Heh, saw Jordan last night at a fast food joint.

So, we're at a Braums, and we walk up to the counter to tell the lady what we want. When I look at her, I'm thinkin' "Wow, she looks like Derrillynn! Maybe I'm the only one who thinks so, so I'll keep it to myself."



Then, Kelly says to me, "Hey John, that girl looks just like Derrillynn!", and I'm like, "Yeah, you're right!"



Anyway, to make a long story with lots of poorly worded dialogue short, the girls name was Jordan. That makes things really weird.



From now on, I'm taking a camera to Braums with me.



Has anything like this happened to you?

That's a Novel Idea!

Well friends, turns out that Hunter and Duke get a long pretty well now. They used to get into some pretty nasty fights, along with Tuff, (The former owners dog that they haven’t bothered to come pick up yet).



Turns out that on November 1’st, I’m going to start writing a 50’000 word novel in thirty days, putting each days work up as a new post on a separate blog.



The thing is, I have a basic storyline in my head, but I think it’d be pretty cool if a few readers (or all of the readers) of my blog would submit a major plot point, or ANY plot point, via a comment.



So far we have,



Derrillynn “Poor Man” Langen: A sacrificial act for an unsaved brother,



Valerie “davidandvalerie” DeLap (Derrillynn’s older sister): Realistic Hero’s, (faulty hero’s), and cliffhanger chapters,



David “Bug_Splat” Heustis: Comedy.



So far, Derrillynn has submitted a plot point, Valerie and David have submitted guidelines.



So, a plot point and a guideline would be cool. I will do my best to put them in there, so long as they don’t conflict with my current storyline.



I have not started writing yet, but I will on the first, so try and post your suggestions now. If you submit them late, I’ll still work them in, but the earlier you submit, the better.



Have fun!



////John “Johnny Boy/John Bob” Moore.

If you were to read a novel, what would you like it to be about?

I'm thinking about writing a story.



Do any of you guys have suggestions?

Eat, drink, and be merry, for all is wonderfully well!

As some of you know, I have been having trouble with my computer system. It's an old gateway with 800 megahertz (or megahurts), and 256 megs of RAM. I think we picked it up in 1999.

At first it was just minor trouble, like the fact that it was far too old to be making videos with. I could deal with that though, since David Heustis had a relatively fast computer and he was better at editing anyway. After moving to Texas though, I have know David Heustis, so I now need a new computer for working with videos. No problem there though, I'll just work on writing and music in the meantime.

Then the real trouble began. It started half saving files, thus corrupting data. What this causes, is hours of work to be lost, and hundreds of irreplacable picture files to be ruined, not to mention the twelve dollars worth of downloaded Newsboys songs to be sent to cyber heaven.

This has been going on for about a month now, and I didn't want to lose any more files. Unfortunately, I didn't quite have enough money to buy an all new system. I looked at ways to do it differently, but I couldn't doing it without cutting corners that would cost me in the long run.

Recently though, I have acquired the extra funding (that's a fancy way of saying I got some birthday money) for the new machine. I've spent about a year researching different components, technologies, and retailers for the needed parts, so I knew exactly what I needed. Today, I put the items in a cart, and checked out.

About thirty minutes later, an email arrived saying that the credit card address was not usable because the bank did not have the shipping address on file, and on and on and on about nonsense.

We called the company, and we're working it out now. If all goes well, I'll have the components next Monday, and I'll assemble it.

The spec's are as follows:

1 Gig of DDR400, PC-3200, Dual Channel RAM,

3.0E Gigahertz Prescott Core Pentium 4 processor with 800 megahertz FSB and 1 meg L2 cache,

ThermalTake 500 Watt Power-Supply,

ThermalTake Tsunami Dream Tower ATX-form Case,

Logitech Wireless MX Keyboard/Mouse Duo, (The mouse has 10 programmable buttons),

Func Mousepad,

Samsung 120 Gig 7200 RPM Serial ATA harddrive with 8 Megabyte Buffer Cache,

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2,

Arctic Silver Thermal Paste,

Zalman Pure Copper CPU Cooling Fan,

And a temporary cheapo graphics card.

The really cool part about this system is that it's HyperThreading. Technical details are required to describe the process, but basically it's like having dual processors.


IN other news, I've been busy as can be, and I must go to bed now, for we are getting up at six in the morning tomorrow.

So, 'til next time, Audio's At Me Goes!

~~Techier Texan~~

A round of applause!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to point out to all of you that today is Derrillynn Langen's (19'th?) birthday!

(for those who don't know, Derrillynn is my former babysitter - from a long time ago. Back when I needed babysat. :-P)

I could say just that, but typing a thousand words would be better. But wait, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Here's a picture of her (from last year, but really, does that matter?)

Congratulations Derrillynn, you've survived my attacks for as long as you've known me.... which has been.... like.... 14 years?

Enjoy!

What the.... I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE SAYING!

Having Tait email me things in Spanish is one thing, but David Heustis has gone too far.

He tells me to download this random song. I do, then a couple days later, I call him. Here's the convo:

John: Your favorite song is in JAPANESE????

David: That is not my favorite song!

John: Then why do you like it so much?

David: Um, I never really defined how much I liked it, but I just like the sound of it. That's really the only reason I like it. I guess it depends on what mood I'm in.

John: So you were in a very short mood that day? You know Japanese?

David: No, I just liked the sound of it. That's the only reason. I obviously can't understand it, so that's not the reason.

John: Is one of the reasons you like it so much, the fact that it's a sad song with such a happy sound?

David: That's the strange thing about it! It's just something where I thought, 'That's interesting.' But that's still not the reason.

John: Ok, I want you to know I'm posting this on the blog. What do you have to say to all those listening. Or reading, rather.

David: Wait, what did you say?

John: I'm posting this convo to the blog. You are doomed. Have any comments for our readers?

David: Whatever John tells you, it's a lie!! I'm completely innocent of whatever he accuses me of, and NO it is NOT my favorite song! Oh, and John, you're crazy if you're putting this on the blog.

Well, there's the convo for you.

David: Oh come on... please... you're kidding right?

Anyway, I'm gonna put the actual song on here, and the lyrics.

David: You're crazy! Stop, right now! Hey, Hey!

Ok, anyway, listen to the song. You have to force yourself through that really annoying 16 second rock leader, but after that it is interesting, unlike I would have thought. David couldn't stop talking about it, and that automatically makes it blog-worthy.

Really though, Spanish is one thing, I'm in Texas. Tait expecting me to know a few Spanish words isn't anything weird, that's pretty understandable, but David Heustis looping a Japanese T.V. themesong over and over again is really, really strange!

Anyway, here's the song. A warning, the file is 4 megs, so it could take about ten minutes to download for you dial-up users.

Ok, before you read the rest of this post, listen to the song all the way through. I have to admit, it is pretty in places.

*waits*

Just keep listening.

*waits a few moments more*

*sees the readers again*

Alright, now that you've heard it, you may understand this strange addiction. It really IS pretty isn't it?

But here's the catch, wait 'til you read the lyrics. They just don't match the music at all!

Here.

I touched those hated freckles lightly and sighed,
My "heavy class" love has dissolved clearly
Just like a sugarcube.
The thorn stuck in my side went in further
And hurt much more than before.
Astrology didn't predict that at all.

I wished we could go together farther,
It would be joyful enough to.

Memories are always beautiful,
But with only that you can't live.
Tonight should be a really sad night,
But why? Actually I can't remember his smiling face.

I understand breaking apart and putting back together
Because that's my personality;
With impatient feelings and uncertainty
Which nevertheless are capable of perfect love.

I pierced my left ear to forget,
It's an episode I can't laugh about.

Counting up the number of freckles
Embracing the spots and all
But the thorn piercing my side won't disappear.
My stuffed frog and rabbit
Smile and comfort me.

Memories are always beautiful,
But with only that you can't live.
It was a really tough night
I wonder why though? Why can't I remember that person's tears?
I can't remember,
Why can't I?

Interesting isn't it? The title of the song is "Sobakasu", which means Freckles in English.

That's all for the night.

Oh, no it's not. I've got about 300 photos to hack through to put on the site of the house, though some of them aren't very good.

Only 6 days 'til my birthday folks, so enjoy your time here on earth before I turn fifteen and destroy the galaxy with my spare ray-blaster of destruction.

I just had two XS energy drinks if that explains the consistency and spelling of this post at all.

Goodnight.

/John.

We're takin' a couple loads of boxes to the 'new place' today, in Dad's fancy new "Wells Cargo" brand trailer. I promise to take lots of pictures, of the cattle, the horse, the donkey, the dog, and of course, the house.



I'll be too busy to do any of my big posts until Thursday, and then I'll start working on chapter 2.8, or maybe even 3. I should have it up by my birthday (18'th), but you know how things are. It might take longer.



In other news, Tait sent me some pictures for the Photography Favorites thing, and so did Derrillynn. Two down, 5 to go.



Today is Derek and Samantha's first anniversary. I talked to him last night, and he's doing great. Said he got a golf cart stuck though. I'll see if I can get him to send some pictures.



Dad shot a snake in our pool at the new place not to long ago, and day 'fore yesterday, I jumped up on Racers (Our horse) back. She walked back and forth, trying to rake me off on the barbed wire fence. I avoided it thankfully.



The donkey was biting the bull's tail the other day, and held onto it for a long time. It was pretty fun to watch the bull run around trying to shake off the donkey. Eventually Herman let go, but it took a while. I DO have pictures, and they'll be up in my next big blog post.



Yep, there's a lot to look forward to, so just sit tight, and have fun.

I can't believe it. These things always happen to me.

I can't believe it.

I just wrote a really long post about the basics of what was going on, and our satellite timed out.

Here's the skinny: I won't have pictures of the house up until my birthday (October the 18'th) or later, because we'll be very busy. Tait Zimmerman, and Derrillynn Langen have both sent me some pictures for the photography favorites.

Today is Derek and Samantha's first anniversary. I talked to him last night, and he's doing great.

Well, I'm gonna go help Dad. We have to take two loads of cargo down to the new place.

I'll get lots of pictures, and put them up in chapter 3.0.

Oh, for those that haven't seen it, Tait and Ashley (from what I understand) redesigned RealEstateAlternative.com, and did a good job of it. I'm really impressed. Click here for a direct link.

Oh yeah, I have bragging rights for part of it too, cause I took the picture of sleeping lady (Mt. Susitna, known by Alaskan's as 'Sleeping Lady') on the frontpage. I sent it to the Zimmermans, and they used it better than I would have.

Sooooo.... I'm tired, my left arm hurts, and my feet are sore, but we're moving into a new home, so I'm a happy camper.

Have fun!

Our days are numbered. Fluffy is after us!!

So, I'm looking around the internet, and I found doom.



The ultimate doom.







Picture of the day.



Enjoy it.

Finally, Someone I Can Relate To...

We are now the proud owners of a Donkey named Herman.

Yes, a lot has happened since the last post.

We own a house that's 200 feet long, 2 cows, 2 calves, a bull, a Donkey named herman, a twenty-year-old race horse named Racer, a German/Australian Shepherd puppy named Duke, and I saw a guy about to commit suicide by jumping off an overpass.

Yawl can expect some more info and a lot of pictures later.

Dad'll be tellin' ya lots over easytel I'm sure, but he can't send you pictures, so you better be nice to me if you want a link. ;).

Ok, in other news, it's 10 days 'til my 15'th birthday, and it scares me.

Really, think about it, I'll be fifteen. In bible days, fifteen-year-olds were considered men; they had their own land, their own homes, wives, and they had learned a trade.

Today, we consider graduating by the age of sixteen a major accomplishment, seventeen the standard. That's one of the things that hurts the U.S. today. Postponed maturity. I am a sad example of this. Why didn't I care until now?

Ah, I'm going to bed.

'night yawl yankees.

Can video games really be somewhat productive?

NOTE, April 10'th 2006:

Dear readers, I wrote the following post over a year ago, and believed it true. I have since, due to a little bit of eye opening from my Father and other Godly men, changed my opinion on the subject quite a bit. I don't think that by any definition that video games are productive, or worthy of my time. Especially these days...

However, if you would still like to read the post, I left it here for you. Just please don't judge me based upon my mistakes. Other posts on the blog are the same way, though hopefully I've gained more maturity now. At any rate, God Bless you, and have a good day!

~ John.

Original Post:

I was thinking of what to write in the blog today, while running with Dad. Then I got to thinking, “How come I can’t come up with something creative?” I figured then that I should think really hard about what causes my moments of creativity.

Then I began thinking, “Do I really even have moments of creativity? I suppose I must, because I have come up with several things that I think were rather good ideas.” I slowly thought out the few creative things I’ve come up with, the times when I was on a spree of writing or building things. I thought about what I do when I have writers block.

Every so often, writers block hits me like a semi barreling down the freeway. All brain transmissions stop, and merely typing is an accomplishment. At that point, I tend to save all my work, shut down all my programs, and start a computer game. It is always one of the following that does the trick.

1. Americas Army.

I downloaded this game from Americas Army.com with low expectations. It’s a free game developed by the United States Army for the purpose of recruiting. It’s a huge success. This game has received such a response, that the developers work on it nearly full time now, and it’s constantly getting better. It causes you to subconsciously ‘check your six’ all day long. I love it.

As of right now, it is one of the most advanced games available, and it is certainly the most realistic. This game is more about strategy and slowly taking aim than throwing grenades and letting loose a torrent of fire from an oversupply of full automatic weaponry. This game causes me to think more than any of the other games I’ve ever played, and it always results with large amounts of creativity. Not to mention, it’s free, so the price was right for me and my budget.

2. Enemy Territory.

This game is pretty old, but it’s still fun. It doesn’t result in as much creativity as Americas Army, but it’s the same price. This is set in a WW2 environment rather than the modern day Americas Army. Unlike Americas Army, in this game you can get killed multiple times and still keep playing. In Americas Army, once you’re dead, you’re dead, just like real life.

3. Halo: Combat Evolved – PC version.

Originally designed for Microsoft’s ‘X-Box’ this game has fair graphics despite it’s age. The timeline is set in the future, and I prefer single player to the multiplayer, but it’s fun either way. The action is very, very heavy and your brain is activated in an attempt to stay alive. Unlike Enemy Territory or Americas Army, Halo has a single player, and a very good story line. It’s good if your internet connection is down, and it’s good if your internet connection is working.

Now, please note that I do not play computer games all day. In fact, I very rarely play computer games. But when the world seems to be falling apart and I just can't come up with anything witty or creative, they are a wonderful retreat from the reality.


HOWEVER, though these games offer creativity to a point, they don’t always do the trick. Sometimes it takes something that causes boys like me to cringe, and grown men to cinch up their belt and load their guns in preparation for whatever might be ahead of them – Hard Work.

I’m talking hard work. Hauling huge pieces of cement hooked to aluminum poles for instance. (That was for you Todd). Pushing yourself (or having somebody else push you) to a higher height than before.

However, in today’s world of machinery that does the hard work, we’re left with relatively easy days and less creativity.

My Dad counters that though. Recently, he has forced my to go running with him. “Some strange thing in his head thinks that running is good for me!” was my first thought. Then I went running. I was shocked at how puny I really was, needing a break after only 8 minutes. Now though, I’m doing better, making nearly 20 on average. I do have to push myself, but I have come to realize that there are amazing amounts of creativity that flow during a hard run.

In conclusion, I am hit with a stroke of creativity whenever I let my brain relax, or push my body to its limits. When running, I’m doing both.

I can’t think of anything more to write. I guess I’d better go run…

John.

"You're not old enough."

You know, those words crack me up.

You're not old enough? What is that supposed to mean, exactly. You're not old enough doesn't make sense, because really, age has very little to do with our actual reasoning in the situation. What we're really saying is, you're not smart enough, not big enough, not strong enough, not mature enough.

Out of all those factors, maturity is the only one that counts. Unfortunately, people many times mistake “street smarts”, which are only a small portion of maturity, for full maturity.

Maturity is a precious thing, known to the writers of the bible as wisdom. Proverbs are full of wisdom, this precious maturity that I strive for. The bible says that, "foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child." That’s why 6 year olds are not really mature. (The exception being Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes.)

My Dad has always told me that, “Man cannot generate wisdom. It either comes through the still small voice, (the Holy Spirit) or through God’s Holy Word.” That really is true.

If you seek maturity, read the proverbs. I don't care if you're Christian or atheist; the proverbs contain applicable wisdom for every person in every walk of life. Maturity can be gained fast or slow, and believe me I've seen people that made the difference very apparent. There's a kid on the Internet who goes by the name (call sign, username, nickname, whatever) of Myself_Me. No, it's not me; I believe his real name is Ace Short.

Anyway, this kid knows far more than me about computers, filmmaking, special effects, etc, and he's only 11 years old! I could not believe it when I found out how young he was. This is a case of a smart child that used his wisdom (maturity) for the best and applied it to his life and interests. Then there are grown men who when offended act like two year olds who lost there favorite toy.

I'd really like to think that I am mature, but who's really to say?

The brain can't make anything new, so spending time with other immature kids will NOT breed maturity. Rather, it promotes immaturity, due to peer pressure and other factors. Spending time with mature adults, or in the proverbs, will promote maturity unlike anything else. Is this not the basis of homeschooling?

This is more of a rant than anything, but the whole concept of rating a person's capability based on age is sometimes foolish.

Cars and Computers are different than children. While cars start off "Brand New", children have to be "built" completely from scratch, since they don't start off perfect. They start off neutral and can become either foolish or wise. The wisdom has to be programmed, that maturity has to be developed.

What is this doing on the blog? I really don’t know, but that’s what blogs are for.

Looking back on what I just wrote, my brain was really scattered during the writing of this, and my Dad wants me to go to bed, so I hope you could understand most of it. If not... Well.... It's probably not your fault!

God Bless!

~ John.

An American Soldier

Well, not much has happened since my last post, except that we got some news from Newby.



Newby. Who is Newby, you ask? Well, most (or at least a few) know him as Derek. No, not Derek Moreland, my older brother.



See, Derek was born at a very early age, and my brother Jordan called him "New Baby", but you know how two year olds are, they shorten everything up to 2 syllables or less. "Newby" was now the official term, for a baby destined to become a soldier, fighting in Iraq.











Derek was semi-recently married as many of you know. Here he stands with his wife Samantha.



Or rather, SHE stands with HIM.











And now for a few of my favorite pictures of Derek. We'll start with a couple from when he and Jordan came to visit two years ago. Or was it one year ago?



Anyway, here's all of us gathered around watching Jordan, Derek, Tim, and Bert all play Halo.











This shot was before Reagan got her braces, but Derek's teeth were shining bright. Gator is again making faces, now complete with military haircut from Derek.











Bert and Newby had a lot of fun together, but then again, we all had fun.











But, despite all that fun, Jordan and Derek had to go. The military needed their help!











Anyway, the point of this post was to say that Derek has been promoted to E5. That's very impressive for anybody, especially in the Marines. Though I guess that since he's a homeschooler, it was expected.



The thing that probably made it possible for him was the fact that he had determination. Why? Because JORDAN was an E5 already. Derek couldn't possibly be left in the dust, though his work in the dust of Iraq was what earned him the respect and recognition of his senior officers.



That, and the fact that he can run three miles in 18 minutes is pretty danged impressive. It takes Dad and I thirty, and I don't even make it the whole way.



The funny thing is that one guy told Dad that if Derek made the promotion, he would kiss his own rear end. After we learned that Derek had indeed made it, Dad told Derek what the guy had said. Derek responded with, "Well he better start stretching, 'cause man, he could pull a muscle or something!"



Anyway, a picture. This isn't of him being promoted, but he is receiving a medal, so I'll just post it real quick.











He's done an excellent job, and we are all very proud of him.



Derek, our American Soldier.











Post Edited October 2, 9:25 PM.



I have some new pictures of Derek at his promotion. At least, that's what I think they're of. He just sent them to me, (or Samantha did) and I don't really know what they're of for sure. But from the looks of things, he's being promoted.



Enjoy.











I feel sorry for the guy in the rear. He must be standing in a hole.











I have several pictures of Jordan, but multiple death threats have dissuaded me from posting them. After all, he'll be visiting this Christmas, and his short-term memory isn't THAT short.



Have fun!