Hiddennode

It’s been some time. I’m sorry for the lack of posts in May, post here and in fiction. Life has been busy mostly centered on work. As said on the 16^th though, it’s the end of the month and things are getting rolling. Work is manageable again, especially after a last minute change Friday morning. I’ll have less and less stress going forward and I can get my shit together!

So the breakdown:

Work – They kept another person, reducing my work load by a 1/3. Awesome. They also activated the program they were testing and things were wonderful. Awesome. I’m shifting to an 8am-5pm work schedule. Not awesome, but I’ll deal with it. These three points combined make life a hell of a lot better.

Home Life ­– Some issues, but progress is continuing. The new desks arrived and I built one of them (pictures to come later). Too big to have two in the office though, so we’re giving one to Trish’s dad. Sounds good too as he’s moving closer. That will make life easier with just being able to interact with them on a regular basis as opposed to being two hours away. A few things I need to touch on in the coming weeks, but overall, things are on the up and up.

Writing – New life blog today, new flash fiction tomorrow! That’s right, the flash fiction is returning as of June 1^st, and so help me I will never have a break again unless I end the project. I’ve only completed yesterday’s work but I’ve resolved myself to write a piece a day. It’s going to take a bit to get my groove back but everything is rolling. I’m not sure how often I’m going to blog here over the next couple of weeks, but I’ll try to keep this place in the know regarding the big things like, when I’m going to be at D*C, any conventions I’m heading to, and where my writing it going. Life marches on.

That’s it for the update! Expect more! Demand More! Communication! End!

nulloperations

The last two weeks I’ve been busy with managing  to get work started on several projects.

Starting with my fiction, I’m currently working on a piece of for the Escape Artists Flash contest. While I can’t provide any details for the story as that would be against the contest rules,  I will say that I’m really enjoying the piece I’ve put together. You’ll get to see the piece on the writing site regardless if I win or not. The story has been trimmed down I just have to give it one last editing sweep before submitting it tonight.

The year of Flash continues with my Tuesday/Thursday posts. Still going strong, and now I’m all caught up except for three remaining posts in January. I should have that corrected by the end of this week which will let me move onto the next phase of the project: Getting ahead of schedule. In order for me to have the book ready by the end of the year, I have to have the fiction written long before December. Ideally, I’d like to be a month ahead of schedule by the end of April or May, two months by the end of June/July, and be finished with the year by the end of August/September. This would let me work October through December preparing the book while getting ahead of schedule for the next year.

Finally, I’m working on a short story based on a writing assignment from the March FWA meeting. The outline is complete and I just need to put meat on those bones. The goal is to have a final draft edited by the end of April, and then have a finished copy ready to go for submissions by the end of May.

Outside of fiction writing, I’m back at working on an RPG system. This one is very similar to one I worked on years ago with one of my best friends. She had wanted something akin to an Alice In Wonderland rpg, so it had to be based on cards instead of dice. I’m now further into the new development on the project than when I was working on it ten years ago. The current timeframe is to be able to run play tests by this weekend. Going to hijack my wife into playing the game with me for a bit. Ideally I can have something ready by the end of Spring.

Moving on from writing, the recording of TDC3 is tonight. I’m sorry that the second episode isn’t up yet, but hopefully things can get rolling soon. Haven’t had much chance to talk to Andrew over the past two weeks, so I’m assuming he’s been very busy with work. Happens I guess. I’m still debating starting my own show, but I don’t have the editing expertise Andrew has. We’ll see how this tonight goes.

I’m happy to see that productivity is abound. I see 2010 as a great year for my projects and while there have been set backs (see my posts about the post-apocalyptic Shadowrun project earlier this year), one thing I’ve learned from that project is that I can’t get too hyped up about the project until I’m certain it’s something I know I will love.

We’ll see just how well that goes with the current cooking pots.

nulloperations

It has been some time hasn’t it? Almost a month now since my last post on this feed. Long time readers might not be too shocked about the delay but those of you who started reading this year are likely to be surprised by the long disappearance. The past month has been quite a mix of activity in and around my personal life.

The primary dismay has been the last two weeks, where I spent most of my time either sick or recovering from being sick. The first week of March was spent dealing with a nasty norovirus that gave me terrible flu symptoms. The second week bronchitis decided to come back. Even now I am still recovering from the bronchitis and through it all I missed something like four and a half days of my day job, with only one day of that being sick time covered. I’m just happy to be near healthy again. If only I can clear my lungs long enough to go for a walk and get back to exercising. The con’s only six months away and I’m still only able to be on my feet fifteen minutes. This half a month repast on sickness is not helping.

But hey, we’re done now right? Time to just climb back on the horse as if we never fell off. Excuse or not, we’ve got some catching up to do. Expect a return to the normal schedule here with the typical Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. Well, maybe not Friday, but Monday and Wednesday will be common.

Also, regarding jsamueldiehl.com, I have been behind on my flash as well. To be exact, we are missing the following dates: 1/5, 1/7, 1/12, 2/18, 3/2, 3/4, 3/9, and 3/11. That’s eight stories I owe you, not to mention the fact I haven’t started the Saturday series yet. Well, look for them, they will be coming. For now, expect a new piece to show up tomorrow as expected, and then we’ll start filling out that back log.

Plans are still in motion, and things are getting back on schedule. Just taking some time.

nulloperations

It’s been an awkward month. Between starting a new game, dealing with family death, shifts in work schedules, and relationship issues, things have been fumbled. I’ve already mentioned the mystical quest the non-exist posts are on, so the blog really shows a reflection of things as they are.

Despite issues, though, I’m pressing on. There’s been a few hiccups but I’m fixing these holes, at least in terms of the fiction writing. As of this post’s writing, the last entries that have appeared on jsamueldiehl.com was on February 4th. To catch up, I’m post-posting these items, so feel free to check the website on the normal Tuesday/Thursdays for new backlog items. I’m actually reaching into my archives for these stories too, so you’re seeing things that have been around for years but no one has ever read.

I’m determined to keep up with two pieces of flash a week for this year. So far, when I’m lagging behind I’ve been able to catch up. Keep with me, and I’ll make sure to keep these stories rolling.

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We’re almost a month into the new year already and things are starting to take shape. In the past few weeks I’ve found myself being far more productive, focused, and driven than I have in the months leading up to the change of decades. I’ve returned to some old favorite activities and have taken up new causes to change how I act and behave. Anyone reading this realizes one such is the new focus on working on my blog, so I’ll leave that one to rest while I go over some of my other recent changes.

Today, as I discussed in a post last week, I’m taking more strides towards weight management. I haven’t started up the exercise portion of the practice but my changes to what I diet on and when are becoming more noticeable. I started my new efforts to begin the day with a hearty breakfast, and slowly end with a very tiny meal for dinner. I’ve been doing it in reverse and I’m wagering that it really hasn’t been helping my metabolism in the least bit.

I guess Wednesday is my “talk about the diet, health thing” day.

Oh yeah, and thanks to a post over at the F7lans forum, I bought a hula hoop to try to learn to exercise with.

Don’t you judge me.

nulloperations

Huh, guess I missed starting up the New Year with new posts.

Welcome to 2010, the year we get our shit together. At least, that seems to be the overall view many people have been presenting over the last few weeks. It’s a common thread that with the change of the Gregorian Calendar we like to set new goals, new ideals, and new resolutions for the coming 365 days. Most won’t make it, but we at least put that initial effort out there. The fact it’s also considered by many to be a new decade also helps convince us that we need to have this change of pace.

(Just a quick aside at December 31^st, 2009, at midnight, the second it became 0:00:00 am, it’s 2010 exactly and the end of the decade. The microsecond it becomes 0:00:00:01 am, it’s now the second decade of the year. To those who use the “We count to 10” argument, you’re right, at exactly 2010, it’s still the first decade of the century, but a second later, it’s not. 10.00001 isn’t part of 10.)

I’m no different. There are a few ideal things I’ve got planned for the coming months. My biggest bit is that I’m focused on sharing a piece of flash fiction weekly on my website. Admittedly, I’ve already fubbed this last week so to make up for it I’m sharing three pieces this week. One story has already posted, a set of three “One-Hundred Word Stories” have already been written for Wednesday. I just need to write one for Friday. Next week I’ll be back at the once a week schedule.

Going forth with the idea of resolutions, what have you been considering for this year/decade? Have big plans that are unique to you or going with some of the classics like “lose weight?” Always interested to hear from you all.

Nulloperations

Okay, I’ve bitched about my weight before in the past. I’ve talked about how I did great here, poor here, and lose and gained after this and that. Well, the juggling stops here, because as of January of next year, I am officially on diet using a big motivator.

Money.

That’s right, starting in January me and my wife will be going to a diet clinic getting doctor guided dieting methods. I don’t know the details of the clinic just yet, but we’re finding them out as we go. Ideally this will help us stay focused and on track with our food plans, and maybe, just maybe, I can become healthy enough that I won’t be in pain all the time. That I’ll be able to walk the distance a normal person can. That I’ll feel good about how I look.

I really need this, especially considering I want to go to Dragon*Con this year. If I’m this big when I get to the convention, I won’t be able to do nearly half of what I want. That’s an unacceptable waste of money.

It’s scary though, I’ll give you that. Damn near terrifying thinking of just how strict things will be. At the same time, though, I’m eager. I want to lose the weight and spending $70.00 a week to do it is a great motivator.

I will be posting the results of these weight-ins once they start. I don’t know my exact starting weight right now, but If I had to guess, I’d say around 395-400. Yeah, I’m that big. And just think, when I had my heart surgery two and a half years ago, I was 345. Disgusting…

Now I just wonder if I can get my insurance to help cover it.

nulloperations

Oh I have a busy weekend coming up. There’s going to be family, friends, and social gatherings to attend to that all fall between Saturday and Sunday. Creative projects are coming to a head. Plus I get to spend more time connecting to my community. Busy but it’s going to be fun.

First, we’re gathering for early Christmas setup and not doing gifts this year in our normal fashion. Instead, we’re having a baking party. From the email my wife sent to the attendees, I’ve been listed as an official tester, a role I intend to shine in. It will be good fun seeing my sister-in-law and some of her children and their children and significant others. Besides… Raven is going out of her way to make my favorite peanut butter cookies.

Second, myself, Dakota, and Andrew will be recording episode one of Trans-Dimensional Cafe. We’ve already recorded two other “non-public” episodes to get into the swing. Some hiccups with recording the last two episodes, but we’re staying on track with getting episode one created. I’ll be posting whenever a new one comes up, until folks get tired of it.

What is Trans-Dimensional Cafe? Well, to sum it up in a sentence: It’s a casual conversation about gaming, writing, TV, movies, and other entertaining and constructive projects. Why the name? I don’t know, but it sounds cool. Are we going to make some sort of theme around it? Maybe, but not so much at first. Being entertaining on our own merit is more important in the long run.

The final spark of the weekend is on Sunday, when I have my book club meeting. It’s our second meeting, so I’m excited to see how it goes. I’m still working on reading Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, but for a genre I don’t normally read I’m really enjoying the book. I’ll give a review after this Sunday I think. Again, I’m looking forward to meeting my neighbors more at these meetings. The last batch of three really were fun to chat with. Between the four of us, we’ve had a pretty diverse set of backgrounds and experiences. I have a feeling I’m going to gain a lot from them in the coming months.

My weekend is pretty full from these events. That said I still have a few smaller things I need to take care of. I’ve got some Second Life work to manage, I need to find a new theme for this blog, I need to craft an entry for the jsamueldiehl.com site, and a few more minor details I’ll take care of in the second half of the week.

So, this post’s question: Continuing the holiday theme, what are your plans for getting ready for the end of the month? Are you buying or have you bought already? Did you plan out a nice trip for family or friends? Are you treating celebrating Christmas the American holiday or are you celebrating Christmas the spiritual holiday? Always happy to hear from you.

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Thanksgiving has come and gone. The past four days were glorious moments of family, friends, and of course, food. We’re entering December and the heart of the holiday season and frankly, I think my diet has already had it. This morning I threw away an apple fritter from Friday, some pumpkin bread from turkey day itself, and tonight I’m tossing out the mini-cupcakes and cookie cake from Saturday. Far too many sweets in my house. Don’t get me wrong, I know I’ll be eating bad again come 25 days from now, but I can do my best to not during the three and a half weeks in-between.

That said, I’m going to also need to start burning these calories if I’m expecting to actually still lose weight this holiday season. I’m off to a bad start but it’s never too late to turn that around. First I’m going to start walking during one of my breaks at work. Second, I’m going to try to add in walking either in the morning or the evening at home. Likely in the morning because by the time I get home the chill will already be heavy in the air. That and it’ll be bad for my sleep schedule to get worked up that soon before heading to bed.

I’m still near 400 pounds and frankly, I’m tired of it.

Hey, are the rest of you trying to balance the tastiness of the holidays with staying healthy and eating right? It’s not an easy feat, especially with the scores of temptations out there. Let me know what ways you’re cutting back and staying active.

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Cross posted from dipsg.

Well, we’ve had this website for over a month now. In that time we’ve had a few new folks show up and sign up, but sadly, there isn’t a great deal of development within the site itself. This is disappointing but not entirely unexpected. Sadly, the $20.00 a month going into keeping this forum alive isn’t looking to be as worth the price. Frankly, with my pay cut and other finical needs, I could use that $20.00 for other important matters. With that in mind, www.dipsg.com  running IBP is going goodbye.

This is not the end of the website or the forums though. My primary website has the ability to host a forum for free and we will be able to handle our needs. I don’t like losing the great tools from Invision Power Boards but frankly as I’ve said, it’s not worth it with the activity.

That said and done, here’s what’s going to happen. The IBP board is going poof. I will be setting up a new board under the hiddennode web server that will still be accessible via www.dipsg.com. This should happen this weekend. Please take the time to setup your account on the other server. I’ll be setting up the board soon. The Layout will be different, by the way. The site will no longer be focused specifically on the dynamic ip super group. Instead, I’m going to focus the site on being a general gaming community site. There will be a section for CoH and the SG specifically.

If you have any questions, please contact me on ventrilo or send me an email at admin(at)hiddennode.com.

Thanks,

jdiehl