Touch of Magic

Ultimate Masks Collection, Volume 1

Sat, 09 May 2026 19:47:57 GMT

The first Masks stories have been published in a collection, with a bit of rewriting and some added material:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GZY67V54

Ultimate Masks Volume 1

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Cat Update

Fri, 08 May 2026 21:26:14 GMT

Patches the cat is fine. She fussed a lot, but her heart murmur is gone, and her pulse and blood pressure are fine. She got a dose of Revolution while she was at the vet's, and isn't due her vaccinations until October. I am unscratched! Despite her fighting going into the pet carrier.

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Sat, 25 Apr 2026 15:48:18 GMT

Currently working on Masks 29. One section involves the Rescue Team in 1971. (_Thunderbirds_ was originally named _International Rescue_. )

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Mars Images

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 19:46:54 GMT

Here are the URLs of the two current US Mars rovers and the US Mars orbiter

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/

http://themis.asu.edu/

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No WMD in Iraq?

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 16:39:54 GMT

Why do people keep saying there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? We know they had nerve agents. By international agreement those count as WMD.

Last year NPR had a whole series on the difficulties faced by soldiers exposed to nerve agents during the occupation of Iraq getting important follow-up treatments from the VA. Their exposures were documented by the US military.

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Overslept

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:35:32 GMT

Had a rough night, and didn't actually wake up and get out of bed until 11:11. I was rather surprised to see the time.

I took two Imodium at about 5:30, woke and fed the cats a bit after 8 then went back to bed and back to sleep.

So, overslept, and not going to make Frisch's for lunch, today. Don't know, yet, if I'll make the gun show in Lexington this weekend. Probably not.

Much to do this afternoon and tomorrow. Among other problems, landline phone is out again. Again due to copper theft. AT&T won't let me change to Wireless without a lot of baggage I don't want, so they have to pay for new copper wire and its installation, which they haven't done yet! Still have my cell phone, though.

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What I Hear

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 16:40:52 GMT

Politician: "Friends, let me tell you about MAHA..."

Curly: "Aha! Razbanyai siati benefuchi timinharongi. Paradeecke mahiha."

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Bathroom Work

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 22:43:00 GMT

I spent much of the past week doing long-planned work in the upstairs bathroom. I installed a second, higher shelf (after having to buy more support brackets when I couldn't find those I bought a few months ago) and put some items on it, freeing room on the lower, earlier shelf. I had to change my design a couple of times, mainly due to not being able to locate a stud despite careful measuring! (There are now lots of small holes in the wall.)

The past couple of days I've devoted to scraping and painting the wooden surround of the upstairs bathroom window, which is now in the new shower. After putting on the first coat I resolved to find a better brush for the second. I found a better brush. I also found the missing shelf brackets! The second coat looks much smoother than the first, partly due to the better brush. After checking for coverage I tossed the brush and what was left of the can of paint.

I'm using the downstairs bathroom for my showers just now anyway, so there will be plenty of time for the paint to dry. I still need to remove the masking tape, sweep out the shower pan and reinstall the shade.

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Pfizer COVID Vaccine

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 23:26:01 GMT

Spent a large part of the day napping. Thanks to the COVID booster I got yesterday. Small breakfast, good lunch, no supper.

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Sat, 13 Sep 2025 15:57:45 GMT

I really like this You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@WristwatchRevival

"YouTube

Wristwatch Revival

I'm Marshall, I love watches and found a passion for watchmaking. I like to find broken or neglected vintage watches and bring them back to life, restoring history and letting someone enjoy them for years to come. I'm not a watchmaker by trade, but I do love the hobby and I hope you'll see why on this channel!"

I just wish I had the fine motor control to do this work.

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Seattle WorldCon Photos

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 15:04:52 GMT

The album with my Seattle WorldCon photos is on Flickr at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/116299515@N07/albums/72177720328580019

Stickmaker

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Ukraine

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 14:35:49 GMT

Of course Putin isn't negotiating over the war in Ukraine. Ukraine wants a ceasefire and that means (in his mind) that they don't have the will to fight and will surrender any day now. Only losers want to quit fighting or even talk about quitting!

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Nothing New

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 13:31:05 GMT

I'm currently reading and enjoying _A Square Meal_ by Jane Ziegelman and Andrew Coe. This book is about how diets in the US changed during the Twentieth Century. I'm up to the early Thirties.

There's a lot of material about the effects of the Great Depression and various relief efforts on what and how much people ate. One of the strongest arguments against relief by politicians and businessmen was that there was work available but people just didn't want to work. That giving them food (or anything else) would just make them lazy and dependant. Many programs intended to help people had work requirements for "able bodied" men which had to be fulfilled before their families could receive any government help.

This didn't work any better then than it did any other time it has been tried. Yet people keep trying it.

Not only did getting work depend on work being available, but many people had "invisible" disabilities which prevented them for medical reasons from doing physical labor. Many of those making the rules didn't take this into account; if the person wasn't obviously disabled, they couldn't be disabled. They just didn't want to work. Others in authority simply didn't care, claiming that these people were able bodied no matter what doctors said. Some of those making the work requirement demands did so for political reasons, or to excuse their own inaction. Others cared more about their budget than the people they were supposed to be helping. Having someone starve because they didn't meet some arbitrary standard was handwaved away, or simply denied.

You see the same thing happening today. There's nothing new, except the increasing accumulation of history showing us what works and what doesn't.

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Their Only Duet?

Sat, 05 Jul 2025 19:23:15 GMT

Perhaps the greatest duet in the history of TV:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGUs_aE6uJs)

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Return?

Sat, 07 Jun 2025 13:07:40 GMT

Notice that the Trump administration did not return Abrego Garcia - despite a court order to do so - to the US until they decided to charge him with an illegal immigration offense. Until then, they said it was impossible. Riiiiight...

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Masks 26 Printed!

Sat, 31 May 2025 14:17:01 GMT

Masks 26 Published! AlephTwo has brought out my Twenty-Sixth Masks story as both a paperback and as a Kindle e-book, as of May 30, 2025!

"It was supposed to be a working vacation, teaching martial arts to members of the UN branch which dealt with rogue supers. It turned out to be far more work than anticipated."

At: https://books2read.com/u/mdenAO

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Predetermined?

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 14:26:22 GMT

I know (apparently) a great deal more about biology than those British judges who recently passed down their revealed wisdom about what makes men and women. There has been no mention in the news about how their ruling deals with natural exceptions. As just one example, what about XY individuals with androgen insensitivity?

The exception tests the rule. If a rule - or law - cannot deal with exceptions it is a bad rule (or law).

One spokesman explained that they weren't making a biological determination, simply producing a guideline for legal purposes. Okay. It's a bad guideline.

Yeah, I know; bureaucrats want to put things in a few folders a possible. This is ridiculous.

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That Photo...

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 21:13:04 GMT

The origin of that photo, from the end of _The Shining_:

https://petapixel.com/2025/04/08/the-original-stock-photo-that-appears-in-the-shining-has-finally-been-found/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=66c4c7485d78644b3abbe20c

The Original Stock Photo From 'The Shining' Has Finally Been Found. It had been lost for 45 years.

https://petapixel.com/assets/uploads/2025/04/The-Shining.jpg

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Storms!

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 15:29:19 GMT

Folks;

Hoo, boy, what a night! The emergency sirens woke me just before 1:00 AM. I got up and tried the radio but all any of the stations I listened to had to contribute was general storm survival info. I realized the only radio I had with weather channels was in the basement, so I decided to try the TV instead. That was much better. Two Lexington stations had continuous coverage, with radar and other info. (There may have been more, but those are the ones I watched.) Unfortunately, just as one of the stations got to Franklin County the cable went out!

It came back on after a few minutes, and I was able to stay informed. The cable went off the air repeatedly for less than a minute at a time over the next hour-plus. The storm moved through fast; at times it was clocked going at over 80 MPH. Straight-line winds matched. There were multiple tornado warnings but these weren't as pervasive or long lasting as the severe thunderstorm warnings.

Finally got back to bed about 2:20, and woke just after 10:00 AM. Don't know how much damage was done locally, yet. Will check later.

There is more bad weather on the way, too.

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Once More, With Feeling

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 15:26:26 GMT

And the feeling is "Bleh." I was feeling pretty good Monday, and probably did
too much. I have a nagging - though productive - cough, fatigue and gut upset,
which started Tuesday and which got worse yesterday evening. I also currently have a mild fever,

I haven't been to Saturday night gaming or a comic book shop in over a month.

Argh.

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Overture From "Tommy"

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 20:30:30 GMT

Back in the Seventies I became aware of Tommy, both the album and the movie. I also heard a piece which was identified as "The Assembled Multitude." It was obviously from "Tommy," probably from when when he is at his camp near the end, but I couldn't find the piece on the album, and it wasn't in the movie. Now, there was a lot from the album which wasn't in the movie or had been edited to fit. I figured the piece was a single version of the Overture, since the album Overture was about twice as long.

Decades later, I discovered that "The Assembled Multitude" was a cover band which specialized in popular versions of rock standards. They had released a shortened version of Overture for radio play.

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Mayhem?

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 19:23:24 GMT

Ever notice how much Elon Musk looks like the Mayhem Allstate Insurance guy?

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Oblivious Politicians

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 17:13:40 GMT

Too many politicians fail to understand that "Too important to leave to the politicians" is not a joke.

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A Hymn For These Times

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 22:13:59 GMT

This was written for one of my stories, and is for WWI and its immediate aftermath, but it seems appropriate for this era:

"A Praise of Bravery; A Prayer for Peace"

I dream of flying.

I dream of soaring over the battlefields.

Ypres.

Flanders.

Gallipoli.

I dream of bravery and fear,

Of struggle and pain,

Of victory and death.

Of lives and bodies spent

To gain yards.

Or nothing.

I dream of the rulers.

Of how they waste their soldiers,

Their citizens, entire nations,

Without care.

As if playing some child's game writ large,

And in blood.

Their only goal to move pins on maps.

I dream I cry out to God:

We are so weak and small,

While the world is so horrible

How do we make it better?

God replies:

You are greater than you know.

Raise your voices, raise your fists.

Show those you fear your true strength,

And they will fear you and listen,

And the world will be better.

I dream of a world of peace and plenty.

Where those few who wish violence

Are caught and taught

A better way.

I dream of flying.

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Masks 25: Double Down Has Been Published!

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 15:10:13 GMT

AlephTwo has brought out my Twenty-Fifth Masks story as a Kindle e-book through Amazon, as of January 22, 2025!

You can get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DTJM6429

"A charitable institution which gets its money from cage matches between supers turns out to have a sinister counterpart."

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Touch of Magic

Ultimate Masks Collection, Volume 1

Cat Update

Mars Images

No WMD in Iraq?

Overslept

What I Hear

Bathroom Work

Pfizer COVID Vaccine

Seattle WorldCon Photos

Ukraine

Nothing New

Their Only Duet?

Return?

Masks 26 Printed!

Predetermined?

*That* Photo...

Storms!

Once More, With Feeling

Overture From "Tommy"

Mayhem?

Oblivious Politicians

A Hymn For These Times

Masks 25: Double Down Has Been Published!

That Photo...