Eighty K

I have completed another round of edits on The Second Shadow. Only a few weeks ago, the book sat around 74,000 words. Now I have added a small section from The Anarchist Chronicles (see previous entry) to the start of each of the 31 chapters, and I have added a short (2 page) epilogue, that would sort of set up something that happens in the next book. The book now sits at 80,031 words, which I find to be pretty neat, and I think it is a sufficient length. If anyone will be reading (or re-reading) the book in the near future, I can send them the updated version.

In other news, I have been chosen to be the AC (adult coordinator) at the upcoming TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) weekend. It is exciting and yet a little scary, and will be a good step out of my comfort zone. But stepping out of my comfort zone is something I have been trying to do more of lately, so I am hoping it will be good for me.

The Anarchist Chronicles

I've been posting more to Don't Feed the Hypocrite, so feel free to check out my second (and more serious natured) blog. I've reposted a few things there that I've posted here, so there may be some repeats, but I'm trying to get all my writing like that in one place.

As for The Lords of Sargoff, I'm considering adding something new. In the book, one of the main characters (Cymor) has a book - The Anarchist Chronicles - that contains writings from a dark wizard, though they are not readable except through magical means. I'm considering adding in segments of those writings throughout the book at the beginning of chapters (maybe 10 of the chapters, not really sure what). I thought it might add some clues, or just add some mystery, or maybe just be interesting. Anyway, each one would only be a paragraph, most likely. Here's one I've written that I thought may go at the very beginning of the book, to kick off chapter one. Its exact meaning wouldn't be understood until later in the book. I'm still trying to determine whether or not this is a good idea.

I saw it rush by, as though loosed from a hunter’s bow. Too close to me it came for the good of the one who sent it and the ones he protects, but the Maker should cast blame upon no one but himself and his kind, for it was them who kept me aware and alive. I knew I needed it as it approached, I could not let it pass, and so I reached out from myself, flinging the power from my fingers and capturing it, and it became mine. The sin of the Dissenter will doom the fate of men.

The Anarchist Chronicles, page one-hundred forty-nine

Thorus

[ Newly written Short Story. Rough draft. No guarantees that the story makes sense, is well written, interesting, mistake-free, or anything of the like. ]

The line was moving slower than my sister’s brain. I mean, I had stood in long lines more times than I could count, but this took the cake, and made me think that I should have brought some cake. I was in line to begin paperwork of some great importance, the details of which I will keep to myself, as I honestly can’t remember them. I’ll leave that up to my mother and the person behind the counter. Anyway, this must have been the day for such paperwork, as the line weaved out of the building’s doors and around the block. I had been here for over an hour and had moved a matter of yards. My mind yawned.
When I became overly bored of counting the cars as they passed by, I began to let my eyes wander through the plaid patterns of the fellow’s shirt in front of me. People hustled by me but I paid them no mind, as my vision began to fade into a world of flannel. My mind somehow was aware enough to take a step forward now and then to keep the line moving, but my consciousness knew nothing of it.
The plaid lines became three-dimensional and formed a room with four hideously brown walls and no door. I stood there in the room stupidly until a form appeared before me with the palest of skin and the darkest dreadlocked hair I’d ever seen. He sneered at me with a devilish grin and spoke in harsh tones, his voice deep dripping with a hatred I had never before seen formed from the yarns of flannel.
“You will not escape me this time Thorus,” he said, laughing cruelly, which was odd, since my name was Luke. “Your blood shall be spilled this day, this very hour, nearly this very moment. And you, Marith, you will not be spared either.”
I suddenly noticed the woman beside me, her face fair and her smile true. She reached her hand down and took mine in hers.
“He cannot harm you, love,” she said softly, “for his powers are not of your world. You are the hope of humanity, and through you the nations will prosper and endure through the darkness. He fears you and the light you will shine into the night, for his is a night dweller. Do not fear him.”
The man scowled at her and unsheathed a long sword. “Foolish woman,” he said, “his mind has not yet returned to its true self. He may have been Earth’s savior before, but in this life, with this mind, he cannot save them. He cannot stop the world from perishing.”
“The hope of the humans is not yet lost,” Marith said.
The man sneered at me. “Mark my words, Thorus. Whether you know that name or not, you will fall this day, and the world will be cast into darkness without you. The sentinel has traced you, and will unleash the legion once your lifeblood has become unrecoverable.”
“Son?” came the voice of a woman behind me, shaking me awake. She pointed forward to the man ahead of me the in flannel shirt who now stood several paces forward. I nodded and moved onward, yawning into the warm morning air.
A thud came from the street and vibrated the sidewalk. My eyes followed the sound, and there stood the figure from my daydream, but fully manifested physically, his muscles hulking and his sword shining in the sunlight. Several of the normal-looking people around me suddenly held swords in their hands, all watching him and standing in defensive positions. They came in front of me, between myself and the man in the street.
“Protect Thorus,” they said, or chanted, as the man came lunging at them from the street. His sword tore through the first defender, but then the strangest of things happened: a defender swung at him, and his sword simply passed through the man as though it were not really there. The man swung his blade and lopped off the defender’s head.
“He has the beacon!” the defenders cried in desperation, but still they stood in defense. Screams erupted around me, and people ran away quickly from the area, but I couldn’t move. One by one the men swung their swords in vain, only to be chopped and pierced and laid out upon the street.
A figure suddenly appeared beside me. Marith smiled gently at me and took my hand.
“Do not worry, love, the beacon is not the most powerful of magical artifacts.”
Only four defenders stood before me and the attacker. One by one they fell, and then there were none. “Your time has come, Thorus, for all your shields have cracked!”
“One last shield remains, oh weakened assassin,” Marith said. “You will not touch him.”
“Will I not? My blade thirsts for more, and I cannot now deprive it!”
He lunged forward, but suddenly stopped and stood up straight, his sword clanging to the sidewalk.
“You should listen to me, foolish one,” Marith said. “For you have killed your last mark. You have failed.”
She pointed at his legs and they seemed to fuse together. Her finger’s target moved up his body and caused his hands to snap to his sides. Marith lifted her hand and he floated into the air. She pointed into the street and his body flung toward it, landing in the roadway. He moaned loudly for a moment, before looking to the side and cringing. An eighteen-wheeler sped upon him and crushed him, littering the street with blood and mutilated flesh.
Marith turned and smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back. “There, my love, you are safe now. Come to me now and hold me close, like you used to.”
I didn’t remember ever holding her close, but at that moment, I couldn’t care less. I took her in my arms and vowed never to let her go. I gazed at the body parts littering the street.
“Who was he?” I asked.
“A fool, Thorus, and nothing more. Only the most foolish would dare bring harm to my love.”
She kissed my cheek and looked into my eyes, smiling.
“For, my dear Thorus, it is well known that only I have the right to smite you.”
A blade suddenly passed through me, and I fell to the ground with a terrible pain. I tasted blood and saw only blurs. Dark figures appeared around me, and Marith vanished into thin air. The dark figures stooped above me and spoke with fearful voices.
“She was the assassin,” one said. “The other was simply the tool. She has done it. The legion will be arriving quickly.”
“Indeed. Now we must wait and watch as the world falls.”
And with that, I breathed my last.

Goodbye, Elections

So the election cycle is done, and I have been able to return to a more normal schedule. While I don't feel like this year was as busy or hectic as other election years, it was still quite a bump in workload and hours, and I worked between 12-15 hours a day for the two weeks leading up to election day. I had started coming in at 6:00 in the morning a couple months before the election, and now my normal schedule is 6:00 - 3:00. 6:00 is early, but heading home at 3:00 is wonderful. Now we just have to wait and see whether the governor recount will cause more work for us, as the senate recount did a couple years ago.

The Cooper Book Club has started reading The Way of Kings, which will become at longest book I've ever read (just over 1000 pages). I've barely started it, but I like it so far. It is written by Brandon Sanderson, and will be the first book I've read of his. His Mistborn trilogy is also on my to-read-at-some-point list.

In uninteresting news, my last post mentioned that I will be reading through the Bible to come up with card names for my Reclamation card game. I admit that this activity has a second purpose, as I must confess that there are still parts of the Bible that I've never read. I hadn't read all the minor prophets (except for my namesake's book, which I had read); these I have now gone through and made card titles for. There are then a few other Old Testament books I haven't read, and I am looking forward to going through those.

In Authonomy news, the redid the formula for calculating a book's ranking, so now The Second Shadow has slid from around 170 down to around 300. They've added a star rating as part of the mix. I do have one request, if anybody wants to be really nice (I know some of you already have) - anyone who is willing to sign up for an Authonomy account can "back" the book and give it a star rating, which would help me out. And of course, I'd also appreciate anyone who has "backed" the book before logging back in and giving it a star rating. No pressure, of course. :)

Hello

Here's one of my Life Update blog posts, as its been a while since I've blogged. I'm blogging now even though I have nothing interesting to say, but I have to keep up the visage that I have a life.

1. A couple months back, I read Wizard's First Rule, the first book in the Sword of Truth fantasy series by Terry Goodkind. It was the first book read by our very exclusing Cooper Book Club. I rather enjoyed the book, and it would likely be very high on my (admittedly short) list of favorite books. Since then I've read Ender's Game and The Children of Hurin, and then recently finished up Gardens of the Moon. Our next book is The Way of Kings. I also plan on re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows before the first movie comes out in November.
2. Election season at work is in full swing. I have been working 11-13 hour days. Overall, this election doesn't seem as crazy as past elections, which is nice. That being said, I'm still looking forward to it being over with (18 days left).
3. My wife and I have been discussing a vacation next year, and we are pretty sure we would like to go on another cruise, probably an Alaskan one. It should be pretty fun.
4. This one is about Reclamation, my card game, so if you don't care about that, feel free to skip it. :) Anyway, a few years ago I had gone through the book of Genesis and came up with a set's worth of cards for it (300+ cards) from the book, and have used those cards to make the decks from which the game has been playtested. Recently, I decided to create a more extensive list of card names, a Master list, from which all future cards and sets could be pulled from. So I have set myself this project: go through the entire Bible and create a massive list of potential card names. So I started with Genesis again and created a much more extensive list, and Genesis itself had over 1900 card titles. I've also now gone through the entire New Testament, and along with Genesis, have over 9000 card titles. So, that is a little crazy, but when it's done, I will have quite a list from which to take card titles from.
5. I currently have a few people reading through The Second Shadow, my fantasy novel, and I've taken a little break from working on it while I'm waiting for their feedback. I know I will be getting at least 2 well-critiqued returns, so I am excited to get those and see where I can make improvements to the book. Authonomy update: in August, the book was at #243, and is currently at #174. Progress is good. On a side note, I did something the other day that I haven't done in a couple years - I wrote short story. It's only a couple pages long and currently has no title. I'll probably post it here after I do some more editing.
   

The Lords of Sargoff Trilogy

I have developed a somewhat detailed outline for books two and three in my Lords of Sargoff fantasy series. Each book's outline currently has 17 chapters. In contrast, the original outline for the first book, back a few years ago, had 7 chapters, and the book itself now has 31. The outlines for books two and three are more detailed and the story is more developed, and I currently have no idea how long the books may end up being in comparison.

Developing the outline for the rest of the series (which I currently think will be limited to 3 books) has allowed me to go back into book one, and add some things to help tie the entire series together. I've actually already written a few chapters for book two. Last year, I think, I had written chapter one for book two, and that chapter will now become chapter one for book three. Currently, book two is titled The Blood of the Queen, and book three is title Myridium. But that may certainly change as the books get written.

One of my goals while writing the first book was not to use too many fantasy cliches. While I know you can't really escape them completely, I really tried not to have the book be just like every fantasy novel ever written. I've now tried to come up with other things that will make the story interesting for books two and three, and not just be a rehashing of book one. I think it will work pretty well, but those of you who will read those books will be the judge of that.

But that'll be a while. :)

On a side note, at my last report, my Authonomy ranking for The Second Shadow was 491, and over the last couple months it has gone down to 243. Who knows if it will ever get into the top 5, but at least it's making progress.

If You Can't Find One, Make One

So as most of you know, I have created collectible card game called Reclamation, based on the Bible. My brother and I have playtested it several times, and it has come a long way. One of the issues I've dealt with in playtesting is the printing of cards. I've used Access forms and ASP web pages to loop through the database before, but now I've come up with something even better (I think, anyway).

[ geekspeak ]

I've created a VB.NET Windows application that connects to the database and creates the images for each card. I used the images I created in Photoshop and pieced the images together like a jigsaw puzzle. So now, all I need to do is run the program and it'll create all 300-something images in the first set. I've added a few to this post. While they don't look as great as they would straight from Photoshop, they still look more like actual cards than I've had before.

[ end geekspeak ]

So, the next time we test the game, it'll be prettier.

Even if it'll still be in black and white.

Well, it's a start.

Biking, Steak, Shadows, and Photoshop

I have brought my bike to work (a new Schwinn that I bought last summer) and am now riding over my lunch break a couple times a week. There is a residential area nearby that has some good ups and downs, and I ride about 5 miles. I'm going to keep it up, as it is part of my continuing attempt to lose weight. I lost 22 pounds earlier in the year, and have gained a little of that back, but am now back on the right track with my eating and exercise.

On a side note related to eating (and not in an entirely healthy way), I have determined that Texas Roadhouse is my favorite steakhouse, recently defeating Timberlodge Steakhouse. Though, I do have to admit, the only other steakhouse I've ever been to is Outback, which while still good, loses easily to both the other two. Oddly enough, I wasn't always a big fan of steak, until one day a few years ago I decided to order one at Applebee's. And now... yum. And I love any steak with A1 Bold & Spicy.

Also, over my lunch breaks, on days that it is raining or I just don't feel like biking, I can now take advantage of a small lunch room area where I can take the laptop and work on the book, or whatever else I feel like working on, without being at my desk and risking having to do work. Talking about the book, it now sits at 73,000 words, and really, I feel pretty good about how it is at the moment. I have posted part of it on Authonomy.com, a website run by the publisher Harper Collins. It is an online writing community where you can get feedback on your book. Also, while I am not holding out a hope that this will lead to anything for me, every month, the 5 most popular books get sent to the editor's desk Harper Collins for review. While the chance of getting that high is slim, I did start ranking around #3500 in March, and am now ranked #491. You never know. But either way, it is neat place and I have gotten some good feedback on the book. For Authonomy, you have to provide a cover (or use a generic image provided by the site). I designed this cover from a couple images I found online. It doesn't look as good at full size, but Authonomy only displays it as a small thumbnail-sized image. Feel free to read the pitch on the book's Authonomy page.

Don't Feed the Hypocrite

In my attempt to further my writing, I have started another blog, titled Don't Feed the Hypocrite. This will remain my personal blog, but I will use the new one for writings about life, such as The Case for Death I had posted here previously. The first entry explains the name (which may or may not make sense, but I tried to come up with something catchy and unique).

Now, here is a warning and a confession. The first post on the new blog does reveal a little bit from my past that I've not shared with most of my readers. It came from a period of time around twelve years ago, when I allowed sin into my life much more than I should. However, I believe it is good to share such things, especially as I think that pulling from my own personal experiences may help me become a better writer.

Top Ten Bible Verses

As I've read through the Bible over the last several years, I've underlined key verses. Over the last few weeks, I then skimmed through the New Testament, and Psalms and Proverbs, and compiled a list of my favorite verses. I also did a little online searching (including reading through Gina's favorite verses), and came up with 128 good verses to consider for my top ten. Below are my top ten Bible verses (I'll probably order the top 25 at some point, but that's for another day). I've added a few comments following some of the verses in italics.

1. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
   - Galations 2:20
   [ When I was around 10 years old, and living in Ironton, a singer named Thom Shumate came and sang at our church, and he was around (I think) for a couple weeks. I bought a cassette tape of his and asked him to sign it, which he did, but he said he would do it only if I promised to go memorize Galations 2:20, which I proceeded to do, and recite it back to him the next week. It's been my favorite verse ever since. ]
2. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
   - Romans 8:38-39
3. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
   - Psalm 23:4
4. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
   - Revelation 7:17
5. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
   - Psalm 18:2
6. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
   - John 3:16
7. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
   - Philippians 4:13
8. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
   - Romans 8:31
   [ Answer: no one. ]
9. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
   - John 8:32
   [ This was the weekend verse when I first went through Teens Encounter Christ, back in 1998. ]
10. That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
    - Romans 10:9

The Second Shadow

I've once again gone too long without blogging, so I will give a quick life update here. Nothing all too exciting, but nothing too complain about.

1. I have been working on my fantasy novel, The Second Shadow, and have added about 3,000 more words, making it over 71,000 total. Good progress, but there is more to do.
2. I finished reading the first book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and then went and saw the movie with my wife. I did enjoy it, but would rank it below both Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl when it comes to those kinds of books. That being said, I need to read more adult fantasy, and perhaps the Mistborn series is a good place to start, as that has been recently recommended to me.
3. I have been creating a list of my favorite Bible verses. This has been quite a slow process, but I hope to post my top 10 (or top X) list of favorite verses in the near future.
4. On April 7, my wife and I will be traveling down to Ohio to visit my family. I am quite excited, for many reasons (other than seeing my family), including playtesting Reclamation, going to Graeter's and maybe Damon's, seeing Scruffles, and playing all sorts of other fun games. It should be great fun. We are saving a few hundred bucks and driving down instead of flying.
5. I am currently having just about my worst year ever when it comes to my NCAA basketball tournament bracket. I will have no more than 3 of the elite 8 and 2 of the final four. But alas, it's great fun, and there have been some very exciting games this tournament. Darn you Northern Iowa for knocking off my champion.
6. I made it through my first winter of rear wheel driving with no problems whatsoever, deciding that it really wasn't a big deal at all. I added some extra weight in the back and took things slow, and had basically no problems. And now, spring is here, and it's been warm enough (for me, anyway) to drive with the top down. It's swell.
   

This Will Likely Push Back the Movie's Release Date

While I would love to be able to submitting my novel, The Lords of Sargoff, to publishers right now, I've been thinking lately that it would be best to increase the book's length by continuing to add more details and descriptions, and also by adding in more story. It currently sits at approximately 68,000 words, and from what I've read online, it should probably be at least 80,000, if not 100,000 or more. My initial hopes are to get it in the 80-90K range. So.... I am going to push back any tentative plans I had to submit it for publication and get back to writing. I have notes on what would happen in the second book in the series, and some of those events will instead happen in book one, though the book's ending will remain basically the same.

That's not the only thing I've been up to over the last month or more since I've last posted, of course. But that's for another entry.

Movie Music

I thoroughly enjoy the music of movies. Here I'm talking about background soundtrack music. A great movie score can add so much to a film. Here is a list of my 25 favorite such songs; no surprise that the list is dominated by music from Star Wars (8) and Lord of the Rings (7). I've included links to YouTube videos of each song. This may, of course, be updated as I watch (and rewatch) movies.

1. Duel of the Fates (Star Wars). I struggled with putting this song ahead of the Imperial March. But this song is just an amazing piece of music, both instrumentally and vocally. This song actually gives me the chills.
2. Imperial March (Star Wars). Classic.
3. Battle of the Heroes (Star Wars). Music during the duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan in Episode III. More great vocals and instrumentation.
4. The Black Riders (Lord of the Rings).
5. Swords Crossed (Pirates of the Caribbean).
6. The Battle (Gladiator).
7. Emperor's Theme (Star Wars). Shares a bit with the Imperial March, but used more when the Emperor is on screen; dark and ominous. It's great.
8. Highway Chase Theme (The Matrix: Reloaded).
9. The Bridge of Khazad-dum (Lord of the Rings).
10. The Destruction of the Ring (Lord of the Rings). Good short tune with good vocals.
11. Lobby Shooting Spree Theme (The Matrix).
12. He's a Pirate (Pirates of the Caribbean).
13. Star Wars Main Theme (Star Wars). Includes lots of great music, including the opening crawl theme and the music during the most suspenseful parts of the attack in the Death Star in A New Hope.
14. Isengard (Lord of the Rings).
15. The Fellowship (Lord of the Rings).
16. Driving With the Top Down (Iron Man).
    
17. The Lighting of the Beacons (Lord of the Rings). From Return of the King.
18. Funeral Theme (Star Wars). Great little ominous tune from the prequels with a hint of the original trilogy.
19. Jaws Theme (Jaws).
20. Professor Umbridge (Harry Potter).
21. The Dark Knight Theme (The Dark Knight).
22. Smeagol's Theme (Lord of the Rings).
23. Hedwig's Theme (Harry Potter).
24. Yoda's Theme (Star Wars). Soft and slow music, very good.
25. General Grievous' Theme (Star Wars). A nice piece of music from Episode III.

The Myths

I feel like I'm coming to the end of editing on The Lords of Sargoff. My wife has started to reread it. If I feel okay with it after another read-through or two, I do believe that I'll look into submitting it somewhere over the next few months. No matter what happens, it's been great fun, and I look forward to writing the second book in the series (which I will be doing at some point, whether or not book one ever gets published). I currently envision there being 3-5 books in the series. I know I've mentioned this before, but I've decided that The Lords of Sargoff is the name of the series, and the name of the first book is currently The Second Shadow, but that is not final. (A lot of novels that get published get renamed by the publisher anyway.)

In other writing news, as I have mentioned I may do, I have started expanding on my previously posted article, The Case for Death. The idea is to expand it into something book-length. I have 7 myths that humans often believe about death, and each chapter will be discussing why each myth is incorrect. Below are the seven myths and a quick summary. Let me know if you have any thoughts about any of them. This project is, of course, only in the beginning stages, and I need to flesh out the ideas a lot more. And I need to do a lot of reading.

1. A Good Life is a Long Life. A lot of the times, our focus is on keeping ourselves healthy and living a good, long life. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but that shouldn't be our focus. The point of life is not to live as long as possible, but to fulfill God's plan for your life in the time you are given, whether that's twenty years or a hundred years.
2. A Good Life is a Wealthy Life. Same general idea as the previous one; life is not about building up treasures on Earth, but about building up treasures in Heaven. We should be more generous and use our resources for good, instead of simply building up our assets.
3. We Deserve Tomorrow. I think this is one of the toughest for us to understand. As we all know, we're all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. The Bible says that we all deserve death. However, it's not that we deserve death in fifty years; we all deserve it now. This may seem like a morbid thought, but we must realize that each day we have is truly a gift from God, and not a right we have. We should be thankful for every day, because for all of us, tomorrow is not guaranteed.
4. Life is Fair. It, of course, is not fair. Some good people die young, and evil people live long. Some lives are tougher, and some are easier. Life isn't fair, and in reality, it doesn't need to be. Life should not be about complaining that things aren't fair, life is about doing what you can with what you have.
5. Our Life is But Our Own. America is a very individualistic country, with the whole "look out for number one" mentality. We're not on this Earth to live as we like; we should be mindful of the needs of others, and more importantly, surrender to the will of God in our lives. It's about His plan, not ours. For each of us, that plan includes different purposes, different places, different times, and different life spans.
6. Good People Go To Heaven. This is also a tough one to understand, but the Bible clearly teaches that salvation is earned through faith in Christ and not through being a "good" person.
7. Death is the End. We all fear death, but that's due to a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to die. It is not the end, but merely the beginning of the next (and final) phase in our lives. We must not hold on to our lives so tightly in our fear of death that we never step out of our comfort zones in faith.
   

Top 10 Restaurants

I've decided to make (or remake) some top ten lists that I do not currently have posted on my website. They will likely end up there in time. So today I present to you my updated list of favorite restaurants. (My wife and I went to #2 very recently, for her birthday. It was wonderful.) The next list will likely be Bible verses. Let me know of any list requests! :)

1. Cheesecake Factory
2. The Melting Pot
3. Red Lobster
4. Damon's
5. Buffalo Wild Wings
6. Fuddrucker's
7. Famous Dave's
8. Olive Garden
9. Steak 'N Shake
10. Champp's

Yes, Actually I Am Still Alive

Haven't blogged in a while. Here's a typical what-I've-been-up-to rundown.

• The last couple weeks have been busy at work, as it is election season. While odd numbered years are certainly not as busy as even numbered years, there's still a decent bump in workload, causing us to work longer shifts and weekends. But, tomorrow is election day, then it'll be back to work as normal, if there is such a thing.
• I am thoroughly enjoying the Mustang. It's always a fun car, but I enjoy it most while the top is down. Which, being my normally warm self, happens much more than with most people. I will usually drive around with the top down when the temperature is at least 45 degrees, except on the interstate. I'll drive with the top down on the interstate when it's at least 50 or 55 degrees, but slower speeds allow for a lower temperature without freezing. I'm looking forward to next spring and summer. Especially during the summer, I'll have the top down pretty much all the time, weather permitting.
• I have finally gotten back into doing work on The Lords of Sargoff. I am nearly finished another read-through, continuing to work on making the language more fantasy-like. I'm starting to think I may not be too far away from considering submitting it somewhere, but who knows. Maybe a couple more rounds of edits and I'll decide what to do.
  

The Pony Car

I know most of you have seen pictures of my new car on Facebook, but I thought I'd post them here, along with a little more info on it. On September 20, we acquired a 2003 Ford Mustang convertible, with 64,000 miles. It is white, with a white top, white seats, and black interior. It is the 3.8 liter V6 engine. It has alloy wheels, a 6 disc CD changer, and a nice Mach stereo system.

I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far, especially with the top down. The convertible top goes up or down in about seven seconds. Mustangs have been one of my favorite cars for quite a long time, since high school or before, and in fact, this model of Mustang in convertible form was my #1 car for a while.

The trunk is a little small, but still good enough for me. Though, it will become rather useless over the winter, as it will be more or less full of bags of salt, so there will be a little more weight over the driving rear wheels in the winter. But that's okay.

So now my wife and I purchased 2 cars within about a 2 month period, and had saved up enough to buy both with cash. Hopefully they both end up being good cars and last a long while.

What Happens in Vegas

... ends up on my blog.

On Saturday, we got back from a five night vacation in Las Vegas, which was good fun. It was my first time there, and Megan's second. We stayed at the Excalibur, which looks like a castle. It was pretty neat. We walked around a lot, saw a couple shows, and had some very good food. Here's the overview.

• Oddly enough, the very first thing we did was go on a timeshare tour, where they were trying to get us to buy a timeshare in Vegas, which we had absolutely no interest in. But, we got a good discount on tickets for The Lion King play at the Mandalay Bay hotel. We paid $25 a ticket, instead of the normal $75, so we saved around $100 total. The play itself was on Wednesday night, and was rather good. (I enjoyed the Phantom of the Opera play we went to earlier this year, because it was darker, but this was still good.)
• On Thursday night, we went to see magician David Copperfield perform at the MGM Grand, which was a great show, and to me, the highlight of the trip. He did a lot of neat and crazy tricks. It was a lot of fun.
• On Friday, we went to the Palazzo hotel and walked through the Lamborghini Las Vegas showroom. They had several very nice cars there, but unfortunately, their Lamborghini was not there, as it was rented out. I don't have any idea how much it costs to rent a Lamborghini in Vegas, but it can't be cheap. However, they had 5 Ferraris (I had seen 3 total before, so now I've seen 8), and a few other nice cars. It was very cool. (I have seen 3 Lamborghinis in the past, so that's okay.) Another neat car-related sighting was that, sitting outside one of the hotels, we walked by an Aston Martin Vanquish. Not only had I never actually seen an Aston Martin before, but the Vanquish currently tops my favorite cars list. So that was awesome. Unfortunately, I failed and did not take a picture of it. What was I thinking? There was also the added bonus of it being parked right next to a Dodge Viper. How slick.
• We walked around many of the hotels along the Strip, and saw the neat fountain shows in front of the Bellagio and the Mirage.
• We ate a lot of food, including several buffets, which were quite tasty. We also went to a nice Italian place in the Excalibur, and I had swordfish for the first time, which was pretty good. We also ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, which was the first time I'd been there.

It was a fun trip, but as always, I'm happy to get back home and back to normal life.

That, and on Sunday I drove down to Jack's and picked up my Mustang, which is very exciting. It's good fun. It was a bummer to wave goodbye to the Cavalier, but I am very happy with my new ride. I'll post more about the Mustang, and more pictures, in an upcoming entry.

The Workless Week

My wife and I are going to Las Vegas during the week of September 14-19. It should be lots of fun, and will, of course, be nice not to have to go to work for a week. We can both use the vacation. I've never been to Vegas myself, but Megan has, and she rather enjoyed it. We will be entertaining ourselves with activities that do not include gambling, as there are lots of shows to go to (none of which include showgirls), and the hotels themselves are interesting to look at and walk through. We are staying at the Excalibur, a hotel that looks like a castle. It should be a good time.

And then, on September 20th, I get to drive down and trade my Cavalier in for the Mustang. I'm super pumped. In case you hadn't seen it on Facebook, I've included a picture of my Cavalier's odometer on August 29. It's been an excellent car, as I've had it for almost 7 years. But, time came to get something different. Only 17 more days until The Age of the Mustang begins... :)

My New Ride

Well, this is technically a little premature, but alas. I have one more month of driving my Cavalier (giving it enough time to easily hit 200,000 miles), and then I will trade it in for my new ride: a 2003 Ford Mustang convertible. I am buying it from Jack, who has provided multiple different vehicles to our family over the years (by my count, this will be at least the ninth car we've gotten from him). Jack provided this picture to me before I was able to go see it.

I drove down on Sunday to see it and test drive it. It is great fun to drive, especially with the top down. It drives great and is all around in quite good condition. I had been searching for such a car for a while at dealerships around the Twin Cities, and a few weeks ago had emailed Jack to ask him questions about Mustangs regarding reliability, and he told me that they had this car, and had had it for a few years, and rather enjoyed it, and that it was a "great car." Then last week, he emailed me and said that he was going to be selling it, and asked it I was interesting. Which of course, I most certainly was. So it ended up working out rather nicely. We're paying $8900 for the car, but will also be getting $500 in trade-in for my Cavalier. Sweet.

The only thing I wish was different about it is the color, as white is actually one of my least favorite car colors. But that's something I can live with, considering that I think this quite a good car, and should be reliable. I trust Jack more than dealerships, and the fact that it has been his car for around 5 years means that he's been keeping very good care of it. It also has never been driven in a Minnesota winter, so there's no winter damage.

I am rather pumped. But, of course, it will be until the weekend of September 20th that I'll be able to get it. Booyah.