Category: Outside the Box

Non-mainstream thoughts and musings

Posted on

Back On Schedule

After taking a few weeks off of blogging to do some writing and getting projects done around the house, I’m ready to get back to it.

I found I didn’t really have more time, as I was writing blog posts during breaks and rest time anyway. I’ve got a couple of videos that are going to take some work to complete, but other than that, I don’t have any large writing projects lined up yet. I’ve got a movie review and a few software/hardware hacking projects slated, too.

This weekend I’ll be camping with the Boy Scouts, working on the Rambler, and possibly a half dozen other amazing things.

Or, I might just sit in the hammock for a while.

New posts will start Monday.

Posted on

America, the Gullible

In the last few days, there’s been a story exploding all over the internet about a kid who was arrested. There were a lot of speculations going around as to how and why, but in the end, it turns out it was probably a PR stunt initiated by the kid’s dad.

We’re told that everything is hazardous. We’re told that everyone’s a potential terrorist, or rapist, or criminal, or whatever. We’re told that killing babies is protecting freedom. We’re told that America is the greatest country in the world that has ever existed, and ever will.

And the funny thing is, people believe it. Continue reading “America, the Gullible”

Posted on

Seeing The Big Picture

Part of working creatively is learning what to do when things don’t go as planned. In my case, I tend to put deadlines or challenges on myself, and I get rather irate when I can’t reach them.

But it’s mostly my own ego making me feel that way. I tend to put extremely difficult standards on myself, so high that even *I* can’t reach them all the time.

This is both good and bad.

When I make a statement like “I pledge to write on my blog every weekday” and I actually do it, I feel awesome. But if I don’t, I feel like a failure… even if I only missed one day in 6 weeks.

The good side is that sometimes, my ridiculous goals can push me to actually do something I honestly didn’t think I could do. The bad side is, nobody bats 1000. So when I say things like “I’m going to write on my novels every single day!” that’s a *huge* goal, and I need to accept the fact that I’m not going to actually be able to write every single day.

To that end, I’m going to set up a daily writing progress tracker written by Jamie Rubin, whom I’ve linked to before as his Evernote posts are fantastic.

This will allow me to see how much I’ve written over a broad span of time, as opposed to panicking over missing one day. It’s much easier to see the big picture… when you can see the big picture.

(Write Or Die also has a word progress tracker, but I’m not going to be able to write with it all the time.)

Posted on

Retro Game Spotlight: Whiplash

Sometimes, old games are just more fun to play than fancy graphics make up for. Whiplash (also know in the UK as Fatal Racing) from 1995 is one of those games.

It featured a CD soundtrack (Redbook audio, remember that?), split-screen multiplayer, and networked multiplayer, which was pretty big for any game in 1995, much less a racing game.

It’s made to run in DOS… that’s right, MS-DOS, i.e. before Windows. Thankfully, through the awesomeness that is DOSBox, one can still play games like this on modern computers. Continue reading “Retro Game Spotlight: Whiplash”

Posted on

Diving Deep, Coming Up For Air

I enjoyed having a day off yesterday (it was Labor Day here in the States). I ended up doing yard work, fixing things around the house, and getting a bad sinus headache. Thankfully, my awesome wife knows all about headaches and how to get rid of them!

But there will be more work to do when I get to work, and even more to do when I get back home. The pile of work never seems to end, even though I’m plowing through it at record pace.

I bemoan the fact that I don’t have time to write more, or make music, or whatever. The truth is, I just don’t have time to do everything. This is a recurring theme in my life, and I write about it often because I’m still struggling with it.

Deep down, I know what I have time to do. But I want to do more. But why?

Is it because I want to impress people? That’s not really it.
Is it because I’m looking for acceptance? Part of me does.
Is it because I’m trying to prove I can do it to doubters? Sometimes.
Is it because I have amazing ideas and I’m the only one who will bring them to life? This happens frequently.
Is it because I feel useful when I’m doing things, and useless when I’m not? Yeah, that’s definitely part of it.
Is it because most of my crazy ideas would be ridiculously fun? Yup. Definitely part of it.

So what happens when your own drive to do things short-circuits your ability to do simple, necessary things, like study, play with your family, and mentor your children? Continue reading “Diving Deep, Coming Up For Air”

Posted on

I’m A Lousy Supervillain

I’m a really lousy supervillain.

No really, I am. I haven’t taken over a single country. Not even a city. I haven’t robbed any banks, and I haven’t defeated any self-righteous heroes with orphan complexes. My minions are more interested in Korean soap operas and Barbies than doing my dark bidding. I still don’t have any orbiting laser satellites or nuclear bombs.

So what’s a supervillain to do? My grandiose plans for World Domination just aren’t coming to fruition. Every day that I don’t achieve some new feat, I feel like a failure.

But I’ve come to realize, these are lies I tell myself.

The truth is, I’ve accomplished quite a bit, according to anybody’s standards. Nothing that would make the ten-o’clock news, but still, I’d like to think I’m more than just a regular guy with no ambition. I’ve actually got some things to show for my work. But the danger comes when I tie my self-worth into what I’ve done, and not who I am.

What makes me valuable as a person? Continue reading “I’m A Lousy Supervillain”

Posted on

Trust In the Lord

This post is probably one of the hardest I’ve ever had to write. I’ve been thinking about it, off and on, for 9 months.

I’ve got plenty of family and friends who care about me, but wholeheartedly reject my religion. I’m going on record saying that I can care about somebody and disagree with their lifestyle, opinions and choices. I think there’s much more to a person than who they want to sleep with, what substances they use, or what religion they follow. But people are selfish and narcissistic, and sometimes it’s easier for them to just shout “Prejudice! Bigotry!” than actually dealing with the issue. If you really believe in accepting the person as a whole, then you need to read this entire post. I just pray that if you disagree, you can disagree without hate, because I wrote this without any malice or hate. It’s just a simple observation, nothing more. Continue reading “Trust In the Lord”

Posted on

Adrenalinn III Review: Part 1

This will cover the Adrenalinn III effects pedal, by Roger Linn designs. Since there’s so much to this thing, I’m going to break it up into sections. The first thing we’re going to look at is the built-in amp models.

Not only does this pedal have 40 different amp sounds (including bass amps), each one has (3) tone controls, plus drive and a drive “boost” control, so you can actually get a lot more than 40 sounds out of it. When you add in different pickup configurations, you can get almost unlimited tones out of it.

Here’s the list of amps (the RLD ones are from Roger Linn Design, not modeled off of a specific amp): Continue reading “Adrenalinn III Review: Part 1”

Posted on

7 Reasons Why I Think Supervillains Are Cool

Why do I think supervillains are cool? It’s not because they’re evil. It’s not because they’re rich (although that doesn’t hurt). It’s not even because they’re people I necessarily want to emulate. I’m not a psychopath, and I don’t really like hurting people.

The hero never really comes into their stride until they have a worthy nemesis. I always enjoy watching a good supervillain, because I know the battle they bring is going to be epic. After a while, I started to notice that the really good villains have a lot in common, and I got to thinking about why they’re so cool, even if they’re bad. Why then am I so obsessed with supervillains? Because you can learn a few things from them, even if you don’t subscribe to their philosophy of World Domination©.

So without further ado, here’s my list of 7 things I think are cool about Supervillains that most heroes don’t have. Continue reading “7 Reasons Why I Think Supervillains Are Cool”