Never go back - you can never go back.

It happens every year. I take a couple weeks of summer holiday and by the time it's time to go back, I'm convinced I was never meant for office life. 

Obviously, my view of things has been a bit tainted. While I have been away from office life for 2 weeks and enjoying the pleasures of that absence - I haven't exactly been working either. Sure, I knocked a couple things off my to-do list, but mostly I slept in, smoked a lot and found my creative spark. And it's that creative spark that has me longing for a life that doesn't include a grey cubicle or drinking the corporate culture kool-aid. 

Early in our holiday, Rhonda and I were able to sneak away for one night without the kids or dogs to "trip the light fantastic." Before we started, we checked on each other's intentions and what we wanted to find. For my part, I was looking for insight and connection. And I'll say that in a large part, I really didn't find what I was looking for that night which I did find a bit troublesome. In fact one of my biggest takeaways was that I really spent the night more impaired than inspired - and a bit annoyed. 

One of the landmarks of our rare journeys to the mental unknown is that Rhonda gets a massive case of the giggles and I can't stop making jokes. Or sometimes worse, I'm not even making jokes, Rhonda just finds everything I do funny. It's a delicate balance to walk because after an hour two of laughing until we cry, it gets a bit worrisome. And I'm trying to balance that with a barely functioning brain. 

Fortunately, a few days later, I was able to see that this natural tendency towards humour was something that I need to start leaning into a bit more. I started thinking about humour musicians I've listened to over the years, Tenacious D, Weird Al, Flight of the Conchords and so much more. I've been playing a ton of acoustic guitar this summer and bringing it out at every social event I can but I'm really not bringing anything fresh to the mix. It's just me strumming some old covers with my barely passable cowboy chords. Fun but not fulfilling. 

By last Wednesday, July 17, all the rest and pondering finally clicked in to place and I had what was certainly my most creative day in years - maybe ever. I had put major work into a game design document (for a Minecraft project I'm unlikely to finish), a new humour music project proposal and had written lyrics and music for two songs to use in the humour project. Plus I've got seed ideas for about 6 more songs in my humour project doc and I'm excited to put together a few funny, well practiced songs to start showing people this fall. 

But of course - balance shows up again. I've volunteered to be the team manager for Jonas' pee wee football team and that's very busy right now. Not to mention the to-do list I posted last week, a new promotion at work and my need for regular sleep means that as excited and productive I've been, I'll need to pace myself and not get too far ahead of myself. 

But everytime I see a posting for an open mic, I wonder if I should head out. 

I suppose it's better to be busy than bored and the challenge that the next 3-4 months offers is going to leave me in really good shape to move forward into the new year and beyond this year. And if I'm lucky, I might actually get out to one of those open mic nights sooner than later. 

Intentions, Resolutions and and growth

I took a different approach to the concept of the New Year's resolution this past year, which proved successful. Instead of taking on something that was a change in habit or behaviour, I chose two relatively simple tasks that I've been putting off that are "one and done" tasks that would make me feel overall better about my world and my place in it. Those two tasks were:

• Update my spice rack - my spices were an extension of the setup I started in college. A hodgepodge of bags, bottles and jars with more than a few flavours turned to dust. I updated to two nice wooden boxes with 2-dozen new jars in each.
• Update my closet - just like my spice rack, my closet is an assortment of every dollar store, dry cleaner and inherited hanger I've acquired since college. A few dozen packs of nice wood hangers make my closet look nicer and more consistent.

Certainly, neither job was hard or even that expensive. But they were unnecessary - both systems performed their required tasks the same before and after the change, but they were more mental upgrades for me. "Adulting" as Rhonda and I would call it - actually acting like an adult. 

Part of the commitment was to see the task through completely. I initially didn't buy enough to finish the project - too few bottles for my spice collection and too few hangers for my wardrobe. So it necessitated follow-up visits to the store to fill out the collection and a couple more hours to finish the job. 

I acknowledge that for many people, this is just a Saturday afternoon job but it was a seed for me. Last year was a difficult one as my gout attacks dominated so much of my life and activity. By New Year, I was ready to start taking action to get my shit back together and start feeling better about my world. Changing something unnecessary but still useful seemed like a good start - and I knew it was achievable even if I was limping around on my cane. 

With 2024 over half done and with today being my 43rd birthday, it's a good time to take on a couple new challenges. Why wait until the pit of winter to make something of myself? Plus this is blog post 800 - a nice round number to take stock.

But this time, I'm making a few more intentions and will look a bit more to the future for some of them. 

Short term - in the next 3 weeks

• Get my eaves cleaned and my downspouts fixed - these are overdue jobs and ones that I really need to get my shit together on
• Fix the camper - not just the broken lift cable that threatened to completely ruin my holiday but also do some waterproofing of the shell, lube everything up etc.
• Get a garbage truck to the house - get the pile of crap out of the yard and feel like there's less weight on me.
• Finish building my keyboard - it's mostly there. It works and I enjoy it. But it needs some re-programming and a rebuild to solder a broken lead. 

Mid-term - before the snow flies 

• Fix the deck - replace all those rotted boards, paint and get some lighting up for Rhonda.
• Clear out the garage and basement - this is a bigger job than it first seems. I need to pull back on some of the hobbies I won't pursue far because of my mobility issues. I need to sell off a lot of crap and focus on a few things. 
• Replace everything in my sock drawer.

Long term - 5-year plan

• Buy a cabin/cottage - this is not a new idea or discussion but my commitment to it solidified this week. I realized I have no desire to get a bigger/better camper and that what I really want is a quiet place to have a fire and enjoy some time.

Rhonda and I have already started to discuss what steps we would need to take to realize this dream and for that matter - even see if it's possible. The spreadsheets have already started and we've committed to talking to the bank about starting a savings account to get this done in the next few weeks. The rough idea right now is to look at the market, find out how much a cabin that would fit our needs will cost, figure out what the loan, insurance, taxes and utilities would cost and start socking that money away into savings now. In a few years, we'd have the money for the downpayment and incidentals. It's still a long wait but it would be progress and we foresee having our escape by the time the kids are done high school. 

I do keep to-do lists, both physical and in my head but I think that putting goals down in a forum like this can help make them come true. I hope to report back in a few weeks about my successes and struggles. And I hope that my plan for a cabin takes less than 5 years!

Blogging from the woods.

During the Great Non-Bloggening™, Andrew and I hosted a radio show called The Cockpit. It was a rock-centred show we hosted Thursday nights for about 5 years on CJTR. I enjoyed every minute of doing it but my commitment to helping out, a pandemic, and one of our key players getting traded to Saskatoon for a slice of peach cobbler and a scratched Boyz 2 Men CD spelled the end of the show on Dec 31, 2020. 

One of the fun ideas we had during the show was the Saskatchewan Summer Playlist, a Spotify playlist of songs by Saskatchewan artists. My thought was it would be something great to listen to at the lake or backyard party. Music to listen to under living skies. 

Once the show finished, the paths to new music didn't stop and I wanted somewhere to dump my discoveries. It resulted in my first summer playlist. A pure jam of songs that are already nostalgic only a few years later. 

As I repeated the same tasks for playlists in 2022 and 2023, it's become really quite effortless. Every weekend I check out what is new, add the bangers to the list. Sprinkle in the odd song from a band we see live, heard on the radio or learned on guitar.

Years later, I'm still capturing that lake vibe, I always know it's going to be playing for my family and other people so I often find myself plucking out some of the heavier/screamer bits. But they still get in there.  

While it's not the all-Saskatchewan playlist it originally was, it still does feature its share of local and small artists. I feel unapologetic about my quota.

As I sit in my campsite listening to this year's entry*, I'm proud of what I've put together again. If you take a listen and have a suggestion, let me know! The list isn't usually done until late September. 

* You hear that Pilot from the past all blogging from his BlackBerry like it's a thing? I'm just sitting here in a campsite like it ain't not thang. With like 1998 dialup speeds. And my phone really isn't much bigger, or frankly different or does much new. Some things never change. WAIT UNTIL YOU LEARN WHAT AI IS UP TO IN 2024! Still nothing really. 

A curious event at a football game.

Last Thursday, July 4, I scored some great tickets to the Roughrider vs Argonauts game at nearby Mosaic Stadium. A nail-biter almost to the bitter end, it was great to see Shea Patterson step up and fight through a tough game. 

But what happened right before the game started was more special than a win for a team who weren't expected to win in front of an excited crowd. My dad and your future pope - the infamous Denis Pilon was one of the members of the Living Skies Chorus that sang "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Oh Canada" before the game. Since the game landed on Independence Day, CBS in the US picked up the game for broadcast and in return, both national anthems were sung. 

The video struggles to capture the grandeur of the performance and just how good it sounded in the stadium. What started as a strong, military-sounding performance of the anthems, quickly showed its barbershop roots with unexpected harmonies and a pitch-perfect performance. You could feel the crowd being moved and as an observer who was trying to be quiet to film them - it was a challenge. 

Dad texted before the game to comment on how spectacular the soundcheck was but I don't think he realized how much having 30,000-some-odd people join in would enhance the performance. The sound filled the stadium and surrounded the listener. It was truly a spectacular performance, and one I'm sure they'll be invited to repeat many more times. 

I was grateful that my Aunt and Uncle didn't feel like coming into town for a Thursday night game so I could experience it in person! Plus, it was a perfect night for a football game and the Riders looked good - all the way to the end of the game. 

Have I ever told you about Minecraft?

I was thinking about how long it's been since I last blogged regularly. It occurred to me that it's been so long that my love of the game Minecraft has never come up! I often think about how my journey started, and how 15 years later, I still play it like it's new to me. 

My Minecraft journey is tied to YouTube throughout, so it's little surprise that my journey starts there. I can't remember what website I saw it on but they wanted to share a laugh about this video:

I immediately knew it would come to dominate my life. And looking back 15 years later, it's gone exactly as predicted. 

I bought my first, and to date only, Minecraft licence sometime that October, during the Alpha 1.2.0 Halloween Update on Java. I remember it being $5 but the Wiki says it was closer to $12. I can't find an invoice email so that's lost to time. Andrew was an early adopter with me. In an email search on my computer, I found the earliest remaining email in my inbox from that time was of the HindenBURN in November 2011. Fire seems to be an early Minecraft theme. 

I played solo survival early on, learning the basics of the game from Sea Nanners on YouTube.   All that remains of that first world and that first base for me are a few screenshots from December 2010

Like most early adopters, I followed the game's creator, Notch, on his blog. I found an early crash report I made where I rather gush about the game knowing that he's likely to read it:

To: support@mojang.com

Dec 10, 2010 

Greetings - was just changing the graphic setting from Fancy to whatever the alternative is - it locked up for a bit then sent this message.

LOVE THE GAME, my whole family plays together - wish we could have multiple avatars/names under my one account. 

Exciting times.

By January 2011, we'd ventured into multiplayer. Andrew was sharing snapshots of his online builds with me. (Stolen, again without permission).

I have a trove of snapshots from a server - whose name is now lost to time - with an early castle I built. It contained my first Minecraft organ, an invention I'd return to many years later. 

I started a multiplayer server in December of 2011 - aptly named "Pilot's World" that about a dozen people played on at its peak. The server lasted about 3 or 4 years, there were some stumbles and resets, but the "classic era" lasted until early 2014. One of my great regrets is losing the world file for that original world. I made a mistake when downloading the backups and when I went to re-access them - it was gone. I didn't take as many screenshots as I should have - or they're lost on a dead hard drive in a landfill. In any case, all I can find from Pilot's World the Minecraft server - is this video:

Some say he's still chasing that villager to this day. 

After Pilot's World, I played on a server called Kingdom's Cities, which I'm discovering in writing is back up and running. I may have to do some exploring soon. When Kingom's Cities (I thought) shut down in October 2018, I moved to my current home, Simplex. 

My activities in Minecraft are pretty varied. I run a store in the shopping district called EMPORIUM! I found a picture of my first-ever multiplayer shop and... I haven't evolved much in store style. 

First Shop (July 2011)

EMPORIUM! (Dec 2023)

Like most experienced, end-game players, I have an over-the-top base with a million farms and I enjoy participating in server events like build competitions. I've been pushing myself to make large-scale inventions like a playable organ, an original sorting system and even a Minecraft version of curling. 

YouTube is still part of my Minecraft adventure too. I could go through a million early YouTubers I watched but my current staple is Hermitcraft intermixed with a bit of Wattles and Mogswamp. 

Minecraft is a game that provides a vast creative palette with an enjoyable challenge in survival that drives you to solve problems and do more. Adding a multiplayer element gives you a chance to collaborate and show off in a way that provides - so far literally - endless fun. 

I'll leave you with one more screenshot, my most recent build - the S.S. Goo, my entry for the Summer Boat Building Competition. 

I need to get outside more. 

On owning a lightsaber.

 I am the very proud owner of a new,  primordial lightsaber. First-time owner, it's a one-handed, dagger-like affair that runs off butane. No Kyber crystal vision quest in my future, unfortunately. But it was a fantastic Father's Day nonetheless. 

But even owning this affordable Amazon novelty torch makes me realize how powerful and dangerous a real lightsaber is. 

Trying to be a showoff and light a joint with it, I quickly discovered that a beaked or brimmed hat is a limiting factor. I still don't understand how Obi-Wan can hold his next to his face without losing his beard. I don't know how it survived Mustafar - but let's stay on topic. 

You need to be careful where you point it. 

I wonder about the weight of a lightsaber. Does the blade weigh anything? I've seen discussion online and I join the side that says they must have weight and balance like a stick or sword because otherwise you could just flail it about and shred everything. Plus they seem to put effort into using the tool. 

I've seen theories that lightsabers have sharp or cutting areas and blunt areas. Hence Obi Wan's bouncy sabre in Kenobi. Not mine. If you get close enough, this thing will fuck you up equally from all directions. I think I'd rather have one than a knife in a street fight. 

The torch doesn't have an end-weight, it truly is just a handle, but the jet flame does give you a slight push. I feel like new lightsaber users always have a similar kickback reaction to the weapon igniting. 

I don't know how a Jedi puts a lightsaber back on their belt immediately after use without branding their thigh. We're taking several powers of magnitude hotter than what I got - I'm not cutting through any steel blast doors this weekend. I need to leave mine sitting out for a few minutes before it's cool enough to put away. Even a gunslinger blows on his barrel first. It's best mine didn't come with a belt clip. 

All this to say, no matter how much I beg you, never let me even hold a real lightsaber. I feel like there was a mistake made already that will result in a visit from the fire department or to the burn unit. Maybe both. 

For now, I must be content with a convenient pizza oven lighter, campfire obliterator and a debilitating paranoia about its misuse. 

May the Force be with you. 

Why does LGBTQ2S+ Pride matter to me?

This past Saturday was one of my favourite days of the year, the annual Pride parade here in Regina. I've walked in the parade with a few different organizations for about a decade and I always find it to be a day of joy, love and a bit of "sticking it to the 'phobes."

This year was extra important to many of us in attendance due to recent transphobic policies enacted by the Sask Party government. Pride parades have really become a celebration of sexual and gender diversity, but they have their roots in protest and this year, I was happy that the committee remembered that history. 

I work as a social media manager for a provincial Crown corporation so every year I see the hate and intolerance that so many people have for the LGBTQ2S+ community. I can only speak for myself to say that most people just want to be left alone to live their lives and the fact that there is a very vocal group in this world that can't tolerate that is disgusting to me. 

And that's why I march. That's why I continue to defend the community online through my work. And it's why, over 50 years after the first Pride parade, we're still protesting. 

In my younger, naive days, I thought that the solution to most kinds of intolerance was to just ignore the differences and focus on how we are the same. Certainly, there's value in finding common ground, I think it can help to humanize each other through ignorance. But as Leonard Cohen once noted, variety is the spice box of life. I see my world as more interesting, more nuanced and much more fun because I have gay and transgender friends. And that extends to all the ways we're different. I learn so much from other cultures, gain insights from how others are different and so often, I see how my approach to the world can harm others. 

Sometimes I feel sorry for the willfully and ignorantly intolerant. They've chosen a path that is angry and stressful. Not only does their behaviour hurt the people they target, it hurts themselves. They are turning away from a new friend, a new insight or a fascinating new experience. 

I think the worst part about this subject is summed up in how I can't sum up this post. There was a time that I thought that the screams of intolerance and hate we were hearing were the last gasps of a misguided past. But it seems of late that the voices are getting louder and the progress we were making is starting to walk backwards. As much as I'd like to sit back one year, maybe enjoy the Pride parade from the sidelines, or just ignore the stupidity online, it's as important today as it was in 1970 to stand up for what's right, embrace our differences and redouble our efforts to fight the good fight.

Happy Pride everyone, I love ya for who you ARE! 💜💙💚💛🧡

Punk Rock Pizza

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns were a strange thing. 

Some people got smokers. Some people knitted. Some people - made sourdough. 

To be sure, sourdough had long been an interest but with every previous attempt, I'd get busy, go somewhere, forget about it and - mould city. It never got anywhere, but now I wasn't going anywhere and I had some time to kill and wanted to connect with the kids. 

Sourdough is nothing more than smelly living slime, which means it was perfect for slime connoisseur, Kayah. We named our first starter Bobette and embarked on some experimentation. One Friday night, we made pizza dough with the starter discard. We hung out in the kitchen, making pizzas while I bombarded Kayah with some of punk rock's historical highlights. It was a great night of company, food and music. 

I'm always looking for a reason to alliterate and in a quick trade with Rhonda, we quickly found Pilon Punk Rock Pizza Party. A reason to eat good pizza and listen to music. 

We've repeated it semi-regularly ever since. Sure, we made a few sourdough loaves and delivered them to family and co-workers. But that pizza dough has persisted. We've been through Bobbette 1-23 but we still make up fresh batches of dough as much as possible. 

Last summer I bought a small portable wood pellet oven. It's easy to use and fun but I can't say what I'd do for a brick pizza oven in my backyard! 

Retirement goals I guess.

This past Christmas, I embarked on a very optimistic project of making a ball of sourdough pizza dough accompanied by a hand-cut punk 'zine and sticker by Rhonda (and an AI but I won't tell!) as a gift for all my friends and family. I think I made about 20 Punk Rock Pizza Parties in all. It was well received, but I think the execution lacked a bit and I don't think I'd do the same kind of project again. Or I'd at least use a stand mixer.

I ponder what I'd like to do next with it. I started a Redbubble store a few months ago with the thought that I might find some kind of merchandise angle, but it's just not quite what I have in mind yet. 

Only time will tell. Until then, if I can ever pop by your place with my oven, I provide the dough, and you provide the toppings. Let's listen to some punk music and have a slice - or twelve.

ibUILTakEYBOARD

 Grreatnews,igotmykeyboardtogether.Badnews,thespacebarandtheenterkeydontwork.#

Welltheenterkindaworkssometimes.Butit'sloose.##

IneedtogodosomemoreworkIguess.

Buildin' a keyboard

A few months ago, Rhonda and I were “antiquing” as old fogies like us are wont to do. In a dark back corner of one antique shop, we came across some shelves of mechanical typewriters. I cheekily commented that since I now work as a writer, I should probably have one on a shelf that I never use. It took three keystrokes for me to tangle the arms on one and I quickly remembered that using a pen is better than an old typewriter and I had no use whatsoever for such a machine. 

 I did realize that I could really use a nice keyboard for typing at work and thus I went down the endless rabbit hole that is mechanical keyboards. For the uninitiated, building custom mechanical keyboards is all the rage right now, and you can customize everything from the feel of the switches to the keycaps to the cable – have I mentioned soldering LEDs yet. You get the picture. 

The result is about 8 weeks of waiting patiently for parts and tools to arrive from all four corners of China (and one thing from Vancouver). Turns out that was the easy part. The last parts came in the mail yesterday so I sat down at the kitchen table to start in earnest. 

And learned why not everyone does this. 

My fingers hurt from pushing in sharp switches and stabilizers and I nearly went mad when I realized I had to pull every switch because I needed to put the stabilizers in first. It’s been a real journey. So all that to say, hopefully, someday, I will write this blog from a nice thocky, fancy keyboard. 

But not today. Today, it’s my worn-out Dell work keyboard with all the letters rubbed off.

Sweet 16 (You gonna go ahead and post again like that?)

 In the spirit of keeping the momentum moving for restarting this and because I have a big day to celebrate, I'm posting again. 

Today is my daughter Kayah's SIXTEENTH birthday. Lordy. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAY!

It's my second go-round with a sixteen-year-old but it doesn't make this any easier. Time flies until you stop and realize that baby that kept you up every night for six years is ready to get her license and you're ready for her to so that you can get a night off of driving her everywhere. 

We don't have a ton planned for her tonight but I do hope she has a fantastic day and appreciates the drum of stale crackers I got her as a gift. 

When tomorrow is four years away

So, what brings me back to this dump this time? Another pandemic? Maybe YouTube is down for the afternoon? Some kind of injury that renders my lower half useless but leaves my brain and typing thingies untouched? Hardly.

This time, it’s at least a bit less disaster-dependent – even if this blog has always been a disaster. This past Easter I was chatting with my brother Andrew from Randomization about the excellent YouTube vlog, Vlog Brothers. I was expressing how that back-and-forth was interesting and might be something we could try.

Andrew, being the more reasonable and realistic of us two, noted that editing a video every week sounded an awful lot like work but that we did still have those old blogs kicking around – maybe we could try there?

So, we’ve assigned each other a day a week to post and… let’s see how far this goes! Be sure you’re subscribed, liked or glonked over at Randomization so you can catch his first post on Thursday!

Eight Years? WTF?!

Yes yes, I know. It's been a while. And I didn't exactly leave things in any sort of good way. But then again, does a real blogger ever QUIT blogging? 

According to this post, no they do not.

So why start back up now? Well a few reasons but the biggest one is that I'm now stuck at home for an indefinite period of time due to the COVID-19 break-out and I wanted to journal a bit of that. Additionally, I write for a living now and I need somewhere to practice a bit and keep my skills up. MAD skillz.

So what have I been up to between Steven Harper banishing the penny and the world coming to a screeching halt? Are these things connected? Did I ever finish watching all of Lost?  All excellent questions, all will be answered in time.

In the last eight years, things have been interesting. I think I'd already built my full complement of children by the time I posted last, Tai, Kayah and Jonas. We moved to a bigger house in 2014 and we've been living the 'hood life with them and 3 animals. 

Yeah, three animals.  For those who followed this blog but somehow didn't keep up with me otherwise, the sweet beauty that was Bootsy passed away back in 2014 not long after we moved. It wasn't necessarily a clean end and it still breaks my heart to think of those final weeks with someone so gentle. 

Before Bootsy left us we did welcome another pet into the household however, Chopstick the tabby cat.  We had a bit of a mouse problem and Choppy was simply the best in the business- and he hasn't let us down.  We experienced nothing short of disaster when some jackwagon from the neighbourhood shot poor Choppy in the butt, vaporizing the bones in one of his hind legs.  He survived but lost a leg.  He can still catch mice like no one's business.  You don't mess with Chop.

Finally, Bootsy somehow returned to us in the form of an adult-female husky named Leika that we adopted in October 2014. She's the embodiment of that dog and has proven to be an excellent caregiver to our children and a kind loving companion. 

The Criminal Kid found it's end in around 2015-16 (it was all a little fuzzy). We're still all friends and do jam on occasion - lots of stories there but for another time.  I did putz around a few other bands but have frankly struggled to play with anyone for the last 5 years or so.  To supplement, I started a radio show with my brother, Andrew, called The Cockpit on 91.3 FM CJTR in Regina.  My involvement with the station has been very intense and I find myself currently the president of the Board of Directors for the station. A trying job in trying times I can assure you.


Well, that's about enough updates for now.  I'll post again tomorrow - probably more COVID-19 related because there are some thoughts and observations I'd like to write down at this early part of the disaster.  We'll do more catching up in the weeks ahead. I have stories to tell and I'm looking forward to talking to you again.

Stephen Harper - pennyscourge

Steven arrived home after a long hard day of handshaking and baby kissing. He walked to the fireplace, dumped off a load of change from that hippie bakery on the mantle.

His face darkens as he separates the copper from the silver and in a loud booming voice he cried "I WILL DESTROY YOU".

Best thing that man has ever done. The legacy project to end all legacy projects

Solar Imaging

Last weekend I attended the annual Saskatchewan Summer Star Party in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.  I HIGHLY recommend this outing for anyone with an interest in astronomy.  I learned more in 3 days - particularly about telescopy and observing - than I've learned in the past year on my own.

I was very fortunate to have access to my dad's 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a motorized mount in  addition to my very old (30 years almost!) 4" on equatorial mount.  Big words.  I know.

The best part though is that I was let loose with the motorized Cassegrain during the day last Saturday.  So I took out my nifty iPhone telescope mount, some filters and a big ol' sun and got some great shots!

So Tired

Being a father has had a ridiculously negative affect on my sleep.  I thought working shift work was bad, but having one child who has night terrors and another that is still nursing through the night means that I haven't slept with any regularity basically in the four years since Kayah was born. 

I normally have never been one to be too pissy about losing some sleep - and I've not only been operating but actually thriving in the past few years so it can't be that bad.  But there are days where I can't lift my head by supper time.  And I drink too much coffee.  Way too much.

That''s a SPICY Meatball

So when you start looking at all the stuff out there in that big old space thing, a few things come clear.  As time passes and things break apart, they cool.  So anything of a certain age or certain size has cooled from a ball of lava to say - a rock.  That changes things, because atmospheres disappear and the places become big crater balls.  There are moons around Saturn and Jupiter with active volcanos.  They're still seismically active, just like Earth.

So this got me wondering, will the Earth eventually cool and harden to rock?  When this happens, the giant mass of iron at the center of the planet will stop spinning and the magnetic field that protects us from the worst of the sun will stop.  Freaky stuff.

So tonight I did some looking at it seems that in fact, the Sun will go red giant and vapourize the planet way before that happens.  The earth would take 10,000,000,000 years to solidify, but the sun will destroy the earth in 7,600,000,000 years.  The sun takes it by a hair.  If we don't do it first.

Refreshing.

Mark Interacts with another animal.

Can it be? Yep, let's get this blog Rick rolling in style.

Mark interacts with Bootsy

Divide and Conquer

One of the driving forces for getting Pilot's World rolling again is that I have a desire to share some of my hobbies with the world. Twitter does this a bit, but it's not the best outlet. I considered starting some specific blogs, but to be sure, I'm too lazy. So I'll put it all here

I will use tags an try to set things up so that you can find what it is you want to see.

I'm going to start having subject features that fall in with my interests.

Astronomy - photos, drawings and anything else I can think of. I have much of this on my wife's Flickr page right now, I'll be moving it here soon

Camping - reviews of gear, camp inventions and thoughts. My family and I are avid tent campers and I want to share my thoughts on the subject.

Music - I'm winding down my time with my band, The Criminal Kid, but I have a lot to do there yet. I'm also planning on a solo project incorporating some more noodly jam stuff and a punk band. I also want to start an indie musician advice column focusing primarily on the subject of live performance.

Photography - I will likely have less emphasis on this subject than in the past, but I love instagram and I like taking pictures. Some of that will end up here too.

Minecraft - I run a private MInecraft server, it's the best game ever. So I'll probably do stuff with that here, but I don't know how just yet.

Ok let's get this going again why not?

Keep up with me on Twitter - @PilotsWorld. I've got some witty things there I suppose.

Gonna put some photos together and reformat the page.