Registration Please

 It's midterms year.  
Things have moved forward largely as predicted.  
Gerrymandering is in full swing, a public health crisis was politicized, wars rage, and nature does as it will.  

Voting this year will be more difficult in previous years.  
Those that would have voting suppressed  have done, and continue to do, everything in their power to stack things further into their favor.  

So what can we do.  
We can Bar-b-q. 
We can roast.
We can sing
We can dance. 

Here's the plan.  
We get voter turn out to rival that of the 2020 election.  
How?  
See above. 

Here's the thing, and my challenge to politicians that really want a reminder, and to set an example, as to what it means to hold a public office. 
To be a public servant.  

You pass out water. 

On voting days, when the polls are open, at the voting locations.  You set up a little table, maybe a tent, handful of chairs.  Hell, I'll loan at least one of you both just to see it done.  
And if someone raises their hand you bring them a bottle of water.  
No signs, no buttons or pins, no slogans, no handshaking, no speeches.  
Just take them a bottle of water then go back to your seat.  
And at the end of the day, you stay, help clean up the garbage.  
Then you pack up and head home.  
Simple as that.  

Because if there is no more literal metaphor as to what it means to be a politician it's that right there. 
The people don't vote politicians in so a politician can tell them what to do, they don't vote politicians in to makes themselves rich.  
They vote politicians in so that when they turn the faucet on they know there will be water coming out of it.  They vote politicians in so that when they flip the light switch the lights come on.  So that when the storms come there is an ambulance or a fire truck that will show up to help.  
People vote politicians in so that they know that what they are paying for...
What they are paying taxes for. 
What they are providing their personal information for.
What they are providing their time and energy for.
Will help them have a home to go to, or a drink of water when they need it.  


So to everyone out there.  
Now is the time to start getting the cook outs organized.
Quietly ask the politicians and political parties how much and/or what they want to donate to put them together. 

'cause here's the cook out. 
After someone has voted, and they show up with their little "I voted" sticker, or equivalent.   
You give them a plate and turn them loose on whatever is there. 
Play music, dance, have a good ass time. 
Get everyone to request the day off.  
Let's get this turned into a proper holiday.
And if they bring the kids, ask the kids, "Why would you vote?"  and, no matter their answer, give them a "I will vote" sticker.  Because there are no wrong answers about voting. 
When the day is done, you pack up the leftovers and you take them to the shelters, you pass them out to the refugees and the immigrants.  The people that couldn't take the day off. 
Then, after the polls are closed and all of the votes are counted, you or the political parties, politicians,....whoever...helped fund the cookouts can reveal all or none of it.  

Because here's the lesson in all of it. 
Voting. 
Is.
Work.
You have to do  your homework on the issues.  Who's running for what offices.  What that office is.  You have to make a decision then you have to file the paper work on it.  
You have to plan ahead, register...all of it is work. 
And if you can't put in a days work and earn some water, and a meal, some entertainment and have a little left over...what's the point of working?  

And for the politicians and elected officials, the lesson is fairly simple as well. 
You, work for the people.  
Not the other way around.
That's the whole concept of the Republic.
The entire idea behind Democracy. 

Stay safe. 
And now is the time, when the taxes are being filed, and the results of the previous elections fully seen should people start registering and putting together their voting plan.  
Time to start picking places for the Cook Out.

Project : Overload

 When I used to run tabletop games there was a pretty firm rule that I followed. 
"For every hour of play time scheduled have about four hours of prep time ahead of time."
This came from knowing that players almost never followed the adventure, and if they did detours were inevitable.  How did the prep work go down...kinda like this. 

1st hour,
Focus on where the characters are.
What are they doing?  Who are they observing?  Who is observing them?  Do they have any goals for their current location?  What are some normal things going on?  What are two odd things goin on?  

2nd Hour
Where are the characters going? 
Make or get a map. 
If it's a homebrew you'll need to make one if it's an established world you can probably find one. Then look at the four cardinal directions from the characters locations and figure out what's going on in each of those directions. 
For example :
There's another town to the east, a Mountain range to the west, a coast for an inland sea to the North and a dense forest to the south.

3rd Hour
Why are the characters going there
 Judging from last session they'd be heading to the coast line to find a boat to get across the sea because "Plot" 
Ahhh, but one of the odd things in town was that a farmers Wife went missing in the woods a day before the characters arrived in town. 
A Caravan has stopped outside of town and is trying to hire protection from bandits on the road to the east. 
Rumor has it that there is a hidden Valley in the mountains where a witch lives.

4th hour 
Fill in the details. 
How far is it between the starting point and the possible destinations.
Where and what kind of boat will they find? Or is it a port they'll be arriving at where they can hire a ship. 
What happened to the farmers wife?  What clues where left behind?
Is it a good witch or a bad witch?  What does the witch have to offer the characters when they arrive?
Who are the bandits and why do they bandit?  Where is their hideout? Is their a reward?  What is the Caravan offering for these services.

Then (assuming it's a usual 4ish hour play session) for the next 3 blocks of planning you focus on each of your destinations and give them the same treatment.  Detailing the boat or ship and it's crew.  Figuring out what's going on in the next town over, outlining the dangers of the forest, building up the witches valley.   
And, don't forget, to look beyond each of these locations.  What if they just blitz to the boat and end up out at sea,  what if they go to the next town over and instead of going across the ocean they continue traveling with the caravan?  Do they find the missing farmer and discover some secret in the depths of the forest?  Do they get lost in the mountains?  What's on the other side of the mountains?  


Why am I bringing this up now?  
A number of reasons?   
For starts, what am I working on?  Why have I been so silent the past few months?  
Research, research, research.  
Planning ahead, just like if I were putting together an adventure for a D&D group.  

My projects? 

On the Fun Side
 outlining and writing scenes for t.v. shows and movies  I'd like to pitch or work on if I ever found my self in the position to do so.   
A sequel to Bumblebee set in early 90's Atlanta following Ratchet and Jazz.
What would an actual reboot of Firefly look like.
What is my idea for a batman series? (1970's street racing following a young Luscious Fox for the record)
Actually working on my little pet project.


On the Academic Side
Studying various online  games and the communities surrounding them.  Fortnite, Destiny, Star Trek Online.  What it takes to build a community within a community, etc.  
Game design, from single player to co-op, to competitive. 
If I designed and released a game what would I make and how would I make it? 
Answer - a co-op game built around exploration and adventure with quarterly story updates that could be played on or offline.  Think if Skyrim were two players but had the game play of the arkham games.
Looking what does the video game world have to offer the public library system and vice versa.


On  the "If I were president side"
How would I be handling the current national and global issues if I were president currently? 
If I were elected in 2024 and these issues were yet unresolved how would I work towards resolving them?   What might they look like if they were unresolved in the next two years?
What plans would I have for working with the national budget?
What projects are started?  What are ongoing? What would I like to see started?
What are my stances on the current issues being raised around the nation and what, if anything, would there be that I could do to influence them?  If in that position, should I influence them?
What would be the main issues I would focus on?
Infrastructure, Education, and Industry...and space...don't forget space. 
Moon Base!


Lastly, I have about four other posts for this blog that are about this length or longer that are sitting in drafts.  Partly because I haven't decided if they would be better served as blog posts or as part of some of the more focused papers I'm working on.

Like one detailing how the last year of being part of an active Destiny clan has gone.  
Short answer...I still don't people super well but it is possible to find non toxic people in a notoriously toxic community. (the shooter genre and online gaming in general) 

And another talking, more in depth, about streaming and telling stories within larger universes. I.E. The pitfalls and positives of using established story telling universes (I.E. Star Trek and Wars, Marvel and D.C.)  and the merits of reboots, adaptations, and retellings (I.E. Hercule Perot, Sherlock Holmes, Shakespeare, and any myth or story based around folklore) 

Ahh, but enough side tracking, back to study and research.  
My least and most favorite things simultaneously.  
I love the process, Love getting into details and building things and planning things.  But sometimes I just want to explore. 

Dream a little Dream

 Today is a National Holiday
It should be, but not for the reasons people think. 

We should be remembering Dr. King's legacy. 
We should be trying to strive for the ideals that he set forth and holding them in the light. 

But more importantly we should be measuring.  
How far down the road  have we really moved from the time of Dr. King's life? 
What strides have we taken.  

What strides have we not Taken? 

Today, in respect to Dr. Kings family, to the person he was,  and the movement he championed, we should be figuring out how to Vote.  

How to make our voices heard. 
And if our voice is already heard, to remain silent so that those that speak softly, or those to long held in silence may be heard. 

We have come a long way down the road in some ways. 
In others we have not. 

But at the end of the day, it is about lifting up voices. 

So go forward and listen. 
Listen to stories you've never heard. 
Listen to stories you have. 

And, don't be color blind. 
Be aware.
To be blind to the tone of some ones skin is to be blind to their life experiences. 

It's funny.  
Dr King said
"...That my four little children shall be judged, not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character..."  
The entire speech is about awareness.  
Awareness of the realities of the time and the changes that needed, and in many cases still need,  made. 

So listen to the stories.  
The stories of  the past, the stories of the present, and the stories of the dreams yet to be. 

And by God, do your part to get a ballot into every hand that can and should vote. 
Even if it's just getting it into your own hand. 
Voting, being heard, is how we affect change.  
If it wasn't, there would not be so many people trying to stop it from happening.  

After all, those that would see others oppressed.  Those that would maintain a status quo that was agreed over a hundred years ago to be changed are not afraid of not enough votes being cast, but too many.  
They are afraid of the change on the wind. 
The wind of dreams. 
The wind of hopes.
The wind of justice. 

Stay Safe

Midnight

 We're nearing the end of 2021.  

Three years.  
That was the original projections. 

As 2015 neared it's end I felt like chicken little screaming that the sky was falling. 
As 2016 ended I struggled to come to grips with all of it while those around me tried to convince me that I was over analyzing and loosing my mind. 
At the end of 2017 I found myself realizing that the sky had not fallen yet but it was starting to rain.  
Towards the end of 2018 I found my mind again and pulled things back together. 
As 2019 ended I found myself in a strange limbo and trying to end battles while trying to avoid creating new ones. 

As 2020 ended I was being proven right.
Now as we look at the end of 2021 my immediate world finds it's self stabilizing while the more nebulous and existential aspects of the world we live in are still in a state of flux. 
An entire world going through a shared grieving process.  Reflecting on what was and how it has shaped the world we are in. 
Morning the world that could have been while struggling to see the world as it was. 
Trying to imagine what the world could be. 

2020...The year of Denial.  
Many didn't believe, or want to believe what was happening.  
"How could a global pandemic sneak up on us like this."
"It will be over in a few weeks....a few months." 

2021... The year of Anger. 
So many pushing back against the realities and how they came to be.  
So many refusing the simple, but effective, panaceas crafted when a world decides to focus, together, on a singular issue. 


2022...Hopefully...the year of Acceptance. 
As we slowly come to grips with the reality of what has happened we have to truly watch out for those that care for us.  
I feel so greatly for those in the medical field right now because as we enter the third year of this Pandemic, hopefully the year we truly get it under control, their work will be the hardest.  
They've been in the forefront of the trenches this entire time. 
As the rest of the world ebbs and flows between outbreaks and surges, enjoying respites and breaks and the ability to get out and breath the medical community has had no such luxury. 

the early deaths, in the 2020 could be taken in stride, "this is an emergency, we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work and we will get to the other side" being the mentality through out. 

The deaths of 2021 taken with a grain of salt. "We have the vaccines, even though some fight against simple safety measures, there is an end in sight." 

But the deaths of 2022 will take the greatest toll.  
Will hit the hardest.  Will break through professionalism  and the pushing drum beat like rhythms of seeing the end of a long road.  
Because the deaths of 2022 are the ones that could have been avoided.  
I'm not saying that vaccines and masks were a magic bullet to stop it all in it's tracks. 
What I"m saying is that as the hospitals fill, again.  As the winter months take their yearly tolls of injury and illness as is it's want for time near immemorial those struggling to save lives will see so many lost because of simple refusal.  
Refusal of facts.  
Refusal of those they viewed as trusted voices lead them astray. 
Refusal to care for themselves. 

This time, this year, was coming. 
It's as unavoidable as the wind. 
And these are the hardest to deal with, the hardest to keep trying for. 
The  ones that leave the harshest and most bitter memories in those trying to care for others.
Because they tried and they warned and they counseled. 
But the ones that refused to listen will be the ones lying in the  screaming their defiance into the faces of those trying to help them. 
And those, struggling to ask for help that did all the right things will be lost in the sound of those screams.  
The ones that could have been saved.  The ones that should have been saved. And...the ones that are begging to be saved even though they refused to pull themselves up when the water hit was at their waists and are now being pulled into the unforgiving rapids. 
The hardest year, but the inevitable year. 

2021 I put my head under the pillow and listened as the world struggled to find it's footing again.  
the leadership changing hands and old policies being addressed while new policies enacted.  
It will be over the next few months that we can examine what was done well and what was done wrong in the process.  When the courses can be addressed and adjusted.  
But his year, aside from the pandemic, is a vital year for the Nation we live in as a whole. 
It's the midterms.  
As much as people want to put at the feet of the President and the choices they make now is when the failure or success of their time is truly decided.  
See, the president is working with rules and policies that were made by the people voted in during the last mid terms, in 2018.  Trying to make adjustments and find common ground with the people voted into, or to maintain, their offices then.  
The 2020 election was simply a change in focus and dealing with what was.  
the 2022 midterms, like kids playing leap frog, will be when the truly policy enforcement takes effect and begins setting the focuses and setting the rules and agendas for whatever teams in leaderships take over during the 2024 elections. |

Maybe mine. 

But first we have to get through what will be the roughest year, emotionally, for the medical community that has been holding this world together the past two years. 

First we have to get people to vote. 
To make sure everyone has their voice heard this year. 
To mobilize voters on the same scale as 2020 saw.  
Because this is when the grading happens.  
the grading on the previous teams jobs and the grading on whether or not the current team will be able to handle their jobs over the next two years.
2022 is when the 2024 presidency is made or broken, not 2025, or 2026, or even 2028. Those are just when the report cards are turned in. 
Now is, 2022. Will dictate the agendas and projects for the next presidency. 
So be diligent, be informed, and start now on securing your ability to vote when the ballots start to be passed around. 

I have a lot of work to do this year. 
I have to analyze the date from the last year, re examine my goals and projections with this new data, and then realistically re adjust those goals and projections. 
But even more than all of that. 
I need to start pulling the team together.
Who that is yet...I don't know.
I just know that by the end of 2022
I need to have it done, or at least, mostly done. 
Because, if I get the job, I have to do the job.  And it's not a job I can do alone.

Foof.

I'm trying to find some words of hope and encouragement going into this new year.  
and hopefully, as I start pulling the data together, and along with it my brain, things will look more so. 

I guess, it's this.  
the storm is still blowing, the waters still raging, and it will test our hearts to breaking. 
But as the storm hits it's peak and the night gets darkest we will know, that it will get better.
The winds will die down, the waters will recede, even if their paths of have changed, and the sun will shine again. 
In the mean time. 
Stay Safe. 
I'll do my best to do the same.

The Wheel Goes Around

 Just finished watching the first Episode of the Wheel of Time series.  
I avoided it, any news about it's production, when it was releasing and all of that. 
Which is funny, because I've read the series cover to cover multiple times and listened to the audio books on repeat for years while working by myself on overnights. 

And here it is almost a half hour after it's conclusion and I just don't know how I feel about it yet.  

Watching a book adaptation to television or film is always a feat in mental gymnastics because it is an adaptation.  There is no way to fully portray the inner workings of a character that you get in a written form transferred to a visual medium. 

I mean there are ways but...ah, that's a debate for a film class. 

As a fan of the books I like it.  

As fantasy film and television goes it's defiantly above average.  

My only quibbles are largely technical.  But I think that comes more from the medium than the actual production it's self.  

It's an Amazon streaming series.  Which means it's meant to be watched in a binge or in small clumps on a phone or a tablet which gives it's pacing...for me...was almost to fast.  
I guess the biggest nit pick is that I would have zoomed out more.  
Giving some longer shots to really appreciate the level of detail put into the scenery, sets, and costumes.  I would have used longer cuts.   the short clip, fast pacing of the sequences didn't allow the actors to really shine with much in the way of chemistry.  
I have to quibbles with the casting or ability of any of the actors in the show.  I actually would have done a very similar casting had I the reigns of the production.  However because of the focus on short, closeups of each of the actors and an almost light switch flipping level of angle changing done in the editing together you didn't get to see the characters really interact.  I'm not saying that they should have had Robert Altman levels of non directional character interactions but a little more in the way of letting the actors act with each other rather than the camera and slowing down the pacing for the interdictory scenes would have given the characters more time to impress on the audience.  

Again, these are more film school level nit picks over all wanting something I've cherished since child hood to be the absolute best of the best.  But over all it was enjoyable, and it was only the first episode, which, is meant to grab an audience that doesn't exist yet while trying not to ruffle the feathers of to many of the fanboys out there. 

On a personal level, it hit hard. It hit in a way that seeing Iron Man the first tine did.  Or the way that seeing End Game did after spending a decade with the characters. There's a lot to sort out there and I'll more than likely be watching more of it so feelings will be had even if I'm not wanting to. 

It's funny, that the Wheel of Time is what gets these fingers properly moving after so much silence.  
An enforced break more than anything.  Focusing on being...social...even if it is in a virtual space.
And...let's be real...in an effort to build a team. 

We'll see.  
After the holidays when I really get back into the thick of things and start the build up for the next couple of years.

Stay Safe

Where my heart is.

I've only felt "at home" maybe a total of 4 times in my life.  
At least four times that really stick with me as times of being "at home".

The thing is. 
Everywhere I've lived has felt like a half way.  
A place that I didn't belong, but I was at. 
Growing up, home was...where I got in trouble.  
Home was where people fought. 
Home was where secrets were kept. 
Home felt like a gilded prison.

When I got older and moved out on my own.  
The places I lived felt temporary. 
Transient. 
All of the warmth of a hotel room.

While I was married home felt like the place that I slept. 
A place where I hid. 
Like I was a place holder for someone else. 

That "at home" feeling.   
Like feeling I was where I was supposed to be. 
Where I was safe.
Where I was at peace.
That feeling has only been very, very fleeting in my life.
Everything else has been somewhere between prisoner and visitor. 

The first time I really recall feeling that way.  
The "I'm home" feeling. 
Was a bright sunny afternoon. 
The wind cool, but the sun warm. 
I was working in the yard with my partner at the time.  
We pulled weeds.
Planted flowers.
Hung shutters. 
It was...idyllic and comfortable.

The second time I remember feeling that way.
That at home feeling. 
That loved and cared for feeling. 
I was sick.  So terribly sick. 
I had been bed for days and I wasn't entirely certain I would be able to get out.  
A friend came to check on me.  
Brought orange juice, and medicine, and cold clean water. 
And Soup. 
I was only conscience for brief moments. 
They sat in the rocking chair by my bed in silence.  
They made sure I ate. 
Took the medicine.
And they were just, there.  
Their familiar breathing and shifting a comfort beyond measure. 
They left after I they made sure I was going to be okay and was sleeping comfortably.  

The third time I remember feeling at home was Thanksgiving. 
Modest.  
A feast funded by a students allowance and a librarians modest wages. 
A chicken instead of a turkey, and stuffing from a box, with potatoes and beans.  
and a pumpkin pie bought from the local grocery
A wood fire burning in an iron stove and the smell of lavender in the air. 
I remember thinking I would never feel happier than I did with Cat in my lap and my fingers twined with my partners. 
It felt safe.  
Like peace. 


The last time I felt at home...
Was curled up in in a to small tent as the rain poured down outside. 
Just comics and blankets turning the dreary day into heaven. 


As the days move on and the years pass
I think of moments like these and wonder. 
Will I ever find home?

Operation Food Truck

When your whole world has fallen down around you what helps more? 
A hot meal
or
Having a bag of rice thrown at you?

Looking at the situation in Hatti and examining the post earthquake response the biggest concern is medical aid and food supplies.   

How would I handle this if I were commander in chief?   
I would Hire food trucks. 
Offer food truck owners and their teams $50,000 per person to go to Haiti.  Then take armor transport ships and load them with the food trucks.  The Navy's responsibilities would be getting the food trucks to the locations, making sure their operational needs are met and ensuring the safety of the food trucks and their workers.  


Why food trucks?  
Pretty simple.  
NGO's can get the food but they can't prepare it.  
Food Truck owners know how to prepare food and maintain a level of cleanliness. 
Second, Food trucks can be easily moved to and from locations so as clean up operations and some sense of normalcy is restored.

Budgeting $25 million per 100 food trucks for workers.
Then an additional $25 million for operational costs such as fuel, electrical setups, and cooking supplies. 

Bringing the total cost of hiring the trucks to $50 million per 100 trucks. 

To avoid creating issues with garbage there would need to be reusable bowels, plates, and utensils and setting sanitization stations  for the dishes and utensils to be ferried too and from to be cleaned and sanitized.  I'd recommend looking at hospital supply catalogues for the types of sturdy, reusable, and transportable setups.   

Budget an additional $500 K per sanitization station for setup, stock and hire locals for the cleaning and transport duties.  With a total budget of $10 M. 

Total Price Tag for initial costs.
$60 million per 100 food trucks. 

As for total costs, that is a question for the Haitian government. 
The U.S. contribution would be the transportation and supply line operations and welcoming assistance from any other organization  that would be willing to assist. 

Plan for a one year operation. 
That should be sufficient time for rescue operations and clean up to be completed and for local infrastructure to be able to take over the operation.   

Why do it this way?

For Decades and Decades dumping supplies into a disaster area though helpful rarely does the good necessary to help a region get back on it's feet.
By doing it this way it creates a dignified way of distributing the food and supplies while the area and/or region, in this situation Hatti, is able to address the disaster it's self. 
This is literally how we do it here in the U.S. during emergencies.  
It's just more neighbors helping neighbors, or the next town over putting people up in the local school or church, or other place with kitchens and bathrooms and showers. 
At the moment, Haiti, for all intents and purposes has none of this.   Nor do many of the other areas facing food shortages post disaster. 

Providing prepared foods during the Emergency does one other very important thing.  It makes sure that hoarding and exploitation for those supplies doesn't happen.  After the emergency has passed and stabilized supply lines and surrounding infrastructure is reestablished then trade and markets can return to normal operation.   

Just make sure your food truck teams are versatile and inventive cooks with  a solid supply of spices.  Because when it comes to aid supplies it's usually mostly beans and rice and powdered nonsense. 

Food Trucks =
Mobile Kitchens
And hey, for food truck operators they can put up a badge of honor on their trucks.  
"Hatti Relief - 2021" or something like that. 
And looking at how successful this ends up being then this model can be deployed to disaster areas anywhere in the world

And here in the U.S.  After the Rail infrastructure is repaired and revitalized...well that's a discussion for another time.