(This one seems pretty self-explanatory. Also, it’s still a frustration for me. I can’t figure out where I got the pattern from too. So, I can’t name the style.)
The way the world should work.
Always tell the truth.
For that is what is right.
A mantra for our youth.
Always tell the truth.
No matter what you lose.
A mantra for our youth.
We knew it would never last.
No matter what you lose.
You should strive for honesty.
We knew it would never last.
Once we heard you lying.
You should strive for honesty.
As if you are the purest ones.
Once we heard you lying
Your request died in your lungs.
As if you are the purest ones
Who lies about their age
Your request died in your lungs
Mere ashes upon our ears
Who lies about their age
While preaching for the truth
Mere ashes upon our ears
Making scars that will remind us
While preaching for the truth
Our own lies will come to pass
Making scars that will remind us
That everyone’s a liar
Our own lies will come to pass.
For that is what is right.
That everyone’s a liar.
The way the world should work.
Welcome! Yes, there are many types of chairs out there. Why do so many people come in here surprised at that? Anyway, we have a wide assortment for you to choose from, but we can also help you make a custom one. I knew you would want to peruse our options, so here’s the catalogue.
First, we should decide on the style. What are you going to be using the chair for? A relaxing chair does narrow it down somewhat. There are the recliners, which are always popular. Wingback, egg, and barrel styles are common as well. Will these be outside or inside? Both means you would need to move it. For that, I would recommend either a wheeled chair or a lightweight rocking chair. There aren’t many additions to the latter, but that will make things a little streamlined.
I assume you want your rocking chair to be made of wood. We have all of the usual types such as oak, maple, and cedar. We have rarer ones too such as petrified, time travel obtained, and . . . There really isn’t anything special about the woods. No powers or abilities to speak of. Some are more durable and require less maintenance than others, which can be appealing. Oh, the golden willow would does have a habit of attracting fairies. There’s also a type of pine that absorbs your stress, but it will eventually release it all into a pocket dimension. That sounds good, but we really don’t know what lives in that pocket dimension. Only that the citizens have sent us several letters threatening war once they can figure out how to cross over. Golden willow? Good choice.
You don’t want to put paint on that wood because it will anger the fairies. I would suggest a natural-looking wood stain. Gold on gold would be repetitive, so maybe a clear or slightly tinted type. Here’s one that would give it a reddish hue. Seems it also keeps the chair fairly warm at all times, which is good in the winter. This is a darker yellow stain, which keeps termites, ants, flies, and other pests away. Unfortunately, it smells like spicy mustard at all times. It’s still our second best seller in terms of stains. Our top one is a strawberry red that sprouts said fruit every week. You have to pick it within an hour of it appearing though or it will rot. Reddish hue for warmth it is.
Cushion patterns are numerous, but we do have various abilities. Fart elimination, back pain eraser, calming scents, expanding into a wrap-around blanket, and a mild vibration mode are a few. For a rocking chair, we have a cushion that does the rocking for you because its actually a mimic. Not that the cushions have eaten anyone, but we don’t make them. They simply appear and feed off any food that falls in their creases. I think they might eat a few fairies too. Still, the possible mimic also changes its shape to contour to your body and there is some evidence that it can protect your home from invaders of all species. The only problem is they don’t get along with small house pets. They’re scared of small children as well because you can’t get markers, gum, glitter, glue, and other things out of their hair. You don’t have any of that, so you’re good for the mimic. I’ll keep watch for the next one to arrive.
Anything else? Thank you for doing business with us. Just watch out when you leave because we got a shipment of steel chairs. Those things have a habit of folding themselves and launching at the nearest person’s back. Ow! Why do we sell these things to non-wrestling fans?
Hair– Blonde Eyes– Green; Later chocolate brown with gold flecks and black circles Race– Half-Elf Hometown– Haven Career– Forest Tracker Weapon(s) of Choice– Twin Sabers Debut Book– Legends of Windemere: Beginning of a Hero
Luke Callindor was born to be a hero. At least that’s what he was told since he comes from the famous Callindor lineage. Since childhood, he has been trained in combat, tracking, monster lore, and various wilderness. By the time Luke turns eighteen, he has made up his mind to become an adventurer. Running away from home with his loyal dog, Stiletto, he has no idea what he is getting himself into. A famous name can only get him so far before experience and skills can finish the job.
Being the first hero who appears in the Legends of Windemere series, Luke is shown at the beginning of his adventurers. He is cocky, stubborn, and still working with the idea that destiny is in his favor when he lies to get his first adventure. Pitted against a demonic assassin and under the suspicious eye of a famous mercenary, Luke quickly realizes that he may have made a mistake. It doesn’t take long for him to learn that trustworthy friends are the key to his survival. This is only his first lesson and he continues to grow as his story progresses alongside the other destined heroes.
Throughout the series, Luke Callindor relies on his courage and ability to think on his feet more than being tactical. He is spontaneous and unpredictable to both his enemies and allies, which has managed to keep him alive even in the most challenging situations. Luke is also a very quick at learning new skills and adapting, which is an ability that he is not entirely aware of. He works off instinct when backed into a corner or he sees someone in danger. Growing up with dreams of heroism, he will routinely risk his life to save his friends or even total strangers from danger. As admirable as this is, his enemies know that this can be used against him.
I’ve made many posts over the years about setting. A reason for this is because I use a lot of descriptive exposition when writing. I know many don’t like this method and start shouting ‘show don’t tell’. Still, this works for my style and it isn’t like I’m selling books anyway. Finding that it helps my son visual what’s going on as well since he started reading Beginning of a Hero.
A personal belief is that setting works as a hidden character. The reason for that is because it evolves as you progress through the story. It doesn’t stay the same because it grows with every added detail. The setting also influences the characters and can force them to develop. So, it can’t be taken for granted or ignored since it influences almost every aspect of the story. This is why I want to get the thoughts of others:
What is an important ‘rule of setting’ that you follow?
How much has your setting usage or preferences changed over the years?
What is an aspect of setting that most people don’t seem to acknowledge? (Examples: time, various sense stimuli, stars, cultures, etc.)
So, what are the 2026 plans, goals, whatever, I don’t know:
Finish writing Darwin & the Joy Path.
Maybe start writing Darwin & the Hejinn Queen.
Really should finish the ‘Phi Beta Files’ outlines.
Support son passing 11th grade.
Help son prepare and start 12th grade.
Help son plan for college even though he already has a plan.
Take one trip with son.
Work during the summer as usual.
Catch plenty of Pokemon while getting exercise.
Bike more.
Sleep better.
Finish some puzzles and maybe Lego sets.
Ignore the people who keep suggesting I try dating.
Read more manga since it’s easier to take long breaks from that than novels.
You know, maybe I can even start Darwin & the Nightmare Lord if I finish the other two.
Stop getting my heart set on making amazing progress when my life is still borderline shambles.
Continue blogging.
Dream of publishing since it still makes no financial sense, which sucks because I really miss doing it. No cover art money and no marketing money, but that first one is the real killer.
I know it’s not a good idea to start with the weather, but that was a heavy influence on how the week went. Temps were primarily in maybe the 20’s, but dropped into single digits a few times. The reason is the wind coming down from the arctic, which is making my face and new scar hurting. We had some flurries to start 2026, but that happened after my son and I got home. Still, not being able to go outside for very long really limited what we were able to do. Not that we planned much, but it means physical activity wasn’t happening, especially since I got a full thumbs up on Monday in regards to my recovery. Shame I couldn’t celebrate with a walk in around the park.
Writing happened, but I came a single chapter section short when it came to Darwin & the Joy Path. Last weekend saw me come close, but the cold and some stressors tired me out too fast to finish chapter 12. I thought I would have a chance to do so during the week, but things happened. Basically, I had my son for the day I thought he would be busy, so we did our usual Pokemon Go, anime with lunch, and video games, which meant no writing. To be fair, we were both exhausted from being up late, so I used my energy to get cleaning done instead.
Thankfully, the chapter section is an easy one to get back into since it’s the wrap up action after a big event. My notes were a mess for the big challenge too, which added to me not getting more done last Sunday. It didn’t help that I focused on a character who wasn’t the one to solve the problem. I had been focusing on him for the entire chapter, so I wanted to keep that going. This meant, I had to figure out how have the problem get solved by someone else through his perspective. Couldn’t have it come out of nowhere, so I had to repeatedly get up to pace and think. Overall, I believe I got it to work.
‘Phi Beta Files’ are still an outline challenge that I haven’t been able to touch much. I’m really going to bed soon after my son does. This gives me about 15 minutes to look over the notes while listening to music. The plus side is that I have this book mostly set up in terms of stories, but I don’t have them in order. This might be an issue with writing books where its short stories, which both stand alone and carry the main plot. No idea why I had no issues with this when I outlined the first book a year ago. Was it because it was the start, so I had no pre-existing threads?
This weekend is a little cluttered with getting things ready for school and work starting up again on Monday. Haircuts, lunch food, making sure all homework is done, laundry, and getting back on sleep schedules are important. Time with my son is really important too because February is going to be rough. With the way Winter Break is split, there is always a high chance of me only getting 1 of the 4 weekends instead of it being even. This is one of those years, so I want to cherish the time I get. Guess I’ll add this to another reason I’m stressed and not enjoying my existence. Really drives home that I’ll have effectively missed half of my son’s life for a decade once this is over. Probably more given how this agreement operates in real life, but nothing can be done there.
Next week will be a little warmer with high 30’s on Tuesday and maybe getting into the low 50’s by the weekend. Doubt I can do a park walk until Wednesday, but you never know since I have my cold weather clothes. As I said, the scar I have is still sensitive, so the low temps make it itchy and ache a bit. The location prevents me from wearing one of my cold weather clothes, but I might try it this week. I really need fresh air and exercise to help with my stress, which has returned to levels where I get 2 am panic attacks. Though, a lot of crap getting thrown my way isn’t helping. 2026 really isn’t feeling any different than 2025. Such is my life for a while.
Not as down as I sound. Just tired and not hiding the fact that I have to deal with a lot of emotional battering. It comes from certain entities who are more interested in causing pain and winning faux battles than making things easy. I mean, knowing I was in the hospital didn’t even stop some of them from continuing their stress-inducing antics from afar. That really taught me how these people will never change and I simply have to endure them until the leopards come for their faces. Just wish those spotted karma deliverers would work faster, but it’ll have to happen some day.
Goals of the week?
Time with son. (Trying to watch older movies if time allows.)
Haircuts.
Return to work.
Put together vodka sauce lasagna to cook tomorrow.
Write more Darwin & the Joy Path if possible this week.
Exercise with Pokemon Go when weather good.
Work on ‘Phi Beta Files’.
Puzzle time to relax before bed.
Get extra sleep on Sunday to prepare for the week.
Continue dealing with unrepented narcissists who I can’t be rid of.
Today (January 5th) is National Bird Day, so I thought I’d highlight one of the biggest conservation success stories: The Condor.
Specifically, it was the California Condor that was pulled from the brink of extinction. We also have the Andean Condor. Now, California Condors had a slight boom in the late 1700’s because of human settlements having livestock, which gave them an ample food supply. Eventually, the people started moving to other areas and hunters began taking the game that would naturally feed the condors. Land was being taken over and eggs were being collected by people, which was decimating the condor population.
Condors were first protected in 1966 when 60 were in the wild, but it didn’t help and they dropped to 22. A recovery program began in 1979, which was controversial because people didn’t like the plan. It was that wild condors would be captured and used in a controlled breeding program. This could be difficult even though condors can live to 60 and are sexually mature at 6. They are monogamous and lay only one egg at a time, which is why the egg collecting was so destructive. Yet, there was a habit that conservationists could take advantage of.
While condors only lay one egg, they can have a second in the same breeding season if they lose the first one. So, people would take the first chick to hand feed and have an unpaired adult to raise, which prompted the mating pair to have a second chick. In 2021, it was also discovered that female California condors could have chicks without mating, which is called parthenogenesis.
It took a long time for the release part of the program to work, but it eventually took hold enough for the wild ones to breed. As of this year, there are 343 free-flying condors and 217 in captivity. The breeding program continues and is seen as a great success.
Here are some condor facts:
They are actually vultures, which means they are scavengers.
Condors are the largest land birds with California ones having a wingspan of 9.5 feet and Andean at 10.5.
Condors prefer to fly in windy areas in order to glide since they are so big.
Andean males have brown eyes and females have red.
Enter the world of Windemere with 11 action adventure short stories featuring a man who is out to make an honest living. Some heroes seek fame. Some seek fortune. Others simply want to save the world. Ichabod Brooks only wants to put food on the table for his family. Known and respected as the man who can get any job done, Ichabod has seen his share of adventure. Most of which have been highly exaggerated by bards. Still, the man has his famous reputation for a reason. Whether it be climbing a temperamental mountain for eggs or escorting orphans to their new homes, Ichabod takes every job seriously and makes sure he is as prepared as he can be. Not that it helps since things always take a turn for the worse.
