In Loving Memory of Ken Ochs

One of my earliest and favorite adventures was with my Dad's cousins in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was between 1980-83 at the annual street breakfast downtown. The local ranchers and business men held an annual cattle drive and fun camping trip into the mountains. They would kick it off by having an early morning breakfast on hay bails downtown, followed by a parade. Ken Ochs, was one of them.

Ken passed away this week and I wanted to share some memories of not only a relative I've come to respect, but a fellow adventurer.

Ken was a rancher in Gunnison, Colorado (the setting and real life town for the second AVP movie). Cattle was just one of his businesses. He and the other Ochs brothers had a variety of investments, including the old railroad depot downtown that houses Guiseppe's Old Depot Restaurant. Naturally, this was a regular gathering place for family and friends where Ken would tell funny stories at the head of the table as the freight trains rolled by. I always liked how the railway men used to call the depot ahead of time from the train and pick up a pizza from the restaurant as they passed through. I liked seeing the trains up close.

Ken and his wife Delores (Dee) had a home just as warm and inviting. Michael Garman sculptures depicting cowboys were scattered here and there. There was a saddle rack off to one side by the desk. There were also plenty of seats and couches for folks to sit and talk, some sporting Native American blankets. I played Atari 2600 for the first time in 1980, in that living room, and years later, would watch Ben Hur for the first time with Ken and Dee.

Ken was a spiritual man and, in his later years wrote and published a few books of poetry. Much of it was cowboy thoughts and musings, but all of it was from the heart. He took great joy in his writing, evening enclosing a bit of it in the annual Christmas letters.

My favorite memories of him were at the street breakfast. He let me ride with him in the parade one year and he had a little burlap sack full of candy for me. Somewhere, there's a picture of he and I by a horse, one that later would eat part of my straw cowboy hat. If anything, that day with him was a joy, one of many, and truly an adventure. I would think of him fondly years later when I took my own horsback ride. It was then I realized the joy he felt in riding, mixed with an indescribable serentiy.

A good man and fellow adventurer goes to rest now, to ride heaven's finest horses and travel it's beautiful landscape. I love you Uncle Ken, and thank you.

Second Life_Chapter 29_Renovations

As you might have guessed here lately, my Second Life time has been pretty limited. However, I've still managed brief jaunts here and there, as well as using this virtual world as a sketchpad of sorts. Case in point, my dream home (aka the Florida contempo beach condo).

This time around I really hit a nice balance of minimalism, artistry, and function. Was able to find not only the pendant lights, but also a mini fridge and small kitchen island. No, you don't have to cook or even use the bathroom in Second Life (unless you REALLY want to), but if you are building a model, having these details helps, if not purely for asthetics. Details do make the difference and they can even give you a laugh. The afore mentioned mini fridge, is scripted to dispense drinks, food, and dessert. It also has a door that swings open. Yes, there's even a cold glass of milk if you want it. ;)

In more of "art immitates life immitates art", I did find some Real Life cat ears to go with my tiger tail for my steampunk costume. This, in a roundabout way, mirrors the goodies my avatar regularly sports during the off travel time. Hey, I'm a Neko fan who enjoys the occasional round of Sushi and got a kick out of Cats. Now if only my hair was as long and my abs as flat...

Travelwise, many of the places I used to go have shuttered or moved to different sims. This is why there's been a dryspell of inworld destinations. It's an unfortunate reminder of the current economy. Everyone is cutting back and saving where possible, and sometimes that means online life like Second Life. Hopefully we'll see a turnabout in both RL and SL in the coming months. It's a good bet we're all ready for something much better.

To end on a humorous upbeat, I recently started playing World of Warcraft. During one sleepless night, I decided to model one of the races, known as the Daenei. You guessed it. The costuming/themeing side kicked in and it was off to different inworld stores to find purple skin, satyr hooves, horns, and white eyes. The end result was a pretty good SL version of the WoW race. Leave it to insomniatic creativity to hit new levels of geekdom AND fuel further RL Steampunk and Ren Faire costume ideas. Indeed, so many ideas, so little budget and time.

Blogging Buffet and Nerdly News

With so much going on of late, there just hasn't been time for dedicated stories, so here's the round robin of news whilest I prepare my soul for GMX (Geek Media Expo) in Nashville.

• The big news of the time is a new Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop. Intended for forging a new programming career in Java (along with computer games to unwind) I'm happy for the most part. BIG let down that it won't run Oblivion as I'd hoped. Seems the video card has 32 megs of dedicated hardware memory and shares the rest with the 3 gig of onboard RAM. Oblivion just didn't like this, while both Morrowind and World of Warcraft run great. (Shrugs).
• Yep, I'm on World of Warcraft as a L8 Night Elf Druid named...wait for it...Grizzlyriver. (Oh like you didn't see THAT coming!) Having fun exploring the realms and glad to have something else that Kimberly and I can enjoy together. She has a L9 Draenei Paladin...with pigtails, a mace, and hoofs. AND her name is Asyanatea (Asian Tea). Yep, WIN. ;)
• Like a random loot blessing straight out of Morrowind, I lucked into a guy getting rid of several computer books at the local recycle bin. He let me pick through and take what I wanted. Got a couple books on Java programming as well as other topics that could prove very useful. Hello instant reference library! No kidding!
• Added a Neko twist to my Steampunk persona, Otto Von Clank. Yep, tiger ears and a tail. Think Cats meets Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Shout out to my Neko friends in Second Life and Real Life. =^.^=
• On the theme park side of things, I was invited to a blogger conference call with Mark Shapiro this week. Up to now, I've been an enthusiast with a blog, not anything close to media or park industry person who would warrent such an invite. Needless to say, the validation is much appreciated. Conference call was supposed to happen monday, but had to be rescheduled. Hey, stuff happens.
• Speaking of stuff happens, the car had a cracked radiator hose replaced and is back on the road. Seeing what it cost to replace said hose, it's clear I'm in the wrong business. Lol!
• Kimberly and I hit the Memphis Cooper Young Festival this past weekend. Lots of neat arts and crafts, ecclectic people, and foot long corn dogs. Seriously good stuff and had a terrific time.
• October is a busy month with photographing for Imagicopter Tour, Geek Media Expo, and some other stuff on the schedule. Hopefully I can get out to a theme park next year for a Halloween event. Just has not been time the past few years.
• Still no luck on job hunt, but I remain hopeful. Thankfully, clever money management and very careful and timed purchases are still keeping things in line.
• Been getting lots of little creative ideas here and there on a wide variety of subjects. Memphis truly is an artsy community and I didn't realize just how much I missed being in such an environment. It's the plant and soil analogy. This plant forgot what's it's like to be in fertile soil, and is growing again as a result.

As always, good vibes and juju to all and thank you for taking time to read my ramblings. Always greatly appreciated. :)

Rapids Joins Imagicopter as Staff Photographer

As the professor on Futurama used to say, "Good news everyone!" While visiting one of Imagicopter's (http://sites.google.com/site/imagicopter/Home book signings in Hernando Mississippi, I was asked/adopted as a staff photographer to help out with their current book tour. The short answer is I'll be shooting a variety of promo and documentary stuff, along with doing some varied creative work behind the scenes. Good media, photography, and even web experience here with some very fun folks. Plus, I get to do some of what I do best: run around like a goof and take pictures and video.

Kidding aside, this really is a great opportunity for a dyed-in-the-wool archivest and documentarian. Sure we're trading book signings and the like for coasters and parks, but it still involves the same set of skills. Keep in mind, this also comes on the heels of one of my pictures being used in the promo for Kerlak Publishing's forth-coming Steampunk Anthology. Some happy strides indeed.

For those interested in either Imagicopter or Kerlak Publishing and what both groups have to offer, links are now up in the blog Contact section off to the right.

Will keep you posted on my future endeavers with this deep creative pool of folks. Definitely looking forward to the possibilities.

Special thanks to David Blalock, Kimberly Richardson, and Allen Gilbreath for opening up a new chapter in my photography and creative career. And a BIG thank you to Allen for fixing a nasty coolant leak on the NerdMobile. Also enjoyed talking with everyone at the signing and the following dinner at Cracker Barrel. Thanks all for making me feel so welcome. Greatly appreciated! :)

9/11

My deepest sympathies go out to the families and loved ones of all those lost this day 8 years ago.

Blogging Buffet & Nerdly News

Time for more of the random stuff outside my theme and other travels. As I write this entry, it's a clear and sunny day here in Memphis, Tennessee. Not a cloud in the sky can be seen looking out the second story window from the computer desk. Billie (cat) is sound asleep next to the desk. Heh, she's always close by her newly adopted human.

* The last couple weeks have been A LOT of clean out and yet more consolidating. Happy to say that getting rid of some of the old stuff and organizing the current feels good. Definitely more of a focused and lighter feel. Between Kimberly and I, we've sent at least a couple car-fulls of items to Goodwill. Some of my things were easy to let go, while others, not so much. It only took thinking about a future contempo dream house to realize that some of the present decor, wouldn't really fit in. Some items also had attachments to past relationships and some negative energy/memories. Since I'm moving on in life, it's better to get rid of those items and the things attached to them, rather than bring them into the present relationship. Yes, time for a fresh start and to build much more positive memories.
* After 21 hours, 4 updates, 3 server errors, and a partidge in a pear tree (ok, maybe not that last one), Kimberly was finally able to play World of Warcraft on the recently reformatted laptop. Needless to say, she's having a great time exploring the impressive and beautiful worlds. Ire over the INSANELY long updates and having to wait to play notwithstanding, the game does look really fun. Really though, this is something she's wanted to do for a long time, and now she finally can.
* Recently loaded up Quake II and Hexen II on the laptop as well. I really do love the classic first person shooters, and it was fun to watch Kimberly jump right back into playing.
* Still keeping up with FarmTown on FaceBook, however, I'm falling out of both Roller Coaster Kingdom, and YoVille. RCK, while fun, requires you to constantly monitor your employees and feed them. While I may be out of work and have time on my hands, there are other more important things. YoVille was fun up until some recent changes coupled with plateauing in goals. I pretty much built my dream minimalist contempo beach house, so what now? Of all, I'm still enjoying the set and forget nature of FarmTown. Good game that.
* RPG-itis has spread in the wake of Dragon Con and has been bolstered by the afore mentioned shooter games. Yep, the main spare time has been spent revisiting Morrowind, one of my all-time favorites. Enjoying a new Breton Sorcerer modeled partly on my previous martial arts experience and skills. Pretty cool to play yourself, although my staff techniques still need some work. ;)
* Recently acquired Oblvion Game of the Year edition for PC along with the Shivering Isles expansion strategy guide. Like Morrowind, Oblivion is just one of those games that's a huge place to explore with lotsa stuff, and MANY crazy quests. It's also incentive to save for a laptop to run it. The current laptop just doesn't have the mojo. Those of you reading between the lines might be right about World of Warcraft also getting onto the new machine. The growing reference library could also see the nice hardbound Atlas books supporting WoW.
* Speaking of the reference library, I'm taking a new direction and tinkering with Java programming. As time wears on, I'll add more tomes to the library. Not exactly sure how this will come out, but since the career is at a cross roads, this might wind up being more fullfilling. Shot in the dark really, but we'll see. Thankfully, there's a good programming foundation that should help things get up and running quickly. Still hammering out what direction to take once proficiency is achieved.
* Second Life has really taken a back seat lately and I'm hardly ever on, as much as I enjoy the the people and creativity. Real life has had more unique experiences of late than it's digital counterpart. With more stable Internet on the way, there's better chances for me to be on more. Far from done in the realm of Second Life.
* With the recent laptop reformat and updating, Skype and AOL Instant Messenger just never got put back on. Wasn't on either very much, and the main reasons for having both programs have passed on or been supplimented by FaceBook.
* Memphis is slowly becoming familiar and feeling like home on a few fronts. Happy to have the resources, stores, restaurants, etc. No, Graceland hasn't made the travel dockett yet, but we're working on that. ;)

Happy Dragon Con

Safe journey and good times to all those headed to Atlanta this weekend. :)

And now a few general Con tips for your enjoyment:

* Make sure your white cargo van has as few windows as possible.
* Tell stories and crack jokes until 4 am...then get back up at 8.
* Quote Family Guy and other pop culture media liberally.
* Shamelessly take pictures with as many beautiful people as desired.
* Stop at a nearby McDonald's in full Steampunk costume for a hearty Egg McMuffin breakfast.
* Speak in a really BAD accent and be amazed who believes it.
* Watch Dr. Horrible or Rocky Horror Picture Show at least once.
* Take in a midnight tea party.
* Om Nom!
* Buy those Neko Ears and that Brain Slug you have your eye on.
* Beat the drum with your HEAD at drum circle.
* Geek out and have fun! :)

Walking In Memphis

Yes, cliche line, but very true today. Went downtown to see the sights and have lunch. Likeable city. Lov e the trolleys and Mudd Island suspended monorail. Hope to get PoVs of those in the coming weeks. Drove by Sun Studios on the way downtown too. Felt good to go walkabout in a new city.