A Work In Progress

           I normally don't post rough drafts of any of my novels, but this one I'm curious if it's worth continuing. I will stress this is a rough draft, so errors will be present. This one is my first attempt at a 3rd person science story, and since I mostly do 1st person romance, wondering if it's worth finishing this thing. Again this is a rough draft, but any feedback on the overall story will be helpful.

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                                                                              Chapter 1- A Friend Among The Stars

     As one looks up into the night sky filled with billions of stars, they can feel alone as they accept the fact that each twinkling light is the dead, glimmering remains of an alien society destroyed during a super nova many eons ago.  The light is the only reminder of the annihilated galaxy as it races across the vastness of space. Their entire language, history, everything was turned into atoms when their star exploded, vaporizing everything around it. Now, where a thriving planet once lived exists a black hole that is turning the light into total darkness.   

     On a medium-sized, iron core planet called Earth that orbits around a yellow dwarf star called The Sun, a young man known in his language as Matt feels like his life is being sucked into the black hole known as depression.  He sits outside a restaurant in his 1980’s Escort puffing on a cigarette as he tries to find the courage to go to work.  He runs his hands through his long, brown hair as tears run from his blue eyes as he takes the last drag of his smoke as he thinks about how the choices in his life have lead him to this very moment. He tosses his red polo shirt over his frail frame. With one last sigh, he wipes away the tears, and exits his vehicle.

    Matt looks skyward while thinking how badly he wants to leave this wretched planet. He glances towards the flickering sign of a red heart with white lettering that reads Cardio Burgers; accepting that this is where he will die one day from a heart attack.  He glimpses back at the stars, and wonders if there is more for store for him in the universe than flipping burgers.  A faint smile creeps across his lips as he pictures in another galaxy, an alien is experiencing the same sense of melancholy at this very second.  He also wonders if the reason aliens have never contacted the human race is they suffer from the same, dreary life. Instead of a groundbreaking event, it would be a group therapy session as they discuss their depressing, meaningless lives.

    He walks into the restaurant, and sees it is completely empty save the employees.  Over the months working here, he can see why no one comes here. The dining area is filled with random medical equipment, and the lights are designed to look like surgery lights. The faded pinks walls remind Matt too much of insane asylums in movie, and the white tiles are cracked. The tables are no better than the plastic tables people keep on their patios. The entire building needs a remodel, but the owners barely spend a dime on payroll. He couldn’t see a family coming to eat in a place that could be the set of a horror movie.

    He looks at the petite blond coworker with green eyes, as she fights back a yawn as she wipes one of the white plastic tables over and over. Matt waves at her as he heads towards the faded gray counter.  He gets behind the counter, and heads towards the time clock. As he about to punch in, out of the corner of his eye, he sees the bald, portly frame of the manager Thomas approaching him. Matt hates every inch of Thomas’s being because Thomas treats every employee like there are his personal slaves, and must do his bidding. Matt tried to file complaints of the work conditions, but it’s a moot point since Thomas’s dad owns the entire franchise. Matt learned a long time ago that he should bite his tongue, and do whatever shit detail Thomas has in store.

    “Matt! I need you to go work the registers for thirty minutes until the rest of the night shift gets here. Once he’s here, I want the bathrooms spotless before we close tonight,” barks Thomas.

    “Yes, sir,” replies Matt as he pictures Thomas as a Chihuahua wearing a tie.

    Thomas goes back to the office as Matt walks toward the counter.  Matt stares out into the distance as an approaching thunderstorm lights up the horizon over the moss covered oak trees. He silently hopes his car makes it home as a bolt of lightning turns the dusk sky into dawn for a second. The last thing he wants is to walk home in the pouring rain after scrubbing the bathrooms.  He stops worrying about the weather as the first car in over an hour of work pulls into the parking lot.

    A few minutes later, a heavy set man waddles up to the counter. His black hair is drenched with sweat as he leans against the counter gasping for air. He pulls out a wad of soaked dollars bills from the pocket of his stained navy sweats as drool runs down his unshaven chin onto his stained white t-shirt.

    “Welcome to Cardio Burgers, home of the Triple Bypass burger. How can I help you?” says Matt in the politest tone he can muster.

    “I’ll have the Hypertension meal with a Diet Vanka,” replies the man between deep breaths.”

    “Will there be anything else?”

    “That’s it.”

    “That will be $6.35.”

    The man hands Matt a sweaty ten dollar bill. Matt quickly makes his change, and hands it back to the man as he drips perspiration all over the counter. A few minutes later, Matt hands the man his food, and he waddles off to the table Audrey was cleaning.  As the man sits down, Thomas walks over to Matt.

    “You’re fired,” states Thomas. “You didn’t offer him ketchup.”

    Without saying a word, Matt takes off his work shirt, and tosses it onto the counter.  He waves at the fat man before strolling out of the restaurant.  He always thought he would make a big scene when he got fired, but all he can do is smile as he thinks at least he doesn’t have to scrub toilets tonight. He can feel the stress wash off of him like dirt in a rainstorm as he no longer has to come to this greasy cesspool. He actually wants to thank Thomas for doing him a favor by letting him go from this shitty job he couldn’t stand.

    However, as he makes it back to his rust-covered, ancient car is when reality kicks in. He leans against the hood and lets out a sigh. He will have to start finding another job tomorrow, and they are slim to none in this suburbia hell.  Also, his past made most jobs out of reach because they won’t hire a rehabbed addict with a record. He never wanted to work fast food in his life, but it was either flip burgers or starve. He lights up cigarette and goes back to watching the lightning in the distance as he tries not to worry about what the future has in store.  Tonight, he’s going to go home to enjoy what might be his last night of freedom.

    He crushes the light butt of his cigarette under his black sneakers, and gets in. He starts the car, and the engine kicks in like nothing is wrong. The instant he shifts into drive, there’s a loud bang from under the hood as smoke begins to bellow out from under the hood like a chimney in the dead of winter. He jumps out of the car, and runs a good distance from it as the smoke keeps pouring out of it. He stands in the parking lot cursing up a storm as he waits for the engine to catch fire.

    A few minutes later, the car stops smoking as Matt feels his anger to subside. As he is about to approach his now useless vehicle, the sky opens up soaking Matt to the bone as he stomps back to his car. He grabs his phone and smokes out of the car, and runs to the awning over the back door of the restaurant. He stands there watching the pouring rain wondering how he’s going to get home.  He barely has a dollar of change in his pocket, so a taxi is out of the question. His best friend is probably dead asleep, but he has no other choice. He pulls his phone and prays his buddy answers.

    Matt lets out a few cuss words as it goes right to voice mail. He leaves a message, and shoves his phone back into his pants. With no other options, he takes a look and sees the lightning is still flashing like crazy. He squats down to the ground while covering himself as best as he can from the rain in his soaked t-shirt while waiting for this storm to die down.  He could probably have asked a coworker for a lift home, but he isn’t willing to wait for another four hours. He wants to get far away from the restaurant and the asshole Thomas so he can finally relax at home even if it means walking through this monsoon to do so.

    As he gathers the courage to start heading home, a bolt of lightning strikes the sign causing it to shower the parking lot in red sparks as the sign flickers one more time before going out in a final poof of blue smoke. Matt stays sitting on the ground as his hands tremble in fear as the thunder explodes, shaking the door behind him like a nuclear bomb went off in the heavens. He might hate this place as well as the direction his life is going tonight, but he does enjoy being alive as he feels his heart is beating against his chest like a prisoner trying to break through a prison wall with a metal spoon.
  
     As Matt relaxes from the natural firework display, a wave about twenty greenish, purple lightning bolts strike behind the oak trees in a circular pattern, followed by a blueish light shining on the gnarled bark, causing it to glow in an eerie, web pattern. The light stops when another round of the strange lightning strikes the same area, but there’s no thunder. The only sound is a humming noise coming from the trees that pierces the steady staccato of the rain.  The noise fades away a minute later as the rain comes down even harder.

    In the flash of normal lightning, Matt catches a glimpse of someone moving slowly between the trees. He tries to stare through the rain out into the darkness, but he can’t see more than a few foot away through the gray wall of the downpour. As the hair on his arms begins to stand straight up, fear takes over as he rises to his feet to sprint towards the restaurant. He figures it’s better to be inside with the asshole than outside with the freakish light show happening in the forest.

    As he steps out from under the awning, the blue light flashes from the oaks for a second followed by the hum. He stops to pinch himself to make sure he didn’t fall asleep or his old habit has magically returned. As the hum grows louder, Matt starts walking towards the oak forest despite the lightning going off around him like a strobe light at a party. As he rubs the scars on his left elbow watching the purple lightning return once more, he accepts that he may die in the woods tonight, but at least it won’t be at his own hands this time.

    Matt makes it to the oak trees now soaked to the bone as a sudden chill runs across his entire body. He peers into the darkness trying to see what is causing the humming noise.  Behind him, he hears a branch snap followed by leaves rustling. He turns around, and see nothing but the rain. He keeps scanning the area, but even through the constant lightning is illuminating the area he can’t see anything out of the ordinary.  Whatever was here was either a figment of his imagination, or he is still dreaming. He quickly dismissing as his mind wandering due to stress.

    Matt silently wishes as he stares into the forest that it was an alien ship that can take him away from this wretched planet.   He feels like no matter how hard he tries, he can’t go forward in life. Ever since he went clean, things have gotten harder for him.  He fears that his past will prevent him getting another job, and he’ll end up on the streets. Realizing he can’t change the past, he decides it’s best to head back to the restaurant, and wait till the storm passes.

    As he stands there peering into the rain, he sees something glimmering across the field in the thicket of oaks.  As the purple lightning strikes around the object. Matt sees it’s a large, metal cylinder about the size of one of tree trunks surrounding it. Matt estimates it to be about fifty long and twenty feet wide. There is a single window on the side, but it’s fogged over from the condensation and the heavy rain. Matt sees something moving inside as the humming returns much louder.

    Matt wants to run away, but he slowly begins moving towards the cylinder as the humming stops, causing his curiosity to explore the alien object. He stands a few feet away from the cylinder and peers into the foggy window. A large, deep blue hand with four fingers and two thumbs presses against the window as the humming returns in a softer tone. Despite large silver claws protruding from each finger, Matt isn’t afraid of the being locked inside as the purple lightning strikes around him. However, when he hears someone or something say “friend” over the humming from within, his fears returns as he decides to run away and return to the safety of the restaurant.

     Before Matt can turn around to run back to the restaurant, he hears a beeping noise right behind him. He slowly turns around to stare at a small, blue metallic orb floating at eye level. Behind the orb, Matt eyes widen in fright as there stands a tall, slender creature with a lizard-like tail wearing an all-black body suit that covers it from its elongated snout down to the tip of its tail while a golden visor where the eyes of this alien should. The only animal that comes to mind as Matt’s eyes stay focused on the creature is an alligator in a space suit, but this one is walking upright like a human.

        The lizard head stays directed at Matt as Matt hears the humming in his head. The lizard lifts up the visor, and Matt sees nothing but a smooth, black alligator-like head staring at him through a clear visor. In another flash of lightning, Matt notices the alien has no eyes, just the smooth skin covering every inch of its snot. The lizard opens his mouth at Matt, revealing a mouth filled with medium-sized, flat blue molar teeth. Even though this alien is probably a good 10’ from snout to tail, it’s trying it’s best to show Matt it means him no harm.

    Matt tries to speak, but the orb beeps out, “Xa han yuol em. Qu olu bulu na nodu sae oqos.”

    “What…are…” are the only words Matt can vocalize as his brain is still trying to process the entire scene unfolding before his eyes. Before he can figure it out, the cylinder shines a blue light, surrounding his entire body. The hum starts up one more time as a purple mist wraps around Matt. He tries to move, but his body starts glowing as his hands slowly evaporate into the air, and a bolt of the purple lightning striking him, blinding him as he feels cold steel against his skin. The last thing he remembers is staring out the cylinder’s window at the he space alligator looking at him before he slips into unconsciousness as he hears the word friend uttered one more time.

Novel Technology Part 2

        It's been almost three years since I did a piece about hardware that novel writers should focus on (Click HERE to read original post). However, in the past year the entire industry has changed to the point it's exciting instead of the lull we had for the last six years. I'm mostly updating the two areas where things have changed the most: CPU's and storage drives. Far as printers, keyboards, and monitors, everything is the same as that old post.

The first major change to CPU's is AMD is now competing again with Intel. AMD and Intel in very,very basic terms are like Ford and Chevy in the processing world. The world's computers in the last 15 years will be either running an AMD or Intel chip. Even Macs are running Intels now.

       Without going into very boring details, AMD was not offering the same or close performance as Intel for almost 6 years. So, for six years, Intel would launch the equivalent of a new car with ONE extra horsepower every year during this period. In other words, every new launch was as exciting as decaf coffee.

However, March of this year, AMD took a sledgehammer to Intel, and woke up the entire industry. The reason this is great is when AMD and Intel fight, we get newer hardware worth the wait. Now, they're launching systems with, sticking to the car analogy here, 50 to 100 more horsepower versus 1 horsepower. It's at the point where waiting is worth it.

       The other unique thing is multi-core / thread CPU's are becoming the normal these days. You will see cores and threads. Here's a quick summary of what core and thread mean:

- Core – the physical processing part. A quad-core for example means there’s four physical processors i.e. it’s like a system having four Pentium 4’s inside it.

- Thread – The splitting of a CPU’s power virtually. Not all tasks need the core’s full power, so it will divide itself in light loads such as what I’m doing now: playing music and running Word.

       The reason for this information is because more core / more thread CPU's are becoming very affordable. There are 6-core / 12 thread CPU's are under $200. About a year ago, they would cost $400 or more. The more cores / threads in a system, the more programs you can run at once without lag. I don't know about everyone else,but when I'm writing I will have music playing, an Excel file, a Word file, few Notepad files, and a web browser open all at the same time. If I tried to do this on a single core system (think a 2006 Pentium 4), I wouldn't be able to run them all at once without the system freezing. I'm currently one a quad-core, so there's no noticeable lag. Again, more CPU's / threads, the more stuff you could run at once.

       There is where I explain why all this matters when it comes to writing. For the first time in years, we have two major choices again, and with the new stuff coming out, it's almost at the point we're were back to "wait till this comes out" mode. Again, last five years, the market was nothing more than a new model number, and no juge difference in performance. There is so much new technology hitting the shelves within the next few months in both desktops and laptops, I'm al,pst afraid to suggest a system unless it's needed now.

       The biggest two things that are coming out for desktops are motherboards for Intel's new line CPU's that are finally an improvement versus last years models, plus AMD is going to launch another series of processors. As a writer, I'm waiting to even look at a new system to replace my 3 year old system till they both launch. The Intel motherboards will make their new $120 quad-core CPU more affordable and attractive, and the AMD's won't require additional hardware to run your monitor. Again, when these do come out, a new writing system will be more affordable and actually be faster, and will show up on store shelves some time after 2018. On the laptop side of things, AMD is slowly launching their products, but nothing out through the computer manufactures as of yet. Also, Intel's new line isn't out fully as well. Again, more cores /threads in a newer laptop = better multitasking.

       With all this being said, here's what I would consider on both AMD and Intel as of today for a desktop writing system. I wouldn't go higher than a $200 CPU because after that, you will only benefit if running heavy, heavy 3D games, Photoshop, or 4K video editing.

- Intel -

Lowest: Core i3 8100 - As mentioned above, this is the new $120 quad-core from Intel.

Highest: Core i5-8400 - 6-cores for $200

- AMD

Lowest: Ryzen 3 1300 - $110 quad-core

Highest: Ryzen 5 1500 - $190 for 4-core / 8 threads

       Whatever CPU you do get, always at least get 8GB of RAM. With Windows 10, 8GB is the ideal amount of RAM for office work. The absolute lowest I would is 4GB, but even with 4GB, the system can lag. Anything higher won't make a big difference to justify the cost. The absolute highest I would go is 16GB, but I'm quite happy with 8GB of RAM. After that, it becomes more about bragging rights about how money you can spend. Even the newest PC games don't even suggest 16GB of RAM.

       The second focus is storage. I know everyone has seen or heard about SSD. An SSD in very basic terms is imagine an internal thumb drive big enough to hold Windows and your programs. Yes, they do make the system very snappy, and you can have the system completely off to ready to go in under 15 seconds. I've been on the fence about getting one,but from what I've been told, they won't make you write any faster since you are the biggest bottleneck about how fast the words appear on the screen. One day, I'll get one since they do help in other aspects, but if I had to go with a SSD or a traditional hard drive for a desktop, I rather have a traditional hard drive due to the bigger storage capacity for the money. Now, on a laptop, SSD because they’re not prone to fail as easily say if it happens to drop because there are no moving parts inside, and they do help with battery life.

       My final thought is this: don’t spend more money than needed. I bought my system for $500 three years ago, and it’s still going strong. A $2,000 system won’t make you a better writer. The limit all of us writers face is imagination, not technology. If you do go overboard with technology, spend the money in something that can save you and your work the most heartache, and that’s backup devices (See HERE for more information). Until then, happy writing.

"Soldiers of Expression"

Words: a writer's weapon.
Soldiers of their expression.
Inspiration is our main goal,
Bring hope to everyone's soul.
Thoughts weaved across a page.
Creativity freed from the cage.
Ideas forever stored in ink
Causing the reader to think.
Now, words fan the flames
Behind screens, no shame.
Musings fueled by negativity
For the whole world to see.
Words: a soldier's weapon
Their dagger of aggression.
Hatred is what they spread;
Their compassion long dead.
Break the chains of insanity.
Spread hope for humanity.
Discussions should inspire,
Not to spread anger's fire.
Words: a writer's weapon.
Soldiers of their expression.
Ignite the new renaissance.
Let peace be our response.

“Silent Killer”

Underneath our skin,

We are all the same.

Tensions are getting thin.

Killing in Hatred's name.

A voice makes us human;

Acting like a pack of dogs.

No respect for fellow man;

Disregard for all the laws.

Back to an eye for an eye.

Murdered over their beliefs.

Talks of war hover in the sky.

Pissing match between chiefs.

The news displays the blood

For all to see on TV at night.

Innocents slaughtered by thugs.

Who believe their view is right.

When will the madness stop?

No love, only blind animosity.

Bullets instead of words swap

Fueling this immoral atrocity.

The more society is connected,

Further we keep drifting apart.

All attempts to at least educated

Denied by ignorance in the heart.

Silent killer lurks in the shadows

The cancer feeding off of racism

Each day, it has continue to grow

In this current nation of barbarism.

One day, we’ll return back to beasts.

Because chaos will consume us all.

On our hearts, violence will feast.

As the human race finally falls.

"Grocery Shopping"

We're totally out of TP.

Buy one, get one cheese;

Course, milk from a cow.

Is the watermelon fresh now?

Redbulls better be a mistake.

A case of Dew ain't happening.

A sale on some T-bone steaks;

Some seasoning for blackening.

Grape Nuts because of old age,

And some Tums for heart burn.

Where do they keep the sage?

This butter is not home churned.

Ranch dressing for chicken wings.

Also, some kale for my smoothies.

Some bug spray to stop bee stings.

Sweet. They're serving fresh sushi.

Completed list, time to check-out.

No, you can't buy that Snickers.

No matter how much you pout.

Does this grocery store sell liquor?

Get home; forgot the toilet paper.

Left the kids behind with the dad

Tonight, red wine will be my savior.

After the crazy day shopping I had.

“The Purest Sacrifice”

Broken wings and a shattered halo.
Cracked horns and eternal damnation.
Their lost souls converged into one.
A forbid love that led to alienation.
One casted out from the pearly gates;
The other banned forever from Hell.
Forced to live amongst mere mortals.
In light of immortal love they dwell.
In a past life, were husband and wife.
Their yearning transcended even death.
Both hearts were tormented by the pain.
Until names spoken with unabated breath.
They committed heresy and even treason.
To hold each other underneath the stars.
Eternity being separated was cruel enough.
Being together again was worth every scar.
From their thrones, their masters watched.
 Perplexed at the trials they have endured
One casted aside their halo, the other horns.
The sacrifice for a love that remained pure.

"Computer Fight!"

     I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time. As most now, I’m a computer geek first, and this idea has been on my mind for months. Now, with a new launch of processors from Intel this month, I figured I will write my thoughts about the state of new computer hardware. As some might have read over the years, every six to twelve months, new hardware is launched, which in theory is supposed to be exciting. Honestly, for the past few years, the launches of supposed updated hardware have been appealing as a keg of O’Douls at a college party. However, since March of this year, new releases are worth looking at due to one word: competition.

     In the hardware industry, competition between the major companies is always a good thing. I mostly focusing on processors today: Intel and AMD. Intel is, in sode terms, Coca Cola. A brand everyone has heard of because of countless ads over the years, and the fact shelves were always full of Intel based computers. AMD, on the other hand, is like RC. Even though AMD has been around, you mostly hear about them through word of mouth, or from the person you went to for computer advice. AMD could never truly compete outright, but they did one thing very well: beat Intel in performance while costing less. It always been about the best bang for your buck with AMD.

     However, AMD was more like Pepsi for a few years: Intel and AMD keep fighting to be the top company. For a few years, AMD was actually beating Intel in performance. There was a time during the early 2000’s where AMD was suggested way before Intel during the Pentium 4 era. This was great because the industry was exciting. Every new release from AMD or Intel was worth reading because it made you wonder who was taking back the performance crown. 

 

     Sadly, around 2007, AMD began to lose the rivalry. By 2011 or so, AMD was back to fighting to stay in the market. It came to a point AMD was only suggested when Intel was too costly for one’s budget. They weren’t bad overall, but dollar per dollar comparisons, Intel was the way to go. A $80 Intel CPU was outperforming a $200 AMD chip in the one area that truly drives the market: gaming. So, AMD retired itself to being the go to for basic, everyday web browsing systems. 

 

     This lead to Intel being the equivalent of GMC launching a new Corvette every year with five extra horsepower. They honestly quit innovating for the past five years, and got lazy.A new product with such a small performance increase being released because there wasn’t no other viable option. There’s actual test of a six year-old Intel chip being tested against their newest offerings. The difference in performance was only ten percent. In fact, most reviews of Intel’s new release became copy and paste. The overall thought was this: “Unless building and/or buying a new system, not worth the cost.”

     However, the fight is coming back as of March. Before I go into what’s happening, some very, very layman terms. All new CPU’s will list cores and threads when you look them up. Here is what they mean:

- Core – the physical processing part. A quad-core for example means there’s four physical processors i.e. it’s like a system having four Pentium 4’s inside it.

- Thread – The splitting of a CPU’s power virtually. Not all tasks need the core’s full power, so it will divide itself in light loads such as what I’m doing now: playing music and running Word.

     What happened this year which has shook up the industry is AMD finally launched a CPU that blindside Intel: Ryzen. This new launch came down to this: a $500 AMD CPU with 8 cores / 16 threads is trading blows even with Intel’s $1000 newest 10 cores / 20 thread offering. The difference in performance is so close that AMD systems make hardcore enthusiasts wondering if the extra $500 going Intel is even worth it to save a few minutes on some tasks. Once you factor in that a motherboard for Intel is $400 versus $200 for AMD, it’s a tough sell to even go with Intel these days. In other words, they’re fighting once again, and this makes me happy because unless it’s purely a PC gaming system (Which Intel still outperforms AMD as of right now), I would suggest AMD over Intel once again.

     Now, keep in mind even though Intel launched this month, AMD has a new line coming out this summer as well. AMD is launching a 16 core / 32 thread monster. With this on the horizon, the old question that used to be around is coming back: Do I buy now or wait to see what the new products offers? This means everyone wins because if AMD and Intel keep going back and forth, when you do buy a newer system, the performance over your five year old system will be noticeable. In fact, in the $100 to $200 range, I would go with AMD way before Intel because AMD offers more cores / threads for the money which is great if you do a lot of multitasking. 

 

     In conclusion, in any industry, competition is always a great thing. Without it, there’s no more innovation. The companies will keep slapping on shiny new labels on the same boring product, and act like they’ve made huge changes while raising prices. I hope this trend keeps going because for years because the biggest innovation in the PC world was leaning towards LED lights on EVERYTHING. Now, with real hardware being launched that does offering innovation, the market will shake up, and everyone will reap the benefits. In the end, I’m rooting for AMD to keep winning this fight.

"Writing Underwear"

      I’ve been reading a lot lately about fonts and the proper formatting for novels, so I decided to write this brief blog post. Fonts and formatting are truly like underwear for us writers. We all have one that we find comfortable, and will stick to it like our favorite kind of underwear. If we try something new, it feels odd like switch from boxers to briefs. Once we go back to our usual, we don’t feel so restrictive. Fonts and formatting boil down to personal preference, but in the end, there are some that you shouldn’t parade around in public. Also, consider this blog the same as shopping for underwear: find and do what makes you comfortable, but if unsure, nothing wrong with taking some advise.

     First of all, I’m going to get the one font that no one uses at all in the writing world. Comic Sans in the writing world is like edible thongs. No one will look at you without laughing if you publish anything in this font. You can write the greatest novel ever, but once they see it’s in Comic Sans, it will most likely end up in the trash. That, or you’ll get a very quick response to change the font like you wore a pair of edible thongs to a business meeting. My advice is to never use it at all, not even for a school paper.

     With that out of the way, let’s move on to the “tighty whities” of the writing world: Times New Roman. This font is the old, reliable font we all know, and most of us used at first, just like briefs. Some of us never moved on to more exotic things, enjoying the feeling of comfort we grew up with. In fact, every writing guide I have ever read said this is the safest choice for a font. I’m not ashamed to admit this is the only font I use for writing. Even my book on Kindle is formatted for Times New Roman. Again, it’s what I’m comfortable with using.

      Now, there are other safe fonts out there. If I had to choose another font to use besides Times, Arial would be my second choice. I love Garamond, but some people, like my editor, find it hard to read. A few other safe fonts I think are Book Antiqua, Bookman Old Style, Century, and Verdana. Helvatica was another safe one, but that’s no longer included in all modern word processing programs. It is still available online if you really need it. In fact, can be found here.

      Then there’s the new font out there introduced with Office 2007: Calibri. Calibri, to me, is like speedos. You think it might look good, but there’s a major flaw with using it for heavy writing. When using Calibri, capital i’s and lower-care l’s look exactly alike. This would drove my editor nuts since one of my characters is named William. I’m not sure the purpose of introducing this font, but that glaring flaw has made me steer clear of it.

      Of course, there’s those exotic fonts, which like some kinds of underwear, will either make you or your readers very uncomfortable. Fonts such as Wingdings, Webdings Papyrus, etc have no place in writing. They’re the skid marks of the publishing world. I’m not sure why they are even installed at all, but I guess someone might have a use for them. I might have 1,000 fonts on my system, but I stick to about five, and the big two are Garamond and Times.

      Far as switching fonts, my advise is to stick to one overall throughout the manuscript. I might use Courier to simulate a computer screen, and I also have a font installed that actually looks like an old school typewriter. After that, everything is in Times, even my chapter titles. There’s nothing worse than seeing a chapter where each character is a different font. It would be like changing underwear every hour. Again, only use a different font if it makes sense, and not to be creative.

      The last thing I want to discuss is formatting. I don’t think there’s any wrong or right way to format in this day and age since everything is electronic. Anyone can adjust it if need be, but a reader should be able to tell where one paragraph ends, and another one begins at least. When in doubt, this is the defacto standard, briefs of formatting which is the one I use as well:

1) 1” margins all around

2) Double spaced paragraphs

3) Easy to read, 12 pt font.

      Overall, like underwear, to each their own. However, even one Google search will tell you that there are some widely accepted guidelines when it comes to font and formatting. Does it stifle your ability to write? I never thought so. Besides, what’s the point of writing a story when no one can read it clearly enough to make it past the first page? So, until the industry changes, I will use the tighty whity font and formatting with pride.

Meatballs

-Ingredients

1lb of ground beef
1/2lb of Italian sausage
½ cup of bread crumbs
½ of grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg

1/2 tablespoon of the following:
Italian herbs
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder (Can substitute for ½ cup of sweated, minced onions )

1 teaspoon of the following

Basil
Parsley
Salt
Black Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes (Omit if you don’t like spicy)

- Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2) Mix everything together by hand in a large bowl
3) Roll into golf ball size balls - mixture makes about 12
4) Bake in a deep baking pan for 30 minutes. Flip about halfway through
5) Place on a paper towel lined pan, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Wonderful Scammers

        I know I’ve been posting a lot about the Microsoft scammers, but today I decided to explain in more detail why they’re scams, and the tricks scammers do to make people think they have a virus on their system. The reason they’re scams is because Microsoft or any computer company never tracks viruses on a single system. They honestly don’t care if you do. The only time Microsoft will step in if there’s a virus that’s spreading across networks like crazy, such as the new ransomware spreading around (For more information, click here). Even then, they don’t have you call a number and/or call you. If every computer company tracked viruses, we would still be running 98 because Microsoft resources would have been tied up fixing every single infected PC.
       Now, below is an image of a typical scam site:

       The main reason this is a scam is the fact no major web browser (Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Edge, and Firefox) can detect if you got a virus by default. Also, I can load them on my smartphone, which has nothing to do with Windows. If it was a legit threat, your antivirus would throw up a warning way before a browser will. Also, the only way a browser could in theory detect an issue if say you enabled the toolbar or extension your antivirus installs. The closest a browser get to blocking possible issues is warning you if a site is been reported as unsafe, and will stop you from seeing that site unless you ignore the warnings. In fact, the way I triggered that scam site to load by mistyping facebook as facebo0k. A simple typo of a website n the old days would only load a screen saying “Server Not Found”, but today, it might launch the scam.
       The other way they can generate is by clicking on the wrong links. The three major sites that generate these pop-ups are Facebook, Google, and email. In email, the best advise is if you don’t trust the sender or the email itself, don’t click on anything and delete it. On Facebook, they are created by the ads on the side, the ones that say something like “17 Reasons” or “Check This Out!”. On Google, they’re mostly caused by searching for computer help, and clicking on a bad link.
       There’s also the scam calls where someone calls out of the blue, and tries to tell you that you got a virus or a major computer issue. First, no legit computer company will call you out of nowhere. The way all of them work is you have to make the first contact before they’ll even call. The best way to avoid these is if you don’t know the number, do not answer them. If they’re a legit company, they’ll leave a voice mail. If you do answer by mistake, hang up if they make any type of claim they’re tech support that you didn’t even call. The scammers will do everything to keep you on the line, and it’s all a script. They don’t know anything about your system to the point they’ll call a household that only has Apple products, and will try to say their Windows systems are infected.
       The scammers main goal overall is try everything to access your system through legit software, and lock it to the point it can render the machine unless you pay them more than what most systems are worth, or a price that is so high, you can buy 8+ systems. No matter what, NEVER let strangers into your system no matter what nonsense they’re spouting. They’re not hackers because without you installing the software, they know nothing about your machine. If it was truly a legit hacker, they wouldn’t even have you on the phone to install software. They could be in your system, and you wouldn’t know it.
       Now, this is more to explain what they’ll do if gained access, which again I’ll stress only allow companies and/or people you trust access your system. Everything I’m showing is built into all Windows since at least 98, and only two can in theory show you if you’re infected. These four things I’m going to show are used to troubleshoot Windows issues and fix performance issues, so most people don’t know they exist. The only way to access two of them is by launching them through a command or know what folder they’re stored in. In order, they are Command Prompt, Services, System Configuration, and Event Viewer.
       The first one, Command Prompt, is very simply DOS. Below is what it looks like:

   
       This is the only one you can find within the Windows Start Menu, but has nothing to do with malware or virus checking. Far as I can recall, it could been used back before Windows XP to check for malware, but now, it’s mostly used to check for internet issues. The way scammers use it is type in legit commands, type in wrong commands which triggers an error message, or paste something into it.
       The second is called Services. Below is what it looks like:

       This is one of two that are buried within Windows that you have to know either where it’s at, or how to load it. The lies you would here is how everything that shows Running is a virus. Services are background applications that are built into every version of Windows. They manage networks, printers, etc. If they weren’t running, Windows wouldn’t load properly. I’m not going to show where it’s located, or how to access it because you only mess with services if told by a company you trust, or know what you’re doing because disabling the wrong thing can crash Windows.
       The second one buried deep within Windows is called System Configuration, as shown below:

        This is one of the four that can tell you if there’s a virus or malware on the system. This application handles how Windows boots, and what loads when the system fully loads. Like Services, just because it’s running it doesn’t make it a virus. The major use for System Configuration is to disable unwanted programs from running at startup. Some malware will show up here, and a computer repair person can disabling it from running when you boot the PC. Again, not doing into too many details because the wrong thing here can disable critical parts of Windows causing instability.
       The final one is Event Viewer:

 Event Viewer records anything hat has happened to Windows has had since you first turned on the PC. This one isn’t quite as buried as Services and System Configuration, but it’s buried enough that most users don’t even know it exists. The main reason this is even loaded is to figure out what or why a PC keeps crashing. Again, only computer guys look at this to troubleshoot PC issues. All systems will show errors and warnings if you loaded Event Viewer. Even on my system, which is barely a week old, I have errors and warnings that show up.
       The final part of Windows I’m going to mention is what I’m going to call the startup password. This application again is so buried within Windows, you have to really know what you’re doing to even think of messing with it. When enabled, it requires a password to be entered to load Windows. This is what scammers use to basically lock you out of the system unless you pay their outrage fees. I’m not going to show you what it looks like or the actual name because if it’s enabled, and you forget the exact password, you will have to wipe out Windows and all your personal files to remove it. I know what I’m doing, and I don’t mess with it unless required. In other words, you, and even your computer person, should never mess with this startup password.
       Overall, I hope this knowledge as enlighten some to how the scams work, and why you should never allow anyone access to your system unless you have their complete trust. Also, the other thing I can stress from this is always keep your security software up to date, as well as run Windows updates whenever they’re available. The updates aren’t sent out to cause your system to take forever to reboot. They’re sent out to fix things that can allow a program to gain unwilling control of your system. Also, if the link looks funny, when in doubt, don’t click on it. The last tip is never Google phone numbers. If the company hasn’t posted on on their official website, they don’t provide one so never one you find on a web search (Perfect two examples: Facebook and Google). One final thing:


NEVER ALLOW ANYONE ACCESS TO YOUR SYSTEM UNLESS YOU TRUST THEM AND / OR THE COMPANY THEY WORK FOR!