• Member Since 2nd Nov, 2012
  • offline last seen 8 hours ago

Admiral Biscuit


Virtually invisible to PaulAsaran

More Blog Posts890

  • Tuesday
    March Music Monday 4

    March Music Monday 4

    For all the :yay: . . . guff I pile on my manager, he occasionally dispenses pearls of wisdom, or names songs that it turns out that I really, really like.


    Source

    Read More

    26 comments · 156 views
  • 1 week
    March Music Monday 3

    I think I mentioned in the first one of these that my manager always plays the same top-40 Country station all day every day.


    Source

    Read More

    14 comments · 209 views
  • 2 weeks
    March Music Monday 2

    Alrighty fellow music lovers, it's another Monday in March, and you know what that means!

    ... 'cause you read the title :heart:


    Source

    This one doesn't have as much of a back story.

    Read More

    9 comments · 211 views
  • 3 weeks
    March Music Monday 1

    This is pretty much what it says on the tin.

    See, ponies like music, I think that's pretty well-established canon. I like music, too, and I thought I'd introduce you to some music you might not have heard before. After all, I've been introduced to music by other people through the years, oftentimes something I'd never have found on my own.

    Read More

    29 comments · 295 views
  • 5 weeks
    MECHANIC: The Most Boring One Yet

    I hesitate to even suggest you grab your favorite beverage, you're just gonna skim this one. But, if you're game:


    Source

    Read More

    17 comments · 318 views
Feb
4th
2019

Blogs Titled State of the Author get read, right? · 2:47am Feb 4th, 2019

Tired.


Source


Looking at my calendar, my last day off was January 6, and I’m not getting a day off until Feb. 10. So, that basically means that by next Sunday, I’ll’ve worked for a month straight and then some.

In that past month, my shortest day of work was six hours plus two hours of commuting, and my longest day of work was likely 12 hours plus two hours of commuting.


Source

As y’all know, despite this I’ve kept up a pretty decent schedule of publishing The Haunting, and also a few blog posts as well. Certainly not a record-setting pace, but certainly respectable.

Over the last week, we’ve also had an enormous temperature swing here in the Midwest. Middle of the week, we were in the double-digit negatives; factor in wind chill, and numbers stop really meaning anything other than ‘go outside without a coat and you’ll die.’

Friday, it was nearly 20, and I was outside in a t-shirt marveling about how warm it was. Today, it got close to 50.

That of course has nothing to do with anything; my house has a furnace, and I can set it to whatever I like. My van also has heat, and while it’s not the best, it’s not -40 either. But i just thought y’all would want to know.


Anyway, the fact is that right now I’m not feeling it. My muse has checked out for the weekend; she’s off in the Bahamas sipping Mojitos and taking a well-earned rest.

In her absence, I puttered around the house and did a few preemptive spring cleaning projects, and I also got caught up enough on comments that I only have a dozen tabs open in Google. I went to bed early, and slept as late as I could.

What I didn’t do was write or edit anything meaningful.

There’s a small part of me that feels guilty about that, of course. Which is why I’m writing this blog post.

But let’s be honest, I think my muse has earned a weekend on the beach.


Source


Going forward, I hope to finish three projects in February. They’re in various degrees of completeness at the moment. I’ve also got a few blog posts I’d like to push out in the next couple of weeks.

I’m not rash enough to make any promises, though. But that’s the idea.

Come March, I’ll need to start focusing in on con stuff. For those of you planning, I’ll be at EFNW, Bronycon, and Trotcon this year for sure. I’ll be on at least one panel at Trotcon; the others will depend if I can dupe the right people into believing I actually know a damn thing about writing.



Source

Comments ( 43 )

Plays Tropical Octavia. :pinkiehappy:

Oh hay, I type like that. Even had the smoke as well. :twilightoops:

Oh right, Bronycon. I was meaning to check that out this year, should probably start planning.

Keep it up bro. I'm in the same boat, but its been 2 1/2 months since my last day off

You, as much as anypony, deserve a much earned break. I hope EFNW and BronyCon are at least as good as the beach!

Given comments both before and after this comment, the answer is 'yes'.

You must be rolling in the bits. Good on you. I better start writing stories again so you don’t pass me up in story count again.

I'll have Xepher reach out to you! He was asking about CGs cause apparently it dawned on him EFNW is less than 4 months away and we might need a few more people to talk about writing.

Fair enough. This is a hobby, your life comes first

Used to work graveyard as a convenience store clerk. Didn't get a day off for about 3 weeks.
Told the boss "If I'm the only one on Earth that can do this job, I want more money"
Got a day off

I'm exhausted just reading about the pace you're keeping in everything, all at once. At least your muse is getting a break in the sun. You gonna join them any time soon?

Recharging is good.

I thought Roseluck was your muse!!

Seriously take the whole week off. You should focus on you first. Your mental health is of extreme importance and we don't need you to burn out.

I find it admirable that you did some writing at all. Both your muse and you deserve some rest.

Over the last week, we’ve also had an enormous temperature swing here in the Midwest. Middle of the week, we were in the double-digit negatives; factor in wind chill, and numbers stop really meaning anything other than ‘go outside without a coat and you’ll die.’

Our house is so shoddily put-together that we had to tape up the doors to keep the cold out.

But let’s be honest, I think my muse has earned a weekend on the beach.

:eeyup:

5007538
I chuckled the moment I read that and knew exactly which song you were talking about.

I'm in the same state, Biscuit, and I feel your cold. Not saying a thing about your pain though... you work with cars in this weather. Take whatever breather you need, your ravenous horde of literary minions are better fed than most.

Dan

my house has a furnace, and I can set it to whatever I like.

So the energy company in your area didn't put out a Statewide emergency request to set furnaces to 60-63 and avoid using hot water to take some of the strain off the natural gas distribution?

Lucky.

Up to the 40s over the last couple days, leading to really heavy fog and general dampness, and now it's back down to the ordinary 20s, which means everything that melted will refreeze into deadly sheets.

A couple of my tires went flat three times in a week. The -50 weather contributed, but I think it was mainly because I didn't get the caps on tight enough since I was screwing them on while wearing thick gloves. Really difficult to fumble with those little things with gloves on, but the alternative would have been frostbite in a minute or two all over the hands, and the fingertips instantly freezing to the metal air hose chuck and tearing off.

edit. Annnnd... I comically slipped and fell on my ass going out for the mail, even though I spread salt on Saturday.

That sound very exhausting. Seriously, if you need rest, do it, burning yourself out is really not advised.

5007538

Plays Tropical Octavia. :pinkiehappy:

derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/7/30/1793323.gif

Oh hay, I type like that. Even had the smoke as well. :twilightoops:

I’ve mostly avoided the smoke, but that’s seriously my typing style too.

5007539

Oh right, Bronycon. I was meaning to check that out this year, should probably start planning.

You totally should! It’s a fun con. Also, I’ll be there.

5007541

Keep it up bro. I'm in the same boat, but its been 2 1/2 months since my last day off

Nothing like seven-day workweeks. :derpytongue2:

5007559

You, as much as anypony, deserve a much earned break.

Thanks! :heart:

I hope EFNW and BronyCon are at least as good as the beach!

They ought to be. I guess I’ll find out when the time comes.

5007565

Given comments both before and after this comment, the answer is 'yes'.

Yes is a good answer. I like that answer.

5007574

You must be rolling in the bits. Good on you.

Not exactly rolling, but I’ve got cons covered easily, so that’s something.

I better start writing stories again so you don’t pass me up in story count again.

:derpytongue2:

5007577

I'll have Xepher reach out to you! He was asking about CGs cause apparently it dawned on him EFNW is less than 4 months away and we might need a few more people to talk about writing.

I’m totally on board for that. :heart:

I’m on Discord sporadically, so that might be the best way, or of course PM on FimFiction.

I’m considering volunteering for staff . . . I’ve got that tab open on my browser at the moment.

5007579

Fair enough. This is a hobby, your life comes first

There are a surprising number of users on FimFic who don’t seem to understand that. I’m glad I’ve generally got a good audience. :heart:

Used to work graveyard as a convenience store clerk. Didn't get a day off for about 3 weeks.
Told the boss "If I'm the only one on Earth that can do this job, I want more money"
Got a day off

Yeah, I know that feel. I’ve had managers beg me and give me extra hours at the group homes. For job security, it’s good to be irreplaceable, but the paycheck ought to reflect that.

5007588

I'm exhausted just reading about the pace you're keeping in everything, all at once.

I’m a fast writer, so that helps. And sometimes I get to write at my weekend job, which also helps . . . the last three published chapters of The Haunting and the next-to-be published were all written wholly or partially at work, when all they guys were in their rooms and not doing anything because the weather was suck.

At least your muse is getting a break in the sun. You gonna join them any time soon?

Nah; I was actually planning to grab her leash and get her back to work tonight.

Honestly, maybe it’s a small thing, but it hit nearly 50 degrees here today, and the sun even came out for a little bit. I think that’s practically like being on the beach :rainbowlaugh:

5007641

Recharging is good.

Yes, it is. :heart:

I thought Roseluck was your muse!!

She’s a part-time muse.

I suppose I could’ve found a Roseluck at the beach pic . . . here you go:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/6/23/17725.png

5007648

Seriously take the whole week off. You should focus on you first. Your mental health is of extreme importance and we don't need you to burn out.

Bah, I don’t need the whole week off. A couple of days of just watching dumb YouTube videos and doing a few little projects around the house was plenty.

5007649

I find it admirable that you did some writing at all.

I can’t not, generally. Which is weird, but that’s okay. Just how I roll.

Both your muse and you deserve some rest.

:heart:

5007656

Our house is so shoddily put-together that we had to tape up the doors to keep the cold out.

I had to put the thermal curtain over one window to get the bedroom above freezing, but that was all that I really needed to do, which was nice.

Luckily, I don’t mind it being chilly in the house.

5007660

I'm in the same state, Biscuit, and I feel your cold. Not saying a thing about your pain though... you work with cars in this weather.

Earlier in the week, I had to use a needle scaler to chip the ice off brake caliper bolts so that I could do a brake job on a car. That was fun. And we didn’t do any test drives after alignments for a couple of days, because what was the point? With the wind and the slush and the ice, you couldn’t tell if the car drove straight or not.

Take whatever breather you need, your ravenous horde of literary minions are better fed than most.

I think I’m feeling it again. We’ll see.

5007706

So the energy company in your area didn't put out a Statewide emergency request to set furnaces to 60-63 and avoid using hot water to take some of the strain off the natural gas distribution?

Lucky.

Oh, they did. We lost a Consumer’s compressor plant on Wednesday (I think) when it burst into flames, and temporarily took down something like 84% of the normal capacity . . . luckily, they have reserves, but I’m sure the whole system was really stressed as they got things back online.

I tend to keep the heat in my house around 60, so I didn’t have to worry about turning down my heat.

Up to the 40s over the last couple days, leading to really heavy fog and general dampness, and now it's back down to the ordinary 20s, which means everything that melted will refreeze into deadly sheets.

We’re still in the 40s, and practically all the snow has melted. Even the big pile that my boss left in front of my Jeep when he plowed my driveway (which I told him to do; the thing’s got two flat tires and a dead battery, so it’s not like I was going to be driving it anyway).

A couple of my tires went flat three times in a week. The -50 weather contributed, but I think it was mainly because I didn't get the caps on tight enough since I was screwing them on while wearing thick gloves. Really difficult to fumble with those little things with gloves on, but the alternative would have been frostbite in a minute or two all over the hands, and the fingertips instantly freezing to the metal air hose chuck and tearing off.

If there was any ice in the air line at all (which there probably was), it might have stuck the valves partially open. Not that there’s really anything you could have done about it. Yeah, the arctic cold would have contributed; assuming the first time that they were inflated to proper pressure (let’s say that was 30psi) and it was 30 when you did that, they would have lost somewhere between 8 and 17 psi from just normal shrinkage (the two figures I most often see are 1psi per 10 degrees, or 10% per 10 degrees). I got to fix a stuck valve on a plow truck; at least he brought the tire in loose.

edit. Annnnd... I comically slipped and fell on my ass going out for the mail, even though I spread salt on Saturday.

I’ve managed to avoid that thus far this last week.

5007764

That sound very exhausting. Seriously, if you need rest, do it, burning yourself out is really not advised.

The good news is that things are looking up going forward; I’ve got next Sunday off. Yay!

Of course, I’ve also got a twelve-hour shift on Saturday . . .

5008106 Heck, 50F is survivable with a good sweater. At least for a while! For back east during a "normal" winter, I'm pretty sure you're right: that's as good as being on the beach. :rainbowlaugh:

Fortunately for us in 'What Season is it Today?' Land, it's been cold and rainy lately, but not frigid.

About comfy ponies lying in the warm sun: I was thinking that it's odd how in many HIE stories, writers do not often present better explanations for humans wearing clothes than "we just always have". I'd always thought that horses inherently have thicker skin (plus thicker fur/hair, and therefore warmer), but it seems that their skin may actually be thinner and much more sensitive than human skin. :raritystarry:

Edit: Fixed context.

5008121

Ouch. Makes me glad I live in a part of Canada where cold snaps like this tend to happen once every year or two, so we're prepared for it. (It's when a night decides to see if it can reach -30°C (-22.0°F) every 5 or 10 years that the news anchors get busy yakking.)

FTL

5008110
Glad one of the projects you dealt with a while ago was your water heater... imagine your present weather without hot water! :twilightoops:

Gotta love those 7 days a week, 12+ hours on the clock weeks. Worst for me was last year was 3 weeks of 100+ on the clock, followed by two 'quiet' ones of only 80+... I actually slept in my swag at work between shifts for some of those three to avoid wasting time commuting. Hope you enjoy your Sunday off and get some quality 'just for myself' things done. As other have mentioned, we'd rather you stay sane and healthy than update on schedule! :raritywink:

I had to put the thermal curtain over one window to get the bedroom above freezing, but that was all that I really needed to do, which was nice.

Heh, the good old, all purpose, thermal blanket... when I am up north for work and living in a donga I use thermal blankets on the outside of the windows to keep the donga cooler. It can keep the internal temp from getting over 60 (140) while I am away through the day to a far less oven like 45(115).

You folks with your freezing temps just leave me amazed that you live there by choice! I come from a semi-arid climate and deal with 40+ temps (100+ for you folks) more often than I see sub 0(32) temps... and even then we only see sub zeros at night. Heck, the last month has been 35-45 (95-113) on all all bar three days... and only a few nights have dropped below 20(70).

Earlier in the week, I had to use a needle scaler to chip the ice off brake caliper bolts so that I could do a brake job on a car. That was fun.

Again, total mind and finger numbing thought... that seems insane to me. But then again if I say that last weekend I had to drop a pair of coil springs into a water bucket to cool them before I fitted them to my Mum's Territory as they had been sitting outside in the sun and they were so hot that I had to wear gloves to bring them in, then that probably makes you wonder why the heck we live where we do. :pinkiehappy:

Stay warm as possible, as sane as you prefer, busy enough to feel useful and may your tools always be at hand when you need 'em. :twilightsmile:

5008197

Heck, 50F is survivable with a good sweater. At least for a while! For back east during a "normal" winter, I'm pretty sure you're right: that's as good as being on the beach. :rainbowlaugh:

I’d of course dress up more if I had to spend a lot of time outside, but usually if it’s above 20 and I’m not going to be out too long, I just go out in a t-shirt, or maybe a light jacket.

Fortunately for us in 'What Season is it Today?' Land, it's been cold and rainy lately, but not frigid.

We had a bit of warm and sunny (well, warm as in high 40s), followed by rain and freezing rain. And lots of mud.

About comfy ponies lying in the warm sun: I was thinking that it's odd how in many HIE stories, writers do not often present better explanations for humans wearing clothes than "we just always have". I'd always thought that horses inherently have thicker skin (plus thicker fur/hair, and therefore warmer), but it seems that their skin may actually be thinner and much more sensitive than human skin. :raritystarry:

The hair really helps keep heat in, and I’d presume it also provides a degree of protection against normal environmental hazards. I do know that horses can get sunburns and skin cancer, so obviously the coat doesn’t protect them against everything.

I’d wonder if their skin toughens in places where it has to, like calluses on a person?

In terms of humans wearing clothes, I think that “we always just have” (it’s taboo not to) and that they provide environmental protection. Also, of course, they’re a way to express oneself. “It’s taboo not to” is something that ponies might not understand, whereas I think they would understand environmental protection and fashion, since they have clothing for those purposes.

5008236

Ouch. Makes me glad I live in a part of Canada where cold snaps like this tend to happen once every year or two, so we're prepared for it. (It's when a night decides to see if it can reach -30°C (-22.0°F) every 5 or 10 years that the news anchors get busy yakking.)

It’s kind of mixed here. We usually don’t get temperatures that cold in the lower peninsula, but it does happen every now and then. When I was in high school (winter of ‘93 or ‘94) it hit -40s for about a week, and they closed school for that. My dad’s car froze down to the driveway.

5008423

Glad one of the projects you dealt with a while ago was your water heater... imagine your present weather without hot water! :twilightoops:

Well, about that, it was followed with problems with the well that haven’t fully been resolved--in part because of a complete lack of days off--so I can easily imagine my present weather without any significant supply of hot water. :derpytongue2:

Gotta love those 7 days a week, 12+ hours on the clock weeks. Worst for me was last year was 3 weeks of 100+ on the clock, followed by two 'quiet' ones of only 80+... I actually slept in my swag at work between shifts for some of those three to avoid wasting time commuting. Hope you enjoy your Sunday off and get some quality 'just for myself' things done. As other have mentioned, we'd rather you stay sane and healthy than update on schedule! :raritywink:

My worst stretch that I can think of was six weeks of school along with being a lead lighting guy on three back-to-back theatre productions. Luckily I was young then; I don’t think I could survive that punishing a schedule any more.

I used to do doubles and triples on the weekend, but I don’t do that any more. It’s not worth it.

Heh, the good old, all purpose, thermal blanket... when I am up north for work and living in a donga I use thermal blankets on the outside of the windows to keep the donga cooler. It can keep the internal temp from getting over 60 (140) while I am away through the day to a far less oven like 45(115).

That’s the one thing that I don’t like about heat. Cold, you can put on more clothes, and to a point, deal with it. Heat, there comes a point wher you can’t take off any more clothes, so you just have to sweat.

You folks with your freezing temps just leave me amazed that you live there by choice! I come from a semi-arid climate and deal with 40+ temps (100+ for you folks) more often than I see sub 0(32) temps... and even then we only see sub zeros at night. Heck, the last month has been 35-45 (95-113) on all all bar three days... and only a few nights have dropped below 20(70).

I’d rather have some cold and snow rather than oven-hot during the summer. I don’t think we went over 100 at all last year, or if we did, it was only one or two days.

Again, total mind and finger numbing thought... that seems insane to me. But then again if I say that last weekend I had to drop a pair of coil springs into a water bucket to cool them before I fitted them to my Mum's Territory as they had been sitting outside in the sun and they were so hot that I had to wear gloves to bring them in, then that probably makes you wonder why the heck we live where we do. :pinkiehappy:

I know that feel. I don’t completely understand how metal parts left out in the sun can become substantially hotter than the ambient air temperature, but they sure as hell do. And getting into a car with the windows left closed on a hot summer day . . . back when I was a kid, it was common to burn yourself on the metal seat-belt buckles after a day at the beach.

Stay warm as possible, as sane as you prefer, busy enough to feel useful and may your tools always be at hand when you need 'em. :twilightsmile:

:heart:

FTL

5008804

Well, about that, it was followed with problems with the well that haven’t fully been resolved--in part because of a complete lack of days off--so I can easily imagine my present weather without any significant supply of hot water.

Well, that's a bugger. I had hoped you would have had that recalcitrant jet pump of yours beaten into mechanical submission by now. :rainbowdetermined2: I shudder to think of the 'fun' you are dealing with without a decent hot shower when you get back from work after a day dealing with frozen cars. :raritydespair:
We just pulled up my younger brother's jack pump bore over the Australia Day weekend to find that it was bordering on not worth fixing and so replaced it with a second hand electric submersible (lucky to know of one available nearby)... much quicker to deal with and, as he has solar power, it costs zip to run. At only 23m deep (76 feet) it means even the small 1.5HP pump delivers several thousand litres of water (maybe 1200 gallons) into his header tank with just an hour's running. Don't know if this would be an easier solution for you... it probably depends on the bore depth and the size of your casing. Even some of the cheapo 1HP units could give anything from a couple hundred gallons of water to a thousand or so in an hour).

That’s the one thing that I don’t like about heat. Cold, you can put on more clothes, and to a point, deal with it. Heat, there comes a point wher you can’t take off any more clothes, so you just have to sweat.

Yup, lots of sweating when working inside a shed that is between 110 and 120 inside. As I got older I invested in a cool vest to help reduce fatigue, makes long hot days much more comfortable... these things have made life much easier and means you have less blokes tempted to work in clothing that is nowhere near protective enough.

I know that feel. I don’t completely understand how metal parts left out in the sun can become substantially hotter than the ambient air temperature, but they sure as hell do. And getting into a car with the windows left closed on a hot summer day . . . back when I was a kid, it was common to burn yourself on the metal seat-belt buckles after a day at the beach.

Ah, the joys of 60/70s vinyl seats and metal buckles in summer. You almost swore the seat was searing your skin as you tried to sit in the car and then you grabbed the buckle and you were absolutely sure you were going to have blisters any second now... Ah, those were the days... :twilightsmile:

5008919

Well, that's a bugger. I had hoped you would have had that recalcitrant jet pump of yours beaten into mechanical submission by now. :rainbowdetermined2: I shudder to think of the 'fun' you are dealing with without a decent hot shower when you get back from work after a day dealing with frozen cars. :raritydespair:

At least I finally have a day off now, so once I get caught up on everything else that’s critical or semi-important, I can go down into the basement and play with it some more, see what happens. I’ve got a new pump as well, although I’m not terribly keen on wiring it up and plumbing it in unless I have no other choice.

Even some of the cheapo 1HP units could give anything from a couple hundred gallons of water to a thousand or so in an hour).

One of the challenges there is that I don’t know where my well is. I’ve got an idea of the direction, of course, since I can see where the pipes run out of the basement, but other than that, I’ve got nothing. I’ve never found a wellhead. Maybe I should ask my friends if any of them have a metal detector, and see if I can follow the pipes and then start digging when I get to the end. :derpytongue2:

Yup, lots of sweating when working inside a shed that is between 110 and 120 inside. As I got older I invested in a cool vest to help reduce fatigue, makes long hot days much more comfortable... these things have made life much easier and means you have less blokes tempted to work in clothing that is nowhere near protective enough.

Not surprisingly, over here we have electric heating vests, as well as various sorts of little chemical packs that give off heat. I’ve done some outdoor shows in the winter time with a pair of those tucked in my boots.

One thing I made a choice about years ago was to not invest in AC in my house, so that I get accustomed to the heat. Since the shop isn’t air conditioned, it’s generally just as warm inside as it is outside, and I figure that if I’m not used to it, I won’t last in the summer time.

As I get older, though, I am more grateful for AC in my car for longer road trips.

Login or register to comment