You're going to camp whether you like it or not.

I planned to be at the  annual Kindtree Autism Camp early to beat the rush and rehearse for a role in a play one of the Volunteers wrote . I  say planned because my plans didn't quite work out that way. Thursday morning my ride never appeared leaving me frantic, confused, angry and so stressed I thought, the hell with it. Once again fate was in charge.I woke Friday and immediately got a call from Nell, one of the directors of the camp.

"We need you out here." were the magic words she said. I got a ride from another volunteer Julie, and we arrive mid afternoon. Unfortunately I missed a shift of work and a rehearsal so I was way behind the schedule. No problem, no worries I'm here that's what counts.

The  main work on Saturday was the technical rehearsal for the play. The final draft of the play was delivered to me when I arrive so we're all reading from the script here and at the show. In a homage to Dr. Who, Frankie has written a play that could easily pass for an actual episode. Pretty good since he's never done this before. He plays The Doctor but is preoccupied with directing. Tim plays a befuddled Professor and offers ideas on direction. Logan-playing the villain, proves to be very professional, picks up on his stage business, gets into his part and has most of his part memorized which impresses me. A high energy pre teen is cast for a small role and does the news commentator on a pre recorded video. He's all over the place and I wonder if he is up to the discipline of acting.  I'm stressing about the complicated blocking.

Panels of cardboard are painted brown with yellow circles like the interior of the TARDIS.  One of the panels is discarded because of space and Logan decides it looks like an easy version the game twister "Left leg on yellow, right leg on yellow, left hand on yellow, left hand on yellow" Yeah, that's it I laugh. The prop control panel could easily have come from the early days of the BBC show when they had no budget. We all love it's thrown together appeal.

I'm tired from rehearsal and go to my tent for a ten minute nap that turns into a 30 minute nap. I miss out of the many activities scheduled but camping for me is about resting not doing. So I  enjoy throwing a frisbee around the open field with campers in the warn sun. I wander over in time to see Mary -Minn and company packing up after the watercolor class I missed. They speak in a fake French accent for some strange reason  while they clean up. "ah  ze colors are magnifique." "Zees is ze best water color ever. " I didn't miss the fun after all.

The  play is presented at the end of the talent show Saturday night and is wildly enjoyed despite the imperfect staging and my stepping on Frankie's lines-twice. The crowd loves it and that's all the matters. Afterwards he and Ryan do their impression of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. I went to bed.

Sunday I rose to late for the eggs so I have bacon and fruit for breakfast. I take a long walk to the end of the camp  and back. Big mistake, even though it was quite lovely and quiet. I then spend over two hours helping in the kitchen which I rather like even though it's tiring work. I have spent the last month sitting on my butt while writing a novel so I get all the exercise I missed done in one weekend. It's raining and I'm exhausted when Julie and I head back to Eugene. I'm so tired I swear I'm not going to do it again next year. 

Well, there is talk of a sequel to the play. 

Redesign the TASER.

Tasers are touted as 'non lethal weapons" which is a contradiction since most weapons are designed with the potential to be lethal. There are cases too numerous to count where police have killed people with them. There aren't a lot of cases where civilians have killed people with them and there is a good reason why.

Training.

With a gun, police are taught to aim for the torso and shoot until the threat is stopped, in this case a person is dead. TASERs are held and used like guns, they aim for the torso, something the makers expressly warn against because of the risk of heart failure. Police keep firing a TASER because people spasm a lot when jolted with electricity and therefore still a threat. When they stop moving it's usually because they are dead.

So much for non lethal.

It occurred to me that the problem is not just the training but the relationship between guns and TASERs. The Oakland transit cop who shot and killed a man- and it was all recorded on video- claimed he thought he had his TASER out and not a gun. How could he get them confused? Most likely because they felt the same physically and psychologically.

I have a tool belt where I never have to look at the tool I'm reaching for because they each have a different handle to distinguish them. This difference needs to be reinforced with these weapons to avoid such tragedies. The simplest solution is to make the TASER feel totally different from a gun.  A redesign that will make it clear to the user it is not a gun and therefore is not used like one. Whether it's aiming for the torso or repeatedly firing the weapon. Have it shaped like a phaser from Star Trek ( minus the kill setting) or a wand anything other than a traditional gun

How The Military should Teach Sex Education

The military is used to getting the men to stand at attention, yell orders at them and dismissed. They are handling the whole rape epidemic that way- "Soldier rape is bad, don't do it, dismissed." because so far it's been working pretty well, right? Well, a soldier and long time listener to Dan Savage's podcast  provided the new approach the old boys need.

Sometimes the answer can be so simple and why military intelligence is still an oxymoron.

More Harmless Stimuli

Beautiful Iceland Photos | ThinkNice.com

Some Harmless Stimuli

http://imgur.com/a/fJaK4

What Ever Happened to?. . . .

Jared Martin

He most famously played Dusty on “Dallas’ and was the odds favorite in the “What shot JR? “ cliffhanger from the show. If you remember it , you’re dating yourself, if you don’t - it was the “House of Cards” of the  70’s.

Picture of the Day

I always suspected as much

We Are Enabling the Spies

We complain that the NSA etc are collecting data on us but we are making it so easy by handing it to them on a silver platter. We are spying on ourselves.  We talk about where we are constantly on Twitter and facebook. We show off pictures of the inside of our homes to total strangers. We share things "anonymously" on the net we would never share with our family or friends. News flash people, the government has found a super easy way to eavesdrop on your private life.

Stop doing that. Some have become so paranoid about information leakage they are going back to the old typewriter so their writing can't be traced.

I don't use a cell phone or drive a car so it's a little harder for the federales to track my every movement via a GPS. I have a hard wired land line  it even has a real bell in it.

Meanwhile if you are worried about who is data tracking check out this.

Picture of the Day

Bacon is the duct tape of food.

I wrote about the difficulty of having a creative muse. The old one wasn't working out. But a new one has shown up. I had an idea for yet another novel kicking around in my head for some time and just before I went off on vacation it decided it was time to be written. I have been writing every day since. I used to compose in the morning and write in the evening but this one has shown me the advantage to writing in the morning as well.

"That's when your imagination is till percolating from the night's dreams so that's a good time to write." I nodded my head. good point.

"You can write for an hour or so and when you start fidgeting about the day's other activities you can stop to take a break and deal with those." again , a good point. I usually end up debating with a guilty mind what to do first every morning.

The other problem is the inner editor and critic getting into the act and spoiling the fun.  She has assured them their time will come. Every first draft is shit, as every writer comes to learn and she tells me to keep writing anyway.

"It can be fixed in post. " as they say in the movies biz. Where gaffs, bloopers, etc can be fixed in the editing process.

The new muse reminds me why I love to write. She keeps me on track, encourages my efforts, is fine when I take a break, offers me insight when I need it.

I like this one.

The Real World vs. the Comic Book World

When comic book fans get together there is always debate about what the super hero would do in such and such situation. There is endless discussion about their abilities, battles and personalities. What's most incredulous - to me anyway - is how these fans debate about the comic book heroes as if they existed in our world. They can't.

The epic battles alone defy the current laws of physics. Then there is the matter of insurance liability for all the damage they inflict, social paranoia at the existence of meta humans, the reaction of the military and the media circus their appearance would create. None of it rings true for this world.

Fans of comic/graphic books often complain movie adaptations aren't faithful if every element  isn't depicted exactly as the original source,  it's disappointing. The disclaimer " I guess they can't show it the way it is in the comics -but still" is just another kind let down.

News flash- it's fiction people. Movies has limited time to tell a story-hence the use of  compression. Many elements can't be depicted because of money, safety and logic. The limitation is the comic book world (CBW) and the real world (RW) are two very different things.

Not matter how much suspension of belief is used the depiction still has to operate with consistent rules. Film makers are notorious for making up rules then promptly ignoring them when they are inconvenient to the plot or the film making process. Fans of sci-fi and fantasy are an intelligent lot. They don't appreciate bad science, faulty logic and capricious rules of physics.They can pick them apart. They know the difference and therein lies the problem. As I said, the CBW and RW are inconsistent with each other so there's trouble when fans attempt to reconcile the two and their logic can be as sloppy as the film makers.

Fans complain about the plot holes in Superman Man of Steel as if he existed in this world but he doesn't. Deep down there is the subconscious wish that the CBW is possible. A desire so keen that when the RW rears it's ugly head, it's reminder to the fan of the impossibility of that wish.

But this is all academic like debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. We are talking about fictional characters in a made up world and arguing about how their reality violates ours.

If CBW fans so desire to have that world like this one it's not by wishing the movies were "more accurate" or for a real world super hero, but by adopting the values and ethics these heros are trying to impart to the reader. Honesty, optimism, and justice. By understanding the the consequences of your actions you can be Superman simply by acting like him in your daily life.

Amtrak Lessons

I love to travel by train. I’ve done it many times and have a tried and true method. First pack light. People are always lugging too much carry on when it’s easier to check it. Unlike the airlines it’s highly unlikely it will get lost.

Bring a pillow and a blanket if you are traveling overnight. The seats are not very comfortable but an improvement from the earlier models. They are designed for a six foot 185 pound man, the rest of us-eh. They provide pillows that are nice but small. I have one of those padded collars that I dearly love. I also have something to cover my eyes. Blinding sunlight at dawn is not good. Also, they announce breakfast in the dining car pretty early if the crying kid doesn’t wake you first. If you are traveling in a sleeper-never mind. They are quiet, comfortable and expensive but meals are included. 

Amtrak decided to make travel either steerage or luxury with no middle ground. The two level train I was on recently ( the Coast Starlight) had some empty compartments that I thought would be an excellent place to put in a dozen pullman bunks that Amtrak could sell for $50 a pop but they haven’t figured that out yet. I did some hardy souls curled up on the floor with the little pillow tucked under their head. Right where a bunk would be. See.

Bring a snack. There is a dining or bistro car on most trains but meals can be pricey and are of moderate quality. I like to have my own snack as back up.  However, a beer or cocktail is most enjoyable while watching the scenery. They used to show movies in the lounge car but now with wifi on board everyone has their own gadgets. By the way put that stupid gadget away and enjoy the scenery. 

Keep your schedule open. Amtrak tries to be on time despite Union Pacific’s attempt to thwart their plans so the train can be late. I had no problems with the shorter Cascadia train from Eugene to Seattle but the Coast Starlight which runs between Seattle and LA is often late. If you’re traveling by train you’re not be in a hurry anyway. Enjoy the scenery. Waking up to Mt. Shasta is always amazing. I do however have a bone to pick with Amtrak about one thing. 

This.

You’d think people in the passenger rail business would know better but no. It leads me to think that the Emeryville station was a mistake from the start. The location sucks, a few miles north of the Oakland station which loads passengers for the same train.The late night train passengers have nowhere to get snacks because everything is closed. During the day one must get tokens for the restroom from the surly and often busy staff because, god forbid the homeless should use them, so let’s make it inconvenient for the passengers. The heavy door is punishment for those hauling heavy carry ons.

Amtrak runs pretty well considering it’s problems. Delayed trains, old equipment, no advertising to speak of, indifferent upper management, poor pay. The US government gives huge amounts to the airlines but a pittance to rail, yet the trains are running at capacity. And everyone hates the airlines. Every president makes  hollow promises of increasing rail spending but nothing happens. Europe and China have efficient high speed rail on dedicated track. In this country the old slow moving trains have to move aside for priority freight. Nevertheless I would rather travel by train than by airline any day. No hassles with security theater, roomy seats, friendly staff and the scenery is great.

All aboard (except in Emeryville CA.).