State of the Author--mid-November · 4:50am Nov 16th, 2019
I bet y’all wonder what the Admiral’s been up to in September October November Dec . . . oh wait, it’s still November, so there’s that at least.
Feels like December, though. We got hammered with a bunch of snow--as did many in the east-of-the-Mississippi part of the US. But I survived, so grab your favorite beverage and settle in.
I’ll start off by talking about IRL, work specifically. Back when I was first about to type this thing up which I think was sometime in October (I think I hinted it’d be coming sometime in September, so a month’s delay feels about right) my manager had mentioned that in terms of total sales for the year, we had outdone more years than not, even though it was only October, and we jokingly said that we ought to have the rest of the year off with pay, ‘cause we’d done a year’s worth of work.
As of today, our total sales for the year put us in the number three position since the shop’s been open.
And most of the time the shop’s been open, there have been three full-time guys; now there’s only two. And when it comes to actual work--when it comes to actually fixing the cars--there’s only one full-time mechanic, which is me.
[We have had help for at least part of the year; we had two kids help out over the summer, mostly doing oil changes and tires, and we now have a new guy for oil changes and tires and alignments as well, which leaves me to all the other work.]
Way back when, I couldn’t tell you how long ago, one of my trainers mentioned a successful shop that was so in demand that cars sometimes sat a week before even getting touched, and let me tell you, we’re there. Couple of days ago, we had fifteen cars outside waiting to be worked on at the end of the day, and most weeks I go on overtime on Thursday.
Oh yeah, and I work with the guys on the weekend, too. Screwed up my availability in September and the first part of October and I think went a month and some without a single day off. Or maybe that was in August, I don’t remember. 
I also got involved in a couple of editing projects. YCH for ROBCakeran53 (he wrote Peaches Aren’t that Terrible, don’t you know), and then more recently (literally this week) a transformation fic for one of my long-time pre-readers, MSPiper. I can’t link you to it, ‘cause it’s in a contest and the authors are supposed to be anonymous, but you can be sure I’ll blog about it when I can. If you’re interested in transformations, go there and read and vote!
As a result of editing, I also found out that he is also a better writer than I am in nearly every regard, and that he’s got the beginnings of a story which I think could be legitimately published if he files off a few MLP-specific details.
I was intending to have the next chapter of OPP and a side story out by late September/early October, and given that it’s mid-November and you haven’t seen either, it’s a safe bet that unless I invent a time machine and have already published them that I haven’t. Aforementioned delays, but they are legit in progress, I promise. In fact, here’s a bit of a teaser for y’all.
“That's not how it's done.”
“How is it done? How do we communicate with aliens? Go ahead and tell me, Carter. What would you do? Imagine you're in his situation—imagine, just for a moment, that everything he said in the letter is factual. Imagine that you were on this island, and imagine that you got pressed, unexpectedly, into establishing communications with a bonafide alien? What would you bring to the table? Especially given the remoteness of your site? What better way than a kid's picture-book? Simple, easy illustrations, simple words, you can go over it again and again and build on it from there. I think that's the most believable part of this whole letter, especially since it ties in to the photocopies Dr. Dillamond has already seen. If he were faking it, he'd come up with something that seems technical, something that seems advanced, like that Biblical spaceships thing. Not a kid's book.”
“What does it matter what he came up with?” Dr. Yin asked. “He could fake a book—he could even find some vanity press that could print it, make it look more credible. I got a friend that prints Fallout fanfictions on Lulu and sells them at conventions. They look as good as any real book.”
I’d say get hype, but we got a ways before I’m ready to publish, sadly. The way things are currently looking, by Christmas is the best I can promise, and if we get another huge snowstorm and people who should have bought tires a month ago realize belatedly that the reason they’re slip-sliding all over our terrible road is because their car has racing slicks on it.
Also, somewhat off-topic, but apparently the place where I live wound up inadvertently firing everybody who actually could drive the snowplow, so a week after THE BIG STORM our parking lot still hasn’t been done, and I’m not kidding but I’ve had to put vehicles into four-wheel-drive just to get them in a parking spot. The temperatures have warmed up above freezing in the afternoons, so there are a few hours where the lot’s just a slushy mess, but in the morning and evening it’s a slushy mess on top of ice. If they don’t find someone soon who can drive the plow truck, I might have to invest in cleats just to get from my parking spot to the back door of the shop. . . .
Now, I’m gonna go further off-topic for a bit, but since we’re covering multiple months in this here blog post, why shouldn’t I?
Y’all have seen the trailer for the new MLP whatever it is. And I gotta say, going with actual horses was a bold move, one I think I like. Here’s some fanart done in the new style:
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Alright, back to updates and whatnot. I just now checked on my stories page and realize that it’s been almost a month since the last story, and the penultimate story was just over a month before that. In fact, it’s been long enough that the McRib has come and gone. Incidentally, The McRib is Back got featured on Equestria Daily, and for the sake of completeness I should also mention that I convinced my manager to try a McRib and he hated it.
Besides OPP, I have a few other things in the pipeline, either waiting to be finished, or waiting to be edited once by me before either sending it on to my pre-readers to poke at, or just publishing as-is and relying on keen readers to comment the needed corrections. Such as this:
Gordon tore a piece loose and sniffed at it, then popped it into his mouth. “Grainy, grassy, very dense. An interesting flavor, not one that I personally prefer, but honestly you could make an entire meal out of the bread, and I think it would stay with you for half the day. They’ve got fennel in here, I can taste that, and there’s a bit of a bite--they might be using a sourdough starter on the loaf.” He picked up a couple of pieces and hefted them. “You could kill a man with a stale loaf, it’s that heavy. Jesus.”
He’d barely finished one slice of bread when the waitress returned, once again with a plate balanced on her back. “Here’s your raw catch of the day--it’s a tripletail. Salty just caught it.”
“Hold on a minute,” he said, looking at the fish on his plate and playing back the prior conversation in his mind. “This is raw.”
That was undeniably the truth. It was not only raw, it was a whole fish, just as it had been caught. Complete from head to tail, unscaled, ungutted, and entirely unmolested.
Incidentally, if there are any of my readers who watch a lot of Gordon Ramsay and want to help edit, I’m gonna have something here soon that might need a few loving pokes here and there. Drop a comment below and don’t forget to like, and hit the bell notification so . . . wait, this isn’t YouTube. Disregard that last little bit.
One thing that has been going along swimmingly is my not-a-contest; thus far we’ve had AlwaysDressesInStyle, Syke Jr., Alaborn, NeirdaE, SockPuppet, and Snowliason submit entries, and there are a few other people who say they’re working on something or thinking of joining in . . . and if you were thinking about it, do it. The ride never ends.
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Also addressing comments on one of the stories in a public forum, Chicago-style pizza is the best; deal with it.
I should also mention that ajvasquezbrony28 just today messaged me that a bunch of my stories had gotten read by StraightToThePointStudio, including (among others) Wagon Repair Mare, Night Guard, and Window Washers. Since I don’t wanna fill this thing with a handful of shiny, distracting YouTube videos, here’s a link to their channel, .
And Cuddles
Did I mention I’ve got a sequel to Cuddles in the works?
She was still wearing her scarf as she walked into the living room. The glow of her magic surrounded the ends, and as I watched, she unwrapped it from her neck and draped it across the back of the couch, a few raindrops reflecting the fire like jewels.
Cami flopped on the couch dramatically, and I gave her a moment before speaking. I could have asked her how her day went, but I already had a pretty good idea. “Cocoa?”
“Please.” She stretched out all four legs, then curled up into herself, a fluffy unicorn ponyloaf.
I’ve also got a mechanic’s blog post in the works regarding two fun vehicles (”fun” in this context means fun for y’all to read about, rather than fun to work on). Part of the reason it hasn’t been published yet is that there have been updates on their situations and I haven’t had the time or energy to update the blog post . . . anyway, it’ll hopefully be entertaining although I have to say, barring sudden breakthroughs over the weekend, neither case study will have a satisfactory end. But that’s how it goes sometimes. At least neither of the vehicles in question got wrecked as a way of avoiding fixing them.
Also, I’d be remiss to not mention that Jinglemas is once again upon us, and y’all should sign up here.
So I guess that’s about it for now. Thanksgiving is about upon us in the US of A . . . I think y’all in Canada have already had it. Leaves are falling, largely because they’re covered in ice. Work’s busy and as usual, I’m behind on literally everything. Story of my life, really.
I reckon there’s likely a thing or two I forgot in this blog post, but I think I got most of the main bullet points covered.
Since y’all made it this far, have a picture of a pony:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/3/30/860910.png
Wouldn't know; I've never had it. Had Detroit-style before, though; when we lived in Michigan, my grandma always tried to pay for Buddy's Pizza each weekend whenever she could.
I think this best expresses my opinion.
I, too, detest the McRib. It’s atrocious. Like a Banquet “pork rib” on a bun.
Glad work's been going so well for you, even if it's also been keeping you busy.
Good luck with the weather!
Everyone keeps saying "You've seen the G5 stuff..."
Well, no, NOT everyone
If someone could post a link, I'd be truly grateful.
Of course, you can't post leaked material around here.
But, from what I HAVE seen, I WOULDN'T call it "G5"
I'd call it "The beta version of G4"
& the animation doesn't look THAT bad to me
Of course, I grew up with Hanna Barbera
Forecast for tomorrow is upper 70s and sunny. It'll cool down to the low 60s next week.
I'm glad works going good, although I hope you aren't overworked because of it.
I still tend to think book is important because thinking inside. But I sense some light joke here.
Aint Chicago style teh one with anchovies?
Sleeping with the fishies?
You dont half get some weird looking vehicles in your place. Had any CashCows, or Smart/Half Trainer or other really weird stuff in yet?
*laughs in Canadian*
Not how it works, kid. If you go back in time and do something you did that thing in the past and therefore it's already happened. (Note: despite my "grumpy old man" persona you're more mature than me in every other way, probably including actual age)
*laughs in Canadian again, then confirms that it was over a month ago*
Is that Marker Pony?
It's odd that in the pic you posted, it looks like she's giving a threat, while the original post just has her happy on her
disgustingwedding day. :B Angry eyebrows.Deep dish (and Chicago-Style Stuffed from Papa Murphy's) is best.
A local place here (Red's Savoy) tried to introduce a state-sanctioned "Minnesota Style Pizza" a few years back, featuring square slices and spicy "passive aggressive" sauce.
The general reaction was it's just a marketing ploy. But Red's is a pretty famous place, so they might get away with it.
https://thetakeout.com/what-the-uff-is-minnesota-style-pizza-1821303150
I see you as a good friend these days Biscuit, stay well and when I get the chance I will come visit you when I travel to Michigan.
And as for methods of teaching aliens our language, "Dick and Jane" was barely sufficient to teach human children. Dr. Seuss boasted that he was proud to have brought about their decline. Speaking for myself, focusing too much on "look-say" and "sight words" makes one prone to spoonerisms and metatheses for light.
Although Dick and Jane parodies remain popular.
https://betweenthelions.fandom.com/wiki/Fun_with_Chicken_Jane
https://www.amazon.com/Yiddish-Dick-Jane-Ellis-Weiner/dp/0316159727
https://www.somethingawful.com/photoshop-phriday/misadventures-dick-jane-2/1/
https://www.somethingawful.com/photoshop-phriday/misadventures-dick-jane-3/1/
5156299
Yeah, Pony Life is pretty much thought to be G4.5 shorts and not the "real" G5. But then, Hasbro is going ahead and announcing toy lines, so it might be more than just shorts or spinoff. God, I hope not.
5156369
OK Now that I know the show title, I saw some stuff
It had SOUNDED good
TVY7 FV rating is what most superhero cartoons have
+reasonably good writers & someone in charge of continuity
But, yeah, Teen Titans Go
I'll still watch 1 or 2 episodes in hopes of being wrong, but....
Wow, that is some unexpectedly high praise! Probably a bit too high, honestly. While I admit I'm likely too caught on all the stuff I wanted to make work in my entry but couldn't to be directly objective, judging by my other story I strongly suspect this time I lucked out and ended up writing significantly above my normal skill level, and will get to experience the joy of regression to the mean accordingly.
Still, it's certainly encouraging to hear! There are several entries I think could plausibly take the top slots, but if you think that, maybe enough other voters will too that mine could join them.
Well I hope you get some time off soon. As for the first preview I hope it comes together well for you as I want to see all these academics fret over how a common man is handling first contact and realizing that they will all be second banana to him when her returns. The greatest achievement of the century and someone like Dale will be running it. At least one of them understands what Dale has done and approves.
5156357
It sure looks like it. I keep getting her mixed up with her sister Gloomy.
What's the equivalent of a shotgun wedding for ponies?
i.somethingawful.com/inserts/articlepics/photoshop/dickandjane/MagnumHB_rollback.jpg
5156450
Pitchfork wedding. :B
It's probably safe to say Business Trip was only featured because people kept checking the comments for replies to the pizza war.
Also, New York-style will forever be the best. 
On a more serious note, thank you. It's my first story to hit the Featured Box, and I 100% have you to thank for that. First, because it was written for your not-a-contest, and second, because two of the first six ratings were downvotes (it started out 4-2). As a result, the story was sinking fast until you threw it a lifeline with your Signal Boost, and I appreciate that more than I can ever express.
Thank you. There will be more coming from me for the not-a-contest, including at least two sequels to the above story. Maybe we'll get into a discussion on pizza toppings in the sequels.
So I DON'T have to poke you this month?
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/11/25/162100.png
5156276
That’s one Michigan franchise that I’ve never eaten at, at least as far as I can recall. Even though we lived pretty close to a couple of them back in the day.
5156289
Yeah, it’s basically a pork McNugget, I think. I feel like people mostly like it ‘cause they can’t get it all the time, not because it’s actually good.
5156296
Thanks!
We’ll see how it goes. I gotta get the snow tires put on my van; I might do that this week, depending on what it looks like the weather’s gonna be like going forward. Might also wait until after Thanksgiving to do it.
5156299
What’s got everybody’s jimmies riled currently is the Pony Life trailer (which I’m sure you’ve seen people posting around the site)
What I personally suspect, based on all the shorts that have been coming out recently in various different styles, is that they’re launching a whole bunch of trial balloons to see what kind of reaction they get, and they haven’t committed fully to one particular style yet. Almost as if they’re aware of the whole Sonic fiasco (new design looks sweet, though) and want to not make that same mistake.
I’m not a fan, personally, but if that’s the route they take, it’d depend on what they did with it, y’know? Like, I could get used to it if the storytelling is good.
5156307
Meanwhile, we’re in the 30s through 50s, probably with sun, rain, sleet, hail, and snow. Should warm up enough to melt the snow off my driveway, at least, although it’ll probably come back shortly thereafter.
I am, but that’s honestly not that unusual. The parade of broken cars never ends. . . .
5156324
Usually, yes, although these days it’s cheap and easy to get whatever you want published.
Well, I had three books of my own published on Lulu, for what that’s worth.
5156331
I don’t think they’re a requirement. Chicago style tends to be deep, pan pizzas with medium to thick crusts.
Honestly, as the most expensive shop in town, and the one with the newest diagnostic instrumentation, we tend to get newer, unmolested cars--which is perfectly fine with me. Let the shop down the street deal with the Frankentruck that some guy put together out of a dozen different parts trucks in his backyard, I want nothing to do with that.
5156347
Funny true story (and I’ll make it short) . . . right before he got married, my brother and his fiancee were living in San Diego. They came back to Michigan around Christmas. It was a mild winter that year, and a few of the old-timers mentioned to my sister-in-law how untypical this was, how terrible Michigan winters normally were . . . but here’s the funny part: she’s from Edmonton AB.
To quote Professor Farnsworth: “And remember, don't do anything that affects anything, unless it turns out you were supposed to, in which case, for the love of God, don't not do it!”
‘Cause you’ve got to get the holiday over with before the polar bears start roaming the streets.
5156357
it’s not, but you’re close. It’s Gloomy, who (according to Derpibooru) gets larger the more time has passed since the last episode of MLP:FiM.
Yeah, it’s an edited pic but I thought it fit the occasion. My other choice was Woody riding Princess Celestia.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/11/8/467381.jpg
5156365
Minnesota style is cut with an axe.
Yeah, totally a marketing ploy, but hey, why not?
5156367
Thank you!
5156368
Given the age when he was educated, though, they would have been a natural thought for Dale. Even if they aren’t the best. And, let’s be honest, learning how to say “run” was valuable for them.
I hadn’t thought of Dr. Seuss books being good primers for readers, which is kind of funny. I mostly learned from Golden Books, as I recall, although I did read Seuss when I was young as well. Not all of them, I don’t think, but I know I read The Lorax when I was pretty young, that was my favorite. I think we also had at least one Dr. Seuss audiobook on vinyl.
5156375
I haven’t read your other story (have I? I have no memory of it if I did), so I can’t really comment there. I do think that in terms of technical command of English (grammar and stuff), you’re more skilled than I am, Heaven knows you and Cygnus have gotten into debates pre-reading my stuff where you’re discussing a part of language I didn’t know existed.
It is sometimes difficult when you write something that turns out better than you expect and then the next thing isn’t as good, or there isn’t the same feeling there that you had in the last . . . I dunno, it’s hard to describe, but I feel that sometimes. I’ll be honest, it changes over time, too. There are stories of mine that I liked when they were new but now I don’t like them so much, and there are others that I didn’t think were that great when I wrote them but over time they’ve gotten better. That’s probably something that happens to all artists, honestly.
Honestly, a lot of it in contests comes down to the readers you get, and what they like to read, and that always makes it tough, especially when you don’t know who’ll be reading your story. I haven’t read any of the others yet--that’s on my to-do list, hopefully either tonight or tomorrow night. I know I’ve had a few contest fics which have been well-received by my usual readers, but not done well in contests becuase it just isn’t what the judges are looking for.
5156391
There’s Thanksgiving coming up soon, and I’ll have four days off for that.
Oh, man, I hadn’t even though of that angle. You’re right, that’s the kind of thing that would infuriate academics, that they’ve got these little scraps and what they can make of them, and meanwhile some dude who’s only professional training as a machinist is out there making the discoveries just because he was the one who was in the right place at the right time.
5156450
It is actually Gloomy, at least according to the tags on Derpibooru. The two of them look pretty much the same to me, honestly.
5156457
I’ve never done that to a customer’s car, ‘cause it’s very illegal.
5156606
Even if that’s the reason why, you take it.
Fixed that for you.
Legit, sometimes the hardest part of getting a story up there is getting the right audience reading it--that is, the ones that enjoy that type of writing, ‘cause that’s how you get the upvotes a lot of times. No matter how well-written a story is, not everyone agrees on style and genre . . . much like pizza, I suppose (how do we keep coming back to this?).
I’ve been trying to do the signal boost as quick as I can for that reason, but y’all keep sending me links to stories in the middle of the night (for me), and I don’t have time in the morning to write one before work.
Yay!
Somehow, I feel that’s less dangerous grounds than talking about pizza style. Unless, of course, you mention pineapple.
5156637
No promises.
5156692
At least that provides job security, so that’s something.
5157093
Think nothing of the State Department. Once they realize that a “First Contact” situation was happening and is now completely out of their and any international control they will also be very unhappy. At least they have the perfect scapegoat, Hollywood. If they hadn't installed the fear of government coverup I doubt Dale would have acted the way he did.
5157101
*Poke!*
5157074
I mean more like - if you (or someopony else) put as much thinking in *blogpost* as other good writers put into book chapter - then blogpost IS as good as book chapter!
back in time a lot of writer's work was invisible to reader - so there was incorrect (IMO) perspective on how writers _really_ write. How we can see ..
But you have a lot of comments to answer, and you put some better-than-average thoughts into this, too ...
So, thank you! {looked at emotionicons available, noticed ponies somewhat separate from people. Hey, ponies are people, too! Not quite just joke ....}
Old style emotionicon: \o/
5157073
Honestly i'm not a huge fan of my weather although yours sounds like a nightmare as well. I'll have t split the difference lol.
yeah, I need to bring my car in tomorrow. One of my tires has a big leak. It's pretty close to needing to be replaced so I might just end up doing that.
5157100
I'll take it!
I'll also take the pizza, regardless of whether it's New York-style or Chicago-style. Because either way it's good.
I'm a night owl, so I'll probably keep sending links in the middle of the night.
We keep going back to pizza because is there a bad time to talk about pizza? I should think not!
5157090
It's possible you have, since that was another contest entry that needed anonymity and you were another participant (and your entry completely trounced mine, incidentally). I don't think I should link it here since it could break anonymity in this contest, but I could PM you if you're curious.
Yeah, no kidding. It helps when it's a contest like this that's niche enough to have a fairly defined set of probable reader interests for you to appeal to, but even then all twelve entries ended up tackling them in different ways, so it's back to hoping the one you picked was the best call.
5157221
I am curious. I think it’s probably too late in the contest to matter, ‘cause I don’t think I’ve got anything active in contests at the moment . . . at least, not that I can remember. But, PM it to be safe, just the same.
I’ve made it most of the way through them now. There’s a couple that are obvious rejects due to techinical errors--the quality of the fic doesn’t overcome them IMHO. There’s also some really good ones, IMHO, so it comes down to a more nuanced view, and I’ll be honest, in some ways it’s influenced by what I like and what I don’t like, plus what my personal preferences in fics are and what they aren’t. Maybe not the best way to rank ‘em, but I can’t promise to be the most unbiased reviewer, I suppose.
5158826
To clarify, while that contest was over a while back, my entry there could break my anonymity here because the two stories have various similarities an astute reader could pick up on, and in particular, there's one that's hard to spot but a dead giveaway if you do since it shows up in both of mine and literally none of the other stories in this contest. Kind of like I was dead-on in guessing your entry in that contest, though of course the fact that I'd already preread a ton of your stories by that point did make doing so a lot easier for me.
Pretty much my thoughts too. Actually, I was surprised by how few obvious rejects there were this time, since normally I'd expect to see more than just a couple in a contest like this.
Incidentally, I'm curious if you have any guesses as to how the story ordering ended up influencing my entry's reception. (And the rest of the entries' too, for that matter.) Probably another thing to take to PM, though.