A Printer Reborn…later

Old printers must die so that new printers can get stronger … or something like that.

About a decade or so ago consumer color laser printers were a mystical device existing only in your imagination. Now there is common as the lowly inkjet. I’ve had an old workhorse in service since 2011 myself. It was a fancy one at the time, but compared to today is rather mundane. It is time for me to decide though. More toner or a new printer. Right now the printer has decided for me.

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Muses and Failure

Where does creativity come from anyways?

Today we seem to make an intrinsic connection between a person and their creative output. For example, an author is hailed as a creative genius when they complete an epic or trilogy. The creativity was internal to that person, it was they themselves that created the thing. Which is the case. They put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard and hammered out the words.

The question I put to you is where did the idea come from. Where do all good ideas come from? In a movie I find dear to me, one of the characters who is an author suffering from writer’s block suddenly has a breakthrough. Another character asks how she came to this final detail of her masterpiece, and she said “it came to me.” Another character questioned how, and she replied something to the effect of “like all good ideas, it came to me suddenly and without method.” That may or may not be the exact wording, but the point is clear nonetheless.

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Caffeine: The Double-Espresso Standard

Caffeine comes in many forms.

Brass tacks: let’s all face it, caffeine is a drug. It is legal, but it functions in your body in the same way as a drug. The half-life averages five hours. But the hit only lasts around two. Afterward, the body has processed almost half of it and the effect is tapering off and quickly leaves the “useful” level zone in your metabolism. So the boost from your 8 am zip juice doesn’t last until lunch. So even though the caffeine is still in your system for the next 3 hours you need another hit.

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Stop It!

If you want someone to stop something, they need to know what that something is.

In writing we are told that the active voice is preferred. In education we are given both the syllabus and the rubric for our work. In employment we have our job description. In spirituality we have our doctrines. All of these things have something in common. They all tell us what is expected of us. Being a parent means doing the same thing. Yet when that isn’t happening or some negative behavior crops up a father will tell his children to “stop it”.

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Tickets to The Gun Show

Time to Dad-Up, and get a proper gun safe for your guns.

A man carefully opens the glass cabinet and pulls down a display case. This one has a long and storied history. It is one of the most prized in his collection. So valuable, because it was the first of it’s kind only 1100 were made. Of those only 100 for civilian use. Originally designed in 1846. When he looks upon it he sees the amazing ingenuity of a Texas Ranger combined with an American Inventor. It is his very own Colt Walker … replica. (He isn’t a millionaire after all) Right next it sits a box of 44 caliber lead shot and powder.

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