Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 30 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 30 — Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Nikki and I saw Spamalot today. It was so amazingly funny!
I then helped her move into her apartment.
I honor of the musical, here's a neat clip.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Day 29 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 29 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 29 — Hopes, Dreams and Plans for the Next 365 Days
I hope to have a reasonably accurate Doctor Who costume by either the finale of Season 6 or Halloween.
I hope over the next 365 days I am able to improve upon my RA skills and design better programs, create nicer decorations, and execute my duties with confidence, all while leader my floor (and the building) in a positive direction.
I also hope to have the Community Development collateral next year so that I manage the Woods House Twitter account and Facebook page, create a weekly Woods House vlog, and fashion Floor Wars with a Star Wars theme, all in hopes of spurring more participation.
I dream that I will find the motivation to lose some weight, build some cardiovascular endurance and strength, and live a slightly healthier life.
I plan to plan better, including acquiring a new planner to keep track of dates and times of activities, attending more Phi Sigma Pi events, engaging with the campus more, attending more programs hosted by other RAs and Hall Council, all while balancing a social life and leaving time for myself to watch movies, play games, read, or whatever I wish to unwind in some sort of tranquil solitude.
I hope that I am able to be happier with myself.
I plan to focus on my actions and strive to be a good friend.
I dream that I may be able to write more and somehow get published.
I plan to enjoy summer blockbuster movies that I've been wanting to see for a long while.
I plan to watch new episodes of my favorite shows as soon as possible and not have to watched three or four episodes to catch up.
I dream that I may make a positive impact in the world, even if it is small.
I hope I am respected by my floor.
I plan to rethink my approaches to conflict.
I hope that I am able to manage stress.
I dream that I may find my true purpose in life.
Until next time,
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 29 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 29 — Hopes, Dreams and Plans for the Next 365 Days
I hope to have a reasonably accurate Doctor Who costume by either the finale of Season 6 or Halloween.
I hope over the next 365 days I am able to improve upon my RA skills and design better programs, create nicer decorations, and execute my duties with confidence, all while leader my floor (and the building) in a positive direction.
I also hope to have the Community Development collateral next year so that I manage the Woods House Twitter account and Facebook page, create a weekly Woods House vlog, and fashion Floor Wars with a Star Wars theme, all in hopes of spurring more participation.
I dream that I will find the motivation to lose some weight, build some cardiovascular endurance and strength, and live a slightly healthier life.
I plan to plan better, including acquiring a new planner to keep track of dates and times of activities, attending more Phi Sigma Pi events, engaging with the campus more, attending more programs hosted by other RAs and Hall Council, all while balancing a social life and leaving time for myself to watch movies, play games, read, or whatever I wish to unwind in some sort of tranquil solitude.
I hope that I am able to be happier with myself.
I plan to focus on my actions and strive to be a good friend.
I dream that I may be able to write more and somehow get published.
I plan to enjoy summer blockbuster movies that I've been wanting to see for a long while.
I plan to watch new episodes of my favorite shows as soon as possible and not have to watched three or four episodes to catch up.
I dream that I may make a positive impact in the world, even if it is small.
I hope I am respected by my floor.
I plan to rethink my approaches to conflict.
I hope that I am able to manage stress.
I dream that I may find my true purpose in life.
Until next time,
-Daniel Golden
Day 28 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 28 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 28 — This Year, In Great Detail
Well...
I've just been living life, you know?
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 28 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 28 — This Year, In Great Detail
Well...
I've just been living life, you know?
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Day 27 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 27 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 27 — This Month, In Great Detail
Glancing at my planner, I can see that:
I was on duty for the first weekend of the month.
I worked the desk the next weekend.
I helped interview for a new hall staff position.
Attended the Phi Sigma Pi Induction of the Alpha Epsilon class (sorry, cool yet secret stuff happened).
Helped with Showcase by giving tours of Woods House, saw the family and got new pants, then helped with a game of Quidditch at Scholar's House, and then went to Founder's Day party.
Next weekend consisted of long Easter Break desk shifts.
This week featured a lot of programs, papers, presentations, and other general "To-Do List" tasks.
Next month? Portal 2.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 27 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 27 — This Month, In Great Detail
Glancing at my planner, I can see that:
I was on duty for the first weekend of the month.
I worked the desk the next weekend.
I helped interview for a new hall staff position.
Attended the Phi Sigma Pi Induction of the Alpha Epsilon class (sorry, cool yet secret stuff happened).
Helped with Showcase by giving tours of Woods House, saw the family and got new pants, then helped with a game of Quidditch at Scholar's House, and then went to Founder's Day party.
Next weekend consisted of long Easter Break desk shifts.
This week featured a lot of programs, papers, presentations, and other general "To-Do List" tasks.
Next month? Portal 2.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Day 26 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 26 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 26 — Your Week, In Great Detail
My memory fails me in an epic way, so I decline to elaborate on my week in great detail.
If I survive the next three weeks, my prize will be getting the video game Portal 2. It look quite awesome.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 26 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 26 — Your Week, In Great Detail
My memory fails me in an epic way, so I decline to elaborate on my week in great detail.
If I survive the next three weeks, my prize will be getting the video game Portal 2. It look quite awesome.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Day 25 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 25 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 25 — Your Day, in Great Detail
Monday, April 25, 2011
Woke up about 8:00AM.
Class from 8:35AM to 11:35AM.
First was Introduction to Clinical Psychology. Listened to a presentations on Veterans and PTSD which reminded me to work on my presentation for that class.
Next class was Mark Twain, in which a few presentations were given and I was reminded to prepare my presentation for that class.
Next class was Psychology of Humor. Teacher was ill, but taught class anyway. No class on Wednesday. Cool.
Lunch in Garst with Eureka thanks to my iPhone. Saw David and congratulated him on his engagement to Aleigha. Ate a very yummy toasted turkey sandwich.
Searched for information on a few projects after lunch, then shifted to RA research and preparation, then distracted by Membase.
RHA at 4. Nikki poked fun at my reoccurring theme of a potty break before meeting. Bought candy and a Pepsi Max beforehand, after the potty break. The fact that I had a Pepsi Max confused Nikki. Cookies during committee meeting were yummy. Representative from Chartwells talked to RHA. Then I answered every robot related trivia question that day. Felt very awesome.
Only coffee makers allowed in ResLife rooms now. California fire code approved bed cushions only, too. Discussed proposal for RA walkie-talkies. I loved the idea. Half of the small number present didn't. I thought they were odd.
I came off rude to Nikki by mistake directly after meeting.
Dinner with Bethany shortly thereafter.
Apologized to Nikki with the gifts of puppy pictures later, and then talked to Nikki. Apology accepted, we're still awesome.
Struggled with homework. Requested extension on paper. It was granted. Showered, then went to bed early. Watched rest of Eureka episode in bed on the iPhone, then had an amazing night's sleep.
Technically, this blog isn't late, because I had to go through my entire day before posting it.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 25 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 25 — Your Day, in Great Detail
Monday, April 25, 2011
Woke up about 8:00AM.
Class from 8:35AM to 11:35AM.
First was Introduction to Clinical Psychology. Listened to a presentations on Veterans and PTSD which reminded me to work on my presentation for that class.
Next class was Mark Twain, in which a few presentations were given and I was reminded to prepare my presentation for that class.
Next class was Psychology of Humor. Teacher was ill, but taught class anyway. No class on Wednesday. Cool.
Lunch in Garst with Eureka thanks to my iPhone. Saw David and congratulated him on his engagement to Aleigha. Ate a very yummy toasted turkey sandwich.
Searched for information on a few projects after lunch, then shifted to RA research and preparation, then distracted by Membase.
RHA at 4. Nikki poked fun at my reoccurring theme of a potty break before meeting. Bought candy and a Pepsi Max beforehand, after the potty break. The fact that I had a Pepsi Max confused Nikki. Cookies during committee meeting were yummy. Representative from Chartwells talked to RHA. Then I answered every robot related trivia question that day. Felt very awesome.
Only coffee makers allowed in ResLife rooms now. California fire code approved bed cushions only, too. Discussed proposal for RA walkie-talkies. I loved the idea. Half of the small number present didn't. I thought they were odd.
I came off rude to Nikki by mistake directly after meeting.
Dinner with Bethany shortly thereafter.
Apologized to Nikki with the gifts of puppy pictures later, and then talked to Nikki. Apology accepted, we're still awesome.
Struggled with homework. Requested extension on paper. It was granted. Showered, then went to bed early. Watched rest of Eureka episode in bed on the iPhone, then had an amazing night's sleep.
Technically, this blog isn't late, because I had to go through my entire day before posting it.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Day 24 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 24 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 24 — Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
I'm just going to find quotes from the Doctor and post them one here because since the start of the sixth season, I've been in a very Doctor Who mood. I would love to be the Doctor. To be that fantastic, wonderfully humorous, massively intelligent and brilliant, slightly wacky, lovable, savior of everyone just because I could character.
9th
Rose: Who are you?
The Doctor: [turns around] Do you know like we were sayin'? About the Earth revolving? [walks towards Rose] It's like when you're a kid. The first time they tell you that the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it 'cause everything looks like it's standin' still. [looks at Rose] I can feel it. [takes Rose's hand] The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinnin' at 1,000 miles an hour and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're fallin' through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go... [lets go of Rose's hand] That's who I am.
10th
Rickston Slade: Hang on a minute. Who put you in charge? And who in the hell are you anyway?
The Doctor: I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old, and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?
Slade: No.
The Doctor: In that case: Allons-y!
11th
Amy Pond: I thought... well, I started to think you were just a madman with a box.
The Doctor: Amy Pond, there's something you better understand about me, 'cause it's important and one day your life may depend on it. [Smiles] I am definitely a madman with a box.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 24 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 24 — Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
I'm just going to find quotes from the Doctor and post them one here because since the start of the sixth season, I've been in a very Doctor Who mood. I would love to be the Doctor. To be that fantastic, wonderfully humorous, massively intelligent and brilliant, slightly wacky, lovable, savior of everyone just because I could character.
9th
Rose: Who are you?
The Doctor: [turns around] Do you know like we were sayin'? About the Earth revolving? [walks towards Rose] It's like when you're a kid. The first time they tell you that the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it 'cause everything looks like it's standin' still. [looks at Rose] I can feel it. [takes Rose's hand] The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinnin' at 1,000 miles an hour and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're fallin' through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go... [lets go of Rose's hand] That's who I am.
10th
Rickston Slade: Hang on a minute. Who put you in charge? And who in the hell are you anyway?
The Doctor: I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old, and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?
Slade: No.
The Doctor: In that case: Allons-y!
11th
Amy Pond: I thought... well, I started to think you were just a madman with a box.
The Doctor: Amy Pond, there's something you better understand about me, 'cause it's important and one day your life may depend on it. [Smiles] I am definitely a madman with a box.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Friday, April 22, 2011
Day 23 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 23 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 23 — A YouTube Video
Just one video to represent my love of YouTube? Too hard to do.
This one is fun, though. I'm a big fan of charlieissocoollike. He's got very entertaining videos. And he's a Doctor Who fan!
And here is a playlist consisting of twenty videos for those not acquainted with the vlogbrothers. Here is their description of themselves.
Nerdy to the Power of Awesome
Hank and John Green are nerdy brothers who make videos. Really, it's not about anything in particular. Whether we're talking about our lives, making each other laugh, or trying to get something more important across, people seem to enjoy it.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 23 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 23 — A YouTube Video
Just one video to represent my love of YouTube? Too hard to do.
This one is fun, though. I'm a big fan of charlieissocoollike. He's got very entertaining videos. And he's a Doctor Who fan!
And here is a playlist consisting of twenty videos for those not acquainted with the vlogbrothers. Here is their description of themselves.
Nerdy to the Power of Awesome
Hank and John Green are nerdy brothers who make videos. Really, it's not about anything in particular. Whether we're talking about our lives, making each other laugh, or trying to get something more important across, people seem to enjoy it.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Day 22 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 22 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 22 — A Website
As a big fan if the Internet, I find it hard to choose only a few sites to mention in this entry. I guess I'll just jot down my most frequently visited sites (thanks for keeping me informed, Google Chrome!).
Note: Yeah, I'm totally going to find definitions about this sites from the Internet, too.
Facebook.com
Facebook (stylized facebook) is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. As of January 2011, Facebook has more than 600 million active users. Users may create a personal profile, add other users as friends, and exchange messages, including automatic notifications when they update their profile. Additionally, users may join common interest user groups, organized by workplace, school or college, or other characteristics. The name of the service stems from the colloquial name for the book given to students at the start of the academic year by university administrations in the United States to help students get to know each other better. Facebook allows anyone who declares themselves to be at least 13 years old to become a registered user of the website.
Any website that allows me to connect to my friends from around the world is worth mentioning. I go onto Facebook everyday and it is very useful for talking to people and getting ideas across.
Pandora.com
Pandora Radio is a USA only, automated music recommendation service and custodian of the Music Genome Project. Users enter a song or artist that they enjoy, and the service responds by playing selections that are musically similar. Users provide feedback on approval or disapproval of individual songs, which Pandora takes into account for future selections.
While listening, users are offered the ability to buy the songs or albums at various online retailers. Over 400 different musical attributes are considered when selecting the next song. These 400 attributes are combined into larger groups called focus traits. There are 2,000 focus traits. Examples of these are rhythm syncopation, key tonality, vocal harmonies, and displayed instrumental proficiency.
It's nice to have a website that provides me music tailored to my interests. I've gotten to the point where I don't skip songs because it plays what I like, new music or songs I've heard a dozen times before.
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a US-based multinational electronic commerce company. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, it is the largest online retailer in the United States, with nearly three times the Internet sales revenue of the runner up, Staples, Inc., as of January 2010.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com, Inc. in 1994 and the site went online in 1995. The company was originally named Cadabra, Inc., but the name was changed when it was discovered that people sometimes heard the name as "Cadaver". The name Amazon.com was chosen because the Amazon River is one of the largest rivers in the world and so the name suggests large size, and also in part because it starts with "A" and therefore would show up near the beginning of alphabetical lists. Amazon.com started as an online bookstore, but soon diversified, selling DVDs, CDs, MP3 downloads, computer software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, and toys. Amazon has established separate websites in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and China. It also provides international shipping to certain countries for some of its products.
I can pretty much get anything I want from Amazon. Books, movies, music, games, anything. It's such a nice place.
Memebase.com
The term Internet meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream") is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information. This site focuses on most Internet memes and showcases them.
Hilariousness abound! I love going here. Some days I laugh a ton. Other I shrug at the jokes. It's interesting, for sure.
Netflix.com
Netflix, Inc., commonly just Netflix, (NASDAQ: NFLX) is an American corporation that offers both on-demand video streaming over the internet, and flat rate online video rental (rental-by-mail) of DVD-Video and Blu-ray Disc in the United States and Canada (streaming only).
The reason I got to watch Doctor Who without spending a ton of money on DVDs. And I still get my parents' money's worth through the instant streaming service. And Star Trek will go online in July! Huzzah!
ThinkGeek.com
ThinkGeek is an American online retailer that caters to computer enthusiasts and other "geeky" social groups. Their merchandise includes clothing, electronic and scientific gadgets, unusual computer peripherals, office toys, pet toys, child toys, and caffeinated drinks and candy. ThinkGeek was founded in 1999, is based in Fairfax, Virginia, and is owned by Geeknet.
Most of my shirts from this site. I love it! You almost can't go wrong if you buy a gift for me from this site.
Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia (i /ˌwɪkɪˈpiːdi.ə/ or i /ˌwɪkiˈpiːdi.ə/ WIK-i-PEE-dee-ə) is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 18 million articles (over 3.6 million in English) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site. Wikipedia was launched in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger and has become the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet, ranking around seventh among all websites on Alexa and having 365 million readers.
Whenever I want to figure something out, I head here first. It's reasonably accurate and I never use it is a scholarly sense.
YouTube.com
YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005.
The company is based in San Bruno, California, and uses Adobe Flash Video and HTML5 technology to display a wide variety of user-generated video content, including movie clips, TV clips, and music videos, as well as amateur content such as video blogging and short original videos. Most of the content on YouTube has been uploaded by individuals, although media corporations including CBS, BBC, Vevo, Hulu and other organizations offer some of their material via the site, as part of the YouTube partnership program.
Unregistered users may watch videos, and registered users may upload an unlimited number of videos. Videos that are considered to contain potentially offensive content are available only to registered users 18 and older. In November 2006, YouTube, LLC was bought by Google Inc. for $1.65 billion, and now operates as a subsidiary of Google.
Procrastination's favorite tool.
There are tons more sites I could list, but this should be enough for you, Blog, and for the historians.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 22 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 22 — A Website
As a big fan if the Internet, I find it hard to choose only a few sites to mention in this entry. I guess I'll just jot down my most frequently visited sites (thanks for keeping me informed, Google Chrome!).
Note: Yeah, I'm totally going to find definitions about this sites from the Internet, too.
Facebook.com
Facebook (stylized facebook) is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. As of January 2011, Facebook has more than 600 million active users. Users may create a personal profile, add other users as friends, and exchange messages, including automatic notifications when they update their profile. Additionally, users may join common interest user groups, organized by workplace, school or college, or other characteristics. The name of the service stems from the colloquial name for the book given to students at the start of the academic year by university administrations in the United States to help students get to know each other better. Facebook allows anyone who declares themselves to be at least 13 years old to become a registered user of the website.
Any website that allows me to connect to my friends from around the world is worth mentioning. I go onto Facebook everyday and it is very useful for talking to people and getting ideas across.
Pandora.com
Pandora Radio is a USA only, automated music recommendation service and custodian of the Music Genome Project. Users enter a song or artist that they enjoy, and the service responds by playing selections that are musically similar. Users provide feedback on approval or disapproval of individual songs, which Pandora takes into account for future selections.
While listening, users are offered the ability to buy the songs or albums at various online retailers. Over 400 different musical attributes are considered when selecting the next song. These 400 attributes are combined into larger groups called focus traits. There are 2,000 focus traits. Examples of these are rhythm syncopation, key tonality, vocal harmonies, and displayed instrumental proficiency.
It's nice to have a website that provides me music tailored to my interests. I've gotten to the point where I don't skip songs because it plays what I like, new music or songs I've heard a dozen times before.
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a US-based multinational electronic commerce company. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, it is the largest online retailer in the United States, with nearly three times the Internet sales revenue of the runner up, Staples, Inc., as of January 2010.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com, Inc. in 1994 and the site went online in 1995. The company was originally named Cadabra, Inc., but the name was changed when it was discovered that people sometimes heard the name as "Cadaver". The name Amazon.com was chosen because the Amazon River is one of the largest rivers in the world and so the name suggests large size, and also in part because it starts with "A" and therefore would show up near the beginning of alphabetical lists. Amazon.com started as an online bookstore, but soon diversified, selling DVDs, CDs, MP3 downloads, computer software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, and toys. Amazon has established separate websites in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and China. It also provides international shipping to certain countries for some of its products.
I can pretty much get anything I want from Amazon. Books, movies, music, games, anything. It's such a nice place.
Memebase.com
The term Internet meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream") is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information. This site focuses on most Internet memes and showcases them.
Hilariousness abound! I love going here. Some days I laugh a ton. Other I shrug at the jokes. It's interesting, for sure.
Netflix.com
Netflix, Inc., commonly just Netflix, (NASDAQ: NFLX) is an American corporation that offers both on-demand video streaming over the internet, and flat rate online video rental (rental-by-mail) of DVD-Video and Blu-ray Disc in the United States and Canada (streaming only).
The reason I got to watch Doctor Who without spending a ton of money on DVDs. And I still get my parents' money's worth through the instant streaming service. And Star Trek will go online in July! Huzzah!
ThinkGeek.com
ThinkGeek is an American online retailer that caters to computer enthusiasts and other "geeky" social groups. Their merchandise includes clothing, electronic and scientific gadgets, unusual computer peripherals, office toys, pet toys, child toys, and caffeinated drinks and candy. ThinkGeek was founded in 1999, is based in Fairfax, Virginia, and is owned by Geeknet.
Most of my shirts from this site. I love it! You almost can't go wrong if you buy a gift for me from this site.
Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia (i /ˌwɪkɪˈpiːdi.ə/ or i /ˌwɪkiˈpiːdi.ə/ WIK-i-PEE-dee-ə) is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 18 million articles (over 3.6 million in English) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site. Wikipedia was launched in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger and has become the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet, ranking around seventh among all websites on Alexa and having 365 million readers.
Whenever I want to figure something out, I head here first. It's reasonably accurate and I never use it is a scholarly sense.
YouTube.com
YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005.
The company is based in San Bruno, California, and uses Adobe Flash Video and HTML5 technology to display a wide variety of user-generated video content, including movie clips, TV clips, and music videos, as well as amateur content such as video blogging and short original videos. Most of the content on YouTube has been uploaded by individuals, although media corporations including CBS, BBC, Vevo, Hulu and other organizations offer some of their material via the site, as part of the YouTube partnership program.
Unregistered users may watch videos, and registered users may upload an unlimited number of videos. Videos that are considered to contain potentially offensive content are available only to registered users 18 and older. In November 2006, YouTube, LLC was bought by Google Inc. for $1.65 billion, and now operates as a subsidiary of Google.
Procrastination's favorite tool.
There are tons more sites I could list, but this should be enough for you, Blog, and for the historians.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Day 21 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 19 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 21 — A Recipe
I'm not an avid cook or anything, but I found this recipe. It suits me, right?
Wookiee-ookies (Wookie Cookies)
This is an actual official recipe for Wookie Cookies (or, as they're called in the Holiday Special, "Wookie-ookies"), taken from "The Star Wars Cookbook: Wookiee Cookies and Other Galactic Recipes":
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 375º
2. Put the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Stir with the wooden spoon until well mixed. Set aside.
3. Put the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in another mixing bowl. Using the electric mixer set on high speed, beat together until well blended and creamy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and stir with the wooden spoon until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Scoop up a rounded tablespoonful of the dough and drop onto a baking sheet. Repeat until you have used up all the dough. Be sure to leave about 1 inch between the cookies because they spread as they bake.
5. Using pot holders, put the baking sheets in the oven. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
6. Again, using pot holders, remove the baking sheets from the oven. Lift the cookies from the baking sheets with a spatula, and place on cooling racks. Let cool completely.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Enjoy! But be sure to hide them from Lumpy...
From a site dedicated to The Star Wars Holiday Special. You might want to avoid it.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 19 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 21 — A Recipe
I'm not an avid cook or anything, but I found this recipe. It suits me, right?
Wookiee-ookies (Wookie Cookies)
This is an actual official recipe for Wookie Cookies (or, as they're called in the Holiday Special, "Wookie-ookies"), taken from "The Star Wars Cookbook: Wookiee Cookies and Other Galactic Recipes":
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 375º
2. Put the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Stir with the wooden spoon until well mixed. Set aside.
3. Put the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in another mixing bowl. Using the electric mixer set on high speed, beat together until well blended and creamy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and stir with the wooden spoon until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Scoop up a rounded tablespoonful of the dough and drop onto a baking sheet. Repeat until you have used up all the dough. Be sure to leave about 1 inch between the cookies because they spread as they bake.
5. Using pot holders, put the baking sheets in the oven. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
6. Again, using pot holders, remove the baking sheets from the oven. Lift the cookies from the baking sheets with a spatula, and place on cooling racks. Let cool completely.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Enjoy! But be sure to hide them from Lumpy...
From a site dedicated to The Star Wars Holiday Special. You might want to avoid it.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Day 20 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 20 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 20 — A Hobby of Yours
I would say this blog is a sort of hobby of mine, at the moment. It's a (near) daily entry format that allows me to create something just for the sake of crating it. Fun for the fun of it kind of idea.
I don't play video games enough for them to be a hobby. Nor do I read as often as I'd like to. I like to watch TV shows, but unless I'm critiquing them, I don't think it counts. I was going to vlog, but I think that will have to wait until this summer or next fall, when I can schedule in a time to record and edit videos I may make.
One day I'll have a real hobby.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 20 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 20 — A Hobby of Yours
I would say this blog is a sort of hobby of mine, at the moment. It's a (near) daily entry format that allows me to create something just for the sake of crating it. Fun for the fun of it kind of idea.
I don't play video games enough for them to be a hobby. Nor do I read as often as I'd like to. I like to watch TV shows, but unless I'm critiquing them, I don't think it counts. I was going to vlog, but I think that will have to wait until this summer or next fall, when I can schedule in a time to record and edit videos I may make.
One day I'll have a real hobby.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Day 19 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 19 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 19 — A Talent of Yours
I guess being humorous is a talent of mine.
And long blogs.
Until next time,
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 19 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 19 — A Talent of Yours
I guess being humorous is a talent of mine.
And long blogs.
Until next time,
-Daniel Golden
Monday, April 18, 2011
Day 18 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 18 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 18 — Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
The Past.
I'll edit this later, but I wanted to say the thing that's been on my mind lately is the past. Specifically, the past version of myself. Who I was and how I became who I am. A nice window to my past is through MySpace. I maintained a personal blog through most of high school. It's interesting to read it now.
I am definitely not encouraging others to read the huge mass of text on my page, but I think I'll include some interesting bits and pieces later on.
Daniel's MySpace Page
Until next time,
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 18 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 18 — Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
The Past.
I'll edit this later, but I wanted to say the thing that's been on my mind lately is the past. Specifically, the past version of myself. Who I was and how I became who I am. A nice window to my past is through MySpace. I maintained a personal blog through most of high school. It's interesting to read it now.
I am definitely not encouraging others to read the huge mass of text on my page, but I think I'll include some interesting bits and pieces later on.
Daniel's MySpace Page
Until next time,
-Daniel Golden
Day 17 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 17 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 17 — An Art Piece (Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, etc.)
I'm not an artist, but I do love Star Wars related art.
A book, Star Wars Art: Visions, came out last year and is comprised of Star Wars related artwork. It's amazing. I want it one day. If I had to choose a category of art I liked best, I'd have to say pop art, with an emphasis on Star Wars or geek culture in general.
The Dagobah Connection by Peter De Seve
Empire of Style by Alex Ross
Luke's Lesson by Jacob A. Pfeiffer
Regrets by Masey
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 17 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 17 — An Art Piece (Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, etc.)
I'm not an artist, but I do love Star Wars related art.
A book, Star Wars Art: Visions, came out last year and is comprised of Star Wars related artwork. It's amazing. I want it one day. If I had to choose a category of art I liked best, I'd have to say pop art, with an emphasis on Star Wars or geek culture in general.
The Dagobah Connection by Peter De Seve
Empire of Style by Alex Ross
Luke's Lesson by Jacob A. Pfeiffer
Regrets by Masey
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Day 16 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 16 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 16 — A Song That Makes You Cry (Or Nearly)
Teardrops On My Guitar
Songwriters: Rose, Liz; Swift, Taylor Alison;
Drew looks at me
I fake a smile so he won't see
What I want and I need
And everything that we should be
I'll bet she's beautiful
That girl he talks about
And she's got everything
That I have to live without
Drew talks to me
I laugh 'cause it's just so funny
I can't even see
Anyone when he's with me
He says he's so in love
He's finally got it right
I wonder if he knows
He's all I think about at night
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing
Don't know why I do
Drew walks by me
Can he tell that I can't breathe?
And there he goes, so perfectly
The kind of flawless I wish I could be
She better hold him tight
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/t/taylor-swift-lyrics/teardrops-on-my-guitar-lyrics.html]
Give him all her love
Look in those beautiful eyes
And know she's lucky 'cause
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing
Don't know why I do
So I drive home alone
As I turn out the light
I'll put his picture down
And maybe get some sleep tonight
'Cuz he's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart
He's the song in the car I keep singing
Don't know why I do
He's the time taken up but there's never enough
And he's all that I need to fall into
Drew looks at me
I fake a smile so he won't see
© TAYLOR SWIFT PUB DESIGNEE; HILLSBORO VALLEY SONGS; SONY/ATV SOUNDS D/B/A TIMBER PUB CO; SONY/ATV SONGS D/B/A TREE PUBG CO;
Until next time,
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 16 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 16 — A Song That Makes You Cry (Or Nearly)
Teardrops On My Guitar
Songwriters: Rose, Liz; Swift, Taylor Alison;
Drew looks at me
I fake a smile so he won't see
What I want and I need
And everything that we should be
I'll bet she's beautiful
That girl he talks about
And she's got everything
That I have to live without
Drew talks to me
I laugh 'cause it's just so funny
I can't even see
Anyone when he's with me
He says he's so in love
He's finally got it right
I wonder if he knows
He's all I think about at night
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing
Don't know why I do
Drew walks by me
Can he tell that I can't breathe?
And there he goes, so perfectly
The kind of flawless I wish I could be
She better hold him tight
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/t/taylor-swift-lyrics/teardrops-on-my-guitar-lyrics.html]
Give him all her love
Look in those beautiful eyes
And know she's lucky 'cause
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing
Don't know why I do
So I drive home alone
As I turn out the light
I'll put his picture down
And maybe get some sleep tonight
'Cuz he's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart
He's the song in the car I keep singing
Don't know why I do
He's the time taken up but there's never enough
And he's all that I need to fall into
Drew looks at me
I fake a smile so he won't see
© TAYLOR SWIFT PUB DESIGNEE; HILLSBORO VALLEY SONGS; SONY/ATV SOUNDS D/B/A TIMBER PUB CO; SONY/ATV SONGS D/B/A TREE PUBG CO;
Until next time,
-Daniel Golden
Day 15 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 15 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 15 — A Fanfic
I guess Darths and Droids can count as a fanfic.
I've been reading this web comic series for a while now. Very, very funny. Interesting characters and a great revisioning of the Star Wars universe.
Darths & Droids FAQ
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 15 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 15 — A Fanfic
I guess Darths and Droids can count as a fanfic.
I've been reading this web comic series for a while now. Very, very funny. Interesting characters and a great revisioning of the Star Wars universe.
Darths & Droids FAQ
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Day 14 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 14 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 14 — A Non-Fictional Book
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) Teacher's Edition: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction is a great book. It is very silly and inaccurate, though it thinks itself as correct and serious, much like the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The Teacher's Edition has all of the inaccuracies corrected by a professor, which are humorous as well. So not only are you getting a good laugh, you end up learning the material correctly. I highly recommend this book to anyone with even the slightest interest in humor or politics.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 14 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 14 — A Non-Fictional Book
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) Teacher's Edition: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction is a great book. It is very silly and inaccurate, though it thinks itself as correct and serious, much like the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The Teacher's Edition has all of the inaccuracies corrected by a professor, which are humorous as well. So not only are you getting a good laugh, you end up learning the material correctly. I highly recommend this book to anyone with even the slightest interest in humor or politics.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Day 13 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 13 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 13 — A Fictional Book
Do you mean a book classified as fiction or a non-existent book?
"In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitchhiker's Guide has already supplanted the great Encyclopaedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects.
First, it is slightly cheaper; and secondly it has the words DON'T PANIC inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover."
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is one of my favorite series. It's funny, smart, absurd, and can be considered high art in a certain light. I love the fact that it's required reading in my class. So worth reading over again.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 13 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 13 — A Fictional Book
Do you mean a book classified as fiction or a non-existent book?
"In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitchhiker's Guide has already supplanted the great Encyclopaedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects.
First, it is slightly cheaper; and secondly it has the words DON'T PANIC inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover."
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is one of my favorite series. It's funny, smart, absurd, and can be considered high art in a certain light. I love the fact that it's required reading in my class. So worth reading over again.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Monday, April 11, 2011
Day 12 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 12 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 12 — Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
I created a character a while back for a forum I joined. The board had an established set of planets, characters, rules, etc. I had to write a character description and illustrate a scene. The group didn't go too far, but it was enjoyable while it lasted. Here was my character/entry into the world.
I would like to note that I wrote this a while back and I hope my writing has improved. And that I'm pretty sure this character is a fictionalized version of me, but in space... and with a backbone.
Name: Nicholas Havic
Alias: Nick
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: 23
Physical Description:
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair: Dirty blonde hair, usually messy
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
Weigh: 165 lb. (81 kilograms)
Body and Face Structure: Nick is about as normal as normal can get for a human. His hair is hardly ever styled. You can tell that he has a rather soft face. No scars, no blemishes, no stubble. He never opted for artificial enhancements, and remains 100% natural. And he's proud of the fact, as well. By no means ugly for a human, but he doesn't consider himself attractive one. He never works out, but he's active enough to stay in good health. Not a muscle bound fellow, nor a scrawny guy. Not at all intimidating. An average looking guy.
Distinguishing Features: Nothing out of the ordinary.
General: He's a regular human. No special abilities beyond skill with a keyboard or tool, which merely comes from training and practical use over the years.
Clothing: He usually wears a simple, black shirt. On top of that, a light-weight, black vest which has a few pockets where he carries anything from tools for his ship to simply a few spare credits. As for pants, Nick likes a certain pair dark denim jeans for some strange reason.
Psychological: Nicholas is a good guy who means well, although sarcastic and condescending at times. He always lives for the moment, and rarely plans more than a day or two in advance. He tends to keep to himself, but he'll join a group for a night out on the town if asked. / To him, friendship is more than a relationship; it's a promise. A promise he believes few deserve of him. But if he ever makes that promise, he believes that they are entitled to the most he can provide for them. / He's usually in an upbeat mood and never mad, unless when working on his ship or Andrew. If he is working on either of them, something he would normally shrug off with a sarcastic joke might make him lose his temper, mainly because the guard he puts up to other people is lowered to get a better feel for whatever he's working on. / As for beliefs, he briefly studied most major religions at the academy, yet never really adopted any as his own. Although he has morals and obeys the law, he'll occasionally bend a few rules to get his way. It's not like the government is watching his every move, right?
History: Nicholas Havic has had a pretty good life compared to many in the galaxy. Nick's parents, Richard and Samantha Havic, lived and worked on the Amor, a space freighter which journeyed to many places, re-supplying outposts, colonies, and space stations. Of her crew of 37, Nick was the only person ever born on board and remained the only child as well. As such, the crew grew to be Nick's family, teaching him many different things that a normal education could never provide. Over the years as Nick grew into an able young man, and had visited a great deal of planets and cultures. He studied the areas he visited, as to not offend anyone he might come across if he ever got the chance to go planet-side.
A few weeks after turning 18, the ship approached Capitol to pick up new supplies for the mining operation on Loe. While on the ground, Nick and a few other crew members took the public tracks to a local bar they all enjoyed going to whenever they were planetside on Capitol. Soon after boarding, the track car began losing traction due to a hydraulic line being cut. Nick soon identified the source of the problem and fixed the transport in a matter of minutes, saving the crowded tram line. A government official riding the tram as a method to confuse any enemies by varying his routine saw Nick complete the amazing feat and offered him a spot in the military academy as a reward for performing such a selfless act for the public good (and more importantly saving the official's life). After discussing the idea with the entire crew, Nick set off for two years of formal education. Nick applied, and received admission for all computing, robotics, and flight classes, all of which were only hobbies until now. But, only after a month at the school, he received word that the Amor had been destroyed in orbit by pirates who had just robbed one of the mines on the surface of the planet below and were trying to escape. The report cited the reason being that the pirates saw her as a threat. Needless to say, Nick was in a state of shock for everything in his life had just vanished. He quickly reasoned that just because his experienced a great loss, there was no need to bring others around him down with a depressed attitude. With that state of mind, Nick went on to complete the school with a positive outlook on his studies, for that was the only thing that really mattered to him now. And at the same time, without realizing it, he limited his ties to the other students.
After graduating second in his class and serving one year in the military (a perk the official on the tram failed to mention to him), Nick took the money left to him from all the bank accounts belonging to the crew of the Amor and bought his own personal ship, which he named the Amor II. Using his newly attuned skills, Nick revamped nearly all of the ships systems to an unprecedented level for its class. And with those same skills, he built his own personal android, who he officially named Andrew. Ever since completing Andrew and his ship, Nick has taken on several jobs, all temporary, ranging from personal transportation to major overhaul for other ships, using his academy diploma as a way give him a professional front to gain more customers, and of course, more credits.
Skills: Nick has a great deal of knowledge in the area of engineering, specializing in robotics and vehicle repair. Specifics can be described as the construction of cybernetic components and computer programming/hacking, among other lesser fields of study. And as for repair, Nick has a deep understanding of the mechanics of transports, ranging from Hover Cars to space cruisers. Also, Nick has acquired the skill of piloting a wide range of vehicles, space vessels being his specialty (not to mention his favorite, as well).
His profession can be simply described as a delivery man; since he has no official job and most tasks he does involve transportation of some kind, whether it be transporting materials, people, or even sometimes information.
Other: Nick has his own personal ship, the Amor II, and android, Andrew.
His ship is a small, but heavily modified, freighter, easily piloted by one person; therefore he has no need for a crew to man her. The Amor II has a cockpit from where all the ships systems are monitored and controlled by the pilot, a lounge for recreation during trips through hyperspace, an extremely small kitchen, the captain's quarters and two other rooms for "guests" Nick may be transporting, a refresher (bathroom), a medical station, a workshop, and a cargo hold. The hyperdrive system on board the Amor II was nearly twice the size of the hyperdrive in a standard freighter of her size. As a result, the hyperdrive class was also double to any ship in her class. The secret to her speed were Nick and Andrew's modifications that "streamlined" the ship in hyperspace by controlling the warp of the space-time continuum around her. Several other ships have tried to match the Amor II's speed without these "streamlining" modifications and have blown themselves into space dust. Along with the enhanced propulsion systems, Nick has installed six automated defense turrets (each of his design), forward and aft guns controlled by the pilot, top-of-the-line solar energy converters, two layers of reinforced armor, and a deflector shield. And as an additional "feature," the ship lacks the required tracker to prevent the government from pinpointing of his location, due to his rather questionable passengers he might have on board. Nick has memorized a few critical points, but, Andrew can perform the needed calculations and can input the coordinates into the ship for anywhere else.
Nick's android, Andrew is an incredibly unique machine. From the drawing board to completion, every part of Andrew has been created by Nick. Nick molded Andrew's appearance into that a normal human of a height of six feet, three inches, but to avoid confusion with people he and Andrew might interact with, he changed a few details as to make him seem less human. Andrew seems to have normal skin, but it is a certain flexible alloy of a grayish tint, able to withstand most blades and ammo; he is also bald, lacks ears, and has a digital view screen on his back for software upgrades Nick may come up with. Andrew was originally design to be a personal guard for Nick, since Nick himself lacked any combat expertise beyond firing his revolver, but grew into a more complex being. Once Nick has installed his newly created semi-sentient, positronic brain into Andrew, he realized that this android could be taught to do a multitude of tasks beyond its initial programming. From then on, Andrew followed Nick everywhere he went, learning things from simple ship repair, to advanced fighting techniques, to even having a sense of humor, a feature pretty much all other known androids failed get a accurate grasp of.
Story:
It was a day like any other. No; that day was slightly different. While in orbit over Capitol, Nick received a transmission from an unknown location asking for him to transport some special cargo to another ship, the Avenger. No more information other than their offer: 30,000 credits. Nick was no fool, knowing good and well a price so high only meant the task was going to be far from easy. But as of late, he'd been running low on credits and this was a healthy amount to last him for at least another month and perhaps buy something special as well. He accepted and received another message saying to meet at the given coordinates in three days. He inputted the information into his command console and blasted away into empty space to the rendezvous point.
That was three days ago. For now, Nick and his ship sat still in space. Waiting. Nick took the down time as an opportunity to try and upgrade his android, Andrew, to be able to compute and analyze space charts to act as a substitute "tracker" for the ship. Also, he wanted to see if he could find the reason how it came up with the nickname "Andy" for itself. He wasn't about to change the new behavioral pattern, simply study it.
"Hey, Andrew, you buckle of bolts, get over here!" shouted Nicholas, despite the fact the machine could as easily heard him if he whispered his…its name.
"Call me Andy," came a reply as it stepped in the workshop, "it's much easier to say. Wouldn't you agree, Nicholas?"
"Andrew…Andy….same difference," said Nick, in total agreement with the android's logic, yet not wanting to admit it. It was the same reason he like to be called Nick. Maybe the thing was actually taking on a personality of its own, now. "Turn around so I can gain access to your panel. I just want to give you a new code sequence so you'll be able to plot accurate course through space, instead of using old ones from last year. That alright with you, Andy?" continued Nick, with heavy emphasis of the last word.
"Certainly, Nicholas…or would you like me to call you Nick? You seem to want other organic beings to do that. And if you're so kind to call me Andy from now one, I see it best that I return the favor."
"Call me whatever you think would be appropriate for the situation, buddy," answered Nick, wanting to gauge Andy's response and try to locate a pattern from the readouts on the view screen. "you don't owe me any kind of favor anyways. You've already proven a great par-"
And that instant, a sensor gave a beep as it picked up a ship entering its range, followed shortly by a voice that came through ship's speakers, interrupting both Nick's sentence and train of thought, causing him to get upset, but a degree of excitement as well as it proved to be someone he could release his anger on. "Unidentified vessel, this is the captain of the battle cruiser, Avenger. State your purpose for being in this sector or you shall be destroyed."
Nick closed the panel, securing the view screen on Andy's back, and turned to the android and gave a side smirk. "Look, Andy! We have some new friends to play with. Go down to the cargo hold and wait my signal. Knowing these guys, they'll want me to send the cargo via shuttle pod." Then Nick ran up to the cockpit and turned on his communications console to contact the Avenger, and sent a visual transmission. "I'm sorry, Avenger, we're not in right now, but if you leave your name and planet in which we can contact you, we'll give you a call as soon as possible. Beep!"
A few seconds after, an obviously puzzled (not to mention portly) man in a uniform associated with one of the pirate groups of the galaxy came up and replied. "What do you mean you're not in, I see you clearly on our….oh, and I get it, now. This is the so called "Havic Humor" my superiors warned me about."
"The only kind in the galaxy! You should be honored to hear it. Not many people have the pleasure of listeni-"
"Just give us the cargo, Havic!" shouted the man, who appeared to be easily frustrated at the amount of sarcasm Nick was already giving him.
"Come on, Captain, calm down a bit. No need to be upset, eh? Besides, who do you think I am? A pushover? I need the credits first. No credits, no cargo. Even a man like you should be able to figure out something as simple as that."
"Fine. Sending the creds to your account now. As soon as you get confirmation of the transfer, send the cargo over to us via a one man shuttle. Surely you little excuse for a ship has at least one of those. Ha ha ha!"
Usually, Nick would be taking pride in the fact he knew how the pirates wanted to make the transfer, but at this particular point, Nick had only one thing on his mind: Little excuse for a ship? Did he just say that? "Andy, I just got confirmation. Drop the shields, send over the cargo, then raise the shields again. I've got a bad feeling about this." Then he turned to the console and said, "One more crack like that about my ship, and you won't have a ship. Understand, Captain Cellulite?"
Before he even began to talk, Nick saw in the captain's eyes that he planned to attack the Amor II as soon as he got what he wanted. He didn't even register the gloating coming from the captain for he was too busy planning an attack of his own. "Understood, Havic. But, what I understand is you just threatened an M32 Algon Battle Cruiser equipped with eight manned cannons, all belonging to the Brothers to Free the Capitol Coalition. You hover car doesn't stand a chance. I'll wait for the cargo before I attack. It'll give you a chance to run away." Then the Captain started laughing, sounding similar to a madman.
Nick stopped in his tracks, staring at the Captain. "Hover car?" shouted Nick in disbelief. "I know you didn't just go there, Captain!" an angered Nick growled into the console. He knew the Captain would insult the ship again, but was just plain cruel. "Because if you really did, then I'm sure this won't do any affect, being that your shields are still up. What's that you say? You forgot about your shields?"
He heard the man's laughter stop, for indeed the Captain had forgotten to raise shields again in his moment of ecstasy. The man called for his crew to raise shields immediately, but it was too late. Nick pulled in close behind the Avenger letting lose a barrage of fire from his forward guns towards the Avenger's engines, leaving the opposing ship dead in space, and her crew stunned. He then jetted away from the Avenger, but before he engaged his hyperdrive to travel towards Vend where he planned to spend his newly acquired fortune, he sent one last message to the crew of the pirate vessel in his normal, calm voice:
"Don't worry guys, I'm not heartless." Nick then gave his classic, and sarcastic, smirk. "I'll send a government convoy to your location to help y'all out."
Later on:
"I blame you, Tin Man!" A phrase that seemed to echo through the Amor II. A phrase that could possibly have become Nick's favorite over the past two days. Was there any truth to it? Of course not, but it was the only way Nick could let go of his anger without damaging the ship further.
After their encounter with the pirates, Nick had disabled the 'enemy' vessel and sped off. Unfortunately, Nick's ship hadn't had enough time to properly configure itself to make the jump to lightspeed and her main systems virtually turned off under the stress. He was lucky the ship was in one piece. An error like that could have easily turned him and Andy into cosmic debris. But instead of being thankful for his ship to hold under the conditions, Nick was enraged, since the 30,000 credits he had just added to his name was about to be used to, once again, repair the ship. That is, if he ever got her up and running again.
But it wasn't really the work he had to do, or the fact he just lost a great deal of credits that made Nicholas mad. It was the fact that he made a mistake. A simple, rookie mistake. He wouldn't openly admit to it to anyone, and would rather blame his android, but he made a mistake and knew it. And in Nick's mind, the only way to fix the mistake was to fix the ship.
Nick had not slept or eaten since the ship had shutdown. It wasn't on purpose, it was that it simply didn't occur to him that he needed to do either. He kept on working to the point where anything he did was close to an automated state, moving from system to system, never thinking, only acting. Along the way, he managed to turn on Andy, to try and speed up the repairing process. But it wasn't long before Andy noticed this strange pattern in Nick's behavior, and his positronic brain registered it as abnormal. It then arrived to the conclusion that Nick needed to rest or he might, put in the way his brain worded it, 'cease to function properly.'
As Nick stepped up from working on a panel which relayed energy from the solar panels to the main engines, Andy approached him. Before Nick could throw any words in Andy's direction, Andy clearly stated, "Nick, you need to rest. Stop working or I'm going to have to force you to sleep." Nick glared into the robot's eyes. His last thought was something along the lines of 'Why did I make him taller than me?' Apparently this change in brain activity exhausted Nick, because he then collapsed towards the floor and fell into a deep sleep. Andy caught Nick inches before he hit the deck and carried him to the "Captain's quarters", where he then laid Nick on his cot. Before he left the room, the mechanical man wondered: It's almost as if he's trying to impress someone.
Andy walked into the cockpit and checked which systems need to be repaired in order to jump to lightspeed again. He arrived in the room, sat in the particularly large captain's seat, and punched up the needed diagnostics. To his surprise, the end results indicated that only a few minor modifications were needed to get the ship to the needed level to perform the short jump from their present location to Vend, a planet where he and Nick could buy some replacement parts for all the parts beyond repair. After about half an hour working out all the minute details, Andy got the ship up and running again. Before he calculated the jump, once again, a thought crossed the machine's mind. Incredible, thought Andy, he actually did most of the work himself; not bad for a human.
Over ten hours later, Nick finally awoke from his much needed rest. For a few minutes, he stared up to the ceiling. Although, after looking, he figured it was more of a bulkhead than a traditional ceiling. And after further thinking, he entertained the idea of being seriously injured; because that's the only way he'd want to think about a ceiling.
He then laughed out loud, both in the humor he found in his ceiling pondering and to try to wake up. He threw his legs over the left side of the cot and hopped to his feet and surveyed the room. It was rather bare, dirty, with patches of dull colored metal surrounding the place. The same could be said about every other room on the ship, save the cockpit and "guest quarters." The only difference separating this room from, say, the cargo hold was its contents. It hosted a single military cot, a cabinet which held his clothes, a mirror above the cabinet, and a small end table near next to his cot with his wallet and revolver on it.
Still drowsy, Nick walked over to the refresher and splashed some water on his face. It cleared his vision a bit, but his thoughts were still fogged up a bit, thinking about a wide range of topics, some a bit unnerving. When was the last time I had sex being among those thoughts. Why in this world (or any other) would he care about that? He shook the thought from his mind, disrobed, and hopped into the shower. He let the warm run over his face for a few seconds, and then washed the rest of his body. All the oil, grime, and dust from working on the ship the day (or was it days) before slid off his body and out of his hair, finding a way to the drain. After about 15 minutes of cleansing, he turned off the water and walked back to his room, naked and dripping the entire way there.
He grabbed a relatively clean shirt and some jeans. Ran back to the refresher to pick up his shoes and vest, and put them on in there. He filled the sink up with some hot water and tossed his dirty clothing into it. He then went back to his room, slipped his wallet into his back pocket and tucked his firearm into the holster on his vest. He started to walk out the door, but he took a few steps back and looked at himself in the mirror above his cabinet. Nick flashed his smile, shook his still wet head, causing a few droplets to land on the mirror, and said "Man, can we say 'perfection'?"
Nick then head over to the cockpit, where he met up with Andy. Like clockwork, Andy immediately began giving as many details as possible for…well, everything.
"Nick, we landed on Vend about an hour. We need several parts repaired, and then some totally replaced. But I believe we can find them here on Vend. Don't you have a contact here?"
"Why, yes I do," replied a casual Nick. "In fact, one that owes me, too."
About an hour later, after eating a small breakfast at one of the cafés surrounding the spaceport, Nick and Andy found the shop there were looking for; and more importantly, the shop's keeper, Harold Il-gory. It was like any typical store on Vend, with the bulk of the store within the building, and a very few select items outside on display for potential customers. Il-gory specialized in custom made space equipment, and Nick had come to find he made some of the best stuff around. At a high price, naturally. But today, Nick had the advantage, as Il-gory owed him few thousand credits for smuggling some illegal components half-way across the galaxy to some small outpost.
Nick walked up to some of the display items, picked up a few, but paid no real attention to what he was holding. His gaze turned to the back of the shop where he saw movement, but he patiently waited in the front of the store. No sense barging in and being rude, he figured. Finally, Il-gory came out. It was obvious the little Sandman had been seriously thinking about avoiding Nick altogether. He approached Nick and tried to speak, but failed to find the right thing to say. Nick had always found it amusing that this Sandman fumbled his words, unlike any other he'd met before.
"H-h-hello, Nick. How are you?" stuttered the alien, maintaining a sense of both calmness and anxiety at the same time.
"Pretty good, Harold," answered Nick, while watching the ship mechanic's face. Sure, he was of a different species, but that didn't mean Nick couldn't read his face and eyes. "You don't have the money you owe me, do you, Harold?"
"H-how did you know?" spouted the Il-gory, "I manage my own finances and n-never tell anyone else about my earnings, or what I spend money on, or even-"
"Let's just call it a hunch, okay?" interrupted the young man. "But, I know how you can repay me right now. My ship is acting a fool again, and she needs some new gear. That's where you come in. Offer me a…generous discount, and the debt you have to me will vanish. Sound like a deal, old buddy old pal?"
The Sandman suddenly gained a tremendous energy boost and started to jump around, excited by the fact that the man to who he owed money wasn't demanding it, only a few parts. This display attracted a few shoppers to stop and look in Nick's direction. "Sure, a generous discount. No, not a discount. Free! Sure, Nick, you can have anything you want free! Just don't hurt me, Nick, err, I mean, Mr. Havic…sir."
"I'll only take what I need, "said Nick, starting to get worried due to all the attention Il-gory started to bring. "And I would never hurt you. What gave you that impression?"
"Oh, nothing! It just that, you have a gun, so…yes…uh, now, umm, what do you need?" came the quick reply from Il-gory. Nick told him and within minutes, Il-gory retrieved top-of-the-line parts for Nick's ship. Nick then thanked him, handed some of the larger parts to Andy so that he could carry them, and left the store. There was something about the crowd that had started to surround him while at the Sandman's store that made him feel rather uneasy.
On their way back to the Amor II, Nick and Andy heard an unbearably loud crash come from within of the huge transport ships. They made their way closer to the source of the noise, to better get a grip of the situation, should their help be needed. The two came to one the ports that was owned by the VDC, where they saw countless gems and stones bounce around inside the ship docked there. Nick just shook his head and then yelled "You muscle-bound idiots are even too stupid to haul simple ROCKS without messing the whole thing up!" Sure, none of them heard him, but it made him feel a whole lot better. Right before the two headed back to their own ship, Nick spotted a young girl who was dashing away from the VDC cargo ship. He was bound never lay eyes on her again, but the sight of the girl gave him a strange feeling. He tugged on his black denim jeans, shrugged away the sensation, and headed to his ship.
A few hours later, Nick and his faithful android had completed all the repairs needed, plus a few minor modifications (the most important being a feature which would prevent any jump to lightspeed before calculations were completed). Andrew had already plugged into the city database, listening to current galactic events (of which the ship's crew hardly got to hear) and at the same time, recharging. Nick, on the other hand, had stepped outside to wander around Vend.
Seeing that girl in the space port brought back many memories of another girl he had thought he blocked out completely. The fact that a storm was rolling in didn't help too much. She truly loved the rain, thought Nick to himself as he walked the empty, wet streets. Nick was never one to cling to the past, but she had made such an impact on him in such a short time. It got to the point that Nick wasn't even thinking about where he was going; he just walked on. And he would have continued walking if it hadn't been for Andrew calling him back to the ship. He headed back and at the same time, once again, he pushed all thoughts of this influential girl to the back of his mind, hoping he wouldn't have to think about her again.
Those feelings tended to be a distraction at the least opportune time, anyways, thought Nick before he got back onto the ship.
End.
I apologize for the lack of proper italics, poor writing, and overall blog post. It's kinda silly, not very well developed, confusing to outsiders, and a little full of itself (because Nick is a tad unbelievable?).
Well, what do you think? Leave comments?
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 12 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 12 — Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
I created a character a while back for a forum I joined. The board had an established set of planets, characters, rules, etc. I had to write a character description and illustrate a scene. The group didn't go too far, but it was enjoyable while it lasted. Here was my character/entry into the world.
I would like to note that I wrote this a while back and I hope my writing has improved. And that I'm pretty sure this character is a fictionalized version of me, but in space... and with a backbone.
Name: Nicholas Havic
Alias: Nick
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: 23
Physical Description:
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair: Dirty blonde hair, usually messy
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
Weigh: 165 lb. (81 kilograms)
Body and Face Structure: Nick is about as normal as normal can get for a human. His hair is hardly ever styled. You can tell that he has a rather soft face. No scars, no blemishes, no stubble. He never opted for artificial enhancements, and remains 100% natural. And he's proud of the fact, as well. By no means ugly for a human, but he doesn't consider himself attractive one. He never works out, but he's active enough to stay in good health. Not a muscle bound fellow, nor a scrawny guy. Not at all intimidating. An average looking guy.
Distinguishing Features: Nothing out of the ordinary.
General: He's a regular human. No special abilities beyond skill with a keyboard or tool, which merely comes from training and practical use over the years.
Clothing: He usually wears a simple, black shirt. On top of that, a light-weight, black vest which has a few pockets where he carries anything from tools for his ship to simply a few spare credits. As for pants, Nick likes a certain pair dark denim jeans for some strange reason.
Psychological: Nicholas is a good guy who means well, although sarcastic and condescending at times. He always lives for the moment, and rarely plans more than a day or two in advance. He tends to keep to himself, but he'll join a group for a night out on the town if asked. / To him, friendship is more than a relationship; it's a promise. A promise he believes few deserve of him. But if he ever makes that promise, he believes that they are entitled to the most he can provide for them. / He's usually in an upbeat mood and never mad, unless when working on his ship or Andrew. If he is working on either of them, something he would normally shrug off with a sarcastic joke might make him lose his temper, mainly because the guard he puts up to other people is lowered to get a better feel for whatever he's working on. / As for beliefs, he briefly studied most major religions at the academy, yet never really adopted any as his own. Although he has morals and obeys the law, he'll occasionally bend a few rules to get his way. It's not like the government is watching his every move, right?
History: Nicholas Havic has had a pretty good life compared to many in the galaxy. Nick's parents, Richard and Samantha Havic, lived and worked on the Amor, a space freighter which journeyed to many places, re-supplying outposts, colonies, and space stations. Of her crew of 37, Nick was the only person ever born on board and remained the only child as well. As such, the crew grew to be Nick's family, teaching him many different things that a normal education could never provide. Over the years as Nick grew into an able young man, and had visited a great deal of planets and cultures. He studied the areas he visited, as to not offend anyone he might come across if he ever got the chance to go planet-side.
A few weeks after turning 18, the ship approached Capitol to pick up new supplies for the mining operation on Loe. While on the ground, Nick and a few other crew members took the public tracks to a local bar they all enjoyed going to whenever they were planetside on Capitol. Soon after boarding, the track car began losing traction due to a hydraulic line being cut. Nick soon identified the source of the problem and fixed the transport in a matter of minutes, saving the crowded tram line. A government official riding the tram as a method to confuse any enemies by varying his routine saw Nick complete the amazing feat and offered him a spot in the military academy as a reward for performing such a selfless act for the public good (and more importantly saving the official's life). After discussing the idea with the entire crew, Nick set off for two years of formal education. Nick applied, and received admission for all computing, robotics, and flight classes, all of which were only hobbies until now. But, only after a month at the school, he received word that the Amor had been destroyed in orbit by pirates who had just robbed one of the mines on the surface of the planet below and were trying to escape. The report cited the reason being that the pirates saw her as a threat. Needless to say, Nick was in a state of shock for everything in his life had just vanished. He quickly reasoned that just because his experienced a great loss, there was no need to bring others around him down with a depressed attitude. With that state of mind, Nick went on to complete the school with a positive outlook on his studies, for that was the only thing that really mattered to him now. And at the same time, without realizing it, he limited his ties to the other students.
After graduating second in his class and serving one year in the military (a perk the official on the tram failed to mention to him), Nick took the money left to him from all the bank accounts belonging to the crew of the Amor and bought his own personal ship, which he named the Amor II. Using his newly attuned skills, Nick revamped nearly all of the ships systems to an unprecedented level for its class. And with those same skills, he built his own personal android, who he officially named Andrew. Ever since completing Andrew and his ship, Nick has taken on several jobs, all temporary, ranging from personal transportation to major overhaul for other ships, using his academy diploma as a way give him a professional front to gain more customers, and of course, more credits.
Skills: Nick has a great deal of knowledge in the area of engineering, specializing in robotics and vehicle repair. Specifics can be described as the construction of cybernetic components and computer programming/hacking, among other lesser fields of study. And as for repair, Nick has a deep understanding of the mechanics of transports, ranging from Hover Cars to space cruisers. Also, Nick has acquired the skill of piloting a wide range of vehicles, space vessels being his specialty (not to mention his favorite, as well).
His profession can be simply described as a delivery man; since he has no official job and most tasks he does involve transportation of some kind, whether it be transporting materials, people, or even sometimes information.
Other: Nick has his own personal ship, the Amor II, and android, Andrew.
His ship is a small, but heavily modified, freighter, easily piloted by one person; therefore he has no need for a crew to man her. The Amor II has a cockpit from where all the ships systems are monitored and controlled by the pilot, a lounge for recreation during trips through hyperspace, an extremely small kitchen, the captain's quarters and two other rooms for "guests" Nick may be transporting, a refresher (bathroom), a medical station, a workshop, and a cargo hold. The hyperdrive system on board the Amor II was nearly twice the size of the hyperdrive in a standard freighter of her size. As a result, the hyperdrive class was also double to any ship in her class. The secret to her speed were Nick and Andrew's modifications that "streamlined" the ship in hyperspace by controlling the warp of the space-time continuum around her. Several other ships have tried to match the Amor II's speed without these "streamlining" modifications and have blown themselves into space dust. Along with the enhanced propulsion systems, Nick has installed six automated defense turrets (each of his design), forward and aft guns controlled by the pilot, top-of-the-line solar energy converters, two layers of reinforced armor, and a deflector shield. And as an additional "feature," the ship lacks the required tracker to prevent the government from pinpointing of his location, due to his rather questionable passengers he might have on board. Nick has memorized a few critical points, but, Andrew can perform the needed calculations and can input the coordinates into the ship for anywhere else.
Nick's android, Andrew is an incredibly unique machine. From the drawing board to completion, every part of Andrew has been created by Nick. Nick molded Andrew's appearance into that a normal human of a height of six feet, three inches, but to avoid confusion with people he and Andrew might interact with, he changed a few details as to make him seem less human. Andrew seems to have normal skin, but it is a certain flexible alloy of a grayish tint, able to withstand most blades and ammo; he is also bald, lacks ears, and has a digital view screen on his back for software upgrades Nick may come up with. Andrew was originally design to be a personal guard for Nick, since Nick himself lacked any combat expertise beyond firing his revolver, but grew into a more complex being. Once Nick has installed his newly created semi-sentient, positronic brain into Andrew, he realized that this android could be taught to do a multitude of tasks beyond its initial programming. From then on, Andrew followed Nick everywhere he went, learning things from simple ship repair, to advanced fighting techniques, to even having a sense of humor, a feature pretty much all other known androids failed get a accurate grasp of.
Story:
It was a day like any other. No; that day was slightly different. While in orbit over Capitol, Nick received a transmission from an unknown location asking for him to transport some special cargo to another ship, the Avenger. No more information other than their offer: 30,000 credits. Nick was no fool, knowing good and well a price so high only meant the task was going to be far from easy. But as of late, he'd been running low on credits and this was a healthy amount to last him for at least another month and perhaps buy something special as well. He accepted and received another message saying to meet at the given coordinates in three days. He inputted the information into his command console and blasted away into empty space to the rendezvous point.
That was three days ago. For now, Nick and his ship sat still in space. Waiting. Nick took the down time as an opportunity to try and upgrade his android, Andrew, to be able to compute and analyze space charts to act as a substitute "tracker" for the ship. Also, he wanted to see if he could find the reason how it came up with the nickname "Andy" for itself. He wasn't about to change the new behavioral pattern, simply study it.
"Hey, Andrew, you buckle of bolts, get over here!" shouted Nicholas, despite the fact the machine could as easily heard him if he whispered his…its name.
"Call me Andy," came a reply as it stepped in the workshop, "it's much easier to say. Wouldn't you agree, Nicholas?"
"Andrew…Andy….same difference," said Nick, in total agreement with the android's logic, yet not wanting to admit it. It was the same reason he like to be called Nick. Maybe the thing was actually taking on a personality of its own, now. "Turn around so I can gain access to your panel. I just want to give you a new code sequence so you'll be able to plot accurate course through space, instead of using old ones from last year. That alright with you, Andy?" continued Nick, with heavy emphasis of the last word.
"Certainly, Nicholas…or would you like me to call you Nick? You seem to want other organic beings to do that. And if you're so kind to call me Andy from now one, I see it best that I return the favor."
"Call me whatever you think would be appropriate for the situation, buddy," answered Nick, wanting to gauge Andy's response and try to locate a pattern from the readouts on the view screen. "you don't owe me any kind of favor anyways. You've already proven a great par-"
And that instant, a sensor gave a beep as it picked up a ship entering its range, followed shortly by a voice that came through ship's speakers, interrupting both Nick's sentence and train of thought, causing him to get upset, but a degree of excitement as well as it proved to be someone he could release his anger on. "Unidentified vessel, this is the captain of the battle cruiser, Avenger. State your purpose for being in this sector or you shall be destroyed."
Nick closed the panel, securing the view screen on Andy's back, and turned to the android and gave a side smirk. "Look, Andy! We have some new friends to play with. Go down to the cargo hold and wait my signal. Knowing these guys, they'll want me to send the cargo via shuttle pod." Then Nick ran up to the cockpit and turned on his communications console to contact the Avenger, and sent a visual transmission. "I'm sorry, Avenger, we're not in right now, but if you leave your name and planet in which we can contact you, we'll give you a call as soon as possible. Beep!"
A few seconds after, an obviously puzzled (not to mention portly) man in a uniform associated with one of the pirate groups of the galaxy came up and replied. "What do you mean you're not in, I see you clearly on our….oh, and I get it, now. This is the so called "Havic Humor" my superiors warned me about."
"The only kind in the galaxy! You should be honored to hear it. Not many people have the pleasure of listeni-"
"Just give us the cargo, Havic!" shouted the man, who appeared to be easily frustrated at the amount of sarcasm Nick was already giving him.
"Come on, Captain, calm down a bit. No need to be upset, eh? Besides, who do you think I am? A pushover? I need the credits first. No credits, no cargo. Even a man like you should be able to figure out something as simple as that."
"Fine. Sending the creds to your account now. As soon as you get confirmation of the transfer, send the cargo over to us via a one man shuttle. Surely you little excuse for a ship has at least one of those. Ha ha ha!"
Usually, Nick would be taking pride in the fact he knew how the pirates wanted to make the transfer, but at this particular point, Nick had only one thing on his mind: Little excuse for a ship? Did he just say that? "Andy, I just got confirmation. Drop the shields, send over the cargo, then raise the shields again. I've got a bad feeling about this." Then he turned to the console and said, "One more crack like that about my ship, and you won't have a ship. Understand, Captain Cellulite?"
Before he even began to talk, Nick saw in the captain's eyes that he planned to attack the Amor II as soon as he got what he wanted. He didn't even register the gloating coming from the captain for he was too busy planning an attack of his own. "Understood, Havic. But, what I understand is you just threatened an M32 Algon Battle Cruiser equipped with eight manned cannons, all belonging to the Brothers to Free the Capitol Coalition. You hover car doesn't stand a chance. I'll wait for the cargo before I attack. It'll give you a chance to run away." Then the Captain started laughing, sounding similar to a madman.
Nick stopped in his tracks, staring at the Captain. "Hover car?" shouted Nick in disbelief. "I know you didn't just go there, Captain!" an angered Nick growled into the console. He knew the Captain would insult the ship again, but was just plain cruel. "Because if you really did, then I'm sure this won't do any affect, being that your shields are still up. What's that you say? You forgot about your shields?"
He heard the man's laughter stop, for indeed the Captain had forgotten to raise shields again in his moment of ecstasy. The man called for his crew to raise shields immediately, but it was too late. Nick pulled in close behind the Avenger letting lose a barrage of fire from his forward guns towards the Avenger's engines, leaving the opposing ship dead in space, and her crew stunned. He then jetted away from the Avenger, but before he engaged his hyperdrive to travel towards Vend where he planned to spend his newly acquired fortune, he sent one last message to the crew of the pirate vessel in his normal, calm voice:
"Don't worry guys, I'm not heartless." Nick then gave his classic, and sarcastic, smirk. "I'll send a government convoy to your location to help y'all out."
Later on:
"I blame you, Tin Man!" A phrase that seemed to echo through the Amor II. A phrase that could possibly have become Nick's favorite over the past two days. Was there any truth to it? Of course not, but it was the only way Nick could let go of his anger without damaging the ship further.
After their encounter with the pirates, Nick had disabled the 'enemy' vessel and sped off. Unfortunately, Nick's ship hadn't had enough time to properly configure itself to make the jump to lightspeed and her main systems virtually turned off under the stress. He was lucky the ship was in one piece. An error like that could have easily turned him and Andy into cosmic debris. But instead of being thankful for his ship to hold under the conditions, Nick was enraged, since the 30,000 credits he had just added to his name was about to be used to, once again, repair the ship. That is, if he ever got her up and running again.
But it wasn't really the work he had to do, or the fact he just lost a great deal of credits that made Nicholas mad. It was the fact that he made a mistake. A simple, rookie mistake. He wouldn't openly admit to it to anyone, and would rather blame his android, but he made a mistake and knew it. And in Nick's mind, the only way to fix the mistake was to fix the ship.
Nick had not slept or eaten since the ship had shutdown. It wasn't on purpose, it was that it simply didn't occur to him that he needed to do either. He kept on working to the point where anything he did was close to an automated state, moving from system to system, never thinking, only acting. Along the way, he managed to turn on Andy, to try and speed up the repairing process. But it wasn't long before Andy noticed this strange pattern in Nick's behavior, and his positronic brain registered it as abnormal. It then arrived to the conclusion that Nick needed to rest or he might, put in the way his brain worded it, 'cease to function properly.'
As Nick stepped up from working on a panel which relayed energy from the solar panels to the main engines, Andy approached him. Before Nick could throw any words in Andy's direction, Andy clearly stated, "Nick, you need to rest. Stop working or I'm going to have to force you to sleep." Nick glared into the robot's eyes. His last thought was something along the lines of 'Why did I make him taller than me?' Apparently this change in brain activity exhausted Nick, because he then collapsed towards the floor and fell into a deep sleep. Andy caught Nick inches before he hit the deck and carried him to the "Captain's quarters", where he then laid Nick on his cot. Before he left the room, the mechanical man wondered: It's almost as if he's trying to impress someone.
Andy walked into the cockpit and checked which systems need to be repaired in order to jump to lightspeed again. He arrived in the room, sat in the particularly large captain's seat, and punched up the needed diagnostics. To his surprise, the end results indicated that only a few minor modifications were needed to get the ship to the needed level to perform the short jump from their present location to Vend, a planet where he and Nick could buy some replacement parts for all the parts beyond repair. After about half an hour working out all the minute details, Andy got the ship up and running again. Before he calculated the jump, once again, a thought crossed the machine's mind. Incredible, thought Andy, he actually did most of the work himself; not bad for a human.
Over ten hours later, Nick finally awoke from his much needed rest. For a few minutes, he stared up to the ceiling. Although, after looking, he figured it was more of a bulkhead than a traditional ceiling. And after further thinking, he entertained the idea of being seriously injured; because that's the only way he'd want to think about a ceiling.
He then laughed out loud, both in the humor he found in his ceiling pondering and to try to wake up. He threw his legs over the left side of the cot and hopped to his feet and surveyed the room. It was rather bare, dirty, with patches of dull colored metal surrounding the place. The same could be said about every other room on the ship, save the cockpit and "guest quarters." The only difference separating this room from, say, the cargo hold was its contents. It hosted a single military cot, a cabinet which held his clothes, a mirror above the cabinet, and a small end table near next to his cot with his wallet and revolver on it.
Still drowsy, Nick walked over to the refresher and splashed some water on his face. It cleared his vision a bit, but his thoughts were still fogged up a bit, thinking about a wide range of topics, some a bit unnerving. When was the last time I had sex being among those thoughts. Why in this world (or any other) would he care about that? He shook the thought from his mind, disrobed, and hopped into the shower. He let the warm run over his face for a few seconds, and then washed the rest of his body. All the oil, grime, and dust from working on the ship the day (or was it days) before slid off his body and out of his hair, finding a way to the drain. After about 15 minutes of cleansing, he turned off the water and walked back to his room, naked and dripping the entire way there.
He grabbed a relatively clean shirt and some jeans. Ran back to the refresher to pick up his shoes and vest, and put them on in there. He filled the sink up with some hot water and tossed his dirty clothing into it. He then went back to his room, slipped his wallet into his back pocket and tucked his firearm into the holster on his vest. He started to walk out the door, but he took a few steps back and looked at himself in the mirror above his cabinet. Nick flashed his smile, shook his still wet head, causing a few droplets to land on the mirror, and said "Man, can we say 'perfection'?"
Nick then head over to the cockpit, where he met up with Andy. Like clockwork, Andy immediately began giving as many details as possible for…well, everything.
"Nick, we landed on Vend about an hour. We need several parts repaired, and then some totally replaced. But I believe we can find them here on Vend. Don't you have a contact here?"
"Why, yes I do," replied a casual Nick. "In fact, one that owes me, too."
About an hour later, after eating a small breakfast at one of the cafés surrounding the spaceport, Nick and Andy found the shop there were looking for; and more importantly, the shop's keeper, Harold Il-gory. It was like any typical store on Vend, with the bulk of the store within the building, and a very few select items outside on display for potential customers. Il-gory specialized in custom made space equipment, and Nick had come to find he made some of the best stuff around. At a high price, naturally. But today, Nick had the advantage, as Il-gory owed him few thousand credits for smuggling some illegal components half-way across the galaxy to some small outpost.
Nick walked up to some of the display items, picked up a few, but paid no real attention to what he was holding. His gaze turned to the back of the shop where he saw movement, but he patiently waited in the front of the store. No sense barging in and being rude, he figured. Finally, Il-gory came out. It was obvious the little Sandman had been seriously thinking about avoiding Nick altogether. He approached Nick and tried to speak, but failed to find the right thing to say. Nick had always found it amusing that this Sandman fumbled his words, unlike any other he'd met before.
"H-h-hello, Nick. How are you?" stuttered the alien, maintaining a sense of both calmness and anxiety at the same time.
"Pretty good, Harold," answered Nick, while watching the ship mechanic's face. Sure, he was of a different species, but that didn't mean Nick couldn't read his face and eyes. "You don't have the money you owe me, do you, Harold?"
"H-how did you know?" spouted the Il-gory, "I manage my own finances and n-never tell anyone else about my earnings, or what I spend money on, or even-"
"Let's just call it a hunch, okay?" interrupted the young man. "But, I know how you can repay me right now. My ship is acting a fool again, and she needs some new gear. That's where you come in. Offer me a…generous discount, and the debt you have to me will vanish. Sound like a deal, old buddy old pal?"
The Sandman suddenly gained a tremendous energy boost and started to jump around, excited by the fact that the man to who he owed money wasn't demanding it, only a few parts. This display attracted a few shoppers to stop and look in Nick's direction. "Sure, a generous discount. No, not a discount. Free! Sure, Nick, you can have anything you want free! Just don't hurt me, Nick, err, I mean, Mr. Havic…sir."
"I'll only take what I need, "said Nick, starting to get worried due to all the attention Il-gory started to bring. "And I would never hurt you. What gave you that impression?"
"Oh, nothing! It just that, you have a gun, so…yes…uh, now, umm, what do you need?" came the quick reply from Il-gory. Nick told him and within minutes, Il-gory retrieved top-of-the-line parts for Nick's ship. Nick then thanked him, handed some of the larger parts to Andy so that he could carry them, and left the store. There was something about the crowd that had started to surround him while at the Sandman's store that made him feel rather uneasy.
On their way back to the Amor II, Nick and Andy heard an unbearably loud crash come from within of the huge transport ships. They made their way closer to the source of the noise, to better get a grip of the situation, should their help be needed. The two came to one the ports that was owned by the VDC, where they saw countless gems and stones bounce around inside the ship docked there. Nick just shook his head and then yelled "You muscle-bound idiots are even too stupid to haul simple ROCKS without messing the whole thing up!" Sure, none of them heard him, but it made him feel a whole lot better. Right before the two headed back to their own ship, Nick spotted a young girl who was dashing away from the VDC cargo ship. He was bound never lay eyes on her again, but the sight of the girl gave him a strange feeling. He tugged on his black denim jeans, shrugged away the sensation, and headed to his ship.
A few hours later, Nick and his faithful android had completed all the repairs needed, plus a few minor modifications (the most important being a feature which would prevent any jump to lightspeed before calculations were completed). Andrew had already plugged into the city database, listening to current galactic events (of which the ship's crew hardly got to hear) and at the same time, recharging. Nick, on the other hand, had stepped outside to wander around Vend.
Seeing that girl in the space port brought back many memories of another girl he had thought he blocked out completely. The fact that a storm was rolling in didn't help too much. She truly loved the rain, thought Nick to himself as he walked the empty, wet streets. Nick was never one to cling to the past, but she had made such an impact on him in such a short time. It got to the point that Nick wasn't even thinking about where he was going; he just walked on. And he would have continued walking if it hadn't been for Andrew calling him back to the ship. He headed back and at the same time, once again, he pushed all thoughts of this influential girl to the back of his mind, hoping he wouldn't have to think about her again.
Those feelings tended to be a distraction at the least opportune time, anyways, thought Nick before he got back onto the ship.
End.
I apologize for the lack of proper italics, poor writing, and overall blog post. It's kinda silly, not very well developed, confusing to outsiders, and a little full of itself (because Nick is a tad unbelievable?).
Well, what do you think? Leave comments?
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Day 11 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 11 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 11 — A Photo of You Taken Recently
This one is easy enough.
Don snapped a shot of Kelsie and me while we were at the front desk of Woods.
Kelsie is sweet, real, and a pleasure to work with. Beautiful and always up for a chat, Kelsie is one in a million. Friendships like this one factor into making the Resident Assistant position one of the best aspects in my life.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 11 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 11 — A Photo of You Taken Recently
This one is easy enough.
Don snapped a shot of Kelsie and me while we were at the front desk of Woods.
Kelsie is sweet, real, and a pleasure to work with. Beautiful and always up for a chat, Kelsie is one in a million. Friendships like this one factor into making the Resident Assistant position one of the best aspects in my life.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Day 10 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 10 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 10 — A Photo of You Taken Over Ten Years Ago
A photo of me taken over ten years ago? That includes baby pictures? Yes? Awesome!
Can you believe that was uploaded to MySpace over five years ago? Crazy, right?
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 10 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 10 — A Photo of You Taken Over Ten Years Ago
A photo of me taken over ten years ago? That includes baby pictures? Yes? Awesome!
Can you believe that was uploaded to MySpace over five years ago? Crazy, right?
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Day 9 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 9 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 09 — A Photo You Took
Here is a picture I took after the ice storm a few years back.
And this picture showcases the colors of the sky during a sunset.
And here's a video I made a while back, too, to make up for the fact I missed a day in my blog challenge. It's a neat little video. I should redo it one day.
Army Men
Denial | Myspace Video
Are we even, Blog?
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 9 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 09 — A Photo You Took
Here is a picture I took after the ice storm a few years back.
And this picture showcases the colors of the sky during a sunset.
And here's a video I made a while back, too, to make up for the fact I missed a day in my blog challenge. It's a neat little video. I should redo it one day.
Army Men
Denial | Myspace Video
Are we even, Blog?
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Friday, April 8, 2011
Day 8 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 8 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 08 — A Photo That Makes You Angry/Sad
"Earth Rise as Seen From Lunar Surface"
This incredible image of the Earth rise was taken during lunar orbit by the Apollo 11 mission crew in July of 1969. Nasa
This photo is beautiful. As are most of the images of space and from space. I am so glad that we as humans have been able to travel to the Moon, and are planning future trips back there, then to Mars, and who knows where else.
What makes me sad is the likelihood of me ever going into space, to the Moon, to Mars, anywhere but Earth. I love this place, but I wish I could go into space.
So that's why I picked this image as a sad image, because it reminds me that I am stuck on this planet.
Until next time,
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 8 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 08 — A Photo That Makes You Angry/Sad
"Earth Rise as Seen From Lunar Surface"
This incredible image of the Earth rise was taken during lunar orbit by the Apollo 11 mission crew in July of 1969. Nasa
This photo is beautiful. As are most of the images of space and from space. I am so glad that we as humans have been able to travel to the Moon, and are planning future trips back there, then to Mars, and who knows where else.
What makes me sad is the likelihood of me ever going into space, to the Moon, to Mars, anywhere but Earth. I love this place, but I wish I could go into space.
So that's why I picked this image as a sad image, because it reminds me that I am stuck on this planet.
Until next time,
-Daniel Golden
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Day 7 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 7 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 07 — A Photo That Makes You Happy
I have hundreds of pictures on my external harddrive. I get a lot of them from Memebase.
At the moment, I'm really liking the hipster meme. Most make me laugh.
I have plenty more. But here are a few others I quickly found in my collections that I really like. I like puns a lot, but opted to show only one of my favorites. Yes, a couple of these include harsh language, but they are still funny to me.
Wow, I have A LOT of pictures. Perhaps I should include one with each post, even starting with this challenge?
Something to consider.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 7 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 07 — A Photo That Makes You Happy
I have hundreds of pictures on my external harddrive. I get a lot of them from Memebase.
At the moment, I'm really liking the hipster meme. Most make me laugh.
I have plenty more. But here are a few others I quickly found in my collections that I really like. I like puns a lot, but opted to show only one of my favorites. Yes, a couple of these include harsh language, but they are still funny to me.
Wow, I have A LOT of pictures. Perhaps I should include one with each post, even starting with this challenge?
Something to consider.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Day 6 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 6 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 06 — Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Whatever tickles my fancy? You went from super specific entries to the broadest category possible. Silly guidelines.
I'll post the lyrics to the Woods House Chant created for the in-service we had yesterday. It's pretty awesome. The video of our performance is on Facebook, too.
WOODS HOUSE CHANT
INSERVICE 4/6/2011
“WE’RE LEGIT”
To the tune of “Forget You!” By Cee Lo Greene
Words & Creativity By Daniel Golden & Judith Copeland
Compiled By Spencer Orr
We’ve been the tallest in town
Since sev-en-ty-one, and I’m like
I see yoouuu !!
(ou, ou, ouuu)
I guess our old carpets
Just wusn’t enough, and I’m like
Replace yoouuu! And paint these walls too!!!
Our Ceilings are Peeling
But rust is a must, and I’m like
We’ll carve yoouu! And bust that pipe too!!
All the houses can’t guess,
That Woods is the best, and I’m like
We love you!!! And Scholars Too!!!
(oou –oouu- ooouuu!!)
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 6 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 06 — Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Whatever tickles my fancy? You went from super specific entries to the broadest category possible. Silly guidelines.
I'll post the lyrics to the Woods House Chant created for the in-service we had yesterday. It's pretty awesome. The video of our performance is on Facebook, too.
WOODS HOUSE CHANT
INSERVICE 4/6/2011
“WE’RE LEGIT”
To the tune of “Forget You!” By Cee Lo Greene
Words & Creativity By Daniel Golden & Judith Copeland
Compiled By Spencer Orr
We’ve been the tallest in town
Since sev-en-ty-one, and I’m like
I see yoouuu !!
(ou, ou, ouuu)
I guess our old carpets
Just wusn’t enough, and I’m like
Replace yoouuu! And paint these walls too!!!
Our Ceilings are Peeling
But rust is a must, and I’m like
We’ll carve yoouu! And bust that pipe too!!
All the houses can’t guess,
That Woods is the best, and I’m like
We love you!!! And Scholars Too!!!
(oou –oouu- ooouuu!!)
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Day 5 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 4 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 05 — Your Favorite Quote
Limiting me to one quote? Grr, this challenge is hard to follow.
"There's no guarantee in the realm of romance." - Morgan Witt
From one of my best friends. It's nice to remember that from time to time.
Einstein
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited."
"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."
"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love."
"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."
"When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity."
"The person who reads too much and uses his brain too little will fall into lazy habits of thinking."
Albert Einstein has dozens, if not hundreds, of quotations to his name on a variety of topics.
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." -Oscar Wilde
If I have any enemies, this is what I do.
"Just the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." -Carl Sagan
It's a simple truth that I have to keep in mind.
"If the lessons of history teach us anything it is that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us." -Anon
I have to learn. Plain and simple.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." -Aristotle
This is another aim in my life, to have an educated mind that can balance opposing views in my head.
"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." -Ellen Parr
A quote I now take to heart. If I hear myself utter "I'm bored," I tell myself that it's impossible. There is too much to experience to ever be bored.
The following quotes pertain to gaining wisdom, something I hope to have in the future.
"Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk." - Doug Larson (I wish I could show this to anyone who ever wonders why I don't talk much in meetings or serious discussions)
"Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something." - Plato (I also want to show this when I choose to speak after being silent)
"The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it." - Albert Einstein
"Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit." - Elbert Hubbard
"True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. And in knowing that you know nothing, that makes you the smartest of all." - Socrates
"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power."- Lao Tzu
"The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (how else can I be a poet without this trait?)
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 4 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 05 — Your Favorite Quote
Limiting me to one quote? Grr, this challenge is hard to follow.
"There's no guarantee in the realm of romance." - Morgan Witt
From one of my best friends. It's nice to remember that from time to time.
Einstein
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited."
"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."
"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love."
"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."
"When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity."
"The person who reads too much and uses his brain too little will fall into lazy habits of thinking."
Albert Einstein has dozens, if not hundreds, of quotations to his name on a variety of topics.
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." -Oscar Wilde
If I have any enemies, this is what I do.
"Just the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." -Carl Sagan
It's a simple truth that I have to keep in mind.
"If the lessons of history teach us anything it is that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us." -Anon
I have to learn. Plain and simple.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." -Aristotle
This is another aim in my life, to have an educated mind that can balance opposing views in my head.
"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." -Ellen Parr
A quote I now take to heart. If I hear myself utter "I'm bored," I tell myself that it's impossible. There is too much to experience to ever be bored.
The following quotes pertain to gaining wisdom, something I hope to have in the future.
"Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk." - Doug Larson (I wish I could show this to anyone who ever wonders why I don't talk much in meetings or serious discussions)
"Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something." - Plato (I also want to show this when I choose to speak after being silent)
"The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it." - Albert Einstein
"Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit." - Elbert Hubbard
"True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. And in knowing that you know nothing, that makes you the smartest of all." - Socrates
"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power."- Lao Tzu
"The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (how else can I be a poet without this trait?)
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Day 4 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 4 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 04 — Your Favorite Book
My favorite book is not easier to narrow down, but there aren't as many. I loved "Ender's Game" and the other books in the Enderverse. The character of Ender is intriguing, but I loved following Bean's story more. And nearly any Star Wars book will be fine for entertainment purposes. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" has been top of the list for a while now. The absurd humor and attention to detail makes it wonderful. I laugh out loud when I read it, and I've read it several times. "America: The Book," "Earth: The Book," and "I am America: And So Can You!" are wonderfully funny books, as well. There are others, like there are other movies and TV shows, but I'm growing weary of this "listing" game.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 4 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 04 — Your Favorite Book
My favorite book is not easier to narrow down, but there aren't as many. I loved "Ender's Game" and the other books in the Enderverse. The character of Ender is intriguing, but I loved following Bean's story more. And nearly any Star Wars book will be fine for entertainment purposes. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" has been top of the list for a while now. The absurd humor and attention to detail makes it wonderful. I laugh out loud when I read it, and I've read it several times. "America: The Book," "Earth: The Book," and "I am America: And So Can You!" are wonderfully funny books, as well. There are others, like there are other movies and TV shows, but I'm growing weary of this "listing" game.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Day 3 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 3 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 03 — Your Favorite Television Program
Seriously? Favorite TV show? I'm not sure if I can answer that clearly for you. Currently, I love watching "Glee" for the music and overly dramatic portrayal of high school.
I think "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" has not only exceeded my expectations, but brought back the excitement of Star Wars.
"The Big Bang Theory" has helped make geek into chic, and I've recently been drawn to "Castle" for the witty dialog and the chemistry of the characters, and "Whose Line is it Anyway?" will always rank high for the fun it contains.
"Firefly" is simply fantastic, but short-lived.
"Monty Python's Flying Circus" is hilarious and random.
"Star Trek" is, of course, on my list, and so are "Friends" and "House, M.D."
"M*A*S*H" is a classic, and Disney Channel sitcoms like "Hannah Montana" and "Wizards of Waverly Place" are a guilty pleasure.
"Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" fuel my imagination in a way that is unique to them, and "Battlestar Galactica" was brilliant.
There are plenty of other shows that I could mention, but for now, that paints an interesting picture of me.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 3 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 03 — Your Favorite Television Program
Seriously? Favorite TV show? I'm not sure if I can answer that clearly for you. Currently, I love watching "Glee" for the music and overly dramatic portrayal of high school.
I think "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" has not only exceeded my expectations, but brought back the excitement of Star Wars.
"The Big Bang Theory" has helped make geek into chic, and I've recently been drawn to "Castle" for the witty dialog and the chemistry of the characters, and "Whose Line is it Anyway?" will always rank high for the fun it contains.
"Firefly" is simply fantastic, but short-lived.
"Monty Python's Flying Circus" is hilarious and random.
"Star Trek" is, of course, on my list, and so are "Friends" and "House, M.D."
"M*A*S*H" is a classic, and Disney Channel sitcoms like "Hannah Montana" and "Wizards of Waverly Place" are a guilty pleasure.
"Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" fuel my imagination in a way that is unique to them, and "Battlestar Galactica" was brilliant.
There are plenty of other shows that I could mention, but for now, that paints an interesting picture of me.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Day 2 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
Here is my Day 2 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 02 — Your Favorite Movie
Of course you have to give me the hardest questions at the beginning of this challenge. Hmm, favorite movie. As a geek, I like a lot of films. Indiana Jones, James Bond, Harry Potter, Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Producers, Star Trek, Serenity, just to name a few off the top of my head. Of course, even some of the ones mentioned are names to a series of films.
But as I am a huge fan of the Star Wars universe, the Star Wars Saga is definitely on the top of my list of favorite movies. The films have humor, heart, spaceships, battles, romance, politics, and a dozen other things. To watch Star Wars is to gain a glimpse at me. To watch me watch Star Wars, is a nice all-access pass to my mind.
But that seems like too easy of an answer sometimes. Favorite movie? Star Wars. It's amazing and I love it, but it's almost too obvious.
Then I point to The Holiday and You've Got Mail, two romantic comedies that I adore. They aren't very deep, but they are very sweet. I'm a sucker for those films. They are cute, feature great actors, and I can watch them over and over and still wonder if they end up together or not.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Here is my Day 2 entry for the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Day 02 — Your Favorite Movie
Of course you have to give me the hardest questions at the beginning of this challenge. Hmm, favorite movie. As a geek, I like a lot of films. Indiana Jones, James Bond, Harry Potter, Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Producers, Star Trek, Serenity, just to name a few off the top of my head. Of course, even some of the ones mentioned are names to a series of films.
But as I am a huge fan of the Star Wars universe, the Star Wars Saga is definitely on the top of my list of favorite movies. The films have humor, heart, spaceships, battles, romance, politics, and a dozen other things. To watch Star Wars is to gain a glimpse at me. To watch me watch Star Wars, is a nice all-access pass to my mind.
But that seems like too easy of an answer sometimes. Favorite movie? Star Wars. It's amazing and I love it, but it's almost too obvious.
Then I point to The Holiday and You've Got Mail, two romantic comedies that I adore. They aren't very deep, but they are very sweet. I'm a sucker for those films. They are cute, feature great actors, and I can watch them over and over and still wonder if they end up together or not.
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
Day 1 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
As I am almost a week behind in the 30 Day Blog Challenge, I've opted to post a week's worth of blog entries at once.
On a side note: Is it cheating to blog ahead?
Day 01 — Your Favorite Song
I've always been a big fan of Weird Al and I have listened to him many times in my life. The funny and clean parodies of popular songs seems like a dream job.
And, of course, I love Taylor Swift, singing to her while I drive around town, walking to class, and even at random because she makes me smile. There are several of her songs, including "Teardrops on my Guitar," "You Belong With Me," "Today Was A Fairytale," "Jump And Fall," among others, that could fill my top spot.
I haven't reevaluated my favorite song in a while, so for now, my favorite song is still "Beautiful Disaster" by Kelly Clarkson (as presented on her album "Breakaway"). Kelly Clarkson's voice is amazing. The lyrics and melody are a tad sad. Loving someone can be painful; is it worth it? Because "He's as damned as he seems/And more heaven than a heart could hold."
I'm pretty sure I'd give it my all, even if it'd end in a beautiful disaster.
He drowns in his dreams
An exquisite extreme I know
He's as damned as he seems
And more heaven than a heart could hold
And if I try to save him
My whole world could cave in
It just ain't right
It just ain't right
Oh and I don't know
I don't know what he's after
But he's so beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster
He's magic and myth
As strong as what I believe
A tragedy with
More damage than a soul should see
And do I try to change him?
So hard not to blame him
Hold on tight
Hold on tight
Oh 'cause I don't know
I don't know what he's after
But he's so beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster
I'm longing for love and the logical
But he's only happy hysterical
I'm waiting for some kind of miracle
Waited so long
So long
He's soft to the touch
But frayed at the end he breaks
He's never enough
And still he's more than I can take
Oh 'cause I don't know
I don't know what he's after
But he's so beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster
He's beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
[Fading]
Beautiful
(Beautiful disaster)
Beautiful disaster
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
As I am almost a week behind in the 30 Day Blog Challenge, I've opted to post a week's worth of blog entries at once.
On a side note: Is it cheating to blog ahead?
Day 01 — Your Favorite Song
I've always been a big fan of Weird Al and I have listened to him many times in my life. The funny and clean parodies of popular songs seems like a dream job.
And, of course, I love Taylor Swift, singing to her while I drive around town, walking to class, and even at random because she makes me smile. There are several of her songs, including "Teardrops on my Guitar," "You Belong With Me," "Today Was A Fairytale," "Jump And Fall," among others, that could fill my top spot.
I haven't reevaluated my favorite song in a while, so for now, my favorite song is still "Beautiful Disaster" by Kelly Clarkson (as presented on her album "Breakaway"). Kelly Clarkson's voice is amazing. The lyrics and melody are a tad sad. Loving someone can be painful; is it worth it? Because "He's as damned as he seems/And more heaven than a heart could hold."
I'm pretty sure I'd give it my all, even if it'd end in a beautiful disaster.
He drowns in his dreams
An exquisite extreme I know
He's as damned as he seems
And more heaven than a heart could hold
And if I try to save him
My whole world could cave in
It just ain't right
It just ain't right
Oh and I don't know
I don't know what he's after
But he's so beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster
He's magic and myth
As strong as what I believe
A tragedy with
More damage than a soul should see
And do I try to change him?
So hard not to blame him
Hold on tight
Hold on tight
Oh 'cause I don't know
I don't know what he's after
But he's so beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster
I'm longing for love and the logical
But he's only happy hysterical
I'm waiting for some kind of miracle
Waited so long
So long
He's soft to the touch
But frayed at the end he breaks
He's never enough
And still he's more than I can take
Oh 'cause I don't know
I don't know what he's after
But he's so beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster
He's beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
[Fading]
Beautiful
(Beautiful disaster)
Beautiful disaster
Until next time!
-Daniel Golden
The 30 Day Blog Challenge
Dear Blog,
I've decided to follow in Nikki's footsteps and partake in the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Here are the topics for each day.
The 30 Day Blog Challenge
Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fictional book
Day 15 — A fanfic
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy
I will try to blog every day in April, but since I'm a week late in this copy-cat challenge, I will probably combine days in the beginning. Let's hope I make some interesting entries.
Until next time!
-Daniel golden
I've decided to follow in Nikki's footsteps and partake in the 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Here are the topics for each day.
The 30 Day Blog Challenge
Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fictional book
Day 15 — A fanfic
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy
I will try to blog every day in April, but since I'm a week late in this copy-cat challenge, I will probably combine days in the beginning. Let's hope I make some interesting entries.
Until next time!
-Daniel golden
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