On Sharing Ideas : Chris van der Linde Lair's End

 A work in progress by Chris van der Linde. Here is a short excerpt.

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Lair’s End
Chapter 1 – The Journey starts

And there he was again, in that same dark ally, blood dripping from his head and from his body, the sight from what happened to him and his family that night still haunts his thoughts, his dreams till day. Seeing his wife and child lying there, motionless...breathless...knowing that he would never be able to speak to them again, just to tell them that he loves them, just one last time, his wife lee, lying on her stomach, throat was slit...and his 8 year old daughter Skyla, was shot in the back of the head, execution style...such a cruel way for a child to die. The people that just attacked them, running away from the scene of the crime...the injustice that has just befallen them...
As the phone rang, he knew it was another nightmare, feeling empty for the things he has just seen in his dream. Michael got the call at about 03:42am...
“Detective Jones, you must go to the Elder roves insane asylum immediately, something  has happened there, you will be briefed when you get there” said the cold emotionless voice over the phone...
Michael thought to him self, GOD DAMMIT!!, just let me just try and get a good nights sleep then i’ll catch these bastards when I’m ready, but alas, in New York the crime doesn’t stop...the madness never ends

On Sharing Ideas: Martie Potgieter Made4You

Made by Martie Potgieter of Dvine Light. You can get this and more from http://www.dvinelight.co.za/
Check out their children night lights. 

Plagea... Plagar... Pleaagar... stealing ideas.

Did you hear something?

I am alone in a world that isn’t inspiring. I spend my days in a hole doing a job that’s killing my creativity in a world where creativity is killed during our youth. But I see a way out. There is something that can save me from this monotony. It’s you. You are the key to my salvation. You are what I need to thrive in this grey world and in turn I will shape, colour and form your thoughts. Shall we begin? 

We are taught from a young age that we are all special unique little snowflakes. Destined for greatness if we should only choose to take it. We are taught that one day when we open our own little shops that we will succeed because we will come up with the product that everyone wants and if that one doesn’t work we can try the next one. This teaches us commitment and to work hard. 

We are taught from a young age that we are all equal little bees in the hive. We carry the same load and play by the same rules. We all eat the latest craze, dress in the same fashion and smoke the latest drug. Then we all belong. We are stronger in packs. 

in large, pretty packs.

We are all expected to exceed expectations while conforming to what is expected to us. Be a leader but follow the rules set by others. Find a mate but love Megan Fox. Pick a job that reduces your free time to get some free time. You desperately long for a few minutes that you need to create the dream product that would make us millionaires but the few minutes are used to either blow off steam or to convince yourself that it’s either been done or a bad idea. The really good ideas get put onto a pile for when you are finished with this or that, the children are out of the house or the stars are aligned for maximum cash cow milking efficiency.

Now for the clichéd what if part (I know it’s cheesy but I couldn’t really give a damn about your standards)

The other day, while walking with my Pa in a shopping centre we noticed that Steers, Fishaways, Debonairs and Phat Panda were all next to each other. Four individual brands. Unique products. All selling the same thing. They do not compete against each other but they all sell the same thing. Sustenance and a Coke. How do they survive? Not because of the food but because of people. We are hungry but we don’t know what we want to eat so we go to cholesterol corner. The same idea applies to everything we do. Series, books, games, movies are all the same thing but in variety regardless of the price or quality of the object.

I want you to take one hour of your busy day. Just one hour. I know some of you are talented musicians, writers or handy men who haven’t done anything for quite some time. Pick up your pen and start or finish something. If you have a block then steal ideas. Plagiarize. Borrow equipment. Make mistakes but don’t throw it away. Write me a poem, short story or anything. Send me your bucket-list, holiday photos, unfinished lyrics, blueprints for a giant death ray or completely out of this world theories. Memes. Photo bombs. Send me that photo that you took and wonder why the hell you took it. Write a story about it. You will be rewarded with inspiration, camaraderie and a bunch of other ideas you can plagiarize.

My contribution? We had to walk really really slow.

Somewhere Borrowed, Someone Blue.

It is quite disturbing that however we realize that humans have the ability to be abstract and creative in their response to reality, we are still quite surprised by it. Having a serious conversation with someone is like navigating a narrow river with a clumsy boat. You can see where the conversation is going. Both particpants have an objective. In an argument the river is filled with mines. You are expected to row blindly down this path and the winner isn't the one who is right but rather the one who is better armed. This fuels racism, sexism and a bunch of other discriminatory ism's. Why then are people so surprised when I row to the bank and start walking? Because I don't play by the rules? Nope. It's because they are still stuck in the boat. Also banana bombs.

This banana. Eat it.

I have seen a lot of amazing things. Experienced many tastes, sights and smells. Thrills and emotions. Perhaps too many that I have watered down those things that are important. When something new happens remember to appreciate it because something new happens less often everytime it happens. I constantly find myself sitting and waiting for the next new thing to happen. I new face to greet. A new game to play. A new world to see. I do not appreciate that which I already have but isn't that a fault in all of us? I over the average married age. I don't have a lot to show for my accomplishments. Someday people may read this and "Ag shame" me. Hello future person. :-)



Perhaps that is the secret. Getting married seems like a threat to me. A limitation to which not a lot can be done. But to many other this could be the start of some great adventure. The game changes. The sights have new value. The ability to show your partner everything that you have experienced and experiencing everything that the have prolongs the play time. Thats why games need multiplayer. Thats why snap is more fun than solitaire. To all those who are happy in relationships. I envy you and I wish you the best of luck. As for me? I'll stay single for a little while longer. If I have to share my experience someday with someone then I need it to be the best experience ever. What if future person reads this and it's my wife? Hearts babe ;-) Sorry for [Insert ubsurd unavoidable bugger-up her]

The things we experience are up to us. We wait for something new to happen forgetting that we already have a huge bag of tricks. The greatest man I know is turning 59 today. He is currently unavailable at this stage seeing as he is busy with his own adventure. An adventure he is sharing with his amazing wife. I hope you are having the time of your life. Love you Dad.

Venting – Imagine it explodes.

"In my life, I have been beaten, kicked when I was down and trodden on. I have been humiliated, belittled and abused. I have suffered the slings and arrows of misfortune. Sometimes when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. I have lost. I have failed. I have been driven to my knees. I have lost friends and I’ve been betrayed. I’ve shouted and cried and cursed and punched but I have never stayed down. I will keep on fighting. I will stand up, pull my shoulders up and face the world again and again. This is what makes me strong."- Pierre

It’s been a helluva week but it hasn’t been all bad. I imagine that one positive was a conversation I had with a very good friend regarding human nature and the human soul. The idea was that there is a set path for us in life, a predetermined course consisting of where we start and where we end and the bits in between. Now the bits between A and B are also predetermined but at the same time it’s not. Imagine an athlete running down a track. The path is predetermined, the starting point and endpoint is set. “The Secret” taught us to imagine the end, focus on the point where you cross the line, victory is yours and you get a car, a mansion and the girl/boy/both. “The secret” doesn’t however teach us why this works or more importantly what happens after you start and before you finish (Ok, it does but I’m not buying into the whole “universe is a secret fan of yours” theory). When you are busy sprinting to the end, with the goal in mind, your body automatically adjusts itself to achieve that goal. 

“ A hole in the path? Power to calves, toes and buttocks. Ready? Prepare to jump. Allllihooop! Phew.”

 The reason why the secret works is because we keep the goal in sight and adjust our current situation to steer into that direction. It’s not the universe giving out freebies because you asked.  Work harder, eat healthier, smoke less, drink less, get up five minutes earlier, go to bed five minutes later, please your boss, please your friends,please your family, push push push. “The secret” also only focuses on the reward. It neglects to tell you about the stress and hard work that comes as part of the package. Like diet pills! They don’t mention the withdrawal symptoms (may include high blood pressure, asphyxiation, nausea, drooling, shouting and bad bad language)

 

 

I vent like a monster. With bone chilling fury and passion.

Unfortunately I do this to the ones I love. This leaves me with terrible guilt and total ”feeling-like-an-arse-ia”. I am blessed in the sense that my friends and family are strong and magnificent people. Because of them I can be strong. To them I say: "Thank you".  

Happy New Year, Ye Pirate Scum !

Aaaargh !

Ok so I know the most part of Jan is all gone already and I am quite late to the party but at least I’m the life of it. I’ll start my 2012 post with a short list of things that happened since my last post.

·         I moved into a new flat. Yes I’m a bachelor.  I now live in the bat cave. It’s not much yet but I make the best coffee in the world. Drop by for a cup!

·         Christmas. I got tools for the new flat and fat. Who doesn’t over eat over xmas?

·         New year. The biggest event of the year (for everyone else)  I asked everyone what they were up to for new years and their response was “Braaing at home with a friend or two” . Nee sies man! So I went clubbing and it turned out that everyone else went to a braai leaving me and a friend at an empty club. A small piece of me died that night.

So that’s it for my holidays. [Sarcasm start] Hold the applause [Sarcasm stop]

Back to business.

For those of you who live under a rock, what type of mattress do you use to accomplish such a feet and the internet has gone pirate Aaaargh! crazy. Megaupload has died. It’s sad seeing as this was my primary source for anything and I do mean anything. Let me make it clear. I am currently a pirate. Aaarrgh! I have been a pirate Aaaargh! for a long time. I’ve always justified it with two arguments:

1) I’m not wealthy enough to buy what the rich kids have.

2) It’s not really a crime unless you sell it.

Raise your hand if you have never ever ever pirated a single piece of ip. (Pi backwards. Coincidink?) Those of you who are looking shamefully at your toes right about now are dirty pirates. Aaaargh!.

Some people argue that since you make a copy, the original is still there so it’s not theft. This is true. It’s still piracy. Aaaarghcy! Every copied movie you’ve watched, mp3 you’ve listened to, every game you got from a friend, every pdf that you read on your phone was created by an artist. A talented person, who uses his or her skills to make a living. Sure it’s for our entertainment and they are mostly filthy rich but it’s still their hard work that you are not paying for. Here are a few reasons to buy from artist although they are filthy rich already.

·         Money promotes the industry. Microsoft started the trend. They became filthy rich because they made us pay for their product that was Intellectual property. As a result they have pumped billions of moneys back into the industry. Job creation. Software development. Systems development. Even charity. You feed the world by buying the right to use IP’s.

Not all of them are evil rich baas teds.

 Terry Pratchett : In August 2007 Pratchett was misdiagnosed as having had a minor stroke in 2004 or 2005 that was believed to have damaged the right side of his brain. While his motor skills had been affected, the observed damage had not impaired his ability to write.^[31] On 11 December 2007, Pratchett posted online that he had been newly diagnosed with a very rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's disease, which he said "lay behind this year's phantom 'stroke'." He has a rare form of the disease called posterior cortical atrophy, in which areas at the back of the brain begin to shrink and shrivel.^[14] Describing it as an 'embuggerance' in a radio interview, Pratchett appealed to people to "keep things cheerful", and proclaimed that "we are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism."^[38] Leading the way, Pratchett stated that he feels he has time for "at least a few more books yet", and added that while he understands the impulse to ask 'is there anything I can do?', in this particular case he will only entertain such offers from "very high-end experts in brain chemistry."^[38] Discussing his diagnosis at the Bath Literature Festival in early 2008, Pratchett revealed that he now found it too difficult to write dedications when signing books.^[39]

Terry Pratchett at Worldcon 2005 in Glasgow, August 2005

In March 2008, Pratchett announced he was donating US$1,000,000 (about £494,000 at the time) to the Alzheimer's Research Trust, saying that he had spoken to at least three brain tumour (cancer) survivors yet he had spoken to no survivors of Alzheimer's disease, and that he was shocked "to find out that funding for Alzheimer's research is just 3% of that to find cancer cures."^[14][40][41] Of his donation Pratchett said: "I am, along with many others, scrabbling to stay ahead long enough to be there when the Cure comes along."^[42] Pratchett's donation inspired an internet campaign where fans hope to "Match it for Pratchett", by raising another $1,000,000.^[43]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Pratchett

I have all of Terry Pratchett’s work on PDF and read them twice each. I bought one of his books for R60. I am a bloody Pirate. Aaargh.

I have made a decision that will change my IT life. I will (eventually) buy every Terry Pratchettbook.   I’m also going to remove everything that I haven’t legally purchased from my computer. This includes : 172 GB Software, 43.3 GB music, 200 GB movies and series. This can’t be so bad can it?

Oh! And drop by for that cup of coffee.

and Aaaaaaaaargh !