supplied one like you should. And I do it off the clock.

I then go up the elevator and clock in on time at 4pm. I go to my station and proceed to make sure it's fully stocked and clean and ready to go for the night. It takes about ten to fifteen mins.

I then usually get my first few customers, whom I must describe the entree to or the alternative options, then serve them as they request by getting each item (sometimes up to 12 items per) aqnd in the desire portions, before mixing and presenting said item. I'd say about 2 mins and 30 seconds per person is a reasonable time frame in which to do this.

I then proceed to do this 85 times before 730pm while managing to keep my items stocked and clean.

Then I have to take all the utensils and serving materials to the dish room, and find bags and clean containers. say seven minutes.

Then I have to top off and clean/replace and prepare each of 24 containers and 16 bottles for the next day. say twenty eight mins (just under a min per container for going to the back and getting the materials bringing them out stocking and bringing back the remainder). Then another load of dirty dishes. anoter five mins.

Then I shut of the cooling tables and wrap each container and store it in the fridge at thirty seconds per container that would run about 15 mins counting the bottles.

Then I have to spray down and wash, scrub and dry thirty square feet of stainless steel. Maybe it could be done in ten mins.

Sweep up the floor take broom, trash and rags to the back, five mins. and clock out before changing out of my uniform off the clock.

Now lets do the math. 210 mins serving plus:
7
20
5
15
8
10
+5
----
70

that comes out to 280 when conditions are ideal (which they never are). So heres is the part I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around. Given a sixty min hour, and the workload as described above at the very least. How is it that you figure there is now reason for me to need more than 4 hours and that you expect me to clock out and leave with everything done and perfect by eight pm.

So you know what, it's fikkin killin me right now but I clocked out at 8pm. a third of the containers where not fully stocked and I certainly didn't have the time to make back ups for you tomorrow like you've come to expect from me. I didn't whipe down the counters and sweep the floor. I still worked 15 mins off the clock because there are some things I just had to do.

But, well, you get what you pay for (or in this case a bit more), let me know how much you liked it come tomorrow will you.

take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

close your eyes for a moment and...

Hmm, I'm a little sleepy I think I'll take a nap... and wake up a month later.

Jeeze, that's a bit of a hard core decompressive time dilation for ya. I can't even promise it's done with.

I'm itching to get rolling on some projects soon and inspiration is getting restless, but I'm still not really feeling fully settled in to the start of a new year.

I keep thinking okay what big, fun scary challenges are we going to do now, and I get interested in the prospect but there is a part of me that wants to curl up with some books and just not do anything for a bit longer.

To a degree I know that once I get going and set my passion free on some dream or other I'll take off and enjoy the ride. It's that step though, that first step is a commitment down the restless path, and some part of me wants a rest for a bit before we comitt to taking it.

I should break out the list of what I did last year and the new list for this year.
Then I got to wake my muses and get going on a ragged mixed up adventure of life.

Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack

catchy title here

I'm having a wee bit of trouble keeping up with what day it is and what time it is. I think that some time in the next few days there will be a saturday that will theoretically be the second saturday of the month.

and somewhere about now it's a week into the new year.

But I'm not ready to start just yet. I think that given another day or so I'll be ready to start me a new year.

In the mean time I need to get a bit of rest and take care of some stuff.

Talk to yah soon, a bit more coherantly too if I'm lucky.

take care of yourselves.
Rovingjack

what did you do today

It was never really my favorite question as it was usually thrown out by those that felt like they carried the world that day and didn't think you could have done anything they would consider worthwhile.

But since I asked...

I made several hundred peices of jewelry, I made a clock, I made a cardboard mock up of a tesseract. I layed out a rough prototype for a project/game I call project oddball. I set up an online store that I will likely start stocking in the next year with art and creations by me. I started another mystery project. I finished and posted two web comics, and then played with shrinky dinks. That last one was kind of fun.

and I did a bit of reflecting on the past year and a bit of looking forward.

there is a part of me that is sighing deeply to finally be done with a long hard year, it's sort of a clean slate and fresh start. And I hope in this coming year I can make my way to an even cleaner break and establish some new and wonderful changes for the better.

That's what I like about a clean slate, It's an invitation to think, dream and create an art work.

That's what I did today, cleaned a slate, to create a whole new peice of work (cuz goodness knows I can be a real peice of work sometimes).

Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack