May 23, 2020

I used to blog extensively. I don't any more as you can tell by the fact that I closed my blog and put up this flat-file page instead. And, as you can tell by the dates of this flat file 'blog', I've not got a whole lot to say—at least nothing that is 'safe' to say. In truth, since Mom died, I've not had much inclination. Death has a way of damping the spirit, especially for a person who doesn't 'believe' in death. I've tried, but communicating just doesn't seem worth the effort, anymore, especially when everybody seems to take exception to any and everything anyone, especially me, says that they think might be offensive to them if they twist the interpretation pretzel-wise, warranted or not.

If I stick to just the facts, Ma'm, things become dry and boring. If I color them up a bit with my dry, sometimes caustic humor, somebody somewhere will take exception. If I go into down-home country talk, that offends one side, and if I go into PhD speak, that offends the other. What's a gal... er ... a person to do? Go about their business and don't say anything at all, that's what. Do go vote, though. And vote your conscience, not what others tell you you should think and do. THINK FOR YOURSELF and, remember, everybody out there pushing their perspective more than likely has a selfish agenda that does NOT have your best interests at heart. Follow the money and vote against that highly well-financed clamoring tide.

 

 

June 8, 2019

So, because I'm back to being the household breadwinner, now, I've reopened my graphic art business. So if you need some graphic art work done, I am available again. You can find my business website here: https://www.zentao.com/graphic-art/.

In other news, one of our cats — not old, either — just up and dropped dead. It was the strangest thing and it left me in shock for days. I had just given him a couple of strokes and gotten coffee, went back upstairs to my office, and there was this horrible yowl. I bolted back downstairs, and there he was outstretched in the middle of the great room floor, yowling horribly and just laid out. He expired as I knelt over him, stroking him. Thankfully, it was quick, and Kathy, the vet, says it was probably a heart attack or an annurism. I miss him (Toes, our long-haired polydactyl cat).

 

 

April 23, 2019

Completely rebuiding DLKeur.com (and, in time, the rest of my websites). I'm taking it from a dynamic website back to a flat file website, so, right now, there's some content on all of the pages, but nothing is yet complete.

Why am I doing this?

Because dynamically driven websites are becoming such huge hogs that, unless you keep them almost assetless, they're heavy on bandwidth.  And, of course, being a creative professional skilled in writing, art, video, and music, as well as website design and development, I like lots of assets — music files, videos, images....  Of course, I like the websites I build to be beautiful in their own right, as well, even when they contain no content.  Like this page.  (And, yes, what I think is beautiful might not be what you think is beautiful, but there it is.  )  But they have to be functional and load well.  Never as quickly as Google wants, but, hey, Google isn't happy unless it's under a second, and that means almost no assets whatsoever.

Check back as I begin the rebuild and see what you think. You may hate it. You may love it. I guarantee, though, that it will load a helluva lot faster.

 

 

April 22, 2019

Had to make a doctor's appointment. Not happy about it, but there it is.

In other news, someone finally spoke the reality about the 800 pound guerilla. Not about books, indie authors, advertising, and self-publishing, but about the same reality as seen from the “tangible product” end.

...Finally.

It's very tough being inside a group where we know things, but can't speak about them. However, finally, somebody spoke up about it. Not that it matters. It doesn't change things. But at least there's some wool that got pulled away from eyeballs. For authors, this has been going on since last fall, and really ramped up in January of this year. Yet the “sell-you-the-winning-program-to-indie-sales-success” gurus ain't sayin' a word. Of course not. Indie authors are their bread and butter ...and BMWs.

 

 

October 28, 2018

Today, It's Pouring, but Yesterday...

 

 

 

 

 

October 27, 2018

Gravy Days in the Country

September and October are my favorite months. Yes, there’s November looming with its scramble to batten down the hatches, but September and October are those months where summer work is mostly done, and I can sit down and simply enjoy Earth. Sure, there’s a bit of cleanup and tidying yet to do, but, all in all, it’s time to wallow in the relative quiet of kids gone back to school, tourists gone home — a time to embrace the Gravy Days, as my mother used to call them.

Our October this year didn’t start in gravy. There was a cold foreboding to the weather that promised a very cold, hard winter. Everybody felt it. Then, midway through, things changed. And we got, not Indian Summer, but Gravy Days, all the same. Last fall clean-ups in pleasant progress and, yes, finally, the roofing crew, promised in Spring, here two days before the rains come.

My biggest project prior to November is … raking the drive and the pathways in preparation for snow removal this winter, manual clean-up necessary to get the bits of branches and fallen leaves cleared so they don’t get sucked into the snow blower with our inevitable wet snow and bind up the big machine, which, if and when that happens, makes me turn the air, not just blue, but purple with my cussing.

The Roofing Job, Done Late (Very), But Done

Hand-Raking the Drive

Gravy Days Pictures

 

 

September 28, 2018

This morning early, ~1AM, it was breezy, but balmy. Later, by 7AM, the wind had turned vengeful and bitter.

Winter is coming.

I’m very glad Forrest will be home this winter, not driving dangerous roads. Meanwhile, though, the chill put a damper on my spirits — completely. It’s depressing to think that, in a matter of days to a spare couple of weeks, we could be facing below zero temperatures …which would be very early, even for North Idaho.