This Is My Life

I was thinking about it the other day, and I had to laugh. I currently run four blogs:

The Pooch Page
Insect POD
jfargo101
jfargo

The Pooch Page takes up most of my time, between advertising it, taking photos, editing photos, and actually writing the site. Adding new things like "cutest dog" takes even more time. (As I wrote this I realized that there was something I needed to do on the site, and spent 10 minutes fixing it.) Whether I spread it out over a week, or do it all in one day, The Pooch Page probably takes me 3-4 hours a week to continue doing. Not a lot of time, but for something that I'm only sort-of-kind-of getting paid to do ($.03 a day is not getting paid to do something), it can seem like quite a bit. And that doesn't include processing all the submissions I'm getting from people who want to show off their dogs to the world.

No matter how much time it takes though, it's also something I love doing, so that makes it much less of a chore and more fun. Lately I've been using my early-morning time to work on cropping/resizing pictures and writing posts for the site. Before I started getting up at 5 AM, I'd sometimes forget to update the site until the post was late, but as it stands now I'm a week ahead, with more pictures queued up to go. Today I'll be going to the SPCA to help with the dogs, and take pictures of them for the site. I don't count this towards the "time spent working on The Pooch Page" because I'd be working with the dogs anyway. And probably taking their picture. I just like dogs.

Insect POD is similar, something I started doing when chalain had too much stuff going on in his life to keep updating. There's no way I could make that a 7-day-a-week site; I just don't have anywhere near enough photos to go for more than a few weeks. So, I update three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and (spider) Friday. It's fun, and while I miss reading chalain's updates (he was MUCH funnier than I am, and more informative), I'm glad that I can share cool insect pictures with the world. I'm particularly appreciative of the fact that all the readers are so appreciative of the site; it's a friendly and welcoming community.

This blog and jfargo101 are my "maintenance" blogs. What's going on in my life? What am I thinking about? You know, the day-to-day stuff, the big picture stuff, the little stuff, generally whatever I want it to be. They're the only two blogs I have that can't make money, and that's okay; nobody should have to pay to read about my life! Heh. I like writing about my life, having a journal to look back to and say "yes, I remember that," or "wait, I did what now?" The "to do" blog, the jfargo101, is just a good way to keep track of my accomplishments. See how high I aimed, and if I made it. If I did, I have to aim higher, because we only know our limits when we push ourselves past them, right?

I'm just rambling. I'm sorry if you're looking at this for a point. Thoughts are running through my head on an early Saturday morning and I wanted to let them flow. I haven't felt very interesting as of late, but I'm hoping to change that. I was thinking that this blog would be where I try to do some creative writing. Not fiction, mind you, but making my life more interesting, my writing better. Maybe starting tomorrow I will attempt to live by the "ham sandwich" rule, that at any time my readers could decide to go make themselves a ham sandwich and so I have to always strive to keep their mind on what they're reading, not the applewood-smoked ham piled high, covered with a slice of provolone cheese, a dab of mayonnaise, and a thinly-sliced tomato on two pieces of perfectly sandwich-sized Rye bread.

Mmmm. I'll...be right back.

1) If you would vote for me, I would appreciate it. However, I'm not too concerned either way, so if you've got other stuff to do, feel free to skip this. To see which entry you're voting on, come to my LJ and scroll down a little; I haven't been updating much lately due to other stuff.

2) Sick day today. Curling up on the couch with the dogs, and I don't plan on doing anything else, except maybe letting said dogs outside once in a while. I'll be fine, just have a headache and achy body. The two chronic pain things I've got going on are both acting up today. Wonderful.

3) Recently, my friend Brett asked what I'm going to do now that LARP USA is out of business. It's a good question, and I just don't know the answer. I'm trying to consolidate my 1,001 ideas into two or three goals, and finding it harder than I thought. I know I want to learn Arabic, master the language, and maybe be a translator, but that's a long-term thing instead of a crazy idea. I like crazy ideas, and need one to follow.

So, do you have a crazy idea you think I should follow? Become a rock star? A movie star? Maybe I should go back to being an art model, full time? Should I open a wacky-yet-needed web business like zombie survival kits? How about if I open a restaurant? I've seen people on Kitchen Nightmares; I don't know if I'd make it as a business, but I'd do better than them!

Hit me with your ideas. I need a muse!

First, there was this cute little guy who got an early spot here on The Pooch Page.

Then, I was given this big lovable dope, who somehow Houdini'd in the night.

The universe at large, not being able to continue going up in size of the stray dogs that wander to me, decided to go up in number.



Next thing I know, I'll have two English Mastiffs making their way into my backyard, followed by a St. Bernard.

I love big, dopey dogs, so of course, I'll be keeping them.

These two in the picture had all their tags on them, which made it easy to call their owner, and get them picked up. Happy ending to the short story. :)

Three quick updates, and then I'm off to do my morning Wiirkout.

1) This is why I need an artist for my web comic idea:



This picture, drawn by me, showcases the fact that I have NO idea what to do. Okay, you might point out that I've got the generalities right, that he has arms and legs, and a head, but what about hands? Or a freakin' face? Those two things are impossible for me to make look decent when I draw them.

Plus, that little sketch took me about 20 minutes. That's just sad.

2) I'm currently working on upgrading my zombie defense blog into something more than what it is. I'm wondering if Word Press might better suit my needs. Does anybody have experience with the free version?

3) My three favorite fantasy authors are Robin Hobb, Raymond Feist, and Jim Butcher. Terry Pratchett would be in there, but he's my favorite comedic author, so I wanted to make room for someone else.

I just thought you'd like to know something about me that you might not already have known. That, and I didn't actually have three things to say when I started, so I had to come up with something.

Let's talk about current world events.

Olympics? Nah. Lots of people covering that, and its on the air 24 hours a day right now. You can get that anywhere. (Though there are some things going on there, in that article in particular, that could use talking about.)

John Edwards? I, frankly, don't care, and am disappointed that the Puritan upbringing of America is still holding so strong. Let them deal with it themselves.

Russia vs. Georgia? Now, there's a hot-button issue that I don't see anyone talking about. I'm not surprised, really, because it's a complex issue with little to no scandal factor, just those crazy Russians using their bombs a little too much, right?

Well, kind of.

I remember a video from the 80's in Russia. Some school had been taken over by terrorists, children being threatened, demands being made. I can't find it, because I don't know what to search for right now, but believe me, it exists. The task force involved in talking with the terrorists did something that shocked the world: They didn't talk. They went in, shot the terrorists, lost some civilian lives, and moved on. They dealt with it strongly, with little regard to lost lives. It was their way.

In the 90's, there was another terrorist strike somewhere in Moscow, I believe. A bus had been taken over, the inhabitants threatened with heavy machine guns. The gunners had taken shots at police as they lined the street. It was tense.

The way I remember it, and please recall that this was years ago so if I misremember, please tell me, is that the Russian police threw a grenade onto the bus. Maybe it was just a concussion grenade, no shrapnel to speak of, but it did a lot of damage, got the job done.

The US says that it's shocked by the over-the-top bombing done by Russia on Georgia in response to Georgians attacking Russian peace-keepers. I can't understand the shock, truly. What they did was respond in a very brutal and fast way, causing lots of damage, shocking and awing those they saw as their enemy.

Isn't that just the Russian way of saying "Back off, assholes?" Fast, brutal, and hopefully over with at that point?

Or am I missing something? I'm not happy it happened, obviously, but I'm not shocked, or surprised. Does that make me more able to see global patterns than those in charge? If so, isn't that scary?

1. popfiend is having a FRIENDING FRENZY! Stop by, say hi, tell him I sent you. Why should you do this? Simple: Popfiend is a great guy, uplifting and friendly. He makes it part of his mission to make people's lives a little better most days, and while he is human and has bad days just like the rest of us, that never stops him from being welcoming and a great guy. Plus, there's music. You just can't say no to music.

2. I put up an absolutely hideous ad over at My Name Is Might Have Been, because I saw how low the ad was going for and thought I may as well. I've actually had a few people click through to my site, which surprises me. I was just being kind of silly. (This ad will disappear as soon as someone bids more than I did, of course, so it may not be there when you check it out.) Outbid, but my plan of getting them more revenue through ads is working, even if it's not my hideous advertisement.

3. This is cool, even if it is fake. I mean, the animal itself really did exist at one time, and it looks awesome, but this particular photo is faked. That whole community is actually pretty cool. Cryptozoology is really neat!

1) Hey all! Over at my zombie blog I've got a poll that I'd love to see get some extra results. If you have a minute, would you run over there, check it out, and let me know your answer? I try to put up weekly polls, and get some great info from them, but this one hold a special place in my heart.

2) I've sort of been forgetting to mention that I've had a bunch of photos published over at Insect POD, so here's a list of the last 7:

Cricket
Black Aphids
Other Aphids on a pretty flower
Maria
Fly
Honey Bee
Jumping Spider with a cool story.

Some of those posts have two pictures in them, so make sure to scroll down! (Especially the Black Aphids. David did an awesome job on that with the story and pictures.)

3) I'm starting a new online project, and am looking for submissions. If you're interested in having your dog featured on a premium* website, please feel free to send your pictures to me!

*"Premium," in this particular case meaning "I think it's cool."