Bear Gloves

I love that I have a job where I can wear bear gloves to work, and it's totally legit.



It's also adorable to see the different reactions. And all the time I'll hear parents say, "look at her hands!"
Little kids will stare goggle-eyed. Slightly bigger kids will give a shy wave. And even bigger kids will grin and wave.
Several adults have asked where I got them (it's just Amazon).
And since it can be really cold sometimes, they are really nice to wear. I only wear them when it's cold. So I got to wear them all day today @_@

Both practical, and fun. My favorite kind of things!

EDIT: The day after I wrote this post, I was wearing my bear gloves. I overheard a little girl say, "she's turning into a bear."

Don't Interrupt Me

This quote is in a book I'm in the middle of right now (Pursuing Giraffe, by Dagg). I thought it was pretty accurate XD

"Reading a book seems to be a signal for anyone to come and interrupt, as if this activity is a last resort and that any human contact is at all preferable."

(Pretty relevant in my office)

And here's a haystack for you. I mean, an emu.

Well, my car was totaled today.
Luckily no one was hurt.
But someone rear-ended me and caved in the back of my car.
Now I need a new car...

It's the first wreck I've been in while I was the driver. I'm hoping it's the last.

Research Trip to the Mage Temple

A couple weeks ago, I went to Mount Diablo to scope the place out. I'd never been there before, even though I've seen it all my life. But that's where I want to locate one of the mage temples in Magic-Earth.
(Edit - added a photo of the mountain as seen from a distance)


It was a beautiful mountain. I only drove to the top and looked at the view. I really need to hike around to get to know the place better.
Here's the mountain, seen from its base.


Anyway, I think I found the perfect location for the temple. I'll need to get over there in person to check it out properly.
It's a hill to the Northeast of Mount Diablo, called Eagle Peak. I'll probably keep the name the same. It fits well.
Here's the view of Eagle Peak from Mount Diablo. I circled Eagle Peak. (Though I may move the temple to that mountain behind it. Again, more research trips are necessary @_@ )


On the drive up and down, I took a bunch of notes about the plants, animals, mountains, and rocks I saw.
Up at the top was insanely windy. I think they said 50 mph winds. It felt like they'd knock you over. We'd tried to plan for a clear day, but it was hazy in the central valley so we couldn't see as far as possible. But you can see all the way to Yosemite Valley. I guess it's one of the largest views in the US, because there are no other high mountains nearby.
It is a beautiful vies, in every direction.


On the way down, we stopped at this area with really cool rocks.
The rocks are very soft. I was disgusted to find that these beautiful formations were absolutely covered with graffiti people had gouged into it.

People have to vandalize anything ancient and beautiful that they can get their hands on.

Anyway, it's a beautiful place. I hope I can make some other trips there before too long.

Heh. I have to be careful when I start writing. Because if I've just finished reading something, I might start to write with the same tone or pacing as the thing I was just reading @_@


Sumatran tiger

Dealing with Story Interruptions

No, I don't mean interruptions that keep you from writing. I mean things that interrupt the characters in the story.
Sometimes I actually find these sorts of interruptions helpful, if I'm writing a scene and I don't know how to resolve it. This may be as simple as a change in subject, or it may be an actual unexpected part of the plot. (Cheap, easy way out!)
On the flip side, if I'm really into the groove of a character's conversation or interaction, I don't know how to break into it. At least it's good if I've gotten that deep into the characters.


Mexican gray wolf

How do you Communicate Strong Feelings?

It seems that whenever I try to tell something about a topic I feel strongly about, they don't understand how much it affects me.

For example, I wrote about that scary drive during my Florida trip. It freaked me out so bad. I told my Dad about the drive, but he didn't know how bad it was until after he read the blog post.

Maybe I'm just no good at portraying it verbally?

That's a very mild example. There have been a couple times where I tried to explain how devastated I was about Ellen. And the people seemed totally bland about it.
I don't want to try to hide those strong feelings. But I wonder if it's worth trying to share them if no one seems to understand.

Ah well. This was just supposed to be about how I might find it easier to write about emotional stuff, instead of talking about it. Even if I'm not writing to a specific person.

Anyway, have a giraffe.

Be Careful of Dirty Electricity

My friend just lent me a book called Zapped.
It's about how electricity can affect your body. After all your body does emit, and is affected, by electrical signals.
Some people are more sensitive to to these waves than others. But for example, people that are on their cell phones all the time have often developed tumors on that side of their head. And people who always keep phones in their pockets often end up with trouble to their reproductive organs.

It's called dirty electricity.
There's still a lot of debate about how dangerous this stuff can be. But that's all the more reason to be careful about it.
This is all very new technology. There are no long-term studies about how these electronics affect our bodies and our brains. And yet people are throwing up high-speed wireless devices all over the place without having any idea how it affects us. And a million other things like it.
No one looked before they took this massive leap in technology.

If you think phones, wireless internet, high power lines, etc, are affecting you, check out this book.

Anyway, here are a few things you can do to protect yourself from the increasing electronic signals that are floating through us.

Keep computers/wifi away from your bed and places where you spend a lot of time.
Turn off wifi at night.
Unplug appliances when you're not using them.
Keep your phone away from your body. Don't store it in your pockets or bra. Use the speaker phone so you don't have it next to your brain all the time.
Don't use your laptop in your lap.
Your microwave and oven emit tons of waves.
Landline phones emit far less than wireless phones. Same with wired internet instead of wireless internet.

And remember, kids are smaller and they're still growing. They're at far greater risk from all of this stuff. And yet they're exposed to it even before they're born. More and more adults give them smart phones to play with when they're still in strollers. I've seen so many toddlers goggling at a screen like zombies. It's disgusting, and not just because of potential harm.

Have you Heard of the Pocket Shark?

I recently went to a lecture about sharks.
It was really good. Check out their website!

25% of sharks and rays face extinction. I never knew sharks were in such trouble. Though I'm not really surprised since humans have been devastating all corners of the globe. And only 3% of the ocean is fully protected. The ocean covers 3/4 of the earth, yet so much of it is free to destroy.

100 million sharks are killed a year, mostly for their fins. Sharks are caught, and their fins are hacked off often while the animal is still alive. Then they're thrown back into the ocean dead or dying. They can't survive without their fins, even if they manage to survive the process.
And many big mature sharks are killed just so people can take photos standing next to their corpses. This is often illegal, but that doesn't stop people from doing it anyway.

On the flip side, sharks only kill 5 humans every year. Compare that to car deaths.

Remember, fish are friends. Not just food.


Did you know that magnets can be made into shark deterrents? It messes with the way sharks sense electrical signals. They can sense the electricity coming off of animals. Isn't that cool? The deterrent gives that system a shock somehow, like one of those dog collars that's connected to a fenceless yard. (These don't work for great white sharks though, because great whites attack fast enough that they don't have a chance to stop before the deterrent hits them).
Great whites travel 2,500 miles. They're awesome too.

I think my favorite shark is the leopard shark.

(I saw this guy at an aquarium)
But I just learned about the pocket shark. It's like a living Pokémon. LOOK IT UP. It's so cute. It looks like it could walk around on its nubby little feet fins.