The Clock Winked

So I published a book.

I highly recommend trying it - for anyone who thinks they can make it all the way through to the other side of the revision stage. But honestly, the most difficult part for me was making the cover.

Now, obviously, you can hire people to do your design for you. And sometimes you can even find people to do it for free - but in that case, you're asking a lot of someone, especially if you want to do it in a specific time frame. So after poking people around a bit, I did it myself.

I went through a wide variety of versions - blue, black, orange, different fonts and font sizes. I stuck with the clock image throughout the whole process, however, because I liked it. I asked different people I know for feedback - which versions they did and didn't like and why and eventually I got bored.

I get bored very easily. So I made one final version that was completely different from the others, and then said, "That's it, it's good enough."

This was due in large part to a piece advice from a coworker, which was not intended to be advice and spoken in relation to something entirely unrelated to my book. The advice (paraphrased into my own words) was this:

There's something to be said for perfection, and there's something to be said for getting it done. Sometimes you need to just get it done.

And for your own enjoyment, I will post the old versions of the cover here, and you can decide which one you like best. Oh, and you can buy my book, too. It's on Amazon: click here.

Plants in a Bubble

Hydroponics on the Destiny. Image credit.

In Stargate Universe, there is a hydroponics lab (see right). What is hydroponics? you ask.

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil. Simply put, the necessary nutrients for growth are put in water, and the roots absorbs them without ever touching soil. The Stargate version has the plants growing towards a centralized light source while spinning slowly and watering the roots at the base (which you can see in the image). The water is of course filled with the necessary nutrients. You can find more information on this system here.

The Boston Fern is
named Franklin.
He's cute.

I have more recently been interested in plants, especially the live kind that grow (as opposed to the dead kind that don't). My new(ish) apartment actually gets light during the day, so I have found warm and wonderful spots for my plants. Here they all are in a row, happily out of the snow (left). 

When I no longer have an apartment and am also not living with relatives or in a van (this assumes that I can afford a house at some point in my future), I would like to build a hydroponic garden. I have to get to it before the hipsters, though. My other option (if the whole house thing falls through) is to build an ecosystem in a bottle. I guess I could do that anyway. Look at this guy. He appears incredibly happy. I imagine I would also be happy if I had an entire ecosystem that I could hug.

David Latimer, hugging an entire ecosystem.
Photo credit.

Now, if I were to grow an entire ecosystem in a bottle, I would include fairies. In fact, maybe that's what genies are - fairies trapped in one ecosystem that is somehow contained inside a magic lamp. That is probably why genies are always grumpy - weeds are constantly taking over everything! If you don't believe me that genies are grumpy, read Arabian Nights.

At any rate, until I can afford a house and power tools, I guess I will have to stave off my impatience by growing real plants and doodling pictures of plants. Maybe some plants hanging off of walls, or plants stuck inside bottles (see image to right) or even plants that can fly! Plants that can live in outer space! Plants that are intelligent life forms!

And then, of course, I will share my plant pictures with you. 

The Year of the Jellyfish

It's the New Year, and as we all look forward to our new and improved lives, pay vigorous attention to our resolutions, and intensely focus our efforts on altering our lifestyles (yeah right), there is one crucial detail that we should beware: the Jellyfish.

Watch out - they're going to get you!

The number of jellyfish in our oceans is rising (see news article here). I think they might take over the world. Scientists say it's just a cycle - every 20 years or so the number of jellyfish reaches a high - but I don't believe it. Maybe scientists are plotting to take over the world using jellyfish. Maybe the dolphins are about to launch a massive offensive against humans, as a test of which species' intelligence is really higher. Maybe the CIA is training jellyfish to carryout stealth missions against other countries. Maybe NASA is secretly imitating the way jellyfish move to create some sort of awesome spaceship... or are going to use jellyfish as spaceships. Or maybe aliens have tapped into the jellyfish mind and are going to use them to take over Earth.

I mean, imagine it - weird wobbly fish with the ability to zap you with magical poisonous lightning, increasing in population to the point that the ocean water just bubbles with their round little heads - and then they all suddenly ATTACK.

Perhaps 2013 will be the end of the world.

At any rate, here is my New Year's advice: don't get behind on your resolutions, and watch out for jellyfish!

*Picture from here.