I don't Blog Here Anymore

For those of you who don't know, I don't blog here anymore. I have moved all of my blogging to my Tangled Metal Blog.

Anyhow, I just thought I would mention that for those of you who have not yet made the switch. Happy Holidays!

My New Blog For Tangled Metal

Tangled Metal Blog

I started a new blog for Tangled Metal yesterday. I know what you are thinking, I totally need another blog since I do so much here. I know, I know. I am going to really make an effort to be more bloggy, blogesque, bloglike? I am going to try to blog more.

I have really jumped back into the whole making chainmail thing. I have so much experience making it that it is almost second nature for me. I am still able to make it rather quickly. I hope to one day have a routine in blogging like I do in making chainmail. Only time will tell.

I have set my goal for the other blog for three or more posts every week. I am setting my goal for this blog as well. Maybe, eventually, I can add goals to my other blogs. One can hope. Anyhow, If you follow this blog please go to the other one and get on the list. I will try and make it interesting and worth your while. I promise. :)

Happy Birthday William Shatner

From http://www.etsy.com/shop/cutitoutart

Thank you William Shatner for entertaining us for so very long.  It is unbelievable that you just turned 80 today. You have a special place in my heart. I am a nerd through and through. Here is my tribute to you:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d88d0bfee0d6d9155c58b59/happy-80th-birthday-captain 

I was not yet born when Start Trek first came out, so I watched the reruns. Some people just get hooked on SciFi. I was one of those people. I love SciFi!

That is all I have to say other than Happy 80th Birthday William Shatner!

My Steampunk Jewelry and More

One Of  A Kind Steampunk Pendant "Mechanical Sea"

I have started recycling broken watches into jewelry. This one is called "Mechanical Sea" and is in my Etsy Shop. The pendants are really one of a kind and are inspired by the subculture known as Steampunk. The subculture is based on the Victorian era and uses the premise "What would have happened if steam had been the predominant power for all things."

Okay, perhaps it is more complicated than that. Movies like "The Time Machine" and series like "Firefly" are considered to be influential on the Steampunk subculture. Anyhow, I just wanted to share what I have been doing lately. I hope you like this pendant and will visit my shop to see my other pendants and chainmail jewelry and accessories.

Time to start Blogging about my Metal Artwork

Wine Bottle Cozy by Me!

I have been having a difficult time the last few months coming up with something to write about. Let me take that back. I have been having a hard time coming up with positive things to write about. I have been trying to be more positive with what I say and do in my life. Of course it does not always work out that way but I am making an effort.

I recently started making chainmail jewelry again. I have over 25 years experience working with metal. I had retired from the art a few years back after the economy went south and I broke my thumb. A lot of people have been trying to get me back into making it so, I have finally given in and started.

If you would like to see what I am doing, visit my Facebook Page and if you so choose please "Like" it for updates. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tangled-Metal/135795486488947
 
You can also see my work on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/TangledMetal

And I will soon have my shop set up on ArtFire.

Perhaps all of this will give me more cause and inspiration to start writing on this blog again.

Happy St Patricks Day!

Hey guys, sorry that I have not posted in some time. Life has been quite busy lately. I will do my best to try and start writing again. In the meantime, check out what I have been doing:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TangledMetal

I have started to get back into metal working. It is doing me wonders to relieve the stress of day to day life.

Snowy pictures from my new office window.

This is a view from my window in my new office.  My office is no longer in the basement under the stairs.  I used to feel like Harry Potter.  Okay, Harry Potter minus the wand, magic ability, friends and protectors, and the school.  Okay, so, I didn't really feel like Harry Potter.  I felt like I wasn't important enough to have a real office with a real window.  That has all changed.

This is another shot from inside my cozy office.  My office is about the side of a small bedroom.  Maybe 13' x 9' or so.  I am a dude so I have trouble with measurements, just ask Babsalot, she'll tell you how bad I am at guessing measurements.  The window is huge.  About 3' wide by 4 1/2' tall and it overlooks the valley next to my office building.

My office building is technically a basement too.  But it is a much newer basement in a much newer building.  And I am not the only one in the office building.  I now have coworkers.  That will take a bit of time to get used to, but I will adapt.  The town that I live in has a lot of hills and valleys and most structures are built on the side of the hills.  We have one hotel that is eight or so stories tall and all floors are considered ground level.

Living in this small town has its ups and downs -no pun intended- but one of the winter perks is when it snows it looks like something from Switzerland.  In fact the city used to call it Little Switzerland.  You expect to see some lumberjacks wandering around.  I do enjoy living here.  Working for the tourism industry in a small town can be trying but it works out okay.

Well, there you go.  My boring tale of the day.  The fun will begin when it is time to go home and I have to navigate the hills with re-frozen snow and slush.  I have to cross two bridges to get home and neither of them have guard rails.  That may be a tale for tomorrow. 

Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and other people who suck!

Here is my list of people who suck:

Sarah Palin: Seriously you conservative republicans and Teabaggers, is this your poster child?  How could you even possibly allow someone like this to represent you. 

Rush Limbaugh: This guy has about as much taste as dry sand.  He just doesn't get it and he never will.

Glen Beck: I seriously have doubts that this man should be allowed in public.  I Feel he would be better off in some type of asylum where he can be properly medicated.

The entire Republican Senate:  Get up off your ass and start helping America.  You hate Obama, we get that but blocking healthcare for 9-11 responders, extending unemployement benefits at Christmas and adding tax cuts to your fat ass salaries?  SHAME ON YOU!

People who bully ANYONE: You don't have to be gay to get the business end of a bully.  All I can say is maybe you should look into penis enlargement pills.  Do something to make the world better and see how much people like you.  For you it doesn't get better by being a jackass.

Sure, there are a lot more people who suck but I just don't have the energy to list them all.  Anyone want to add to this very fine list?

Mass Unexplained Dead Fish and Birds Around the World. Is This the Beginning of the End?

 "There has not been a generation that has not cried, 'The end is near.'" -George Washington University religion professor Paul Duff recently said when asked about all the dead birds and fish being found around the globe.  I cannot believe more truer words have ever been spoken. 

I live in North West Arkansas in the Ozark Mountains.  I am a few hundred miles from the 3000 to 5000 blackbirds that died in Beebe, Arkansas last weekend.  I am a few hundred miles from the river where thousands of drum fish washed up on the banks.  I am also a few hundred miles from the New Madrid Fault.  Coincidence? Yep, 100% coincidence.

I am also a lot of miles from Chesapeake Bay where reportedly millions of fish up and died.  Dead fish have also been reported in Florida.  Yep, you guessed it I am quite a few miles away from that too.  The coast of Brazil has also had a ton of dead fish wash up on its shores.  Dead fish seem to be popping up everywhere, just like it has been for millions of years I suspect.

The internet is pretty new.  The TV waves have not been around for very long.  Writing, yep, writing has not been around since the dawn of man.  That is why there are no records.  200 years ago the dead fish and dead birds would be thought to have been a message from God that there was a witch living in the area.  500 years ago dead fish and birds would have been a Heretic living down the street.  A thousand years ago, dead fish and birds would mean the church would say God was displeased and giving more to the church would solve it.  Two thousand years ago dead fish and birds would have meant that the Gods were displeased, and they would probably need a sacrifice.

The point is that with mass media a  small amount of dead fish and dead birds can be shared and compared to "similar" events around the world.  Now, if large amounts of dead fish and dead birds start to happen all over the globe you might want to worry.  I mean if all the fish in all the lakes in Arkansas suddenly go belly up and then all the fish in the Nile and Amazon and Thames all dies and float up, you might want to worry.  But it seems that it does not take much for people to start crying wolf and talking about the end of times.

Of course this is just my opinion.  I will be really embarrassed in the next few months if locusts start attacking and everyone gets boils and such.  But I figure if that happens I won't have to worry about anyone saying "Ha! The dead fish and dead birds WERE the sing of the end of times!" because they we will all be dead just like the fish and birds.

Has Texting and Twitter caused people to think in 140 characters thoughts?

I use an iPhone now so I am not limited to 140 character texts, but I am a Twitter user.  I guess I have always just said what I wanted to say and broke it up into multiple texts or tweets but some people cram so many abbreviation into their text and tweets that is is just impossible to figure out!

?	I have a question
?	I don't understand what you mean
?4U	I have a question for you
;S	Gentle warning, like "Hmm? What did you say?"
^^	Meaning "read line" or "message above"
<3	Meaning "sideways heart" (love, friendship)
<3	Meaning "broken heart"
<33	Meaning "heart or love" (more 3s is a bigger heart)

That is an excerpt from http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp and they list so many abbreviation that it is like trying to learn a new language!  How is one expected to learn even a fraction of that, especially since many have multiple meanings.   It makes me wonder if someone shouldn't create an iPhone ap just to translate textspeak!

Let me just make one comment about my age.  I am not someone who didn't grow up with computers.  I have been around computers since well before the 286 era.  My first computer was a calculator - the TI-99!  I can program my DVR and build websites.  I am not computer illiterate.  Part of my job where I work is unofficial IT and IS.  I have been around since before cell phones.  I may only be in my late 30's but my father is a computer teacher so I always had access to cutting edge technology.  Why don't I get textspeak?

The Holidays are over and I am glad.

And........we're back.  I have not felt much like blogging the last couple of weeks.  The holidays mean more than presents and drinking for me.  They mean relaxing and being off from work.  They also mean doing some work around the house, which I did not do nearly enough of over my days off.

Now that the holidays are done for the year and a new year has begun, I am glad.  The holidays are also somewhat of a stressful time as well.  Trying to make sure you didn't miss anyone on your Christmas Gift list.  Making sure you got equal gifts for all the nieces and nephews and so on and so forth.  It can get to be a little overwhelming.

I think things have settled down now and I can enjoy getting back into the work routine once again.  My office is moving to a different location this month so I have the opportunity to go through all my work papers and such and downsize and organize.  Being better organized is my number one goal for 2011. 

I never make resolutions just goals.  My goals are generally set pretty high but with smaller goals in between.  I am almost 100% out of debt.  One of my other goals this year is to be completely out of debt.  I canceled all of my credit cards last year and paid them off.  There are still a few medical bills that need to be paid off and that is about it. 

In 2009 I had $1650 in overdraft charges at my bank.  2010 I had $0 overdraft charges.  In 2009 I had about 20 different disconnect notices from different utilities and the like.  In 2010 I had one disconnect notice right at Christmas time and it was because a mailed payment was a couple of days delayed because of the holidays.  All things considered I did a good job of meeting my goals last year.

What are some of your goals for 2011?  I'd like to hear about them.  Post a comment or e-mail me at eric.cole.young@gmail.com

The most disturbing movies are based on fact.

I watched a very disturbing movie the other night.  It is a documentary that is supposedly based on true events.  I have no doubt that 98% of this movie was true, there are only a couple of things that seemed scripted or altered. 

The movie, without spoiling it for you, is about an on-line relationship that starts on Facebook.  It delves into the creation of an on-line romance and shows how it can grow.  Catfish is about how sometimes you stretch the truth to make someone like you.  It is about what happens when it is time to meet in person.

I would love to tell the whole plot but I do not want to ruin anything for you.  I strongly suggest that anyone who has a MySpace page or a FaceBook page or a Twitter account go out and rent this movie.  It might make you see things in a completely new light. 

Inception, what a trippy movie.

It has been a very long time since I have done a blog about a movie but I liked this one so much I thought I would do one.  Inception is a pretty original idea, mostly.  Taking control of a shared dream to steal corporate ideas or in this case to plant an idea. 

It is almost like a bunch of movies cut up into one.  City of Lost Children, The Matrix, Dark City with a little Mission Impossible thrown in for good measure.  Let me just say I am not a huge Leonardo DeCaprio fan, strike that, I do not like him at all, but he did an alright job in this film.  The special effects did carry the movie and most every question was answered which is pretty good.

I didn't figure out the ending until about 30 minutes in, which for me is a good thing because I can usually tell how something ends 5 minutes into the film.  there are some twists and turns along the way that might have made me doubt what I thought the end to be but I was pretty much dead on. 

Am I ever going to get to the plot or anything here?  Okay, fine.  It is about controlling dreams, creating the places and keeping the dreams from falling apart too soon.  It would seem that the more control you put in the dream the faster it falls apart.  Follow me?  Well let me add that this is about controlling nested drams.  Dreams within dreams.

The further the dream is nested the longer the time seems in the dreams, which I thought was kind of groovy.  Whereas your main dram was like an hour to every 5 minutes of dream, deeper nested dreams could last what seems like decades.  This would have been nice if it was real when I went to school.  I could have learned everything I needed to know in one night and tested out of everything.  Oh well, I guess that is why they call it fiction.

It was a good movie overall but be sure to pay close attention or you may find yourself lost pretty fast and you may stay lost.  Have I lost you with my review?  Sorry about that.  Watch it for yourself and see what you think.

Holy movie selections bat-person!

I am not sure how I made it as long as I did without an iPhone but I did.  I am not sure how I made it as long as I did without Netflix but I did.  I am not sure how I made it so long without the Netflix iPhone App but I did.  Now I am not sure if I could live without it!  Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration but really, I love it!

It sometimes amazes me how far technology has come in a matter of 10 years.  In 2000 the average hard drive size in a laptop was 10 gig.  My iPhone has 32 gig and eeighs about 8 pounds less and does 100 times as many things including play down-streamed movies.  My first laptop could not play anything more than an animated gif and that sometimes froze up the computer.

Recently we got Netflix for the house.  We signed up for the free trial- it is only like $10 a month after the trial.  It is really cool to have a DVD shipped to you and not have to worry with going to the video store and paying $3 a pop for DVD rentals.  After you get 4 DVDs in the mail you've paid for the monthly fee just in DVD rentals.  But wait, there's more, much more.

You can watch movies on your laptop.  You can watch movies through your PS3 or Wii.  You can watch movies through devices that stream to your TV or you can watch movies on your iPhone.  Seriously, the amount of options for watching movies is staggering.  Especially when you think of how much you are paying for what you are getting.  We are going to cancel our premium movie channels on our Direct TV and save $44 a month.

I imagine Netflix isn't for everyone.  The movie selection isn't great when it comes to downloads and sometimes it is a month or two before new releases are added to the DVD selection but you are never without something to watch.  They have tons of genres and sub-genres that make it easy to find something entertaining.  I know I can find something to watch for 1/4 what I pay to the movie channels on TV.

I am a sucker for Christmas, I always have been.  I have always been more the giving type.  I don't really even like getting Christmas gifts anymore.  I am always just happy seeing the look on my daughter's, nieces' and nephews' faces.  To me, that is Christmas.

I come from a very non-traditional family, but it seems like we always had Christmas traditions.  We always have had Christmas eve just for the family and Christmas day was for friends and such.  It is really great to be able to have friends that have no family or family that is too far to visit come spend Christmas day enjoying food and fun.  I look forward to that every year.

What do you do for Christmas?

Volunteer Police Department Mascot.

I have a plan for dear Penelope.  She is going to be the only car in the "All City Volunteer Police Department."  You see, Nash was a provider of police cars in the late 40's and early 50's and Penelope just happens to fall into that category.  She wasn't a police car but she has the style of one.

I have owned many cars that were used as police cars including a 1979 LTD, a 1978 Dodge Aspen, my 1966 Ford Fairlane and now Penelope.  I am not sure why I have owned so many cars that were used for police departments but it does not really matter, Penelope is going to be the first one I dress up like a police car.

The above image shows what she might look like.  Just remember though, nothing will be shiny on my car, no sir!  It is flat black and flat white and gray for Penelope.  I just love the look of flat colors and rust.  It must be a Rockabilly thing. This is just the way of things for me.  So, now I am on the look out for vintage police car accessories.  Know anyone that might have some?

What the Hell is Twitter's #FF all about?

What the Hell is Twitter's #FF all about?

If you just started a Twitter account you may have noticed all the #FF last Friday. You may be wondering what this is all about. I wrote a little bit about Hash Tags in general last week and this is just a specific type of Hash Tag that has gained popularity Twitter-wide over the last couple of years. 

In an effort for friends to recomend other friends a hashtag was started to help organize the posts into a usable searchable database.  It is a great way to make new friends and get more followers. It is like a word of mouth endorsement from a friend. 

#FF used to be  #FollowFriday but fitting in more than a couple of friends in the 140 character limit caused it to be shortened.   Use #FF anywhere in your message and all the @tweeple listed will go into the database. For fun you can type #FF into the Search Twitter page and see just how many people are using it!

This is a simple way that Twitter users have made it easier to share their friends with their other friends.  Get creative with it if you want.  It can be a lot of fun.

Dimond Mining in Arkansas Fun For The Whole Family

Diamonds found in the United States

Where do diamonds come from?  From a jewelry store is probably the answer most people would say.  Diamonds come from deep within the earth.  I won't give you a lesson on how they get to the surface or anything, you can look that up later.  What I will say is that there is one place in the United States that you can actually go and mine diamonds for yourself!  That is right, there is a diamond mine that is open to the public.

When you think of diamonds you think probably think of engagement rings or anniversary jewelry.  You probably did not realize that diamonds can be quite beautiful in the rough.  The image on this page is of uncut rough diamonds.  Not a thing has been done to them at all.

Back to diamonds in the United States.  Diamonds have been found in many states but they were more than likely moved by glaciers or rivers.  There are only two known diamond bearing areas in the US.  One is a privately owned mine on the Colorado/Wyoming Border.  The other is in Arkansas.  It is located near Hot Springs at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

That is right, it is not only open to the public it is owned by the state of Arkansas as a state park!  For just a under $10 a day you can mine for genuine diamonds.  There is also camping on site and plenty of camp grounds in the area.  Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only diamond mine open to the public in the world.

Some people may think this is a hoax and that they salt the field with diamonds, but let me just clear this up for you, they do not.  I personally have found eight diamonds from the park.  The diamonds can be found on the surface but for a serious effort a little digging may be necessary.  Check out the park and plan your next family vacation.

Want to learn more?  Visit http://diamondsinar.com/ where my friend has literally written the book on Diamonds in Arkansas.  He also has created a really great DVD with the history of Diamonds in Arkansas as well as a handy "How to" guide for finding diamonds at the State Park.

Sometimes Naughty IS Nice, Just Ask Santa!

Click on the image to go to the shop

Sometimes it pays off to be naughty.  The naughty list isn't always about being bad.  This card design shows that.  Click on the image to go to the shop and see what else is in there.  Yes, I will probably add a few more cards.  I really dig creating them.

This is how you get people to donate to the poor!

Click the image to visit the shop.

By now you have probably figured out that I have a thing for old retro Pin Up anything!  I love all the old Pin Up models and everything that they did.  I used this old design to create yet another Christmas Card.  One of these days someone might actually buy one of my cards.