Mini Blog
Disclaimer: Everything written in this mini blog is the personal opinion of the writer and should not be taken as fact, although occasionally facts are stated. This mini blog was created as a coding exercise, but it's kind of fun so the writer kept it around.
Currently showing 20 entries per page - #6
- Shark Week
- This year, shows feature sharks being eaten or murdered by orcas.
Next year: Shark Week changed to Orca Week. - 06/29/2016 @ 12:34pm MDT (America/Denver)
- #7
- The struggle
- Pokemon Go or drawing?
Tough choice. - 07/12/2016 @ 11:50am MDT (America/Denver)
- #8
- Check out the Extras section to see my Pokemon Go stat card generator!
Let's just say I was inspired to do some coding. The generator was created with CSS, HTML, and Javascript. - 07/22/2016 @ 2:31pm MDT (America/Denver)
- #38
- Pandemic Life in July
- Well, I got to teach class this month. Rec center put in some rules, like: must wear mask while moving around the building, but you can take it off once you're in place. After three weeks, Gov. Polis enacted a statewide mask mandate, so that changed to wearing the mask at all times indoors.
I got my own stuff printed on some polyester masks (https://society6.com/surrosgallery/masks). I gotta say, as someone with asthma, the masks are pretty hard to wear when talking to class. Polyester isn't as breathable as cotton, but to be honest my real issue is when I breathe in, the cloth presses against my face and my lizard brain always has that second of panic: "Oh no I'm being SMOTHERED!" I have to pause and be patient and get enough air to keep talking.
Might try Redbubble masks later. They're cheaper and apparently a bit shoddy but they might be a bit less efficient at filtering.
My feelings about this...I'd say this wasn't enacted soon enough. People waited til we got actual studies being done...I think it's the BLM protests that really helped. Protestors mostly used masks and COVID19 rates did not increase. It's only in areas where people did not wear masks indoors, believing masks to be an infringement upon their freedom due to rampant partisanship driving a wedge deeper between Americans, that it's been increasing. Republican govs overwhelmingly late on every precaution, not taking care of their citizens. The unclear leadership from the white house has failed us.
I may or may not survive this pandemic. I'd like to. I wanna go to FFXIV Fanfest... - 07/23/2020 @ 12:36pm MDT (America/Denver)
- #9
- Still drawing along
- As with many past Olympics, I'm sighing over the gendered sports. The male gymnasts never have to dance or have music. That's so boring! Make them dance on their floor routines. Rate them on artistry. Have a male rhythmic gymnastics category. If you refuse to do that, let the women do strength exercises instead of pirouettes.
I'm personally voting for male artistry, though. We've already got weight-lifting so there's no need for strength demos in gymnastics. - 08/15/2016 @ 11:06am MDT (America/Denver)
- #39
- More Pandemic Life
- Rules were changed at the rec center so we all have to wear masks 100% of the time, which is safer honestly.
I added a new project that I have filled with the utter nonsense I've been dumping on the FFXIV community for the past 2 years, so if you play FFXIV and love silly comics, go check it out under Projects! I've also updated the gallery with various pieces I've done.
Most of it is fan art. I'll be honest, I've been having trouble with original stuff since my dog Terra drowned. But regardless of the subject matter, I've been practicing various skills and feel I've improved in a myriad ways! Story-telling, for example. Sequential narratives are no joke.
I've drawn more than what I've added as of this blog but I may make a new project to add those to instead, since they're proper comics. - 09/20/2020 @ 11:50am MDT (America/Denver)
- #10
- Not another site design!
- Hey, it's a hobby.
I chose to keep this one simple and did a bit of streamlining. This blog is no longer on the front page - instead, it's in the extras section, because I'm fairly sure the images are the most important thing here. - 09/29/2016 @ 1:58pm MDT (America/Denver)
- #11
- In other news...
- For some reason there's an extra slash by my apostrophes here. I'm not entirely sure why that's happening. Most likely it's an issue with my host's latest MySQL update.
Several years later (2018): I finally managed to fix the extra slashes! But only after my hosting company fixed their MySQL issues. :) - 09/29/2016 @ 2:04pm MDT (America/Denver)
- #13
- An Unexpected Good-bye
- One of my aunts died very suddenly yesterday.
- 10/08/2016 @ 9:14am MDT (America/Denver)
- #16
- Trials of Teaching Art
- Since becoming a part-time art teacher at a rec center, I've learned a number of interesting things.
1) Younger artists are more likely to whine when something is hard
2) They may come for the drawing, but they stay for the friendships they make
3) Some kids are hopelessly obnoxious and guess what, rec center teachers don't have to deal with that!
4) Older students often pay their own way via part-time jobs, and most have better things to spend their cash on than drawing lessons
5) I wish I could teach adults
6) Kids these days have so much homework and don't get enough sleep, and the standardized tests they take just mean less time for learning interesting things. Even 12 year olds know how useless standardized tests are!
It's usually better to teach to the child's interests and sneak in 'real' stuff every now and then. Most of the younger ones don't understand the connection between realism and the cartoons they love just yet, but one day they will. - 11/18/2017 @ 3:52pm MST (America/Denver)
- #40
- The inevitable happened
- Well, my mom is positive for COVID-19 so we have at last become part of the statistic. I am fairly sure it was from numerous non-essential outings like restaurant dining, pedicures, massages...the state is going to be shut down soon to try to curb the rise in cases.
In any case I am now staying in my room. Not sure if I'm sick or not. It's probably a lost cause but I feel better. Sort of. Tomorrow I might try hanging out in the yard for a while.
So far her symptoms are mild, more like a cold that just won't go away. We'll see how she fares for the next 2-4 days. Her symptoms started on Friday the 13th. - 11/20/2020 @ 12:01am MST (America/Denver)
- #14
- What could I do
- She wept, not out of sadness or fear, but out of self-recrimination, for she thought feeling fear at all meant she was a coward. This could not be further from the truth.
- 12/02/2016 @ 3:51pm MST (America/Denver)
- #41
- Inevitable pt 2
- Dad was positive for COVID 19 (tested Dec. 8, lack of smell symptom around Nov 29) but is fine. Mom has recovered. I'm the last one...I haven't gotten a test yet, I'm not going anywhere and no symptoms.
- 12/12/2020 @ 11:08am MST (America/Denver)
- #42
- Predictions
- It's close to the end of 2020 so I'm going to throw my predictions for the next 2-4 years up here. I've had these for a while but may as well write them down.
- Historical precedence tells me this pandemic will continue for another year or two at minimum. Given our terrible response to it as a country, it may end up being another 2 years rather than 1. So, this situation will last til 2022, if I am being optimistic. 2024 if I'm not.
- GOP will dissolve into infighting and lose power. Democrats will take over but eventually split into two parties. Something like this has happened before in history (see: the fate of the Whig party), but the reason I predict this is because Dems have been taking on the conservatives jumping ship from GOP (due to Trump/extremism), but in the end there will still be differences in ideology so the refugees and right-leaning/moderate Dems will choose to form their own party (after more infighting).
- The social revolution continues
The Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the FDA so doses will start being doled out on Sunday/Monday to our most vulnerable. - 12/12/2020 @ 11:18am MST (America/Denver)
- #43
- Political rifts
- Due to rampant propaganda, my dad spends all his time stumping for the GOP and Trump. It's a little strange since he doesn't exactly fit the demographic, being a (legal) immigrant, non-white, forced into early retirement, the rest of his family is against all of that, etc.
We can't talk politics around him because it inevitably leads to nasty fights where he starts shouting at us, saying the same 4 propaganda lines over and over again. I recorded part of the last fight...I don't know what I plan to do with the recording. It's a snapshot of the divide within families, but it's also a personal tragedy in its own right. The fight isn't even about politics, but about COVID 19...(before my dad was diagnosed) the issue has been so politicized that it triggers the same response in him. It's such a struggle to disprove every single line he trots out because he's yelling and doesn't listen and discounts half the evidence because of the logic taught to him by Fox News and co.
He gets on Facebook and insults the rest of our family, not personally, but by ranting about stupid liberals and absolutely not making the connection...if you do force him to do so, he eventually concludes we just don't accept him for who he is, rather than realizing he's actively insulting and alienating people with his rhetoric. It's difficult.
If you're wondering, this indoctrination has been happening for years. I remember him listening to insane right-wing talk radio on the drive to drop me off at my high school every morning. We got into arguments about it to the point where he finally just switched to music when I was in the car. Clearly he never stopped. - 12/12/2020 @ 11:27am MST (America/Denver)
- #44
- More COVID 19 reports
- This is what I get for enforcing the 'mini' part of my mini blog! 2000 characters isn't enough for me right now. I should extend it. Maybe after I figure out pagination with php.
Anyway, how has the landscape changed? People have adapted. There are still fervent anti-maskers. Half the people in denial are just like 'oh well I think I got it back in February so I'm probably okay' without getting tests to prove it. Nearly everyone in CO has a mask and most are wearing them properly, which slows the spread somewhat. Unfortunately the refusal to mandate a travel ban on Thanksgiving means far too many people traveled, and now far too many will die.
I hear of more and more people catching it every day. No one close to me has died but relatives of friends of friends have succumbed...a family friend's brother died, and my mom's friend's best friend's brother has also died. My mom's boss's father-in-law died a few months back.
I see the numbers. 3000 a day or more deaths, with even more hospitalizations. ICUs at their limit. Makeshift wards created in parking garages and elsewhere. My dad screams that people are living in fear when they're probably not gonna die. But it is not ourselves we fear for...I've told him as much. This reveals how selfish he believes all of us are...and how selfish he now is.
My class this month has gone virtual so I won't expose my students. We're all looking forward to winter break. - 12/12/2020 @ 11:42am MST (America/Denver)
- #22
- Pre-Thailand Entry
- Hello everyone! For the first time in about 11 years, I will be going back to Thailand to see family and do touristy things. I'm still figuring out how I want to go about documenting things. I do know that I want to use this mini-blog feature to post about my day, although being a junior coder means I haven't really created a way to insert photos into any given entry. Alas! Perhaps I should resort to WordPress, but I inevitably get annoyed and delete the whole thing eventually.
Last time I went, I hand-coded a page full of photos and commentary. As fun as it is reading snarky commentary from my 20-year-old self, my site currently isn't set up for that kind of thing unless I manage to add photos to the mini-blog...
Well, I'll think of something! - 12/13/2019 @ 7:04pm MST (America/Denver)
- #19
- To Do for recipe page
- Escape the apostrophes
Fix alignment
Fix the menu
Stay tuned...I may actually get around to officially putting my recipe page in the menu!!
Please note that most of these aren't my recipes, they're just things I like that I've found around the web that I like and I don't care if anyone steals them because I'm not a recipe blogger trying to make money off it. Sources are included! - 12/17/2018 @ 3:14pm MST (America/Denver)
- #23
- Day 0: traveling
- It's actually been a few days but I'll make each day a separate entry. Here is the first!
Day 0
Destination: Bangkok, Thailand
They sure have updated airplanes since I last went on a long flight. We used to get the onboard movies but had to switch to channels that were running the movie we wanted. Now it's all touch screens with included USB ports and power outlets and headphone jacks. The Japan-Thailand flight even allowed you to play games and stuff!
Food was...terrible. So was trying to sleep. My younger nephew was essentially in nightmare mode, lots of screaming and so on. The older nephew was consumed by his new Switch. By the end of the journey we were all a bit feral, to be honest. That's pretty standard for this trip, in my experience.
Once we got to the hotel, I finally realized my sister had made some serious effort to find the fanciest places possible for us to stay at. After over a decade of life experience accumulated, I have a new...I suppose awareness of the strange mishmash of global/westernized culture and Thai culture. It seems Christmas (as a secular holiday) has gained popularity in the country as well, so there are a lot of images of lights and trees and santa but a complete and utter lack of the Christian imagery I'm used to in the US. Only Christmas trees, presents, and the occasional lights. You won't find anyone bleating about 'Jesus is the reason for the season' around here.
It's interesting. I feel like it's mostly artificial, a marketing ploy by various businesses to get the business of foreigners. The displays take up a tiny part of the street. Walk half a block and you're looking at a railroad track with houses made of cloth, deck umbrellas, and corrugated metal lining the sides.
Ah, but that's something to ponder for another time. Anyway, after some time staggering around the hotel lost and confused after being up for almost 24 hours straight, I made it to bed and...promptly failed to sleep for more than 3 hours. :) - 12/22/2019 @ 6:28am MST (America/Denver)
- #24
- Day 1: jetlag
- Day 1
Current Location: Central Bangkok
Started the day off with a nasty headache. Breakfast was very nice. My brother-in-law saved me when he came by with advil after I whined via text about the headache. Once that cleared up, I went with my parents to look around an IT mall for SIM cards and for me, a store that potentially sold Pomera computers. This is an e-ink display with a keyboard, if you were wondering. No real internet connection, does only word processing, long battery life, etc. It's from a Japanese company so I thought the likelihood of finding it while wandering around was higher. I was wrong.
It turns out no one understands the need for such things...Thais have all the latest gadgets. I was awfully tempted to browse the various CPUs I saw on display. My iPhone is far too old for their tastes so I doubt I could find a good phone case with a little charm hooky thing. Oh well.
After that, we took a short rest and then off we went to my dad's birthday dinner, where I ate little and panicked at the sight of potential mosquitoes since it was all outside. My nephews expired and we had to take them back to the hotel, where they had to be carried in. Poor kids. - 12/22/2019 @ 6:37am MST (America/Denver)