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Begun, The Social Media War Has

Posted on November 21, 2022

social media war

Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on with Twitter these days either. Since Musky took over it seems to be going downhill fast(er). Not that it wasn’t kinda a shitshow before he came along and decided he knew best how to run things. Sure, sparky. How’s that going for you?

Even with the increased bullshit I’ve decided to hang in there and not delete my account just yet. Why? I’m not 100% sure. I guess it’s mostly just habit. I’ve been on Twitter since 2007 and I look at pretty much every day. Not saying that’s a good thing, it’s just a thing that happens.

I also don’t want some chode to come along and take the @ChrisU handle. That’s mine you fuckers. I got it on day one (or day three or at the beginning anyway) and I’m going to hold onto it. Keep your grubby paws off.

So even if I stop going to Twitter and disappear from it entirely, I’ll likely just disable my account and not delete it. That way, it won’t fall into the “wrong” hands and I can always go back one day if things improve. But really, at this point, I don’t know exactly what I’ll do.

Meantime, I’m also making accounts at all the other places people seem to be going. Like Hive, for example. Again, why am I doing any of this? And again, I’m not 100% sure. I enjoy some of the interactions I’ve had online so I guess I want to try to find that positive side of it again . . . if that’s even possible anymore.

I am enjoying Mastodon so far. Sure, it’s a bit wonky and the people running it aren’t always great at communication or tolerance for newbs, but I think they’re trying. I know the attitude has put a few people off so far and that’s not great for potential future community interaction. But everyone is getting used to a new platform and a new system with new rules and guidelines, there’s bound to be some growing pains. Let’s hope they don’t last too long.

I’ll probably hang in at Mastodon for the time being as I’m not having much of a problem figuring out how to make it work or talking to people. So far, everyone has been pretty cool. I’ve tried my best to be nice and people seem to respond in kind.

Don’t be an asshole and maybe people won’t be an asshole to you? It’s so crazy an idea it just might work. I just try to be kind and see what happens. It doesn’t always work out, though.

Some people are just giant dicks for no real reason. Shocking, I know. I tend to just block them and move on. You should try it.

As far as other social media sites go, as I said I’m on Hive now and I even took a look at my old Tumblr to see if that was interesting to go back to. Still looking at that one. I’m also on Instagram, Flickr, my other website, Facebook (yes, I know) and a few others I’ve probably forgotten about. And I’m still doing the podcast every week. You should listen to that, It’s fun.

Of course, I still have this blog you’re reading too. It’s been around longer than Twitter and a lot of other social media sites. Since 2004, if you can believe that. Hey, maybe that’s the answer?

Maybe we should all just go back to blogs. Those seemed to work pretty well for me and a bunch of people I know . . . at least for awhile anyway.

If I’m being totally honest (and why not?) I don’t know exactly what to do. You may have guessed that. I’ve also said it a few times already. Keep up.

Like it or not Twitter is a part of my life, for good or bad. It used to be good but I’ve been on it less and less the last couple years and maybe I should just deactivate it and commit 100% to something else like Mastodon? I don’t like the direction Twitter is going and I don’t know if it can be saved at this point.

Or, maybe it’s time for a total break from social media? That probably couldn’t hurt either. Lots of things to think about, anyway.

If you’ve left Twitter, where did you end up? I’m always interested to hear about other people’s experiences.

No matter where you go, always try to be kind. We need that now more than ever.

 

Note: The title of this point is not my joke. I can’t remember where I saw it so I can’t give credit. Thank you person on the Internet who said it first. Your sacrifice has not been in vain. 

Image: Disney / Lucasfilm

2022 Continues to Be Okay I Guess

Posted on April 26, 2022

I didn’t mean to leave you hanging this long. My apologies. In my last post I said I’d come down with “something” that may or may not have been COVID.

Long story short, I don’t know if it was COVID but it only lasted a week or so and I feel fine now. I did end up finding a way to get tested, though. The kid’s school has a deal with some testing sites and he and I went to one, waited three hours, and got a swab shoved into our nostrils so far it came out our ears.

No, not really. It just felt like it. Of course, I went first to show him it was no big deal. He was very brave, especially after the first nostril. We got ice cream after, as you do.

We both tested negative, so who knows? He did end up up getting sick too and lost his sense of taste and smell for a couple days, which seemed like COVID to me. But again, he tested negative so we’ll never really know I guess.

We’re both fully vaxxed, by the way. If we did have COVID, I’ll assume that’s why we didn’t have more serious symptoms. I’m must glad it wasn’t more serious no matter the reason.

Since then, we’ve avoided any more sickness at the house and Summer is a month away. Fingers crossed we make it without further incident. The kid continues to wear a mask at school, even though it’s not “mandatory” anymore.

Removing the mask mandate was yet another fucking stupid decision on the part of our government, but I’lll try to keep my rants to a minimum this week. No promises, though.

Let’s just say I’m still not impressed with the way our governments, Federal, State and local, have handled the pandemic. We’re just lucky it wasn’t much worse. Of course, tell that to the families and friends of all the people who’ve died from COVID. They’re probably not too impressed either.

And as if we didn’t have enough problems, it looks like man-child Elon Musk is buying Twitter. I’m sure he’ll make it a much better place to socialize. Yeah, no doubt in my mind whatsoever. Yeah . . .

In unrelated news I’ve started to explore alternatives to Twitter. So far, I’ve landed at Micro.blog. I’m @ChrisU on there, just like on Twitter, so I should be easy to find. You may want to check it out.

I’m also making The Flickcast podcast every week with my pal Joe Dilworth. It’s going great and still fun, so I plan to continue doing it until people tell me to fuck off. So far, so good.

Finally, I’ve started drawing and painting again. I was inspired by my friend Dave Caolo, some books I saw on Urban Sketching and the Urban Sketching World website. Basically, you go to a place (city street, cool building, wherever) and sketch/draw it with pen and ink and then add some color with watercolor paint.

It’s really been fun, even though I’m not very good at it (and that’s being kind). Still, art of any kind is wonderful. It’s also great therapy and allows you to free your mind and not think about horrible shit all the time. Not that I do that.

I only think about horrible shit the appropriate amount of time.

Okay. I’ll try not to make the time between posts so long from now on. I know you all miss me when I’m gone too long.

Oh, that’s one of my drawings at the top of this post. It’s a photo of it from my sketchbook. Yes, I have a sketchbook. I’m an artist now, don’t you know.

It’s not the worst I’ve done and I don’t hate it, so that’s something. I’ll keep at it.

Okay. Gotta go. Until next time, be kind to each other.

Getting Rid of Stuff and More Updates for 2022

Posted on January 15, 2022

2022

Hi. It’s me again. I hope you all had a merry holidays and a festive new year. We didn’t do much to celebrate or put up decorations or whatever you’re supposed to do.

In fact, we hardly decorated at all. We did put up a tree, which was nice. But we didn’t do much to the outside of the house.

I’m not that disappointed about it. Nobody else was either. It was just something we didn’t do this time.

The kid was happy anyway. Santa still dropped by and he got a lot of stuff he desperately needed (sarcasm, in case you can’t tell) and his mom got a couple things too. So did his grandparents. I got one or two things as well.

But really, I didn’t need much of anything. Sure, I made an Amazon wishlist or whatever, but that was just because H insisted. I didn’t really want anything for Christmas.

I’ve got more “stuff” than I really need.

One of my “problems” is this: If I’m interested in something, a hobby or something work-related, I’ll go deep into it and get the required tools or whatever, to perform the task or function I need to perform. Basically, I want the right tool for the job.

This tends to mean I end up with a lot of stuff. Sure, I use most of it (some of it every day) but it also means other stuff just sits there unused, or is only used sporadically.

Or, let’s face it, not at all after the first day, week, month, etc. That happens too. I burn out on hobbies sometimes, but the stuff is still there. And I’ve been doing this for years. So yeah, I end up with a lot of stuff.

I should really get rid of some of it.

I’m sure to some of you this “problem’ doesn’t sound too bad. And I know I’m very fortunate to have this problem at all and to afford to enjoy hobbies and acquire tools as I need/want them. I get that.

But that’s not really the point of this exercise. The point is I have too much stuff and will need to take appropriate steps one of these days before there’s no room left for the rest of us.

I’m joking, mostly. It won’t get that bad. I’m not a hoarder. You’re a hoarder. Anyway . . .

There’s other business.

• The Flickcast podcast is going great. We’ve got over 400 episodes so far! How about that? If you don’t know, I co-host and produce a podcast called The Flickcast.

It’s all about stuff nerds love. It’s fun and you should definitely check it out.

We’re also working on new guests and some changes for the podcast, which I’m excited about. 2022 should be a great year for the show. Fingers crossed.

• I’m still on Twitch Sunday nights playing D&D with the Whiskey & Waffles gang. It’s also fun and you should check it out too. Although, I won’t be on this weekend due to, well, keep reading.

• I’ve also updated my business website and have been offering prints of my photography for sale. A couple people have even purchased prints. I greatly appreciate that.

• And now, to bury the lead (my High School journalism teacher would not be happy with me). Our kid went back to school in-person a little over a week ago and, of course, that means I got something. Not sure if it’s COVID or a cold or what it is, but it’s definately something.

Good luck finding a COVID testing center appointment anywhere in the next few weeks, though. I sometimes forget Austin is in Texas where the GOP and our “governor” are real pieces of shit and seemingly do whatever they can to make this pandemic worse for people. I just want a test. Why are many of the testing centers closed now?

COVID isn’t over, FFS. Maybe we should let testing centers stay open and allow for virtual school options? Probably a good idea.

I did order home test kits. Let’s see if they arrive . . . ever. Maybe I should just wait for the Biden Admin to send out test kits? I’m sure that’s going to happen real soon now. I won’t hold my breath.

How many years has this pandemic been going on and we still don’t have home tests or adequate supplies of masks, etc.? Greatest country in the world? Maybe. But right now, I gotta say, I’m not impressed.

Fortunately, my symptoms of whatever this is are relatively mild. So if it is COVID, it seems my triple dose of Pfizer vaccine is doing its job. Hopefully this trend continues. I think it will.

Everyone in my house is vaccinated to the fullest extent, too. So whatever I have hopefully won’t be a problem for them. Meantime, I’m mostly staying in my office and sleeping in the guest room until I feel better.

And, if I do need to venture outdoors I’m masking with my dwindling supply of N95s and keeping my distance, just like I have been for the last 20 months plus. I do try to minimize my exposure to others as much as I can. But really, I did that before the pandemic too so . . . yeah.

If you’re worried about me, first off, I appreciate it. Thanks very much. I’m sure I’ll be fine. I have the benefit of modern science on my side. Which is nice.

If only everyone (or enough of you) thought so too. This all might have been over sooner. Alas . . .

Okay. Rant over. Thanks for reading. See you on the other side.

Further Updates for 2021

Posted on March 11, 2021

So far, I’m enjoying 2021 much more than 2020. Sure, this new year isn’t without its share of issues. But things are still looking up and still moving in the right direction . . . in my humble opinion at least.

Which brings me to the update promised in the title of this post. Here goes: we’ve started posting new content at The Flickcast. Not just podcasts, mind you, other content too. Fun!

Starting to post content again serves several purposes, not the least of which is getting me into the habit of writing every day. That’s a good thing.

Plus, who knows, maybe some people will go to the site and it will generate a few bucks of income? It could happen. It’s happened before. We have pretty small overhead so almost anything would be good.

That said, if you feel so inclined, head over and read some articles and maybe click on one of the ads? I’d appreciate it.

Speaking of websites, there’s another one you should check out for sure: Hapa Grey. I’m probably biased (I am) but it’s one of my favorites. If you love bargains and deals and knowing about the latest trends, Hapa Grey is the site for you. Check it out.

Other than that, I’m playing a fuckton of D&D (in private and on Twitch), we’re not frozen anymore, don’t have to boil our water, my son hates doing school online, it’s basically been a year since we started quarantine and I almost got my first dose of the COVID vaccine.

Maybe I’ll get it tomorrow? Maybe. Hope you get yours soon too.

Until then, stay safe, wear your mask, social distance and try not to be a dick.

 

Image: Adobe Stock

Some Thoughts for 2021

Posted on January 16, 2021

Well, it happened. The ball dropped and we’ve been magically transported to the year 2021. Yeah, good for us.

Please don’t mistake my tone, I am happy it’s 2021. As we all know, 2020 was kinda shit and a lot of bad things happened. So, having a “do over” seems like a great idea and something I can get behind.

But I’ve also lived long enough to know things don’t always work out the way you want them to. They sometimes suck and go in a direction you didn’t expect or plan for. Life is funny that way and, over the years, you kinda get used to it. Mostly, anyway.

The big question we need to ask for 2021, though, is will things change, especially given the recent horrible events at the US Capital and the continued unrest and dangerous acts committed by some of our elected officials and our citizens? And if things do change, will they change for the better?

The only answer I can muster at the moment is maybe. Sorry, that’s the best I can do.

But really, can you blame me? If 2020 has taught me anything it’s we can’t rely on our elected officials, or our fellow humans, to just “do the right thing.” Many simply can’t or won’t. And sure, some actually do.

But enough don’t so we’re approaching 400,000 dead from COVID. Not that people doing the wrong thing and not wearing a mask or social distancing caused all of those nearly 400K deaths, but I’d bet simple human selfishness or entitlement was a big factor.

But this is supposed to be more of an “optimistic” post for 2021, so I won’t get into any more of that.

At least there’s finally not one, but two vaccines. That’s a big deal. Yay science! And they do seem to be rolling it out and people are getting vaccinated. The process is not without its problems, which should come as a shock to nobody, but it is happening. Again, that’s good.

Even with all the problems in 2020 and the shit that seems to be starting, or continuing, in 2021, I really do think we have a chance to make this county better and for people to come together. Sure, we’ve been going in absolutely the wrong direction for at least the last four years, so reversing course might be a tall order, but I still think maybe we can do it.

We just have to try really, really hard. I think Biden/Harris is a great step and the Democrats winning Georgia and controlling Congress is also a wonderful outcome. But it’s not enough.

We need to call out this bullshit behavior before it happens. And put a stop to it. We need to confront racists, misogynists, fascists or wanna-be nazis now and set them straight, or destroy their potential influence or bullshit plots, before they can do any harm. Not after armed dickheads storm the Capitol of our county in an aborted coup attempt. That day was pretty bad, but it could have been much worse.

The bad guys are not on the way, they are already here among us. They are in our schools, places of worship, where we work and certainly online. Fortunately, some of their online influence has been curbed, at least for the moment.

And many of the terrorists who stormed the Capital have been apprehended and hopefully will face swift and severe punishment. Those are couple very good steps in the right direction. But we can’t stop there.

Our eyes have been opened to what’s going on in our country. We dare not close them again.

Head Down ‘Til 2021

Posted on May 15, 2020

It seems the optimistic tone of my previous post about 2020 was a wee bit premature. Because, yeah, COVID 19 pandemic and all that.

So, now things suck. And we’ve been quarantined at home for a few months. And we can’t go to work, get a haircut, go to the movies or generally be within six feet of others without a mask or even greater forms of personal protection. And it seems things are gonna legit continue to suck for quite some time.

And yes, I don’t feel great about it most of the time. And yes, that’s a lot of “and” at the start of sentences. I get that. Did I mention the pandemic? I’m not exactly at my best. And I’m sure most of you aren’t either.

But you know what? That’s okay. It’s okay to feel whatever you’re feeling and to pretty much deal with this shit however you need to, short of hurting others, or yourself, of course.

Even though things look bleak, one thing is for sure, we will get through it. The pandemic will end. A vaccine will be developed and administered and life will get back to “normal.”

Will it be the same normal we were used to before? Nope. Might things still kinda suck for a long time? Maybe. Will it start to suck a bit less as time goes on? I sure hope so. I think it will suck for some time after but I also think we will start to feel better and eventually be okay.

It will just take some time. And that’s cool. I’m not going anywhere. And neither should you. Let’s just wait it out together. Okay? Cool.

And now I’m done. Try to be kind to each other while we’re in the middle of this shit. And heck, why not try it after we’re on the other side too?

Couldn’t hurt.

By Way of An Update

Posted on June 16, 2018

Hello all. My most recent plan was to start to write here frequently again. As you can plainly see, I was not entirely successful.

However, I do intend to give it another try. I’ve been working on a couple other writing projects and those have taken up what little creative energy I have. Now that I’m at a certain point with those, I can take a step back and focus a bit more on this site, which I’ve been posting at for over fourteen years now.

Fourteen years? Damn. That’s a long time.

In truth, I’m not even sure that’s completely accurate. I think it’s actually been longer. But still, fourteen years is a good stretch, so I won’t worry too much about it.

Anyway, stay tuned and I’ll try to be better about writing things for this site. Or, at the very least, put up some funny links or a cat video once in awhile. People still love that shit, right?

A Second First Father’s Day

Posted on June 15, 2014

WeeklyMax51

Last year, around this time, I waxed sentimental about the loss of my own father and how I was very much looking forward to, finally, becoming a father myself. Now that my son is here, and has been for nine months, I feel I’ve gained some insight into what it really means to be a father and also some idea of what my own father went through with me.

Unfortunately, I’m too tired to tell you about all that right now. But here’s the gist: fatherhood is the most amazing and most terrifying thing I’ve ever done.

I can’t believe I waited this long to do it, but I’m so glad I did. I got the exact kid I was supposed to get (if you believe in that sort of thing) and watching him grow up and experience all life has to offer (and helping guide him on his journey) is a privilege I will treasure always. I will also try very hard not to screw it up.

So Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, but especially to mine. I get it now Dad. Thank you.

Happy Birthday Gary Gygax

Posted on July 27, 2013

gary-gygax-1

Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons and the man most closely associated with the boom in popularity of roleplaying games, would have been 75 today. When he died in 2008, I wrote two pieces about his death and my personal connection and experiences with him.

You can read my piece for ComicMix right here. I’m including the one from this site below. He would have been 75 today.

Sad news today. E. Gary Gygax, the man widely considered the “Father of Role-Playing-Games,” has died. He was 69 years old. I already wrote a piece about Gygax and his death over at ComicMix. What I didn’t mention in that piece was that, like ComicMix’s Glen Hauman, I also had a personal connection to the man.

I was fortunate to meet Gary Gygax after some friends of mine and I decided to have a D&D marathon at my house one Summer weekend in the late ’70s. We decided to invite Mr. Gygax to join us by writing him a personal letter. We even enclosed an article from the local paper (the Coast Dispatch in case you’re curious) featuring our upcoming marathon in order to try and entice his participation a bit more.

Sadly, he wasn’t able to attend, but he did write me a personal letter with his regrets and also graciously included several D&D adventure modules, as yet unpublished, for us to use during the game. We used them and had a great time, all the while praising Gygax for being cool enough to not only respond to us, but for caring enough to send us stuff to help make our marathon D&D session a success.

Several years later, I was able to actually meet Gygax in person at GenCon after I had convinced my parents it was a good idea to drive me across country so I could play D&D with a bunch of other kids in Wisconsin. My parents were cool like that and did it not only once, but twice.

When I met him the first time at GenCon we spoke for several minutes and he even remembered me from when I had invited him to our game. He was a great guy to talk to. Over the years I would run into him again at various events and each time he would, somehow, remember me and we would have another very nice conversation. At each and every meeting he was gracious and generous with his time.

The magnitude of Gygax’s influence on gaming and pop culture, both directly and indirectly, isn’t something that can easily be measured. He was extremely popular among those who played his games, of course, but his creations, particularly D&D, also had a profound effect on kids of my and later generations.

D&D helped us learn to think logically, to solve problems, to work as a team and, more importantly, to use our imaginations. As someone who has the privilege of using his imagination on a daily basis and gets paid for it, I , for one, have a debt to Gary Gygax that can never be repaid.

I feel confident there are others out there working away creating the current and next generations of games, comic books, movies and TV shows that feel the same way I do.

Thanks for the help and inspiration Gary. We need more people around like you. You will be missed.

Moving On (Again)

Posted on June 25, 2013

secret-moving-in-secret-1

H and I are in the process of moving to our new house. If I have anything to say about it, this will be the last move we do for a long time. I don’t enjoy packing. This wish will be made possible, in large part, because the new house is much bigger than we really need so we can grow into it should “Project M” ever decide he needs a sibling, or whatever.

Although, chances of that happening are slim at best. In fact, it’s almost guaranteed not to happen. Besides, he’s got to start learning to live with disappointment and this is as good a time as any to start.

Of course, with the move and move-related activities this week, things are a bit hectic for me, as you might expect. As I mostly work at home these days and have a more “flexible” schedule than H does, many of the moving particulars have fallen to to me.

In truth, it’s not so much the actual move that’s taking a lot of time (although it does), it’s all the other things you need to do to a house before you can move into it and all the logistics involved.

Things like painting, installation of new appliances, transferring of TV and Internet providers, utilities and more take a lot of time. Plus, there’s a lot of other things involved when closing out one household and opening another while also maintaining a third during the process. As I’ve said on more than one occasion, I’m not complaining, just explaining.

All of this leads me to the conclusion that I won’t be writing here (or anywhere) much this week, unless, of course, I am. Also, it’s going to be next Monday before I get Internet in the new place. That’s just the way it goes.

But fear not, I’ll be back soon enough to torment you with tales of my exploits and all the other gems and tidbits you’ve come to expect from this site, and me. I won’t let you down.

Oh, in case you’re wondering, the pic above is the J-Pop group “Secret” from their album “Moving In Secret.” Yes, I realize it has no more than a tacit relationship with actual moving, but I thought it would be more interesting than a pic of sweaty dudes hauling boxes.

I hope you agree. And if you don’t, I’ll try to live with the disappointment.