The Den of Debauchery's Subannex The Den of Debauchery's Subannex - Fri, 11 Jul 2014 21:51:31 GMT LiveJournal / valarltd 684361 personal The Den of Debauchery's Subannex 80 80 Fri, 11 Jul 2014 21:51:31 GMT Today I have made 9 phone calls and sorted out my schedule for the next 2 weeks of work. I've located the parts I need to do the work properly.<br />I've got my work schedule through 24 July.<br /><br />I've finished calculating royalties.<br />I've run a load of wash. Mt Washmore is retreating out of the kitchen and into the utility room!<br /><br />I finished edits on a short story for an anthology.<br /><br />I wrote a blog post of substance.<br /><br />Now to edit on a novel that has to be in by Tuesday. public 0 Fri, 11 Jul 2014 17:48:55 GMT Nightsiders We Have Known Nightsiders. The term is a broad one, and very human-centric. <br /><br />Basic rules in the Nightside 'verse:<br />1) Everything is a natural occurrence. Nothing is supernatural.<br /><br />Demons are intelligent beings from a different plane/dimension of existence. Humans call them "Hell-planes" because the climates are often inhospitable. Since demons are often pursuing their own agendas, often ones inimical to humans, they are perceived as evil. <br /><br />Cell phones don't work across the barriers, but the internet does. <br />"S is for Succubus:"<br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em"><i> Most of my clients just use my cell-phone, but mine doesn't work across dimensional barriers. Something about AT&T not being compatible with whatever Bill Gates had set up for the outer planes in terms of telecommunications. At least good silver still worked across all the planes.<br /></i></span><br /><br />Cell phones do work for mages. Some even boost the signal.<br />WIP:<br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em"><i>Cellphones are the one piece of tech that works reliably for us, why I have no idea. Maybe we're just on the right frequency.</i><br /></span><br /><br />Many electrical gadgets don't work with high mana beings: mages, nightsiders, etc, because of energy incompatibility. It's very similar to how I drain batteries in my phone or the handheld scanner at work. I go through 2 batteries to other workers' one. on high stress or pain days, it can be 4:1. There are a few technomancers on the right wavelength, and they run things like the HuntTheNight search engine. Sgt Thomas of the PMSquad is one of these. (Lt. Hacker must maintain a 10' distance from all computers or they explode)<br /><br />The rule means holy symbols only work as a mana focusing point, gods and holy ground do not exist, souls are post-life energy, the electricity that is left when the physical machine wears out. Belief is everything, and there is no divine intervention. All magic is a skill or an innate talent.<br /><br />In the WIP, there is talk of Arwen, and Cernunnos, but neither of these beings show up to lead the hunt. The hounds do, but the gods do not.<br /><br />This brings us to the second point.<br /><br />2) Basic rules are in play, to the extent the people believe them.<br /><br />A lot of monsters have weird weaknesses in traditional folklore (see the OCD vampire discussion in the previous post). The reality is, these are weaknesses only to the extent that the Nightsider believes in them. The sun will accelerate the decay of a vampire's body, but they won't burst into flames. Decapitating ANYTHING usually works. Most werewolves and some fae have a silver allergy. Shoot a werewolf with a regular bullet and it's going to take a higher caliber and several shots to drop it. Shoot one with a silver bullet and the allergy will affect them as much as the wound. Some creatures, like zombies, depend on spells to keep them going. <br /><br />However, something like a spell takes no belief. It is pure skill. If a mage throws a fireball, disbelieving it will not keep a bystander from getting burned. <br /><br />Many ordinary humans ignore the Nightside as much as possible. "There are no such things as ghosts, vampires or zombies. And the only witch we know is the weird lady who likes to dance naked in her backyard on the full moon." That's how 85% of humans get through their lives. The Nightsiders hjave a near-parallel economy, a newspaper, websites, stores, and parts of town the humans don't frequent. Some places are set up for mingling. Hellzapoppin, the All Demon Revue, is one. Most tourists think it's done with wires. Elvis' Crossing Day Bash is one of the premier events in Memphis. That's the day the human city leaders swallow hard and admit their leading citizen is a vampire.<br /><br />From the WIP<br /><span style="font-size: .9em"><i>"What's the first thing they teach you on the Bitch Patrol? Is it still 'humans won't see the Nightside if they can help it?' because I know Lieutenant Hacker used to beat that into every rookie's head.”</i></span><br /><br /><br />3) Ethnic Nightsiders tend to stay with their original ethnic group.<br /><br />This is reasonable. They know the rules. They know what their people believe. A ma ca rong is more likely to stick with the food he knows, rather than sample the new cuisines available, especially if traveling. A kitsune might find herself popped in a box or skinned by those who don't know she can shift to human. <br /><br />4) Monster Mash<br /><br />Everything exists. From goatmen to giants. A brief rundown of the creatures we've seen:<br />Succubi<br />Werewolves<br />Wererats<br />Pixies <br />Gremlins<br />Vampires<br />Zombies<br />Fae/Sidhe--seelie and unseelie<br />Kitsune<br />Ghosts<br />Demons<br />Elder Gods (including Cthulhu)--I know, I know. But they're just extraterrestrials<br />Talking animals, specifically a dog<br />Goatmen<br />Grunches<br />Ghouls<br />Giants<br />Ogres<br />Trolls<br />Ettins<br />Goblins<br />Strega<br />Lamia<br />Valravn<br />Dragons public 0 Fri, 11 Jul 2014 16:01:21 GMT My tweets <ul> <li> <a href=""><em>Thu, 22:36</em></a>: Throwback Thursday <a href=""></a> </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Fri, 00:59</em></a>: Magic and religion in a nontheistic paranormal universe <a href=""></a> </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Fri, 10:57</em></a>: Friday Photodump <a href=""></a> </li> </ul> twitter public 0 Fri, 11 Jul 2014 14:57:37 GMT Friday Photodump <img alt="leylines" src="" title="leylines" /><br /><br />Hosted by someone who desperately needs a geography lesson, <i>before</i> they start drawing Ley Lines<br /><br /><br />2) <img alt="14 - 1" src="" title="14 - 1" /><br />3) <img alt="734708_392492354174520_728389136_n" src="" title="734708_392492354174520_728389136_n" /><br />4) <img alt="1479299_630098300380652_1321717705_n" src="" title="1479299_630098300380652_1321717705_n" /><br />5) <img alt="1506532_544418358986941_2086522884_n" src="" title="1506532_544418358986941_2086522884_n" /><br />6) <img alt="1544992_10152662973237868_1364918681000228552_n" src="" title="1544992_10152662973237868_1364918681000228552_n" /><br />7) <img alt="10294300_10154030825100058_2577234458052897540_n" src="" title="10294300_10154030825100058_2577234458052897540_n" /><br />8) <img alt="10355014_803635249676149_1498953451779931123_n" src="" title="10355014_803635249676149_1498953451779931123_n" /><br />9) <img alt="10411812_897151823635618_4406868418408306648_n" src="" title="10411812_897151823635618_4406868418408306648_n" /><br />10)<img alt="10446664_10152104172576619_5396733712771865503_n" src="" title="10446664_10152104172576619_5396733712771865503_n" /><br />11)<img alt="10473384_789702784393845_4006841719235710895_n" src="" title="10473384_789702784393845_4006841719235710895_n" /><br />12)<img alt="10488333_10152504018094089_5984454248683769088_n" src="" title="10488333_10152504018094089_5984454248683769088_n" /><br />13)<img alt="10492508_10154296060225654_3831473951525365444_n" src="" title="10492508_10154296060225654_3831473951525365444_n" /><br />14)<img alt="10511151_819125821444900_3085783988133048971_n" src="" title="10511151_819125821444900_3085783988133048971_n" /><br />15)<img alt="10514493_277339425803577_4695037665052135743_n" src="" title="10514493_277339425803577_4695037665052135743_n" /><br />16)<img alt="10516637_10152053004361157_1120296557746217582_n" src="" title="10516637_10152053004361157_1120296557746217582_n" /><br />17)<img alt="788330835646624431" src="" title="788330835646624431" /><br />18)<img alt="BasteiBridgeGermany" src="" title="BasteiBridgeGermany" /><br />19)<img alt="cabbagesteaks" src="" title="cabbagesteaks" /><br />20)<img alt="dejahdemandsanexplantion" src="" title="dejahdemandsanexplantion" /><br />21)<img alt="fatherscott" src="" title="fatherscott" /><br />22)<img alt="Landscapewithnymphsandsatyrs_Schutz" src="" title="Landscapewithnymphsandsatyrs_Schutz" /><br />23)<img alt="mercury" src="" title="mercury" /><br />24)<img alt="MoonriseoverCarpRiver_adonyvan" src="" title="MoonriseoverCarpRiver_adonyvan" /><a name='cutid1-end'></a> public 0 Fri, 11 Jul 2014 04:59:13 GMT Magic and religion in a nontheistic paranormal universe I write this urban fantasy universe. And I got into a discussion today with a beta reader who has only been exposed to evangelicals and didn't know about infant baptism. So I'm thinking on the nature of religion, faith and magic, and how it all works together.<br /><br />There is religion. People still go to church, all kinds of churches. Most faiths, including all but a few hardline Christian and Muslim sects have declared Nightsiders and human-born magic users to be a part of God's creation.<br /><br />From "Illusions of Safety":<br /><i> The news had said that all of the Protestant conventions, including the Baptists, had declared that magic came from God, “your old men shall see visions and your young men shall dream dreams, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy.” There were some churches who still held out</i>. <br /><br />Even many magic users have some sort of faith. Madame Azonka, the talismonger, is Orthodox. DeMarco Jackson, combat mage, uses some voudon protection charms and possibly follows that faith. Bran McKay is Presbyterian, as are his Ma, most of his 12 sibs and a fair few of his kids. (Shomari is Catholic, as is 24% of the population of Kenya). Bran also claims all Celtic combat mages belong to The Morrigan, no matter whether they are Christian or not. <br /><br />But religion holds no actual mystical sway. It's all about belief. Holy ground means nothing to demons, who being interplanar travelers (usually not benign), don't recognize it. Holy symbols work for believers, because they provide a focal point for the innate mana every person has. Even ordinary people, who really believe, can make a cross glow in the presence of a vampire, or use a pentacle to ward off a fae or use a salt-circle to be safe from a zombie.<br /><br />The rituals, and people's faith in them provide the protection. Up until the 60s, Mass was conducted in Latin. The idea was for the people to come, witness the mystery, and leave, spiritually edified if not mentally comprehending all the words. There was no emphasis on personal salvation or a walk with the Lord or testimony. These are things of the Protestant churches. The Protestants closest to Rome: Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Methodists, practice infant baptism. Some contend it saves the child's soul and that confirmation brings the child into the church. Some believe it is symbolic, conveying grace until an age of reason when the child can make a profession of faith and join the church. The schisms started with anabaptists in the 16th century. <br /><br />Belief is a powerful thing.<br />From the WIP:<br /><br /><i><span style="font-size: 0.9em">"Sunflower seeds are a distraction. Never had to tangle with a vampire yet, but they're OCD bastards. I dump the seeds and they have to count all of them before they can continue the pursuit.”<br /><br />“That's stupid.” She looked at me as if I was pulling her leg. “In fact, I'm dumber just for having heard you say that.”<br /><br />“Tell it to someone six hundred years old and really set in his ways. The newly turned ones don't believe it, but older ones do.”</span></i><br /><br />Magic, however, takes no belief, only talent.<br /><br />Mana is rather like a magical magnetic field. It encompasses the Earth's surface, flowing along Ley lines. mages tend to cluster at the nodes, places where the lines cross. There is such a node in Memphis. I tend to treat it like The Force. It can control a mage's actions, but it also serves his will.<br /><br />Magic talent, the ability to use mana, is inherent in humans. Everyone has some. It's like drawing or singing or writing. A lot depends on the inborn talent, and a lot depends on nurture. A low-powered mage born into a family of mages will be taught shortcuts and cantrips and encouraged to practice at every opportunity. They will grow up exploring various specialties, trying to find theirs. Just as a mediocre singer growing up in a musical family will get music lessons and become a decent vocalist. <br /><br />On the other hand, even a moderately talented mage growing up in a family that represses magic--or even a generally non-nurturing situation--will damp the power, hide the abilities and let it fade. This is why some groups are pushing the Witan to test children at pre-school instead of early elementary age. There are also some racial tension and class issues about who gets trained as well.<br /><br />From Spellbound Desire:<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em"><i>“It’s a sad and sorry way this country does its testing. Too many of you slip through the cracks to drink and drug yourselves to death, half trained, tasting power you can’t control.” He stroked my face some more. “You can’t be human. You aren’t mages. You lose yourselves in the Nightside and try to medicate away the nightmares. I’ve hated it since they sent me here. Who knows, I live through this mission and maybe they’ll let me retire to the Witan. Then I could fix it.”<br /><br />I kissed him for that. There were too many of us, too many knowing about the Nightside and working in it, or dying from it. “Do you know what they said? I was eleven when they screened me. Do you know what they told me, when I was eleven?” I looked down into his eyes. “Not powerful enough to train. Indian breeds never are. Let her drink herself to death like all the others.” I slammed both fists into the bed. He didn’t even flinch. “My grandfather’s grandmother should not have been an issue. That’s not the side the mana comes down for my family.”<br /><br />“Aye, and Jinx, he got rejected too, am I right? Mage wouldn’t wear all those charms like he does. Shame, since he does have enough to train. He’d make a passable, low-powered luck mage. And you should know how to control what you have. It’d make you happier.”<br /></i></span><br /><br />Mage society has its structures and groups. There are loners, like Madame Azonka and Saraphina, who have their little shops and their lives. There is the Witan, the wizard council who run the society. There are academic societies and bureaucracies. There are magical cops in almost every city. There are combat mages, called to defend humanity against the more dangerous Nightsiders. <br /><br />The CMs have organized along the lines of motorcycle clubs: Ladies From Hell (Glasgow, Aberdeen), Delta Bluesmen (Memphis), Legba's Bastard Sons (New Orleans, La Place), Diamond Dogs, Keelboatmen (St Louis, Quad Cities), Moonshine Mountain Boys, Paul Bunyan's Boys, Salem One-Niners, Mama Lilith's Rebel Daughters, Arkansas Amazons, Latter-Day Boadiceas, Dark Queens, Hell's Belles, Las Quatras Brujas, Lone Star Brigade.<br /><br />No-Talents are those with some mana talent but not enough to train or specialize. DJ and Jinx are officially No-Talents. Jinx, in another living situation and with better testing, would be trained. DJ is borderline. If she had been born into Clan McKay, she might be a modestly-powered but competent mage. If she had simply been trained, without a change in family, she would be a low-powered mage, maybe. Instead, she's stuck on the nightside.<br /><br />From "Illusions of Safety":<br /><i>No-Talents didn't have enough magic to be mages or witches or anything. They just had enough to feel the magic all around them. I thought it must be like standing on the bank of a river, able to see everything you wanted on the other side and having no way to get across.<br /></i><br />Magic users don't consider themselves human. There's a bit of <i>homo superior</i> thinking that everyone from a sorcery undergrad to the head of the Witan indulges in. Some are more obnoxious than others. But most of them feel a noblesse oblige, a responsibility to take care of the humans. They also tend to cluster together, forming villages. Hence tales of places you can find once and never again, and that sort of thing. <br /><br />In such villages, even the local minister is likely to be a mage. <i>"...a good shield will keep you sane in the face of things that make the local priest go gibbering.” Another swallow. “Come to think of it, Reverend Donald back home had himself a pretty good shield. He had to, living in a town of mages and being one himself. Fine healer, old Sorely Donald is.”</i><br /><br />Religion fills a very human need for the human-born magic users: the need for myth, story and explanation. So far, we haven't encountered any pagan or Jewish magic users. But I'm sure there will be. Any city whose Jewish Community Center has "Shalom Y'all" written on the bus NEEDS to be hosting classes in traditional Kabbalah and other Jewish magic.<br /><br /><br />Nightsiders We Have Known is probably the next post in the series public 2 Fri, 11 Jul 2014 02:35:59 GMT Throwback Thursday <img src="" alt="Tudor medusa" /><br /><br /><br />Halloween 2006 public 0 Tue, 08 Jul 2014 16:01:47 GMT My tweets <ul> <li> <a href=""><em>Mon, 23:27</em></a>: Home <a href=""></a> </li> </ul> twitter public 0 Tue, 08 Jul 2014 03:27:44 GMT Home Home from Oklahoma.<br />Sales calculated (think I missed the pre-orders from Frolic, will try again tomorrow)<br />work for tomorrow printed<br />Off to bed, I have an early day.<br /><br />My folks and the kids. Mom and Dad look pretty good for the shape they're in (Mom is pretty much terminal, Dad is just barely recovering)<br /><img src="" alt="IMG_1453[1]" title="IMG_1453[1]"> public 6 Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:01:21 GMT My tweets <ul> <li> <a href=""><em>Sat, 08:28</em></a>: My Sexy Saturday: One Sexy Lady <a href=""></a> </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Sat, 08:28</em></a>: My Sexy Saturday: One Sexy Lady <a href=""></a> </li> </ul> twitter public 0 Fri, 04 Jul 2014 16:01:25 GMT My tweets <ul> <li> <a href=""><em>Fri, 02:15</em></a>: Out of town <a href=""></a> </li> </ul> twitter public 0 Fri, 04 Jul 2014 06:15:29 GMT Out of town I'm headed to Oklahoma for a few days to see my folks.<br />Back Monday.<br />Tuesday should start some intense workdays for me.<br /><br />JulNoWriMo stands at 6990, most of it on a short story for an anthology.<br /><br />Dirty Toes is now at 33008, 2972 words added this month. public 1 Sun, 29 Jun 2014 16:01:22 GMT My tweets <ul> <li> <a href=""><em>Sat, 13:39</em></a>: Day off <a href=""></a> </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Sat, 20:31</em></a>: Friday photo dump on Saturday <a href=""></a> </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Sun, 04:14</em></a>: I did it! <a href=""></a> </li> </ul> twitter public 0 Sun, 29 Jun 2014 08:14:04 GMT I did it! <p>Both Terror of the Frozen North and The Sweet Science of Bruising are finished. Two novels completed in one month!</p><p>There is some minor stuff to do, chapter headings, synopses, but yay! </p><p>Sometimes I even amaze myself.</p> via ljapp public 2 Sun, 29 Jun 2014 00:31:29 GMT Friday photo dump on Saturday <img src="" alt="10412039_754290451277917_2047185346869539640_n" title="10412039_754290451277917_2047185346869539640_n"><br /><br /><img src="" alt="1901176_606625049427915_900921629_n" title="1901176_606625049427915_900921629_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10348302_10204233728184809_2356277357586781043_n" title="10348302_10204233728184809_2356277357586781043_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10387627_10152519234108482_2208760662702267217_n" title="10387627_10152519234108482_2208760662702267217_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10408928_10154292178165290_2393770635394684134_n" title="10408928_10154292178165290_2393770635394684134_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10418212_10152495295003270_5879457055281854191_n" title="10418212_10152495295003270_5879457055281854191_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10423839_10152632037700934_4199993980340453927_n" title="10423839_10152632037700934_4199993980340453927_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10437400_988421877853932_4936463544046277819_n" title="10437400_988421877853932_4936463544046277819_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10447055_10152618814370934_1632429232485723924_n" title="10447055_10152618814370934_1632429232485723924_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10458127_651383378285533_8863235128593938019_n" title="10458127_651383378285533_8863235128593938019_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10458670_10203022237811581_3325315560732132113_n" title="10458670_10203022237811581_3325315560732132113_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10478234_317570878391561_5987926377472134927_n" title="10478234_317570878391561_5987926377472134927_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10481420_271794909691362_7962914283531152964_n" title="10481420_271794909691362_7962914283531152964_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10487454_10154292173395290_5184768026876378045_n" title="10487454_10154292173395290_5184768026876378045_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10489744_10154265049155290_8844248524585279560_n" title="10489744_10154265049155290_8844248524585279560_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10489899_10152462050605762_8850448657145222537_n" title="10489899_10152462050605762_8850448657145222537_n"><br /><img src="" alt="10505618_10152484950353908_1849519220110981731_n" title="10505618_10152484950353908_1849519220110981731_n"><br /><img src="" alt="14233331058_a3b702220b_z" title="14233331058_a3b702220b_z"><br /><img src="" alt="14441887863_713d6041cd_z" title="14441887863_713d6041cd_z"><br /><img src="" alt="20141306170631" title="20141306170631"> public 0 Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:39:00 GMT Day off I awoke in a puddle of my own blood as one of my internal organs evacuated its lining. My intestines decided to follow suit.<br /><br />But on the whole, I'm having a decent day off.<br /><br />Found this <a href="" target="_blank">5 things you REALLY mean when you say “I don’t approve of your homosexual lifestyle”</a><br /><br /><br /><i>The phrase “homosexual lifestyle” gets thrown around a lot by conservatives when jockeying for political power or popularity points. Sadly it seems it gets used even more so by otherwise nice enough people when they want to claim how much they love gay people, they just “don’t approve of their lifestyle.”<br /><br />UGH!<br /><br />Please, God, please – know that when you word vomit this phrase, you are painting with a wide brush that does not depict the picture you think it does. Frankly, honey, you sound ignorant. Ignorant because you are evidently not thinking beyond what you have been taught to parrot. Ignorant because you have bought and are peddling the tired old lie that all queer folk live exactly the same “lifestyle.”<br />Bless your heart.</i><br /><br />Basically it boils down to Eww, buttsex; go hide in the closet and die miserably, preferably where I can't see you and don't have to deal with you, because you are and should be a second class citizen (because ewww, buttsex); Forget science and nature; And God hates diversity.<br /><br />(Christian Blog, last point may not be applicable to all) public 1 Fri, 27 Jun 2014 16:01:31 GMT My tweets <ul> <li> <a href=""><em>Thu, 16:12</em></a>: "​The 20 Most WTF Magical Items in Dungeons &amp; Dragons" good read <a href=""></a> </li> </ul> twitter public 0 Thu, 26 Jun 2014 16:01:29 GMT My tweets <ul> <li> <a href=""><em>Wed, 19:20</em></a>: Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole: <a href=""></a> </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Thu, 03:49</em></a>: Some days are good days <a href=""></a> </li> </ul> twitter public 0 Thu, 26 Jun 2014 07:49:13 GMT Some days are good days Most days have a kind of sameness.<br />Some days are so awful they are etched into nightmare.<br />(Hitting the deer, the day I almost didn't come home from my run)<br /><br />And then there are good days, cast like rare jewels amid the base metal of the ordinary.<br /><br />Today was a good day.<br /><br />We got the call early.<br />Mudd has a teaching position for next year.<br /><br />I got word via facebook my Girl Scout leader and friend had pulled through pacemaker surgery fine.<br /><br />I got good editing done.<br /><br />I finished the base draft of Terror of the Frozen North, the next Lord Withycombe adventure. There's polishing work to do, but it's pretty well ready for Amber Quill.<br /><br />Dinner was really good. I put out the recipe and had the guys make it. Turned out yummy.<br /><br />Work was about 4 hours. Long enough to be worth it, short enough not to hurt much.<br /><br />And I am headed to bed, secure in the knowledge I can take what tomorrow throws at me. Because today was a good day.<br /><br /><br /><br />QotD (instead of the obligatory "I'm still flying and it's enough"):<br />Chancellor Durken: I go home each night to a loving wife, two beautiful daughters. We eat the evening meal together as a family. I think that's important. And they always ask me if I've had a good day.<br /><br />Captain Jean-Luc Picard: And how will you answer them tonight, Chancellor?<br /><br />Chancellor Durken: I will have to say: This morning, I was the leader of the universe as I know it. This afternoon, I'm only a voice in a chorus. But I think it was a good day. public 3 Wed, 25 Jun 2014 23:20:10 GMT Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole: <img src="" alt="1670_10151510794968706_232169138_n" title="1670_10151510794968706_232169138_n"><br /><br /><br /><br />2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cubed (1")<br />8-10 medium potatoes, cut in 1/2" cubes<br />1/3 cup olive oil<br />1&1/2 tsp salt<br />1 Tbsp. black pepper<br />1 Tbsp. paprika<br />2 Tbsp. garlic powder<br />6 Tbsp. hot sauce<br /><br />Topping:<br />2 cups fiesta blend cheese<br />1 cup crumbled bacon<br />1 cup diced green onion<br /><br />Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spray a 9X13" baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and hot sauce. Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat. Carefully scoop the potatoes into the prepared baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mixture as possible. Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy and browned on the outside. While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the left over olive oil/hot sauce mixture and stir to coat. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken. In a bowl ix together the cheese, bacon and green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mixture. Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious.<br />Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing. recipes public 0 Wed, 25 Jun 2014 16:01:26 GMT My tweets <ul> <li> <a href=""><em>Wed, 11:43</em></a>: The cure for writer's block is...writing <a href=""></a> </li> </ul> twitter public 0 Wed, 25 Jun 2014 15:43:43 GMT The cure for writer's block is...writing I've been writing at a prodigious rate, between 2000 and 4000 words a day. My hands hurt all the time.<br />But I'm not moping around, complaining I am blocked or can't figure out what to write.<br /><br />And lately, new ideas are cropping up<br /><br />I submitted a proposal for an Alternate Sherlock Holmes anthology. (Holmes as a woman, Holmes in the Renaissance, whatever floats your boat)<br /><br />And two stories have caught my eye on the news.<br /><br />It's <i>The Mirror</i>, so take it with all the seriousness of <i>Weekly World News</i>.<br />Retired US Marine claims he spent 17 years on Mars protecting five human colonies from Martians.<br /> <a href=''></a><br /><br />That would be a GREAT story.<br /><br /><a href="" target="_blank">India declares dolphins to be non-human persons</a>.<br /><br />In my topsy-turvey mind, that got me thinking about human non-persons. What would a world be like if the profoundly retarded (those who never advance past mental infancy) were classed as "human non-persons"? They would be considered human, so they could not be abused or murdered or harmed. But they would not be people, citizens, with rights and responsibilities. What other groups would be conveniently classified that way?<br />(I have inklings of it in my space-opera universe, where slavery is still a thing and there is a "livestock, sentient," department in most bureaucratic buildings) public 1 Mon, 23 Jun 2014 16:01:38 GMT My tweets <ul> <li> <a href=""><em>Sun, 15:41</em></a>: <a href="" title="#SFR">#SFR</a> <a href="" title="#StarryNights">#StarryNights</a> <a href="" title="#SummerLovin">#SummerLovin</a> <a href="" title="#Blog">#Blog</a> <a href="" title="#bloghop">#bloghop</a> Free books! <a href=""></a> </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Mon, 00:07</em></a>: Strangest Genitals In The Animal Kingdom <a href=""></a> via @<a href="">IFLScience</a> I know too much... </li> </ul> twitter public 0 Sun, 22 Jun 2014 16:01:24 GMT My tweets <ul> <li> <a href=""><em>Sat, 12:36</em></a>: Work schedule for the coming week <a href=""></a> </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Sun, 00:05</em></a>: Very clear David voice in my head, first surprised, "you saved my life." Then flat and cold "you're dead." Now to find context </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Sun, 08:16</em></a>: RT @<a href="">sfrbrigade</a>: "Sometimes, love among the stars happens. &amp; sometimes it gets a little kinky." Angelia Sparrow shares a hot excerpt. http:/… </li> </ul> twitter public 0 Sat, 21 Jun 2014 16:36:28 GMT Work schedule for the coming week Sunday:<br />6 AM Michaels inventory<br /><br /><br />Monday <br />3 PM Bass Pro<br />3 Best Buys (Dyson) and an Office Max (drop off)<br /><br />Wednesday<br />9 PM Charming Charlie<br /><br />Thursday<br />7 PM office, for road trip<br /><br />Friday:<br />Walmart Alienwear install<br />3 Target GoPro checks.<br /><br />No RGIS the following week<br />June 30, 1 Action Link job public 0 Sat, 21 Jun 2014 16:01:21 GMT My tweets <ul> <li> <a href=""><em>Fri, 19:25</em></a>: Friday Photodump <a href=""></a> </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Sat, 00:00</em></a>: SFR Brigade Blog Hop :Starry Nights <a href=""></a> </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Sat, 00:00</em></a>: SFR Brigade Blog Hop :Starry Nights <a href=""></a> </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Sat, 11:07</em></a>: <a href="" title="#starrynight">#starrynight</a> blog hop is live! Go register to win prizes and get a free ebook. <a href=""></a> </li> <li> <a href=""><em>Sat, 11:40</em></a>: It's a hot summer day and there are Blog hops! <a href=""></a> </li> </ul> twitter public 0